********************************************************************* _ _ _ _ _ _ | | | | | | | | | | | | ___ ___ | | ___ _ __ | |_| |__ ___ | |_ _ __ _ _| |_| |__ / __/ _ \| |/ _ \| '__| | __| '_ \ / _ \ | __| '__| | | | __| '_ \ | (_| (_) | | (_) | | | |_| | | | __/ | |_| | | |_| | |_| | | | \___\___/|_|\___/|_| \__|_| |_|\___| \__|_| \__,_|\__|_| |_| ********************************************************************* -by Brian Rushton TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. In-game help 2. List of necessary commands 3. General hints 4. Descriptive walkthrough 4.1 Prologue 4.2 Chief's Office 4.3 KOLR studios 4.4 Danny 4.5 Chuck 4.6 Cindy 4.7 Maia 5. Step-by-step walkthrough ************************************* Section 1: In-game help ************************************* COLOR THE TRUTH has a variety of in-game options for getting help. Typing HELP will bring up most of these options. Typing COMMANDS gives a list of commands you can use in the game; this is especially helpful for those new to parser games. Once you are playing as the detective, you can talk to the Chief in his office, or you can CALL CHIEF when you are in the lobby. By talking to him, you can get general hints about the topic of discussion. Finally, typing HINT will give you a general hint. Typing HINT again will give you a more specific hint, until finally it gives you an exact command to type in for your next step. ************************************* Section 2: List of necessary commands ************************************* Typing COMMANDS in the game will give you a list of common text adventure commands. The following, though, is a complete list of every verb necessary to win the game: WAIT, SAY, TALK TO, TAKE, GO, OPEN, LOOK UP, FLUSH, PUSH, LOOK AT, LINK, CALL, PUT, TOPICS, INVENTORY. (Technically, TOPICS and INVENTORY aren't verbs, but they behave like them.) ************************************* Section 3: General hints ************************************* Color The Truth revolves around conversation. The main way that the story proceeds is by exposing contradictions. As you talk to characters and take their statements, you will hear facts that just don't mesh with each other. You can expose the contradictions by linking two topics together (using the LINK [something] TO [something] command). This generates a new topic that you can use to confront someone with the lie. The other main feature of this game is that taking the statements of a character (using the command STATEMENT or SAY STATEMENT) takes you into a flashback as that character. You can use STOP at any time to exit a flashback. Important points from each flashback will be recorded as new topics for the detective. As you'll soon discover, everyone has something to hide. Confronting a character with a lie will often cause them to change their statement, which will give you new topics and new lies to uncover. While other conversational topics will help you understand the suspects better, only the confrontational topics will progress the story. Finally, most of the scenery and background objects are unimportant; while there's quite a lot you can do with them, if the game doesn't draw something to your attention, it likely doesn't matter. ************************************* Section 4: Descriptive walkthrough ************************************* This walkthrough is split up into different sections. The game is not completely linear, so they are divided up by characters. This is an explicit walkthrough that will tell you the solution to the entire game. You may see solutions to puzzles you have not yet attempted. If you prefer to only see one hint at a time, it is recommended that you type HINT in-game. The in-game hints get more and more clear as you continue to type HINT. ----4.1 Prologue---- (This sections contains explicit commands in caps. All other sections of this descriptive walkthrough will not do so). Your goal here is to talk to Rosalita and to get her to send you more money. After you SAY HELLO, you get a new variety of topics. You can SAY any or all of these topics to her, but she just won't listen. You'll have to LINK one topics to another that contradicts it. In this case, her claim that she's BROKE contradicts your knowledge of her SALES and of the money she's taken from CHARITY. So you can LINK BROKE to SALES or LINK BROKE to CHARITY. ----4.2 Chief's Office---- You don't need to spend much time here. You can look at the books or read them if you want, and hang around talking to the Chief for a while, but all you really need is the folder. Just take it and go. ----4.3 KOLR studios---- When you get to KOLR studios, you're greeted by Cindy, one of the suspects. The studios are layed out in a linear way, with a lobby and hallway in a straight line north to south, and with rooms branching off to the east and west. Take a moment to explore and see where everything is, as all the action in the flashbacks occurs here. On the west side of the hallway are (from south to north) Cindy, Chuck, and Danny, while Maia is in the middle on the east side. Rosalita's office, which you cannot access, is at the very north end of the hallway. None of the background objects matter. Your goal is to take the statements of all four suspects, confront them with any lies, and taking new statements until you reach the truth. When you discover the truth, you can CALL CHIEF in the lobby to tell them about it, or SAY TRUTH to the killer. ----4.4 Danny---- Danny is angry and proud, and willing to cover things up to protect the studio. He'll be a bit harder to crack than the others; you'll need to confront him about multiple topics. Danny's first flashback has him meeting with Rosalita to go over an annual financial report. All you need to do is to go to Danny's office, look up the report, and go to Rosalita's office. There, you can talk to Rosalita. Once you're done, you can simply leave by exiting the lobby to the south. It might be worthwhile to listen to Cindy's phone call, though it won't help you win the game. Make sure to check out the flowers in Rosalita's office, as they provide an essential clue. Danny's second flashback is found by confronting him with his coverup of accounting irregularities and of Rosalita's misbehavior, which you'll discover in other flashbacks. In this second flashback, you'll repeat your actions from the first flashback, but Rosalita will tell you more. ----4.5 Chuck---- Chuck is extremely depressed by what's happened. He also claims to not have spoken with Rosalita at all before the murder. You'll need to call him out. Chuck's first flashback is of him packing up and moving out of his office. He knows Rosalita's in the building, but doesn't see her. You'll just need to help him pack (if you're in a rush, you can TAKE ALL and PUT ALL IN BOX), then try to follow Rosalita. Chuck's second flashback is found by confronting him with his lie about not seeing Rosalita. In the second flashback, you repeat the actions of the first flashback, but with a different emphasis. This time, you follow Rosalita. Just go into her house to complete the flashback. ----4.6 Cindy---- Cindy has the most complicated flashbacks, interacting with several other characters. Cindy is deeply afraid of something, but tries to hide it. It'll be very, very hard to get her to talk. In her first flashback, you have to go about cleaning the office. As you head to the breakroom to investigate some smoke, you run into Rosalita and Maia on their way out. In the break room, you'll find a smoking microwave. You'll need to open the microwave and take the bag to the bathroom to throw it away. Your best bet is to flush it in the toilet, as it's mostly ashes by now. Then you'll need to go to the janitor's closet on the east side of the north end of the hallway, take the fan, drop it in the break room and turn it on. Now you can check on Rosalita, but as you do you make a horrifying discovery. Go to the lobby and CALL POLICE. In the second flashback, which you can only reach by threatening her with prosecution for another crime, you'll repeat the same actions, but get cut short as you enter the janitor's closet. ----4.7 Maia---- Maia is deeply envious of Rosalita, even after her death. She also enjoys helping herself to others' possesions. She'll talk quickly, though, if you call her out on a lie. In her first flashback, you'll talk to Rosalita, run into Cindy on the way to the lobby, and leave to the south. On the second flashback, which you reach by calling her out on her lie about buses, you'll sneak into the studio instead. In the control room to the east of the studio, you can tailor the settings as you wish (none of it really matters). You can then press record, go into the other room and make some noise (including singing at least once, but also humming, praying, etc.), and then come back and press play. You can take the tapes, but something falls out. You can just take it and go. ************************************* Section 5: Step-by-step walkthrough ************************************* This is a minimal walkthrough designed to end the game as quickly as possible. Z HELLO LINK BROKE TO SALES FUNDS Z TAKE FOLDER S W STATEMENT N W W OPEN MICROWAVE TAKE BAG E E FLUSH BAG W N N E TAKE FAN W S S W DROP FAN TURN IT ON E N N N S S S CALL POLICE E N W STATEMENT TAKE ALL PUT ALL IN BOX E S S S E N W STATEMENT W N W LOOK UP REPORT E N TALK TO ROSALITA X NOTE S S S S E S E STATEMENT TALK TO ROSA G E E S S LINK PARADE TO HOME BUSES STATEMENT TALK TO ROSA G E E N E E PUSH RECORD W SING E PUSH PLAY TAKE TAPES TAKE RECEIPTS E W W LINK SPEECHLESS TO FLOWERS CONVERSATION STATEMENT TAKE ALL PUT ALL IN BOX E S S S W N E N W LINK TRYST TO VOLUNTEER LINK RECORDS TO HIDDEN ABSENT MISSING STATEMENT W N W LOOK UP REPORT E N TALK TO ROSALITA G S S S S E S S W LINK FRAUD TO ACCOUNTING ACCOMPLICE STATEMENT N W W OPEN MICROWAVE TAKE BAG E E FLUSH BAG W N N E E CALL CHIEF TRUTH AMUSING ************************************* Acknowledgements: ************************************* ASCII art font from patorjk.com