The Dark One

I'm back. Disclaimer: This review is a lot more disjointed than I wanted it to be, the end result of writing it on and off while insanely busy. I honestly did like this mission, because, technical issues aside, it was *fun*. Just not sure if it comes off that way. Briarwood Cathedral (buck28 again) is a mission I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with. Not because it’s bad; it’s quite good. The problem that my computer has….issues with content-heavy missions and missions with lots of things happening at once, so a few bugs kept marring my enjoyment of what is honestly a pretty good mission. The plot is simple: Not-Garrett sets off to break into the titular cathedral, which is currently in a state of disarray due to the murder of two members, apparently making it the best time to slip in and look for loot and a treasure chest said to be beneath the cathedral. This bit doesn’t seem like it meshes well, but eh, you aren’t here for plot. Graphics-wise, the mission isn’t particularly beautiful, but it still meshes together well. You do feel like you’re in a cathedral, with what felt to me like a realistic and plausible layout, barring the maze like catacombs which you think someone would have cleared out years ago. The mission does have some good atmosphere going for it, with the cloudy sky outside, and some well timed sound effects in certain places. Again, it’s hard to pin down, but it honestly felt creepy, especially in the bottom parts, when you know that you’re surrounded by undead, and (in my case) have to take to creeping around with holy water arrows to take them out. Difficulty-wise, it’s harder than Lockton Manor, mainly due to the crypts. If you want to find that chest (and on Expert, you have to) you better be able to find a button shoved in a corner, or technically go the wrong way. Don’t want to get into fights? Too bad! You almost have to to have a chance at figuring out what’s going on here. Don’t like hunting for out-of-the-way buttons? Ha! You have to for an objective! And getting out of the dang crypts is a feat in and of itself. And yet, I still love this mission. I don’t know what primal part of my brain the creator tapped into, but I honestly loved this mission. Was it annoying in places? Yes. It could have done with less keys, for one. But, even though I’m not really getting my point across well….it was fun. Not the best, but fun. Recommended. P.S. I like the money trap, except for the fact that it stays in the air. But I like it.

Swing (by Komag) is...different. Very different from anything I’ve played in The Dark Mod. Designed for a vertical contest challenge, Swing places you in the role of a recruit for the King’s Navy whose initiation take is clambering all over the official King’s Navy swing to find a replica of the king’s crown. “Swing” is literal by the way. And the ship you were recruited from, Vertigo is also apt. Like I said, this is a very different mission from normal. There’s no stealth, the whole mission takes place in the day, and it’s more or less a platformer. Yes, a platformer. Credit where credit is due however, because the mission creator took full advantage of the mantling system to make the whole thing….not painless, but at least far simpler than it would have been. Difficulty-wise, it’s pretty high up, no pun intended. The path up is mostly clear, but there are plenty of difficult jumps to get there. The more sensitive falling damage doesn’t help matters, though that probably was intentional. It’s mostly intuitive, except for a but near the end, when the player has to notice that distant blocks are in fact wood (though you do have a spyglass, and it may be my fault for not using it) and the actual descent. Finding all of the bottles you need can be a pain as well, especially on higher difficulties (hint: look near the machines) I might as well do a disclaimer that I cheated to beat this. I was testing noclip for a mission I need it for, and thought, “Eh, why not?” But I would have beaten the mission on the next lowest difficulty so it still counts. I think. You might have noticed that I haven’t mentioned the graphics. That’s because I want it to be a surprise. It doesn’t start off too impressive, but once it gets going, it gets...very impressive. I was more or less repeating, “Oh, wow.” on loop the first time I played it. Also, physics don’t exist here. Just a heads up. All in all, pretty fun. It’s short, so you should at least give it a try. Unless you have vertigo or something. Then maybe not. Recommended.

The Outpost by angua & greebo is, if the archives on The Dark Mod aren’t lying to me, the second mission made for it. Made in about 50 hours to showcase was the mod was capable of, and it did a good job of it. This time, Not-Garratt is aiming for a Builder outpost with a huge ingot of gold lurking within. And that’s it. That’s the whole story, and it works well. Graphics-wise, it’s decent. The outpost is a small, green brick building, without a whole lot of graphical flair. It doesn’t really need said flair though, as it does a good job of giving the impression of a simple building, and it is a believable layout. Difficultly-wise, it’s pretty fair. Even though Expert makes you indulge in the hated forced ghosting, it works far better than most examples. This is partially due to the small mission, and part of it is because the creators play perfectly fair with you. The guards are fairly placed, the shadows are abundant, and it all works very well. It actually might be a good mission for newbie ghosters, honestly. The loot is in plain sight, for the most part, and finding it is not difficult (even if there is at least one piece I can’t find). You have plenty of arrows to work with, even a rope arrow or two to make getting into the chapel easier. All in all, very fun. The review is short, but this is mission is both fun and replayable. Recommended, especially for newbies or novice ghosters.

Eh, I can just noclip the door I need to get through (once I figure out how noclip works). For what's it's worth, I'm enjoying this more than Old Habits 1. Less painful difficulty.

Lockton Manor by buck28 is another of what I’ve seen Melan dub, “Victorian burglary simulators”. Thankfully, this is a good one. The protagonist, who actually has a name and as such can’t be called Not-Garratt, learns from a contact about a solid hit. After finding the note with the needed information (which you can miss easily if you don’t look) he sets off to the titular manor. Lockton Manor is sort of a city mission and a mansion mission. You have to walk the streets of the city, taking time to slip into a few homes and rob them, before reaching the manor itself. Along the way, you can creep through an inn, a tavern, an inventor’s house, etc. This is all well done, especially the inn, where you can creep through, picking pockets (well, one) at will. The manor itself is more typical, with a simple layout and a friggen huge staircase. Graphics-wise, it’s pretty good. The streets to the manor are a tad generic, but the manor itself (especially that staircase) is nice and opulent, even if the layout seems a little confusing. The only place where the graphics break down is in the inn, which is just weirdly designed. Reminds me of a tiny Winchester House. Difficulty-wise, not bad. There are some unblackjackable guards hanging around the manor, but they’re easy enough to get around. The only place where the placement feels unfair is in the inn. The innkeeper will got hog wild on you with a sword for no reason, and if she happens to be at the front desk when you open the door, sorry. The light can be turned off at the front, but the timing is too short. The main trick is the loot, especially on higher difficulties, because you’ll need to get most of it, and a good bit of it is well-hidden. Special mention goes to that chest in the guard’s house, which took forever to find, and the chest you need to find on expert. You get the room it’s in, but other than that, you’re on your own. I do wish we saw more of that mechanical thing in the inventor’s home. I’ve never seen it really be used in a mission, the only other one I’ve seen is Inn Business, and it’s in a place you don’t have to go-like in here. All in all, a very fun mission. While not the greatest mission of all time, it’s clear the creator had *fun* with this mission, and so did I. I guess that’s the main thing, in the end.

I hate to revive an old thread (again) but I have a question: How do you get through that dang shed? If I have to noclip it or something, so be it, but the only other option I can see is to take very bottle and piece out one by one, with the slightest error crashing my game and forcing me to reset my computer.

Hey, thanks! I thought about putting them in the threads, but didn't want to revive all those old ones. And good points on desolate environments.

Forgive this awkwardness, not sure how to separate quotes. D: 1. I remembered you saying that there was an intended and unintended way to get in, I just couldn't recall which was which. I probably should have noticed the first time I played this mission, but then, I was terrible then (and probably terrible now!) 2. I recalled you saying something about a nightmare. Tis interesting, and the mission is all the better for it. 3. Ahhh. XD That answers that!

Patently Dangerous (by demagogue) was another first for me, being my first experience both with a city mission, and with a more story-based mission. The plot is simple, Not-Garratt is hired by an inventor’s guild to steal some semantics from the reclusive scientist Soren. It sounds simple, but getting into the house will require a bit of running around. And that’s before you take the serial killer running around into account. PD is, as said, a city-based mission, and serves as a good place to muse on what I do and don’t like about said missions. On the one hand, these types of mission offer built-in freedom, with the possibility of multiple locations to break into and explore. The problem comes in that it’s far too easy to leave the player with no real direction as to where to go. This mission mostly avoids that, though I did have a moment or two where I was running around without a clue. (Of course, I am an idiot, so make of it what you will.) The first came when I figured out where to to, but a wall I was meant to climb was just a bit out of range, required very a specific jump to get onto. The second time was trying to get into Soren’s house, which required the player to notice faint wooden boards for rope arrowing. (And, I admit, a window, but I think the rope arrow is the intended way.) Most of these flaws were made up for by the excellent final sequence. I don’t want to spoil what exactly goes down, but it was a good, tense, and creepy experience, almost more so than the last mission I reviewed, which was a straight horror mission. Graphics-wise, it’s nothing amazing, though still solid. The touches in the final sequence were the best, but other than that, nothing stood out to me, but I’m a horrible judge of such things. The difficulty also wasn’t to severe, some carefully exploration and rooftop jumping will serve you well. All in all, very good. Recommended. P.S. Though I still don’t know why that gas arrow was there. It’s needed, yes, but why there?

Loath as I am to revive an older thread*, I have a question: I beat LB, was excited when this started up, but I think I had a similar problem to Oldjim way back on Page 1: I'm stuck as 5 percent or so and it won't go on. Did I download the wrong thing? *and this is the second time I've done it, both with Airship Ballet. D:

Hey thanks! Even I don't get why these reviews are good (I'm a very novice and inexperienced player, heck I haven't even played the Thief games) I'm happy to entertain. Hope to get every Dark Mod mission at some point. And I could add them to TTLG, I suppose, I just don't know that much about it. XD

The Creeps, by Mortem Desino, was another first for me, with more of a focus on horror than the other missions I had played up until now. The plot involves Not-Garrett aiming for an “easy” job: A creepy mansion where the reclusive inhabitants leave once a week, giving him free reign of the place. Needless to say, there’s more going on in that mansion. The Creeps is different from the average Dark Mod mission, with more of a focus on horror and exploration over stealth. There are no guards on the grounds, and you more or less have free reign of the place. MD makes good use of this open space, however, and it’s not just you bumbling around in a creepy house for thirty minutes. There are puzzles to be found, not hard ones, but ones that force you to stop and think. Location-wise, it manages to avoid being too small or too large. The former would make the mission dull, and the latter would, I would think, run the risk of monotony, due to the lack of traditional enemies. The look of the place is also well-done, forgoing “traditional” colors in favor of a purple hue, which actually works rather well. There’s even a neat-looking tree, though it sheds way too many leaves. It should also be noted that the place opens itself up to a little parkour, with multiple entry points (and loot!) waiting to be found. It isn’t much, but I’d just thought I’d mention it. Difficulty-wise, it’s pretty easy, all things considered. The loot is relatively in the open, and even on Expert, hitting the goal is no issue. Most of the difficulty comes from the puzzles you encounter, but even they aren’t that hard. Considering the type of mission, I feel that I should talk a bit about the horror aspects. To be honest, they aren’t that heavy. For the most part, barring a couple of scenes, most of the horror is mild until the tunnels are hit. To be honest, there could have been more focus on the horror. Atmosphere is good and all, but some of what’s up in the manor felt very tame. But horror is a very subjective genre. Also, I’ve been having a very odd glitch with this mission, because the intro seems to override any mission I do after I play it. This forces the player to delete the mission after playing, which is annoying, to say the least. Still other than that, this is a solid mission, especially if you want a slightly different experience.

Living Expenses by Sonosuke was my first experience with a true “hard” Dark Mod mission. The others had had their moments of difficulty, but this was the first time I’d had such a hard mission. Well, hard to me, anyway. This time, Not-Garratt is running short on money, and decides to aim for the estate of a general that might be involved in smuggling. There’s valuables in there, and getting at them will be difficult, mainly because the mission forces you into a bit of a minimalist run. You see, Not-Garratt is so poor, that all he has are a few arrows and lockpicks. Lanturn? Gotta find one. Sword? Gotta find one. Blackjack? Guess what, gotta find one. Layout-wise, it’s pretty decent. The graphics are a bit generic, but I like running around large manors, so not really a major complaint. The layout makes sense for a manor, barring minor oddness such as there only being one way up to the second floor. Most of the uniqueness comes from the limited technology in the manor, such as a skylight that you don’t have to play with, to the final show revealing the treasure you’ve been hunting for. It’s neat, and gives the mission some nice charm. Difficulty-wise, I found it harder than the average mission, thought I was inexperienced at the time. The guard placement is very tight, especially in the foyer and dining room/library. See: having to either duck past a guard looking right at the door or through two rooms with people walking in them all the time. It lessens when the player makes it to the second floor, but remains tricky. Thorough searching is needed to find the loot to reach the goal, especially on Expert, where I’m almost sure you have to find a hidden room to reach the goal, and let me tell you that thing is hard to find. This was also my first run-in with a mission that cuts off your ability to knock out guards on the higher difficulties, and I’m not overly fond of it, though that’s my own personal preference/laziness talking. All in all, this is a pretty solid, if slightly uneven, mission. I might not recommend it to those who are just starting The Dark Mod, but those who are looking for more of a challenge would like it.

I hate to revive an old thread, but I'm having an issue in the first area.

Awaiting the Storm (by HappyCheeze) is an early mission for me, can’t recall if it was my second or third. I picked it because a review I read told me that is was easier than the average, which was pretty true. Still fun tho. This time, Not-Garrett is a dock worker who gets word that a rich guy is coming through town to give some artifacts to a museum. He’s staying at a local inn, and Not-Garrett decides to take advantage of a storm to rob him. That’s about it there, not much else to say on the story. Appearance-wise, it’s mostly average. The inn where most of the action takes place could have used a few more decorations here and there, less empty space. Where this mission shines is the build-up to the inn, taking place on the city streets during a raging storm. The storm idea is a neat one, and I’m a little surprised that this is the only mission I’ve played so far to make use of it. There are a couple of neat touches here and there, such as the lightning lighting up your hiding places, and a water logged tunnel to go through, with some neat door physics. Difficulty-wise, it’s not hard. There’s only about ten or so NPCs to deal with, and the path is pretty clear, with easy to find loot (though there’s still one piece at least I can’t find…) thought there’s still some creative moments within, such as getting around a second-floor guard by going up via dumbwaiter. Experience fans will shoot right through it, but I do think it’s good for newer fans, or those who are unused to Thief-style gameplay. Ultimately, recommended.

Alright, let's try this. So, I'm a very novice player. Very novice. So novice that I've never even played a Thief game before. Haven't even done Dishonored. As a result, please be aware that this review (and ones to follow) is from that point of view, and more important from the point of view of someone who didn't 100% the level. The Tears of St. Lucia comes packed with The Dark Mod, so I figured I might as well hit it first. The plot is simple enough. You assume the role of Not-Garrett (a common Dark Mod protag) to break into a poor church, steal the artifact which is causing the statue of the titular saint to cry blood, wreck said statute, and generally act like a jerk for cash. Not much in the way of plot, but it does a good job. There are some readables scattered around, but most of them are worldbuilding. Layout-wise, the mission is good, starting out on the grimy streets before moving into the chapel of St. Roderick. The chapel itself is laid out nicely, not maze-like, but with more than enough room for players to roam and sneak past guards. I do question the precese of the air vents, as I personally never found a use for them, but maybe they were intended for pure stealth runs? Not sure. Difficulty-wise, it’s pretty fair on the whole. Some people were complaining about That One Guard(™), but I thought that it was semi-clear you were supposed to find a way around him. Of course, maybe it wasn’t as clear in earlier versions of the mission, I wouldn’t know. I do think that the start of the chain to get into the sewers is a tad obtuse, but after that, it’s fine. The way to break the statue is also pretty clear, I feel. The loot goal is reasonable, and easy if you pay attention and explore. Other than that, I don’t have much else to say. I know there were some water arrows I could never find, and I get how some might feel that the difficulty is too high for a newbie. Still, I’m new to Thief in general, and I didn’t have too many issues. Would recommend.

It's subjective. On KOing, I like being able to whack everyone and then explore to my heart's content, but I'm a very novice player, and I guess more experienced players would enjoy that challenge. Killing doesn't mater much for me, as I do no-kill runs anyway. The loot is iffy, and depends on the level. It's no fun when the objective demands that you scoop up 95% of the loot, especially if it's hidden everywhere. Of course, you can short-circuit all of these complaints by making them optional, I suppose. Level idea: Start out with overly large loot objective, then once you break open the tomb of Blarge the Unquenchable, loot goal is either optional or dramatically reduced.

I think it was resolved, something with an expired with an outdated graphics card/driver. Bikerdude fixed it, probably. Still, thanks Freyk, have to remember that next time I have an issue.

Windows 8.1 I need a few more specifics on the video card thing, I'm not sure what you want in particular. I'm not sure what's useful and what's fluff. It's an Intel® HD thing, for what it's worth. Other specifications, again, more details. I did find an event log, though I'm not sure how helpful it would be. The only thing it really says is that the application is, "faulting." The application name and the module. Apologies if this isn't useful. :

So, a bug has returned. As I said in my first post, I was having a issue with the game freezing/crashing entirely, forcing me to completely reset my computer. I thought it was something wrong with the mission I downloaded, but it's starting up again, even after that mission was deleted, and after the 2.04 update. Obviously, I'm not sure how to go about fixing it. Help?

That worked! I think. It did say that there were some files that needed to be updated, but other than that, seems to worked fine.

Windows 8.1 (yes, yes, I know), unless I've misunderstood what you meant.

I'm trying to get it off Read Only, but the change won't stick for some reason. Might have to try Freyk.

Sadly, I'm not seeing it, though I'm probably not looking in the right place. :/

Huh, tis not working for me. I think I'm having a similar issue to a user above me. I try to install, and it keeps looping. A message pops up, but goes away before I can get a good look at it.