Thief: The Dark Project 20th Anniversary Contest: RESULTS! Mar 1 2019 - by Yandros
Tannar on 23/3/2019 at 23:23
Order of the Dew
Bite-sized thieving - even if small, the level is nicely detailed and populated. Honestly the small scale is about the only real criticism I can direct towards this mission. Seeing the tight streets and guard patrols got me excited, which then led to me wanting more once I realized how small the level was.
Regardless, doesn't change the fact that what is here is quality.
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The world is too bright... starting right in front of an hostile AI is certainly not a good idea and we learn nothing about the story. There is nothing to understand, to know, to learn. Just an easy job and nothing more. This is too bad since the city was a good base.
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This mission was pretty short but still fun. The urban architecture was pleasant and I'd have liked to see more of the mission downtown, with more reachable roofs. Nevertheless, I'll point out a big gameplay mistake I didn't see in other missions : putting your starting point just in front of an enemy guard. Even if it's possible to avoid him quickly, it's not something you should do in a mission, for the first seconds of the game are used to check your inventory, weapons, tips, objectives, map and look around you. Having a guard just right now is not very fair IMO. But let's continue...
I quite liked the ambience of the mission, at least, I'd say I enjoyed its classical T1 feeling. Stealing a scepter is quite common but the place to rob was rather challenging, and it's probably the mission who forced me the most to use my elemental arrows (water above all). It makes it rather hard to sneak, and I think there were too many AIs sometimes in some places (the tavern off the top of my head). I was also frustrated by the chimney grate in the dining room with the 2 mages, for they went in Alert 3 just when I opened it. I wish the author could find a way to prevent that T1 game flaw to happen, it would have made the robbery of the room fairer.
As for the story, I found it quite minimalist and simple, but the mission is as short, so I guess the author didn't have much time, so I cannot blame him/her for that. It was typically T1, and it was quite the style of missions I enjoy playing.
So it's a nice little mission, which would still deserve a little more polishing, so that it becomes longer and bigger, with more depth in its story and more roofs again ! A little less people in that pub and longer guard patrols would also be nice. For sure I'll replay the mission then !
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It's got great architecture, lightning and sound. The gameplay is fine, but the whole FM is very short, to the point of being a bit unsatisfactory. The few notes there were have very nice writing, but most of them (lying all over the map) were unreadable. This is unfortunate, because they are interesting and I would like to learn more about the secret society. This is an awesome FM nonetheless, just feels too short compared to some others in the contest.
Tannar on 23/3/2019 at 23:24
Rose Garden
This is, hands down, the best FM I've ever played. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this flawless city mission, it does everything incredibly right.
Melan's depiction of Hightowne is dark and tall, with several gothic and industrial-looking buildings. Castles, courts, greenhouses, gaudy palaces, oriental/Calendra's Cistern-looking spires, pubs, overlook restaurants and plazas... this mission has it all. The winding streets and tall structures create a very oppressive atmosphere, which is reinforced by the choice of textures and especially the use of sound. The titular Rose Garden is a moody and sinister location that sees very little human activity, and is quite unsettling in its own right.
As usual with Melan, you will climb everywhere in this mission. While relatively linear and funneling until you reach your contact in Rose Garden, the mission drastically opens up later and you can go pretty much everywhere you like. The mission loops around quite a lot and it is easy to get disorientated until you get your bearings. The player starting in the middle of town also contributes to this. The main objective with the hired muscle is quite fun and interesting, and works relatively well overall (though making a hard save before ringing the bells is a good idea).
Story-wise, this is also quite flawless with a dark, pulpy noir story and excellent reading material. Every stone in Hightowne has a story to tell. Often dark, sometimes mysterious but always interesting. As you can imagine, I had an absolute blast playing this mission and I cannot not give it the best score. A masterpiece.
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Finished, almost 3 hours of gameplay, What an amazing experience i had with this one, The map is giant and so beautiful, an insane level design that made the scenarios stand out in a very dynamic way, warm atmospheres everywhere, sweet enjoyable gameplay, interesting readables, ambient sounds well chosen and well placed, beautiful constructions that creates a magical scenario. Gabor thank you so much for making this gemstone, i hope you´ll do more beauties like this one for thief 1/G or thief 2
THANK YOU !!!
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Too mazelike, too obscure. Very atmospheric, but man does this mission make me feel stupid.
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Personally, I think Disorientation edges out Rose Garden as Melan's best, it being both slightly more elegant and somewhat more clearly laid out than this one -- the forums indicate that many people are struggling to find the 'correct' way into the titular garden, and I have my own doubts about whether I did it correctly! In addition, after playing for >3 hours I felt as if the narrative payoff was somewhat underwhelming.
However, these criticisms are all in the context of Melan's own portfolio, which is one of immense quality. Rose Garden is easily his second best and a solid contender for first, and it still towers above the large majority of all FMs ever made. In many ways it exceeds Disorientation; one really only needs to play it to realize that its scope and architecture are basically unparalleled in the Thief canon.
Relative to how massive it was, I have very few complaints. It is also a technical marvel. The frame rate never dropped below 120 fps for me, even from the highest points on the map (out-of-bounds included). DromEd reveals a super efficient approach to managing brushes/objects/backface counts etc., just like Disorientation -- a sign that an author cut their teeth in the 1.18 days. It is amazing to see Melan make full use of NewDark.
Overall, the abundant mantling opportunities in a realistic and multifaceted city were glorious good fun, and the architecture is beyond reproach... but it is not quite perfect, and I can think of two others in this competition that were.
Tannar on 23/3/2019 at 23:26
Shadow Play
Great little FM, small and nice. Shadows are extremely dark and the atmosphere is thick as hell, level design is great. Didn't really notice the story much, just a basic "go there and steal stuff", but that doesn't matter much in a mission like this. Pure gameplay, pure level design, great mission.
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Apart from the high loot requirement, this mission is held back only by its complete lack of story, as it is architecturally superb.
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Shadow Play is exactly the kind of mission that could be found in the original game and that could easily replace Lord Bafford's Manor as the first mission. It is a very straightforward mansion heist but it's done so brilliantly it's a near flawless experience.
The atmosphere with this one is through the roof, with excellent shadows, perfect architecture/setdressing and great use of sound. Some areas, such as the baths in the basement or the small music room with the electric wind ambient are just out of this world. Most of the mansion interior has this ominous aura of anguish that can only be found in the original game, and Schlock pulled it off quite amazingly indeed.
Gameplay-wise, the mission is quite straightforward and offers multiple paths into and in the manor. Moving around rooms is never frustrating and the layout is far more interesting than your average mansion mission, with rooms with strange shapes and several overlooks/balconies you can climb to or drop from.
The biggest issue, which prevents this mission from reaching the perfect score, is that the story is basically non-existent. Indeed, there are no readables and the plot itself is as simple as it gets. Still, this mission shows that you do not need readables or even a story to convey strong gameplay and atmosphere. I believe some authors should take a lesson or two from Schlock who, while being a newcomer and this being their first release, showed everyone how a mansion mission should be done.
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Beautiful mission with good ghosting game play and nice ambients. The textures were outstanding. Some nice vertical elements. The loot was very difficult. I got only 2311 of 2910 in a lot of hunting. One window with pipes below that I could not enter. Unfortunately, the mission had no story to speak of, and story must be a scoring element.
Tannar on 23/3/2019 at 23:27
The Burning Bedlam
A very classic feeling FM, bringing feelings similar to The Inverted Manse. I'm a fan of factory areas and this one feels spacious and laid out in a way that felt like a real place. It had spookiness that wasn't overtly in your face, distracting from the thief tdp feeling. I really liked the posed and placed dead guys that you just don't you see in OMs. The story was fair with a good twist. The readable were fun.
I felt like it paced well and backtracking didn't slog my enjoyment. I enjoyed how each new area was unveiled. I do wish there was more reward for exploration but it is said it will be reworked sometime later. Solid and very thiefy mission.
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Bit rough around the edges, story isn't explained super well. Keyhunty, but overall not bad.
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God, you know what you're doing when it comes to making a level creepy. I was already on tenterhooks before the ghost of the matron started to crop up - that and many other little details ensured the tension wasn't gone until that familiar, comforting 'Mission Complete' screen showed up.
The environmental storytelling was top notch; not only did it help to keep me in the right direction, it also really added life to the asylum. A particular highlight of this was the observation room, reading the logs on the prisoners and then seeing their ghosts (or otherwise) in said cells, behaving as described in the book. (Not to mention the Brother who somehow managed to get out of his cell... was frozen for a minute solid when I saw him)
I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, mind. Going into the 'treatment room' for the first time, I anticipated some sort of climatic showdown with the matron's ghost (since after all she had been stalking us throughout the level), only to end up in the actual treatment room moments later.
I think it doesn't sit that well with me because the transition felt rather jarring and abrupt - the latter feeling was exacerbated when all the undead sprung out the woodwork and I had to get the drain key off one of the haunts.
Still, this is about the only mark I can hold against the mission. Excellent use of ambient sound, lighting and scripting to create a gripping atmosphere. I'm delighted to see that it'll be continued. Good luck in the contest!
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Good story idea and I really liked the antagonist, The Matron, who reminded me a bit of Nurse Ratchett : ) I enjoyed the fun and unexpected quick-moving current portions, which is also a novel idea for a game ending. I would say to break up the metal textures a bit more, giving the player a bit more variety in both appearance and speed of play. I was surprised at how large the map turned out to be, which was fun and easy to navigate. Solid and fun mission.. good work!
Tannar on 23/3/2019 at 23:28
The Hunt, Part 1: Search
Better than Lord Bafford's Manor in some aspects, not really worse in others. By OM standards, above average architecture, slightly above average interior design, on par pacing and gameplay. The worst I can say is that it is uninspiring compared to ludicrous bar set by half a dozen submissions, but it would not be out of place at all in Thief Gold. Lots of fun, but not life changing.
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I found the atmosphere in "The Hunt" quite mediocre. There was nothing specific in the mission to ruin the atmosphere, but sounds and visuals were rather ordinary all the way. Designs were much better inside the castle and rather plain in the streets.
“The Hunt” provides classic mansion gameplay with a lively castle and lots of goods to be stolen. Maneuvering safely around the guards and servants is challenging, but the player is given a lot of tools if need be. The mission is very non-linear - most locations can be approached in many different ways. The puzzles are few and not too difficult for a seasoned taffer.
The strongest aspect of the mission. The story of the family residing in the mansion was developed in numerous readables as well as a few conversations. I felt it was presented really thoroughly and convincingly. Some side stories were introduced with conversations and notes and they were neat as well. I liked the care with which those materials were obviously prepared.
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Infiltrating a mansion in order to relieve it of its valuables will perhaps never get old. It takes hints from Assassins, having a rather large city section before entering the main locale. The atmosphere is what I found the most appealing, and the story told through the environment and parchment hidden throughout was extremely well-done. I certainly hope to see the second part before too long.
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An enjoyable and approachable mission, with a very nice tribute to Lord Bafford.
Indeed, it's the impression the mission gave me : a slightly larger Bafford's mansion, with many doors everywhere. About that, I'd say it's a middling point : many doors mean many rooms to explore and the rooms were nicely designed, but in the same way, the corridors with so many doors were also a bit redundant, and I felt lost at several moments while playing. More originality in the architecture would have made a better impression again.
The gameplay is classical Thief 1 : stealing from a nobleman. But the story wasn't bad at all, even if a bit short. There was something about this family that made me want to see more, so I'm looking forward to see the sequel of this mission. The streets were also well designed and pleasant to explore.
As for the vault puzzle, I was unfortunately unable to find myself to clue to open it (actually, I didn't get the connection when I read it early in the mission) and had to use the alarm-and-retry system, which is too bad. I think the clue was too remote and unconnected from the vault itself to expect a player to guess it. It would have been better to put the clue inside the manor. I wouldn't have pointed it out if it was just an optional objective, but since it was a mandatory one (thus mandatory to win the game), I did.
Apart from that, a nice mission, with a medium duration, not too short and which lasts the first time you play it (it took me long to guess about the balcony to continue the mission), with a good atmosphere and a classical style. Definitely deserves a sequel !
Tannar on 23/3/2019 at 23:29
The Lost City of Gazing Glass
Better than The Lost City in some aspects, worse in others. I find it difficult to quantify what exactly it is that makes this mission feel the way it does. It feels very much like an OM: boxy and unintuitive in places, but with an atmosphere and style that just feels right. This is perhaps the closest any author got to achieving that 1998 feel, warts and all. Overall, about as much fun as The Lost City.
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I think the premise was cute with all the references to Looking Glass and their legacy but that's about it. The level design was pretty basic. I liked having the maps reference the different mazes in the level, but the fire maze was a wee bit obnoxious with how dark it was. I can only assume that's what you were going for, but I honestly could not see where I was going until I cranked up the gamma.
There were some touches I did enjoy though, like the meteor that had crashed into the water temple area - that looked really cool. The archaeologist's site was also nicely detailed. I was amused by the commotion from the Hammerites at the start, and how it connected with the briefing in the FM's readme.
Its a shame - its obvious you have a knack for detail but a lot of the level just felt very samey - a bunch of square corridors with the same texture, with the occasional set piece whose scale dwarfed the corridors before and after it.
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A great concept with a fairly bland and tame execution. I think that with some work, this could be a really great mission.
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This mission is longer than it may appear at first sight. The Lost City ambience inside was rather pleasant and the different key puzzles throughout the elemental zones were entertaining.
Now the mission is not that long but above all, it proves to be repetitive at different moments (even tedious underwater). The mission was a bit too silent and it was not always easy to find his/her way since many roads were too uniform. The placements of some enemies, at the end above all, were also unfair in my opinion.
Actually, this mission, the second one submitted by the author in this contest, is also, I think, his/her second one submitted anyway, so it's normal that it needs to be improved again, with more storyline (the story was a bit too simple), more variation with the textures and shape of places, more fun...
Still, I had some pleasure playing it, despite all these things to polish again. So I'll just encourage the author to keep up his efforts, for this second mission is definitely better than the first one.
Tannar on 23/3/2019 at 23:31
The Scarlet Cascabel
The second mission is where things go a bit pear-shaped: the goals were often unintuitive or unclear, and there were very noticeable technical flaws including unresponsive AI, bad to non-existent pathfinding (for example: one noblewoman would jump backwards upon seeing me, then stayed at Moderate Alert searching for Garrett while walking straight into him), low quality lighting, and some of the worst instances of sound propagation I've ever encountered in an FM -- and I've played sloppy FMs from 1999 that nobody remembers like 'The Assassination'. Visually, while the hotel exterior is uniquely beautiful, the dull blue-grey hallways very quickly start to blend into one another.
If the issues were limited to a single minor issue like AI not waking up, I could give it a pass. However, the multiplicity of issues detracted from my enjoyment of this submission more so than most of the simpler ones by total novices. In some ways this mission was far better than those submissions, but in others surprisingly worse. Nothing else I have played that Tannar (Waterfront Racket, Cell 6, Drymian Codex etc.) and PukeyBrunster (Morbid Curiosity) worked on had these glaring faults, so it is a letdown from their excellent track record.
These are not totally disqualifying flaws, however, and much of the core material remains unique and satisfying. It is mainly in need of severe bugfixes. A diamond in the rough, maybe.
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But as these missions tend to, the stealth gameplay suffers a bit: lots of long, unpredictable patrol routes, whiny servant AI everywhere (in lots of places where they can be stuck, too), and an objective which fails the mission if the alarm is triggered – this is a hazardous combination, particularly when you scour the territory for the umpteenth time. Or when the AI see you through the several windows, corridors and other conduits which allow them a treacherous vision, and a short route to the nearest gong.
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The proportion of exploration and thieving to riddle solving has been generally well maintained and I was fully motivated to progress most of the time. I wish the second mission hadn’t become a secret hunt towards the end though. I liked the multiplicity of loots and locations around the hotel. On the other hand, both missions seemed to me somewhat overcrowded, and the number of rope climbs in the second part of the hotel was quite disgusting. I’ve also come across some imperfections which didn’t make the gameplay worse in any way, but could have easily been avoided nevertheless. The first mission especially seemed unpolished with some readables not appearing as they should, multiple unfrobbable items highlighting and the conversation with the client not starting as expected.
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Fantastic atmosphere. Skilled and creative use of assets made for a completely unique Thief FM experience. Not only was the player graced with one open world to explore, but a second, entirely different location as well. My only major complaint was that the later parts of the campaign became a little monotonous in atmospheric tone. Some of the horror elements are a bit...dated / cheesy - but this is somewhat forgivable given the engine's capabilities.
Did you not notice the carefully crafted length of the in-game literature as well? One of my favorite parts of this FM is that the literature was almost the perfect length consistently throughout. No document was far too long yet they were all perpetually revealing enough. Huge applause here, this is very easy to mess up.
Gameplay was paramount here. The author CLEARLY took the time to optimize the gameplay experience. Look at these details: Doors open in a way that doesn't intrude on the players field of movement, lockpicking locks have appropriate speeds depending on what is being broken into (this is HUGE in bringing down gaming fatigue), sidequests are very well done and incredibly challenging (but, most importantly, optional). Corridors are marked appropriately. Finally - I believe it's worth mentioning again here - the in-game literature is near perfect length all the way through. My only major complaint in this department is the length. The end of the campaign felt rather monotonous after having done everything up until that point. I can't bring myself to rate it lower than a 9 though.
Story was slightly unique and generally polished, albeit a bit cheesy IMO. I'll leave it at that. Apologies for the lack of elaboration here; I really didn't get much of anything out of the storyline. I think the main problem I found was its overambitious-nature. I don't think it lives up to what it attempts to set up.
Tannar on 23/3/2019 at 23:33
The Sound of a Burrick in a Room
Oldschool TG/T1. This FM has my vote to win overall - very much like FM's by the authers "Melan" and "Skacky" Always fun to play, with lots of nooks'n'crannies, and the player gets rewarded for being "adventurous"
Only thing I could have wished were different, is the way into the vault in the warehouse. A bit too easy once you get the gear that is.
I searched for over an hour for the code to the vault, but wasn't able to find it , but found the gear in stead. I had set my mind up for some code cracking...
Please make more FM's like this. :-)
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This was one of the best missions in the contest but I still have some nitpicks. I think there should have been a basement key or something that forces you to visit the upper levels of the Blexham manor. Also the underground areas were kind of lacking in detail compared to the city (although given the map size I'm sure this a technical/time limitation and not a creative one).
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I loved every second of it. Some absolutely stunning city design here. Many individual places around the city were given a nice, distinctive character. Each location as well as the city streets felt very lively and authentic. The use of sound and some visual effects contributed to the superb feel of the whole.
The mission offered a broad range of classic Thief activities, with lots of climbing and pathfinding in addition to the usual thieving. The city proved extraordinarily accessible with countless windows, rooftops, ledges, and balconies to reach. This also made the area feel very open with various ways of penetrating most buildings and allowed the player to complete the objectives without any enforced order. Moreover, the mission felt as rewarding as it gets, with practically every location offering a new gain or experience. The map was prepared thoroughly and was of great help. I got outside the foreseen area just once, and it didn’t happen to provide any shortcuts. Perhaps the number of tools lying around could have been somewhat reduced so as to make the mission more challenging. Also, with loot distributed evenly around the level, I felt the requirement of just about 45% collected was way too low for expert difficulty (I got around 90% without any trouble on the first run). Obviously, that didn’t negatively influence the gameplay in any way.
The main story and the rationale for the endeavour were quite convincing and I liked the intro video, but the multiple little subplots inserted here and there I found even more impressing. They certainly gave the mission a lot of depth. I felt that perhaps the “tunnels” section of the mission should have been developed a bit more – with all that hype I expected something bigger down there, while the mission ended rather rapidly.
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I love the size of this level. I spent close to three hours scouring the city, trying to find every little piece of loot and still came up 500 short. Whether I was on the rooftops or the streets, there was always something new to keep my interest - or shortcuts to traverse.
I'm almost disappointed that the crypt played such a minor role in the end, but then again I had a whole city to explore and enjoy.
I'm rating the story as highly as I am simply because of all the little stories you could find in people's houses - that really brought the city to life.
Tannar on 23/3/2019 at 23:34
The Tomb of Saint Tennor
This is another stellar mission in a contest that has nothing but stellar missions. Divided into two missions, The Tomb of St. Tennor has Garrett in search of a hammer buried in a catacomb complex under a countryside cathedral that fell prey to the undead. The first mission takes place in the cathedral and has a very Sepulchre of the Sinistral vibe right off the bat. It's an overall pretty good mission with a whole lot of Haunts. It's dark and gloomy. You can even walk on the cathedral's roof, how great is that?
The second mission is where the meat of this submission is and it is hands down the best Bonehoard-type mission I've ever played. vegetables manages to make every main tomb interesting and every puzzle/riddle easy to understand. There is no hour-long guesswork or frustrating trial and error here. I especially liked Midas' tomb, which I thought had an excellent vibe and some pretty interesting designs, and the statues area was very very clever. This is a mission that will have you explore every area for loot and it just keeps going on and on and on.
I have nothing to criticize, really. Bottom line is: go play it now. This gets the highest score from me. The first mission somewhat pales in comparison to the second, but the overall package is close to being a masterpiece.
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Since this is two mission, the overall rating will be the medium of the two mission rating.
Mission 1: Beautiful, very classic, impressive, creepy at some points and interesting story telling. Brillant layout so it deserves
Mission 2 : It breaks my heart to tell it, but what was made in the first mission has been destroyed in the second. The story was Garrett raiding tombs and who needs to find a way out. Sticking to this would have made a perfect campaign, plus the puzzles were perfect un very creative, (especialy the one with magic missiles) but it happens that the author did forget about story telling and has gone too far, doing too much like a cake with too much sugar. The LC and Maw parts were not necessary, the burrick tunnel would have been enough to find an exit such like sewers or even a thieves lair ; since the church above is haunted and there are a couple of dead thieves in the catacombs. But instead, this is an endless exploration and not even a single word about why does the undead invaded the surface, erasing what was setup since the beginning.
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It's hard to rate this one. Both missions suffer from having too much big open space especially Pt.1. Pt.2 however is a brilliant mission with great exploration, and I really enjoyed the platforming challenges and the puzzles in the Brennan tomb.
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Gameplay was challenging without being frustrating. Ingenious puzzles. Midas was the most memorable and created the most suspense.
Atmosphere was good. Nothing jarred me out of the believably of the environment, until I went looking for the Easter Eggs, which I viewed as somewhat separate. Great use of original ambients and some new ones. However, there was an overuse of symmetry in the terrain.
The levels carried the story well enough, and the readables were short, which I appreciate. However, there wasn't much story beyond that.
Overall, great mission design with plenty of replay value.
Tannar on 23/3/2019 at 23:35
The Whistling of the Gears
This mission met an hard work on its atmosphere. The author spent all his guts on it. The gameplay is not the best and could have been clearly better. But the story itself is tell in a decent way, the feeling of the arrival of Thief2 is present as the fact the quarter is decaying. A mission to be proud of.
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On the one hand, there is some incredible open-ended level design going on here. On the other, the central objective can be rather unforgiving unless you reload multiple times, and it penalizes any in-depth exploration and savoring of this amazingly fleshed out environment before triggering it. These two features do not mesh well, and their conjunction here seriously compromises an otherwise top-tier FM.
Along with 'Rose Garden', 'Sound of A Burrick In A Room' and 'Lost Among The Forsaken', the architecture, layout and interior design are so far beyond the baseline for Thief Gold it is almost unfair to consider them in the same category as the rest of this contest. But none of these three, and almost none of the other submissions, had so frustrating a central objective. It made me wish I hadn't already spent an hour exploring this unbelievably well-detailed mission, because it transformed novel exploration into backtracking. Considering my suspicions about the author/team behind this FM, it is an unusually poor choice in light of his/their portfolio.
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This is an incredible city mission that uses the outro cutscene's aesthetic to the maximum of the Dark Engine's ability. This part of town is decrepit and swallowed by the looming Metal Age, with machinery and smoke everywhere. I have never seen anything quite like it and it works incredibly well. The lighting is appropriately very dark which, coupled with the nightmarish visuals and crushing sound design, gives this mission an incredibly creepy vibe.
The mission itself flows well enough. The mission isn't big but uses and re-uses space extremely well. The layout is very open which gives players a lot ways to bypass certain areas or reach specific areas. The factory is a really interesting place that is well thought out overall. Each floor feels different, with the lower work stations being very dark and noisy while the offices upstairs are a lot quieter and better lit. The church is also a very nice place that feels pretty rundown. Difficulty is on point and the mission was never too hard nor difficult. It was a bit hard for me to figure out how to properly sabotage Tudor's machine, but other than that I didn't encounter anything too tough.
I don't have much criticism to add except that roombrushing is sometimes a bit rough which causes sound to leak through certain walls (especially in the factory), and that visual clutter can make navigation a tad obscure at times. Overall this is a really awesome mission that gets my highest recommendation.
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Way back, in times that now seem primordial, there was a game called The Dark Project, and after an exhausting finale, it ended on a wonderfully bleak note. The Trickster was dead, and we were told to beware the dawn of the Metal Age - a nightmare of unchecked industrialization gone horribly wrong. We were never really given that specific Metal Age (although we got a good game by that name, and many wonderful fan missions in the bargain). Until now: this is the experience some of us have been patiently waiting for all these years.
The Whistling of the Gears is a mission which brings you the rampant industrialization; the smoke; the towering metal structures; the dirt and grey misery. It is something that had previously only existed in a cutscene and our imaginations. The resulting mission is a super-complex city mission with a small footprint but remarkable height and density. It is filled with primitive machines and metal structures whose only seeming purpose is pollution, noise, and being eyesores. It has human environments which look cramped, uncomfortable, and miserable. It also has a visionary style which builds on dull grey and other muted colours to establish its feel. Item textures are looted for terrain in fun ways. Stock objects are repurposed with ingenuity to build mad things like a hanging string of sausages or cheap, gaudy ceramics, or sparkling wires above a street, or weird antennae, or whatever.
There is much to do here. The central objectives are complex and multi-stage. The mission has to be traversed multiple times, and this can be a bit exhausting... it needs a certain dedication, but it pays off. There is great infiltration in an industrialist's demesne, sabotage, dodging stationary and moving AI with tricky routes, and some non-standard technical wizardry that's kinda mindblowing in a “how did this madman do it” way.
In my mind, this mission is the best of the contest. There are landmarks in mission design which show us there are things previously thought impossible - and this FM has done just that.