I had only one (1) puzzle to go. (My prior posts on Circus are here.)
Before explaining, I should mention something about my job.
From the Museum of Computer Adventure Games.
I work for a company in Europe. We have both European and US clients. I quite routinely will work on two projects in one day, meaning midstream I need to swap my spelling conventions, so instead of analyzing someone’s work I am now analysing it. I have gotten decently good at swapping continents at will.
With Circus, I had received a snorkel from a seal lion, and had surmised there was some petrol hiding the generator but I just needed to get it out. I mentioned, in passing in my last post, the possibility of siphoning some petrol.
I have never, in any of my business dealings, had to spell the word “siphon”.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
That was it. That was the only puzzle. The game wanted “syphon”. Unless you count having yet another parser struggle spot right after as a puzzle.
The rest is straightforward: short the circuits as I mentioned before (you need to be holding the spanner/wrench, though) and book it for the car, taking off while everything explodes.
You might ask: what about the hacksaw and the cannon and the net? Those were, according to Dale Dobson, part of alternate solutions, but I’m honestly confused about them. To place the net you need to ERECT NET (more parser loveliness) and you can then fall off the tightrope safely, but why fall off the tightrope? Why break into the maintenance shed for a hacksaw? (It can’t be the chest — you have to get into the chest to get the tool to break into the maintenance shed, unless I’m missing something.) The cannon is especially baffling as there really is plenty of time to just walk out, flip on your cool shades, and let the cursed circus explode behind you.
it’s amazing when an adventure game makes you feel like Indiana Jones
too bad it was Indiana Jones trying to spell “Jehovah”
— Voltgloss in the comments to my last post
Unfortunately there was no extra dose of Evil tangling up the plot, unless you count the major parser issues (at least six of them). There was a lot of potential that just never had a pay-off; it’s like if Something Wicked This Way Comes didn’t have Mr. Dark.
Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark, who was also in Brazil as Sam Lowry and recently was David Cartwright in Slow Horses.
This game does seem to be remembered fondly by children, so I should add of all the Howarth games so far it was the most fun to “noodle around” in; it’s a place to explore without too many stopping points like Avventura nel Castello. Even though the enigmatic feel might dissipate in the end, your average 6 year old might have never beat it, meaning the game holds onto its mystery.
Coming up: returning to Crowther’s Adventure, the very original before Woods, as history has been found since I last wrote about it, including a 48-page document that has only recently been unearthed.
Renga in Blue 
Jonathan Pryce’s most diabolical role, of course, was those $^%^#@!@ Infiniti commercials.
From Dale’s post it looks like the generator was also part of an alternate solution, since you can use it for light after your flashlight runs out, but as the screenshots show you beat the game with some time left on that timer. Maybe the cannon is intended as a turn-saver, though it hardly seems like it would save many turns. The death message for using the cannon with the hole in the roof seems fair–you smash your head, indicating that you need a crash helmet. But the mystery for me is, what crash helmet?
ERECT NET is a pretty nasty guess the verb. Now I’m picturing a game where you need to create a variety of things but you’re only allowed to use each building verb once, so the challenge is coming up with verbs that make sense for each noun–you don’t want to blow “make” on the rope when “weave rope” will do.
are you familiar with the game Verb!, btw?
https://ifdb.org/viewgame?id=9vgwkeh1b8s18zj3
the only verb available is TAKE
and you get a point for every “unique” successful command you pull off
and any sense at all where TAKE makes sense works in the game
the open setup meant people got a higher score than the author was able to
No! I’d heard of 77 Verbs, which is the opposite
https://ifdb.org/viewgame?id=p3rd5133qm5cwfd
the game is one by using Inform’s built-in verbs once each.
Nord and Bert Couldn’t Make Head or Tail of It did something like that, didn’t it? The “Manor of Speaking” section if I remember right?
Haha yes I haaaaaated that part
So the second of the two solutions available on CASA (the one by Sudders) sheds the following additional light:
Nothing in that solution about ERECT NET. Maybe that’s the only way down after going up with the hacksaw to cut the tightrope? The solution doesn’t say though.
The *first* solution on CASA (by Gunness) ignores all this optional stuff because apparently the flashlight gives you plenty of time to complete eveything mandatory, without needing to start the generator (and, by extension, without needing to use the cannon).
I tried to cut the tightrope with the hacksaw and it didn’t work! I assume there was another parser boss lurking.
Just tested this out. You can only CUT TIGHTOPE from the *far end* of the tightrope (where you pick up the metal bar). Then it falls to the ground, and your only safe way down is to JUMP assuming the safety net has been erected. Once back on the ground, the fallen tightrope is a “steel cable.”
Also, to erect the safety net, you need the clown’s help – you need to have the costume on so the clown is following you, lead him to the area with the cage, and then ERECT NET will work. (At least if you try ERECT NET in the wrong place the clown tells you “not here.” But if you ERECT NET *without* the clown in the room, you just get a “Sorry” response with no explanation as to the source of the problem.)