Let's play ... I'm at the start of the Prison Yard Checkpoint.

I'm in. I am heading to the mainframe. I replied to the other thread.

Great, Pokey. I'm in the Infirmiry. Did you see my message on the other thread?

I never did get that Lean to work well either. It just moves me sideways. Once it did work, but the heck with it, I just don't use it.

I'm wondering if you went over to Vivendi Tech Forum if they couldn't help you. If you get so you can't stand it try them Chronicles of Riddick, Escape from Butcher Bay, PC Discussion

Pokey, did you see Visionism's post on the Finished Thread?

As for the NanoMED Station I messed up on, it's in the very next room on leaving the Infirmiry, the one with the ladder. You should have 5 blocks of health after using it.

I did find the station. I thought it was a piece of exercise equipment. Have five squares now.

Sound is still flaky. I got the menu sounds by toggling off the EAX and 3D sound and then turning them on again. But when I go into the game, nothing changed and if I go back to the menu, it is silent again. I may check some forums.

Hi guys, my main problem now is the game is freezing up on me every now and then, is this happening to you?
Also I'm haveing trouble getting into the infirmary, everytime I talk to Bulger he tall s me to piss off, yet, I killed all 3 guards, Rust, got money from the guard, got ud's from shabby etc, but still no luck.
Any ideas?

How do you change your FPS, mine is set Auto 0.5 and I can;t change it.

My game isn't freezing. Have you tried turning off the EAX and 3D sound options? Did you talk to Haley again before going to Bulger? Does it show in your journal? You must be injured to get into the infirmary.

Shaggy is it locking up altogether or is it just pausing for up to thirty seconds every so often? If it's the latter you almost certainly don't have enough memory to run the game. 512MB is marginal for this game and 256 is going to hit you hard. Runs sweet with a gigabyte of dual channel DDR400 though

It is actually possible to run the game with 256MB if you drag the texture quality all the way down but that REALLY makes the game look ugly.

The "Auto 0.5" is the level of special shaders your 3d card will use. If you cant change it then that means your card doesn't support anything higher. What card are you using? An older card may well account for poor performance.

Pokey is right, Shaggy. Go back and talk to Haley. He'll tell you to see Bulder who owes him 150. Also, make sure you've talked with Moondog, Blueboy, Red and Booger either to get Smokes or buy them or get money.

I'd like to know that too, Shaggy. Not only to change it, but how do you find out what your FPS is?

Thks guys, re Ram the specs call for 256, I'm running 384. re Visionism, no it locks up permanetely I have to do a ctl-alt delete to get out.
Re video card it is a Nvidia Geforce4MX420.

Shaggy, I don't think your video card meets the minimum requirements. You might try running the game at a lower resolution and with all options turned way down.

Solved my problem with sound. I didn't realize that I still had DX 8.1, though it had caused me no problems before. I upgraded to 9.0c and everything is working fine now. Nice to hear all the sounds.

I am on the balcony over the computer trying to figure out how to get down there.

Your video card is your problem. From the system requirements on the box: "nVidia GeForce 3 and above except GeForce 4 MX"

A GF4MX is basically a rehashed GF2 unfortunately. Uses the same GPU core but with increased memory bandwidth. The performance level is only marginally above that of a GF2 GTS. It supports very few shaders, hence your 0.5 maximum.

Also bear in mind that when you read minimum system requirements they're just that, the bare minimum needed to get the game to run. Running almost any game at bare minimums will result in very poor performance. You're above the minimum but not by much.

Soozie, sorry to say theres no in-game way of displaying your FPS in Riddick. You can however download a third party utility called Fraps from here that will display your FPS for you.

Pokey, do you mean in the Mainframe? You need to get to the end of the catwalk, jump down on the crates.

I just arrived in the Showers.

Or you can do the really sneaky thing. Walk to the end of the catwalk and inch your way out on the narrow ledge until you're above where the technician left his toolbox. Next time he wanders over that way drop-kill him. Then use the computer and immediately run over and pick up his assault rifle. Shoot out the lights and go hide in the little nook to the left of the door. Wait for the guards to come in then sneak up behind them one by one, avoiding their flashlight beams and break their necks.

Much more satisfying for a sneaky you-know-what like me

I tried to get out on that narrow ledge but it didn't work at one end. I'll try the other. I saw those boxes but the jump looked like it would kill me. I'm not sure how acrobatic this guy is. I haven't gotten any playing time in today, but now that my problems are solved, I'll get moving.

You all are having an interesting time!

Visionism and you all, can't wait for the input when done

Ingie

You have to get on the ledge from the far end of the catwalk, Jump over the railing and land on it. It isn't as hard as it sounds.

Just for future reference you can jump from the catwalk right down to the floor without taking too much damage. There's a limit on how much damage you can take from falling. It was one of the things discussed in the commentary.

Thanks Popcorneater!

Made it all the way back to the cell block from the main frame. Ran into a nasty robot who didn't seem to be fazed by any of my weapons, so I ran around till I found way out. Now I'm facing a bunch of turrets.

Time to quit for the night. I am enjoying this game.

The only way to take down a riot guard is by shooting it in the back.

Pokey, Visionism's stealth or sneak approach is fun ... I went the catwalk route. Ran and jumped over the railing onto the crates, hopped to the floor, took the guard down ... little or no damage. Used the DNA and grabbed the gun. Got my back to the wall, next to the crates, and got ready. Two guards came thru the door ... down they went. I took very little damage, had all five blocks full. Went thru the door took care of a few more by using forward and back, closing and opening the door. I think there was an explosive barrel in there that really finished them off. The rest of the way it was stealth and scalpel.

This lead me to the room with the four guards and the Riot Guard, which is the robot your referring to.

After you kill the last guard in this room the Riot Guard comes down in the elevator. You need to climb a box, then one more up. He will usually start for the crate once he sees you. Drop back down on the lower crate, give him a second or two, climb back up to the next crate, and he will usually be standing pressed against the crate under you. Just shoot straight down at him. One or two shots should do it. He can shoot, but he can't aim high enough to hit you. Check out the crates near the door you entered the room from.

You'll run into these guards quite a lot. The only way you can kill them is by shooting them in the back. Until later on, the best approach is to avoid them by using stealth, or lure them into a situation that something else will kill them, like something big falling on them, or run like _ell. I used stealth.

Use your Quick Save to experiment with different approaches ... that's fun too.

Hi, Ingie. Are you going to play?

Hi guys, well thanks a million for all your help and good tips, but as visionism states, my system is just not strong enough, although I have an IBM 8311, pentium 4 2.6Mhz, 384 Ram, 80g hd and my infamous invidia gef4mx.
So the game was returned this am, I picked up, World War 2 Sniper and Alpha Black Zero.
Again thanks

Shaggy, sorry to hear that your video card won't let you play the game.

I did run up behind the riot guard and shot him with my shotgun, but he turned and blew me away. I decided to go for stealth and run like the devil.

Back to the turrets in the cell block.

Shaggy, that's too bad. When you see the time to upgrade, or change your computer, get this game again.

Will miss playing with you.

Pokey, I think you have to use the elevator he came down in to get up to the next level. You can't kill him by shooting him in the back once or twice from the same level as he is. He would just turn around and annihilate you. It would take numerous shots to do it, and you don't have that artillery right now. The crates should work. Just exactly what checkpoint are you at? Maybe I have you dealing with the wrong area, and wrong Riot Guard.

I had already gotten past the first riot guard and took the elevator up. I have just gotten back to the cell block and found a riot. I got the gate open and fell down in the pit. How do I get out of here? I found a broken gate mechanism and went down a ramp.

Ugh The Pit is the most irritating level in the game. On the lower level you'll find a valve on the floor propped against one of the walls in front of a closed grate. Grab it and head up to the top level, hit use on that broken mechanism and the gate will open allowing you to continue to the next bit. having been a real stealth hound up to that point or using sensible cover and fire moves it came as a bit of a shock to find a level that you have to "Quake" your way through. No cover, no head shots, just run and gun. Luckily those parts are very few and far between.

I found the valve, got the door open, and made it to the showers. I found a nanomed station with a smidgon of health left. Do I use the canister I found to reuse a station I already used?

Yes

Yes that's what the canisters do. If you just have a smidgen of health left you must have chosen to blast your way through pigsville. Here's the sneaky way:

When you first enter theres a guard in the toilet stall. Turn off the light with the switch outside the stall and jam yourself into the corner to the left of the door. He'll come out and go left at which point you can break his neck and drag his body back into the showers.
Then turn off the light in the second toilet stall and quicksave! (It's easy to mess the next bit up)
Hug the wall and move to the switch on the wall by the locker room entrance.
Flip off the lights and immediately move into the locker room, keeping to the right and activating your eyeshine. Avoid the flashlight beams of the two guards - If they see you and open fire then reload.
Sneak up behind them and take them out silently with a neck snap, shiv or club. drag the bodies back out of sight into the showers and head back to the locker room.
Search the lockers on the right and you'll find a guard's uniform. When you take it you'll automatically put it on.
Now you have a disguise and you can stroll through almost the whole of Pigsville unmolested. Do NOT go around running and jumping or the guards will get curious! As youre walking around you can talk to all the guards wandering around.

Note - when you first come out of the locker room head right into the room by the Nanomed station. Go to one of the far corners and jump over the railing and down the hole. Pick up the vent tool you find down there and go back up via the vent hatch. When you get to the hanger doors with the retinal scanner you'll see a railing at the other end of that short hallway. Jump over there and you'll find a vent hatch leading to a room with a pack of smokes and a suit of guard armor (I don't know if it affords any protection but it sure looks spiffy when you wear it!) Exit through the door and resume your Pigsville stroll.

The whole procedure is moderately challenging to pull off but it's a lot safer for you and a lot more fun since you get to talk to the guards. There's also a shop where you can buy a pack of smokes that you wouldn't otherwise be able to get.

One last thing: Save often in this part. Its all too easy to do something silly and tip off the guards accidentally.

That sounds like more fun than I had. I would rather sneak. I would have loved to have a guard's uniform. I am next to the guard dozing by the retinal scanner. I assume I have to use him on the scanner but I haven't been able to get it to work. I will look up the other uniform just for fun.

I assume you tried to use the scanner yourself. What did Riddick say?

Right, I'm looking for Abbott. I'm glad you mentioned the guard's uniform. I tried going through the guard's quarters in the spaceport looking for Abbott, but there were so many guards! I went back and found the uniform and now I am walking around with no trouble.

Soozie, where are you?

Well, I found Abbott, but that didn't work out the way I hoped. I ended up in a really nasty prison and a lot of fistfights. They weren't hard to win though. The one with Abbott was harder because I didn't have the stilleto--found it later. Found a way from there to the mines. Just left the elevator and looking for the easy way in.

If you just went through the ring fights in the recreation area one after another you missed an awful lot in there. There are several side missions you can do and several packs of smokes to be had.

I have about three quests from there. One I've found and two I'm looking for. I don't want to do all the quests and I'm not looking for smokes, but I pick them up when I see them. The entry to the mines is tough without a gun. Still checking the area out.

I am so lost. I saw Jagger and headed up to get the bomb. Took the mine entrance elevator up, found no way to go from there, so went back through the vents. Had to detour from the power room because the door wouldn't open and ended up in a new area. I got into a riot guard gear and shot up everything in the area. Then I went across a handrail and turned on a generator. I need directions to get out of here.

You're doing just fine. After turning on the generator I *think* you get back in the Riot Guard and continue. My memory on that part of the game is kinda patchy.

There is an easier way to do the mine entrance bit. When you first get there, don't drop down into the elevator. There's a vent hatch up there that will take you into a duct that will lead to a guard standing with his back to you over a big ventilation shaft in the floor. Sneak up behind him and atack, you'll get one of the infamous context-sensitive kills and push him down the ventilation shaft. Then look around to find a power switch and turn the fans in the shaft off. Drop down into the shaft and stand on one of the lower fan blades. Look down and wait until the guard below is right underneath you then drop-kill him and you'll find yourself outside the door to the Security checkpoint, neatly bypassing the two hard to kill guards who were in the elevator. You can deal with them on the way back when you have the stun gun.

Thanks. Glad to hear I'm on the right track. After the generator, a riot guard came through a door, so maybe that is the way out. I've looked everywhere else. I'll get back in the riot guard gear. I have only one square of health left, so hope I can make it.

I did use the vent to enter the mine. The other way seemed impossible. Quite often I just run and hope I don't take too much damage.

Whew, I finally got out of there. I liked being the riot guard. It sure kept me from being killed. I am still at one square of health and haven't seen a Nanomed station for hours. I remember all those I passed because I didn't need them.

I detoured to my old tower but could only enter a couple rooms there, so couldn't get patched up there. Hope there is some up ahead.

I made the big jump to end the mission. I hope there is a shorter way back to the mines with the bomb.

Stuck again. I planted the bomb and released all the creatures, climbed over obstacles, through some vents, killed a lot of bugs, crossed a broken bridge---and ended up where I started. I must have missed something.

There was a dead guard just before the bridge with a key. When you first started with the bugs there was a wall you climbed over. Just on the other side of there was a locked door to your left. That's the door the key opens.

Found it. In all my battles with the bugs, I forgot about that door. I'm going to start making notes so I don't miss things I need to backtrack to.

Another problem--where is the drill? I don't remember seeing one. I made it to the room with the dead guard and the tool box. Went back and recharged the cell. I tried backtracking from there, but with all the bugs and one square of health, I don't get far. I'm beginning to hate these bugs. Way too many of them. I never did use any of the nanomed recharge cells and now that I need them, of course I don't have any.

Finally got to the drill after battling a big beast. Made it to the loading dock and an elevator. Wonder how much further to the spaceport.

I got to the spaceport and found two riot guards that I could not sneak by. I found that if I climbed on the large cargo container, I could shoot at them while taking no damage. It took a while, but they finally went down. Then one dropped a minigun! It would have been a help against them. I boarded the transport and then ended up in cold storage. Had fun playing hide and seek and whacking the robots with a club till I found that one of the doors opened. Working my way through this complex and the end is in sight.

Done!! Wow, what a game. The scenario where Riddick is driving the Heavy Guard and all the comments of the soldiers was hilarious.

I had a bit of a problem with the last scene till I noticed the minigun was there from the start.

If there is a sequel, I am buying for sure. The game had everything--not just a shooter, but a sneaker and great fun figuring out how to get from one place to another.

I didn't see any obvious way to complete the quests. If anyone can tell me a not too difficult way to get back to the recreation area from the mines, I'd appreciate it.

Well done, Pokey. I can't remember how to get back to the Mines, or even if there is a way back at that point.

If you play it again, RARusk's walkthrough is very helpful. He wrote it for Xbox but it's the same for the PC. You can see it at IGN . It can be used as a guide for the smokes or just a reference.

Again congratulations.

Congrats Pokey! Now go back and replay it in commentary mode

"I don't deserve to die, well ok maybe I do but I don't wanna!"

Oh right...getting back into the recreation area. When you went back up in the elevator you must have climbed out of the top of the elevator. If you go out of the door instead you get to an area with some crates to your left, climb the crates, climb the wall by them, monkey bar your way over the riot guard below then drop down the other side and you'll find yourself back in the Workpass area. Took me until my third time through the game to figure that one out!

That's the area with the elecrified fence? I was there once but can't find a checkpoint that will let me even use the elevator. Always hear "access denied". I would probably have to redo Jagger's quest to use it.

I did try some of the commentary mode. It was interesting but I wouldn't want to play very far using it.

What is this game? I've never heard of it. Maybe I'm just oblivious

Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

http://www.riddickgame.com