Thief fan missions and campaigns

[Jazz_]

Finished ''DCE''. I agree with Unkillable Cat on the readables, they could have been a bit more subtle at times. Replaying the same maps didn't bother me tho, especially in the city hub since new areas open up. Really liked the cathedral and the mansion maps but ''The Ritual'' was overall the best mission. The map I found the most uninspired was the Ruined Keep, it was just a bit underwhelming compared to the other maps imo, kinda looked like something out of some ancient FM. I LOVED the breaking the fourth wall exploit at the end. All in all it's a great campaign, really great work.

I also finished ''The Tower'' and my mind is blown, it's a superbly designed map, I love small maps that have interconnected areas and make great use of verticality, so much gameplay and cool exploration packed in such a tiny map, the claustrophobic atmosphere is great and the readables were surprisingly interesting to read as well, outstanding work by Lady Rowena.

 

[Yandros]

Glad you enjoyed it! There is a new FM by Lady Rowena coming during the holidays, so everyone rejoice at that! Sadly it is only the first mission of a planned three mission set she was working on when she passed away, and we aren't likely to ever see the other two. But it is really awesome anyway all by itself.

 

[nicked]

This should be good if we get missions from even half the people who've said they'll be entering: http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148475

 

[unfairlight]

I've played plenty of The Dark Mod and completed both Thief 1 and 2, where should I start with Thief FMs? I've never played any at all, what are some good ones to start off with, or should I just go on TTLG and play whatever comes up? Also, what patches do I need? I completed T1 and 2 with Tfix, should that suffice?

 

[Yandros]

TFix for T1G, and Tafferpatcher for T2. As for where to start, it may depend on your preferences.

Thread listing FMs by type: http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144797
Thread with brief summaries of most missions: http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148090

If you want to start with the best, play anything by Eshaktaar, Melan, Skacky, Gaetane or Lady Rowena.

 

[unfairlight]

I like city and mansion missions with a lot of climbing and rope arrows. Listing everything isn't too helpful as I don't want to play Jimmy's First Test Mission No. 58371, I want a good at least 30 minute long mission that can really wow me with custom voice acting, intros and all that jazz. I'll check out those mappers when I got everything set up.

 

[Jazz_]

^ ''Chalice of Souls'' by Skacky, Firemage and Squadrafroin is a fantastic map for Thief 1. Great atmosphere and there's A LOT of climbing and rope arrows.

some screenshots I took during my playthrough:

 

[unfairlight]

I'll check it out. Thanks for the help brother.

 

[unfairlight]

I tried playing it with Thief 2 at first before I realised it was a Thief Gold FM. Interestingly enough it worked but guards were invisible and most textures were plain black. Tried it out now that I got FMSel to work and I don't really like it that much, lighting and shadows are weird and there's too many angles to cover. Also forgot how daft the NPC AI is in original Thief compared to TDM.

 

[skacky]

What do you mean, lighting and shadows are weird?

 

[unfairlight]

I don't know how to explain it, it just didn't feel right to me outside in the streets. Places that are pretty dimly lit appear really bright on the lightgem, maybe I'm just too used to The Dark Mod lighting since I've played that a lot more.

 

[Renault]

I think that's the first time I've ever heard someone say "I didn't really like it" when playing Chalice of Souls.

 

[Melan]

My review of a recently released mission tby a new author:

Precarious Business by ObservingEye.

Simple job, fat nobleman, break into, priceless trinket. This is a mission from the well-known Bafford playbook, and the big thing it accomplishes is how well it does it. While made for Thief 2, Precarious Business is a Thief 1-style affair in both style and execution. It uses stock textures and deep shadows to build a dark city and a cramped, run-down mansion where you must find your prize. Now, when I write “dark”, I mean dark dark, Shadows of Doubt -style. This mission is not simply gloomy; your surroundings are mostly barely lit, and finding your way by orienting yourself by the meagre light sources and sometimes the sounds is half the challenge. You will wish you had a lantern, but not having one is the point. It takes some eyesight to find your way through barely lit streets and corridors, and some more to pick up the more carefully hidden loot (as far as I can tell, it is mostly fairly placed, although I also missed almost a thousand golds’ worth of it). This is the core challenge, since you will only encounter tricky patrols in the second half of the mission.

There are gorgeous city streets here, mostly in the Bafford / Assassins style, built with obvious care and an eye for variety. These are ramshackle, chaotically built houses on the city outskirts, climbing over each other to fit into tiny lots and conserve space. Sadly, the streets are also fairly linear and you don’t interact much with them. Even the tantalising rooms and open windows you spot high above you in locations seem to largely be red herrings, and the patrols are minimal. In some way, it seems superfluous, with precious little gameplay... but didn’t the original game have stretches of empty space which were just there so you could be there? Maybe we should consider it a sign of generosity. And generous it is: there is an entire side mission there, if you can just find it. It is another cool-looking area, and has more good-looking content. Then, we get to the mansion, which is at once opulent and bare; it also has one of the coolest brush-based toilets I have seen in a fan mission (believe me, I have seen some), as well as an interesting possible explanation for Garrett’s visit (nothing spelled out, but you can put things together – that is always cool).

All in all, Precarious Business is well worth playing. As ObservingEye’s first mission, it is very promising (it would have been a strong contender in the 20th Anniversary Contest). May we see more missions like this!

Pictures:

Spoiler

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Except for that toilet those drapes sure look like they match the curtains of a Melan seal of approval. (Ifyouknowwhatimean)

Unfortunately it'll take me some time to be able to play the FM due to *reasons*, but keep your eyes peeled for the acidic comments of everyone's favourite cynic (as portrayed by sensitive snowflakes).

 

[Yandros]

How can you be so sure cowking will play it?

 

[marbleman]

A couple screens from an upcoming FM by yours truly.

 

[nicked]

Are we to expect some "The Sword" style weirdness?

 

[marbleman]

I'd like to think that this is what I'm going for

 

[Jazz_]

So I'm playing ''Endless Rain'' by the excellent Skacky and that stunning architecture and verticality boii, I just love that shit.

Btw, I have 1 objective left, the keeper secret thingy, any hint how to progress? The room were I got the objective doesn't seem to lead anywhere else, so I guess I must go somewhere else but I'm kinda running in circles in the city.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

IIRC (but don't quote me on it) there's a short, straight passage in a building somewhere that you reach via elevator that doesn't seem to lead anywhere. On the elevator half of the passage is a hidden switch that opens up a door in the other half.

Hope this helps.

 

[Melan]

Jazz_: To reach the place,

Spoiler

You will need to descend to the sewers. In a section patrolled by a guard, open a grate with a secret switch, and solve the puzzle.

Spoiler

Cleanse the statue there with holy water.

 

[Squadafroinx]

Jazz_

Why are you using T2 textures

 

[Jazz_]

^ What do you mean? I'm playing the map on Thief 1 Gold and I didn't install any mod/texture pack, like ever, so I dunno, how is it supposed to look?

 

[JarlFrank]

 

[Max_b5]

I want to meme too