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Melan

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Everything posted by Melan

  1. No work yet. I am completely burned out and fed up with my work, so I am not even pressuring Yandros ATM. It will have to come later.
  2. Would it be possible to move this technical discussion to a separate thread?
  3. This has been a very interesting mission! The visuals are top notch, and they have a gloomy ambience that works very well with the story, from the fog-shrouded river to the mansion, and ultimately the other environments you encounter. Your eye for fine details and environmental storytelling shines through everywhere. I also liked the story, it is complex and goes beyond the expectations of the initial setup (i.e. "here is a spooky mansion to loot"). The use of real-world references is a bit odd in my eyes, but at least it was pulled off with good skills, and without contradictions. The main storyline is nice and creepy, and holds a genuine sense of mystery. I have to be slightly critical of the gameplay. Many of the places are cramped, and sneaking is made prohibitively hard until it becomes frustrating. This is most notable when it comes to the ships, especially the beginning of the second mission, where I eventually left several bloodied corpses behind me. The other segments are fine, if tricky. Some of the investigative bits were rather enjoyable. All in all, a very good mission, and I eagerly avait the next one!
  4. This was an enjoyable mission! It had a nice moral ambiguity that was gradually revealed through the readables (it is notable that you are not necessarily breaking into the home of a reprehensible bastard). Sneaking wasn't too hard, but there were challenging bits, and setting up your escape route while picking up the loot in the display cases was fun. Something was missing from the mission in my mind - maybe an extra twist, or a small outside location, etc. - as it is, it can be a bit too much of the same thing, all mansion all the time. But overall, solid work, and I understand it is something built under a short time span.
  5. Thanks for all the feedback, folks! I have had a hellish few weeks so I couldn't be around much, but I appreciate your intelligent comments.
  6. Two stealth releases without too much fanfare! I was starting to get worried (and I guess I still am), but hey. Two new missions!
  7. ERH+: That's a really good-looking place! It would be a real pity if someone... broke into it.
  8. 'Tis too quiet. Maybe I should summon the minstrel!

    1. Show previous comments  7 more
    2. ERH+

      ERH+

      Level up! Pick a new perk.

    3. Dunedain19

      Dunedain19

      Happy birthday, Melan!

    4. Tarhiel

      Tarhiel

      Belated Happy Birthday, Melan! :)

  9. Obsttorte: Fair point! I got a whole lot of my ideas from pictures of Victorian slums, not to mention London: A Pilgrimage, and it is precisely because of their sociological angle. This is an image where the architecture could be 100% translated to TDM. It would even visportal well. ERH+: Yup; look at the kid to the left in the second carriage. The little miscreant moved his head!
  10. Oh... that crown! That's the price of building something in such a small amount of time. You try to think up the story and implement features as the clock is ticking, race furiously to correct a host of problems, scrap a part of the mission you had in mind, test, retest, revise, retest again, hit the release button, sigh in relief, then slip on a banana peel and break your neck. Some smooth taffing there!
  11. Maybe the objective could be modified so the player has to frob a lever instead of walking into the room?
  12. Thanks, Lex! I can see both points. PD2 was a less conventional mission, while this is a new iteration of techniques and ideas I have been doing since my first FM. I personally consider Erasing the Trail conceptually weaker than All the Way Up, and a flawed project in many ways - I stalled a third of the way through building it, and while it wrapped up decently I think, something is still "off" about the end result. Which is why I will not make new city missions for a while now, and focusing on other kinds of thieving. (Helping others is a different issue.) On the other hand, AtWU is not a very accommodating mission, while this one is fairly easy below expert (where the loot goal forces you to explore and be very attentive - it is kinda too strict). I can easily see how they can appeal to different people. And of course, PD4 will once again be another kind of mission. I forgot about including the high-res map, but will do when the mission is revised (watching Fen's LP, the ghostly voices need a bit of a toning down ). Actually, my very first mission back in 2007 came with a printable player map to pore over while playing the mission - it's time to revive the tradition!
  13. Lex: Thanks! Both of the main objectives can be completed without killing your targets (directly or indirectly), or indeed, even setting foot inside their respective residences. In Grunt's case, you are on one of the right tracks to complete the objective, but that's not one of the non-lethal solutions. In the Almsmaster's case, doing it non-lethally requires some lateral thinking and a bit of careful cross-examination of what you have at your disposal. As far as I know, it hasn't been done yet, and I'd rather let someone from the community discover it on their own before spoiling it.
  14. I had an offer from Yandros, and I would like to honour it if he feels ready (plus he is very well suited to do it). If you don't mind, I'll ask him if he can still take it. If he passes, it is yours.
  15. Summer, I am sorry to hear that, but thanks for posting your honest opinion. I hope PD4, which will be in a different style (again) will be more to your liking.
  16. Very moody. You have stuck to a common theme and brought out the best it could offer.
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