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Springheel

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You'd have to make sure the images didn't have any spoilers though, for people who haven't played the mission yet.

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Moonbo, on 03 Jun 2017 - 6:34 PM, said:

Honestly I'm enjoying your reviews as is. While images are always nice, if it'll slow you down I don't think they're necessary.

It's less that they slow me down and more than I have no idea how to take them. Otherwise, I'd start doing it/would have done it before now. :P

 

---------------------------

 

Let’s get this started, shall we?

 

Lord Dufford’s (by stumpy) was meant as a test mission, and it shows. The plot is slightly different than your average Dark Mod fair: Not-Garrett is a dashing rogue who is hired to discover the fate of Lord Dufford. There’s an official story of course (which our protagonist must also find for no good reason), but the real story is much more interesting…

 

The mission plops you off in a cityscape, and it’s here that you’ll look up and see the red line in the sky. That’s meant to be there. This is the first of many interesting, if strange, design choices. Another odd design choice is that you’ll encounter doors that you can’t pick, you have the pick the actual lock instead, which caused me a fair bit of frustration on a first playthrough.

 

As mentioned, this was meant as a test mission, so there’s a fair bit of….empty space. Quite a lot, actually. It almost reaches the point of unintentional horror, because there are a few guards still wandering about the place, and they have a tendency to spring on you when you get comfortable (I wonder how this mission would play without any background music?). It creates a fair bit of atmosphere, but like I said, it feels unintentional.

 

Difficulty-wise, it’s up there. The loot is often grouped together in chunks, and they tend to off the beaten path. The rather confusing layout of the manor itself doesn’t help with finding them, even on a second playthrough I still found myself getting lost. The main objective ends up being a clue hunt through the manor, which is a new idea and one stumpy does with skill, unless you don’t know what a “stoop” is, anyway. One objective requires you to track down the official story of what happened to Lord Dufford, and requires you to find a very well-hidden notebook that you’re given no reason to believe exists. It ends up falling on the tedious side of the scale at times.

 

And yet, I found myself enjoying it. It’s certainly different, and there’s an undercurrent of dark humor underlying the whole thing, like the creator has his tongue in cheek. The backstory is honestly semi-interesting as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the creator has tried his hand at coming up with a fantasy setting for a novel or tabletop RPG. The tedious bits annoy, but unlike Deceptive Shadows, it’s less of a constant battle. Recommended, but have patience.

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Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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Still on stumpy, and will be for two more reviews after this one.

 

Illusionist's Tower has been described by some as a “gimmick” mission, and while I can see their point I found it pretty fun on the whole. The plot is simple: Not-Garrett is angling to break into an old tower designed by a wizard. There have been the usual round of disappearances of others who have went in, but it’ll be fine. Right?

 

The mission almost reminds me of the Submachine series of room escape games, with multiple shifting locations that don’t seem to have much to do with each other. There’s very little in the way of stealth in this mission, barring avoiding some spiders. The difficulty varies, on the whole it’s pretty smooth sailing, barring one or two bits. One such bit is an annoying puzzle that I still don’t fully understand, even after doing it twice. I more or less did it through trial and error. The loot also has an issue, in that it’s possible to move on to the second part of the mission and not have enough loot to finish. You can go back through the level, but most won’t be willing to do that. It’s also fair to note that one area, an upside-down hallway, drags a tad too long.

 

And yet, I enjoyed the thing. I like missions that at least try something different, even if they falter doing it and I find myself not enjoying the end product. In fairness, the mission is a bit random until about halfway through, and I can see how that would irritate people. But I enjoyed the experience, dark humor and mild horror and all. Recommended, but with a dose of your milage may vary.

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Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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I know that House in Blackbog Hollow was next in release order, but I have my reasons. For example: It's better than this one.

 

Dead Drunk is a rather short, atypical mission. Not-Garrett gets drunk and wakes up in a crypt, dumped there by his friends who are much better at sneaking than he is, considering how they were able to get him into the depths of a skeleton filled crypt without alerting said skeletons. Now, you have to escape.

 

The main problem with this mission is that it’s deeply repetitive. Sure the crypt looks creepy, but after like ten minutes of the same environment it goes from “Woooooo~” to “Oooooooooh (get me out of here)” There’s a break in the pattern at one point, and it’s certainly fits stumpy’s sense of humor, and perhaps the complaint doesn’t matter with such a short mission, but it does wear a bit. A more serious issue is the fact that if you miss a key near the beginning, you can’t complete the level, which to me feels irritating. The is a visual clue to the key, but it still feels too missable. The loot goal is fair, with the loot being easy to find.

 

All in all, this is a little bit disappointing. I expected a tad more from stumpy, who I’d marked as uneven but creative. This is a decent time water, but not much more than that.

  • Like 2

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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I would like to chime in here in stumpy's defense: Dead Drunk was a mission for a halloween contest and was made with a quite short time limit. This is why it had to be simpler and was not as thouroughly beta tested. One of the main drawbacks of contests, in my opinion.

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These reviews are coming so fast! But I’m getting ahead on my played/reviewed ratio, so it’s a necessity.

 

House in Blackbog Hollow (or just Blackbog Hollow according to the title card), is stumpy’s best mission, really. This time, Not-Garratt sets out to swipe some ancient treasure, only to find that someone else has beaten him to it and left an convenient note stating that they’ve fled into a nearby house. Entry is swift, and leads Not-Garrett into a dining room. Where he witnesses a man get killed by a jack-o-lantern. It’s that kind of mission.

 

The main goal is to escape the house, which requires you to track all over it, searching for more murder pumpkins. It’s oddly difficult, as while the house is small and easy to navigate, there are spiders lurking around, and I swear stumpy made them tougher than your garden variety spider. Sword combat is suicide, and you don’t have enough arrows to kill them all. It adds to the challenge though, I’ll admit. Loot-wise it’s easy enough, since most of the loot is in the open, even if the goals are high. However, it commits the same sin as Illusionist's Tower, in that you can reach the end of the mission without enough loot, and unlike the previous you can’t just start over again, so savescummers will have issues.

 

The mission does a pretty good job with it’s horror. It’s not “get me my brown pants” level, but considering how the mission presents itself as a cheesy B-horror at worst, there are some mild chilling moments, such as the note in the office on the second floor. It’s well-done, along with the somewhat surreal humor. The way you end up resolving the mess is worth a chuckle, though I have to admit the final sequence is a bit obtuse, as you don’t really have to follow instructions, from what I could tell. The fact that AI got stuck on my second playthrough probably didn’t help however.

 

All in all, a fun Halloween mission. There are a few flaws, but on the whole I think it’s definitely worth a look. Recommended.

 

Next up, Dragofer!

Edited by The Dark One
  • Like 4

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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One Step Too Far (by Dragofer, as is the next mission reviewed) is certainly interesting.

 

This time, Not-Garrett is a thief on the run, resulting in him taking a position on a ship bound the find the fabled Northwest Passage….or so the captain claims. The large blocks of ice indicate that the ship might have gone off-course, forcing our hero to investigate.

 

This is an atypical mission here, with more of an overt horror element filling everything. The ship is crammed and isolation and claustrophobia fills the ship. The second part of the mission has a really good moment of tension, though the means of escape is slightly wonky. This atmosphere is the best part about the mission, and insures that you’ll be unsettled for the majority of your playtime.

 

This same claustrophobia, however, also results in a fair amount of irritation in places. The small size seems to fluster the AI, and weird behaviors tend to crop up as a result. I crawled right in front of the chef without him noticing me, for example. The first-mate’s room is an absolute pain to to get into, requiring split-second timing and melding yourself into the wall, along with dealing with a captain who keeps wandering in and out. The whole room needed like another foot or so on it. It’s also worth noting that the ending, after all the buildup, the mission just suddenly ends at a moment of high suspense.

 

Still, this is a very well-done mission. Atypical, but very good, with excellent ambient horror.. Unlike some of the previous missions I’ve looked at,, the loot goals are optional, ensuring that the player doesn’t get stuck at the end, and giving those who like crawling around and searching a little bonus. One of these days I’ll figure out why I can only do short reviews for missions I like a lot, but for now, I’ll have to say this is Recommended.

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Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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This same claustrophobia, however, also results in a fair amount of irritation in places. The small size seems to fluster the AI, and weird behaviors tend to crop up as a result. I crawled right in front of the chef without him noticing me, for example. The first-mate’s room is an absolute pain to to get into, requiring split-second timing and melding yourself into the wall, along with dealing with a captain who keeps wandering in and out. The whole room needed like another foot or so on it. It’s also worth noting that the ending, after all the buildup, the mission just suddenly ends at a moment of high suspense.

 

Actually the AI noticing you is not an FM defect or bug or overlook. It depends on your difficulty settings and your custom settings vis-à-vis AI deafness and AI blindness. Sorry if this reply reads too didactic or arrogant.

Edited by Anderson
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"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

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One Step Too Far (by Dragofer, as is the next mission reviewed) is certainly interesting.

 

This time, Not-Garrett is a thief on the run, resulting in him taking a position on a ship bound the find the fabled Northwest Passage….or so the captain claims. The large blocks of ice indicate that the ship might have gone off-course, forcing our hero to investigate.

 

Thank you for this interesting read, though if I may make a correction: the ship was actually on an expedition to the more barren parts of the New World, the captain following a mysterious trail, but not so far north that they'd see ice floes. To make yet another attempt at routing the Northwest Passage in that kind of ship would be foolish. [back then at least. Nowadays the Northwest Passage is open in summer thanks to climate change.]

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Thank you for this interesting read, though if I may make a correction: the ship was actually on an expedition to the more barren parts of the New World, the captain following a mysterious trail, but not so far north that they'd see ice floes. To make yet another attempt at routing the Northwest Passage in that kind of ship would be foolish. [back then at least. Nowadays the Northwest Passage is open in summer thanks to climate change.]

 

Huh. Interesting, will have to edit that when I put it on TTLG. I'm not sure how I thought that was the case.

 

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For the record, this isn’t a pure sequel to One Step Too Far, but it is set in the same universe.

 

Down by the Riverside feels like a much improved version of it’s predecessor, keeping most of the strengths while excising the weaknesses. This time, Not-Garrett stows away on a pirate ship to make off with some of the loot from an upcoming raid on an isolated and deserted mansion. However, most of the loot is long gone, but some odd footsteps lead our hero into an isolated room where….spoilers happen.

 

The mission is a solid one all around, greatly improving on it’s predecessor. The atmosphere of isolation and horror is well-handled, even though a few places show pity on you and have people running around. These times are brief however, and the general isolation continues. The graphics are good, with the best being the elegant but run-down mansion that the mission begins in. The horror is, as said, quite well done, with the final sequence leaving me on edge. The story is also well done, with the player at least having an understanding of what happened, if not why or how in all cases.

 

Difficulty-wise, it’s a bit fairer than it’s predecessor, but more difficult, if that makes sense. On the one hand, you don’t have to worry about creeping through too small spaces, but there are plenty of guards everywhere. Special mention goes to the location before the finale, which requires you to creep through a ship’s hold with metal floors and guards choking you every which way. It’s one of the few areas in The Dark Mod that I’ve actually felt like using a moss arrow. Admittedly, it’s easier on lower difficulties, from what I understand. Thankfully, the loot goals are optional, considering how well--hidden some of it is.

 

It’s worth noting that the mission has been updated since its first release, tweaking a few glitches and getting rid of those dang electrocuting lamps that used to be there. The creator also was kind enough to better highlight some loot in the church, but I wish he had done the same for a stash of loot in the previous part of the mission, which in my opinion was far harder to find.

 

All in all, this is a worthy successor to One Step Too Far, and is Recommended.

  • Like 4

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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Note: This mission was done by Airship Ballet and kyrrma.

 

Exhumed places our noble hero in the role of an agent for the Church sent to the freezing edge of the world to reclaim an artifact from a long abandoned chapel, and cleanse the evil that infests it. Like the previous two missions I’ve looked at, this is more of a horror mission that a normal Dark Mod mission. The environment is appropriately desolate, and the chapel is confined and creepy, with the only gripe I have being the mismatched gate leading out.

The mission does a good job with horror, slowly building it up from minor scares to a burst of bloody horror. This gradual ascension is well down, and other authors should take note of it. I do have a bone or two to pick with events (such as why putting a skull in a fountain opens a secret passage), but the whole experience is so well-done that I’ll give it a pass. The mission is well-paced, not trying to drag out the tension any longer than it has too.

 

Also, booby traps, more of those please, I enjoy them more than I should.

All in all, this is a very good and creepy mission. Recommended.

  • Like 2

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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I expected something different from this mission based on the description, honestly.

 

Thief's Remorse continues the recent trend of atypical missions. This time, our blameless hero is in need of some money for the winter, and slips into a tomb to steal a crown. Things go wrong, and he must now find some quick repentance for his old sins by returning similarly stolen objects while not getting killed in the process.

 

It’s hard to give details about this mission, since it’s both short and relies pretty heavily on the feeling of not knowing what’s coming next. I will say it does the horror well, making you feel like you’re being tossed around by something much more powerful than you, giving a good feeling of helplessness through the first part of the mission. It’s a short experience, similar to Exhumed, and quite fun. I do think it leans a little on the easy side once you get your bearings, but I’m willing to forgive it.

 

It should be noted that there are multiple endings to be found, but apparently one didn’t work right for me. My first playthrough made it impossible to get a needed key to move on in the mission, but as far as I can tell I was the only one to experience it.

 

All in all, a fun little mission that’s better experienced. Recommended.

  • Like 2

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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More Airship Ballet! I know I need to do Quinn Co., but it will be delayed.

 

The Smiling Cutpurse places our hero in the titular inn, something that he would normally dismiss as a waste of time, but there’s more to this inn: They’ve agreed to store a disguised bank vault, and our hero is targeting it, and whatever else he can find in the inn.

 

This is the first mission I’ve done in a while that’s a straight-up heist mission, and it does it well. The inn has a simple enough layout, with a fair bit of variety to the rooms and guests and alternate route or two if you’re willing to look. The little bit of backstory you find out are probably my favorite part of the mission, but I think the notes ended up reversed, so go to the “last” and then go back. I should also note that I think there are two ways to complete this mission, which I found to be a nice touch.

 

This mission falls on the “easy” side of things: There’s no loot goal so in theory once you find the vault you’re done. It’s also pretty easy to blackjack most everyone in the inn, giving you free reign. Yet, I don’t think that’s bad per se, nothing wrong with a well-done easy mission, and this is very well-done, barring an odd sound glitch at the vault and one wimp who died when I hit him with my blackjack on my first playthrough.

 

All in all, a fun, solid mission. Recommended.

  • Like 2

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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It’s not a habit, I can quit anytime I want.

 

Old Habits (by Obsttorte) is a pretty straightforward mansion mission. Our hero is bumming it at the bar when he runs into an old and recently fired friend. Said friend was formerly employed at the estate of Sir Aaron, and managed to find a weak spot, a weak wall near the sewers. “There’s a jeweled scepter in need of stealing, now get to work.” That sums it up.

 

Old Habits is a relatively short mission with a few points of note. For example, the oddly colorful and very nice garden, which has some hidden secrets for those who search it and is probably my favorite part of the mission. Also, the outside yard which is a tad too well-guarded, but offers some nice parkour. Finally, the difficulty. It’s hard. And not in the fun way.

 

The second floor of the manor suddenly dumps you in a linear path filled with torch wielding guards (in a hallway that’s already well-lit so logically they don’t even need them) who you can’t knock out. You are granted some tools to deal with them...if you can find them, and even then it’s a trial. I don’t mind difficulty, heck long time players of Thief might be rubbing their hands at the thought of a spike like this, but it makes the latter part of the mission far too tedious if you go in unprepared. The loot goal is mostly reasonable, though on higher difficulties you have to find a certain number of specific objects, which is slightly trickier, but still doable.

 

All in all, a decent if difficult mission. Normally I’d recommend it in spite of those flaws, because it is still good, but the author remade this mission and balanced it out and added more to it. Therefore, I’d have to recommend this only to people who want a challenge.

  • Like 3

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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Pretend that I have something witty here.

 

Obsttorte returns with another mission, The Builder Roads, which has 100% less roads. This time our hero is a trader whose latest deal has gone sour, leaving him without the means to pay his debts to the Very Nice People. His only hope is to make off with a recently discovered scripture from the nearby church.

 

This mission is, like Old Habits, harder than your normal mission, mainly on high difficulties, which forbid anyone from seeing or hearing you. The number of guards you encounter also rises with the difficulty, and those player on higher levels would do well to explore before completing objectives.

 

The mission is relatively open-ended, allowing you to explore the church/barracks at your leisure, and with a plausible layout to boot. Little touches, such as transparent windows, help with planning where to go and what to do. Loot can be well-hidden, and on the highest difficulty you’re going to have to find most of it. That being said, the mission is mostly simple in the first part, with only a few guards on patrol, with the difficulty kicking in once you find out where to go. On lower difficulties I think it might be too easy, if just because it won’t take you long to knock out the guards.

 

Compared to Old Habits, this is much fairer on difficulty: It’s still tricky, but careful planning can get you through, and the more non-linear layout helps quite a bit. There was a few times when it felt like I had failed the mission for no reason since none of the guards seemed to have been alerted to my presence, but those were few and far between. The last segment could have used some tweaking, since it’s possible to do it too quickly and mess up even if the sequence is done right, but even that was a mild flaw, fixed with a quick load.

 

On the whole, a very solid mission with a good challenge for those on higher difficulties. Recommended.

  • Like 3

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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It’s not a habit, I can quit anytime I want.

 

Old Habits (by Obsttorte) is a pretty straightforward mansion mission. Our hero is bumming it at the bar when he runs into an old and recently fired friend. Said friend was formerly employed at the estate of Sir Aaron, and managed to find a weak spot, a weak wall near the sewers. “There’s a jeweled scepter in need of stealing, now get to work.” That sums it up.

 

Wait, did that already.

In my review of Old Habits, I mentioned that I’d recommend it in spite of flaws if it hadn’t been for a remake of the mission done by the same author. This is that remake: Old Habits II.

 

While the set-up is the same, the mission has gotten a complete overhaul. This is obvious from the very first room. In the original, you had a long tunnel to go through to reach the mansion proper, even though it was established that you could hear the sewer just from pressing up against the wall. Here, the wall actually is next to the sewer. Little things like that.

 

The mission also benefits from more non-linearity. The main issue with the first Old Habits was that you had no other options than a linier, guard filled hallway. Here you can do some parkour to find slightly different routes, and the second floor is less guard choked and has multiple pathways to your target. There’s also a bit with a chapel that’s quite fun, with hints scattered across the mission, though it’s a little too easy to lock yourself out of it without knowing, but in fairness the creator gives you a buffer to avoid that.

 

Most of this mission’s issue s are technical. There’s a non-critical note in one of the bedrooms that sounds like you’re adding it to your inventory when no such thing happens. I also would sometimes phase through a ceiling for a split second in the chapel at times. The main issue is getting the key to said chapel, which, due to the quirks of the physics engine, can very well result in the mission crashing. I’m honestly tempted to just say that you should feel justified in noclipping through the door. It’s a shame, since it’s such a smear on a very good mission.

 

On the whole, this is a very good mission. The difficulty isn’t as high, yes, but I’ll take a solid, challenging but fair mission over something hard for the sake of hard. If you can get get around the chapel issue, recommended. If you can’t, it's still recommended.

Edited by The Dark One
  • Like 3

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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Yeah, that key is a real annoyance. Couldn't get around it, though, as I never found out what the problem is. :(

 

Glad you enjoyed it anyways. :) (It's a complete rebuild, btw).

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FM's: Builder Roads, Old Habits, Old Habits Rebuild

Mapping and Scripting: Apples and Peaches

Sculptris Models and Tutorials: Obsttortes Models

My wiki articles: Obstipedia

Texture Blending in DR: DR ASE Blend Exporter

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For the record, kyrrma (the creator of this mission) also worked on Exhumed.

 

In A Time of Need is about need. Your need. Our dashing hero is targeting a merchant who’s been dealing in spice and has made a bit of money with it. So a simple smash and grab is called for.

 

This mission is honestly rather small, which might disappoint those who like voyeuring their way across mansions.. Still, it makes good use of the layout, offering multiple ways into the home and making the layout feel plausible. Another plus is that the mission does change between difficulty levels, though the difference between medium and expert is one of loot goals. Still, it’s a nice change.

 

Sadly, there isn’t much to say about this mission. It’s a good first effort with a non-linear style that I like. Recommended, but more experienced players might be a tad underwhelmed.

Edited by The Dark One
  • Like 3

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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Technically the full title is In A Time of Need 2: Breaking Out The Fence, but that’s so many words.

 

Breaking Out the Fence is a sequel to In A Time of Need. Our dashing hero is looking forward to reaping the gains of a job well done, but the merchant he stole the spice from in turn stole the spice from a ruthless merchant’s guild. They want their cut, and have kidnapped Not-Garett’s fence to get it, meaning that he’ll have to bust the fence out, and implicate the guild in a murder to keep them from retaliating.

 

First off, this mission has rain in it, which is automatically a plus. Second, it’s more complex that it’s predecessor. You need to slip into both an inn and a well-guarded store--and the sewers connecting them--to complete the mission, and while neither area is very big, there’s still plenty to find within. The mission plays around with some different features, such as security cameras around the store, but they felt a little unneeded. It’s easy to get around them and while you can find something to neutralize them you usually won’t need it by that point in the mission.

Difficulty-wise, it’s somewhat high. The highest difficulty restricts your knockouts and the shop has quite a few guards wandering around. Still, I found it more than possible to sneak around undetected, barring a well-lit room which the guards seemed to constantly wander in and out of. There is a slightly obscure key needed, but there’s a visual cue to it.The loot goal is fair, with nothing overly hidden, though the safe you can crack has a slightly tricky combination to work out.

 

All in all, this is a small mission, but with quite a lot of content within, even a few creepy bits down in the sewers below. Recommended, even if you didn’t play the first one.

  • Like 2

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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Window of Opportunity (by RJFerret) takes our beloved charmer to the wilderness, as a rockslide has stranded him in a mountainside town. While there, he’s contacted by a merchant who wants him to get an artifact back from a caravan of traders.

 

This mission is interesting, even just beyond the more outdoor/wilderness setting. The highest difficulty (which, full disclaimer, I didn’t play on), forces you to get by without knockouts. While there are only a few guards to watch out for, the area where all that sweet sweet loot is is small and well-lit, and the people are dutiful about re-lighting them, though you are granted plenty of water arrows to match.

 

Where the mission really shines is in the caverns you have to traverse on higher difficulties. The opening reminds me of that one “Ted the Caver” creepypasta, and it ends up with you having to stalk dark and deep caves to find what lies beneath. It’s suitably creepy, with good atmosphere, and even something resembling an (easy) boss fight in the depths. It’s quite well-done, especially if you aren’t expecting it (I did explain it, but in my defense it’s over half the mission :P ). I do admit that the darkness makes moving around a pain, but it’s not hard to find the right path. I do want to know why the caves moved on pass the lair though, as there doesn’t seem to be much beyond it beyond a nice view.

All in all, it was a solid, atmospheric mission. Can’t ask for much more. Recommended.

  • Like 2

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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Just wanted to post this link to a mammoth list of all Thief and TDM missions, with summaries of each. Pretty impressive list, and it looks like the author is making corrections if any FM authors want to tweak their summaries.

 

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148090

 

And here's the TDM section in particular:

 

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148090#t4a

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But you should walk having internal dignity. Be a wonderful person who can dance pleasantly to the rhythm of the universe.

-Sun Myung Moon

 

My work blog: gfleisher.blogspot.com

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Just wanted to post this link to a mammoth list of all Thief and TDM missions, with summaries of each. Pretty impressive list, and it looks like the author is making corrections if any FM authors want to tweak their summaries.

 

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148090

 

And here's the TDM section in particular:

 

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148090#t4a

 

I helped with that! Kind of, I just submitted some brief thoughts on missions and they got tweaked for the list. :P Speaking of reviews...

 

--------------

 

This mission (by Pranqster) is also called Samhain Night, Samhain:Night on Bone Hill, and just Samhain. Throw a dart and pick a name, just don’t break your screen.

 

This time, our respectful hero is off for a bit of grave robbing of the Goose family crypt. After a brief opening to show off the then-new plague masks models, Not-Garrett slips in to swipe the ruby….and promptly plunges into a water-filled tunnel, forcing a bit of tomb crawling to escape.

 

Samhain Night isn’t horror, but more of a B-movie fest, forcing the player to constantly deal with new obstacles, from aggressive spiders to a (simple) maze. It’s quite fun, though some will gripe at the linearity of it all. Others will gripe about secret passages that open without much indication, causing a bit of irritation. Most will gripe about the high loot goals on the highest difficulty, which could force some backtracking, though in fairness the items you have to collect will add to it nicely.

 

This mission is difficult, due to the aforementioned high loot goals and due to the fact that the highest difficulties forbid killing any of the undead that clog the tombs. An unhinted at secret room containing vital loot is also a pain to find. And getting a needed crown is an exercise that will require many reloads before figuring out a plan.

 

All in all, this is a slightly uneven, but fun mission. It doesn’t aim to scare you, but to challenge you, and it does a good job on that front. And I admit a weakness for crypts with secret passages and booby traps. Recommended.

  • Like 2

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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For the record, PranQster (the author of The Siege Shop) insists that Lowenz be credited as co-author for his help in this mission.

 

In The Siege Shop, our hero is sent out to a former Builder training fortress up in the mountains, which has been taken over by a group of mercenaries. Rumors are spreading that they’re building war machines up there, and a mole sent in has suddenly cut off contact. Needless to say, Not-Garrett is to find out the fate of the mole and steal any designs he finds. And loot the place, but he didn’t need to be told that.

 

This is a rather unique mission in The DarK Mod. I don’t know of any other mission in Thief fan mission canon that has you infiltrating with a hot air balloon, for one. Small touches fill the place, such as a machine patrolling the bottom floor and archers that actually practice firing. I noticed that on my second playthrough and loved it.

The mission is quite hard, especially on the highest difficulty, as you’re going to have to get a good 90% of the loot to finish, and a lot of it is quite well-hidden, along with a key for a valuable piece of loot. The mission also requires a bit of backtracking, and it falls a little too hard on the tedious end of the scale, due to a patrolling machine that moves at the speed of frozen molasses, making said backtracking a pain.

The mission has very nice aesthetics to it, but then I like castle missions. Of particular note is the cavernous workshop on the lowest level and the moat running through it. As said before, the little touches help the atmosphere immensely, and I admit I enjoyed how the leader of the mercenaries was shown as a hard, but actually decent guy. It doesn't seem like much, but I liked it.

 

All in all, a fun, though slightly tedious mission. Recommended.

Edited by The Dark One
  • Like 2

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story.

 

-"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan" from Virtual Carnal Pleasure by Yamada Fuutarou

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