need hint for Riven: The Sequel To Myst (spoillers)

ive reached 4 islands and 4 domes (which i know the code to). i solved the tombstone puzzle and reached a new age and came back with the trap book and Catherine's journal. i read her and ghen journals. i opened the hatch to the star fissure.
as i see it there are two possibe things i can do right now:

1: something with the chair in the first island.
i have tried pulling the lever normally and with the bridge to "ghen's lab" island raised and the door from the temple to the shuttle closed(taking the lever placed there as a hint). nothing happened.

2: activating the power source to the domes via the control throne underground in the "experiment island".
i know which colour/symbol represents each island(the one's with the domes). red makes the sacred fish respond, as does random number of clicks on the different colours. 2, 4, 8, 12 and more consecutive hits might get the fish to respond with what appears to be a random tune(out of an existing few).
i tried all sorts of combinations, tried figuring out the specific code by trial of different combinations that made sense to me, tried understanding how and if the fish tunes are related to the code. i failed to do so. i spent hours on this puzzle and i play the game once in two weeks for half an hour trying and failing.

i dont want the full solution if that is possible. if a hint can set me on the right path i will gladly accept it at this point. its depressing me.

Myst and Riven. Good god almghty lol. I couldnt stand all th hype for the Myst game when it first came out for the PC ages go. Riven I didnt know much about.

I'm kind of interestd in getting both Myst and Riven for the Playstation since the two games are pretty cheap at this one pawn shop that I go to.

Ooh, okay, reading this again, I can see what you mean.

Yeah, you're on the wrong track about the sacred fish. The noises it makes were a clue to the animal stone puzzle earlier - a hint of what animal to be looking for. It serves no other purpose. There's no deeper meaning behind its annoyance.

However, learning the colours is an important step towards powering the domes. You'll immediately know what I mean by that when you find the puzzle that needs them. Finding that puzzle and solving it is one of the game's largest puzzles - if not *the* largest one.

All I can say is that it can't be solved from that throne...and if that throne is on the village island, then it can't even be solved on that island.

As for the first island puzzle...I really don't remember it. I remember an important puzzle involving a bridge on that island, so you may be on the right track...but if you're talking about a chair...huh.

Could you describe the island, and where you are?

i know the "throne" in the village island is only for first access to the prison\tunnel..
about the chair in the first island, i have lowered all visible bridges which were steam-cap powered so i dont see how that is related.
are you hinting for the cubic display of the island topography?
that is what i call the "experiment island". ill check some ideas and see if im on the right direction. you hint gently so its great.

edit: i moved around the island and remembered some things.

1. the undiscovered island which is displayed as 1 cube in the panel of the experiment island. as hinted both from the "sketch" in the huge dome(island 1) and from visual sight, it is right next to island 1. it seems to be a little sunk. i dont know of a way to get there. unlocked after a puzzle?(answer this please)

2: very limited access to the village. all bridges and ladders drawn. unlocked after more progress? supposed to remain this way as im an intruder?(hinted by the alarm sounded by two "guard towers" placed near the village)

3. the sketch of the islands positions is different in the huge dome from the one in ghen's lab journal. all the islands from the dome sketch moved right one spot. is this the "puzzle that involves all islands"?

in either of those the position of the islands is wrong when looking at the pipelines and where they are going.

bump

Ugh, sorry, completely missed your response.

You're correct. The fifth island is inaccessible for most of the game.

[QUOTE="apocalipto9"]2: very limited access to the village. all bridges and ladders drawn. unlocked after more progress? supposed to remain this way as im an intruder?(hinted by the alarm sounded by two "guard towers" placed near the village)apocalipto9

You're right about them treating you as an intruder, but sadly there's no way to make them trust you.
If you've already solved the animal stone puzzle, then you've most likely done everything essential in the village (finding the underwater cart, etc).

3. the sketch of the islands positions is different in the huge dome from the one in ghen's lab journal. all the islands from the dome sketch moved right one spot. is this the "puzzle that involves all islands"?

in either of those the position of the islands is wrong when looking at the pipelines and where they are going.apocalipto9

That wasn't the puzzle I was talking about, but it sounds like you're a few counter-intuitive steps away from finding the place where the puzzle is located. Which makes giving hints very difficult, because you're so close! :o

(Although...I honestly don't remember the islands being in the wrong place. Nor do I really remember what the map inside the dome was used for.)

i have lowered all visible bridges which were steam-cap powered so i dont see how that is related.
are you hinting for the cubic display of the island topography?apocalipto9

Ah no, I wasn't hinting at the cubic display when I was asking about where you were. I was hoping that talking about the giant dome might trigger a few answers to the other questions that you had. :P

Meanwhile, I'm still not sure what you meant by this:"i have tried pulling the lever normally and with the bridge to "ghen's lab" island raised and the door from the temple to the shuttle closed(taking the lever placed there as a hint). nothing happened."

I understood the part about raising the bridge, and I remember the temple door closing, and the chair's lever...but I don't remember them being connected...?

Ah no, I wasn't hinting at the cubic display when I was asking about where you were. I was hoping that talking about the giant dome might trigger a few answers to the other questions that you had. :P

Meanwhile, I'm still not sure what you meant by this:"i have tried pulling the lever normally and with the bridge to "ghen's lab" island raised and the door from the temple to the shuttle closed(taking the lever placed there as a hint). nothing happened."

I understood the part about raising the bridge, and I remember the temple door closing, and the chair's lever...but I don't remember them being connected...?

they are different levers. since they are located in the same room i thought they might be connected.
the chair lever on the first island doesnt seem to have done anything. does it do something? perhaps something that has already happened?

saying im really close will motivate me to explore some more. talking about the big dome makes me think i have to reach the center to activate the power source. i even looked all around by checking at each step i took thoroughly at the dome and checking for switch\something else and i found none.


ill update if i still cant find it after some more trials and exploration. thanks for helping me!

you're the best. thanks!!!!!!!!!
i was stuck on that part and the animal stones for months really. i actually started playing the game maybe 8 months ago and abandoned it for months.
im so happy right now. thank you !

i was stuck on that part and the animal stones for months really. i actually started playing the game maybe 8 months ago and abandoned it for months.

im so happy right now. thank you !

apocalipto9

Glad that worked out for you!

It seemed to be one of those (very common!) frustrating moments where you'd pieced everything together, but you'd just missed that one path that would lead you to the puzzle. I remember losing so many weeks to those things throughout the series - and it always sucks to look up a guide just to find that one lever or door that you walked past a hundred times.

Anyway, good luck with the rest of the game. I might suggest making a backup save before moving too much further though, just in case (I think it's possible to fail every Myst game?).

yeah, in the end i used the trap book and trapped ghen.

now im in a problem though. i've opened the hatch to the star fissure before i freed catherine (i tried everything to power the domes).
i cant go anywhere but the first island and a cutscene wasnt triggered even though the hatch was open. i thought maybe it triggers AFTER i open it at the proper time(after freeing catherine). i shut it and i cant get it open again with the same code written in her diary. i tried saving and loading, going to the other age and returning, nothing worked. bug? am i supposed to restart from an earlier save and close the lid before freeing catherine?

i did it the wrong way as you said. i did open it before and i was sure that was the right way.

yeah! i beat it. i really had it all in place and just couldnt find the path. thanks again. im really enjoying the series so far. great puzzles.