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FM: Lockdown Part 1 by GameDevGoro and BikerDude (2010/12/24)


Fidcal

  

50 members have voted

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

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

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



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I think it's a little cumbersome for all the involved contributors to keep acknowledging each other when saying thanks.

 

It might be easier to speak in the "Royal We".

Example: "We are glad that you enjoyed our such and such." ;)

(Just a suggestion.)

 

Or just do what Fidcal and Sotha do for The Alchemist: "If you are paying attention to the thread, then you get the glory :laugh: "

 

Well yeah, that's all true. I'll keep this in mind.

 

But it's mostly just that when I see that someone posted on this thread I get the whole "Ooh, good to hear what <insert person> has to say about it!".

And when it turns out it's feedback on the story or such I either explain it or feel obliged to thank that person for the feedback.

So I guess I soak up the "glory" when I come down on the thread like a hammer when I see someone's post on it :blush:.

 

That's my excuse anyhow. I'm not in to make anyone look like they're less involved because I reply most of the time. :(

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Eh, it's academic. You are free to be as polite as you feel you need to be.

 

I was just offering an easier way forward ...and one that would make the prospect of collaboration more attractive rather than a chore (I love to see these combined efforts). :D

Please visit TDM's IndieDB site and help promote the mod:

 

http://www.indiedb.com/mods/the-dark-mod

 

(Yeah, shameless promotion... but traffic is traffic folks...)

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I really enjoyed this mission , in fact I played it a second time especially to explore

the 'hidden' ( at least to me on the first play through ) area beyond the captain's room. I also foolishly missed the thief and his cache including gas arrows at the start of the mission the first time I played it through but picked them up the second time round. Didn't use them though.

. Well done GameDevGoro and thanks for the fun and enjoyment you've given with this little mission.:rolleyes:

Edited by raymeld
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The completion feeling of this good city-sneaking FM was ruined for me by my inability to find... the exit and end the mission. I'll have to give a go at the solution tonight since I've seen a reply to someone with a similar concern over at TTLG and in this thread:

Frob around in the bar you will find something that highlights.

Why? How should have I known? Did I miss clues leading to that?

This makes me think of a design guideline that FM authors should probably follow:

 

Make it easy for the player to leave the mission as soon as the main and loot objectives are complete. Unless this is a story requirement, do not make them backtrack the whole map to find a key or a switch to open the exit, rather tell them from the beginning how and where they'll be able to end the mission.

Some probably want to enjoy having those objectives ticked off and having completed the FM, knowing they'll come back later to be more thorough (I usually work like that).

Finding the exit should be obvious, if any player - even if they are someone as stupid as I am - spends 45 frustrating minutes looking for a key for what seems to be the apparent exit (docks in our case), they won't have any desire to come back to the mission later for 100% loot.

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Agreed. This was GDG's first FM and with the best of intentions it might seem to make sense at the time. Somehow I think most of us found the way but I can't remember how we knew it was exit except that earlier on it was blocked until all the objectives were finished.

 

This is why I keep working to make my own FMs frustration-free as far as possible. I've not succeeded yet.

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I know it can be really frustrating when you experience situations where no clue is given and you are just left wandering around...

 

But as I recall, there was a pretty strong narrative all along the way (yes, in a less than linear way of course if you happened to visit scenes in a less than linear fashion... but still it was all there guiding you to the bar). And the bar was quite small, one-room place. So I think that I'd definitely have to say this isn't a case where I can agree so much...

 

But this is the kind of thing that makes me happy that, Fidcal, you have built the hint system. If it can work in such situations so that FM authors will not need to become more obvious, and still be able to present small challenges (or, better yet, big ones) without having to telegraph to everyone... then, like I said, its going to be another great thing, I believe.

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Maybe that's the thing: I didn't perceive any narrative leading me to the bar. I passed there once, cleared the place (or so I thought) like any other place and left for the other street areas which I had no problem finding. Anyway, the purpose of my post was more to highlight the general need for a quickly accessible exit when designing a FM, because frustration is at it's highest when you've completed your objectives but can't find a way to leave the place.

It's likely that I didn't play Lockdown pt.1 with enough attention, and I won't rant about it for my failing. It was a good mission with a lot of places to loot, lovely narrow streets and a lot of tight sneaking gameplay, although a bit trial & error for my style of playing. I'll be waiting for pt.2.

Edited by Briareos H
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Just looking through the text files and find there is a readable but I don't recall where it is in the game:

 

 

"Day 4-\n\n" \

"The plan is ready to be sprung into action!\n" \

"I've fooled Gregory and Hadrian that the \"Stash\"" \

" is in that old builder tomb that the builders" \

" themselves sealed in because it is haunted." \

" I made arrangements with the owner of the Bear & Belcher that he'd lock the bar tomorrow night.\nThis allows me to exit to the docks without hassle."

 

"page1_right_title" : ""

"page1_right_body" :

"Day 5-\n\n" \

"They took the bait!\n" \

"They are as good as dead!\n" \

"I tipped off the local builders and they will be infuriated!\n" \

"And that stash. That stash is mine, all mine!\n" \

"Gregory and Hadrian are loyal men. But they are" \

" in my way.\n" \

"I'm going to leave to the docks to find the stash tonight.\n" \

"I'll use the key I hid in my shelf to unlock the bar."

 

 

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(Gosh, I hate double posts. Why isn't it possible for a user to delete his/her own post?)

Edited by 7upMan

My Eigenvalue is bigger than your Eigenvalue.

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And this, kids, is why it always pays off to read the readables.

 

 

 

 

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

 

 

My Eigenvalue is bigger than your Eigenvalue.

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Just played this last weekend. This was my first mission for the latest version 1.03, since I was still in the middle of Flakebridge Monastery when the new version came up. Here's some observations:

 

 

Almost couldn't get past the first alley with the guard who heard me no matter how I tried to approach him! Finally had to climb to the wooden roof and jump on the guy. Took a couple of tries, but I got him good.Tightly-packed architecture of the city, the mission layout: I got so turned around, like in a maze, just exploring, it was just. so. much. fun! Some clues as to where something hidden or where to go might've been a little helpful, but no biggie. Still, the density of the place and relatively small size made it more liveable and immersive, kinda medieval, than larger, open spaces with less people around would have. The mission layout had such a big influence on gameplay that it's important to mention that here smile.gif

 

Reminiscent of the original Thief missions in the general ambience and feel. And - hopefully I don't make anyone feel bad about this - this also kinda reminded me of TDS: Some street areas were small and packed, like in TDS, only better, more detailed and without those horrible blue smoke-filled doorways. Lockdown was like TDS - only tons better! Like TDS should've been, IMHO.

 

Zombie area freaked me out. A very unasuming entry point - and then it opens up, like so many other areas in the mission. BTW, the zombie in the water... NEVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN! Some more holy water potions and loads more water arrows, please, if you plan anything like that again!

 

Not much story, but that's ok. The two main objectives, the bandits and the getting out part, clear enough. Not stellar, but absolutely fitting for this kind of exploration mission IMO.

 

(Apparently, aftyer reading some other posts in this thread, though I completed my objectives on Easy, I've missed out on a lot by not playing on Expert. Oh well, just gives me reason to play again! But I never had trouble finding the exit: In Thief one becomes so used to frobbing everything that a painting is just natural to try...)

 

 

Thanks to everyone who put this mission together: GameDevGoro, Biker and Fidcal! Excellent job IMHO. wub.gif

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Finally got around to playing this. Fantastic level, lots to do, and all sorts of cool mini areas to visit. The plot seemed a little odd in places, but maybe that's because of the some of the readable problems I skimmed over on the last few pages of this thread. But overall, one of the better TDM missions I think. Great stealthy gameplay all around, and great, if not challenging, AI placement. Architecturally, I loved the very narrow back alley type areas, with an occasional notch or cutout area to hide in. Good fun.

 

One beef though - not sure if this was mentioned already, but there is one guard watching a hallway after you cross the fragile looking board bridge thingy from the Builder's section - you cannot get by him until he moves, and he holds his ground for a full 3 minutes (I went back and timed it). Now, I know Thief & TDM are slowly paced, patient games, but that is ridiculous. Very questionable gameplay design there, even half that much time would have been too long. And there are no other guards in that area, so you actually just sit in the shadow and wait for this guy to finally patrol somewhere. Kinda pointless.

 

My wife stopped into my office to say hi, and I'm staring at the screen, arms folded, and she says "What are you doing?" I say, "I'm waiting for this guy to move." She said "You gotta be kidding!" rolled her eyes and walked away. :laugh: She's right though, it was like a staredown. Just a tip for future reference, I guess.

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  • 1 month later...

Somehow I missed this FM at first, too... just downloaded it and played it through on "Easy" (yes, I, too, enjoy schmacking people in the head, though I usually go through official maps through on the hardest difficulty and then "play" later).

 

I thought this was an excellent mission; at first the map felt a little cramped (ala TDS) but it was so well designed with so many places to go, so many elevations to crawl around, so much to do, and so visually interesting that I ended up taking my time and enjoying it. Yes, it still felt a little cramped, but that seemed accurate for the architecture and, as I recall, it's actually a feature in the story. Someone back on this thread said it felt very much like a T2 mission, and I have to agree... but more toward T1. The point is valid though, it felt great! I was so very pleased by the tasteful inclusion of machinery and the choice of sounds, it was really nostalgic... brought a smile to my face.

 

Very well done! Now I have to crank up the difficulty to full and go through it again... or, dare I say, "really play through it"?

 

Thanks for the great FM! It's this kind of work that will take down the sting a few notches if Eidos botches T4. :P

207115_1788633687853_1599901965_31729336_1424191_n.jpg
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  • 3 weeks later...

Vote gets 3 / 4 / 4 from me, excellent all over!

 

Very tight - lots of interesting things to climb over - it's how I imagine some of the very cluttered streets to be in TDM setting! Felt myself a bit lost - found the tomb to be a wonderful climax, though!

"No proposition Euclid wrote,

No formulae the text-books know,

Will turn the bullet from your coat,

Or ward the tulwar's downward blow

Strike hard who cares—shoot straight who can—

The odds are on the cheaper man."

 

From 'Arithmetic on the Frontier' by Rudyard Kipling

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  • 5 months later...

Either I am missing a switch or there is a crawl command I am not using.

 

In the bar I have opened the access to the tunnel to get to the docks, by using the picture, dropped down into the tunnel but I can't crouch low enough to get along it

 

EDIT - ignore I realised I have an objective to complete before going to the docks

Edited by Oldjim
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Now I am really stuck - playing on hard - where is the crown in for repair,

Hint:

Are you sure you have explored the whole city yet?

 

 

Stronger hint:

There are two parts of the city that aren't connected on groundfloor due to the lockdown.

 

 

Very strong hint:

Near the beginning, in the area after the guardhouse, you can climb up a wooden bridge. From there one side leads to the Builder area through a door, on the other side there is an open window. Enter the open window and look for another open window in that building.

 

 

Outright spoiler:

In the second city part, follow the street until you see a builder watching out from a window. Look for a nearby door.

 

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Near the beginning, in the area after the guardhouse, you can climb up a wooden bridge. From there one side leads to the Builder area through a door, on the other side there is an open window. Enter the open window and look for another open window in that building.

 

Solved thank you

I had looked out of that window but assumed it was somewhere I had already been

 

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