CHAOS Walkthrough

14 June 1996
Revised 12 September 1997

Copyright © 1996 Balmoral Software (http://www.balmoralsoftware.com). Portions copyright © 1996 HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Republication, redistribution or conversion is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Balmoral Software. Contents subject to change! For the latest information, see http://www.balmoralsoftware.com.

Abbreviations
Trailer
Weather Station
Radio Station
Coast Highway
Fractal Forest
Treehouse
Prospero Estate
Hospital
Comments

Abbreviations

Press Esc to exit game
F: Forward (cursor "up")
B: Back (cursor "down")
L: Left
R: Right
NE: Northeast
SE: Southeast
SW: Southwest
NW: Northwest

Trailer

B F SE NE
Click on the clock door handle.
B
Drag the three magnets out of the drawer, and normal clock operation is restored.
F F B
Note the clock time: 2:59
L F
Click on the bottom edge of the frame around the dynamic Julia set picture. Drag the grey circles around the perimeter of the blue circle until the displayed time reads 2:59. Then click on the grey rectangle above the red and green buttons.
B L F F F R
Take the personal data assistant (PDA) from the box of Koch Krispies cereal.
L B B F F R F
Click on the red SAVED button, then click on the blue circle on the screen and listen to the "gaos" message. Click on the red NEW button, then click on the blue circle on the screen and listen to the "heir" message. Click on the white connector with holes to download Uncle Prospero's theories and map to your PDA. Move the selector from PHONE to TV and click three times on the vertical white bar on the telephone base unit. When the infomercial has completed, click on the white connector with holes to download the first episode (What is Chaos?) of Chaos: Nature's Mysterious Enigma to your PDA.
B
A butterfly appears, indicating that all puzzles in the trailer have been solved.
R F L F
Click on the trailer door handle and let the butterfly out.
F
A tone sounds indicating that the second episode (The Butterfly Effect) of Chaos: Nature's Mysterious Enigma has been downloaded to your PDA.
F

Weather Station

For amusement, take a joyride on the Red Herring sailboat (bridge to rocket launchpad must be open):

F F
Click on the sail
B SE F B

R F NW
Watch the butterfly land on the weathervane and start the windmill.
B
Click on the red dot to enter the weather station.
F R F L
Note the current wind speed: 10.0
R SE B F F F F
Click on the left end of the yellow hose to attach it to the cone-shaped valve connector. Move the blue bar above the pressure gauge to a horizontal position. Operate the valve at the top of the tank on the right. After the pressure gauge exceeds 9, but before it enters the danger zone, move the blue bar to vertical and click on the blue igniter lever above it.
L F F F L F
Turn on the water using the valve on the right. Move the yellow handle of the left-hand lever to the right.
F F
Enter the wind speed (10) using the keypad, then press the red LAUNCH button.
B F F F F SE F L F
Press the red dot and enter the weather dome.
F R F
Set the High/Low Temperature Variance (rocket) control to 7.
L
Using the right-hand red bar above the numeric display, set the Wind Speed (windmill) control to 10.063.
L
Set the East/West Temperature Variance (balloon) control to 2.
L F
Click on the windmill, balloon and rocket buttons. Click on the YES button to access weather control. When the right-hand display shows "icy/cold", immediately click on the multicolored display on the left and drag the "attractor" to the slot to the right of the RESET button.
L F
Cross the now-frozen lake to the radio station.

Radio Station

F F
A tone sounds indicating that the third episode (A Portrait of Chaos) of Chaos: Nature's Mysterious Enigma has been downloaded to your PDA.
F F NE R
Drag the blue plug to one of the left-hand IN sockets. Repeat for the brown, purple and yellow plugs. Use the paired red plugs from the other receptacle to connect each pair of OUT and RECORD IN sockets.
L B B NW
Click on the colored panel to make it blue. Click on the top of the "saxaphone" to convert it to chaotic mode. Click some notes on the main shaft of the instrument.
B L NE
Click on the support pole collar to convert the "drums" to chaotic mode. Click some notes on the membranes of the instrument, which respond with a colored design.
B B F NW
Click both handles of the picture frame to convert it to chaotic mode. Click some notes on the instrument, which responds with a colored display.
B NE
Click on the colored panel to make it blue. To convert the harp to chaotic mode, drag the shortest string of the harp to the middle of any square in the rightmost column on the wall. Click some notes on the harp.
B R NE R
Click the REC button to create your chaotic CD and claim your financial prize from the Hugh Hefner disk jockey.
NW F L
Click on the car. A tone sounds indicating that the fourth episode (How Long is a Coastline?) of Chaos: Nature's Mysterious Enigma has been downloaded to your PDA.

Coast Highway

When the car runs out of fuel, click on the EMERGENCY button. When you hear someone knocking on the car window,
L R
Use the following procedure to replenish the car's fuel and continue up coast highway 1.42 (apparently its fractal dimension) to the next fuel stop:

R
Enter PIN: 4669
Enter pellet quantity: 5
L
Click on IGNITION, then on NAVIGRAPH
If the next fuel stop is more than 5 squares away from your current location, change the map scale with the + or - button. When the next fuel stop is 5 squares away, click on its symbol.

Repeat the above procedure 15 (count 'em!) times until you read the fork in the road.

Fractal Forest

R
Click the blue button to get two power pellets.
L
Click on the tree sign. A tone sounds indicating that the fifth episode (Finding the Rules of Nature) of Chaos: Nature's Mysterious Enigma has been downloaded to your PDA.
F L
Take a forest map.
R R
Take the Litter bag. Play your KAOS CD-ROM for Ranger Beth; when she steps away, note the fractal tree values:

Fractal Tree Values

L
F through the gates.
F L F
Pick up three papers.
B F
Pick up one paper.
F R F F F
Pick up one paper.
B F L F
Pick up three papers.
B F F F B
Pick up one paper.
F F R F
Pick up two papers.
F F F
Pick up one paper.
B F SW F L F
Pick up two papers.
B F L F
Pick up one paper.
B F L F F B F B
Pick up one paper.
B F

Treehouse

R R
Click and hold on the Litter bag in inventory to display all 16 pages (in random order).
Arrange four pages on the scanner like this:

First Fractal Tree

and click the SCAN button. Arrange the boxes according to the pattern at the upper-left corner of the scanner and click the SCAN button again (they have been properly aligned when the SCAN button makes them disappear). Repeat the process for the other three tree patterns:

Second Fractal Tree

(yellow diamond on left, orange diamond on right)

Third Fractal Tree

Fourth Fractal Tree

(red diamond on left, blue diamond on right)

Finally, enter the percentages on the scanner using the values shown in Ranger Beth's kiosk:

Fractal Tree Values

Note that each digit is incremented individually. Pull the large handle on the left of the scanner to raise the treehouse.
B F R
Pick up the bag of seeds.
L F
and take a balloon ride to Uncle Prospero's house. A tone sounds indicating that the sixth episode (Pockets of Predictability) of Chaos: Nature's Mysterious Enigma has been downloaded to your PDA.

Prospero Estate

L F B F NE F
Click to log on the computer. Click on CURRENT TRADING. Enter your PIN number 4669. Your cred account balance should be approximately 4200; invest it in 1000 increments in MICROMESSAGE. Do not press the BUY button if the account balance falls below 1000 or else you will have to log in again. Wait a few seconds and press the SELL button -- your balance should have risen sharply. Repeat the buy-sell procedure until your account balance is at least 14,000 -- the 10,075 owed to the Virtual Reality collection agent plus enough left over to reinvest. Click on the LOG OFF button.
B R NW F F R
Click on the blue button to get two power pellets.
L
Click on the hospital sign. A tone sounds indicating that the seventh episode (Chaos in You) of Chaos: Nature's Mysterious Enigma has been downloaded to your PDA.

Hospital

F R F B
Give up your funds to the collection agent. Use the map in your PDA to return to Prospero's estate.
L F NE F
Repeat the procedure to run up your account balance to at least 15,000 (Uncle Prospero's hospital bill). Use the map in your PDA to return to the hospital.
F R F L F
Highlight PROSPERO, UNCLE and click the PIN ENTRY button. Enter your PIN: 4669.
B R R F L F F
Press the POWER button to turn the unit on. Drag the paddles to the correct positions on the patient's chest:

Paddle Positions

B
Click on the doctor. Use the map in your PDA to return to Prospero's estate.
B B B F F
Click on the plant to obtain a leaf. Use the map in your PDA to go to the weather station.
F F
When the right-hand display shows "sunny/hot", immediately click on the multicolored display on the left and drag the "attractor" to the slot to the right of the RESET button.
B B F F F F
Click on the seeds in inventory. Pick up a second leaf. Use the map in your PDA to return to Prospero's estate.
F L F
Click on the microscope at far left. Click on each leaf in inventory. Using the tips of the movable probes on each side of the circular disk, combine the hairy purple microbe with the mostly-blue microbe. The probes may be detached from a microbe by positioning the cursor on the circular probe support and dragging the mouse up or down. Use the map in your PDA to return to the hospital.
F R F R F L F
Click on the syringe on the table.
F
Click on the POWER switch. Click on the syringe in inventory. Drag the syringe to the first malfunctioning junction

First Nerve Junction

and click on its plunger. Repeat for the other malfunctioning junctions

Second Nerve Junction

and

Third Nerve Junction

B
Listen to butler Jenkins' message in your PDA to obtain Uncle Prospero's PIN: 2206. Use the map in your PDA to return to Prospero's estate.
L F NE F
Click to log on the computer. Click on LONG TERM PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT. Enter Prospero's PIN number: 2206. Using the INFORMATION, FRACTAL ANALYSIS and FRACTAL STATISTIC buttons with each of the five investments, determine the predictable time intervals of the persistent items:

Investment Length (months)

ORANGE, INC. 78

MICROMESSAGE 50

HAL 25

Enter these values using the numeric keypad on the screen, and press the RUN button. Prospero's account balance jumps from $4,000 to $20,000,000. Click on the STATUS button at bottom center and listen to the sounds. Press the small LOG OFF button at upper right and meet Uncle Prospero. When he stops talking, click on him for another speech, then click F and watch the endgame sequence illustrating an extreme example of the "Butterfly Effect".

fin.

Comments

Game starting, loading, and saving is tedious, often requiring several responses from the player before complete. There is an inexplicable "TRANSFERRING DATA" delay every time the PDA display is brought up.
The cursor interface desperately needs to distinguish between zooming in/out and simply moving up or down. At several places in the game, such as at the top of the elevator in the weather dome, the desired movement is visually opposite to that indicated by the cursor. All that is needed here is some sort of "magnifying glass" icon or the like, such as is used in other Director-based games.
It would have been nice to have a compass with the available movement directions highlighted, similar to that used in Buried in Time.
The moth-like cursor frequently disappears after a few seconds of mouse inactivity.
The game suffers from a typical Director problem in which mouse clicks are not recognized until after a hi-res redraw of the screen background is complete.
Since most PDA messages come from Uncle Prospero, it would have been helpful to have them colored or even described with a subject heading so that new messages could be distinguished from those previously heard.
The music seems substandard for the most part, in some cases sounding a lot like a TV game show.
Some of the 3D objects, such as the deflated balloon, seem to be rendered from very few polygons, giving them an unrealistic appearance.
The concept of a fractal coastline is made well before all 15 segments are played in their tedious detail. Repetition is not a substitute for actual game content.
A player is going to try to take the inventory from the bottom of the clock in the trailer.
Thunder drowns out some of the words spoken during the introductory sequence of a new game (is that Bernard Lee of TRON?).
One would expect a weather improvement made at the weather dome would affect all areas, including the permanently-snowy area outside the radio station.
There is no save-game overwrite warning.
Game credits are excessively numerous.
This game's humor, particularly that of some of its FMV actors, is one of its few strong points.

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