Unusual way of freeing some ghosts.

[adrian]

Hi
I've been playing Ghost Master for a lot of years now but I've found this forum recently while searching mods. I want to share two weird stories with you and ask you if something like that happend to you.
I really like to mess around with different ghosts and powers. I remember that one day I accidentally freed Weatherwitch using Boo's Telekinesis. It was super weird and I didn't really know what happend at first but I guess that some type of item had to land on that vacuum cleaner and break it. I tried to make it happend again but it never happend to me since. 

The other time I accidentally freed one of the ghost happend when I was messing around with Windwalker. I used his Frostbite power on Weird Seance map and something really odd happend. For some reason one of the guys lifted jar with Terroreyes but because of the cold it slipped from his hands and he ended up breaking the jar and freeing Terroreyes. I'm not sure which guy was it but this even had it's own cutscene. I tried to make it happen once again but it never worked again for some reason. These thing happend to me years ago and i didn't know about this forum then. I wish I recorded or screenshoted them.

Did some of this stuff happend to you to? Are these methods well known and I'm just slow or is it something new? Maybe you have some weird new methods to free ghosts that aren't really well known. Lemme know.

[Ghost in Training]

Over the years of playing GM I have run into similar stuff. The game is clearly very dated and sometimes the physics are questionable. Each power has a certain amount of "structural damage" it can cause to the environment and objects around it. I don't know what Boo's Telekinesis power holds in terms of damage. Though I do know objects and some structures in the room have a certain degree of damage they can withstand before breaking. How this really works I am not 100% sure but there is information in the Ghost Master guide along with an article written by a developer of the game explaining the mechanics behind it. Simply put an object can be hit with any number of "physical" related powers that range from a slight wind to a full blown earthquake. Clearly the earthquake will cause more damage and an object will reach its damage threshold before breaking. This ranges from TVs, vacuums to the radio that Weather-witch near. Which is also an electrical appliance. What probably happened is the Telekinesis power along with any other powers you may have used in that area led the vacuum to break.

For your last point. That too is another case where you were able to find a unique way to complete freeing a ghost. In the Calamityville house you can either free Arclight by having the family call the mechanic or luring one of the family members downstairs and breaking the wall. Another example being in Deadfellas where you can either scare the Don away, drive him insane, or raise his belief. Raising his belief can be done by using supernatural powers or by possessing him which overtime raises belief. So, in short there are multiple ways given to the player to beat a mission. The developers of Ghost Master realized it was a very unique game which required a degree of waiting, manipulating and responding to character AI. Something that would range based on a gamers skill, patience and sometimes shear luck. It's a game that was marketed as "no manual required" which is somewhat true. Though it leaves a lot of the puzzle solving vague and requires you through trial and error to figure out how to beat the mission. Which is good but adds to the challenge. Especially given the fact that walkthroughs and let's players were not common when this game was released in 2003. So the waiting time is cut down by presumably having multiple solutions to various puzzles in the game. Some are more realistic and believable than others. Such as your case of having a mortal freeze and break the jar by dropping it. But the Ghost Master guide actually simply states "find a way to break the jar". Which could be a number of ways. Similar to the ways you can free Whisperwind from the dream catcher in Summoners Not Included.

So I hope I didn't drone on. But Ghost Master is actually a very versatile and well developed game for 2003 standards. Sure there are weird glitches such as mortals getting stuck or running through one another. But a lot of that can be excused seeing as how the game really has this cartoony tone to it. I have probably had every glitch happen in the game one could. Though I have come to like Ghost Master more over the years despite its quirks because it is so unique and enjoyable.

[CuriousPhantom]

I'll list off the odd Ghost Unlock solutions I could remember at this point in time.

Weird Seance: Most people use a Ghost with Shattering Song like Aether but Stonewall upgraded to use Quake can also do it. You can get a huge starting boost of Terror energy by binding a spirit with Strange Vision to the mouse trap in the basement to immediately scare away those three mortals. If using Woitek's All Ghosts mod or that version of Complete Edition you can take any ghost back to any level they're not found on, so using a ghost with Hailstones like Stormtalon is viable. Finally, I figured out how to reproduce adrian's method: use Lucky to cast Luckstorm and make a mortal unlucky. Bring this mortal to Terroreye's jar by ordering him to cast Fascinate. The unlucky mortal will interact with the jar and shatter it on the floor!

The Calamityville Horror: Stonewall upgraded to use Earthquake helps unlock all 3 haunting spirits simultaneously when cast outside--the wall in the basement opens, the planks blocking the attic falls, and Static's bones drop down the chimney. That said, you can also skip bringing a ghost who can make the livingroom cold by unlocking Maxine Factor first then using her to chill the room. If using one of Woitek's mods you can also bring a ghost with Bonfire to forcibly light this fireplace. You may still be able to do this without mods if you didn't unlock Static in this mission and had to wait until Poultrygeist, but I wouldn't recommend this.

Deadfellas: Take an upgraded Cogjammer with Luckstorm instead of Lucky to unlock the ghost at the roulette wheel. Cogjammer can cast Fool's Errand and Wild Geese to steer Jude Klous towards Fingers' piano. Finally, Cogjammer can cast Blackout to make all the unlucky mortals afflicted by Luckstorm surge themselves from light switches.

The Unusual Suspects: The game probably wanted players to take a water spirit to cast Flood in the room with Electrospasm's chair then order him to cast Sparks, but you can also unlock him merely by binding Cogjammer to the room and having him cast Wild and Crazy.

Facepacks and Broomsticks: People often want you to claim the witches' circle of protection using 3 elemental spirits to unlock Firetail, but you can also use a single spirit with rain or a wind weather power like Tempest.

The Blair Wisp Project: Bring Harriet and Firetail to quickly unlock Sparkle through Bonfire. Someone said they were able to lead mortals through the island in the lake to the other side by bringing Fingers and ordering him to cast Unearthly Calm at the right time, but I never got that to work.

Ghostbreakers: Use a ghost to damage the cooling system control panel on the staircase, then bind a fire spirit to the vehicle in the parking lot and cast Inferno to heat up the machine in the cold morgue room and destroy the machine.

[xavomel]

@CuriousPhantom

The Unusual Suspects: The game probably wanted players to take a water spirit to cast Flood in the room with Electrospasm's chair then order him to cast Sparks, but you can also unlock him merely by binding Cogjammer to the room and having him cast Wild and Crazy.

Cool find, all those years and I've never discovered this.

If using Woitek's All Ghosts mod or that version of Complete Edition you can take any ghost back to any level they're not found on ...

All Ghosts mod was not created by Woitek, here's the original thread Any ghost + Any level Mod

As for things that weren't mentioned so far, I can only think of one.
In Summoners Not Included you can free Raindancer reliably by forcing a mortal to vomit in the toilet.
When combined with Uneasy, powers causing Heavy Normal Terror (such as Terrorize, Terror Incarnate, TK Storm, others described in Guide) cause mortals to run to toilet and vomit.
It's a bit tricky to pull off, but it's a surefire way compared to hoping for mortal to flush the toilet on their own.

[Twintania]

In Phantom Of The Operating Room if you're quick enough you can free harriet easier by taking a ghost with surge and binding him on the tv where harriet is and using surge if you're quick enough you can get kevin and shock him meanwhile use this brief few seconds to have clatterclawns or other ghosts to scare him so badly he drops the stuffed rabbit and runs this will make jimmy notice the bunny and he will grab it without you having to get a doctor or someone to take it back to him its a bit tricky though

[leotachy]

Did you know that you can unlock Terroreyes with Boo's Kinesis? You have to be really lucky for a can to hit the jar. When I was little I didnt know any other way to unlock Terroreyes so I used to spend countless hours on that level using Kinesis.

[Twintania]

im pretty sure everyone knows this one but another unusual one is in unusual suspects binding stonewall to the banzai tree in the front desk area (you will have to rotate the camera around) you can unlock banzai early. I know you could unlock windwalker if you had the bonus disc (by changing a registry key i think) but i always wondered if there was a secret method nobody has found yet like with storm talon and banzai this game has many odd things to find