Hint Guide and Solution
by Kasey Chang (ksc1@aol.com)
Introduction
============
Spycraft (not related to Warcraft or Starcraft) was one of the better
adventure games from Activision, with a lot of full motion video and
interesting puzzles to solve. It'll surely test your skills of
sorting lots of information, then fitting them back together to find
the bits you need.
This hint guide tries to give as VAGUE hint about the puzzles as
possible, as we all need a little helping hand every now and then.
But telling you the solution is too simple. If you're totally stuck,
you can always read the full solution at the very end.
Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM and
XCOM2: TFTD FAQ's, among others.
Any one recognize Chase Masterson? (Leeta on ST:DS9)
To send comments, suggestions, corrections, etc. send it to
ksc1@aol.com, which is my permanent address, but I don't read it very
often due to spam I'm getting. Give me a while to answer questions.
The most often asked questions
==============================
Q: Can you send me the game?
A: No. It's THREE CD's!
Q: Can you send me the manual (or portions thereof)?
A: No. The controls are so obvious any way.
Q: Do you have any editors or cheats that you can send me?
A: What do you think this hint guide is?
Q: I can't get past puzzle X!
A: See specific notes on each puzzle.
Q: Help! I didn't do the things in the sequence you said!
A: It doesn't really matter, as long as you do them.
Q: I have no idea what to do next!
A: Go to PDA, Intelink, ComLink, Case Manager. Click on the
different tabs you got and you should see some tasks you
need to do.
Q: What's that PDA with flashing light?
A: To borrow the phrase from AOL... "You got mail!"
Some General Hints
==================
You can save at almost any time, and you should, esp. when you
complete an important task. Death can be swift and surprising when
it does come.
Before you send off a report, you should always read the available
choices first, then cancel the e-mail and then confirm the answer.
When you're sure, THEN send it.
Look and check everything. Anything clickable is has an arrow pointer
and you should try clicking.
If you don't know what to do next, check PDA/CommLink/Ops Manager.
Shooting sequence
=================
There's two places you'll need to test your reflexes while shooting
at enemies.
Remember that you ALWAYS face north (up on the minimap) and those
arrows around the goggle move you in that direction (but you STILL
face north). If there are other dots overlapping you on the minimap,
get ready to shoot.
The bad guys do not walk to you unless they can see you (i.e. have
line of sight, or LOS), and you're warned if that happens. However,
they do walk back and forth. You can actually avoid ALL the patrol
and reach the objective without firing a shot!
Keep yourself in deep woods for better concealment, spend as little
time in open ground as possible.
Hint Guide
==========
You start out with the newspaper, facing the Washington Monument. Keep
the headline in mind, as you follow the orders relayed via the PDA.
To Langley... Look over all the stuff in Milkovsky's office.
License number
--------------
Perhaps you should consider the choices.
Count the tanks
---------------
Some may be under cover.
Training grounds
----------------
see the shooting sequence hints.
KAT1: find the bullet holes
---------------------------
Can you find both set of bullet hole(s) (I think I just gave away
the answer)
KAT2: who's the assassin
------------------------
Now that you found the guy... How about ID'ing him?
ID the Weapon
-------------
They did say they can't find the bullet, and it's silent. Consider
the range, and the bullet hole(s) you found.
How did the gun get out?
------------------------
Read over all four personnel dossiers. There should be some
interesting tidbits about personal habits that just leaps out at you
when you look at the security model. Once you find it, perhaps you
should try some matching.
If you don't "see it", try the voiceprint angle. It's interesting
how much secrets each has, right?
Now you know how did the gun got out, perhaps you can dig a little
further and find the address as well?
Beale Codes
-----------
Hmmm... Looks like we missed, but here's some stuff... Read up on
Beale codes in the Cypher tool. What serve as keys again? See any?
Off to Moscow...
Talk to Yuri yet? Keep in mind that you can only be betrayed by
someone you trust.
So you found Raven. Why would you go extra-legal any way, when it's
more fun using right pressure point?
Faking the Photo
----------------
There's a reason why cigarettes and newspapers are the available
objects. Perhaps you may want to revisit the personnel files and
the codes again. Finally... Check the lighting carefully.
Remember what Raven wants... Offer that and you got her...
Origami... And a message. Interesting disk... More Beale codes, but
not that key you used before. Where can you find more keys? Check
your Inventory...
Interesting arms smuggling operation. So what's up with Skodi? That's
an interesting weapon.
Bridsong's call
---------------
So Birdsong's gone. Hear all those sounds in the background? They
should give you a lot of clues. Consider CAREFULLY the ORIGIN of each
sound, ahem, ahem. There may be an alternative source for "impossible"
one...
Now that you know about Procat, perhaps you should contact Mr. Blake.
Got something from the alley? Read it carefully, and remember it.
Visit Birdsong's nest. Hmm... A LOT of hints, esp. the coffee table.
Hey, wait a minute... That's Lange. Isn't he's MIA? Did he just say
"Procat"? How did he...
Better go before the cops get here.
Off to London.
Visit of Mr. Blake goes well. Feel free to snoop while he's gone.
That file is rather interesting reading. Pay special attention to
personality quirks and traits. Keep that in mind.
Back to Langley.
See anything interesting in Seaton's and Holt's offices? Do they fit
the pattern?
PDA beeps. They found Birdsong.
Back to Moscow.
Thanks to your analysis earlier, they found Birdsong. Perhaps you
should tell them to offer what Birdsong wants... Remember?
More codes? Perhaps there's more keys available now.
Onyx's whereabouts
------------------
Onyx... Remember his special quirks? Now find the flights that fits.
More help? Onyx CAN switch names. And not all flights serve meals.
Trace the bills too? Consider carefully how the trips fit together
at the end. Well, even a criminal have to live somewhere, right?
Be careful about the city.
Off to Germany.
Onyx seem to be afraid of a specific location coming to harm. Keep
digging in the personnel file...
Wonder what else he has in the closet? Hmmm... You don't want him
messing up your plan later that night, do you?
You got the password, right? Play nice then.
Good job, you recovered that darn thing. Unfortunately, no rest for
the weary. Someone just made off with Birdsong.
Back to Moscow.
Got the camera... Perhaps you want to analyze that image. I think I
know this guy... Is there a note about him somewhere close by? And
where's the address?
I'd never face assassins without some backup. Just make sure you
stall correctly...
Rescue Birdsong
---------------
Did you read the file or listened to the instructions? On what level
the phone lines would be? Take a guess... You should use ALL four
capabilities in order to not lose any one. First cut the phone line,
then use recon to find the right place. Once done, break walls, toss
in stun grenades.
More Beale codes? Where did we get the keys last time?
Now you know where to go...
Hmmm... Auto-save. Wonder if it's dangerous? Yes, all of them. Can't
be THAT hard, can it?
Well, well. It's you-know-who after all. I think I'll drop the gun.
Aha. Should I deal or not? Doesn't really matter. The laptop is the
key. And it's now yours.
Okay... Boot the laptop... Self-destruct?!?! Download... Download...
it's not moving any more! Abort! Abort! Now where can I chuck that
thing?
Wonder what we really got?
Interesting suggestion from Mr. Colby. I think I'll do it. Where did
that anon remailer originate again? I think Holt said something...
Back to Moscow...
Red Square
----------
Red Square, there you are. Satellite view... Remember the frequency
characteristics of the Pyramid, and what happened to the surveillance
equipment? Hmmm... Can you find something similar here? Get very
close... Close the PDA...
There!
Congrats, you got the assassin, but who's the mole? And I need to
protect who? Hmmm.
Hmmm... Yuri and the Crimea. And he's kicking in doors. Flashback...
Oh, great. I better drop the gun and call for a little help...
Remember how?
Stall. Okay, ready, ready... ZZaaaappppp! Got him. Now,
just follow orders and ... You win.
FULL SOLUTION/WALKTHROUGH
=========================
Open the PDA, get the orders to report to Langley.
Go to Langley, visit Milkovsky's office. Feel free to look around his
office carefully. When you're done looking, go out the door and go
into the analysis room.
You heard that one of the candidates for the Russian presidency is
dead on the TV. Milkovsky comes in and hands you the first exercise in
photo interpretation. Zoom in on the brown sedan. Once you got all the
way in, hit the OCE button, and you can SORT of make out the numbers.
Now hit REPORT, and look at the choices. The only one that comes close
is 2GGX829. Select it, send it. Get the congratulations.
Second question from Milkovksy is harder, as you need to merge the two
photos. You can see three tanks running outside, as you can see the
dust trails. However, there's some under cover (three to be exact)
under that big dark tent. You can see that on the IR photo. The blobs
are bigger than the AFV's. So the total number of tanks is SIX. Report
that as well. Get second congrats.
Welcome to the training Zone, basically a shooting gallery with
simulated people instead of ducks. You can go for stealth approach, by
moving where the bad guys aren't, to the destination, or just go
straight north and shoot any one that come up.
On the second test, you can again go straight for the target, or move
around and eliminate the opposition. Go to the radio beacon, click on
it to grab it. Move away in any direction. Bruce grabs you...
He got sniped.
PDA beeps. Warhurst and Sterling want you to report to Langley, where
you watch the headshot... Holt and Seaton adds a few tidbits, but it's
up to you to play with K.A.T. on your terminal in your office.
Zoom in to at LEAST 16X, and look around the podium for bullet
hole or holes. Once you find both sets, line them up on the 3D view
and you can find the origin. Now go to the origin, and zoom in. There
is the assassin.
Use the face match, and you'll find Thomas J. " Harmonica" Phillips.
Report the discovery, and read the responses.
So they want to know what weapon was used. Use Pinpoint, and consider
the bullet holes, the range, the lack of sound, and no bullets. The only
gun and ammo that fits all criteria is the PEG gun and the needle-pack
round. Report it, read the responses.
So how did the gun get loose? Read the dossiers and note the peculiar
habits. Interesting, Dr. Cohen never uses the elevators. Wait a
minute... What's this elevator access? Hey, that's not him! Checking
his phone calls... Wonder who that woman is? Voice print matched to...
Yin Chungwang, North Korean spy, now a freelancer. Report that.
So they want to know if Yin had an accomplice? Hmm... Let's look at
that photo again. It's obviously a disguise. Play with that a little,
wonder we have anybody on file that matches that? Why yes! We found
Wayne "Grendel" Allen.
Now where would they be? Let's see... There were a couple calls...
Where did that originate? Got it... 2314 E. Rockland St. File the full
report... Then you get a request to go to Halifax, unknown source.
Go to Halifax... Knock. It's Sterling, Warhurst, and Colby. Things are
bad. If this guy can get the gun, someone really high up is a mole.
Got back to your office... They missed Raven and Grendel on the sweep,
though they found the items, which are now on your desk. Let's see...
Shanghai II disk, EBMC disk, the book Beowulf, and a post-it (tm) note
with Beale code. Drop each of the items on the computer to "input" it.
Try the Cypher tool. As this is Beale code, you need to use a book to
decipher the message. Use Beowolf, as that's the book you found, and
voila! Raven's heading for Moscow, and Grendel's heading to Istanbul.
Report that.
PDA rings. Great, they got Yin/Raven. However, it'll take a bit more
work to get information out of her. You COULD use the Bullpen, but it
is more fun using the PhotoDoc instead. Read the Wayne Allen FBI file,
and you'll see he smokes Emperor Filterless. You'll also recall from
the Beale code that he's heading for Istanbul. So the fake photo needs
Emperor Filterless cigarrette, and a Turkish newspaper. For perspective,
pick the middle newspaper (no scaling) and place it on the right side of
the table. Take the middle cigarrette, scale it right, and put it near
the hand on the table. Finally, consider the lighting, not the facial
position. The only face that fits is the top middle Grendel face. Scale
it right, and the photo even looks decent. Go ahead and print it, and
it's time for the interrogation.
Head off to Moscow, talk to Foster. Remember Holt's advice. Then
head for the interrogation room. There's no need to move her to the
Bullpen. Show her the picture of Grendel, then "Here's the deal...",
"Speak up, or...", "Grendel's talking, Raven...", "If you tell the
truth...", "What was your role...", "Who do you work for...", "What
else can you tell me...", and finally, "Well, I'm going to..."
PDA beeps again, more messages. Talk to Foster again about Yuri and
Birdsong. More messages. You get Pearson's office. Follow Foster's
advice and call Yuri at 233-4819. Setup a meeting.
You can meet with Birdsong first or Yuri first, it doesn't matter.
Visit to Birdsong doesn't really matter, just say what you think is
right.
Head to Yasevno and talk to Yuri about the various topics. Return to
the Moscow station.
Some interesting e-mail have came in, and a picture of Parker's body.
More messages? Lange's disappeared, and Parker's dead. Both are meeting
with Harmonica? Wonder what happened to Lange? Keep that in mind.
Another meeting with Yuri... Interesting file...
Back to Moscow station... What's this origami? Open... Nukes folder?
Open cabinet... Hmmm... Disk inside. Drop disk on computer... Message
looks innocuous, but the header contains more codes.
Start up Cypher, but Beowolf doesn't work this time, and the mumbling
about Gog and Magog's Biblical reference didn't pan out. On the other
hand, there is this EBMC disk, Electronic Book of the Month Club...
Wonder what books they have? Let's order both of them, and flip through
them. Okay... Try them as the key? "The Rabid Hound" works great. More
incoming messages. Skodi's files... So Harmonica has his hands on a
Pyramid, huh?
Foster called, she just got a phonecall from Birdsong, who's no longer
in Moscow. It's time to look around Birdsong's apartment. Perhaps there's
some clue there. But let's find out where's Birdsong first.
Analyzing the sound, you isolate two voices, Foster's and Birdsong's,
and four distinct background noises, namely 10-ton church bell, IL-76
jet, Uzbeki Mountain Sparrow, and electric tram. At first look no place
has all four, but then, the bird is not found ONLY in the wild, right?
Look at the various cities that has three of the criterias. Can you find
one that is near a zoo? The answer is Novosibirsk, Nicolas Suvorov's home.
Send the report, Foster thanks you and sends some guards.
Time to turn attention to Procat. John Blake seems to be a good starting
point, and his contact number is in the file (011-44-171-555-0909). Call
and setup a meeting. Warhurst thinks Blake knows too much. Any way, it's
time to visit Blake.
As you leave the station, you got a request to go into the alley, where
Yelena hands you a file on Yuri! (Yelena is the campaign manager for
the other Russian presidential candidate, Churbanov)
You arrive at Birdsong's apartment, but it's locked. Use the lockpit
kit (in your briefcase) to open the door. See all those hints about big
wilderness, big mountains and so on? Well, it's clear he wants to go
to Montana.
As you turn to leave, Lange walks in. He claims his PDA malfunctioned,
but recall that he's been declared missing and probably compromised as
he tried to meet with Harmonica. His partner, Parker, turned up
with a hole in his forehead. If he's alive... That is suspicious
enough. Then he asks... What's with the investigation on Procat? Wait
a minute... You just learned about Procat from Yin yourself. Lange was
out of the loop, so how did he know about Procat? The only place he
could have known about Procat is from Harmonica, and it's obvious he
made a deal with Harmonica, probably helped kill Parker as well. He's
obviously a traitor, so you pull your gun and shot him, and left the
room before Moscow police shows up.
Time to head for London and find John Blake's residence. He's in the
back, so click on the side, and you have a pleasant chat, and the he
left you to gather a copy of his Procat file. While he's gone, you can
flip over his books and computer, he won't mind at all. Ask some more
questions, but he doesn't have much more info. Colby is narrowing down
the list of suspects who can be the mole.
Return to Washington. Look through Seaton's and Holt's office. Both
have interesting info. Seaton's computer have messages that is quite
interesting... And Holt's letter stuck to the monitor doesn't seem to
fit with his single status. Does it?
Read the file on Procat, and you'll see Holt's name in there. Ask him
about Procat and Operation Paw Print. Interesting, isn't it?
Time to go back to Moscow, where Foster is having a hard time to get
Birdsong to cooperate. You know Birdsong wants Montana, so tell Foster
to offer that.
Holt's found more Beale codes, but the existing keys don't seem to
work on it. Checking EBMC shows there's another book available called
"Croak! Goeth the Raven". You download that, use that as the key, and
eek, looks like there's loose nuclear weapons available, doesn't it?
Read over that file you got from Blake. You need to track down Onyx
since he's the key to the weapon. Any perculiar habits Onyx would have?
Let's see, only aisle seats, vegetarian, business class. The only stuff
that fits is the two connecting flights that ended in Berlin. However,
there is another short hop flight, different alias, from Berlin to
Heidelberg. This one is so short no meal is served. So Onyx is in
Heidelberg. Report that.
The phone rings, Yuri wants to meet. Upon arriving, he hands over a
file on Onyx... A CIA file? Ask a few questions, but there's no answer.
Need to confirm how is Onyx moving around and where is Onyx now. Well,
tracing the money following the cities you found in Traveltech shows
that he's in Heidelberg, in Hotel Schlumpen. You then get some priority
messages about retrieving the nuke is the most important task.
Time to head for Germany. Find Onyx, and chit-chat... When he's not
cooperating, mention sending Indian army into Jammu. He'll break and
cooperate. When you're finished talking have him freeze while you look
around... The file said he carries handcuffs, and surely enough, there
it is in his closet. Grab it, then cuff his wrists... So he can't mess
with your plans tonight. He did tell you the password: French Vanilla.
Go to Scharfenstahl, and pick the TALK option (unless you feel REALLY
adventurous, then you can try the SHOOT option). Give the right password
French Vanilla, and you get the nuke back. Perfect.
Got a message that Birdsong is missing, and all you got is the camera
footage on the special backup chip. On the final frame, you can see that
it's Jalabad. The note in your cabinet about Eagle Shield says Jalabad's
address stays in the operational log. The answer is... No. 19
Leningradsky Prospekt. Report that, and the a team is being
assembled to get Birdsong back.
Ring... Harmonica in the alley? Tell Foster, who promise some backup
ASAP. So you need to stall Harmonica... "What do you want...", "And
now..." "Finger me for the mole?" "So what do I need..." "Join Procat?"
and finally "No thanks, I'd rather die than join Procat." Harmonica got
away just as Foster and team closes in.
Head to Kneecap's residence, save and press the GPS to start the rescue
operation. Send phone-line guy to basement and cut the phone line. Then
all up to second floor. Birdsong is in the Northern room in the middle.
Suggest you take out the south wall of the Eastern room, then send in
the guys, with stun grenade ready, then rush in.
Back to the Moscow Station. More Beale codes found? Use the EBMC club
membership again. Looks like a new novel. Use that as key, and you got
the message decoded: it's in the middle of Tunisia.
Off to Tunisia you go. The game autosaves. Think something dangerous
is about to happen? That cockpit sequence is so hokey... Any way, you
get off at the landing zone, and the chopper was quickly chased off by
gunfire... And it was John Blake after all... And it's a trap for you.
Well, so he had a lot of hire help, but you know how to deal with them
from the training before, right? Good, proceed carefully and eliminate
all the bad guys. When that's done, go to the white dot...
Well, well, John Blake himself. Better drop the gun. He starts boasting
about lots of things... Then his gun jams. Pick up your gun, then you
can decide whether to shoot him or not, but don't take too long. Either
way, you get the laptop, and a chopper will pick you up.
Get on the chopper... Okay, bootup the computer... Self destruct
sequence!?!? Use the PDA on the computer... The download goes up to 30,
32, 35%... You're out of time! Cancel download, then drag the laptop
to the empty door... Boom! Checking the file you downloaded... You got
some partial messages, one of them ("Blue Notes") not even sent yet,
and a few more with codes. Decode the other messages with "Croak", and
find you're ALMOST too late to stop the assassination, as the pieces are
in place, but you do have a last chance... Colby called, perhaps you
should send that unsent e-mail so you can be Procat for a while.
Remember what Holt said, about the previous stuff was sent from an anon
remailer in Finland? Route the mail through there. When you exit the
PDA, you're landing on the carrier, then flight back to Moscow...
Auto-save again. Wonder if you can survive the next sequence? So do I.
Arriving in Moscow, Sterling liked what you did, and tried to convince
the Prez not to go onstage until they caught the assassin, but the Prez
insisted. It's up to you to catch the assassin during the speech...
Seaton called via the earpiece... Your PDA will track the oscillation
signals and the location of you and all the other agents. Harmonica is
somewhere out there... Lots of people. Remember the Pyramid oscillation
frequency? 485 something? Note the red and yellow dots all over the
Red Square. You can close the PDA at any time to survey the crowd and
decide who to shoot, if any. The only two sources close together is in
the NWN part of the map... Move between the red and the yellow dot,
and you should see a video sequence where you're at ground level, and
there's this camera guy... That's Harmonica!
--If you get a shot of the crowd from higher-up, you are at the wrong
location. Try again before the speech ran out.
--If you keep getting shot by Harmonica, perhaps you should shoot as
soon as you see him and no one is in the way.
So you found the assassin. They love you, but who's the mole? You got
a note about protecting the Churbanov candidate as he agrees with the
END treaty instead of Polyakov. Then Yuri send you a message, that he
can arrange a meeting with the mole... In Crimea.
You head off to Crimea, and Yuri breaks down the door... Churbanov?
Does this sound familiar? Remember that file you read on Yuri... Inside
is Churbanov and his manager... Who's Russian Mafia? As Churbanov tries
to confess his innocense... Warhurst walks in gun drawn... So he's the
mole! You better drop the gun before he shoots you...
Now things gets interesting. Remember the protocol to get Seaton on the
line? Yes, say "newsflash" in a sentence. So Warhurst is trying to use
you and the rest of the CIA to eliminate the rest of Procat so he can
take over. He's pinning the mess on you, Holt, and Seaton. You must
stall while Seaton activates the immobilizer...
While Warhurst's disabled, pick up the gun and shoot him!
Okay, now what? Yuri keep insisting on arresting Churbanov for some
stuff that sounds really trumped up... And the gun is still in your
hand... Remember your last orders from Sterling? Yep, protect
Churbanov, so . Sorry, Yuri. Don't be too sad. You knew he's going
to burn you later any way.
So, you saved the Prez, helped the Russian election, the END treaty gets
signed, and you recovered the nuke. Nice job. You get the Intelligence
Cross, and some weell-deserved R&R.
