Fan Mission: The Spider and the Finch, by grodenglaive

[grodenglaive]

I'm happy to present my first FM, The Spider and the Finch. There may be a spider, but no ghosts or undead. It should run a couple hours. It's now available on the Missions page or the in-game downloader.

Many thanks to the beta testers Acolytesix, Cambridge Spy, datiswous, madtaffer, Shadow, and wesp5 for helping me improve and making the mission to the best of my abilities.  This would not be have been possible without Fidcal's excellent DarkRadiant tutorial. Thanks also to the many people who answered my questions in the TDM forums.

Cheers!

 

2023-12-13

Mission updated to version 3.

• Fixed a bug where the optional loot option objective was not actually optional.
• Updated the animations for Astrid
• Added a hallway door so the guards are less likely to be aggroed en masse.

Edited December 14, 2023 by grodenglaive

[Heuli]

congratulations on the mission. I played through the mission

It's a very big beautiful mission

Thanks 

Edited November 18, 2023 by Heuli

[grodenglaive]

wow, thank you!

[Amadeus]

Congrats on the release! I'm very excited to play this one this weekend!

[JackFarmer]

Congrats on the release of your first mission, the image in the OP is very moody!

[Zerg Rush]

Very nice mission, congrats for the release.

[grodenglaive]

57 minutes ago, JackFarmer said:

Congrats on the release of your first mission, the image in the OP is very moody!

Thanks, I think Halloween may have influenced the image, but the FM is not spooky.

[grodenglaive]

47 minutes ago, Zerg Rush said:

Very nice mission, congrats for the release.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

[Kopfrkingl]

Just finished it on Expert!

I really, really loved the start. Sneaking through the wilderness was very atmospheric and there was lots of loot around, it's like every corner had something to find and there was no empty space. The manor after was also well crafted, with just enough guards, lots of loot to steal, and enough readables to flesh out the characters. After knocking everyone out, I took my time to explore the place.

The plot was fun to follow - a simple premise that offers something more than merely robbing the rich guy, as the player has to assassinate someone as well as save their sibling.

Thanks!

Spoiler

That spider must have killed so many people based on the number of skeletons scattered around 

 

[snatcher]

10 hours ago, grodenglaive said:

I'm happy to present my first FM [...]

Congratulations @grodenglaive, and thanks for sharing your work with us!

[taffernicus]

After taking a gaming break for 1 week, i decided to get back into playing games yesterday especially stealth game like TDM. Coincidentally, this new fan mission appeared in the online mission archive when i was clicking "download mission" button, so I decided to download & try playing it. I like this manor/estate fan mission so far. i like the starting point of this FM where you have to venture silently into small-scale spider-infested forest. On a related note, i have sporadic spider phobia and again this mission helped me to desensitize myself to spider. I usually find the entry point to the manor disguised as a wall with loose bricks or covered with tall green grass but i have to find stone walled key for this one

[Zerg Rush]

I finished the mission yesterday, i think it will remain as one of my favorites. The only thing I didn't like so much was the ending, giving the antidote to the girl, after putting the spider into orbit with the mine. Something twisted about having to first take the antidote out of the inventory to release it on the girl, instead of being able to apply it directly and a little more reaction from her, would also have been desirable.
But hey, overall I really enjoyed this mission.

[grodenglaive]

18 hours ago, Kopfrkingl said:

Just finished it on Expert!I really, really loved the start.

Spoiler

Sneaking through the wilderness was very atmospheric and there was lots of loot around, it's like every corner had something to find and there was no empty space. The manor after was also well crafted, with just enough guards, lots of loot to steal, and enough readables to flesh out the characters. After knocking everyone out, I took my time to explore the place.

The plot was fun to follow - a simple premise that offers something more than merely robbing the rich guy, as the player has to assassinate someone as well as save their sibling.

Thanks!

  Reveal hidden contents

That spider must have killed so many people based on the number of skeletons scattered around 

 

Thanks Kopfrkingl, that's very reassuring to hear.

Edited November 19, 2023 by grodenglaive

[grodenglaive]

3 hours ago, Zerg Rush said:

I finished the mission yesterday, i think it will remain as one of my favorites. The only thing I didn't like so much was the ending,

Spoiler

giving the antidote to the girl, after putting the spider into orbit with the mine. Something twisted about having to first take the antidote out of the inventory to release it on the girl, instead of being able to apply it directly

and a little more reaction from her, would also have been desirable.
But hey, overall I really enjoyed this mission.

Thanks Zerg, I really appreciate the input. I agree, "use item" would have been a more intuitive way to handle the potion.

[grodenglaive]

10 hours ago, taffernicus said:

After taking a gaming break for 1 week, i decided to get back into playing games yesterday especially stealth game like TDM. Coincidentally, this new fan mission appeared in the online mission archive when i was clicking "download mission" button, so I decided to download & try playing it.

Spoiler

I like this manor/estate fan mission so far. i like the starting point of this FM where you have to venture silently into small-scale spider-infested forest. On a related note, i have sporadic spider phobia and again this mission helped me to desensitize myself to spider. I usually find the entry point to the manor disguised as a wall with loose bricks or covered with tall green grass but i have to find stone walled key for this one

 

I'm glad you are enjoying it so far. You are the second person to mention arachnophobia, I guess that is not uncommon.

Edited November 19, 2023 by grodenglaive

[chakkman]

It would be great if you guys could use the spoiler tag in your posts, as some of us haven't played the mission yet...

[Amadeus]

This has been a stellar first mission! Killer atmosphere (especially in the first section), great architecture and brushwork, just a very cool style overall. I really enjoyed this. And to mirror what another player said; the amount of AI in the manor itself was perfect; not too easy, not too hard; just right. Can't wait for the next one, so get cracking

[Kae]

found a 3-digit code

Spoiler

behind a painting, but I don't see any information pointing to the code

 

[grodenglaive]

That's awesome, thank you. It was fun to learn how to do this.  It often felt like I didn't know what I was doing, but I've played every single FM, so I must have picked something up along the way

[hightide]

I was investigating the yellow mushrooms in the spider lair when the game and Windows crashed to reboot!

No crashes on a second try, but thought I should post it here

[hightide]

No further crashes, but I have questions:

Where do I find the antidote and the evidence?

I have a note with important dates, but they don't seem to be the safe combo.

(Apologies for formatting, posting on mobile)

[Zerg Rush]

10 hours ago, hightide said:

No further crashes, but I have questions:

Where do I find the antidote and the evidence?

I have a note with important dates, but they don't seem to be the safe combo.

(Apologies for formatting, posting on mobile)

Spoiler

1 Look closely at the shelves near the kitchen

2 Clue in the attic (secret entrance on the top floor)

 

[grodenglaive]

11 hours ago, hightide said:

No further crashes, but I have questions:W

Spoiler

here do I find the antidote and the evidence?

I have a note with important dates, but they don't seem to be the safe combo.

(Apologies for formatting, posting on mobile)

Spoiler

You are very close, the combo is in the note but less obvious than just one of the dates.

 

 

[Marbrien]

This is very enjoyable.  I'm playing on Expert, and need a hint.

Spoiler

I've found the secret ladder into the attic, which I think was the first secret, but despite searching the mansion quite carefully I need a nudge as to the location of the second secret.  Also a readable talks about a drainage grate - I haven't found that either.

 

[grodenglaive]

13 minutes ago, Marbrien said:

This is very enjoyable.  I'm playing on Expert, and need a hint.

  Reveal hidden contents

I've found the secret ladder into the attic, which I think was the first secret, but despite searching the mansion quite carefully I need a nudge as to the location of the second secret.  Also a readable talks about a drainage grate - I haven't found that either.

 

Spoiler

Hi, glad you like it so far. The other secret is back in the woods. There is no drainage grate, the purpose of that note is just to tell you where you could find a mine.

.