Thief fan missions and campaigns

[Unkillable Cat]

I gave it a go. I like the gimmick, love the fact that the new sections fit the T1 style, I taffed about the place long enough, but once I saw the location that (seemingly) requires The Crate to proceed, I kinda lost interest.

 

[Max_b5]

Just a tip to have an easy walkthrough in 'Up in the Bonehoard': Rope arrows work on stone surfaces.

 

[Yandros]

Well, of course they do. Because that's... intuitive, and in keeping with the standard gameplay we're used to...

 

[Melan]

Have I already said I am endlessly amused by people who have been around the Thief community for several years, but still manage to be completely bamboozled by a fan mission if it is for Thief 1/Thief Gold? Because if not, I will say it now.

 

[Yandros]

I think we all know that certain people in the community are... challenged. But aren't we all, really?

 

[JarlFrank]

Thief is, after all, a challenging game.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

GORT just broke a record: Largest T1/T2 FM released (in terms of file size).

He's currently asking for beta-testers for "Rebellion of the Builder 2" (so taffers reading this should head over to TTLG for details) and he revealed that the campaign is 1.64 Gb in size - more than triple the size of the previously largest FM.

It's going to be 'Yuge!'

 

[tormund]

I am not so sure about that. Isn't that guy notorious for making near unplayably difficult missions that don't even play too much like actual Thief missions? Sort of like that recent series of huge Russian-made missions...

(on a sort of relate note, I just went to TTLG and I saw this http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147238 GAF is probably only other forum out there where OP like that wouldn't be treated like a troll attempt )

 

[JarlFrank]

I am not so sure about that. Isn't that guy notorious for making near unplayably difficult missions that don't even play too much like actual Thief missions? Sort of like that recent series of huge Russian-made missions...

His missions are notoriously difficult but not for the same reason as Soul Tear's. There's less "you have to progress in the exact way the developer intended" and more "lol here are guards with laser swords, if you frob this door an explosion will kill you, and these mechanists over there are twice as fast as normal guards and have pistols, have fun!".
He also does a lot of interesting things with the engine and with custom resources, like the aforementioned guards with guns.

 

[DrKubiac]

Not dead yet. I'm working with Squadarofl, Skacky and Firemage now.

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141276&page=7&p=2337872&viewfull=1#post2337872

 

[Yandros]

That looks so good it hurts!

 

[Icewater]

Not dead yet. I'm working with Squadarofl, Skacky and Firemage now.

Glorious.

 

[Dev_Anj]

Glad that you're still going on with it. I'm sure it will release someday. Hopefully when you want it to.

 

[Riskbreaker]

:Looks at screenshot:
:sees that "working with Squadarofl, Skacky and Firemage" bit:

You oughta be legally prevented from posting anymore news 'till that damned thing is finally ready for release!
This is bad for me poor health, it really is. :D

 

[DrKubiac]

Hey, gotta grab dem brofists. It was Squada's idea anyway :D

 

[Melan]

Well, of course they do. Because that's... intuitive, and in keeping with the standard gameplay we're used to...

There is a strategically placed and clearly written readable that tells you about it. The "bow upgrade" you have to find adds an interesting gameplay dimension, one that makes tons of sense in this FM.

In other news, Up in the Bonehoard is a barrel of fun. It is familiar but at the time completely new and challenging. Who knew the Bonehoard could work this way? It is certainly a new perspective on an old mission.

 

[Yandros]

Well had I known that, I wouldn't have said what I did. If it's set up for the player and not just an arbitrary thing, bravo I say.

 

[cowking]

I'd like to play some kind of bonehoard lost treasure/ruined dungeon type fm with exploration/smart puzzles. Obviously it has to be good. And no I don't want to play Up in the Bonehoard because I recently played through T1.

Any suggestions?

 

[skacky]

Sepulchre of the Sinistral.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

What the owlhead above said. Take note (because this needs to be said for those "special" taffers) that it's a T1 FM.

Another obvious one (for T2) is "Cryptic Realms".

Otherwise, read this thread through for other similar recommendations.

 

[cowking]

I played Sepulchre, it wasn't horrible, but not great either.

The plot was bad, I mean hammerites... ancient evil... crypt, elements of this and that, retarded greedy thief (the second one) whose journal is a physical pain to read. Even amnesia plot would be better. This was also one of the only fms where audiolog syndrome actually bothered me.

It had one nice puzzle, otherwise it was bleh. Also suffered from undead overdose in that you just had to have four or five of them in every room so moving about becomes a chore. I don't even mind undead, but at least place a mechanism a clever player can use to thin them out, like a room with a gate and switch. Or fewer undead with crazy long patrol routes that player has difficulty keeping track of (with some fake sounds thrown in the mix). You could even have crazy many undead with crazy patrol routes if you had a clever mechanism... but no.

I also missed like 2/3rds of the loot because I just wanted the mission to end.

______________________________

Also tried Cryptic Realms, I doubt I'll even finish this. Neverending tight linear corridors filled with undead makes for some really bad gameplay. At one point I jokingly went to swordfight against one with the intent to reload, turns out it's head exploded when I hit it.

Yawn.

 

[Mechs Delight]

IAlso tried Cryptic Realms, I doubt I'll even finish this. Neverending tight linear corridors filled with undead makes for some really bad gameplay. At one point I jokingly went to swordfight against one with the intent to reload, turns out it's head exploded when I hit it.

Yawn.

Wow, couldn't disagree more. "Cryptic Realms" is absolutely wonderful, creepy and atmospheric. Other than a texture or two that I couldn't get to go grayscale and perhaps a silly moment or two, it's hard to find fault with this mission.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

There's a FM that's part of a larger set of missions that takes place in a large crypt. It has plenty of wide non-linear corridors, a Hammerite encampment primed to take on an Undead assault, a Mechanist encampment ready to repel zombies, and then a thief hideout that worships Rammstein. Sadly I can't remember the name, but it's in this thread somewhere.

EDIT: Found it. "Brawl in the Tombs".

Beyond that, the only "Bonehoard"-esque mission I can think of now that has...smart puzzles is Haplo's "Unholy Vivid Innocence". Go try that one.

 

[Dev_Anj]

cowking : Just curious, what do you think of the Bonehoard, Old Quarter and Haunted cathedral levels from Thief 1? Do they have some of the flaws of the FMs you played through?

 

[cowking]

Great -> w/e (map is fun) -> shit.

If we compare Bonehoard and Sepulchre, Bonehoard comes on top with ease (and actually comes with a mechanism to deal with the undead). It's also part of a highly immersive campaign, which you really have to take into account (meaning fm has to have better than cliche plot and audiolog to compete). It's also pointless to refer to OM mistakes as comparison because they were there at the very beginning. FM makers know what works, what doesn't, what is shit and what isn't. There's no excuse.

Some more methods to deal with undead without turning into first person shooter with water arrows.

- room above a pit with a switch floor
- long narrow corridors player can block with crates
- build the entire level with lockdown switch puzzle in mind where the player has to manipulate sections correctly to seal hordes of undead from leaking into your/next section