The Dark One on 14/8/2017 at 20:17
That pun is bad and the author should feel bad for making it.
Inn Business (by RJFerret) is another atypical mission. This time, our plucky protagonist is hired to do a bit inn-based sabotage. The owner of an inn has hired him to sabotage a competitor by breaking in one night, robbing it, then coming back the next after security has been beefed up to rob it again, making people feel unsafe, so they’ll come to second guy’s inn. It’s genius, really.
The mission feels very “lived-in” if that makes sense. The weather shifts over the course of the three days, going from dry pavement to snow everywhere. The guests and other NPCs do not remain static over the course of the three days (special mention goes to a mage who’s constantly coming up with new ways to mess with you), and little touches, such as dogs barking when you approach the church door, help to improve the atmosphere.
Where the mission falls flat is in the loot goals. The numbers are apparently off, resulting in frustration for looters who want everything in a level. Also resulting in frustration for us underachieving plebs is the fact that loot is well-hidden, with some of it assuming the form of objects that aren’t normally loot in ordinary missions, which is most obvious. on the second night which suffers from a low amount of total loot. Said second night also has a unique security system in the form of sound detecting robot which, on my second playthrough at least, was incredibly sensitive, somehow able to tell that a footstep on the first floor was worthy of sounding the alarm.
The third night changes the rules a bit, as Not-Garrett is summoned by his victim to point out security flaws remaining in the inn. It’s an interesting idea, but it does feel a little tacked-on, as well as flawed. You can “complete” the objectives, but if the warning note isn’t left in the perfect position, it will be unchecked without warning. The end result is an interesting idea that needed a little more coherence.
And yet, the mission is fun. There are multiple hidden objectives to be found, although they require a fair bit of exploration to find. The mission has plenty of amusing (and it must be said, adult) moments, and the signs of an author who had fun piecing the whole thing together show through. It’s a flawed effort in places, but a very interesting and unique one. Recommended.
The Dark One on 17/8/2017 at 22:39
This is long overdue. Very, very overdue. Apologies to Airship Ballet, the author of this campaign.
Quinn Co. is split into two missions, La Banque Bienveillante and Chase Mercantile, but since they’re similar in concept I’ll review them both at once. The summer solstice has arrived, and our hero is intent on robbing some of the local banks, which are storing goods from merchant ships.
These are some of the more unique missions I’ve played on The Dark Mod. When you start up, you see the normal screen for buying weapons, but it’s different. Now you’re not buying equipment, but instead you’re buying equipment drops, keys, different loot drop-off points….Heck, you can even choose your own objectives here! The author stated that the missions were modeled after the Payday series, and this choice of “loadout” gives the missions replayability.
La Banque is the opening act and does a good job. It’s linear, admittedly, but an absolute blast to play through, with neat touches in the technology on display, such as a very neat bit of food storage in the basement. Chase Mercantile is much more balanced, and once the player gets out of the opening basement they can more or less hit the rest of the bank in any order they choose. Both missions can be considered rather easy for Dark Mod missions, due to the fact that you have no loot goal and thus can technically just do the needed objectives and finish the missions, but they do have a way of discouraging knock-outs: A penalty system.
Not-Garratt has hired cleaners to fix his “mistakes” and that involves bribing guards and hiding bodies: 500 loot for knock-outs, 1000 for deaths. While this doesn't sound like much, it adds up quick, though in fairness each mission is loaded with enough loot for ten thieves, so even the blackjack lovers will be able to get through. In La Banque, however, there are guards you more or less have to blackjack to get past, which is thankfully fixed (from what I could tell) in Mercantile. This penalty system doesn’t just affect completionists, since the loot from La Banque is used to purchase equipment in the sequel.
The missions are both very fun to play, mainly due to the constant gratification you get from all the loot. I ended my second La Banque playthrough with somewhere in the 20,000 range, and Mercantile has even more loot that it’s predecessor. Both missions have creative uses of technology, especially in the vaults, which are loaded down with security systems that you have to maneuver your way around. There’s a fair bit of characterization in the missions as well, shown by the readables. I actually ended up feeling bad enough for my “victim” in Mercantile that I left his own personal vault (mostly, man’s gotta make a living) untouched.
Still, the missions aren’t perfect. La Banque all but forces you to knock out certain guard to progress, and the linear nature of the mission might annoy. Mercantile also has a very irritatingly placed guard right before the vault, who can’t be knocked out (unless you’ve bought gas arrows, but the drop still forces you to run for it and then snipe quickly) and you haven’t arranged for him to be bribed from his post you’ll run into a sudden roadblock.
This leads into my other main gripe: While the loadout makes for good replay value, it also leads into going into the mission without the proper equipment, which could make the mission tedious, see: the alternate loot drop in La Banque, which is vital if you don’t want to make like ten trips back and forth. Mercantile is also a pain if you don’t think to/can’t afford to bribe the guards, and not having certain keys makes the mission trickier than normal. I fully understand that this is the point (and I’m sure most here will like that), but I find it a tad irritating that you can sabotage yourself without knowing about it.
All in all, my complaints are relatively minor. My only big complaints are that there isn’t a third mission, and that I wish it was possible to replay Mercantile without having to beat its predecessor. Obviously, recommended.
The Dark One on 22/8/2017 at 02:49
Back on target now…
So, I’m not 100% sure who made this mission. The mission select screen says Silencium18, but the mission page on the Dark Mod website adds in Fidcal and Railgun, so eh.
The Thieves is a simple and to the point mission. A member of a thieves guild has gone rogue and is harassing merchants and being a general nuisance, thus forcing our enterprising hero to kill him for the reward money.
Another review I read implied that this was another early/test mission, and it shows in the general bareness of the level, as well as certain quirks, such as a key that doesn’t go with anything and a gang leader who oddly doesn’t seem to notice you banging about in his room unless you hit him. There are still out-of-way pieces of loot to uncover, and two different ways into The Thieves’(™) hideout, but other than that, the mission is quite basic.
All in all I find this hard to rec on it’s own merits. It’s fun, but a little too simple to veteran players, and without much to set it apart from something like Awaiting the Storm.
The Dark One on 25/8/2017 at 03:34
Trapped! By Railgun is a short prison break mission. Our fair-play loving hero is hired to infiltrate a hideout of a gang of thieves, but he bungles the job and gets himself knocked out. Now, he must escape, which is pretty easy considering how shoddy the construction is.
The mission is more stealth focused, as your equipment is hidden deeper in the hideout. You can find some arrows early on (and in my case resulted in a first playthrough with lots of bodies), but your blackjack is only found near the end. The mission looks good, giving the impression of being some long abandoned building turned into a makeshift hideout. The loot goal is fair, with most being in plain sight.
All in all, a solid, if short mission. Recommended.
The Dark One on 28/8/2017 at 23:47
This mission was made by Railgun, but Springheel did the story. He did a dang fine job of it too.
The Builder’s Influence moves the action to the city of Breaden, where our hero is hiding from the law and assisting a group of smugglers. Sadly, the Inquisition, which no one expected, has come to town and is bringing down the hammer on the local criminal scum, including certain members of City Hall….much to the detriment of the smugglers, as they have a bribed man on the inside who’s been fudging tax records for them, forcing Not-Garrett to slip in and steal them.
Layout wise, it’s quite good, not fancy, but giving off the vibe of a government building. There are a few alternate routes around the place, which is appreciated. The guard presence is heavy, but doable to get around, which good, as the highest difficulty forbids knockouts. The only real trouble spot is a set of offices facing each other in a hallway which require pretty good timing to duck between or out of.
Where the mission shines is in the story: There are quite a few readables lying about to tell you about the progress of the Inquisition and the resulting witch hunt. Personally, all of this was my favorite part of the mission, not only interesting but giving you tips to proceed on in the mission. Though I do question the wisdom of leaving such incriminating notes on one’s desk.
All in all, a solid mission with good storytelling. Recommended.
twhalen2600 on 29/8/2017 at 02:45
It's been too long since I last wrote one of these, and I plan to get back in the swing of things. I'll start again with a recent classic and one I was happy to revisit.
Endless Rain (Thief, 2014), by skackySkacky’s
Thief Gold mission is a surreal, moody masterpiece of
Thief 1 ambiance and style. It is a refreshing, rare entry to the
Thief /
Thief Gold FM library and a reminder that great missions can still be made with that game’s assets. The winding streets and towering city structures make you feel like you’ve stepped into a fantastic world as from a fairy tale. The streets are wide and areas large such that you may say it’s out of proportion, but you won’t – it works beautifully.
The author notes in the readme to play without any HD enhancement packs as the mission was made “with the vanilla experience in mind”. This warning pertains to the texture alignments, but it extends to the overall mission experience. I am a vanilla enthusiast – with only a few exceptions I play games and fan-missions un-modded – so I love a mission that recommends vanilla, especially for
Thief Gold. I even play with TFix Lite so I may have the original guard models.
In skacky’s vanilla
Thief experience, Garrett, fallen on hard times, takes a job from a greasy beggar named Cutty: stealing Lord Monsegur’s opal, the Moon Tear. Monsegur is the warden of Stonemarket and his abode looks out over the rest of the district from way high up. Getting there is fun and you’ll discover paths and secrets above and below.
Inline Image:
https://thiefdiaries.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/endless-rain-screenshot-1.png?w=960On Expert, I went the longest time without a rope arrow. I finally found one, late in the mission. I wish I had started with a rope arrow – not having one for so long in a mission with so much up above is a bummer. On a second playing, I found a rope arrow close to the start, which made the experience much better.
In
Endless Rain, you have to look hard. Finding the next big area or a way up to the roofs and across is not easy – no path is obvious. You earn the thrill of finding a wooden beam or an open window. There are also several dark nooks and crannies with loot, readables, and moody ambiance.
One tucked-away area has a note on which an herbalist or doctor has noted the effects of a deadly tonic. Described as a note that fell down the drain, it must mean someone is up to no good – wanting to end someone else’s life, or their own. According to the note, though, it might also mean someone just needs a better night’s sleep.
Inline Image:
https://thiefdiaries.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/endless-rain-screenshot-2.png?w=960Lord Monsegur’s manor is a tiny slice of the whole experience. It’s up high and, on Expert, tight with guards. You will find it difficult to reach Monsegur’s bedroom. Once there, you need artistry to dodge Monsegur, who patrols around his room, muttering lines voiced by Yandros. You need to find a hidden area that thankfully provides you a straight path back down to the main floor.
Endless Rain is brilliant but I did experience a problem with sound propagation. Several times a guard’s voice or footsteps would cut out once he passed a threshold. Other times a guard nearby sounded muffled. Whether this is due to room brush placement or something else, I have not invested the time to find out. I only experienced it and note it here as the only blemish.
Endless Rain is a
Thief Gold treat. If you’re a fan of the original, you’ll love the mood and look. It’s a reminder that the first
Thief needs more fan missions.
The Black Parade, of which skacky is a designer, will surely answer that reminder.
Mman on 30/8/2017 at 23:25
Whenever I did my last review here I think I said I'd have another within a month or so... It's been a bit longer than that, but as I also said back then, as long as this thread lived I would post reviews when I got around to playing more maps, so here's another:
Search For Crom's Blade:This is set in a castle buried under ice and the caves around it. In execution it's quite a unique theme, and there's quite a bit of variety too. The organic nature of it really makes it though; it's actually designed as if a castle was snowed over and buried for an untold number of years, with only a small segment of it truly intact, and most of it is only accessible through non-straightforward means or the multitude of caves that have formed around it. Despite it's age it's one of the most convincing portrayals of a ruined, lost place I've seen in Thief, and it also has a lot of non-standard geometry and organic looking caves (though most of the interiors are quite simple, with a few more detailed parts here and there). The downside of said geometry is that it does lead to some awkward movement at times (some of the icy tunnels are a very tight squeezes and frequently at angles on top of that). The level is pretty huge and it's so interlinked it can be easy to lose track of where things are, or discover that an area is linked to another half and hour later. The map being near-useless doesn't help; it mostly only shows areas of the castle that are intact and easy to navigate, with the complex tunnel systems and ruins that make up the majority being non-present or only vaguely hinted at.
The main task is finding the titular blade, and there's technically not much you have to do just to accomplish the base goal, though it's unlikely you'll find that out without replaying. As far as the actual stealth goes it's not too tough, and despite not playing thief for ages and going for Expert there's little that gave me trouble; there's plenty of shadow and the abundance of snow means walking is quite silent in most areas, with marble being quite rare. In the few brighter areas most enemies tend to wander into the dark areas at some point like foolish horror movie victims so it's not too tough to whittle their numbers down, with a few helmeted enemies being the only obstacle to that. One part has a lot of marble, but the map is very generous with Moss Arrows if you explore elsewhere so that issue can be got around. Traps aren't really present either, and you can explore quite freely once enemies are taken out. There's a nice use of enemy variety with mechanists in the more intact sections and "natural" enemies and undead in the more hidden parts (including some nice reskins), there's even a chance to cause some in-fighting (although an enemy in a cell just ignoring a nearby mechanist when freed seemed odd, but maybe it's an engine limitation). The exploration is the real meat of this level; as mentioned above there's a complex setting full of things to find, and exploration is almost always rewarded with something. While the search for the blade is the main mission, the "real" task on the higher settings is the search for up to nine gems, which are extremely well hidden, and require you to scour every inch to find them without help, it doesn't help that they blend in with the snow so there's a risk of overlooking them even if you are in the right place. At least Cheap Thief Missions gives a guide to the gems on the level page if you get too stuck. There's some good use of ambience to add to the cold, abandoned atmosphere as well, and music tracks are used as ambient themes. The music helps convey the overall feeling of going on an adventure, which supports exploration being the central theme. The main story is relatively minimal but conveyed well with messages, and there are various clues required (at least for first-time players) to solve the main task. I did have a problem where a couple of scrolls were blank, I thought this was part of the mission and you had to do something to get their contents, but I couldn't find any mention of this while looking for help (as a result of that), maybe a Newdark issue or something?
If you want something more straightforward this probably isn't for you, but if you like more complex designs then this is an explorer's paradise. as someone generally a fan of the latter I like it a lot. I played it the first time years ago and this map is one of the more memorable ones I've played in setting despite the general visuals being relatively basic. Looking through the older threads on it the designer hinted at some sort of "gold" edition years ago, but it seems that never happened, which is a shame.
Screenshots (not sure on the brightness since it's been so long):
Inline Image:
http://i.imgur.com/z5yYjIv.jpgAll the icicles can be smashed, which is quite satisfying.
Inline Image:
http://i.imgur.com/d89txoR.jpgA less icy cave segment.
Inline Image:
http://i.imgur.com/MxLs3h9.jpgThis main hall is most of what the level map is comprised of, despite it being relatively simple to navigate.
The Dark One on 5/9/2017 at 01:19
Now we’re hitting some classics.
Thief's Den might not have been the first mission ever made for The Dark Mod, but as far as I'm aware, it’s up there. The mission was made by Fidcal, but Bikerdude apparently tweaked it, to what extent I’m not sure.
The plot is simple: Our fair-play loving hero has stolen a scepter for a certain Mr. Creep, but got backstabbed, as should have been obvious by the name. Now Not-Garrett intends to slip into Creep's hideout and steal the scepter and anything not nailed down.
I know that Bikerdude worked his magic on this mission after release, but if what we have is anything like the mission was before then it’s quite impressive. It’s a short mission, but there’s a fair bit of parkour and knowledge of the mission as a 3D space, if that makes sense. The loot is well-hidden/difficult to get to in some places (curse that vase), and there’s a bit of searching that needs to be done to complete the objectives.
All in all, it’s a pretty good intro to The Dark Mod, even if it seems painfully short nowadays. Recommended.
Mman on 6/9/2017 at 01:09
Journey Into The Underdark:As the name might suggest to those who know of it this is a Dungeons&Dragons based level; while pretty small it's a semi-conversion, with several new items and tweaks to give things a different flavour. As a result of the changes it also breaks away from general conventions of Thief, and things like non-lethality aren't really present (although the Warrior class can technically knock some enemies out). Stealth is also reinterpreted a little, and, while it's still important to not get slaughtered, it feels like it's based around a more aggressive (based on newer games, you could even say "modern") kind of stealth where you set up combat advantages rather than try to avoid it altogether, even if you probably can if you want.
This was apparently intended to be a contest map originally, as a result it's relatively small and focused, with the creature interactions being the main new aspect, and there only really being one real puzzle outside of finding/using items lying around. Said contest was a verticality-based one, and that certainly shows in the layout here, with quite a bit of ascending and descending. While most of the geometry is relatively small caves, there's a fort later on that's quite impressive, and a few other nice sights too.
Like the famous Inverted Manse, the big twist of this map is that the difficulty settings are reinterpreted as play-styles instead. Normal is "Warrior," and probably the most traditional, as you have a sword and blackjack equivalent, but you have no bow and instead get expendable daggers as a ranged attack. Hard is "Archer," and you only have a bow with various special new arrows to defeat enemies with. Expert is "mage," where you have no weapons at all and rely entirely on consumable scrolls, it's actually more of a summoner though, as your main spells are helpful monsters who fight for you. Having played through all three, while they aren't intended to be difficulty settings, I do feel the difficulty order is the most natural way to play them; Warrior feels closest to standard Thief, with a melee weapon always available and a more direct stealth approach (plus the daggers emulate ranged attacks and there's even a kind of summon). Archer has no defenses if arrows run out, but the modified arrows have powerful effects and it's not too hard to clear things out once you know what's coming. While Mage can mostly avoid direct combat, you also have be careful not to waste your good monsters on weak enemies, and you have to have an idea of what summon is the best counter to different enemies to be as efficient as possible. Even when they're not trying to kill you you also have to deal with the inherent jank of trying to get the monsters to actually go after each other, which can be like herding cats at times. Despite knowing what was there I still ran of resources clearing the map on Mage (technically I didn't finish that mode as an enemy got stuck in a way that trapped me, and I had nothing to kill them with, all that was left was backtracking though so it didn't matter much).
Beyond that bug (which is more of an unlucky dark engine flaw than a specific level issue) the main issue I had is that it's really dark; if I hadn't played Crom's Blade before this I'd almost think something was wrong with my brightness settings, as every shadow is almost pitch black. You are given an infinite light source, but that means you have to put yourself in danger to actually see things. It probably doesn't help with the AI on Mage mode either, especially as the light becomes an essential tool for pointing out foes to your summons on that mode, whereas if it was a little brighter I imagine the AI would get on a bit better too. I'll also warn that the level comes with some NSFW nudity if that matters for you.
Beyond the somewhat irritating darkness this is a good exploration of a different approach to thief, and it stayed enjoyable over the three playthroughs, and required me to rethink my approaches for each.
Screenshots (if you can barely see anything that's basically how the level is anyway):
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/1yR8kVx.jpgThis is an area that shows some of the main vertical design in the level (if you can see it)
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/4UcGD1i.jpgThis is one of the main impressive views of the level.
Mman on 6/9/2017 at 20:46
A Night In Rocksbourg 1: A New Beginning:This first map in the set is a city streets type map; in terms of overall area it's actually relatively small, but it's very tightly designed with narrow streets and lots of interlinking paths that make it feel complex. There's also a lot of focus on small details, and even parts you never access have lots of detail in them, making a great looking map. The briefing sets you up as robbing a cathedral, but that's a bit of a red-herring for this map, where you don't reach that destination, and are mainly wrapped up in another quest that comes up. There's also new voice acting, and while some of it has questionable sound quality (although others sound fine) it's translated from a mod that was initially non-English, so I can give some issues a pass. I didn't have too many difficulties with the stealth here as there's quite a lot of darkness and little metal/marble, but the small scale does mean it can be easy to alert multiple nearby enemies if you aren't careful with the noise you make, plus there's one or two surprises that mix things up. You can actually miss most of your supplies if you aren't thorough at the start, but I did like how it was in-character (because Garret wouldn't hide his stuff in the open).
The Rocksbourgh set is known for it's horror elements, and, while I haven't reached the meat of that yet, this level does a great job of conveying the feeling of something being wrong under the surface, despite only having a few overt nods to that. The small details help add to the creepiness of the spookier parts, and the new ambient noises create a feeling of paranoia with stuff like footstep sounds mixed in. As well as the mystery/horror story this level is based around, the backstory of being in another part of the Thief world post-2 is also well executed, with details like the leftover Mechanists "rebranding" to try and hold on to their last bits of support, along with the explanation for why the area is closed off. The only real issue I had is that a couple of keys are extremely obscure, in fact, it seems like you can only get the clues to one after you've already found it? And I'm not sure how you'd stumble across it without help. Some of the lockpicking also seemed almost obnoxiously long, though that's a pretty minor problem. I did find the lack of map a little odd, but the small size means it's not too much of a problem. This set is known as a Thief classic and this level certainly lives up to that.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/t9pYO1Y.jpgThe gates out of this segment of Rocksbourgh are heavily guarded, and dealing with them basically counts as a bonus for those who want a tougher challenge.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/rHG5hKt.jpgThis level has enough attention to detail that even the cobwebs have a certain relevance to the backstory.