Music spell assistance

[Eventide]

I'm at the end of my rope with this spell. I have all the required ingredients but I can't do the spell to save my life. Literally.

I filled the flask with sea water, and then I go to add the sand and boom. Dead. I've tried this a million ways. I've filled the flask from the cup, and from the ocean. And I've added the flask to sand and vice versa. Am I supposed to heat this sand somehow? Because I've tried to cook it on the brazier but it won't let me do that either.

Please help!

[bokkers]

Encountered the same problem. Tried it again and it worked. No idea what I was doing differently, maybe it has to do with the room you're in. I think you have to see the book when doing this.

[Erpy]

Naw, the book close-up makes no difference. Are you sure you're clicking the item's hotspot in the right place? And are you sure it's the desert sand and not the soil you're using? If that's all the case, I should consider uploading a savegame, so we can look into it.

[bokkers]

Yeah, I think the hotspot was the problem in my case. I remember not giving them enough attention in other places.

[Eventide]

I'm assuming the "hot spot" is that little speck that lets you use an item on things/do an action. And on that assumption, yeah I'm sure I'm not accidentally clicking on another item. And I did double check and make sure I was using the sand. And still I just keep dying.

I'll gladly upload a save....if you tell me how one does that. I have no idea >.<

[Chyron_8472]

Perhaps you're accidentally using the hand cursor on the sand instead of the arrow cursor? If you did that, you'd die as soon as you clicked the sand.

[Eventide]

I did accidentally do that once, but after that I made sure to use the arrow cursor first when grabbing the items.

I know I sound like I'm shutting down all the suggestions but when I say I was at this forever, I really was.

[Eventide]

Update!

I just went ahead and tried again. I didn't do anything differently but it decided to go ahead and not make me die this time. Maybe it was the storm last night, idek.

Thanks for lending me a hand though!

[Brainiac]

Perhaps you're accidentally using the hand cursor on the sand instead of the arrow cursor? If you did that, you'd die as soon as you clicked the sand.

You know, that's probably the most frustrating thing in the Redux spell system. I kinda think accidentally using the hand icon should be one of the actions that the game is forgiving about (much like certain mistakes with the original parser version).

[MusicallyInspired]

I strongly disagree with that notion. I've always hated the idea of having only a hand and an eye in the inventory GUI. All of Sierra's VGA games had an eye (for examining the obejct), a hand (for using or manipulating the item), and an arrow (for selecting the item). The difference is important. I don't see how it's so easy to confuse the two. The hand has always meant "use" or "manipulate" or "pick up", never select. And anyone who confuses "pick up" with "select" confuses me. How did you ever get through the classic Sierra games without having issue with this?

[Brainiac]

And anyone who confuses "pick up" with "select" confuses me. How did you ever get through the classic Sierra games without having issue with this?

Because the vast majority of the time in classic Sierra games, when I right-click to the hand by mistake and clicking it on an item I want to use, it didn't kill me instantly. I'm not saying remove either icon, I'm just saying make accidentally using the hand not immediately lethal. After all, accidentally picking up something you're supposed to shake doesn't immediately kill you.

[Erpy]

And what exactly SHOULD the hand cursor do in such a case of manipulating an item that's meant to be used on another item?

[MartijnF]

And what exactly SHOULD the hand cursor do in such a case of manipulating an item that's meant to be used on another item?

Nothing, it's just a mistake you sometimes make. Because you pick up items from the game world with the hand icon, it seems intuitive to pick them from your inventory with the hand as well.

[Brainiac]

What Martijn said. If it must pop up something (and you've got the time to write a fair bit of stuff & have John Bell record a few dozen new lines), just describe how the object feels without killing the player. Or even just add a warning message that basically tells the player you're not doing it right and you click with the hand again at your own peril. You could even make it reference to the original non-fatal error message. Although, I forget what the original KQ3 said when you did something wrong that wasn't immediately fatal when working on the spells.

[MusicallyInspired]

Again, though, when have you ever used the hand icon to "pick up" an item already in your inventory in a past Sierra game? I can understand that the death thing gets annoying...but the spellmaking process is supposed to be touchy and I can't really get past mixing up the arrow selector and the hand icon. That's Sierra P&C interface 101 to me and always has been.

[ATMachine]

Again, though, when have you ever used the hand icon to "pick up" an item already in your inventory in a past Sierra game? I can understand that the death thing gets annoying...but the spellmaking process is supposed to be touchy and I can't really get past mixing up the arrow selector and the hand icon. That's Sierra P&C interface 101 to me and always has been.

True. But I bet a lot of people made that mistake multiple times in actual Sierra games, and they didn't get killed for it in those.

[MusicallyInspired]

Those situations didn't take place during a dangerous spell creation puzzle.

[sirkinght]

I think the spell creation is fine. You SHOULD die easily. You are some novice kid playing with dark arts far beyond you. If anything, it makes creating spells like a puzzle. You have to be VERY careful in all that you are doing or BLAM! Yea, so I swore a few times while creating spells. But that is part of the game.

Besides, there is a save game feature. I dont see why anyone could complain with such a kind implementation to back you up. Its not like you have to start all over again from the beginning...

-Sir Knight.

[Xandarius]

I think the current spell system is good. But I do sympathize with those who aren't happy with dying due to accidentally using the hand icon, because that, so far, has been the number one cause of death when I play.

[Chyron_8472]

Those situations didn't take place during a dangerous spell creation puzzle.

^ I agree.

Making spells in the original game was very dangerous. It should be so that one wrong move can get you killed.

I expect that if you want the game to go easy on you, you should... *sigh* wait for the Telltale's King's Quest.

[Radogol]

I expect that if you want the game to go easy on you, you should... *sigh* wait for the Telltale's King's Quest.

Or play King's Quest VII.

[Chyron_8472]

Hey, I enjoyed KQ7 far more than KQ5.

[Radogol]

Hey, I enjoyed KQ7 far more than KQ5.

Perhaps because it was easier? :P

Don't mind me, I'm just trolling. Or rather, defending Telltale, which could be considered the same thing on this forum

[Chyron_8472]

Lol. No, not because it's easier. Because the story is better and because the animal-character voice actors don't suck.


Cnsidering that I've bought eight Telltale series', they can't be all bad. I'm just skeptical because BTTF is so easy a three-headed monkey could beat it, and because TTG is closer in style to LucasArts than Sierra.

[Brainiac]

Again, though, when have you ever used the hand icon to "pick up" an item already in your inventory in a past Sierra game?

Off the top of my head...every VGA Quest for Glory game and The Castle/Island of Dr. Brain. I just think that, in this specific case, the punishment is excessive, especially for those who right-click through the icons. Indeed, using the hand does make sense from the point of view of needing to measure certain ingredients before adding them. I'm not saying the spells shouldn't be dangerous, I'm just saying that something that can be needlessly frustrating should be avoided.