Hit Deity on 18/12/2022 at 04:02
I think I've only ever played this mission all the way through just once. I've started it a few times, then skipped it. I just can't take that wacky music track that kicks in and sets my teeth on edge. I suppose it would be a simple matter to make my own track and substitute it in, but I've never done it. Once was enough.
Shoshin on 21/12/2022 at 14:57
Quote Posted by Hit Deity
I think I've only ever played this mission all the way through just once. I've started it a few times, then skipped it. I just can't take that wacky music track that kicks in and sets my teeth on edge. I suppose it would be a simple matter to make my own track and substitute it in, but I've never done it. Once was enough.
Yeah, that music is rough. It doesn't fit with the rest of the game, and I can never tell if it's supposed to be the music playing in the gambling den, or if it's a soundtrack.
Kangra on 21/12/2022 at 19:52
I'm loving this thread so far. Playing Thief at a friend's house was what convinced me to actually get a PC for the first time, and even if I'd only used it to play that it would've been worth it. It remains one of the only (non-strategy) games that I've replayed multiple times; I'm not sure if I'm nearing the last time I'll play it but it may be close.
While I'm on the side of actually liking Thieves' Guild, it's clearly one that is frustrating on a first visit. Not only is it a big, spread-out maze between the two houses, it's a bit too easy to go the wrong direction first. They really should have done a better job guiding the player. I think they kind of wanted it to be a choice to go to one or the other first, but in that case the final objective should have been possible to complete without backtracking.
Biohazard on 22/12/2022 at 00:08
It has been many years since I logged in here to the TTLG forums and I wasn't expecting to see so much activity! This thread, though, has been a real treat to read. I feel like I am reliving the first time I played through the series all over again through your accounts. Maybe I'm inspired enough to try to boot up a copy of the game...
Shoshin on 24/12/2022 at 01:59
I'm glad there's folks enjoying this thread. I wasn't sure if I'd end up just talking to myself about this, it's nice that I'm not.
I'm halfway through The Sword at the moment, might be able to finish up tomorrow sometime.
Hit Deity on 24/12/2022 at 04:47
I'm waiting patiently for each installment. Meanwhile, I am playing some FMs that I missed over the last decade or so.
Shoshin on 26/12/2022 at 19:41
First Floor
The level starts out simply enough, with a couple guards having a conversation. A second floor balcony provides a relatively easy way into the house. I get in and go to the ground floor. My usual way of looting is to take things level by level, so I explore the entire first floor initially. The front of the house is challenging mostly because of the flooring. Lots and lots of tile. Some carpeting to muffle sound, but plenty of noisy surfaces to navigate. The rooms are more or less laid out reasonably. Sitting rooms, dining rooms, a kitchen. The first floor garden is normal enough, though as you get further back the stream that wanders through the house/grounds and the maze like areas further back (with a single glowing mushroom whose light you can extinguish) starts to support the description of Constantine as "eccentric". There are a couple of locked doors, one of which is in a stairwell that leads downward from the first floor and can't be opened at all. The other is in the garden area.
Second Floor
Things start to get a little stranger here. Several traps exist, and the face motif is established. Lots of the stonework has a face carved into it, and I have to admit the first time I opened the door to reveal a big stone face behind it startled me a bit. I'm sure I was killed by several of the traps the first time through, until I learned to look out for the faces with their mouths open, and to approach things from the side instead of head on. Bedrooms up here mostly, with loot and a key. The key is near a note explaining that an gardener didn't know not to enter into the locked area in the garden, so I can go down there quickly and get some more loot, and the incriminating evidence on Constantine. Which apparently is that he pays his bills with raw gold. Not entirely sure why that is incriminating, but it is evocative and is laying the groundwork for Constantine being a man very interested in nature, along with all the gardens & plants present in his house. While I'm back down in the garden, it's time for a visit to the very whimsical area accessed via the tongue of yet another face sculpture.
Upper section and the Sword
Here we really get into the WTF portion. Upside down and sideways rooms, dirt and plant filled corridors that lead off from built areas that you know are on the upper floors of a mansion, but are also somehow underground? Did we pass through some kind of portal to another realm? Certainly the normal rules don't apply. This area is truly a maze, but keep going upwards and you'll eventually get to the Sword (surrounded by tiled floors and bright lights, hope you kept some water arrows and moss arrows handy). Parts that stick out to me from this section: The door that opens to a corridor floating in blackness, the perspective area where all the doors but one are too small for you to go through, the area where the corridor rotates around 360 degrees. And of course the floating Sword. We've seen magic already in the world of Thief in small amounts, traps mostly, but here we get a big glimpse into the fact that things are more complicated than they seem, and that Constantine is in some way very powerful. So get the sword and get out.
Intermission
Then we get a nice little movie. This one is a bit animated, unlike the other sketched cutscenes, and is a bit longer. Victoria tells Garrett it's time for him to receive his payment. And so we meet Constantine, and the story, such as it is, really gets started. The preceeding missions are a clever mix of introducing you to the world, getting you used to the tools and the game flow, and just plain entertaining and fun to play through (with the possible exception of the Thieves' Guild). So now you are truly Garrett, master thief, and you will need your skills going forward. One flaw that Garrett has is that he is blinded by his greed, so Constantine's mention of 100,000 is large enough that Garrett doesn't ask any more questions, though he really should. Like how long has Constantine been watching him, what is the relationship between Victoria and Constantine, why is this gem worth so very much money to Constantine? Garrett also doesn't notice the brandy drops sprouting plants after they spill. On the wood maybe, restoring the dead wood to life? The brandy does have "restorative properties" so I assume it's very similar to the healing potions Garrett has had access to for the entire game so far. Anyway, given that the takes from his previous jobs are all under 3,000, 100,000 is a very large sum indeed, so Garrett accepts the job. It's time to get the Eye.
Hit Deity on 27/12/2022 at 04:41
I always took the brandy as the Trickster's blood, or maybe at least Viktoria's blood and maybe the Trickster's, mixed.. Either way, not something I or Garrett should be drinking.
downwinder on 27/12/2022 at 05:27
the rat people are better then the ape beasts in my view
kinda like the cray beasts are better then bug beasts
and healing fruit "grapes" are better then rotten plumsies
Shoshin on 7/1/2023 at 03:20
Starting with The Sword, the main story of the game finally gets started. The missions previous to the Sword were more like training missions, introducing you to the world, the game mechanics, the enemies, the power ups, etc. Not training missions exactly, but fun excursions into the world, getting you used to how to play Thief so that when the story starts in earnest, you're ready to go.
So Constantine wants the Eye, located in a ruined part of the city, walled off after some catastrophe in the semi-distant past. Garrett mentions that the maps he has access to are around 50 years old. So this cataclysm, whatever it was, happened 50-ish years ago.
Given that, it's impressive that the lights still work! But they do, and you start the mission right near a power station with a helpful note. This is another monster-style mission, and 7 missions into the game, we're still being introduced to new enemies. There are the Craymen, with their weird clicky speech, and the enemies that initially freaked me out more than any others, the Hammer Apparitions. My first playthrough, I could hear the backwards speech of one of them, but I didn't see it for a very long time. So I just had that speech floating around, letting me know something was nearby, but not seeing it. I was quite tense initially, and even though I know how to defeat them fairly easily, they still freak me out a little bit. Some sound, and your imagination. That'll scare you more than anything. The Fire Shadow I think makes his final appearance in this level, as you do need at least two fire arrows to complete it. But I don't recall seeing a fire shadow in any other mission.
This mission is another maze, with lots of buildings and streets that lead nowhere, buildings tipped over, water for swimming (I missed that in Thief Deadly Shadows), and of course zombies, burricks, spiders, and Hammer Haunts. The haunts are probably the toughest enemies in the game, though Constantine's Sword is very helpful. In this level, you can see them in the Cathedral, and they appear in the house holding the Torc. Tough enemies once they are alerted to your presence, and they have that creepy speech about flames all around you and join us, join us now!
This level is also very maze-like, and easy to get lost in. You can sneak if you want, but you can also play explode the zombies. The best spot for that is by the bridge that raises and lowers. And then afterwards, if you are really paying attention, you can find the passageway to the house that holds the Torc. My first playthrough I had a very hard time finding it, and it wasn't until after I found the note describing where that house is located that I was able to locate it.
Then of course, you put the coins on the Watchman's Grave and make your way to the cathedral. Hey look, a grotto. I wonder what that's for? The Eye proves suitably creepy, and you can see the large number of Hammer Haunts you will eventually have to deal with. The Eye tells you what to do in the Keeper's Grotto, and the traps and the texts left behind in the abandoned library fill out a bit more of the Keepers' role in the city.
I liked this level a lot when I first played it. The tension and fear were very well done, and even though it was a maze, and parts were hard to find, it never felt as frustrating to me as the Thieves' Guild level did. The level feels like a ruined city section, overrun by the dead and other unsavory creatures. And of course, you didn't think you'd actually be able to get the Eye right away did you?