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Illusionist's Tower by stumpy (2010/8/5) Summer FM Vertical Contest Entry


stumpy

  

56 members have voted

  1. 1. 1. Gameplay: Enjoyment. Fun duration. Smooth flow, ect. Versus Bugs. Frustration, Boredom, framelag

  2. 2. 2. Appearance: Vertical use, Visual pleasure, lighting, visual style, deduct bad texturing etc.

  3. 3. 3. Story & Text: Story. Text. Briefing. Graphic storytelling



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stairs

 

if you go up the stairs, then you dont run into the trigger that controls the stairs (thats both sets of stairs) and will constantly go up till the world ends.

 

 

loot

 

theres about 1800 loot in the basement section, and the rest is in the towers.

 

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:angry: Nah, I got really annoyed running around like mad in repeating architecture, clicking levers without any idea what they might do. Hints that are none...

At the very start, I thought, no real thief would go into a trap like that without rope arrows: It was clear that I cannot go up again. And the fun architect (whatshisname) placed a killing haunt for amusement in the cellar? Couldn't believe that.

 

:D Okay, on the positive side: I played this one in one go, which is not like me. The model of the whole structure was simply great and the atmosphere, the sounds were superb (although that wore off after a while). I am glad there was an explanation for the mass of spiders in there. And the closet thing was brilliant. All the time, I was hoping to find a lever to stop the whole machine.

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:angry: Nah, I got really annoyed running around like mad in repeating architecture, clicking levers without any idea what they might do. Hints that are none...

 

Actually, I forgot to mention something...

 

 

That part where you go into the muddy switch halls annoyed me. I sat there and a had a think for a while then decided I'd probably get frustrated and waste my time, so I tactfully no-clipped to the exit of that area, which is probably why I didn't come here angry lol.

 

Oh, and that seemingly endless staircase was a little bit tedious.

 

 

Edited by Mr Lemony Fresh
18588.png
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I was stuck at the corridor wth the 8 rooms, that was a bit too much, skipped it.

 

Skipped it ? How ? Please tell me. I guess i pull all the levers, nothing happened. Maybe i miss one. Don´t like this part , i WANT to skip this.

 

EDIT: nevermind, figured out noclipped.

 

Thanks for the mission, it was real (unreal) fun:)

Edited by Trickster
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Please note, that I hated the Constantine's mansion in the original thief, so don't get mad at me for the following evaluation.

 

 

Ugh.. What an awful mission. Is this what is feels like to get mindraped?

 

Gameplay: frustrating endless teleportation, which resembles typical nighmares some people have. Good thing there were those loot objects, which gave me a feeling I was making progress. Without those I could have simply quit, because there would have not been any light at the end of the tunnel. At some point I realised that the sounds are not a hint of danger and just rushed onwards to get past this tedious part.

Spiders were not a significant challenge, so there was no feeling of being threatened. The puzzle room with the roman numerals felt interesting at first, but since I was unsure what to do, I just ran around turning switches. Suddenly the door opened and I was able to proceed.. I just shrugged and was happy to make progress.

I liked the floating boxes in the blackness and the narnia closet. I was really nervous to open it..

Appearance: Blocky architecture, with no special details. Once I got to the upper parts of the tower the visuals luckily got better.

Story: I was just starting to wonder that what's with the spiders and then I saw the broken cages. Well done there!

Mission briefing and readables: I really recommend that non-native english speakers ask their betatesters to pay special attention to the grammar. Fixing language issues really give the mission a bit more professional touch. It also mitigates any misunderstandings and makes the readables more understandable and easy to read.

 

While I mainly see this mission as a test of resilience and determination, I have to give it a big credit for it's... Well, artisticity. I felt I was trapped in some kind of Salvador Dali painting, so I definately got a deviant TDM experience.

 

Clipper

-The mapper's best friend.

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Usually I'm not a real fan of puzzle missions (I don't like things that make me feel dumb - lol) but I was actually having a bit of fun. Never got endless stuck/lost until

 

 

the 9 note

 

 

I read Komag's clue so I'm gonna keep trying, funny thing is I thought I had done the right thing, must've missed one... Getting tired right now though so I'll have to come back.

 

Some interesting puzzles and areas so far, good job. Can't wait to see what's in store :)

Dark is the sway that mows like a harvest

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Well , can someone tell me what that was all about ! I think this will be the one mission I never get to finish , it's driven me nuts.

I reached the steps (blocks) leading down to eight rope arrows. There seems to be no way forward from there. Going over the side of the blocks transports you back up . I could see a door up high but try as I might I was unable to climb up a rope arrow I shot into the beam above it.

Most frustrating , can someone give me a lead please to give me a chance of progressing further. Thanks !

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Just

 

mantle back up the steps to the door, yeah, the rope arrow thing caught me too

 

 

 

Thanks for your prompt reply Badcogg. Should help me progress further and preserve my sanity in the process !!

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Nice mission! :-)

 

Very strange mission, i like teleporting and puzzles, and vertical developing. EXCELLENT use of the music, i played with a LOT of tension.

 

Some resambles at the end with:

 

 

An Alchemic machine, and some influences by the H.G. Wells world:-)

 

 

Bravo!

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I'm still well at the beginning here (I hope... let's say I haven't gone very far time-wise)...

 

But, while staying out of the in-between (to avoid spoilers and all that, as usual) in I have been looking at the votes...

 

I would like to recommend that for future contests the voting is held elsewhere OR the system here is widened to allow for a gradient of 10 points, not five; I hate to see a mission get a "poor" when it's probably a matter of 1 bug or who knows, but while the author is surely not to take that as harshly as it may seem to strike, it still would be nice to have a bit more nuance available?

Edited by aidakeeley

"A Rhapsody Of Feigned And Ill-Invented Nonsense" - Thomas Aikenhead, On Theology, ca. 1696

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I would like to recommend that for future contests the voting is held elsewhere OR the system here is widened to allow for a gradient of 10 points, not five; I hate to see a mission get a "poor" when it's probably a matter of 1 bug or who knows, but while the author is surely not to take that as harshly as it may seem to strike, it still would be nice to have a bit more nuance available?

 

I have to disagree here and I find the current system just fine. At least, I feel it is easier to find the correct word matching with the mission experience in the 1-5 range. And remember, changing the rating system now would break comparison with all the previous rated missions, without providing much benefit.

 

What I'd prefer is that people would post why they gave the grades they gave. The benefit would be the possibility for the mapper to learn from mistakes and on the other hand learn from the positive sides. Also it would be easy to spot an uncalled poor grade, which was given only because the players computer crashed or something.

 

I've been using a format like the following.

Gameplay: <grade> <reason>

Appearance: <grade> <reason>

Story: <grade> <reason>

<Overall summary>

Clipper

-The mapper's best friend.

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Just finished ( with a bit of help along the way from Baddcog ) in 1hour 50 minutes. Wacky mission , but very well done and probably more appreciated by those who like this sort of thing of course. However , grateful thanks to stumpy who obviously put a lot of good work into it. I just about preserved my sanity !

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At least, I feel it is easier to find the correct word matching with the mission experience in the 1-5 range.

 

Yes of course... the more limited the selection the easier it is to find the correct one.

 

How much do you love me?

 

  • Bunches

 

 

How much do you love to be contradictory no matter how Orwellian the doubletalk you must engage in is?

 

  • Yes
  • No

 

 

How old is old enough?

 

  • 43
  • 11

 

 

Is everything going swimmingly for you and therefore everything is sweet and swell and swonderful for all all around?

 

  • Yes and No
  • Yes and YesYesYes!

Edited by aidakeeley

"A Rhapsody Of Feigned And Ill-Invented Nonsense" - Thomas Aikenhead, On Theology, ca. 1696

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Ah, come on Aida, for me the actual rating system is just fine, too. No need to change it now.

 

...

and most of all, I frickin LOVED LOVED LOVED

the highly interactive desk and its cool secret compartment!

 

 

What secret compartment do you mean? Maybe I missed sth...

 

 

 

 

I liked the floating boxes in the blackness ...

 

 

And where was that? Maybe I saw/found it, but I want to be sure. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

Gameplay:

 

 

Hmm, hard to decide. I wasn´t frustrated, but there wasn´t much tension either. Some more AI´s, maybe non-hostile ghosts, I don´t know, would´ve been nice. But it was surely more fun than Dufford´s (that I still didn´t finished until now).

 

The nice parts like the wall-bridge (that was the script noted in the readme, right?) and the closet were already mentioned, as the ambient sound and the rope-arrow-part above the haunt I liked.

The Teleporting wasn´t really frustrating because I noticed it every time due to the view-centering. I hope this can be de-activated in the future of the mod. The changing loot in the 'new' areas was nice and this way I never felt lost.

The 9-riddle I completely misunderstood. I thought the 'up-down-up' meant I should trigger the levers three times, after that I followed the 'gates', the fourth didn´t worked, so I got the next ones that worked and after that the missing ones with number 'IIII' at last and I was through. unsure.gif So I think you should have made the hint more clearly or spawn a better one after several times of teleporting without levers be triggered maybe...

 

Like someone mentioned before it destroyed believability as I saw that I got to this place without rope- or waterarrows. Also the lantern and spyglass should be stock items, me thinks.

 

Oh, and all the chests had this highlight-bug where not the whole thing is highlighted, but either the upper or bottom part of it. I guess it´s a DarkRadiant-setting. Also these little 'dots' beneath the 'pin' weren´t moving. What are the appropriate names for those?

 

 

 

Appearance:

 

 

Ok, it was an old tower, but it all had a generic look without the nice skull-textures in the basement-area, them I loved.

The part there you got outside with this bright blue texture around really was ugly and eye-hurting, sorry. Also the blackness around some places I didn´t liked. Some skybox-effect would´ve been more fitting, I think. The final area was disappointing, this is all for the trouble to get here?

The nice sights were the 'real' rooms of the tower like the one with the already mentioned terrariums and the model, though I couldn´t see any 'finish line' in that maze. OK, I forget that this is a 6-weeks mission, but then again, one week more only for the appearance-part (or couple of days) would have raised the fun a lot, I think.

 

 

Story:

 

 

Well, there wasn´t really much story to read. I had troubles to 'feel' the atmosphere. Also I didn´t liked the mentioning of this 100-stories-project or what it was, this should have took him more than a live-time to build. And what is this man? A magician? An Inventor? More info would´ve been nice and some left notes from the guys entered before and where the hell were the gravediggers? Would have been really nice to have two more living AI´s down there, maybe with City-Watch-escort but that would have needed bigger room-structure like catacombs...

 

 

 

I hope I wasn´t too rude, if I was, than sorry. I know it´s hard work and I have to remind myself that this was build in only six weeks for this contest. And I actually had fun playing the mission. :) I spent 3:38:17 hours and found 3265 loot out of 4219 gp´s while playing on 'Hard'. After Dufford´s I expected a higher difficulty and that´s because I waited until now but gladly I could finish the mission without searching for clues here and without being frustrated. But without the missing loot I haven´t found there is not much reason for replayability for my taste, at least at the moment. ;)

 

Oh, and what does this 'sic' meant? I saw it on some places before in the forums but can only guess what it stands for...

-> Crisis of Capitalism

-> 9/11 Truth

->

(hard stuff), more
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sic it basically means a word spelt wrong is not wrong but right.

 

It means the word is wrong, but you put it there intentionally. Sorry for the offtopic to spelling :blush:

 

The illusionists tower is very nice.

nice part where you walk upside down to go further down but at the same time arrive at the top of the tower.

I was not able to sneak attack a spider with the sword, but had to use the bow.

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