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Thimbleweed Park - a Ron Gilbert game |OT| Thirty-scumm years of adventures

B

Brerlappin

Member
I must be near the end now. On chapter 8 and ive just
crashed the text adventure computer.

I found the puzzles to be a bit harder from the end of chapter 4 onwards. Actually more like the amount of things to do in the journal got confusing, than the puzzles themselves. I wasnt sure which tasks to focus on and got a bit lost. I needed to look up a guide to focus on what to do next.

One puzzle i would never have solved without a guide tho, and realsitically i should have had an idea as its a variation of the "how to find the sword master" puzzle in Monkey Island 1, was the fucking
secret meeting puzzle.
That was ridiculous. I had seen people on the
forest trail
but had no idea why they were there.
I tried following them and it didnt work, id never have figured out you needed to
contaminate the puddle
. That was a bit too obscure for me.
 
M

Mistle

Member
Now that I'm in this thread I will say that I love this game so far. I think I'm nearing the end.

Stuck properly for the first time. I mean, I've scratched my head over a few puzzles prior, but this time I'm talking "stuck for a whole playsession" type of stuck. Refuse to look at guides..

(not yet in factory)
All my to-do lists just want me to get in the factory, other than Franklin escaping to afterlife, Reyes learning more about father, Delores speaking to Franklin, and Rey doing something with AI (I forget, assume it's in factory).

I've fixed the watch and have lit up 3 lights, and need to charge the battery to get the 4th light.
I also need Chuck's secret tube to put near factory door.
I need to put the radioactive waste into something so I can put it in the puddle and follow footsteps to a secret meeting. Maybe I can charge the battery on the supposed electric fence...

But I can't figure out how to transport the waste. I swear I've pretty much tried everything in my inventories, and worry I've just not picked up something crucial. But I've revisited everywhere and can't find a container ;_;

Can't figure out how to get the crystal on the balcony to get closure with Delores, and have run dry on ideas. Biggest lead right now is I can zap the lobby computer to get a password screen, but I can't enter anything and don't know of a password... haha.

I have a betamax tape and recall somebody mentioning a betamax player, but I can't find where that was. Been bugging me but maybe it's just a joke item.

Oh yeah and Chuck's safe needs fingerprints. I have a key to the "offiss" which I haven't used yet. Fingerprint kit needs tape, postman doesn't let me take more :(
 
D

dude

dude
Brerlappin said:
I must be near the end now. On chapter 8 and ive just
crashed the text adventure computer.

I found the puzzles to be a bit harder from the end of chapter 4 onwards. Actually more like the amount of things to do in the journal got confusing, than the puzzles themselves. I wasnt sure which tasks to focus on and got a bit lost. I needed to look up a guide to focus on what to do next.

One puzzle i would never have solved without a guide tho, and realsitically i should have had an idea as its a variation of the "how to find the sword master" puzzle in Monkey Island 1, was the fucking
secret meeting puzzle.
That was ridiculous. I had seen people on the
forest trail
but had no idea why they were there.
I tried following them and it didnt work, id never have figured out you needed to
contaminate the puddle
. That was a bit too obscure for me.
Click to expand...
I've solved that part without a walkthrough, so I don't think it's that obscure. In general, I only needed to check a guide at one point and it seemed rather obvious in hindsight. All the puzzles in the game were fair in my opinion.

What did you guys think of the soundtrack? I thought it was nice while playing, but I grew to really love it since finishing the game and I find myself listening to it quite a bit now.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
Brerlappin said:
I must be near the end now. On chapter 8 and ive just
crashed the text adventure computer.

I found the puzzles to be a bit harder from the end of chapter 4 onwards. Actually more like the amount of things to do in the journal got confusing, than the puzzles themselves. I wasnt sure which tasks to focus on and got a bit lost. I needed to look up a guide to focus on what to do next.

One puzzle i would never have solved without a guide tho, and realsitically i should have had an idea as its a variation of the "how to find the sword master" puzzle in Monkey Island 1, was the fucking
secret meeting puzzle.
That was ridiculous. I had seen people on the
forest trail
but had no idea why they were there.
I tried following them and it didnt work, id never have figured out you needed to
contaminate the puddle
. That was a bit too obscure for me.
Click to expand...

The clue to that one is that
the Pizza guy who gave you the secret hideout flyer was one of the ones walking though the forest.

The radioactive waste was tougher for me, but I finally realised you'd need something that'll show up at night.

Mistle said:
Now that I'm in this thread I will say that I love this game so far. I think I'm nearing the end.

Stuck properly for the first time. I mean, I've scratched my head over a few puzzles prior, but this time I'm talking "stuck for a whole playsession" type of stuck. Refuse to look at guides..

(not yet in factory)
All my to-do lists just want me to get in the factory, other than Franklin escaping to afterlife, Reyes learning more about father, Delores speaking to Franklin, and Rey doing something with AI (I forget, assume it's in factory).

I've fixed the watch and have lit up 3 lights, and need to charge the battery to get the 4th light.
I also need Chuck's secret tube to put near factory door.
I need to put the radioactive waste into something so I can put it in the puddle and follow footsteps to a secret meeting. Maybe I can charge the battery on the supposed electric fence...

But I can't figure out how to transport the waste. I swear I've pretty much tried everything in my inventories, and worry I've just not picked up something crucial. But I've revisited everywhere and can't find a container ;_;

Can't figure out how to get the crystal on the balcony to get closure with Delores, and have run dry on ideas. Biggest lead right now is I can zap the lobby computer to get a password screen, but I can't enter anything and don't know of a password... haha.

I have a betamax tape and recall somebody mentioning a betamax player, but I can't find where that was. Been bugging me but maybe it's just a joke item.

Oh yeah and Chuck's safe needs fingerprints. I have a key to the "offiss" which I haven't used yet. Fingerprint kit needs tape, postman doesn't let me take more :(
Click to expand...

Betamax is a red herring (was originally going to be a puzzle but was cut).

For the container:
fairly big hint -
it is an item that was available from *very* early on in the game, but may have gone back to it's original place if you had picked it up.
 
H

halfbeast

Banned
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8873e4657e134bc866ae829b9209c429.gif


(she's bi)
 
Z

Zweisy1

Member
Fuz said:
I'm on Act IV and I'm loving it
SO
DAMN
MUCH

Keep in mind that I'm a fanboy of Ron and Monkey Island is my favourite game ever.
It's basically sort of a sequel to Maniac Mansion.
Puzzles are all well thought and logical; not too easy and not super frustrating. And you always have something to do or something to check, so getting stumped is rare.
The story and its delivery are fantastic. The characters are tons of fun. The mistery/humor mix is spot on (well, I like Ron's kind of humor). The whole writing is superb - except for the *really* excessive metatext, self-referentiality and the breaking of the fourth wall. It's way too much. This is its worst flaw. And if something like this is the worst flaw... well...
This game is EXACTLY what I wanted to play in an adventure game. Too bad I will finish it :D hope Ron keeps making games like this.

Between the games i backed this is easily the one that satisfied me the most and didn't blow my expectations in the slightest.


P.S.
Thimbleweed Park also proves that the SCUMM verb-based interface is still the absolute best for P&C games.
Click to expand...

The game gave me REALLY strong Maniac Mansion vibes too.. probably a combination of controlling multiple characters and the art style of Gary Winnick.

As a fanboy I kinda liked all the subtle hints at the old games as well like
the random doors in mansion mansion
really reminded me of the doors on Melee Island in the original Monkey that you would enter and come out of another one.
And even the fourth wall breaking stuff didn't bother me all that much.. I can see why it annoy some though.

And yes, definitely the most worthwhile kickstarter backed product in my opinion too. As much as I did genuinely enjoy Broken Age and that excellent documentary.
 
M

Mistle

Member
Tizoc said:
PnC rule #1: Pick up anything and everything you see on-screen.
Click to expand...
I do! :p even all the trash haha. I guess I missed something in her room, I'll go back and check next time I play. I have checked her room multiple times now but must've managed to still miss something. Off the top of my head the only item I currently have from her room is the
red lens
, which I've used on the
hint book
, but I haven't found a use for that yet.
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Just beat the game,
I didn't like the ending all THAT much unless there is a special ending I get if I replay it after completing it?

None the less I quite enjoyed the game and the humor for the most part. Needed more *Beeping* Ransome though.
 
E

explorer

Member
I beat the game on casual and realized
they never revealed the identity of the true killer. Also, why was that guy by the bridge killed to begin with? The game went into 4th wall breaking antics and never closed this loop as far as I can tell.
. Did i miss something(s)?
 
B

Brerlappin

Member
explorer said:
I beat the game on casual and realized
they never revealed the identity of the true killer. Also, why was that guy by the bridge killed to begin with? The game went into 4th wall breaking antics and never closed this loop as far as I can tell.
. Did i miss something(s)?
Click to expand...

Yes. He was killed because he was there to
meet with Franklin and discuss rebuilding the factory to make stuffed animals, but Chuck wanted to keep the Pillowtron 3000 in the factory a secret, so had them both killed. You never find out the killers identity tho
.

I just finished it now. Absolutely loved it from start to finish. The end didn't bother me at all, in fact I really enjoyed it
(especially the wireframe world and the need to go and watch the original kickstarter video which was really cool). It was also implied so heavily from the very first scene that you are all just characters in a videogame (pigeon brothers telling you to save your game, etc) so I guessed that would be how it played out really early on. Especially when you use the movietron 3000 to rent a video and you get a copy of Blazing Saddles, and Delores says how much she loves that movie but doesn't like the ending haha. That totally gave it away
.

Anyway, one of my favourite games of the year so far. And one of my favourite P&C's ever. Absolutely brilliant. After how dumbed down adventures have gotten in recent years thnks to the Telltale template of just walking around, talking to people, do a QTE and that's it, having an actual inventory, puzzles, item descriptions, etc, Thimbleweed was just amazing. I cant remember the last time I got stumped on an adventure game puzzle and was actually thinking about solutions to it during my everyday routine, but Thimbleweed had me doing it. Great game.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
Brerlappin said:
Yes. He was killed because he was there to
meet with Franklin and discuss rebuilding the factory to make stuffed animals, but Chuck wanted to keep the Pillowtron 3000 in the factory a secret, so had them both killed. You never find out the killers identity tho
.
Click to expand...

I always assumed it was the
Sheriff, as he was clearly taking orders from chucktron.
 
Nitty_Grimes

Nitty_Grimes

Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
Dunno if I have done this in the wrong order, however...

I have got the murder weapon now, but no powder to get a fingerprint. I know I need to get some ash from the mansion fireplace but when I go there, the little jock bloke is inside 'diggin' and I cant get any ash.

What can I do please?
 
SOME-MIST

SOME-MIST

Member
Nitty_Grimes said:
Dunno if I have done this in the wrong order, however...

I have got the murder weapon now, but no powder to get a fingerprint. I know I need to get some ash from the mansion fireplace but when I go there, the little jock bloke is inside 'diggin' and I cant get any ash.

What can I do please?
Click to expand...
I think you've got it but iirc
who can go inside the mansion without having to deal with the digger?
 
B

Baron_Calamity

Member
Is this game suppose to be hard or have a become stupid in my old age? Back in the early 90s, I just plowed through all LucasArts adventure games and most sierra games. I keep getting stuck bad but I'm trying to resist using a walk through
 
SOME-MIST

SOME-MIST

Member
Baron_Calamity said:
Is this game suppose to be hard or have a become stupid in my old age? Back in the early 90s, I just plowed through all LucasArts adventure games and most sierra games. I keep getting stuck bad but I'm trying to resist using a walk through
Click to expand...
Where you stuck at? The last 1/3rd gets pretty hard but nothing past what I've seen in MI1/2, day of the tentacle, and grim
 
A

Aarglefarg

Member
I clicked on the Tumbleseed thread thinking it was this one and honestly thought I missed more than I thought playing it on casual. :)
 
M

MontyBrown

Banned
Finished this yesterday. Overall, I really liked it. Definitely had the old Lucas feel, although I feel like it didn't reach the recent highs that Wadget Eye have been producing.

I have a bit of a mixed feeling about the ending, though.

On one hand, it feels a bit self-indulgent and a bit try-hard. It was sign posted pretty well, but it seemed like it was trying to come off as a bit more clever than it really was.

On the other hand, it also feels like a bit of a love letter and tribute to the genre by a guy who has spent pretty much his entire career working on adventure games and was quite nice.

Not sure which side I fall on more. Regardless, great little game.
 
A

Aarglefarg

Member
Nico_D said:
Is there any info about PS4 version yet? Other than it's coming. More like - when?
Click to expand...
Xbox One has it as a timed exclusive for three months. It looks like it would come out on PS4 at the end of this month or the start of next month if it comes out immediately as soon as it can.
 
J

Justinh

Member
Tizoc said:
Ransome is my fav. *beeping* character in the game.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Well no he's not my favorite (so far), but even though at first I was like "Oh... I get it" and didn't like him at first, some of his lines later on really made me chuckle.

I'm stuck too, and I've taken a few days off to clear my head but all that did was make me forget what I was trying to do at first lol.

I really like the game though and thanks for the heads up that it's on sale on Gog. Maybe I'll gift it to somebody...
 
S

soqquatto

Member
Tizoc said:
Just beat the game,
I didn't like the ending all THAT much unless there is a special ending I get if I replay it after completing it?
Click to expand...

that's it, you've seen everything.
I was majorly disappointed, too many loose ends solved with a "clean sweep" so that means that a lot of story was there only as filler
 
C

CecilRousso

Member
Beat the game yesterday, and while I would back a new kickstarter from these guys, they have several areas to improve.

*Ditch all the red herrings in the inventory. They bring no fun to the game, and if they're needed to up the challenge, there's something wrong with the puzzles.
*Don't tease a lot of story events, if you're just going to drop them.
*Don't add more characters then needed for the game. Here it's only Delores that feels really relevant, and Reyes and Ransome that are almost. Ray and Franklin were not.
*Drop the 4th wall jokes and events.
*The 4th wall puzzles that Broken Age got so much shit, and that were frequent here, don't do those.
*That story ending, no....just no.

Do continue to have 2 or 3 characters though, continue with this impressive art style and make more characters like Delores and Ransome. Keep the same style of open map, keep how different NPC's reacted to different player characters.
 
B

Baron_Calamity

Member
CecilRousso said:
Beat the game yesterday, and while I would back a new kickstarter from these guys, they have several areas to improve.

*Ditch all the red herrings in the inventory. They bring no fun to the game, and if they're needed to up the challenge, there's something wrong with the puzzles.
Click to expand...

I don't agree with tthat. Only having inventory limited to items that will be used is boring. I will recommend that they consider a single inventory. Swapping items between characters was draining.
 
B

brianmcdoogle

Member
I beat this a while ago, but seeing the thread get bumped prompted me to add my thoughts.

I acccidentally started the game on the easy mode, and boy is that mode terrible. Like, it shouldn't even be included. I finally realized what I had done when I got to the part where you apply for the video game job, and it skips over so much stuff. You don't have to answer any questions or hunt for anything. You just turn on the computer and that's about it. And, the dialogue suggests you're going to have to answer questions but nope. So, I started over playing the game in the proper difficulty level.

Game is ok and kind of what I expected from Gilbert. It also really feels like a game from the early 90s with regard to the writing and puzzle designs. Some of the characters are really great, and some are really not, but Gilbert on his own has always been very hot and cold. I think the biggest problem is the ending and back half of the game where things fall apart. Any interest I had in the story and characters just evaporated into self-referencing hoo-haw. Voice acting is really good.

I'm glad I played the game, and I'm really glad it got made, and I hope Gilbert continues to make these nostalgic point and click games in the future. But, and this might be the most damning thing, I hope he never makes his Monkey Island 3 after playing this game. From the bits he's said on what he would want to do, what he would not allow to carry over from 3 and 4 and Tales (which sounds like everything), it just seems like it'd be a mess.

Also, I worry that the "secret" of Monkey Island would be similar to the twist in this game, and that sounds like one of the worst things that could happen to the Monkey Island series, including Monkey Kombat.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
halfbeast said:
some news and updates on the game:



love the support it gets post-launch.
Click to expand...

Cool. Not being able to talk to the others was the biggest issue in the game.

My other main gripe was not being able to "look at" people, but that would cost quite a bit of money to fix as it's a lot more dialogue to record so I doubt that's ever going to happen.
 
R

Raticus79

Seek victory, not fairness
brianmcdoogle said:
I acccidentally started the game on the easy mode, and boy is that mode terrible. Like, it shouldn't even be included. I finally realized what I had done when I got to the part where you apply for the video game job, and it skips over so much stuff. You don't have to answer any questions or hunt for anything. You just turn on the computer and that's about it. And, the dialogue suggests you're going to have to answer questions but nope. So, I started over playing the game in the proper difficulty level
Click to expand...

Yeah, I intentionally started on easy since I wasn't in the mood for puzzling, but I think I'll restart. Better to just use a walkthrough and not miss out on so much of the content.
 
P

painey

Member
bought the game in the Xbox sale and just beat it. As an old school Amiga adventure game lover I was very let down. The writing was just uninteresting, never funny and not clever. It was a decent enough adventure game, but was expecting a lot more from the Gilbert name.
 
graywolf323

graywolf323

Member
tempted by it on the Xbox sale but I’d kinda rather wait for the PS4/Switch/iOS versions

are they still on track? I can’t find anything recent
 
bigace33

bigace33

Member
Man I had no idea what this game was and got it in a Humble monthly. I ended up selling it for like a $1 to a Gaffer and now I can't find it anywhere for under15-20 dollars. Wish I would have kept it now. Just can't bring myself to buy it again when I had it right in my hands. B^(
 
T

test_account

XP-39C²
Bought the PS4 version some days ago. I really enjoyed the game, got the platinum trophy. I wouldnt mind that the ending was a bit different, i'm not really a big fan of
alternate universe/Matrix-like story telling
, but overall a great game. Captured the old feeling of LucasArts adventure games. The answering machine messages is also a really cool touch, in my opinion.

Is there any definitive guide for the game by the way? Theres several of items that seems to have no use (already confirmed to be the case after searching on Google), but what i'm mostly wondering about are these things:

- How do you complete "Find out what happened to dad" in Dolores' quest line?

- Is there any way to free Willie?
 
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