- Takla Ma’kan Show Spoiler
On the 7th expedition of the Fan Ages Touring Club, we visited Takla Ma’kan, the magnum opus of the H’Uru Project group (Katzi, Rich, Old Wolle, Edwin, Itep Edor), first released in March 2007 on the H’Uru Project forum.
On first arrival, this Age looks deceivingly barren, but that’s because most of the ‘action’ happens inside the pyramids. Make sure to read the note right next to the link-in point, it has the rules and the ‘philosophy’ of the puzzles. And puzzles are the main feature of Takla Ma’kan!
There are all sorts of obstacles to overcome: labyrinths, math, associations of symbols, colours, shapes, etc. You really need to take notes and photos of any symbol or picture (including paintings!) you find along the way, especially because many of them will be needed long past the areas where they show up.
There are some puzzles of the ‘punishing’ kind, i.e. those that send explorers back to Relto or that reset the whole Age, which I’m really not fond of; however, they make sense in context, as the whole experience is a test of perseverance.
Various journals scattered across the various rooms follow two main themes: one tells the background of the Age, once home of a civilisation that at some point was visited by another race – you even meet four of them, or at least what is left of them . The other theme is a ‘dialogue’ with the explorer, who is evaluated through the various puzzles.
All the symbols, colors, numbers, etc. are used together at the end, in the temple, to get access to the final location, which has a portal to a never-released Takla Ma’kan II.
Like all Ages of the time, this one too also has an issue with saving states between sessions (in that it doesn’t), so if you plan to visit in group, make sure you all start together or the latecomers will find doors that are open for you but close for them. Minasunda made a walkthrough video, in case you need one.
Like many Ages of the time, all surfaces are slippery, so make sure you’re familiar with the backstep technique
Besides the main locations of the pyramids and the temple, there are a few more areas to explore (which unfortunately we didn’t manage to!). One is an area vaguely reminiscent of nighttime Minkata, with ruins of a sphere of unknown origin.
The other is Katzi’s Memorial, which is normally linked to from Janga. Another, slightly cheat-y way to get there, if you’re already in Takla Ma’kan, is to step into the tower ruins close to the link-in point and type “/jump -20”.
The Memorial is composed of a few areas that can be reached through teleports (clickable globes on pillars), but be sure to visit the walkway at the bottom of the long ladder in the statue room.
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Next time, we’ll continue our exploration of the Huru.info Ages with Jo’nae, by Jonnee; a nocturnal garden Age with some puzzles. Since it’s not that vast, maybe we could make a quick visit to Takla Ma’kan’s underground before linking there
According to my notes, Jo’nae was released on September 25, 2006; can anyone confirm?
(Previous tour: Janga)