geegee

@Thiefette This is a long spoiler. My intent in making the mission was more to tell a story than puzzle people to death.

I've run into that problem several times when working on my maps. In a couple of cases for sitting AI I've moved the chair/bench further away from other geometry, walls etc., and it was fixed. Seems that the AI bounces a bit when getting KO'ed and sometimes gets trapped in the geometry.

I updated my post with a .map file showing the cause is SEED targeting a 3x3 patch func_static with a 2-sided decal texture. The patch func_static doesn't generate the error, Seed targeting it and distributing it does.

Does anyone know what this console error warning is about? WARNING:Source with 2 surfaces. snapshot func_static, scaling: no, needFinish: no Does this indicate a degenerate solid (made into func_static)? Is there any way to trace the culprit? That's my more important question. _____________ WARNING:Couldn't load image: dds/textures/particles/arcturus_fire [map entity: atdm_campfire_typical_1] [decl: light_fireflames_typical in def/tdm_lights.def] [model: typical_campfire01.prt] [decl: typical_campfire01 in particles/tdm_fire.prt] [decl: arcturus_fire in materials/tdm_particles.mtr] [image: dds/textures/particles/arcturus_fire] I checked, the dds image is there. Perhaps the wrong format? That error attaches to atdm:campfire_typical It doesn't attach to atdm:campfire_small which to my eyes appears identical to atdm:campfire_typical So I suppose atdm:campfire_typical should be the same, but with an enhanced fire that doesn't render because not found. Anyway I use the error-free atdm:campfire_small to get rid of the warning. _____________ eta: found the source of the 2 surfaces error. I have a SEED targeting a simple 3x3 patch func_static. In the attached map the patch is textured with a 2-sided tdm "ivy" vegetation decal. No error from the func_static alone, the error happens when I use SEED to generate a field of them. I figure it's harmless. ivy.map

I'll PM you on that.

It's there in the mission downloader, third down right after Accountant 1,2. Has the long name "The adventures of Thomas: Lucy"

You can get in the junkroom by a back way. Here's the spoiler

Thank you for the kind words. It means a lot. I might've done the Hoppie evidence side objective sloppily.

Can't be opened from the outside. The key is on back-right-hip of one of the builder guards posted next the to gates on the inside. Once those gates are opened the entire map is opened up. The large portcullis/gate you enter through to get inside is opened by alchemist Symon Gray's key.

The mission stands out in my memory as being powerful. It was beautifully done and the situation of the painting in the dining area caused me to pause and take it in. The mission is a tribute to a cooperative spirit.

The @Dragofer script solution is EXCELLENT. It fixes not just the T-posing side effect of my earlier attempt to fix a potentially game-busting problem but it fixes the original problem and raises the fps everywhere in the FM. It depends on individual CPUs by how much fps is improved. In some cases it raises fps enormously as in unplayable->playable. In most cases it raises fps by a smaller but very real margin. The original problem the script addresses is caused by the size of the FM, not the gfx and GPU side of things, but the AI side of things which is handled by the CPU. The script should go into a repository somewhere for other FM authors who make larger missions, esp. those with many AI.

Thanks for the encouragement Shadow. Very much appreciated.

Those lead nowhere. The area was originally designed to be a possible hub, but that purpose got overwritten as the story - and constraints on my time - developed. A whole FM could be designed around opening up those exits, inviting mission creep, and the FM needed to be put to bed.

Anyway I tried and you can't ghost it. I ghosted through to the manor with no KOs except for the obligatory KO of the bad guy and dealing with the necromorphs, which I think is fair enough, but I couldn't ghost the one room, the accounts room in the manor. This's because the FM wasn't made with ghosting in mind (or with no KOing in mind either). And the AI have an incredibly acute sense of the slightest sound which they can differentiate into good/bad guys. Which is OK, I wouldn't want to change that - but it has to be taken into account when building an FM that allows for ghosting. You can't shoot out a candle next to them. You can't shoot a rope arrow anywhere near them. So it was slow and frustrating and not fun even to get as far as I did and I don't think a ghosting aficionado would like it either. I did learn something about ghosting and will take that into account in my next FM, if I ever complete another one - because in an FM made to allow for it the mode could be very fun. If a player doesn't like a large mission, and/or disallows the use of keys, and/or requires a FM to be ghostable, this FM wasn't made to fit those specs. That's just the way it is. This FM is made for KOing enemies, doing well by friends, picking up loot and hopefully getting immersed in the atmosphere/story.

I guess I shouldn't have read that..

No. The Aeden's staff optional objective is the hardest of the game. To point out directions here, though, is getting into an area of heavy-duty spoilers ... so I'm constrained in my response just as I was constrained in my responses to the "endless keyhunt" complaints because to show the rather simple direction would be a huge spoiler. So I had to bite my tongue and take it. Aeden's staff is different, though - harder. I've never tried a no-KO ghost playthrough. Because I'm clumsy and have slow reflexes. I think it might be possible to do a stealth no-alerts playthrough. Are you allowed to KO? I think I've gotten the staff a few times in my playthroughs without alerting the builders in that room. The only switchable lights in the FM are table lamps. The cylindrical style wall lamps aren't extinguishable. The other fire and gas wall lamps are extinguished by water. In the Ox all waiters and commoners in the common room and outside are friendlies - except for the waitress in the upper lounge which is filled with enemies. You need water arrows. Moss arrows. Rope arrows. I've never used a gas arrow in a playthrough of the FM but one would make things easier, for sure. I'm going to replay the area and check through the locations that you mentioned - the loop etc. - then if it's OK with you I'll PM you with some info, tho' I'll ask you if you want the info first. So's not to spoil it for others who get that far in the game (few and far between!). I find it almost impossible not to click the "reveal spoiler" tags and read the info ... and, y'know, spoilers do spoil the real deal.

Very fun! And I didn't cheat!! Though I was tempted to, at times. But there's something about the FM that invites the player to continue searching instead of spoiling the whole thing. Thanks for brightening my day! Time: 1:06 Difficulty level: medium Times saved: 13 Damage dealt: 28 Received: 0 Pockets picked: 1 Loot Acquired: 3774 out of 4184 Killed by player: 0 KOed by player: 5 Bodies found: 0 Secrets found: 0 Alerts: 22 suspicious, 2 searches, 0 sightings Stealth score: 6

The mission wasn't made for ghosting since that's not my playstyle, so I don't know all the arcane rules. Does KOing an unwary guard break the rules? So I'm unsure whether ghosting Lucy is possible but I think it might be. Perhaps the 'Aeden's staff' optional objective is impossible to ghost. Or perhaps not. It'd take an expert, I think, to do it. But I tried ghosting the area you now have trouble with because "not ghostable". Found out: "huh! so that's what the 'creep' key is for!" Not the same as 'crouch', which for some reason I assumed. I smiled and used my new discovery. For the observant player, and I assume real ghosters are the most observant, there's more than one way to get through the courtyard. In fact it's rather easy to ghost, unless alerts happen with zero indication of an AI being alerted. I killed all the lights but one in that courtyard before I hit the grass - so the lightgem was totally black. Of course I had the key to the door to the hall! Aeden told me where it was! Why would a player noclip past that door? Noclipping past that door makes no sense and probably broke the game, but you weren't playing anyway. eta: there are no AI in sealed rooms in the builder's hall. The only AI in sealed rooms (calk) are waiting to be teleported and they're well outside any play area.

Version 1.1 only fixes an ugly immersion breaking bug where some AI stood around like scarecrows instead of following their paths and the TDM natural order of things. Otherwise it's the same. The update might break your savegame, I dunno. It takes a few minutes to blackjack the hammers and slip in to an area of the hall that was inaccessible before so you can complete the optional objective. I think it should be worth it - but it's up to you. I'm taking note of your issue as of other issues raised, but large and radical fixes affecting gameplay aren't in the cards in the near future because in an FM of this size such changes take considerable time, not just to implement but then to check through all the possible repercussions, glitches that might be newly introduced. And I'll never, ever, satisfy everyone. This FM took YEARS to make, and at this point it comes more or less "as is, where is". Because I want to move on. I want to use what I've learned to make a new and much shorter/tighter and hopefully more intense FM from scratch.

The smiths letter went in the right place and finished that objective. I'm putting this on my "need to fix" list for a future update (long time future) because the gameplay really ought to block the player from going forward until after the letter is picked up. Since it's part of a mandatory objective. In fact a betatester made a note of this issue and my fix was half-assed. So sorry about that.

It just seems to me, that your repeating this for the third time is overdoing it. As was your criticism. I used the info notices "needs x key" as a means of orienting the player in a large "level". I did this amongst other things to aid orientation in response to the FM beta testers suggestions - although to be sure the ugly implementation owes entirely to me. Regarding the keys, all keys needed to complete the obligatory objectives are handed to the player on a platter and are even indicated in the objective descriptions. The other keys are associated with optional objectives. The player can complete the optional objectives in any order - and at the end the whole map is opened up including short cuts to ... orient the player and deal with the real tedium that would exist without them. Even so, I wish I could've done a better job of it. The lockpicks are used on one door, but otherwise they're reserved for trunks and loot. Perhaps a purist or idealist who believes that all "thieves" can open all doors with lockpicks is right about that, but that's irrelevant to my FM since Thomas isn't a thief.

Sorry for offending y'all with my POS attempt at an FM. geegee has left the building.

The FM had some problems so I asked that it be deleted from the database. The problems don't occur on my machine so I needed considerable outside help to address them. The fix is done. There's a new link in the OP that should work. My apologies to everyone.