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Fan Mission: The Heart of Lone Salvation by Fidcal, Baddcog & Bikerdude (2010/04/02)


Fidcal

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Ok, I finished! =D

 

Amazing mission! Congrats and thanks for the 7 hours of gameplay :wacko: Really, I had a great time playing this mission and probably going to play it again in the future.

 

There is one thing, though: at least for my skill level, this mission is HARD! Not in the stealth aspect (I knocked out only 3 people and sneaked the whole place a zillion times without much trouble) but finding out what to do next and all secrets are what really took me a lot of time and spoilers.

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I finished it in 6hrs 45minutes (although 9 hrs due to reloading when the guards heard me and failed an objective), it crashed once in the upstairs bathroom, opened the plughole, turned the water on, closed the plughole, crash to desktop, no error report, event viewer gave a divide by zero error in gamex86.dll as the cause of the crash. Reloaded couldn't replicate the error though, found 12 out of 13 secrets, burried sam in a coffin, destroyed the heart, left a present for the girl at the top of the mansion, got around 8200 gold, played on the hardest setting, ghosted it for about 5 hrs, then a servant and a guard got stuck to a door so had to remove them with the blackjack, I think I spent at least 2hrs trying to find a way into the library. And I tryed to stop the block from decending into the pit with some crates.

 

Best mission so far released.

 

 

 

The guy in the coffin has an arrow up his bottom, couldn't find out how he got that.

 

had a strange bug with a strange light show through the walls every hour, couldn't work out what that was but seem to be the same color as the decals on the walls in the zombie girls room.

 

according to the secrets list I missed the one behind the target on the tower.

 

moving an apple at the top of the spiral stairs outside zombie girls bricked up room caused a failure of the dont get detected objective, seemed slightly odd as I was just moving it out of the way, ended up putting the barrel on top of the apple, looked slightly odd.

 

 

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how do you guys do it?

 

I still can't find that lever in the interrogation room. i dunno i must be blind, i spent 10 minutes searching every inch of the room with my torch turned on and i couldn't find anything but the 650 gp stash. I tried no-clipping to above the chain to see what might pull it up but i found nothing.

I even tried no clipping into the walls to see if the switch was hidden or something. nothing.

 

 

Edited by Mr Lemony Fresh
18588.png
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I have the segfault too:(

 

double fault Segmentation fault, bailing out
shutdown terminal support
signal caught: Segmentation fault
si_code 1
Trying to exit gracefully..
--------- Game Map Shutdown ----------

 

I tried to use some backup past savegame, but when i near this position and i grab some keys

(office key, IE)

from a body, TDM crash with a (double) segmentation fault.

 

I cannot understand if the problem is on the key grabbing or on specific position, or after some time that i play.

 

My HW and SW specs are on my sign ;)

 

Problem Solved and mission finished in 9 hrs!

One of the best mission so far! Really not easy (especially at the end), superior architecture, and very good story. I was a little bit too lagged (low fps) at the end and on the garden, maybe it's fog problem and my Ati card, i don't know.

 

If it can help, here's what i done to avoid the game crash:

If the bathroom water (on the lady pool on the upper floor) was turned on, then after some minutes the mission crash!

You only need to turn off the water and open the pool hole :D

 

 

Maybe someone can add a note on the first note to of the presentation of the thread to report this problem and the solution. :D

 

Really thanks for this awesome mission!:rolleyes:

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how do you guys do it?

 

I still can't find that lever in the interrogation room. i dunno i must be blind, i spent 10 minutes searching every inch of the room with my torch turned on and i couldn't find anything but the 650 gp stash. I tried no-clipping to above the chain to see what might pull it up but i found nothing.

I even tried no clipping into the walls to see if the switch was hidden or something. nothing.

 

 

 

 

Check the beams where the chain is connected, think cigarette packet sized object you're looking for.

 

Intel Sandy Bridge i7 2600K @ 3.4ghz stock clocks
8gb Kingston 1600mhz CL8 XMP RAM stock frequency
Sapphire Radeon HD7870 2GB FLeX GHz Edition @ stock @ 1920x1080

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The guy in the coffin has an arrow up his bottom, couldn't find out how he got that.

 

 

 

LOL

 

There is a note in the guard tower which explains that. The guards got reprimanded for having archery contests while on duty and the note mentions an accident happening to one of the guards because of it. Also, some outdoor mantling above the balcony will lead to a water tower with a light on top... a stray arrow is found lodged over there too.

 

System: Mageia Linux Cauldron, aka Mageia 8

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If it can help, here's what i done to avoid the game crash:

If the bathroom water (on the lady pool on the upper floor) was turned on, then after some minutes the mission crash!

You only need to turn off the water and open the pool hole :D

 

 

Hmm... in the mission I finished, and am still loading to find a little more loot,

 

I filled the tub and turned off the water and left it like that. I did have one crash when reading one of the chambermaids notes. But that was several minutes after a previous game save. After reloading, I never had a crash again. And the tub still has the water in it. So who knows, lol.

 

Edited by PranQster

System: Mageia Linux Cauldron, aka Mageia 8

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Well, I went back and got the 3 secrets I had missed.

I still did not find:

 

A. 150 loot

B. A lock to match "Office Key"

 

I'm guessing that the Office was one I was able to unlock with the lock picks and there is 150 loot left which is very hard to find. Or, it is the Office that is hard to find and it has 150 loot inside it somewhere.

 

System: Mageia Linux Cauldron, aka Mageia 8

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office key is used in the office door opposite the library west end.

 

 

Hmmm...

 

Opposite the Library west end... across the hall... I never needed a key for it and am wasting time trying to find a lock to match the key, LOL.

Somewhere there is 150 loot still calling to me, but I cannot locate it.

 

Edited by PranQster

System: Mageia Linux Cauldron, aka Mageia 8

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Nope, that's it, I've had it. I finally found the switch (it was stuck in the beam for some reason) i pulled it, the block came up, then i couldn't get out (guessing i needed the heart >X( ) loaded the game, put some boxes there to stuff it from coming down, spent 15-20 minutes trying to get that dick, sam to come out of his hole. I swear i tried to shoulder him in a million different directions and proximities and limbs, and not once did he shoulder. Eventually i just shoved a box in, shouldered a million times and eventually he flew out and the box stopped him from going back in. How weak is our hero if he can't drag a skeleton out of a hole? so i took him to the alter (santified place) chucked out some douche from a coffin, chucked in sam, (with fantastic difficulty) put on the lid AND!.......nothing. I was just about ready to shout myself hoarse. It doesn't get more sanctified than a place of worship!!!

 

Anyway, it's not just that, i'm sorry mate, but this level is very frustrating, i'd skip that and finish the rest but i don't want to.

Some nice scenery though, and for the most part it was fun to explore until i started getting lost.

Edited by Mr Lemony Fresh
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Whoops , played for a couple of hours and got a long long way into it. Then it crashed on saving! I made the classic mistake of not alternating my saves so I have to go back almost to the beginning on the only other save I have. Oh well , just have to enjoy it again all over sometime. Great mission btw.

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I'm going to play it again, just for kicks, and try a different strategy on the tower guards to begin with. I sneaked past them and took care of them last, before. This time I'll be taking them down first and see how it goes.

System: Mageia Linux Cauldron, aka Mageia 8

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Finally finished with 4:45 net play time, some 7150 loot and 8 secrets. This was great - definitely the first "real" standout. I posted a review in the TTLG megathread; hope that draws more people to it (as is, the TDM forum's separation from Thief discussion probably means a lot of potentially interested people will not know of the mission).

 

Things I didn't quite figure out:

 

- The identity of the killer who started murdering guards in the basement some way into the mission - I discovered corpses neatly placed in side rooms, and thought the perpetrator was Eldridge, the imprisoned girl (a real heartbreaking story, by the way) or Sam in some undead form, but the issue was never resolved.

- In the final stages of the mission, some AI (Lady Eldridge and the Butler from the library area) started leaving their regular patrol routes, but I don't know where that goes.

- Is there a point to the swimming pool? I thought I would have to use it to destroy the Heart, but nope (and I had to look up a spoiler to realise where I had to go - never would have figured that, just like the fact that you'd need to drop and reacquire a previous readable to trigger the "incriminating evidence" objective).

- Is there something to the garden aside from the huge loot cache?

 

 

Plain horrific stuff:

 

- That garden with the invincible spider lurking among the plants. Aaaaaaaaaaa!

 

 

Plain cool stuff:

 

- Climbing around in the fog-shrouded outdoor area - it was more "cityish" than my contest mission. Seriously good job.

- Using the slow match (I want to make this standard equipment in future missions I make - when I will again have the time for that sort of thing)

- Using the slow match to trigger the crystal lens (in fact, that entire sequence was gold)

- The chapel and the "shadow gear" (simple dynamic light trick, but...)

- Climbing through the grate to the sleeping girl's room, and every other object handling puzzle.

 

Come the time of peril, did the ground gape, and did the dead rest unquiet 'gainst us. Our bands of iron and hammers of stone prevailed not, and some did doubt the Builder's plan. But the seals held strong, and the few did triumph, and the doubters were lain into the foundations of the new sanctum. -- Collected letters of the Smith-in-Exile, Civitas Approved

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Thanks Melan, glad you enjoyed it.

 

The deaths are spontaneous and seem to be a bug so no great story mystery there.

It could have been interesting actually because it did fit in well with Martha who is deranged and wanders around at night via her 'secret way.' But she is harmless and only takes paintings because of her love of art and skill that the Heart bestowed on her. I mostly only saw it with the cook and I gave him extra strength so he might survive the length of a mission. Since which others have started dying. So it seems the Heart will take the weakest!

 

The man whose office is near the library is Wickish, the accountant. Not seen those aberrant patrols but it would not surprise me.

 

There is no point to the bathing pool and font other than to emphasise Lady Helena's love of the pure water that comes from the spring below. And it allowed me to indulge in experimenting with rising water which was not so easy in Thief.

 

The objective trigger seems to be a bug I have to investigate to find a way around it.

 

The garden is basically an alternate route bypassing the well-guarded main hall to get to the crucial upstairs west side leading to the spiral stair. Storywise it also emphasised how it was abandoned when the display room was bricked up and when Martha became ill and no longer played in the garden. One can imagine a sombre mood overtaking a previously happy household. It also emphasises (if it were needed) where the display room is and a teaser that you can't get in that way either.

 

 

Baddcog (Schwaa2) can take credit for the outer courtyard and alley areas. He did the original build and kindly donated it. I heavily embellished and integrated it into the rest of the FM. It was a perfect addition though not easy to mate them together.

 

Thanks for posting in the other thread. I'll take a look at that now.

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So

 

that was all accidental? Accidents can make for a great experience - I figured there was a killer on the loose, and the NPCs would eventually panic due to that. Ha. Still, your explanation is as good as any. smile.gif It's the hallmark of a great mission that the player thinks about ingame rationales instead of bugs.

 

There were some crashes, but few enough that I can't complain. My only worry is that large missions might start "falling apart" if played for a long stretch of time, since the crashes seemed to start coming more often after a few hours in. But maybe that's a misperception -- could be.

 

Anyway, solid work.

Edited by Melan

Come the time of peril, did the ground gape, and did the dead rest unquiet 'gainst us. Our bands of iron and hammers of stone prevailed not, and some did doubt the Builder's plan. But the seals held strong, and the few did triumph, and the doubters were lain into the foundations of the new sanctum. -- Collected letters of the Smith-in-Exile, Civitas Approved

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Well, I've narrowed down the crashes on this mission. If I have loaded a save initially. then either try a quickload, or if I die and the it tries to go back to the main screen, I get a large white arrow on a black background, and it never goes back to the main menu or never quickloads. The only way around this is CRTL-ALT-DEL, and either bring up task manager to kill doom, or log off and restart TDM, and hope I never have to reload. I can save OK, just happens when loading.

 

Here are my system specs:

i7 core 920 @ 2.67Ghz

EVGA X58 Classified Mobo

6GB triple channel DDR3 memory

Windows 7 64 Bit OS

(2) 2TB SATA HD

BFG Tech Nvidia GeForce GTX 285

SB X-Fi PCIe Soundcard, 7.1 Creative Speakers

Razer Lycosa KB

Razer Mabma Bluetooth mouse

NEC 24" Accusync 24WMCX

1000W Power supply

 

Guess as long as I don't get caught or stuck on something, I can play....Fidcal, here's hoping for a fix. Excellent mission. Thanks.

CycloManiac!

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One place where my character tends to get stuck is:

 

Right after entering the 'maintenance hatch', when crossing over the first, curved, pipe. If I don't press 'right' as I'm crossing it and 'jump' as well, I get stuck on it and have to reload.

 

 

Another strange thing:

 

I discovered why I have never used the "Office Key". The door was always left wide open and unlocked when I went there. So the office door does not respond at all to the key. That's why I kept looking for an (different) office to unlock.

 

 

Another issue I have which does affect gameplay:

After KO'ing patrols and stashing them away someplace dark, they often get repositioned after I do a save and a load. Unfortunately I did a quicksave (with no regular save) right as a patrol discovered one of my KO's which was moved into a lighted area by that glitch. This caused me to fail the objective for nobody knowing I was there.

Is this a game engine issue, or is it something which can be fixed in the map?

 

After starting the mission again I am at the point of having all 13 secrets done and all objectives except the optional heart objective (and the ones that happen upon completion).

 

Saving that for the very last because I don't like to crawl through that pipe unless I have to.

 

Less than 2 hours played this time, but I am still missing about 500 gold... so I'll probably spend another hour searching all rooms again to find what I've forgotten.

 

I have not run into any dead AI. The only dead I have seen are:

 

Sam, the guy in the torture cage (he's dead, right? He keeps twitching in that cage so maybe almost dead), and the guy (Gregor?) with the arrow in his bum.

 

Edited by PranQster

System: Mageia Linux Cauldron, aka Mageia 8

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Someone in the ttlg thread I think it was reported he had stopped his crashes by reducing anti-alias and antiprophy (haha! how is that spelt?) and maybe something else. I'll have to check exactly what else he said. That might explain why I don't get these crashes because I generally have those low anyway.

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Someone in the ttlg thread I think it was reported he had stopped his crashes by reducing anti-alias and antiprophy (haha! how is that spelt?) and maybe something else. I'll have to check exactly what else he said. That might explain why I don't get these crashes because I generally have those low anyway.

 

Anisotropic filtering, Anisotropy? I'm currently running 8xAA 4xAF, don't really get many crashes in game, the most common crash I get is the quickload crash, and its usually while taking damage/in combat.

Edited by Xarg

Intel Sandy Bridge i7 2600K @ 3.4ghz stock clocks
8gb Kingston 1600mhz CL8 XMP RAM stock frequency
Sapphire Radeon HD7870 2GB FLeX GHz Edition @ stock @ 1920x1080

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OK, after more than 1 hour of scouring the map for more loot after all objectives were completed, my time was just under 3:10

http://jdchoate.mcn....s/shot00004.jpg

I found about 40 less loot than the last time I ran it and I checked everywhere (so I thought).

I even got the health potion hidden in the armor.

 

 

I ran into something interesting when I tried to drop a small urn into a large planter pot... see attached image.

Edit: no, I am not holding the urn, it is sitting atop the big planter on an invisible layer.

post-3285-127053711849_thumb.jpg

Edited by PranQster

System: Mageia Linux Cauldron, aka Mageia 8

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Anistotropic filtering, Anisotropy? I'm currently running 8xAA 4xAF, don't really get many crashes in game, the most common crash I get is the quickload crash, and its usually while taking damage/in combat.

Yeah - I knew there was an 'an' and a 'trophy' in there somewhere. What graphics card are you using Xarg? It may be there are two or more totally unrelated bugs crashing out.

 

[EDIT] Actually that's interesting what you said about combat because I almost never get into combat. I'm always looking for reasons why it only affects some players and not others and play style may be one; system spec another; config another.

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OK, after more than 1 hour of scouring the map for more loot after all objectives were completed, my time was just under 3:10

http://jdchoate.mcn....s/shot00004.jpg

I found about 40 less loot than the last time I ran it and I checked everywhere (so I thought).

I even got the health potion hidden in the armor.

 

 

I ran into something interesting when I tried to drop a small urn into a large planter pot... see attached image.

Edit: no, I am not holding the urn, it is sitting atop the big planter on an invisible layer.

 

Yes, many models have an invisible collision model which is much simpler to help with performance. Otherwise calculating impacts with every tiny detail would slow things down a lot. So I'm guessing that pot collision shape is closed.

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