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Solution by Mike Marcelais: Version 1.1, November 1997
Do you have the most recent version of this file? Updates are always sent
first to The Spoiler Center at http://www.the-spoiler.com -- the best place to
get spoiled on the web.
Thanks to Andrew Becker for helping with the image maps, Julie Pickhardt for
help with the HTML, and Erik Gos, Tom Mueller, and Ron Opperman for extra tips
and corrections.
* Introduction
* Maps of the Realms
* Riven
* Tay
* 233'rd Age
* Solution
1. Generator Island
2. Forest Island
3. Experiment Island
4. Generator Island
5. Experiment Island
6. Map Island
7. Forest Island
8. Tay
9. Generator Island
10. Age 233
11. Catherine's Island
12. Generator Island
Introduction
Riven, like Myst, is a very open game. The puzzles to be solved are scattered
around the world and are often integrated very naturally into the environment.
Often, there is a lot of area that you can explore with access to lots of
devices that seem like puzzles. Usually, you cannot solve, or even decipher
the meaning, of a device when you first see it and many devices are places to
provide atmosphere to the game and are not part of any puzzle at all.
Part of the enjoyment of games like Riven is to walk around and take in the
local scenery. Enjoy the fruits of someone else's imagination. Try to figure
out what is important and relavant to your situation. Overuse of walktrhoughs
like this will ruin this sense of discovery; lost in the rush to get through
the game as quickly as possible.
But enough about that. Here is a brief overview of how this solution is
organized. The maps section gives a line-drawing map of all of the important
locations in the game and all of the walkways that link these locations. The
solution section actually talks about the different locations, what you need
to accomplish in each location (and sometimes why you need to accomplish it),
and gives you the order that you need to do stuff in. Because of the way the
'damaging' information in the maps is hidden in hyperlinks, the map section is
generally spoiler-free and can be used like a trail guide is used in a
National Park. The solution section is not so safe.
Maps
Riven (also known as the Fifth Age) is spread out over five islands. Names I
have asigned the islands are based on what I think is the most important
feature of the island. The major islands can also be identified by the CD that
the island is located on. There is also a small section of the game set
outside Riven, one part in Ghen' 233rd Age and another part in Tay.
All of the maps share a common legend: Paths are indicated in either red,
green or black -- the different colors are used to represent paths of
differing altitudes. If two paths cross, they actually meet if they are the
same color, and pass over or under each other if they are different colors.
Where possible, black paths are above the red paths but beneath the green
paths.
Important locations are drawn with a number in a black circle. Clicking on
that circle will bring up a thumbnail view of that location, to better orient
yourself. The numbers are assigned arbitrarily and are used in the solution
section of the game to describe locations more easily. Some locations may have
paths of different colors entering and leaving the location. Sometimes, it is
possible to go from one height to another in a location -- usually visiting
the section in question makes this obvious.
All shorelines (including the edges of islands) are drawn in blue, often with
a blue border (or solid area) to indicate the direction that the water
extends. Dashed black lines indicate borders between the CDs. Paths which you
travel along, but have no direct control over (such as minecar paths) will be
shown in purple.
Riven
You start the game at location 1.
Tay
The 233'rd Age
Solution
All numbers refer to map locations in the general maps. Location numbers will
always be written in arabic numbers (ie: 17) while all other numbers will be
written in english (ie: seventeen).
Don't be afraid to explore areas that are open. There are many areas of the
game that are accesable much earlier in the game then when they are visited in
this solution. As far as I can tell, it is impossible to lose anything, break
anything, or make a puzzle unsolvable, nor is it possible to get stuck
anywhere (physically) and not be able to return to a location you have been
previously. There is one way to lose the game, but it is hard to do and not
possible until near the end of the game.
Part I: Generator Island
Generator Island is the island that you start the game on. Atrus sends you
here with a Prison book and his journal and tells you that you need to trick
Ghen into using the Prison book so that he can imprison Ghen and rescue
Catherine and all of the natives of Riven from the world before it
disintegrates. He sends you here (to location 1) where you promply arrive in a
cage. A native arrives, talks in a strange language to you and takes the
prison book. He is then ambushed by a rebel who takes the book but frees you.
Start by heading up the stairs towards 3. (You can look over the edge of the
cliff to see the ambushed native if you like.) Ignore the telescope at 2 since
you can't do anything with it for a long time. When you get to 3, you can look
into the room at 4. This room rotates: it has five entrances with two
doorways. The button next to the door rotates the room: click it four times so
that the doorways open to the entrances to your left and right. Then continue
straight along the path.
At 5 you arrive at a gate. You can get around the gate by clicking underneath
it. Enter to room and cross over to 8. At 8, there is a steam switch with an
icon of the telescope above it. You will see many of these kinds of switches
in the game: most devices in Riven are steam powered. This switch directs the
steam from the ground beneath you to either the device (if the switches is
lowered) or to the vent above you. Flip the switch. Head back to the doorway
and pull the lever on the left. This opens up the gate that would block access
to 6. Then push the button (on the right) twice to rotate the room so that the
openings are at 6 and 8. Cross the room to 6.
At 6, there is a door blocking access. Turn around and pull the lever here.
This opens the gate that blocks access to 7. Now, push the button twice to
rotate the room so that you can cross back to 3; then at 3 push the button
twice to allow access to 7. Then cross the room to 7.
At 7, walk across the bridge and enter the large domed building directly ahead
at 9. This building is the main power generator for all of the devices on
Riven. You can see pipes extending from this building to all of the other
islands on Riven. This is why I named this island the Generator Island. Walk
around the building and down the ramp until you get back outside. Here, there
are two more switches, both of which control bridges, at 14 and 12 that you
should flip. Then head back down the path and return to the bridge at 3.
Cross the bridge and head down the cavern tunnel. On the left there is a door
that opens into 16. In 16, there is a chair which I never figured out a use
for, although I believe it to be a communication device (based on several
similar devices you will see later). If you enter the room and turn back
around, there is a porthole thing on the left of the door. This displays a
view of 17 and the lever attached to the device opens and closes the door
there. Open the door. (The porthole on the right displays a view of 18.)
Return to the tunnel and head to 17. Head out the door to 18 where there is a
suspended tram station. Push the blue button to call the car and hop on board.
The controls are fairly easy to understand: the lever that looks like it turns
circularly will turn the car around and the push lever in the middle causes
the tram to move forward. Enjoy the ride -- the animation here is very well
done. You arrive at the other end at 19.
Part II: Forest Island
You are now on Forest Island; so named for the forests that grow (and in some
places, used to grow) here. At 20, there is a small marble in the stone that
rotates. When rotated, you hear an animal sound and also see a Riven numeral.
These Riven numbers are discussed in more detail when you arrive at 38 a
little later in the solution.
Head through the caves to 21, and turn right heading up the stairs. (The
button at 21 will call the tram if you find that it isn't at 19 when you need
it.) Head through the gate when you get to 22. Off the path in the jungle to
your left, there is a path that leads to another marble (at 23). There is a
large Riven dagger stuck in the ground here to let you know where this is.
Continuing along the path through 25 to 30, you will arrive at a walkway where
a sentry in a watchtower above you will sound an alarm. When you go down the
walkway to 43, you will see villagers here flee from you as quickly as they
can. (I thought this, plus the language barrier, was a nice way of minimizing
interaction with others while avoiding the appearance of a wasteland like Myst
was.)
Continue along the walkway. At 41, there is a dock, but nothing docked here.
Near 39, you will start climbing ladders and walking across elevated walks
through the village. At 39, there is something that looks very much like an
altar or a shrine and a submarine. Pull the lever next to the submarine and it
will lower into the water (down to location 40). Now return down through the
walkways and go to location 24.
At 24, there is a minecar. Jump into the minecar and pull the lever. The car
will go through earthen tunnels, under water, and through elevated tracks all
of the way to 44.
Part III: Experiment Island
You arrive in the central bay area of this island, so named because Ghen does
most of his experimenting on this island. You arrive at location 44, but
quickly slide down a chute to 45.
From here, walk out to 46. There is a three way switch here that controls the
power to this island. Currently it is set to deliver power to 50; move the
switch to the middle setting so that power goes to 47. Then return to the
shore and go to 47.
At 47, flip the side lever to turn off the heat in the tank. This will cause
the water to stop boiling. Then turn the wheel to drain the water away. Now,
turn to your left and flip the small lever there on the pair of pipes. This
will cause power to flow to the third control: the switch that raises and
lowers the platform inside the building. Go around and go inside (at 48). Go
down the ladder and crawl through the pipe. There will be several screens
where it is pitch blank, but eventually you will emerge at 49.
When you come out of the pipe, head down the path towards 50. On the balcony,
there is a ladder leading down. Open the hatch to the ladder, since it can
only be opened from this side. Then open the pair of double doors and go
through them. Now close the doors, since the passages leading to 51 and 53 are
blocked when the doors are open. Head towards 53. Along the way, there will be
a lever on the right side of the path. Pull that lever, then return to 52.
If this area has power, the device at 52 can be used. You can open the steel
sphere to reveal a bear-trap like mechanism. Drag a piece of food from the
dish on the right and put it in the center of the trap. Use the lever to lower
the sphere into the water far below. After a few minutes, you will hear the
trap snap shut. Raise the trap back up and open it and you will have a frog.
However, this is completely unnecessary. If you look up, there is a
ventilation shaft. The switch you pulled near 53 turns off the fan blades so
that you can crawl safely through the vent and into 54. When you arrive, you
will see that 54 is Ghen' laboratory. The most important thing in this library
is the journal laying on the desk beneath the vent. Inside, you will find the
access code to the linking book domes. It will look like five symbols, inside
squares in a row. The code is different every game, so you have to copy down
those symbols (or skip ahead to the section on Riven numbers and just note
down the numbers).
Now, go to the door with the blue button and open it. This leads back out to
53. Now head across the long bridge back towards the Generator Island. Right
before you get to the end of the bridge, there is a section raised up. Use the
lever there to lower the bridge so you can re-enter the generator.
Part IV: Generator Island
Head inside the building and follow the catwalk around to 10. The wheel here,
when turned, will extend the catwalk across to connect with 9. Now, go to 13.
A section of the walkway is missing here. Turn around and push the button --
this will raise the walkway and allow you to cross over to 6. The lever here
will open the door. Return to location 9 and face out towards 7. To your right
is a lever. Pull the lever and this raises the stairs up. This causes the
stairs to go from 7 up to 11 instead of to 9. However, you don"t know what to
do at 11 yet, so lets leave. Return to 53 via the bridge.
Part V: Experiment Island
Head into the building at 54 and exit out the other door to 55. There is
another tram car. (If the car is't here, you can call it by pushing the blue
button back at 54.) Get in the tram and take it across to 56.
Part VI: Map Island
At 56, take the left exit from the tram car and head out the door to 62 and up
the stairs to 61. Here, there is a button that will raise you up to the next
level. From here, you can look back towards 56 and see a map of the Riven
islands. Pushing one of the buttons on the keypad will cause water to form on
one of the land masses corresponding to its topographical shape.
You can continue around to 60 if you like; this shows the location of another
of the linking spheres. When you are done looking around, head back down to 56
via 62, go through the tram until you are on the other platform and head down
the passage to 57.
At 57, pull the lever to call the elevator. Inside, push the button to
descend. When you exit, you will surprise Ghen in the passageway and he will
run to 59. If you follow him, you can see him leave in the tram. Don't follow
him, but head back to 58 instead.
There is a chair here which offers a view of the undersea life. The left dial
offers a view of the underwater area (by pushing the right button) and a view
of Catherine's cell (by pushing the left button). The right dial allows you to
turn on various undersea lights. This allows you to associate each of the
colors with each of the Riven symbols for that color. Note that the purple
light is burned out. Alas. Now, return to 59 and take the tram across to the
Forest Isle at 29.
Part VII: Forest Island
At 29, take the corridor to 28. This is an elevator. You are currently on the
ground floor. The middle floor leads to a secret exit through the mouth of a
fish at 27. The button to call the tram is also located here. Taking the
elevator all of the way to the top leads to the treetop walkway. This is where
you want to go.
Once up here, head past the linking dome at 25 to the building at 31. Sit in
the chair in this building. The lever on the left will raise the chair up to a
very high altitude and let you get a view of the entire village. If you look
down, you will see this teepee like structure. The lever on the right will
close and open the floor of this structure. Leave the floor closed. Now lower
the chair and head back towards the elevator. Take the middle exit, down
through 27, and make your way across the island to 21 continuing down the
stairs to 35.
At 35, there are a pair of beached seal like creatures. Around the backside of
the rocks where they are sitting is another marble. Continue along the passage
to 34, there is a pool with another marble in it. If you turn the dial on the
bottom-right of the pool, water will flow into the pool to make the silhouette
of an animal.
Continue down the ladders to get to 40. The sub that you lowered from 39
should be here. The controls in the sub are identical to those of the tram,
except that the go level is to the right and there is a slider along the
bottom of the controls. This slider determines whether you will go left or
right when you get to a junction.
Follow the tracks to location 33. Climb the stairs here and you will get to a
room that has five levers. These levers control whether the docking rings are
extended or not. If the rings are not extended, then the you cannot get to
that dock with your sub. You will want to raise all of the levers. Now return
to the sub.
Take the sub to 38. This is a schoolhouse. Along the walls are the letters of
the Riven alphabet. The important thing here is just to the left of the door.
It is a nifty game: there are two men dangling from ropes and a shark waiting
below to eat them. Every time you turn the crank, a random number is spun in
the window below and the man whose turn it is drops that many notches on the
rope. First one to twenty loses.
This game lets you learn Riven numbers. You can easily pick up the values of
the first ten numbers.
Now, notice that the multiples of five are just the values one through four
rotated by ninety degrees. Riven numbers are base five: The first digit is
placed in a square normally, the second digit is placed at right angles to
that number. Subsequent digits are placed in new squares to the left. To read
the numbers, you take the rotated number, multiply it by five, and then add it
to the non-rotated number. See the example for seventeen above. If you have
more than one digit, then you multiply the left total by twenty-five and add
it to the right total. For example, Ghen's world he called: The left value is
nine, the right value is eight. The total is (9*25+8) which is two hundred
thirty-three. Now that you know Riven numbers, you can translate the numbers
you found in Ghen's journal.
Anyway, now that you can count, return to the sub and head to 42. When you
exit the sub, walk into the teepee area and pull the handle on the far side.
This will lower a bar down to the ground. You can step into the middle of the
area and grab the bar and ride up to the top. Once up here, use the button to
the right of the door to open the cell. Once inside the cell at 32, lift up
the drain in the floor and click there. This will raise a hidden switch that
opens a secret door in the wall. Go through this door.
The passageway you enter is completely dark. Eventually, you will get to a
seaview at 36. There is a light here that you can turn on by clicking it. As
you walk back along the passage, there are more lights that you can turn on --
they were hidden by the darkness. Turn around again and you will see the side
door that leads to 37 this time down. Head towards 37.
37 contains a circle of stones that need to be lowered in exactly the right
order. Each of the marbles that you saw earlier in the game were associated
with one of the animals depicted on the stones. The number of the back of the
marble determines the order to push the tablets in. Here are the pictures of
the five stones that you need to push:
These stones are located in the following locations: Facing the exit door, the
6th stone from the left, the 1st stone from the left; turn to the right, 2nd
stone from the left, turn to the right, 7th stone from the left, 4th stone
from the left. This will open a shelf straight ahead that contains a linking
book. Use the book to link to Tay.
Part VIII: Tay
You arrive in Tay at 64. This is the cover picture for the Riven box, in case
you hadn't noticed. There doesn't seem to be anything to do here, so return to
the linking boot at 63. You will be ambushed and imprisoned by the rebels
here. They will take you to a room at 65 where you will meet someone that
brings you back the prison book and Catherine's journal. The important piece
of information in the journal is the combination to the telescope that you saw
back at the start of the game in location 2. It is a series of five Riven
numbers and the combination is different every game. After you have taken the
journal, your captor returns with a linking book to return to to 37.
(Side note: Now that you have the combination to the telescope, you can go to
it and break the fissure. Doing so before you have captured Ghen will cause
Atrus to be summoned and captured and Ghen will escape Riven.)
When you have returned to 37, head towards location 4. Note that to get
through the secret door at 32 you will have to lift the lever on the right
side of the screen. You can also exit this upper area by going towards 43
where you can lower a ladder to have permanent access between the upper and
lower levels of the village area.
Part IX: Generator Island
You are now back in the rotating room at 4. Rotate the room so that an exit
towards 7 is available. You should have raised the stairs by now (using the
lever at 9) so you have access to the generator's roof at 11 now. Head up to
11.
At 11, head towards the device in the center of the dome. There is a grid,
twenty-five holes square and six marbles along the right side. The grid is
divided up into five regions that are the same regions depicted on the Map
Island map. What you need to do is locate the five linking domes; use the Map
Island map to determine where on the grid the dome is located; determine what
the color of the dome is by using the viewfinder located near each dome and
then place the marble for that dome in the grid.
Or just look at the diagram below for the proper placement of the gems. Using
text mode coordinates, assuming that the lower-left corner is (0,0), then the
red marble goes at (8,8), the orange at (5,3), the green at (15,24), the blue
at (21,24) and the purple at (1,21). Now head back, pull the lever down and
push the white button. You know you've done it right if you hear a drilling
like sound after pushing the white button. This now gives power to all of the
linking book domes.
Now, return to the inside of the dome (via location 6). This can be done by
pushing the button at location 3 three times. Head to the lower level of the
dome and exit (heading towards 14) and go to location 13. Push the button
against the wall and the floor will descend to the lowest level. This will
allow you to get to the linking book dome at 15.
To use the linking book domes. Nearby each dome is a dome viewer. For the dome
at 15, the viewer is right in front of the dome. For other domes, it is always
nearby. (The dome at 51 deserves special mention; the viewer is hidden in a
passage that is blocked when the door to the room containing the dome is
open.) To get access to the dome, you need to hit the button on the viewer
just before the dome' color symbol appears. You can always tell what that
symbol is by watching the pictures in the viewer. There is always a short
pause on the dome's color symbol and it is always highlighted. You will have
to anticipate the symbol some. Now, head to the dome and set the five sliders
to the five numbers that you found in Ghen's journal and push the button. Then
use the book to link. You can push the button at the base of the bookstand to
exit the dome.
Go into the dome at 15 and link to Age 233; where Ghen is hiding.
Part X: Age 233
You arrive here, at location 66, in a cage. (Side note: locations 66 through
76 are all in this room.) Turn around until you see a button just outside the
cage. This button is located in the direction of 75. This will call Ghen to
the chamber. He gives you a long speech about how he has changed; takes the
prison book from you when he notices that you have recovered it; is about to
use it when he gets suspicious and then asks that you go first.
If you remember from reading Atrus's journal, the prison book is a one man
prison; if a second person uses the book, then the first is released. So go
ahead and enter the prison book. Ghen will quickly follow releasing you from
the prison and entrapping himself in. You are now free to explore the room.
Locations 67 through 71 are linking books that link to the following locations
(respectively): 60, 25, 57, 15, and 51. Location 72 is a generator for making
power to these linking books. The slider turns it on and off. The power is on
if the red window below the lever glows. 73 is a writing table with Ghen's
newest book. 74 is a doorway leading outside. Unfortunately, there is no way
to open it. 75 is a lever that opens the cage. 76 is a stairwell that descends
down to Ghen's bedroom at 77. Take that stairwell down.
Inside his bedroom, on the nightstand, is Ghen's personal journal. More
importantly, next to the journal is a sphere that when clicked will play five
tones that are either 'dings', 'cranks' (like a wrench), or 'clanks' and this
combination is different every game. Make a note of the tones that you hear
from the device.
Return to 69 and link through that book. (The linking book has but one square
on the cover.)
Part XI: Catherine's Island
You arrive at Catherin's Island, at 78. Head down the path to the building
where there is an elevator. The device against the back wall is the lock for
the cage. Click on the pedals to duplicate the five tones that the device at
77 made and flip the lever. This will open the cage. You will rise up to the
top level where Catherine will greet you and congradulate you. She will tell
you to return to the telescope and open the fissure.
Head back to the linking globe at 78, link back to Ghen's world and then link
to 15 using the book at 70 (the book with five squares on the cover).
Part XII: Generator Island
Head to location 2. Look at the left leg of the telescope. There is a device
in the support that prevents the telescope from dropping beneath a certain
level. Remove that support. Then click on the cover in the center of the
telescope. Key in the combination from Catherine's journal (numbering the
buttons from one to five, left to right), then click on the handle to open the
cover. Now look at the button on the right side of the telescope railing.
Twist the handle around the button until it is pointing down, and then push
the button until the telescope breaks through the glass covering the fissure.
The fissure breaks, Catherine and Atrus are reunited, and in a fit of madness,
they throw you into the fissure. (It makes much more sense when you watch the
ending.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riven: The Sequel to Myst solution Copyright (c) 1997 by Mike Marcelais. All
commercial rights reserved. This document may be distributed, so long as no
content is changed and no fee is charged.
If you have any suggestions, additions, or corrections, send me a note at
michmarc@microsoft.com. Contributions will be appreciated and credited.
Do you have the most recent version of this file? Updates are always sent
first to The Spoiler Center at http://www.the-spoiler.com -- the best place to
get spoiled on the web.
Thanks to Andrew Becker for helping with the image maps, Julie Pickhardt for
help with the HTML, and Erik Gos, Tom Mueller, and Ron Opperman for extra tips
and corrections.
* Introduction
* Maps of the Realms
* Riven
* Tay
* 233'rd Age
* Solution
1. Generator Island
2. Forest Island
3. Experiment Island
4. Generator Island
5. Experiment Island
6. Map Island
7. Forest Island
8. Tay
9. Generator Island
10. Age 233
11. Catherine's Island
12. Generator Island
Introduction
Riven, like Myst, is a very open game. The puzzles to be solved are scattered
around the world and are often integrated very naturally into the environment.
Often, there is a lot of area that you can explore with access to lots of
devices that seem like puzzles. Usually, you cannot solve, or even decipher
the meaning, of a device when you first see it and many devices are places to
provide atmosphere to the game and are not part of any puzzle at all.
Part of the enjoyment of games like Riven is to walk around and take in the
local scenery. Enjoy the fruits of someone else's imagination. Try to figure
out what is important and relavant to your situation. Overuse of walktrhoughs
like this will ruin this sense of discovery; lost in the rush to get through
the game as quickly as possible.
But enough about that. Here is a brief overview of how this solution is
organized. The maps section gives a line-drawing map of all of the important
locations in the game and all of the walkways that link these locations. The
solution section actually talks about the different locations, what you need
to accomplish in each location (and sometimes why you need to accomplish it),
and gives you the order that you need to do stuff in. Because of the way the
'damaging' information in the maps is hidden in hyperlinks, the map section is
generally spoiler-free and can be used like a trail guide is used in a
National Park. The solution section is not so safe.
Maps
Riven (also known as the Fifth Age) is spread out over five islands. Names I
have asigned the islands are based on what I think is the most important
feature of the island. The major islands can also be identified by the CD that
the island is located on. There is also a small section of the game set
outside Riven, one part in Ghen' 233rd Age and another part in Tay.
All of the maps share a common legend: Paths are indicated in either red,
green or black -- the different colors are used to represent paths of
differing altitudes. If two paths cross, they actually meet if they are the
same color, and pass over or under each other if they are different colors.
Where possible, black paths are above the red paths but beneath the green
paths.
Important locations are drawn with a number in a black circle. Clicking on
that circle will bring up a thumbnail view of that location, to better orient
yourself. The numbers are assigned arbitrarily and are used in the solution
section of the game to describe locations more easily. Some locations may have
paths of different colors entering and leaving the location. Sometimes, it is
possible to go from one height to another in a location -- usually visiting
the section in question makes this obvious.
All shorelines (including the edges of islands) are drawn in blue, often with
a blue border (or solid area) to indicate the direction that the water
extends. Dashed black lines indicate borders between the CDs. Paths which you
travel along, but have no direct control over (such as minecar paths) will be
shown in purple.
Riven
You start the game at location 1.
Tay
The 233'rd Age
Solution
All numbers refer to map locations in the general maps. Location numbers will
always be written in arabic numbers (ie: 17) while all other numbers will be
written in english (ie: seventeen).
Don't be afraid to explore areas that are open. There are many areas of the
game that are accesable much earlier in the game then when they are visited in
this solution. As far as I can tell, it is impossible to lose anything, break
anything, or make a puzzle unsolvable, nor is it possible to get stuck
anywhere (physically) and not be able to return to a location you have been
previously. There is one way to lose the game, but it is hard to do and not
possible until near the end of the game.
Part I: Generator Island
Generator Island is the island that you start the game on. Atrus sends you
here with a Prison book and his journal and tells you that you need to trick
Ghen into using the Prison book so that he can imprison Ghen and rescue
Catherine and all of the natives of Riven from the world before it
disintegrates. He sends you here (to location 1) where you promply arrive in a
cage. A native arrives, talks in a strange language to you and takes the
prison book. He is then ambushed by a rebel who takes the book but frees you.
Start by heading up the stairs towards 3. (You can look over the edge of the
cliff to see the ambushed native if you like.) Ignore the telescope at 2 since
you can't do anything with it for a long time. When you get to 3, you can look
into the room at 4. This room rotates: it has five entrances with two
doorways. The button next to the door rotates the room: click it four times so
that the doorways open to the entrances to your left and right. Then continue
straight along the path.
At 5 you arrive at a gate. You can get around the gate by clicking underneath
it. Enter to room and cross over to 8. At 8, there is a steam switch with an
icon of the telescope above it. You will see many of these kinds of switches
in the game: most devices in Riven are steam powered. This switch directs the
steam from the ground beneath you to either the device (if the switches is
lowered) or to the vent above you. Flip the switch. Head back to the doorway
and pull the lever on the left. This opens up the gate that would block access
to 6. Then push the button (on the right) twice to rotate the room so that the
openings are at 6 and 8. Cross the room to 6.
At 6, there is a door blocking access. Turn around and pull the lever here.
This opens the gate that blocks access to 7. Now, push the button twice to
rotate the room so that you can cross back to 3; then at 3 push the button
twice to allow access to 7. Then cross the room to 7.
At 7, walk across the bridge and enter the large domed building directly ahead
at 9. This building is the main power generator for all of the devices on
Riven. You can see pipes extending from this building to all of the other
islands on Riven. This is why I named this island the Generator Island. Walk
around the building and down the ramp until you get back outside. Here, there
are two more switches, both of which control bridges, at 14 and 12 that you
should flip. Then head back down the path and return to the bridge at 3.
Cross the bridge and head down the cavern tunnel. On the left there is a door
that opens into 16. In 16, there is a chair which I never figured out a use
for, although I believe it to be a communication device (based on several
similar devices you will see later). If you enter the room and turn back
around, there is a porthole thing on the left of the door. This displays a
view of 17 and the lever attached to the device opens and closes the door
there. Open the door. (The porthole on the right displays a view of 18.)
Return to the tunnel and head to 17. Head out the door to 18 where there is a
suspended tram station. Push the blue button to call the car and hop on board.
The controls are fairly easy to understand: the lever that looks like it turns
circularly will turn the car around and the push lever in the middle causes
the tram to move forward. Enjoy the ride -- the animation here is very well
done. You arrive at the other end at 19.
Part II: Forest Island
You are now on Forest Island; so named for the forests that grow (and in some
places, used to grow) here. At 20, there is a small marble in the stone that
rotates. When rotated, you hear an animal sound and also see a Riven numeral.
These Riven numbers are discussed in more detail when you arrive at 38 a
little later in the solution.
Head through the caves to 21, and turn right heading up the stairs. (The
button at 21 will call the tram if you find that it isn't at 19 when you need
it.) Head through the gate when you get to 22. Off the path in the jungle to
your left, there is a path that leads to another marble (at 23). There is a
large Riven dagger stuck in the ground here to let you know where this is.
Continuing along the path through 25 to 30, you will arrive at a walkway where
a sentry in a watchtower above you will sound an alarm. When you go down the
walkway to 43, you will see villagers here flee from you as quickly as they
can. (I thought this, plus the language barrier, was a nice way of minimizing
interaction with others while avoiding the appearance of a wasteland like Myst
was.)
Continue along the walkway. At 41, there is a dock, but nothing docked here.
Near 39, you will start climbing ladders and walking across elevated walks
through the village. At 39, there is something that looks very much like an
altar or a shrine and a submarine. Pull the lever next to the submarine and it
will lower into the water (down to location 40). Now return down through the
walkways and go to location 24.
At 24, there is a minecar. Jump into the minecar and pull the lever. The car
will go through earthen tunnels, under water, and through elevated tracks all
of the way to 44.
Part III: Experiment Island
You arrive in the central bay area of this island, so named because Ghen does
most of his experimenting on this island. You arrive at location 44, but
quickly slide down a chute to 45.
From here, walk out to 46. There is a three way switch here that controls the
power to this island. Currently it is set to deliver power to 50; move the
switch to the middle setting so that power goes to 47. Then return to the
shore and go to 47.
At 47, flip the side lever to turn off the heat in the tank. This will cause
the water to stop boiling. Then turn the wheel to drain the water away. Now,
turn to your left and flip the small lever there on the pair of pipes. This
will cause power to flow to the third control: the switch that raises and
lowers the platform inside the building. Go around and go inside (at 48). Go
down the ladder and crawl through the pipe. There will be several screens
where it is pitch blank, but eventually you will emerge at 49.
When you come out of the pipe, head down the path towards 50. On the balcony,
there is a ladder leading down. Open the hatch to the ladder, since it can
only be opened from this side. Then open the pair of double doors and go
through them. Now close the doors, since the passages leading to 51 and 53 are
blocked when the doors are open. Head towards 53. Along the way, there will be
a lever on the right side of the path. Pull that lever, then return to 52.
If this area has power, the device at 52 can be used. You can open the steel
sphere to reveal a bear-trap like mechanism. Drag a piece of food from the
dish on the right and put it in the center of the trap. Use the lever to lower
the sphere into the water far below. After a few minutes, you will hear the
trap snap shut. Raise the trap back up and open it and you will have a frog.
However, this is completely unnecessary. If you look up, there is a
ventilation shaft. The switch you pulled near 53 turns off the fan blades so
that you can crawl safely through the vent and into 54. When you arrive, you
will see that 54 is Ghen' laboratory. The most important thing in this library
is the journal laying on the desk beneath the vent. Inside, you will find the
access code to the linking book domes. It will look like five symbols, inside
squares in a row. The code is different every game, so you have to copy down
those symbols (or skip ahead to the section on Riven numbers and just note
down the numbers).
Now, go to the door with the blue button and open it. This leads back out to
53. Now head across the long bridge back towards the Generator Island. Right
before you get to the end of the bridge, there is a section raised up. Use the
lever there to lower the bridge so you can re-enter the generator.
Part IV: Generator Island
Head inside the building and follow the catwalk around to 10. The wheel here,
when turned, will extend the catwalk across to connect with 9. Now, go to 13.
A section of the walkway is missing here. Turn around and push the button --
this will raise the walkway and allow you to cross over to 6. The lever here
will open the door. Return to location 9 and face out towards 7. To your right
is a lever. Pull the lever and this raises the stairs up. This causes the
stairs to go from 7 up to 11 instead of to 9. However, you don"t know what to
do at 11 yet, so lets leave. Return to 53 via the bridge.
Part V: Experiment Island
Head into the building at 54 and exit out the other door to 55. There is
another tram car. (If the car is't here, you can call it by pushing the blue
button back at 54.) Get in the tram and take it across to 56.
Part VI: Map Island
At 56, take the left exit from the tram car and head out the door to 62 and up
the stairs to 61. Here, there is a button that will raise you up to the next
level. From here, you can look back towards 56 and see a map of the Riven
islands. Pushing one of the buttons on the keypad will cause water to form on
one of the land masses corresponding to its topographical shape.
You can continue around to 60 if you like; this shows the location of another
of the linking spheres. When you are done looking around, head back down to 56
via 62, go through the tram until you are on the other platform and head down
the passage to 57.
At 57, pull the lever to call the elevator. Inside, push the button to
descend. When you exit, you will surprise Ghen in the passageway and he will
run to 59. If you follow him, you can see him leave in the tram. Don't follow
him, but head back to 58 instead.
There is a chair here which offers a view of the undersea life. The left dial
offers a view of the underwater area (by pushing the right button) and a view
of Catherine's cell (by pushing the left button). The right dial allows you to
turn on various undersea lights. This allows you to associate each of the
colors with each of the Riven symbols for that color. Note that the purple
light is burned out. Alas. Now, return to 59 and take the tram across to the
Forest Isle at 29.
Part VII: Forest Island
At 29, take the corridor to 28. This is an elevator. You are currently on the
ground floor. The middle floor leads to a secret exit through the mouth of a
fish at 27. The button to call the tram is also located here. Taking the
elevator all of the way to the top leads to the treetop walkway. This is where
you want to go.
Once up here, head past the linking dome at 25 to the building at 31. Sit in
the chair in this building. The lever on the left will raise the chair up to a
very high altitude and let you get a view of the entire village. If you look
down, you will see this teepee like structure. The lever on the right will
close and open the floor of this structure. Leave the floor closed. Now lower
the chair and head back towards the elevator. Take the middle exit, down
through 27, and make your way across the island to 21 continuing down the
stairs to 35.
At 35, there are a pair of beached seal like creatures. Around the backside of
the rocks where they are sitting is another marble. Continue along the passage
to 34, there is a pool with another marble in it. If you turn the dial on the
bottom-right of the pool, water will flow into the pool to make the silhouette
of an animal.
Continue down the ladders to get to 40. The sub that you lowered from 39
should be here. The controls in the sub are identical to those of the tram,
except that the go level is to the right and there is a slider along the
bottom of the controls. This slider determines whether you will go left or
right when you get to a junction.
Follow the tracks to location 33. Climb the stairs here and you will get to a
room that has five levers. These levers control whether the docking rings are
extended or not. If the rings are not extended, then the you cannot get to
that dock with your sub. You will want to raise all of the levers. Now return
to the sub.
Take the sub to 38. This is a schoolhouse. Along the walls are the letters of
the Riven alphabet. The important thing here is just to the left of the door.
It is a nifty game: there are two men dangling from ropes and a shark waiting
below to eat them. Every time you turn the crank, a random number is spun in
the window below and the man whose turn it is drops that many notches on the
rope. First one to twenty loses.
This game lets you learn Riven numbers. You can easily pick up the values of
the first ten numbers.
Now, notice that the multiples of five are just the values one through four
rotated by ninety degrees. Riven numbers are base five: The first digit is
placed in a square normally, the second digit is placed at right angles to
that number. Subsequent digits are placed in new squares to the left. To read
the numbers, you take the rotated number, multiply it by five, and then add it
to the non-rotated number. See the example for seventeen above. If you have
more than one digit, then you multiply the left total by twenty-five and add
it to the right total. For example, Ghen's world he called: The left value is
nine, the right value is eight. The total is (9*25+8) which is two hundred
thirty-three. Now that you know Riven numbers, you can translate the numbers
you found in Ghen's journal.
Anyway, now that you can count, return to the sub and head to 42. When you
exit the sub, walk into the teepee area and pull the handle on the far side.
This will lower a bar down to the ground. You can step into the middle of the
area and grab the bar and ride up to the top. Once up here, use the button to
the right of the door to open the cell. Once inside the cell at 32, lift up
the drain in the floor and click there. This will raise a hidden switch that
opens a secret door in the wall. Go through this door.
The passageway you enter is completely dark. Eventually, you will get to a
seaview at 36. There is a light here that you can turn on by clicking it. As
you walk back along the passage, there are more lights that you can turn on --
they were hidden by the darkness. Turn around again and you will see the side
door that leads to 37 this time down. Head towards 37.
37 contains a circle of stones that need to be lowered in exactly the right
order. Each of the marbles that you saw earlier in the game were associated
with one of the animals depicted on the stones. The number of the back of the
marble determines the order to push the tablets in. Here are the pictures of
the five stones that you need to push:
These stones are located in the following locations: Facing the exit door, the
6th stone from the left, the 1st stone from the left; turn to the right, 2nd
stone from the left, turn to the right, 7th stone from the left, 4th stone
from the left. This will open a shelf straight ahead that contains a linking
book. Use the book to link to Tay.
Part VIII: Tay
You arrive in Tay at 64. This is the cover picture for the Riven box, in case
you hadn't noticed. There doesn't seem to be anything to do here, so return to
the linking boot at 63. You will be ambushed and imprisoned by the rebels
here. They will take you to a room at 65 where you will meet someone that
brings you back the prison book and Catherine's journal. The important piece
of information in the journal is the combination to the telescope that you saw
back at the start of the game in location 2. It is a series of five Riven
numbers and the combination is different every game. After you have taken the
journal, your captor returns with a linking book to return to to 37.
(Side note: Now that you have the combination to the telescope, you can go to
it and break the fissure. Doing so before you have captured Ghen will cause
Atrus to be summoned and captured and Ghen will escape Riven.)
When you have returned to 37, head towards location 4. Note that to get
through the secret door at 32 you will have to lift the lever on the right
side of the screen. You can also exit this upper area by going towards 43
where you can lower a ladder to have permanent access between the upper and
lower levels of the village area.
Part IX: Generator Island
You are now back in the rotating room at 4. Rotate the room so that an exit
towards 7 is available. You should have raised the stairs by now (using the
lever at 9) so you have access to the generator's roof at 11 now. Head up to
11.
At 11, head towards the device in the center of the dome. There is a grid,
twenty-five holes square and six marbles along the right side. The grid is
divided up into five regions that are the same regions depicted on the Map
Island map. What you need to do is locate the five linking domes; use the Map
Island map to determine where on the grid the dome is located; determine what
the color of the dome is by using the viewfinder located near each dome and
then place the marble for that dome in the grid.
Or just look at the diagram below for the proper placement of the gems. Using
text mode coordinates, assuming that the lower-left corner is (0,0), then the
red marble goes at (8,8), the orange at (5,3), the green at (15,24), the blue
at (21,24) and the purple at (1,21). Now head back, pull the lever down and
push the white button. You know you've done it right if you hear a drilling
like sound after pushing the white button. This now gives power to all of the
linking book domes.
Now, return to the inside of the dome (via location 6). This can be done by
pushing the button at location 3 three times. Head to the lower level of the
dome and exit (heading towards 14) and go to location 13. Push the button
against the wall and the floor will descend to the lowest level. This will
allow you to get to the linking book dome at 15.
To use the linking book domes. Nearby each dome is a dome viewer. For the dome
at 15, the viewer is right in front of the dome. For other domes, it is always
nearby. (The dome at 51 deserves special mention; the viewer is hidden in a
passage that is blocked when the door to the room containing the dome is
open.) To get access to the dome, you need to hit the button on the viewer
just before the dome' color symbol appears. You can always tell what that
symbol is by watching the pictures in the viewer. There is always a short
pause on the dome's color symbol and it is always highlighted. You will have
to anticipate the symbol some. Now, head to the dome and set the five sliders
to the five numbers that you found in Ghen's journal and push the button. Then
use the book to link. You can push the button at the base of the bookstand to
exit the dome.
Go into the dome at 15 and link to Age 233; where Ghen is hiding.
Part X: Age 233
You arrive here, at location 66, in a cage. (Side note: locations 66 through
76 are all in this room.) Turn around until you see a button just outside the
cage. This button is located in the direction of 75. This will call Ghen to
the chamber. He gives you a long speech about how he has changed; takes the
prison book from you when he notices that you have recovered it; is about to
use it when he gets suspicious and then asks that you go first.
If you remember from reading Atrus's journal, the prison book is a one man
prison; if a second person uses the book, then the first is released. So go
ahead and enter the prison book. Ghen will quickly follow releasing you from
the prison and entrapping himself in. You are now free to explore the room.
Locations 67 through 71 are linking books that link to the following locations
(respectively): 60, 25, 57, 15, and 51. Location 72 is a generator for making
power to these linking books. The slider turns it on and off. The power is on
if the red window below the lever glows. 73 is a writing table with Ghen's
newest book. 74 is a doorway leading outside. Unfortunately, there is no way
to open it. 75 is a lever that opens the cage. 76 is a stairwell that descends
down to Ghen's bedroom at 77. Take that stairwell down.
Inside his bedroom, on the nightstand, is Ghen's personal journal. More
importantly, next to the journal is a sphere that when clicked will play five
tones that are either 'dings', 'cranks' (like a wrench), or 'clanks' and this
combination is different every game. Make a note of the tones that you hear
from the device.
Return to 69 and link through that book. (The linking book has but one square
on the cover.)
Part XI: Catherine's Island
You arrive at Catherin's Island, at 78. Head down the path to the building
where there is an elevator. The device against the back wall is the lock for
the cage. Click on the pedals to duplicate the five tones that the device at
77 made and flip the lever. This will open the cage. You will rise up to the
top level where Catherine will greet you and congradulate you. She will tell
you to return to the telescope and open the fissure.
Head back to the linking globe at 78, link back to Ghen's world and then link
to 15 using the book at 70 (the book with five squares on the cover).
Part XII: Generator Island
Head to location 2. Look at the left leg of the telescope. There is a device
in the support that prevents the telescope from dropping beneath a certain
level. Remove that support. Then click on the cover in the center of the
telescope. Key in the combination from Catherine's journal (numbering the
buttons from one to five, left to right), then click on the handle to open the
cover. Now look at the button on the right side of the telescope railing.
Twist the handle around the button until it is pointing down, and then push
the button until the telescope breaks through the glass covering the fissure.
The fissure breaks, Catherine and Atrus are reunited, and in a fit of madness,
they throw you into the fissure. (It makes much more sense when you watch the
ending.)
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Riven: The Sequel to Myst solution Copyright (c) 1997 by Mike Marcelais. All
commercial rights reserved. This document may be distributed, so long as no
content is changed and no fee is charged.
If you have any suggestions, additions, or corrections, send me a note at
michmarc@microsoft.com. Contributions will be appreciated and credited.