completely stuck in marble slider puzzle (like so many others)

[dohh]

I am in the huge temple island dome, and have placed the 5 colored marbles in the correct place on the grid. Ready for the slider puzzle.
Back in ghen's lab, I found that my "strike force" to get the marble light in the green was NINE.
I took a screen shot from in ghen's lab of the "number sheet" (see screenshot link below)
Nor do I have the first CLUE how to assign any number values to the colored sliders (combining with a "strike force of 9," for whatever purposes).
Also: someone mentioned to check out the survey island top-spot (where I formed the island shapes with the marbles on the grid) for a color clue? Not sure how that aids my quest in the slider puzzle.
I know what islands the colors mean for me, so here is the order the sliders appear for me on the slider grid (numbered zero to 25):
1st slider: Jungle Island (red)
2nd slider: Survey Island (orange)
3rd slider: Temple island (green)
4th slider: Prison island (blue)
5th slider: Boiler island (violet)
I have NO idea where to place the sliders on the slider-grid.


https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198033489159/screenshot/2533919616653898498/

[Henry]

His notes on the table have some some “offsets” from a “base value” if you notice. The base value is scratched off. So you have to find it… you already have.
Each symbol represents a dome as you know, and you now know the color of each… I’d say you should have all the info ;)

[Dukmiester2]

Does this help? This seems to be the screenshot from your profile page.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3284409051

[dohh]

sorry guys; I figured out how to post the screenshot and edited my post above with the screenshot attached.
My issue is not understanding what the symbols/icons to the far right on the cheat sheet (see screenshot) mean; or what numbers they represent.
I understand that the top of 5 symbols means: jungle island (red marble) equals MINUS (that icon), 2nd line down means: Survey Island (orange marble) equals MINUS (that icon). 3rd line down means: Temple Island (green marble) PLUS (that icon). 4th line down means: Prison island (blue marble) PLUS that icon, and finally the last/5th line down means: Boiler island (violet marble) PLUS that icon.
It's the 5 icons to the far right in the cheat sheet I don't understand, because I don't "get" the math.

[Hellish Fiend]

One thing that really helps here is that there doesnt seem to be a way to change the order of the colors on the slider. =) So no worries there.

So, the only info you really need for this is the value of 9, which you already have, and then the numbers off that page in your screenshot.

Have you figured out the D'ni number system yet? You actually DO have some clues as to this, if you've been to the schoolhouse near the Rivenese village...

[dohh]

Hellish Fiend (who deserves an award for all your help):
Below is the link for a screenshot I took in the schoolhouse. Still not sure what the math means or how to figure this out.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198033489159/screenshot/2533919616654046223/
Some of the symbols on the schoolhouse pic I took don't match up with my cheatsheet from ghen's lab, so not sure what to do with the "strike force of 9" to figure out where to move the sliders. I've read countless other diatribes on figuring out the D'ni numbering system and, although I worked with computers and was a professional video editor for 40 years,and was always pretty good with numbers, this coding escapes me :-(

[Henry]

It requires a bit of number building from digits knowledge, though many numbers you get from the toy at the school. Each number rolled in the toy corresponds with the number of “steps” the figures are lowered (unless prematurely eaten by the whark).

[Hellish Fiend]

Thank you for the award. =)

Actually, the first screenshot you took of the math from Gehn's lab is the one you need for the fire marble puzzle, not that one.

If you think about it, one of Gehn's devices is more likely to use Gehn's native numbering system, while a Moeity device is more likely to use a Rivenese/Moeity number system.

The schoolhouse contains all the information you need to figure out both of the systems. As Henry said above, the toy can help you figure out most of the D'ni numbers, though it may not be as straightforward as it appears at first. Stick with it!

[Henry]

It is a 5 based number system, so there are 4 digits (not counting zero). A counter-clockwise rotation of the digit amounts to multiplying it by 5, and can superimpose another digit to add to it.

[chriswhite56]

I'm in the same boat, except that I suck at maths; I have dyscalculia, so any number-based puzzle is pretty much indecipherable for me.
I have no idea how to figure out the base value.

[Ryusui]

Originally posted by chriswhite56:

I have no idea how to figure out the base value.

Play with the machine on the desk.

Did you cut out a raw fire marble and place it on the trolley before riding it up to Gehn's study? You can then use the tools on the desk to cut away the stone shell and then stick the fire marble into the testing device. After that, play with the force slider to figure out which strike setting makes the fire marble shine brightest - you'll know you've gotten it right when the needle goes to the green mark in the center. It's straightforward - the closer you get to the right number, the closer the needle will get to the green.

[dohh]

RIght. I've gotten my "strike number" (or base value, I'm guessing) at 9, from Ghen's lab (getting the needle in the green). I have screens saved of all the math cheat sheets (yada yada) from the schoolhouse (see above attachment). I have the colored marbles on the right place on the grid in the temple dome/2nd floor.
But I cannot in ANY WAY figure out the numbering system for what positions to place the sliders in. The "math" makes ZERO sense to me; one would need to be, it seems, a Mensa member to figure this out. I worked with computers for 40 years, but this is a slider puzzle (based on working with a complicated math-coding system) that only a WW2 code breaker would love. I can't make heads or tails of it.
I know this is all maddengingly obtuse and random, as are many of the puzzles in Riven. But maybe my addled, senior citizen mind is too challenged by life to figure out this code :-)

[Hellish Fiend]

Basically, the way the D'ni math system works (the one you need for the slider puzzle), is you have symbols for all the way up to 5 (instead of up to 9, like in our base 10 system), and then they rotate, and the rotation tells you what to multiply the value of the symbol by in order to get the higher value.

If you'd prefer to just read a full explanation of the system, or have a handy cheat sheet, this site seems to have a pretty good one:

https://academia-lab.com/encyclopedia/dni-numbering/

[dohh]

Thank you once again, H.F.
I read that linked-page, and I must admit: I may as well be reading Sanskrit. Way beyond my ability to interpret.
I admit I simply don't understand the "rotation", the "base value" (9, based on my strike number) or how to use the cheat sheet (in accordance with my colored marbles for the slider puzzle).
--According to my inferior understanding of the numerical icons and island symbols/marbles/sliders, and now adding to these the info from the link you graciously provided me:
-From striking the marble in ghen's lab, my strike value (base value?) is NINE.
--My "red" (jungle island) slider is equal to 6 and has a minus sign before it's icon (according to the Ghen lab and/or schoolhouse cheat sheets)
--My orange (survey island) slider is equal to 4 and has a minus sign before it's icon
--My green (temple island) slider is equal to 9, and has a plus sign before it's icon
--My blue (prison island) slider is equal to 12, and has a plus sign before it's icon
--My violet (boiler island) slider is equal to 14, and has a plus sign before it's icon
---what to DO with all this information is befuddling.
I thus TRIED the following positions (based on my meager understanding) with the sliders, in order from left to right (red, orange, green, blue, then violet sliders):
9-6=3
9-4=5
9+9=18
9+12=21
9+14=23
......but with the sliders in those positions (I know the first slider position is 0, not 1), the stamping down of the machine after puzzling the lever didnt light up for me.
So I'm at a loss. Again.

[Hellish Fiend]

Based on the screenshot from your OP, it looks like your work and your math is correct. So, assuming you have the colored fire marbles and the sliders in their respective positions, once you throw the switch back down, a white button should appear, that allows you to engage the machine. If this is not happening, post some screenshots of your fire marble and slider positions so we can verify them for you.

[dohh]

Well, guess what (this one is on me). I had the bottom two fire marbles in the 3rd vertical row and not the 2nd vertical row. Luckily I had taken a screenshot in-game when i was on the top of survey island after pushing in the marbles to show the island-reliefs. When I realized that, I once again put the sliders to 3,2,18,21 and 23...and voila. LInked to Ghen's cage and listened to his looong dialitribe. Linked again in the book he gave me to his lab and on to...whatever is next :-)
THanks so much for your words of advice and guidance. It WAS more simple that I though once I got the math correct. I just had the damned last 2 marbles in the wrong vertical row.