GUFF
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Posts posted by GUFF
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You have to
Spoilerfind the two items in other sections of the haunt area to put into those two frobbable stone parts to open the door between them.
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I finished it. It's a fairly good puzzle mission with some physical timing/movement puzzles with the colored orbs, light zones etc. Nothing quite as frustrating as some older puzzle heavy missions for Thief/Thief2.
Just a few things I couldn't figure out:
SpoilerThe safe outside of the target mansion behind the package you can move, couldn't find any hint as to what the combination may be.
The wine cellar near the beginning, couldn't find a key or a way in. Even using tdm_show_keys and noclip, the only thing that would open it is the master key hidden outside of normal playable bounds.
Couldn't find a use for the room key xx found in the same maze as room key 3. Seemed like it perhaps shouldn't have even been there since it didn't create the same noise the other maze keys did when you got close to them before picking them up.
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It's really good and has elements that remind me of a lot of things. Thief Deadly Shadows (which in the readme.txt you say you started making it on initially) is definitely aesthetically something it reminds of, but then the vertical elements also remind me of some of the best Thief missions in that regard like ones from skacky. Lots to find if you look up and try to climb wherever you can. A lot of very good looking visual gimmicks you don't see in other missions as well.
I finished it with the the beta version of TDM when that was was required for the 1.0 version of the map, and with the 1.11 version of the map in the current TDM release. The current release changed the way TDM does shadows somewhat and the ability to see in terms of distance in the darkness was different between the playthroughs for me, which is a nice and more realistic effect with shadows that worked well with how this mission used space. I also noticed you added more AIs in the 1.1+ versions, which was good since some areas were felt kind of empty originally. Some of the patrol routes like the pagan with the torch past the sewers that was almost impossible to get past in the first version were corrected, too, even if there was an alternative way to get to the other areas past him.
In my last playthrough
SpoilerI was able to find all I needed to trigger the alternate ending. Finding all of those items was fairly difficult. I also figured out that where you end up after you "die" depends on whether you killed anyone or not, since after initially finishing the mission I read some spoilered posts on this thread that said people ended up in different places. Sanctuary for no kills and communion chamber for kills.
What's the deal with the builders in the plague ward, by the way?
SpoilerJust like the corpses, they look different when you wear the glasses and they don't count as kills when you kill them. One of the pagans watching them seems to hint in his journal that they're something else, that they come out at night and flee into their black building before morning. So I guess they're actually some kind of supernatural creature?
Easily one of the best missions I've played of any Thief or TDM mission, but it's definitely not a good fit for beginners due to how much you have to look around and climb about to get things done. The use of space and vertical elements is just great though and really adds to the playtime and amount of things to do.
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My only real complaint would be how tight the patrol route of the guard right inside of the mansion's entrance is.
SpoilerGetting out without KOing him is really unneccessarily hard since you have to run behind him on carpet, jump/climb the fountain and try to squeeze in jumping up/mantling up on to the beam as there are no alternative ways to get out unseen other than up on that beam and into the ducts it connects to, all before he gets to the end of his path and turns around immediately to look down the hallway. There's no darkness in the hall to hide in where he won't give at least a suspicious low level alert while walking by.
Other than that, a lot of newish stuff which is honestly what your missions are known for, unusual new things you usually haven't seen elsewhere. It all worked together well in a medium-sized mission and there was no super cryptic stuff keeping the player from progressing or even from completing the side objectives. The side objective system was handled a lot better than in your previous missions where the reward just automatically appeared in your inventory.
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I saw a version 2 on the updater. Haven't played it all the way through yet but it fixed a lot of the framerate issues in the early areas which were slowing down to sub 20 fps sometimes on the not so great computer I was playing it on.
I did play the first version all of the way and it is a very good conceptual mission with a lot of good exploration elements and alternative routes for those who look. Good use of space. The voice acting as mentioned previously was very good and added a lot to it. Your missions have definitely improved in general quality with each new one.
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I liked the new additions and lighting changes. Could be really difficult to get into some places in the previous version without alerting someone half way across the map.
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Pretty great mission. Definitely your best so far. A lot of exploration including vertical to be found. Not quite skacky levels of climbing about, but satisfying to find the windows and other things you can get to by non-standard movement. With discoverable extra objectives and so on. It's all there and plenty to do besides the main mission. I didn't check this thread until after playing it since I saw the mission show up in the downloader, but looks like I was able to find all of the objectives.
I had the same bug with the multi-lightswitch room as NeonsStyle. I got through it by saving and loading each step of the way once I figured out what to do, but it does still cause the map to crash if you're just feeling your way through it. Another issue is a valuable silver bowl inside a cabinet of the room of the guy who's journal complains about working at the pub next door is not frobbable but counts towards loot so you can't get all of the loot.
Small criticisms here in terms of the story's coherence at the end of the mission...
SpoilerWhen you return to the present after stealing the painting in the past, one of the readables about the painting actually changes, as does the newspaper and the advertisement for the display on a banner outside the museum which is a nice touch but not everything changes. You'd think the Thief's journal would at least update so he'd be about wanting to steal the 3 new paintings, but it's still the same talking about the Now and Then painting which is not in the museum in the altered present. The non-inventory readable on the desk in Addison's office doesn't seem to update properly, either, since it still claims newest info on Jenson and Everett even though there's less info than before, just that they disappeared which is never resolved either since their remains disappear from where they were and that's that, but I guess leaving that as-is just means they decided to disappear themselves. Would be nice to be able to use the readable you can steal from Everett to place somewhere for a hidden objective to shake anyone off your trail.
Also, was the mission with a similar theme you mentioned in the OP...
SpoilerDown by the Riverside? (or its beta version Tales of the Riverside which was different and pretty interesting too)
It's not exactly too similar an idea and the way you time travel in that mission set is... unique, but you executed it well here too.
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Ok, was able to finish. A few hundred loot from max. Pretty good. It's like several small missions pieced together with a lot of largely empty space between them. A few patrols could have been more interesting there. In general the play area was probably too big, and that includes most of the indoors stuff.
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For the people experiencing problems, can you post what your "open doors by unlocking" setting is in the Gameplay menu?
It was off. And this is the issue, actually. I loaded up my game, turned it on and the automatically opening combo locks work now.
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Hello GUFF,
I am really very sorry, but I cannot re-produce the problem. I tried once again on all difficulty levels, and I also started entering the numbers in random orders, but it works as it should (it also worked for my beta testers).
I will ask for help and get back to you.
Sorry for the inconveniences!
:( Don't know if this helps, but I played the other parts of the mission and it's also an issue with the other combo locks...
In the bank's vaults. They also will not open upon entering the proper combination.
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I am using 2.06.
Edit: I also tried 2.07 beta and the same issue is present. Tried on Easy and Hard difficulties, same problem.
I input the code, unlocking sound, nothing happens. Change the code, locking sound. Re-confirm code, same problem. The painting just never lifts and nothing occurs.
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Am I missing something about the wall safe?
The code causes an unlock sound and doesn't raise the painting, and I've searched all of the master bedroom for a small switch--which if it exists has no hinting--and come up empty.
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Quality from you as always, grayman! However, throughout the entire mission I felt like there was scant little to go on. I just wandered around through the city, hoping for clues, and basically just stumbled across the theater after checking out all the things. And then finding Deacon also was just walking around town and hoping I'd run into him. For me he turned out to be the poor man, but I had no idea where this fella was going. I came across him earlier in the mission in the Inn, but he wasn't there. I ended up finding him near the chapel.
I think the first part (no information) works fine from a narrative perspective, but then finding Deacon was just frustrating. I'd give the player more information on that, though that's tricky with the differing possible diguises.
You did a great job with telling the story of the Warrens, not very many words needed! It really does feel like a desolate place where plague has hit. Some nice verticality in there. Overall good time.
It's just random ...
His disguise, that is. Also when you discover the info about him and what he is disguised as, all of the guards end up dead and he just wanders the map on a route, singing. It doesn't really seem to matter what his disguise is, just that if you knocked out the NPC that he was disguised as before the body will be gone and he'll be up and about.
I agree though that there's not much in terms of clues. It's just that when you reach the correct point you'll find all you need.
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There are no undead. My idea was basically that everyone in the prison was tripping balls.
Even you, the prisoner? I guess it makes sense since there are mushrooms in your cell.
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The aesthetics were as usual for your missions really solid and this was a great large indoor area to explore, and a step up really this time with the AI placement and patrol routes. I just think that as far as the entire story and tying everything together it was a bit weak. Your first mission was the best on this end.
The mushrooms are what causes the undead? What's the deal with them. No real resolution or anything on that.
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Needs a lot of work, if you mean just visually. Most of it looks very sterile with little detailing. Especially the outdoors parts that look too pristine. There was even some oddity inside such as a floating candlestick-style light on top of a block which wasn't attached to any candle. The treasure chest that contains rope arrows is a little weird. Visually/thematically you'd think you'd usually find them among other tools, not just in some very oldstyle game device at a treasure chest right near where you'd need them.
As far as gameplay goes there's a lot of area here where not much is to be found. A lot of helmeted guards everywhere. Light levels seem a bit off everywhere, especially in the main hall of the building where you go from in the dark to fully visible without any real indication that you're stepping into the light. Not much loot to find, not much going on story-wise. The objective was very easy to find. Not many readables to be found. Guard patrol routes were often very basic in terms of them not ever stopping at any point during their route. I'm going to say there's a lot of space without much going on in it.
This is probably something that yes could largely benefit from sending it through a process of testing/critique from others who are veterans in mapping.
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I have been playing old missions while waiting for new ones. This remains one of the best ever. However, I am experiencing a problem:
Destroying the heart does not work as described elsewhere above. In the pure water stream under the mansion, I have tried to drop the heart in the spring near the grid that blocks player exits off the map. The use key highlights the heart in green, but it also does this in a lot of other places. This seems to do nothing. Using the R key does nothing.
I note that there is a deep, rectangular well in the floor at about the middle of the pure spring (new?), but the U and R keys also do nothing there either. For completeness, I also tried the source where the spring comes out of a pipe and some junk can be found at the bottom. Nothing happens there either. Since destruction of the heart is optional, the game will finish on returning to the starting point, but it would be nice to get rid of the heart.
I am playing with TDB v2.03 and I recently downloaded the mission with the in-game downloader.
From what I remember....
You use the end of sewer outside of the mansion, use the heart at the bars at the end of it. I can't remember if you use it as an item or just drop it in. Careful when you succeed, though!
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This is a very good mission of short/medium size that you could definitely get a beginner to try and like to get into the genre, I think. Very straight-forward with everything important hinted at clearly enough and not too long for a single sitting. Lots of ways to put out lights and not as unforgiving in that regard as some of the other missions you've made where the AI will relight basically everything you put out (Lich Queen's Demise for example, a better mission overall for sure but the undead AI love to relight almost everything making it less of a good mission to get people into playing the game)
The 2 KO limit was probably a bit of a bother to some. I personally just KO'd the noble because I figured he may notice some looted things missing (a detail some love to put into their missions! And definitely did exist in this one too for at least one or other piece of loot) and I left everyone else awake.
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Great stuff. Everything worked fine and I was able to complete it without getting stumped on what to do next (had to reload the very end bit once to think about what was meant). Much longer than I thought it'd be, too! Some novel stuff in here like the electric lights on the ship that flicker and are permanently disabled (they blow) if you turn them off and that rat bit mentioned which I didn't even know about but feel tempted to load up a savefile and test out.
Really tight patrols in both missions so I basically knocked everyone out. Most everything about the mission was excellent-- visuals, performance, not too long or short, never got stuck.
Just a bit vague on the story (although maybe this is on purpose given what you said was the inspiration)...
The body in the coffin which the house's owner extracted the fluid from is maybe not really Johan but instead the malicious ghost? Johan (?) seems to be dead in that cave with the crystals and disturbing sounds. Some ship hauled the coffin off in one of the scenes in between areas as well so it's kind of implied it's not really him. There's also no real indication of what happened to the house owner -- did he escape the same way? You're maybe continuing this mission in the future, though.
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Is there some significance to all of the voices that trigger random lines walking in certain areas? Talks about the Grail of Regrets and other such things. Setup for next mission(s)?
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Does this key actually exist? I've looked in the map file, but I could not find it.
It does not.
You have to go around back and open the window to his room by going through the other room, which you can get to by going through the room you can get into by pickpocketing a key off of the patrolling guard. It's the only window in the mission that ISN'T opened already, I think. It also doesn't really stand out compared to other windows so it''s easy to miss this one.
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Fairly solid work! Big mansion, good plot twists/map changes partway through, only complaint is similar to others with the grills. Probably would have been better due to the sheer number of them to have them act like in most other missions where they're door-like.
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Really good for a first mission. Lots to explore. Plenty of objectives and everything works with few to no issues.
I suppose the only complaint I could have is certain things only appear on the map after reading certain notes meaning some backtracking occurs i.e. the Lute guy in the pub and the key for his chest in his home, as an example.
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Can someone check my stream is live please..?
I watched part of the archived stream and when you started talking I immediately thought "it's you! of one of the NPCs in the game!" Mission looks pretty good, too. Very good mission intro, just like you said in this thread.
Fan Mission: By Any Other Name by joebarnin (2022/3/10)
in Fan Missions
Posted
Yes, I was zooming around after finishing the mission normally to see what I missed which is how I got the door xx key.
Can't believe I missed that scroll but I guess it blended in with what the guard was wearing.