I found a copy of Lighthouse, Version 2 in a bargain bin the other day, and snapped it up, because I have only played Version 1 before. This is the one with the helpful lights that tell you when the grappling arm in the mini-sub and the arm in the volcano hot-car are in the correct position. Boy, that makes these tasks almost a snap compared to doing them without that help.

Anyway, I have been down in the lava-pit and retrieved the piece, and I am sure I returned all the valves to their original position, but when I attempt to return, the gate is lowered and I am stuck in the steam-generating area.

O Ye Moderators with the perfect memory (remember we were informed of that the other day ) - what in the dickens have I done to close that gate?

Incidentally, I was inspired to play this game following the path that Peter Smith is using, not the "traditional" walkthrough path, and I believe it makes more sense. That is, following the Dark Being through the portal he creates in Amanda's room, rather than (I'll stop here, so as not to spoil it for him if he reads this)

Everybody knows what I mean by the more traditional choice; and the flow of the game is more logical this way. I'm sure it's the original intent of the authors, even though whoever wrote the original hints has steered the world the other way.

But I digress - I'm still quite stuck.

Tally Ho, I'm not a moderator; my memory is far from perfect. But I'm fairly sure that gate would not be down if it had not lost steam power.

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The valves half-way down the pit are not the only ones to contend with. The valves on the boiler at the top will shut off steam going to various things, too. The second from the left routes steam to the gate via the control in front of Amanda's work station. Of course, if you have been adjusting those valves, it's a good idea to make sure they are all left on (turned to the left).

Oh - you are right. I have visited Amanda, and fiddled with the valves there. If so, am I trapped? can I get back there?

Should I now turn off power to the second from left?

No, if the valve in front of Amanda was turned off, you'd be stuck on the other side of the gate. Whatever the problem is, it occurred after you arrived at the steam room and that's where you'll find the answer.

The second valve from the left in the steam room routes steam to the gate; you want to make sure it is on. If you see steam escaping from the valves and pipes in the pit, you need to correct that. All the arrow-handled valves should have the arrows in the vertical position; I don't know about the others except to stop steam from escaping.