Schlock on 9/4/2020 at 21:04
You so need the lockpicks but don't worry about going back the way you just came. Review your objectives and the map and that should point you in the right direction.
I was wondering if anyone else would notice you can get up there ahead of time.
john9818a on 9/4/2020 at 23:44
Thanks Schlock. Yeah I always manage to get where I shouldn't be yet, or at all. :)
I found the lockpicks, but now I'm running in circles while trying to figure out how to get out of the aquaducts and associate areas. I've been blocked in, and the sewer hatch I came through before is now closed.
Edit: I managed to get further above the sanctuary.
itllrun10s on 12/4/2020 at 16:27
I played this mission first and became frustrated after about 30 minutes, so I left it and moved on. After watching Fen play through, I saw what I was missing and began playing again and am so glad I did. Absolutely love it. It reminds me a lot of some of Sperry's missions and I believe there's a subtle reference to him in one of the books.
Wormrat on 12/4/2020 at 20:22
Hard, 2 hours 39 minutes, 5032/6593 loot. I admit I was a little put off by this mission in the beginning. Not because it was too frustrating, but because I was worried I was missing stuff or doing things wrong. I'm glad people in this thread encouraged perseverance, because yes, this one ended up being quite the adventure. I liked the rich look of the building interiors and the "just passing through" feeling, but got even more excited every time I went underground. Lots of neat things to see, and using flares was often atmospheric and rewarding. By the end I felt like I (mostly) understood the entire level as a single, tangled 3D space. I also liked the homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
gamophyte on 12/4/2020 at 22:18
This was immensely enjoyable, if not a long time fav of mine to come. It awoken some dreaded feelings in me which put the immersion back on the menu. I enjoyed the improvised new objects by attaching old objects.
Yeah I def screamed at one point, haha.
The only downside was clunky object collisions and monotonous beginnings. But a over all amazing mission that isn't afraid to try some new things.
vfig on 12/4/2020 at 22:22
I didn't enjoy this mission. Had a really frustrating start, dying over and over again. Evading a whole bunch of enemies, in broad daylight, on incredibly narrow streets was not fun at all. That opening hour of frustration soured the remaining three hours of my playthrough—not enhanced by the contrived death traps (one of which had too big a hitbox and killed me twice when I was in what should have been a safe place)—and when I finally got to the end I was just glad it was over.
BUT.
Here's the thing. This mission is also amazing. Tons of ideas jammed in here. A huge amount of detail in the architecture. The first fan mission I've played (although I'm barely through 5% of FMs yet!) that makes fantastic use of pitch black darkness, flooding the underground areas with atmosphere, and finally giving a use to Thief 2's ridiculous flares! And then to have this mysterious sanctuary area, that's so eerie and empty that you're glad to get out of it, only later to end up back there again! Only now it's populated, and that makes it even creepier than ever. This is brilliant! And that thing—I have no idea what it was, but it's the freakiest enemy I've ever encountered in any Thief mission. I didn't dare go near it (except by accident, and then it got me).
And yet, what was it all about? The story is almost non-existent. Garrett gets ambushed; escapes through the sewers and stumbles upon this weird place connected to this weird rich sorceror's? mansion—but then he's out on the street and "okay, let's go rob the marketmaster's place. Oh, gonna need lockpicks for that. Whoops, now everything's weird and frightening again… get back to blessed daylight. Now let's steal that golden egg and go home. Tons of potential but nothing seemed to connect or pay off. Or am I just oblivious and missed a whole bunch of things?
Figuring out how to vote for this one is going to be a puzzle. Never before played a mission that I've been so frustrated and confused by while simultaneously admiring its atmosphere and creativity so much.
Karras35 on 12/4/2020 at 23:05
Spoiler alert - review
I have mixed feelings about this FM. In the beginning I felt defenseless without blackjack/sword and lockpicks. I also missed a proper introduction at the beginning. Shadows were way too annoyingly dark underground. But I had high expactations of this FMs and so I continued with mixed feelings and hope. I was disappointed there were no enemies in my first almost 1,5 hours of playing.(Not counting the enemies that I have to avoid at the beginning) Until the mansion, there are no enemies! I was a little bit annoyed by the extremely linear and tight level design that constantly forces you to return to places. - Sometimes only to realize "Hey, behind that door is not a new area. I've been here from the other side". I'm not a big fan of this. I don't like starting without my lockpicks/blackjack and being forced into a tight linear level and rediscovering the same areas over and over again. It didn't felt like I'm playing Thief. It felt like a totally different game and the Thief-feeling just wouldn't come up. I was disappointed that there were no enemies at least spiders in the sewers. I was also a bit confused by the themes in the underground sections. I was wondering "where am I?" "what is this place?". First I thought I went into the sewer. Then it looked like a mineshaft into endless darkness. But then suddenly it became some kind of a factory theme. Then there was a tomb, then a haunted sanctuary. There is a door in the sanctuary that has happy pub voices. Then there was this weird storage room with the iron maiden, statue, holy water fountain, modern pipes and an elevator..leading to ...a desk that looked almost cozy with burning candle and a book shelf on top of the elevator. Everything looked extremely odd. I was totally confused and had no idea what the story of this FM was. I roped up the inspection shaft over the elevator with illogical unreachable bookshelves and a ventilator. And then.. finally a mansion! Finally enemies! What a relief! My mood immediately shifted from disbelief to pleasure. Now I was in my element and allowed to move freely. Now Thief the game begun. Not having my lockpicks here, surprisingly didn't bother me that much at this point. I was just relieved to explore this beautifully designed mansion. I love the pagan pool and the ambient sounds there. From this point I enjoyed most of this mission. Eventually I found my way out of the mansion and after exploring and looting the whole city as far as it is possible without lockpicks, I realized there is a connection to the area of the beginning of the mission. Because everything else was already exlored, I now made my way into the aqueduct to get the lockpicks. After that I returned and looted/explored the remaining rooms and then I finished this mission.
There is not really anything wrong with this mission, it's just not my thing. It doesn't feel like Thief to me. It felt like a weird nightmare that I wanted to escape- good work if that was your goal. The atmosphere and sounds are good. The level has an oddly interesting design that I like. But some connections between areas with locked doors/gates seem pointless. "Oh I see, now I'm here again"... This sentence pretty much sums it up. The mansion is fun to explore, I love it! Also the following city is very lovingly made. The haunted city/mansion part with the undeads is very surreal and interesting. I enjoyed all the sections without linear restrictions. It's definately an interesting, weird and unique FM that I recommend playing...with heads up. But the heads up is already in the title itself. Thanks for this odd experience!
Edit: @vfig's comment: Amen to that.
AluminumHaste on 13/4/2020 at 01:50
How do I get into the shop near the start area that has several arrows, like 2 water arrows and a gas arrow?
I'm back here at the end of the mission and now there's a lady walking about and I've alerted her but she just keeps asking me who I am.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/4Xrkk7z.jpgDahenjo on 13/4/2020 at 04:28
Quote Posted by AluminumHaste
How do I get into the shop near the start area that has several arrows, like 2 water arrows and a gas arrow?
I'm back here at the end of the mission and now there's a lady walking about and I've alerted her but she just keeps asking me who I am.
You get into her shop
from the back. After you come up from the
Sanctuary you're in
Balnebrich's mansion again, exit that to the
east thru a metal door to a place where a guard & a woman were blocking the way earlier, then go out one of
two windows into a canal, climb out and you'll see
an apothecary sign - that's the
back entrance, but beware
she packs a potent fireball.
szabikka on 13/4/2020 at 10:45
THE BOXMAKER SHALL RISE AGAIN!!!
