Fan Mission: The Lieutenant 3: Foreign Affairs by Frost_Salamander

[Frost_Salamander]

21 minutes ago, CrisiusXIII said:

i found the key, UNDER a vitrine, when i touched it, it lighted up and MOVED away, like other things might move rather quick and sudden, eg a body takes heavy swimming lessons after being knocked on a chair, it looks like crawling.

so the key point is its there after all, i used a viewcommand to find it

i just REstarted the game with all nasty settings  and flow direct to the key, there it is on the correct spot were i found it the first time...

(the picture is on the floor)

Basically what happened is this:

• with the new layout of the jewellery shop in v2 I adjusted Jerry's path nodes slightly
• this causes him to bump into the chair at the desk where the key is
• when the chair moves, it sends the key flying.  It could end up on of the floor or God-knows where else - it probably can clip through the floor as well or disappear completely

So as a fix I:

• made the chair non-moveable and monster-clipped around it so Jerry won't get as close to the key
• made the key non-pushable (so it doesn't go flying when AI get near it)

There is something strange about that key - most moveables don't behave like that and don't require any adjustment to account for strange physics.

EDIT: to be clear, the fix will be in v3 which I will publish later today.

Edited May 30 by Frost_Salamander

[Frost_Salamander]

 Version 3 now available:

Changelog: https://github.com/FrostSalamander/lt3/releases/tag/3.0

Download #1: https://github.com/FrostSalamander/lt3/releases/download/3.0/faffairs.pk4

Download #2: https://drive.proton.me/urls/Z0ZWGGRHWG#tVoIh1bm1WjU

@nbohr1more can you do the honors please?

[nbohr1more]

54 minutes ago, Frost_Salamander said:

 Version 3 now available:

Changelog: https://github.com/FrostSalamander/lt3/releases/tag/3.0

Download #1: https://github.com/FrostSalamander/lt3/releases/download/3.0/faffairs.pk4

Download #2: https://drive.proton.me/urls/Z0ZWGGRHWG#tVoIh1bm1WjU

@nbohr1more can you do the honors please?

Will do

[nbohr1more]

Version 3 is up in the mission database!

[Taquito]

On 5/29/2024 at 1:46 PM, nbohr1more said:

If you find an author has chosen an over-bright ambient ( according to your own preferences ) you can lower the r_ambientGamma value to taste. Additional info:

 

I did and it's more clear now. Yet, the problem of the full moon not producing enough light still persist.

[snatcher]

Director,

Spoiler

What can I say, he opened the door and there I was, reading some shit. He looked at me astonished at first but these people are well trained and duty is duty and he drew his big scimitar and charged without hesitation! Why calling the mission off? Put a red cross in my file for all I care, it wasn't the mission that was in danger but my life! What was I supposed to do, uh? Jump out the window or get on top of the closet and wait ten minutes? We fought like brave lions and I would have honored his demise with respect. The mission should have gone on.

[Frost_Salamander]

30 minutes ago, snatcher said:

Director,

  Hide contents

What can I say, he opened the door and there I was, reading some shit. He looked at me astonished at first but these people are well trained and duty is duty and he drew his big scimitar and charged without hesitation! Why calling the mission off? Put a red cross in my file for all I care, it wasn't the mission that was in danger but my life! What was I supposed to do, uh? Jump out the window or get on top of the closet and wait ten minutes? We fought like brave lions and I would have honored his demise with respect. The mission should have gone on.

Lieutenant,

Spoiler

You should have helped beta test, I might have listened to you! 

 

[High John]

How do I delete this post?!

Edited June 2 by High John
Sorry, solved it(!)

[TerrificTom]

Brilliant mission Frost_Salamander. However I find myself stuck. I have just opened the safe with the lift key in the Ministry of Defence... however I can't seem to use the lift anymore. When I press the button to call it, it never comes. All levels I have access too have a closed lift door as well. 

Is there something I am missing here?

[Frost_Salamander]

38 minutes ago, TerrificTom said:

Brilliant mission Frost_Salamander. However I find myself stuck. I have just opened the safe with the lift key in the Ministry of Defence... however I can't seem to use the lift anymore. When I press the button to call it, it never comes. All levels I have access too have a closed lift door as well. 

Is there something I am missing here?

No I don't think you're missing anything, the lift should just work.  Did it ever work?  If so, when did it stop working?  I'm wondering if some AI fell into it and is blocking it or something?  Can you try to noclip around it and see?

[TerrificTom]

29 minutes ago, Frost_Salamander said:

No I don't think you're missing anything, the lift should just work.  Did it ever work?  If so, when did it stop working?  I'm wondering if some AI fell into it and is blocking it or something?  Can you try to noclip around it and see?

You nailed it. I had a tiny finger of a knock out victim prying the door open a tiny bit on one level.

I progress. 

Thank you again for the absolutely brilliant and well thought through mission.

[snatcher]

I am fascinated by this mission. It feels so fresh, so distinct, so vivid. Frost_Salamander taunted us with a particular style in High Expectations and he now embraces this style and takes it to the next level in Foreign Affairs. What a wonderful and unique place he has created. The mission is visually stunning but not because each and every inch of the map is saturated with detail no, it is something else. Focus is on the important bits, the rest is a simple but effective background.

Spoiler

The mission starts and a huge arena opens up right in front of you. The moon, the lighthouse, the water, the seagulls, a tune in the distance... and my ally, darkness. I explored the area and I finally found my way into the (right) building. So far so good but little I knew that from that point I was going to be captivated. The interior of the buildings are well crafted mazes. I got lost many times but I kind of always knew where I more or less was. Each little section is unique and the more you venture into the living quarters the more interesting the map becomes. Sometimes I stayed looking outside a window or an opening for a minute or two, trying to position myself in the map, planning where to go next and how to get there, but also observing the locals and enjoying the view. This place is magnificent.

Areas unlock as you progress and there are plenty of entry and exit points to any area, large or small. There is (at least) one clever, eye-rolling surprise. No hand-holding in some places: just do it if you dare. I had trouble in the offices and later, because of the "no killing" restriction and the lack of (heavy) equipment, I didn't explore some common places that felt impossible to clear.

It seems I missed a lot of loot and many secrets and I will definitely be revisiting Foreign Affairs in the near future.

Let's talk doors for a moment.

@Wellingtoncrab is to be praised for the new "latch" mechanism and @Frost_Salamander commended for a perfect execution of the mechanic. Unlocking areas as you go isn't new to TDM (keys, levers) but latches feel totally natural and unique and it adds a refreshing layer to new maps. AI does not know how to operate latches and that's a good thing for different reasons, however...

Double sided doors are a double-edged sword. Operate them carelessly and you can get exposed, operate them wisely (by blocking one blade in example) and you can take them to your advantage. This map makes heavy use of double sided doors and sometimes a single blade (or the gap) is too narrow for the player to go through. The same is true for AI: they know the door is open but they cannot find the sweet spot and stay there going around in circles. Small double sided doors are ok for cubicles, closets, windows, but for "every day" doors each individual blade (or gap) should be large enough for the player and AI to traverse them easily.

In Plain Sight satisfied my appetite. High Expectations left me exhausted. Foreign Affairs absorbed me.

Frost_Salamander, you have a winning formula in your hands. Experiment, innovate but please, take us back to Mesayd at some point. Thanks for your work!

Edited June 3 by snatcher

[Frost_Salamander]

31 minutes ago, snatcher said:

I am fascinated by this mission. It feels so fresh, so distinct, so vivid. Frost_Salamander taunted us with a particular style in High Expectations and he now embraces this style and takes it to the next level in Foreign Affairs. What a wonderful and unique place he has created. The mission is visually stunning but not because each and every inch of the map is saturated with detail no, it is something else. Focus is on the important bits, the rest is a simple but effective background.

  Reveal hidden contents

The mission starts and a huge arena opens up right in front of you. The moon, the lighthouse, the water, the seagulls, a tune in the distance... and my ally, darkness. I explored the area and I finally found my way into the (right) building. So far so good but little I knew that from that point I was going to be captivated. The interior of the buildings are well crafted mazes. I got lost many times but I kind of always knew where I more or less was. Each little section is unique and the more you venture into the living quarters the more interesting the map becomes. Sometimes I stayed looking outside a window or an opening for a minute or two, trying to position myself in the map, planning where to go next and how to get there, but also observing the locals and enjoying the view. This place is magnificent.

Areas unlock as you progress and there are plenty of entry and exit points to any area, large or small. There is (at least) one clever, eye-rolling surprise. No hand-holding in some places: just do it if you dare. I had trouble in the offices and later, because of the "no killing" restriction and the lack of (heavy) equipment, I didn't explore some common places that felt impossible to clear.

It seems I missed a lot of loot and many secrets and I will definitely be revisiting Foreign Affairs in the near future.

Let's talk doors for a moment.

@Wellingtoncrab is to be praised for the new "latch" mechanism and @Frost_Salamander commended for a perfect execution of the mechanic. Unlocking areas as you go isn't new to TDM (keys, levers) but latches feel totally natural and unique and it adds a refreshing layer to new maps. AI does not know how to operate latches and that's a good thing for different reasons, however...

Double sided doors are a double-edged sword. Operate them carelessly and you can get exposed, operate them wisely (by blocking one blade in example) and you can take them to your advantage. This map makes heavy use of double sided doors and sometimes a single blade (or the gap) is too narrow for the player to go through. The same is true for AI: they know the door is open but they cannot find the sweet spot and stay there going around in circles. Small double sided doors are ok for cubicles, closets, windows, but for "every day" doors each individual blade (or gap) should be large enough for the player and AI to traverse them easily.

In Plain Sight satisfied my appetite. High Expectations left me exhausted. Foreign Affairs absorbed me.

Frost_Salamander, you have a winning formula in your hands. Experiment, innovate but please, take us back to Mesayd at some point. Thanks for your work!

Thanks Snatcher that is very kind of you.

A note about the latches: it turned out both @Wellingtoncraband I were working on them independently and he got wind of it and we decided to collaborate.  He was inspired by Dishonored whereas I was fresh off from playing The Black Parade, both of which featured latches.  I was using some (rather pedestrian) DR-crafted models for the latches which I promptly ditched in favour of Welli's far superior models.  @Dragofer did an initial draft of the script object for the latch which I expanded on to support a bunch of other features.  We were hoping to get it added to the core mod but there are still some hiccups with it (for example AI can't use it as you pointed out).  I'm very happy we got them working because we needed an alternative to the lock-picking/key hunt thing.

[plotzzz]

Thank you for this amazing and refreshing FM. With it's oriental setup, new assets and gameplay, size, difficulty, this really felt like a darkmod game changer. I really got lost in this giant maze and never could achieve the main objective, so it sometimes felt too difficult for me.

If I'm not mistaken, some areas, whilst visible and filled with assets and/or people, are not accessible. If not, players should be warned that some convention of darkmod FMs aren't respected, which I'm OK with.

This was sooooo cool. Congratulations and thanks again !

 

[Frost_Salamander]

1 hour ago, plotzzz said:

If I'm not mistaken, some areas, whilst visible and filled with assets and/or people, are not accessible. If not, players should be warned that some convention of darkmod FMs aren't respected, which I'm OK with.

Sorry you didn't actually finish the mission - I didn't think it was terribly complex navigation-wise (at least I was told it wasn't in beta).

Regarding inaccessible areas, if you mean...

Spoiler

...the restaurant top floor, yes that is inaccessible but you can get what you need through the windows and there is no need to actually go in there.  The whole point of it is to make the player think of alternatives.

The only other place I can think of is that area gated off near the door to the Mage's shop, but that's just decoration/background stuff.  Was there anywhere else?

 

[nightchild]

Frost_Salamanter, thank you so much for your great missions!

I am currently at Spencer's apartment. A hint please about this vault he writes about in his diary? Is it there or back at Bridgeport? Thanks in advance!

[Frost_Salamander]

9 hours ago, nightchild said:

Frost_Salamanter, thank you so much for your great missions!

I am currently at Spencer's apartment. A hint please about this vault he writes about in his diary? Is it there or back at Bridgeport? Thanks in advance!

Hi @nightchild and thanks for playing!  Regarding your question:

Spoiler

The vault is indeed in his house...

Stronger hint:

Spoiler

Have a good rummage around the kitchen shelves...

 

[nightchild]

10 hours ago, Frost_Salamander said:

Hi @nightchild and thanks for playing!  Regarding your question:

  Hide contents

The vault is indeed in his house...

Stronger hint:

  Hide contents

Have a good rummage around the kitchen shelves...

 

Hmmmmm....and they looked suspicious... Thank you!!!!

[Marbrien]

I just played version 3 through to completion on expert.  No problems at all this time.  This is an excellent mission, well done!

[Lzocast]

Fantastic mod, plenty of unique ways to get around and the idea of unlocking, 'shortcuts' with the latch mechanic was a nice touch.

I was curious if there was a reason for the ship rigging to be climable when there is nothing up in the crows nest or such though?

Other questions:

Spoiler

- Is there any way the drop to the secret vineyard behind the soap factory could be made more obviously survivable? I missed it entirely since looking at it from ther upper story window there seems nothing but a sheer drop to some 'trees'

- The code to the safe in the defense ministry. I coould not for the life of me find that anywhere so I just sat there and brute forced the combination. Any hints?

 

[Frost_Salamander]

2 minutes ago, Lzocast said:

Fantastic mod, plenty of unique ways to get around and the idea of unlocking, 'shortcuts' with the latch mechanic was a nice touch.

I was curious if there was a reason for the ship rigging to be climable when there is nothing up in the crows nest or such though?

Other questions:

  Hide contents

- Is there any way the drop to the secret vineyard behind the soap factory could be made more obviously survivable? I missed it entirely since looking at it from ther upper story window there seems nothing but a sheer drop to some 'trees'

- The code to the safe in the defense ministry. I coould not for the life of me find that anywhere so I just sat there and brute forced the combination. Any hints?

 

Hi,

The ship rigging was made climbable at the request of a beta tester to help avoid the guards.

As for the other stuff:

Spoiler

• you can drop down to the vineyard using the window sills and the lights, avoiding a sheer drop
• The code for the safe is on the desk in the other half of the office room (where the vent doesn't open).  You can read the note using your spyglass through the vent.

 

Edited June 8 by Frost_Salamander

[Melchior]

A Fantastic feast served up, just a little more RAW than you expected.
Still, while I thought about calling the waiter to send it back - I didn't, and it was still a meal fit for a prince.

(Yeah: I played 99% of the Version 1.0, now outdated and Bugtastic...)

Thoughts;

• Links up with the 1st 2 FM parts - while still being self-contained, would be an awsome Mini-FM campaign if there was some small inter-connector maps.
• Fantasic *new* setting! Everything is so clean & amazing archecture to behold...
• Great use of the new lock & bolt assets.
• Somehow, even on V1.0 - everything WORKED. (All objectives so far - completable, and other things too)
   

Flaws & Defects;

• existing Moore NPC Voices; These don't match the setting _AT ALL_ Big immersion breaker!
• The map has holes like swiss cheese, also zillions of tiny errors on brushes (offsets, mis-aligned, 1 pixel slice gaps) - mabey fixed in later updates...
• I'm going to complain about the lamps still; (Not mappers fault, they have to work with TDM's limited bits) - mabey more "oriental" / "persian" / "morrocan" style?

My Rating:

Play. Now..? Mabey wait? (or not?) YMMV.

[Frost_Salamander]

19 minutes ago, Melchior said:

Flaws & Defects;

• existing Moore NPC Voices; These don't match the setting _AT ALL_ Big immersion breaker!

 

I know right?  They sound like a cross between Idi Amin and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

19 minutes ago, Melchior said:

• The map has holes like swiss cheese, also zillions of tiny errors on brushes (offsets, mis-aligned, 1 pixel slice gaps) - mabey fixed in later updates...

Where? Not saying it's perfect, but I would have thought most of these would have been filtered out in beta.  If you want to send screenshots I can start fixing them for an update...

EDIT: If there really are 'zillions' and you do in fact wish to send screenshots, please send in Discord..

Edited June 8 by Frost_Salamander

[grodenglaive]

Cool fm. Very fine mapping with the way the different areas fit together. I like the architecture, which is a nice change from the usual Bridgeport environs.

I'm a little stuck though, I can't seem to find

Spoiler

the code for the safe in the Ministry of Defence

[Frost_Salamander]

45 minutes ago, grodenglaive said:

Cool fm. Very fine mapping with the way the different areas fit together. I like the architecture, which is a nice change from the usual Bridgeport environs.

I'm a little stuck though, I can't seem to find

  Reveal hidden contents

the code for the safe in the Ministry of Defence

Hi and thanks for playing!  

Hint:

Spoiler

while in the vents above the office where the safe is, have a look through your spyglass in the other room (the room next to the one with the safe)