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

[stumpy]

 

Illusionist's Tower

 

Your low on money and the landlord is leaning on you, well he sent two heavies round your place to extract the long over due rent, after avoiding the heavies you end up in a local bar. You overhear a story about an old abandoned tower ten miles northeast of Bridgeport, apparently for years people have been trying to find a fabolous (sic) treasure hidden in the tower.

 

Traveling to the tower will be easy and cost nothing as two gravedigger's visit the area every week, and gaining entrance to the tower will also be easy as the main door was bashed down by the Grey Mist gang just before they all totally disappeared. Only one slight problem though, of all those who have entered the tower, none have ever been seen again, well not alive at any cost.

 

Illusionist's Tower direct link

 

Illusionist's Tower indirect link

[Baddcog]

ohhh spooky

 

But why release on a night I can't play!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Congrats on the release BTW

[HappyCheeze]

congrats, downloading now

 

edit: Well I'm about 30 mins into and DAMN this thing is TRIPPY!

[nbohr1more]

Already stuck (it was hard to avoid the pun from your username...):

 

 

9 down up down exit readable... rooms that transport you... only 8 rooms... IIII is not a valid roman numeral ... help!

 

[Komag]

 

just keep switching all the levers to the right till you get them all

 

 

This mission is crazy crazy, all that teleporting. It should be "Tower of Teleporting". I personally dislike teleporting. Run down hall, turn, open door, teleport, run down hall, turn, open door, teleport, about 189 times in a row. And far too much lock-picking for my tastes

 

But there were some really cool parts of the mission as well, some bits I really liked

 

I LOVED

the blocks that suddenly moved to align into a bridge to the floating door

 

 

I really liked

the models the inventor built too.

 

 

I enjoyed the

rope arrow across the river chasm using the beams

section

 

and most of all, I frickin LOVED LOVED LOVED

the highly interactive desk and its cool secret compartment!

 

[aidakeeley]

Yip E I A

[peispud]

Congrats on the release. Thanks for adding the fog - it spruces up the start area 100 % Darned good job with the sound as well

[aidakeeley]

TTLG?

 

They need to know that there is a new FM for the best system. It's a shame to leave them slogging around forever in that tired old T2 muck.

[Jesps]

Congratulations on the map!

 

 

The teleportations were well done. I enjoyed running through a hallway, only to realize that I was back where I started. Then turn 180 degrees and discover new territory! It really broke my sense of reality (which is what illusions should do, I suppose)

 

 

 

I loved the ambient sounds. The did a good job adding to the atmosphere.

 

 

 

There were some neat effects, like the blocks that became a bridge, closet to Narnia creepy spider place

 

 

 

The ai were a bit easy to avoid (too many shadows)

 

 

 

The key in the desk drawer (liftkey): I was completely unable to pick it up. In the end I opened the map in DarkRadiant just to see what the key opened, then noclipped through the door to the elevator.

 

[Berny]

wow!! super cool map gameplay was very fun... I was stuck at the  corridor wth the 8 rooms, that was a bit too much, skipped it. but the rest was super cool!!  

[stumpy]

solution to switch rooms

 

 

9 all numbers add up to 9, (1 to 8) down to (7 to 2) up to (3 to 6) down to (5 to 4) to exit.

 

 

easy AI

 

 

if you want all the loot and are scared of spiders, then...

 

 

too many teleports

 

 

I couldn't work out how to do somethings any other way.

 

 

elevator key, just climb on the drawer and crouch if you cant get it, never had any problems with it myself, so it didn't appear as a bug.

 

roman numberals is based on the weird roman numeral system we were taught at school I II III IIII V VI VII VIII they then sacked that teacher and we got the I II III IV V VI VII VIII from another teacher. But the wrong system is there to primary confuse you, and alot of the illusions are 'am pretty sure I've been through this area once or more times before.' although I did find a way to make walls walk throughable but I didn't use them this time.

 

I've posted it on ttlg, well a link to here anyway.

Edited August 6, 2010 by stumpy

[Xarg]

This map was pretty creepy.... LOVED IT... MORE! MORE! I (without any right to) DEMAND MORE!

 

 

By any chance, when you're going down the endless staircases, and you get teleported, have you hidden loot back 'up' the staircase? I looted everything I saw and came up 1000 short.

 

[SneaksieDave]

Thanks stumpy, wikified.

[Chiron]

Apparently I am the only one who has problems with this.

 

 

 

Need help in the basement/elevator part.

Been to all 3 floors, I think I figured out which door teleports you where.

I collected the rope arrows...what to do now?

 

 

 

[Xarg]

 

When you are going down the blackness on the platforms, when you get teleported to where the rope arrows are, start climbing back upwards, the way will be revealed.

Apparently I am the only one who has problems with this.

 

 

 

Need help in the basement/elevator part.

Been to all 3 floors, I think I figured out which door teleports you where.

I collected the rope arrows...what to do now?

 

 

 

[PranQster]

I must admit that after the first few minutes of playing I felt a bit annoyed and wasn't sure I would play it all the way through. But I stuck with it and after a little while I found myself enjoying it quite a bit.

 

When I got to a stairway where I found myself walking on the ceiling, with the floor above my head,

I found myself reminded of Constantine's Mansion.

I loved the sounds.

My biggest gripe was with looting the chests and having to actually climb on top of them in order to reach the loot. I rarely have to do that and it seems a bit odd.

However I did not have problems with grabbing a certain key that Jesps mentioned, unless I climbed to get it and simply forgot.

[raymeld]

Apparently I am the only one who has problems with this.

 

 

 

Need help in the basement/elevator part.

Been to all 3 floors, I think I figured out which door teleports you where.

I collected the rope arrows...what to do now?

 

 

 

 

You're not the only one ! Can some kind soul give us a clue please? Sorry please ignore , didn't see Xarg's reply !

Edited August 6, 2010 by raymeld

[SiyahParsomen]

downloading

 

congrats!

[Melan]

This was an enjoyable, nonstandard map - the first parts for its strange puzzles, and the second for the feeling of abandonment (good job on

the rotten food, and the chopped up guy - eeeek!

). A lot of it is just very effective.

 

roman numberals is based on the weird roman numeral system we were taught at school I II III IIII V VI VII VIII they then sacked that teacher and we got the I II III IV V VI VII VIII from another teacher.

A lot of old clocks and watches have that, including one that came from my great grandpa. I have also seen it on a lot of buildings from the Middle Ages, so it's not wrong per se, just not commonly used anymore. (See Wikipedia for a few more examples)

 

But anyway, the map: great, just great!

Edited August 6, 2010 by Melan

[Chiron]

@XARG

Thank you. I must have missed that before.

New Problem

 

 

 

Where is the treasure? (First Objective)

 

 

[Xarg]

@XARG

Thank you. I must have missed that before.

New Problem

 

 

 

Where is the treasure? (First Objective)

 

 

 

 

At the very end.

 

[Chiron]

 

At the very end.

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry, but I need more info.

I am at the very end/beginning again (been to the labs), on the first floor of the tower.

All objectives except the first (treasure) and last (~get back where you started) are checked.

 

 

[lost_soul]

This is a pretty large mission.

 

Thanks!

[Xarg]

 

 

I'm sorry, but I need more info.

I am at the very end/beginning again (been to the labs), on the first floor of the tower.

All objectives except the first (treasure) and last (~get back where you started) are checked.

 

 

 

Did you

 

 

Find the wardrobe with the weird orange/yellow symbol under it?

 

 

And if so

 

 

Did you get inside it, and close the doors?

 

Edited August 6, 2010 by Xarg

[Chiron]

Thanks. Never thought of that. How Narnia/Simon the Sorcerer

 

My two cents:

 

 

This was an excellent mission. A lot of lovely details, like the the gravedigger note at the beginning or the broken terrariums (man was I glad that the flesh eating cockroaches were nowhere to be found). The atmosphere, especially the audio was the best I experienced in a TDM mission so far. Teleporting was often used in a genious manner. I also loved the fact that the mission build up a lot of suspense with hardly any AI. Good puzzles.

 

Cons:

- the teleporting was overused sometimes, especially in the headlong part. I do not want to

play those parts again.

- I could have done without the majority of the pickable locks.

- Rather a TDM: issue: Grabbing stuff out of chests or buckets is very hard unless you can

stand in/on the container.

 

 

Edited August 6, 2010 by Chiron