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Community Playthrough #29: Syberia

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Mikekelly - 29 August 2014 09:03 AM

However, if an adventure game is released today that looks as good as Syberia - it would still be considered a beautiful game.

^ This. Syberia’s graphics have aged like a fine wine, imo.

mart - 29 August 2014 12:37 PM

I have a layout problem (;-) with the following two shots shots, but perhaps I am missing something here (church 1 - church 2).

Huh, I didn’t notice that. Well spotted!
Maybe stepping through that door means you’ve crossed into… the Twilight Zone! ??? Grin Tongue

     

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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TimovieMan - 29 August 2014 05:06 PM

Maybe stepping through that door means you’ve crossed into… the Twilight Zone! ???

Or…
The Amerzone…

     
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I’m not very far into the game yet. At the factory I’ve only taken the rightmost path at the fountain so far - the one that leads to the garden and the attic, and I’ve followed Momo to the cave, and that’s it.

I’ve probably seen too many movies and am dead wrong about this (pun intended), but I’m calling it now: Anna Voralberg isn’t dead. We didn’t see her body, we only saw automatons at a funeral and we only know about her death from hearsay. I say she knows full well where Hans is, faked her own death (just like Hans’ death was faked all those years ago), and left to join him.



Also, the game is stunning but so very devoid of hotspots. More than half the screens are empty! Gasp

     

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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TimovieMan - 24 August 2014 06:53 AM

I’ve played the beginning of the game for a couple of hours several years ago.

The story of my life.

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

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I’ve completed the Valadilene part. I didn’t time myself, but I reckon it took me about four hours.

TimovieMan - 30 August 2014 03:56 PM

I’ve probably seen too many movies and am dead wrong about this (pun intended), but I’m calling it now: Anna Voralberg isn’t dead. We didn’t see her body, we only saw automatons at a funeral and we only know about her death from hearsay. I say she knows full well where Hans is, faked her own death (just like Hans’ death was faked all those years ago), and left to join him.

Oh well, it was a nice theory at the time… Tongue

Further exploration has voided it. Anna would have left AFTER selling the factory, and completing Oscar, and getting the toy mammoth and all other things you did in her stead.




Some minor technical issues with the game:
- Shadows cast by characters are little more than a dark circle at their feet. When climbing stairs, this looks really awkward…
- Trying to rewatch the ‘Valadilene cylinder’ cutscene via the main menu gives me a “insert Syberia DVD” message that I can’t quit without killing the game. I’m playing an Adventure Shop download, so I don’t even have the DVD… Meh


A minor issue with Kate:
- Her portrayal seems uneven. One time she’s like a tough business woman, the next she’s like a giddy school girl (the telephone call with Olivia is the worst at this), at other times she’s just friendly, still other times she’s way too much in a hurry to talk to anyone, and sometimes she’s just fussy (“that oar is wet, I’m not touching that!”).
Bi-polar much?



Nearly all puzzles are logical, intuitive and well-designed. Difficulty is not very high, but very effective and rewarding.

Things that gave me some trouble:
- I didn’t immediately notice the room behind the forklift at the factory, you know, the one where you meet Oscar.
- At first I failed to spot the hidden compartment behind one of the drawers at the church. It was obvious I had missed something, though, since I didn’t immediately find a use for the giant key that was sticking out of that cupboard.
- Obtaining the wet oar led me astray for a while. I thought I had to find a rag or a hook or something, it didn’t occur to me at first that I was simply going to need some *gasp* child labour. Gasp



I’m loving the game so far, but I could use some fast-travel options. It can take a while to run through twenty empty screens to get from one side of town to another.
Having said that, I could also use some more hotspots and comments by Kate on said hotspots. The screens just feel empty now, despite their beauty.



I didn’t try this, but can someone tell me what happens when you try to leave on the train but don’t yet have both cylinders, the figurines, and the toy mammoth?


Also, when did you get your luggage out of your hotel room and onto the train? It’s on the train, yet I never went back to the hotel to retrieve it… Tongue
Actually, I did, but it was no longer there. Smile

     

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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TimovieMan - 30 August 2014 07:16 PM

I’m loving the game so far, but I could use some fast-travel options. It can take a while to run through twenty empty screens to get from one side of town to another.

Just thank God you’re not playing Keepsake!

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

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TimovieMan - 30 August 2014 07:16 PM

I’ve completed the Valadilene part. I didn’t time myself, but I reckon it took me about four hours.

TimovieMan - 30 August 2014 03:56 PM

I’ve probably seen too many movies and am dead wrong about this (pun intended), but I’m calling it now: Anna Voralberg isn’t dead. We didn’t see her body, we only saw automatons at a funeral and we only know about her death from hearsay. I say she knows full well where Hans is, faked her own death (just like Hans’ death was faked all those years ago), and left to join him.

Oh well, it was a nice theory at the time… Tongue

hahaha..Sure it was. : )

TimovieMan - 30 August 2014 07:16 PM

Some minor technical issues with the game:
- Shadows cast by characters are little more than a dark circle at their feet. When climbing stairs, this looks really awkward…

I never noticed this and I have played the game several times, the last time a couple of months ago. I recognize that unless these technical issues are very obvious is not something I easily detect. And in Syberia I have not detected any.

TimovieMan - 30 August 2014 07:16 PM

- Trying to rewatch the ‘Valadilene cylinder’ cutscene via the main menu gives me a “insert Syberia DVD” message that I can’t quit without killing the game. I’m playing an Adventure Shop download, so I don’t even have the DVD… Meh


Weird ....

TimovieMan - 30 August 2014 07:16 PM

A minor issue with Kate:
- Her portrayal seems uneven. One time she’s like a tough business woman, the next she’s like a giddy school girl (the telephone call with Olivia is the worst at this), at other times she’s just friendly, still other times she’s way too much in a hurry to talk to anyone, and sometimes she’s just fussy (“that oar is wet, I’m not touching that!”).
Bi-polar much?


I think it shows a little the internal conflict she is experiencing on this journey, ie in one hand her responsibilities, as if occasionally she remember what is the reason that led her there, and on the other hand also the new sense her life is taking where everything what she is leaving behind is gradually losing meaning, her job, her old friends and the trivial of some things. I think that translates in the “ups and downs” in her personality at least initially .. at times she pays attention to the phones calls and others she can hardly answer them.

     

” I remember. Somebody died. It was me.”
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Nice thought about Anna! (TimovieMan) The glitch with the cylinder in the download versions seems to have a solution, at least I noticed messages about the issue in the Gog forums (but I guess you have already read those).

As you know the dark circle at the feet is used in many (older and even recent) games. Not very pretty indeed, but like Renacimiento I have learned to ignore it.

Some complained in the past that there weren’t many puzzles in Syberia, but that isn’t correct. Though most are indeed rather easy. Sometimes too easy, e.g. how to position the (few) gogs in the elevator mechanism (fixed positions), or the hidden compartment behind one of the drawers in the church room with a clue to solve it (all the other ones contain a punch card).

I understand the wish to have a fast travel option (of course). On the other hand the many “transition screens” give the player the idea of really exploring a big gameworld, and without a map (or “zip mode” like in Myst) the player becomes more immersed in the gameworld. Various screens could have been easily left out, but I rather liked the way it was done.

Jabod noticed in a previous post that there’s a flaw in the script when the gardener speaks about “robots’ in stead of “automatons” (indeed a rather clumsy flaw, as even Kate is warned not to use the term “robot” by the innkeeper and Oscar). There are more examples of (very) small flaws in the game/script, like e.g. a the repeated phrase “No need to go down there” in the beginning (much complained about when the game was released). It would indeed have been better to vary the comments at hotspots and to add more - relevant - hotspots (note that the designers don’t make use of hotspot names). I guess there were reasons for this reduction. (Compare too there aren’t red herrings, inventory items you don’t need, no combination of inventory items, short or no conversations with some npc’s).

The “child labour” episode is one of two moments some may have problems with (though it may be a matter of character development, see Renacimiento’s previous remark). 
When the main character is idle she checks her outfit. When she wants to pick up the oar, she says it is dirty, and she asks Momo (“good boy”) to pick it up for her. That’s may be considered to be quite nasty, especially as Momo is described - by the innkeeper - as “the village idiot.”
The other one is the use of the name “Goldberg” (Golden mountain) during the conversation with Dan. It’s a typical name associated with prejudice - big money/deals. (I am aware of what Sokal said about his parents during the Nazi period in the “making of” video, and it might be a name chosen by the person who wrote the script).

Both examples represent perhaps too much a “Gutmensch” perspective (or nitpicking this superb game). I remember that when the game was published some had a problem with the Helena/Brodine episode later on in the game (unlike in the game I have no Mouth, and I must Scream with its “spiritual barometer,” the player has no choice to choose for a good or bad action, and can only proceed by making a “bad” choice or by quitting the game).

(The question about trying to leave the train: when you try to leave with the train without all required items, Oscar will make a comment about that so he won’t consider to leave the station).

     
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Anna Voralberg isn’t dead. We didn’t see her body, we only saw automatons at a funeral and we only know about her death from hearsay. I say she knows full well where Hans is, faked her own death (just like Hans’ death was faked all those years ago), and left to join him.

The truth is out there! Perhaps Syberia 3 will contain the real story about this!

Heart

     

I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.

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I have fired up the Mac version of Syberia on Steam only to find out that as far as I can tell it seems to be a port of the tablet version.

All the hotspots are shown constantly with no way to turn them off which I find hugely distracting and it ruins the beautiful backgrounds and atmosphere for me.

So be warned. I am also attaching a screenshot of the very first scene.

Oh, well, I will try the Windows version on Steam as I assume it will be the “normal desktop” version and go from there

     

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It is strange that all hotspots are constantly displayed, and I understand that’s pretty distracting, besides annoying. I wish I could help somehow.  : ( 

Also it discourages a lot the sense of exploration, if you already know where you should go and where not, and what you should do and what not, everything starts to become almost automatic and mandatory.

PD: That screenshot (despite the hotspots) continues show me how beautiful Syberia looks, even after many years.

     

” I remember. Somebody died. It was me.”
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Just a quick question I had about the construction of Oscar’s feet: how are you supposed to know which type of wood to use, other than trial-and-error?
I got lucky and had it on my second attempt, but it could easily have taken me the full six attempts. Did I miss a clue somewhere?

     

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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I had the same problem (even after playing the several times!) and used the brute force method. The clue can be found in the brochure that you can pick up at the inn.

     

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Ha, had that problem too, and had to try all options! Did anyone had the problem that the automaton forklift (and Kate) disappear in the factory when the screen changes (and the automaton brings the canister to the assembly line)? I can’t remember that I noticed this when the game was released, and it may be caused because I have now a new (faster) computer.

     
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Very interesting reading so far in this thread.

I definitely agree with some of the points made, but I’m just going to charge ahead and make them again if no-one minds! Wink

Firstly, the graphics in the game are beautiful and have barely aged at all to my mind. I agree that if a game were released with these graphics today people would say it was beautiful and didn’t look dated in any way.

I think that one of the things I had trouble with the first time I played this through was the feeling of emptiness in Valadilene. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that the town is meant to be a ghost of its former self following the apparent demise of the automaton industry, but for me this doesn’t quite work.

Firstly, there are a HUGE number of empty backgrounds with no interaction possible. Beautiful? Absolutely, but if you need to constantly walk through pointless backgrounds (from a gameplay perspective) to get from one place to another that is (to my mind) bad game design. For me, this also doesn’t establish Valadilene as a ghost town.

Secondly, if Valadilene was once a bustling lively place then there should be some evidence of that somewhere. The factory is automaton run, as is every strange and amusing mechanical contrivance. If there were many people there then where are the now empty shops, schools, amusements etc. that would be the signs of life? I appreciate it is a pretty village which won’t have a cinema, amusement arcade and kebab shops but you can’t have it both ways! If it was bustling with life formerly where is the evidence of it?

These don’t break the game for me or anything, but did make it a bit hard to get into first time round and are - of course - only personal opinion which people will disagree with.

However, the tone of the game, set by the intro and the grandeur of scenes like the funeral bells causing the giant automaton on the tomb to slowly creak his reverence and respect in the tipping of his hat - make up for petty annoyances and give a beautiful sadness to the atmosphere. It reminds me a little bit of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince”.

     

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