Urumo on 10/5/2020 at 18:03

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Trefoilknot: first of all let me thank you for this very very nice mission. I love puzzles, I love the nice and accurate design, the atmosphere and the gameplay. Right at the start of the mission I thought "yes, this one is a high quality mission".

But for now I have 2 questions:

1) I am in the Professor's office and there are 4 cubes (or wall panels) that can be rotated with either one of the 2 buttons below each cube. Next to them is a wall safe. How am I to open this safe?

2) where do I use the morse code as hinted in the letter to Kevel? (Or where is that "gate to the penthouse" mentioned in some posts above?)

Thank you in advance for any response,
urumo

Psych0sis on 10/5/2020 at 18:21

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And finished! This is a tough one to give an opinion on. But I'll try to convey my thoughts as best I can :D.

If one were to go into this mission expecting a more "traditional thief" gameplay-style, then this probably won't be to their liking. Instead, it forges onto its own style, leaning primarily upon puzzle solving to do the heavy lifting for the experience. And for that aspect alone, it succeeds in spades. No puzzle is left too cryptic, nor is any information kept away from the player, a usual misgiving in this genre of fan missions. They are all rewarding and overall very damn enjoyable to work out!

However, I can not go without saying that this mission does have some letdowns. Due to the great scale of the Hotel, a lot of the areas feel way too big and empty, and ultimately bereft of life. This also makes the traversal between rooms and floors drag on and feel a bit too dull. This problem is exacerbated due to how unevenly the guard spawns and patrols are spaced out, and even moreso again when they are taken care of. I feel that, besides from the puzzles, the gameplay aspect might not be worth bringing people back for multiple playthroughs, as this might be a one-and-done after you solve everything. With regards to the aesthetics, some rooms, most notably the suites, feel empty and barren at times and are even "too boxy" to some degree, whereas other rooms have great impressions and sucked me back in. Inconsistent quality for sure. Then the ambients... I don't know, I feel they were just way, way too fantasy for my liking. Perhaps others will like them, but they felt a bit too Harry Potter-ish, not so much in the style of the "tough and eerie" thief ambiance I've come to know and love. Then when they are clashed with the stock ambient, it just really felt awkward.

Despite all of my (possibly unnecessary) nagging, for the experience of the puzzle gameplay aspects alone I would thoroughly recommend this mission to anyone looking to just put their brain to work for a few hours. The puzzles and the enjoyment from working them out kept me engaged throughout the experience, and I feel it will keep a lot of others too.

Urumo on 10/5/2020 at 18:37

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Thank you!

Now another question: how do I enter the gated room in the barred off west wing (the area where one can hear haunt whisperings) ? Is there a key to those portcullis?

urumo

trefoilknot on 10/5/2020 at 19:09

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@Psych0sis
Very fair critique, I will agree. But I'm pleased to hear how much you enjoyed the puzzles! Indeed, anyone who dislikes puzzle missions should probably steer clear of this one.

@Urumo, the real puzzle is how on Earth did you get into Hilbert's office before solving the Penthouse gate puzzle?!?!

Urumo on 10/5/2020 at 19:46

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trefoilknot:
sorry, I didn't realise that I already had solved that Kevel-puzzle (it was so obvious, I almost did it automatically. Yet others discussed this problem back and forth, so I thought I had missed a certain gate).

But now I still don't understand, how to enter the gated area in the west wing. In the meantime I have collected the talismans (those painting-puzzles were cool!)

greetings!