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Fan Mission: In remembrance of him (by RPGista)


RPGista

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This mission started out promising for me, I really like the style of the city and the streets, but I did get annoyed with the platforming areas.

 

The area with the

water pump

is there any way out? I couldn't find one.

 

Also, after you get by a construction area, there's a spot with a seemingly

bottomless pit.

I made it to the

drainpipe,

but from there, everywhere I try to jump/mantle to, I fall to my death.

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Glancing through so as not to get spoiled... Am I the only one experiencing major, ever-lasting lag? I haven't gotten above ~8fps all game long -- indoors, outdoors, upstairs, downstairs, strange, charmed, surrounded, alone, forwards and back... I have played them all (TDM FMs) and never had such a persistently laggy go-round.

 

Otherwise I have a lot of likes with this one. Most especially the manipulation gameplay aspects and the visual style (oh, and I quite like the readables too).

 

...

 

Now...

 

In Fairness to the other contestants, RPgista has only been fixing bugs

 

In fairness to the other contestants... their missions had to have gone through the same processes. If this one comes in a wins the contest, as it appears to be, it will be unfairness to the other contestants.

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Brethren - about the basement, since thats a quite dark area, consider using the candle to examine the room, you might find what seems to be suggestive of an exit. (Additional tip - you might have to "force" your way through it).

 

To your second question, from where you were able to hold on to, try to frob any nearby window to see if they'll open, theres pretty much only one in reach really. ;)

 

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Bluesky - glad to hear you think its interesting. That lag problem sounds like something that used to happen to me - do you play in a laptop? Is it overheating? Because thats exactly what happens here if i play with very demanding settings, the only thing that worked was to really put the resolution down (so the computer thinks a lot less). Otherwise Im afraid i cant help, I can get quite good frame rates myself with my 3 years old laptop, and im pretty sure i solved any internal leak? Is anyone else having problems?

 

Oh and about the contest - you guys might have noticed I didnt include myself in it in my post title. Im actually thinking about loosing the poll too, as its meaningless (but then again, could be useful for later readers to know the good and the bad of the mission...). Its kind of a non issue for me, lets just exclude this one entirely and cheer for serioustony and jysk (now that i have time, promess to play both missions soon boys, hearing a lot of good things about them). ;)

 

Nbohrmore - thanks a lot!

Edited by RPGista
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In fairness to the other contestants... their missions had to have gone through the same processes. If this one comes in a wins the contest, as it appears to be, it will be unfairness to the other contestants.

 

As SeriousToni and jysk have openly expressed that they have no issues with RPGista entering the begginers contest I see no reason why this still can't be included.

"I believe that what doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger"

 

The Joker

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Added a basic Walkthrough on the main post. Will be updating it in time. Read to find out how to progress in the mission. I'm also updating the Help section with non-spoiling but useful information, that probably everyone could read before/in the middle of playing.

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Finished on the hardest setting - the only tricky bit was

was seeing the drainpipe in the place with a bottomless pit

a spyglass would have been handy as it just looked like a different coloured piece of wall.

I liked the part in the chapel where

the zombie came out and I could lure it into the graveyard then close the door behind it

 

Edited by Oldjim
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I really disliked the story and text, from the briefing I knew what I was getting into. I know you put a lot of effort in it, I feel bad for giving it the worst mark...

 

What do you mean with too many minute details, too many ellipses? It'll really help me understand your worst vote on this.

 

 

@RPGista

 

I read ofcourse to vote fairly. :) First I check how long it is, then decide to read or not. I was referring to the readable which is about 10 pages long.

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That is a shame grayman! Part of the briefing is owed to you, so by all means, noclip your way past the tough part (just dont go too far, the whole place is booby trapped with triggers (hint, if you fly up to a window or door, open it and then enter, just in case), and keep going till you find the church (a huge romanesque bell tower is your clue); some of the things I was able to pull off in the church area are also thanks to you, so it would be really nice if you got to see it. ;)

Edited by RPGista
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Oldjim - Nice one, but I wonder if you were able to (in the expert difficulty):

 

 

Get inside the last alley apartment, the one with two peasants in front of it (since you cant kill them);

 

Find the alternative route to the church (whichever one you chose/found).

 

 

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Another note, some might have overlooked:

 

There are two alternative pathways to your final destination (the chapel); it seems so far the majority has decided to go through the derelict building, which is the hardest choice. There's an easier, but harder to spot, route. (Hint: they can both be reached from the same area)

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There are two alternative pathways to your final destination (the chapel); it seems so far the majority has decided to go through the derelict building, which is the hardest choice. There's an easier, but harder to spot, route. (Hint: they can both be reached from the same area)

 

Oh, so there's hope for me yet. I'll see if I can proceed.

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I just updated the walkthrough with tips on how to proceed on each of those areas (still need to writte about the church area, but I dont think many people is having trouble there). Take a look if you are curious or still having trouble. ;)

 

Im afraid it can be pretty delicate to get to this second route (just kill the archer by the way, it will make things easier); you should probably noclip somewhere close to the entrance, but not into the room itself!

Edited by RPGista
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Diego - Sure man, maybe your gamma setting is a bit low? Take a look at the walkthrough and or help section on the first post, that might help you proceed/find new places.

 

I really disliked the story and text, from the briefing I knew what I was getting into. I know you put a lot of effort in it, I feel bad for giving it the worst mark but it just got in the way of my enjoyment and I can't get past that.

 

Hmmm... Just saw this. After spending days drawing a custom briefing by hand, writting pages worth of readables in a language that is not my own, with a fully scripted conversation scene in there, several triggered events, some of which with decent amount of complexity (for me) that were as far as I could get to ingame cutscenes; to receive the lowest rating possible in a category that includes graphic storytelling seems a bit excessive... Lets not forget these are our first mapping works, with a limited time slot no less, so perhaps a little tolerance margin should be allowed.

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I already explained my views on this mission but, because I gave a "tolerable" rating for gameplay, I believe I owe you some more words. All problems mentioned in my previous posts might give you the impression I think your level design is bad, but no! actually, this is one of those maps that at least in my book of game design is an example of quality. I've replayed it twice already. A few tweaks here and there would easily pull this mission from tolerable to near perfect, for me.

 

It's hard for the designer to know when something is hard to spot (like the invisible drain pipe), or if a particular part is too easy and boring or frustratingly hard. That's why testers are important.

 

On a side note,I wouldn't advise you to change the mission based on every single comment from the testers. First of all, players rarely know how to express exactly what didn't work for them, what made the experience not entertaining. I'm always reading in videogame forums "criticism" like "this game is bad because it's linear". This is a good example of what I'm talking about, as being linear isn't something bad, some of the best games I've ever player were linear! it might be the case that all the elements in the design, including its linearity, aren't working well together. The designer has to learn to interpret all the rant into something that makes sense. I don't know how big companies do, but if I had the resources I would film the gameplay sessions of all testers, the screen and their faces lol

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Time to give my impression as well (after beta-testing).

 

In my opinion, this is a hell of a mission, and proves again that the Beginners' Contest was misnamed. The story was a nice change of pace from the usual cloak-and-dagger fare (note, I love those as well, feel free to make many, many more), having nice emotional depth and good plotlines. Production values were top notch, just top notch really, with a consistency rarely seen in missions - yes, this is how a mediterranean town looks like, and that scene where you climb a gap in a wall and turn around perfectly encapsulated it. Add to it a lot of small touches, and alternate routes to do your thing, and I think I need not go on. This was just smooth, and enjoyable, and impressive, so I do not even want to go on, just declare that this was good, and may RPGista make many more to come.

 

(Thanks to my good friend, this bottle of Maredsous abbey beer for the help with the review ;))

Come the time of peril, did the ground gape, and did the dead rest unquiet 'gainst us. Our bands of iron and hammers of stone prevailed not, and some did doubt the Builder's plan. But the seals held strong, and the few did triumph, and the doubters were lain into the foundations of the new sanctum. -- Collected letters of the Smith-in-Exile, Civitas Approved

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I finished the whole mission on the hardest difficulty and I must congratulate you for one of the nicest missions for the mod! I'm in envy for yor serious skills!

 

Good stuff

 

 

- Very organic build style with sloping walls, destroyed scenery and good texture choices.

 

- Was that custom conversations (the merchants wife) and custom animations on the priest who dropped the skull into the grave? Nice touch whatsoever.

 

- Nice and gripping intro!

 

- Original (but fully working and adequate storyline)

 

- Got me jumping when I reached the grave and touched the candle and the light went out and that zombie came :)

 

 

 

Stuff that could have been better

 

 

- Surely you knew that you would pull the irritating levers in players when making lots of jumping/platforming, but honestly I wasn't bothered before I reached the bottomless pit that everyone else mention. I got it by first jumping around and found that I could float in the air by a pipe, then I leaned down and found out that I could open the window but couldn't drop down/in. After some frustration I jumped back to where I came and from there I could make a nice jump and mantle into the opening. Felt like Prince of Persia :) Perhaps a nice puzzle but not the most lean design choice ;) As the rest of the mission was so beautiful, you are forgiven ;)

 

- I didn't have it visible but the framerate was poor throughout most of the mission. It was definitely not game breaking, but you may take it into consideration if you decide to make a bigger mission in the future; one would be stressed to have such low FPS during a big mission...

 

- I've made this mistake also, but the readables was WAY too long and clue less. It's nice to make them feel like real books, but it's best to keep it short, gameplaywise, and perhaps add a hint or two in them.

 

 

Edited by Fieldmedic
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...do you play in a laptop? Is it overheating? Because thats exactly what happens here if i play with very demanding settings, the only thing that worked was to really put the resolution down (so the computer thinks a lot less). Otherwise Im afraid i cant help, I can get quite good frame rates myself with my 3 years old laptop, and im pretty sure i solved any internal leak? Is anyone else having problems?

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I am using the same (not a laptop) machine that I've been using all along, which is a Q8200 Quad CPU with a 8800GT with 512MB... XPSP3... 3GB Ram (4 really... but). As I say, I've had some lags in missions before, some due to obviously busy areas, some due to the garbage build-up that used to plague the engine (and still does maybe to a much lesser degree?) after some long-plays. So this right-off the bat and pesistent lagishmentalizationing is definitely something peculiar... and, I think, particular to my setup. Maybe a hint lies in the way...

 

 

the crypt/basement of the church seemed to get pitch dark when I rounded the corner to look into it? I could see some faint "ambient" light going down the stairs, but then when I got down there and looked in it all faded down. And I'm not talking about the candle blowing out sequence.

 

And come to think of them, another possible set of clues:

 

I might not have seen the "ambient" light the very first time I went down the stairs. It might only have been after I awakened Dick Nobleman? Which didn't make sense because, even though I call it "ambient" light due to the fact that the candle in that room could not possibly have been enough to be the source of the light apparently coming out the doorway... that candle had blown out as you know...

 

Another situation that changed though I've no understanding as to why is the gate on the doorway eventually getting me to the church library was impassible but not fully closed the first time I went to go through that door. It was at about 45 degrees and unfrobbale, thus impassible. So I went inside the church proper, skulked about a bit and went back out to find the gate fully open (well, at 90 degrees, passible).

 

 

Anyway, my hardware is pretty adequate and on the good side of standard/compatible and has worked well with all the previous missions. But apparently no one else as yet has had my issues. I did try all 3 different ambient rendering modes, and knocked my AA and AI filters down too. To no avail. Maybe it was the textures killiing my 512? One of the nicest things here was your visuals; I think you did use all "high-rez" texures? Could be the thing that got me?

 

Anyway, anyway, I really liked the mission. I'm certainly appreciative if the fact that you, as the others, went and blew us all out of the water with your efforts. And I didn't mean to add to any "drama" by trying to put forth my opinion that the contest should be bewtween ST and jysk. It was pure advocacy for them, not against you, of course (though, Brer Rabbitizings might have been better -- stop the flip-flopper flipping his flop?) ;)

 

...

 

Now, for some quick and straightforward critiques (as well as I am able to be quick and straightforward):

 

I immediately saw that this was going to be a beautiful and stylishly coherent mission. And it was throughout. Hope to see so many more missions from you that we can all say, "Oh, yeah, this is a RPGista mission; just look at it."

 

Not a big fan of the no-kills, no-knockouts, and such beyond optional or suggested objectives. But if there are to be such, I did like the fac that this was limited to high difficulty AND limited to those I wouldn't kill anyhow anyway. Only problem is recognizing the dastardlies by sight. You did do a ~pretty good job of iindicating who might be considered this or that, but, inevitably some of this comes down to our opinions. The narrative did help me understand your opinion and explained why I got a fail when I, though I tried...

 

 

to just knock him out and had to kill him because I flubbed it the first time around, killed Henry of Riddlehan. Surely the best of his kind, but still an exploiter! ;)

 

IOW, I would rather not have killed him but I wouldn't have felt too bad about it, just as I had no problem looting him fully before he ran off to his "country home".

 

All of this is just by way of commenting, but, likewise, I usually have no problem smiting the zealots, even the "well-intentioned" ones, either, if it comes down to it; and I see your mission was explicit in its agreement with this POV of mine.

 

 

The only thing is, and this is a general suggestion to all FMAs from the player in me:

As I mentioned, I guess there is no perfect way of recognizing who is who whilst an AI is milling about... but I do love to know... so I hope that authors are able to, and make it a habit to, "name" their characters by simply setting some property in DR? So we get "Captain Merc van Tool" rather than "Body" (or "Corpse") if and when we do eventually "move" them to a more expedient locale.

 

I'd like to have been sure...

 

 

that the guy I killed in the church was Murilo. I'd have felt much less hestitation (and I still did try and get him otherways and otherwise) when I eventually put an arrow into his skull (a beautiful shot from one end of the church to the other!).

 

 

I thought having no particular loot requirement worked great with the narrative and objectives framework you set out! We were able to not worry about stealing from those we mightn't have wanted to. This is very good -- and, again, especially in this kind of mission -- because it allows us to sympathize where we are (apparently) meant to.

 

 

For instance, I did not have want to steal the money left for the workers and peasants!

 

 

...Really, really like that aspect here. Maybe, not always, in all missions, no. But defintely in this story.

 

Minor glitches, you might address if there is going to be a v1.somethingorother:

A couple of missing inventory icons (eg. the coinbox)

 

And a final suggestion:

Give the player a spyglass. I would say always in all missions -- but certainly this mission deserved (and kind of needed) it. I love to be able to look closer at fine visuals! And what with this being a bit of a platformer, it would naturally lend itself to spyglass zooming for "scoping" out paths...

 

Thanks for the FM

Edited by BlueSkyBullet
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Almost done with the mission. Loving it so far. After i realized to to ignore the stealth score, it got a lot easier. I like the mantling challenges, but I can see where it is not everybodys cup of tea. When I got to the

basement/crypt, and the ambient ratcheted down, I went over to the sarcophogus and the light went out, and I kinda rolled my eyes and said to myself "oh right, dark place, light goes out, this is obviously supposed to be the scary part of the - " *jumps out of chair and fumbles every key on the keyboard looking for the escape key*

 

got me pretty good there. as soon as i'm sure i'm not going to die of a heart attack, I'll finish the mission.

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Almost done with the mission. Loving it so far. After i realized to to ignore the stealth score, it got a lot easier. I like the mantling challenges, but I can see where it is not everybodys cup of tea. When I got to the

basement/crypt, and the ambient ratcheted down, I went over to the sarcophogus and the light went out, and I kinda rolled my eyes and said to myself "oh right, dark place, light goes out, this is obviously supposed to be the scary part of the - " *jumps out of chair and fumbles every key on the keyboard looking for the escape key*

 

got me pretty good there. as soon as i'm sure i'm not going to die of a heart attack, I'll finish the mission.

 

:laugh:

lol I had the same experience there.. Great!

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