BobPage on 13/6/2004 at 07:57
Two things that freaked me out, I thought the pounding on the door was part of the background noises/music, then I realised it wasn't, and seeing that thing run across my field of view in the inner cradle. I too was very scared to proceed further after that. I didn't know what I was going to be fighting so I then mustered up enough courage and started pounding on the desk at the front of the hall of records with my black jack till one of the puppets heard me and ran into the room and I dropped him with fire arrows, and then I had a grand ol time kicking him around on the floor for being so damned ugly.
Brodieman on 13/6/2004 at 08:41
Quote Posted by null
I would absolutely love to.
If you do you may want to include a complimentary pair of underwear for those emergency gaming changes.
I think i might be too scared to play a game like SS3 if you were designing all the levels Null. :sweat:
Hell you could probably make Mario Party scary! :eek:
Dobsky on 13/6/2004 at 12:24
Quote Posted by Solabusca
Like a fool, I played through the level after midnight, with no lights in the house on.
I played the level at about 5 in the afternoon, On a sunny day and it still scared the ever loving shit out of me.
Normaly horror stuff doesnt bother me, I've stayed up all night alone in the dark playing watching the worst horror movies and not been scared at all. But this level :wot: I never want to play it again, not because its bad. Just because it scared me like nothing else ever has.
Damn you null, That level still haunts my dreams.
The Rogue Wolf on 13/6/2004 at 16:07
It's still doing it to me. :weird:
I'm playing through the Cradle again, this time on TRUE Expert, with the following modifications:
- Thiefbot (to keep the difficulty from resetting)
- Removed lockpicking ring
- Smaller HUD
Do you have any idea the tension involved when you're crouched at the door of one of the cells in White Hall, frantically moving the lockpicks around trying to guess at the next position to pop a tumbler, not knowing how many you've got left to open, and knowing that one of the 'patients' is already on its way back towards you?
One of them almost caught me, too... it must have noticed I left a cell door open, because when it got to the end of its patrol route- where it usually stands and twitches for a while- it immediately turned back around. I had JUST started coming out of my hiding spot opposite that cell door... I might have cracked a rib slamming myself back against that wall.
It's one thing for a level to scare me. It's another for it to scare me again, the second time through. :sweat:
Ethne on 13/6/2004 at 19:22
playing this through a second time and it's even more frightening after reading most of null's commentary. I have drafted the hubster into sitting behind me and giving me moral support and backbone to do so. Damn you! :ebil:
Spiderkat on 13/6/2004 at 20:37
Thank you Null for this mission! You are a genius.
I am enjoying this entire game very much, despite the difficulty bug. But the Cradle is a cut above all the other levels.
My question is this: the puppets are so very well done, they are spooky, wierd but believable in their setting and perfect for this level. So why oh why are the rest of the AI in the game so crappy looking? I'm sneaking through a back alley in Stonemarket, or a dark hallway in a mansion, turn the corner and Hello! Did this guy come to visit from Mario world? Their heads look like Mr. Potato Head. And those Stepford wives, stalking around in that red dress with that simpering devoid expression on their faces! I just saw one walk past a huge battle between hammers and pagans, and she didnt even glance at them! These silly looking AI are a serious bummer to me. They ruin the immersiveness of the game, more so than anything else. Makes me wish that you had done the entire game :-)
Leprechaun on 13/6/2004 at 23:27
First of all, I must concur - the pure depth of this level is absolutely amazing. I don't know what all the fuss was about, so far this game is amazing as well. I mean, it's quickly climbing the ladder and becoming my favorite of the series. I don't think the tweaks they made hurt anything, and the obvious improvements in graphics, sound, etc have only helped. I'm LOVING this.
I too just had to stop playing this mission a few times, and when I finished and headed down stairs to eat, I noticed my legs were... weak. Not like "I sat down for too long" weak, but "I was scared and intensely involved in every aspect of that game and totally freaked out" weak. It was an experience indeed. The pure atmosphere of the whole thing made this level above and beyond... not to mention, as I said before, teh depth. There was so much info and so much to explore and the girl was so real.
Anyway - the DAMMIT in this thread was for one thing... I spent a good 3 hours on this mission, did everything but couldn't find the info on the hag. I searched EVERY INCH of the mission, past and present... and could find it no where. I was going to check the nursery again in the past, but decided not to only because I remembered there didn't seem to be anything in there but the diary. Guess I was wrong. I literally was completely at a lost, almost thinking you weren't supposed to find anything... and so finally I checked here and tadaa! SPOILER SAYS: in the nursery. Crap. I feel like such a terd. lol
null on 13/6/2004 at 23:53
Don't feel like a 'terd'.
That is one of the well-documented problems with the level that I didn't have a chance to revisit before content lock.
A very large percentage of players are too freaked by the presence of the Staff member in the room to go muddling about with the podium back there.
- Ø
dr. cello on 13/6/2004 at 23:56
It was funny. I saw the podium at the end and I said to myself, 'there is something important for me to read on that podium.' But I didn't feel like playing with the staff member. I assumed that the little girl would provide the information on the hag I would need, after I finished shopping for her.
belfong on 14/6/2004 at 10:48
Amazing level, null.. and thanks for all the commentary in this thread. I cannot believe how in the world do I get scared over an empty level! Just goes to say that atmosphere in a game is very important. Great work!!!
:thumb:
