_______________________________________________________________________________
/ THE GAME
One Man Against a Maze of Machines!
Join Zack on his first day as repairman at Gadgetco, Inc. where things
are just a little out of hand. There are major system malfunctions
everywhere. The employee manual reads like the ramblings of a mad
scientist. Fellow workers have "borrowed" Zack's tools and "lost" them.
The boss is screaming!
Zack's up against incredibly intricate, interrelated, and fiendishly
finicky gizmos - six levels and over sixty rooms of them! How's he
gonna handle the ancillary functions of the feeder system? He's never
even heard of the crystalline boron compound mix, let alone the fric-
tion inhibitors or phalanx resistors. The retro theething and auxiliary
spikes are deviously delicate. And of course, anything can happen if he
forgets to depress a primary diode implode button before activating the
electronic gate circuits.
Even though he's quick, and nobody's fool (for long anyway), Zack needs
all the help he can get. Whoa! A fusion reduction button just went!
Things are hoppin' at Gadgetco!
Welcome to Contraptions, the fully animated, 3-D puzzle-action game.
It's a wild rush to find the tools of your trade, fix all the discombo-
bulated contraptions in the elaborate, six-level maze, and show 'em
what you're made of! If you can make it through the first day, get
ready for even more outrageous tinkering tomorrow!
Thus speaks the backside of the box. Contraptions (or Contraption Zack, as it
is called in the US) is an isometric puzzle game, developed by The Software
Toolworks and published by Mindscape in 1992. It's reminiscent of D/Generation
(also a Software Toolworks game), but different in gameplay, with an emphasis
on combinatory thinking rather than reflexes.
Zack's toolbox contains nine tools - or at least it did before Zack's work-
mates took them away. One of your objectives is thus to retrieve the tools
that are scattered over each level and employ them to repair machinery and
activate mechanisms.
Some tools can only be used in combination with each other; to repair a broken
power line, for example, you need replacement WIRE as well as some TAPE to
fasten it.
Some repairs that you have made can be undone. For example, you may cut a re-
paired power line with the WIRE CUTTER, or remove a replacement pipe with the
PIPE WRENCH.
You start each level with an empty toolbox, no matter how many tools you found
in the previous level. In most levels, there are more tools than you actually
need to solve the puzzles, so don't worry if you didn't put a tool to use.
Also, you do not need to have all tools to finish a level. There is no bonus
if you do.
Electric Power
WIRE
If one of the brightly colored power lines in a level is broken, fix it
with a piece of wire. You need TAPE to fasten the wire. Power lines usually
supply doors and conveyor belts, but also some buttons and switches. There
is an endless supply of wire on the spool.
TAPE
Required for fixing power lines. Your supply of tape is endless.
WIRE CUTTER
Power lines may be disconnected at certain gray nodes with the wire cutter.
Useful, too, if you need to undo your previous repair work.
Hydro Power
PIPE WRENCH
Indispensable for inserting and removing replacement PIPES in broken pipe-
lines.
PIPE
The replacement pipe fixes leaky pipelines. You must have a PIPE WRENCH to
insert it. Pipework usually regulates the water level in canals and powers
hydraulic doors and machinery. Sometimes you need to find and open a valve
to regulate the water flow. Note that you can remove pipe pieces again to
use them at another location. Zack can only carry one pipe at a time.
Mechanical
HEXNUT WRENCH
Now for the, ah, less useful tools in the game. Loose, red hexnuts on gray
wall panels need to be fastened with the hexnut wrench. Since there are
only two hexnuts in the game, the wrench will likely rust from disuse.
SCREWDRIVER
Used to fasten loose screws on big, gray wall panels. In fact, there's only
one such screw in the entire game, so the screwdriver competes with the oil
can for the title of most useless tool.
OIL CAN
If you discover a wall socket with the inscription "OIL", sprinkle some of
the black fluid in it. There's only one oil socket in the game, and it's
not part of a puzzle. Yawn.
HAMMER
A.k.a. The Mystery Tool. Though there's a slot for it in Zack's toolbox,
and though we can see Zack's colleagues running around with a hammer in
hand, it does not appear in the game. Luckily, you don't need it either.
Phew. Let's simply suppose that Zack's co-workers took the hammer and hid
it in a very secret place. The infantile bunch.
Most of Contraptions' puzzles consist of only a few standard elements, such as
buttons and spike barriers. The challenge lies in figuring out how these ob-
jects are linked, and in what order to activate them.
FLOOR BUTTONS
The most common form of trigger in Contraptions. Zack must step on a
floor button to press it. This will activate a mechanism somewhere
in the level; usually, buttons raise or lower spike barriers.
Most floor buttons are color-coded, meaning that their color links
them to the item they manipulate. For example, a green button would
control a green row of spikes.
If a button does not move, it needs to be activated first; usually,
this means restoring the electric power. Check if a power line runs
from the button, and follow it to find the problem.
SQUARE floor buttons can be activated only once. Their effect is
usually irreversible, so think carefully before you step on.
ROUND floor buttons are timed. Once activated, their effect lasts
for a set amount of time, after which they return to their normal
state. For example, stepping on a round button might open a door for
five seconds. Round buttons can be used multiple times.
WALL SWITCHES
Wall switches serve pretty much the same functions as floor buttons,
with the exception that you can turn most of them on and off at
leisure. Thus switches often appear in puzzles where you have to
figure out a combination.
Some wall switches are timed (cf. round floor buttons) and stay
activated for a specific amount of time.
SPIKE BARRIERS
The generic obstacle in Contraptions. Spikes block your way. And
that's all they do. To lower a row of spikes, look for a button or
switch of matching color.
LAUNCH PLATES
Launch plates are square, gray floor tiles that fling Zack over ob-
stacles such as walls, canals or spikes. While most launch plates
are reusable, others stay sprung after one use. Unfortunately, there
is no way of distinguishing them other than trial.
DOORS
Zack cannot open doors by hand, and there are no automatic gates in
Contraptions. Every door is remotely controlled, most commonly
by a button or a switch.
When doors are linked to a timed button, they will close after set
amount of time, blocking the way back. Some doors are set in
patterns and open consecutively, so timing is essential in passing
through.
CONVEYOR BELTS
Conveyor belts are essentially one-way streets: Zack can only pass
them in the direction they move, and cannot go back unless he shuts
the belt off or reverses its direction. When stepping on a conveyor,
make sure that you know a way back, or that you can safely leave
that part of the level behind.
The direction of a conveyor belt is usually controlled by a wall
switch.
WATER
Water is an impassable obstacles. With two exceptions: 1) Zack may
cross a canal using a launch plate. 2) If there's a float on the
water, Zack may cross if the float is level with the floor. If it
isn't, Zack needs to raise the water level by opening a valve or re-
pairing a broken pipe.
POWER LINES
Power lines running along the walls of a level are indicators of how
objects are linked. If you see a wire coming from a floor button,
for example, following it usually leads you to the object that the
button manipulates. Keep an eye on lines and their color.
If a line has no traceable origin, but a broken section, it likely
serves as a sophisticated switch: Once you repair the broken wire,
power is restored to the object that it is connected with, which
will then activate (e.g. a door would open).
SAVEPOINTS
If a tile or doorway is marked by a set of bright green columns, it
is a savepoint. Once you pass over it, the game will drop you here
whenever you choose the "Restart Area" command from the menu.
There is one savepoint per level, with the exception of level 2,
where there is none.
If you have a choice, activate savepoints only if you are sure that
you have done everything right in the first part of the level. If it
turns out that you messed something up, restarting from the save-
point won't help you. You must then replay the whole level.
For maximum convenience, the information in this walkthrough is organized in
three sections for each of the six levels:
SECTION 1: Map, level description and hints.
This part gives you general information on the level's layout and
your main goals. That alone may help you figure out what some rooms
are for and how mechanisms interrelate. In addition, I have com-
piled a list of basic, slightly cryptic hints that provide clues
for the hardest puzzles without giving away the solution.
SECTION 2: Problem description.
The walkthrough is sorted by rooms; if you're stuck in a specific
location, find the room number on the level map, then jump to the
respective section in this document. The first paragraph is a prob-
lem description. It explains what your goal is and how the puzzle
works. This knowledge may help you solve the puzzle on your own, so
give it a try before you read on.
SECTION 3: Step-by-step solution.
If you're at your wit's end, this section takes you by the hand and
leads you through any room. Just follow the instructions. Once
you've passed the place in which you were stuck, don't read ahead,
or you'll spoil your fun.
Welcome to plant #4! The first Level is only for training really, but you need
to be careful or you'll be stuck in the odd dead-end. The layout is pretty
straightforward; finding your way through this floor is mainly a question of
stepping on the correct buttons in the right order.
Get the screwdriver. For this, you need to learn the door opening sequence
and step on the timed buttons in the right order.
Solution:
Speed is crucial when entering the four small rooms with the buttons. Stand
in front of a door and start forward as soon as it opens; when you've step-
ped on one or both buttons, turn back and rush out before the door closes.
If you're caught, it is best to wait until the spike barriers reset and
start over.
Activate the green and purple buttons in the lower right room, then the yel-
low one on the opposite side. Get the screwdriver. Back in the corridor,
wait until the barriers reset. Then step on the buttons in the top left and
bottom left rooms. Take either the lower left exit to ROOM 6 for the save-
point, or go left to ROOM 4 for an optional part of the level.
_______________________________________________________________________________
/ ROOM 4 AND 5 L1
Problem:
Get all tools. You need to use the launch plates to reach the far part of
the room. The gray button triggers the launch plates sequence twice in a
row. The green button activates the yellow one, which will lower the spike
barrier that blocks the exit. Note: This puzzle is optional; you do not
need these tools to complete the level!
Solution:
Step on the gray button. Wait until the first launch pad springs, then walk
over to the wires and grab them. Turn round immediately and walk over the
yellow button, to the launch plate next to the spikes. You will be transpor-
ted to the right side of the room. Pick up all the tools and exit to the
right.
In ROOM 4, have Zack repair the broken wire on the wall by standing next to
it. This will raise two platforms and allow you to exit right to ROOM 3,
from there left to ROOM 6.
The next three rooms form a simple but rather annoying back-and-forth puzzle
sequence. Each floor button controls a spike barrier of the same color in
one of the other rooms.
Solution:
[ROOM 6] Don't press the orange button! It raises spikes that close a short-
cut in ROOM 8. Use the right launch plate to jump over the canal.
Take the bottom right exit.
[ROOM 7] Step on the blue button. Exit the way you came in.
[ROOM 6] Step on the round gray button and walk over the lowered spikes to
the left exit.
[ROOM 7] Step on the purple button. Exit the way you came in.
[ROOM 6] When you enter the room, the gray spikes will reappear. You have to
take the launch plates over the canal to return to the right exit.
[ROOM 7] Step on the yellow button. If you did not press the orange button
in ROOM 6, you may continue left. Otherwise, trace your way back
through ROOM 6 to the top left exit.
[ROOM 8] Step on the purple button. Then pull the wall switch to deactivate
the electric gate. Go through it to the top left exit.
Get to the other side of the canal and across the conveyor belt. The blue
button controls the spikes on the other side of the room. The screw panel is
the conveyor's power supply; the wall switch determines the belt's direc-
tion.
Solution:
Step on the blue button to lower the spikes in the right section of the
room. Enter this section via ROOM 8. Turn the screw with the screwdriver;
this will activate the conveyor belt on the far side of the canal. Push the
wall switch up to change the direction of the belt. Return to the left side
of this room and stand on the launch pad that will throw you over the canal.
Leave through the exit behind the conveyor belt.
This fairly complex level is divided into three sections: the central four-
room round and two puzzle areas in the east and west. In the east, you have to
collect Zack's tools; in the west, clear the way to the level's machine. The
central compound connects the two parts.
Get the wire cutter. To lower the spikes that protect it, you need to reach
the yellow button at the other side of the canal, then get to the gray but-
ton.
Solution:
Take the top left exit to ROOM 7, go left to ROOM 8, then down to ROOM 9.
Use the launch plates to cross the water and the barrier. The next exit
takes you back to ROOM 1. Step on the yellow button, then jump over the ca-
nal with the help of the launch pad. Now, climb the platform that leads to
the right exit, but don't leave the room. Instead, climb down the ledge at
the right side to reach the gray button. Step on it. Climb back up and fetch
the pliers. Then leave right to ROOM 2.
Get the hexnut wrench. A spike gate in front of the wrench closes as soon
you step on any of the blue buttons on the upper walkway or move on of the
wall switches. The lower blue button opens the gate again, but reverses all
of the upper buttons. You need to clear a way to the wrench so that you
won't step on any button.
Solution:
Push the second and third wall switch up. The switches' positions should be
(from left to right): Down, Up, Up, Down. Then press the blue floor button.
This will open the spike gate and clear a way to the wrench. To get to the
upper walkway, take the top exit to ROOM 3, climb the stairs and head south.
Get the tools. Two yellow spike barriers block the crucial gray button. The
two yellow buttons on the lower floor control the left and right barrier,
respectively. The yellow button on the upper floor triggers both barriers at
once.
Solution:
To reach the lower floor, go left to ROOM 2, up to ROOM 3, right to ROOM 4,
take the lift down and exit to ROOM 5. Grab the pipe wrench and the screw-
driver, then step on the right yellow button. Now both barriers should be
raised.
Trace your steps back to the upper floor and jump on the yellow button; this
lowers the spikes. Pressing the gray button opens the niche with the remain-
ing tools (pipe, oil can, tape, wires). Return to ROOM 1 and take the upper
exit, then go left to ROOM 8.
You need to deactivate the conveyor belt, or else you will be unable to re-
turn to this part of the level.
Solution:
Cut the wire on the wall next to the conveyor (you need the wire cutter, ob-
viously :). This will stop the belt. Step on the yellow button, then on the
gray one to open the metal door. Go through to the exit. Leave the next room
to the right.
First of all, step on the white floor button to reverse the direction of the
conveyor belt at the far side of this room. Then climb the ledge to the
floor with the two exits. Take the left one back into ROOM 10.
Step on the round yellow button. Now, climb down at the left side of the
platform and hurry through the maze of blue spikes. Take the launch plate
across the water. Exit down, then go right to ROOM 7.
Tighten the hexnut with the hexnut wrench to activate the launch plate. It
takes you across the canal. Once you land on the yellow switch, quickly pro-
ceed to the purple one, then head through the spikes for the exit.
You've reached this level's machine, the water reservoir. Walk around it to
the wall socket in the left edge of the room and use the oil can. Then turn
the valve to raise the water level. Proceed to the next level through the
top right exit.
It's one puzzle at a time in level three. But they're the kind that punish you
badly if you act without thinking. There's a lot of running to and fro re-
quired here, with dead-ends galore, and it pays to pause and analyze the situ-
ation before you take any steps.
Four sets of double doors block the way out. The blue floor button opens the
inner doors consecutively, one at a time. This sequence loops until the gray
button is pressed, which consecutively opens the outer doors once.
Solution:
Step on the blue button, then wait near the gray button until the farthest
door opens. While it is open, jump on the gray button. Each set of double
doors should now open at the same time. Hurry through to the exit.
Three tools await behind a spike barrier. As soon as you pull the wall
switch, the barrier lowers, and a countdown starts - signified by the gray
buttons that pop out of the floor in increasingly shorter intervals. When
the time is up, the spike barrier raises again.
Solution:
This room is a mousetrap with some tools as the cheese. You need none of
them to finish the level, so you can safely ignore this area. However, it is
possible to grab two of the three tools, if only for sport. Pull the switch,
then hurry to the niche and stand on the lowered spikes. Don't worry, they
won't come up until you step off, even if the countdown is over.
From this position, you can get the oil can and hexnut wrench. Do NOT try to
get the screwdriver, or you will surely be trapped and have to restart the
area. Remember, the screwdriver is useless in this level. From your position
on the barrier, turn back towards the floor buttons and leave this way.
That's it, though this feat is really good for nothing.
The tape and wire cutter are behind two rows of orange spikes. The orange
button on the upper floor can be used twice; the first time, it activates
the lower right orange button, the second time, it activates both lower but-
tons. Each of the two lower buttons controls one spike barrier.
Solution:
You can reach the orange button on the upper floor through ROOM 6 (see be-
low). Step on it, then return to the lower floor through ROOM 6 and jump on
the right button. This lowers the inner barrier. Repeat the procedure, this
time pressing the left button. Once both barriers are down, fetch the two
tools. Then exit left to ROOM 7.
Go to the far side of the room (and back). Each of the gray buttons lowers
the spikes on one side and raises them on the other, with a slight delay
that gives you time enough to cross over a barrier before it closes behind
you. Launch plates throw you over the wall in the right section of the room,
but back again immediately unless you keep moving.
Solution:
Step on the gray button to lower the spikes on the far side of the room,
then quickly walk to the right launch plate. Do not release the directional
key ("9"), but keep moving while you are tossed to the other side of the
wall, back, and over once again. This time, you will land behind the second
launch plate on solid ground. Take the launch plate across the water, and
exit left.
For the way back, the procedure is pretty much the same: Step on the grey
button to lower the spikes on the other side of the room, then jump over the
canal. This time, use the left set of launch plates to get over the wall.
A blue and four yellow spikes barriers block the path. The first four yellow
buttons (counted counter-clockwise from your starting position) each lower
the spikes next to them. In addition, the fourth one activates the blue but-
ton. The fifth yellow button is a trap; it raises the barrier behind you.
Solution:
This one's pretty easy. Step on each yellow button at a time until the blue
button becomes active, then press that one. Do NOT push the last yellow but-
ton, or you will have to restart the area. Take the bottom right exit to
ROOM 8.
Lower both spike barriers on the upper floor in order to reach the righthand
exit. The yellow wall switch controls the yellow spikes only, the gray wall
switch both the gray and yellow barrier. The same applies to the gray button
on the upper floor. When the green wire is broken, the yellow switch is
accessible. When it is repaired, the way to the gray switch is free.
Solution:
Entering from ROOM 7, grab the wire, but do NOT repair the green cable. In-
stead, return to ROOM 3 (the one with the lift) and fix the broken gray wire
there. Then take the lower left exit to ROOM 8 and pull the yellow wall
switch; this lowers the yellow barrier. Don't be tempted to rush to the up-
per exit yet; if you step on the gray floor button, both barriers will come
out, blocking your way.
Instead, return to the broken green wire (via ROOMS 3, 5, 7) and fix it.
This will lower the spikes that guarded the gray switch. Go there and pull
it. Now both barriers on the upper floor should be up. The lift in ROOM 3
will take you up there (while you're in this room, activating the savepoint
once again might be a good idea). Step on the gray button to clear the way,
then exit right on the walkway.
Two automatic doors open and close in regular intervals. The farther door's
interval is shorter (i.e. it will open and close more often than the first
door). The purple round button lowers the spikes in front of the exit for a
short period of time. You will have to make it through the doors in time be-
fore the spikes reset.
Solution:
Wait next to the purple button until the first door (the one closer to you)
opens. The second door MUST be closed! Then step on the button and hurry
through the first door; the second one should open in front of you as you
approach. Continue right to the exit.
The first four rooms of the level are linked in a long cause-and-effect chain.
For those of you who want to figure out by themselves what to do in what or-
der, the first part of this description explains simply what the different
buttons and switches do. If you're lost, take a look at the step-by-step solu-
tion that follows.
Purple wall switch UP: [ROOM 3] Purple spikes up
[ROOM 4] Lower purple spikes up
Upper purple spikes down
Purple wall switch DOWN: [ROOM 3] Purple spikes down
[ROOM 4] Lower purple spikes down
Upper purple spikes up
Green wall switch UP: [ROOM 4] Left jump plate down, right up
Green wall switch DOWN: [ROOM 4] Left jump plate up, right down
Left grey button: [ROOM 2] Access to lower gray button
Right grey button: [ROOM 3] Opens door to pipe
[ROOM 4] Access to left gray button
Left gray button: [ROOM 4] Access to right gray button
Right gray button: [ROOM 1] Opens door to pipe wrench
[ROOM 2] Access to top gray button
Broken wire: [ROOM 3] Restores power to lift
[ROOM 4] Activates round gray button
Broken pipe: [ROOM 2] Activates valve (with pipe in ROOM 4)
Orange button: [ROOM 2] Lowers orange spikes
Left gray button: [ROOM 2] Opens door to tape
[ROOM 3] Access to right gray button
Right gray button: [ROOM 1] Access to right gray button
Round gray button: [ROOM 3] Opens upper exit door
Round blue button: [ROOM 3] Opens lower exit door
Broken pipe: [ROOM 2] Activates valve (with pipe in ROOM 3)
Solution:
[ROOM 1] Pull the purple switch down
[ROOM 4] Step on the orange button
[ROOM 1] Push the purple switch up
[ROOM 2] Pull the gray switch down
[ROOM 1] Step on the left gray button
[ROOM 2] Step on the lower gray button
[ROOM 3] Step on the left gray button
[ROOM 4] Step on the right gray button
Get the pipe
[ROOM 1] Step on the right gray button
[ROOM 4] Step on the left gray button
[ROOM 3] Step on the right gray button
[ROOM 2] Step on the upper gray button
Get the tape
DO NOT TOUCH THE DARK YELLOW BUTTON!
[ROOM 1] Get the pipe wrench
[ROOM 4] Get the wires
Repair the broken pipe
[ROOM 1] Pull the purple switch down
[ROOM 2] Push the gray switch up
[ROOM 3] Get the pipe
Repair the wire
Walk quickly over the lift before it descends
Repair the broken pipe
[ROOM 2] Turn the valve
[ROOM 1] If you used the launch plates in ROOM 4 so that they have sprung,
pull the green switch twice (UP, then DOWN again) so that the
right-hand plate in ROOM 4 is down.
[ROOM 4] Step on the round blue switch
Step on the round gray switch
Hurry over the jump plates to ROOM 3
[ROOM 3] Exit north to ROOM 5
The gray button is just a teaser. It lowers the three rows of gray spikes to
your left, but only as long as you stand on it. Head north for the red exit.
The round gray button is another teaser. It opens the entrance to the purple
spike maze, but the barrier reappears before you can get there. More import-
antly, this button also calls the lift in ROOM 7, so step on it.
The yellow switch controls a yellow spike barrier in ROOM 7. Set the switch
down to lower the spikes. Then take the launch plates to the upper walkway
and exit left.
Pick up the pipe and ride the lift down. Thanks to you pulling the switch in
ROOM 6, the yellow spike barrier should be open so that you can reach the
white floor button. Jump on it to open the left exit. You could leave this
room to the right for ROOM 6 and toy with the orange button there, but that
is entirely useless, so simply go left. You'll find yourself back in ROOM 5,
where there's no option but to take the blue exit.
Repair the pipeworks. ROOM 8 and 9 form one large hall. The doors are hydro-
powered. Your object is to make the water flow from section to section by
repairing the broken pipes in the correct order. Since you only have one
tube in your toolbox, you have to remove it time and again to fit it in
somewhere else. An door opening indicates that there's now water in the re-
spective section of the pipeline.
Solution:
Fix the broken pipe on the left side of the room, then turn the valve. This
will feed water into the system. Remove the tube and take the lowest exit
right to ROOM 9.
In ROOM 9, repair the lowest pipeline, then step on the gray button to open
the adjacent door. Remove the pipe piece. Step on the blue button. Take the
second exit back to ROOM 8.
Fit the tube into the second broken pipeline here, which will open the door
nearby. Remove the tube and return to ROOM 9.
Fix the topmost leak. This should open the last door to the top corridor.
Enter it and turn left for ROOM 8. There, step on the yellow button to lower
the spikes in front of the exit in ROOM 9. Leave through there.
This room of launch plate mayhem is essentially an automatic maze. All you
have to do is pick one of the three directions - up, right, down - and see
where it takes you. If your choice was wrong, you're stuck and have to re-
start the area.
When you look at a launch pad, you can tell from the dark lines on the sides
whether it will toss you horizontally or vertically. This way, trace your
way from launch plate to launch plate and see how you will be transported.
If you end up going in a circle, you have identified a wrong choice.
Solution:
When he enters this room, Zack is facing northeast. Turn right and step on
that plate (southeast) to get to the exit. You'll reappear back in ROOM 5.
Remove all the spike barriers and make it to the right-hand exit. The gray
wall switch lowers the far right barrier and controls the three rows of
spikes left of the button. Beware: The gray floor button resets ALL of the
spike barriers.
Solution:
Pull the wall switch seven times to make all spikes disappear. Then walk
straight to the exit and DO NOT STOP. If you hesitate while stepping on the
button, the barrier in front of you will close.
This is the largest level in the game, but many of the rooms are just passage-
ways. Take your time to find your way around; most areas are accessible from
the start. Your object is to restore power to the gate mechanism in this
level's basement. Trace the multi-colored wires until you find broken lines,
then repair them. In a special building in the northwestern area you will find
what I call the "puzzle room" - an elaborate set of buttons and switches that
is the real challenge in this level.
Get out of the room. All exits except for the one behind the spike door are
teleporters that take you to the arrow on the opposite side. The round green
button opens the spike door that blocks the exit, but not long enough for
you to reach it by foot through the maze in the center of the room.
Solution:
Step on the button, then walk straight to one of the teleport arrows next to
the center of the room. Step in carefully, or you will be teleported to and
fro in an instant. When you appear on the other side, hurry through the door
and walk along the tube to ROOM 3.
Welcome to the crossroads! You'll want to take the elevator down to the low-
est floor (ROOM 12) and grab the tape first. Go back up and exit left
through ROOM 4 to ROOM 5.
The launch plates are sprung. They are hydro-powered. The yellow button will
reset them once the power is restored.
Solution:
Open the valve on the left pipe (you'll get there through the lefthand exit
in ROOM 4), then step on the round yellow button to reset the lower launch
plate. The valve for the upper plate is located in ROOM 7. For now, step on
the lower plate; you'll be catapulted across the gap. Pick up the wire as
you follow the pipe into the building to the west.
This room houses the most advanced puzzle in the game. With a little plan-
ning and careful movement, however, you'll pass through successfully. You
activated a savepoint when you entered this room, so feel free to experi-
ment with the switches and buttons; if you're stuck in a dead end, the
"Restart Area" command resets the puzzle.
Problem:
Reach the middle niche on the left wall, repair the blue wire, then get to
the south exit.
Each wall switch controls two spike barriers of the same color; when one is
down, the other is always up, and vice versa.
Floor buttons occur in sets of two of the same color. Each floor button con-
secutively opens and closes four purple spike barriers in a straight line
across to the opposite side of the room, AND does the same for the line
starting from the second button of the same color. When you step on a button
and continue walking, the spikes will open ahead of you and close behind you
and thus allow you to reach the opposite side - as long as no different-
colored spikes block your path. Since each button always opens two lines
that cross each other, you can change direction on the tile where the two
lines intersect, and so reach another side of the room.
You should have your entire way through the maze to the wire and on to the
exit completely planned before you make your first step. Use the wall swit-
ches to clear paths. Then step on the button and walk to your destination
without stopping. Be careful to walk in the middle of the lanes, else you
can easily get stuck on one of the corner spikes.
For additional help, see the hints section for this level.
Solution:
To the wire:
[1] Flip the red switch.
[2] Step on the blue button and go straight to gray.
[3] Step on the purple switch and go straight to bright yellow.
[4] Flip the blue switch.
[5] Flip the green switch. The path to the blue wire is now cleared.
[6] Step on the bright yellow button, then immediately on the dark yellow
button next to it. From here, go d own the right lane to the center
square, turn right towards the purple button and exit there.
[7] Step on the purple button and go straight to bright yellow.
[8] Repair the blue wire.
To the exit:
[1] Step on the bright yellow button, go to the center square, turn right
and go down to purple.
[2] Step on the white button and go straight to the third square, turn left
and exit to green.
[3] Flip the white switch.
[4] Step on the green button and go straight to the third square, turn left
and exit to dark yellow.
[5] Flip the green switch.
[6] Step on the dark yellow button and go straight to green.
[7] Leave the room south.
Open the valve to reset the launch plate in ROOM 5. It is not really a
launch plate, or it is stuck, in any case you will be able to pass over it
without being flung through the room. For now, leave right to ROOM 8.
Go down the stairs and follow the pipe through ROOM 4 to ROOM 9. At the bot-
tom of the staircase, pick up the hexnut wrench and flip the brown switch.
Return to ROOM 5, where you will be able to leave right to ROOM 4 via the
non-functional launch plate. Go east, south and south again to ROOM 1, where
this level started.
Stepping on the green button will open the spike gate. Enter the room and
repair the green wire on the wall left of the door. To leave the room, use
the same procedure as you did the first time. Back in ROOM 3, take the exit
in the upper right corner and pass through ROOM 10 to ROOM 11.
Repair the red wire and find a way out of the room.
The black button stops the conveyor belt for a very short time.
The green button reverses the direction of the conveyor for a short time.
The red switch opens the doors for a short time.
The green switch arrests the green button for a short time.
The grey switch does nothing.
The blue switch arrests the red switch for a short time.
You need to reverse the conveyor belt, then open the doors and get to the
exit in time.
Solution:
In is easy: Enter through any of the two gates, take the walkway to the far
side and replace the red wire between the switches. Then do the following
quickly without stop or detour:
[1] Step on the green button to reverse the conveyor's direction.
[2] Flip the green switch to arrest the green button; this buys some time.
[3] Flip the red switch to open the doors.
[4] Step on the conveyor to get to the other side.
[5] Hurry through one of the doors before they close.
Back outside, return to ROOM 3 and take the elevator down. In ROOM 12, step
off the lift on walkway and leave to the right.
If you repaired the blue wire, the spikes around the button should be down.
If you repaired the green wire, the gray button should be working.
If you repaired the red wire, power should be restored to the doors.
Press the gray button to open the gate to the north and step through.
This is the pump. Hope you brought the hexnut wrench from ROOM 9 with you;
you need it to fasten the hexnut on the wall panel. Once the machine is
working again, leave to the north.
You've made it to the last level in the game. This floor is cross-shaped. The
rooms on the axes springing from the center are identical as to their layout
and function, with the exception of the northwest axis. In order to pass
through this level's key location, ROOM 9, you need to solve three problems in
the rooms around the node:
[1] Lower the four spike barriers in the rooms around the crosses center.
[2] Collect all four tools.
[3] Lower the four rows of spikes in ROOM 9.
Four jump plates take you across the spikes, but they are one-way. Once you
are on the other side, you need to lower the barriers in order to return to
the center. The orange buttons control the spikes, but to activate them
means stepping on a purple button first. You mustn't do that yet.
Solution:
Note that the buttons are arranged in a pattern - seen from the center, they
are always in the left corner. This is true for the southern side, too. The
button in the lower corner is concealed by a wall, but it is there. Start
your tour by going south to ROOM 5. Once you return from there, you may do
the other three directions in any order.
_______________________________________________________________________________
/ ROOMS 2 TO 5 L6
Problem:
These four rooms are identical, except for the layout of the spike barriers.
They are arranged in patterns as to form numbers. The rooms are numbered
counter-clockwise, starting in the east. In each room is a set of four wall
switches. These switches control the spikes in the four rooms. One switch in
each room is stuck.
Solution:
Pulling the first switch (seen from the center of the cross, or from the
doorway through which you entered) in any room lowers spike barrier #1 (ROOM
2), the second switch lowers #2, and so on. However, you cannot control the
spikes of the room that you are in; so in the room with spike barrier #4,
the fourth switch will not work. To lower all spikes, go to ROOM 5 and pull
switches one to three. Then continue to either of the ROOMS 2, 3 or 4 and
pull switch four only (the one farthest away from the entrance). Do not
fiddle with any other switches in these rooms, since this would raise the
corresponding barrier again.
_______________________________________________________________________________
/ ROOMS 6 TO 8 L6
Problem:
ROOM 6, 7 and 8 each contain four switches and one tool behind a purple
spike barrier. The switches control the rows of spikes in ROOM 9. The purple
spikes are activated by the purple buttons in ROOM 1.
Solution:
This is dead easy, provided that you did not step on any purple switch in
ROOM 1. If you did, the spikes are up, barring the way to the tool; you need
to restart the level. Grab the tool and return to ROOM 1, clearing the way
to the center by stepping on the purple and orange buttons.
In any one (and only one!) of the three rooms, pull all four switches. This
will lower all spikes in ROOM 9.
To solve this puzzle, you must bring all four tools with you: The tape from
ROOM 6, the wire from ROOM 7, the pipe from ROOM 8 and the pipe wrench from
ROOM 5.
Solution:
Repair the broken pipe and turn the valve to raise the floating tile. If you
pulled all four wall switches is either ROOM 6, 7 or 8, the rows of spikes
should be down, so that you can reach this room's southern section. Crossing
the canal via the float, repair the broken wire. This activates the grey
floor button, which in turn clears the southwest exit.
The final machine is the Stomper. Pull the wall switch to activate it. Take
a deep breath and exit west for a long ending sequence, Zack's vengeance on
his colleagues and the long-awaited revelation of what Plant #4 actually
does...
Created by Christian Schmidt
Munich, Germany
May 2003
This document may be distributed freely. You may change whatever you like,
though I'd appreciate it if you'd contact me of you're planning to do so. ;)
Comments and additions are welcome: cs216@gmx.net
