0
Abbreviations
F: Forward (Fn for n repetitions)
B: Back
L: Left
R: Right
Click the mouse button to skip the introductory screen and proceed directly
to the Options menu.
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Tomb Entrance
At the left side of the doorway of the cave-like room into which you have
fallen, use the Interpreter function to identify the symbols as Mercury.
Click on the symbols; they turn white. Proceed through the doorway and
immediately turn around. Turn the Fire symbol orange by clicking on it. Go
through the doorway at the north end of the hall of soldiers. Immediately
turn around and click on the Water symbol to turn it blue. Turn around and
move forward to the girded ball at the end of the segmented-floor room
(failing to activate all three of the doorway symbols makes this passage
impassable).
To gain access to the tomb complex, move the Separate symbol at far right
into the open space beneath the large Door symbol. Proceed forward through
the circular hole.
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Plaza
Move F L F R F L F2 to enter the four-room building at the west side of the
plaza. Turn right and enter the northeast room. Zoom in on the five colored
rods on the sculpted bench. Pick up each rod, move left and place it in the
appropriate hole in the statue:
The statue's eyes light up when the colored rods have been correctly
placed.
Exit the room, move R2 F R and enter the northwest room. Turn left and zoom
in on the Feng-Shui puzzle. The object of this puzzle is to move eight of
the nine pieces at left into the empty grid at right while maintaining a
center house image that is the same as the rightmost (most complete) in the
row of five shown at the bottom. The solution will satisfy the requirements
of Feng-Shui landscape design as stated in the Archives:
Exit the room and continue moving forward into the southwest room. Zoom in
on the armillary sphere. Move forward until the writing on the apparatus is
visible. Click on the brown portion of the mechanism to view a
juxtaposition of blue and red spheres.
Exit the room, move R2 F R and enter the southeast room. Zoom in on the
compass on the floor. Click at the upper-right position seven times to
bring North to the bottom per ancient Chinese maps (see the Cartography
section of the Archives).
Exit the room, turn left and pick up the golden Plate now floating above
the tower of cylinders. Head northeast to the large spoon-shaped statue
guarding the palace entrance at the north end of the plaza. Put the plate
in position on the south side of the statue.
Proceed east and make note of a crossbow immediately north of the eastern
footbridge. Cross the bridge, turn left and zoom in on the four soldier
statues along the north wall of the workshop. Pick up an Arrow from the
pile on the ground. Move LF and release the waterwheel brake. Move R F2 and
load the arrow into the crossbow. Fire the crossbow to start the river
flowing.
Move B R F2 R F and watch a toy boat be raised up by a conveyor belt
connected to a lower level of the tomb. Pick up the Bamboo from the boat,
move B L F and use it to repair the broken viaduct. Move F2 R F R; you will
then be halfway across the western footbridge. Touch the lamp carving atop
the post to cause the workshop at the east end of the plaza to be
illuminated by the large lamp.
Move R F L F2 R F to the workshop gate. Enter the workshop and move forward
to face a conical furnace. There are a number of optional-play areas in the
workshop, including making a dragon design appear on a loom, and revealing
a secret message when the following selections are highlighted in a 4 x 4
array of disks:
X
X
X
X
Return to the furnace near the workshop entrance. Pick up Coal from the
container to the left and put it into the furnace. Pick up Fire from the
glowing area at right and add it to the furnace. Add Iron from the
container in front of the coal hopper. Molten iron will then run down the
left channel to the mold; pick up the resulting iron spoon. Back out of the
close-up and take the iron spoon to the statue at the palace entrance. To
open the gates to the palace, place the spoon on top of the golden plate.
Move around the spoon statue and into the palace.
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Palace
Move F2 R F R F and observe the sequence of nine musical note symbols shown
on the staircase steps:
Move F R F2 R F into the bedroom. Turn left and go up the stairs into the
cinnabar room. Zoom in on the low red table containing the incense burner
and plate of cinnabar. Pick up the cinnabar and put it into the incense
burner; watch mercury dribble out the bottom.
Move B2 L F2 L F3 L F into the Numbers Room. Zoom in on the framed disk and
use the Interpreter function on the writing for each of three riddles.
Provide the answer to each riddle by zooming back to the full room view,
picking up the appropriate numbered bar from the table (numbered 1-6 left
to right), zooming in on the framed disk, and clicking the number symbol on
the riddle writing. The three riddles and their solutions from the Archive
are:
Riddle Answer
What is the number closest to the heart of the emperor? 6
What is the number of cardinal directions? 5
What is the number of objects that must be placed on the ritual
altar? 2
After all three riddles have been solved, the Numbers Room is converted to
a shelf containing four objects. Pick up the golden tree (Precious
Offering) and take it to the Altar Room at the foot of the stairs by
backing out of the object close-up and moving B L F R F R F2.
Click the Precious Offering symbol on the left-hand mirror. Return to the
Numbers Room by moving B2 R F2 L F L F. Pick up the stone bird (Animal
Sacrifice) and return to the Altar Room by backing out of the object
close-up and moving B L F R F R F2.
Click the Animal Sacrifice symbol on the right-hand mirror, causing the
candles and incense burner to be lit. Move L F to the bells, on which
symbols are now apparent since both objects have been brought to the altar.
Click on the bells in the order given on the stairs:
- - - A B - -
- C D E - - - -
- - - -
Play Order: E D C D B A B D E
A door opens, leading to a torch-lit staircase. Follow the staircase down
to the lower tomb level.
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Lower Level
At the foot of the stairs, you'll find a glowing pool that provides a
shortcut to previously-visited areas in the game. Immediately after passing
through the archway at the foot of the stairs, move F3 R F to avoid the
(harmless) pitfalls behind the pool.
Continue moving forward several times until you completely pass a vertical
post on the right side of the path. Turn right and note the inscription
carved into the cave wall, referring to the feet, head, and right hand of
Pangu. Turn left and move forward through the doors decorated with chariots
to enter the jade tomb room. By referring to the map, note that the jade
figure on top of the sarcophagus has its feet pointing west, its head
pointing east, and its right hand facing north. Move R F2 to the compass
behind the sarcophagus.
Rotate the compass dial to the directions indicated above by rotating it
clockwise, counterclockwise, clockwise like a combination lock:
Click upper right twice
Click upper left four times
Click upper right twice
The sound of a door opening is heard. Move L F2 to pass through it into the
Throne Room. Move F R B L and push the scepter to expose an exit doorway at
the far end of the empty pool. Proceed forward through the
dragon-and-sphere statue to this door. Open the door to enter the sub-plaza
level.
Cross the footbridge and turn left at the water-cooled chamber. Move L F L
F to bring up the folding-squares puzzle. This puzzle is easier to
visualize once you discover that it is a flat 4 x 4 grid of squares folded
along its interior seams. Since no cuts along folds have been made, it's
possible to reconstruct the puzzle using a square piece of paper. For those
wishing a more direct solution, the following sequence of eight moves can
be used (the red square indicates where the white cursor should be placed
before clicking the mouse button):
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Philosophy Realm
Solving the folded-squares puzzle leads you into a new area (apparently
aboveground). Move forward and zoom in on the square well. This well
provides a shortcut to previously-visited areas in the game.
Back out from the well, then move R F4 L F4. Wait a few moments for the
flying fish (representing mother-of-pearl) to jump up on the dock and
disappear.
Move B4 R F15 and you will be facing a jumble of leaves overhanging the
walkway. Move R F and solve the Tangrams puzzle:
After the Tangrams puzzle has been solved, move R2 F and click on the
ginseng root to make it disappear. Next, move B R F8 L2 F2 and listen to
the eight musical notes played on the gate (the sequence can be replayed by
clicking on the gate outside the red shield). Using the notation
A B
C
D
E
F G
the solution is G C A C A E F B.
Move F3 to the telescope apparatus. Zoom in on the telescope sight with the
crosshairs cursor. Immediately drag the elliptical bulge on the vertical
bar about 80% of the way up. When the Big Dipper consellation begins to
appear, generate software interrupts by moving the mouse around, until the
constellation is completely centered in the circle. Then, rapidly click the
mouse button several times in the center of the circle until the
circle-and-dot cursor disappears. When the animation completes, you will
have been transported to the next realm.
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Sacred Mountains
We now find ourselves in a mystical realm, if the gyrating compass at lower
right is any indication. Turn right and pick up Gold. Move R2 F2 R to cross
the hanging bridge to the middle mountain. Put the gold into one of the
boats floating on the ice pond. Move L F and pick up Cinnabar. Move B L and
put the cinnabar into the other boat. Move L F3 and watch the animation on
the model of the three sacred mountains. The snow on the model of the
middle mountain disappears, and so does the snow on the actual mountaintop
behind you. Move L F3 L B R F and take the now-exposed shortcut to the
glowing pool on the lower level. Click on the sacred green fungus floating
in the pool to make it disappear. Take the shortcut to the plaza pool.
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Elixir of Immortality
From the plaza pool, move B R F2 L and watch the little red boat brought up
by the conveyor system. Pick up Gold from the boat and take it to the
furnace in the workshop by moving B2 R F2. Put the gold into the furnace,
followed by coal and fire from the adjacent piles.
Pick up the Gold Spoon from the mold connected to the furnace. From the
close-up of the spoon, move forward to be transported to the Throne Room.
For a quick game ending, move F L F2 L F to exit out the door with the
bright light. Otherwise, move F B L2 F to enter the circular Elixir Room
behind the throne.
If you have failed to obtain any of the ingredients necessary for preparing
the Elixir of Immortality, you can use the corresponding portal to return
to its location:
Ingredient Tomb Area Location
Ginseng Tree-covered walkway in Opposite Tangrams puzzle
Philosophy Realm
Mercury Cinnabar room in Palace Melted cinnabar in
incense burner
Sacred Fungus Lower Level Glowing Pool
Jade
Mother-of-PearlDock in Philosophy Realm Flying fish
Once all elixir ingredients have been obtained, the cursor changes into the
Elixir of Immortality symbol. Exit the Elixir Room through the circular
opening back into the Throne Room.
To give Hal Davis the elixir, move F L F2 L F from the throne and read the
endgame sequence.
To give Qin Shi Huangdi the elixir, move F R F2 L from the throne, click on
the sarcophagus, and read the endgame sequence.
To give the elixir to the spirit of the Earth, move F R F2 L from the
throne, click on the floating crystal sphere, and read the endgame
sequence.
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Endgames
1. Hal Davis, chairman of Mega Media, obtains the elixir of immortality
and commercially exploits the Xian site. Lots of wars, environmental
destruction and earthquakes ensue.
2. Hal Davis, chairman of Mega Media, obtains the elixir of immortality.
He grows younger and richer off the spoils of a Chinese civil war.
3. Qin Shi Huangdi obtains the elixir of immortality and becomes the
mysterious dictator Ying Zheng of a politically-reunified China.
4. Democracy prevails in China, with no commercial exploitation by Mega
Media. World peace and environmental improvement follow as Hal Davis
lies dying. Obviously the "best" ending.
Press Esc to skip the game credits and return to the Options menu.
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Shortcuts
Location Water Link
Plaza River bowl
Lower Level Glowing pool
Philosophy RealmSquare well
Sacred MountainsIce pool
Each water link cycles to the next one (if previously visited).
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Notes
* Written signs, visual close-ups, speech and other game features have
been omitted from this walkthrough unless essential to game progress.
These features add to the atmosphere of the game, and are left to
players to discover and enjoy for themselves. In particular, the
Interpreter function should be used whenever Chinese script is
encountered.
* The game's weakest point by far is its extreme slowness in responding
to mouse movements. The circle-and-dot mouse cursor itself seems to
have been designed with this lack of responsiveness in mind. Qin
apparently was not written in Macromedia Director, as many of the
better Windows games are. One wonders why a workable interface was
reinvented, only to produce an inferior result.
* The recommendation in the game's README.TXT file for using a 640 x 480
pixel Windows video mode is in fact a requirement if text in the
Archive is to be readable without being truncated at the right. A
scalable Windows font would have been more flexible.
* Although the history and extensive background information in the
Archive was helpful in setting the game atmosphere and providing clues
to puzzles, the overall tone of the game is much too serious. The
whole concept of Qin's tomb under Mount Li was done better, and with
more humor, in The Riddle of Master Lu.
* The reference to "traps" in the advertising on the game packaging
would appear to be essentially false since no traps exist in the game
(other than sometimes being at a loss as to what to do next). While
the game technically had multiple endings, most of the gameplay was
very linear.
* The online game on the Qin web page at http://pathfinder.com is very
misleading when it implies a prize would be awarded on completion of
the demo. After you finish the online game, you are given merely a
chance to win a Qin game or some other product.
* The maps with teleportation features and the compass were helpful in
avoiding tedious repetition of movements during gameplay and in
maintaining bearings in new environments. It would have been
preferable to show all compass stops, rather than just the adjacent
two.
* The Archive display function needs a PageUp/PageDown feature, and its
useful search function would be even better with a FindNext button.
* The single footstep heard during movement could have been improved
with a full sequence of step sounds such as was used in Buried in
Time.
* Unlike Director, Qin's savegame feature includes a file-overwrite
warning.