Myst game series...any fans?

[QuantaFille]

I am a big fan of the Myst game series, Myst, Riven and Exile, made by Cyan (http://www.cyan.com/). (Exile was made by someone else though, Presto, which is now out of business.)
I was wondering if there were any other fans of the series here.
I own copies of all three games, and all three first edition hardcover novels. Plus, I am very much looking forward to their next game, Uru (http://uru.ubi.com/), which is a single-player offline game, and also a multiplayer online game. Myst IV is in production still at UbiSoft. (Cyan is busy with Uru, that's also why Exile was made by someone else.) There is also another novel coming out perhaps sometime next year.

For those who haven't heard of it, Myst is a computer game that starts out with you finding a book laying on the ground. You pick it up and open it, it is filled with strange writing, but there on the first page is a moving image, showing an island with buildings and trees. You touch the picture, and suddenly find yourself on the island. You explore the island and find a library...

And that's all I'm going to say. I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't played it yet. If you think this game sounds like fun, you can usually find it on eBay, but you have to play Myst before you read the novels or the fun will be spoiled for you.
For those that are fans, you can join the fan community at MystCommunity (http://myst.chucker.rasdi.net/board/index.php).

So, any other fans?

Edit: Here's some info on the books. (Links to the Amazon page, you can read a few pages and the back of the book there.)
Myst, Book of Ti'ana (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786889209/qid=1057890576/sr=12-2/103-1254032-6612626?v=glance&s=books)
Myst, Book of Atrus (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786881887/qid=1057890576/sr=12-4/103-1254032-6612626?v=glance&s=books)
Myst, Book of D'ni (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/078688942X/qid=1057890576/sr=12-1/103-1254032-6612626?v=glance&s=books)

[Sher]

QuantaFille,

I am so sorry for forgetting about this thread ... I meant to post and got sidetracked. I've loved the Myst series to date ... and eagerly await the next installments. I can remember getting the original Myst, although there have been many since then, there was nothing like it on the market at that time.

I haven't read the books. Are they in-line with the stories of the games? (yes, yes, I'll check the links :lol:) I found the storyline very interesting ... and if these provide more background, as well as continuation, I may consider them as fun reading in the near future (if I ever get off the computer and finish the stack of serious things I'm woking through now :doh:).

As I said in the other topic that caused this off-shoot, we played Exile on Xbox ... and taped that great ending on video tape to watch over again. I too won't spoil the game, but it was great how everything pulled together ... you know what I mean.

I'd love to try the RealMyst ... is it worth it? Enough of a difference to shell out the $$?

:shersig:

[TucTuc]

Yeah, they're great family games, too. Have you played any other Myst-like games? I've played a couple, but none were even close to being as good.

Personally, I thought the first Myst was the best one... the loneliness was so... eerie!

[Sher]

I have played a few since then ... but you're right ... none to compare so far. Yeah ... Myst definitely rocked ... it was way ahead of its time ... leading the pack.

[QuantaFille]

OK, sorry it took me so long to reply, I was trying to get Linux running on a faster computer, and to make a long story short, it didn't work because I have no idea what I'm doing.
Anyway...

07-12-2003 @ 06:00 PM
Sher:

QuantaFille,

I am so sorry for forgetting about this thread ... I meant to post and got sidetracked. I've loved the Myst series to date ... and eagerly await the next installments. I can remember getting the original Myst, although there have been many since then, there was nothing like it on the market at that time.

I haven't read the books. Are they in-line with the stories of the games? (yes, yes, I'll check the links :lol:) I found the storyline very interesting ... and if these provide more background, as well as continuation, I may consider them as fun reading in the near future (if I ever get off the computer and finish the stack of serious things I'm woking through now :doh:).
Yes, the books do provide the background story, and the events leading up to what takes place in Myst, Riven, and Exile, but don't provide continuation. The farthest the story has come so far is Exile. The next game, Myst IV (we don't know the name of it yet) will probably provide a continuation, but Uru will not as it is set in modern day. There is also the new book coming out next year, Book of Marrim, but I don't know when that one takes place in the story. (Note: The books were published a little out of order, so even though the publication date says that BoA comes first, and BoT is a prequel, you can read them in the order that I listed them earlier.) They really are good books, even for someone who normally does not like sci-fi/fantasy.

As I said in the other topic that caused this off-shoot, we played Exile on Xbox ... and taped that great ending on video tape to watch over again. I too won't spoil the game, but it was great how everything pulled together ... you know what I mean.

I'd love to try the RealMyst ... is it worth it? Enough of a difference to shell out the $$?

:shersig:
realMYST is absolutely worth it, if you have a computer that can handle it I'd say go for it.
Here is a picture (http://members.lycos.co.uk/quantafille/MREDU/MystIsland.jpg) from the Myst Masterpiece edition (a remake with better sound and graphics).
And here is a picture (http://members.lycos.co.uk/quantafille/MREDU/RealMystIslandDusk2.jpg) of the same area, in realMYST. See the difference? There are day/night cycles, so you can sit on the dock on Myst Island and watch the sun rise, or sit on the other side of the island and watch the sun set and the stars come out. It rains in Stoneship (http://members.lycos.co.uk/quantafille/MREDU/RealMystStoneshipNight2.jpg) (<~ click), and at night there you can see the lightning. (The only Age that does not have day and night is Channelwood, because it used up too much computer memory to run properly so the programmers had to leave it out.) There is wildlife moving around and flying or swimming in all of the Ages... It's really a cool game.
Oh, and it has a whole new Age to explore. I won't say too much about it, but it's entirely cool, although a bit small.
I bought mine on eBay for less than $20, and there are usually several for sale there. (If you do a search, search for "realmyst" as well as "real myst". Some sellers put the space between the words, some don't.) I found one here. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3539258575&category=11047) The system requirements are also on that page, but I recommend a better computer than the minimum requirements to be able to set the resolution and quality higher. Here (http://support.ubi.com/patches.php) is the page where you can find the patch to let you set the quality, and here (http://www.ubi.com/US/Games/realmyst/) is the Ubi Soft site with info and screenshots.
Let me know if you decide to get it. :teeth:

[Kyle]

I loved Myst- it was simply awesome. I was entertained by Riven, but I did not enjoy it nearly as much. Is exile more like Myst or more like Riven?

[QuantaFille]

Exile was made by Presto (not Cyan, the people who made Myst and Riven), so it is very different from them both. The graphics style as well as the puzzle style is very different. I didn't enjoy Exile as much as I did the first two, as far as the puzzles. But the story is pretty good, and if you liked the first two you may enjoy Exile.

[TucTuc]

I liked Riven the least, personally. I found that it was kind of 'all the same', whereas Myst and Exile had some very different worlds in them.

[QuantaFille]

I actually liked Riven the best, as far as the puzzles. I even used a walkthrough on some of it (which I now regret...) because the puzzles were so hard. I like the puzzles hard!
A lot of the puzzles in Exile didn't make much sense until after I had solved them, and many I solved on accident.
So Riven is my favourite, then Myst, then Exile. :teeth:

[TucTuc]

07-22-2003 @ 07:44 PM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=155615#post155615)
QuantaFille:

I like the puzzles hard!

I don't! :smile:

I guess what I like about the games is more the whole 'adventure/exploring' aspect rather than the actual puzzles. I guess that's why Riven was my least favorite; on the whole, it didn't have that 'otherworldy' feel that Myst and Exile did. I did like Riven, but come to think of it, I seem to remember some of the puzzles just being... TOO hard... I guess I'd rather just wander around and look at scenery!

[Sher]

Sorry ... I have to go with the hard puzzles too :thumb:

[TucTuc]

Come on, you guys...

Hey wait, you're both girls, aren't you...

Maybe exploring is a guy thing!

Maybe this is why I like football and not chess...

(BTW, I do like puzzles, yes, just not when they're too hard. Also, I tend to like the puzzles that are a bit... different, like the ones in Myst where you had to manipulate sound.. you know what I mean?)

[Sher]

Today @ 10:33 AM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=158801#post158801)
TucTuc:

Come on, you guys...

Hey wait, you're both girls, aren't you...

Yup :sher:

Maybe exploring is a guy thing!

Naw ... I love exploring too (both virtual and IRL) ... I just like the mental challenges more.

Maybe this is why I like football and not chess...

I'm the opposite ... but that isn't a guy/gal thing ... just a matter of preferences really.

(BTW, I do like puzzles, yes, just not when they're too hard. Also, I tend to like the puzzles that are a bit... different, like the ones in Myst where you had to manipulate sound.. you know what I mean?)

Yeah ... I know exactly what you mean ... they were really interesting. As I said though, I love the challenges of them. They were so unique in the beginning ... and the puzzles were very difficult ... but the thing about them that I really liked is that they gave you all the information. I've played far too many computer games where the information just wasn't there, ya know? You finally break down and look at a walkthrough ... and think "how in the heck did they ever come up with that ... there just wasn't any indicators in that direction ... NONE!" ... and realize you wasted hours of your life you can never get back. For me, the Myst series provided all the details in the game ... and with careful note taking ... they could be solved ...

... eventually :smug:


:shersig:

[TucTuc]

Today @ 11:37 AM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=158807#post158807)
Sher:



... and the puzzles were very difficult ... but the thing about them that I really liked is that they gave you all the information. I've played far too many computer games where the information just wasn't there, ya know? You finally break down and look at a walkthrough ... and think &quot;how in the heck did they ever come up with that ... there just wasn't any indicators in that direction ... NONE!



Yeah, that is exactly the problem with all of the other Myst-clones that I have played. They usually have interesting ideas behind them, but the actual puzzles often have to be solved completely by accident. And come to think of it, maybe I do like puzzles more than I thought! :smile: I just remembered a couple of games that I didn't like because the puzzles weren't really very clever; they were more like 'pick up this item. Bring it over here. Use it. Puzzle solved'.

[AVmetro]

I saw it at Wal-Mart for $10 and I think I'll get it. Although I'll need to pick up a soundcard and some speakers to really enjoy it {silent Myst - how lame!}. Of course I could always dig out my old Playstation and get it for that. I never did finish the game {rental}.
I don't think my computer could handle Riven {now that's sad! :-)}

-AV