Marbrien

For me, when I went back to the lava area, the freed "prisoner" had already eliminated the water elementals, but it had stayed there and not gone in pursuit of its captor. So there wasn't anything much to see.

I'm playing on Expert, very enjoyable. I've completed all the main objectives, but can't seem to leave the lava area. Near where I teleported into the area, there's a metal hatch with a lock box and a lamp on the floor. I can't pick open the lock box and I don't have a key for it. How do I proceed? OK, I needed to use a different teleport, and have now found a key for that hatch.

I'm using 2.09/64, and the chest was a problem with the patched and the unpatched versions of the mission.

Enjoying this very much so far, I've done the main objective with the abductor and now (on hard) just trying to find more loot and secrets. One small problem I had was the i picked it but could only get the contents by frobbing through the closed lid, with the lid open I could not reach them. (Can we expect an Abbath reunion any time soon?)

I played this on Expert and really enjoyed it. I got all 5 secrets but even so, and despite checking round the map again, I could only get 4,941 loot so could not achieve the optional 5,000 loot objective. The total loot is only 5,081, so maybe the loot objective is set a little too high. That aside, I'm looking forward to the sequel(s)!

Is there anything to be gained by

I have just played version 1.31 on Hard. I can now take the lion statuette and made the loot objective, without finding all of it. I still cannot access the canal area - presumably that is deliberate.

I'm playing the version posted by kingsal above, on Hard. I can't make the loot total. In the plague quarter, there's a which I can get close to, but cannot frob. There's also talk in this thread about loot in but I can't access that part of the map. There's an unfrobbable iron gate to the east of the Market Place, and I haven't found another way through.

The objectives direct me to certain individuals' houses, but the map doesn't say where they are. Where is Franklin's apartment please, and is it readily accessible?

I'm glad you made that crystal clear...

I managed to finish this, on Expert. Apart from some frustrations circumventing the undead, it was great. I have a couple of questions. 1. Is there a use for the 2. I found I could get rid of the "red headlight" undead in the Quarters Thanks!

Just to pick up on some points here: I have seen the BJ video before, the one reposted by AluminiumHaste, quite some time ago. It improved my success rate, but only to a degree. I think I also played an in-game tutorial, again a long time ago. I have my AI settings at Nearly Blind and Nearly Deaf, and Combat Difficulty at Normal (which seems to be the easiest setting). Knocking out non-elite helmeted guards when they are standing or walking on an incline seems a lot harder than when they are on the level. And if you don't want to avoid the undead but dispose of them, other than by fire or holy water arrows, you have another problem altogether.

Perhaps I am in a minority in having these difficulties (which weren't solely about the BJ, incidentally). I wonder how big or small that minority might be, and whether any survey has been attempted on what players like and dislike about TDM, whether they be TDM authors or solely players, and whether they have come to TDM via Thief or not. If the minority is a sizeable one, it could be the appeal of TDM is being unnecessarily limited.

I’m sure this will have been discussed before, and I admit I haven’t checked through the other 82 pages of this thread. But I believe, and have done for some time, that the biggest problem with the game is the combat system. I acknowledge that some regard Thief as too easy, and I know TDM has different difficulty settings. But the easiest TDM setting is still too difficult, and in no way comparable with Thief. I’m currently using TDM 2.08, 64 bit, but have also used previous versions. Here specifically is what I don’t like. 1. The blackjack is too erratic. I realise that, just as with Thief, some AI cannot be blackjacked but, with those that can, success or failure can sometimes seem to depend on miniscule difference of proximity or timing. Some of us don’t like ghosting, we prefer to clear the AI out the way as much as possible so we can admire and explore the wonderful map the author has created, and get to work on any puzzles they have set us, at our leisure. But all too often frustrating multiple reloads are required because an AI won’t go down. And once they are alerted by an unsuccessful BJ attempt, the following additional problems arise. 2. AIs have elastic arms. They can cause you damage at what seems like 8 or 9 feet from their bodies, and can do so through walls. This is even true of weaponless zombies, their swiping arms balloon out and catch you from way off. By contrast the player can only seem to cause damage when they are within 2 or 3 feet of their target, using the blunt knitting needle that is the short sword, a weapon which is particularly ineffective against the undead. 3. And when you’re hit, you put away any weapon you’ve drawn. It’s right that you take damage, and possibly have to pause, but not put away your weapon. What, so you can shake their hand? Many of us have come to TDM from Thief and continue to play Thief FMs as well as TDM. Can’t we have a combat difficulty setting in TDM that mirrors Thief’s gameplay more closely?

I had already opened all the doors in the main hallway, and been to the Library, my query was how to open the doors specifically for the Quarters and Prison. For anyone else stuck on the Prison key, on Expert:

I'm playing on Expert, and I'm in the Citadel. I've got the parchment obtained I've been in the Court but cannot get in the Quarters or Prison. Any hints please?

I cannot get this to install properly. I'm using an up-to-date TDM version 2.08, 64 bit. I've tried using the in-game installer, and also downloading it separately from all three of the download sites on the FMs page of the TDM site. The result is always the same. On installing the mission, I get a blank Objectives parchment, and cannot proceed. I have uninstalled the game each time before trying another download. Does anyone have any idea what is going wrong? NB: is there a way of verifying that a download has completed without corruption, other than by trying to install the FM? OK, I have got this working by downloading the FM on another PC and taking it across to my TDM laptop on a USB stick. It seems there may be a problem downloading files on that laptop.

I have the access code for the number lock that protects the metal door to the Hammerite area upstairs, and it works. But the same code appears to do nothing when used on the number lock that protects the glass doors near a security camera in the basement. What am I doing wrong please? OK, I have just found the readable which gives the correct (and different) code for those doors.

I'm playing on Expert. I can find no clue to the [spoiler] code for the safe in Room 3. [/spoiler] Found it. I hadn't spotted the [spoiler] readable in the same room! [/spoiler]

Thank you. This is a nice tribute. Playing on Expert, I had a crash to desktop after the final dedicatory message when the mission stats screen should have loaded, but that may be my installation. I get intermittent CTDs when making manual saves too. PS it might be an idea to put a post about this FM on ttlg.com as well.

Replaying this on Expert. I have the book of Enigmas. But after trying several things, I cannot solve the secret with the two lion's head plaques. I have seen clues in this thread, but they have not helped...

I'm playing on Hard, and finding the water trap impossible to escape. I don't have a breath potion, and don't recall seeing one or being tipped off that I should buy one at the outset. Even before the water starts rising, the grill I need to unlock highlights and unhighlights apparently at random, and this only gets worse when the water rises and I can't stay steady in front of the grill. The sound of the water makes it hard to hear the sound of the lockpicks and therefore judge when you need to change from one to the other. I can't seem to assign each lockpick to a particular function key, as you can in Thief, so I keep having to cycle through the inventory to find them. I've tried setting the lockpicking difficulty to Auto or Trainer, but I still drown. Am I missing an easier way of doing this?

OK, thanks for that. The only other unusual thing I can recall is that I was able to blackjack two of the three guys at the table in the room above the stable without a problem, but the third stood up with one leg on the ground and one knee on the table. Whenever I snuck up behind him and blackjacked him, he flew right up into the air and bounced around, and I failed the 'kill only the target person' objective. So in the end I left him alone.

Thanks. It might save everyone some time if someone could put a short 'how to use this forum' doc in the general discussion area, just as others have done over at the TTLG.com forums.

Thanks for the mission, which I played on Hard! It ran fine for me, although I noticed some black shapes which did not look right, in particular black cubes around the horses in the stable covering everything except their heads and upper backs. The steward woke up when I placed the diary on his dresser and made a remark about a dropped key which I could not find. After a while he set off upstairs, stopping a couple of times along the way, then unlocked the door to the area where the owner is. I followed him in. A couple of queries. 1. Is there a particular use 2.