how NOT to do the Cistern

[Demarest]

I've played through the game quite a few times now already. The Cistern (Tomb of Tihocan for you newer players) is one of my least favorite levels. It was great the first time, but once you know the way, it's just a LOT of busywork for little yield. Ironic that the story I'm about to tell made it so that playing once ended up requiring me to go through it four or five times!

I dropped to the bottom and made both boxes do their thing. Flood the Cistern up part way and go to grapple the raft into position. I stopped short and this is how NOT to do it. I didn't take a pic at the time, but I basically stopped it short, so that the raft was inline with the pillars. As such, when I let the water in the rest of the way, I ended up with this (picture taken with water half way).

http://tfads.com/gtafpics/lara/cisternbug1.jpg

The problem here is that with the Cistern completely flooded, there's no way to get up there without using the raft. So I didn't have the option to get up there and try to manipulate it. So I went back and restored the water to midway (as seen in above pic). Went back up top and tried to manipulate it. Since it was on solid ground, I was barely able to drag it at all. In the end (after dieing once by dong the following incorrectly), I had to jump on the edge hanging over the edge of the platform to make it teeter. Luckily, this game uses real physics, so this was enough to make it topple into the water below. UNfortunately, it landed upside down. So when I AGAIN flooded the Cistern, it looked like this

http://tfads.com/gtafpics/lara/cisternbug2.jpg

Now I say UNfortunately because the programmer's didn't try to make Lara get on top of it relative to the real world. They made her try to get on top of the object itself. Well being upside down, the top was right back into the water! It was up against one edge of the ledge so I tried and tried to fool it into bugging and promoting me to on top of the ledge no such luck. So whereas before, I got the raft on top of the ledge on accident, now I had to try and do it on purpose so I could flip it back over!

So I go back and let the water out again to midway. Head back to the dropped gate area and try to position it beside the pillar as I had accidentally done in the first place. Yes, it would've been easier to just restart the level at this point, but I wanted to see this through! If only to A) know that I could do it and B) have a funny story to tell. So I get it positioned about where I think I need it and go back AGAIN to the top to let the water back in. Anybody that has played the level knows that from mid level to the top water inlet control is where the real journey is in this story. I was ALMOST successful

http://tfads.com/gtafpics/lara/cisternbug3.jpg

Again, I tried and tried to get on top of that, to no avail. The good news is that it's now rightside up. The bad news is that letting the water out AGAIN risks flipping it over once more. Luckily it didn't. From here, I let the water back out to midway. Then it was standard reel it into the dropped gate area (all the way), go back to the switch AGAIN, fill the Cistern, and go about the level. Sheesh!

[Lectrician]

I don't think this problem occurs on the console version

*runs*

[Demarest]

I don't think this problem occurs on the console version

*runs*

:lol: :lol:

I think you meant to say that it happens, but console users have no rescourse in correcting it :rasp:

[Lectrician]

hehe

[TheRidster]

I have an easier solution for people stuck with that problem. Just use one of your save games to progress!:rasp:

[05013]

Lol, that IS a funny story!

[Bampire]

HAHA!

The first screenie. xD

[boots]

Man, that's hilarious.

The first time I did the cistern I must have flooded, deflooded and reflooded that thing at least a dozen times, probably more like twice that, to get the ultimate results (which happened actually to be the one you got in that last screenshot there. :rolleyes: ) It was not elegant puzzle-solving by any means.

Afterwards I glanced at a walkthrough out of curiosity and realized I could shave about 75% of the work off. :lol: Game: 1, player: 0

[Hippie]

I wanna see if I can make it screw up on purpose with the console.

[Ricardo221]

You know, in the commentaries part of this level, I think Toby wanted to punch the Crystal Dynamics guy because Toby was talking about the original Cistern and how they made this one really hellish puzzle that is really hard-core... then in response, they say all of the side rooms were deleted and they just kept everything in one room.

Toby sounded kinda uncomfortable - I guess nobody told him about the deleted rooms, which he was so proudly remembering, until they sat to record the commentaries.

And that floating raft is a pain, by the way.

[Towel]

I had to use a (future walkthrough) A video Walkthrough.

[TheRomans]

This is one of the many reasons I was aching for a "Load Last Checkpoint" option the whole way through the game.

[Tiri Li]

I had *exactly* the same problem with the raft. It got stuck on top of two pillars XD

What I did was unflood down to midway, then went to the surface where you push one of the boxes down to the ground and grappled it off. Luckily, it didn't land upsidedown. So i jsut re-aranged its position, flodded the whole place and carried on.

And it does happen on the console, because that's what I use ;)

[Demarest]

This is one of the many reasons I was aching for a "Load Last Checkpoint" option the whole way through the game.

Quit, Yes, Play Game, Resume Game. Not as simple as a single command, but there you go. Also, when you save the game, it's not a true save. It's a save from the last checkpoint. So saving the game and immediately loading the save you made will have the same effect :)

@Trin Li: The console comment was a not-so-inside joke. A funny one too ;)

[Xcom]

Slightly off-topic, but since this is about Cistern, I've got a quick question:

how many crocodiles did you encounter there?

[boots]

Slightly off-topic, but since this is about Cistern, I've got a quick question:

how many crocodiles did you encounter there?

I believe there are only two.

[NightRain]

It was a pain to do this and Poseidon's room. But in this one described, you only encounter two crocs. I've played the part several times and came across only two. Well, this was on medium difficulty, that's probably why.

[Towel]

I Came a across more than 2, i came across 4

[Xcom]

I believe there are only two.

I actually thought so too, but...

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/9365/screen4al9.jpg

Anyways, I was trying to snap a nice screenshot for the contest and went swimming in Cistern with infinite health and breath cheats. There were two crocs, they were chasing me and one of them, I think, got stuck in some rubble. Then, suddenly, there were three crocs. :eek:

Maybe it just cloned itself. :scratch:

[Towel]

I actually thought so too, but...

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/9365/screen4al9.jpg

Anyways, I was trying to snap a nice screenshot for the contest and went swimming in Cistern with infinite health and breath cheats. There were two crocs, they were chasing me and one of them, I think, got stuck in some rubble. Then, suddenly, there were three crocs. :eek:

Maybe it just cloned itself. :scratch:

:lol: no.. If you dont shoot at them and just swim for trigger than you will see 3 and if you still dont kill them and drain all the water there is 3

[NightRain]

Like a chicken I had the room empty and did away with them immediately so she won't face them when swimming around. It's horrible enough I had Rex eat her.... :o :p

Hey, that'd be a cool and somewhat startling bug if you see enemies clone themselves in TR games ! :eek:

[boots]

:eek: That's a quite a screenshot!

Maybe it's a random number? :scratch: I've only been through twice, the first time I recall encountering three (two in the pit, one up on the side) but since I was futzing with the water level so much, I couldn't remember if maybe it was one of the two that had been displaced. The second time I'm sure I only met two, unless one was hiding. If it was I never found it.

Strange.

edit: Ooor it could be a trigger like Towel said. :D That makes sense.

[NightRain]

Or maybe there were three. I don't remember. It was too long ago ! LOL...

[Xcom]

:lol: no.. If you dont shoot at them and just swim for trigger than you will see 3 and if you still dont kill them and drain all the water there is 3

Okay then.. hehe. So far the mystery of cloned alligator. :lol:

When I played the game (well, normally I mean), I've always lured them above and killed them straight away to avoid worrying about them later.

[Towel]

edit: Ooor it could be a trigger like Towel said. :D That makes sense.

For once somebody thinks i make sense finally i did something right:D

[Demarest]

There are two in the water and waiting on the middle level by where you drop the first box.

[thecoolstinger]

LOL demarest . that thing almost got stuck for me too on my first run through. it was inside the square thing but i would grapple it and it wouldnt move at all (closer to the ledge to jump to) finally somehow i managed to grapple it at an angle where it would tow.

pulling it in all the way to the end of that canal thing, and perpendicular with everything as straight as possible is the best way to get it to raise right i think.