I'll follow Melan and post comments I received on the mission, thanks to Yandros. Regarding players who complained about the mission being confusing, it was the main idea of the mission, hell it's even in the title, though I admit I went a bit overboard this time and I apologise if you didn't injoy it because of that ;)
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How to say... when the king of atmosphere is now trying to bring a good gameplay and telling a story at the same time? Well, it deserves a (27/30)
WOW,i cant believe i made it out alive.
Beautiful architecture, well fleshed out lore and readables. I felt the mission was much moodier and eerie before the zombies and supernatural monsters showed up (as well as more fun) but that's a personal preference and this was an amazingly well realised Old Quarter-style mission. I have some suspicions about the 'anonymous' author(s?) on account of how sublime the street layout and architecture was, but previous contests have taught me not to assume an author's identity
Best looking FM in the contest so far. great map design
Superb map, thoroughly surpasses the original Haunted Cathedral OM.
"This mission bounced off me pretty hard, which is a shame - the quality is evident, but... I don't know. Something didn't stick. I aim to play this mission again for a second opinion.
In the event I don't, well... props have to be given to the level of detail involved here - it is simply staggering. Its also lovely to see somebody utilise the proverbial mission goldmine that is the Sealed Quarter.
Medwick Tower and the church beyond it were easily the most visually striking parts of the whole level - which made it heartwrenching that you couldn't go in.
That burning zombie was absolutely terrifying."
This was another Masterpiece i loved in this contest, the scenarios are very well design, all paths and areas are connected by multiple paths in a interesting way, the style with the old/dirty textures, the dark atmosphere, the canals/sewers the architecture design is captivating .I loved the fact that there are frobable mushrooms that helped me to identify areas not yet explored. the gameplay was very enjoyable, exploring all the hidden areas from up and down. there was enough ammunition to deal with the undeads. The puzzle for the family tombs was not very clear has it led me to multiple interpretations, but other than that this is a high quality production.
Very well done Sealed Quarter. Excellent atmosphere, that can rarely be found in other missions.
Great Mission, I was lost so many time.
A challenging undead mission that is big and easy to get lost in. Definitely memorable (especially when you first enter the sealed quarter). No reason, though, given for finding the various items.
Traversing the sealed section of Old Quarter infested with hordes of undead was one theme of the original Thief I was hoping to revisit. This mission certainly delivered in that regard. Especially for using stock-derived resources, this mission looked stellar and very fitting for such a desolate place. The level design was masterfully constructed to strike a balance between being fun to explore, being disorienting, and having such a mass of locations to visit. Nearly everything here was done well. It was as if Thief's Haunted Cathedral was multiple times its size and with far more branching paths to take. Playing on expert, I certainly had to search to achieve the loot requirement. The flaming super-zombie was a nice touch, and fittingly terrifying to deal with.
I have a feeling I know who's behind this, since I was heavily reminded of navigating Rocksbourg the whole time I played it. I think it's a little more maze-like than it needs to be, given the volume of zombies. Still, the atmosphere is brilliant, and the story is reasonably well told. I was having lots of fun when I wasn't completely lost.
With a massive and labyrinthine layout inhabited with some scary new enemies, this decaying city is the best "Sealed Section"-type mission I've ever played.
Dirty, smelly, dilapidated,...I loved it! Perhaps the best Abandoned Quarter map ever done.
Fantastic atmosphere, Haunted cathedral on steroids. Bit too mazelike is only criticism.
This one had a chance to be truly fantastic and didn't quite make it there.
"Atmosphere – 10
Everything worked perfectly to create an atmosphere of threat and mystery (and dust). Visual effects, including particles and light sources were abundant and top-notch. The altered stock sounds were given a new life and worked well. I also very much liked the new meshes made from stock materials. But what impressed me the most was the astonishing design of the city. The alleys, the interiors, the roofs, the towers were all just spectacular. Can’t see anything that could’ve been done better in that department. Hats off.
Gameplay – 9
It was a lot of fun to scour all the abandoned, rusty locations in the district. I found the mission very rewarding as virtually every route led to a new discovery. Most locations were accessible from many points, including horizontal and vertical dimensions. Provided map was finely-crafted and though it wasn’t enough to pinpoint your exact location, at least it gave some idea of where you are. Now, the mission did not forgo a few overpowered zombie-runners. I also found the additional enemies popping out on the way back unnecessary and unjustified. However, personally I’m willing to let it pass this time given how slight an impact it had on overall feel.
Story – 8
The readables were plentiful and contributed wonderfully to the general feel of the mission. I was able to immerse in the world more and more because of them. I felt some of the described themes could have been developed more thoroughly than just mentioned once as they had great potential. All in all (though some lines were a bit too similar to passages from the original game), the narrative worked well with the rest.
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"Only deducted points for those bullshit sanic fire zombies.
Otherwise overall fantastic mission god damn."
"Jesus christ that was terrifying at times.
Atmosphere was SOLID, fantastic detail, sound-design, and most importantly, enemy-design; someone has definitely been taking notes from old Half-Life horror mods. The main objective treasure room was horrifying. Wouldn't want to get entombed in there...
Gameplay was...disorienting. I think this added to the experience, but was at least slightly frustrating at times. The enemy design is the saving-grace here.
Story was very well executed. The atmosphere really just amplified it here.
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Other random ratings:
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7.5 / 10"
Just fantastic in every way. You nailed this and in my opinion its a classic mission period.
Review: (
https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthre...03#post2413003)
One of the best undead misisons I have played. Difficult labaryntine map with vertical content. Hard to keep bearings. The map was not very helpful, only a general guide for rough direction. Abandoned ghosting and started BJing and killing. All that was its charm, on the one hand, and some frustration on the other. Very satisfying to complete on Expert with all 6 of the ancient items.
"The art of improving and expanding an original game mission. Here is how I would describe this impressive and colourful mission (even if it happens in a very dark environment paradoxically !). The Haunted Cathedral universe has been completely revisited by the author, a dirty textures lover (who can (s)he be, really... ?), and players like me who didn't like very much this level, learnt to like its universe thanks to this FM.
The story is much interesting : this story of dangerous artifact to find in the dreadful Sealed section of the Olde Quarter was very appealing at the start, and from the very beginning of the level, I didn't feel comfortable at all, always dreading to find frightening things on my way or jumpscares of all kinds. That's a very good point this mission has, one of the rare ones in this contest who kept me worry during a large part of the game. I knew deep inside I was going to be afraid at a moment and wouldn't like wandering through these relinquished streets where life suddenly stopped. I was also waiting for the first true zombie I'd encounter, and indeed, seing zombies with human look but empty eyes was much surprising.
The different textures of zombies, walls, other undead, etc. were mines of originality and polished work. The author did a great effort to vary its environment with revisited original textures, covered with dirt and/or moss, broken or damaged, mixed with one another. It's incredible to see how original material can be used to give the impression the mission uses custom textures from elsewhere.
In the same topic, I was also impressed with the array of different undead the author managed to use, again only using, merging and changing custom material : the burning zombie is terrific, the mumbling shadow is harrowing, the falsely drowned zombie was... wooah!, the zombies are never the same and look much like humans barely changed by their zombie condition. Actually, save the first part of the quarter, I had the impression to be in quarter of the City where life was still going on, just in another form. And I'm sure the author had such an intention : depicting a quarter left for dead but where the inhabitants were still living their lives, which brutally changed. It really makes Garrett and all other humans in the quarter look like intruders in a quarter they don't belong to. That's what I enjoyed with this mission, the environment and background gave a deep feeling, which helped with immersion.
Same thing for the sound, the author, by merging or slowing down exisiting sounds managed to give a unique sound ambience, oppressive and cryptic at the same time. I deeply enjoyed this perpetual bad feeling I had during the game, and the sound was much for it.
Architecture was well polished, we know the author is a professional on that matter, for the streets, sewers, roofs, inside rooms were very well designed. The verticality of the mission was much pleasant, I enjoyed starting very high on the section and progressively going deeper and deeper, until the final tomb where the artifact is hidden. This quest was very appealing, and not too easy, not too hard. I also had chills when I approached the skeleton, magnificently laid-out, and once again when I understood the door was closing behind me. The haunts just after, even if I'm used to, weren't neither here to calm me down. The sound atmosphere also helped not being relax in this part of the level. Great job there.
The different factions and books here and there gave an interesting background and expanded lore like in other missions I played in this contest. It's also good to see authors sharing common lore elements in their different missions, like if they were different pieces of a same puzzle, or to be more Thief-related, different parts of a Thief campaign. I also recognized private TTLG jokes and touches of humour here and there (loved the names of people on the catacombs graves), but with a good mixture not to sound out of place.
There was a lot of zombies once you approached the accursed church plaza, perhaps a bit too much for the streets to be crossed without being annoyed by them, in the case you don't want to explode them. I know I played in expert, but maybe a bit less in the streets with the broken bridge (well done BTW!) would have made it greater. Still, I enjoyed this post-apo' ambience this mission gave, far more than the Haunted Cathedral gives. I had the impression to play a survival game like Fallout, Dead Space or The Last of Us for example, with an impression not to be able to be safe in this place and even fearing for your human foes' lives.
The quarter really looked like a big prison in a nightmare ambience, and that's a feeling the original mission it's based on barely managed to give me in the past. This mission proves that an FM can be better than an original one it's based on, by adding more architectural details, varying more the enemies, expanding the historical background of the place, or gauging the elements of fear throughout the level. The author did it with care and passion, and that's why I can at last say : I enjoyed the Haunted Cathedral... version 2018 !"