Timelapse: The Official Strategy Guide from Prima.


Having problems with a puzzle? Can't find the time gate to get off Easter Island? Can't even find the camera or journal? Well, this is the page for you! Listed below are subtle tips and hints for Timelapse. They're subtle because we don't want to spoil the fun for others and after all, this is a game! If you want complete solutions and even exclusive maps of the five worlds not found elsewhere, be sure to check out the hint book written by none other than Rick Barba, co-author of the best-selling hint book for Myst. You can also check out the Timelapse Forum. Many times you'll find the answers to your questions right there!

Excerpts from Timelapse: The Official Strategy Guide

1. "High-level government research proves that people who buy strategy guides prefer straight answers to coy hints by a ratio of about 12,000,000 to 1. Unfortunately, that one guy writes a lot of nasty letters. In deference to him, I include this section. Here, you'll find hints that nudge you along the Timelapse solution path without giving you outright answers. Some of these hints are vague, some specific. Many emerge from lame attempts to amuse myself. The overriding impulse, however, is a noble desire to protect you from your cheatin' heart."
2. First, should I read all of the professor's journals when I arrive in each world? There are so many worlds. Yes.

   EGYPT

3. How do I get into the pyramid? You need the combination for the tumbler lock on the door. The combination is on the other side of the Nile. Opening the pyramid door is the last puzzle in Egypt. You have a lot of work to do on the far side of the river first.
4. I know I need to use the boat to cross the river, but the stone dock is locked shut. How do I open it? Two words: Water weight. Did you examine the illustration at the bottom of the water spirit pool? Examine the stone trough, experiment with its components, and figure out their relationships. Did you find the basket that scoops Nile water into the trough? Too much water from the river spills the trough; too much water from the trough spills the well bucket. When filling the well bucket, make sure it's under the spout from the trough. But after the well bucket holds the proper water weight, look carefully at it again. What will happen if you lower it further? The final step takes place on the dock itself.
5. I made it to the other side of the river, but that crocodile won't let me pass. Kill it! Of course, you need a weapon first. Examine the barge for a weapon. The crocodile has only one soft spot. When you hit it, the croc reacts. You didn't think just one good hit would melt a magic crocodile, did you?
6. I found a cool bust with a crystal globe in the Dock Temple, but it doesn't do anything. Did you turn it on? The power source is nearby. Just listen.
7. I opened the chest in the storeroom and found an important-looking tablet. What does it mean? It's an inventory list. Do the items look familiar? They should. They're all around you. On the tablet, the Egyptian symbol next to each item is a number. Translate the numbers. Remember, this is an inventory of items -- not only in this storeroom, but in the one on the other side of the Main Hall.
8. I'm in a chamber full of crystals. Each crystal has three glyphs I can set. How do I figure out the correct settings? The top glyph is a particular god. Match the god to its background color. Did you carefully examine all the obelisks outside? The middle glyph is the god's special number. Check the obelisks again, but do the math, too. The math is on the warrior's scroll in the Temple storeroom. The bottom glyph is the god's secret symbol. Carefully watch the rolling globe back in the Temple.
9. I got past the cobra, but the corridor ends at a well. I can see retracted stairs in the well walls. How do I get them out? Push the button. But power up the mechanism first. Remember the power source?
10. I got the Gene Pod! But what's this scroll with the pyramid drawing mean? "Where you find the scarab, you find the key." What sort of thing often needs a key? OK, OK . . . this is the combination to the Pyramid door lock. But all I see is columns of symbols. How do I translate the combination? When you turn the tumbler wheels in the Pyramid door lock, what do you see? Egyptian numbers, right? Four columns on the tablet, four tumblers in the lock. Figure it out.
11. I got the right combination entered in the Pyramid tumbler lock, and I clicked on the triangle button to open the door . . . but nothing happens! What did I do wrong? Did you power up the door mechanism first? Surely you know the power source by now.

    MAYA

12. I got past the chameleon into the Castillo Pyramid, but I'm stumped by this 3/by-4 tile grid. How does it work? Things really add up in this puzzle, from top to bottom. Each tile in the bottom row is a sum. To translate the dots and dashes into numbers, check the professor's journal.
13. It's fun rolling this crystal globe around the morphing bust, but what exactly am I doing? Each morphing head and its corresponding glyph (in the globe) should look familiar if you were observant on the path up from the beach. Roll the globe over a glyph, then check out the stele on the beach path. Which one is different now?
14. I activated a stele and pressed its button. Three glyphs lit up. Now what? Go back to the Castillo Pyramid and find the glyphs. Line them up on the Mayan calendar wheels. A a foolproof four-step method for the Mayan calendar wheel is described in the "Maya" chapter in Part Two of the official strategy guide.
15. Why can't I get into any of the other buildings beyond the Castillo Pyramid? You have to unlock them with the Mayan calendar wheel.
16. I can't get past the stone idol blocking the jungle path. Find him some eyes. You'll find both nearby -- look for the glint.
17. This crystal pyramid puzzle in the Lizard Temple seems impossible! How can I light the 22 tiers in just 22 moves? Don't feel bad. Few people could do it without help. Apparently, you didn't find the solution parchment on the floor across the room. Red is left, black is right.
18. I got the Gene Pod, but now I'm trapped by stalactites! How do I get out of here?
    When the podium went up, the stalactite gate came down.
    Lower the podium to its original height to raise the gate.
    
19. I got past the stone idol down the jungle path to the Sun Temple, but I can't get in. You can't enter the Sun Temple until you've found and placed all four of the jewels in their respective temples. You also need a fifth jewel for the center of the Sun Temple door. You passed the fifth jewel on the jungle path. To palm the jewel, you need a big head.
20. How do I know what the slider puzzle in the Sun Temple should look like when it's done? Did you pay attention after each of the four messages from Mayan priests? The wall disks in each of the four temples show the final images. The wall disks also include clues to the placement of each image in the slider puzzle. Look closely at the slider puzzle's border.
21. From: Edyta (Ingo) Schranz Hi! I bought the game timelapse and I am stuck even after I bought the official strategy guide. The places I am stuck are in Egypt. I went through the whole level and I am at the tumbler lock puzzle. I have tried thousands of ways to put the four signs right and I cannot align them so that the door opens. I wonder if it's a bug in the game. Also, in anasazi world: after I click on the two symbols on each of four stone tables, the secret chamber that is supposed to open doesn't. I would appreciate your help. Sincerely, Edyta Schranz
22. From: Donna Camacho The link to the Timelapse Walkthrough does not work. I get the message: "access to this resource is forbidden" or something like that. Could you help me? I am totally stuck in this game, and yes I have the Prima Official strategy book, but I am at a point that the book does not even help. Help! Donna Camacho ANS: We fixed the link. Thanks for telling us there was a problem.

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