PLANETFALL(Infocom) The third in Infocom's wonderful series of Science Fiction Adventures is Planetfall. You will be delighted by the humor of the game. It is always charming you somehow. The game features several logical puzzles that can be solved with no greater magic than common sense. The point of the game: You begin on the spaceship Feinstein. You are lowly cleaning help scrubbing the deck, when all of the sudden the ship explodes - and by an accident of fate you happen to be standing near the escape pod right at the moment. You jettison from the Feinstein and land on a nearby planet with a strange mystery. It seems to have been recently abandoned for no reason. Survival is point one. You'll need food and rest. Repair many of the broken machines that you find. And then figure out why everyone is missing. Let's get started! Deck Nine - All you have to do is keep waiting until the explosion - stay here - you'll be entertained (randomly) by the Ambassador from Blow'K-bibben-Gordo. After the ship explodes immediately go Port. Get in the Webbing. Wait - until the Pod lands and the Emergency Kit appears. Get out of Webbing. Take kit. Open Door. Go up. Keep going up until you get to Courtyard. Drop the brush and your ID. (You won't be needing the brush or the ID - they are excess baggage). Go north to the Plain Hall, then go NE. Go east until you get to the corridor Junction. Then continue south until you get to the Machine Shop. Go west to the Tool Room, take Laser (but drop the old battery) take the pliers and the flask and the Metal Bar. Then go back to the Machine Shop and put the flask under the spout. Then go north to the Corridor Junction. Then go east till you get to Booth 2. In Booth 2 drop the Laser and the pliers. Then go west to the elevator lobby and push both buttons. Then go west till you get to the Corridor Junction. (If you're hungry, open the kit and enjoy a treat of goo.) From the Corridor Junction, go south then go east. Take the box. Then go back to the Booth 2. Drop the box. Then go back to the Corridor Junction. Now go north to the Administration Corridor, go north and south between the South Administration Corridor and the Adminstration Corridor until you see the glint of light (random). Then search the crevice in the Administration Corridor South. Hold the bar near the key (it's a magnet) and bingo...you got it. (If you don't get the key the game can't even begin.) Now drop the bar once you have the key. (If the bar comes in contact with any of the cards you'll find that they get scrambled--something you will regret.) Now go to the Mess Corridor. Unlock the padlock with the key. Drop the padlock and the key and open the door. Drop everything except your uniform. Take the ladder and go back to the Administration Corridor. Drop the ladder. Open the ladder. Put ladder over the rift. Then go north over the ladder. Then go west into the offices. Open the drawers in the desks and take the kitchen card, the shuttle card, and the upper elevator card. By this time you should be getting tired. It's important that you find a place to sleep that is safe. Go back to the Dorm Area and get in bed. When you wake up you'll be bright and alert for tomorrow. Get out of bed and take your things. Go to the Mess Corridor. Go south into the Mess Hall. Take the canteen and open it up. Slide the kitchen card through the slot and go south. Put the canteen under the spout and push the button. Take the canteen. You've now found an unlimited source of food. Just make sure that you keep your canteen filled and you'll be O.K. Go back inside the Mess Hall and drop the Kitchen access card. Now go back to the Machine Room. From the Machine Room, go east to the Robot Room. Search the robot. Then turn it on. Go to the elevator lobby. Go south inside the lower elevator and drop the lower card and the shuttle card. Then go to the upper elevator. By this time your valuable friend Floyd should be bugging you for attention and loving. Eat when you are hungry...it's better to eat from your canteen than the kit. You might want to save the goo in the kit for emergencies. Just go back to the kitchen and refill your canteen when you need to. But don't forget to drop the kitchen card in the Mess Hall. Go to the Upper Elevator. Slide the upper card through the slot. Push the up button. Wait. When the elevator door opens go south then go northeast to the Comm Room. Pay attention to the colour of the flashing light. This will be the same colour koulant that you'll have to get in the Machine Room. Go back to the elevator, activate the elevator and go downstairs to the Machine Room. Fill the flask. Push the same colour button as the flashing light in the Comm Room, then take the flask. Go back to the Comm Room and empty the flask in the hole. Pay attention to the new colour light. Take the flask back downstairs to the Machine Room and push the new coloured light koulant code. Take the filled flask back upstairs and empty the flask in the hole again. Do this one more time (there are three lights in all). This will fix the Comm Room. You can drop the flask since you won't be needing it any more. Now go back downstairs to the elevator lobby. Don't forget to drop the upper card in the upper elevator. Eat if you have to, but try to only eat from the canteen. If the canteen needs to be filled, do it now. Go to the lower elevator. Slide the lower card through the slot. Then push the down button. Wait. Drop the lower card and take the shuttle access card. When the elevator stops get out by going north. Then go east. Go south and then go east. Slide the shuttle card through the slot. Push the lever up. Do it again. Wait until the display says 60. Then push the lever down. Again. Wait until the shuttle slides into the station. Go west and drop the shuttle card. Go north, then go east. Go east again. At the fork go southeast to the Project Corridor West. Go east to the Project Corridor. Then go south to the Projcon Office. Go east to the Computer Room. Take the output and read the output. (By the way make sure that Floyd joins you in the Computer Room.) With Floyd go south. Then go north until the Project Corridor east. Then go east to the Main Lab. From the Lab go south. Search the lab uniform pocket and take the card and the paper and the battery. The paper has the clue for opening up the combination lock in the Rec Corridor (a puzzle that you'll never need). Go back to the Project Corridor East. Then go north to the Library Lobby. Play with the machine if you want. It's very good for clues about the 'whys' of the story, and a lot of fun to translate. But time is of the essence. Go east to Booth 3. Slide the card through the slot and push the beige button. Zap!!! You find yourself back in Booth 2. Take a look around; everything you put inside the Booth is waiting for you. Slide the card through the slot again and this time push the tan button. Wheeeeee! Now you and your supplies are back in Booth 3. Take the pliers and the bedistor. Go west. Then go north. Then go north again to the Course Control. Open the cube. Remove the fused bedistor with the pliers. Drop the fused bedistor and the pliers. Take the good bedistor and put it in the cube. Close the cube. Go to Systems Corridor West. Go down into the Repair Room. Make certain that Floyd is with you here. If he's not, just wait and he'll turn up. When Floyd shows, tell him to go north. When he comes back, tell Floyd to take the Fromitz. Go back to the Systems Corridor. Then go north to the Planetary Defense. Open the panel. Take the second board. Put the shiny Fromitz in the socket. Close panel. You have now completed the middle portion of the game. Eat when you have to. Now go to the Main Lab. Open the Bio-Lock, go southeast then go east. Make sure that Floyd is with you. He'll volunteer for an important mission; let him. Open the door, close the door, wait, open the door, close the door. Floyd will be out of commission. Take the card and sing your song about the legend of Starcross. Go back to Booth 3. By now it's late in the day and time for rest. Once in Booth 3, slide the teleportation card through the slot and push the beige button. If you still have time before you rest, go ahead and fill your canteen in the kitchen, then go to sleep in the dorm area. By now you're starting to feel pretty sick. If you didn't get a chance last night to fill your canteen, you'd better do that now. Head down to the Booth 2. Do your teleportation routine. Drop the teleport card, and make certain that you have the miniaturization card. Take the laser with the new battery. Go to the miniaturization booth. Slide the card through the slot then - type 384 (that was the number from the computer output). Please do a game save at this point because you won't be able to waste any moves after this. You have shrunk down to the size of a chip. At Station 384 go east to the Strip near the station. Then go north to the Strip near the relay. Look inside the relay. Make sure that your laser is set to 1. Fire the laser at the speck. Keep on doing that until the speck is no more. Once that's done, turn the dial on the laser to 6. Now head back south. Oh no! A killer microbe! Fire the laser at the microbe. Keep firing until you find yourself holding a HOT laser. Once the laser is HOT, throw the laser over the side. The microbe will follow the laser and vanish to its death. Now head back to the Booth. From the Auxiliary Booth go north to the Lab Office. Do another game save at this point (this will be your last chance to take a rest). Search the desk, then take and wear the gas mask. Push the red button. Open the door. Go west into the Bio Lab. Open the lab door. Go west to the Bio-lock west. Open the Bio-lock and go west into the Main Lab. Run back to the Projcon office. Go south into the Cryo-elevator. Push the Button. Whewww!! Just wait a little bit and now all will come clear. The game is over. You are a hero! And all is well in the universe until your next adventure! Please note that it is possible to finish the game in less than 2.5 days, but why rush it!! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *