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Fan Mission: Sneak & Destroy, by SeriousToni, Beginner's Contest 2012 - Update 11/2022


SeriousToni

Sneak & Destroy - Do you like it? :)  

71 members have voted

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

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

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



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Ok, that means you think 99% of all TDM missions are complete garbage when zero points is the average for you. That really explains it I guess.

I explained why I gave 'poor' for the gameplay. I gave 'tolerable' for the art because in my opinion it's nothing special. It wasn't horrible neither so I would not vote "garbage" if there was such option.

@ jysk: I really wonder how one can become developer if he doesn't like or play the game he's developing :blink:

I liked couple of maps, usually those that I finished. Even worse maps are funny for couple of minutes because of the game mechanics, AI, player's equipment, etc.

The mod still has a lot of potential. I'm hoping (perhaps naively) that there will be "near perfect" missions in the future.

It's only a model...

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I finished it yesterday, here's my opinion:

 

 

All in all, awesome work for sure. ;) The world appearence in itself seems to be very fantasy oriented, with very big proportions, grand decorations and a lot of luxury even for what would be everyday buildings - this feels coherent, the same language was applied everywhere, and it just makes me remember old RPG computer games for some reason, specially if you add the music, which I really enjoyed.

 

The optional building (well, not that optional as you need the loot) is very ambitious, with a lot of complex geometry and immense proportions, feels very much more like a imperial castle hall of some sort, than a tavern. The copious amount of loot, the use of materials, the amount of candles and electric lights, all of that gives you the feeling of a fantasy setting, that doesnt strive to be pseudo-realistic, which I think worked very well as a whole.

The same applies for the main tavern, with its decorated walls, luxury bathrooms and big hall. I really enjoyed the puzzle aspects of it, finding a way to make all that people go to bed, and figuring out which one to kill - Seeing a thief woman coming out of the bar, I was pretty suspicious so I followed her, got to know where she was staying, and yep, she was the one alright. After exploring the building and robbing every painting there was (Im quite the art lover), found her room (nice touch on the wall), turned the lights on, woke her up with a cup, and faced her in fair duel - it seems however you forgot to give her the best skillset, as she was slow and quite easy to defeat (coupled with doing low damage because of the short sword).

 

I liked that the mission felt open and you didnt need to go through many halts and steps in order to advance. There were quite a bit of guards which is always unrealistic but a nice challenge. I was making people suspicious all the time, and there was enough space to just let them searching for me in one room while I was searching another, having a bit of confusion in the map also makes it a lot more fun.

 

The addition of a really nice narrated briefing, tons of new materials and models, music, and an outro (which you have to teach me as I was trying to implement one and couldnt) just shows your commitment to creating a unique experience, and that is amazing. Also, any lack of detail of certain places was more than countered by you creativity in coming up with the puzzles and the investigation plot.

 

Fantastic work!

 

Edited by RPGista
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Great mission!

 

I liked the 2nd tavern, and the different architecture between the 2nd and 1st tavern.

 

I didn't have a problem

with finding the bounty hunter, I realized it would be useful to sneak around the rooms before turning off the tap. I expected the bounty hunter to be less obvious about it. :P

 

 

I also loved the briefing and end briefing!

 

- prjames

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Well done SeriousToni! Enjoyed your mission. Performed well for me everywhere, visuals were good, and I liked your intro... was that Ocn on vocals?

  • Like 1

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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Fun mission, SeriousToni, although

I felt very guilty for killing my rival....still, it's not something I get to do in missions much, so it was a nice change of pace :)

Lots of great textures here, and the layout of the larger inn felt just right to me. Really great job, especially considering this was your first effort. It will be interesting to see where you go next.

 

I did wonder

what is behind the unfrobbable door at the top of the stair in the smaller inn

 

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This is the first FM I've played after being unable to play TDM for a long time due to computer problems, and it was very enjoyable, thank you. I played expert, and everything went absolutely smoothly, though I'll have to revisit this and properly ghost it without any KOs.

 

I could offer pointers for future missions, but I guess the only complaint is that the lantern and spyglass were missing. Funny how I never used the flares and zoom in the original thief games but now they're indispensable tools ;-)

 

As for something to think about improving for next time, a bit of environmental background to the location would have been good, it seemed this element was lacking (unless I missed something). The settings you chose are naturally populated with transients, but the places themselves would have a history and story of their own (e.g. An explanation for why there were two such buildings, maybe a rivalry?).

 

All in all, really enjoyed the gameplay, visuals and audio, so not just a good 'beginner' mission, but a solid mission, period.

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Really enjoyed this, particularly

the large amount of custom content. It is nice to see someone go above and beyond the contents of TDM and incorporate things like voice overs, new models, new sounds, etc. Also, the surprises like the peeing guard made me chuckle.

Only thing I noticed that detracted from the mission was that soem lamps in the rooms sounded as though they were gas operated, though they clearly weren't. I also heard some strange door sounds for the cellar door. (breaking in from outside)

 

--- War does not decide who is right, war decides who is left.

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@ ithel:

It could be anything you want - maybe the headquarters. It's not enterable anyway :P

 

Thanks you three! Finally someones who enjoyed all the new custom stuff in it ^^

"Einen giftigen Trank aus Kräutern und Wurzeln für die närrischen Städter wollen wir brauen." - Text aus einem verlassenen Heidenlager

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey, SeriousToni,

are you going to contribute those cool new models like the wall-torches to the mod? Also, if there is a list of recommended FMs for low-enders, this one should be on it. This mission puts a good amount of pressure on the player, while taking place mostly indoors. I would imagine it would run okay on a high end P4 system.

 

 

--- War does not decide who is right, war decides who is left.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello guys, thanks for the likes, yes the mission is also reccomended for low end systems.

 

Of course is the stuff contributed to the mod :D It's cool to have new assets and stuff in missions and every addon to the mod counts!

"Einen giftigen Trank aus Kräutern und Wurzeln für die närrischen Städter wollen wir brauen." - Text aus einem verlassenen Heidenlager

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  • 1 month later...

Just played this (using 1.08) and I have to say that I was very impressed!

 

Had some great moments of tension,

especially with the change to patrols after turning off the dispensing system (I had stashed a body on the stairs because I was certain no one was going up there anymore, and after turning it off, I thought, "Oh crap!" Ran up to try and get to the body but was too late.) Also had several close calls with AI turning on lights.

 

Loved the voice-over effect. I was surprised at how much of an impact that had on me...I think I'll do the same for all my missions from now on.

 

Great use of sounds (really enjoyed all the new door sounds...) and some of the architecture in the second tavern in was beautiful.

 

Overall the gameplay was fantastic.

 

There were a few buggy things for me, but not really map issues. One funny thing; I turned on the light and the owner woke up (beautiful). But when he stood up, he fell through the floor. I finished looting the room, went out into the hall, and saw him coming back up the stairs, muttering, "Yep, we definitely have a thief in here." It was hilarious. Then he walked into his room and said, "Hey, stuff is missing!" He wandered around and then opened the door to the room next to his, and said, "Somebody is definitely stealing things." I loved it!

 

One thing that did spoil it for me just a little bit was that I'm still about 400 short of my loot goal on Hard. I feel like I've been just about everywhere (I picked the right inn first, and didn't really like having to go to the second one just to finish a loot objective). There was one chest I couldn't unlock, but I doubt it has that much loot in it. I'm not a fan of loot objectives in the first place, so perhaps I'm biased, but the requirement seems high. I guess I'll have to go back and look for more, though, since I've heard there's something neat at the end.

 

One other thing that was a bit of a bummer...I found the assassin sleeping, and thought...I'll give her a fighting chance. So I drew my sword, turned on the light, and prepared for a fight. Unfortunately, as soon as she saw me I failed the no-see objective and the game ended. Had to do it in a less sportsmanlike way the second time (see image). Strangely, I wound up in a hand-to-hand fight with the mage, yet the objective didn't fail...I guess he was shocking me, but couldn't see me. It was just bad luck that I had dumped all the guards in his room before he came up. :P

 

Oh, the owner's journal seemed to have some cut-off lines, though I got the gist of it.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, small nitpicks aside, this is a great first effort, and I hope to see more from you! :)

  • Like 1

TDM Missions:   A Score to Settle  *  A Reputation to Uphold  *  A New Job  *  A Matter of Hours

Video Series:   Springheel's Modules  *  Speedbuild Challenge  *  New Mappers Workshop  *  Building Traps

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Dear Springheel, thank you for your good review, I must say I went red a little :blush:

 

On the glitch with the alert level:

 

 

The objective really should not fail, when the assassin sees you after waking it up. I put the assassin in another team to which the fail on alert condition doesn't apply. I even tested it and we had someone here a few posts before who said he finally made a cool sword fight with the assassin - this is strange.

 

On the AI: Yeah it is very funny and experiencing what you can see ingame with the very smart AI if it is setup correct by the mapper. There are many possibilities. Glad it worked out for you! :)

 

Also nice that you adored the new content in this mission!

 

On the loot objective. I made the loot requirements a bit high, if you only look in one tavern. So to make sure the player has to visit all two taverns (then it is very low because there is much more loot in the map if you count the loot from all two taverns). I suggest you try this because:

 

 

 

I put much afford in the end of the mission which is worth to encounter ;)

"Einen giftigen Trank aus Kräutern und Wurzeln für die närrischen Städter wollen wir brauen." - Text aus einem verlassenen Heidenlager

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I even tested it and we had someone here a few posts before who said he finally made a cool sword fight with the assassin - this is strange.

 

It was probably me. ;) I also did the same, challenged the person to a fair duel, but the point remains, the AI in question seems to have an ordinary melee skill set and the challenge wasn't that great. The "dramatic fight moment" element that could be explored in missions also reminds me to bug grayman another time and ask for a bit of experimenting with TDM's melee mechanics - AI tends to be too passive and robotic, throwing a single blow and then clearly waiting for you to fire yours. Maybe some randomness could be inserted in there, so there could be occasions where they would swing two or three times in sequence, and then wait (for a breather) - exactly like the zombie character, with the difference you can actually block the blows instead of dodging them. Anyway, just thinking out loud...

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  • 4 weeks later...

Ok, so I just finished this mission(and now I'm out of missions...) and I liked it. The intro was very nice, The interiors were superb, the mission was simple but well told. Hope to see you ganging up with someone who can add a little bit more flavour into the events taking place on map and you'll make a perfect mission. All in all very good job.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I did this FM last night. Not sure why I missed it the first time around. I had a lot of fun. The stay-unseen objective was challenging.

 

 

I predicted, if it's a ST FM, I bet the assassin is going to be the armed female & I was right!

 

 

I noticed even though you aren't seen, my Alert stat still showed a few "Sightings" alerts, so I think that must include some Level-5 alerts short of sighting... Maybe if they see a body? I did make the blunder, sort of similar to Spring...

 

of dropping all the bodies into the rooms expecting no one to go into them... I think I left at least one body in every room, so when everybody went back to their rooms, a few minutes later I could hear all of them crying out about the bodies & I could only shake my head haha...

 

What do you see when you turn out the light? I can't tell you but I know that it's mine.

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  • 4 weeks later...

A little late but better than never. Very enjoyable mission.

 

What I liked:

The briefing with voiceover and drawings. That helps the atmosphere a lot.

AI patrols and layout of the inside areas.

The mission objective and how it is solved was interesting.

 

What I didn't like:

 

No lantern and no lockpicks. I don't know why you didn't include the lantern. The missing picks as a way to control the player were a bit conrived. There should be a good reason the thief doesn't have them.

 

Architecture and lighting were a bit simple for my tastes but not bad.

 

Well done!

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