I've written this doc during my vacation, and have uploaded it here:
http://faqs.ign.com/objects/056/056417.html

If you have comments, add them here rather then mailing them to me (got plenty of that already, thankyouverymuch).
I'm not that much interested in (more) details, but rather would like to learn if the milestones in the guide correspond pretty much to your experience. if your mentor was a different brother, another sister give you different tasks, etc.

pol

Very neat, thanks; I learned a few things I didn't experiment with/realize before.

That's quite impressive!
Great job on the manual!

First, there is no need to kill every brother. If you find all the hearts in the chambers, then you don't have to kill more Brothers than attack you by themselves. See, there are hearts in:
- Pharynx
- Pangolin's Chamber
- Bastion
- Moorage
- Hump
- Ima's Chamber
- Ire's Chamber
- Una's Chamber
- Bridge
- Worm's Chamber
- Lemna
The following hearts are given when the storyline demands: Donor, Expose, Extract, Haste, Vampire, Ordalia, Breakthrough. It is 18 hearts, right? So three brothers are enough.

Next thing it is important to mention: even though some priorities exist, the hearts Brothers leave after they die are random.

You have also written somewhere that Aya is Una's maidservant. I don't know why did you think so. She is Echo's servant, even though it is not mentioned explicitly in The Void (it was less ambiguous in 2008 release where she greeted you with the words "I have come to speak to you by request of Echo, who is my mistress").

About that--was there any particular reason the English version seems to differ somewhat from the original writing-wise? I keep getting the feeling that I'm missing some crucial information and not just because the Sisters/Brothers aren't forthcoming, but that something was intentionally left out. From reading some threads on this forum, the Russian original seems to be a lot less ambiguous and clearer about a lot of things (like the player's death being by suicide).

@ Halfgild Wynac

The reason - as mentioned - that I started killing brothers, was that - during that time - I was unable to provoke my "mentor" (I guessed that he would have the last heart, but till that fight, I simply didn't know). And since there was "nothing" else to do...
And if I knew: well, fighting those guys is fun too, you know

As for the hearts: sure, you know that after playing how many times? the walkthrough simply follows MY experience, and again - as mentioned - "yours" might/will be different; which is a plus for the game experience! you also assume that the last remaining heart(s) would come from a brother. again - for all I know - the game expects me to kill them all and then a sister would guide me to the last heart (or the sleeper for that matter).

As for Aya, you could be right (I'm not going to check that out again). I did write it down like that on paper - when she presented her for the first time - and she is definitely the one who asked me to protect Una! maybe, I wasn't listening all that well, and just assumed automatically that Una was her servant (while it should have been Echo). I also vaguely recall that Echo would serve Ima (but again, can't recall nor have that on paper).

pol

Of course. The script was completely rewritten, save for some Brothers' lines. The original was also nice, but sometimes a bit wordy and it lacked.. say it, focus. Almost nothing happened. There was also a problem of its storyline somewhat isolated from gameplay, i.e. no one seemed to notice what you do, except some very predictable reactions (Brothers get angry when you open hearts of their sisters). From the beginning of the game to the end you were essentially wandering around the world, fed/undressed Sisters and listened to their vague monologues, talked to Brothers and listened to their vague monologues as well. Some of them shed more light on what was going on than their current lines do, but many were useless chatter about nothing, and this fact wasn't even covered in some cases.

That's quite a show of dedication, since most localizations are just straight translations of the original. Still, I feel I'd have had a more complete experience if I'd played with the original script. Wouldn't have minded monologues too much, myself.

@Paul

Hi, I was reading the first lines of your Walkthrough (great job btw) and i noticed that you said you could grow 2 trees inside the hidden chamber on Pharnix (the mine of the nameless sister).
I CAN reach the chamber but i could never grow anything there, there's nothing in the chamber.

Maybe it's too early in the game?? I'm at cycle 13, 14

Cheers

Is in game more than 21 hearths ,i had 17 of them and when i killed worm and my mentor(cant remember is it Montgolifer or Caterpillar )gave me a hearth that i already had (Wasp)...
Is this a bug or it should happen or something ???
i heard someone was talking about more than 21 hearths and glyphs....

And those who had pass the game,what happens if i kill all of the brothers and how many endings are there ???

It says there are 2 trees inside Fireflies (reservation), not the hidden room

Also there are actually 3 trees in Fireflies. One near the stairs on 2nd floor, one on the hidden ledge between 2nd and 3rd floors, and the last one on the top floor

Ok there is definitely the bug when worm is killed and Montgolfier give u Wasp Hearth cause i reloaded almost 10 times doing the same (killing the worm )and was always getting WASP

i keep dying cuz i don't have enough color xD so i can know this things T_T i can't pass from the 6th cycle... so sad

Try not to fill all your hearts at once. If you don't have much colour, fill only one of your heart. This way you don't need more than 100 drops of colour to survive (expect Amber, as it boosts up the speed at which the colour is transformed inside you).
However, you definitely need more than 100 drops per cycle to make your way through the world Void. Still, if you don't have enough right now - no one forces you to die quickly.

thx for the advice... anyway i'm having such a hard time with this game xD...

i have killed the pangolin now... and i'm trying to live long enough to get to Ole... but it's hard like hell!!

1 question... will mantid kill me if a fill uta's 2nd heart?

No, he won't. Brothers only get angry if you open 3 hearts or more (which actually means 3 hearts, as in now way you can get, like, 1000 colour out of nothing and in no time - without cheats, that is)

@paul and everyone who passed the game
I got dialog after the dream when chasing sister,but nobody told me to save at least 2 sisters with common color and none sister haven't been chosen to die ???what should i do ,can i still revive 2 sisters with common color (i must start collecting color somehow if i want to revive them)

Also can someone explain how to revive 1st Sister(Death) or even talk to her ,when i go to her tree i color it and enter the color giving mode ,but i haven't offered any glyphs to draw ,i tried drawing donor but nothing happens and after that i can't draw anything (sister told me do get to her tree when i want to talk and she'll be ther ein form of spirit but she isn't )
i also tend to think that my game is broken cause when i get Breakthrough i cant draw it on any sister(i used cheats to get color so i can revive 2 of them now) it's not offered for drawing and after i got final hearth and went to Journal/Glyphs game frozen and i could onlu move cursor and also glyph of heart of breakthrough was miniature ....???

Any help ???

i reloaded the save before 27th cycle and didnt kill brothers ,if u kill all brothers except montgolfier u wouldn't get appropriate story and events in 27th cycle and that will confuse the game ..

ok now in 27th cycle Agony the sister is chosen to be killed ,and when i go to her chamber neither aya nor echo tell me to save at least one of the sisters with same color(just echo says that i started killing sister etc. )....I also tried to stop brothers but they cant be killed

A little advice for the guide readers, there is one thing that is said on the guide that I don't agree.
It usually advices the player to grow the colors a sister likes, inside her own chambers.

I think this is a mistake, since (i think Ire) tells you, that the colors of preference of any sister do MORE damage when used on her won chambers.

Overall, you shouldn't use the sister's colours inside their chambers. (at least try)