Hellerhouse TG FM Nov. 30/2003 - by Stringgod
Auriga2us on 31/1/2004 at 16:52
I am having trouble locating the black jack. I read the hint and found the button, I hear something moving but I haven't been able to figure out what it is?
Nightwalker on 31/1/2004 at 18:09
Auriga2us, I has that same problem. [SPOILER] There's a window in the room. The windowsill actually slides open and the blackjack is in the hole underneath. It's very easy to overlook. [/SPOILER]
poison_the_well on 30/6/2007 at 20:57
in the burric stable how do i move that barrel away from the grate in floor?
it is like stuck in corner
Nightwalker on 1/7/2007 at 02:09
Check the wall over the water trough. If you lean forward, a small door will highlight. Behind it is a safe door that unlocks with the "labor" key and behind IT is a button that moves the barrel in the corner.
poison_the_well on 1/7/2007 at 15:36
where is the labor key,i have knock everyone out i read all books,i am just stuck over all,i read earlyer posts with so called hints,but no luck
also only areas i have to open are outside little building andthat greate with barrel over it and need to find labor key to open door above burrick water troff
Nightwalker on 1/7/2007 at 16:58
It's in the room where you found Patti and killed him. Look in the kneehole of the desk. It's hanging in there.
poison_the_well on 1/7/2007 at 18:27
thank you so much finaly won that fm :)
Unna Oertdottir on 12/8/2019 at 05:56
Here's a missflag for this FM. Installation:
Create a txt file in FM/strings. Copy this, paste and save it and rename the txt file it to MISSFLAG.str
Code:
//missflag for Hellerhouse
miss_1: "skip, no_briefing, no_loadout"
miss_2: "skip"
miss_3: "skip"
miss_4: "skip"
miss_5: "skip"
miss_6: "skip"
miss_7: "skip"
miss_8: "skip"
miss_9: "skip"
miss_10: "skip"
miss_11: "skip"
miss_12: "skip"
miss_13: "skip"
miss_14: "skip"
miss_15: "skip"
miss_16: "skip"
miss_17: "skip"
miss_18: "skip"
miss_19: "skip"
miss_20: "no_briefing, no_loadout, end"
<Username> on 12/8/2019 at 12:53
Thanks for the MISSFLAG.str, Unna! The mission loaded with FMsel after I created it in in FM/strings.
Hellerhouse is a great effort for what the author calls a „newbie“ mission. Finished on Garrett (the only difficulty settings available) in 38 minutes with 1600 of 1700 total loot.
I enjoyed the comparatively high difficulty. Believable journals provided hints for the location of the lost outhouse key and for the location of the blackjack. The guards inside where placed at locations where I could just barely sneak by them if I did everything perfectly. For example, getting to the door of the annex with the indoor pool without being seen is possible if you extinguish all torches in the main hall and then creep slowly along the wall. That is some great guard and light placement!
I also felt pretty satisfied with myself when I finally got into Heller‘s room, despite there being a guard right in front of it. To do this, I had complete the following sequence: Enter the stairwell from the top floor. Shoot a rope arrow onto the ceiling of the stairwell. Shoot a moss arrow onto the stairwell in front of the door to Heller‘s room. Rope down and land inaudibly on the moss surface. Use water arrows to extinguish all the torches. In darkness, creep forward to the door and pick it. Then run quickly inside. Riveting.
There are more nice touches: Early on, I found a bookshelf with amusing titles on the proper care for Burricks. At a later point, I came across closed grate with an interesting area behind it: the laboratory where the three mages experiment with the stolen sword. I could not immediately enter this interesting area and had to find another way in. Letting the player see new areas before they can access them later is good map design I think. It makes me want to explore, anticipating an interesting area I had seen earlier.
There are several elements which detracted from the experience. I wish possible improvements were pointed out to the author more directly in 2003. He seemed willing to take constructive feedback and work on updates to the mission.
First of all, Hellerhouse features one of the most devilishly hidden buttons I have ever seen. There is a hint in a journal, but even with the hint, I could not find it. That is because it is on the inside of a cupboard, facing away from the player and only partially visible if viewed from a very specific angle. This is guaranteed to get players stuck. A better position for the button would be inside the cupboard, behind the carrots, but visible if the player looks for something hidden among the vegetables.
Secondly, the key to the secret laboratory is hidden in an unfair location: the kneehole of Heller‘s desk. The location itself isn't too bad. I habitually look under all desks in a mission. The problem is, Heller is sitting at his desk. He is likely to obscure the player‘s view of the key. But even if you happen to notice it, you can‘t just grab it: I tried many times to stand or crouch next to Heller and then to lean forward to get within frob range the key. He always noticed me when I did. The only way to get to that key is to knock him out with the blackjack or to shoot him with a broadhead arrow.
Thirdly, the exterior map design could use some touch-ups: When the mission started, I immediately noticed graphical glitches in the distance. The mission is surrounded by tall walls and the engine seems to have trouble rendering them. Lots of beginner missions have this basic layout: an open, rectangular area surrounded by walls and a mansion of in the middle (The Assasin at Lord Ganrish, The Prodigal Corpse, Hell‘s Motel Part 2, Mother Redcap‘s Last Request, even classics like Shunned). This much open space is never necessary and makes for a visually dull first minutes. It would have been better if the starting location was a smaller area, surrounded by rocks and some natural walls. That way, graphical glitches could also be prevented.
Lastly, a NewDark 1.27 comment: The player can now easily mantle onto a tree and jump to the wall surrounding Hellerhouse. I never bothered with pushing the rock to get access to the tunnel near the Burrick pen.
Samantha1 on 4/4/2021 at 21:34
Unfortunately it looks like I can´t play this FM. The two links on the first post are down and when I try the link from cheap missions the first mission of the OM (lord baffords mansion) plays:erg:
I have no idea why.