Escape Simulator Escape Simulator: Tomb of the Ultimate Gamer Hint Guide

Preface

This is a guide for the level I created for Escape Simulator. Some folks have been having more trouble with it than I anticipated, so as requested by one of them I put this together.

(I didn't want this level to be particularly easy, but I did test this level on a slightly inebriated friend who finished the level and rewrote clues he thought were too difficult. I didn't think it was hard but sorta medium-grade difficulty. My bad everyone that had a hard time.)

There are twelve obstacles in this level. Since the first two can be done in either order, I'll lay them out as one and two but they can be done in whichever order you like.

All clues are word clues or image clues using custom images. Key info in data-pads that should be given extra attention is in bold text, but the rest of the text also helps to understand that bold text.

Some statistics:

-This is a large map.

-There are 12 obstacles (9 puzzles and 3 strictly locks).

-Exactly 3 items were accidentally marked as keys at publish. This has been fixed and is now 0.

-If you're an absolute klepto, you end up with 167 pickables in the trash can.

-There are 185 pickables total.

-There are over 360 static objects.

-There are about 49 dragable objects.

-Includes 70 invisible program objects, not including exit and spawn.

-Total of over 660+ objects (not including clickables or audio files).

^_~

One - Pyramid Door/Restroom Door

So your clue for this one is on the data-pad hung on the wall with the pyramid:

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1836915738101738404/FCD0E50D3E75AF48E97C683D3340949F665A4DDB/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

There are 9 wooden blocks that could be used for it, but only 6 fit into the puzzle slots. You must find the right ones and put them into the poster slots.

Still need more? Sure!

So 6 wooden blocks are needed to finish this puzzle. They are found

1) under the couch,

2) in Sushi's desk cubby-hole,

3) under Naomi's desk on the floor,

4) in the pink box on the shelf behind Doug & Ashley's desks,

5) in the freezer drawer of the fridge,

and 6) behind Jay's PC tower on the desk.

Since the snap-in slots will pretty much guide you as to how they lay out, the extra hint found in the office (section two) isn't absolutely necessary but might help if they just won't go in as you'd expect. It is found under the pyramid on the desk behind the door explained in section two.

Two - Keycard Door/Office Door

The first clue for this one is on the data-pad hung on the wall:

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1836915738101739730/4B2847F9E9313E8878C3699814398B3984CEA192/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

This one tells you which kind of objects are needed to unlock the door. One of the hints is laying on the desk next to the door. You need playing cards for keys.

The second clue is on a laptop screen at Sushi's desk, where another hint as to object type is laying next to it. This tells you which of those objects specifically are needed.

As per the bold text on the screen, you need cards 2, 3, 4, and 7.

Still need more? Sure thing!

So you need four playing cards to use as keys. Locations are

1) in a drawer under the blackboard,

2) in the PC tower being repaired on Naomi's desk in a RAM slot,

3) in a box on the shelf behind Jay's desk,

and 4) probably the hardest to find is between books on the shelf behind the couch.

Once you have the office and restroom doors open, there are three more puzzles/locks inside the office room. Only two of those you really need to pay attention to at first. There's also a clue for the other door if you haven't already gotten it open under the pyramid on the desk, and another one for inside the office in one of the desk drawers. The post-it notes are also a clue, but less important than the ones in the stone chest and desk drawer.

Three - Stone Chest

The most straight forward one in here. The datapad is your clue.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1836915738101740857/A73866A749070E5DA4CA766450766B03665E79F7/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

If you can't find it, the key for this chest is behind the toilet in the restroom.

Inside is this chest is another key object and a clue.

Four - The Alchemy Machine

Unlike the others, this one does not use a data-pad for a clue, but has other notes instead.

This one uses four objects. Three are freely found in the office rooms and one is inside the stone chest from above. The image note from inside the stone chest tells you which four objects are needed. The note from the desk drawer tells you where the slots on the machine are, since it's not really obvious just looking at it.

You need four food items to use the machine according to the note in the stone chest. They are:

1) a bottle of water from the stone chest,

2) a bottle of water from the fridge,

3) the spaghetti from the fridge,

and 4) the take-out on the coffee table in the lounge area.

Using the note from the desk drawer, slot them into the machine and you'll get a key item for use later.

Five - The Red Chest

This is not important just now, and you can't get into it without going further into the level at the moment anyways, so just save this one in the back of your mind for later. You'll get the only other actual key for this one from another puzzle.

Six - The Wall Chest

If you drag the servers away from the wall in the main office area, you'll find a hidden door. The first part of this locking mechanism is the chest. The data-pad on it is your primary clue for the answer to the combo lock that keeps it shut.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1836915738101743131/13919640006A2BCFC113A687C79CC821E950B657/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

It has only one word in bold, but this gives you two answers at once.

So the bold word is "years." If you notice around the room, there are posters with years on them. Try to use this to figure out both the combo numbers and their order.

Still not enough? Okie dokie.

Each poster has a year. On some of them, you'll notice that the last number is gold in color, like the gold dials on the lock. Since years go in a certain order, use this to get your combo numbers and the order they go in.

Moar? Moar!

Your combo answer is 80315. From years 1988, 2000, 2003, 2011, and 2015.

Seven - The Birds

Inside the wall chest is another combo lock puzzle. The data-pad in here gives you a clue that they're all going to want their own direction.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1836915738101743852/C45E4ADF25A3F45BDA0E7FC4FBC414B823CD2FA8/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

The answer can be found inside the main office area.

If you look at Naomi's computer screen, the orientation is there.

Direct answer? Here ya go.

Front, Left, Left, Right, Back, Right, Front, Left

Eight - Gemstones

Once you've oriented the birds, another case opens and gives you another data-pad.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1836915738101744691/20C867C0E7A8F3AB3ED11C4971BF30A94AAD7478/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

You have to find canopic jars to find the gemstones for the lock.

Locations? Here ya go:

1) behind the PC tower on the unnamed desk next to Maneki's desk,

2) under Billiam's desk,

and 3) the hardest to find is behind books on the shelves between Sushi's desk and Ashely and Doug's desks.

Nine - The Statue

If you figured out the Alchemy Machine, you've already got a key for this one and the data-pad tells you as much. Not really a puzzle as much as a lock, but if you haven't finished the Alchemy Machine, this one re-directs you to it with its clue.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1836915738101745356/DC096CBA731845EFDA68DAF0A0E5C20F6EEABA4D/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

Offer the Mighty Ramen object to the statue and the door will open.

Ten - The Dial Combo

So this was the hardest clue for my testers, and so the clue was rewritten to be a little more obvious without giving you the answer directly. It was meant to stump overconfidence but also force a little more thinking than all other word clues so far. It has the most bold clues to try to direct you to the answer back in the main office. Try to use these words to figure out where you saw some of those keywords elsewhere.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1836915738101746943/BB55854857BC871405868ECFA1351DE0FB014227/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

(If you encountered a reported glitch, you might already have the object this is supposed to lead you to, but there's unfortunately nothing I can do about flaws within the core game itself. That's the developers' issue.)

First hint: There was a fairly large object in the main office area that included the word "worshiped" and alternative terms for "mythic idolizations" and "centers of devotion." It is next to a desk that includes the word "loremonger." It has the most info on it compared to any other object you've run across.

Second hint: There are numbers within numbers here. You know from the dials you need three. Also the max number can only go as high as 9. There are three groups of numbers on this blackboard.

Direct answer: 3, 8, 9, from the groups of gods on the board.

Once you plug in the answer into the dial puzzle, you now have the key to the red chest from the office.

Eleven - The Sarcophagus

The data-pad for the Sarcophagus reads as follows:

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1836915738101747984/A5676A47666F9E11C9A2E26C801FC8F81C301949/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

This one is not as hard as the previous, but requires observation skills. You just saw something that reflects, and there is an art section in the office. Try to use those clues to figure out the items needed.

The mirror and the paint brush are your keys. The mirror is on the dial stand, and the paint brush is in the art section of the office on the shelf. Puts those in the Sarcophagus' hands and viola!

Twelve - The Heart

Inside the Sarcophagus you'll find the last data-pad:

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1836915738101748833/0E535484646FDB101C0EC9E2B047EA8BF6E559FA/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

Again, not so much a puzzle if you've already taken care of obtaining the item, but meant to be one last, much simpler lock. The clue is obvious if you have the item.

You need the Stone Heart from the Red Chest in the boss' office. The dial puzzle should have given you the key to this last chest.

Thanks!

Congrats! You're now out of the Tomb of the Ultimate Gamer and probably looking for a new job with less skeletons. Hopefully you've completed the level and didn't need everything in this guide to do so. Thanks for playing!

- Maneki

Also thanks to Dougernaut, AshKetchup, and CodeMaiden Naomir for acting as testers. I had fun stumping ya'll and seeing ya'll master this level. ^_^

Known Issues & Known Solutions

"Not all of the skulls fit into slots."

o_o I have literally no idea what you're talking about with this one. Maybe you played a different level and reviewed the wrong one? There is only one skull object in my level and it is not a part of any puzzle solution. Sorry, man...

"There's a bunch of interesting but useless information."

ô_o? Most of the text included in this level are parts of hints and puzzle solutions. You wouldn't know that without finishing the level though. A small handful of flavor texts for quick story are included, but they don't contain much at all.

"I got the stone heart without unlocking the red chest."

So there is apparently one issue with the Red Chest and being able to get the stone heart object out of it before unlocking the chest. As the item is disabled until the chest is unlocked, this is an internal flaw of the core game itself and there is unfortunately nothing I can do can fix this. It is literally not physically present in the world until the chest is unlocked. Only the developers can fix this issue of disabled objects being loaded incorrectly at level load. Sorry folks.

"I got stuck in objects or walls."

As for issues with getting stuck, this is again an internal flaw with physics of the core game. Out of about 40+ tests, only about 5 had us getting stuck in solid objects... Because we purposefully avoided known physics problems of the game. However, when in group this is simply fixed by another player pulling the object off of you (such as getting stuck inside the server towers). I found I got stuck in solid chairs, but that was easy to fix myself by grabbing and pushing it away from me. We did not have any occurrences of getting stuck in walls, so apologies on not being able to give any advice on that. Again, this is an issue the developers will need to refine since walls are static parts of the level generated in the editor and are not controlled or placed organically by the independent level designers. Only 6 of 52 wall objects were organically placed and we did not have issues with them. Sorry. :\

"Some objects are marked as keys."

So I went through every object in this level and 3 of 185 pickables were accidentally marked as keys. Now 0 of them are marked as keys. If this happens for you, I'm again thinking it has to do with the editor not saving or changing all data on the objects properly. It is an entirely over-simplified editor that is handling hugely difficult factors and calculations. As far as none being marked as keys, I and my testers did not feel that any should be marked as keys as this would make things too easy.

"There are too many objects that aren't static."

Yes. There are lots of objects that can be picked up because I felt that part of the fun of playing with friends is being able to throw things at them or playing with breakable objects. Digging through items is also meant to be fun, but I also assumed after playing official levels it would be apparent that not everything is meant to be put into personal inventory. There's also tons of drag-only and far more static items because my testing team found that we could crash the game by overloading physics calculations. I also removed approximately 150+ additional items that would have been present for a richer environmental feel, but figured that was far too much to dig through. Again, if everything but key items were static, it would just be too easy since only answers would be interactive. Have fun interacting with the world. Not that long ago, pretty much nothing was interactive in games. ^_~

Audio Levels

Personally I have found that even though audio files were balanced using the editors audio strength/intensity control options, for one tester the audio files were all equal strength though not set to the same levels, and two other machines had more balanced audio results. That first tester also did not get any sort of differential between 2D and 3D sounds, which is bizarre. I am going to assume this is due to hardware differences between machines and how those pieces of hardware are processing information from the game. Since the core game includes audio controls, please adjust these to your comfort levels since the music file and the sound effects files are at least identifying properly and being controlled by those.

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2800196990

Escape Simulator: Tomb of the Ultimate Gamer Hint Guide