URU:

I just finished playing Cyan software's Uru which is the fourth in a series of games that include Myst, Riven, and Exile. I put this page together to serve as a guide for people who are having problems finding the Journey cloths and Relto pages and also to share my experiences as I solved the game. I spent a few weeks playing the game and took breaks when I got stuck to think about different approaches or to search for things I may have missed. Overall it was a great game like its predecessors but in three spots (explained below) I cheated by looking for hints on the Internet because I simply could not figure out the problems on my own and got tired of wasting time on them. I am not providing a walkthrough or explanation of what to do for each puzzle on this page but, be warned, these pictures along with the descriptions of the problems I faced can serve as a spoiler! So, if you want to solve the game on your own, don't look any further. If you haven't played the game but like puzzles and great graphics I suggest you give it a try! Go to www.cyan.com for more information on Uru and the entire series.

Ok, so you've finished the game or are having trouble finding the Journey cloths or Relto pages. Then read on to see the first area you encounter; the Desert. To view larger versions of the pictures just click on them.

JOURNEY CLOTHS:

EXPERIENCES:

The order I finished the ages was as follows: Desert (obviously), Teledahn, Eder Kemo/Eder Gira, Gahreesen, and Kadish Tolesa. I did work on more than one at once, however, because I'd get stuck on one age and move on to work on the next while thinking about what I could do on the age I was stuck. Ironically, the one I needed to do this most on I saved for last so I didn't have any more of the game to explore until solving the puzzles that had me stumped. Also, I spent 95% of the game in first person mode because I found it easier and it gave me more freedom of view and movement. I'm sure the amount of time I've spent playing Unreal Tournament also helps to explain why I prefer the first person perspective! One oversight of the game that is related to this is the ability to customize the mouse controls. I think the game would have been much better if I had been able to run using the arrow keys (left and right for strafe), change my direction with the mouse, hold down SHIFT to walk, hit CTRL to jump, and hold down the right mouse button to freeze the view for clicking on controls. Instead, I was forced to CONSTANTLY hold down the right mouse button and then use the left mouse button to move. When I wanted to go backwards I was forced to use the back arrow key or middle mouse button. Suffice it to say that my mouse buttons got a serious workout while I played this game.

The desert was pretty easy. The only problem I had was figuring out what powered everything (thanks Zandi). How about that Yeesha? What is up with those crazy face tattoos and weird hairstyle? The Exit Door is very obvious and you are even told exactly where it is. After I got through the desert and made it to Relto, the first age I visited was Teledahn.

Teledahn was a little challenging but I was able to get past all the puzzles except for one without too much effort. In the area with Journey cloth #4 and the pressure plates it took me a long time to figure out that what I thought I was supposed to do, based on information found elsewhere in the age, was not what is required and instead is just part of the solution. I was stuck here for a while and wasn't making progress in the age so went back to Relto and started working on solving Eder Kemo and Eder Gira while thinking of what to do on Teledahn. After I got stuck on Eder Kemo trying to find Journey cloth #3 (my last for that age) I came back here and eventually figured it out. I initially thought that the ages were tied together somehow and that tie was preventing me from finishing the puzzle on Teledahn because I was missing some information or an action required in a separate age. (This suspicion actually turned out to be correct but not for this problem.) Anyway, after finally getting past the puzzle by Journey #4, I also got stopped temporarily on the pathbridge but a brute force effort saved the day. Because of this, I tried using brute force with no success later on various puzzles, especially in Kadish Tolesa. I still don't know what I did with the control panel at the top of the lift but I kept moving the controls, one of the levers got locked into position, and apparently that was what was needed! For a little while I thought I was supposed to kill the Shroomie too (you don't). Near the end of Teledahn I found a link to a room which had a Journey cloth in it (Gahreesen Journey cloth #1). When I touched it, I was extremely surprised to see it glow as though I was on a new level and was starting over! This link and the links to D'ni on Teledahn and Eder Kemo led to my belief that the ages were linked like a web and I would have to visit all of them to gather pieces of puzzles before being able to solve everything. I was also a bit apprehensive because I wondered how many ages I would end up visiting to solve the game! The picture that accompanies this paragraph shows where this age's Relto page is located. The page is hidden behind a piece of foam that I could not push out of the way to get this picture. If you recognize the picture location then you will know where to find the page. The page, when activated (bright green glow), changes the roof of your hut from peat to thatch; very exciting. The Exit Door is also in an obvious location that you can not miss.

Eder Kemo/Gira was an easy age with one exception that more than made up for the ease with which the rest of the age can be completed! I call it one age because they are treated as one. I was able to get two of the Journey cloths quickly in Eder Kemo and then started looking in the dark cave. In the first cave I found one of the light devices because I saw its silhouette against the faint light coming from the entrance. But I couldn't figure out how to get the game to push the button that I knew was there! I also found the path to the upper cave and the light device there but, again, could not get the game to let me push the button and turn the light on! So I linked through to Eder Gira (garden) to see if the answer was there. I ran around it and found all the Journey cloths except #6 but came back and found it later after working more on Teledahn. I also found the Relto page (shown in the picture accompanying this paragraph) on my first visit but was unable to figure out how to get to it. It wasn't until after I'd finished all the ages that I came back and finally got to this page. It adds a rug and fancy hieroglyphics to your hut; again, very exciting. As with Teledahn and the Desert, the Exit Door in Eder Gira is obvious and can't be missed.

Getting Journey cloth #3 on Eder Kemo was one of the three problems which I gave up on in the game and turned to the Internet for the answer. I found the other Journey cloths from Eder Kemo and Eder Gira without any problems but was stuck on this last one so went back to Teledahn and finished it. When I came back to Eder Kemo I couldn't for the life of me figure this puzzle out. If you are stuck on it like I was then study the two pictures that accompany this paragraph. They show you what must be done to get this evil Journey cloth. On one of my visits to Eder Gira I had accidentally got the light but lost it and never made the connection. I was surprised to see a door when I finally got the light on in the first dark cave because I had fumbled around in the dark in that area for such a long time trying to figure out what to do. I also was surprised at the size of the cave because in the dark it had seemed so much larger than it actually is. As a side note, I know I touched Journey cloth #3 while stumbling around in the dark. I suppose this means that the Journey cloths only function when they are illuminated.

Gahreesen was probably the easiest age in the game. It is the only one that is tied to another age but, since I visited that age first, it wasn't too difficult to figure out. I actually visited this age second but only a small part of it and didn't come back to look at the rest until I'd visited all the other ages, finished Teledahn and Eder Kemo/Eder Gira, and got stuck on Kadish Tolesa. I did end up having to come to Gahreesen through the other age for a second time because I wasn't able to access Journey cloth #2 until I had visited this age from Relto and done something first. I found six of the seven Journey cloths in the age without too much trouble and swore the last one was hidden somehow on the rock column with only a Maintainer light or in the large building but couldn't find it. So, I made a map of the locations of each Journey cloth and conducted a thorough search of the age. I finally found Journey cloth #4 in an area I had visited before and that completed the seven for me. Gahreesen is the only age that has two Relto pages. One is in the cell by Journey cloth #1 and adds a waterfall to your Relto; probably the most exciting change of all. The other Relto page is in a fissure you have to jump over and adds some sticks and rocks to the ground on Relto; this has got to be the most exciting thing in the entire game! Look at the pictures that accompany this paragraph to see both of them. The Exit Door for Gahreesen isn't too hard to find. What surprises me is that a human is able to make the jump to it without serious injury! I guess the gravity on Gahreesen is extremely low.

Kadish Tolesa was, without a doubt, the most difficult age. I actually linked to it after finishing Edar Kemo/Gira and was able to finish the first puzzle but got stuck on the second one so went back to Relto and then on to Gahreesen and finished it first. To help others I made the below table. In it you will see all of the graphics you will need to solve this age taken from the gallery on D'ni. I spent a lot of time working with graphics in the D'ni gallery that didn't even have anything to do with the puzzles I was trying to solve so hope this will help someone who is stuck without giving the puzzles away. You can find the Relto page for Kadish Tolesa (shown in the accompanying picture) between the second and third puzzles. When activated, it appears to do nothing at all on Relto but I assume by the picture is supposed to add a tree or trees. The Exit Door is by the last puzzle and, like Gahreesen, requires a superhuman jump.

The key to the puzzles in Kadish Tolesa is that you are given what you don't need, for the most part, and have to use that information to construct what you do need. If I had known that I think the puzzles would have been much easier. But, since I didn't, the second puzzle drove me crazy. I was able to get the lights how I knew they needed to be but wasn't able to get the door open no matter what I tried (including the obvious of walking the path of light). This is the second puzzle in the game that drove me to the Internet for the answer. I spent a lot of time hammering away at the walls (the brute force method) trying to get something to happen, especially in the area marked by the red rectangle, but had no luck. When I found the answer on the Internet one word came to mind: sneaky. The third puzzle wasn't any better and was the third and last time I used the Internet to cheat and find the answer. In hindsight, I think if I had spent a lot more time playing I would have eventually come up with the solution to the second puzzle in this age but never would have got Journey cloth #3 in Eder Kemo or solved the third puzzle here in Kadish Tolesa. This one burned me! I had no problem getting the two 'phases' of the hex patterns to show up but kept trying to apply the clue for puzzle 5 to this puzzle and, understandably, got stuck. If you are stuck make sure you use the right clue (in my table above) for the corresponding puzzle! Nothing else beyond what I have included in the table is needed from the D'ni gallery for any puzzles! For this puzzle, as a hint, the image at the top of the clue tells you the path you must follow.

Here are a few pictures taken from the end of the game:

Once you finish the game you are given a final Relto page which adds rain. Maybe it's just me but I think the Relto pages are pretty pointless in the game and you could easily finish it without ever picking one up. I know I was disappointed in them. Sticks and rocks? Come on! If you look at the Final Bookshelf picture you'll see two strange books on the right. The first blue/brown book links to D'ni (I'm told this area is called Bevin) where you can do a little exploring by jumping off a balcony. After I did that exploring and linked to a small room with a rotating cog around the perimeter I somehow ended up with the yellow book. It links to the room which also holds a machine (see Strange Machine picture below) with the same symbol as found on Gahreesen. I wasn't able to get that machine to do anything, however, and was forced to use my Relto book to get out of there! Really, all I was able to do there was explore and link to the room with the cog and strange machine. Also, a sign from the DRC in D'ni states you can link to Gahreesen to pick up a KI but the book the sign refers to is not in place!

I now know, from playing the expansion set To D'ni, that the room with the rotating cog and strange machine is known as the Nexus and pretty much stores linking books to areas you've visited just like the bookshelf on Relto. When I first visited Bevin, before installing/playing the expansion set, I played with a bridge that had three colored buttons on it but couldn't get them to work. After installing the expansion set, those buttons (or some very similar ones) worked quite well thanks to a guy named Bob! Apparently, Bevin and the Nexus were parts of the short-lived Uru Live (which I never had a chance to play due to my slow Internet connection). Now, Cyan has released the first expansion set for free as a download on the Internet and sells a second one. You can also buy the whole game with both expansion sets too.

Here are a few pictures taken from D'ni when I visited before installing the expansion set: