Part 9: The Boat Sequence

: Nothing like a little salt air to perk up a boy's spirits. All things being equal, Gwydion might have enjoyed this ocean voyage... however, he has found his accommodations to be slightly less than satisfactory.

Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest III. Today's update is entirely about the ship. I want you all to savor the experience. By the way, you should have read that previous sentence with as much contempt and venom as humanly possible.

This is, without a doubt, the worst part of the game. So put on some appropriate music and """enjoy""" the boat sequence.



So instead of imprisoning Gwydion in the brig, the pirates just kinda dumped him in the ship's cargo hold.

42:16



So first things first, we want to go to the screen on the right.

>get crate

The rats running around will be useful later, but for right now all we care about is the crate.



This small crate will help us get up on the larger one, which will help us escape.

>drop crate
>jump on crate
>jump on crate
>jump





The pirate captain will occasionally be in his room. If that's the case, just climb up and down the ladder until he isn't. Trust me, you won't miss anything if the RNG trolls you here.

>look

: This must be the Captain's cabin. He seems to be a bit more tidy than his maes, as the room is clean and orderly. Against one wall rests his bunk with a large chest at its foot. Across the room is his desk with a chart tacked to the wall.

>look chart

: Gwydion stares at the chart tacked to the wall. It traces the route the ship is now sailing. It leaves Llewdor, crossing a wide ocean, and arriving at the foot of a mountain range. An "X" has been marked at the arrival point.

>look desk

: Gwydion gazes with interest at the Captain's desk. The desk top is very neat, holding only writing implements. Curiously, he opens a drawer or two. There is nothing of interest among the charts and logbooks. Quickly, he closes them again.

Alright, then. So the only other thing mentioned was the chest, so...

>open chest
>look in chest

: Gwydion has found all of his missing possessions! He takes them with him.

43:16

And because we can, let's poke around some more. There looks to be a way off to the left so...



This is a neat looking screen I suspect many people don't see. There's nothing to do out here. So let's go back to the mid level of the ship and look around outside the Captain's cabin.



>look

: Gwydion looks curiously around. Out a porthole, he sees the swell of the ocean. A device for turning the ship's rudder sets in the floor. A rope ladder extends up through an opening in the ceiling.

>look device

: What's a device?

Let's just go right some more.



: Oh no! One of the crew has spotted you, Gwydion! You'd better run.

Crew can randomly be on screens while you're sneaking around the ship. If that happens, just leave and return until they're not there. If you get caught, they toss you down in the hold and take all your stuff back. I think if you repeatedly get caught, you eventually will be made to walk the plank.



That looks like a shovel next to that boat. These guys threw me in the hold and took my stuff, so I'm stealing their shovel in return.

>get shovel



As long as you don't barge in the Captain's cabin, he doesn't notice that you're running around the ship. Fine with me, to be honest.



Now that we have our stuff, and we have their shovel, we just... wait. So let's hang out with the rats.

44:01

: Do you know where the pirates are taking us?
: I heard them talking about a buried treasure chest. I think it's buried on a beach, and they're going to dig it up.
: Oh, I remember! Remember when they first buried the treasure? It was on a small beach, and behind the beach was a high mountain range. I remember hearing one pirate say that nobody has ever crossed those mountains alive.

And another conversation...

: You know the pirate's buried treasure?
: What about it?
: Well I just heard the captain talking about it with one of his men. He said it was buried... now let me see if I can remember. Oh, yeah! He said it was buried near a lone palm tree. From the palm, you walk five paces to the east and start digging.
: Too bad we can't do anything about it.



Those mice are very chatty. Anyway, now we just wait.



45:01



46:00



47:00

I'm going to count by every minute that passes. I had to suffer through this, and by god so are you all. Just wait a full minute in between reading each sentence for proper effect.



48:00



49:00

We've been on this boat for seven minutes. We've been waiting for five.



50:00



51:00



It was at this point that I was very unhappy. I started to get bored. Yes I know it's only been 7 minutes. That's still seven full minutes of doing literally nothing but waiting.

>stir brew with finger
>brew of storms churn it up



: It seems that your storm has backfired.



52:00



I'm still bored.

>rub stone



The teleport stone just kinda randomly moves you around the immediate area. You can't ever change major game areas with it. You can't, for instance, go from Llewdor to the pirate ship, or from Manannan's house to Llewdor. Anywhere to Daventry is right out. But you can use it to have a little fun looking at places you wouldn't normally see.



: A burly pirate has noticed Gwydion from inside the crow's nest! Before Gwydion can even react, the pirate yells...
: Yer dead meat, Bucko!
: The pirate then slashes at Gwydion with his sword. He misses, but the prince loses his balance. Down he tumbles... to his untimely death.



Still experimenting with the teleport stone. The ship's galley is a screen that doesn't serve any purpose, but it's pretty neat it exists all the same. The cook will chase you if he catches you inside.



Fuck waiting, let's make a break for it.



So once you're in the water, there's no turning back.



This is seven screens and like 35 seconds later.



: Gwydion has reached the limits of his strength. He panics and starts to struggle hopelessly.



Fine. We'll go back to waiting.



53:00



54:00

It has now been 10 minutes since we got our shit back, and we've been on the ship for 12. Please re-read that sentence. We have been on this same section for twelve fucking minutes, ten of which have been straight waiting.

When I described the gnome puzzle in the first game, I was more astounded at the shitty puzzle design than anything else. This section right here has made me legitimately angry. Just typing this update, I've gotten mad about it all over again.

There is simply no excuse for this. I can't even properly articulate on how many levels how bad this design is. It's not even a fucking puzzle, either. We just have to wait until the RNG randomly decides to let us continue playing. Even better, if you never leave this screen there's no chance of randomly dying either.



55:00 by the way.



That timer says 56:01. If you remember back to the start of the update, when we got control on the ship, the timer said 42:16. I said it up above, but it bears repeating. Thirteen minutes and forty five seconds of dead time in the middle of a game is indefensible.

I was honestly shocked when the "land ho" call came at 56:01. In my test run for the game, and in other LPs I've watched, the call always came around 1:01:01. So the fact that I didn't have to wait an additional five minutes on top of the nearly fourteen I already waited was a relief.

NEXT TIME: We get off the ship and get on with the game.

List of Points

+2 - Got on the ship
+2 - Climbed up to midlevel
+3 - Robbed the pirates
+1 - Petty shovel theft

Total: 180/210

Register of Deaths

Fell out of the crow's nest
Drowned