copyright 1999 by Jeanne W. Muse (e-mail: jwmuse@csi.com)
Notes:
MAPS are available for download from the game's official web site at
this address: http://www.returntoabyss.com/tricks/maps.htm
Also see my web version of this file (with my own maps!) at:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jwmuse/abyss/abyss.htm
If you have trouble picking up or using objects, alter your angle of
approach. Crouch down, look up or down, jump up to try again.
Sometimes you must press the Shift key and literally run into
something to get it.
DEEPCORE
You can avoid many of the Mutants in Deepcore since they are confined
to the room or section where you find them, for the most part. It
takes 2 shots from your stunner to knock them down, but they will
always get up again.
ACTIVATING THE POWER CORE
1. Stand facing the blue striped switch box and press spacebar. Bump
into the door to open it and leave the Compression/Decompression
Chamber. 2. Walk through the next door to the Sub Bay. 3. Move left
to the body (near the red chest) and get Level 1 Stunner. (Spouse
comments on infection.) 4. Turn around and enter the left door.
This is the Locker Room. Get the Blue Key Card from second locker
from left. Bump into the suits. (Spouse comments you need to find
the helmet.) Leave Locker Room. 5. Walk to other end of the
Moonpool and enter door on the right. Turn left and walk straight
to the end of the hall and are facing a door. Walk straight, bear
left and turn right to face another door. Enter the Infirmary and
get Purple Gel Pack from wall socket. Leave Infirmary. 6. Walk
left, straight and then right. Turn right and enter the Mess Hall.
Pick up Screwdriver from table. 7. Walk straight and out the
opposite door into the Galley. Ready the Level 1 Stunner. Leave
Galley. 8. Walk straight into the Food Pantry. Shoot the Mutant
(Ctrl key) twice to stun. Keep walking straight to the Elevator
Well. Recharge Stunner. Enter Elevator. Go Up. Turn and Exit
Elevator. 9. Walk through two doors and pause in hallway. Turn
right and open Closet. Look down and pick up Green Gel Pack from
floor. 10. Turn around (right) and return to Elevator Well. Enter
Elevator and Go Down. When Elevator stops, go down again. Exit
Elevator. 11. Go through Right door. Ready Stunner. Use Blue Key
Card on wall panel. Enter Doctor's Office and pick up 3 Polywater
Keys. Leave Doctor's Office via opposite door and walk into the
Battery Room (through open doorway). 12. Use Screwdriver on Wall
Box. Get Red Gel Pack. Mutant nearby. Shoot twice to stun and
walk straight to the next room. 13. This is the Main Power Core
room. Mutant will follow you, but cannot walk further into the
room. Walk around and bump into several of the controls until you
find one with green markings that opens. Insert all three Gel Packs
(red, purple and green). Return to near mutant and bump into the
box near the door. (A comment is made about the government that I
couldn't hear over the moanings of the mutant.) Power Core is now
Active.
MOVING DEEPCORE OFF OF THE ROCK
1. Push button on right to turn off the energy fields in the doorway.
Walk through, turn around and push the button again to turn it back
on. Proceed back to the Elevator Well. Go up once to Level Two. 2.
From Elevator Well, walk through the first Food Pantry, the Galley
and the Mess Hall. Take the right-hand door into the hallway. Walk
all the way to the end of the hall and through it. 3. Enter the
first left door into Maintenance Room B. Use screwdriver on wall
box and get the Yellow Gel Pack. Leave Maintenance Room B. 4.
Proceed straight ahead through two living quarters. Pause at the
pool and arm the Stunner. Open the door, stun the Mutant, grab the
Red Key Card and leave quickly. 5. Walk through the next room
(ignoring the pool for now) and the next. Turn left and enter the
door to the hallway. 6. Make the first right. Insert the Red Key
Card into the panel and enter the Command center. 7. Walk to the far
right to pick up the Metal Deck Plate. Turn around and enter the
Elevator. Go up to Level 3 just beyond the debris. 8. Pick up the
two Metal Deck Plates. Look down at the floor and use all three
Metal Deck Plates to cover the electric sparks. Walk across the
plates. 9. Enter the far door and the first door on the left
(Communications Lab). Jump onto the table and get the NTI
Translator. Approach the floating form to use the translator.
Leave this room. 10. Walk straight through the next room and into
the next. Pick up the Air Tank. Continue out and ready the
Stunner. Quickly stun the approaching Mutant, jump onto the chest
to get the Ignition Key and leave. 11. Return through the next two
rooms, taking a left into the hallway and get on the Elevator. Go
down into the Command center. 12. Use the Ignition Key in the
Ignition console. Deepcore has been moved off of the rock.
LEAVING DEEPCORE
1. From the Command Center, head to the main Elevator shaft (right -
straight left and all the way to the end). Go down to Level 1.
Turn left and enter that door. 1. Go to the Research Lab is located
at the end of the long tunnel. Save your game before entering here.
Your stunner has no effect on the two meanies inside, so put it
away. Make sure you have a full health meter and get ready to run!
Your objective is to get both of the mutants to follow you into the
Containment Room and then trap them there. Then you can concentrate
on the other parts of the room. 2. Run directly toward the green
button to the right of the Containment Room and turn it to red
(off). 3. Zig zag around so that they both are following you and run
into the Containment Room, jumping up onto the countertop. When
both of them are hovering at your heels, dart to the entry, turn and
press the button to green! (Note: Trapping them inside took me at
least a dozen times! If any part of their bodies gets through
before you hit the button, they can get free. Keep trying and you
will eventually get it.) 4. Once they are trapped, notice the square
red blocks on one of the curved walls. From left to right turn each
one green, leaving the third one red. Jump up and get the Helmet
from the box. 5. Jump up beside the box (behind the chair) and get
the Blue Gel Pack. Leave! 6. Return to the Elevator and go up to
Level 2. Return to the Locker Room (the door immediately next to
the Decompression Chamber door). Get the Fluid Breathing Suit. 7.
Go back into the hall and return to the Pool in the Living Quarters.
8. Stand beside the pool facing the door through which you entered
the room. Step in the water. 9. Press the Z key to sink down. Swim
forward through the next room and into the far room (with the
porthole window). Find the Multicharger in this room. Quickly
leave the way you came, finding the pool again. Use the / or A key
to rise and get out of the water (before you run out of air.) 10. Go
back to the Moonpool. Jump In. (You will automatically use the
suit.)
NTI ARK
This is a difficult section to describe. The pathways are all curved
with very few (if any) right angles. Thus, an intersection is one
where you must make a decision to go left, right or straight.
(Using the maps is essential here.)
Mutants are wandering around all over the Ark - both human and alien.
You may be able to avoid some of the human mutants by staying away
from their rooms or running away from them. You must handle some
alien robots to finish this section. They can be killed with 1 shot
from the Level 2 Stunner, 2 shots from your Level 1 Stunner. It may
take more than 2 shots to stun the other mutants and there are a
couple of "boss mutants" running around that cannot be stunned at
all.
The Upper Level of the NTI Ark is divided into 8 Sectors. The Spires
and some side rooms encompass 4 of those Sectors. Living quarters
and auxiliary rooms comprise the other four.
GETTING UP INSIDE THE ARK
1. Look up. Notice a boxy platform juts out from the main column.
You need to get up there. 2. Find the bright blue button on the
rounded wall and push it. Push away from the wall and swim up and
to the right. Get inside the the square tube platform before the
water recedes. (This might take a couple of tries because swimming
is awkward.) 3. Walk through the water door and straight through
the next large room to the next water door.
TURNING ON SPIRE LASER 1
1. At the first intersection, take a left. At the first left door,
turn off the energy field (yellow switch beside the door) and enter.
Hop up onto the right shelves and get the Level 2 Stunner. Leave
the room and go back to the right (where you came from). 2. Go left
at the intersection (the sensor lights and sounds to let you know
life is nearby). Enter the door on your right and walk directly
across the Bar and through the door behind the woman mutant. 3. Turn
left. Walk while hugging the right wall and follow the walls around
to the right until you reach a door with a green energy field. Walk
through the door. Press the blue button on the wall. (Message will
advise you have entered Sector 8. Notice the green energy field has
switched sides.) Walk through the door with the green field into
Sector 8. 4. Turn right and take the door to the right of the
dividing wall. You enter a room with triangle shaped floor tiles in
different colors. Press the correct tiles to remove the blue energy
field at the door. In this case, turn all of the tiles Blue. When
you first enter, step on the middle triangle once; then the left
triangle once and finally the right triangle once (without walking
over any of the other tiles). A hidden corridor opens behind you
(to the left of the door). Without stepping on any of the musical
tiles, follow the secret corridor to a window with a gizmo in front
of it. Operate the gizmo (spacebar). Spire Laser 1 is Online - and
you have increased the Jumpgate Power by 25%. 5. To leave the laser
room, press the spacebar again and turn around to see the blue
energy field is gone for a moment. Walk through the doorway while
the field is off. Leave the musical tile room. 6. Walk straight
ahead to reach a blue column (like the one you used at the
beginning). Walk around it and keep walking until you come to 2
corridors. Follow one of the corridors to an open "observation"
room. Look on the wall to the left for the Adaptable Power Supply.
You can recharge your stunners here, if needed. (Note: All 4 of
the Spires have this room and an Adaptable Power Supply in each.)
FINDING PART 1 OF THE MUTAGEN CURE
1. Find the center post again (the one with the blue button). Try
to enter the panel with the hole in it. If it will not open, press
the blue button. Enter the panel with the hole and drop down. Exit
through the door. 2. Look up above you to see the upper pathway.
Follow it straight forward until you come to another water door and
enter there. Push the wall button. You have entered the Main Power
Core of the NTI Ark. 3. Walk to the center of the area to the Main
Power Core. Unlock each of the side rooms that have energy field
locks. In one of them is Part 1 of the Mutagen Cure. Pick it up.
4. There is nothing more to do in this section and the side rooms
are hazardous to your health! Leave the way you came in. 5. Walk
through the rocks and seaweed to the water door you entered. While
facing inward, jump up to get out and exit the blue column.
TURNING ON SPIRE LASER 2
1. Make your way back to Sector 1, following the map. Find a room
you recognize (the Bar or Mess Hall) and go through the area, ending
at the Airlock passage between Sector 1 and 2 at the entrance of the
Theater. 2. In the Theater turn right and find the other doorway
(with red button next to it) and go through it. Hug the left wall
and go through the door at the end. Take a left and enter the next
end door. 4. Stop and notice the floor tiles. Left is gray; middle
is green and right is brown. Step on the left one once - turns it
green. Step on the right one once - turns it green. Step on the
center on and it turns gray -- and the energy field inside the door
turns off (for a moment)! Walk through the door. (Repeat the
process of stepping on the center one again and again if you miss
the first opportunity through the door. No need to step on the
others.) 5. Activate the laser. Spire Laser 2 is Online - Jumpgate
Power is increased by 25%. 6. To leave the laser room, press the
spacebar again and turn around to see the blue energy field is gone
for a moment. Walk through the doorway while the field is off.
Leave the musical tile room.
TURNING ON SPIRE LASER 3
1. Take the first door on the left. Go forward and enter the first
door on the right. Listen to what the alien has to say. (Press P
to listen to it again.) From the little I could understand, it
tried to communicate something about a "Caretaker" being Guardian of
the Station of Europa and the Caretaker will tell you what to do. 2.
Move on through the next room and through the Airlock to Sector 3.
3. Bear right and around until you come to a doorway. Save your
game! Run straight through the first room and into the next where
you will have your first encounter with the Alien Robots here. In
one of the rooms there are at least 2 guarding a golden globe on the
floor. You need to get the Memory Orb before you run for it. Aim a
bit higher than normal to shoot the Robots. (Finally something you
can shoot that will stay dead!) 4. Run through the next room and
into the passage that leads to the Airlock hall. Go into Sector 4.
5. Walk straight through the Observation Room and pass the little
water cubicles, which should be on your right. Take a left into the
room with the musical tiles. 6. This particular one seemed a bit
more difficult than the rest ... at first glance, that is. As usual
they were set at Grey, Green and Brown. Try pausing immediately
when you first step inside (without stepping on any of the tiles)
and turning to your right. I found the hallway already open in 2
out of 3 instances .. and the tiles already set to Gray, Gray and
Green. 7. Walk down the hall and activate the laser as before.
Spire Laser 3 is Online - Jumpgate Power is increased by 25%. (Only
1 more to go.) Leave in the usual way.
TURNING ON SPIRE LASER 4
1. Travel left and through the large Observation Room and to the
Airlock. Push the button and go into Sector 5. 2. Bear left and
walk along that passage. Remember the location of that large
flower-panelled wall for later. For now, move on to finding Laser
#4. Turn around and bear left. Keep going straight ahead, taking
no turns and walking through any door in your path until you come to
the Airlock hall to Sector 6. 3. Once in Sector 6, take a left and
enter the room with the musical tiles. This one was easy. Turn all
of them midnight blue and walk down the corridor. 4. Operate the
laser. Spire Laser 4 is Online - Jumpgate Power is increased by
25%. (It should be 100% online now.)
LEAVING THE NTI ARK IN THE JUMPSHIP
1. Return to the flower-panelled wall in Sector 5. Walk right
through it! It's a secret passage! Ready your laser and position
it a bit high. A good number of Robots are protecting the jumpship.
When you come to an intersection, turn right. 2. You come to a big
room which should look familiar. It is another Jumpship Docking Bay
like the one where you started. Beside the door is a button and you
can hear a humming sound. A force field is making that hum. Turn
it off by pressing the button. 3. Walk in the door and jump to the
next higher level. Walk straight through the doors and on until you
reach a dark room. Notice that 4 lights are shining around the
room, representing the 4 Spire Lasers that are online. (Had you
found this earlier and before they had been activated, you would
have noticed the difference now. You can easily jump up to leave if
you find that you have forgotten something.) Get up close to the
keyboard and press the spacebar.
EUROPA STATION & CAVERNS
If you are referring to the map of Europa Station (which you should
be!) your Jumpship arrives in the northern-most bay (the one
pointing toward Command). The corridors on Europa Station are
narrower than on the NTI Ark. Even though your stunners still do a
decent job in eliminating the Robots (and there are loads of them),
there are several "Boss Mutants" who need to be dealt with. There
are no places to recharge your stunners here, but I'll tell you
where to find a Containment Field Projector which will "contain" the
mutants that you cannot kill. Use it sparingly. I saved it for
only the "Boss Mutants" that I could not avoid.
You will recognize the regular water doors, the doors that require a
Polywater Key to enter and the Airlock doors with their wavy green
fields (there are hundreds of them). You know that you always need
to press the blue button in an Airlock hall to go through the other
door, so I won't tell you each time.
USING THE MEMORY ORB
1. Turn around and walk to the far wall. Jump up to get out of the
ship and walk through the Airlock until you are facing a big patch
of seaweed. Ahh!! Turn right and go through the first airlock door
to your left. Walk left and through the next airlock, continuing
straight to a door where you must insert a Polywater Key. You have
found Command. Walk around either side of the dividing wall and
find the golden Memory Orb and pick it up. Leave Command. 2. Go
through the airlock and straight, hugging the left wall. Take the
first right turn and turn right (ignoring the water door) and follow
the passage until you find a left turn. 3. Take that left turn and
go throught the water door into the Comm. Lab. Here you see a bunch
of Memory Orbs. Walk around the room and notice where the humming
noise gets loudest. When you are facing a machine that looks like a
monitor on tentacled legs, select a Memory Orb from inventory and
press the spacebar. Pick up all of the Memory Orbs in the room and
play each one. (To hear the message again, press the P key. The ;
and , keys scroll through the list.) Before you leave, walk up to
the machine that looks most like a Jukebox and press the space bar.
Turning on this NTI Transceiver should make is possible for your
spouse to contact you.
FINDING THE CONTAINMENT FIELD PROJECTOR
1. Leave the Comm Lab and take a left turn. Turn at the next
possible right and go through the Airlock. The room at the end of
the hall has storage containers that hold more Polywater Keys. (The
containers look like fat genies!) Leave and go back through the
Airlock. Turn right. At the next intersection, turn left. Then
take the 2nd right turn. 2. The room is empty but you can hear a
humming sound. There is a Secret Passage here! Find the wall that
looks off-color and a bit shaded. The wall is directly opposite the
door you entered. Walk through the wall and down the long
passageway to a round room. 3. At the end of the next corridor is
the Containment Field Projector -- plus your first victim. Pick up
the weapon, SELECT IT and shoot the Mutant if you can't avoid him.
(It's just a temporary holding tank, but it'll get him stopped in
his tracks.)
FINDING PART 2 OF THE MUTAGEN CURE
1. Leave the Secret Passage to the main corridor. Turn right and
keep going straight and go through the first Airlock door you will
find on your left. 2. Once on the otherside of the Airlock, turn
right and then right again and through another Airlock door that is
protected by a Robot. Walk down this very long, sweeping corridor
and take the first left Airlock door. 3. Turn left, then right and
insert a Polywater Key to enter Biological Sample Storage. Find
Part 2 of the Mutagen Cure on the floor behind the counter.
FINDING PART 3 OF THE MUTAGEN CURE
1. Leave the Biological Sample Storage room and take a left and then
a right to lead to the Airlock door. Once on the other side of the
Airlock door, turn left and walk directly to another airlock door,
which you should go through. Then walk along that corridor, bearing
left at the next intersection and walk through the water door. You
have entered the Engineering Dept. of a Minisub Bay. (If you are
looking at the map, it is the Minisub Bay at the top left.) 2. Walk
straight into this room (avoiding the Boss Mutant if you can). Find
a square hole in the floor and drop into it. (You'll need to jump
up onto the rim and then drop down into it.) Drop down once more
and enter the Airlock. Activate the button and ride in the Minisub.
You have arrived in Cavern 1.
Note: The Minisubs are preprogrammed to take you to the four
caverns in sequential order, so it does not matter which Minisub you
travel in first - you will always start in Cavern 1. The Minisub
will continue to recharge while you search for the one item
available from this cavern. Once you have the one item, the Minisub
will take you back -- and cannot be used again. Get in another
Minisub to go to the next cavern.
CAVERN 1
1. There are 2 exits. (The left passage is a dead end, but has a
clump of healthy first aid sod.) While facing the Minisub, turn
right and take that passage. Follow it along until you reach a pool
of water. Jump in. 2. This underwater passage will fork. Look for
a right passage (it is hard to see) which winds around to the right
to a pool above you where you can exit. (If you take the left one
by mistake, it will also lead to a pool. That path leads to a large
room with two adjoining passages. There is a first aid rock in one
of the rooms, and a winged mutant wanders around here, but nothing
else.) 3. Once out of the water, walk straight ahead. It is almost
impossible to avoid the one item you need - a Metal Plank. After
picking it up, leave. 4. To get back to the Minisub, go to the pool
and jump in. While swimming take the left passage to the exit hole.
The path from there leads to the Minisub, which will take you back
to the Station. Jump up twice to get back to the Engineering Dept.
of this Minisub Bay. 5. Turn and walk around the box to the right,
walking forward and out the far exit. (A point of reference can be
the observation room entrances should be on the left of the Minisub
bay.) Turn left, and take the second left (the first left is
probably the entrance to another Jumpship. It is guarded by a
Robot). Go through a water door into another Engineering Dept. for
a Minisub Bay (bottom left on the map). Be ready - this Bay is
protected by a group of Robots and several other pesky mutants.
Find the square hole in the floor. Jump in and down to activate the
button and travel to Cavern 2.
CAVERN 2
1. Turn completely around so that the Minisub is behind you. There
are six separate passages to choose from. Walk toward the right and
take the first right passage. Make your way through the narrow
corridors until you come to a low, rectangle opening. Press the Z
key to crouch down and carefully walk forward. A message on your
screen advises that you need to put something across the "Unjumpable
Chasm". Get close to the edge on the right side. Select the Metal
Plank and press the spacebar. Walk across the plank to the other
side. 2. Continue forward, bearing right until you find a boiling
pool of water with stepping stones. Jumping across these stepping
stones is tricky. With each successful leap, SAVE. It helps to
look down (PageDown key) to make sure you are standing on the very
edge of each stone before you jump. You will be doing a zigzag
pattern across the pool. (Sorry - it was too difficult to map.) 3.
After you are across, follow the passageway to a room with a
colorful machine and a winged mutant. Take the other door out and
follow that corridor to a murky pond with something in mid-air above
it. Walk into the pond and get the Sludge. 4. You must now go back
the way you came - stepping stones and all! Once you are back at
the Minisub, you can explore the other caverns if you wish. You
have the item you came for so you can leave in the Minisub when you
want to. Jump up twice again to get back into the Engineering Dept.
5. Find the entrances to the observation rooms and keep them on
your left so you exit in the proper place. Stay hugging the left
wall and keep going straight until you reach a water door. Go
inside the third Engineering Department (bottom right on the map)
and find the square hole. Jump in, press the button and travel to
Cavern 3.
CAVERN 3
1. This cavern is so easy -- a welcome relief from the one before
it! See the rock that is blocking the entry to the only passage.
Use the Sludge on the rock to "make it slippery" and it rolls out of
the way. Travel down the path to the end. Pick up the Stalactite
and return the way you came! 2. Once back in Engineering, find the
proper exit by keeping the entries to the observation rooms on your
left once again. In the hallway, hug the left wall and take the
second passage left (through a water door). You should have arrived
in the last Engineering Department (top right on the map). The
Minisub here will take you to the last cavern - Cavern 4.
CAVERN 4
1. There are two exits from the Minisub location. Find the running
water and jump into it. Travel to the end and be ready to jump at
the waterfall. Once you are on the step-bridge, jump and walk over
to the other side. Walk through the exit on the other side and take
the right fork at the first intersection. There will be an
opportunity to turn left -- do so. At the end of the passage, pick
up the Thermal Lichen. 2. Leave and bear to the left as you walk.
When you come to the end of the passage and are facing a big, black
empty space, walk straight into it. You have a slight fall down to
where the Minisub sits. 3. Turn right and walk past the river and
all the way to the end. Go in the entryway on the right. While
travelling, keep to the right. 4. You come upon a large room which
has an exit on the opposite side. Walking in this narrow passage,
follow the right path again until you find a pool of water. Jump
into it. (Note: The water may be too hot to enter. Go get the
Thermal Lichen. See #1 above.) 5. The swim underwater seems a bit
longer than normal. You should go right when you see an
opportunity. Find the exit waterhole and go up. Follow the path in
front of you to another big room. This one has pillars of various
heights which form steps to the higher level. 6. Jump up on the
stepping stones and over to the other side. You come to a large
room which appears to be a dead end. Find a wall that looks
different than the rest. Use the Stalactite on the wall and go get
Part 3 of the Mutagen Cure. 7. Leave and return the way you came to
Minisub. Get on and jump up to the Engineering room.
SAVING THE PLANET
You are ready to combine the ingredients of the cure. To do that, go
to the Science Lab. If you are looking at the map, your last
Minisub trip was on the one from the top right Bay. I found it
easiest to go through the bottom right Bay and then to the Science
Lab.
1. With the entrances to the observation rooms on your right this
time, find the water door exit. Once out, hug the right wall. Do
not turn at the first right. Instead follow the hallway to the
right and into another water door. Enter this Engineering room and
walk all the way through it (almost straight) and out the far water
door
2. Bearing right again, walk past the first left door. Turn left
and enter the Airlock door there. Keeping basically straight, make
no turns until you find another Airlock door. Go through it. On the
other side you will want to take the very first right turn. This
pathway leads to the Science Lab where you must use another Polywater
Key to enter.
3. Walk to the left side of the room to the machine on the wall. This
is the NTI Cure Making Machine. Select each part of the Mutagen Cure
from inventory and press the spacebar to insert each one into the
machine. A "thank you" is all you receive in return.
4. Understanding the aliens has never been easy, but this time it seemed
it said something about needing to terraform the planet. The planet
cannot be terraformed while Europa Station is on its surface. You must
launch Europa Station, which must be done from the Command room.
5. Exit the Science Lab and take a right. Take the 2nd Airlock door you
come to (it's is directly in front of you), then follow the left passage.
Hug the left wall and keep walking straight making no turns until you are
faced with another Airlock door. Once on the other side of it, keep walking
straight, ignoring all turns until you come again to an Airlock door. Go
through it, follow the left path to another Airlock door. You should hear
the humming of the Command center as soon as the airlock cycles.
6. Walk to the other side of the dividing wall and behind the counter where
the Memory Orb once stood. Activate the Power Switch (left mechanism with red
star-like design). Activate the Launch Sequence (right mechanism with the
yellow circle pattern). THE END
