smitty189
Squirrel
[TI18] "No great mind ever existed without a touch of madness" Aristotle
Posts: 1,004
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Post by smitty189 on Jun 3, 2022 18:53:35 GMT
never mind google god informed me F5 is game menu
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Jo
Skunk
Forest Ranger
Posts: 2,045
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Post by Jo on Jun 3, 2022 19:10:57 GMT
Loom Keyboard Command Keys
F5 - Save, Load, Play, Quit
F7 - Fast Speed (Limited Animation) / Normal Speed (Full Animation)
F8 - Restart Game
F9 - Show Text / Don't Show Text
ESC - Skip Sequences
ALT+ENTER - Full Screen / Windowed Screen
ALT+F4 - Exit
ETA: Write down your spells. They are not saved anywhere.
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Post by lurkercat on Jun 3, 2022 19:49:44 GMT
smitty189 , Apparently F5, though I havent tried that. I'm thinking we cannot get killed in this game so saving may not be essential....though I'll regret saying that if we can get killed OR if it does not save on exit. Attached below is a writeup on Controls I found at link pennmom - if you dont want to change your screen resolution & dont care if you see text written separately, so could always use the cheat below to use the keyboard to enter the notes you need for the "drafts". It does highlight the notes on what you can see, though it might take a little experimentation to determine which position that lights up matches which note. Controls Mouse Use PC Mouse.png to move the cursor, PC Mouse Left Click.png or PC Mouse Right Click.png to select objects on the screen or play the distaff Joystick Use buttons to select objects. Keyboard ↑ ↓ ← → to control the cursor. 1 3 7 9 to move the cursor directly to the corners of the screen. Enter to choose (mouse click) Distaff notes are performed with the keys QWERTYUI and cdefgabC In-game options Alt+J: Select joystick and automatically calibrate it. Alt+M: select mouse Alt+I: disable scrolling Alt+X or Ctrl+C: Exit game Ctrl+V: show version Space: pause F5: save F6: Sound control (disables music → disables all sound → restores all sounds) F9: Toggles Text display (CD-ROM version only) >: Faster message speed <: Slower message speed
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Post by good2bqueen on Jun 3, 2022 20:25:18 GMT
F9 for me asks if I really want to exit. When the game started it was for text display. F5 does nothing. Same for F4. Any suggestions? My powers aren't working for this problem and I really don't want to start over AGAIN.
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Jo
Skunk
Forest Ranger
Posts: 2,045
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Post by Jo on Jun 3, 2022 21:14:30 GMT
F9 for me asks if I really want to exit. When the game started it was for text display. F5 does nothing. Same for F4. Any suggestions? My powers aren't working for this problem and I really don't want to start over AGAIN.
Here are all the comments I could find on the Community Hub for Loom:
Minimise the screen Alt+Enter, then F5, you can maximise the screen again if you wish.
It seems to act up when you Alt-Tab. I just tested Loom and it does appear that by simply hitting the Alt key everything should work again. F5 is the game menu. Hope this helps. I have the same problem, going fullscreen eventually locks out the keyboard and I can't save or exit fullscreen. If I could resize the window view, I wouldn't mind it, but it's either tiny box or glitchy fullscreen. No solutions yet other than don't fullscreen. I didn't try everything yet, I will play with the glitch more today and report any findings
I also had problem to get the game menu by hitting F5. I solved it by putting the game in 'Windowed mode' back by pressing 'alt+enter' keys. After doing that, F5 was working again and I was able to save.
So try going back into windowed mode by hitting the alt + enter or maybe just the alt key. Then try F5.
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Post by lurkercat on Jun 3, 2022 21:19:50 GMT
Do you really get "nothing" with F5? When I choose it, I get a menu of options displayed. When I selected the option for Load, after having previously exited with Alt-X, the game showed me I had a Load.0, which I assumed was what it saved on my previous exit. Selecting that Load put me back at the spot I'd achieved previously before quitting.
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smitty189
Squirrel
[TI18] "No great mind ever existed without a touch of madness" Aristotle
Posts: 1,004
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Post by smitty189 on Jun 3, 2022 22:04:10 GMT
F5 has been working fine so has Alt F4 to exit. Restart game and hit F5 and load saved game. Now that this is all working I am still terrible at this game. Left the village went to the Crystalgard and am pretty sure I left stuff undone in Village and can't get back. Sigh, hope to eventually figure it out
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Post by good2bqueen on Jun 3, 2022 22:17:05 GMT
Tried every suggestion, windowed, alt key, etc. Tried F9 again and the game closed. GRRRR Done for today and try again tomorrow. I was really enjoying the game.
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Post by lurkercat on Jun 4, 2022 4:28:11 GMT
Hey Jo, thanks for posting the user comments from Steam. Made me curious about "where does Jo find this stuff?", and so for the very first time ever I went off searching on Steam to see where this stuff was at...and found lots of interesting stuff. I'll be sure to check this (previously unknown to me) part of Steam when I play other games in the future. A nifty asset - thanks! pennmom, while exploring the Discussion section of Steam, I did see some folks had the same cut-off screen you got after using Alt-Enter. One additional suggestion in this case was to go into compatibility for the game executable & check the box to Override High DPI (under Change DPI settings). Worked for some people and not for others. Worth a try for you - this is a cute and quirky game and worth a shot if you can get around the problem this easily, just in case it works for you.
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moni
Squirrel
[TI0] [TI0]
Posts: 1,061
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Post by moni on Jun 4, 2022 12:07:31 GMT
LOL... This game is fun - just by learning how to play it... lol. I will try all the good advises gathered here. (Most of all that all 4 games in the bundle behave the same way) Thanks, guys! Cheering
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Jo
Skunk
Forest Ranger
Posts: 2,045
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Post by Jo on Jun 4, 2022 13:26:10 GMT
The fact of the matter is, if you're having a problem with a game, someone else has probably had the same problem. With any luck, someone has posted a solution/workaround for that problem in the Community Hub on Steam and/or in the game forums at GOG. I'm always amazed at how quickly a perfect stranger will ride in to help. And some of those strangers are very tech savvy gamers with excellent answers. Both sites have saved my butt numerous times.
It is always more difficult to play an older game on a modern machine but if the game is worth playing, someone has figured out how to do it.
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pennmom
Bear
Chief Ranger
[TI0] IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK AND ALL'S WELL
Posts: 16,659
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Post by pennmom on Jun 4, 2022 13:26:51 GMT
I played around with the resolution but each option seemed to give me a different glitch, none seemed optimal and I gave up yesterday evening in frustration
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Post by good2bqueen on Jun 4, 2022 18:21:13 GMT
Thanks everyone for the great advice. So happy to learn about the Community Hub at Steam. I'm finally back to where I left off yesterday and feeling more confident since I can save the game now. Interesting fact though, some of the spells were different this time around and had to make a new list. This game is really cute and we need more like it.
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smitty189
Squirrel
[TI18] "No great mind ever existed without a touch of madness" Aristotle
Posts: 1,004
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Post by smitty189 on Jun 4, 2022 18:24:49 GMT
pennmom, Hope you can figure out the problem, the longer I play the game the more fun it becomes with a few frustrating moments that were mostly "duh" attacks on my part and an admitted concession to a walkthrough when I thought I missed a draft
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Post by lurkercat on Jun 4, 2022 18:53:01 GMT
Am I the only one who had a "well, d-u-h!" moment on learning, much to my bemused amazement, that spells (drafts) could be reversed? Actually would not have thought of that on my own, but noted it as an aside in a look at a walkthrough when stuck (reversal being totally unrelated to why I was stuck). Found the concept particularly satisfying (though otherwise useless) when a burst of draft enthusiasm had me changing all the tapestries on the original island to green. Once learning of spell reversal, I had to rush back to change them all back to their original color, just for the pure aesthetics of it all! Also changed the grass green rack hangings that Bobbin hated back to white...just to make him happy! Also, am I the only one on Crystalgard who really, REALLY wanted to use my green dye draft on Bobbin himself, in hopes that was what would allow him to pass by the guards with the swinging sickle as if that would camouflage him to look like the green building itself?
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smitty189
Squirrel
[TI18] "No great mind ever existed without a touch of madness" Aristotle
Posts: 1,004
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Post by smitty189 on Jun 4, 2022 23:11:34 GMT
Am having some fun moments with this game like discovering that I could fill the wineglass on Crystalgard with wine but sadly couldn't drink it and trying to turn the shepherds green. Was terrified that I really messed up in the village by neglecting to open the patterns book but found that resolved itself later in the game
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Post by lurkercat on Jun 6, 2022 0:18:13 GMT
What a charming game! I'm so grateful to the Group Play, 'cause I probably never would have played this game otherwise, and would have missed a very endearing adventure. (Ah, but poor Hetchel!). Seems lots of "interesting" but unnecessary side effects and actions were incorporated into the game, making me wonder what playful diversions I may have overlooked (I never did get smitty189's wine, but did happen on lots of other things that caused effects that seemed to have nothing to do with progress in the game itself but were just interesting curiosities). Also discovered at least one draft that I never collected but never needed (there was a place to use it, but an alternative was available). Only knew of the missed spell 'cause when I was stuck (trying to do something while the 10,000th sword was being forged, which I never would have figured out on my own), the walkthrough solution referenced a spell I'd never collected and wound up not needing). Ending seemed to leave room for a sequel, which never got made. Apparently the author had 2 possible sequels in mind. See a subsequent post with some interesting stuff I learned from Wikipedia after I finished the game.
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Post by lurkercat on Jun 6, 2022 0:35:20 GMT
Here's some interesting stuff I learned about Loom after finishing the game: - There was a 30-minute audio that was a prequel to Loom and set the scene for the story we see in the game (see below). I dont know if the audio is somehow available within the games we bought - I didnt see anything obvious in my Gog directory
- There was actually a print version of the Book of Patterns, that actually describes each of the drafts and gives some background on them. It is viewable on Steam even if you did not buy the game there. Wish I'd known of it while playing. I often had only the foggiest of notions as to what some of the spells really were.
- The author considered 2 possible sequels (see below)
THE 30-MINUTE AUDIO PREQUEL: It was long after the passing of the second shadow, when dragons ruled the twilight sky, and the stars were bright and numerous ... — Clothos, Loom: The Audio Drama The events of the game are preceded by a 30-minute audio drama. It is established that the Age of the Great Guilds arose when humans once again tried to establish dominion over nature. The world of Loom is not defined in relation to ours, but the game takes place in the year 8021, raising the possibility it is set on Earth in a distant future. People banded together to form city-states of a common trade "devoted to the absolute control of knowledge, held together by stern traditions of pride, and of fear." The humble guild of Weavers established themselves as masters of woven fabric, though they eventually transcended the limits of cloth and began to weave "subtle patterns of influence into the very fabric of reality." They were persecuted for these acts of "witchcraft," and purchased an island far off the mainland coast, which they called Loom, after the great loom that was the symbol of their guild. Lady Cygna Threadbare is introduced as a bereaved mother who begs the Elders of the Guild of Weavers to use the power of the Loom to end the suffering of the Weavers. Their numbers are failing and their seed is barren. The Elders Atropos, Clothos, and Lachesis, who are named after Greek mythology's three Fates, reprimand Cygna, telling her that it is not their place to play gods. Cygna, despite their warnings, secretly assumes control of the Loom and plants one gray thread. She inadvertently draws an (unforeseen) infant out of the Loom, incurring the wrath of the Elders. She surrenders the child to Dame Hetchel, the old serving woman, and accepts her fate. The Elders cast the "Transcendence" draft on her, transforming her into a swan and banishing her from the pattern (the name Cygna is the feminine form of swan in Latin). Hetchel names the child Bobbin, and cares for him as her own. Bobbin grows up ostracized from the rest of the Guild. The Elders note that the presence of his gray thread has thrown the pattern into chaos, and the Loom foresees the very unraveling of the pattern. For these reasons, the Elders ban him from learning the ways of the Guild until a decision can be made on Bobbin's seventeenth birthday ("until his coming of age seventeen years hence," as it is described in the game's audio drama). Hetchel, however, defies the Elders and secretly teaches him a few basics of weaving. This is where the game begins. THE CONSIDERED SEQUELS:According to Rogue Leaders, Loom was not designed to be the first game in a series, but "Brian Moriarty considered additional directions for the story" after development of the first entry had concluded.[17] The two sequels planned were titled Forge and The Fold, starring Bobbin's friends Rusty Nailbender and Fleece Firmflanks. Moriarty gave an account of potential sequels in a 2006 interview:[10] Loom wasn't actually written with a trilogy in mind. But after it was finished, there was vague interest in continuing the story. In discussing this possibility, I imagined two sequels. The first was tentatively called Forge. It tells the story of Bobbin's friend Rusty Nailbender, whose home city (the Forge of the Blacksmiths) was enslaved by Chaos near the end of Loom. Rusty becomes the leader of an underground movement to overthrow Chaos, together with Fleece Firmflanks of the Shepherds and new characters from the other Guilds. Bobbin appears every now and then as a ghostly swan dispensing mystical advice, an obvious nod to Obi-Wan Kenobi of Star Wars. The story climaxes in a terrible battle that nearly destroys the world. The third game, The Fold, is about Fleece Firmflanks and her attempt to unite the shattered Guilds in a final, desperate effort to banish Chaos. Near the end of the game, when the cause appears hopeless, Bobbin and the Weavers swoop in like the proverbial cavalry to save the day. The Loom of the Weavers is remade, reality is healed, and peace is restored to the Guilds. But this was all just talk. I was busy with other projects, and nobody else felt strongly enough about the games to make a commitment. So Forge and The Fold never got made.
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smitty189
Squirrel
[TI18] "No great mind ever existed without a touch of madness" Aristotle
Posts: 1,004
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Post by smitty189 on Jun 6, 2022 15:01:59 GMT
This really was a fun game and I agree with lurkercat, one I probably never played on my own. There were so many cute diversions that had nothing to do with the outcome of the game
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Post by good2bqueen on Jun 6, 2022 18:46:46 GMT
This game is awesome. Such a great selection. I spent so much time in the castle trying to figure out how to get where I needed to go. Could really have used a map but would have spoiled the fun. So glad I didn't pass on this one which I nearly did and would have without getting help here. Still not quite finished with the game yet. My husband and grandsons surprised me with a couple of gallons of strawberries. (So I could make them some shortcake and some jam) I'm so lucky?!?!
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