Fan Mission: Patently Dangerous (2009/10/31)

[demagogue]

Whats with the doors I can't picklock... How can I get into the 2 other buildings and the door in Sorens house without lockpicking or any keys in the vicinity.

 

I can't remember the details but it involves climbing through windows

 

Yes, when in doubt, try a window. When in doubt again, try a window again.

There's a readable that hints at it, but I'm also thinking about writing it as a hint on the loading screen.

 

If I do an update, I'm also considering adding a more "confrontational" way to get keys like out of a little police station so people at least don't have to be stuck if they don't get the window route.

[TheUnbeholden]

Ah got the hint, finally. Nice mission although it did seem very picky how to solve it.

 

Appearance. Liked it

Gameplay. Ok, not very hard, just had to trial and error with the guards outside, apart from that its a cake walk. I did like how it sort of turned into a

horror towards the end, but my sword did meet his eye so its all good

 

length is good enough for a break. Story, shame we don't find out what the invention is for, one would imagine it would be line one paragraph one.

Edited January 12, 2013 by TheUnbeholden

[demagogue]

I wanted to keep it a kind of mystery and just hint that it's something disturbing, but also what the invention is for is a prelude to stories to come.

 

Edit: More specifically, it's because it ties into secrets of the Inventors that needs its own FM to tell properly. You could also read the wiki entry on the Inventors if you're dying to get some hints about it (specifically the part on Steam Beasts).

 

It's possible more indication will come in the FM itself in an updated version though.

[Ryan101]

Just got done with this for the first time - superb mission, basically hit every note it needed to hit in terms of story and atmosphere. What I really liked was how you crafted a small neighborhood and filled it with such unpleasant, incestuous intrigue, which is so perfectly Thief-like. The climax was also well done. Great work!

[Nico A.]

I really enjoyed playing this mission. Pretty scary at the end, I like this

 

I especially enjoyed the storyline. A little thing that still adds to the immersiveness imo is the fact that not at every place that would make up a good hiding place there is something valuable hidden. To me, it seemed rather rare to find some gold in the suspicious places (except among the wine bottles). I really liked this, it makes the mission more realistic.

 

Also, some of the nicest rooms I saw here. Some were even so nice I could imagine living there.

 

All in all, well done from me

[demagogue]

Thanks for the nice words!

 

It's true I focused a lot on the storytelling, and I do like the realist aesthetic. So I'm happy they paid off.

I have to say, too, that this FM doesn't usually get complimented for its interior design, but it's something I did put some thought into, so I'm happy somebody noticed.

[MirceaKitsune]

I went through this mission today (the v2 version). It's a mission I really liked, and I hope I'm not improperly necroposting by wanting to say that Since this 5 years old I assume spoilers don't matter as much:

 

I liked the gameplay and nicely integrated story the most. Namely the fact that on a relatively small map, there are several houses, which the player gets a chance to enter through doors as well as windows on rooftops (lots of climbing). In each there is a different person or family with a different story and relationship to their neighbors, as you can tell from the notes and logs you find in various rooms. There are also unexpected elements, and the mission felt more entertaining at the end than I thought it would be when I first started it.

 

 

Also, my heart jumped and I started coughing when I approached the metal door in the last room, then it instantly burst open as the psycho walked out. Well done

 

 

Only critique would be that some areas (especially outdoor) felt like they could use a bit more detail, and that the texturing or brushwork was too simple or fake looking in some places. But especially since this was made in 2009, I can't seriously complain about such a thing.

[demagogue]

Thanks for the compliments!

 

Regarding the locations, my strategy was to build the story through each location, and I tried to make each one reflect the personality or role of each npc, with the letters, and even at the level of interior design. I wanted it to be very visual with the storytelling. As for all the npc connections, especially the secret ones, that's a trick Rowena always used that I liked.

 

As for the simple areas, my only real defense was that it was originally a 1 month speed build, since the first contest had that restriction. I guess keeping it that way now is a way for it to remember its roots, or just that I don't have enough time to fix it now.

[nbohr1more]

I've been studying lighting theory a little lately, and one of the things I came across is that shadow

hardness is related to the size of the light source and the proximity of the shadow caster to the surface.

 

When playing this mission, I noticed that you've arranged almost all your lights and shadow casters close to

receiving surfaces so the hard shadows look completely natural. I've always thought that was true of this mission

but now I have further evidence as to why.

[Anderson]

Wiki says that this FM has some EFX settings. Are there plans to implement them to be OpenAL compatible for 2.06?

[demagogue]

The EFX were never properly set up to begin with (I've been told). I think if they were they would have worked automatically in 2.06, but I could be wrong about that since I haven't looked at the new system closely yet. (And it's probably best they don't work since I can't be sure the values are right and not awful. I could never hear it to test.) I don't have any particular plans to implement them as EAX. But if I ever release a version 3, I might do it then. I'll put it on my secret "to do for v3 list". But that will be ages from now if ever.

[Spooks]

I specifically tested Patently Dangerous with Goldwell's Alchemy fix and there was EAX, so I would assume the EFX would work now, as well. The room settings were pretty overblown, though, for sure.

[Anderson]

I specifically tested Patently Dangerous with Goldwell's Alchemy fix and there was EAX, so I would assume the EFX would work now, as well. The room settings were pretty overblown, though, for sure.

 

That never worked for me.

 

Oh well.

[nbohr1more]

I made a mockup of EFX with Judith's presets here:

 

https://www.moddb.com/mods/the-dark-mod/downloads/patently-dangerous-efx

 

Please let me know if it's alright to add to the official mission repo.

[demagogue]

That was thoughtful, thanks.

 

Uh, my values weren't fitting, so I hope you put in appropriate values that fit its tone. Or more concretely, it should probably be betatested a bit and if we have multiple people signing off on it sounding good then we can do that. Also, if we're issuing a v.3, I should also fix up a few hanging issues on my running list while we're at it too. Give me maybe the next two weekends to do that.

[nbohr1more]

Yes, I used settings from Judith's thread:

 

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/19205-getting-started-with-the-efx-room-reverb-system-wip/

 

and tried to match-up each location to an analog on his list.

 

The City Street reverb is the star of the show here. If you get into a chase, the AI barks changing tone and reverb characteristics

is really pretty immersive.

 

No rush on any v3 work, but I'm glad to hear that you'll be considering on last round of polish.

[demagogue]

I felt like I couldn't hear it, but I don't know if it's a hardware issue, bad earphones, I was rushing through it too quickly, or I was hearing it just fine and just not properly recognizing/appreciating it. Especially I was thinking it would be noticeable in the two bathrooms which have tile everywhere so I think would be rather wet, but I didn't notice it. If you put some playthrough on YouTube would it preserve the effect, so I could check what I hear in my play against what I hear in the video?

[nbohr1more]

Hmm.

 

I might need to add more locations to the map. I tried just replacing the existing reverb locations with what seemed to be the equivalent effects

from Judith's list but there may be some rooms that need a more tailored approach.

[peter_spy]

I think the settings you chose are too mild, like that starting tunnel should have something like "small stone corridor" as a preset, and it should be separate from streets. I can't hear much difference either.

[nbohr1more]

Almost done with the next revision. A number of new locations will be added so that the appropriate effects will be localized. Trying to figure out why Benson doesn't generate reverb...

[nbohr1more]

(Unofficial) EFX Update 1 is done:

 

https://www.moddb.com/mods/the-dark-mod/downloads/patently-dangerous-efx-update-1

 

More EFX locations added and Benson's manor finally works.

[lowenz]

This FM has a really good settiing and atmosphere, but it would benefit of some graphic (and sound) remaster

Edited August 20, 2018 by lowenz

[nbohr1more]

New unofficial EFX build using "EFX Presets":

https://www.moddb.com/mods/the-dark-mod/downloads/patently-dangerous-efx-update-1

[demagogue]

Thanks, it sounds good, and I didn't notice any broken locations. If anyone needs it from me, I'm fine with this being uploaded on the official mirrors as the official release version as it fixes the efx to be basically as originally intended (if I had been able to hear efx when I first set it up).

[nbohr1more]

Thanks Dema! I will upload it to the mirrors soon, unless someone beats me to it.

Edit: Done