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AG Community Playthrough: Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon
Welcome!! Welcome people to Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon playthrough!!
The night is still young and there are plenty of things to be done!! Help your friends!! Have a whiskey!! Explore new worlds, creatures and timelines!! Talk with the dogs!! And finally have tons of laughs (that, I absolutely guarantee)!! But first of all, we will have a little educational lesson about the bar (funny thing, some of us just came here from another Bar. A Space one…Seems 1st person humorous sci-fi is on these days. Guess after CCS we will choose Zork:GI :P ), the owner, your friends, you, and of course the creators.
Calahan’s Crosstime Saloon was released in 1997 from Legend and it was designed by Josh Mandel. Rumor says that Josh will come by for a drink with us before the night goes. The game is based on the well-known novels written by Spider Robinson.
The bar is run by Mike Callahan. The regulars are welcoming and willing to listen to any visitor’s problems, no matter how strange, but do not snoop if a visitor is unwilling to share. Strange and unusual events and visitors turn up with frequency in the stories. Regulars at Callahan’s include a talking dog, an android with superhuman abilities. several extraterrestrials and time travelers, an ethical vampire, a couple of Irish mythological beings, and an obscenity-spewing parrot though you won’t meet all of them in the game. The stories make heavy use of puns. Irish whiskeys are the preferred beverage, with Tullamore Dew and Bushmills mentioned in nearly every collection of shorts or novel that references the saloon. The stories make an obvious homage to Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp’s Tales from Gavagan’s Bar and Arthur C. Clarke’s Tales from the White Hart.
Jake Stonebender: That’s you!! A folk musician that is a regular in Callahan’s for over the last years. A good hearted fellow, always ready to help his friends in time of need. A deep secret lies within his heart…
Mike Callahan: The owner of the bar (though actually it is his wife who really owns the bar. Mike just runs it. But let’s be polite now, shall we?...). He welcomes all patrons and is ready to listen any visitor’s problems.
Sam “The Doc” Webster: Jake’s best friend. A master of puns and perhaps Callahan’s oldest regular. Works at Smithtown General Downtown. He hates chocolate, but likes to organize special night games and contests in Callahan’s.
Mickey Finn: A humanoid alien android with supreme powers. He was once sent to destroy Earth, but the patrons freed him from his masters and helped him to save Earth instead. He later married Mike Callahan’s daughter.
Fast Eddie: The bar’s piano player. Remember: Whatever happens, don’t shoot the pianist. He is doing his best.
Noah Gonzalez: A sergeant in the police force, he works on the bomb squad.
Pyotr: A well-mannered, gentlemanly, lovesick vampire, previously Callahan’s designated driver who tragically became addicted to alcohol.
Ralph Von Wau Wau: A mutant talking German Shepherd. Also a skilled ventriloquist.
Josie Bauer: She works for a special police unit called the Time Cops. She is legally permitted to travel through time.
Al Phee: A whimpering little smear of slim…..Erhmm sorry. A legitimate and respected salesman was what I wanted to say.
Dtzllchhh: An alien from a race previoiusly unknown to Earth. His English need improvement.
And many more! But before we start: Who is in (meaning: confirms he has CCS and runs it smoothly)?
And more important: Are there still any technical problems?
The game runs perfectly well with Dosbox 074 in my Windows 7 64-bit. Strangely enough, when I tried the so called CCS windows installer the game, while installed fine, couldn’t play (just appeared a black screen instead of the bar. Could hear the fuss from the bar though. Now I know how it is to be blindfold in one of Doc’s practical jokes…).
If there is need, I will post the command lines (mount, etc).
Also, don’t forget! There is a 1.01 patch for Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon that perhaps you would like to check. It is supposed to stop some sudden “freezes” in the game (though I didn’t remember to meet any) plus some other minor improvements. The patch is easily found on the internet. I also have it in my possesion for whoever wants it and can’t find it. Mind you, the patch doesn’t recognise old saves (meaning that after you install the patch, the game doesn’t recognize the pre-patched saves).
About the playthrough, I was thinking of giving 14 days on each chapter (Pyotr’s will be the first. The “quest” is given by Callahan after the contest.). Remember: Try everything with everything!! There are unique responses and funny quotes for almost all combinations. This is the greatest fun in the game (and the reason I give that much time/chapter.)
EDIT: People!! Don’t get discouraged from the contest at the beggining!! Yes, It is hard, especially for us non-natives, but the theme is easy and we are here to solve it together!! :) After all there are only just two contests like this in the entire game (this and another one).
EDIT 2: Did I mention how enthusiastic I am to lead a playthrough in one of my favourite games? I am!! A lot!! :]
EDIT 3: Pin the thread please. :)
EDIT 4: All participants are asked to remain on-topic in their posts here, use spoiler tags when necessary and generally join with a kind-heart spirit.
It’s great to be back in the best saloon in town! Friendliest one too. You can call the Space Bar lots of things, but friendly it is not.
(funny thing, some of us just came here from another Bar. A Space one…Seems 1st person humorous sci-fi is on these days. Guess after CCS we will choose Zork:GI )
We’ve already had a Zork GI playthrough. Led by yours truly.
Now playing: ——-
Recently finished: don’t remember
Up next: Eh…
Looking forward to: Ithaka of the Clouds; The Last Crown; all the kickstarter adventure games I supported
guys what with bars and saloons ?
guys what with bars and saloons ?
Just an inside joke based on the fact that the previous community playthrough was TSB and now is CCS.
ok ok
i really wish i would join but i already had too much of drinking
We need a bouncer in this bar saloon.
Fien would be perfect for the job, too bad she has a soft spot for Adventurere.
Everybody wants to be Cary Grant.
Even Me.
-Cary Grant
No, this one doesn’t need a bouncer. We could have done with one in the Space Bar though.
Now playing: ——-
Recently finished: don’t remember
Up next: Eh…
Looking forward to: Ithaka of the Clouds; The Last Crown; all the kickstarter adventure games I supported
If no technical problems (or delivery delays) are mentioned until 3/2, then we can start playing CCS, first with the contest and then Pyotr’s story.
I’m in. Had no trouble installing it through DosBox.
Madre de Dios, es el Pollo Diablo!
Got it today, and it runs fine in Dosbox. The sound is a little choppy, but it’s managable. Anyway, I’m all set to go
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
Ready to go. Running Dosbox in Windows 7.
This will finally be the time I get past that first puzzle.
But before we start: Who is in (meaning: confirms he has CCS and runs it smoothly)?
And more important: Are there still any technical problems?
My copy arrived last Thursday (I ordered it a few days before we settled on a game - proactivity FTW!), I installed and tried it yesterday (all with DOSBox 0.74 - I didn’t use the Windows Installer because I’m old school), and so far I haven’t encountered any problems whatsoever, technical or otherwise.
On the contrary, the intro movie appeared to be a throwback to Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life”, and since I absolutely love that movie, we’re off to a good start!
Plus the graphics are to my liking.
There is a 1.01 patch for Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon that perhaps you would like to check.
Done and done. I came prepared!
People!! Don’t get discouraged from the contest at the beggining!! Yes, It is hard, especially for us non-natives, but the theme is easy and we are here to solve it together!! After all there are only just two contests like this in the entire game (this and another one).
I’ve already tried it AND solved it.
That’s ALL I’ve done so far, though, and it was part of me checking if the game ran alright. I’m not trying to get ahead of you all… In fact, I haven’t even saved any progress, so there…
The contest had me completely stumped at first, but when I found a couple of the middle ones, I quickly figured out the theme (a theme in which I’m quite at home). And then it became “actually not all that hard”.
I reverse-engineered most of the answers, though, finding the answer (based on a portion of it) first and only then fully figuring out how the question lead to said answer…
If anyone needs help, I can explain them all.
EDIT 2: Did I mention how enthusiastic I am to lead a playthrough in one of my favourite games? I am!! A lot!!
And how enthusiastic are you about the game’s writer and designer’s presence???
EDIT 3: Pin the thread please.
Did that earlier today. And while I was at it, I unstickied the previous community playthrough. Much to Fien’s delight, I suppose…
Also: I read that Spider Robinson made 4 folk songs for the game. Does that mean that the song from the intro (and the two that play during the credits) are Spider’s, and that it’s him singing???
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
Wow, I was really stumped at first too. I mean, really! I started trying yesterday, and spent maybe a good 10-15 minutes without being able to figure out any of them. But today I went a little harder at work, paid attention when the rules were being explained, and after scratching my head another 10 minutes, I suddenly figured out nr. 7! After that, the theme was obvious, and I immediately got nr.5 and then nr.2. Still a little stumped on the rest, but now it’s coming together
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
Is the theme random? I got ‘ancient rock bands’ which was pretty easy.
Madre de Dios, es el Pollo Diablo!
Probably isn’t random, I got the same theme. I’m still struggling a bit though, I got 5 out of 10 so far, and now I’m getting a headache. Gonna try some more after dinner.
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
...after scratching my head another 10 minutes, I suddenly figured out nr. 7! After that, the theme was obvious, and I immediately got nr.5 and then nr.2. Still a little stumped on the rest, but now it’s coming together
I did that in reverse: first 5, then 7, then the theme became obvious and 2, 3 and 9 quickly followed. The rest took a little more time. The first one actually had me stumped the longest (which I find strange in hindsight)...
Is the theme random? I got ‘ancient rock bands’ which was pretty easy.
I don’t think there’s anything random about the first puzzle. I think we all have the same 10 questions…
I mean, I get the same 10 now as I did yesterday, and I’ve reinstalled the game in the meantime (to be better optimized for my DOSBox configuration instead of my ‘normal’ Windows configuration)...
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
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