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Fan Mission: The Lich Queen's Demise by Sotha (2013/05/20)


Sotha

Unusual Gamplay Contest Rating  

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  1. 1. Unusual Gameplay Theme

  2. 2. Gameplay Quality

  3. 3. Aesthetics (Visuals, Story, Audio)



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  • 1 month later...
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  • 2 weeks later...

Fabulous mission ! Here's a short review.

 

About plot flow : excellent apart from two things IMO.

 

 

 

You have the map so logically you should aim for 2nd's floor bedroom. If you go to library first, you find the diary first then you get a confirmation, and a lot hints about the next steps, and it's perfect. If you rush to the bedroom, maybe it is a little less clear, but the library should be the second place to go anyway and since you know it exists and finding it is an objective, it's all right. Finding the ingredients is quite natural, apart from blood bottle which is a bit confuing unless she uses it as a soap ;) . Then comes the canon, and sorry to say, I found this part puzzling. First thing, it could have been loaded, I did not think I needed powder and a ball at first. Second thing, why would they be ontop of a turret, moreover in a locked chest ? The armory, or a storeroom would have been logical. You could also say that it's quite coherent to have cannons ontop of turrets to defend a castle, right. But unfortunately I went to the top of the other one only to find a storytelling book so it was misleading about the function of the other turret, and since I'm not the kind who likes to wander about to find all the loot, I didn't go there. I was lucky enough to find the matches, but I don't remember where. Maybe I am thinking the wrong way, but I believe this is a flaw. However, it's not a big deal, I'm just pointing this out because it contrasts with the smoothness of the rest. From there, it was very clear thanks to the diary, the objectives, and Thomas comments. So all together, very good flow.

 

 

 

About gameplay: excellent level design, really fun special part, but stlll one thing I didn't like.

 

 

 

- Good amount of "tricky" light sources (in crossroads and corners), which is well done

- Good AI, the revenants lighting again doused lights make it really challenging, especially 2nd floor.

- Like in The Phrase Book, good idea to put the ingredient scroll in a natural but a little unsual place (gameplay wise), I like searching !

- Amazing gameplay with the Shadows!

- Liked the deadly gaps in the ground, it adds a touch of danger.

- Parts to make special arrows useful like the hole in tower with the crate (rope) and the revenant guard in front (noise) of the marble stair (moss) to the Shadows. It is satisfying feeling your situational gear proves useful.

- Fine with the canon, but it was weird to drop stuff in the cauldron since you cannot really see inside, and you have to tilt the bottle. It was a bit frustrating here, while in Glenham Tower it was smooth and nice. Okay though.

- Here is the hitch. I almost went crazy with the matches. Maybe it's a language problem, but I thought you had to rub matches against a special surface to light them up first, not directly to the wick ! I tried nonetheless to do it 4-5 times and nothing hapenned. So I tried to go light it with a fire source but it doesn't work. Eventually I watched the matching part (no pun intended) of Let's Play the Dark Mod and went back to rubbing randomly the damn match against the wick ;) Took some time, but I managed... somehow !

 

 

 

About feeling/atmosphere:

 

 

 

- A lot a speeches, which makes the atmosphere more oppressive and adds a lot to the story. However, I would have loved subtitles there: I'm not a native speaker and the "revenant way of speaking" was really hard to get and even struggling I missed a lot. Still, I got that the revenants didn't like the Queen and tried to bypass a kind of curse she had casted on them, and didn't seem unhappy about Thomas destroying her. It really made the story much more interesting !

- A lot of visual details : ruined walls, skeletons, planks, stains, burning pit...

- The Shadows ! Really scary with the SFX, and uncomplete shape.

- i was especially impressed by the death effect of the Queen ;)

- The cave river is nice :)

 

 

 

 

About objectives: really motivating set of objectives

 

 

 

- I liked the thought of learning the Lich secrets in order to destroy her

- The canon objective was an awesome idea, really like those parts when you need to break in/out in a spectacular and chaotic way

- Chasing the ingredients seemed legitimate, and I liked it (and it's not so often !)

- Assassination is always nice, especially since she's our worst ennemy, and she's quite ugly :P She slept longer than expected, in my playtrough.

 

 

 

To conclude, it's an excellent mission to play, and a good end to the Thomas Porter vs Lich plot (which is amazing as a whole).Hurray!

Jared, is that you ?

Must be rats...

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Re matches

This is a language problem as a slow match is a rope or cord impregnated with nitrates so that it burns slowly and evenly for a long time and as such it there is no requirement or ability to strike it. It was used to fire cannons and also muskets before they developed the flint lock. Now if one needed to light it first from a candle/torch etc. that would have been interesting but tricky

Edited by Oldjim
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So far I really like Sotha's maps. I've played two but out of sequence I think. What is the proper order of these and are they part of the same campaign?

 

Beleaguered Fence

Glenham Tower

Knighton Manor

Lich Queen's Demise

Phrase Book

* The Transaction

* Mandrasola

 

The * are the ones I've played, Mandrasola first.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Damn, I got all the way to the end, assuming that I had all the ingredients.

But apparently the lich queen's journal doesn't count as a "personal item". I don't relish going all the way back and trying to get past the guy guarding the stairs, to look for an object when I have no clue what it might be. Could someone give me a hint about what I'm looking for and where to look for it?

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Finished this tonight on Expert. A very creative, tension-filled mission, and very satisfying at the end! As I mentioned in my status, I had several moments of yelping in fear while playing.

 

 

 

Pros:

 

- love the creating shadow enemies. A great way to keep even veteran players anxious and unsure, and a very creative way to turn the light/shadow relationship on its head. I lit candles and positioned them all along the corridors so I could see where they were going, and I got nervous when I had to jump the crevice and could only take one candle with me.

- awesome use of custom dialogue, which I didn't expect in an undead mission.

- really liked the player narration

- a nice mix of environments

- creative use of ingredient gameplay; canon was also a nice touch

- terrific-looking waterfall

 

My only real con is that the lich queen spoke with the wench voice, which seemed completely out of sync with the character and kind of made her seem much less scary than she should have been...I would have far preferred her to have a whispery-like voice like the other undead, or to be entirely mute.

Two other minor things--I spent a lot of time looking for the mushroom...I scoured the ground in the grave area twice (and then checked out the rest of the caves) before I thought to look UP. Also, I think it's fair for the player to assume the diary is a "personal item"; ideally the ingredient list should rule that out somehow.

 

 

For my assassination, I snuck into her room and dropped a mine in front of the door, put out the lights and crouched on the bed. I got another terribly moment of fright when she came in, missed the mine entirely, and the came and lay down on the bed RIGHT where I was crouching. I had to leap over on top of the skeleton and then sat there looking at her, trying to decide what to do next. Finally I shot a couple arrows to wake her up, but instead of going over to the corner, she went over and started relighting the lights. She lit the candle first, and then went to the fireplace, and I was terrified that if she lit that she would be able to see me, so I fired another couple arrows to alert her. Finally she walked over onto the mine. I took out my fire arrows to finish her off. The first one missed, and she got a swing in before I hit her with the second and killed her. I had only a fraction of a hit point left to limp my way out of the castle, and at the end I had to make a mad run for it with several undead in pursuit.

 

 

 

 

Top-notch once again! Thanks Sotha!

 

Anyone else want to share their story of how they took out the queen?

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  • 3 weeks later...

From what I remember they were discussing how they hated the lich queen and that they heard there's someone out to get her (the player), and that maybe they shouldn't interfere so that it could all end if you are successful. Of course they don't really have a choice as she controls them, but they could look the other way if they saw you I think.

I always assumed I'd taste like boot leather.

 

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Another question: to get the most from this FM I would like to fully understand the long dialog between the 2 skeletons as the hero enters the castle from the caves. Does Sotha have a text file or anybody could explain (with spoiler tags ;) ). Thanks.

 

I voiced both of those skeletons and here is the script I was given. Hopefully that helps ;)

 

 

 

rev_corridor_dialogue_1A: Hail, Brother. I believe I saw him, the one the Mistress is waiting. He has arrived. I spied from the window and saw a dark shadow lurking outside in the front yard. He must be in the caves by now. What should we do, brother? I don’t think the zombies will keep him a bay. Do we search the premises? Shall I block the exits? Shall I summon more brothers beyond the hellgate?

rev_corridor_dialogue_1B: Nay, brother. You will do nothing.

rev_corridor_dialogue_2A: Art thou sure, brother? The Mistress said...

rev_corridor_dialogue_2B: I am well aware of the Mistress’ orders. If you find him, cut off his head and bring it to her. The curse demands our obedience. If he remains unseen, however, we are not bound by her commands.

rev_corridor_dialogue_3A: But brother! He may be dangerous.

rev_corridor_dialogue_3B: Not to us, for we are immortal and eternal. The Mistress, on the other hand, in her new corporeal form may be more vulnerable. How petty and shallow of her. That will be her undoing... and our salvation.

rev_corridor_dialogue_4A: Brother! This treachery will never redeem our souls in the eyes of the Master Builder!

rev_corridor_dialogue_4B: Perhaps it won’t... But... Do you, dear brother, wish to be a servant -Nay, a slave- to the mistress for all eternity?

rev_corridor_dialogue_5A: Nay, brother. I would butcher her in her sleep were I not bound to her.

rev_corridor_dialogue_5B: Then let us just keep this to ourselves. It may very well be that this stranger liberates us from her clutches. Let us wait and see. After all, we have a whole eternity to wait. We will get to see her death.

rev_corridor_dialogue_6A: Yes, brother. I will do as you ask. May the Builder forgive us one day.

rev_corridor_dialogue_6B: Thank you. May the Builder forgive us, dear brother.

 

 

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