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Fan Mission: A House of Locked Secrets by Gelo "Moonbo" Fleisher (2015/05/28)


Moonbo

A House of Locked Secrets (by Gelo "Moonbo" Fleisher)  

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Hey Cambridge,

 

That's pretty cool :-). Yeah, I had set up all the coding etc using the song "La Louison" but it sounded too different from the other songs so at the last minute I swapped it out with "Lauda V". That's why the song is labled that in the game files.

But you should walk having internal dignity. Be a wonderful person who can dance pleasantly to the rhythm of the universe.

-Sun Myung Moon

 

My work blog: gfleisher.blogspot.com

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One tip for newbies, don't click if you don't want to know

 

 

Angry spirits can't throw things at you if there's nothing to throw

;)

 

 

LOL! As soon as I started to get hit by the

flying objects

I was like:

 

"Ok, if you can't play nice then uncle Bolen will just have to take away all your little toys!"

:P

 

 

I have a feeling this mission raised a bar here :)

 

 

Um, yeah, like somewhere in the immediate vicinity of the astronomical body known as PLUTO!!! :o

 

Moonbo, I have only finished the first mission but I have to call it a night, I can't stay up till 4 am like you forced me to last night in order to finish Requiem! :blink::D

 

BUT - I just gotta say man, I knew I was in for a treat from the very first visual:

ahouseoflockedsecrets_2015-08-10_22.07.5

HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD! (or the Builder I guess in this case!) Dude, your name my be MOONbo but you sure do one HELL of a be-u-ti-ful SUNrise!!! Now that's something a night owl like me would wake up just to see! :awesome:

 

Then of course you havta go and get incredibly WICKED on us!:

ahouseoflockedsecrets_2015-08-10_22.13.4

Man oh man I can't wait till down time tomorrow! :ph34r:B):ph34r:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, it's down time now - and away I go, to where many other thieves, err, acolytes have gone before! :D

 

Okay, now I am quite curious! Does the

spirit in the spirit realm of the lower warehouse, with the readable about seeing someone hunting on the other side of the gate of the manor

have nothing to say to me? :wacko:

 

And will I ever find out who the heck he is? (I saved at that point and reloaded the save from just before I sent

Sam and Griswald

on to have a little chat with the Builder about stealing from His house!

(this time I just put 'em to beddy bye!)

 

And

the spirit

wasn't either of them because

it was still there and dey twer'nt deaders!!! ;)

( besides, it didn't look much like either of them! mebbe it was "spirit extra # 1"? :P )

Edited by Dark Shadow
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Cogito, ergo, sum. Cogito?

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Okay, covered some more ground!

 

Saw this:

ahouseoflockedsecrets_2015-08-12_23.58.1

DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!

 

Wow, I can just see the Mechanists drooling all over themselves with the thought of reverse engineering these babies! ;)

 

Talked to Sir Henry - who the heck did his voice?

Frikin awesome! Utterly perfect!! Among so many great voice overs in this incredible FM, that one was the best (so far ^_^)!

Also it's the best I have EVER heard anywhere! In the industry, games or films/tv, work that good would command top dollar!

 

Moonbo - you also must have learned guilt from a Jewish grandma! :o

You just had to let me find

Norris's journal

after I did a mob "double-tap" to his heart and head!

 

Well, at least, since I am a full priest now, I SHALT make sure that the church sees to the welfare of

Helena and the baby

in perpetuity!!!

 

OH, Moonbo - couldya plz to take a look at my previous post question? (about

that spirit

)

Edited by Dark Shadow
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Hey Dark Shadow,

 

Glad you're enjoying the mission so far :-). Sir Henry was voiced by Goldwell who did just about all the voice acting in Requiem, and has made a few Dark Mod missions of his own.

 

 

 

The spirit in the warehouse sadly has nothing to say besides his observations in the journal besides him. He's just an old laborer who used to work in the warehouse (the tools that serve as the gate to his realm were his favorite instruments), but what he saw foreshadows what's going on in the manor. Small touch, but you'll see two statues waiting to be erected in his spirit realm and you can find those statues erected near the church.

 

 

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But you should walk having internal dignity. Be a wonderful person who can dance pleasantly to the rhythm of the universe.

-Sun Myung Moon

 

My work blog: gfleisher.blogspot.com

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Well, Goldwell did, well, Gold Platinum on that VO!

 

Now I'm gonna havta go and play Requiem again and concentrate on the VO's!

(You sure know how to resell a product doncha! ;):D )

 

OHH, okay - I'll load a save from that place in the mish just to take a look at the waiting statues

then pop outside of the manor in my current save and see 'em in place! B)

 

You also know how to really do "product placement" well cuz now Imma goin ta havta check out summa

Goldwell's mishes!!! :rolleyes::P

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Cogito, ergo, sum. Cogito?

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I have more screenies to post but I'll hold them for my final post on this thread!

 

I want this post to concentrate on:

 

HALLP!

 

I seem to be missing sumthin somewheres somehows! :blush:

 

I have the

attic key

(which I don't get the purpose of since I already ben dere - done dat!).

Re-united the

two elopers

- least in ectoplasmic form! ;)

 

So I have been in the attic in both realms, have seen the pottery shards mentioned in a post here

(but no blood near them) in the living realm. Have seen two jars (one with the lid off) near two

big blue pots in the spirit realm, BUT -

NO HEART!

 

(and nothing there is frobbable!)

 

So please sum1, any1 - help me so that I kin feel like a half-blind taffer on the short bus to his first day

of taffer school! :P:laugh::excl:

Edited by Dark Shadow

Cogito, ergo, sum. Cogito?

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Hey DarkShadow,

 

Do you mean the heart of

the Bad Man

? If so you'll need to find it in the spiritual world, look for a gold statue in James Thurgood's room to return there. Very occasionally there will be a bug where the gold statue isn't frobbable...I hope that isn't happening. Let me know if you still can't find what to do :-).

  • Like 1

But you should walk having internal dignity. Be a wonderful person who can dance pleasantly to the rhythm of the universe.

-Sun Myung Moon

 

My work blog: gfleisher.blogspot.com

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Hey DarkShadow,

 

Do you mean the heart of

the Bad Man

? If so you'll need to find it in the spiritual world, look for a gold statue in James Thurgood's room to return there. Very occasionally there will be a bug where the gold statue isn't frobbable...I hope that isn't happening. Let me know if you still can't find what to do :-).

Yes Moonbo, that one.

 

I am pretty sure that I have used that statue and that it is still frobable.

And like I said - I've been in the attic in the spirit realm and didn't see anything there except the jars and pots I mentioned and the

two spirits.

 

Cogito, ergo, sum. Cogito?

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Wrong attic ;-).

 

 

 

There is an attic in the wing where you first meet the Bad Man. There are two bedrooms on the second floor of that wing, one of them has James's journal and a gold statue next to it. You'll need to use that gold statue to get back to the spirit world and make your way up to the attic there. You'll know you're in the right area because the Bad Man is still around.

 

 

 

I hope that helps, otherwise I'll try to track down a youtube LP with the right spot :-).

  • Like 1

But you should walk having internal dignity. Be a wonderful person who can dance pleasantly to the rhythm of the universe.

-Sun Myung Moon

 

My work blog: gfleisher.blogspot.com

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OOOOH! :blush:

 

See - I KNEW I was missin sumthing!! ;)

 

A whole 'nother attic! Or is it just a diff. separated section of the single attic? Hmm? :wacko:

 

Oki, Moonbo - I shalt gird mine loins (tho one should never talk about ones loins with anyone other than their doctor!),

and shalt enter that abomination's world once more! :o

 

Thanks Moon - you're too much bud! :D

(as if one could ever have too much bud! :laugh: )

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, I finished it!!!

 

Will post my final 1 1/2 cents later, right now I gotta lean back in my chair and ruminate on and process all the thoughts and emotions this unbelievable thing has evoked!!!!!!

Edited by Dark Shadow
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I am very stuck on the part of the training mission.

 

 

Can seem to get to the second statue in Brother Onzos' s room. In the spirit world the way back seems to be cut off, and in the real world I have no lock picks.

 

 

I can "complete" all objective, but I am not really done as I can clearly see the missing item with a noclip.

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Hey MVT,

 

So the problem is that you can't find the two statues?

 

 

 

You should be able to find them both in the physical world:

 

1) First one is in Onzo's room, under the upturned chamber pot.

2) Second one is to the side of the staircase descending into the crypt. Look behind one of the pillars in a side niche.

 

 

 

 

Let me know if you still can't visualize it and I'll see if I can track down the locations in one of the LP's on youtube :-).

But you should walk having internal dignity. Be a wonderful person who can dance pleasantly to the rhythm of the universe.

-Sun Myung Moon

 

My work blog: gfleisher.blogspot.com

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I am very stuck on the part of the training mission.

I can "complete" all objective, but I am not really done as I can clearly see the missing item with a noclip.

 

General info abnout how you're meant to get in:

 

There's a key to that door

 

 

Full-on spoiler:

 

 

It's in the real world on the floor in the room beyond the haunted cellar with the flying jars, next to the note and the spirit gate.

 

 

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At the risk of sounding cliché, I registered just so I could share my feelings about this mission, despite others already having said just about everything that I wanted to say about it. Still, I firmly believe one can never have too much encouragement, so here we go.

 

I just recently picked The Dark Mod back up after leaving it alone for a couple of years, saw that there was a new mission by Moonbo and, recalling how much I loved Requiem, immediately jumped into it.

 

Several hours and one sleepless night later, I can definitely say I was not disappointed. It was magnificent.

You have the most marvellous talent for creating maps and missions that are not only extremely interesting to play through and explore, but, much like an iceberg, are far deeper and more expansive than they appear at first glance. Playing through the map, picking up the threads of different stories and seeing all the attention to detail and layout is great fun, but having it open out further as you explore and realising there's so much more of it makes it an absolute joy to experience.

 

In addition, taking things in a different direction from the usual with regards to the character (playing as a Builder, albeit one that used to be a thief), mechanics (the Holy Symbol and, to a lesser extent, the surprisingly-useful Shovel) and enemies really brings your (or, rather, Bolen's) corner of the Dark Mod's world to life and gives it an innovative, distinct feel that further enhances the missions.

 

The map design is excellent, with the city buildings and backdrops all being varied and interesting, both to see and to clamber all over to find those hidden nooks and crannies (which are, in themselves just as varied and interesting). You fit an awful lot in, so much so that I ended up repeatedly combing areas to find hidden rooms and items I missed the first go around, or just to take in how good an area looked. I particularly liked how you gave the mansion such personality with the variously-shaped rooms, dips in the floor, use of lighting, different materials and other interesting touches such as

the fireplaces with the shared flue between the sitting room and bathroom,

all of which served to make the place seem much more 'real' and memorable. And the secrets! So many secrets!

I also liked

how the various Spirit World sections reflected their creators' personalities, from Father Martel's calm monastery at night to Henry's father's ominous library, and from the singer's peaceful, warmly-lit chapel to the eerie lighting and somewhat frayed layout of the North Wing stalked by The Bad Man.

And then, of course, there is

the shattered insanity that is the Seal Plane and its hall of portraits driving home just how very long a history you're dealing with.

 

 

The gameplay is also great. The

Spirit World

mechanic literally adds another dimension to things and makes the map itself a puzzle, especially considering how Bolen's inventory is handled with regards to it. From a more meta side of things, I didn't experience any noticable bugs whilst playing- impressive, considering the sheer scale of the mission and the amount of things that must be going on in the background.

I would also like to commend your use of soundtrack in this. You did an excellent job matching it to the areas, which greatly enhanced the atmosphere.

 

The story, too, is intriguing, involving as it does a series of smaller tales Bolen takes a hand in as well as their place in the overarching plot. I also found

the increasingly unpleasant happenings in Sir Henry's room with each successive visit

really helped drive the feeling of progression and drew me in further. Not to mention, having the character be one of the Builders opens up interesting new storytelling avenues and approaches in itself, to say nothing of a Builder with Bolen's particular skills. Furthermore,

having the Spirit World reflect how the spirit-creator saw reality is rife with potential, as shown by the woman haunted by The Bad Man's world being considerably different in certain areas to the main mansion. Even the worlds of perfectly sane spirits were noticably different from the more modern reality.

Altogether excellent stuff.

 

I'd also like to mention how much I appreciated the first 'tutorial' mission. It did a wonderful job of introducing the main new mechanic and establishing the setting, neatly showed the player what to expect from the coming mission as it progressed and managed to fit in some story and intrigue to boot.

 

 

My only problem is that now I've played both Requiem and this, I'm wanting to see more of the adventures of Bolen and where his unique talents take him in this particular corner of the world with its history. All whilst simultaneously knowing that such quality takes a very long time to produce. I sincerely hope you make more missions for this setting, as I'm sure do many others. In the meantime, I think I may very well have to look into getting a copy of that book of yours.

Edited by Caelzeph
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Hey Caelzeph,

 

Thanks you for writing up such a detailed review! Like you said, building these sorts of things takes a lot of time and effort, so it's always encouraging when you hear that someone enjoyed your work :-).

But you should walk having internal dignity. Be a wonderful person who can dance pleasantly to the rhythm of the universe.

-Sun Myung Moon

 

My work blog: gfleisher.blogspot.com

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  • 3 weeks later...

Legacy_of_Kain-Soul_Reaver_%28PC%29_42.g

 

Finally got around to playing this mission... think it just jumped right into my top 4 favourite missions. Excellent job! Would have never figured it'd be this engrossing, despite testing the first level.

Edited by Xarg
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Intel Sandy Bridge i7 2600K @ 3.4ghz stock clocks
8gb Kingston 1600mhz CL8 XMP RAM stock frequency
Sapphire Radeon HD7870 2GB FLeX GHz Edition @ stock @ 1920x1080

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I haven't finished the mission yet but I had to comment of the excellence of this FM. From the gameplay elements like the shovel among other things as well as the fact that this feels more of a campaign than a single map mission takes TDM to a whole new level. Hopefully this encourages other mappers to get together make some nice campaigns or consolidate the finished multiple missions they have into one campaign. The architecture was excellent as well with many hidden corridors between rooms and intricate detailed decorations.

 

Hope the second map gets optimized for better performance in the future.

Edited by Taquito
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General info abnout how you're meant to get in:

 

There's a key to that door

 

 

Full-on spoiler:

 

 

It's in the real world on the floor in the room beyond the haunted cellar with the flying jars, next to the note and the spirit gate.

 

 

 

I have the key. My problem is I can't get to the room. It's behind the gate that first closed when the testing starts. I have not found my way in the real or spirit world (except by noclip). It would seem I am missing the obvious somewhere.

 

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Hey MVT,

 

You need to finish up the final trial and talk to your instructor first. When you do this, the gate will open back up and you can leave, either to go back to your room or to investigate around.

But you should walk having internal dignity. Be a wonderful person who can dance pleasantly to the rhythm of the universe.

-Sun Myung Moon

 

My work blog: gfleisher.blogspot.com

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The second mission got so intense I had to take a break from playing yesterday night. Absolutely stellar tension-building.

 

One complaint I have so far is that it feels like a railroad, and sometimes the mission gives the sense that you can take some alternate route or explore a side area, which then turns out to be nothing. For instance, I spent 15 minutes trying to climb up where you first see the manor, right above the conversation between the guardsman and captain (which was hilarious), only to find out after 15 minutes that there was nothing there. Why give me a rope arrow and put a ton of wood AND A LIGHT there if nothing's going to be there. Similarly, I spotted the door high up on the manor, so I used my rope arrow to get there, and then the door was locked and unpickable. Likewise I looked at my map and planned my route through the mansion, only to find that the route I wanted to take was impossible because of the unpickable doors.

On the plus side, I really like what you're doing with the new mechanic, and the puzzles and stuff. It's good shit, though a bit vague at times as information is communicated through dialogue which can't be repeated. You set up a note-taking mechanic in the first mission, that could be good to use here, or to implement in TDM in general.

 

Overall I'm liking what I'm seeing, but I find it hard to know when to explore. Sometimes you find a secret and sometimes you find a frustrating dead-end and have to backtrack.

You can call me Phi, Numbers, Digits, Ratio, 16, 1618, or whatever really, as long as it's not Phil.

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The second mission got so intense I had to take a break from playing yesterday night. Absolutely stellar tension-building.

 

One complaint I have so far is that it feels like a railroad, and sometimes the mission gives the sense that you can take some alternate route or explore a side area, which then turns out to be nothing. For instance, I spent 15 minutes trying to climb up where you first see the manor, right above the conversation between the guardsman and captain (which was hilarious), only to find out after 15 minutes that there was nothing there. Why give me a rope arrow and put a ton of wood AND A LIGHT there if nothing's going to be there. Similarly, I spotted the door high up on the manor, so I used my rope arrow to get there, and then the door was locked and unpickable. Likewise I looked at my map and planned my route through the mansion, only to find that the route I wanted to take was impossible because of the unpickable doors.

On the plus side, I really like what you're doing with the new mechanic, and the puzzles and stuff. It's good shit, though a bit vague at times as information is communicated through dialogue which can't be repeated. You set up a note-taking mechanic in the first mission, that could be good to use here, or to implement in TDM in general.

 

Overall I'm liking what I'm seeing, but I find it hard to know when to explore. Sometimes you find a secret and sometimes you find a frustrating dead-end and have to backtrack.

Yeah, well nothing's perfect I guess. But this series is special. The fact that replaying allows to find new things in the story rather then see new bugs and faults is a testament to it.

 

It's a tremendous FM!

Edited by Anderson

"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

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@Grodenglaive, thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed the book! If you felt so inspired, it's always a great help to have reviews on the book's Amazon page :-).

 

@Hey 1618, yeah it's never easy striking the right balance between open level design and making sure that players don't get lost. Regarding unpickable locks, a lot of those will be surmountable as the level opens up (especially after you meet Henry Thurgood).

 

 

 

There actually *is* a secret in that section you're talking about, let me know if you want hints or a direct explanation as to how to get to it.

 

 

But you should walk having internal dignity. Be a wonderful person who can dance pleasantly to the rhythm of the universe.

-Sun Myung Moon

 

My work blog: gfleisher.blogspot.com

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@Grodenglaive, thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed the book! If you felt so inspired, it's always a great help to have reviews on the book's Amazon page :-).

 

@Hey 1618, yeah it's never easy striking the right balance between open level design and making sure that players don't get lost. Regarding unpickable locks, a lot of those will be surmountable as the level opens up (especially after you meet Henry Thurgood).

 

 

 

There actually *is* a secret in that section you're talking about, let me know if you want hints or a direct explanation as to how to get to it.

 

 

Yeah it's a lot more open now, but I got pretty miffed in like the first 30 minutes of play. I'll keep going and write some more details when I finish.

 

 

I already got up to the attic door and then the balcony above. There's a candle holder that counts as a secret. Are you telling me there's a secret in the building before the two guards having that little conversation?

 

You can call me Phi, Numbers, Digits, Ratio, 16, 1618, or whatever really, as long as it's not Phil.

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I usually reply to a mission thread after I've finished it, and I'm currently halfway through the second level (in the mansion). This however is so awesome, I had to let my thoughts out a bit sooner! I will cast my votes after I'm done, but I can tell from now they will certainly be high. I'm at the point where I'm getting hyped to simply hear "Fleisher has released a new TDM mission" :)

 

I was impressed from the very beginning of the first level, as I saw the beautiful visuals of that cathedral... including the rays shining through the window on that lovely purple sky. The layout and starting puzzles were also very pleasant, and close to what you'd expect in the first mission of a professional & commercial single-player game.

 

Gameplay wise, I'm especially enjoying two things. One is that it's progressive and slow paced... as in you slowly get your equipment over time rather than all at the start of the level, and you start with small areas and simple puzzles that seem to get larger and harder at a steady rate. The second is that I finally see a TDM mission where you play some other role than the pesky thief on the lose... which I'm not saying is bad since that's what best suits the player in the TDM universe, but TDM often leaves me wanting to see something out of the mainstream mission style. It felt a lot different to explore the corridors or the first part of the town and have guards salute me instead of attacking me! By the way... how do you get friendly guards to salute the player as "greetings father" to begin with, since I'm not aware of any mission setting that lets you define the player's class?

Edited by MirceaKitsune
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