Riven
Games Menu
I. INTRODUCTION
II. CONTROLS
III. GENERAL STRATEGIES
IV. HINTS
A. Temple Island
B. Jungle Island
C. Book Assembly Island
D. Survey Island
E. The Moiety
F. Gehn and Catherine
V. WALKTHROUGH
A. Temple Island
1. Atrus's Request
2. A New World
3. The Gate Room
4. The Gold Dome
5. Across the Bridge
B. Jungle Island
1. Three Wooden Eyes
2. The Jungle
3. The Village
4. Lessons Learned
C. Book Assembly Island
1. The Boiler
2. Frogs, Domes, and Fans
3. Gehn's Laboratory
4. Return to the Dome
D. Survey Island
1. On the Surface
2. Mapping Riven
3. Below the Surface
4. The Survey Room
E. The Moiety
1. Above the Jungle
2. Prison Passages
3. The Moiety Chamber
4. The Moiety Age
5. Catherine's Journal
F. Gehn and Catherine
1. Opening the Domes
2. Powering the Domes
3. A Meeting With Gehn
4. A Meeting With Catherine
5. Mission Accomplished!
6. The Fissure
VI. SOLUTIONS
A. Temple Island
B. Jungle Island
C. Book Assembly Island
D. Survey Island
E. Prison Island
F. Gehn's Age
G. Mistakes
VII. NECESSARY ODDS AND ENDS
A. Copyright Notice
B. Credits
C. Contact Info
D. Version History
To jump to a specific section of the guide, use the outline levels that appear
in brackets to get there quickly. For Windows users, go to Edit|Find (or type
Ctrl+F), type in the outline level in brackets (including the brackets), and
hit the Find button and you will jump straight to that section. For example, to
jump to the hints section for Jungle Island, type [IV.B] into the Find box.
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######## I. INTRODUCTION [I]
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Welcome to "Riven Solutions"; I hope that you will find this guide useful in
your adventure on the Fifth Age. Before starting, however, a little background
is in order. Riven is the sequel to the best-selling PC game ever, Myst. It was
released in 1997 by Cyan for PC and Mac on five CD-ROMs. Yes, five. Since then,
Riven has been re-released in various other formats: on PlayStation, Sega
Saturn, and most recently DVD, which gets rid of the annoying disk-swapping.
Riven's graphics were vastly improved from Myst, achieving an almost
photo-realistic quality that is still impressive. In addition, Riven is a huge
game, containing a vast world that dwarfs those of Myst. It also features
improved music and video, as well as much tougher puzzles. In my opinion, it
was and still is the best game in the Myst series.
If you are new to the Myst games, you should be aware of what you are getting
into. These games are different from almost all other video games: there are no
lives, no monsters, no time limits, and very few items. The focus of Riven is
on puzzles and exploration. You find yourself in a place, and your goal is to
explore it and find out as much as possible about it. The game is played in
first-person perspective, and you simply point and click where you want to go.
The idea is to be totally intuitive and to create a totally immersive
experience where you act as if you yourself are in Riven.
Now, enough about the game, what about this guide? If you play Riven, there is
a 99.9999% chance that you will get stuck at least once (probably many more
times). Different people handle this situation different ways: some want to
find out the answer right away and be done with it, others (such as myself)
enjoy the satisfaction of figuring it out for themselves, and so just want a
small hint to get them headed in the right direction. This guide is designed to
cater to both groups, and below is a breakdown of where you can find the exact
level of help you're looking for:
I. INTRODUCTION
Hello, you're reading it right now! This section gives some general
information about Riven, and contains this breakdown of the guide.
II. CONTROLS
As if you never would have guessed, this section explains the controls
for Riven, though if you really need help with them, you should probably
just give up right now.
III. GENERAL STRATEGIES
This section contains some, what do you know?, general strategies and
ideas to keep in mind while in Riven. This section contains no actual
gameplay information, and will absolutely not even come close to spoiling
anything. Everyone should read this section.
IV. HINTS
This is the section for the people who just want a gentle nudge without
giving away the answer. Each puzzle or tough spot in the game will be
presented as a question, with an answer consisting of a series of
statements that progress from general to specific. However, the answer to
a puzzle will not be given.
V. WALKTHROUGH
The section that comprises the majority of the guide, this section will
take you through the game step-by-step in the order that I think makes
the most sense. This section will focus on showing the thought processes
that lead to discovering puzzle solutions and understanding the story. Be
aware, though, that puzzle solutions will be given in this section, so
read at your own risk.
VI. SOLUTIONS
Just like it says, this section gives away all the answers, no ifs, ands,
or buts. Each puzzle will be listed, with its solution explained below
it. Don't visit this section unless you are totally stumped and just want
the answer right now.
VII. NECESSARY ODDS AND ENDS
Various miscellaneous things that need to be included, namely copyright
notice, credits, contact info, and version history.
One final note: in sections IV (Hints), V (Walkthrough), and VI (Solutions), I
will give instructions as if you are actually on Riven. For example, the guide
will read "Open the door" instead of "Click on the door". The reason for this
is that the best way to play Riven is to think as if you are really there. (See
section III, General Strategies, for more on this.)
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####### II. CONTROLS [II]
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This section could probably be considered unnecessary, since the controls for
Riven are designed to be intuitive. However, for completeness, here they are:
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_| \ A. IN-GAME NAVIGATION [II.A]
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You interact with Riven through a hand-shaped cursor. The shape of the hand
lets you know what action you will perform by clicking at that location.
o POINTING HAND WITH THUMB EXTENDED
This is the standard cursor that you will see the majority of the time. Use
this cursor to move around Riven. Simply point where you want to go, then
click. If nothing happens, then you can't go there.
o HAND POINTING LEFT OR RIGHT
This cursor will usually appear when you move the pointer to the left or
right edges of the screen. Clicking will cause you to turn 90 degrees to the
left or right.
o HAND WITH BENT FINGER
In some locations, it is not possible to turn 90 degrees left or right. In
such instances, when you move the hand to the edge of the screen it will turn
into a hand with a bent finger, like it is pointing over your shoulder. This
will turn you 180 degrees.
o HAND POINTING UP OR DOWN
The up or down pointing hand can have two functions, depending on the
context. For some screens, move the hand to the top or bottom of the screen
and the up or down pointing hand will appear, meaning you can look up or
down. If you are climbing a ladder, however, use the up or down pointing hand
to climb up or down. The down-pointing hand will also appear sometimes if you
are close up to an object; click it to step back.
o OPEN HAND
When the open hand appears, it means that you can push, grab, or place your
hand on an object, such as a button or a switch. Sometimes, you will need to
grab and hold the object (click and hold) at which point the open hand will
turn into a grabbing hand.
o PICK-UP ITEMS
On rare occasions, you will need to pick up an item and drop it. In these
instances, once you have picked up the item, the hand will turn into that
item. Click again to let go of the item and return to the normal hand cursor.
o LIGHTNING BOLT
If you have Zip Mode enabled (see next subsection), the hand will turn into a
lightning bolt over certain locations. Click the lightning bolt to "zip"
directly to that location.
o CARRIED ITEMS
There are an extremely limited number of items which you can pick up and
carry with you throughout the game. When you pick up such an item, it can be
accessed by moving the cursor to the black area at the bottom of the screen.
Do so, and the available items will appear. Click on one to examine it, then
click outside of the item to put it away.
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_| \ B. MENU BAR [II.B]
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If you click at the very top of the screen, the menu bar will appear. This
subsection describes the various functions and options they provide.
o FILE
- New...
This will return you to the black opening screen with the Riven symbol,
where you can start a new game.
- Open...
This will open a standard Open window where you can select a saved game to
open. Note that on the original PC version, to open a saved game you must
first start a new game, watch the opening cut scenes, then select
File|Open.
- Save
This will save a previously saved file. If the file has not been saved yet,
it will open the Save As window.
- Save As...
This will open a Save As window where you can name a new file or save a
file under a different name.
- Exit
This will close Riven and return you to the desktop.
o TRANSITIONS
This menu consists of four options: None, Fastest, Normal, and Best, one of
which will be checked (the default is Fastest). This will set the speed of
the transitions between screens. With None set, the screens will display
instantly, but with the other options, screens will gradually fade into view,
and when you turn, the new screen will rotate into view. Best is the slowest
option.
o OPTIONS
- Water Enabled (default: on)
This will determine whether the water in certain screens is animated or
not.
- 640 x 480 Resolution (default: on)
If this option is on, then Riven will automatically change your screen
resolution to 640 x 480 when you start the game (and reset it when you
close the game). If it is off, then Riven will run in your normal screen
resolution. If your computer normally runs in a higher resolution, leave
this option on. The picture may be a little bit grainy, but otherwise the
picture will only take up part of the screen, which isn't nearly as
realistic.
- Zip Mode (default: off)
If this option is on, then the cursor will turn into a lightning bolt when
it is over certain spots. Click on these spots to "zip" directly there.
This feature can be useful later in the game, but you should leave it off
at first, since it's important to pay attention to things along your way.
Once you know your way around, however, Zip Mode can be a real time-saver.
Note that you can only zip to locations you have already been to.
- Ambient Sounds (default: on)
This option controls whether the background sounds (typically things like
wind blowing, waves breaking, etc.) play. Leave it on unless you have a
reason not to.
- Setup
This option will display the setup screens that appear when you install the
game, which allow you to calibrate your system's brightness, contrast, and
volume.
o HELP
- About...
This will display a standard About window, mainly consisting of copyrights.
- Credits
This will play the game credits. But why would you want to watch the
credits in the middle of the game? Wait until you beat it, when they'll be
much more satisfying.
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####### III. GENERAL STRATEGIES [III]
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These are just some ideas to keep in mind as you play Riven which will help you
to do better. This section does not give away the solutions to any specific
puzzles, it just gives you some strategies for how to solve puzzles in general.
Here, arranged in no particular order, are some general strategies for playing
Riven.
o THINK LIKE YOU'RE REALLY THERE. By far the biggest strategy for succeeding in
all the Myst games. Cyan spent a long time creating a detailed, realistic
world, so do them a favor and treat it like one. When you see a building or
a piece of machinery, don't think in terms of, "Here's a puzzle I have to get
past to beat the level," think in terms of, "What is this thing? Why is it
here? How could it work? Why is this important to me?" Try to get out of the
mindset of thinking of Riven as a video game and start thinking of it as a
real world, and you'll do a lot better.
o DON'T GUESS. You will never, ever in Riven have to guess the solution to a
puzzle. If you find yourself resorting to trial and error or brute force,
you're not doing it right; you're missing a clue.
o THINK LOGICALLY. This ties in to the first strategy, to think like you're
really there. This is especially important to understanding the story of
Riven. If you learn something new, stop and think about how this affects
other things you already know. What does it add? Does it change what you
thought previously? Can you deduce anything else from this? You will never
have to think, "Well, it must be this way because it's a video game."
Remember, it's not a video game; YOU'RE REALLY THERE.
o ASK "WHY?". This is somewhat of a corollary to the previous strategy, but it
too is very important. If, for example, you come across a huge building with
gigantic pipes radiating out from its center, don't think, "Wow, that looks
really cool," then move on. It's all right to think that, in fact, you will
probably come across several really cool-looking places on Riven, but your
next thoughts should be "What is this for? Why would this thing be built?
Why should I care about it?"
o EXPLORE EVERYWHERE. This might sound obvious, but it's in your best interests
to try to peer into every nook and cranny. There are several places in Riven
where important clues are hidden off the beaten path, so look for any
oppurtunity to get off the main trail. This will probably lead to many times
when you want to go somewhere and can't, but sometimes you will uncover an
important clue just by poking around everywhere you can. Along the same
lines, don't forget to look up and down, not just side-to-side. You never
know what clues could be above your head or under your feet.
o PAY ATTENTION. Another redundant-sounding tip, but there are a number of
hidden passages, secret rooms, and important objects that you will have to
uncover, and you'll have to keep your eyes peeled to find them. It should be
noted that you will never have to go "pixel-hunting" in Riven, but you will
have to pay attention to details you might otherwise overlook. As you go down
a tunnel, pay attention to the walls, and try turning around a few times: you
might see something you would have missed otherwise. Also, if you see
something that, though you can't quite tell what it is, just looks a little
out of the ordinary, remember it; it's probably important.
o LISTEN CAREFULLY. Sound is just important in Riven as sight. Never play Riven
with the sound off; you will miss an awful lot by playing the game muted.
Plus, the sound and music of Riven really helps to set the mood and draw you
into the experience, so there's no reason not to play with the sound on.
o MAKE MAPS. This is a very important strategy in Riven. Riven is a massive
world with myriad branching and intersecting paths. It's important to make
maps not only to keep from getting lost and to remember how to get somewhere,
but also to help understand where places are in relation to each other and to
gain an understanding of the overall geography of Riven.
o TAKE NOTES. When you encounter a puzzle, write down any ideas you have about
how to solve it immediately, because you will very likely forget them. When
you discover a new building or location, write down your impressions of what
it is and what it's for. When you find an important-looking object with
symbols or designs on it, copy them down. Doing so will not only save you
from having to backtrack because you forgot what that code was, it will also
help you form a clearer picture of how everything links together, instead of
just being a series of disconnected objects. Writing things down is
especially important if there will be significant gaps between when you play,
because you will forget a lot and will have to re-figure everything out if
you don't write it down the first time. Basically, anytime you find something
you think has a chance of being important, write it down!
o SAVE. There are two main reasons to save your game often. The first is that
it would be a real shame if you were to make lots of progress, then have the
game freeze or someone knock the power cord out. The second is that, although
Riven does not play like a video game, it is possible to die or otherwise
lose in Riven, so make sure to save before you make a major decision.
o THINK LIKE YOU'RE REALLY THERE. Yes, it's really that important.
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####### IV. HINTS [IV]
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This section is designed for those who have run up against a puzzle and are
stuck, but still want to figure it out for themselves. This section is divided
into subsections for each major stage of your journey, and each puzzle in that
stage will be presented as a question. Following the question will be a number
of statements, questions, or suggestions designed to get you headed in the
right direction. They do get more specific as they go down, so read them one at
a time, and only as far down as you need. The last hint will usually bring you
right up to the answer, leaving only a tiny connection left to be made, and
will also serve as a bridge to the next topic, giving you a suggestion of what
to do next. If a hint contains a work that is starred, like *this*, then the
starred word is the hint. Once you've read a hint that gives you a new insight,
go back and try the puzzle again. If you're still stumped, go a little further
down the list, or check the walkthrough or solution sections of this guide.
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_| \ A. TEMPLE ISLAND [III.A]
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Q: WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO BE DOING HERE?
===============================================================================
A: Did you listen to what Atrus told you?
You sort of have to read between the lines of what he said.
When he gives you the hardback book, he says, "You'll need it, I'm afraid,
to capture Gehn."
Later he says, "Once you've found Catherine, signal me..."
So, using this information, you can conclude...
Your objectives are to capture Gehn, find Catherine, and signal Atrus.
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Q: WHAT SHOULD I MAKE OF WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I LINKED?
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A: Use your common sense: what can you learn from how the people behaved when
you arrived?
What is your impression of the man in the white coat who finds you?
He looks rather bored, and his clothing has an official look to it.
He looks like he's casually patrolling the area until he sees you.
From his language, you know that he's not human.
He appears to be a native who's been hired as a guard of some sort.
What about the man in black who shoots the guard? Obviously, they're not
friends.
Does the man in black appear to be dressed normally? Is this how an average
person would dress?
No, so this person is not an average member of society.
Obviously, there is conflict between the guard and the man in black. Since
the guard appears to have some sort of official position, what does that say
about the man in black?
He appears to be opposed to the official establishment the guard works for.
That is, he's a guerilla.
The rebel set you free, although he also took your hardback book with him.
Do you think he is on your side?
At least somewhat, because he didn't shoot you and he did let you out.
However, you need that book.
That means you'll have to find the rebel, or the group he's a part of.
Keep your eyes open for any clues regarding the existence of such a rebel
group, and what it stands for.
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Q: WHO ARE GEHN AND CATHERINE, WHERE IS THIS PLACE, AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT
THE BOOK THAT WAS STOLEN FROM ME?
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A: Atrus would have known that you would have these questions.
So, he must have provided you with some way to find answers.
Before you linked, he gave you something, then told you, "There is a great
deal of history that you must know..."
Read the journal Atrus gave you.
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Q: WHAT IS THE CONICAL DEVICE NEAR THE LINK SITE?
===============================================================================
A: Notice the eyepiece on the side of the device.
When you look through the eyepiece, what do you think you are seeing? In
other words, what is the device focused on?
It appears to be focused on the circular hatch underneath it.
You don't know how to open the hatch now.
In another vein, can you find the lever and button on the end of the
railing?
These appear to be controls of some sort, but they don't work.
That means they're not receiving any power.
Where could their power come from?
There's a pipe leading to the device from the cliff wall.
Keep this in mind as you continue to explore.
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Q: HOW DOES THE GATE ROOM WORK?
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A: The gate room is the ornate five-sided room at the top of the hill with
large golden beetles mounted on pillars at each corner.
Take advantage of the peepholes.
Using the peepholes, you can see that sometimes there's a grate on the left,
sometimes there's a grate on the right, and sometimes there's no grate at
all.
The light coming through the grate on the left is brighter than the light
coming through the grate on the right.
What exactly is it that moves when you press the button?
When there's an open door in front of you, press the button and pay close
attention to whichever grate is visible.
The grate doesn't move, but the wall in front of it does.
When you press the button, the room itself rotates, along with the two
doorways. The grates are outside the room and do not rotate, they just
become blocked by the walls of the room.
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Q: HOW DO I OPEN THE GRATES?
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A: You know that there are paths behind three of the sides of the gate room:
the main entrance (where you are now), the grate to the gold dome, and the
grate to the stone room.
You can't open either of the grates from any of these three paths?
So, could there be other paths around the gate room?
Where would these other paths be?
Behind the other sides of the gate room.
So, you need to rotate the gate room so that one of the doors lines up with
one of those sides.
Can you rotate the room to connect your location with either of the other
sides?
No, so you'll have to find another way to access them.
It may be helpful to draw a map of the surrounding paths on a piece of
paper, then use a smaller piece or other object with the doors marked on it
to simulate the gate room. Now you can experiment with rotating the room to
see if you can obtain a desired configuration.
You know you can't access the other sides from the main entrance, and you
can't reach the sides blocked by grates, so that leaves only the two other
sides.
Can you rotate the room so that the two unexplored sides are connected?
Now you still need to reach one of the other sides. Picture the gate room in
relation to the surrounding landscape.
In what direction to the two unexplored paths head? Could either of these
paths be accessible?
One leads in the direction of the conical device, but all that's there is a
cliff wall. The other leads toward the other side of the hill.
Can you find any way to get past the gate?
There's no way you can break the lock or find the key.
Boy, there sure is a lot of space between the bottom of the gate and the
ground.
Once you cross the gate room and enter the cave, what do you think the steam
valve could control?
What would be the effect of turning the valve.
Power will be directed to the controls of the conical device, but you still
won't be able to do anything else.
You should find that the yellow lever on the wall be a lot of help. It opens
one of the grates; try rotating the room to find which one.
You should be able to take it from here. Once you find the lever to open the
other grate, you need to get in a position where you can rotate the room to
connect your location with the gold dome bridge.
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Q: WHAT SHOULD I DO IN THE GOLD DOME?
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A: The first thing is just to look around.
When you get outside, look out for two steam pipes.
Can you see where the pipes are going?
If you ever reach any of those locations, you may want to have power to
whatever controls are up there.
Go ahead and turn the steam valves to direct the power to the bridges; this
will save you time later.
That's really all you can do here right now. Just remember everything you
saw here in case you return.
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Q: WHAT DOES THE CAGE CHAIR DO?
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A: Is there anything else whose design seems similar to the chair's?
There's a giant cage in the temple that looks like the cage around the
chair.
One of the levers on the chair causes it to emit a humming sound. Obviously,
it's doing something.
There's a star-shaped device that hangs down on the cage that has what looks
like a microphone in the center.
There's obviously a connection between the cage chair and the cage in the
temple. Perhaps the chair sends signals of some kind to the temple.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I OPEN THE DOOR IN THE TEMPLE?
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A: Maybe the mechanism can be found in a control room of some sort.
Like the room with the cage chair.
There are two display panels on the walls of the cage chair room. One of
them is of the temple.
There's a lever next to it.
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Q: WHAT'S THE POINT OF THE GATE ROOM, GOLD DOME, AND TEMPLE?
===============================================================================
A: All these buildings are large, impressive, and except for the gold dome,
luxuriously decorated.
Remember who is in charge on this Age.
From Atrus's journal, you know that Gehn has attempted to rule multiple Ages
throughout his life.
Then these structures could be meant to establish Gehn's superiority on
Riven.
Has there been any symbol or design that has appeared prominently in all
these structures?
Maybe the answer is in the *stars*.
If these buildings are meant to honor Gehn, and the same symbol appears in
all those buildings, then...
...you could conclude that the star symbol represents Gehn.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT DO THE STRANGE DAGGERS REPRESENT?
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A: There are three of these daggers on Temple Island: a giant one next to the
linking chamber, a small one jammed in the base of the lever controlling the
bars of the linking chamber, and another small one in the base of the gate
at the bottom of the hill.
The dagger in the linking chamber lever was hammered in there by the rebel
who freed you.
The style of the dagger seems very different from the ornate star symbol.
All this suggests that the dagger is the symbol of the rebels.
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_| \ B. JUNGLE ISLAND [III.B]
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Q: WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WOODEN EYE NEAR THE MAG-LEV?
===============================================================================
A: The sound it makes as it rotates sounds unusual.
It doesn't sound like what you would expect a wooden ball rotating in a clay
or stone socket to sound like.
It almost sounds like some sort of animal call.
And the symbol on the back must be significant in some way, too.
This is a complex puzzle that will take a long time to figure out, so the
main thing to do right now is to take notes of the sound and symbol on the
eye.
However, sometimes you can gain new insights by looking at things from a
*distance*.
The eye is situated directly across from the cave entrance.
Try looking back at the eye from inside the cave.
Does one particular vantage point show any sort of shape that stands out?
The sound the eye made when it rotated sounded very much like an *animal*
call.
Look for a head, body, and legs in the silhouette.
The silhouette seems like it could be of some sort of small reptile or
mammal, or maybe even a strange type of frog.
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Q: DOES IT MATTER WHETHER I SCARE THE SUNNERS OFF?
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A: For reference, the sunners are the strange aquatic creatures you'll see
laying on a rock at the bottom of the stairs you reach at the end of the
cave from the mag-lev station.
And yes, it does matter.
Besides, they're so stange and interesting-looking, you surely want to get
as close as you can to them.
However, they seem to get startled every time you move.
If you move while they're moving around, you'll scare them off.
If you wait a few seconds, though, they'll settle back down again.
Once you get right in front of them, though, they'll swim off regardless.
Before they do, though, they'll sound a call.
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Q: IS THERE ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT IN THE SUNNERS' LAGOON?
===============================================================================
A: Everything on Riven is significant.
You can take that as a yes.
Don't be afraid to take the road less traveled.
Sometimes you have to get off the beaten path.
Look around the sunners' rock.
Another eye! With a different symbol and sound!
The sound also sounds like an animal call, and the symbol you should
recognize.
It appeared in the center of Gehn's star emblem in the gate room and temple.
You still can't really make sense of any of this, but make sure to keep
track of all this information and look for connections to things you know.
If you looked at the eye in the mag-lev station from a certain spot, the
outline of the cave formed a shape.
This eye appears to have all the same properties as the last one: same
design on front, symbol on back, makes animal sound when rotated. Do you
think it may also share the property of having a silhouette nearby?
Look at the rocks from the end of the sandbar.
Does this shape look vaguely familiar?
Can you identify a head, body, and tail?
It doesn't appear to have any legs.
That rock at the bottom could be interpreted as a fin, though.
So, the rocks form the shape of a fish with a small head and a large body
with a very high back.
You haven't seen this animal personally, but you have seen a representation
of it.
On *Temple* Island.
Remember the statues with offerings in front of them? They were of fish with
high backs, just like the rock silhouette.
Does that give you any insight into the purpose or meaning of the wooden
eyes?
Both eyes you've found so far seem to have some kind of connection to native
animals.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT SHAPE DOES THE WATER IN THE BASIN FORM?
===============================================================================
A: If you've seen the shapes associated with the other eyes, you should have at
least a general idea.
Both of the other shapes formed the silhouettes of animals.
However, the shape of the water doesn't appear to be of any animal you'd
normally think of.
The other eyes have made sounds similar to animal calls when rotated. What
kind of animal would make a sound like what this eye makes?
Don't forget that there are many kinds of animals: mammals, birds, fish,
amphibians, insects, etc.
Try not to let this *bug* you too much.
It's an insect with three pairs of legs and a smooth, domed back.
It's a beetle.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DRY AREA IN FRONT OF THE JUNGLE?
===============================================================================
A: What's it look like happened?
The area is completely dry, is littered with tree stumps, and there's an axe
stuck in one of the stumps.
It seems pretty obvious that lots of trees have been chopped down here.
Why were they chopped down, you ask? A very good question. One that you
should try to find an answer for as you continue exploring.
By the way, is there any wildlife in the logged area?
It appears to consist mainly of insects.
The majority are just swarming flies and gnats, but there's a large beetle
on the doorpost leading into the jungle.
Depending on how many wooden eyes you've found, the beetle may or may not be
significant to you.
Regardless, its gold color is certainly fascinating. You should try to get a
closer look at it.
===============================================================================
Q: IS THERE ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT IN THE JUNGLE?
===============================================================================
A: Yes, besides the idol and the various plants, animals and fungi.
For one, there's another giant knife.
It sure would be nice to get close to one of those things.
However, the path doesn't seem to lead by it.
This is another one of those times where you have to take the road less
traveled.
Look for a dirt trail on the ground, near some glowing blue fungus.
If you've already visited the sunners, you should recognize the sound this
eye makes.
Once you've both seen the sunners and found the eye, what connection do you
find between them?
It was given away two lines above this one.
So, what do you think the wooden eyes represent?
All of them have made an animal call, and several have had an animal
silhouette associated with them.
Now you have connected this eye with a specific animal call.
Therefore, could this eye be associated with the sunners?
This is by no means for sure, but it seems like a logical guess for now.
That would mean that the other eyes are each associated with a specific
animal. You may not know what animals those are yet, but keep an eye out for
animals that may be associated with the other eyes.
===============================================================================
Q: HEY! WHY'D THAT GUY SOUND AN ALARM WHEN I APPROACHED THE VILLAGE?
===============================================================================
A: Apparently you're not very welcome in the village.
This could be either because Gehn has ordered it, or the villagers decided
on it.
Either way, it looks like they're not going to interact with you one way or
the other.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE WATER IN THE LAKE?
===============================================================================
A: If you look at the lake, you'll see that there are several patches where the
water appears different.
Look carefully, and you'll see that there is actually a hole in the water at
those spots. The water just stops around these areas, forming a cylindrical
opening down to the bottom of the lake!
Obviously, water on Riven has some properties that are very different from
back on Earth.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I USE THE METAL POD?
===============================================================================
A: If you climb in the pod, you'll find a seat with several controls, but none
of them work.
If you pull the lever next to the pod, it will descend down tracks on the
side of the cliff.
Maybe you should try to reach the pod at the bottom of the cliff.
Obviously, you can't climb down the cliff. You'll have to find a different
path to the bottom of the cliff.
It's possible you've already been here.
Make sure to completely explore every path. This is where making a map comes
in handy.
When you find the pod again, it will be sitting in one of the holes in the
water, and appears ready to travel along the underwater tracks.
If you're having trouble finding the pod, it's at the end of the path if you
go down the stairs you reach at the end of the cave from the mag-lev.
===============================================================================
Q: AAAARRGH! I CAN'T REACH ANY OF THE LADDERS FROM THE UNDERWATER CAR!
===============================================================================
A: Yes, this is frustrating. Just try to stay under *control*.
Obviously, not all the ladders are inaccessible, since you used one to get
in the car the first time.
Maybe at least one other one is also accessible.
It's very useful to make a map here, because it's extremely easy to get
completely lost under the lake.
There is one other ladder you can reach.
When you find it, you'll reach a control room with five levers.
Two of the levers are up, and the rest are down. What could the levers
control?
How many ladders are there? How many of them are extended?
The control room provides a view of the locations accessible from the
underwater car, which are accessed via *ladders*. There are two *ladders*
currently extended, out of five total. You reached this room by climbing up
a tall *ladder*.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT CAN I LEARN IN THE SCHOOL?
===============================================================================
A: What, besides reading, writing, and arithmetic? :)
For one thing, there's a message from someone important in the circular cage
at the front.
That cage shape should look familiar.
If you had to guess, who would you say the person in the message is?
It's someone *very* important.
However, there is more to learn here.
There's a device on a table near the door that appears to be a simple game.
Since it's in a school, this game must have more than recreational value.
When you turn the base, a symbol appears, and one of the men is lowered a
certain number of times.
If the goal of the game is to keep your man alive, obviously you would want
it to be only get lowered a small number of times.
And there must be some way that the game tells you how many times the man
will be lowered.
What do you think tells the players how many times their man will be
lowered?
On Earth, things of this sort are often determined by rolling a die.
The random symbol that appears seems to be this game's equivalent of a die.
And on a die, each side contains a certain number of dots, which represents
a certain number.
So by analogy, the symbols that appear at the base of the game represent...
...a certain number.
And since the symbol determines how many times the man falls, you can
determine the value of the symbol by...
...counting how many times the man falls when that symbol appears.
Since the writing on the blackboards is D'ni, it would make sense to assume
that these are D'ni numbers. By counting the number of times the man falls
when a particular symbol appears, you can learn the D'ni numbers 1 through
10.
===============================================================================
Q: CAN I DO ANYTHING ON THE FLOATING PLATFORM?
===============================================================================
A: Not really, except for try to figure out what it's for.
You can pull a handle hanging from the top of the platform.
Try and make sense of what happens when you pull the handle. What could that
be used for?
Based on the ornateness of the structure, it looks like this was designed by
Gehn, not the villagers.
So far, the evidence has not suggested that Gehn was a kind ruler.
So you wouldn't expect this platform to be a token of kindness or
generosity.
You may feel something ram the platform from underneath. There's a creature
in the water underneath the platform!
If you've been to the school, this may make a little bit more sense.
In the school game, men were lowered head-first down to a waiting wahrk.
With that picture in mind, pull the handle again.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT CAN I LEARN FROM THE WOODEN EYES?
===============================================================================
A: Now would be a good time to synthesize what you've learned so far.
Your major accomplishments on this island have been discovering the wooden
eyes and learning D'ni numbers.
All together, you should have found four wooden eyes.
Do you think there may be any other eyes remaining?
What number has figured prominently throughout Riven so far?
Gehn has a five-pointed star emblem, he refers to Riven as "the Fifth Age",
there were five pipes leading out of the gold dome...
For each eye you found, they made an animal call when rotated, had a symbol
on the back, and for all but one, had an associated animal silhouette.
For some of the eyes, you should be able to associate the sound and/or
shape with a specific animal.
Do the symbols on the backs of the eye have any new meaning than they did
when you arrived?
Compare them with the D'ni numbers you learned in the schoolhouse.
So, it appears that each eye has a specific Rivenese animal and D'ni number
associated with it.
Based on the eyes you've found, what number do you suspect will be on the
back of the fifth eye?
Who do you think designed these eyes?
The design of these eyes are rather crude and some aspects of them are very
subtle.
Everything related to Gehn has been big, fancy, and obvious.
So it appears that Gehn is not responsible for these eyes. Who does that
leave?
Remember that there is a rebel group on Riven.
Since they're not from Gehn, it appears that the eyes are being left by the
rebels. However, you don't know what their purpose is in doing so.
===============================================================================
Q: OK, I'VE EXPLORED EVERYWHERE ON JUNGLE ISLAND. NOW WHAT?
===============================================================================
A: That means you're probably ready to visit another island now.
However, the only mag-lev you've found is the one that goes back to Temple
Island.
That means you'll have to find an alternate form of transportation.
A less luxurious form of transportation.
In the logged area, you probably found a cart that was on a track leading
underground.
Since that appears to be the only way off this island, you don't have any
other choice.
____
| \ ********************************************************************
_| \ C. BOOK ASSEMBLY ISLAND [III.C]
|._______| ********************************************************************
--| \
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED DURING THE CART RIDE?
===============================================================================
A: You started out going through a tunnel in the rock, then all of a sudden you
were underwater.
However, you obviously didn't drown, nor are you even wet.
So, the water never actually touched you.
Remember the holes in the water in the village lake?
This is the same kind of thing. You traveled through a "tunnel" in the
water. Of course, you still have no idea how this is even possible, but it
apparently is.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I GET INSIDE THE BOILER?
===============================================================================
A: The door is locked for good reason.
The door looks built to withstand very harsh conditions, which apparently
occur inside the boiler.
Take a look through the window in the side of the building and you'll see
why the door is locked.
It appears that the door won't open for you until conditions are safe
inside.
There's a variety of controls around the window, so see if you can make the
boiler safe to enter.
You may be able to turn off the heat, but none of the other controls work.
That's not good, because with the heat off, the door will open, but inside
is just a pool of water.
You'll need to get rid of the water if you want to see what's inside the
boiler.
That means you'll need to power the other controls.
Any idea where a nearby power source could be?
There are four pipes coming out of a bollard in the center of the lake...
Now only one of the two remaining controls will work. The other one isn't
getting any power, apparently.
Try following the steam pipe from its source in the lake.
Or, try the reverse: follow the pipe leading out of the control you want to
use.
You'll find that the steam pipe splits into two.
You'll have to direct the power to the appropriate control before that
control will work.
You need to turn off the heat, drain the water, and raise the grate.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DOES THE METAL DEVICE IN THE CAVE WORK?
===============================================================================
A: What impression do you get of the device?
Play around with it a little bit. What do you think is supposed to go in the
central indentation?
What do you think the brown pellet is?
What happens when you touch the metal plate?
So, you have a device that holds a small pellet of food, but snaps shut as
soon as any pressure is put on the plate.
It sounds like the device is a trap.
Unfortunately, it's not in position to trap anything right now. And the
lever that apparently lowers the trap isn't working.
So far, what has been the main reason why something doesn't work on Riven?
It's not usually that the device is broken, it's just not powered.
Is there any indication of what the lever's power source might be?
There's a metal pipe running into it.
Where do you think that pipe comes from?
It would obviously have to come from the power source. What has been the
power source so far on this island?
The lever is powered by one of the pipes from the stone bollard in the
center of the lake.
Once the lever is powered, you just have to set the trap up correctly, then
lower it.
For the trap to work, it needs to be baited, and it needs to be open.
Once it's lowered, you just have to be patient.
Once the trap makes a catch, the frog's call should be familiar.
Remember, on Jungle Island you deduced that each wooden eye corresponds to
an animal.
You weren't able to match all of the eyes with an animal, though.
Does the frog's call correspond to the sounds made by any of the wooden
eyes?
You now know that that wooden eye corresponds to the frog.
===============================================================================
Q: I CAN'T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE TO GO!
===============================================================================
A: Gehn can be very sneaky about hiding his secrets.
There is another path; in fact, you've probably walked right past it several
times.
On the path from the drainage pipe to the balcony, you could look down on
the entire lake and beach, so you know there's nowhere to go there. There's
also no other paths leading off of the cave walkway.
However, you have probably caught a few glimpses of another path along the
cliffs.
This path must begin somewhere near the balcony.
But here is no way to reach this path from the beach, the cave, or the
balcony.
So it must be somewhere near the balcony and the cave, but not in either
one.
Remember that one of the best strategies on Riven is to look in every nook
and cranny, peer into every corner, and open every *door*.
The path can be reached from the balcony double doors.
Sometimes things can be made clear by seeing them from a new perspective.
It's like how reporters always try to get the *other side* of the story.
You can look at the doors either from the balcony or from inside the cave.
When you reached the balcony the first time, the doors were closed. Then you
opened them. When you exited the cave, you saw the doors open from inside
the cave.
So you've seen the doors both open and shut from the balcony, but only open
from inside the cave.
From what perspective have you not yet seen the doors?
This puzzle is really an open and *shut* case.
===============================================================================
Q: CAN I DO ANYTHING WITH THE SPINNING DOME?
===============================================================================
A: Not from right here.
But that doesn't mean you can't from somewhere else.
Study the walls closely.
There's a small lens in the wall at the end of the walkway.
That means there's something behind the wall.
But there doesn't seem to be any way to reach it.
However, you know that just because it doesn't look like there's a way, that
there isn't a way.
Just think about how you found the dome in first place: the trick with the
double doors.
"Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice..."
Yes, Gehn used the same trick again.
Now, the viewing scope seems pretty simple. There's got to be a certain time
when you're supposed to push the button.
Any idea which instant could be the correct one?
The scope is focused on the symbols printed on the dome.
The time to press the button is when a certain symbol is being displayed.
Does one symbol stand out from the rest?
When you hit the button at the right time, you'll get the *gold*.
What's that behind the glass? It almost looks like a book.
There's no way you'll be able to guess the combination. You'll have to wait
until later.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I GET INSIDE THE GLASS BUILDING?
===============================================================================
A: Since the door doesn't appear to be an option, you'll have to find an
alternate route.
And don't plan on it being a luxurious one. You've already ridden a cart
through the ocean and crawled through a drainage pipe.
Can you see anything that leads into the building?
Maybe you can't see a way, but perhaps you'll hear an audio clue.
Do you hear an out-of-the-ordinary sound on the path between the cave and
the building?
Can you recognize the sound?
The sound seems to be loudest near a lever next to the path.
Maybe the cables leading out of the lever will give a clue as to the source
of the sound and the purpose of the lever.
One end of the cable disappears into the rock, and the other intersects with
a large metal shaft that enters the building.
What could be the purpose of the metal shaft?
Ventilation, perhaps?
Where do you think the other end of the ventilation shaft is?
Think about what direction the pipe is headed in, and about the sound.
The sound comes from the fan above the frog trap.
What do you think you're doing when you pull the lever?
Since the sound stops, that means the fan is no longer spinning.
The ventilation shaft leads from the frog trap to the building.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I GET INTO THE GOLD DOME?
===============================================================================
A: If the lever to lower the walkway doesn't work, that means it's not powered.
Can you see where its power source is?
Do you recognize that location?
You should have visited it some time ago.
The power source is one of the steam pipes on the path outside the gold
dome.
You'll have to ride the cart back to Jungle Island, then take the mag-lev to
Temple Island.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT CAN I DO WHEN I RETURN TO THE GOLD DOME?
===============================================================================
A: First off, turn the wheel to connect the Book Assembly and Temple Island
entrances.
There's another door leading to a walkway, but it has a gap in it.
When you raise the missing piece, does it look familiar? What about the
button?
What spot are you above? Where did the missing piece come from?
You're above part of the lower gold dome path.
So, the missing walkway piece came from one spot on the gold dome path.
Now that piece is up here.
Meaning it is no longer down there.
When you explored the lower path the first time, you may have noticed a
button next to the walkway piece.
The button had a similar design to the button that raised the missing piece.
It didn't do anything before, but now the walkway piece has been raised.
So, maybe you should see what's underneath the walkway piece.
Finally, do you remember the lever next to the gate room side 3 entrance
that raised the bridge?
Before, you couldn't see where the bridge went.
Is that possible now?
If you could get back to the gate room, you could go up the raised bridge.
You now have another way to reach the gate room from the gold dome.
Use the walkway that had the gap in it.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT IS THE GIANT MACHINE AT THE TOP OF THE GOLD DOME?
===============================================================================
A: Whatever it is, it sure looks powerful.
It should be fairly obvious how the puzzle works: the marbles must be placed
in the correct spots on the grid.
There's no way you could guess the solution.
You don't know the solution to this puzzle now.
As for what the purpose of the machine is: you know the gold dome was built
by Gehn.
So if anyone knows what this thing is for, it would be Gehn.
Look for clues in Gehn's lab journal.
===============================================================================
Q: WHERE'S THE MAG-LEV CALL BUTTON?
===============================================================================
A: This mag-lev is obviously designed to be easily accessible from Gehn's lab.
So Gehn would probably put the button somewhere convenient, somewhere on the
way.
The call button is next to the front door.
____
| \ ********************************************************************
_| \ D. SURVEY ISLAND [III.D]
|._______| ********************************************************************
--| \
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT DO THE STRANGELY SHAPED PLATEAUS REPRESENT?
===============================================================================
A: Hopefully, the shapes of the plateaus will seem at least vaguely familiar.
If you've been making maps, this may be a little bit easier.
What happens when you push one of the brass buttons?
Can you make out any recognizable features in the water shapes?
For the square in the upper-left, you should be able to recognize a tall
ring of water in the center.
For the irregular shape in the center-left, you should see two separate
mounds of water.
You could almost call them "mountains" or "hills" of water.
As you continue for the other plateaus, you'll notice that they all have a
somewhat... geographical feel.
The answer is visible on the horizon.
The plateaus approximate the shape and geography of the islands of Riven.
Each plateau represents an island of Riven.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I STOP THE SPINNING DOME?
===============================================================================
A: You should have already encountered at least one spinning dome by now, so
you should realize that something is out of the ordinary here.
Think about how the scope works.
The dome stops when you press the button at the same time the gold symbol
appears.
Whether the scope is pointed at the dome or not has nothing to do with it.
You have to push the button when the symbol appears, but you can't tell when
that is.
So you'll just have to push the button as fast as you can until you hit it
at the right time.
If you want to know the gold symbol on the dome, you'll have to determine it
directly.
You'll have to try to figure out what it is by watching it as it spins by.
===============================================================================
Q: CAN I GET INSIDE THE FLOATING RED STRUCTURE?
===============================================================================
A: Yes.
There must be controls somewhere that would allow access to the structure.
Such as levers, buttons, switches, etc.
Have you found any controls on this island so far?
There's only one set. And they're nearby.
It may not be obvious at first that these controls control the floating
structure.
That's because they actually control two things.
If you figure this out, you deserve a *brass* trophy.
Don't let this puzzle allow your progress to *plateau*.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IN THE MAP ROOM?
===============================================================================
A: Believe it or not, this is actually one of the most significant locations on
Riven, so it's important that you understand it well.
To start off, think about how the process is set up.
The map room displays highly detailed topographical maps of each island,
with a grid system superimposed over them.
That means the maps could be used to identify the location of something,
utilizing the grids.
Also, you can only view one island at a time. Is there any significance in
that?
If the maps are used to record the locations of specific objects, then
perhaps it's an object that appears on each island.
In other words, the map room is used to pinpoint the location of an object
that appears on every island.
Now, to determine what that object is. Think about where you have seen these
patterns of squares before.
It was on Temple Island...
They appeared on a plaque in the gold dome.
What is the purpose of the gold dome?
You learned it in Gehn's lab journal...
To power the fire-marbles (spinning domes).
OK, so you're looking for something that appears on every island. Those
islands are represented by patterns of squares, which also appeared inside
the gold dome. The purpose of the gold dome is to power the spinning domes.
island symbols --> gold dome --> spinning domes
If A = B and B = C, then...
Think about all the spinning domes you've seen.
There's been one on every island you've visited so far.
The purpose of the map room is to record the locations of the spinning
domes.
A hint on the Book Assembly Island dome: the dome is directly beneath a hole
in the ceiling.
For the fifth island, which you haven't visited, you'll have to guess where
you think the dome is.
===============================================================================
Q: WHY DO I NEED THIS INFORMATION FROM THE MAP ROOM?
===============================================================================
A: This room gives the locations of the spinning domes on Riven.
The spinning domes receive their power from the gold dome.
Think about the grid design the map room uses; is it familiar?
Imagine that you put all the islands together, like the brass buttons
outside.
You would have a large square made up of twenty-five smaller squares, with
each small square further divided into twenty-five pieces.
A dome location would be one of those smallest pieces.
Does this sound at all familiar?
If you've been to the top level of the gold dome, it should.
Picture the grid underneath the machine on top of the gold dome, and compare
it with the description just given of the mag grids.
The locations of the spinning domes are the solutions to the grid puzzle.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I GET TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MAG-LEV STATION?
===============================================================================
A: You may need to *sit down* and think about this one.
Think what structures are present that you could use to cross the gap.
A bridge would be the easiest such structure, but there isn't one. Or is
there?
There's only one thing between the two sides of the station.
The mag-lev.
But the mag-lev only has one door.
Oh well, it looks like you'll just have to leave this island.
If you were to do that, what steps would you follow?
You would get in, turn the car around, then leave.
Anything significant in that?
You may need to *turn* this around in your mind. [OUT-OF-RIVEN NOTE: from
"Official Riven: The Sequel to Myst Hints and Solutions"]
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT CAN I LEARN FROM THE LEFT DISPLAY IN THE GIANT CAVE?
===============================================================================
A: This display has two buttons on either side of a display screen.
The left button shows a woman walking around inside a room.
You've never seen this woman before; nor have you been in this room.
Why would Gehn want to spy on this woman?
There are several possibilities: the woman is important to Gehn and he wants
to keep an eye on her, the room is important to Gehn, or Gehn is a peeping
Tom.
The room doesn't seem all that extraordinary, and this majestic cave seems
like a strange place to carry out the third option, so assume the first.
What women on Riven can you think of that Gehn would be particularly
interested in?
Remember, Gehn is Atrus's father.
You were sent to rescue Atrus's wife, Catherine.
You certainly haven't proven it, but it's possible that this woman is
Catherine.
Moving to the right button, after using the tabs to rotate the display, you
should recognize the images you're seeing.
It's the village on Jungle Island. Perhaps you can even remember where the
camera is located.
Gehn apparently uses this to spy on his people, but what else can you learn
from this display?
Does the view from one particular direction stand out? Does anything appear
a little bit out of the ordinary?
In one of the views, you may see something reminiscent of the silhouettes
you saw near the wooden eyes.
This particular view faces the entrance to the village. Has Gehn mentioned
this location before?
In a note next to his lab journal, he said he found a wooden eye there.
Every wooden eye except one has had an animal silhouette associated with it.
Could this be another animal silhouette? If so, of what animal?
In the village, you may have noticed fish with large triangular fins hanging
outside some of the huts.
This silhouette could be of those fish.
How does this discovery help you?
On Jungle Island, you found a total of four wooden eyes. Nothing on Riven
has come in fours.
The village entrance is the location of the fifth wooden eye.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT CAN I LEARN FROM THE RIGHT DISPLAY IN THE GIANT CAVE?
===============================================================================
A: This display has six buttons surrounding the display, each with a different
symbol on them.
Some of these symbols should be familiar.
They are the symbols that appear on the spinning domes.
When you press the button surrounded by the pentagonal wire, a colored light
appears in the display.
Each symbol has a different color.
dome --> symbol --> color
If A = B and B = C, then...
Each symbol represents a color. Each symbol is also associated with a
spinning dome.
Therefore, you can conclude that each spinning dome has a particular color
associated with it.
Can you think of a reason why the domes would need a color?
Think about what you learned on the surface of this island.
In the map room.
You learned that the locations of the spinning domes are the solutions to
the grid puzzle.
But there is more to the grid puzzle than that.
To solve the grid puzzle, you need not only the locations of each marble,
but which *color* marble goes in each location.
The symbols tell you which color marble to use for each dome.
You haven't seen the symbols on all the domes yet, and one of the lights is
broken, so you won't be able to create a complete list of colors and domes.
===============================================================================
Q: WHERE DO I GO NOW?
===============================================================================
A: There's no point in going back the way you came; you want to go somewhere
new.
Have you found another way to leave this island?
If you followed the scribe, you saw that he ran into a mag-lev station.
That's a different station from the one you arrived in.
____
| \ ********************************************************************
_| \ E. THE MOIETY [III.E]
|._______| ********************************************************************
--| \
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I OPEN THE WAHRK IDOL?
===============================================================================
A: Pay attention to your surroundings when you open the idol from the inside.
Look carefully and you'll see the *light*.
Don't worry, you're on the right *path*.
Look at the lamps that flank the end of the path.
There's a pin on top of one of them that you can pull up to open the idol.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT'S THE POINT OF THE SKULL THRONE?
===============================================================================
A: Make sure you try both levers.
OK, so you closed the opening in the middle of the floating platform. So
what?
From this perspective, you have a good view of the top of the platform.
You can see a plank leading from the top of the platform to a walkway on the
cliff.
Perhaps you should try to reach that walkway.
Which means that you'll have to get to the top of the floating platform.
That definitely wasn't possible before, but now you've changed something.
Perhaps you should see if there's any way for you to reach the top of the
platform now.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT CAN I DO ON THE FLOATING PLATFORM?
===============================================================================
A: You should have already closed the central hole, meaning you can now stand
in the center of the platform.
If you've been here before, remember that there's a handle you can pull.
Think about what you need to do: get to the top of the platform.
Can the bar help you do that?
Hopefully, you've got a good grip...
===============================================================================
Q: WHERE DID THE PRISONER GO?
===============================================================================
A: Well, he can't have gone through the door, because you were watching it the
whole time.
That means there must be another way out of the cell.
Obviously, it's hidden.
There must be some sort of switch or other mechanism to reveal the hidden
entrance.
Where could something like that be hidden?
There's not much in the cell, but you've got to investigate anything that
stands out.
Remember, this is a secret exit, so the controls for it are going to be
hidden where someone wouldn't normally think to look.
This can be a rather *draining* experience.
Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT'S IN THE SECRET CAVE?
===============================================================================
A: More than just a dead end.
Pay attention to details. Is there anything at all at the end of the cave?
No matter how insignificant it may appear?
There's a ball on the end of a stick mounted on the wall.
What could that be for? There's only one way to find out.
Does this *illuminate* your situation any?
Light can reveal things you may have missed in the darkness.
Once you've made it back to the entrance, what do you think you should do?
You've now gone backwards through the tunnel, turning on lights as you go.
Maybe you should see what exactly it is you've lit up.
Go back through the tunnel, now that you can see what's in it.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT IS THE SOLUTION TO THE ANIMAL STONES PUZZLE?
===============================================================================
A: Just to make you feel a little bit better, this is the second-hardest puzzle
you will encounter on Riven, so don't feel bad if you have trouble with it.
This is obviously a rebel, or Moiety, chamber, and it contains stones marked
with animals.
What have you encountered in Riven that had to do with the Moiety and
animals?
Do you recognize any of the animals?
Picture it in your mind's *eye*.
You should have learned that the wooden eyes are associated with animals and
have been placed by the rebels.
Now, how can you use the wooden eyes to solve this puzzle?
Think about all the information associated with the wooden eyes.
Each eye made a sound when rotated and had a D'ni number on the back. Most
of the eyes also had an animal silhouette associated with them.
How do these pieces of information relate to the puzzle?
To solve the puzzle, you need to know which animal stones to push, and in
what order.
The sounds and silhouettes tell you which animal, and the number tells you
what order.
If you don't remember the information contained in each eye, you may need to
revisit them.
The following clues will help you determine which animal is associated with
each wooden eye.
MAG-LEV STATION
o This eye made a high-pitched chirping and clicking sound.
o Its silhouette can be viewed from partway up the stairs inside the cave.
o The silhouette resembles a four-legged, crouching creature.
o You saw this creature later.
o Don't get *caught in the trap* of not being able to figure this one out.
SUNNERS' LAGOON
o This eye made a long, low, mourning call similar to a whale call.
o Its silhouette can be viewed by standing back from the the rock.
o The silhouette resembles a fish with a high, arched back.
o You've seen this representations of this animal many times before.
o It was only recently that you saw one face to face.
o When you figure this one out, it will feel like *colored lights* are
going off in your brain.
DRY BASIN
o This eye makes a buzzing, clicking sound.
o Its silhouette can be viewed by letting water flow into the pool.
o The silhouette resembles an insect with a high, rounded back.
o Depending on how close attention you paid, you may or may not have seen
this animal in person.
o However, you've definitely seen a representation of it.
o Don't be open up the *gates* of your mind and *rotate* things around as
you consider them.
JUNGLE KNIFE
o This eye makes a wheezing, snorting sound.
o It does not have a silhouette.
o You should have seen this creature and heard this sound, however.
o Sometimes going to the *beach* can help you relax.
o Make sure not to scare them off.
GEHN'S LAB
o This is the trickiest eye to figure out.
o It is out of its socket, so there is no sound or silhouette immediately
associated with it. All you know is its number.
o Actually, there is a silhouette associated with this eye.
o However, the silhouette cannot be viewed from Gehn's lab.
o It can be viewed from where the eye was originally placed, before Gehn
found it.
o The eye was originally located in the village entrance.
o But, the silhouette cannot be viewed from any of the paths in the village.
o Is there anywhere else where you were able to get a different vantage
point of the village?
o It's not on Jungle Island.
o Some of this seems like you're doing *surveillance*.
o If only you had a *camera* that could take a picture of the solution.
o The silhouette can be viewed from the survey room.
===============================================================================
Q: WHY DID THEY SHOOT ME?
===============================================================================
A: You are very mysterious. All they know about you is that you linked to Riven
with what looked like a Linking Book.
You, meanwhile, have found their *secret* passage, reached their *secret*
chamber, and figured out the *secret* combination to reach their *secret*
Age.
The rebels don't know if you're on their side or not, and you just managed
to infiltrate their secret base.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I GET OUT OF THE MOIETY AGE?
===============================================================================
A: You can't get out by yourself. You'll need help.
Until help arrives, though, you might as well look around.
You can't open the door, but you can at least look out and see what the
inside of the hive looks like.
Look around your cell, then look through the door. When you return to the
room, a woman will enter your cell and leave some things for you.
When you're done looking at them, she'll return and give you a Linking Book.
____
| \ ********************************************************************
_| \ F. GEHN AND CATHERINE [III.F]
|._______| ********************************************************************
--| \
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I OPEN THE GOLD INNER DOMES?
===============================================================================
A: This refers to the slider combination on the gold inner domes that are
revealed after using the scope to roll away the spinning outer dome.
Gehn built these domes.
He would have had to write the combination down somewhere.
The combination can be found in his lab journal on Book Assembly Island.
Unfortunately, you don't know all of those numbers. You'll have to figure
out what they mean.
The only numbers you know are 1 thorugh 10.
Maybe you can deduce some pattersn from those numbers that you can extend to
learn the other numbers.
Try arranging the the D'ni numbers for 1 through 5 on one row, then arrange
6 through 10 underneath them.
What similarities and differences do you see between 1-4 and 6-9?
6-9 are the same as 1-4, except that they have a horizontal line through
them.
Or, equivalently, they are the numbers 1-4 combined with the number 5.
So, 6-9 are formed by combining the symbol for 5 with the symbols for 1-4.
Now look at the D'ni number 10. What other number is it most closely related
to?
It's most similar to the D'ni number 2. Specifically, what is the difference
between 2 and 10?
A 10 is a 2 rotated 90 degrees.
Now look at the number 5 again.
Could 5 be seen as another number rotated 90 degrees?
A 5 is a 1 rotated 90 degrees.
So, a 5 is a 1 rotated 90 degrees. A 10 is a 2 rotated 90 degrees. 6-9 are
formed by combining a 5 (rotated 1) with 1-4.
How do you think 11-14 would be found?
Following the pattern, you would combine a 10 with 1-4.
You now have the D'ni numbers for 1-14. What about 15?
5 = rotated 1
10 = rotated 2
15 = ???
===============================================================================
Q: WHY DOESN'T THE LINKING BOOK WORK?
===============================================================================
A: What does it usually mean on Riven if something doesn't work?
Usually, that has meant that something isn't powered.
So, the domes are not powered. What is the power source for the spinning
domes?
If anyone knows the answer to this, it would be Gehn.
He explains the power source of the spinning domes, or fire-marbles, in his
lab journal.
What inside the gold dome could be the control to power the gold dome?
It would need to provide a large amount of power, and be designed so that
only Gehn would know how to turn it on.
Inside the dome, all five pipes originate from a structure on the ceiling in
the center of the dome.
What is directly above that structure?
The control to power the fire-marbles is on top of the gold dome.
===============================================================================
Q: WHAT IS THE SOLUTION TO THE GRID PUZZLE?
===============================================================================
A: This is the toughest puzzle you will encounter on Riven, so don't feel bad
if you have trouble with it.
Look at the grid. It's divided into twenty-five large squares, but some of
the lines between the large squares are thicker than others.
These thick lines divide the grid into five shapes.
Where do you recognize these shapes from?
You should have seen them most recently on Survey Island.
What do these shapes represent?
These shapes were an important part of entering and using the map room.
What did you do in the map room? What was the purpose of it?
If you don't know or don't remember, see the hints in the Survey Island
section.
Now that you know where the marbles go, you need to determine which color
goes in each spot.
Also note that there are six marbles, but you will only use five.
You need to determine which color is associated with each dome.
Where did you see something that could connect colors with the domes?
It was also on Survey Island.
One of the displays in the survey room contained a series of buttons with
circular symbols on them, and each button turned on a colored light.
If you don't know or don't remember what the purpose of these lights were,
see the hints in the Survey Island section.
Now you have the colors associated with each symbol. All you have to do is
associate each symbol with a specific dome.
You should be able to learn the color for the domes on Temple, Jungle, and
Survey Islands, since you know both the dome's symbol and that symbol's
color.
The light for Book Assembly Island's symbol was broken, though.
But, you know the color associated with every other symbol.
So you can assume the color associated with Book Assembly Island's symbol is
the only remaining "unassigned" color.
You should now have two remaining symbols and colors and one remaining
island, the fifth island.
Since you haven't been there, you have no idea what its symbol is.
That means you'll have to guess.
If it doesn't work the first time, switch the fifth island's marble with the
other choice and try again.
If it doesn't work the second time, you have something wrong.
You'll know when it works.
===============================================================================
Q: WHERE SHOULD I GO AFTER GEHN LEAVES?
===============================================================================
A: Well, Gehn grants you access to all five islands of Riven.
All *five* islands.
How many islands have you visited so far?
It should be fairly obvious where you should go.
===============================================================================
Q: WHY DID CATHERINE ACT SO STRANGELY?
===============================================================================
A: Because you have seen her prison before.
You saw Catherine in her prison from a distant location.
It was in Gehn's survey room.
*Gehn's* survey room.
Do you think he trusts you to not visit Catherine when he knows that's what
you were sent here to do and after he's given you free access to her?
Gehn was watching Catherine from the survey room.
Catherine was trying to help you without making Gehn suspicious of either of
you.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I TRAP GEHN?
===============================================================================
A: This is the reason you were sent to Riven, so it's important that you don't
mess it up.
However, you seem to be in a no-win situation.
If you use the Book, you will be trapped. If you don't use the Book, Gehn
will become suspicious of it.
However, there doesn't appear to be a third option. You have to do one of
those two things.
Think through what the consequences would be of both choices.
Not using the Book is fairly straightforward: Gehn will become convinced
that the Book is a trap and will refuse to use it.
Now think about what would happen if you were to use the Book.
If you're not sure, check Atrus's journal.
Imagine the scenario described in Atrus's journal applied to your situation.
First, you use the Book, and become trapped.
Now, what would Gehn think after that happens?
Why does Gehn want you to use the Book first?
So that he can tell whether you believe the Book to be safe or not.
So, what would Gehn think about the Book if you used it?
Gehn would think that the Book was safe.
What would Gehn do then, based on that conclusion?
You should now have enough information to make the correct decision.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I FREE CATHERINE?
===============================================================================
A: Catherine told you that the combination is in Gehn's office.
That does not mean Gehn's lab on Book Assembly Island.
You will have to trap Gehn first.
Once you've trapped Gehn, you'll have to explore carefully.
The combination is not in a likely location.
Make sure to look through Gehn's personal effects.
Don't forget to play with any gadgets you find.
The combination plays when you open the spherical device on Gehn's
nightstand.
===============================================================================
Q: HOW DO I OPEN THE FISSURE?
===============================================================================
A: As you can now see, the Fissure is covered with thick metal plating.
It would make sense to focus your efforts of the weakest point of the
plating.
There is one location where the covering over the Fissure is thinner than
anywhere else.
There's a hatch underneath the conical device.
Do you know the combination for the hatch?
It's in Catherine's journal.
Now all you need to do is break the glass.
What is a convenient device that could accomplish that job for you?
There's a large, heavy telescope right above the glass.
Is there any way to move the telescope?
There's a button and a lever on the metal rail in front of the telescope.
If nothing happens, then the telescope is not powered.
If it's not powered, you'll need to turn the steam valve in side 2 of the
gate room.
The telescope won't lower any more once it is just above the glass.
You're trying to do something Gehn wanted very much to avoid.
He probably would have built some kind of safety features into the
telescope.
Catherine's journal provides some details about the telescope structure.
She describes the location of a safety pin that keeps the telescope from
being lowered too far.
SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER*
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#########
# # ======================================================================
####### V. WALKTHROUGH [V]
# # ======================================================================
#########
This section is just what it sounds like: it will walk you through the game
from beginning to end. It is important to note that there is no set order in
which to explore Riven, and the one presented here is only one of many.
However, the order you choose will affect how and when you learn certain
important pieces of information, so you may learn some things sooner or later
than they are learned by following this walkthrough. Also, this section places
particular emphasis on explaining the logic and rationale behind making your
decisions. You may find this section useful if you want to find out why a
particular puzzle is solved a certain way, but be aware that solutions to
puzzles will be given in this section. If you want to get headed in the right
direction with a puzzle, but don't want the answer, see section [IV], Hints.
____
| \ ********************************************************************
_| \ A. TEMPLE ISLAND [V.A]
|._______| ********************************************************************
--| \
===============================================================================
1. Atrus's Request [V.A.1]
===============================================================================
It has been some time since you found Atrus's Myst Book and inadvertently
linked to Myst, where you learned how his sons, Sirrus and Achenar, had
destroyed most of the Ages he had created. Eventually you found Atrus, trapped
in a chamber in the Age of D'ni. His sons had trapped him there, and you set
him free. He was very thankful, but hardly enjoyed his freedom, since he
continued to write in a huge Book on his desk. His wife, Catherine, had been
tricked into linking there by Sirrus and Achenar, and was currently being held
hostage. As a reward for freeing him, Atrus gave you free access to all of his
remaining Ages, and you have enjoyed your explorations greatly. However, Atrus
mentioned that he was fighting a foe "greater than Sirrus or Achenar could
possibly imagine" and that he may need your help at some point in the future.
As you link to D'ni and see Atrus sitting at the desk, writing in his huge
volume, you can sense that now is the time Atrus warned you of.
Atrus will look up from his writing and breath a sigh of relief, then say,
"Thank God you've returned. I need your help." When you step up to him, he will
continue, saying, "There is a great deal of history that you must know, but I
am afraid that I must continue my writing." With that, he'll reach into the
pocket of his coat and hand you a small book. "Here. Most of what you'll need
to know is in there. Keep it well hidden." Next, he will reach down beneath his
desk and pick up a thicker, hardback book, and stare at it for a moment. Then
he'll say, "For reasons you'll discover, I can't send you to Riven with a way
out. But I can give you this. It appears to be a Linking Book, back here to
D'ni, but it's actually a one-man prison." As he hands you the Book, he'll tell
you that "You'll need it, I'm afraid, to capture Gehn." After that, he'll
instruct you, "Once you've found Catherine, signal me, and I'll come with a
Linking Book to bring us back." With that, he will close the huge Book on his
desk, pick it up, and open it to the first page, staring at it. Finally, he
will tell you, "There's also a chance, if this all goes well, that I might be
able to get you back to the place that you came from," as he turns the Book
around to face you, revealing a moving image on the right-hand page. However,
this image is not clear like the other Books you have encountered, but blurry,
so you can't tell what the Age looks like. However, you reach out your hand,
touch the image, and link to the Age of Riven.
===============================================================================
2. A New World [V.A.2]
===============================================================================
As soon as you complete the link to Riven, iron bars will spring up in front of
your face. You will be standing in a very small chamber, and you can only see
directly in front of you. Your view consists of a flat space in front of you
with rock cliffs to the left and ahead. A strange machine, like a metal cone
with the point facing down, is visible to the left. In front of the cliff in
front of you, a lever is set in the ground. You only have a few seconds to take
all this in before you will hear a sound of footsteps coming from the right.
A man wearing a dirty white uniform coat will walk into your view, and will
casually look around, though he won't see you yet. He has tanned skin and
shoulder-length black hair, and appears to be some sort of guard or security
officer, as he glances around the area. He seems very laid-back however, as if
he's bored with his job. When he finally does see you, though, he will start,
then attempt to speak to you in an alien language. He seems pretty impressed
with you at first. Then he'll try to tell you something, which of course you
don't understand. He will try again, and will make a gesture of you giving
something to him. Next he will approach you, repeating one phrase over and over
and gesturing for you to give him something. Finally, he will into the chamber
and wrest the Prison Book Atrus gave you from your grasp! After taking it, he
will open the Book and become fascinated with the moving image inside. He will
continue to stare at the image until, all of a sudden, you'll hear a sound of
something whizzing through the air, and the guard will slap the back of his
neck, shot by a blow dart! He'll stagger around for a moment, dropping the
Book, then fall face down, with only his legs visible. Soon, you'll hear
someone else (presumably the one who fired the shot) approach the guard and
drag him away. Finally, after dragging the guard out of your field of vision,
the culprit will appear. He is wearing all black save a red sash across his
chest, along with a pair of goggles and a blow gun hanging from his back. He
will pick up the Prison Book, then pull the lever in front of the cliff, which
will cause the bars in front of you to lower, then hammer something into the
base of the lever before running off.
Now, you are finally free to explore this place. First, though, you need to
make sense of what you just witnessed. The person who took your Prison Book
appeared to be a guard of some kind. However, the one who killed him, and who
now has your Prison Book, acted like some sort of guerrilla or rebel. Perhaps
the journal Atrus gave you will yield some clues as to what is going on here.
Take it out and read through it carefully.
So that's what Atrus had been doing all that time in D'ni: trying to save the
Age of Riven. Apparently it was written by his father, Gehn, but the Age
produced was unstable. Atrus has been able to hold it together for the past 30
years, but, at the start of the journal, the "tremors" that marked its decay
have returned. With Atrus's revisions, though, the Age has settled down, and he
has been able to think once more of returning to Riven to rescue his wife,
Catherine, who is originally from Riven. His concern, however, is that he won't
be able to rescue her and evacuate the natives if Gehn is still around.
Gehn, according to Atrus's journal, was bent on restoring the lost D'ni
civilization, though attempts ruined the cultures of many other Ages. Gehn must
have done some fairly horrendous things on these Ages, since Atrus became so
convinced that Gehn must be stopped that Atrus trapped Gehn on Riven (or "the
Fifth Age, as Gehn calls it)! The last Linking Book out of Riven was lost in
the "Star Fissure" when Atrus escaped to Myst: the same Book that you found 30
years later and used to free Atrus! However, Atrus did not intend to make the
inhabitants of Riven suffer under Gehn, though apparently that is what has
happened. Finally, Atrus comes upon a solution to deal with his father and yet
not punish the natives: a Prison Book. You experienced these Books first-hand
on Myst Island as the Red and Blue Books that contained Sirrus and Achenar; it
is a Book that traps whoever uses it in the void within the link, effectively
trapping them "between" the Ages. They can only escape if someone else uses the
Book, trapping them and releasing the first person. Atrus feels that a Prison
Book appearing to link to D'ni would be the perfect trap for his father.
However, Atrus doesn't get a chance to implement his rescue plans because the
tremors have returned, forcing him to devote all of his attention to
stabilizing the Age. He now realizes that there is no chance of the island
recovering; he can only hope to delay its collapse long enough to be able to
stage a rescue operation. It is in the midst of this that, in the entry dated
87.7.13, Atrus describes how you finally made contact with him and freed him
from his prison on D'ni. He immediately realizes that you would allow him to
continue to work on Riven while you, armed with a Prison Book, went in search
of Catherine. He reasons that you would not need a real Linking Book, because
if you could find a way to signal him, he could come with a Linking Book and
bring you back. This would also eliminate the risk of Gehn finding the real
Book and escaping from Riven.
That is obviously what Atrus has done. You have been sent to Riven with a
journal and a Prison Book to accomplish three goals: first, to trap Gehn;
second, to rescue Catherine and evacuate the natives; and finally, to signal
Atrus to come rescue you. Unfortunately, your Prison Book has been stolen, so
you are already at a disadvantage. You will need to find that Book before you
can complete any of your goals. That means you need to track down the
mysterious person who took your Prison Book. You've got your work cut out for
you. However, now that you know the background and how you currently stand,
it's time to start finding out what's happening on the Age of Riven.
===============================================================================
3. The Gate Room [V.A.3]
===============================================================================
Step out of the tiny chamber you were trapped in, then turn around to look at
it. The structure stands near the edge of a cliff which steeply descends to the
blue ocean beyond. Next to the chamber, a huge black knife stands with its
point buried in the ground. The knife is made of a hard, black, stone, is
over ten feet tall, and consists of a strange circular handle with a long,
triangular blade. You can also see that this island is part of an archipelago,
as you can see another island in the distance, with pairs of cables weaving
their way across the ocean from it, possibly part of a transportation system.
There is also another, more distant island visible on the horizon to the right.
Directly across from the linking chamber is a rock wall, with the lever that
lowered the bars on the ground in front of the wall. The person who freed you
smashed something into the base of the lever before he left. If you examine it,
you'll see that it is a smaller version of the knife next to the chamber, which
prevents the lever from operating. Perhaps this rebel uses the knife as his/her
symbol. To the right of the rock wall, a staircase climbs up to a bridge over a
narrow ridge, leading to another part of the island. To the left, though, is
the strange apparatus you could see from the linking chamber. Approach the
device, and you'll notice that it appears to be some sort of viewing device,
focused on a hatch on the ground below. If you look through the eyepiece,
though, all you'll be able to see is a white blur. The hatch below the device
is locked by five buttons, and obviously pressing the correct buttons in
sequence will unlock the hatch. There is a lever and button on a pipe attached
to the machine, but they are inoperative, suggesting that the device is
unpowered. The pipe extruding from the wall to the right could be the source of
the device's power, but there's nothing you can do with it now. Your only
option appears to be to climb the stairs. Before you do, though, look over the
edge of the cliff at the base of the stairs. You'll see the guard lying
unconscious on the ground below. You still need to find that strange person who
rescued you, then stole your Prison Book.
At the top of the staircase you are presented with three choices: an ornately
decorated room inside the rock to the left, another staircase descending to the
other side of the hill straight ahead, and a bridge leading across to another
rocky hill on the other end of the island to the right. Since you have no way
of knowing which location it would be best to explore first, just work from
left to right, meaning you should begin with the ornate room to the left.
In order to enter the luxurious room, you must first pass through a small
antechamber, with a red button on the wall to the right. It looks tempting, but
you should probably explore the room before you start pushing buttons. The room
is shaped like a pentagon, and on the floor is an intricate star design. At the
star's center is a symbol like a square with a line cutting it in half
horizontally; it looks like the letter H. The only other door in the room is on
the far-left wall, but it is blocked by a grate containing the same star
emblem. Look through the grate, however, and you will see a bridge leading to a
huge golden dome with a thin vertical opening cut through its center. The dome
looks very impressive, and it is obviously important, so you definitely need to
find a way open the grate.
Before you get to that, however, examine the pillars at the corners of the
room. They each have a large golden model of a beetle mounted on them, with a
ring extending from the bottom of each beetle. Pull the ring and the beetle's
wings will open, revealing an eyehole. Looking into the eyehole will reveal an
image similar to a stained-glass window, and they are very informative.
Starting to the left of the entrance and moving clockwise, the first shows an
elderly man with a halo writing in a book, while fish, insects, plants, stars,
people, animals, suns, and moons stream out from his pen: it appears to
represent someone writing an Age. The second depicts the same figure rising
into the air, while below, others bow down and worship him. The third should be
easy to decipher: the same figure, holding fire in one hand and a star in the
other, watches as a small person and a book fall into a starry expanse. This
must represent Atrus falling into the Fissure, along with his Myst Book, the
one you later found. The fourth consists of five men dressed in white, like
overseers or advisors, while beneath them others build, pass out papers to
children, learn to fight, draw up plans with strange symbols on the wall, and
pick up paper falling from a tree stripped of its bark. The final picture shows
a hand with a star emblem, the same emblem as on the floor, holding a book,
while around the hand are tree stumps, a machine grinding up the trees, a
strange building, and five people bowing down to the book. Though most of the
images seem rather cryptic right now, the fact that the same elderly figure
appears in all five depictions must be significant. The figure appears to be
worshipped as some sort of deity. Could this figure be Gehn? Is he so
controlling that he makes the Rivenese worship him as a god? If so, it's easy
to see why Atrus would want him trapped. By now, you are probably itching to
press that red button, so return to the antechamber and do so.
Whatever you may have expected to happen when you press the red button, it
probably wasn't what will actually happen. Press the button, and with a loud
grinding noise, the entire room will begin to rotate clockwise! When it stops,
the doorway will have been replaced with a small stone alcove. Step into the
alcove and look through the peephole that's placed there. You'll see that the
grate which was on the left has moved to the right, and that it's now blocking
a much darker passage. What is going on here? Press the button again and the
room will rotate again, causing another alcove to appear. Looking through the
second alcove, you'll see that the grate has now moved back to the left,
blocking the bridge to the gold dome again! Upon pressing the button a third
time, another door will rotate in front of you, except that now the grate is on
the far right wall, blocking entry into a small room with another door on its
far side. When you return and press the button for a fourth time, pay close
attention to the grate in the far right wall. When the room rotates, the door
in front of the grate will move, but the grate will stay in place! When the
rotation is complete, no grates or doors will be visible through the alcove,
and a fifth press will return the room to its original layout.
You need to figure out what's going on here. The room has five walls, and it
took five rotations for it to rotate a full 360 degrees, so the room rotated by
one wall each time you pressed the red button. When the room rotated, however,
you could see that the grate did not move, only the doorway in front of it.
This means that the actual room only has two doors, but that there are passages
behind at least least three of the walls (your current location, the gold dome
behind the far-left grate,and the room behind the far-right grate). For
example, when you pressed the button for the first time, the doorway you were
in front of moved in front of the passage to the left, while the door that was
in front of the golden dome's grate moved to reveal the other grate on the
right. Since you know that there are passages behind three of the five walls,
you can speculate that there are also passages behind the other two. That means
that this "gate room" (since it seems to serve as a gateway to various
locations on this island), is set up like the diagram below. In order to help
identify which side is which, numbers have been assigned to each side.
Gold Dome
3 4
#### ################# #### KEY
##### ######___###### ##### . rotation button
###### ### / \ ### ###### == grate
#######==\/ \ ==#######
#######\ \ \ #######
##### / \ \ #####
####/ \####
####\ /####
#####\ /#####
### \ / ###
2 ##\____| |____/## 5
############| |############
############# .#############
############# #############
############# #############
1
Main Entrance
Unfortunately, both the sides which can be reached from the main entrance (side
1) are blocked by grates, so you're going to need to find another entrance to
this room from a different side, meaning sides 2 or 5. Side 2 would be to your
left, which is where you just came from, and there wasn't anything over there.
That leaves side 5, to your right, where a staircase leads down to the other
side of the hill. It looks like it's time to see what's down there.
On reaching the bottom of the stairs you'll find a small flat space that drops
down to the ocean on two sides and has the rock wall on the left. Leading into
the wall is a tunnel, but it is blocked by a locked wooden gate. If you look at
the gate carefully, though, you'll notice something near its base. Stoop down
to inspect it and you'll see that it's another small knife, like the one
hammered into the linking chamber lever. While looking at it, you should also
notice that there's actually quite a bit of space between the bottom of the
gate and the ground, enough for you to crawl through! Do so, and after passing
through the short, dimly lit tunnel, you'll be confronted with one of the gate
room's alcoves. You've found another entrance into the room, but unfortunately
there's no rotation button, meaning you'll have to rotate the room from the
main entrance, then enter through the cave passage.
Return to the main entrance, side 1, and study the diagram of the gate room.
You need to rotate the room so that you can access side 2, the only other side
you haven't seen, from side 5. Rotating the room twice would line up sides 5
and 3, but that won't help, since the grate at side 3 is still down. Another
rotation will align sides 1 and 4, and a fourth turn will connect sides 5 and
2, which is what you want. That said, rotate the gate room four times, aligning
the cave passage (side 5) with side 2. Return to the lower ledge and crawl
under the gate to access side 5, and this time there should be an open door
leading into the gate room waiting for you. The other door should be across
from you, leading into a small cave.
The cave ends at a small chamber in which two pipes run out of a metal
hemisphere on the ground. It is obviously a source of hot steam, because that's
what's shooting into the air out of one of the pipes, which is pointed straight
up through an opening in the ceiling. The other pipe runs into the cave wall,
and you can direct the flow of the steam using a valve mounted at the pipes'
intersection. Above the valve is a symbol that looks a lot like the metal cone
outside. This must be the power source for the cone, so go ahead and turn the
valve to direct the steam through the other pipe, which should send power to
the device. However, since you still don't have any way of opening the hatch
underneath the cone-shaped device, there's no need to return to it immediately.
As you return to the gate room, you'll notice two things on the wall next to
the door. To the right is a red rotation button, and a yellow lever is mounted
to the left of the door. Raise the lever, and you'll hear a sound of something
else being raised in the gate room: could it be one of the grates? There's only
one way to find out: you need to access sides 3 and 4. You can't access side 3
from this position, but you can reach side 4, so rotate the room twice to
connect your side with side 4. Sure enough, the grate which was blocking it has
been lifted, and you can cross the gate room and enter the room behind it. At
this point, the gate room will look like this:
Gold Dome
3 4
#### ################# #### KEY
##### ######___###### ##### . rotation button
###### ### / \ ### ###### + grate lever
#######==#/ \/ ####### == grate
####### / / /#######
##### / / \ #####
####/ \####
####\/ /####
####/ / /#####
### +./ / ###
Power 2 ##\_____________/## 5 Cave
Controls ############# ############# Passage
############# .#############
############# #############
############# #############
1
Main Entrance
You'll find that side 4 consists only of a small stone chamber with a thick,
securely locked, door at the far end and no way to open it. There is however,
another grate lever and another rotation button. Raise the yellow lever to
remove the grate blocking the gold dome, then rotate the room twice to allow
yourself to return to the main entrance at side 1. Now you have a complete
picture of the gate room and the passages it connects to. Another two
rotations, and the main entrance will once again be connected to the gold dome,
but this time, there is no grate to block your progress. Exit the gate room and
step out onto the bridge leading across to the colossal dome, noting the
rotation button on the right-hand wall as you do so. Now you have a complete
picture of the gate room:
Gold Dome Locked Door
3 4
#### ################# #### KEY
##### ######___###### ##### . rotation button
###### .### / \ ###+.###### + grate lever
####### \/ \# ####### == grate
#######\ \ \ #######
##### / \ \ #####
####/ \####
####\ /####
#####\ /#####
### +.\ / ###
Power 2 ##\____| |____/## 5 Cave
Controls ############| |############ Passage
############# .#############
############# #############
############# #############
1
Main Entrance
===============================================================================
4. The Gold Dome [V.A.4]
===============================================================================
As you approach the entrance into the huge dome, you'll be able to see that the
dome is not actually made of gold, but is simply gold-painted bricks.
Economical, but still impressive nonetheless. At the end of the bridge, a
doorway leads into the dome. Inside is a single cavernous space, with hot
boiling water at the bottom and a large machine hanging from the center of the
flat metal ceiling. Out of this central device five huge pipes radiate, passing
out of the dome in all directions. As you enter the dome, you will pass a lever
on the wall to your left. If you try to pull it, though, you'll find that it is
inoperative. The bridge connects to a catwalk inside the dome which encircles
half of its circumference. You can also see another catwalk to the right, but
it is not connected to yours. A wheel at the end of the second catwalk would
appear to be able to connect the walkways, but there's no way toreach it now.
You can see doorways leading onto the second catwalk, though, so there must be
another way into the dome.
When you reach the corner at which the catwalk turns to follow the curve of the
dome, you will notice a plaque set on the railing. It is a diagram of the dome,
showing the two catwalks and the central station with the five pipes radiating
out of it, each pipe ending at a different arrangement of small squares. These
square shapes are the same as the ones you saw in one of the gate room
pictures. You can extrapolate from this diagram that the purpose of this dome
is to transport something, probably steam power from the boiling water, to five
different locations, represented by the squares. It must be a lot of power,
too, judging by the size of the dome and of the pipes. Well, now it's time to
explore the golden dome.
Follow the catwalk as it curves to the left, and it will soon descend until it
is just above the water level. The catwalk ends at another door, directly
across from where you entered, though at a lower level. The door leads outside
to a path that continues circling the dome. From this path, you can clearly see
a fourth island across the ocean, with a long bridge extending from it,
connecting to this island. Soon, a short path will branch off to the left, with
a steam pipe at its end. The steam pipe is similar to the one you accessed from
the gate room, except that the icon above the switch resembles a bridge or
pathway being raised and lowered. The pipe leads off to the left, and if you
follow it, you'll see that it connects to a raised portion of the bridge from
the other island. Well, there's no point in letting that steam go to waste.
Turn the switch to send the steam down the pipe. Now, if you ever reach that
bridge, you won‘t have to come all the way back here to turn on the power.
Continue down the main path again, and soon you'll see something very unusual:
atop a small rocky hill to the left of the path, a small metal dome is
spinning. What its purpose is you can't tell, and there doesn't seem to be any
way to reach it from here, although you can see a staircase approaching it. A
short distance later, the path will enter a cave, but the walkway directly in
front of the cave looks different: there's a metal plate, with a track running
up the rock wall to a walkway directly above, which is missing a small segment.
There is also a metal circle on the rock wall where it looks like a button
should be, but there isn't. Another curious location, but you will have to
leave this mystery for later and go through the cave. The cave is fairly
straight, and when you exit it, the path will lead onto a short, dead-end
walkway with another steam pipe. This pipe also displays the same bridge icon
that was on the last one, and its pipe reaches up to a bridge almost directly
above you. Since you have made almost a full circle around the dome, half
inside and half outside, the bridge this pipe reaches may be the one you
entered by, in which case it may have something to do with the lever by the
entrance. Since it certainly can't hurt anything, go ahead and turn the valve.
Since the path ends here, why don't you backtrack and see if directing the
steam through the pipe had any effect on the lever by the entrance? When you
reach the entrance, pull the black lever by the door, and the end of the
bridge in front of you will slowly rise above your head, transforming into a
staircase up to another part of the dome! However, you now have no way to get
out of the dome. Pull the lever back to lower the bridge so you can cross back
to the gate room. From this initial visit to the gold dome, you can tell that
there is definitely still much to be discovered here, such as the second
catwalk, the bridge/staircase, the spinning dome, and a second entrance, not to
mention the purpose of the gold dome. unfortunately, you can't access any of
those areas yet. For now, though, there's still more of this island to be
explored: you have not yet crossed the bridge across from the gate room.
===============================================================================
5. Across the Bridge [V.A.5]
===============================================================================
After exiting the gate room and returning to the four-way intersection at the
top of the stairs, head in the only direction you haven't explored yet: the
bridge. It leads across a ridge to a large, rocky hill, and the bridge leads
into a cave in the side of the hill. Enter the cave, and after descending a few
steps, you'll come to a metal door on the left. Open the door, and it will lead
into a room containing a large chair which is surrounded by a circular cage of
thin metal struts, like a spherical birdcage. As soon as you step into the
room, the struts will rise, allowing access to the chair. Sit down in the
large, imposing chair, and you'll notice two controls, one on each arm of the
chair. First try the button on the right; it will cause the metal cage to lower
around you. You'll also notice a star-shaped device with an instrument that
looks like a microphone hanging in front of your face. Pull the lever on the
left, and a small humming noise will begin to emanate from the chair.
Obviously, something is happening, but what? Perhaps you'll be able to find
some answers farther down the tunnel. Press the button to raise the bars, but
before you leave, notice two circular displays on either side of the room. The
one on the left displays a gold-colored room with a large door on one wall, and
there's a lever next to the display. You probably should not pull the lever
yet, having no idea what it will do. The right-hand display shows a pair of
cables extending from a stone pillar, with a short staircase in front of the
cables. Perhaps this is the end of one of those pairs of cables you saw in the
ocean. This display, however, has no levers next to it.
After seeing the display, exit the room and continue to the left down the main
tunnel. It will eventually come to an end in front of a thick, rough-hewn stone
door. Pull it open, and you will step into a remarkable room. The room is large
and rectangular, with a stone-flagged floor, pillars along the walls, and a
large, locked door set in one wall. On the opposite wall is a giant spherical
cage, identical to the one surrounding the chair in the other room, except that
it is much larger. The entire room is lit by a golden light shining through an
intricate stained-glass window behind the cage. The design on the window is a
complex star design, similar to the design on the floor of the gate room.
As you explore the room, you'll see that on either side of the cage are statues
of strange, fish-like creatures. The creatures resemble large, narrow fish with
tall humps on their back and tusks extending from either side of their mouths.
Each creature is wearing a star emblem (which you've now seen several times)
above their heads, and offerings of fruit and flowers are laying on the floor
around them. The creatures look rather menacing and violent, and if the
offerings around them are any indication, are revered by someone. In fact, the
statues appear to be idols. However, don't know if these creatures are real or
only mythical, like the unicorn or the phoenix. One more piece of information
about these creatures: though you will learn this later, for clarity and
convenience, the creatures are called wahrks.
From the wahrk idols, the richly decorated surfaces, and the solemn mood in the
room, the room appears to be a temple, and it would make sense to name this
island Temple Island. The main object of the temple is the huge cage at the end
of the room, which is remarkably similar to the cage surrounding the chair down
the passage. Perhaps you should revisit that room and see if you can deduce any
connections between the two rooms. Besides that, there doesn't appear to be any
way to open the huge door, so you don't have any choice but to backtrack.
Actually finding the door you came in through is a bit of a challenge. It is
designed to blend in with the walls, and is recessed between two of the pillars
along the left-hand wall. This door was not meant to be visible; you came in
through a secret entrance. Once you find the door, return to the room
containing the cage chair. Sit back down in the chair, then press the button to
activate the humming sound. That, along with the microphone in front of you,
and the same cage appearing in the temple, should suggest that this chair is
some sort of broadcast center. It is likely that right now your face is being
projected in the huge cage in the temple. If this is Gehn's doing, it adds to
the case that he sees himself as a god, or at least wants the Rivenese to treat
him like one. Why else would he project his own face into a huge, elaborate
temple? Now you are beginning to see why this man's rule of Riven needs to
stop. The evidence also suggests that Gehn has adopted the complex star design
as his symbol, since it has appeared all over Temple Island, every time in
relation to him.
Get out of the chair and examine the left display again, which you now know
displays a bird's-eye view of the temple. Since you have no other option now,
pull the lever next to the display, and you will see the door of the temple
open, allowing light to flood in from outside. Go back to the temple and exit
by way of the newly-opened door.
After climbing down a short staircase, you will emerge on a ledge, with
the ocean on two sides and protected by cliffs on the other two. The only thing
here is what you saw in the other display by the cage chair: a stone pillar,
from which extend a pair of cables a few feet apart, which continue away from
the island, zigzagging across the ocean to another island. In front of the
pillar is a short staircase. This must be the boarding station for some sort of
inter-island transportation system. There is no transport waiting for you, but
there is a metal pole with a blue button on top. Press the button, which will
make a "clunk" sound, and you'll see a small car making its way across the
cables from the far island, which will soon pull up in front of you, its door
lowering to form a staircase. The car must run on some sort of magnetic
levitation system, since no part of it, not even the engines above, actually
touch the cables.
Before you board the car, though, stop and think about what you've learned so
far. You've discovered that Gehn forces the people of Riven to revere him as a
god, and that Gehn has adopted a decorated five-pointed star as his emblem.
You've also seen evidence that there are some who are rebelling against Ghen's
rule, and they seem to use a dagger as their symbol. It was a member of this
group that freed you, then stole your Prison Book. You don't know why they
would choose to help you, but you are going to have to find them if you want to
get your Prison Book back. Overall, you have learned a good deal about the
situation on Riven and the personality of Gehn, but there is certainly still
much more to be discovered.
Now, board the mag-lev (you've got to call it something) and sit down in the
single chair. The controls appear to be very simple. Turn the handle 180° to
the right, and mag-lev will turn around, so that it is facing the track over
the ocean. Once you are ready to go, push the handle forward, and hold on
tight! The car will slowly ease itself out of the "station", but don't get
lulled into a false sense of security, because once clear the car will rapidly
accelerate, diving and swooping across the ocean! The mag-lev will cross the
distance between the far island rather quickly, and will slowly pull to a stop
at another station. You now have another island to explore.
____
| \ ********************************************************************
_| \ B. JUNGLE ISLAND [V.B]
|._______| ********************************************************************
--| \
===============================================================================
1. Three Wooden Eyes [V.B.1]
===============================================================================
Step out of the mag-lev and examine your surroundings. This area appears to be
a station of sorts, with an open area to the left of the car and stone cliffs
surrounding all sides of the area except for the ocean behind you. The only way
leading out is a cave in the far-left wall. As you approach the cave, though,
you'll notice something unusual on the cliff wall behind the mag-lev station.
Walk over to it, and you'll see that it is a wooden sphere embedded in the
rock, with an ornate eye painted on it. Touch the eye and you'll find that it
will rotate easily in its socket. As it does so, it will emit a strange
chirping, clicking sound. You'll also notice that it has a strange symbol drawn
on its backside, which looks like a K inside of a box. What could be the
purpose of this eye? Hopefully you'll be able to find some clues on this
island.
As you pass through the cave entrance, you may note that it is irregularly
shaped, and if you turn back to look at it after going a little way up the
steps inside, you'll see something unusual. The walls of the cave, if you look
carefully, appear to form the shape of a crouching animal: it could be some
sort of frog, although it‘s impossible to tell for sure. What's more, the
wooden eye, when viewed from this vantage point, appears in the spot the
creature's actual ey