Talk:Myst V: End of Ages

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Contents

[edit] Before or after Uru

A recent edit changed the statement "Myst V takes place some time after Uru: Ages Beyond Myst" to "Myst V takes place approximately 200 years before the events of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst".

I've changed that back but I need to clear this up: Myst 5 definitely does take place after Uru.

There are numerous clues and references to this in the game. I can provide a link to just one of the many forum topics which discuss this [1]. See my comment on the top of page 3 for a good summary of the points.

Most importantly, there is a DRC stamp found on a sheet of paper in the game, proving that they were here before and hence, that the game is set after Uru.

Also, ShadowMan1od, in the future, please do not make rewrites of information and then basically say the same thing. The information you have added is valuable, but should not have been added at the expense of some of the other information that was removed. I have partially reverted it, but kept your new material. —EatMyShortz 15:55, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm doing some research into it, and I can't find any conclusion. Message boards are still discussing whether it takes place before or after Uru. I personally think it takes place before Uru. According to the official websites (and the insert on Completele Chronicles), Uru takes place 200 years after something in the Myst series. Since the Stranger is a normal human, he couldn't possibly be alive after Uru takes place. Also, Yeesha only exists as a holograph in Uru, meaning she probably isn't alive anymore. There's also the Wikipedia article on Uru that says "Unlike previous games, where you play the role of a stranger who lived 200 years ago". There's an overwhelming amount of evidence pointing to it taking place before Uru, but I'm asking on the Cyan forums for confirmation.

And about the re-writes, I've gone insane about re-writing for clarity after AP English. :P ShadowMan1od

OK, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence to suggest that the game comes after Uru, and the only evidence against is that "the stranger", whoever (s)he is, may not have lived that long. Well that argument is silly because the stranger isn't a real "person" its just you the player. The "faceless" nature of the stranger explains away any age problems. As for the other characters, they are D'ni and so can very easily live 300 years.

You are correct about Uru taking place around 200 years after Myst. Myst is set in 1806. Uru is set in 2003. So just over 200 years difference. But Myst V is not set anywhere near Myst 1-4.

Some arguments in favour of Myst V being set after Uru, from my forum post I referred you to above:

  • To quote the Myst V Official Strategy Guide: "Myst V: End of Ages is the last chapter in the Myst story... End of Ages is set just a few years after the events of Uru, To D'ni and Path of the Shell".
  • Yeesha looks noticeably older in Myst V than she does in Uru.
  • Yeesha only realised her potential as the grower in Uru. She couldn't have done the things she did in Myst 5 before Uru.
  • Myst V is an ending - everything is resolved. The conflict which takes place in Uru would have no basis to happen if it were set after Myst V.
  • Yeesha talks about the "gathered" in her journals - the explorers who came to rebuild D'ni. We must assume this refers to the Uru avatars.
    • "They came. They came to D'ni—those who felt called. I knew they would. I was prepared for them, and I pointed the way. I spoke often of the pride of D'ni, of their belief in their own power and strength and the reason that D'ni once fell. And a few understand. And they begin to follow me. I am the Grower—I would lead them to rebuild."
    • Sounds a lot like Uru to me - especially since Yeesha's journals chronicled each of the other games.
  • And the final piece of clinching evidence, as I said above - THERE IS A DRC LOGO FOUND ON A SHEET OF PAPER IN THE GAME. Thus the DRC (ie. Uru) were here before.

Thus there can be almost no doubt that this game is set after Uru. —EatMyShortz 11:15, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

    • Just curious, where can that DRC logo be found? Worry not about spoilers, I've finished the game. -Kasreyn 10:29, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Template:Spoiler (This discussion contains end-game spoilers —EatMyShortz)

Well that settles it then. :P I'm still curious though about how the Stranger (I'm guessing you play as him in Myst 5 since Atrus recognizes you at the end), lived 200 years though. Same with Atrus. He's only part D'ni, so he probably didn't fully inherit their "living 200 years"-ivity. Mess-up on Cyan's part? ShadowMan1od

The strategy guide indicates that Atrus's little "my old friend" thing was a result of his senility. I have a hard time taking anything in Myst V as canon, but I certainly think that remark isn't. Mysts I-IV you're the stranger, Myst V you're an ambiguous unified version of the "you" we were in Uru.
That's my take, anyway. SFT 07:55, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
Well, this one is probably never going to be settled, since there is hardly any proof either way, intentionally on Cyan's part. As for the Strategy Guide (I have read it - heck I'm even in it on page 203, hehe) - I really disagree with Stratton here. It's my belief that the player in Myst 5 is the same stranger from Myst 1-4 - it just seems more fitting that way. When Atrus said "My old friend" - I choose to take that as proof. Bryan Stratton instead explains away Atrus's statement with senility - not very nice for the poor guy. It's Stratton's word against Atrus, and I think Atrus wins hands down. That's my take, anyway. —EatMyShortz 15:23, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
Another point that someone just brought up the me: the condition of Myst Island. This makes it even more confusing. The fireplace in Uru is unsealed, while the fireplace in Myst 5 IS sealed. However, the tower rotation picture is still present in Myst 5, but it's not in the best condition in Uru. The fireplace indicates that the game takes place after Uru, but the picture suggests otherwise. There's also the doorway to consider. Sealed in Uru, not sealed in Myst 5. Mindfuck, no? ShadowMan1od 02:03, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
Yes, I noticed that. A little weird - the only difference with the tower rotation map wa that in POTS it had all the red lines on and in Myst 5 it didnt. So maybe they disappear when you take it off the wall or something, i dont know! As for the door, well it wasn't "sealed" - it was just closed, same as it can be closed in Myst (except there was no way to open it). It's conceivable that someone, possibly Esher when he unlocked the Myst book, managed to get the door open. Who knows, maybe there's a simple switch on the outside which opens it - we've never seen the outside of that door. —EatMyShortz 13:26, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
Or maybe it's just a ton of mistakes on Cyan's part. That's my bet. :P ShadowMan1od 23:55, 10 October 2005 (UTC)


[edit] No Second Chance

Spoiler Warning

Does anyone else find it remarkable how the game enforces this warning? If you take one of the "wrong" endings, you'll find you cannot restore to a previous save - your journal images are nonfunctional.

Strangely, though, you CAN restore to a previous image after beating the game with the "good" ending - by clicking "continue", you wind up in the Keep, faced with the decision all over again, but as before, if you choose a "bad" ending, you basically lose that player slot (stuck on Myst). This caused me some difficulty, since after the first time I beat the game, I wanted to see the other endings. I can understand their viewpoint - they don't want you to just reload and instantly pick the other solution - but it's frustrating to have to go back through the entire game to test out theories. For instance, after beating Riven for the first time, I worked out all the possible endings, got to each, and made a save file at each, just for fun.

(Pop Quiz - there are ten possible endings to Riven. Can anyone name them all without checking the game?)

So my problem is, I dearly love replaying Myst games (I spend hours sometimes just sightseeing and taking photos in Kadish Tolesa, Spire, or Todelmer) - but I really want to test out my theories about game endings in Myst V without having to redo the entire game every time. For instance, can the Tablet be dropped on Myst, and will the Bahro come for it there? Can it be set back on the Keep? Endgame experimentation is rather hard to do without the ability to save.

Does anyone here know how to find Myst V's save files? Kasreyn 10:29, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

That's strange, I didn't have that problem. I don't remember what I did exactly, but I recall being able to load savegames after getting the alternate endings on Myst Island. Megaritz 20:39, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Just beat the game with all the endings. I didn't have any trouble at all reloading from my save images. Did you exit the game after each ending? That might prevent it. 74.196.86.164 (talk) 06:18, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Explanation of the new stranger

The current storyline (Episode 8) of Uru Live seems to explain that from its sight of things the stranger is Dr. Watson. He was the one who gave the tablet to the Bahro and freed them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.182.43.132 (talk) 21:58, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Technical issues

See also the previous post "No Second Chance".

It's noteworthy that this game has, at least to my knowledge, the most "bugs" of the entire series. While I never had any trouble with the other games (including Uru), the InstallShield part of this one is really broken due to Java-related issues. I couldn't get the installation working without resorting to the command line (setupwin32.exe -is:tempdir C:\temp -is:log C:\templog.txt), and the uninstaller didn't accept java.exe as "valid" after I'd finished the game ;-) I had to turn desktop enhancements like SideSlide or YzDock off in order to not constantly drop out of the game after rapid mouse movements.

The controls are not that intuitive, either. Holding the tablet prevents you from turning levers or pulling anything up or down, while back/forth and pressing buttons works. The red/blue levers on Tahgira are very tricky to move even with "free hands". End of Ages had me fighting the controls too often. A little more development time would have payed off. At least I had expected Cyan/Ubisoft to have released a patch for the installer years ago. On the whole, the project looks a bit abandoned. Uru was the more mature product of the two. 88.217.78.37 (talk) 23:56, 10 February 2008 (UTC)