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Legrand stuck in fireplace

BathtubPirate

BathtubPirate

Privateer
Storm Modder
Hello everyone, after a ten month hiatus (my "phases", especially for games, quickly come and go, but I always return to my games after a while) I spontaneously started The Gold Bug this evening, and so far I think I'm doing pretty well. My Woodes-Rogers-Thinking came back quickly, those hours spent in PotC alchemy classes payed off! :woot

But I still have a problem with the parchment, at the point where I'm supposed to write the text down (after sending my servant in town to haggle for paper).

Namely, when I'm done copying the text, I can't move anywhere, stuck in front of the fireplace, and don't know how to continue.

Here's what I do:

- Light the fire using my tinderbox as a pistol.
- Sit on the lever twice to get max fire (I can hear the heat bubble)
- Place the parchment
- Turn of the fire using the switch to the right twice (black smoke)
- Pick up the parchment (Talking to myself)
- Hear scribbling
- Quest book entry
- That's when the game jumps to my inventory, and after that, I can't move anywhere nor interact with the fireplace or the parchment in any way (except for equiping or releasing it in my inventory menu). Nothing happens. What am I doing wrong? I tried four or five times by now (I have a savegame right before I start the process), and I may have planted the parchment differently (but I think it doesn't make a difference If i place the parchment then light the fire or vice versa). The outcome was always the same.

Looking forward to your answers and to play another bizarre fun JRH riddle. :ahoy
 
I guess it will take me longer than expected to get back into the game. Totally forgot about the sub-categories of the inventory!

Thanks a lot. :)

And yeah, out of the three and a half main games I played last year, Woodes Rogers was clearly the most memorable and mind-boggling. I like that style of "misusing" the game as a weird puzzle challenge a lot. It takes time to get used to and I tend to be a bit impatient at that kind of games, but starting The Gold Bug already felt a bit like a home-coming tonight.
 
When I said "soon" I assumed it would shortly be over after the gunpowder factory, but seems it had only just started. But because it was so much fun I couldn't stop playing, so I was still able to finish it "soon".

It felt very comfortable playing The Gold Bug after Woodes Rogers, after only a couple of "M-hm", "What was that?!" and F3+F3 interactions I was right back in that kind of unique gameplay. Perhaps it was because of the experience, but the story felt easier than Woodes Rogers while still being a challenge, it felt more streamlined and focussed. I had lots of fun deciphering the code, operating the chemical facilities and playing through the puzzle games in Charleston. Unlike Woodes Rogers, where I found myself often a bit lost in those unfamiliar waters, I did most of the game without consulting the instructions on the website. And if I did, it was mostly for petty things, for example I wouldn't have guessed that the lever was lying right below the mechanism in the grass.

I also loved the self-contained game world with the colourful and vibrant locations. Places like the fort, Charleston or the Devil's Seat Forest look and feel fresh and new, unlike some of the new island settings which feel more bland and less game-coherent to me. Like in Woodes Rogers, the main city theme in Charleston is a badass piece of music and worth trying out the story by itself.

And also once again, the little details and easter eggs were priceless too. Like getting knocked out by the support beam in the chinatown courtyard - needless to say, I ran into them on purpose a hundred times. Or the stupid victory dance, the trio did when they found the treasure. Or the exclusive choice of guests inside the restaurant, simple idea, but brillant. I love those kind of quirks.

There were two or three minor non-golden bugs, but nothing that couldn't be solved with a reload and since I saved frequently, no major progress was lost at any point.

Out of four and a half storylines by PA I already played, The Gold Bug is my favourite. Thanks @Jack Rackham :onya
 
Good to hear @BathtubPirate! :cheers
If you report those minor bugs I'll try to fix them. :type1
I had lots of fun deciphering the code
Click to expand...
Did you use the excel file?
There are more easter eggs:
did you recognize JRH and Claire Voyant?
 
About the bugs:

1) Plantation sneaking: When working with a save from inside the magic womans cabin (because once I got caught on my way out) all guards got triggered and attacked me as soon as I left the cabin, no matter how far away they were. It eventually worked by using the save before entering the plantation and doing it all in one go, without getting caught.
2) Jupiter goes to the fort to find a spyglass: I wasn't able to get aboard the boat to Moultrie and was stuck on the jetty, couldn't get forward nor backward. That was with a save from inside Charleston, after leaving Edgars house and switching to Jupiter. With a save from only minutes earlier (before visiting Edgar) it eventually worked.
3) Edgar Allan Poe inside the church: The game started to lag staccato-style as soon as I was near a (closed) door and flowed normally again when I went away from the door. The same thing happened a bit later with the loghouse outside Charleston, when it was closed.

Yes, I worked with the Excel sheet and some hand-written notes. I haven't read yet the original story, but it is brillant how we can decipher that gibberish just looking for 'E' and 'The' and continuing one letter at a time.

I'm afraid I couldn't spot those two special guests. Of course those in the restaurant were relatively obvious, but it was fun to look through all of them. And there was a cool looking character (female) on top of a balcony in Charleston, but I couldn't get close enough to talk to her, I'm gonna check out the files to see what model that was.

Where did the location models for the Fort and Charleston (town and beach) come from?

Looking forward to Woodes Rogers 2 and to the remining Build 14 stories. :onya

Edit: Which story next? :bonaparte
 
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Ok, thanks I'll check 1) and 2) carefully.
3) That happens when entering some reload locators. I don't know why and if it's possible to fix.

Those two characters are not to be found in the restaurant or on the balcony.

The Fort is from AOP/COAS/TEHO. The Charleston town and port and Devils Seat Forest are from VCO.

I can indeed recommend the original story by Poe. He was very interested in ciphers.
 
Sure, I just meant the character model caught my eye. It's w4_Celia.

Any hint about those two characters?

And the story by Poe I will definitely catch up on, I was already browsing a little bit and it's also shorter than I thought.
 
1) Plantation sneaking: When working with a save from inside the magic womans cabin (because once I got caught on my way out) all guards got triggered and attacked me as soon as I left the cabin, no matter how far away they were. It eventually worked by using the save before entering the plantation and doing it all in one go, without getting caught.
2) Jupiter goes to the fort to find a spyglass: I wasn't able to get aboard the boat to Moultrie and was stuck on the jetty, couldn't get forward nor backward. That was with a save from inside Charleston, after leaving Edgars house and switching to Jupiter. With a save from only minutes earlier (before visiting Edgar) it eventually worked.
Click to expand...
I have fixed those two now.

@BathtubPirate, did you find and use the storyteller (Kidd) in the wreck?
 
Ah, I already thought the native woman reminded me of Claire and the other would propably be Von Fersen then? I thought you maybe put the proper characters of Claire and JRH somewhere in a hidden place, when you asked about them earlier. Perhaps being that personal easter eggs makes them stand out less for an "outsider" like me.

Glad I could help improving that wonderful Gold Bug game by pointing out those two bugs. :onya

With the story I'm playing now I feel the same like playing Bartolomeu after Woodes Rogers: good stuff, but to me, doesn't hold a candle to your work which is until now by far my favourite thing about the mod. Not too many threads around here, more people should definitely play the Gold Bug.

I've met the storyteller on the first beach and quickly browsed his options, didn't use him though. I wanted to play through Gold Bug from A-Z.
 
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