*MILD SPOILER HERE*

When I first found the clock puzzle in A3, it seemed pretty obvious what I had to do: set the clock to a specific time, and I just had to find a clue as to what time that was. I thoroughly searched A3, but found nothing. I went on to other levels, returning occasionally, trying ideas. I was nearing the end of the game and finally decided on a brute force attack: to tediously and systematically try each of the almost 576 possible combinations, one at a time, until I found the right one. It worked.

At that point, having got the star, I felt justified in looking on the internet to see what the “right” solution is. Turns out you’re supposed to scan the QR code with a smart pfone. Never mind that every other QR in the game reads out automatically when you aim the crosshairs at it; this one requires an actual, physical smart pfone.

Now wait a minute. I don’t have a smart pfone! I don’t want one! So essentially, as far as the clock puzzle is concerned, I’m screwed!

I’m accustomed to puzzle-adventure games (e.g., the Myst series) being a completely self-contained, immersive experience. I expect that, with a bit of imagination, I can ignore the fact that it’s only a game on a computer. Just like reading a great book, I want to imagine that I’m really there in another world. Having to use any external device, beyond a scribble stick and some paper, wrecks that feeling for me. I don’t want to Google anything. I shouldn’t have to rely on specialized knowledge (e.g., that hex code can be translated, using an online tool, into plain text). All that should be required is imagination and an ability to think logically. Even if I had a smart pfone, I doubt I would have ever thought to use it, because I purposefully avoid thinking about such things when I want to immerse myself in a story.

The clock puzzle reminds me a little of the Black Moiety secret entrance puzzle in Riven. But the Riven puzzle was tons more well-implemented: devilishly tricky, but completely immersed in the world of the game, and quite dramatic to boot. (The clock was kind of a let-down. Basically you just watch water drain out of a giant bathtub. Not very dramatic or exciting.)

Hey Croteam! Talos is a great game, but in this one instance you guys totally blew it.

Almost, but not all. 2 more QR codes (same code) need a phone and 2 additional ones give a false message in-game; you need a phone to read real one. But unlike Myst you *are* in a computer program simulation. hex codes fits the premise.

Yes, but it's a completely self-contained simulation. The character's entire life, experience, and consciousness exists solely within the simulation. He can't jump between the simulated world and the "real" world at will. Incidentally, that's one aspect of the game that I find fascinating: if your whole life exists only in a computer or a dream, how do you tell the difference between that and the real world? Is the real world really more "real" than the simulated world?

But at any rate, my point is that the character (as distinct from you or me, the player pretending to be an AI in a simulation) wouldn't have access to any knowledge or device that he doesn't come across in the sim. To be true to the premise of an AI character who exists solely in a computer, everything he needs would have to be built into the program.

He can read QR codes just by looking at them, and can even paint a QR on a wall; he'd have no means to double-check them with something other than his own built-in programming, and no reason to do so any more than you or I would have reason to believe that our brains are mis-interpreting what we read and this sentence actually says "Take us to the supreme Earthling potentate." She can't leave the sim and find a mobile device sitting around somewhere (and even if she could, it would be long since dead and worthless).

He can't go on the internet to translate a hex code (in fact, the docs in the terminals strongly suggest the internet has long since gone down); he would need a translator in his own programming, or some device that he finds somewhere in the sim, like the way he unlocks boxes, fans, etc. That, in my opinion, would fit the premise of the game much better.

You sure about that? The time given is 20:18. The outer ring of Roman nums on the back of the stone pedestal corresponds to hours in the 24-hour system (military time). So the hour is XX. The inner ring of standard nums corresponds to 60 minutes per hour. The 15 lines up with VI, the 20 with VIII. 18 would be almost exactly halfway between, which most closely corresponds with VII. So 20:18 = XX and VII, which is of course the answer.

You have an interesting argument with the chemistry analogy. I'm not sure that I completely agree (the robot doesn't have a library to go to), but it's a good point nonetheless.

Hah, good point! I never thought about that. I just took 7, 20 to be the date.