Thief fan missions and campaigns

[nicked]

I had a lot of fun making Turning of the Leaves - really it was just to challenge myself to see if I could do an open, outdoor style of level within the space limitations. A lot of people getting hung up on the completely optional flower collecting, but I guess I should have seen that coming. I think I tend to build with a casual player in mind who would happily ignore that stuff, so I don't worry about the completely optional stuff being a bit obtuse, but I'm not sure many of those kind of players actually exist in the Thief community.

Only other one I've played so far is Alcazar. Maaan, it's good. It's got all the good stuff from Into the Odd, but without any of the things that frustrated me about that mission, so it's just awesome, atmospheric fuuun.

 

[Psych0sis]

New batch of missions just got released

Already tried Nightwalk by Pookaball and it feels like a very old school fm, but just the worst parts of them. It only takes about 15 minutes, theres barely any guards and lots of wide flat areas full of shadow so the challenge is pretty much non existent. For a first time author it had some neat ideas and was made in like 2 weeks, so hopefully he can learn from it and incline later down the road. I'll probably try out Intruder's submission next as his missions almost never dissapoint and should be fine enough.

From the first batch of releases, I thoroughly enjoyed Into the Odd's little brother Alcazar. Fantastic fucking mission with a great use of space (still blows my mind its 100x100x100) and just oozes with that premium thief 1 atmosphere. Schlock and Squadafroinx come through again. I do wish his next mission can deviate from "day time mission with a necromancer lair underground lol" though.

A Midsummer Night's Heist is a very enjoyable experience but it seems to play it too safe as it doesn't do anything wrong, but neither does it do anything outstanding. I feel like in a week or 2 from now, I won't really remember much about it as it hasn't really left an impression on me. It's still worth a play if you haven't given it a shot, and yes it's a pretty blatant homage to Heart of Bohn, so if you enjoyed that mission, you will have a good time with this one.

Turning of the Leaves is in the same boat, but at least it tries some ideas out and was a pretty comfy playthrough. I had some framerate drops while playing it which hindered the experience a bit, but otherwise it was fine. It had a weird dichotomy where some areas looked fantastic, like the thieves area, but then other areas were a bit dull and unremarkable like the huts or the temple. And guys I really don't understand the problem with the flowers, they were a non issue because, well, they're optional so who cares?

Haven't tried The Perdurance yet, so I'll wait until I have time. But so far overall, Alcazar stands leagues above its competition, it's just on another level of dromed wizardry.

 

[nicked]

Played the others from the first batch.

Midsummer Night's Heist is a polished, fun, all round great classic mansion heist. Doesn't do anything particularly original, but it does classic Thief gameplay extremely well.

The Perdurance is lovely and atmospheric, lots of great use of Mechanist theming, and is well-paced and short enough that the monsters don't get too annoying. It's very straightforward, just in and out in 15 minutes, but it's fun while it lasts.

Sinister Night is very briefly atmospheric before it descends into a bunch of uninspiring, copy-pasted boxy, dark rooms with unscary monsters and tedious loot hunting.

On to the next batch!

 

[Psych0sis]

I didn't write anything for Sinister Night, but I avoid all Terra missions like the plague

 

[Curratum]

Damn, I hate hate hate daytime missions but Cinder Notes looks SO good. Plays very easy but I can overlook that for those sweet visuals and architecture. Maybe not a contest winner but very pretty and enjoyable to be in.

 

[nicked]

Yeah, just finished Cinder Notes and it's amazing. If you liked it, check out The Ashen Age (which is almost certainly made by the same author, just pseudonymously for this contest.

 

[Curratum]

Yeah, just finished Cinder Notes and it's amazing. If you liked it, check out The Ashen Age (which is almost certainly made by the same author, just pseudonymously for this contest.

Yeah I played Ashen Age but didn't like it as much, primarily because it's even brighter and more daytime-y. But yeah, you can see it's the same author.

 

[nicked]

Finished the rest.

Sabotage in Eastport - nice premise, tied into the original game's storyline. Pretty fun rooftop, windowsill jumping city mission, but painfully limited by the size restrictions. It felt like a larger mission crushed to fit into the space, rather than being designed with the space limits in mind.

Nightwalk - as others have said, it's a first mission and therefore simplistic/amateurish, but it's not bad per se, just quick and simple.

Recipe for Turmoil - fun, interconnected city section. Also felt a bit short, but fit the space limitations a lot better than Eastport.

 

[Psych0sis]

Gave Cinder Notes a try, and it lacks a lot in the atmosphere and challenge departments. I'm pretty sure I completed the loot goal before I even got to the middle portion of the map (it's rather linear, if you think about it). Then when you get through the samey-looking seminary and into the area with the main objective, being the catacombs section, it's over before it even has a chance to begin. Such a letdown there. Other than that, the mission is at least decent or better in most regards so it can get a passing grade, but it's probably not even going to break into the top 3/4 of the contest for me. Very disappointed with that one after it was hyped up here.

Also this just really grinds my fucking gears. Is there really a point to changing ALL the material sounds, other than just for the sake of using custom assets? It just seems frivolous and made keeping track of guards (the few there are) more annoying than it really had to be, very not sure of why it HAD to be included.

 

[nicked]

Lacks atmosphere? Did you just close your eyes for the whole beautiful, crumbling mediterranean city in the morning sunlight?

 

[Mechs Delight]

I thought the atmosphere in "Cinder Notes" was fine, but rather agree with Psych0sis that the challenge was quite lacking. And yes, the different footstep sounds were a bit distracting.

My favorite mission in the second batch was "Recipe"; even though it was somewhat short, it gave me fond memories of many of skacky's missions.

"Sabotage" was too squashed for its premise, which was a shame because that premise was very interesting. Haven't played "Nightwalk" much, but it does look and feel somewhat amateurish initially.

 

[Psych0sis]

Atmosphere != architecture, which admittedly was rather competent even though it was boxy at the same time. Certainly shows the creator (who btw, is almost certainly NOT sliptip as I believe it's a friend of his continuing his story) knows what he's doing on a certain level.

The ambients used were rather subpar, often times non-existent while also having awkward cuts when transitioning between zones that ruined immersion, if anything. The morning sunlight actually hindered the mission, due to how flat and lifeless it made everything look and made discerning shadows from spots of light tedious. Also my comment about the city being rather empty is what pushes the overall lack of atmosphere to the forefront, as everything is magnified tenfold due being an empty husk of a level that moreso serves as just a casual walking experience for Garrett to get to his target. So yes, I stand by what I say.

 

[marbleman]

Is there really a point to changing ALL the material sounds, other than just for the sake of using custom assets?

It's worse than that. The regular footsteps are new, but the sounds for you landing from a distance are old. I noticed this inconsistency right away, and it annoyed me the whole playthrough. Couldn't shake the feeling that something is wrong with my game.

On the other hand, that was my biggest nitpick about the mission, and I enjoyed it otherwise. But I wouldn't put it in my top 3 of the contest either. It's not quite as fun as Alcazar or Midsummer.

 

[nicked]

I'd agree on the challenge - if I replay it I'll probably try for no knockouts to add a bit more difficulty, but I thought the atmosphere was great - felt like a sleepy little town in the morning before everyone's woken up.

 

[Maggot]

Which Thief 2 20th anniversary FMs are worth playing?

 

[pavis]

Which Thief 2 20th anniversary FMs are worth playing?

For me the top 3 are:

• Into the Odd
• The Builder's Paradise
• Feast of Pilgrims

Then you have:

• Where the Unknown Lurks (really close of top 3)
  
• Fierce Competition (small but really clean and enjoyable)
  
• Ten Little Taffers (original and well done)
  
• Troubling Transitions

The others are discardable

Edit: I was a bit harsh on Gort's FM because he did put some work into it but I think that the city is much too big and there is not enough interesting places to explore, let's say it's the least discardable from the remaining ones.

 

[Scrounger]

Christine has uploaded a new version of Raven Creek V2. It's 5 missions now! Presumably full of chomping chocolate cakes, nice evenings and petty bored housewives who likes to spy on their neighbors... :D
That's just my feel, I never played Raven Creek but I think it's that kind of atmosphere if you are interested!

Taff away taffers!!

 

[Renault]

My Favorite Year is certainly not "discardable," I thought it was the best of what was left after the top 3. I'd even be tempted to put it ahead of Builder's Paradise because the gameplay in that mission was so cumbersome (although the construction was incredible).

 

[pavis]

To be honest I can't even remember the objectives of My Favorite Year, I just wrote in my notes that you need to explore a warehouse very large but not interesting

 

[Unkillable Cat]

To be honest I can't even remember the objectives of My Favorite Year, I just wrote in my notes that you need to explore a warehouse very large but not interesting

"My Favorite Year" is a bit janky in places, but that should be taken with the grain of salt that it was a competition entry put together in three weeks.

I've seen FMs that are put together in a longer time than that with a lower production quality. For example, I recently played through Christine's "Lord Ashton"-series, which unlike her other series has no redeeming features whatsoever, like an interesting premise or antagonist. It's eight missions churned out at an alarming rate of speed, and while some of the maps show promise they never take off to get anywhere. The amount of copy/pasted scenery and item placement is quite noticeable, and there can arise some strange situations in them. I had to stop and admire the six-guard conga line that was patrolling a long hallway in the last mission, because their spread-out patrols were based on hardware limitations 20 years ago, but with NewDark they all move constantly, leading to interesting pile-ups.

If my words regarding "Lord Ashton" seem harsh, keep in mind that the campaign was made almost 20 years ago. It hasn't aged well at all. Now look at "My Favorite Year" and realize that it's a small miracle that it works as well as it does.

 

[pavis]

You have a point for the duration but in this case why not concentrate onself on a samller map size rather than making a big and monotonous map? Take Jayrude's fm Fierce Competition for example: the level is small but perfectly realized and polished, with great visuals and details.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

You have a point for the duration but in this case why not concentrate onself on a samller map size rather than making a big and monotonous map? Take Jayrude's fm Fierce Competition for example: the level is small but perfectly realized and polished, with great visuals and details.

...because it's not just a warehouse heist?

Beyond that bit... I get what you're going. Sometimes smaller is better.

 

[Curratum]

I will never stop crusading about the merits of warehouse / mansion heist misssions.

It's like Thief comfort food and I love them all.

 

[Psych0sis]

I had quite a lot of fun creating "My Favorite Year", I personally think it turned out a lot better than "Troubling Transitions" which makes its placing below it odd to me. A lot of TT felt unnecessary (ie like the whole city bit) or looked god ugly in retrospect, the ground level was mostly useless and the guard placements were too spread out to offer any challenge. I had a year's worth of dromed experience going into MFY so I'm not surprised things were a lot cleaner and well constructed when I look back at them, though I'm disappointed the outdoors area with all the crates is entirely useless, or that the thieves area kinda feels too flat. Of course throwing the story together at the last second hurt my chances with the "muh story and readables" people, but that can't be helped.

With regards to Christine's latest "Raven Creek" update, it adds in two new missions and revamps the original missions, so if you enjoyed it the first time, it might be worth replaying. I didn't enjoy it at all, the last time I tried playing "Raven Creek" I almost fell asleep from the intense boredom I was feeling, and her missions usually dont run very well because of objects placed everywhere in addition to sightlines the lengths of tens of football fields. No thank you, I'll pass on this one.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

With regards to Christine's latest "Raven Creek" update, it adds in two new missions and revamps the original missions, so if you enjoyed it the first time, it might be worth replaying. I didn't enjoy it at all, the last time I tried playing "Raven Creek" I almost fell asleep from the intense boredom I was feeling, and her missions usually dont run very well because of objects places everywhere in addition to sightlines the lengths of tens of football fields. No thank you, I'll pass on this one.

I am currently replaying Raven Creek, being in the opening stages of Mission 3. Sure looks pretty, but plays like a snorefest. Except for ~200 extra loot in mission 2, I've yet to see a single new improvement... but I see a lot of squandered opportunities.