The Real Texas

Shield Generator Puzzle Walkthrough

About 60% of the way through The Real Texas, you will find the Shield Generator Puzzle. This puzzle will challenge you move through a cave system, turning generators off and on in the right sequence to pass through the area. You begin in the lower-right section off the map, and there is a machine to reset the puzzle if you need to start over.

1. From the starting area, head west. Search this new area for a chest with a Blue Keycard
2. Return to the starting area and use the Blue Keycard on the generator in the starting area to turn it off. Stand on the north of the Blue Shield Generator and turn it back on. You should be able to enter the cave on the *with* the keycard. Clever
3. Move north through the cave until you reach an area with a ship. Follow the northern rock wall by moving to the west, then north, then back east. You should reach an area with two Red Shield Generators next to one another
4. Turn the left generator back on and it should give you a Red Keycard. Immediately use the Red Keycard to disable the right generator and enter the cave
5. Follow the cave and you'll be on the other side of the river to the north. Head east and use your Winchester rifle to shoot down the wooden barrier. You'll be back outside of the puzzle area with the mummy-like creatures you passed on your way here
6. Head south to the cave to return to the starting area of the puzzle. You should now be able to reach the chest to the southeast of the entrance which contains the Teal Keycard
7. Walk all the way back to the area with the Red Shield Generators (back through the cave, past the mummy area, through the wooden barrier, and through the cave to the southside of the river. Pass through this area by turning each generator off, walking to the either side and turning it back on. You should be able to reach the left side of the screen with the Red Keycard.
8. Head west, then south and use the Teal Keycard to shut down the Teal Generator. Luckily this one will stay off. Immediately on the other side of the Teal generator is a chest with a map of the area, which is handy if you get lost.
9. In this area to the south, there is a Red Shield Generator. Turn it off with the Red Keycard, move to the other side and turn it back on to retrieve the Red Keycard.
10. Head west and then south until you reach a small area with a Blue generator across from the cave. Turn this Blue Shield Generator off and follow the path behind it to find a Red Shield Generator in a dead-end area
11. Turn the Red Shield Generator off and return to the previous area. Pass by the Blue Shield Generator (leaving it off) and enter the cave
12. At the first fork in the path, head to the left and go back outside. Head north from the exit, then west around the lake to find a chest with a Green Keycard
13. Head back through the cave to reach to the entrance across from the Blue Shield Generator. Retrieve both the Red Key Card and then the Blue Keycard
14. Head north and then east to find a Red Shield Generator. Turn it off and pass to the other side. You can leave it off for now.
15. Head through the exit in the northwest, then move north across a bridge and then back to the east. Your path will dead-end at a Blue Shield Generator. Turn it off, then return to the prior screen with the Red Shield Generator that you just left
16. Head north two screens and turn off the Green Shield Generator. This one will also stay off.
17. Head back south two screens, then loop around the lake again to retrieve your Blue Keycard.
18. Return to the Red Shield Generator and eject the Red Keycard while you are on the south side of the shield.
19. Head west, then south to the area with Blue Generator across from the cave. For the final time, turn off both the Blue Shield Generator and the Red Shield Generator in the dead-end area.
20. Head into the cave across from the Blue Shield Generator. Head north through the cave, ignoring the fork to the left that you took previously. The cave will loop around and only has one exit in this direction.
21. When you are back outside the cave, follow the rock wall above you as you exit the cave. It will loop around counter-clockwise (north, then west, then back to the south) and this will lead you right to the All Off Master Console. Use the switch, and all the Shield Puzzle is solved.

Laboratory Snow Frog Puzzle

Near the end of the game, you'll face one more crazy puzzle involving frogs, radiation and steam vents with some esoteric hints about what you need to do in order to proceed. Basically, you need to drop colored frogs into a pool to turn off specific steam vents, unlocking new frogs, which in turn unlocks additional areas of the cave. Once you find each frog in the caves, it will become available for purchase from the store if you need another frog of that specific color (and you will). The pool can hold two frog colors at once, and the order in which you put the frogs into the pool is only important to save on buying frogs. For instance, if you need the pool to be Yellow + Blue and then Yellow + Purple, adding the frogs in the order Blue -> Yellow - > Purple will save you from having to purchase 1 additional Yellow frog. There is some Tungsten in the Lab that you can sell at the store if you need some additional money.

To complete the puzzle, follow this sequence:

1. Drop two Red Snow Frogs into the pool [R + R]. The Red Snow Frogs are available from the start in the area south of the pool (for free!)
2. Go back south and head up the stairs to the store. Flip the switch to open the gate then go through it and go up the stairs.
3. Head north and you should enter a combat room. Wait until the enemies make themselves vulnerable by throwing their boomerangs then use your Colt .45 to quickly shoot them. You'll get a Geiger Counter, but you don't really need to take it.
4. Take the exit to north into some caves (I'll call these the Back Caves for now). Follow the path to the west (the only way to go) to find a chest with a Green Snow Frog
5. Return to the pool and drop in the Green Frog [R + G]
6. Head due south from the pool two screens to find a chest with the Blox Cartridge (an important plot item)
7. Go upstairs to the Back Caves and go east then south from the entrance. This area is filled with bats, including a new kind of fire spewing bat. I recommended that you just run through, pick up the key on the ground and use it to unlock the chest with the Blue Snow Frog.
8. Go buy another Green Snow Frog in the store and drop it into the pool [G + G]. Head south two screens to the now empty Blox Cartridge, then head east. The chest in this area should contain the Yellow Snow Frog.
9. Drop the Blue Snow Frog and then the Yellow Snow Frog into the pool [B + Y]. You should be able to see the steam vents behind the pool turn off.
10. Go to the Back Caves, and head east two screens. Follow this cave path until you reach a chest with the Magenta Snow Frog.
11. Return to the pool and drop in the Magenta Snow Frog [Y + M].
12. Go to the room with the Steam Tiki statue (go south twice, then east, then north). You should now be able to reach the switch on the left side of the room. This will open the exit from the right side of the room.
13. Buy another Magenta Snow Frog. Return to the pool and drop it in [M + M].
14. Return to the Steam Tiki statue room and take the right exit to find the Cyan Snow Frog.
15. Buy a Yellow Snow Frog from the store, then drop it and a Cyan Snow Frog into the pool [C + Y]
16. Head to the Back Caves and go east and then north from the entrance. You should find your way into a new area with a video game system. Puzzle over. Hooray!

Quick Draw Belt

Although it is not a required item, the Quick Draw Belt is an incredibly useful piece of equipment that will allow you to quickly switch weapons using the number keys rather than having to open your inventory screen. You can get the Quick Draw Belt once you’ve opened up access to the Mine.

• Purchase the Yellow Keycard from the Mine store. You will need it to access the area south of Strange
• In the first room of the Mine is the Red Tiki Idol. Holding this idol will prevent the fire statues guarding the Quick Draw Belt from shooting at you, so take it with you.
• Turn off the Yellow Shield Generator blocking the southern half of world map. The generator is near the barn in the southeast part of Strange
• Head to the south until you reach the water, and the continue heading to the east. The cave with the Quick Draw Belt is the southeastern most part of the world map.
• Enter the cave. With the Red Tiki Idol, you'll be able to pass the fire statues and get the Quick Draw Belt

Runner's Medallion

Another item that isn’t technically required, the Runner’s Medallion is a useful piece of equipment that will let you reach max running speed faster. You’ll be doing a lot of walking in The Real Texas, so this can save you a lot of time and aggravation. Like the Quick Draw Belt, you can find the Runner’s Medallion once you’ve gained access to the Mine. I recommend picking them both up at the same time as soon as you are able.

• Once you’ve turned off the Yellow Shield Generator (see above in the Quick Draw Belt section), you can find a small barn in fields south of Strange (due south from the Yellow Shield Generator)
• Walk into the hay bales at the back of the barn to find a hidden set of stairs to a small puzzle room below the barn
• If you have the Green Tiki Idol, this area is trivial. Otherwise, just keep moving around the room in a counter-clockwise fashion and running past the shooting statues.
• At the back of the cave, walk through the wooden gates until you find a shoebox on the ground with the Runner's Medallion