Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Thief fan missions and campaigns

Icewater

Artisanal Shitposting™
Patron
Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
1,952
Location
Freedomland
Project: Eternity Wasteland 2
Nice, Max_b5! Downloading now.
 

Max_b5

Augur
Joined
Feb 8, 2015
Messages
217
Location
Argentina
Doesn't try to be overambitious.

Ha! Funnily enough it did try to be ambitious, which is why it had to be cut in half and ends in kind of a cliffhanger :oops: But worry not, the temple is gonna be a big one as the brushwork is not gonna consume as many cells.

For those wondering, the easter egg is
a hidden scroll with quotes from the one and only Yandros-Pentetrator.
 

cowking

Scholar
Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Messages
115
Finally got around to playing Short Night's Work, hot damn, it was GOOD. Probably the best FM I've played as even though I played it in separate sittings, I was stoked to get back to playing it every time.

Despite being quite (very) linear it doesn't feel linear, and that's the point. Kept you looking 360 degrees everywhere at all times and it keeps on getting better and better. Even the readables were fun and good except some audiologs in the manor.

I checked the TTLG thread on this FM and I'm left with two conclusions - either I'm suddenly too stupid to play Thief FMs anymore, or everyone praising this FM to high heavens must have had the walkthrough in front of them.

It's the former, the crates were literally lit up to make you pay notice. Plus any FM that involves pushing barrels and stacking crates is off to a good start. I just wish crates would have played a larger part later on as there was one wall specifically leading to an empty rooftop plateau that could have been a nice bonus route for the discerning taffer.

Or how I could reach several places with no way back. Or how passages were only loops for guards to patrol through, and had nothing in them whatsoever. Or how some areas were unreachable on purpose. Or how some doors were unfrobbable just for spite.

I wish more FMs would apply those techniques, although I agree some parts could have been more refined, like the noble's garden you can drop down into (should be a bigger drop).

This one could easily become an all-time classic, if the author would put it back on the drawing board and finish it!

It is an all time classic. Definite recommendation to anyone who wants to play a good FM. If you don't like it you're probably a stupid bitch.

Golden Age of FMs was around 2003-2008 or so, I would say. Massive number of FMs and most of them were solid.

It's about quality, not quantity.
 
Last edited:

Unkillable Cat

LEST WE FORGET
Patron
Joined
May 13, 2009
Messages
27,091
Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy
One Taffer I recall being quite active a few years back that went silent for a while has returned with a T2 FM campaign.

"Mortous Liber" by Beltzer tells of Garrett staying at an inn in a small village somewhere, when a note is slipped under his door with lucrative mark: The eponymous book. The sheriff also seems to sport a fancy ring, so Garrett has a Fun Night Out planned.

Except I couldn't get any fun out of this.

The first map is the town plus sewer system. The only way I could find into the sewer system is through the trap door in the inn, which you can't get to without being noticed by the staff and inn's only customer. Except they don't care, even if you nick their stuff. The rest of the village, while containing several houses, is mostly empty and uninspiring, consisting of a couple up on a balcony (who don't care that I'm there), some sleeping villagers (who don't know/care that I'm there), far too many doors that can't be frobbed, and a handful of guards in places where they can't reach me. The only notable thing in the entire village is a frobbable cable leading from a warehouse to a large mansion. Might come in handy later, but now let's check the sewers. The sewers have lots of spiders... except it's too dark for them to see anything so they don't care, so I bonked them all over the head while standing on top of them. Eventually the sewers brought me to the police station, where no one is around but there's a suspicious-looking generator standing outside with a fuse attached to it. After finding a screwdriver and blowing the fuse the police station is out of power, but two coppers appear out of nowhere and start patrolling. A couple of bonks later I see I need to find a code to a safe and I have three keys to the front door. Using one of the keys removes all three keys from my inventory ( :roll: ) and stepping through the door spawns in the sheriff in a rather crude manner.

It was at this point that I realized that no one in the FM cares, the author doesn't seem to care, so why should I care? I just quit then and there. Beltzer can churn out decent architecture and stuff, but it's all either hollow and soulless or just plain feels off somehow. Judging by the first mission in this campaign, the author hasn't learned anything in those fields, which is a shame. Maybe the subsequent FMs are better, but the first one put me off the entire campaign fairly quickly.

Easily the biggest 'meh' of the year... and a 750 Mb download at that. Four shrugs out of five for this one.
 

skacky

3D Realms
Developer
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Messages
2,506
Location
The City
Resident taffers who don't go to TTLG much will be happy to know that, with two weeks to go, the 20th anniversary contest currently has 8 submissions, with more to come. :incline:
 

Unkillable Cat

LEST WE FORGET
Patron
Joined
May 13, 2009
Messages
27,091
Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy
As far as T2 FMs are concerned... according to a competition held 10 years ago it's "Unbidden Guest" by Melan

It's also the only FM I've played (so far) that gets the full five star-rating in FMSel. (I have lots of 4.5-star FMs.)
 

Mechs Delight

Educated
Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
81
Location
Sioux Falls, SD USA
Playing through the first mission of "Mortous Liber,' and I agree with Cat that it's rather uninspired, except I kinda like the music in the town and for readables (reminds me of classic Sesame Street animal film music).
 

nicked

Educated
Joined
Feb 7, 2017
Messages
81
Location
Lincoln, UK
To me it's a weird question, because most missions that people describe as being "like Thief 1" these days are usually more "like a skacky mission" - i.e. city missions with exaggeratedly proportioned architecture and lots of verticality.

In reality, actual Thief 1 OMs rarely go much above 2 storeys and there's only one mission that half-counts as a "city mission" as we'd understand the term. Like Christmas, the idea of a Thief 1-style FM has very much taken on a meaning of it's own, outside of direct comparison to the original game.

That said, I am hyyyped for this contest - 8 missions already! :)
 

cowking

Scholar
Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Messages
115
Since the 20th Anniversary is coming up, which FM would you say best captures the vibe of The Dark Project?

First thing that comes to mind is Shadow of Doubt, perhaps not in architecture but in atmosphere. Very dark and oppressive.

Dude's making a new fm too from the looks of it as I stumbled on his blog. Would play.
 

DrKubiac

Educated
Joined
Aug 29, 2015
Messages
66
I salute my fellow fm authors lurking around here, it's been quite a year and I can't wait to play your missions. :salute:
So many missions to catch up, and so little time. Best way to celebrate the 20th anniversary.
 

Baron Dupek

Arcane
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
1,870,765
Damn, I'm late
Yesterday there was Thief - The Dark Project 20th anniversary, and to celebare this - a new HD textures pack for Thief 2 - Metal Age is out


at least they did not touch NPCs, like in Thief 2x HD (currently playing)
 

Unkillable Cat

LEST WE FORGET
Patron
Joined
May 13, 2009
Messages
27,091
Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy
Like a good taffer I'm going through the 20th Anniversary contest entries, making notes and marking down my scores. I'm thinking about posting them here once I'm done with all 24 entries.

My impressions overall? It's not only been ages since there's been a Thief contest with so many entries, but one with so many good entries. I foresee a couple of them becoming all-time classics.

But the one I just finished? The one that literally sucked up 8 hours out of my day because its atmosphere is through the roof? That one left me borderline traumatized. It's been over 25 years since I was so relieved to escape from a location in a video game. That one is heading for the taffin' history books.

A simple Yes/No question to the Taffers in the know here: Is anyone submitting an entry into the contest under a pseudonym, instead of anonymously?
 

Jazz_

Arcane
Joined
Jun 13, 2016
Messages
1,069
Location
Sea of Ubiquity
But the one I just finished? The one that literally sucked up 8 hours out of my day because its atmosphere is through the roof? That one left me borderline traumatized. It's been over 25 years since I was so relieved to escape from a location in a video game. That one is heading for the taffin' history books.

A man needs a name..
 

Unkillable Cat

LEST WE FORGET
Patron
Joined
May 13, 2009
Messages
27,091
Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy
Jazz_ The only reason I'm not naming the FM is because I'm not done with all 24 entries yet. I feel it would be unfair to name and fame one FM over others at this point.

The reason I did mention it though is to tell taffers to go check out the contest entries for themselves.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom