Thief fan missions and campaigns

[Squadafroinx]

Too many

EDIT : 8 missions

 

[Darth Slaughter]

We're reaching another milestone for The Black Parade ! As I speak we're close to fully finishing another map.
This mission takes place in one of the wealthiest mansion in The City, you can expect tight patrols, high traffic areas, alarms buttons, traps, barking dogs and dewdrops

A screenshot :

Spoiler

Spoiler

Fuck... Jump scares in a forum...

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Fuck... Jump scares in a forum...

"Five Nights at Dayport" wants a word with you.

(Whenever it gets released.)

 

[Darth Slaughter]

well, this week I've been playing some old thief 2 FMs... missions I've never played before, even though I had them on my FMs folder for years now...

Finished Godbreaker: Amazing rooftops mission. I guess this is one of the first FMs that I've seen that has lots of functional windows in all directions. I didn't had trouble finding the map, I guessed it would appear in the mission eventually since I saw a map in the cutscene mission, and it was very detailed. It was kind of obvious that it would be used in mission 4. I had no troubles with the beginning, but I guess I was encouraged by Random_Taffer's word for it, since he said that one could get the antidote in a matter of five minutes. So i wasn't going totally blind... What I think is that health draining is to fast, and that guard talking to you in the initial cutscene doesn't help, since he keeps you stuck and your health is already draining. But a great campaign godbreaker is. Oh, and after I finished, I reloaded last mission just to get all the loot, and even using the loot guide and reexploring the whole level, I missed 100 goods and a 100 gold. I just gave up... Oh, and about mission 2, one thing bugs me: what happened in this swamp that you have a hammerite chapel as part of a pagan community?

Then, instead of trying Behind closed doors, I went far below my FMs list (and it has spoilers though I think most of you have already played them):

Waterlogged, by Belboz: A bathhouse/thermae for rich people is the setting for this mission, and it's promoting an award ceremony in which garrett sneak in to rob the prizes. I feel the level was very well done for an old FM and it really looks like a fancy bathhouse. It's a short and small mission, but it actually feels like a big place. Maybe is that swimming pool. The only problem I had was the disappearing doors bug that often happens on dark engine for no reason at all. Here it was a nuisance just because it's been a long time this happened to me, hat I had almost forgotten about it. Anyway, it's not the FM problem specifically. Rated it 8/10

Equilibrium, by Silentsleep: Following Unkillable cat's recommendation from the first page of this very thread (and in other occasions), I didn't really enjoyed it the first time I tried. I replayed this time intending to finish it. And i did. The thing is I love when they use thief engine to make different things, but here it feels a little gimmicky and somewhat repetitive, since you have to check and cross-reference some books, and find the right of 4 talismans to open the exit. You also have to deal with invisible keepers whose movement speed is similar to the flash (and pickpocket them). It's a neat idea, but more like an exercise in ghosting, since there's no loot and minimal readables. Rated 6/10

Embracing the enemy, by Kung Fu Gecko: A great FM set in a vineyard/mansion, in which garrett has to save the house owner from a rival hitman/thief whom was sent to kill him. The idea is that the guy owes garrett money from a job and if he's dead, he couldn't honor his debt. Thing is, once garrett knocks his rival, he discover in a note that the house owner would double-cross Garrett, so objectives change so you have finish your rival's job and bring hoim with you to safety. The mission has some scripted sequences, and I had to replay due to missing a large portion of the mansion and guards entering full alert state without resuming their original calm state, making it impossible to get the rest of loot. In this replay, having knowledge of the layout, I entered the tower where the house owner flees after his murder atempt, only to find him there already before the scripted sequence of the murder. In any case, it's a well designed mission and I had a lot of fun with it. Rated 9/10

Shoes and Dresses, by Jarlfrank: Since I was playing some old missions, I saw no harm going back up there and play the mission from our estimated codexer Jarlfrank. I had played in when it was released but I never finished because I went to try some doom wads and left thief aside. So I restarted the mission. I must say that it's a mission where you can see what JF started and the places where he got the hang of making a mission. The main square seems kind of blocky, but that changes the moment you venture out of it, In the mansion with the party area, and the mage's tower. I really enjoyed that crazy water horse and the trojan horse with zombies around. That's very twin peaksy. The readables are the best part. And the in-fight between the ladies over their shoes and dresses... only for garrett come and get everything for him... even the cake. What I didn't like is that big white house in the main plaza, which has a window you can enter that's totally different from every other window from that same house. I thing that doesn't happen in the other lady's mansion. So, as I said, looks like the main plaza was where JF experimented doing vary basik houses and the he made a very much better adjacent area after he got hang of it. And he had cater to his feet fetish. Gave it 7/10. Let's just point that I installed and played tower of jorge. Never again...

Roofs of Gold, by Terra: the same as unkillable cat said: The metroidvania aspect of it is irritating. And about the jump scares, I didn't even notice those flashes were supposed to be jump scares. And i felt the mission was too damn dark. But I liked the battle with the thief ghost and the hammerite church. Rated 6/10. Will try the sequel later.

Ranstall keep, by Dashjianta: When I read it was a black and white mission, kind like cryptic realms, I thought I was in for a treat. But this is an old mission with very old too blurry textures, and it's not so black and white, as it has some colors here and there, and it has an yellow tint to it that reminds me of Deus Ex HR piss filter. Also very blocky. That being said, the mission is quite entertaining about a village that has it's inhabitants disappearing since a new lord came to the adjacent castle. You play as a thief girl named Ryalla, and she has her own set of grunts (getting hurt, mantling). she investigates the city trying to find about the mystery of missing persons. A thing I really liked is the kitchen basement full of humans being cooked, hammerites being tortured, and mostly because it reminds me of conan the barbarian (the movie), which has a scene where the cook human body parts to serve in a soup for people in an orgy. Rated 7/10

The Docks, by Gonchong: short mission and very simple. not to much to talk about. a dock, a boat, some alleys, a warehouse and guards. Get a medallion from the boat. finished it in 30 minutes. Rated 5/10

Willow island, by Gonchong: Now we're talking. From the same author, we get a better FM which is a level divided in three acts, making it a mini campaign (though it's just one level). Garrett washed up in an underground river next to a hammerite compound, hungry and eager to go back to the city. You have a great hammerite compound as the first act, after you clear you enter the second act which is a forest linear path with some pagans around and then you reach a mechanist compound, which is also a great base to sneak in. In the end it's kind of shorter than it looks, but has a very cool design. I really loved a library in which a book is under a table leg to stabilize it. Rated 8/10.

I intend to keep up while I'm enjoying it... And I guess I'll stick with an author or two and play from the oldest to the newest... obviously I won't replay missions I have played unless I'm in the mood. I'm also in a middle of a playthrough of thief gold original missions with the HD textures. I got disgusted by it at first but it actually felt as an excuse to replay the game.

And this because i'm even considering making an FM myself, but actually I don't know if I have what it takes to mess with dromed. I have an idea for a FM that I think it would translate well in the dark engine, but that is far below on my priorities. I guess playing old FMs is just to get used to the idea my FM would look like those simplistic blocks, and actually making me enthusiastic about the idea. Will see...

 

[cowking]

Embracing the enemy, by Kung Fu Gecko:

Well now that I know the plot I don't wanna play it.

 

[Melan]

The Docks is one of the oldest Thief 1 FMs around. The Thief 2 version is a conversion with some updated visuals, and a reminder of where we have come from. Try Hammerhead: Return to the Docks by the same author, though, it has some frantic action in there.

 

[Darth Slaughter]

Embracing the enemy, by Kung Fu Gecko:

Well now that I know the plot I don't wanna play it.

I told there would be spoilers.

 

[JarlFrank]

And this because i'm even considering making an FM myself, but actually I don't know if I have what it takes to mess with dromed. I have an idea for a FM that I think it would translate well in the dark engine, but that is far below on my priorities. I guess playing old FMs is just to get used to the idea my FM would look like those simplistic blocks, and actually making me enthusiastic about the idea. Will see...

Well, you reviewed my first FM, Shoes and Dresses, in that post and accurately captured its essence. That main plaza in front of Garrett's house was essentially the first thing I built in Dromed right after doing nicked's tutorial; while I built the place I was still figuring out how it all worked which explains why it's so blocky and basic. Just compare Garrett's bedroom to the bedrooms of the two ladies and you know which one I built first and which came later. If there's one thing you can really see in that mission, it's the progress of an author from absolute beginner to halfway decent, more than in any other mission because I spent one month dromeding every single day to make the contest deadline, and the first part of the mission (main plaza in front of Garrett's home) is literally the result of my first dromed attempts ever and when I built the later areas (wizard's tower, mansion, the churches) I had a lot more experience.

So if you ask yourself "Do I have what it takes to mess with Dromed?" just look at that mission for inspiration. Once you get the hang of it your level building skills will increase tremendously. Just do nicked's excellent step-by-step tutorial and then jump into it.
For years, I wanted to build an FM but always found Dromed to be rather intimidating. It took the novice contest to finally motivate me to give it a try and pump out a mission, and so I did, and Dromed turned out to be less horrible than its reputation.

A good tip for anyone who wants to get started, and a thing I occasionally do myself: look at your favourite FMs in Dromed (after doing nicked's tutorial so you have some basic knowledge on how the editor works) and check how they did things. The size of the brushes, amount of decorative objects placed in rooms, brightness and radius of lights, etc.

_________________________________

Ok, so much for reflections on my first FM's building process and some tips on dromeding.
That said, I haven't played Embracing the Enemy, Ranstall Keep and Waterlogged yet but your reviews make them sound interesting enough to check out. Gotta give those a try.

I've also been scrolling through my list of FMs in Darkloader, checking out which ones I already played and rated and which ones are still unplayed or lack a rating. Stumbled upon a Thief Gold mission that I rated 8.5/10, and I had written the comment "city mission that is very very close in atmosphere to the original Thief Gold, it almost feels like part of the original campaign. There's no other FM that felt as close to TG to me as this one." next to the rating. I should replay this one someday because really, when I first played it I kept being wowed by its atmosphere, even though architecturally it's nothing special. It just manages to capture that certain Thief Gold vibe more than any other FM I've ever played, even more so than skacky's masterpieces.

The mission's name is "Augustine's Revenge" and it's got a little bit of everything. It has streets, it has rooftops, it has a mansion, it has a small graveyard, and it has that amazing atmosphere of mystery that surrounded the city in Thief 1. It's really hard to describe what exactly makes this mission so great, but you can think of it as a very beefed-up Assassins. Explore a section of city and finally go into a mansion where you do a thing, then return back to where you started.

I hadn't known about that FM before Melan recommended it here, and I'm going to recommend it too to anyone who hasn't played it yet. It might not be on the same technical level as something like Godbreaker, or even classics like Ominous Bequest, Seven Sisters and Broken Triad, but it's an amazing mission in its own right. Do yourself a favor and play this little gem. It's a real treat.

 

[skacky]

Here's a small teaser for The Black Parade, with ambience snippets.

 

[Squadafroinx]

By the way you can believe me when I say the barking dogs were choosen in spite of downwinder, not because of him

 

[marbleman]

Astonoshing. The atmoshphere is so thick you can really feel it. And it's only a video, not even the game.

I immediately recongnized the music from the Chalice of Souls, and it reminded me of that snowy cityscape. Associations are a strong thing

Edit: I was going to say: barking dogs! Now you only have to add Dewdrop! (please don't)

 

[H3H3]

Those are some nice ambients, there. And please tell me that one of these missions are set in an opera house. Seriously. It hasn't been done very often.

 

[Squadafroinx]

Astonoshing. The atmoshphere is so thick you can really feel it. And it's only a video, not even the game.

I immediately recongnized the music from the Chalice of Souls, and it reminded me of that snowy cityscape. Associations are a strong thing

Edit: I was going to say: barking dogs! Now you only have to add Dewdrop! (please don't)

Funny you said that because for us it's more "dizzying heights" than "snowy cityscape", anyway the music is named "Ticktock_loop" or something like that, it's from The Dark Mod

Those are some nice ambients, there. And please tell me that one of these missions are set in an opera house. Seriously. It hasn't been done very often.

Sorry pal, it's just some wealthy lord's mansion; but there is a small theater somewhere in the campaign if this can make you feel better

 

[Max_b5]

When an FM is loaded of locked doors but you finally find THAT door which is unlocked but you try lockpicks, keys and even bashing it.

http://giphy.com/gifs/26xBCkim4Ff8LyhaM

 

[JarlFrank]

Here's a small teaser for The Black Parade, with ambience snippets.

I came.

 

[H3H3]

Sorry pal, it's just some wealthy lord's mansion; but there is a small theater somewhere in the campaign if this can make you feel better

Oh, damn! Ah well. It'll come... someday.

 

[Melan]

Here's a small teaser for The Black Parade, with ambience snippets.

Man oh man... Have a Golden Brofist, both of you (#5 and #6 - it is a limited series). This is beautiful, and that's not even mentioning all the gameplay possibilities.

The mission's name is "Augustine's Revenge" and it's got a little bit of everything.

Augustine's Revenge is great, one of my favourites. It is utterly irrealistic - much more rough around the edges than stinkykitty's missions - but captures Thief's shadowy essence in an abstract way, and is almost pure gameplay. It also keeps going on and on. It is the best of bbb's missions, but some of the others (Three Crowns, Nigel's Hidden Treasure) are also interesting to play. Here is my review from TTLG (2009):

Spoiler

Augustine’s Revenge by bbb

Brought to you by the creator of Three Crowns, which was reviewed here recently, Augustine’s Revenge is a tremendous city and mansion type mission for Thief: the Dark Project. I do not often call missions tremendous, but here, I must make an exception – not because Augustine’s Revenge is flawless, but rather because it presents a triumph of gameplay and ambience over technology.

Why do I claim this? Because it is a great Thief mission that is very unlike most other great Thief missions. They – like Saturnine’s recently released Rose Cottage, or Mission X – are heavily customised technological masterpieces that push the Dark Engine beyond all conceivable limits, using textures, sounds and procedures beyond the wildest ambitions of Looking Glass Studios. Augustine’s Revenge is the polar opposite. It is restricted to stock TDP resources, using no custom sounds, textures or objects (take care that you will need Thief Gold or the correct patch to play, though). The level geometry is simple, even simplistic: architecture is a succession of simple shapes; a house is a cube with a prism on the top, a tower is a cylinder with window textures and some basic crenellations, nothing more complex.

So why ‘tremendous’? Because all the effort that was not spent on visual polish and customisation has been spent instead on building a huge exploration-oriented level that takes hours to finish, and features impeccably designed gameplay. To get to your main objective, a rich lord’s mansion, you will first have to navigate the streets of a city, then take to the rooftops to reach your destination. What starts out as a distinctly small-townish environment with one or two-story buildings shortly becomes a vertigo-inducing sequence of towering construction, where you have to hop from apartment to apartment and from ledge to ledge over immense chasms to progress. All of this is a remarkably smooth experience: the difficulty is just right to challenge but not to intimidate; hidden places are just devilish enough to pose a challenge but not to cause frustration. This is exploration-oriented gameplay as it should be. (Designers, take note: hiding places here are mainly hidden in the environment, not with annoying and hard to locate mini-switches.) Then, after you have had your fill of rooftopping, play moves on to the mansion, where evading tight interlocking patrols and discovering the clues to your ultimate goals are your objective. Again, the setup works: it is almost optimally designed. (Ghosting is possible throughout the mission, although I failed at one point where I had to bash down a barrier to proceed – it seems there might have been another way to my goal, so others may fare better.)

Then, a few words have to be dedicated to ambience. There have been many attempts to reinvent the look and feel of Thief from the faithful to the utterly unconventional. Augustine’s Revenge is, perhaps, notable for evoking a certain mystique of the City – it is just elegant somehow, and the simple architecture eventually becomes comfortable – instead of fighting against the limitations of 11-years-old technology, the author has used it to capture something iconic, dark and subtle. It may be in the application of the textures and lights and the sharp contrasts of shadow and illumination; it may be in the music, or the way the simple architecture is allusive of dense and complex urban architecture instead of directly simulating it. It is a curious and very non-obvious way to achieve something great, but it works.

It is unlikely that Augustine’s Revenge will be considered one of the ‘star’ fan missions in Dromed history. Nonetheless, it should be tried and enjoyed, because in a very peculiar way, it is very much their equal.

 

[H3H3]

You know... I'm starting to think that 2017 is turning out to be one of the best years for FMs. I might be exaggerating (a lot), but think about it. There's tons of high-quality missions coming out and quite a few new authors are getting into Dromed (and one of them is even making a proper mission). Plus, we have two 10-mission campaigns on the horizon. :D

Anyone agree?

 

[JarlFrank]

2017 looks to become the year of mullti-mission campaigns.
- Godbreaker with 4 missions
- DCE coming out soonish
- TROTB coming out soonish

Black Parade is probably going to be a 2018 release, but still.

As for non-campaign missions, we received Behind Closed Doors which I enjoyed quite a bit, so yeah the year is already looking good.

 

[marbleman]

Might not be the very best year for FMs, but one of the best ones for sure!

 

[H3H3]

As for non-campaign missions, we received Behind Closed Doors which I enjoyed quite a bit, so yeah the year is already looking good.

And it's going to get even better.

Spoiler

FrenchDecay is very close to releasing his second mission, Breathing Corpses! Now that's something to look forward to, let me tell you that much.

 

[H3H3]

Might not be the very best year for FMs, but one of the best ones for sure!

Well yeah, that what's I said.

 

[JarlFrank]

FrenchDecay's second mission is one I very much look forward to. His first one was so creative and interesting, it really surprised me. I hope Breathing Corpses brings as many surprises as that other one did!

 

[marbleman]

Thou need not even ask...

Seriosuly, it's amazing.

 

[Yandros]

skacky Looks like downwinder is expecting a Dewdrop in TBP. You know you can't disappoint the boy...