Plotholes/ continuity errors/ anachronisms in the game (spoilers!)

2

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  • edited November 2011
    I found something... interesting. In the film, Malcolm explains the Chaos Theory to Ellie by having a drop of water roll down her hand and wrist, followed by another drop from the exact same spot and with her hand in the same position; the second drop rolls down differently.

    In the game, in order to find the Barbasol canister, Nima uses an (empty) soda can to roll down the hill, to simulate the path traveled by the canister Nedry dropped. The soda bottle ends up in the exact spot where Nedry's canister is! The conditions are very different (while Nedry was there - alive - it was raining and a stream of water forced the canister down, when Nima is looking for the can it's dry and there's no water rushing down.) Did Nima just disprove Malcolm's theory and possibly put him out of work?

    ;)
  • edited November 2011
    One: That post right above mine, hilarious and true.

    Two: (and the main reason I'm posting) How about this for an error: The night after the fight between the Rex and the Trike, Dr. Sorkin sends a tour vehicle to pick them up. You'll notice through the whole scene the shed is in the back and they don't switch the camera to the other side of the road. The vehicle enters from the left and exits to the right, but even though you can't see it when they show the vehicle driving away, the gate from the Trike paddock was still laying right over the track for the tour vehicle to the right of the shed. WTH? Did it just driver through the giant piece of metal laying in the middle of the road? And how am I the first to post about it? It seems to me to be the most blatantly obvious error in the game.
  • edited November 2011
    Elogotar wrote: »
    One: That post right above mine, hilarious and true.

    Two: (and the main reason I'm posting) How about this for an error: The night after the fight between the Rex and the Trike, Dr. Sorkin sends a tour vehicle to pick them up. You'll notice through the whole scene the shed is in the back and they don't switch the camera to the other side of the road. The vehicle enters from the left and exits to the right, but even though you can't see it when they show the vehicle driving away, the gate from the Trike paddock was still laying right over the track for the tour vehicle to the right of the shed. WTH? Did it just driver through the giant piece of metal laying in the middle of the road? And how am I the first to post about it? It seems to me to be the most blatantly obvious error in the game.

    As big a plot hole as the sudden appearance of a giant ravine where the T-Rex paddock was minutes before in the film - or perhaps the Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus cleared the road after their fight. ;)

    I must admit, I never gave it any thought. Too absorbed by the game. Well spotted!
  • edited November 2011
    Maybe that was cut when making 4 episodes of the game? Although it would be nice to have objective to remove the fence...
  • edited November 2011
    Elogotar wrote: »
    One: That post right above mine, hilarious and true.

    Two: (and the main reason I'm posting) How about this for an error: The night after the fight between the Rex and the Trike, Dr. Sorkin sends a tour vehicle to pick them up. You'll notice through the whole scene the shed is in the back and they don't switch the camera to the other side of the road. The vehicle enters from the left and exits to the right, but even though you can't see it when they show the vehicle driving away, the gate from the Trike paddock was still laying right over the track for the tour vehicle to the right of the shed. WTH? Did it just driver through the giant piece of metal laying in the middle of the road? And how am I the first to post about it? It seems to me to be the most blatantly obvious error in the game.

    After noticing that little bit later, I'm going to operate under the assumption that between shoving Nima into the tour vehicle, Gerry went over and moved the door.
  • edited November 2011
    MrSeyker wrote: »
    BTW, how expensive as a CD player back in 93? As I have some trouble believing Jess could have one.

    Expensive, but not prohibitively so. I'd say a normal, home CD system was at least as mainstream as Blu-ray is now — a portable one less so, but still more common than 3D televisions are today.
  • edited November 2011
    In Episode 3, during the corridor walk, Hammond gets referred to as "Dr. Hammond." This caught me by surprise a bit...I don't think it was mentioned that he had a doctorate in the movie or book. I always saw him as a self-made businessman rather than an academic, but I guess he could be both?
  • edited November 2011
    At the JPL forum, user Jaimie brought to my atttention that Nima is seen using a Walther P99, which wasn't even in development until 94 (93 was it's design stage).

    I had a closer look at the gun, and there are some inconsistencies, but the gun does look like a P99.
  • edited November 2011
    In Episode 3, during the corridor walk, Hammond gets referred to as "Dr. Hammond." This caught me by surprise a bit...I don't think it was mentioned that he had a doctorate in the movie or book. I always saw him as a self-made businessman rather than an academic, but I guess he could be both?

    Actually I believe at the end of Lost World, The CNN name title for Hammond's interview identifies him as "Dr. John P. Hammond: Founder of InGen"
  • edited November 2011
    Portable CD players were available since the mid 1980s, and were affordable and commonplace by 1993 (I know, I had one :) ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discman
  • edited November 2011
    Hi all, new here, just wanted to clarify, it seems like the game follows the movie 'canon' rather than the book, is this the case? as, if I remember correctly, in the book harding and hammond bought the farm and there was a shed load of raptors and the costa rican govenment blew the island to hell when folks finally made it off the island.
  • Sinaz20Sinaz20 Telltale Alumni
    edited November 2011
    MrSeyker wrote: »
    At the JPL forum, user Jaimie brought to my atttention that Nima is seen using a Walther P99, which wasn't even in development until 94 (93 was it's design stage).

    I had a closer look at the gun, and there are some inconsistencies, but the gun does look like a P99.

    You win my prize-- that's the one nit picky anachronism that I discovered. Good eye! :D
  • edited December 2011
    Playing through the game the second time, I noticed that the part where everyone gets separated makes no sense when looking at the time frame. Gerry and Nima get separated from the rest of the group and hear Jess scream just before climbing the ladder out of the tunnels. They have a conversation for about 5 minutes, then a tour car arrives that will take them to the Marine Exhibit after it stops for 5 minutes at the lookout spot. Let's assume that the trip to the exhibit took at least 5 minutes. So, they've been gone for a total of 15 minutes. After Jess screams, she, Billy, and Sorkin escape through a door from the Troodons, walk through the fish hatchery (in about 1 or 2 minutes) and then meet a waiting Nima and Gerry on the other side of a door. This just doesn't add up. Not only did Nima and Gerry take MUCH longer to get to the exhibit, but they were waiting for the others!

    Just a little odd. It definitely feels like something was cut here.
  • Sinaz20Sinaz20 Telltale Alumni
    edited December 2011
    Playing through the game the second time, I noticed that the part where everyone gets separated makes no sense when looking at the time frame. Gerry and Nima get separated from the rest of the group and hear Jess scream just before climbing the ladder out of the tunnels. They have a conversation for about 5 minutes, then a tour car arrives that will take them to the Marine Exhibit after it stops for 5 minutes at the lookout spot. Let's assume that the trip to the exhibit took at least 5 minutes. So, they've been gone for a total of 15 minutes. After Jess screams, she, Billy, and Sorkin escape through a door from the Troodons, walk through the fish hatchery (in about 1 or 2 minutes) and then meet a waiting Nima and Gerry on the other side of a door. This just doesn't add up. Not only did Nima and Gerry take MUCH longer to get to the exhibit, but they were waiting for the others!

    Just a little odd. It definitely feels like something was cut here.

    It does seem a bit confusing, eh? Ultimately, the door they exit from in the marine facility is not the same door they escaped through in the tunnels. They still had a large portion of the tunnels to trek through... in a bit of a panic and a hurry, but otherwise uneventful.
  • edited December 2011
    Sinaz20 wrote: »
    It does seem a bit confusing, eh? Ultimately, the door they exit from in the marine facility is not the same door they escaped through in the tunnels. They still had a large portion of the tunnels to trek through... in a bit of a panic and a hurry, but otherwise uneventful.

    Ahhh, makes sense now. Should have paid more attention to the door itself! It also makes more sense as I notice Sorkin bursts through the final door out of the tunnels first, whereas Billy was fiddling with the lock during the Separated chapter and would have walked through first. I should have known Telltale would keep their story tight :) Thanks
  • edited December 2011
    What's up with the sick trike of the movie? Was this one out of its paddock?
    In the game the Triceratops pen is not only shown as an enclosure but Harding also confirms that the paddock is surrounded by fences.
    In the movie when the group leaves the tour vehicles they reach the sick trike without passing any fence....
  • edited December 2011
    So a Velociraptor just killed a parasaurolophus... then why does the rest of the pack go after some hummies rather than joining their sister to get the big mac?
  • edited December 2011
    Pitalla wrote: »
    So a Velociraptor just killed a parasaurolophus... then why does the rest of the pack go after some hummies rather than joining their sister to get the big mac?

    that's the formula in this genre: threaten the humans by all kinds of necessary.
  • edited December 2011
    tope1983 wrote: »
    What's up with the sick trike of the movie? Was this one out of its paddock?
    In the game the Triceratops pen is not only shown as an enclosure but Harding also confirms that the paddock is surrounded by fences.
    In the movie when the group leaves the tour vehicles they reach the sick trike without passing any fence....

    Wut?

    In the opening jess scene you can see the tour road in the herbivore area, with where the sick trike are is found.
    Later on you are on a service road outside the herbivore area.

    No fault there, the herbivore area is entirely enclosed but the tour road goes through it, as herbivores pose no threat.
  • edited December 2011
    Emo Hoe wrote: »
    Wut?

    In the opening jess scene you can see the tour road in the herbivore area, with where the sick trike are is found.
    Later on you are on a service road outside the herbivore area.

    No fault there, the herbivore area is entirely enclosed but the tour road goes through it, as herbivores pose no threat.

    this is wrong in several ways....
    first of all you don't see the tour road in the opening scene with jess and harding. there's no track visible, so it's just a normal service road and a gas powered jeep is parked there.

    Later on Harding and Jess actually ARE on the tour road which PASSES the paddock but is blocked by the little trike and the open gate. Here you can see the track and in the morning afterwards Dr. Sorkins picks them up with a tour vehicle.

    Last but not least: the trikes pose a threat especially to cars which is the reason why the gas powered jeeps of the park's staff have a red stripe on it: it usually prevents the trike from attacking the car (unless Lady Margreth is irritated by the horn ;) ).

    So a little continuity error here... unless the sick trike of the movie was outside its enclosure.
  • edited December 2011
    The flub is carried over from the film, there's not much they can do about that.

    In the movie, they ARE in the Trike enclosure.
  • edited December 2011
    MrSeyker wrote: »
    The flub is carried over from the film, there's not much they can do about that.

    In the movie, they ARE in the Trike enclosure.

    Yeah, in the movie it's not made clear if the Trikes do have an enclosure that's surrounded by fences. But the game mentions it.
  • edited December 2011
    I know it's really picky, but the sound bite for Harding unloading the tranquilizer after waking up from the Tyrannosaur/Triceratops fight has a shell casing drop noise.
  • edited December 2011
    Kone19 wrote: »
    I know it's really picky, but the sound bite for Harding unloading the tranquilizer after waking up from the Tyrannosaur/Triceratops fight has a shell casing drop noise.

    I always wondered what that was about...
  • edited December 2011
    Heres one, when Jess is looking through the binoculars and spots the jeep. Harding mentions Alan Grants team, but they werent in the gas jeeps when they were near the triceratops they were the green jeeps.
  • edited December 2011
    FinalBlink wrote: »
    Heres one, when Jess is looking through the binoculars and spots the jeep. Harding mentions Alan Grants team, but they werent in the gas jeeps when they were near the triceratops they were the green jeeps.

    Harding ASUMES that Jeep must be the visitors.

    We know for a fact that he was leaving Jess at the VC first, and then he was heading back to tend for the sick Triceratops (and meeting the Grant and company).

    Knowing the scene takes place earlier in the day, and with the complete timeline in mind, it becomes evident that's not Grant's group.

    Who was in that jeep, then? Probably some staff mantaining the roads or something.
  • edited December 2011
    What bothered me was how the blurb in the field guide mentions grasslands as a habitat for dinosaurs as part of the recreation of the prehistoric world, while it is a well known fact that grass didn't appear until long after the age of the dinosaurs. :p
  • edited December 2011
    I think it's hinted in the book and the film that, despite what they may tell visitors, a lot of the vegetation was chosen for aesthetics, rather than accuracy.
  • edited December 2011
    no one seems to notice that the radio looks different from episode one to episode two, or am I just mistaken
  • edited December 2011
    Ok I found one while messing around in episode 1. When accessing the tour vehicle system to get a car to pick up the Hardings you can get either tour car 3 or 4 to pick them up (1 and 2 are listed as having catastrophic failures, ie Rex food).

    However the tour car they ride in has a 02 on the side even though I picked car 3.
  • edited December 2011
    Maniac536 wrote: »
    Ok I found one while messing around in episode 1. When accessing the tour vehicle system to get a car to pick up the Hardings you can get either tour car 3 or 4 to pick them up (1 and 2 are listed as having catastrophic failures, ie Rex food).

    However the tour car they ride in has a 02 on the side even though I picked car 3.

    Actually, I'm pretty sure it is your second choice every time, no matter which numbers you choose. Once i picked car one, then car two and Sorkin sent the second one. I never noticed that the tour vehicle actually has a number on it, though, so that might be an error for sure.
  • edited December 2011
    Actually, I'm pretty sure it is your second choice every time, no matter which numbers you choose. Once i picked car one, then car two and Sorkin sent the second one. I never noticed that the tour vehicle actually has a number on it, though, so that might be an error for sure.

    Yeah the car number is listed on the side of the vehicle right behind the rear set of doors.
  • edited January 2012
    What bothered me was how the blurb in the field guide mentions grasslands as a habitat for dinosaurs as part of the recreation of the prehistoric world, while it is a well known fact that grass didn't appear until long after the age of the dinosaurs. :p
    That's actually not true anymore. Grasses were put around 55 million years ago, but new fossils say it they were probably around in the late cretaceous or earlier. Those found were probably more like rice or bamboo though rather than more familiar modern grasses. Either way they wouldn't have been able to remove all grasses from the island anyways before introducing dinosaurs.
  • edited January 2012
    MrSeyker wrote: »
    Harding ASUMES that Jeep must be the visitors.

    We know for a fact that he was leaving Jess at the VC first, and then he was heading back to tend for the sick Triceratops (and meeting the Grant and company).

    Knowing the scene takes place earlier in the day, and with the complete timeline in mind, it becomes evident that's not Grant's group.

    Who was in that jeep, then? Probably some staff mantaining the roads or something.

    I think it was just meant to reference that the group would be seeing the Brachiosaur in the jeeps around then. Since there weren't two and it didn't look like any one was in it, it wasn't them so who ones who it was.
  • edited January 2012
    What bothered me was how the blurb in the field guide mentions grasslands as a habitat for dinosaurs as part of the recreation of the prehistoric world, while it is a well known fact that grass didn't appear until long after the age of the dinosaurs. :p
    That's actually not true anymore. Fossils from the late cretaceous have been found that resemble rice and bamboo. Either way they can't just remove all grass from the island and if they added it BlankCanvasDJ has that.
  • edited January 2012
    This probably isn't a plot hole, just something I probably missed or didn't catch from episode 4...
    We see Jess' Dad telling her they didn't clone anything that lives in the water because mosquito's can't bite them...and then in the next scene we have one swimming around, and I didn't see ANY explanation of how it was cloned...what did I miss?
  • edited January 2012
    This probably isn't a plot hole, just something I probably missed or didn't catch from episode 4...
    We see Jess' Dad telling her they didn't clone anything that lives in the water because mosquito's can't bite them...and then in the next scene we have one swimming around, and I didn't see ANY explanation of how it was cloned...what did I miss?

    I was thinking the same thing.

    If there was any explanation of where the Mosasaur came from, I missed it.
  • Sinaz20Sinaz20 Telltale Alumni
    edited January 2012
    Scnew wrote: »
    I was thinking the same thing.

    If there was any explanation of where the Mosasaur came from, I missed it.

    So, I remember that we had a clear in house idea of how a Mosasaur could be cloned-- the consensus being that a Mosasaur might occasionally beach itself to bask-- and could have been fed on by mosquitoes then. I remember there being mention of the Mosasaur as a happy accident-- a sort of 1 in a million find.

    Ultimately, the dialog around the Mosasaur paints a vague picture of implausibility-- but I didn't feel that the Mosasaur needed to be outright explained.

    So, it probably is a plothole for the die-hard fan. The explanation is that DNA was cataloged from a mosquito and cloned-- it produced a Mosasaur. The mosquito fed on a Mosasaur prowling shallow waters or basking.

    When the Mosasaur was hatched, they realized it was a marine reptile and hastily put it in a small aquatic habitat. As the Mosasaur thrived, John Hammond ordered the waterworks pumping station to be expanded into a marine facility to house the Mosasaur and efforts put into trying to find any other marine reptile dna.

    Also, while I'm on the subject-- why didn't Gerry know about the Mosasaur? He was hired for his work with elephants and veterinary expertise around large land animals. As the Mosasaur and Marine Facility was being developed, InGen sought out a marine biologist/veterinary expert to fill the gap in expertise. InGen's level of secrecy is compartmentalized-- so Gerry would only be made aware if they decided he was the right man to care for the Mosasaur or the facility was put into full official operation and the information formally distributed to InGen general awareness.

    All good? ;)

    PS: @LordRaptor: If I recall, I think Gerry was really just musing that it would be improbable to clone something that spends it's life underwater by Jurassic Park means-- not that they specifically "didn't." I know there's a lot of "let's not jump to any conclusions" lines throughout the episode-- that's mostly because I saw Gerry and Laura as being rational science minded individuals who aren't ready to just make snap judgments without evidence.
  • edited January 2012
    Sinaz, was there ever an explanation for the Pteranodons and why they were flying free?
  • Sinaz20Sinaz20 Telltale Alumni
    edited January 2012
    Sinaz, was there ever an explanation for the Pteranodons and why they were flying free?

    No-- mostly-- out of sheer child-like excitement, we made the Pteranodons... and then we felt compelled to include them... because they are cool.

    They are and will remain a mystery for now.
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