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TITANIC: Adventure Out of Time
26 November 1996
Table of Contents
Review
Walkthrough Notes and Abbreviations
Apartment
Titanic Afloat
Titanic Sinking
Endgame Sequences
Maps
Character Gallery
Review
Titanic: Adventure Out of Time provides total immersion in a
historically-accurate environment onboard the ill-fated steamship in
1912. Playing a fictitious British Secret Service agent, your mission
is to obtain several pieces of evidence that, if they fall into the
wrong hands, may significantly affect the outcome of world events just
prior to World War I. In order to find these items, you'll need to
explore the many nooks and crannies of the White Star steamship. An
optional "tour" feature of the game allows you to explore the ship
without game constraints (and without a savegame capability), and even
by itself could justify the purchase of the game for Titanic buffs or
those just interested in what the ship must have been like. An
important characteristic of Titanic's gameplay is its multiple plot
threads, ultimately offering several different endings to the story,
depending on your success in obtaining pieces of evidence. The latter
part of the game, occurring during the actual sinking of the Titanic,
must be completed within the corresponding time limit of about 55
minutes. While it's not difficult to complete the game within this
time limit, it is more of a challenge to achieve the "optimum" ending.
As time moves forward throughout the game, animations of a sailing (or
sinking) Titanic are interspersed. Graphics are uniformly high in
quality, with a great deal of effort apparently expended in obtaining
accurate representations of Titanic fixtures, layout and overall
appearance. The game is played from a first-person perspective, and
characters you encounter are depicted by superimposed live-action
video using a relatively low frame rate. This tends to make the
characters' movements rather jerky, but doesn't really present an
obstacle to game enjoyment. The interactions with the various
personalities in the game assist in setting the overall tone of the
gameplay and help to make you believe you're actually onboard the
Titanic during its maiden voyage. Game action takes place within a
partial screen, with icons for a ship's map, game control, inventory
and a watch filling up the remainder of the screen. In some cases, the
game locked up during a dialog close-up when a screen saver activated,
so you may need to disable your screen saver while playing the game.
Music is fairly atmospheric and seems appropriate for the 1912 time
period, but segments are extremely short and consequently end up
sounding very repetitive (the game thankfully has an option in which
theme music can be silenced). Sound effects are excellent everywhere
and add a great deal to the immersive gameplay. Titanic's gameplay
engine is similar to that used in Timelapse, another game from GTE
Entertainment. One difference in Titanic, apart from using only a
partial screen, is that there are no mouse-cursor alternatives for
movement - all navigation must be performed with the keyboard (and no
type-ahead buffer is available). It would have been nice to have had
at least a backup feature using the down arrow key, as was available
in Timelapse. Saved games are file-based using the Windows interface,
and as a result provide both an unlimited quantity and an overwrite
warning. As with Timelapse, Titanic has the extremely-irritating
requirement to re-insert CD #1 whenever the game is restarted. After
starting Titanic, it is also necessary to escape through several
introductory and startup screens in order to (finally) reach a
game-restore point. We had to go through so much swapping that the
second CD eventually got scratched and became almost unusable. This
may have been exacerbated by the lack of a proper CD storage case
provided with the game (as was a problem with Timelapse as well).
These flaws seriously compromise an otherwise superior product. Once
started up, Titanic is a fun and exciting game to play. It's
interesting to note a Hindenburg (zeppelin) ticket in the initial
sequence - a DreamFactory game based on that disaster would certainly
make a fascinating sequel to Titanic. Walkthrough Notes and
Abbreviations Use keyboard arrow keys for navigation (no mouse cursor
equivalent) F: Forward (Fn for n repetitions) L: Left R: Right O: Open
door n(F L) denotes n repetitions of F L; for example, 4(F L) is
equivalent to F L F L F L F L For quick navigation, use the maps and
click on any red area to jump to it Press Esc to skip the game
introduction, animations and dialog (however, the final endgame
sequences cannot be skipped) You must actually click twice on the ring
portion of the lifeboat symbol in order to activate the game control
menu Thanks to Brad Roberts & Rick Edwards at
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure for helping to explore some of
Titanic's possibilities Titanic can be played in many diffent ways,
each with its own plot elements and character interactions that might
not be repeated in other gameplay sequences. This walkthrough
illustrates one way of reaching the "optimum" endgame, but does not
purport to indicate all possible outcomes or individual event
sequences. Your mileage will undoubtedly vary. Apartment April 14,
1942 Your name is "Carlson", and you are a former British Secret
Service agent. You're in London during World War II, and have a few
minutes to check out some of the things in your seedy apartment before
an air-raid starts and a German bomb explodes nearby: Titanic ship
model Memories scrapbook: Titanic front page Morgan Robertson's
book Futility on armchair, with Lambeth obituary Landlady knocking
on door, blocking exit, wanting rent Radio closeup, with tuner and
shutoff Clickable cockroach in cupboard Current newspaper on bed
Magazines, clippings and postcards on desk Pocket watch, with
the voice of your former boss La Morte tarot card (its significance
will be seen later) Termination letter Hindenburg ticket
Barrage balloon outside window The items in your apartment, along
with the backstory in the Titanic game package, indicate that you
failed to complete your intelligence mission on the R.M.S. Titanic 30
years earlier. The bomb explosion transports you back in time to April
14, 1912, the night of the Titanic sinking, where you'll be given
another chance to complete your mission successfully. Titanic Afloat
April 14, 1912 After some introductory scenes and credits and a CD
change, you arrive in your cabin (C-73) onboard the Titanic. Move
forward, answer the door and talk to your steward, Smethells. If you
request his help, he'll explain details of the game interface. He'll
give you a message from Penny Pringle commanding that you meet her by
the "Electric Camel" (in the gymnasium). Smethells will also give you
a map of the ship. Move R2 F L and pick up your bag on the bed. This
is where you'll keep the inventory items you pick up during gameplay.
To check inventory, click on the bag icon next to the life preserver.
For a close-up of an inventory item, click on the item of interest,
then click on the magnifying glass inside the bag. Move L3 F L2 F R2
and pick up the gold pocket watch from the dresser. Zoom in on the
dresser and open its center drawer. Read the note from "Georgia"
requesting that you meet her on deck tonight. Zoom out from the
dresser and move L3. Use the key from inside your bag to open your
steamer trunk. Click on the middle of the left set of drawers to read
a confidential report, detailing more of the backstory of the game.
Click on the phonograph in the right half of the trunk and attach its
trumpet to its base. Click on the phonograph crank to listen to a
message from your boss (be sure that theme music is activated in the
game options). Click again on the crank to stop the message (we kept
waiting for the phonograph roll to self-destruct, Mr. Phelps). If
desired, open the upper-right drawer and change phonograph rolls to
play the music you heard on the radio in your apartment in 1942. You
can also check out the First-Class dinner menu Titanic Dinner Menu on
the table in your cabin. Exit your cabin and move R F5 O F R O F O
into the Purser's Office. There you can get the cabin assignments of
some of the Titanic passengers:

Passenger Cabin

Eric Burns C-78
Sasha Barbicon A-14
Mr. Conkling B-59
Lady Georgia Lambeth B-70
Colonel Zeitel C-59
Penny Pringle F-34
Shailagh Hacker F-59
Miss Claris Limehouse D-19

Use your map to jump to the Grand Staircase on the Boat Deck, then move
L F L O F R O F into the Gymnasium. Click on your Secret Service
contact Penny Pringle. She's very bossy, but shows you a picture of
your nemesis, the German Colonel Zeitel and explains that your mission
is to obtain a book, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (not really written
in English, of course). Zeitel is traveling with Willi von Haderlitz
and sometimes may be found in the Cafe Parisian. Your first task is to
gain access to the ship's wireless room from Officer Morrow, and read
Zeitel's coded telegram using the cryptograph in your trunk. Move R3 O
F L O F L F2 L O F L O F R3 F2 through the Grand Staircase to the port
officer's promenade. To gain access to the Wireless Room, talk to
Third Officer Morrow using the dialog sequence The sea appears
calm. You seem a little worried about something. What uproar?

You don't like politics? What war was that? No wonder
moonless
nights make you jumpy. Now, may I visit the wireless room? Move R2
O F into the Wireless Room and click on the desk. Click on the pile of
outgoing telegrams at right and leaf through them until you find the
one from Zeitel: Zeitel Telegram Jump to the Grand Staircase on C Deck
and move R F R O F6 L O F2 L into your cabin (C-73). You may randomly
run into other passengers as you move about. Open your steamer trunk
with the key in your bag and open the drawer at lower left. On the
decoding machine, attach the green and red leads to the dry cell
battery and turn on the device using the switch at left. Rotate the
number wheels at top center to set the 8754 code from Zeitel's
telegram inside the black frame. Click on the bag and highlight the
telegram inside the pocket. Click OK, then click on the telegram at
lower right. Using the alphabetic keypad on the decoder, enter the
encoded text string A N H Q S P P A I X W B F C X Y A M, then press
the DECODE button to obtain the secret message:

Jump to the Second-Class stairs on F Deck, then move O F3 L O to
Pringle's cabin (F-34). She suggests you try to find a way down to the
lower decks and intercept the Rubaiyat. As it happens, the access to G
Deck is close at hand. Move L 3(F L) 6(F R) F O F R2 F3 L F2 O F3 down
the stairs to the Turbine Room and through it into the Control Room.
When you try and open the door into the Engine Room, a crewman starts
whining to you about his boilers. Offer to solve his problem, to help
him. Back out from the steam turbine control panel (unless you know
what to do), and ask the crewman for some advice. He'll give you the
instruction manual:

Tell the crewman you'll try again. Use the instructions above to get
the turbine output gauge into the green zone and quiet the racket.
Move O F L2 F R2 F3 R F L O F3 O F3 O F2 into Boiler Room 3. Standing
on the catwalk is Vlad Demonic. If you pass him and move R F L2 to
coal chute 4, you can get the Rubaiyat from the coal chute control
panel (and even befriend a fireman by calling him a landlubber), but
Vlad will kill you when you try to go back up to the catwalk with the
book. Instead, ask Vlad about his troubles and offer to get him a
package from Sasha Barbicon. Move L2 F O F3 O F3 O F R2 F L2 F3 L F R
O F3 O F3 R F3 L O F2 to an area where you can jump to the Grand
Staircase on A Deck. Move F2 R F2 O F4 L F R O to the cabin of Sasha
Barbicon (A-14). Pick up a package of clothes for Vlad. Jump to the
Second-Class stairs on F Deck and move O F2 R F L F L 6(F R) F O F R2
F3 L F2 O F3 O F L2 F R2 F3 R F L O F3 O F3 O F2 back to Vlad's
location in Boiler Room 3. Give Vlad the package. You don't get
anything from him in return, and he's obviously already picked up the
Rubaiyat from the coal chute. Move F O F3 O F3 O F6 O F R4 F2 L2 F O F
to the Forecastle Deck, where you can jump to the Aft Grand Staircase
on C Deck and move F2 R F O F2 L O to the cabin (C-78) of photographer
Eric Burns. Ask to see his work, then find out that his wife is
wearing a blue hat. Jump to the Grand Staircase on this deck, where
you'll be able to see her in the background. Move L F R L2 O F7 R O
back to Burns' cabin and inform him as to the whereabouts of his wife,
then suggest he pay more attention to her (e.g., leave so you can nose
around his cabin). Move F3 and zoom in on the darkroom table. At
center left, pick up the film development instructions, thoughtfully
provided by the White Star Line on their official paper:

Move R2 F2 L back to the doorway and turn off the cabin lights. In the
dark, move L F2 and click on the table. Immediately to the left of
where you found the development instructions, click on the darkroom
lamp. Open each film cartridge and develop the film inside per the
instructions above (pan 1 refers to the start bath, pan 2 the stop
bath), discovering


Left Picture Barbicon with "Lamke & Buechner" packing case

Center Picture Barbicon and Zeitel

Right Picture Willi von Haderlitz and Claris Limehouse



Drag the photos to your bag of inventory.
Jump to the Second-Class stairs on F Deck, then move O F3 L O to
Pringle's cabin (F-34). Tell her you haven't found the Rubaiyat yet,
but show her the photographs you took from Burns' cabin. Exhaust the
rest of the dialog with her, then ask what to do next. She'll suggest
you concentrate on finding the painting by getting a look at the
purser's cargo manifest. Jump to the Grand Staircase on C Deck, then
move R F O F O to talk to the purser. Ask him about Mr. Thayer, then
offer to help. Jump to the Grand Staircase on the Boat Deck, then move
L F R F2 L O F L O F R3 F2 R2 O F into the Wireless Room. Click on the
table and look at the operating instructions in the half-open drawer
Zoom in on the sender amp Sender Amp and turn it on by dragging up the
lever at left. Zoom in on the breaker switch Breaker Switch and drag
it left to the Transmit position. Zoom in on the tuner Wireless Tuner
and rotate the knob with arrows several times until the red frequency
line is set for the correct sending frequency (200 KHz) and the red
light starts flashing. Click on the telegraph key Telegraph Key and
enter Thayer's message: