Fan Mission: Iris by WellingtonCrab [TDM 2.11 Required] (2022/02/13)

[The Black Arrow]

So, Iris is a mission that I remember taking a gander at when it came out, and I was amazed cuz back then we had TDM 2.1, a major version with new support for Volumetric Lights, the other mission was Hazard Pay. Both of these missions, the best I remember is...I've got a new amazing PC, I wanted to try it already, but first I had to tweak it a bit and test it out, which I'm glad I did because I noticed it had issues with the RAM BIOS, an easy fix though.

And now finally after about 2 years later, I could give Iris a try. I have only two regrets and it's the same as in "Seeking Lady Leicester", the disgustingly annoying severe dry eye and the fact it's not cold enough in my place EVEN FOR THIS BLOODY MONTH.

I actually regret that so much, but either way, I have 0 regrets in playing this mission and enjoying it so much that I had a non-obligatory compromise on one of the days I was playing it.

This mission just has everything I love about TDM, Wellingtoncrab set himself to experiment with what he got and the idea was to make a sandbox-ish city you can explore, with a "quarantined quarter" also to explore. Both places are unique, beautiful in their way, you can even see some history between both.
The volumetric lights, the custom colour adjustment, the use of somewhat glowy blue fog to indicate windows you can get into, the "bipolarity" (heh, you know what I mean) of the NPCs...There's just way too much to talk about!

There are so many things I remember and a lot of them are so perfectly fit with Thief, my top favourite are the "Surprise Scary" parts, which I will mention in spoilers:
 

Spoiler

For one, although not scary, it's a bit disturbing; House Rodere. There is a note where the lord of the house mentions that he's Ratman. Using the glasses reveals his portrait to have some rat overlayed on him.
Later on, you find out he's in a decommissioned drain, dead. That realization was rather surprising to me.

For two, House Ursine...What's up with that place? There is some zombie roaming above the main floor, moaning, wearing a full set of armour that isn't even rusted up. From the books, he's apparently the Lord of the House, yet it seems the Lady is the "leader" here. What actually happened to Lord Ursine? Why does the Lady have a fish-like appearance on her portrait? What's up with that bloody book, is it related to the note found in the house that is close to the Bassilica Gate?

For three, I've found this out of nowhere; there's a skeleton, with a Skeleton Key, that by the way it opens EVERY lock you can think of. It's right at your house. What the hell is a skeleton with an open-all key doing in my house?! And yes, you have to use the glasses to see him, he's buried vertically in a wall.

And for four...What is with the triangles? They always indicate a secret or two, except that one time where you get to a house where you can see the corpse of a child or teenager. Is the triangle related to some kind of cult, perhaps? Or worse yet, an occult faction? The "Space in Between" had such a beautiful architecture that I hope you, Wellingtoncrab, get to make a mission based on that.

Now this isn't exactly surprise scary but more like "psychological horror", I'll still put it here.
Honey Bee Meadery. What a place! The poor owner became stranded, slowly turning insane too, it seems the zombies got into his place and he has no way out, he just stays there, up in his own meadery.
But also, it seems that the place became haunted...There were some ghostly scratches about, as if somebody was writing too, then I open the door that suddenly started to be slammed by merely picking the key up...Nothing!
That was great, I hope in your next missions you get to do something similar. I always love stuff like this, I don't care how mundane a mission is, if you're capable of psychological horror, you ARE capable, my friend.

Red Rook is such a beautiful place despite the fact it's originally a fortress, there are so many places to visit. Sure, most of them are of low class, derelict and so on, but hey, 451 Courtyard sure is nice! Also it's ironic how the combination lock for the Courtyard is very straightforward, I've basically already mentioned just four paragraphs back

I have some peculiar questions though, be mindful that I haven't yet read the many collectible books in this mission, I will do so today in the night, but for now...
 

Spoiler

What is up with that guy called "Lonely Heart"?

Regarding Percy and Calvin, are they a reference to anything? Because Calvin is a bit familiar, he himself mentions how he looks like the guy that the Watch are looking for, as well as the fact he indeed looks like that murderer from Lords and Legacy.

Does "Cloak & Hammer" actually have anything illegal going on? I've only found some fancy drug bottles near its corner, but inside the house, it's so ordinary the Glasses find nothing.

What is "Thieves Highway" exactly about? I suppose it's merely a reward for being curiously exploratory and acrobatic like that, right? The skeleton is just a bonus decoration? And yes I know about the lockpick, hence why I say it's a reward.

That strange house I've already mentioned, with the dead child...What is going there? Is it another of the Corpse Grinder's Lair, perhaps? What's with the Triangle that shows no secret?

There is a top area in the "Waiting Room", it is where you can get a free pair of glasses and it mentions them as well as how to use them. I suppose that Tea Room is basically another dimension, right?

I have noticed that there are at least two friendly Apebeasts, both of them have the Triangle symbol. So are they the ones going about painting this? If so, how come they all have a visible skeleton with an obtainable loot, too?

In the "Lair of the Heretic", in turn "Liminal Chamber", I'm gonna assume that what happened here is that, some guy was...Well, able to find the Backrooms? Honestly, I hate that concept, it's such an overused fake-horror at this point, but either way, I did enjoy how you can't get to it yet there's another room close to it. Nicely done.

House Ursine itself, I really want to know what happened there, why is the Lord a zombie? Is it because of the book, and is said book related to that house near Bassilica Gate?

Is "Three Sister's Flat", by any chance, a reference to Lady Rowena? May she rest in peace, one of the best Thief FM creators ever, she's the one that got me into giving Thief FMs a try once and for all and I will never regret it and remember such beautiful memory. I miss Lady Rowena...

What is with the Crime Scene in the Courtyard? All I've seen is a secret compartment, the glasses also reveal blood of course, no corpse of said "Scholar" though or any mention anywhere else, the Lieutenant seems to have no info in his own desk.

What is with "Corpse Grinder Lair"? From the note, I don't think Roderick is actually the..."Artist" of this place, is he? There is also a Lime House of sorts, connected to this, but it has nothing other than the well. I don't particularly understand it, is it merely the former living place of a gruesome murderer that was never found? Or it's just a fancy name you gave to a place where the past authority of the quarter would unload their corpses into?

Honey Bee Meadery, well...I just wanna know, how come this is the only place that's properly "haunted" while the rest of the Quarantine Quarter seems to be a wee dull?

Oh and also, what is up with those Pagans? And what's up with the Lostmen, especially? I believe the Pagans are just squatters, so it's normal to see them here, an abandoned city place where they're looking for resources or temporal staying place. But Lostmen? The glasses reveal they have Builder uniforms, it's not just rusty armour. None of them, except "Kingfisher", speaks. I have two theories; they're remnants of the Builder chapel in Hollowbrook who decided to stay in here, or they are actually ghosts of said remnants, so basically they are Revenants without being actually Revenants (Remember, Revenant is the designated name for the Haunt-like creatures in TDM itself)

By the way, does the "Three Monument Hall" have any story or lore reason, or it's purely a bonus place?

Now, finally...The huntress. Poor huntress! When I found her corpse and then that beast, I became a bit sad. This is especially after I realized there's the Black Briar Boarding, where her room is at, she was quite proficient, I only say "was" because she is dead, if she were alive she would still be quite proficient. Damn, sometimes merely the third-person story telling, without any direct mention, can give quite a shock, you know? Because I know what happened there, the Red Rook beast got her, but not before she killed him too!
Praise the Huntress, may she be mentioned again in your next missions, Welingtoncrab!

I have also indeed finished the mission, but I am not satisfied, I think there is more to it. I have got all the 4 secrets after I've got back home with all missions done, now I am trying to do everything, such as burglaring Percy and Calvin.

There are some hints I would like you to give me:
 

Spoiler

What is the Safe Combo for the Lockup? I have not found it anywhere, only a mention in the beautiful Captain's Morse office. Is "Morse" the combination? Doesn't that mean it would be 0 and 1, then? Maybe 111?

For the mementos, I have Relic Edge, Stained Visage, Cerebral Tether, Ever Glittering Icon, Widower's Bottle (Windower, actually, the fuck?), Fermenter's Chalice, Cracked and Crooked Lens, Rodent Cowl, Ledger of the Favoured, Puzzle Box, Patch of Purple Cloth, Lunar Beloved, Mandrosala Root, Grail of Regrets (hah, nice reference!), Favoured Pen, Silver Starved Purse and Old Man's Journal. Can you tell me if I am missing any? And if so, please a subtle hint of the location in where they're at. 

Absolutely wonderful mission where I will get to play it again, just to read all the books I've collected so I learn the story better, as well as hopefully find all the secrets, mementons and so on.
I rate it 5/5, it's PERFECT. It also seems to be Wellingtoncrab's first mission, first time, you did excellent, my friend!
I really absolutely hope to see more missions from you, as great as these, the one where it's set in daytime was actually fantastic despite being short.

The Dark Mod is just a miracle that keeps giving, I always do this and I will do it now again; I would like to give big thanks to everyone involved in this game, the graphics, the level editing, the improvements, the new shaders, the lore, the story, the voice acting, even all the mundane things that can be done! TDM is truly a worthy spiritual successor of what a "miracle" by itself Thief was.

Thank you, past and present, as well as present and future. Thank you for making Wellingtoncrab make such an amazing mission, same for everyone who made "Seeking Lady Leicester".

[Wellingtoncrab]

@The Black Arrow Thanks for playing! I am glad you came away enjoying your time with it. Regarding your questions about the story, my advice to players is always just to trust your intuition about it.

I do have some hints for you though:

Spoiler

The gentleman with the lockup safe combination spends a lot of time across town in another local establishment - you might find a clue as to where on their desk, but it's a good place to visit if you thirsty.

As far as mementos I think you have most of them - though admittedly sometimes even I forget a few - perhaps spend a bit more time poking around the decommissioned about where it flows into the sump.

Again thanks for taking the time to play my mission - it means a lot to me!

[The Black Arrow]

6 hours ago, Wellingtoncrab said:

 

  Hide contents

The gentleman with the lockup safe combination spends a lot of time across town in another local establishment - you might find a clue as to where on their desk, but it's a good place to visit if you thirsty.

As far as mementos I think you have most of them - though admittedly sometimes even I forget a few - perhaps spend a bit more time poking around the decommissioned about where it flows into the sump.

 

Spoiler

I don't understand, that guy has the safe code for the Lanternbug Press, not for the Northern Precinct lockup?

Also by "decommissioned" I suppose you mean the D. Drain itself, and not the sewers close to Pump House 86?

Also is there really an alternative ending?

 

Edited November 11, 2024 by The Black Arrow

[Wellingtoncrab]

40 minutes ago, The Black Arrow said:

  Hide contents

I don't understand, that guy has the safe code for the Lanternbug Press, not for the Northern Precinct lockup?

Spoiler

That is a different guy in a different establishment - try the other side of town

Spoiler

SUPER HINT:

Check out the patrons of The Bled Hart Pub in Hartwood near the starting location

 

43 minutes ago, The Black Arrow said:

  Hide contents

Also by "decommissioned" I suppose you mean the D. Drain itself, and not the sewers close to Pump House 86?

Spoiler

Check out specifically where the drain flows into The Sump

[The Black Arrow]

Thank you! I have found what I've been looking for, these were the only two things missing, I'm surprised I didn't have any other missing.

Spoiler

There is a ladder that is to the left if you enter the drain through the "Space in Between", I haven't seen it myself until you mentioned it.

The said "gentleman" is actually the poor recurrent alcoholic off-duty guard, he has a note on him.

You know, I have to say though...
 

Spoiler

It's sad how the alternative ending is just you committing suicide. You get a short glimpse of the Improbable Sanctuary, the very place that mentions those Peculiar Lenses, you are then in a long hallway that leads you to a nostalgic room, whereupon a window lets you gaze into the "Forgotten House", most likely, your house.

While not clearly stated, I think the protagonist is also the client, he wanted to get the painting of his loved one back from the quarantined quarter, all the while he kept contemplating his old solitary life, in the end he decides to "join her", but did he?
More likely than not, he's the unlikely uncommon friend of the Widower.

...This "alternative ending" is a lot sadder, but the mission is terribly enjoyable. I really hope we can get another amazing mission from you Wellingtoncrab, because sometimes I also think I may die sooner than usual, only because I'm middle-age.

 

[CountMorillonite]

4th Secret ?

I downloaded the latest version of this mission to play with the latest version of Dark Mod (2.12) and, when completed, there was a tally of secrets that were incomplete. 3of 4 secrets.

There was never indication of finding secrets other than

Spoiler

Secret Of The Void Series

of which there were 3. So is there

Spoiler

an additional Void Secret that I have to discover ?

Always a pleasure playing this mission.

[Wellingtoncrab]

@CountMorillonite

Yes - the secret stat only pertains to the

Spoiler

void. This is a living objective. When a player discovers a new one and reports it here, it may get added to the mission.

So it looks like you have at least one more to find. And of course you can let me know if you discover any new ones.

[CountMorillonite]

Hmmmm...up until now, there have only been 3, and I have registered them all. That's why I have 3 out of 4.  The 4th one must be a new addition.  I'm still looking.

Your mission is excellent. I never tire of playing it, and I play it differently every time. Thanks again for the experience.

[huntaffer]

Spoiler

Can you advise where to find this hidden switch and loot ?

 

Edited February 28 by huntaffer
add picture

[MayheM]

What a fantastic mission. Took me 3 hours and a half and only found half of the loots! too many stuff to explore! replayability is high on this one. Again, thanks to the recent update, i had very few stuttering on some areas, i think i remember trying it when it was released and it was barely playable, or didn't even load. This mission also shows TDM can rival Thief's fan missions in terms of size and details, i think this one is the largest map i've played so far

[Oleron]

On 4/3/2025 at 6:32 PM, MayheM said:

What a fantastic mission. Took me 3 hours and a half and only found half of the loots! too many stuff to explore! replayability is high on this one. Again, thanks to the recent update, i had very few stuttering on some areas, i think i remember trying it when it was released and it was barely playable, or didn't even load. This mission also shows TDM can rival Thief's fan missions in terms of size and details, i think this one is the largest map i've played so far

I've been playing Thief since about the beginning. I've played hundreds of fan missions in the various incarnations of what we all consider (or not, depending on whom you ask) Thief; quite a number of them are magnificent, but Iris leaves them all in the dust. I fervently hope Wellingtoncrab has not retired.

[Geos]

Thank you.  Iris is truly amazing.  I like to take my time and explore and I am having such a good time on this mission. I know people building missions do it because they love it, and it shows in this mission.  It is extraordinary.  Thanks again, G.

[Geos]

On 4/3/2025 at 10:32 PM, MayheM said:

What a fantastic mission. Took me 3 hours and a half and only found half of the loots! too many stuff to explore! replayability is high on this one. Again, thanks to the recent update, i had very few stuttering on some areas, i think i remember trying it when it was released and it was barely playable, or didn't even load. This mission also shows TDM can rival Thief's fan missions in terms of size and details, i think this one is the largest map i've played so far

@MAyheM - Absolutely - this is a map I can go in and just wander around. Cheers!

[chakkman]

On 4/5/2025 at 1:21 AM, Oleron said:

I've been playing Thief since about the beginning. I've played hundreds of fan missions in the various incarnations of what we all consider (or not, depending on whom you ask) Thief; quite a number of them are magnificent, but Iris leaves them all in the dust. I fervently hope Wellingtoncrab has not retired.

Not that I'd want to discuss about what's the "best", but, there are a lot of insanely good fan missions for Thief and Thief II out there. For some examples: The Scarlet Cascabel, Malazar's Inscrutable Tower, Behind Closed Doors, Windows of Misfortune, Lost Among The Forsaken.

That said, Iris is great, and surely up there with the best TDM missions.

I must admit I had more fun with Thief and Thief II missions as of late though. Something about the original game's base which has a bit the edge over TDM in terms of atmosphere and character, and, also FM authors which really know about fun gameplay and mission architecture.

Edited April 11 by chakkman

[Wellingtoncrab]

User @kalinovka has been working on a Russian language translation of -= IRIS =- which is now available in an initial beta release here:

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/J3VG/U3nKuMieC

There is still a lot of work to do - so feedback from Russian language speaking users would be greatly appreciated!

[datiswous]

Maybe better to ask on https://darkfate.org ?

Edit: It already takes place

Edited April 20 by datiswous

[Wellingtoncrab]

7 minutes ago, datiswous said:

Maybe better to ask on https://darkfate.org ?

It’s already mentioned in the Iris thread there.

[kalinovka]

Hi! Here is the link to beta2 of the russian variant of Iris - https://cloud.mail.ru/public/jLUn/n2fPr2WDe

It has been already published at darkfate.org.

 

But I still do not have enough skills to fix the Mason font...So I wil try all my best in the next 3 months...

Edited June 20 by kalinovka

[Sullome]

That's a fantastic map! I really liked it atmosphere and feel, very calm, mysterious and just pushing you to explore it at your own pace. I really liked that there aren't many dangers. Attention to details and decorations are also extraordinary, the city left a very pleasant expression. I finished the mission, but found very little, and my mind gets back to it regularly, so I will definitely revisit it later to find all that is there.

Now, I would be very glad for some help. Two puzzles intrigued me the most.

Spoiler

Firstly, there is a lady walking on the road that constantly mumbles about pretty maid walking near bedrooms in her house, and that "the maid has to go down".

I found the maid, she really walks at the bedroom. There is a note in that bedroom about her lord walking out at night or something like that. I think that is the same house where notes from the lord say that he should become the rat. And there is also a guard (or the lord?) that walks up and down, and at the lower floor there is a case with golden plates.

So. Is this something that is worth exploring? Should I move the maid to the lady? Or drop her somewhere low? Is there something to the words of the lady, or is it just mumbling? Any hint there?

Spoiler

Secondly, I found the room with inquisition and a door and a frame.

I believe that the door does something. Given the note nearby, I guess I have to open it in the dark. Or, given red bulbs, restore power. Or both. Is it worth trying? Or is it just a setpiece and nothing more? Maybe some other activity should be tried there?

 

[datiswous]

Just a small question: For the 2 shops. Is the audio from the speech of the shop owners custom, or borrowed from another fm? I ask in case I want to make subtitles for them. This is the only (possible) custom speech in the mission, I think.

[Wellingtoncrab]

@Sullomethanks for taking the time to play! I am glad you had a good time

Spoiler

If you keep poking around you will find secrets in both of those areas, but they are going to be light in terms of tangible rewards. So whether or not you want to comes down to whether or not you find being able to make these types of narrative associations rewarding or not.

I would recommend if you are squinting and finding absolutely nothing - try checking your prescription. Maybe it’s time for a new set of glasses.

@datiswousyes the speech from the shop owners is specific to the mission. If you make subtitles I would be happy to integrate them.