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Key & Compass presents:
Homecoming
by Carolyn VanEseltine

Homecoming is a Z-machine interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2014 by Carolyn VanEseltine.

In this humorous game, you play as the newly-awakened AI of a colony ship orbiting Gliese 581 G. You soon learn that the ship is heavily damaged, the cargo bays are empty, everyone is in cryogenic storage, and the planet has been rejected for colonization. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take everyone safely back to Earth, which is 22 light years away.

This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.


Map

(explore thegalaxy ending) yes in in in in u in in in u u in in u u in in in u u in in u NearGliese581 OrbitingGliese581 G NearKapteyn'sStar Kapteyn'sAsteroidBelt NearYZ Ceti OrbitingYZ Ceti B NearBarnard'sStar OrbitingVan deKamp'sFolly Near Sol OrbitingEarth Interstellar Space YourPersonalAsteroid SurfaceofYZ Ceti B Surface ofVan deKamp'sFolly Surfaceof Earth (48 LYs out) (36 LYs out) (32 LYs out) (28 LYs out) (24 LYs out) (22 LYs out) (20 LYs out) (16 LYs out) (13 LYs out) (12 LYs out) (12 LYs out) (10 LYs out) (8 LYs out) (6 LYs out) (3 LYs out) (20 LHs out) no out out out out out d out out out d d out out d d out out out d d out out d d

Walkthroughs

For this game, writing a single walkthrough for just the best ending would be a disservice. You are encouraged to replay this game several times, trying different things, to find out what consequences your actions have both on you and on your helpless frozen human passengers.


Walkthrough 1: Taking the long way home

In this walkthrough, we're not interested in what ending we get. We just want to see as much as we can on the way to Earth. This is pretty reckless as far as our passengers are concerned since the majority of them will die.

In Planetary Orbit / Orbiting Gliese 581 G

> x closet planet. x star. x me. x banks.

Choose a new name for yourself.

> NEW-NAME. yes.

Optionally examine yourself as thoroughly as you like. You will not be able to repair anything, though. This isn't that sort of game.

> i. x bays.

> x hull. x cockpit. x medical bay. x corridors. x cryosystems.

> x systems. x high drive. x low drive. x life support.

> x external sensors. x internal sensors. x logic. x web.

> x crew. x colonists.

Examine the area a bit more, now that you know where you are:

> look. x G. x land. x storm. x A. x star.

> x Sol. x galaxy. x subroutine.

Now start heading home:

> u. in. in. in.

Near Kapteyn's Star

> x star. x Pictor. x asteroids. x asteroid. x thrusters.

> d. d.

Your Personal Asteroid

> x crystals. take crystals. x crystals.

> u. u. in. in.

Near YZ Ceti

> x star. x Tau Ceti. x Cetus.

> x YZ Ceti A. x YZ Ceti B.

> d. d.

Surface of YZ Ceti B

> x projections. take projections. x servobot.

> x mist. take mist. x mist.

If the life form hasn't appeared yet, wait for it.

> x form. take form.

> u. u. in. in. in.

Near Barnard's Star

> x star. x Folly. d. d.

Surface of Van de Kamp's Folly

Unfortunately, there's nothing down here to see. Also, say yes to keep going when trying to leave here.

> u. y. y. y. u.

Near Barnard's Star

> x form. (It's probably dead by now.)

> drop form.

> in. in.

Near Sol

> x Sol. x Earth. x Jupiter. d.

Orbiting Earth

It's okay to wait a few turns in orbit until they order you to land. But do land when instructed to.

> x satellites. z. z. d.

Surface of Earth

> x foliage. x vehicle. z.

It's possible you won't get this ending if you still have the mist or if you somehow managed to kill all your passengers on the way here, but this is the most likely ending to a grand tour playthrough.

*** It's more fun than the real galaxy, anyway. ***


Walkthrough 2: Winning ending (Nobody dead)

In Planetary Orbit / Orbiting Gliese 581 G

For this ending, just go directly to Earth without stopping to examine anything.

Note: There is a small chance someone will die if there's a solar flare when you arrive at Near YZ Ceti. If this happens, UNDO that turn and try again.

> x banks. NEW-NAME. yes.

> u. in. in. in. in. in.

> in. in. in. in. in. d. d.

Surface of Earth

> z. z. z.

*** You are such a winner. ***


Walkthrough 3: Worth it ending

For this ending, repeatedly head away from Sol.

In Planetary Orbit / Orbiting Gliese 581 G

> x banks. NEW-NAME. yes.

> u. out.

Interstellar Space (several locations)

> out. out. out. out. yes.

*** Heck no, it's absolutely worth it! ***


Walkthrough 4: Freedom ending

For this ending, first make sure everyone is dead, then repeatedly head away from Sol. The quickest way to kill off everyone is to wake them. (Normally, you can also drop them from orbit and kill them that way, but you can't do it here at this planet because they rejected it for colonization.)

In Planetary Orbit / Orbiting Gliese 581 G

> x banks. NEW-NAME. yes.

> wake crew. wake colonists.

> u. out.

Interstellar Space (several locations)

> out. out. out. out. yes.

*** Hooray for freedom! ***


Walkthrough 5: Destroyed in orbit ending

For this ending, go directly to Earth's orbit and just stay there without landing.

In Planetary Orbit / Orbiting Gliese 581 G

> x banks. NEW-NAME. yes.

> u. in. in. in. in. in.

> in. in. in. in. in. d.

Orbiting Earth

> z. z. z. z. z. z. z.

*** Jerks. ***


Walkthrough 6: All dead ending

For this ending, kill off everyone then continue directly to Earth.

In Planetary Orbit / Orbiting Gliese 581 G

> x banks. NEW-NAME. yes.

> wake crew. wake colonists.

> u. in. in. in. in. in.

> in. in. in. in. in. d. d.

Surface of Earth

> z. z. z.

*** You have changed history forever! ***


Walkthrough 7: Mostly dead ending

For this ending, kill just the colonists then go directly to Earth. Leave the crew alive.

In Planetary Orbit / Orbiting Gliese 581 G

> x banks. NEW-NAME. yes.

> wake colonists.

> u. in. in. in. in. in.

> in. in. in. in. in. d. d.

Surface of Earth

> z. z. z.

*** It's more fun than the real galaxy, anyway. ***


Walkthrough 8: Mostly alive, but quite a few deaths ending

For this ending, kill just the crew then go directly to Earth. Leave the colonists alive.

In Planetary Orbit / Orbiting Gliese 581 G

> x banks. NEW-NAME. yes.

> wake crew.

> u. in. in. in. in. in.

> in. in. in. in. in. d. d.

Surface of Earth

> z. z. z.

*** Well, you can't win them all. (In Kerbal Space Program, you can hardly win them any.) ***


Walkthrough 9: Only a few deaths ending

For this ending, get the crystal, carry it for only a short time so only a few people die, drop it, then go directly to Earth.

In Planetary Orbit / Orbiting Gliese 581 G

> x banks. NEW-NAME. yes.

> u. in. in. in. d. d.

Your Personal Asteroid

While you carry the crystals, there's a random chance every turn that some of your passengers will die.

> x crystal. take crystal. x crystal. (Very radioactive!)

> u. u.

Near Kapteyn's Star

> x crew. x colonists. drop crystal.

Hopefully only a small number of people have died. Now head directly for Earth.

> in. in. in. in. in. in. in. d. d.

Surface of Earth

> z. z. z.

*** Well, you can't win them all. ***


Walkthrough 10: Destroyed after landing ending

For this ending, pick up the yellow mist then go directly to Earth.

In Planetary Orbit / Orbiting Gliese 581 G

> x banks. NEW-NAME. yes.

> u. in. in. in. in. in.

Near YZ Ceti

> d. d.

Surface of YZ Ceti B

> take mist. x mist. (mostly gaseous F2)

> u. u. in. in. in. in. in. d. d.

Surface of Earth

> z. z.

*** Well, that didn't go as well as it might have. ***

This ending can also be achieved by bringing the spiky life form to Earth, but that's more tricky to accomplish, since the life form will persist in attacking the cargo bay walls and end up killing itself when the mist it needs to survive seeps out.

If you really want to see the life form attack the response team on Earth, keep a careful watch on the cargo bay integrity. While transporting the life form, if the subroutine tells you that the cargo bay integrity has been breached, UNDO that turn and try again.


Walkthrough 11: The most boring nihilistic ending

In Planetary Orbit

> turn off me. yes.

*** For some reason, that never happens. ***


Extras

Characters


Credits

From the response to CREDITS:

Extensive thanks go to the Homecoming betatest team, Dani Church, Jason Hoggatt, and Colin Sandel, for their impressive enthusiasm for breaking the game.

A thank you also goes to Gareth Collins, H. Jay Melosh, and Robert Marcus for the Impact: Earth! system, which was helpful in understanding the potential effects of asteroid strikes upon a planetary body. (And if you would like to simulate a variety of asteroid impacts upon Earth for yourself, please direct your browser to http://www.purdue.edu/impactearth.)


Endings

Note for endings on Earth where you're not destroyed:


Inventory

Parts of you:

Potential cargo:


Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with