I'm on Experiment Island. I've done everything I'm supposed to do to get the door to the building that provides power to the island to open. I'm now supposed to just go down the ladder just inside the building, which seems to be easier said than done. So far, everything has worked exactly as indicated in the instructions; but not this. I have clicked on the ladder from the top to the bottom. I thought maybe I had to walk around to the ladder and then go down, but I can only click and see the right and left of the walls but can go no further. I have even quit the game and come back in at the same spot and still can't get the system to let me down that ladder. Because I'm in the building, that tells me I should have done everything right up to this point or the door would not even be open. So what's wrong?

This is one of the easiest games to play so far with excellent walkthroughs. I can usually eventually figure out the problem because it's usually something I'm doing wrong. However, I am really stumped this time. I've got three different walkthroughs, and they all tell me the same thing. I'm supposed to just go down the ladder.

Can someone help?

Check Graham's wt and see if that helps.

I vaguely - very vaguely remember clicking at the center of the pit to get down the ladder. I might not even be at the place where you are.

Which one are you calling 'Experiment Island'???? The one at the end of the 'Log Chipper' rail car ride where Ghen's Lab is?? That's Crater Island.
And what building are you in? If it's the Boiler Room, you have to be sure you have drained the water out.

Or are you on the one where you can make the risen images of all the Islands, and has an underwater lake?? That's Plateau Island. Ghen does a lot of experiments here.

Kszanz,
Are you on the island also called Crater Island or Boiler Island? Did you arrive via the mining cart from Jungle Island? If so, the building there is the boiler. When you turn off the furnace and drain out the water, you can enter the boiler, but you must raise the floor to go down the hole.

I thought I had the island name correct. It appears I may have been wrong. Please accept my apologies. Below are the instructions up to where I have my problem:

"Go out to the island in the middle of the lake and set the lever to the centre position - this puts power to the round building. Now go to the round building. There are some burners underneath, the door is locked and the indicator shows red. Go round to the side of the building and experiment with the controls. You need to shut off the burner, empty the water and raise the floor. Stuck? Here is sequence:

Ensure the left-hand lever is to the left.
Turn the wheel so that the hose disconnects - the water disappears. The right-hand lever turns off the burners. Now move the left hand lever to the right and the pull the handle on the wall to raise the floor.

If all has gone well, the door should open and you can climb down the ladder."

I followed these instructions, and the door did indeed open. However, no matter where I click on the ladder, I cannot go down it. I have tried everything. What am I doing wrong?

If the door is open, it's strange that you can't go down the ladder--why don't you send me a save right here and I'll install my game and see if I can figure out what's going on...

Obviously you have turned out the fire, raised the walkway and opened the door but not being able to go down the ladder indicates you haven't emptied the building of water.

I thought the door of the building wouldn't have opened if I hadn't done everything correctly. When I tried the door initially, it was locked. Once I followed all of the indicated steps, it opened right up. I can see the ladder but can't seem to access it. Are you saying that the water is still in the area below the ladder?

That's certainly a possibility--do you have a save anywhere near this place, so that you could go back and do all of the steps again...

Happened to me. That's why I said that.

You can still go outside and fix it.

As BillyBob said, just go back out and go thru the steps slowly one by one and see if that doesn't help.
I, too, did this wrong the first and second times I played it. Had to go back out to the controls on the building and go thru each step and found that I hadn't emptied the water in the building.

When you work the valves behind the round building . . .
and you have correctly set all the levers . . .

you can see the water level drop . . .
through a long vertical "sight glass" slot on the building's back wall there.

Did you watch the water level drop?
Or is it still showing as filled back there?
When you look through the slot?

One would indeed think that the door couldn't open . . .
with the water still in there . . .
you know . . .
all that positive pressure against the door?

When you are looking for the way down the ladder . . .
are you watching for your cursor to change at the same time?

Maybe it's sort of displaced . . .
misaligned?

I think I remember a few places in Riven . . .
and Myst . . .

where the cursor changes over in an odd location . . .
rather than where your eyes tell you it should.

OH!

And once you have successfully made the trip down the ladder?

Holler . . .
there's a sort of "neat thing" to see . . .
if you know how . . .
and the game gods are willing.

Doesn't happen every time.

I'm sorry it's taken so long to respond. I've been having problems accessing this at home and have been on vacation a few days. I discovered that the problem was that, though I thought I had done everything properly, I evidently hadn't. I had to go back and raise the floor and was then able to access the ladder.

Thanks so much!!!

Raising the floor was my problem, too, and that's why I mentioned it. I got into the boiler but couldn't go down the hole, and it took me a while to figure out what was wrong.