ercles on 18/7/2006 at 02:29
Quote Posted by tiger@sound.net
Well, Dussander,
have you bet the Cradle by Ghosting it, perfectly, at the expert level, yet?
:cheeky:
What odds are you offering?
Jarkko Ranta on 18/7/2006 at 18:42
Quote Posted by Pint0 Xtreme
OMFG!! I can't beat this level!! Too freakin' creeped out!!!
When that girl started talking, I think I almost crapped myself. And when I saw 'em asylum inmates walking about, I knew it was time to turn the game off and play it another day.
:sweat:
Started to play the mission at 4 p.m. and finished playing it about 8 p.m. (got to finish before the dusk came) on expert ([SPOILER]had to cheat the location of the information about the hag: there was no way I'd search blindly both Outer and Inner areas in the later past - I expected the girl would do it for me![/SPOILER]). Althou didn't complete the mission all by myself I'm quite proud my ol' heart survived the trip... [SPOILER]Better go prepared: 20 flashbombs, 15 firearrows and 5 holy waters. Fun to notice that fire does little harm to asylum zombies... [/SPOILER]
Also: remember this one ((
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Finland)) from the stores?
Well, now I'm proud to live in this backwater country...
Palantir on 19/7/2006 at 02:27
Quote:
I'm curious what would be the justification for returning to the Cradle
The Hammerite has discovered the nuclear bomb, they asked Garrett to find a testing place for them then put a nuclear beacon, so the Cradle was what Garrett first thought of....
Jarkko Ranta on 19/7/2006 at 11:20
Quote Posted by Palantir
The Hammerite has discovered the nuclear bomb, they asked Garrett to find a testing place for them then put a nuclear beacon, so the Cradle was what Garrett first thought of....
What!?! No Bikini in Thief? Damn...
Poison Ivy on 24/10/2006 at 01:48
Screw the necromancy warning! :) If this isn't a thread fit for necromancy, then I don't know what is.
After my second time through the Cradle, I actually managed to think of some critique points. :)
There were small errors, probably just something not thought on... In the past you would see some things that had only come to be like that in the present. The most obvious example is that when you go into the past, Lauryl is already dead, so technically the vial of blood should already be on the shelf, but it isn't, since you stole it in the present. Makes no sense...
Also, the remains of a skeleton in the Hall of Records you see in the present is also there in the past, despite everything else being quite well-kept and clean.
Also, I think it would have been a plus if you could see some of the patients in the past. The way it is now, there's no sign of any patients anywhere in the building. I think it would've been great if you could see the patients, but not always in their rooms... Instead, in their favourite haunting places, since that seems to be the way the Cradle remembers them. Seeing a patient in one of the basins in the wet treatment room would have been creepy as well... Either that, or the patients could have been locked inside their cells, but inaccessible, with no means of opening the doors. That would have left you wondering how they looked in the past and what they were doing...
One of the things I really liked were tiny links between seemingly unrelated messages and pieces of information. Another one I stumbled upon: in the wet heat therapy room, Lauryl mentions how she saw a man in one of the basins, how he started screaming, obviously in pain. Later, in the past, you find an incident report of one of the patients dying after being left alone during therapy. It's pretty probable that it was the very same patient...:wot: Just creeps you out.
I think the environmental sound was among the best things in the game...You can hear the echoed cries of babies, whispers, and in the staff tower even the crackling of fire and cries full of panic. The Staff Tower had a very special mood as well - since at that moment, only Garrett (you) could know what was going to happen to that place; the staff were oblivious.
Andarthiel on 24/10/2006 at 04:32
I noticed that too. I'm guessing that it's the same level but with a few tweaks and different music too.
ercles on 24/10/2006 at 08:05
I'm not sure if you can respond to a post as long as Poison Ivy's with "I noticed that too"
Dussander on 24/10/2006 at 16:45
Quote Posted by Poison Ivy
Screw the necromancy warning! :) If this isn't a thread fit for necromancy, then I don't know what is.
After my second time through the Cradle, I actually managed to think of some critique points. :)
There were small errors, probably just something not thought on... In the past you would see some things that had only come to be like that in the present. The most obvious example is that when you go into the past, Lauryl is already dead, so technically the vial of blood should already be on the shelf, but it isn't, since you stole it in the present. Makes no sense...
I'm guessing since you've disposed of the blood by chucking it down a pipe, the Cradle no longer remembers it. Since the past is the Cradle's memory, it would make sense that it's not there anymore.
cradle_curdled on 24/10/2006 at 21:00
Quote Posted by Poison Ivy
There were small errors, probably just something not thought on... In the past you would see some things that had only come to be like that in the present.
Nice observations.
I think that, beyond the obvious technical [mission-size/lack-of-development-time] reasons, there's a justification for the time anomolies. Garret isn't using a time machine, he's travelling back
via The Cradle, and only seeing what The Cradle chooses to fill in. The patients, as individuals, were not that important to The Cradle. The staff, who presumably maintained (or "cared for") the place for years, are only remembered as vague shadows. What's important is that Garrett comes to understand the true horror of what occurred, there.
That's my interpretation; that The Cradle has a purpose in manipulating Garrett. Maybe it's crying out for help, and hopes that Garrett will "lift the curse" of the place. Or maybe it only intends to act as The Harsh Mirror, showing unlucky visitors how badly we, as a society, treat our marginalised people. As Null mentioned earlier in this thread, the patients that Garrett encounters are "institutional suffering, personified."
And remember the line, "Any man can be made monster; any woman, loathsome"? (paraphrase)
I'd say that definitely refers to the
staff, not the patients.
Of course, Garrett was in The Cradle for his own reasons, but it would be interesting to know if his visit and departure had any impact on the place.
Quote:
Also, I think it would have been a plus if you could see some of the patients in the past. The way it is now, there's no sign of any patients anywhere in the building.
I felt the same way on my first few runthroughs of the game. It was disappointing not to see them. But now, I see the value in not showing them -- it really does feed your imagination. That is, if you're the type of player who likes to try and piece together a mystery. As you said, the notes and Patient Histories are great little pieces of backstory.
Quote:
I think the environmental sound was among the best things in the game...You can hear the echoed cries of babies, whispers, and in the staff tower even the crackling of fire and cries full of panic.
Absolutely. Those baby-crying noises; hideous. And the fire... :eek:
I'm one of those people that was a lot more nervous in The Outer Cradle; creeping around, terrified of an encounter. It was a relief to finally meet one of the patients.
One of the quirky little things that got to me was wading in the ankle-deep water in the darkened Storm Cellar...that was unnerving. And, if you make your first order of business to go to the attic, incite the banging noises, but then choose
not to see Lauryl, that banging noise repeats forever, as you go about collecting loot and whatnot. After a while, the banging
really gets to you... :laff:
Oh, and I thought it was a nice touch to find the oil flask hidden behind Ms. Wrenfield's desk..!
That was a fantastic drawing you did of her, btw, Ivy.
The Weakest Link on 2/1/2007 at 23:40
Yes, "Robbing the Cradle" is the greatest mission!
I think, the hardest objective is getting Lauryl's Diary.
I was most scared, in the moment, when I go to the past brrrrrr...