Gemini Lost is a casual village simulation that works to bridge the gap between titles like Virtual Villagers and Sprouts Adventure. During an eclipse, a group of people stumble onto an ancient relic with twelve zodiac symbols on its face. Upon touching one of the tiles, they were transported to a strange new world. Now, the twelve symbols are scattered throughout the land, and it's your job to manage the small tribe so they can assemble the pieces and return home!
Just like any casual sim title, you'll need to manage each villager and set him or her to work harvesting materials, building structures, researching scientific advancements, and so on. This not only maintains your tribe, it allows them to grow both in number and in intellect, opening up new paths for you to explore and allowing you to develop the tools needed to retrieve the zodiac tiles.
First on the list: food. Everybody's gotta eat, right? Since there doesn't seem to be a McDonald's in sight (if you can call that food), you'll need to work the garden. Drag and drop villagers onto locations and they'll automatically start working. Each character has a favorite activity (building, farming, science, etc.), and they'll be thrilled if you assign them a task they already enjoy. So thrilled, in fact, they'll work faster, which is a huge bonus when your population is low and resources spread thin.
After your food supply is secure, it's time to harvest wood and stone, both useful for building structures. The science hut and chapel, used for researching new technology and marrying couples (first comes love, then marriage, then a population-expanding baby carriage!) respectively, also need to be completed.
Once the basics are taken care of, Gemini Lost opens up its world for you to explore. Look around the map for anything that looks slightly out of place. Then, drop a villager there and see what you need to research in order to solve the mystery. Scientific advancements will eventually allow you to build more things, accomplish bigger tasks, research complex tools, and even mix potions that have a variety of game-altering effects.
Analysis: Gemini Lost is one part village sim, two parts exploration. It takes some of my favorite aspects from Virtual Villagers and Sprouts Adventure and creates a game that's both relaxing and intriguing at the same time. Want to see what the deal with that rock island is? Try building a raft. Those bees looking interesting? Drop someone there, see what's going on. Your only real limitation is time, as you often have to wait for certain technologies to become available before accessing a new area. Otherwise, the land is yours to roam.
Gemini Lost has a number of player-friendly features that take some of the work out of playing. For starters, the game takes place in real-time, meaning your villagers are hard at work even while you're away. Each time you quit the game, a small menu pops up asking what speed you want things to continue while you're gone. If you aren't planning to play for a few days, set things to "slow" so you don't come back to a village of skeletons.
Navigating through your villagers is a bit tedious, as the only method of quick selection involves scrolling through a list of people one by one. Fortunately, these people tend to take care of themselves and stay pretty busy, so you won't have to do too much babysitting to make sure work gets done.
A pleasantly stunning entry into the casual simulation genre, Gemini Lost is the most player-friendly village management game around.
Windows:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Mac OS X:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Gemini Lost is available to download from these affiliates:
Walkthrough Guide
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Gemini Lost Walkthrough
General Information
After the tutorial, the game is very non-linear. Some tasks have to be accomplished before others, but the order you can do them in is somewhat random.
Because this is not a very linear game, the walkthrough will be broken out by categories: Zodiac medallions, teleporter, skill levels, building, work, potions, farming, school, and mini-games.
Although you need the medallions found and the teleporter built to finish the game, they are not a priority. Concentrate on food, supplies, and housing needs first.
Once the school is built, use it ruthlessly on the kids, to train them and keep them occupied. Use it also to cross-train.
This game moves fast. If you are going to be away for more than a couple of hours remember to set the speed to slow. If you are going to be gone for a day or more set the speed to pause.
People will be buried where they die. You can move the gravestones to a more convenient, out of the way location to prevent them from cluttering up important areas.
Use everybody on the science table (farmers, workers, builders) when they are not otherwise occupied. Accumulating science points is key to unlocking the levels and abilities.
Once you have the ability to make potions immediately make three healing potions. Keep the healing potions full until you can build the hospital, as this is the only way to quickly heal the sick.
The All Jobs potion is your friend. Make a bunch and use it on everyone, they will then become happy at any job you put them to.
Once the hospital is built you can concentrate on other potions, as sick people will take themselves to the hospital to be cured.
Marry your people as soon as possible, they age quickly and you need to keep the population up. To marry someone drop a single person in the chapel, then ring the bell. Everyone will come running, and the other single people will line up on the right.
At first only people with compatible horoscopes will marry, so choose wisely. Later there's a potion that can cause them to fall in love with anyone, regardless of horoscope. Screenshot.
You will start with: one builder, one scientist, two workers, and two farmers.
Get the farmers and workers on task immediately, you will need the food and supplies.
Use the map screen to track your population. They will show up as dots on the map. Dark blue dots show people working, light blue show people learning, yellow shows them completely idle, and red shows any ill characters.
Controls: Use to check knowledge points, trophies, pull up menu, and shows a brief summary of a selected character. Also shows the overall map. Screenshot.
Character Details Screen: Use this to track their training progress, marital status, health, age, and horoscope. Screenshot.
When using a character to pick up an item, hover them until you see a little hand icon, then drop them. They will then retrieve the item.
When using a character to talk to someone or activate an item, hover them until you see a little gear icon, then drop them.
Some items, like the fuzzles and the gravestones can be picked up directly with the mouse and moved to a new location.
Children can retrieve items such as zodiac medallions, herbs for potions, and requested collectibles. Otherwise, keep them in school.
Your people will live to their mid 70s until you buy a higher level of medicine. Level 1 Medicine increases the age to mid 80s, Level 2 to mid 90s, and Level 3 allows people to live into their 100s.
Population is capped by the number of huts and houses you have built. Make building a priority as you need to increase your work force as quickly as possible.
People will work much faster and more efficiently at tasks they enjoy. You can cross train, but they will work more slowly at tasks they don't enjoy. Later there will be potions you can use to change the characters' preferences.
Fuzzles are shy at first, and will hide whenever you drop a person in their meadow. Once they are tamed they will stop hiding.
Look for sparkly things! Important items such as potion ingredients, zodiac medallions, cave crystals, and other collectibles will sparkle.
If you want to get the trophy for maxing out all four professions, wait until you have Level 3 Knowledge and use the builder, farmer, worker, and scientist potion on one person. Each of these potions will make him/her a master in the field.
You earn trophies for achieving certain landmarks, such as a population of 25, or 50 loaves of bread baked. You can check your trophies by clicking on the trophy icon in the menu screen. Unearned trophies are represented by outlines. You can hover the mouse pointer over an outline to see what the trophy will be awarded for. Screenshot.
Zodiac Medallions
Taurus: located in the swampy area. Must repair bridge to reach it. Screenshot.
Aries: located in the fuzzle field. After the fuzzles are tamed and milked for the first time, put them on this bush in their field and they will eat it. When the bush is cleared away you will see the Aries Medallion. Screenshot. Screenshot.
Aquarius: located in the well at the bottom of the swamp. Requires the second bridge be repaired, as well as the basket from Handicraft Level 1. Once the bridge is repaired and you have the basket, drop someone on the well to bring up the medallion, then drop someone on the medallion.Screenshot
Cancer: located in the pond where the fishing pier is. Once Construction Level 1 is achieved the raft parts will appear just below the fishing pier. Drop the builder on them and he will build a raft. Drop any character on the raft and they will retrieve the Cancer Medallion. Screenshot. Screenshot.
Scorpio: located in the swampy area, behind a spider web. You need to have completed the stone bridge across the river to accomplish this task. Finish repairing the third swamp bridge and drop an adult on the spider to talk to him. He will request that you collect certain insects. Each insect will appear in a certain area and fly or crawl across the area. The ladybug will appear north of the pumpkin patch; the monarch butterfly will appear by the tree with the beehive; the dragonfly will appear near the fishing pier; the wasp will appear in the hedgehog meadow; the blue spider will appear across the stone bridge, in front of the wall; the horned beetle will appear across the stone bridge on the path to the briar patch.Screenshot. Once all the insects are collected you can get the Scorpio Medallion.Screenshot.
Gemini: located in the rubble just to the left of the stone bridge. Once the bridge is built assign an additional worker to clearing the rubble (which will also boost your stone resources). When the rubble is clear the Gemini Medallion will be revealed, as will the teleporter. Screenshot.
Leo: located in the mysterious cave in the upper right of the map. Drop an adult there and the cave will tell you it needs three cave crystals. The first crystal is just across the river and you can retrieve it when the stone bridge is rebuilt. The second crystal will appear on the fishing pier, falling from the sky. This is random, so just wait for it. To get the third crystal you must move the fuzzles over the bridge onto the briar patch to the south of the teleporter rubble. The fuzzles will eventually eat the patch away, showing the third crystal and opening the path to the dead tree and the observatory. Screenshot. Once all three crystals have been found you can solve the cave puzzle (see mini-games) and release a block of ice that holds an old man. Wait a while and the ice will thaw, then drop an adult on the old man to talk to him. The old man will give you the Leo medallion, the teleporter blueprints, and request that you build an idol (requires Astrology Level 2). Screenshot.
Sagittarius: located in the stoneface. Screenshot.When you clear the rubble drop an adult onto the stone face to talk (requires knowledge Level 2). The face will request that you collect certain crystals. These crystals will show up randomly, but can be found in three areas: around the pumpkin patch, behind the fishing pier, and around the lumber area. Once you collect all crystals the Stone Face will give you the Sagittarius Medallion. Screenshot. Screenshot.
Pisces: located in the water near the fishing pier. After you begin to fish, a really large fish will pop up and hover in the water. When you get Level 3 Knowledge drop an adult on the fish to talk to him. He will request that you dredge the pond. At this point if you have Level 2 Handicraft you can make the hook. Drop a worker on the pond to start dredging. When the dredging is complete the fish will give you the Pisces Medallion. Screenshot.
Libra: Requires Level 3 Handicraft. After the stone bridge is rebuilt and after you have the fuzzles eat the briar patch, there is a ravine with a dead tree standing next to it. Screenshot. You need the big axe from Level 3 Handicraft to chop down the tree (use a worker) to create a bridge. Once the old tree is cut down and you can access the Observatory area, put workers on the observatory to clear the rubble. When the rubble is cleared the Libra Medallion will appear. Screenshot.
Capricorn: Located halfway down the cliff below the observatory. Requires Level 3 Handicraft. Once you have the ladder from Level 3 Handicraft drop an adult on the medallion and he/she will place the ladder. Once the ladder is in place drop an adult on the Capricorn Medallion. Screenshot.
Virgo: Requires Level 3 Farming. The Virgo Medallion is in the tree where the beehive is hanging. Once you have Level 3 Farming and have moved the bees to the beehives in the hedgehog meadow (see instructions under farming), have an adult retrieve the Medallion. Screenshot.
Teleporter
Uncovering, rebuilding, and using the Teleporter requires Astrology knowledge, as well as the Astrocompass from Level 3 Handicraft.
Level 1 Astrology will allow you to rebuild the Teleporter.
Level 2 Astrology will allow you to build the idol and get the activation crystal from the old cave dude.
Level 3 Astrology will allow you to rebuild the Observatory
The Astrocompass from Handicraft Level 3 will allow you to play the Observatory mini-game, and the Teleporter mini-game.
First, follow the steps for uncovering the cave and the old cave dude in the Zodiac Medallions section (Leo).
Uncover then rebuild the Teleporter after you have Level 1 Astrology and after you have rebuilt the stone bridge. Screenshot.
Build the idol after you get Level 2 Astrology. A blue crystal will appear on the finished idol. Drop an adult on the crystal and it will appear on the Teleporter.
After you have cleared the briar patch and cut down the large tree, clear the Observatory area (see instructions for Zodiac Medallion Libra).
Once you buy Level 3 Astrology have builders rebuild the Observatory.
Once the Observatory is built and you have the Astrocompass, drop an adult on it to play the Observatory mini-game (see the mini-game section for details on how to play). Screenshot.
Once you win the Observatory mini-game you can activate the Teleporter.
To activate the Teleporter drop an adult on it to open the Teleporter mini-game (see the mini-game section for details). Each time you play the game another Medallion will activate. Play the game 12 times to activate the Teleporter.
Once the Teleporter is active drop 12 adults on it, on each medallion, to trigger the end game. Screenshot.
Skill Levels
You start out at skill level 0 for all skills at the beginning.
It is up to you what order you wish to purchase skill levels, once the science lab is built and you start accruing points.
Keep the minimum amount of workers on other tasks and pile all others on the science lab to build knowledge points more quickly.
Level 1 Skills
You need the following amount of points for level 1 skills: Farming - 25; Construction - 10; Medicine - 250; Handicraft - 20; Knowledge - 15; Astrology - 700.
Level 1 Farming will allow you to fish and to build the farm and milk the fuzzles (this also requires Handicraft Level 1, the fishing pole, the stuffed fuzzle, and the farm to be built).
Level 1 Construction will allow you to build a new hut as well as the raft (to retrieve the Cancer Medallion).
Level 1 Medicine will increase overall health, allows your people to live longer, and increases the birth rate.
Level 1 Handicraft will allow you to build: the fishing pole (increase food production), the basket (used to retrieve a zodiac medallion), and the stuffed fuzzle (used to tame the fuzzles).
Level 1 Knowledge will unlock the first 3 potions, enable you to build the school, and enable your scientists to accumulate knowledge points faster.
Level 1 Astrology will allow your people to rebuild the teleporter.
Recommended order for skill level 1: Knowledge, construction, farming, handicraft, medicine. Frankly don't bother with Astrology until you have Level 2 for other vital tasks, as Astrology is not very important to survival.
Once you have Level 1 Handicraft you should first build the fishing pole and the stuffed fuzzle, which are necessary for food production. You can hold off on the basket, its only function is to retrieve a zodiac medallion from the well in the swamp.
Level 2 Skills
You need the following amount of points for level 2 skills: Farming - 200; Construction - 300; Medicine - 500; Handicraft - 300; Knowledge - 600; Astrology - 1500
Level 2 Farming will allow you grow wheat and build the mill.
Level 2 Construction will allow another hut for more population.
Level 2 Medicine will increase health, allow people to live longer, and allow the building of the hospital.
Level 2 Handicraft will allow you to build: Wheat Scythe, Dredging Hook, Beekeeper Mask.
Level 2 Knowledge will unlock 3 more potions and allow you to talk to the stoneface.
Level 2 Astrology will allow your people to activate the teleporter and build the idol for the old cave dude.
Recommended order for skill level 2: Construction, Handicraft, Farming, Knowledge, Medicine, Astrology (when you get around to finally upgrading level 1).
Once you have Level 2 Handicraft build the Wheat Scythe for farming. Don't worry about the dredging hook (you need Level 3 Knowledge to use it) or the Beekeeper Mask (you need Level 3 Farming and the beehives to be built) until you have the other requirements.
Level 3 Skills
You need the following amount of points for level 3 skills: Farming - 2000; Construction - 2000; Medicine - 2000; Handicraft - 2500; Knowledge - 3000; Astrology - 3500.
Level 3 Farming allows baking bread and beekeeping.
Level 3 Construction allows large houses and ups the population cap to 38 maximum.
Level 3 Medicine will increase health, extend lives, and increase fertility.
Level 3 Handicraft will allow you to build the Axe, the Ladder, and the Astrocompass.
Level 3 Knowledge will unlock 8 more potions and allow you to talk to the giant fish.
Level 3 Astrology will allow you to rebuild the Observatory and complete the game.
Recommended order for skill level 3: Construction, Medicine, Knowledge, Handicraft, Farming, Astrology.
Once you have Level 3 Handicraft build the Axe first.
Building
The tutorial will walk you through the first few building tasks, the first bridge, the wedding chapel, and the science lab.
Once the wedding chapel is built start marrying everyone off.
Once the science lab is built put your scientist to work. Also put one of the farmers and the builder to work in the science lab as well.
Wait to start building projects until you have enough resources gathered. You can see the resource requirements for building by hovering the mouse pointer over the building site.
Once you have Knowledge Level 1 immediately build the school and start training the kids. The site is just north of the Science Lab. Screenshot.
Once you have Construction Level 1 you can build: a new hut and a raft (by the fishing pier, see instructions for Cancer Medallion).
As soon as you can also build the farm for the fuzzles (requires Farming Level 1). Screenshot.
You can repair the bridges in the swamp at any time. After the first one, the other two are for retrieving Zodiac Medallions and can be done later (see Aquarius and Scorpio Medallions for details).
You can repair the stone bridge to the left of the scene at any time, but you will need Level 2 skills for most of the tasks on that side, so put it off as long as possible.
Once you start buying level 2 technologies, build the new hut, then build the stone bridge, build the raft to retrieve that medallion, then repair the other swamp bridges to retrieve the 2 zodiac medallions there.
Once you have Level 2 Farming immediately build the mill (between the river and the wheat field). Screenshot.
Once you have Level 2 Medicine immediately build the hospital (across the stone bridge, right by the water). Screenshot.
Once you have Level 1 Astrology you can rebuild the teleporter (across the stone bridge, see Teleporter section for details).
Once you have Level 2 Astrology you can build the idol for the old cave dude (see Teleporter section for details).
Once you have Level 3 Construction immediately build the two houses (just above the lumber area). Screenshot.
Once you have Level 3 Farming build the oven and the beehives (the oven is to the right of the wheat field, the beehives are in the hedgehog meadow to the south). Screenshot.
Once you have Level 3 Astrology you can build the Observatory.
Work
Immediately start your workers gathering resources. Put one worker on the quarry. Screenshot. Put the other worker on the lumber area. Screenshot.
Workers are also used to uncover rubble areas. Use your quarry worker to do so, as clearing rubble will also add to your stone resources.
Keep your workers on the job constantly, you're going to need lots of resources.
Use an additional worker to clear the rubble in front of the stone face and to build stone resources.
Once the stone bridge is repaired drop an additional worker on the teleporter rubble to clear it and build stone resources.
Once you have Level 3 Handicraft (and have cleared the briar patch) and the large ax put a worker on chopping down the large dead tree. Screenshot. Once you can get to the other side have at least one worker clearing the rubble of the observatory.
Farming
There are five sources of food: the pumpkin patch, milking the fuzzles, fishing, the wheat patch (bread), and honey production.
It is best to have only one or two farmers working on any one farming task. Use any other farmers on the science table. You can feed the entire population with usually only one farmer working one task.
Level 3 Farming is almost not necessary. With Level 2 Farming and 4 dedicated farmers you can feed your maximum population of 38 easily. The only reason to do the beehive task is to get access to the zodiac medallion in the tree. I actually completed the game without ever having built the oven.
Pumpkin Patch
The tutorial will walk you through finding and clearing the pumpkin patch.
Once the patch is cleared put both farmers to work on the patch.
Once the science lab is built divert one farmer over to the science lab. One farmer can handle the pumpkin patch just fine.
Fishing
For this you need Farming Level 1, Handicraft Level 1, and the fishing rod.
Once all requirements are met drop a farmer on the fishing pier and they will get to work. Screenshot.
No more than one farmer can fish at a time.
A giant fish may emerge from the pond. You won't be able to talk to it until you reach a higher knowledge level.
Milking the Fuzzles
For this you need Farming Level 1, Handicraft Level 1, the farm needs to be built, and you need to have the stuffed fuzzle (see handicrafts in Skills section).
Once all the requirements are met drop anyone on one of the hidden fuzzles to place the stuffed fuzzle and the fuzzles will be tamed. Pick up the fuzzles and drop them in the farm, then drop a farmer in there to milk them. Once they have been milked they will wander back to their meadow.
After they have been milked the first time, fuzzles will wander back to the farm when they want to be milked. If you have an extra farmer, station him/her there full-time to take care of the fuzzles.
Aside from providing milk, the fuzzles will be important later to solve several puzzles.
Wheat Farming
Once you have Level 2 Farming and the scythe (Handicraft Level 2) drop a farmer on the wheat field to start growing wheat.
Once the mill is built the farmer will take wheat to the mill.
Once the oven is built (requires Level 3 Construction and Level 3 Farming) the farmer will take flour to the oven to make bread.
Beekeeping
Beekeeping is very elaborate and requires several things: Level 3 Farming, Beekeepers hat (Level 2 Handicraft), Level 3 Construction, and a fuzzle.
Have a builder build all three beehives down in the hedgehog meadow.
Make sure you have the Beekeepers hat.
Once the beehives are built and all other requirements are met, pick up a fuzzle and drop it under the bee colony in the tree.
Now assign a farmer to the beehives (you can assign one farmer for all three, or have three farmers, each taking care of a beehive). Screenshot.
Potions
Four potions ingredients are available immediately: Blueberry (fuzzle field), Yellow Flower (swamp), Funny Plant (hedgehog meadow), and Acorn (bee tree).
Once you build the stone bridge to the left side of the screen, you will be able to access the mushroom (near teleporter), used in Level 2 Potions.
Finally when you find a way to the observatory (lower left of the screen) you will be able to access the pink flower (near observatory), used in Level 3 Potions. Here's a screenshot of all potions ingredients.
Level 1 Potions: Healing, Slow Potion, Speed Potion. Screenshot.
Healing Potion: Very necessary until you get the hospital built. Will heal sick people.
Slow Potion: Slows a person down. Not all that useful.
Speed Potion: Speeds a person up. Can use to make a task be finished quickly.
Level 2 Potions: Fishing Lure, Favorite Profession Change, Love Potion. Screenshot. Screenshot.
Fishing Lure: Very useful as this doubles the output of the Farmer who is fishing.
Favorite Profession Change: Also very useful. Changes favorite profession to one of your choosing. Great when needing to cross-train or move a worker.
Love Potion: Useful when the population is low. Use of this potion ensures that people will marry even if their horoscopes are incompatible.
Level 3 Potions: Plant Growth Potion, Skilled Builder Potion, Skilled Farmer Potion, Skilled Worker Potion, Skilled Scientist Potion, Any Profession Potion, Character Growth Potion, Youth Potion. Screenshot. Screenshot.
Plant Growth Potion: Causes a field to immediately be ready for harvest.
Skilled Builder Potion, Farmer, Worker, and Scientist: Gives the person a mastery in that subject. Useful when trying to create one person with all four masteries for the trophy.
Any Profession Potion: Makes the worker happy in any profession you put them on. Very useful for cross-training.
Character Growth Potion: Makes a child an instant adult, or ages an adult by one year.
Youth Potion: Makes any adult 18 again, or decreases a child's age by one year.
School
Once you upgrade to Knowledge Level 1, build the school immediately.
Drop each kid on the school and set them to training in their favorite task.
Check on the kids every once in a while. When they have trained to skilled in their favorite task, drop them on the school again and pick something else to cross-train them in. Workers, Builders, and Farmers should all cross-train in science.
When kids reach the age of 18 they will join the workforce already skilled.
Kids can even reach Master Level in a skill if you leave them to train long enough.
Mini-Games
There are three mini-games: The Cave Crystal mini-game, the Observatory mini-game, and the Teleporter mini-game.
See the Teleporter section for more details on how to unlock the mini-games.
Two of the mini-games are random, so the best I can do is offer advice on how to play.
Cave Crystal Mini-Game
When you have found all three cave crystals (see Leo Medallion instructions) drop someone on the cave to open the mini-game.
This is a simple sliding puzzle. Slide the pieces until it forms a picture.
Here's a screenshot of the solution.
Observatory Mini-Game
See the Teleporter section for more detail on how to open the mini-game.
When the Observatory is rebuilt (and you have the Astrocompass), drop an adult on the building to open the mini-game.
This puzzle is a series of interlocking rings. You need to rotate the rings so that the symbols are in alignment. When a symbol is in the correct place it will light up.
Each ring you move affects another ring as well.
Here's one solution: Rotate the very center ring until the symbols are in place and light up.
Now go to the third ring from the center. If you move the third ring you will see that it also affects the second ring. Move the third ring around until the symbols from the second ring are in place. I doesn't matter that the third ring symbols are out of place.
Now go to the fourth ring from the center. It moves itself and the third ring. Rotate the fourth ring until the third ring symbols are in place and light up.
Now go to the fifth ring from the center, which also moves the fourth ring. Move the fifth ring until the symbols on the fourth ring light up.
Now go to the outer ring. It moves itself and the fifth ring. Move the outer ring until the symbols on it (and the fifth ring) are in place and light up.
Here's a screenshot of the solution.
Teleporter Mini-Game
See the Teleporter Section for more on the requirements to open the mini-game.
You must play the game 12 times, each time lights up a different Zodiac Medallion on the Teleporter.
Each game is random so I cannot give you a solution.
How to play the game: pick up a zodiac symbol on the bottom row and place it next to an identical symbol on the bottom row to make a match. Make three matches and another Zodiac Medallion lights up on the Teleporter.
Here's a screenshot of how the game looks.
Posted by: grinnyp
|
September 28, 2009 1:37 AM