Linking books not working

[CharlieNovember22]

I have gone to each dome, entered the code, went inside and when I open the book the linking portion is just black.... nothing happens and I cannot figure out why.

To my understanding the marbles are in the correct place on the puzzle... I even verified this on several guides but still cant get the books to populate the 233rd age and let me go... just a black picture...

Is there a step somewhere I could have missed?

[Ghidrah1]

Not knowing where you've been and what you have and haven't done makes it very difficult. I've always completed the game following the same path and interacting with all the power mechanics the links have always been active.

If the domes are rotating and pass codes to open them work the books should be powered

[chumface]

I thought the domes could be opened anyway and the fire marbles powered just the books. Could be you have one of the colors exchanged. as I recall there are two that look very similar in color.

[Halloween Jack]

Originally posted by chumface:

I thought the domes could be opened anyway and the fire marbles powered just the books. Could be you have one of the colors exchanged. as I recall there are two that look very similar in color.

This is likely the issue. It's happened to most of us who've played at one time or other.

[Ghidrah1]

Punisher,

Just finished playing to the top of the golden dome/fire marble puzzle, did you forget to push the white button after lowering the press to the grid?

[nathansmith51]

Above, Ghidrah1 mentioned pushing the white button after lowering the little lever thing, after you put the marbles in the right place. This is a req'd step that is not intuitive. Push the button.

Another thing - I had trouble with it as well while using the yellow marble instead of the purple marble. Do not use the yellow marble. Use the purple in its place. Maybe the game explains it somewhere but I was unaware if so. The underwater lights seemed to tell me that yellow was the color you want, but its acutally the grape.

[xD6aM5x]

Originally posted by nathansmith51:

Above, Ghidrah1 mentioned pushing the white button after lowering the little lever thing, after you put the marbles in the right place. This is a req'd step that is not intuitive. Push the button.

Another thing - I had trouble with it as well while using the yellow marble instead of the purple marble. Do not use the yellow marble. Use the purple in its place. Maybe the game explains it somewhere but I was unaware if so. The underwater lights seemed to tell me that yellow was the color you want, but its acutally the grape.

Regarding to the underwater lights, there you can see all the colors, except for the red (which is the one in front of the "underwater throne") and the purple ones. This last one is located on the only broken mast there is. The order of the colors is pretty simple, as it's the same as how the colours are placed, from up to down, in the marbles' part: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.

[rotiree203]

Thank you, Ghidrah1. Twenty-odd years ago, when I played this game the first time, I got stuck on that little nugget for hours and hours. Guess what... Just got stuck on that little nugget for hours and hours. I knew there was something else I had to do...

[Ghidrah1]

I hate it when that happens, but my thickie move didn't have 20 yrs, only 2. I was recently playing through Obduction, (attempt to verify a bug) and was stymied at the river's swing gate in Hunrath, what makes it worse is that I wrote a guide for the game in 2018.
The required action was more of a subconscious reaction than an absolute, because I never found a need to use the option it provides in all the times played. Unfortunately it's required to rotate the gate full left. It took nearly an hour to correct.

[Tiger8008]

Hi Punisher - Sorry I'm late to the party...but if you or anyone else is having issues..I ran into the same thing and after double checking the marbles my brain somehow hit the way-back machine and I remembered that after you've hit the button to drop the apparatus onto the placed-marbles-puzzle...leave it alone in the down position that maintains the power to activate the books in the domes.