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Robots of Dawn (Robots_of_Dawn.txt)

Robots of Dawn
Solution by Klaus Stengel
 
Hi,  
 
I spent some time looking into the Robots of Dawn game on the C64 during 
the last weeks and I managed to come up with an universal solution for 
it. The general path was taken from the guide in [1], which is probably 
the best that can currently be found on the Internet. However, that 
guide still contains some mistakes, like claiming that the torch was one 
of the items that can vary from game to game. The torch actually always 
exists and is in the same location (but not where mentioned in the 
guide), the author just seems to have had problems finding it. 
 
------------------ MISSING FAQ ANSWERS ------------- 
 
However, the solution mentioned above is also missing specific 
information how to determine who's the real murderer. So, quoting from 
your FAQ, I'll try to answer this and the other remaining open 
questions.  
 
>>> Does anyone know the exact responses you have to give the chairman 
in order 
>>> to solve the game? None of the solutions I've found give a step-by-step 
>>> solution for beating it.  Who do you have to prove guilty? One person? 
2? 3? 
   
Only one person is supposed to be proven guilty. When starting a new 
game, one murderer is selected among four persons at random. Depending 
on which person was chosen, certain clues/items are available in the 
game: 
 
- Dr. Amadiro: Both, the report is present in the game, and the clue: "The 
  involvement of a skilled roboticist like Amadiro might explain why 
  Daneel was unable to stop the murder." is given when asking  
  Gladia for Amadiro's means. 
 
- Gladia: The following clue is given: "Not unless she finally realized, 
  as I did, that Dr. Fastolfe is interested in only one thing - studying 
  the human brain. People are just guinea pigs to him.", when asking 
  Vasilia for Gladia's motive. 
 
- Mr. Gremionis: Both, the guide rod and the clue "I suppose that there is 
  a small possibility that he was familiar enough to Fastolfe and Daneel 
  that he caught them with their guard down." is given when asking  
  Amadiro for Gremionis' means. 
     
- Dr. Vasilia: Both, the time sheet is present, as well as the clue 
  "(Gremionis obviously hesitates) Well, she did mention to me that she is 
  working on a project involving gases." is given when asking Gremionis 
  for Vasilia's means. 
 
Most importantly, if a person is not guilty, exactly one of the above 
clues for that person is missing. Gladia is a bit of an exception here, 
as there's just one clue: If Vasilia doesn't say something about 
Gladia's motive, Gladia can no longer be the murderer. However, the 
converse doesn't hold, so if the motive is there, it's still not a proof 
for Gladia being guilty. 
 
Mathematically speaking, this means there are actually 32 unique 
constellations: For each murderer there are 8 possible variations 
regarding the "false trails", so 4x8 makes 32 in total. Fortunately, the 
differences are small enough so that it's possible to construct a common 
solution until the to the point where you meet the Chairman near the end 
of the game.  
 
>>> Does asking certain questions (to certain people) trigger the appearance 
of 
>>> needed objects (rod, sheet, report)? Because they can't always be 
found... 
 
No. The presence of these items solely depends on which person was 
selected to be the murderer when the game initialized.  
 
>>> Can the blaster be used on anything? 
 
No, you can't do anything with it. 
 
>>> The guide rod seems to be an important object, but if you use it and 
later 
>>> give it to the Chairman (as the solution describes), it doesn't appear to 
>>> prove anything to him (at least he doesn't say it does...). 
 
It will only help to prove Gremionis' means if you previously touched it 
in the gas chamber, where it becomes hot. Otherwise you won't be able to 
tell the Chairman where it's leading to.  
 
>>> And there seems to be a number of objects that either have 
>>> no use (can the blaster be used on anything?? Is the viewer needed?), or 
no 
>>> importance to solving the game (if you get the safe open in Fastolfe's - 
a 
>>> somewhat complicated process that requires getting 2 other objects first 
- 
>>> the solution says the item inside is of no value to the case!). 
 
The game intentionally contains some useless items and false trails. The 
viewer actually can be used to interview Vasilia. According to the 
solution in [1], she won't answer any questions when Daneel is with you 
later in the game. 
 
The red bookfilm, while not relevant to the solution of the case, is 
supposed to give you a clue how to answer the Chairman's final question. 
After presenting all the evidence, you are supposed to confirm that the 
convicted person really killed Dr. Fastolfe ("[...] are you saying that 
[supect] killed Dr. Fastolfe? I caution you to answer carefully."). 
The hint about an humaniform that could even fool Daneel on the bookfilm 
should lead the player to the conclusion, that it wasn't Fastolfe who 
was killed, but a robotic clone. So the correct answer to this last 
question is actually "no", as the real Dr. Fastolfe is still alive.  
 
>>> Also, the Epyx catalogs showed a picture of the game with graphics, 
but 
>>> so far the only graphics I've seen is the title screen. Does the catalog 
>>> picture appear when you've solved the game? 
 
No. There are no pictures on the disk apart from the title screen that 
is displayed while the game is loading. 
 
-------------------- WALK-THROUGH ------------------- 
 
So, with the questions from the FAQ-article hopefully answered, here's 
my take at the solution. I tried to keep it as short as possible, so it 
skips all parts of the game that aren't essential to the solution of the 
case. Clues that are relevant to determine the murderer are marked with 
*** and required later to determine which evidence to present to the 
Chairman. You should note the answers you get to these in order to fill 
out the form at the end of the walk-through. 
 
W, W, N, W (study), 
GET RECORDER, 
E, S, E, E, E, E, N, E, S (personal), 
GET GLOVES, 
N, W, N, SE (personal), 
GET FILTER, 
N, S, S, W, W (living room), 
USE VIEWER, 
VASILIA, 
GREMIONIS, 
TURN ON RECORDER, 
DID GREMIONIS HAVE MOTIVE, 
DID GLADIA HAVE MOTIVE ***, 
DID GLADIA HAVE MEANS, 
SAY GOODBYE, 
W, W, N, N (workshop - meet Daneel), 
GIVE RECORDER DANEEL, 
S (N/S hallway), 
TOUCH STRIP, 
E, W (garage) 
 
-- GREMIONIS' HOUSE -- 
 
ENTER AIRFOIL, 
GREMIONIS, 
LEAVE, 
N, 
TURN ON RECORDER, 
DID VASILIA HAVE MOTIVE, 
DID VASILIA HAVE MEANS ***, 
DID AMADIRO HAVE MEANS, 
DID AMADIRO HAVE MOTIVE, 
DID AMADIRO HAVE OPPORTUNITY, 
W, S, E (workshop), 
GET ROD ***, 
W, N (south of establishment), 
GIVE RECORDER DANEEL 
 
-- VASILIA'S HOUSE -- 
 
ENTER AIRFOIL, 
VASILIA, 
LEAVE, 
N (meet Vasilia), NW, S, S (study), 
GET NEUTRALIZER, 
N, N (dragged out by robots) 
 
-- ROBOTICS INSTITUTE -- 
 
ENTER AIRFOIL, 
INSTITUTE, 
LEAVE, 
N (tingle field nearby), 
USE NEUTRALIZER, 
N, N, N, N (helical ramp), 
HOLD RAIL, 
E, E, S (sterilization chamber), 
USE FILTER (gloves too, happens automatically), 
E (gas chamber), 
TOUCH ROD, 
E (small lab), 
GET REPORT ***, 
W, W, N, W, W, W, S (Maloon Cicis' office), 
GET SHEET ***, 
N, W, S (Amadiro's office), 
TURN ON RECORDER, 
DID GREMIONIS HAVE MEANS ***, 
DID GLADIA HAVE MEANS, 
DID GLADIA HAVE MOTIVE, 
GIVE RECORDER DANEEL, 
N (back to airfoil), 
 
-- GLADIA'S ESTATE -- 
 
ENTER AIRFOIL, 
FASTOLFE, 
LEAVE, 
E, W, S, E, E, N, E, E, E (meet Gladia), E, E, N, U, W (workroom), 
GET FORM, 
LOOK, 
TURN ON RECORDER, 
SHOW FORM GLADIA, 
GLADIA DID GREMIONIS HAVE MOTIVE, 
DID VASILIA HAVE MOTIVE, 
DID AMADIRO HAVE MEANS ***, 
GIVE RECORDER DANEEL, 
E, D, S, W, W, N, W, W, S, E, E, N, E (guest room), 
WAIT 90, 
WAIT 90, 
SLEEP. 
 
-- MEETING THE CHAIRMAN -- 
 
W, S, W, W (living room - Chairman asks "Have you solved the mystery?"), 
YES. ("Present your evidence"). 
 
If you've noted all the results marked with ***, you can now use the 
following table to determine the murderer: Make a cross for each 
item/clue given in the game. If you have a full column (i.e. both fields 
crossed out, except for Gladia), you have found the murderer. Gladia has 
only one item and she is guilty if Vasilia says she had a motive and 
nobody else has two crosses in his/her column. 
 
+----------------------------------------------------------+ 
|    Amadiro  | Gladia  |  Gremionis  |    Vasilia    | 
+--------------+---------+---------------+-----------------+ 
| [ ] Report  |  [ ]  | [ ] Guide rod | [ ] Time sheet  | 
+--------------+ Motive  +---------------+-----------------+ 
| [ ] Means by |  by    | [ ] Means by  | [ ] Means by    | 
|    Gladia  | Vasilia |    Amadiro  |    Gremionis  | 
+--------------+---------+---------------+-----------------+ 
 
Now that you've hopefully identified the murderer, you can present the 
corresponding evidence to the chairman: 
 
- Amadiro: 
    DANEEL DID AMADIRO HAVE MEANS 
    DANEEL REPLAY GLADIA DID AMADIRO HAVE MEANS 
    DANEEL REPLAY GREMIONIS DID AMADIRO HAVE MEANS 
    DANEEL DID AMADIRO HAVE MOTIVE 
    DANEEL REPLAY GREMIONIS DID AMADIRO HAVE MOTIVE 
    SHOW REPORT CHAIRMAN 
    DANEEL TELL ME ABOUT AMADIRO 
    DANEEL REPLAY GREMIONIS DID AMADIRO HAVE 
OPPORTUNITY 
 
- Gladia: 
    DANEEL DID GLADIA HAVE MEANS 
    SHOW FORM CHAIRMAN 
    DANEEL REPLAY AMADIRO DID GLADIA HAVE MEANS 
    DANEEL REPLAY AMADIRO DID GLADIA HAVE MOTIVE 
    DANEEL REPLAY VASILIA DID GLADIA HAVE MOTIVE 
    DANEEL REPLAY VASILIA DID GLADIA HAVE MEANS 
 
- Gremionis: 
    DANEEL REPLAY AMADIRO DID GREMIONIS HAVE MEANS 
    SHOW ROD CHAIRMAN 
    SHOW FORM CHAIRMAN 
    DANEEL DID GREMIONIS HAVE MOTIVE 
    DANEEL REPLAY GLADIA DID GREMIONIS HAVE MOTIVE 
    DANEEL REPLAY VASILIA DID GREMIONIS HAVE MOTIVE 
 
- Vasilia: 
    DANEEL REPLAY GREMIONIS DID VASILIA HAVE MEANS 
    DANEEL DID VASILIA HAVE MOTIVE 
    DANEEL REPLAY GLADIA DID VASILIA HAVE MOTIVE 
    DANEEL REPLAY GREMIONIS DID VASILIA HAVE MOTIVE 
    SHOW SHEET CHAIRMAN 
 
When now asked, whether your suspect really killed Dr. Fastolfe, answer 
with NO. 
 
----------------- BUG ---------------- 
 
There is another bug in the part where you present the evidence to the 
Chairman which makes the game no longer completable. You have to be 
careful not to show something that incriminates (i.e. proves 
means/motive/opportunity) of multiple persons at once as the final 
missing piece. Otherwise the game fails to properly check whether the 
amount of evidence is enough for the Chairman to be convinced, thus the 
game won't proceed to the final question. The list of affected clues is: 
- Light-form (opportunity for Gladia & Gremionis) 
  when Gremionis is guilty 
- Gremionis, did Vasilia have motive? (also motive for Gremionis) 
  when Vasilia is guilty 
- Vasilia, did Gladia have motive? (also motive for Vasilia) 
  when Vasilia is guilty  
 
Regards, 
Klaus 
 
[1] http://dorothyirene.fateback.com/Solutions/R/Robots%20of%20Dawn%2
0(Jon%20Leupp)%20(ddd).rtf


> And the bug you found would explain why I could never solve the game, 
> as the way I played, I simply provided all the evidence to the 
> chairman, thinking he would be able to decide who was guilty.  
 
I don't think this can be attributed to the bug. If the Chairman wasn't 
designed to be that impatient, this actually would work. However, there 
exist some deliberate measures to prevent this strategy from being 
successful. The chairman generally won't stay longer than about a dozen 
of turns and the game contains some mechanics to determine his current 
mood to make him leave even earlier in some cases. He quickly becomes 
upset if you let him wait too long or fail to continuously present new 
and relevant evidence. Moreover, the number of clues that can be found 
in the game is so big, that I think it is impossible present everything 
before he becomes impatient and leaves. In order to win the game, you 
have to selectively make the case against one (or maybe if you're lucky 
two) person(s). 
 
The bug I mentioned in my last mail only concerns the end of the 
meeting, immediately before the chairman is supposed to ask the final 
yes/no question. I know this probably wasn't very clear last time, but I 
have a hard time to explain the precise circumstances under which it can 
occur. 
 
For each of the "categories" means, motive and opportunity [Do you know 
any better generic term for these?] the chairman usually goes through a 
sequence of 3 answers, expressing his increasing confidence: First he 
just nods, then he scratches his chin, and finally he confirms that he 
shares the suspicion. Some evidence is strong enough to make him skip 
these steps, so you don't necessarily see all of them, or you may see 
the same step multiple times if you've presented something rather shaky. 
 
Now, the bug only occurs when: 
  - the last step is entered for two different suspects simultaneously 
    ... and ... 
  - one of them (the one mentioned second in the sentence the 
    chairman says) was supposed to be declared guilty. 
 
Or in other terms, the chairman reaches the third step in the last 
missing "category" for two suspects at once. In practice, this is 
probably only relevant in case of the light-form, as it is a key piece 
of evidence and will immediately convince the chairman regarding the 
opportunity. Thus it's very easy to trigger the bug if Gremionis is 
guilty. You just have to present the light-form last, i.e. the following 
order exhibits the problem: 
 
DANEEL REPLAY AMADIRO DID GREMIONIS HAVE MEANS 
SHOW ROD CHAIRMAN 
DANEEL DID GREMIONIS HAVE MOTIVE 
DANEEL REPLAY GLADIA DID GREMIONIS HAVE MOTIVE 
DANEEL REPLAY VASILIA DID GREMIONIS HAVE MOTIVE 
SHOW FORM CHAIRMAN 
 
Note that this is exactly the same evidence I listed in my previous 
e-mail, just with the light-form shifted to the last position. This was 
actually my first solution I came up with, and it took me quite some 
time to figure out what was wrong with it. For Vasilia, it should be 
possible to reproduce the bug using the following sequence: 
 
DANEEL REPLAY GREMIONIS DID VASILIA HAVE MEANS 
DANEEL DID VASILIA HAVE MOTIVE 
DANEEL REPLAY GLADIA DID VASILIA HAVE MOTIVE 
SHOW SHEET CHAIRMAN 
DANEEL DID GREMIONIS HAVE MOTIVE 
DANEEL REPLAY GLADIA DID GREMIONIS HAVE MOTIVE 
DANEEL REPLAY GREMIONIS DID VASILIA HAVE MOTIVE 
 
Here it is necessary to present some clues that hint at Gremionis first, 
otherwise the last statement won't convince the chairman of both 
person's motive at the same time. If you entered the last line earlier, 
it should work without problems.  
 
> Are there any other interesting facts like that in the game, or any 
> hidden messages or Easter eggs? 
 
I couldn't find anything special. There are a few minor things I found 
interesting, but I'm not sure if these really qualify; Most are probably 
already known. 
 
There is a shaver in the game, which is supposed to be used in the 
morning (works also on first day, bug?). If you don't, you'll just get a 
message that the chairman frowns upon the beard stubble when you meet 
him; Other than that, it doesn't have any effect. 
 
The game maintains an internal clock and you can get a timeband 
somewhere at Fastolfe's to find out the current time. At around 06:70 
you start getting sleepy. 
 
The game also knows the word "kill", so you can even take the law in 
your own hands and kill people, but this will also end the game. 
 
> One more thing.  At the end of the game, it asks if you want to play 
> again. If you say NO, it asks "are you sure?"  If you keep answering 
> YES, it keeps asking, adding another "really" to the question (are you 
> really sure?  are you really, really sure?).  Is this just an endless 
> loop, or does something happen if you reply X number of times (you a 
> get a different reply, or the game crashes)? 
 
A normal 8-bit counter is used to count how often the word "really" 
should be printed. If it overflows (i.e. you answered "yes" more than 
255 times), the game just stops asking and restarts anyway. There's no 
crash, nor are there any other different questions. 
 
Regards, 
Klaus