Quick Links
Each island inRivenhas a rotating sphere that houses a gateway to the Starry Expanse. This tiny fragment of the infinite realm between worlds is a part of Gehn’s experiment, and if you’re able to learn to use his arcane machinery you can quickly travel from island to island without having to walk long distances.
Like everything in Riven, understanding the mechanics of the Starry Expanse requires observation and experimentation. Nothing is readily apparent, so if something just isn’t clicking, this guide can help you align everything that needs to be aligned and fast travel, 1997-style.
All Starry Expanse Entrances
The Starry Expanse can be entered fromany of the spinning sphereson the islands of Riven. Each island has one such sphere:
Notes
Temple
Outside the rotating room exit to the right of the Golden Dome
This is the first sphere you see, but will likely be the last one you open since you won’t have the viewing-glass yet.
Jungle
On the catwalk level of the deep jungle, past the cut-down trees.
Inaccessible until you take the tram from the Golden Chamber on Survey Island and use the elevator.
Boiler
Under the mine entrance; close the front door from the inside to reveal the path.
Close the door to the sphere chamber to find a path that leads to the zoetrope.
Prison
Accessible from any other sphere.
Prison Island cannot be visited by any other means, so you need to travel through the Starry Expanse to get there.
Survey
In the pond on the top floor; take the bridge counter-clockwise around the edge.
The zoetrope is broken, so you’ll need to time your button press without looking through the lens.
To open a sphere, you need tolook through the nearby zoetropeand press the button on the top. It only works if you stop the zoetropeon the frame that matches the symbol associated with the island for your current playthrough. This can be found bychecking the windows overlooking each island in the Golden Domeon Temple Island, or bylooking at the sphere through the viewing-glassfound on the shore of Jungle Island. A paint mark visible through the glass will mark which symbol is correct.
How To Fast Travel Using The Starry Expanse
When you enter the Starry Expanse from any location, you canconnect it to the node network.The process is the same for all spheres. Start by going to the end of the walkway.Press the blue button on the leftto align the center platform, thenturn the crank on the rightto extend the bridge. you may now access the center platform that controls the teleport network, but you can’t use it just yet.
Look for a secondary platform on the catwalk with abeam emitter.Turn the handle at the basethree times;once to retrieve a Fire Marble, once to load it, and once to chamber it. The activation button under the handle should light up;press itto fire a beam at the lens over the center platform. The sphere is now activated and can be traveled to from any other sphere in Riven.
Choosing A Destination
Think of the Starry Expanse as a single room with doors leading to different islands, but you can only reach one door at a time. To change which exit you’re connected to,use the device on the center platform.Turning it rotates the globe (and the Expanse), allowing you to align the bridge with the exit you want to use.
Pull the handle in the center of the crank-wheel to change between rotating the X- and Y-axis. Do your best to keep the wheel aligned with the copper bands on the globe, as this will make navigation much easier.
The nodes on the globe are marked with the same symbols associated with each island as described above; if the two lights below the symbol are lit, it means that the teleport function has been activated, and you can travel there. At the start of the game,you can only travel to Prison Island.
Once the bridge is aligned, you can leave the Expanse through the sphere. Double-check the symbol as you leave to make sure you’re going where you intend!
