Thief fan missions and campaigns

[Kontra]

Cant recall the childs diary at the moment... But yeah they werent all like the above. Some of the Hammerite written ones lacked that Hammer-speak of theirs so it was a bit jarring. One thing i noticed at least in the few maps i tried is that the texts in these FMs tend to get a bit too long... 5 or 6 pages long. Its not a big deal but it slows the gameplay down when you have to stand and read it for 5 minutes. Sure you can skip it but what if its something important? So i always end up reading it... I dont know maybe im just impatient but in general its best to keep it short and simple.

 

[Random_Taffer]

Another case of audiolog syndrome is the child's diary in The Drymian Codex. A kid who doesn't know how to write very well wouldn't take the time to write out accents like "nothin' to see here", they'd probably write something like "nuthin ta see heer."
I believe I fought to make it happen that way and pointed this out, but Tannar preferred readability over realism in this case.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Writing proper Child's Language is actually quite hard so I can understand people that choose to skip it, but skipping it for "preferred readability" is a thin excuse. If you're willing to wrestle with DromED for months on end, you can take a couple of hours to write some readables properly...and if all else fails you can outsource it to someone who can.

There's another game that takes Audiolog Syndrome to a whole new level - Viscera Cleanup Detail. You can find notes and journals as you clean up various sites in the game, and they're all written as if someone had a tape recorder on in someone's head while they're thinking...which is something no one does. Only the Mission Reports you can find addressed to the 'hostile cleanup crew' are excempt from this, as well as the writings of your predecessor, Bob. Bob is completely and utterly batshit insane, so his ranting notes that detail his escape from justice don't feel out of place...even the "they must never find me!" tagline at the end of most of his notes.

 

[Riskbreaker]

Speaking of Drymian Codex, there was one thing that I just can't forget, and that felt incredibly off and cheesy.

That pagan spy had

Spoiler

noisy pagan altar hidden in his room. In the middle of that goddamn Hammerite monastery. Even worse, I think you could hear the sound produced by said altar as soon you entered his chambers.

 

[Yandros]

Yeah, that was intentional and a difficult decision. The testers were concerned that the secret room was too hard to find, so the sound was left as a clue.

 

[JarlFrank]

So the results of the novice contest came in. As I predicted, Kurhhan's mission won, while Grandmauden's and mine are very close in score (mine is about 0.2 or so points lower than his).

Well, overall, I'm quite happy with the feedback I got. Besides one comment saying that my mission had nothing interesting to offer (which is also the shortest comment of them all and doesn't explain its opinion any further, lol), people seem to have enjoyed it, and someone even said that despite its shortcomings he enjoyed it more than some missions by the pros, which surprised me - it was just a practice mission and isn't that great, really.

But then, I'm in my typical "eeeh could've been better" phase that I have with any works I make, so eh.

Overall, it was a great little contest and I hope the others continue making missions, too. Only three participants was a little few, but then, it's pretty awesome to arrange a successful novice contest for Dromed in 2016, anyway.
Looking forward to what the other two will deliver in the future. Personally, I'm in the middle of working on my second mission, and it's very very different from the first.

 

[Riskbreaker]

This just came out:
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146455
I just had to try it after reading the description and seeing them screenies on DarkFate. So far, so good. I am yet to reach the house, but things have been extremely adventure/exploration focused so far. Ya start out with no equipment whatsoever (at least on expert), so far I've found only a lamp and a couple of rope arrows (and section where said arrow were hidden was creepy as fuck, you'll see).

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I delved into "Coaxing the Spirit", or The Search for More Color as I like to call it.

This has a few elements that might deter potential taffers:

# There's loot, but no loot requirement.
# There's "dark-as-crap" darkness. Look for a light source.
# There's platforming, which is something the Dark Engine isn't that good at. Fortunately New_Mantle is enabled and will help out loads.
# Once you reach the house the gameplay turns into a linear key-hunt. It's a fun ride though, so it's no biggie.

This is solid fun, so far. It incorporates a few nice tricks, like frobbables that react just by looking at them. And that book in the library...brilliant use of a readable. This is also the first FM...well, ever, to disable the zooming function of the mechanical eye.

I know Dev_Anj beta-tested this, so maybe he can help me where I'm stuck: I reached the storage in the basement and just got an oil flask and there's an old gate there that only opens a little bit. The only other part of the house I haven't been in is through the falcon door on the top floor.

EDIT: Nevermind, the old "post about your problem and the solution presents itself" trick from the TTLG forums strikes again. For those that might get stuck in the same place as mentioned above...examine the door closely.

EDIT 2: Stuck again. I need to get through the cat door now, got 2 new objectives and there are 8 runes that need to be found and frobbed for some reason, of which I've found 2. Also there's a triangle-shape on a wall in the basement that doesn't appear to do anything.

 

[Dev_Anj]

EDIT 2: Stuck again. I need to get through the cat door now, got 2 new objectives and there are 8 runes that need to be found and frobbed for some reason, of which I've found 2. Also there's a triangle-shape on a wall in the basement that doesn't appear to do anything.

I don't remember there being any such rune objective, they are probably for a secret or some such. However, I think what you need now is the second owl. For that, you need to head outside and search for an opened window that you can get to using a rope arrow. The owl should be there, as well as a passage.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Thank you, but I've already progressed beyond all that and only need the optional objectives now (runes and bird symbols).

Still, your clue raises a very vital point for this FM: Spatial awareness needs to be maxed out. Players will need to check the windows on the outside, and then compare them to windows they can reach on the inside. Any windows that they can't reach from inside should be examined closer on the outside...but not until

Spoiler

after they've found the key to the falcon door and reached the attic.

The only other hint I'll give in regards to completing the mission itself is to solve the owl puzzle that Dev_Anj mentioned. Doing so triggers an event elsewhere when you head back to the attic that will set players on the right path.

With all the above in mind...I have to say that my opinion of this FM has soured somewhat. They key-hunt aspect of the mission expands into an item-hunt, and then there are two optional objectives, each requiring seven items to be found. These items are hard to find, especially since most of them require finding grey items in a grey landscape. In many ways this FM is a walking simulator, but a high-quality one at that. A good example of the versatility of the Dark Engine, if anything.

 

[Random_Taffer]

I delved into "Coaxing the Spirit", or The Search for More Color as I like to call it.

Ha! I actually thought it was going to be a black and white mission until I noticed the grass patches were green.

 

[Renault]

I was thinking of taking a stab at Keeper of Infinity, but I've heard some ugly things about in the various related threads (while trying not to read too much for the sake of spoilers). One quesiton though for anyone who's played it - is it actually possible to get stuck in the mission(s) if you do thing incorrectly or in the wrong order? I've seen mention of that, and if that's true, I think I'll take a pass. I'm not up for that kind of frustration.

@Unkillable - I like your commentary on most missions, very honest and straightforward. Ever consider doing youtube walkthroughs? I think you'd be great at that. Or maybe not necessarily a walkthrough, but a video review of sorts, with final thoughts and conclusions after playing a mission.

 

[Turtle-Zone 3000]

@Unkillable - I like your commentary on most missions, very honest and straightforward. Ever consider doing youtube walkthroughs? I think you'd be great at that. Or maybe not necessarily a walkthrough, but a video review of sorts, with final thoughts and conclusions after playing a mission.

I suspect you won't be as annoying as Fen Phoenix.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I've thought about it, but it's something I'm not looking into at the moment. I've yet to test myself on the "Does this voice make my ears bleed?"-test.

I would probably make a great writer for someone else doing YT videos, though, and will in fact get a chance to test that later this year.

 

[Renault]

I suspect you won't be as annoying as Fen Phoenix.

Fen's stuff is hit and miss with me, but I think the majority of players enjoy his videos.

 

[Max_b5]

I just finished Coaxing the Spirit. Interesting FM to say the least. Ended up with 1350 out of 1550 of loot with all secrets found. Out of curiosity, I turned off the lamp in the beasty-sounds cave and I gotta say it was the worst decision ever. Damn that place is tense.

 

[Renault]

Out of curiosity, I turned off the lamp in the beasty-sounds cave and I gotta say it was the worst decision ever. Damn that place is tense.

I assumed with that area that it's just

Spoiler

a scripting thing and there's no actual AI in there. If you have have the light on, you'll be safe no matter where you go, and if it's off, you'd automatically die.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Sounds like the cave is inhabited by a Grue.

 

[Max_b5]

Yeah I assumed that there was no AI in there because the sounds were ambient but I just wondered what would've happened if I turned off the light and after being in that cave, the house felt a little underwhelming.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

BTW, if any of you are still running about in Coaxing the Spirit, answer me something. Up in the attic some music starts playing, like from a music box.

Does that music remind anyone else but me of this song?

 

[skacky]

I was thinking of taking a stab at Keeper of Infinity, but I've heard some ugly things about in the various related threads (while trying not to read too much for the sake of spoilers). One quesiton though for anyone who's played it - is it actually possible to get stuck in the mission(s) if you do thing incorrectly or in the wrong order? I've seen mention of that, and if that's true, I think I'll take a pass. I'm not up for that kind of frustration.

Not sure if the author has changed things since last time, but you could definitely get stuck in unwinnable situations.

 

[Yandros]

If I'm interpreting Soul Tear's latest comments correctly, he said that only 20% of testers actually could complete the campaign without issues. He also said he wasn't trying to do any better than that and that he was satisfied with the results.

 

[Melan]

It is certainly a design philosophy (that would make Roberta Williams proud).

 

[Yandros]

Ah, Roberta Williams. I haven't heard her name in a while. When I was a teenager, around 1983, I got Time Zone on Apple II (it was a whopping 7 discs or some such) and it was virtually impossible to follow what was going on or figure out what to do next. I actually wrote a letter (you know, the kind you put a stamp on) to Sierra with a question to get unstuck, and also to poke fun at one particular game image (a Russian fellow holding a gun which was floating a foot above his hands). They actually wrote me back with answers, but also said they were glad I liked the graphics. Sarcasm was just as hard to get across with snail mail as it is electronically.

 

[Renault]

So what's with the whole Russian difficulty thing? Are the rest of the FMs out there just way too damn easy for all those super intelligent ruskie Thief fans?

After reading more of the TTLG thread, I think I'm passing on KoI2. Sounds way too frustrating. Maybe I'll do a run someday when Ricebug has written one of his walkthroughs. I'm gonna go a bit older school and fire up Sterlino's Horns of Canzo FMs, two missions I've never actually finished before.