Suspended


                           BUG
                                    1 1
         VERSION  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
        5/830222  Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
        7/830419  N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
        8/830521  N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
       *8/840521  N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

          1. In the earliest version (5/830222), there is no way to determine which of Iris' shorted chips needs to be repaired.



          2. THE CARBON UNITS BUG: In versions 5 and 7, it is possible to establish a cryolink to the humans in charge of deactivating you. At any point in the game, even before they arrive (except when they are sleeping), you can give the command HUMANS, KILL HUMANS, (or SELF and get the response:

FC: Cryolink established to People.
HUMANS: They're shutting me off!

FC: So much for that robot. Too bad.

There is no way of reactivating them again (obviously). If you try to contact them, after deactivation, you will be told: "FC: Humans is no longer functional." Robots in the same room will be able to detect the deactivated humans.
          The humans have a name for everything, just as the robots do, but they were never intended to be seen by the player. HUMANS, EXAMINE ME, for example, will give the response "That's difficult unless the HOME has been opened."
          With other orders the humans will take no notice of you, and you will be told simply "They don't respond." Once you get a "They don't respond," you will be unable to break the cryolink, or contact any of the robots. At this point, even the suicide order and the RESTART command will give you a "They don't respond," although QUIT works normally.
          In both Version 8's of the game (Version 8/Serial #830521, and Version 8/Serial #840521), attempts to contact the intruders will be met with "FC: You can't talk to the humans!" -- Fredrick Ramsberg



          3. You don't need to use two robots to move Fred from the cabinet. In all versions, you can cheat and use just one by typing BOTH SENSA AND SENSA, MOVE FRED.



          4. In any release, you can CONFIGURE the game on the second move, not just the first. This means you can make one move (most likely picking up an object) and then re-configure the game to put the robot with the object in a better position. This can be a great time-saver if used correctly.



          5. There's also an error with the map that was never fixed. Referring to the southeastern (blue) section:

					  Alpha FC
					 /    |
					/  Primary Channel
				       /      |
	--- Cavernous Room --- East End --- Beta FC
				       \      |
					\  Secondary Channel
					 \    |
					  Gamma FC

While you can walk northeast from East End to the Alpha FC, there is no direct route back from Alpha FC to East End using compass directions, and no indication that this is a one-way corridor. Any attempt to backtrack by typing SOUTHWEST results in a standard "You can't go that way" message (slightly different for each robot), despite the fact that it directly contradicts the map. However, if a robot in Alpha FC is ordered [ROBOT], GO TO EAST END, he can make it in one turn, which could only be achieved by going Southwest.



          6. Have Waldo get the four-inch cable and be incapacitated. Have Poet drag him to Alpha Repair to be fixed, and send them both back to the Primary Channel, this time letting Waldo get zapped. If Poet LOOKs, he will see a non-functional Waldo in the room, while Waldo will see a non-functional Poet. This works in all versions. -- Graeme Cree



          7. Setting robots to follow each other in a chain doesn't work in any version. From the beginning of the game, try this sequence:

>IRIS, GO TO CENTRAL CHAMBER
>SENSA, FOLLOW IRIS
>POET, FOLLOW SENSA
>IRIS, GO TO WEATHER MONITORS
>WAIT
>IRIS, SENSA, POET, REPORT

The report will show you that Sensa followed Iris, but Poet did not follow Sensa, and remained behind in the Central Chamber. -- Jim Bakman



          8. Another Cryolink bug, but this one was never fixed. It is possible to establish a cryolink to most inanimate objects in the game, by first establishing a link to a robot in the same room, and then ordering both the robot and the inanimate object to do something, all with a single command line. This can be used to win the game faster, or just to produce amusing results. For example, if Sensa is in the Small Supply Room, you can get the following sequence:

>SENSA, HI. SENSA, HOLDER, GIVE CUTTER TO SENSA
FC: Cryolink established to Sensa.
SENSA: Hello.

FC: Cryolink already established to Sensa.
SENSA: I don't have the metal tool.

FC: Cryolink established to top shelf.
FC for both robots: Given.

and Sensa gets the cutter without having to use the step. Here's another example: what would happen if you tried to use this bug to get Iris's panel to open by itself? Put Iris and Waldo together and try this:

>WALDO, HI. WALDO, PANEL, OPEN PANEL.
FC: Cryolink established to Waldo.
WALDO: Hello.

FC: Cryolink already established to Waldo.
WALDO: It's too delicate for my normal extensions.

FC: Cryolink established to panel.
FC for both robots: I'm not equipped to do that to the MP1.
The last line will repeat until the game crashes to DOS with a "Fatal Error: Stack Overflow" error (in Frotz; no error message with the original Infocom Interpreter).
          There are far too many possibilities to mention them all here, as different objects cause different results though moving from one room to another usually causes a crash. A whole book could probably be written about the effects of this bug and experimentation can be quite amusing. -- Jim Bakman



          9. WHERE'S THE BLT?: In any version, Whiz can see the motorized walkway, or BLT, until he has to interact with it. Send Whiz and another robot (Waldo, for instance) to Alpha Repair, and you can get this sequence:

>WHIZ, EXAMINE BLT
FC: Cryolink established to Whiz.
WHIZ: There is nothing on the BLT.

>WHIZ, DRAG WALDO TO BLT
FC: Cryolink already established to Whiz.
You'll have to tell me where the BLT is.

Either this is a bug, or Whiz won't carry out your orders until you get him a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. -- Jim Bakman



          10. THE GHOST OF IRIS: Iris is supposed to be confined to 7 areas at the southwest corner of the map. To ensure this, the designer made it impossible for her to be dragged by any of the other robots, and made her refuse to follow them outside of the area. However, it is possible to get her into the other areas of the map by having her "ghost" follow another robot. Just follow these steps:

  1. Have a robot take the Dense Wedge (or W1) from the Sub Supply Room to Alpha Repair and put it on the step there.
  2. Have Waldo Fix Iris' visual circuits.
  3. Have Waldo Fix the machine in the Main Supply Room.
  4. Push the button in the Main Supply Room to expose the wires.
  5. Have Iris follow Waldo.
  6. Have Iris try to take the wire in Main Supply, shorting herself out.
  7. Send Waldo to Alpha Repair. (You'll get a message that he can't go from one of the rooms to the next, but he'll make it anyway. If you tell him to LOOK while he's in motion, you'll be told "In the room with me is a non-functional Iris." The ghost of Iris is following him.)
  8. Once in Alpha Repair, say WALDO, PUSH IRIS ONTO BLT
  9. Wait a few turns until you get the message: "IRIS INTERRUPT: It's great to be back."

Iris can now be moved throughout the complex using either compass directions or GO TO commands, though if she enters her old perimeter, she will be "stuck" again. -- Jim Bakman



          11. THE MOBILE-CAM BUG:   The TV camera beams images to Iris, but can only be plugged in at the Primary or Secondary Channels.   When a robot carrying a plugged-in camera leaves either of these areas he/she automatically unplugs the camera first...unless!   Unless that is, the robot left the area as an indirect result of a follow command, instead of a direct order.   Try this:   Give the camera to Whiz, and send Whiz and Sensa to the Primary Channel.   Then enter the following commands:

>WHIZ, FOLLOW SENSA
>WHIZ, PLUG IN TV1
>SENSA, SOUTH
>WHIZ, POINT CAMERA AT SENSA
          When Sensa moves, there will be no mention of the camera being unplugged, and when Whiz points it at her, Iris will receive the transmission, even though there is no place at Beta FC (their new location) to plug it in.   In fact the camera will now work anywhere.   This bug is present in all versions. -- Jim Bakman



Click here to return to the Infocom Bugs List Table of Contents

Click here to return to Graeme Cree's "Bob & Ray Overstocked Surplus Warehouse" Home Page.