Feeling blind right now, but…I’m stuck in the Mechanica Lab early in the game.
I’m trying to complete the Universal Tarnish Cleanser spell but I’m having trouble using the lubanja. The game says I should put a smaller amount in something? Where is the something? Or is there something else I’m supposed to sprinkle instead?
Thanks!
I think what you need to do next is get into the Junior Quarters cabinet (and if memory serves, the same answer will let you into the Exoscaphe cabinet).
I think it should be enough if you just pour the lubanja on the bolt/pin which is in the bound.
Doh! I had confused the items needed in the rituals. I knew I was overlooking something simple. Thanks!
I have a feeling I’ve missed something minor. I’m looking for the Grendel’s Sealing formula. I have the following particulars:
[spoiler]>rituals
You have learned forty-five rituals: (* marks rituals you have not yet completed)
lead weight decrease inscription (with distillate)
aither-resistance synthesis
perfect diamond creation ()
vacuum-protection synthesis
aura invisibility inscription
copper percalcinate synthesis
dragon fulcrum inscription ()
obsidian solvent synthesis
yang oil synthesis
marble solvent synthesis
fire-devourer synthesis
granite solvent synthesis ()
lead weight decrease inscription (with precipitate)
counter-Gaian precipitate synthesis
lead weight increase inscription
prophylactic scalpel inscription
perfect mud synthesis
lodestone of purity creation
clock tincture synthesis
metal attractor inscription
Gaian precipitate synthesis
coralicide synthesis
aura imitation inscription (with quartz)
lodestone of centrality creation
bamuriatic acid synthesis
glass permeability inscription
Great Marriage
aura imitation inscription (with jade) ()
dispersal brush creation
sublime spirit synthesis
viridigris synthesis
gold ignition
electrum phlogistication
aura impermeability inscription
breath-holding synthesis
planetary lens creation
fire-resistance synthesis
resonant oculus creation
fungicide synthesis
universal tarnish cleansing inscription (with the steel bolt)
universal tarnish cleansing inscription (with the brass pin) ()
doubled rust cleansing inscription (with the steel bolt)
doubled tarnish cleansing inscription (with the brass pin) ()
basic rust cleansing inscription (with the steel bolt)
basic tarnish cleansing inscription (with the brass pin)
facts
You have picked up assorted facts:
the wreck debris indicator
the crawlway debris item
the maze column indicator
the alien fluid resonator switch
the perfect diamond substitution
the dragon reanimation attempt
the homunculus definition
the vibration technique fragment
a lecture on aither poisoning
the Cold Crucible gossip
the ephemeris billet combination
the transition echo fragment
the Chancel defensive stricture
the emergency dragon subsumption
the echo vibration fragment
the soul mirroring fragment
a lecture on the theory of dragons
the periodic table of stone
the store safe combination
the nature of aura clouds
the Birdhouse defensive stricture
the white-fuse challenge
the electrum substitution
the spiritual environment
the exhilarant environment
the recursive metaphor technique
musical theory
a lecture on potions
the percalcination procedure
the elemental earth loan
a lecture on gestalt shelves
the copper calcination demonstration
the crawlway access combination
the catalytic environment
the work assignment
the resinous note
a lecture on aromas
formulas
You know an impressive list of alchemical formulae:
the calyx access pattern
the fourth alien glyph
the Name of the Tortoise
the third alien glyph
the caudex access pattern
the second alien glyph
the radix access pattern
the first alien glyph
the Dracon Invocation
the Greater Phlogistical Saturation
a Mediate Anima
a Relative Anima
a Major Animus
the Ka Sealing
a word of emulgence
the Crystalline Tempering
a Minor Animus
the Sealing of Shamash
the Binding of the Celestial Sphere
the Mithraic Sealing
a symmetric sequence
an antisymmetric sequence
the Marcher’s Sealing
the Chi Binding
the Phlogistical Catalysis
a phlegmatic sealing word
an isomorphic group
an idempotent group
a word of anaphylaxis
a syllable of counterbalance
a resonant tone
the Anodyne Evocation
a word of entension
a word of culmination
the Hermetic Sealing
the Binding of Antipathy
the categorical imperative
the Lesser Phlogistical Saturation
an elementary word of binding
a word of essential nature
a simple sealing word
an unsealing mantra
doors
You have yet to deal with the following locked doors and barriers:
the Secondary Alchemy Lab door
the Chymic Lab door
the Opticks closet door
the Deck Suite Venture door
the Portico main doors
the Chancel gate
the South Chasm bridge
the Garden Maze crawlway
the Barosy crawlway
fifteen fractures
rooms
Since the accident, you have visited these notable locations:
the Secondary Alchemy Lab
the Mech Lab Crawlspace
the Void
the Herbarium Nook
the Chymic Lab
the Mechanica Lab
the Materials Store
the Opticks Lab
the Opticks Annex
the Tertiary Alchemy Lab
the Pyrics Lab
the Pyrics Store
the Main Store
the Storage Nook
the Library
the Lab Wing Hallway
the Nave
the Airlock
the Hadean Plain
the Medical Wing
the Medical Workroom
the Nave Crawlway
the Portico
Junior Quarters
the Deck Suite
the High Tower
the Master Rector’s Quarters
the Study Room
the Under Ward
the Scaphe Arcade
the Dressing Room
the Exoscaphe Bay
the Exoscaphe
the Exoscaphe Dome
the Paper Garden
the Paper Maze, Center
the Observatory
the Aithery
the Grand Stair, Top
the Grand Stair, Bottom
the Birdhouse
the Burning Hall West
the Antechamber
the Barosy
the Edge of Chasm
the Deep Stacks
the Confusing Cracks
the Hadean Land, at Wreck
the Strange Airlock
The following rooms still need to be checked with the oculus for sparks:
the Lost in Paper Maze[/spoiler]
I don’t recall for sure, but I think what you need to do next is get into the Chancel. You’ve done the ritual needed to get in there, namely
aura imitation
I imagine what you need to think about is how to arrange your consumption of single-use items so that you can both get to the Chancel entrance and do that ritual. You are entering the phase of the game where the core puzzle is resource management so that you can do required combinations of rituals within a single reset. You may need to think of some ritual variants that will let you accomplish particular tasks with different sets of key consumables than you’ve used before.
BTW, a thought for zarf or any other game authors who may be perusing this thread: what would really be helpful here is some kind of “recall achievements” dump command. “recall doors” is pretty helpful for hint-givers, but it does not tell you
which dragons have been wakened
and it’s hard to see how you could have a “recall” command specifically for that without being awfully spoilerish. A generic notion of “achievements” might be a way to subsume everything that’s interesting about how far a player has gotten, without giving anything away in the very name of the command. I’d envision being able to give directions to “post your recall-achievements output in a spoiler tag when asking for hints” and thus not needing to ask for formulas, doors, yadda yadda individually.
Hm. Thank you. That poses a different question, then. I’ve been assuming that at some point I’ll find a target for that ritual. I think I’ve tried using it on the shadows and the dragons but neither was effective. How do I use that ritual once I’ve performed it? On what or whom do I use it?
You need to imitate somebody who’s authorized to get into the Chancel.
ie, a ship’s officer.
Either the Captain or Lt. Powes will work. At this point in the game they should be out from behind the fractures so you can get at them to use the ritual … if not, there’s something missing that I don’t remember.
Okay, time for me to post a spoiler. There is a debug command that more or less does this. I left in the release version because I thought it might help diagnose player problems. (I haven’t needed it for that purpose.)
[spoiler]If you type “DBDUMP GOALS” you will get a list of the completed goals. (Excluding named rituals, which are the ones listed under “RITUALS”.) This includes non-magical creations (drawing wire, pulling mustard out of the mustard jar) and the opening of cabinets and doors.
The list has some gaps because of a bug in the library’s list-writer that I never tracked down. (Whenever I try to do a list of non-things – rooms, for example – these gaps show up. Maybe the lister depends on a property which is only defined for things? I worked around it in the “ROOMS” listing by writing an explicit loop “repeat for R in rooms…”)
The game starts out with a bunch of goals pre-completed. This is not for interesting reasons. You can’t create an object until you’ve seen it, so the fact that “nickel-wire-goal” starts out tagged doesn’t let you type “CREATE NICKEL WIRE” on the first turn.
This command may be spoilers for some minor objects that you never ran into because they’re not important.[/spoiler]
I’m stuck trying to get through the paper maze. I’ve gotten into the birdhouse and I think it has something to do with the labyrinth tile, but I am not sure.
A general hint for all players about this: you can recall most objects you’ve met in the game individually, and this often provides useful information. It specifically tells you useful things about what you mention in your spoiler if you “recall [Name]”.
Thank you! I had incorrectly assumed that the person-related results of the Big Mid-Game Ritual were temporary and had missed the fact that the necessary subjects of this ritual were available elsewhere.
I made a lot of progress recently and accomplished several rituals that had been stumping me, but now I’ve got several neat new tools and don’t know where to use them.
Recently, I have been able to create but haven’t figured out what to do with:
My current plan was to use the glass permeability chime to get through the window in the Scaphe Arcade (I can see a paper out there), but I can’t figure out how to pressurize the bay. I tried the clock tincture on the emergency pressurization valve but it still won’t turn. I also thought of trying to use the clock tincture to unstick the ladder in the observatory but I can’t figure out how to get it on there. Maybe there’s some way to make a super soaker? 
I’ve recently been able to reach two of the dragons (Pneuma and Syndesis) but haven’t figured out anything to do with them.
I’d appreciate a hint or two to set me on the right track.
Here’s my Recall results:
Formulas:
> recall formulas
You know an impressive list of alchemical formulae:
the Mithraic Sealing
a Mediate Anima
a Relative Anima
the Phlogistical Catalysis
the Sealing of Shamash
a Major Animus
the Ka Sealing
the Crystalline Tempering
a symmetric sequence
an antisymmetric sequence
a word of emulgence
the Chi Binding
an isomorphic group
an idempotent group
a word of anaphylaxis
the Binding of the Celestial Sphere
a phlegmatic sealing word
a Minor Animus
a resonant tone
a syllable of counterbalance
the Anodyne Evocation
a word of entension
a word of culmination
the Hermetic Sealing
the Binding of Antipathy
the categorical imperative
the Lesser Phlogistical Saturation
an elementary word of binding
a word of essential nature
a simple sealing word
an unsealing mantra
Rituals:
> recall rituals
You have learned twenty-eight rituals: (* marks rituals you have not yet completed)
copper percalcinate synthesis
aura imitation inscription (with quartz)
lodestone of centrality creation
lead weight increase inscription ()
viridigris synthesis
sublime spirit synthesis
clock tincture synthesis
metal attractor inscription
prophylactic scalpel inscription
aura invisibility inscription
perfect mud synthesis
bamuriatic acid synthesis ()
glass permeability inscription
gold ignition
aura imitation inscription (with jade) ()
electrum phlogistication ()
aura impermeability inscription
breath-holding synthesis
planetary lens creation
lodestone of purity creation
fire-resistance synthesis
resonant oculus creation
fungicide synthesis
universal tarnish cleansing inscription (with the brass pin)
doubled rust cleansing inscription (with the steel bolt)
doubled tarnish cleansing inscription (with the brass pin) (*)
basic rust cleansing inscription (with the steel bolt)
basic tarnish cleansing inscription (with the brass pin)
Places:
> recall places
Since the accident, you have visited these notable locations:
the Secondary Alchemy Lab
the Mech Lab Crawlspace
the Void
the Herbarium Nook
the Chymic Lab
the Mechanica Lab
the Materials Store
the Opticks Lab
the Opticks Annex
the Pyrics Lab
the Pyrics Store
the Main Store
the Library
the Lab Wing Hallway
the Nave
the Airlock
the Medical Wing
the Medical Workroom
the Portico
Junior Quarters
the Deck Suite
the High Tower
the Master Rector’s Quarters
the Study Room
the Under Ward
the Scaphe Arcade
the Exoscaphe
the Paper Garden
the Paper Maze, Center
the Observatory
the Grand Stair, Top
the Grand Stair, Bottom
the Birdhouse
the Burning Hall West
the Edge of Chasm
the Deep Stacks
the Confusing Cracks
Facts:
You have picked up assorted facts:
the soul mirroring fragment
the vibration technique fragment
a lecture on the theory of dragons
the Cold Crucible gossip
musical theory
the white-fuse challenge
the store safe combination
the electrum substitution
the spiritual environment
the exhilarant environment
the recursive metaphor technique
the periodic table of stone
the Birdhouse defensive stricture
the nature of aura clouds
a lecture on potions
the percalcination procedure
the elemental earth loan
a lecture on gestalt shelves
the copper calcination demonstration
the crawlway access combination
the catalytic environment
the work assignment
the resinous note
a lecture on aromas
Doors
> recall doors
You have yet to deal with the following locked doors and barriers:
the Secondary Alchemy Lab door
the Chymic Lab door
the Opticks closet door
the Deck Suite Venture door
the Tertiary Lab door
the Airlock outer door
the Portico main doors
the North Arcade marble door
the Exoscaphe hatch
the obsidian door
the Barosy gate
the Observatory ladder
the South Chasm bridge
the High Tower cabinet
twelve fractures
Items
> recall items
Since the accident, you have found (or created) these (portable) items:
four potion bottles (breath holding, fire resistance, clock tincture, and fungicide)
four chymic vials (sublime spirit, copper percalcinate, perfect mud, and viridigris)
nine chymic flasks (saline, rubbing alcohol, mineral oil, muriatic acid, vitriolic acid, vinegar,
lubanja, alum, and sand)
five impets of essential oil (ginger, peppermint, citronelle, kelp, and eucalyptus)
seven metal rods (lead, platinum, nickel, moon-metal, orichalcum, gold, and phlogisticated gold)
two lengths of wire (platinum and nickel)
six stone chips (granite, sandstone, flint, basalt, marble, and obsidian)
seven wooden splints (elemental wood, cedar, maple, winter-oak, blackwood, green linden, and
swamp pith)
four chimes (bronze F-sharp, bronze B, glass G-flat, and glass H)
four clay molds (for Medical, Alchemy, Aithery, and Venture Files)
four seals (lead Medical, lead Alchemy, lead Aithery, and lead Venture)
a scratched bubble
a shard of elemental earth
a capsule of elemental water
a brass pin
a steel bolt
a length of silver chain
a length of silk cord
a glass loop
a concave glass lens
a convex glass lens
a lump of rock salt
a fluorspar crystal
a long quartz prism
a broad quartz prism
a rough diamond
an iron bead
a sprig of rosemary
a pinecone
a sprig of honeysuckle
a dried mushroom
a chunk of coral
a pinch of mustard seed
a pinch of zafranum
a white feather
a lump of camphrost
a torch-lighter
a crusty scalpel
a resonant oculus
a planetary lens
a lodestone of purity
a lodestone of centrality
a brass coin
a silver coin
a horn coin
a measuring block
an ivory bead
a Chinese amulet
a rotor card
a blank tin slip
a pair of tarnished calipers
a thick key
a porcelain paten
a labyrinth tile
Edit: Oops, forgot Rooms:
Since the accident, you have visited these notable locations:
the Secondary Alchemy Lab
the Mech Lab Crawlspace
the Void
the Herbarium Nook
the Chymic Lab
the Mechanica Lab
the Materials Store
the Opticks Lab
the Opticks Annex
the Pyrics Lab
the Pyrics Store
the Main Store
the Library
the Lab Wing Hallway
the Nave
the Airlock
the Medical Wing
the Medical Workroom
the Portico
Junior Quarters
the Deck Suite
the High Tower
the Master Rector’s Quarters
the Study Room
the Under Ward
the Scaphe Arcade
the Exoscaphe
the Paper Garden
the Paper Maze, Center
the Observatory
the Grand Stair, Top
the Grand Stair, Bottom
the Birdhouse
the Burning Hall West
the Edge of Chasm
the Deep Stacks
the Confusing Cracks
I feel stupid for having to ask this, but what do I actually do with the dragons? I’ve seen references to awakening them, but nothing I’ve done to any of them has actually done something. Is there a specific ritual that I need to find first?
You have the right idea about getting through the window, but you are not going to be able to survive the other side yet, so that is not what to be working on. A couple of gentle hints:
The Clock Tincture basically sets any brass mechanism the way you would like it to be. There are at least two places to use it. The Observatory ladder is not brass, though.
Take a good look at the ladder’s counterweight. You have an unperformed ritual that could help you with that.
I’m not 100% sure, but I think you ought to be able to get into the High Tower cabinet, either right now or after you get up the ladder.
You won’t be able to do anything with the dragons until you are able to perform a ritual you don’t have yet, so I’d concentrate on getting into rooms and cabinets you haven’t yet.
Yup: you need to perform
Great Marriage
before you’ll be able to waken any of them.
Thanks. I assumed I had to do the lead weight ritual on the counterweight but I haven’t been able to perform that ritual yet because I don’t have the Gaian Precipitate. Could you give me a hint where I should be looking? Or is this something I can make? I would guess this is something to do with the elemental earth, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten.
Hm, there is a ritual for that (and I think it does involve the elemental earth). I do not recall where you find it, but it seems like by elimination it must be in the High Tower cabinet or the Barosy, because I don’t believe you can open any other doors with what you have now.
I guess another possibility is that you’ve overlooked a piece of paper in one of the places you’ve already visited.
That seems a bit unlikely though. Hmm … actually, I don’t see the Storage Nook on your list of rooms?
Also, there is one quasi-hidden location that I can’t tell if you’ve visited or not, because it doesn’t show up on the rooms list even when you have been there.
Have you gone down from the Paper Garden?
In the pool, that is.
You need the
Lodestone of Centrality
to get through there. There’s a ritual to create it, which does involve that object plus a bunch of other stuff; but if you’ve not found the ritual yet then that is not the next thing to be working on.