BrokenArts on 8/1/2023 at 22:51
Little bit of a bug, not really, but, just to be aware. The vents can be whacked open with a sword.
falcondx on 13/1/2023 at 02:57
Thank you Vortex85 for a great fan mission! I came back to play Thief missions in long gaps and just when I started to think that Fan Mission are slowing down and then you come with this awesome mission. Had real fun playing and exploring this huge castle and all the floors. I like that view of the sprawling castle as you are walking toward it. I thought it would be a straight forward path to get the sword and like how it changes with the stone objectives which was not expecting at all. I usual avoid horror / undead missions and thinking it would be a regular castle level, so that Dark Stone area definitely caught me by big surprise :) and was scary fun and brought memories of playing the Shalebridge Cradle Thief level. Great job overall!!
RFarrerson on 14/1/2023 at 19:28
Excellent mission, really!
Since you hinted at maybe releasing a version 1.2 someday, here's my suggestions for environmental hints, better flow of gameplay (or in other terms, what kind of in-game hints I'd been looking for before consulting this forum.
Access to the earth stone: I was able to spot the protruding elements just fine, but failed to grasp what to do. After shooting broadhead and elemental arrows at it, I eventually realised the need for a rope arrow. Maybe place a toppled chair or a broken chest next to the earth push button? People might get the idea that somebody might have used this to be able to grasp objects up high
Access to the air vents: I really didn't quite get it and spent a lot of time looking for a key. Looking for some sort of stick-type implement never really occured to me. How about placing a broken vent stick next to the first vent inlet? Maybe with a readable next to it, something along the lines of "You people clearly didn't take good care of the tool I left you. You don't pay me enough to risk my very last one. Mark, see that this stick is repaired posthaste. Until then, I'll be at the bar.
Access to the air stone: The electrical lines and texture difference for the hidden door could be more pronounced
Esse on 15/1/2023 at 14:31
Beautiful mission, very atmospheric. I've enjoyed my time with it so far and hope for more releases from the author!
Vortex85 on 15/1/2023 at 23:03
Thanks VoiceActor, falcondx, RFarrerson, and Esse for the feedback! Glad you all enjoyed it. Also, yes a version 1.2 will be released eventually.
RFarrerson, The earth stone does not require a rope arrow and can be clicked on by jumping or standing on nearby pedestal. But thanks for the suggestions... I will consider extra hints or ways to make some of these a little less difficult to find...
baeuchlein on 16/1/2023 at 01:35
I think RFarrerson was not referring to the earth stone itself, but rather to the earth talisman hanging on a wall, which gives access to the stone area.
I have played v1.1 now as well. Unfortunately, the problem with the air stone still persists. I have tried two operating systems on two machines, and also turned Hardware acceleration for sound on and off. I also tried stereo headphones to improve audio. But whatever I do, the wind sounds still give no usable and reliable indicator to whether I can proceed into a particular direction or not. Neither standing in a place and just turning Garrett around to identify the direction of the sound source nor listening while creeping along and stopping and going backwards if silence occurred yielded anything useful. Somehow, this does not work, or at least not for everyone. So I used the Lord's crates again to get to my destination.
Vortex85 on 16/1/2023 at 02:03
Quote Posted by baeuchlein
I think RFarrerson was not referring to the
earth stone itself, but rather to the
earth talisman hanging on a wall, which gives access to the stone area.I have played v1.1 now as well. Unfortunately, the problem with the air
stone still persists. I have tried two operating systems on two machines, and also turned Hardware acceleration for sound on and off. I also tried stereo headphones to improve audio. But whatever I do, the wind sounds still give no usable and reliable indicator to whether I can proceed into a particular direction or not. Neither standing in a place and just turning Garrett around to identify the direction of the sound source nor listening while creeping along and stopping and going backwards if silence occurred yielded anything useful. Somehow, this does not work, or at least not for everyone. So I used the Lord's crates again to get to my destination.
Yes, I knew what he meant. It does not require a rope arrow. You can jump and click on
the earth talisman on the wall or stand on pedestal
to open the path to the portal. No rope arrow needed.
As for the air stone,
The wind sound is not supposed to tell you which direction to go. You are supposed to just hear the wind in the place you are standing currently or not and that means you are on a walkable path, if you walk forward and the wind sound starts to disappear, that means you are going off track. You have to move blindly and listen to know if you are still in the wind or not. The way to stay on path is to NEVER let the wind sound die completely. The wind sound only exists on path, so if you walk to the edge of the path, the wind disappears, and you will likely fall. If you are walking successfully with no wind sound, you are likely on the very edge of the walkable path and need to find the center where the wind exists so you can have a reference to go forward on.
The fact that you said "the wind sounds give no usable indicator whether I can proceed in a particular direction or not" tipped me off. It doesn't work that way. There is nothing to say a certian direction is the correct way until you actually pick a direction and move. If its the wrong way the wind disappears. If its the right way it continues.
If you stand still and spin Garrett around that will not work, as there is no sound source to follow. You have to move not knowing the right way and use the sound as feedback. baeuchlein on 16/1/2023 at 04:59
I tried both approaches, and none worked. Although the correct one worked a bit better, it was not enough. I could sometimes walk ahead, the wind sound faded out, I walked backwards (in order to get back exactly into the direction where I came from), and yet the wind sound did not reappear until I dropped down from the path while going backwards. In my best approach, I made it past the first two turns of the path, but not further. And usually, the first turn could hardly be mastered.
What I heard differed much when sound hardware was changed or when I switched between hardware sound support and software mode, so I guess that there might be some sound drivers which are partially responsible for the problem.
Anyway... just don't take these crates away, and we'll be able to deal with the problem somehow.;) Maybe some obscure hint in a readable in-game would also help, e.g., a scroll dealing with the Lord's thoughts about what he could do if his hearing would fail due to old age.
maga on 16/1/2023 at 11:48
Beautiful fm, but I'm stuck in the basement with the undead. I cannot find a way out
Marbrien on 16/1/2023 at 12:12
If this is the basement entered via a mirror, then the mirror you entered via is still there and in the same place, only unlit. And it is the exit.
