Mman on 7/9/2017 at 19:33
A Night In Rocksbourg 2: Discovery:This is mostly streets based like the first map, but improved in almost every way; the settings keep the same flavour while being more varied and open, and there's other themes mixed in. One nice touch is that there's actually a friendly (or, at least, not directly hostile) section of the city that's one of the most well executed attempts at a populated area I've seen in Thief. Now the story has developed, the focus is on finding the cause of an undead plague that's taking over the city, which happens to involve a new faction added to the Thief world. As before there's a lot of attention to detail in where things are placed, and one thing I forgot to mention with the previous is that every NPC in the set has a name when knocked out/killed, which supports the backstory elements and even gives clues to certain things. Like the first map the general stealth isn't too challenging, but the addition of more Mechanist and... Other elements makes it tougher overall, along with a slight increase in noisy surfaces. The area being bigger means exploration is more challenging too, but there is a map provided this time. As before the atmospheric and sound design is excellent, and the horror elements do a lot with relatively little. The flaws are pretty much the same as the first map, with some slightly overlong lockpicking (although the bigger size means it's less of a factor here), and a few incredibly obtuse things need to be found to make progress that basically require you to look things up unless you run around frobbing the whole map. A bigger, better level than the first, though it's unfortunate that the occasional obscurity issue wasn't improved.
I haven't mentioned the briefing videos either, which are well done and make good use of a combination of new and original art assets to create briefings in the style of the original ones. I have to watch them out of the game though, as in-game the top and bottom are cut off so some scenes and subtitles don't show properly, but I guess that's a Newdark or general settings issue.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/eM6lQot.jpgThe populated Inn area.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/X2jwv5J.jpgSomething tells me this area wasn't the nicest even before unknown killers were on the loose...
Mman on 8/9/2017 at 22:08
A Night In Rocksbourg 3: Ink And Dust:There's a completely new theme here as you explore the hideout of the new faction, and the surreal void type place it is seemingly built into. The visual design is even higher quality here, and the new setting is very evocative, with a lot of original assets, and even by Thief standards there is some excellent use of shadows and lighting. Said new faction are also fleshed out here (including more "neutral" areas), and manage to be both intriguing and also somewhat subversive of what was implied in earlier maps,
given the previous map implied they were something evil, but they're actually a lot more complex than that. The gameplay difficulty steps up a bit more here, with lots of cramped corridors with multiple enemies, along with the things from the void, on the other hand there are also a lot of shadows and hidey-holes, along with some new consumable items, so you have plenty of ways to turn the odds in your favour. The environment is also a bigger threat with the inherently surreal nature of the setting, and there are some nicely-done puzzles too. This level also fixed my issues with obscurity in the earlier levels; the few obscure tasks that are mandatory have clues that localise them much better this time, and all the really tough stuff is near fully confined to optional content/secrets. Like the first level there's no map, but it does at least fit the mysterious nature of the setting here (there's even somewhat of a reason it's not mapped).
This is also where the set takes a big push towards full horror, and, while the main part of the map is mostly just strange and unnerving, the "dark zone" part is infamous for this, and, well, it lives up to the hype. There's certainly some other stuff outside the main horror part that keeps you on edge though. By extension, the atmosphere and ambient design is even better here, and instantly ranks among my favourites from a Thief level. This is where the set ends for now; it was intended to be a six part series, but this is the last one that was released and that was years ago. On the other hand, while looking for help for the earlier parts, some forum posts suggested some more recent activity on the set from the author, so maybe it can continue one day?... Honestly with how well the details are hinted at, a little creative interpretation of a few plot points does provide a general conclusion to some of the main plot. The first two maps were great but this takes a step further and is easily among the best Thief levels I've played.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/MPID7kY.jpgThe later areas don't quite match the grand design of this entrance hall, but they're impressive (and/or oppressive) in their own ways.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/TwtpRr7.jpgA new pair of pants is recommended for what's ahead.
twhalen2600 on 9/9/2017 at 04:29
Hidden Agenda (Thief II, 2002), by AsyluMI love
Thief II's atmosphere and the Mechanists as much as I love
Thief: TDP's atmosphere and the Hammerites, and when it comes to picking a favorite between the first two
Thief games, count me out. If I'm playing
The Sword, I like the first better; if I'm playing
Eavesdropping, I prefer the second. Ditto for every mission combination, just about. I'm the same way in other areas of life. If I'm petting a dog, I'm a dog person; if I'm playing with a cat, I'm a total cat-lover. If I'm drinking a chocolate milk shake, I love chocolate; if it's a vanilla one, I'll swear by that flavor (I also like strawberry). You may call me a flip-flop, but I'm just open-minded. Suffice it to say, when it comes to
Thief II-hate, I'm not on board.
With that out of the way, AsyluM's
Hidden Agenda is
Blackbrook for the Mechanists. It's a simple Mechanist fix and a well-rounded selection of
Thief II ambient noises and textures.
Inline Image:
https://thiefdiaries.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/hidden-agenda-screen-1b.png The mission starts with one of the longest drops I've seen. Garrett, knees surely hurting, must explore a Mechanist seminary in the New Market District. The seminary was built on top of an old Hammerite Temple, sunk into the ground. Garrett is driven by personal curiosity - he wants to know what these post-Karras Mechanists are up to, especially since they are trying to kill him. Garrett's also been promised a reward from the Hammerites, who want to know what the Mechanists are up to in New Market as well.
I played on Expert and was challenged. Well-lit areas forced me to move quickly, darting from one rare shadow to another. Patrols are not tight like in
Gathering at the Inn, but are more difficult to sneak around than in
Blackbrook. Later areas have cameras and turrets.
The seminary mixes styles of
Eavesdropping and
Life of the Party. The outer grounds and sanctuary areas are
Eavesdropping inspired, but other interior areas, like the guest rooms, the sitting rooms, the library, and the kitchen, have
Life of the Party vibes.
Thief II inspiration goes beyond these two missions. One area has ambiance from
Framed - one of my
Thief II favorites.
Inline Image:
https://thiefdiaries.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/hidden-agenda-screen-2.png I love Mechanist artwork. The two worship areas - one a large sanctuary and the other a small chapel - are ripe with statues and icons. Outside, visible from the start area, is a Mechanist statue with a gear stained-glass window behind it. As a lover of
Eavesdropping and Mechanist seminaries, I think this FM delicious.
Your goal is a Hammerite Temple buried beneath the Seminary that the Mechanists have built onto like they did the Lost City. It's an extensive area. Haunts are teased until you explore a tomb where you'll encounter a few of them. There's also a frightening sequence when a humanoid clockwork soldier pops up from a table. This happens in a room with an inactive Child of Karras crouching right next to the door - as if that wasn't enough (I jumped at both these things). AsyluM understood Mechanist horror and the kind of scares
Thief II went for. (I think of the moment the bronze robot child creature appeared in Angelwatch.)
Several users here dismiss
Thief II for its lack of horror, but they're only thinking of the kind of horror in
Thief: TDP.
Thief II had its own horror throughout. I was chilled when I spied the first watcher in
Shipping...and Receiving and jumped when I peered in a box to see the face of a robot. Let
Thief II be its own game - its clockwork, mechanical horror gave the game as much suspense and sense of the unknown as
Thief: TDP's dark medieval mood. I love
TDP's atmosphere, as noted, but it's an apple to
Thief II's orange. I'm glad at least one FM author has realized what to draw from
Thief II atmospherically.
Inline Image:
https://thiefdiaries.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/hidden-agenda-screen-3b1.png?w=960I digress. In the Hammer Temple, you'll find more quarters and living areas, store rooms, a sewer section, and some work rooms. It's more difficult to sneak around down here and there is some hard-to-get loot. One hard-earned goblet requires you return to the sewerman's bedroom with a key difficult to find. I expected a grand reward or secret after backtracking all the way there, but only found this one loot item.
The mission is large and on Expert will take some time. Objectives include finding incriminating evidence and some blueprints and breaking into the Mechanists' vault. You'll come across a few gear keys and, as mentioned, several watchers and turrets. If you enjoy some vanilla
Thief II, you'll eat it up.
Hidden Agenda is a rare Mechanist FM and a palette of
Thief II ambiance. If you don't want to spend an eve with the Hammers, blessed old brethren that they are, load up a mission such as this one to spend some time with the Children of Karras - blessed be his name!
The Dark One on 12/9/2017 at 00:02
There’s an Indiana Jones joke, just on the tip of my tongue….
Thief’s Den 2: The Chalice of Kings, is Fidcal’s next round in the Thief's Den series. This time, Not-Garrett is after a tomb robber who shamelessly stole some valuable artifacts before our hero could get at them, the selfish pest. Now, the artifacts; a crown, a death mask, and a chalice, must be stolen.
The mission is obviously larger than it’s predecessor, and more of a straightforward mansion mission. It looks quite good, with nice dark textures. The mansion layout is plausible, which I liked. I admit, the mission is a bit on the liner side, especially when it comes to the path to getting the chalice. I don’t have much of a problem with that, but I’m aware that some frown on that.
Still, I enjoyed it. It reminds me of Briarwood Cathedral (which I reviews back in the days of old), in that there’s nothing to really set it apart aside from being very solidly done. I supposes I enjoyed it in the same way I enjoy room escape games: the idea of starting out confined and slowly but surely solving puzzles and clearing your way though.
Or it’s just good. Recommended.
nickie on 15/9/2017 at 18:07
Quote Posted by Thor
Me and a certain shitty-ass potato would do a review for Intruder's latest masterpiece, but the capricious spud needs a little more encouragement. Nickie or someone else, I think it may be up to you to encourage his idle ass to do something good for a change.
I'd be more than happy to give him a kick up the ass but I'm a real waste of space myself at the moment so would seem just a tad hypocritical of me. :)
Having said that, I would dearly like to read another joint review.
Hopefully, all the latest reviews have now been added but please let me know if I've missed one or got it in the wrong place or similar, and grateful thanks as ever.
The Dark One on 18/9/2017 at 01:23
I'm finally about done with my replays! Though I still have a few to go, such as SirTaffsalot's Let Sleeping Thieves Lie.
Jack Blackthorn used to be the feared leader of the Unseen Thieves guild. Used to be, because our hero put an arrow in his heart. However, it seems that Jack has come back from the dead, forcing our hero to investigate. And steal a dagger, just for good measure.
This is a rather small city mission, mostly taking place on one street, with a divergence into the sewers to slip into the Unseen Thieves' hideout and the tombs beneath the chapel. It's not visually stunning, barring the outside of the chapel, which is appropriately massive. I heard complaints that the sewer area didn't look that good, but I felt it was fine, if a little basic.
I enjoyed the more atypical story for the mission, as well as a creative objective you get after your sewer travels. The main gripe I have is with the loot goal, as you have to get the vast majority of the level's loot for expert, and a few pieces are quite small and hard to notice. That's a bit of a petty complaint, I admit, but it brought my playthrough to a screeching halt.
All in all, a decent, but slightly underdone mission. Recommended, but with caveats.
Added - nickie
Iceblade on 18/9/2017 at 04:52
T1: A Noble Death - Ishy
Playing through the early FMs can be fun dive back in time to the early days of Thief Fandom. These were generally smaller and simpler FMs that were almost entirely Stock Resource. It was not long before the use of custom resources actually became so common place that it inspired a contest with the restriction to use only use Stock Resources in 2006.
The smaller though not always so tight FMs of yore can be quite enjoyable, though sometimes the small size can prove its own challenge as in this FM.
This fan mission sets you with the task of killing a noblewoman - a rather ignoble and incongruous task given you are a thief. This type of objective was unusually common during the first year or so of Thief FMs, but thankfully we started getting a mixture of larger, more complicated FMs and simpler steal-the-object(s) FMs. As you are here to kill someone, sneaking seems less necessary. This is not true, however, given the manor house is packed with guards - at least 14 of them. Further difficulty comes from the tighter spaces, limited hiding spots/ambush points, paired patrols, and most of all - the use of only one sound brush. This is a double hit as it makes it really hard to detect guard location (like which floor they are patrolling on) and easier for the guards to hear you.
And hear you they will if you make any noise. Your best bet is to find a decent hiding spot, wait for the guards to pass and ambush one of them. The place is packed with marble floors, so no running to hit the second one on the head. Good sneaking is needed here. You have some water arrows but there are only two moss arrows in the crystal "armory" on the first floor, so no real softening is possible. Strangely, there are plenty of fire arrows, which implies a more Rambo slaughter-your-way to the top style mission than one of stealth.
There is a second option to getting to the top, though it is not obvious. There are two rope arrows available, however, the wooden part is on the top surface only of the balcony ledges. Once you are on the second floor balcony, you can more easily rope up to the third floor with an obvious wooden overhang. Once you are in this space, you can sneak in and snipe the target. Of course this will alert the guards, making the rest of your objectives more difficult. So in general, a tough mission for sneaking, but years of thiefly training have honed my skills enough to make this a slow but fun mission without any of the frustrations I had the first time I played it years ago.
For the architecture, it is not great, but it is pretty decent for its time. The area is rather flat with ridiculously high walls bordering the area. The entry/exit area is nicely designed, though, and the mission zone has multiple texture entrances that give the illusion of this map existing in a larger world, which is not something that is always implemented in missions, especially during the first few years of FMs.
The textures are nicely placed, the layout also looks good and is logical though simple. There a few nicely decorated areas like the roof garden. The decor is limited for most of the mission, though, leaving some areas a little plain. The overuse of marble is a bit excessive, but not completely out of place. The Ramirez-inspired peep-holes are a nice touch, but unusual.
The story is simple fair, but there are a few readables to give the place a bit of life. There is a dead hammerite novice, though whether he was set to dead or killed by the thief, I do not know. It is the latter, than that might explain the rather jumpy guards here. The loot is good for the mission size while also being well-placed and sparse enough to be believable.
In conclusion, this is a simple FM that will test your thief skills while still being able to get home in time for dinner. Just it comes with an annoying kill objective. Fortunately, you can just knock her out and kill her on the ground before you leave.
Added - nickie
Covetous Carcass on 23/9/2017 at 13:22
For behold, it is I, the Covetous Carcass, taking a break from coveting golden skulls to present my review of a golden oldie mission and one of my favourites, previously briefly reviewed by Unkillable Cat in this very thread.
Durant(Thief II, 2001) by Donald F. MazurI love "what if" fan missions which connect to the main storyline. I also love "fanon" missions - those which flesh out people and places which the canon only mentions in passing.
Durant does both, altering the original story from when Viktoria gets Brother Cavador to "spill his guts" (not literally, of course). As before, Garrett suggests that Lord Gervaisius might be able to provide a precursor mask for their investigations. Now, though, while Viktoria's agents know that Gervaisius will be holding an exhibition of precursor artefacts, they know neither where nor when. Garrett therefore has to embark on an intermediate mission to get this info, bumping into a few old acquaintances along the way.
The mission is named after a certain celebrated artist of the same name, who gets a couple of <a href="http://thief.wikia.com/wiki/Casing_the_Joint:_In-game_text#M12B22" target="_blank">passing</a> <a href="http://thief.wikia.com/wiki/Casing_the_Joint:_In-game_text#M12B06" target="_blank">mentions</a> in the original missions, and one of whose paintings several people seem keen to acquire.
As the prologue suggests, a good place to start investigating is Gervaisius' art dealer - our old friends Grimworth and de Perrin, who operate in East New Market district. And so begins a mission which is twistier and turnier than a twisty turny thing, involving pagans, Mechanists, thieves (besides our protagonist, that is), the dearly departed, and a lord with an eye for peasant girls (and perhaps an ear for industrial metal), but not necessarily in that order. Oh, and a "street person" named Rosie. And Lord Bafford facing disappointment
again.
I've played through this mission many times, and continue to do so on occasion. It's a mid-sized city mission, divided roughly equally between the streets of East New Market and the mansion of Lord Mani Rammstein. There's plenty of other destinations crammed in as well, though, giving a "Life of the Party" feel, as Garrett quietly intrudes on all kinds of people's lives (and afterlives). The mission is non-linear and has a nice vertical aspect to it, requiring Garrett to traverse both the Thieves' Highway and the extensive, and very tall, sewers beneath the district, with varied locations in between. Garrett's first task is to meet a pagan contact at a nearby safe-house, and after that it's up to him, but he might have to travel light for a bit :cheeky:. Intrigue is waiting to be uncovered as Garrett untangles the recent, and colourful, history of the Durant painting.
As explained in the readme, the objectives are broadly the same on all difficulties - all that changes is whether Garrett is permitted to knock out or kill anyone (but, I mean, he really shouldn't need to do the latter, should he?), along with some routes being easier to access on the easier difficulties. I've played this on "Don's Style" (Expert) which disallows direct knockouts completely, and which also turns the mission into more of a keyhunt - some locks which can be picked on easier difficulties now can't be, which means it's better to go to some places before others (not gonna spoil anything though!) I really enjoy the story and the characters involved, each one behaving as you'd expect them to, which in the City means that they're generally a dislikable bunch :). Although the level's appearance is a tad blocky and basic by today's standards, the gameplay more than makes up for it. For example, the mansion has several approaches and points of entry, and nooks and crannies aplenty meaning a great night's thieving. The Mechanist facility has some clever technical gadgets worthy of their Order, such as a Soulforge-esque machine and a custom arrow type, which, given this mission's year of release, are impressive.
There are a few minor problems with the mission, which have always been present as far as I can recall - guards ending up standing on tables, that kind of thing. A notable one is that the conversation which starts off the mission seems to restart on every game load, regardless of the locations of the concerned parties. This mission also doesn't like Gecko's HDmod, at least on my machine, as enabling HDmod causes the mission to crash on load, but other enhancement packs work fine.
Should you play it? Of course you should, it's a classic, and it's got Loanstar doing a voice :cool:. I can't believe it's been nearly sixteen years since this mission was released.
Oh, and does Garrett get the info he's after? Total spoiler:
Indeed he does! Thief 2 has to carry on afterwards, y'know...Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/Sb15OY7.jpgThe streets of East New Market - and yet another upstanding (just) representative of the City's finest who's taken to the bottle :tsktsk:.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/pLQYnep.jpgHeed Garrett's warning in this room, and for goodness' sake tread carefully. Two persons did not. They are now very dead.Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/ESIC6IM.jpgChez Mechanists. That pesky watcher is fixed in place. "Can't go this way!"Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/h76eDJa.jpgHo ho h...oh dear, here comes Garrett Claus to relieve you of your trinkets :devil:.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/1l5Dmqj.jpgThe quarters of one Capt. E. F. Regalio - I say, that name swipes an amulet...Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/2p1yQ9w.jpgGrimworth and de Perrin's showroom awaits. What're you gonna do, ask for Roy the guard's permission?
Have a care if you do - de Perrin is what one might call the jealous type...Added - nickie
Nightwalker on 23/9/2017 at 18:22
Very nice review! I love to see these older missions getting attention as they are so often overlooked. Thank you!
The Dark One on 25/9/2017 at 02:06
Time for a min-campaign, of sorts.
The odd thing about SirTaffsalot's Vengance for a Thief campaign is that part one was the last to be created, kinda like Star Wars only not.
The Angel's Tear, our intro, is a basic mansion mission. A merchant is in possession of a valuable jewel, go steal it. The jewel is protected by a security system, forcing your to track down three keys to get your hands on the jewel.
The main problem I have with this mission is that I feel like I'm suffering from hallway hypnosis. The mansion is very sameish with very little to differentiate one hallway from the next, resulting in one getting lost easy. There's a lack of map, which makes navigation even more of a pain. Also of irritation is tracking down the lord's wife, who has one of the keys you need. She walks at a snail's pace, and the large mansion size makes tracking her down a pain.
The loot goal is fair, and while it does require you to get the vast majority of the level's loot, most of it is in plain sight. As a bonus, the guards will actually notice when pieces are missing.
All and all, I don't feel as if I can recommend this. It reminds me of Lord Dufford's or Deceptive Shadows, in that the good bits are buried under tedium. For what it's worth, the other two missions in this series are much better.
Added - nickie