SCARABAEUS. Need advice to solve those puzzles!

hamster

SCARABAEUS. What a game. I remember playing this in 1986. I never properly finished it though.

I have started this again with a view to complete the thing this time round.

On the 1st level I got my 9 hieroglyph key set by getting the ghost. I'm currently on the 2nd level looking for the 8 good medicines and 4 good traps.

I'm trying to figure out correctly how to get the "good" potions/traps.

The manual states:
"Your task is to identify 8 medicines and 4 good zombie traps. This is done by examining places as shown on the map and also reading the hieroglyphs on the wall. Potions are shown as bottles and traps as gas masks and are good or evil. If the 9 hieroglyphs are in the key match those on the wall in any order these are useful in later levels. To select the trap or potion to take to level 3 push joystick right. You should collect all 8 potions. This makes it easier to complete the puzzle at the Pharoah's Tomb."


So I have entered a tomb (the spider is some way away), I know I need to compare my 9 hieroglyphs on my key to the 25 hieroglyphs on the wall (concentrating on the potion say).

What is meant exactly by:

"If the 9 hieroglyphs are in the key match those on the wall in any order these are useful".?

Does any order basically mean if ALL of the 9 keys in my set appear somewhere in the 25 hieroglyphs
on the wall scattered with no pattern? It seems every tomb I visit has them all... somehow I'm not sure this is right.

I know this is old but maybe someone completed this?

hamster

Oh here's a snapshot of the situation.... surely someone remembers this? Now I can pause it these days rather than rush before the spider comes back.

Edy

Hi Hamster!

I'm also trying to complete Scarabaeus. Hehehe, I remember too those long runs from the spiders on level 2 :cool:

Now I'm stuck on level 3, trying to open pharaom's tomb. The problem is that this puzzle is like those old small toy puzzles on which you have to move the small-squared pieces to reorder the picture - I've never been able to complete any of these

The key for the level 2 is: you must find all of your glyphs in any 3x3 square! If you find it, the item is valid. The items may be in any order, but always inside the same 3x3 square.

For instance, in your snapshot a 3x3 valid key can be found in both poison and trap glyphs. Check out this picture.

Tell me when you made it to the level 3 and the pharaom's tomb, I'll problably be still trying to open it

Greets!

hamster

Of course.. doh! The 3x3 key. Yep, I always got stuck on level 3 trying to solve the reordering of the tiles. All in 40 moves? No way! Save and reload... repeat. Curious about that ending...

... what is probably a one liner: "you have got the great scarabaeus... Congrats"

Edy

haha sure, or even worse! I bet the final will be just the score screen with the "Magic Scarabaeus" points

I'm seriously thinking about searching for my "Data Structures and Algorythms" lesson notes and use them to code a routine for resolving the final puzzle :cool: ...

I guess I'll do it when I got frustated enough with it. Meanwhile... still trying :ninja: