Talk:Myst III: Exile

Continunity

I have posted this message on all myst articles: I think it would be nice to have continuity over all the Myst Articles. This could be done with a section on the story, ages / islands and graphical advancements for all. What does everyone else think? Also, how could this be coordinated?

• I don't quite understand but look D'ni timeline, D'ni Ages, Myst franchise. Pictureuploader 08:53, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

I suppose all interested people could gather somewhere to discuss the matter (hopeing "the actions of the gathered mean something"...) Gbnogkfs 22:52, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

Keem me informed; I have just begun a translation of the articles in Italian. Also, this page states Exile was distributed by UbiSoft (and the image of the cover confirms that), while my original copy (Italian, so that's a European distrubution) clearly says "Mattel Interactive". Anyone knows something about that? Gbnogkfs 05:03, 01 January 2006 (UTC)

Mattel was/is the distributor of TLC titles in parts of Europe (evidently Italy), so likely they distributed Exile. As far as I'm aware TLC is now defunct, so the other titles are Ubisoft. Jordi·✆ 14:46, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

Removal of "hacking"

I removed the following section because I don't think it follows the goals of Wikipedia to post instructions on how to access copyrighted material illegally.

As it happens, the information below was just what I needed, and I both own the game legitimately and was not trying to produce a pirate edition. People have, in the past, used the technique described below or similar ones to find easter eggs and stuff that was removed from the final game, for instance. I do not think it has much relevence for copying the game illegally. That said, I think the text below needs some work (I doubt the term "hacking" is appropriate, it already seems to have confused the person who removed the section)...71.167.63.124 (talk) 15:04, 15 April 2014 (UTC)

== Hacking & technical details ==

As in most Myst games, it is possible to extract the video and audio so that they can be edited into custom movies. Myst III Exile was the first Myst game to use the Bink video format (from RadGameTools) for every animation. Each disc of Myst III Exile contains several huge .m3a files (presumably standing for "Myst 3 archive"), which for the most part correspond to particular Ages, and contain all the Bink videos used for the game portions on that disc. The .bnk Bink videos can be extracted from .m3a files using FMV-Extractor by Necrotech (freeware). The Bink files can be played/converted using the RadGameTools Bink program (shareware).

The audio in the game that is not inside of a Bink video, is collectively stored on disc 1. Whether or not the user chooses to install all the data to the hard drive (so disc-switching is not needed), all the sounds are copied from disc 1 to the program folder. Most of the music for the game is stored as .mp3 files, while other miscellaneous sounds are in WAV format (but surreptitiously have no extension). All of them can easily be played and used (in most cases without a converter).

As a side note, choosing the install-to-hard-drive method will copy all of the .m3a archive files to the program folder, storing them in a folder named by the corresponding disc.Xadnder 02:43, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

Technical strides

It is stated that Myst III is considered to be the last Myst game to innovate technically. This is obviously false, seeing as Myst V is free-moving and in full 3D, and also that Myst Online: Uru Live is an online, massively-multiplayer game. Should be corrected. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.203.71.208 (talk) 18:09, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

MO:UL isn't really considered a part of the Myst series - more a sort of 'offshoot'. As for Myst V, I'm not sure.I'm sure I've heard somewhere that Myst V had the smallest budget of the lot, though what difference that makes I dunno. Personally I feel that Myst IV shows most technological magic. _TheIslander 19:08, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

I've removed the statement from the article. I mean, Myst IV completely changed the idea of what 360 degree panoramas could do, and Myst V, within the confines of the series, was the first to make the jump to real-time graphics, unless you count it as part of the Uru series...it just gets more complicated. Green451 15:46, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

PS2 Port

Shouldn't there be a mention of the PS2 port? Should I add some information? 217.24.21.41 (talk) 14:37, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

• The infobox currently shows the release date of the PS2 version. Since there are no sections with platform-specific details, I would suggest against adding information if it's only for the PS2 at this time. — OranL (talk) 18:09, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Comments from Scartol

This article is generally solid and well-structured. I'm surprised that there isn't more description of the individual ages in the Myst articles, but then again I don't suppose such a description would be very useful – it would primarily be a reflection of gamers' intense dedication to play. The editors involved have done a good job of finding a variety of sources.

I'm always a little leery of video game articles as FAs; with the exception of something like the first Myst game, they don't seem to have the potential for depth or comprehensive encyclopedic discussion that I'd prefer. However, as we know, notability is not a requirement for FA, so this is a personal problem I have, heh.

I had a few questions as I copyedited:

• Myst III: Exile is an adventure video game and the third title in the Myst computer game series. How about combining these phrases? "Myst III: Exile is the third title in the Myst adventure video game series."

• Presto sought to develop a more logical approach to puzzles and Ages than Riven had... I'm not sure what this means. The article didn't clarify it for me, so I'm having trouble re-wording it. I didn't find the puzzles or Ages in Riven illogical at all. (Quite the opposite, in fact.) Maybe we could say: "Presto sought to develop a diverse and logical approach to puzzles and Ages..."?

• The task of developing the sequel to Myst and Riven was offered to several development companies... This ambiguous passive-voice construction is very sketchy. I'd like to see as specific an attribution as possible – who offered the task? (I assume we're talking about Cyan Worlds.)

• While the sets were being constructed and filled with physical props the actors could use, costumes for all the characters were fashioned. This feels unnecessary. Isn't it taken for granted? Maybe give a detail about how the props were made/selected, or something about the process of designing the wardrobe?

• Insofar as the screenshots may be used freely, how about including 1-2 more in the article? We don't want to overdo it, but it seems a shame to let this opportunity go to waste.

Thanks for bringing me in – feel free to talk me with questions. I do believe I'm going to go back and take another trip to Releeshahn. Cheers! – Scartol • Tok 14:36, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

External links

Recently, some external links were removed from this article (as seen here). Are these links really counterproductive to the article? WP:NOTLINK says:

"There is nothing wrong with adding one or more useful content-relevant links to an article; however, excessive lists can dwarf articles and detract from the purpose of Wikipedia. On articles about topics with many fansites, for example, including a link to one major fansite may be appropriate."

In this case, the links to MobyGames, IMdb, and the MYSTerium fansite were removed leaving only one external link. MobyGames and IMdb links are, in my opinion, always helpful, because they usually have a good list of details like taglines, cast, and links to more critical commentary. MYSTerium was one of the premiere Myst fansites for news, but it is now dormant. Perhaps we should keep the links to MobyGames and IMdb and update the MYSTerium link to a more active fansite? — OranL (talk) 16:55, 13 July 2008 (UTC) I dunno about Moby, because it doesn't offer much more than the page... as for the other links, it doesn't matter much to me. Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs ^(talk) 21:58, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Rankings

We have the table so that readers can quickly reference it to find out ratings. Is there a reason we can't put the rankings in the table and in the prose? I don't want to have to read the paragraph to find out simple statistical ranking data. I believe it can only help the articles summary style to include the rankings in a table as well as in the paragraph. — OranL (talk) 18:25, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Unrelated to the article

I don't believe that whole "the game doesnt suit the fast paced modern game industry". As far as I'm concerned Myst will never go out of style. It's like arguing that artistic movies don't suit modern hollywood. 59.167.36.104 (talk) 10:49, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

Footnote reference accurate?

I tried to find the article cited as # 5: "Seductive Kind of Myst" by Steve Boxer in The Daily Telegraph, 12 July 2001. I could not find this article on that date. Is the reference accurate? And if so, how does a reader locate it?

Ed8r (talk) 20:16, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

I'm going to assume I was correct with the citation information. Are there multiple Daily Telegraphs, maybe you're checking the wrong one? All the print refs I accessed through LexisNexis. --Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs ^(talk) 23:21, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

It's interesting to note that a Google search for "Seductive Kind of Myst" "Daily Telegraph" only throws up us, really - could you perhaps provide a link to your source, David? Cheers, _TalkIslander 07:29, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I tried that first. Then I went to the archives of The Daily Telegraph, selected 2001, and then the month and the date cited. The article was not there. I also did a search for all the Steve Boxer columns printed in the Telegraph and this one did not appear anywhere. I even went to the Guardian archives too, but of course it wasn't there. I don't know what else to try. Ed8r (talk) 15:23, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

I plugged it into LexisNexis and got "Seductive kind of Myst/ Steve Boxer finds a worthy successor to one of the biggest-selling games, Myst, Steve Boxer, pg. 6 Daily Telegraph, London [07/12/2001]." So it's there... I'm not sure why it's not showing up for you guys. If you want I can email a copy of the article. --Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs ^(talk) 15:56, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

That's really bizzare, but I absolutely cannot find it. I've even looked on both 12 July 2001 and 7 December 2001 - that's the first thought that struck me, that it could be a UK date - but no, nothing. Hmm. Well, I certainly trust that you have it, just don't know why I can't find it. Odd... _TalkIslander 16:20, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, I should have mentioned that I had also thought of that but couldn't find it. David, you could send us the article, but the thing is, the purpose of a footnote is not just to show that a writer consulted another source, but to provide that source for other interested readers. We need to figure out how to find this article on the Web. Don't we? Ed8r (talk) 22:36, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

The world doesn't exist in full for free on the internet. Some sources require taking some pains in the real world or putting down some cash. --Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs ^(talk) 23:18, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

Still, it would be preferable if the source could be replaced with one that's freely available... _TalkIslander 07:18, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Print sources are pretty valuable resources.. and I believe you need them to be totally comprehensive? Printed newspapers traditionally have much stricter and more reliable editorial processes. At least bolster it with a free source, but not replace it. Very few print sources are actually available online or for free, I don't see why we should ignore a valuable resource just because the average Joe can't verify or read it. Rehevkor ✉ 15:17, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. But can the reference be shown in such a way that does not imply that it is a free Internet source? Ed8r (talk) 18:20, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

In what way is that implied? It's cited the way print/newspaper media should be (cite news template). Rehevkor ✉ 18:25, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

You're absolutely right. Sorry, my mistake. Ed8r (talk) 22:03, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

"Stranger" was not the character in Myst or Riven

See Robyn Miller's GDC post-mortem for Myst... "The Stranger" was invented later, the avatar was always supposed to be the player. Literally, you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.210.0.171 (talk) 04:29, 25 December 2014 (UTC)

Sources

I found these:

• https://web.archive.org/web/20011004224436/http://www.gamespot.fr/stories/news/0,1610,2056547,00.html
• [1]
• [2]
• [3]
• https://web.archive.org/web/20010405074509/http://www.adventuregamer.com:80/features/interviews/lemen.shtml
• https://archive.org/stream/UneditedPCGamer_marktrade/PC_Gamer_086u#page/n63/mode/2up
• https://web.archive.org/web/20030125004715/http://fourfatchicks.com:80/Rants/Interviews/Dan_Irish/Dan_Irish.shtml
• https://web.archive.org/web/20021215144137/http://www.intelectmt.com:80/corp/intelectmt/press/press-it/press_010619.htm

JimmyBlackwing (talk) 21:43, 13 August 2017 (UTC)