DarkMax on 3/12/2018 at 16:30
I agree with what Nicked said regarding the gameplay, but it's a good little mission with a nice concept. Worth a playthrough!
Aemanyl on 3/12/2018 at 23:30
Okay, taffers, it's time for a short summary of the mission. Warning, spoilers ahead, don't look if you haven't finished the mission yet.
Madness of Wolfgang Handspiegel is a small-sized level inspired primarily by Constantine's mansion.
Atmosphere
+ Very clever use of ambient sounds and loops. Significant changes in the scenery (cemetery, chapel etc.) are indicated by new background sounds - it makes exploration more enjoyable.
+ Level design is top-notch. There are no empty, boring rooms with no objects to interact with. Even though the mission is small, there are plenty of interesting places to go (such as the cemetery and the attic accessible via a rope arrow - nice surprise!).
+ Excellent use of coloured lighting (or whatever it's properly called). The glowing hues of green, red and blue create a very specific atmosphere, especially in the chapel.
+ Creepy, surrealist atmosphere in the entire level. A brilliant tribute to "The Sword".
Gameplay
+ Loot was not very difficult to find, yet it provided an enjoyable challenge.
+ No bugs.
+ The few monsters you placed in the mansion necessitated slow walking and the use of water/moss arrows. I liked that.
- Too much time in this mission is spent on looking for hidden switches/items. The clues in the readables were rather unclear. For example, I did not understand the secret instructions given in a book in the hallway. It took me quite a while before I discovered the hidden lock in the bedroom (despite reading the woman's journal). I also couldn't find the heirloom untill I decided to use a rope arrow in the library. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against hidden switches and keyhunt (I eventually found everything), but here you overdid this element of gameplay. It's frustrating.
- There could be more enemies.
- A few more rooms could be a good idea.
Storyline
+ Interesting, simple briefing that encourages the player to play the mission.
+ An element of surprise as soon as you crawl out of the shaft: "damn, looks like Constantine got here before me!". Another surprise in the underground room.
+ The readables were not unnecessarily long and without any serious grammar mistakes.
- However, the clues given in them were not clear.
- You could add another objective or a simple task related to the cemetery and the ghost walking there.
Verdict
The strong aspect of this small, yet generally enjoyable mission is level design and general atmosphere. It's been a sheer pleasure visiting a spooky manor infested with Maw beasts. Had it not been for the frustrating hunt for hidden objects that distracted me from the main objectives, I would have rated gameplay higher. It's something you need to work on if you plan to make more missions. My piece of advice: the switches in the kitchen and in the chapel are not that difficult to find and you should use them as an example of how to conceal a hidden object. But in general, replace such frustrating elements with more challenging patrols, greater quantity of enemies, traps etc. Those are much better alternatives for spending hours on finding a small button hidden in the middle of nowhere. Last but not least, the storyline in your mission was definitely interesting, it encouraged exploration. I take into consideration the fact that it was supposed to be a small-sized level, but please consider expanding the mansion, as I think your mission has a big potential. Thank you for your time and effort. Congratulations for making a great mission in such a short period!
PS: I don't give numerical ratings, as I haven't played all the contest missions yet.
Haplo on 3/12/2018 at 23:31
For a mission that was built in only a week, it was great!
mtk on 4/12/2018 at 10:06
Thank you all for the great feedback, especially Aemanyl, its very helpful!
and yes, if plans allow, its not over for Wolfgang yet :>
Bosh on 5/12/2018 at 08:49
Built in a week?! Blimey! Well done on this FM mtk - you clearly have an arty knack for making the rooms look/sound good. I enjoyed playing your FM - and Aemanyl's review sums it all up very nicely. I look forward to the further adventures of Wolfgang :)
Azaran on 6/12/2018 at 19:07
Wonderful little mission! I finished, but 400 loot short.
I found all the visible loot, as well as the hidden compartment on top in the hallway, the coinpurses in the hallway, the secret compartment in the kitchen, the crown and nugget in the garden, the loot in the Hammer chapel, the candlestick and coin in the lower levels, the diamond and canopic jar in the upside down room, the stuff in the living room, and the jewelry box and wine bottles in the bedroom.
What am I missing?
mtk on 6/12/2018 at 19:33
Quote Posted by Azaran
Wonderful little mission! I finished, but 400 loot short.
I found
all the visible loot, as well as the hidden compartment on top in the hallway, the coinpurses in the hallway, the secret compartment in the kitchen, the crown and nugget in the garden, the loot in the Hammer chapel, the candlestick and coin in the lower levels, the diamond and canopic jar in the upside down room, the stuff in the living room, and the jewelry box and wine bottles in the bedroom.
What am I missing?
hmmm, let me think.
kitchen fireplace? roof in the garden? ring on the ground in front of chapel doors behind the desk? underground study golden candle on the bookshelf? also a ring on the desk down there?Can't think of anything else xd
pukey brunster on 6/12/2018 at 19:51
Nice work packing a lot of gameplay into a small space! Had to check the forums for how to find the secret book to frob in the circular room, as it's a bit too hidden I would say, but overall fun, small mission to play.
Tannar on 6/12/2018 at 20:02
What she said! Had a lot of fun with the mission. It had a nice T1 feel, and I liked all the little touches. *Shoo! : D* LOL