Deadline Walkthrough - by Unknown
DEADLINE Part One
Here is the solution for solving Infocom's mystery game, Deadline. All
commands which should be typed in exactly as you see them are in quotes.
Directional movements are in brackets. E.g., "OPEN DOOR" and [N,N,E]. From
the front path of the Robner's estate, go [N] to the front door of the
house. Type "OPEN DOOR" and go [N] into the Robners' house. From inside
the door, go [N,E] and type "CLIMB STAIRS" twice (or you can just go [U,U])
to get to the second level of the estate. From there, go [W,W,W,W,N] to
the library where you will start the first of a series of Sherlock
Holmes-type activities. In Deadline, you need
to establish the motive and method for the murder beyond all reasonable
doubt before you can arrest the guilty party. If you
don't have an air-tight case, the jury will acquit the defendant. It is
here in the library where we go about establishing the method by which
poor Mr. Robner was done in. First off, type "EXAMINE RUG" (or just "LOOK
RUG"). You will find some mud spots
which is your first clue. Now, "GET THE CUP, PAD, CALENDAR AND PENCIL" and
"RUB PENCIL ON PAD" and then "TURN PAGE OF CALENDAR." Aha! Perhaps a clue
as to the motive? Let's see if we can substantiate the method a little
more...that mud on the rug was very interesting. Type "OPEN BALCONY DOOR"
and go [N] onto the balcony. Check out the railing by typing "EXAMINE
RAILING" and you will see some scratches, lending credence to the theory
that perhaps the murderer climbed up the balcony from the ground below
where he (or she) got mud on his shoes. Let's have a look below and check
for some indication that the murderer was indeed below the balcony.
DEADLINE Part Two
To leave the balcony, go [S,S,E,E,E,E,D,D,W,S]. Type "OPEN DOOR" and go
[S] back to the front door. Now go [E,E,SE] to the
shed where you will see a ladder. Type "EXAMINE LADDER." Hmmm! This
ladder- and-balcony theory is looking good! Let's see if we can prove the
ladder was below the balcony. This will have to wait a while, though,
because it's getting late in the morning
and we have to do some more checking in the house before the reading of
the will takes place. And besides that, we need to talk to Mr. McNabb and
he doesn't seem to be in the mood right now. Go back to the house by
heading [N,S,N] and head back upstairs with [N,N,E,U,U]. Let's see what
else we can find upstairs. Go [S,S] into Dunbar's bathroom. Type "OPEN
CABINET" and "EXAMINE LOBLO." Aha, again! Now we go back downstairs and
see if we can find Mr. McNabb to see if he knows anything about a ladder
under the balcony. Go [N,N,D,D,W,S,S]. Let's take a break for a while.
Type "WAIT UNTIL 11:30." And now for Mr. McNabb. Let's try the garden path
first with [E,NE,E,W]. If McNabb is not around, just wait for a while or
snoop around the
area and he will soon show up. Deadline is very unpredictable when it
comes to the various characters moving around the scenario. Once you spot
McNabb, go to him and say "HEY MCNABB" followed by "WHAT IS WRONG." He
will tell you about some holes
he found in his garden so, naturally, you say "SHOW ME THE HOLES." He will
take off and you "FOLLOW HIM." When he stops,
type "EXAMINE HOLES." Eureka! The ladder was here and the depth of the
holes proves somebody climbed it up to the balcony! To make sure we cover
every angle, type "EXAMINE GROUND" and "DIG AROUND HOLES." Hmmm...wonder
what this could be about? To find out, type "ANALYZE FRAGMENT FOR LOBLO."
Oops, it's later than we thought! Back to the house for the reading of the
will. Go [N,SW,SE,E] to the house and [N,N,W] into the living room. Now
just "WAIT" for the will to be read.
DEADLINE Part Three
After the will is read, you decide to see if you can roust some of those
present into giving you some clues as to the guilty party and, perhaps,
the motive for the crime. Let's start with George. Type "SHOW GEORGE THE
CALENDAR." He will get very nervous and start heading out of the room.
Type "FOLLOW HIM" until he finally goes to his room. He will keep telling
you to leave him alone, but just keep following him until he enters his
room. At this point, you decide to see if George knows more then he's
telling. You aren't going to get anything from him here, so let's go to
the balcony and wait to see if he does anything. Go [W,N,N] to the balcony
and type "WAIT 10 MINUTES." Voila! Here he comes! Wait until he goes
behind the bookshelf and then type "WAIT 4 MINUTES" to give him time to
really get his hands into the cookie jar. When your 4 minutes are up, go
[S], "EXAMINE BOOKSHELF," "PRESS BUTTON," and go [E]. Ha! Caught him
red-handed!! Type "GET WILL," "LOOK SAFE," "GET PAPERS," and "READ
PAPERS." Things are beginning to look up! Let's see if we can substantiate
some of this stuff. Go back to the living room with [W,S,E,E,E,E,D,D,W,W].
My, isn't this cozy! Type "HEY BAXTER," "WHAT ABOUT FOCUS." You know he's
lying so you "SHOW PAPERS TO BAXTER." Ah, that's better! Now for some
clever psycho-detective work. Type "SHOW LAB REPORT TO DUNBAR" and "SHOW
LAB REPORT TO BAXTER." Whip around and "ACCUSE DUNBAR." Hmmm...a tad
nervous, isn't she? Perhaps we should go off and wait to see what
develops. Go [E] to leave the room and "WAIT FOR DUNBAR." Just as we
suspected! When she passes you, type "FOLLOW HER." Once outside the house,
she will drop a ticket. Type "GET TICKET" and "READ TICKET." WOW! This is
getting good! Type "SHOW TICKET TO DUNBAR." You know you've got her on the
run now so head off to the shed to wait and see what develops. Go [E,E,SE]
and "WAIT FOR BAXTER." When they both show up, "SHOW TICKET TO BAXTER" and
"ARREST BAXTER AND DUNBAR." You didn't believe them for a minute, did you?
Due to the dynamic nature of Deadline, there are several ways to end up
accusing Baxter and Dunbar of the murder. There are also more puzzles to
solve, but this is all that is necessary to put together an air-tight case
against them. If you have other methods of solving Deadline, let us know! |