Thief fan missions and campaigns

[SCO]

Finished the Dracula and Bathory thief 2 fan mission campaigns:

Verdict:
incredibly hard, many typos, a few bugs, a annoying tendency to activate hotspots only in a sequence of some sort (kinda like against the spirit of thief no?), Huge HUGE missions, as pretty as the darkengine can get (with Enhancement pack installed).
Trying to ghost these, while it's possible to have no "real" detection, i doubt it is possible to have 0 alerts. Master thieves only, or master lean-forward exploiters. Very very hard to find secrets - not all of them little one inch levers too.

I've tried to ghost it (and failed) but sometimes couldn't even resist boiking someone on the head because they were on the way - the mission(s) is simply too large. I've reached the conclusion that i prefer when a mission doesn't even give me a sword or a blackjack (or their like). The most heartpounding thief experience i had was in seven sisters when i ghosted a crypt corridor full of patrolling haunts, and haunt spotters that turned around with these tiny itsy-bitsy shadows on the edges of the sarcophagus. I didn't have a sword (due to my own fault) and tried it anyway. Walking in full light behind a haunt when his buddy is about to turn and making a little jump to avoid the water and getting to the shadow just in time :

 

[SCO]

And oh, i've implemented a new method to make me better at thief: whenever i reload (because i was detected, died, anything except saving time) i got on the ground and did 10 pushups. Did about 100.

 

[commie]

And oh, i've implemented a new method to make me better at thief: whenever i reload (because i was detected, died, anything except saving time) i got on the ground and did 10 pushups. Did about 100.

Seems unnecessarily cruel on yourself: why not jerk off 10 times instead?

 

[SCO]

It's good for me. Besides, you get more careful when your arms start hurting, so you end up doing it less.

 

[SCO]

I'm going to be playing a new one soon.
Rose Cottage.
It's got the gothic ambiance down as you can see (and a weird but awesome intro too)

Funny. There is fog ingame, but not on the screenshot.

 

[Excommunicator]

I always had a craving for especially large maps when I played Thief, with most levels not having enough of the plain old sneaking through windows and doors in a normal city or town. The "Thief's Highway" map which I think was in the demo or a patch or something was the kind of thing I liked but still wished it was larger, and more labyrinthine. Although I am not so much a fan of the steam-punk element of Thief 2 as I was the pagan-fantasy of Thief 1. I didn't end up trying any fan-made ones though. Maybe I need to give these a go

 

[commie]

The Thief fan community is one of my favorites. Few groups are as passionate and as skilled at churning out quality works for the game they love. Have to go back to the Half Life days to see such a large body of quality SP content for a game.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

The Dracula and Bathory missions are done by the same guy. I had a go at the Dracula campaign once and deleted it once I realised that the creator deliberately made it almost impossible to get out of a hole because he wanted to offer new challenges to veteran players. Retard.

That is a mentality that is almost exclusive to East-European Thief 2 makers. One Russian bloke who took this to its extreme made what is undoubtedly the most beautiful Thief FM ever made: King's Story. 4 years in the making. It's a 2-part mission that recreates a famous real-life castle that I can't remember the name of at the moment. Unfortunately it's also the most retardedly difficult FM ever made. You're given a map that's useless, told to trek across a mountain range without any help to tell you where to go, except the mission failing on you if you step in the wrong place.

Assuming you do reach the castle, you have to pick a lock to enter, and that involves running up to the lock to work on it for a few seconds at a time before scurrying back to cover, because the nearby cameras are hyper-sensitive. Oh, and part of picking that lock involves shooting it with an arrow. Things do not improve once you enter the castle and begin the second mission.

I slammed the mission on the TLLG forums, rightfully calling it the Daikatana of Thief FM's. You can imagine what a closed circle-jerk community like TLLG thought of that.

As for Rose Cottage: It's beautiful and has some awesome effects (find the dining room and flick the lightswitch to see what I mean) but that's about the only thing it has going for it. It's so linear it's almost on rails, and the only equipment you'll ever have are health potions and a lockpick, yet you'll be asked to "kill" some enemy AIs later on. It's creepy as fuck, but nowhere near Deceptive Perceptions. Well worth playing once.

For a combination of good graphics + large awesome maps, try "Hammerite Imperium: Seven Shades of Mercury", or better yet, the "A Night In Rocksbourg" series. If you're looking for classic Thief gameplay at its best, try "Disorientation". For something a little oddball, there's also "The Sun Within & The Sun Without".

 

[SCO]

Thief played like doom


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nld7yZRhPV0

Not really my style.

 

[SCO]

The Dracula and Bathory missions are done by the same guy. I had a go at the Dracula campaign once and deleted it once I realised that the creator deliberately made it almost impossible to get out of a hole because he wanted to offer new challenges to veteran players. Retard.

Problem is, i am a veteran thief player. I know that if you move fast enough walking you can cross the front of a guard in almost full light and not be seen. I know that marble is noisy as fuck and requires slowed down crouch walk to "move" (turtle) safely, or a moss arrow. I can make 300 meters shots with the bow. Sometimes the things i want to hit aren't even in the screen due to the elevation i give the bow to cross the space. I know that sometimes you have to walk on the light, and as long as you don't make any noise and aren't in the direct line of vision you'll be fine. Hell i even know spiders see from their ass.

 

[Tolknaz]

I haven't played Bathory yet, but i certainly don't remember Dracula reloaded being that hard. There are far more annoying missions around, such as certain mission in Calendra's leagacy mini-campaign for example, which, if you leave the horrible mission gameplay design out, is certainly one of the most impressive early fm-s.

 

[spekkio]

I'm to lazy to play FM for Thief 1-2, but I've finished "Shadows of the Metal Age" and had great fun.
Great game not only "as something done by amateurs".
And Thief series is mos def one of the best games ever: many devs tried to copy the stealth element, but nobody succeeded.

 

[coaster]

I've recently played Rose Cottage and a Night in Rocksbourg 1-3. I expected a bit more out of Rose Cottage to be honest; it's good, and definitely pretty, but not great. Spoiler comment:

Spoiler

The first part, before you knew what was going on, was much scarier than when the "enemies" were revealed as rather mundane spirits.

Night in Rockbourg was much better although

Spoiler

I much preferred 1 & 2, the ambience in the city was great, I found the setting in 3 to be a bit too surreal which made it less atmospheric for me.

 

[SCO]

I haven't played Bathory yet, but i certainly don't remember Dracula reloaded being that hard. There are far more annoying missions around, such as certain mission in Calendra's leagacy mini-campaign for example, which, if you leave the horrible mission gameplay design out, is certainly one of the most impressive early fm-s.

You're talking about that timed mission where you have to do everything somewhat fast - after failing a lot ofcourse (or saving alot) - the one that has a invisible beast on a island in the middle of the city?

How is broken triad btw? Ominous bequest was a enjoyable "light" horror mission for me.

 

[Dyskolos]

Night in Rocksbourg deserves another recommendation.

For King's Story I actually really enjoyed the difficulty. Its really not for anyone who hasn't wasted far too much time on the Thief series but for those who have it kind of takes you back to the frustration/satisfaction you felt on first playing.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

For the record, I too am a Thief veteran, having played the originals when they were new, but I didn't give the FM's a serious thought until 2 years ago. I would say I've played over 95% of all Thief 1 & 2 FM's ever released, so I know all the tricks of the trade. It's just I've become tired of when FM authors artificially try to jack up the difficulty of their FMs using stupid design decisions and forcing players to do things in one special way. Also, the Dark Engine is not meant for platforming games, so FMs relying heavily on that are not high up in my book.

One good example of what I mean by that last remark is an FM called Undead Reckoning IIRC. You're in a ruined part of town, trying to steal everything not nailed down and avoiding all the undead. The layout of the FM is brilliant, with lots of ruined buildings (including a sunken church) and a small outpost of "survivors" camped out in a warehouse and all. What almost completely kills the mission is a forced part where you have to jump through a portal into a room full of platforms while constantly being bombarded by mages. Completely pointless and ruins the feel of the mission.

Calendra's Legacy... I would hold that up as a lesson in two things: How perserverence and focus in your work can make you into a mini-legend in respective circles (the designer got a job in the gaming industry because of his work), and how NOT to lay out a plot. The writing is not good to say the least.

The first mission is alright, but the real gold in that one is the hidden tomb.

The second mission is god-awful. It opens with a huge cityscape and a timed objective. Complete the objective and you can move around the city freely, but without any equipment whatsoever. While your equipment is readily available in your "room", there's also a trigger in there that spawns a veritable army of undead all over the city - and you still don't have a sword.

To add insult to injury, among the hordes of undead is one living monster, cleverly disguised as an undead monster. Kill it, and the mission fails.

By comparison, the third mission is sort of 'meh', mostly let down by more horrible character writing.

Broken Triad: The first mission continues the "light horror" trend that Ominous Bequest set out with, but then the second mission shakes things up considerably. It's a worthy successor to OB but it won't knock it off its perch - Ominous Bequest is considered by many to be the best Thief FM ever made, myself included.

Some other FMs worth playing: "Among Two Storms" is a short and recent FM where you play two thieves - switching between them as needed. Despite some technical difficulties that can occur, this FM opens up a whole new dimension to Thief, shifting the focus on teamwork (sort of) rather than on soloing through each level.

"Thieves' Highway" is the ultimate 'rooftop' mission - so many places to go and explore. If you don't like rope arrows then this one is not for you.

The "Lord Alan" series - If you like huge mazes, look no further. Lord Alan's Basement has you navigating a large underground structure built like a large cube. Lord Alan's Mansion has you breaking into a large mansion (I personally don't like this one because of artificial restraints - ingenuity is NOT rewarded) while Lord Alan's Factory is probably the largest FM ever made - It takes more than 10 seconds to fall down the central shaft from top to bottom.

"Down With The Mechanists" is somewhat short but it's trying first and foremost to be scary - and succeeds more often than not.

EDIT: Typos.

 

[SharkClub]

Thief played like doom

Speaking of which: I was watching a Stream of a guy playing Thief Gold on Expert, and instead of ghosting or even being stealthy at all, he was jumping around the levels whacking people with the blackjack and throwing flash bombs everywhere (I watched him play the whole game this way). Funny as fuck, and really entertaining to watch, he did the Mage Towers in like 15-20 minutes that way.

 

[SCO]

BRB downloading "Thieves' Highway"

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Lady Rowena's missions are as far as I remember pretty good. Slight tinge of fan-fictioning in the first ones, but nothing to worry about.

Christine's missions, on the other hand, are hit or miss. Some are drawn out campaigns that go on for too long (Night Falcon), while others get a little strange at times (Lady Lotti) and some are quite good (Mountain Monastery). Christine is only one of a handful of people that have made "fan missions" for System Shock 2, though I haven't taken a look at those.

More recommendations:

"The Art Of Thievery": The ultimate mansion break-in mission, though it's more of a complex than a mansion. 3 large floors full of Mechanist riches with all the appropriate bells and whistles. Think of the "Masks" mission in Thief 2 times 3. This one will take quite a while to play through.

"Rebellion Of The Builder": For seasoned Thief players only. I mean it. It's bursting at the seams with cheese. Trying to open certain doors will insta-kill you. The guards are faster and have magic-spitting swords, and later guns. You'll have to fight the Trickster head-on and the last mission feels like it's made out of scripted events from a Schwarzenegger film.

"Ruins of Originia": A.k.a. Ultima Underworld 3. A set of 4 missions that send you into a large and somewhat bizarre underground complex. The first one alone is massive and will keep you going for hours. The final one is a masterpiece well worth seeing as you break into an otherworldly museum with transdimensional exhibits.

"The Search For Crom's Blade": It's one of the older FM's around, but still worth your while. Trek through the frozen wastes to find an abandoned castle and recover the legendary sword before the Mechanists do.

"L'Arsene", "Emily Victor", "The Korrigans" and "The Den": Collectively known as the "L'Arsene" series. Garrett is pitted against the master thief L'Arsene. The first mission is a bit clunky due to its age, but the others are excellent stuff. Emily is a mansion mission that gets surreal at times, the Korrigans is a huge city mission and The Den a mysterious mansion-type mission. If you like these, consider giving "Happy New Year Mr. Lambert" also a look as it's by the same author.

"The Inverted Manse": Remember Shalebridge Cradle from Thief 3? The reason it got made in the first place is because the level designer made this FM and impressed Warren Spector so much he hired him. Garrett is sent to a Hammerite outpost that's been abandoned for unknown reasons. It's biggest feature is that each difficulty level changes the layout and objectives considerably, giving it considerable replay value.

"From Beneath the Sands", "Whispers In the Desert" and "Secret Breaking of a Pyramid": Garrett goes spelunking in pyramids. The first two are reminiscient of the old Total Eclipse games, heavy on puzzles but light on enemies. Both made by the same author and quite good. The last one takes the pyramid theme to its extreme and actually features architecture like you'd see in a pyramid - that means LONG sloping passages, semi-cheesy traps and a fuckton of creepy crawly things. For some reason most people at TLLG don't like SBoaP.

"A Servant's Life": Can't recommend stuff at the Kodex without mentioning this one. Mr. Oh Dear has a problem; he lives a shitty life. Literally. He shits all over the place. He's the victim of cruel practical jokes and treated like... well, shit. Until you come along and try to save him. Scat-lovers will have a field day here, others may want to steer clear.

 

[SCO]

"Thieves' Highway" is the ultimate "rooftop" mission - so many places to go and explore. If you don't like rope arrows then this one is not for you.

Great FM, and who the hell doesn't like rope arrows?

I'm dissapoint, at least at the first part. Instead of rope arrows, it requires... jumping and platforming - not much wood.
And appears to exult in the most obscure sort of movement skills in thief, like the so well known crouch+leanforward+jump+move forward to get into really tight windows, or how you can walk on railings or how with sufficient speed you can walk on the top crenelations of a battlement without getting to the bottom ones. Also the guards are far too hyperaware. I can't even pick chests without alerts, it's ghost hostile, since you only have two moss arrows and it requires jumping down into stone a lot. But i'm mostly butthurt at the jumping part that requires you to drop down on a minimal inclined edge (this means that you fall off unless you constantly move forward).
Unkillable cat, i must assume you were kidding about the jumping puzzle in dracula, since there is nothing there like this mission you recommended.

 

[Dyskolos]

Shit I've somehow missed out on a few of the missions recommended so thanks for the quality info. Anything else, especially of the easily overlooked variety, spring to mind? I feel the urge for a Thief marathon coming.

 

[SCO]

Try a few thief gold missions for exotic. I remember Logan's web introducing a creepy enemy that isn't anywhere else. Plus the mechanics are slightly different.

I think there are a few recent thief gold missions, but didn't play them or know if they are any good.

 

[SCO]

The seven shades of mercury intro looks cool. Pity they gave on up on the campaign... oh, well, eventually, now that the rest of the work is released.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Lessee... Thief 1/Gold. Because most DromEd'ers started playing around with Thief 1 FM's, there are a lot of them around, but very few of them that are any good. My FM folder for Thief 1 only has 27 FMs, while my Thief 2 folder has over 150. That's partially because some of the Thief 1 FMs got ported over to Thief 2 later on. But among the ones I can remember:

"Shunned": It's short, it's full of undead and it has a Lovecraftian vibe to it.

"Sepulchre Of The Sinistral": One of the better "Tomb Raider" FMs available. If you liked "Down in the Bonehoard" you'll love this one, but Bonehoard haters obviously need not apply.

"Calendra's Cistern": The writing is a bit naff, but the layout is not. The cityscape is full of little details to explore. Even though it's a mansion break-in mission, I spent more time mucking about outdoors in the city than inside the mansion.

"Autumn In Lampfire Hills": The first FM I ever played. It's not extraordinary by any means, but it's fun and has a lot of surprises.

As for "Lorgan's Web", either I don't remember there being anything special about it, or there actually wasn't anything special about it. I remember the sewers somewhat, but that's about it.

 

[RatFink]

here's a question for the thief pros

just started recently to play thief for the first time EVA...and..and..

must be one of the ABSOFUCKINLUTELY best games ive ever played.
i started on expert, because i wanted challenge and extra stuff to do..and because im fuckin hardcore!


but there is just one thing that makes me want to through my laptop against the wall...
is there any trick, when it comes to rope arrows? very, very often while jumping to grip the rope...well, he just doesnt..or he runs up the rope in lightspeed by himself just to fall to his death..or he grips and then decides..nah lets just fuckin fall down instead.

and this all without me doin anything other, than jumping in the rope direction and praying that he holds onto it...

so again..am i doing it wrong, or is it always russian roullette?

thief gold btw, trying to find the haunted cathedral at the moment