Fan Mission: Now and Then by joebarnin (2020/09/08)

[joebarnin]

 

A famous painting is on display at the local museum. Steal it, of course!

 

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An update, version 3, is now available (19 March 2025). The mission has a new look and feel (well, look and sound), thanks to the talents of @JackFarmer. Changes include:
* A new briefing video (courtesy of @JackFarmer)
* Several new ambient tracks that cover much of the map (again, credit to @JackFarmer)
* Subtitles, provided by @datiswous (better late than never)
* Several fixes for other little issues that were found since version 2 was released.

The mission downloader has been updated with this version.

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An update, version 2, is now available: (use Version 3). This fixes many of the problems found by those who played version 1. Besides general clean up, the primary goal of this version is to

Spoiler

resolve some of the logical issues that could happen, depending on your actions.

Special thanks to Bikerdude, whose did a quick beta test of this version and whose suggestions I mostly (but not completely) implemented.
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Title: Now and Then
Author: joebarnin
Briefing video and ambient tracks: JackFarmer
Date of release: 08 September 2020 (Version 2: 25 January 2021) (Version 3: 19 March 2025)
Version: 3
EFX: Yes  

Requires: TDM 2.12

 

Author: joebarnin

 

Gameplay notes

 

Thorough investigation is encouraged. 

 

Scary AIs: No spiders, skeletons, undead, or ghosts. One live rat and one dead one.

 

Makes use of the 'peek' ability, allowing the player to peek through a keyhole by leaning forward. The use of this ability is optional (it is never necessary resolve the mission).

 

Thanks to:

 

Beta Testers: Cambridge Spy, thebigh, JackFarmer, Amadeus, Kerry000, wesp5

 

Voice actor: Mike

 

Components:

Builder Compound models & textures - Peter Spy (dr.judym81@gmail.com) 

Museum painting lights - Grayman
Gramophone with record - Goldwell & Epifire

Custom ambients - JackFarmer

Main menu screen & music - JackFarmer

Ambients - Orbweaver
Many many modules - Springheel

https://freesound.org/people/LucasDuff/sounds/467697/  

https://freesound.org/people/humanoide9000/sounds/422245/  

 

Thanks to Springheel, Sotha, and Fidcal for their tutorials. I keep going back to them and I always learn something new.

 

Notes
 

Slight spoiler:

Spoiler

This FM has something in common with an existing TDM mission (I will not name it, to avoid spoilers). I had not played the other mission until mine was in beta. While I’m pleased with how mine turned out, the other mission is a masterpiece. I really wasn’t trying to steal the idea!

Fun fact: I have released 3 missions, each almost exactly one year apart:

• Mission of Mercy - September 14, 2018
• The Heart of St. Mattis - September 10, 2019
• Now and Then - September 8, 2020.

Not by design, it just worked out that way. So I guess look for my next mission in early September next year!

 

Hints (contains spoilers)

 

Spoiler

Main Objectives

 

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Where do I look for clues as to where the painting might be?

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Investigate the rest of the museum

Specifically the two offices on the top floor

Addison's desk has a note worth reading, and within Addison's safe there is a key document - read it

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

In the abandoned townhouse, what am I looking for?

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A couple of pieces of paper.

Both on the top floor

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In the "music room" (with the fireplace), there is a "children's sing-a-long" lyric

In the study (locked) there is another piece of paper

Spoiler

 

6 1 8 - sounds like a combo

The desk has a hidden combo lock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How do I get down the elevator shaft

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The switch doesn’t work (no power), so try the ivy vines 

 

 

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I need ‘turquoisium’, where is that?

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Check the museum

 

 

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Now I’m at Clifton's townhouse, where’s the painting?

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One of the guards is carrying a note that has a clue 

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Check out the power generator room in the basement 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Objectives

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How many "discoverable" objectives?

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Three

 

Secrets (rough hints)

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Apartment below Eloise

 

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Eli’s room (Franklin’s friend)

 

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Ledge on Finster St

 

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Second story apartment facing the museum

 

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Builder Administration, rafters

 

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Builder Administration, wainscoting 

 

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Builder Administration, passage

 

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Pub storage room

 

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Empty room

 

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Warehouse office

 

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Clifton’s townhouse

Other Hints

Safe in the wall,

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basement of the museum

. Where is key?

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There’s a second story apartment facing the museum

You can only get into it via vents

Vent is across from Jacob's door, look up

 

 

 

How do I open

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Carla’s desk

without the alarm going off?

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The red light is a warning. Look around somewhere for a switch. Also, a journal in another apartment has a clue 

Spoiler

The switch is near the sink. You have to lean to see it

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Thursday at 03:36 PM by joebarnin
fix text color

[Amadeus]

Yeah, congrats on the release! People are gonna love this one!

[Jedi_Wannabe]

Congrats! Wish I could’ve helped beta this one too! (was that already a year ago??)

Can’t wait to play it once I get some free time

Edited September 8, 2020 by Jedi_Wannabe

[Bienie]

Congrats on the release, will definitely give this a go soon!

[thebigh]

Congrats on the release. It was a fun mission to test and I know a lot of people are going to love it.

[nbohr1more]

This mission has been added to the database and in-game downloader.

The wiki is updated too.

[NeonsStyle]

Congratulations on release. I'll go playh it now

[NeonsStyle]

I found a game breaking bug. This happens in the room with all the light switches. After turning them all off (starting with left of double doors),
then starting to turn them all on. I got two switches on, and crash! Might want to check your script Enjoying it though it's a lovely mission

[Acolytesix]

Great mission so far, but now I'm stuck. I got the stuff needed for the time machine, but how do I turn on the power to the house?

Oh and the secret

Spoiler

fireplace

switch, down under

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Eloises's apt.

what exactly does that do? I looked both upstairs and around.

[thebigh]

Acolyte6,

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douse the fire first.

 

[joebarnin]

@Acolytesix

Spoiler

The time machine doesn't need power. Just throw the three switches on the left (make sure you have the correct components in place first).

 

[joebarnin]

6 hours ago, NeonsStyle said:

I found a game breaking bug. This happens in the room with all the light switches. After turning them all off (starting with left of double doors),
then starting to turn them all on. I got two switches on, and crash! Might want to check your script Enjoying it though it's a lovely mission

I recreated the bug, and I have a fix to the script file. [For other players, the problem occurs in the "empty room" (you'll know what I mean when you see it)]. The crash can be avoided if you wait before frobbing any light switch, until the lights are done flickering. Just avoid hitting the switch right away again, after switching it once.

This script fix will be included whenever I next update the mission, but I don't know when that will be. I might let the mission shake down for a bit more?

[GUFF]

Pretty great mission. Definitely your best so far. A lot of exploration including vertical to be found. Not quite skacky levels of climbing about, but satisfying to find the windows and other things you can get to by non-standard movement. With discoverable extra objectives and so on. It's all there and plenty to do besides the main mission. I didn't check this thread until after playing it since I saw the mission show up in the downloader, but looks like I was able to find all of the objectives.

I had the same bug with the multi-lightswitch room as NeonsStyle. I got through it by saving and loading each step of the way once I figured out what to do, but it does still cause the map to crash if you're just feeling your way through it. Another issue is a valuable silver bowl inside a cabinet of the room of the guy who's journal complains about working at the pub next door is not frobbable but counts towards loot so you can't get all of the loot.

Small criticisms here in terms of the story's coherence at the end of the mission...

Spoiler

When you return to the present after stealing the painting in the past, one of the readables about the painting actually changes, as does the newspaper and the advertisement for the display on a banner outside the museum which is a nice touch but not everything changes. You'd think the Thief's journal would at least update so he'd be about wanting to steal the 3 new paintings, but it's still the same talking about the Now and Then painting which is not in the museum in the altered present. The non-inventory readable on the desk in Addison's office doesn't seem to update properly, either, since it still claims newest info on Jenson and Everett even though there's less info than before, just that they disappeared which is never resolved either since their remains disappear from where they were and that's that, but I guess leaving that as-is just means they decided to disappear themselves. Would be nice to be able to use the readable you can steal from Everett to place somewhere for a hidden objective to shake anyone off your trail.

Also, was the mission with a similar theme you mentioned in the OP...

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Down by the Riverside? (or its beta version Tales of the Riverside which was different and pretty interesting too)

It's not exactly too similar an idea and the way you time travel in that mission set is... unique, but you executed it well here too.

 

[joebarnin]

@GUFF

Thanks for your comments.

Re: updating readables.

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Crud, I missed those. I'll fix them in version 2. That's the problem with time travel, you have to think about all of the ripple effects!

Re: similar theme.

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The one I was thinking of is A House of Locked Secrets

 

[Silverflame3]

Hey Joebarnin, terrific little mission (which didn't turn out to be so little after all, took me a good two hours to finish, barely 2,500 loot found).

I find it very interesting how you managed to evoke sadness and creepyness at the same time, without using undead or obvious "scares".

Regarding the time travel, the atmosphere in the house where you go back in time, I couldn't shake the H.G. Wells "Time machine" feeling. It's amazing how the house managed to evoke that creepy what-the-hell-happened-here feeling the first time around, and then just sadness and understanding when you return. There are so many ruined houses in both dark mod and real life that you just keep wondering what happened here, but for this one, you just get to find out enough to open even more questions. I couldn't help but wonder did this theft eventually cause the user to go broke and the house to become abandoned. Also, the two skeletons dumped in the cellar that were gone when you returned, if I understood correctly, they were the two thieves who robbed the house, right? What happened to them? Who killed them the first time around?

 

[Acolytesix]

This a very interesting mission indeed. I'm in the past now, but I can't find the painting anywhere. I know it's somewhere obvious, yet...

As for the "unique" item I'm supposed to find, would that be in the past or future? Hints please.

As for this other mission "Down by the Riverside". I don't remember that one. Gonna go look for that one now...  

AHAA... I was in Sweden last time when Down by the Riverside was released & I wasn't playing here back then. Weird that I didn't catch it when I got home to Florida!

Edited September 10, 2020 by Acolytesix
update

[JackFarmer]

Jeff,

Congratulations on the release!

A massive map with great atmosphere and cool elements,

I will try to ghost this one as well!

 

[joebarnin]

@Silverflame3

7 hours ago, Silverflame3 said:

 

  Hide contents

 I couldn't help but wonder did this theft eventually cause the user to go broke and the house to become abandoned. Also, the two skeletons dumped in the cellar that were gone when you returned, if I understood correctly, they were the two thieves who robbed the house, right? What happened to them? Who killed them the first time around?

 

 

Spoiler

 

Yep, the theft of the painting caused Clifton to go broke and abandon the house. This is true whether in the original timeline (stolen the steward and guard) or the altered timeline (stolen by you).

The skeletons where there because the two thieves tried to double cross each other, and stabbed each other to death, shortly after the theft. After you steal the painting, the skeletons aren't there anymore, because they didn't double cross each other, because they didn't steal the painting, because you beat them to it! As to what happened to them in the new timeline, that is unknown. (You might have even killed them in the past, when robbing the painting.)

 

 

[joebarnin]

@Acolytesix

Spoiler

 

> I'm in the past now, but I can't find the painting anywhere. I know it's somewhere obvious, yet...

Hint:

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There's a guard that has a note on his belt - steal it and read it

Answer:

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In the basement, the 'power room', look for a switch

 

Spoiler

 

> As for the "unique" item I'm supposed to find, would that be in the past or future? Hints please.

I'm confused, what unique item is this?

 

 

[AluminumHaste]

Kind of find it weird to be

helping the pawnbroker pay off his debts, while stealing gold from his lockbox.

[joebarnin]

47 minutes ago, AluminumHaste said:

Kind of find it weird to be

  Reveal hidden contents

helping the pawnbroker pay off his debts, while stealing gold from his lockbox.

 

Spoiler

Well, you don't have to steal his gold. 

 

Edited September 10, 2020 by joebarnin

[AluminumHaste]

30 minutes ago, joebarnin said:

  Hide contents

Well, you don't have to steal his gold. 

 

Right, but what is the players motivation for helping this guy? Seems very random, to allow the player to steal his gold, then give him the option to help him out?

As I picked the lockbox first, then read the book.

[joebarnin]

6 minutes ago, AluminumHaste said:

 

  Hide contents

Right, but what is the players motivation for helping this guy? Seems very random, to allow the player to steal his gold, then give him the option to help him out?

As I picked the lockbox first, then read the book.

 

Spoiler

 

I guess, from the thief's point of view, it's one thing to steal some loot from the shopkeeper. But, reading the journal, you realize that the guy is on the brink of getting put out of business. Whether you steal a few coin or not, he's toast. But, if you get the jade statue, you can save his business (independently of whether you steal the coin). So you decide to be a nice guy (relatively).

Now, if you argue, "you're a thief, why should you care if someone goes out of business?", I can see that. Maybe something touched your conscience with this guy, I don't know. 

 

 

[JackFarmer]

1 hour ago, joebarnin said:

  Hide contents

 

I guess, from the thief's point of view, it's one thing to steal some loot from the shopkeeper. But, reading the journal, you realize that the guy is on the brink of getting put out of business. Whether you steal a few coin or not, he's toast. But, if you get the jade statue, you can save his business (independently of whether you steal the coin). So you decide to be a nice guy (relatively).

Now, if you argue, "you're a thief, why should you care if someone goes out of business?", I can see that. Maybe something touched your conscience with this guy, I don't know. 

 

 

@AluminumHaste

@joebarnin

You worry too much when the plausible explanation is so close: split personality!

Jack

[AluminumHaste]

lol jack