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

[Silverflame3]

3 hours ago, joebarnin said:

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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. 

 

 

That a person is a thief does not have to be a choice he likes, and it does not have to make him a cruel person. There had been good people in the past feeling forced down a path they previously thought was horrifying to them. There was a very good italian magazine, Colors it think it was called, that dealt with often times taboo themes. One such issue was about home, what it means to different people, from the richest to the poorest, and there was one very good part dedicated as an anonymous collection of life stories of house robbers. You'd be surprised how real life thieves feel about breaking in and taking stuff, what they will take, the markings they might leave on a home (how well a home complex is guarded, what to expect inside, what kind of loot the owners have, etc.). There was even a section about how they will communicate to others to leave the place well alone, especially if they break in and find out that the people are really poor, or god forbid have demented or retarded children. In our world, people walking the shadowy margin of life have a very strict code of conduct, on to which I presume they hold tight because they fear they might lose too much if they abandond that shred of humanity.

[AluminumHaste]

That was my question; what is the players motivation? If he has some, great, note it in the objective window like what you're saying.

But from the intro all I got was that this was a thief, looking to steal a painting. That's it.

Good mission btw joebarnin, so far it's excellent, so don't take this nitpick too seriously, it was just immersion breaking.

This has been done in other missions, notably in Biker's new mission where you can see loot but when you frob it there's a message that pops up saying why you don't steal from this guy.

[Acolytesix]

8 hours ago, joebarnin said:

@Acolytesix

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> 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

Found the note. who's was it again?

Answer:

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

I can't find that switch anywhere. The power room was the first place I looked. It being the safest room in the house.

 

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> 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?

I have a note that says I need to find something unique.

 

 

 

[joebarnin]

@Acolytesix

Spoiler

 

Just to be clear, the 'power room' isn't the room with the time travel machine. Instead, it's on the level that's downstairs from the dining room. Save level as the kitchen - across the hall from the kitchen. On the wall, next to the electrical device with an arc.

As for something unique, I'm baffled. I don't know what that means.

 

 

[Acolytesix]

50 minutes ago, joebarnin said:

@Acolytesix

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Just to be clear, the 'power room' isn't the room with the time travel machine. Instead, it's on the level that's downstairs from the dining room. Save level as the kitchen - across the hall from the kitchen. On the wall, next to the electrical device with an arc.

As for something unique, I'm baffled. I don't know what that means.

 

 

Yupp, that objective is in the Riverside mission. Sorry about that. Thanks for the help so far. Remembered the boiler room in the basement   Got some new questions though...

Spoiler

Fireplace

switch What does it do?

Spoiler

Book

switch in Duquesne's office, what does it open? I hear it opening something, but can't find what...

Spoiler

Jade statue

I'm guessing 

Is there a code for the gold hammer?

Pawnbrokers house, can't find the

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ring.

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Acolytesix

[joebarnin]

@Acolytesix

Spoiler

 

Fireplace switch - hint: you have to do something else first before it works

Answer:

Spoiler

douse the fire

 

Spoiler

 

Book switch - hint: it unlocks something else in the room

Answer:

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the globe - give it a spin (after using the book)

 

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Gold hammer code - hint: after solving the previous puzzle, you will have your answer (use your spyglass)

Spoiler

Pawnbrokers house - answer: there's a switch in the waredrobe. Hard to find

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by joebarnin

[Acolytesix]

The jade bust is supposed to

Spoiler

swap out the gold hammer, so I'm guessing the bust is somewhere in the same building right? 

Anyone find the bust?

[AluminumHaste]

Oh yeah, found it right away.

BTW, there was

talk of an inquisition into heresy, and I found a pagan thing in the same room as the golden hammer. I brought it to every room but nothing happened. So I put it on display where the hammer was instead.

Just a bit of fun.

[vozka]

Found a couple smaller issues so far. Firstly it's possible to get stuck behind furniture immediately in the beginning:

The newspaper also deserves a small fix, the second headline about the mayor is too long and looks obviously out of place. 

Spoiler

Then, in the room with the trapdoor leading to the locked closet, when go behind the box that's blocking the trapdoor and try to pick it up, I was able to walk right through the box easily several times before I picked it up normally. No idea why. This is what it looked like: 

 

[joebarnin]

3 hours ago, Acolytesix said:

Anyone find the bust?

Spoiler

In Builder Administration, Storage room. Move some small crates to be able to open a larger crate.

 

[joebarnin]

2 hours ago, AluminumHaste said:

 

BTW, there was

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talk of an inquisition into heresy, and I found a pagan thing in the same room as the golden hammer. I brought it to every room but nothing happened. So I put it on display where the hammer was instead.

 

Just a bit of fun.

I was hoping someone would do that! Thanks!

[AluminumHaste]

Well with a well respected builder visiting I thought it fitting that the first thing he would see walking in would be that lol.

Someone's head is going to roll!

[Acolytesix]

That was an awesome mission! Now I'm gonna restart the whole mission & run it again. Found only 2,44? of the treasure. 2 of 11 secrets.

The 2nd time around usually reveals a lot more   Had an issue in part 1. Want to see if it does it again from a clean slate.

[joebarnin]

24 minutes ago, Acolytesix said:

That was an awesome mission! Now I'm gonna restart the whole mission & run it again. Found only 2,44? of the treasure. 2 of 11 secrets.

The 2nd time around usually reveals a lot more   Had an issue in part 1. Want to see if it does it again from a clean slate.

Thanks! Some of the secrets are brutal - I would never have found them myself!

[thebigh]

16 hours ago, AluminumHaste said:

Someone's head is going to roll!

Well then, I know what's going in the display case next.

[Bienie]

Finally finished the mission last night! Great work! It really held quite a few surprises which is always enjoyable. The city section is really well made and the places and people you can visit feel natural and organic.

I particularly enjoyed stealing the golden hammer from the builders, finding the side missions and completing them, and the whole now and then of the town house. I don't think you need to qualify that you didn't steal from A House of Locked Secrets. Time travel is a pretty common trope in entertainment and the ways they are implemented are completely different!

A few suggestions and other comments:

1. The street guards can spot you in your own apartment at the start and get alerted.

2. The ladder down from the apartment is a bit weird, had a hard time attaching going down from certain angles (I think I got stuck in between the rungs, is the ladder non-solid?), and I got "glued" to the side of it when creeping along the side of it (does the brush have ladder texture on the sides?)

3. There are a few openable windows that are lit on both sides even though there's no light on the side that would cause it, they also don't emanate light. Specifically I was thinking of the guy who's skimming off the top at the pub.

4. There are a lot of keys in the mission, I think many players would appreciate to toss the ones they don't need any more. (inv_droppable 1)

5. Some interior rooms look a bit rough when they are "squareish", as in the roof, walls and floor are all single surface. I usually add a little something along the seams of the floor and ceiling which gives it a more soft and organic look. I also try to add ceiling beams and stuff like that to break up the surfaces. I guess it's a taste thing, in a way the more squarish look is more reminiscent of Thief as well.

Again, lovely mission! Thanks for making it. Hardest difficulty was a nice level of challenge, it took me well over 3 hours to finish, and I was struggling to meet the loot objective but finally hit it. Only got 6 secrets in the end, but some of them were downright fiendish!

[Marbrien]

The objectives direct me to certain individuals' houses, but the map doesn't say where they are. Where is Franklin's apartment please, and is it readily accessible?

[joebarnin]

1 hour ago, Marbrien said:

The objectives direct me to certain individuals' houses, but the map doesn't say where they are. Where is Franklin's apartment please, and is it readily accessible?

Spoiler

His apartment is across from the museum, near the big gate. There are two doors to it, one from the street, the other from the courtyard. The doors can't be picked, so you'll need a key; there's a hint about where a key is in Franklin's journal. Answer:

Spoiler

at the bottom of the stairs that lead down to the courtyard, there's a window that leads to Eli's room. Key is in there.

 

 

[tapewolf]

FYI I managed to bring Lord Clifton...
 

Spoiler

 

...back to the future.

Not sure this was intended because the history of the painting just says he was knocked out and died 10 years later.

Granted, he's now stranded in a future where his house is a ruin and he and his wife are dead, but on the plus side, he gets to know that his machine worked.  When he wakes up, anyway...

(I'm hoping this doesn't get fixed because the mission was a bit of a downer where he's concerned)

 

 

[joebarnin]

48 minutes ago, tapewolf said:

FYI I managed to bring Lord Clifton...
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

...back to the future.

Not sure this was intended because the history of the painting just says he was knocked out and died 10 years later.

Granted, he's now stranded in a future where his house is a ruin and he and his wife are dead, but on the plus side, he gets to know that his machine worked.  When he wakes up, anyway...

(I'm hoping this doesn't get fixed because the mission was a bit of a downer where he's concerned)

 

 

Spoiler

Oh wow! I assume you knocked him out, shouldered him, and then came back to the future? Brilliant! That's something I hadn't thought of. Hmm, I'll have to deal with that in the newspaper.

 

[tapewolf]

35 minutes ago, joebarnin said:

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Oh wow! I assume you knocked him out, shouldered him, and then came back to the future? Brilliant! That's something I hadn't thought of. Hmm, I'll have to deal with that in the newspaper.

Yes.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull the lever, but it paid off.

 

[Andy32]

Realy nice mission.

But i stuck in the museum..

Spoiler

...at the nugget. I open the door of the case with the key but i can't frob the blue nugget.

maybe someone can tell me what is wrong

Here is the link to my savegame in gdrive

[joebarnin]

46 minutes ago, Andy32 said:

Realy nice mission.

But i stuck in the museum..

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...at the nugget. I open the door of the case with the key but i can't frob the blue nugget.

maybe someone can tell me what is wrong

Here is the link to my savegame in gdrive

Try closing the case and then opening it again, see if you can frob it then. Or, close the case and see if you can frob it through the case

 

Edit: if neither of those work, I can give you a kludge involving the noclip command. 

Edited September 13, 2020 by joebarnin

[Talabar]

I've been on an FM binging spree - think I've gone through 40+ in the past month and a half or so - and this one is probably in my top 5.

Due to a couple of issues I had to restart the mission twice: One pretty far in where my cat hit the restart mission button without me having saved (aka: my fault) and one where I got stuck in geometry, and I didn't even mind!

At some point I plan on going more in detail and giving reviews to several of the missions I've played - so I'll keep it brief for now.

Spoiler

 

Pros:

• Personally I loved the optional objectives and how it's kinda open to interpretation as to the player character's motivation.
• I loved the different regions and how differently they played from each other: The House, The Museum, and The Streets
• I thought the gameplay flow was excellent and I really liked how you handled guard placement and patrols. It was difficult without being frustrating.
• The loot objective was tough to get but not too frustrating.
• The secrets were really really hard to find! I think I only found 6/11.
• Probably the best use of a wide variety of ambient music I've seen in an FM so far. I found the ambient music helped me get my bearings during repeat visits to the city streets.
• The story and double meaning of the FM title was quite clever - I really enjoyed the updated readables and the updated museum.
• The voice acting of the protagonist was spot on! In my opinion it's pretty hard to avoid coming off as a poor man's Garrett, but I thought the few lines the player character has was delivered quite well. The way he said "Plan A" in "So much for Plan A" was hilarious. It perfectly conveyed reserved annoyance.

Opportunities:

• My first time playing I got as far as stealing the painting without actually achieving the "Find Out More Information about the Painting's Whereabouts" objective - which made things really confusing. Might be worth looking into a way to prevent sequence breaking or at least making it more clear that you are sequence breaking.

 

 

This was a very pleasant surprise - as I had not gotten to playing any of your maps yet before this one. We're all very fortunate this is how you are spending your retirement. I'll be playing through your other two next!

 

Looking forward to seeing more of your work in the future!

Edited September 14, 2020 by Talabar

[Andy32]

9 hours ago, joebarnin said:

Try closing the case and then opening it again, see if you can frob it then. Or, close the case and see if you can frob it through the case

 

Edit: if neither of those work, I can give you a kludge involving the noclip command. 

Thank you. I can frob it when the case is closed through the glas