Looking for Feedback: Nothing's Sacred (FM)

[jaredmitchell]

Hello there!

 

I'm putting the finishing touches on my first full fan mission, with the goal of putting it on my portfolio. Because I want this to be the best example of my work, could you guys give me some feedback on my current build? I want to finish this up soon, but still want to get one last round of critique in.

 

So:

 

Nothing's Sacred

In this mission, the player is tasked with stealing a religious artifact from Baron Magnus, a devout Builder who has amassed his wealth from shipping. Magnus is keeping it somewhere in his manor, a former Builder church that he's repurposed into his estate.

 

Some notes:

 

I'm mainly looking for feedback on the environment and decoration. Art has been one of my weaker skills for a while, so I've spent the past couple months solely working on this aspect of the level so I can get some practice. For that matter, feedback on use of sound would be helpful as well.

 

Design feedback is welcome, too, though at this stage major changes to the level layout would be a logistical nightmare. I'll gladly take advice, it's just that some of that might need to be put into the "For Next Time" folder. Please also keep in mind that this is supposed to be an easier level, with a fairly linear beginning that covers the basics before branching out further on (think the intro mission from Thief II).

 

Download Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6PSlQNxhtKoRFFsSG9SNFpaNFU/view?usp=sharing

 

Feel free to post your feedback below, or email me at thefakejaredmitchell [at] gmail [dot] com.

 

Thank you very much!

Edited November 28, 2016 by jaredmitchell

[Oldjim]

Has this been through beta testing and, if not, is it worth starting a thread in the beta test board

[jaredmitchell]

Yes, I've been having friends test as I go along, and have done so at several points. Is there a specific beta test forum? I guess I missed it.

[VanishedOne]

It's hidden until an admin gives you access; you could PM one and request it.

[Deadlove]

Is this for T2 or TDM? TDM has no Hammers, Hammerites, no Thief lore / IP, etc.

[Anderson]

Is this for T2 or TDM? TDM has no Hammers, Hammerites, no Thief lore / IP, etc.

These things can be conventionally named after stuff the Spanish Inquisition had for originality. Not a problem.

[nbohr1more]

Yes, if this mission is to be hosted here, the Hammerite references must be changed to "The Builders".

[jaredmitchell]

Yes, if this mission is to be hosted here, the Hammerite references must be changed to "The Builders".

 

Oh whoops, guess I didn't consider that. I'll work on changing that.

 

I'm also guessing I should ask about access to this hidden forum. I'll get on that.

[GUFF]

Needs a lot of work, if you mean just visually. Most of it looks very sterile with little detailing. Especially the outdoors parts that look too pristine. There was even some oddity inside such as a floating candlestick-style light on top of a block which wasn't attached to any candle. The treasure chest that contains rope arrows is a little weird. Visually/thematically you'd think you'd usually find them among other tools, not just in some very oldstyle game device at a treasure chest right near where you'd need them.

 

As far as gameplay goes there's a lot of area here where not much is to be found. A lot of helmeted guards everywhere. Light levels seem a bit off everywhere, especially in the main hall of the building where you go from in the dark to fully visible without any real indication that you're stepping into the light. Not much loot to find, not much going on story-wise. The objective was very easy to find. Not many readables to be found. Guard patrol routes were often very basic in terms of them not ever stopping at any point during their route. I'm going to say there's a lot of space without much going on in it.

 

This is probably something that yes could largely benefit from sending it through a process of testing/critique from others who are veterans in mapping.

[nbohr1more]

I'll restate what I suggested elsewhere. This mission has potential but it needs to be tightened-up. There are large swaths of play area devoid of

interesting content or purpose. You can either choose to go-bigger and fill the barren areas with more stuff or (as most would advise) cull areas

that aren't really core to the experience and add a little more decor to the main play areas.

 

To add to the above, there is a fair amount of flat lighting in this mission. If you aren't keen on fiddling with directional light sources you

could make custom light textures to improve the look. ( A variation of the Stombine technique: http://www.lunaran.com/page.php?id=165 )

[Guest]

I just had a few minutes to run around the estate.

 

 

First of all, the ambient brightness is too high, and there's no visible reason for the red tint. The sky is rather black, so it looks separated from the map. Because of the overall low contrast, the building barely has any shape. One tiling texture doesn't help that either. The easiest way to counter this is to use fog and separate foreground from background a little bit. Using proper ambient world brightness and color will help too.

[jaredmitchell]

Thank you, Judith. I await further critique!

 

You and nbohr1more seem to put a lot of emphasis on lighting, which I'm wanting to improve in. I'm aware of the key/fill/rim light setup, though that's for static compositions. Are there any resources on this topic that you could point me to?

[Aosys]

I too need to work on lighting, tbh But this bit on level design in Thief Deadly Shadows has a blurb about lighting you might find useful:

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20050306134336/mavra.perilith.com/~faceless/.sux/thief.shtml

 

It's just one of the many interesting Thief-related design docs floating around out there:

 

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129827

[Gerberox]

Maybe its too late but I made some pictures and notes.

 

First of all I missed the lantern to see better things.

 

-Door handle of the hut at the beginning is highlighted but does nothing.

-Pink walls don't look well. What was the original idea? I had a feeling outside the walls emit light, too.

-Watchtower door from library is strange. A door from outside would be better.

-One should be able to close the secret door from inside as well.

Check my other notes on the pictures. http://www.mediafire.com/file/g17mw80ozn19dr4/sacred_pics.zip

 

Good job!

Edited March 17, 2017 by Gerberox