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Thief fan missions and campaigns
- Thread starter SCO
- Start date
H3H3
Novice
Cragscleft AND the bonehoard? Sounds delightful.
(so... is it like a prison with a catacomb beneath it?)
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- May 13, 2009
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Well it isn't the other way around, is it?
Though the Hammerites would probably love the concept.
"Oi! You undead taffers down there! More prisoners for ya!"
*sounds of unlucky taffers being thrown down into a deep hole*
*echoing chorus of JOINUSJOINUSJOINUSJOINUSJOINUSJOINUSJOINUSJOINUS from hole*
"Right that's them sorted, who's next?"
H3H3
Novice
Even better.
2017 really seems to be shaping up to be a top FM year 
We've got the next mission of Max's campaign coming in.
And we're getting this soon-ish, which looks extremely unique in its visual style:
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146428
We've got the next mission of Max's campaign coming in.
And we're getting this soon-ish, which looks extremely unique in its visual style:
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146428
H3H3
Novice
Yeah. It's pretty interesting. Some of the screens kind of look like what Karath-Din would've been before it sank into the ground, you know what I mean?
Last edited:
Yeah, that pyramid-like structure in the first screenshot looks a little Karath-Din-ish.
Yandros
Savant
Also promising is that several new authors have appeared recently. Two brand new ones have announced themselves in the Upcoming Missions thread just in the last few weeks.
One should update the first post on that thread...
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In FMs that should be dropping in very soon, I'm mostly interested in the "Five Nights at Dayport" one, but that one has fallen strangely silent lately, even though it had a Late January planned release. :/
H3H3
Novice
Well, he did say "maybe".
The guy's still active on the German TTLG.de forums so don't worry too much. He's still working on his stuff.
As far as I know he's tackling multiple projects at once though so that might contribute to any eventual delays.
As far as I know he's tackling multiple projects at once though so that might contribute to any eventual delays.
Going through more...
Ruins of originia, by YcatX (T2): Played this because it's one of the old must play FMs, and dubbed ultima underworld 3 by Unkillable Cat himself, whom also labeled its last mission a "masterpiece". Well, I must say the last mission is one of the most annoying FMs I ever played. The 1st and 2nd mission are the better ones. But the first suffers from some pixel hunting with the scattered buttons at the end that you must find to access bantar's chamber. I wouldn't be able to solve it without an walkthrough. Also, there's a lot of hidden levers that you can't actually see what they do. And the mission is large, I mean Huge. 2nd mission is the best of the bunch, and you can finish it without any help, and it has a thieves hideout with named members (you can see their names when you knock them out). Mission 1 and 2 have nice music placement, and their atmosphere are amazing. The only thing that really should be tonned down is that there are areas that are pitch black dark. And those shadow burricks are really annoying to deal with.
The 3rd mission is an ok mission, you have to find your way out from a cave system, filled with varied species of burricks. In expert one of the objectives is to kill them all. Not a bad mission, but nothing impressive. It's a middle section in the campaign, which brings us to the museum, the 4th level.
This 4th level may have been something back then, but I had to struggled to finish it. There's a section where you have to find an invisible key to unlock an invisible lock. There's a Gem you bring with you that ilumminates the enviroment and supposedly reveal hidden things, but it never worked for me. Also, the layout of the museum, a maze with "chocolate-square" floors that makes walking through its corridor unnecessarily cumbersome. It also has a "talorus" vibe to it, which doesn't mean a good thing for me. those weren't the best UW levels. The idea is cool, with the exibits being presented by a voiced caretaker. But its also weird because being museum, some exhibits that simulates real locations has real guards in them, which you can't kill... aren't these things supposed to be dioramas? Also, there's an exhibition that you can grow some flowers, but you have to go back and forth through a sinkhole with vines and rope arrow, swim, and bring some water from a fountain in another exhibit. You have to do this 5 times, because you have to fill the bucket everytime in the fountain. Also, lots of invisible foes that kill you in one hit. And there's not many (if any) readables in it.
Also, to end the 4th mission, you have to throw the book in an orb inside a volcano's crater. Thing is, if you miss the orb, the book falls on the lava, but no worries, because the lava waves throw the book safely to the shore. Unless you are me and accidentally saved after missing the orb and getting the book stuck in the middle of the lava lake. I was almost giving up but I shot about 15 broad head arrows that eventually mad the book move to the shore as it was supposed to. My previous save was in the beginning of the mission.
The campaign has some cut scenes, and begins interesting, but the last mission is really annoying.
So, 6/10.
Rose cottage, by Saturnine (T2): Well, since I wanted to play a simple mission after a big campaign, and I never actually played it (only lauched once to see the graphics). It's more like an adventure horror mission, but I dare say it's the most bealtiful visually thief level ever. The colors, the architecture, the models, the sound, the textures... It just don't feel like it's set in the thief universe at all, with telephones and all. No weapons, no loot. But the story is has a nice twist, and how you deal with the spirits, though repetitive, is really tense. There are some jump scares, but the fear comes from the sound, darkness and atmosphere. It's short and the only side thing is that instead of loot, there are 20 tarot cards scattered around the mansion. Also, the mission is very linear, but it was great playing through it. It reminds me of red moon, by terra, which was metroidvania, but huge with lockpicks positioned in far places, here it how you do that kind of gameplay right. Rated 9/10.
Ruins of originia, by YcatX (T2): Played this because it's one of the old must play FMs, and dubbed ultima underworld 3 by Unkillable Cat himself, whom also labeled its last mission a "masterpiece". Well, I must say the last mission is one of the most annoying FMs I ever played. The 1st and 2nd mission are the better ones. But the first suffers from some pixel hunting with the scattered buttons at the end that you must find to access bantar's chamber. I wouldn't be able to solve it without an walkthrough. Also, there's a lot of hidden levers that you can't actually see what they do. And the mission is large, I mean Huge. 2nd mission is the best of the bunch, and you can finish it without any help, and it has a thieves hideout with named members (you can see their names when you knock them out). Mission 1 and 2 have nice music placement, and their atmosphere are amazing. The only thing that really should be tonned down is that there are areas that are pitch black dark. And those shadow burricks are really annoying to deal with.
The 3rd mission is an ok mission, you have to find your way out from a cave system, filled with varied species of burricks. In expert one of the objectives is to kill them all. Not a bad mission, but nothing impressive. It's a middle section in the campaign, which brings us to the museum, the 4th level.
This 4th level may have been something back then, but I had to struggled to finish it. There's a section where you have to find an invisible key to unlock an invisible lock. There's a Gem you bring with you that ilumminates the enviroment and supposedly reveal hidden things, but it never worked for me. Also, the layout of the museum, a maze with "chocolate-square" floors that makes walking through its corridor unnecessarily cumbersome. It also has a "talorus" vibe to it, which doesn't mean a good thing for me. those weren't the best UW levels. The idea is cool, with the exibits being presented by a voiced caretaker. But its also weird because being museum, some exhibits that simulates real locations has real guards in them, which you can't kill... aren't these things supposed to be dioramas? Also, there's an exhibition that you can grow some flowers, but you have to go back and forth through a sinkhole with vines and rope arrow, swim, and bring some water from a fountain in another exhibit. You have to do this 5 times, because you have to fill the bucket everytime in the fountain. Also, lots of invisible foes that kill you in one hit. And there's not many (if any) readables in it.
Also, to end the 4th mission, you have to throw the book in an orb inside a volcano's crater. Thing is, if you miss the orb, the book falls on the lava, but no worries, because the lava waves throw the book safely to the shore. Unless you are me and accidentally saved after missing the orb and getting the book stuck in the middle of the lava lake. I was almost giving up but I shot about 15 broad head arrows that eventually mad the book move to the shore as it was supposed to. My previous save was in the beginning of the mission.
The campaign has some cut scenes, and begins interesting, but the last mission is really annoying.
So, 6/10.
Rose cottage, by Saturnine (T2): Well, since I wanted to play a simple mission after a big campaign, and I never actually played it (only lauched once to see the graphics). It's more like an adventure horror mission, but I dare say it's the most bealtiful visually thief level ever. The colors, the architecture, the models, the sound, the textures... It just don't feel like it's set in the thief universe at all, with telephones and all. No weapons, no loot. But the story is has a nice twist, and how you deal with the spirits, though repetitive, is really tense. There are some jump scares, but the fear comes from the sound, darkness and atmosphere. It's short and the only side thing is that instead of loot, there are 20 tarot cards scattered around the mansion. Also, the mission is very linear, but it was great playing through it. It reminds me of red moon, by terra, which was metroidvania, but huge with lockpicks positioned in far places, here it how you do that kind of gameplay right. Rated 9/10.
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- Messages
- 27,231
I see you're basing your "play Ruins of Originia" decision off of my older recommendation from 7 years ago. I revisited the FM a few months ago and posted my impressions here, where you'll see we pretty much reach the same conclusion, though my overall rating is higher.
As for "Rose Cottage" - I've come to regard Thief FMs falling into one of two broad categories: Those that try to be like Thief, and those that try to avoid being like Thief. Rose Cottage falls into the latter category, along with FMs like "Fables of the Penitent Thief", "Deceptive Perceptions" and that FM from last year that I can't remember the name of where you were hunting symbols through an abandoned house.
As for "Rose Cottage" - I've come to regard Thief FMs falling into one of two broad categories: Those that try to be like Thief, and those that try to avoid being like Thief. Rose Cottage falls into the latter category, along with FMs like "Fables of the Penitent Thief", "Deceptive Perceptions" and that FM from last year that I can't remember the name of where you were hunting symbols through an abandoned house.
H3H3
Novice
Coaxing the Spirit
Well, I'm re-reading the thread from the beginning to try and find some gems I missed. I intent to actually play the most FMs I can, som I'm trying to exhaust the better options. I forgot you replayed and updated your impressions on old FMs... But I would eventually catch up.
He even managed to bring back those Headlesses. I agree he succeeded, even in the weirdness and the "Mr. Trial N. Erro" aspect. Even the blocky design and textures contribute to it.
Well, this speed potion thing is really lame, because you can't actually know what the lever does (it opens a far away door) and no one will actually try to drink the speed potion... And the rope, I only got to it using a speed potion. Only to have forgotten 200 piece of loot that was in that section. So I got back and struggled with it and eventually found the way you have to behave to grab that fucking rope.
Especially with great sequences like the raid the thieves promote in the mine town. And also because the end cut scene is a cliffhanger. This set of missions could get better with a remake that adds readables that give you hints in-game instead of making you rely on a walkthrough, and brighten some of the darker areas, specially with those smoke demons in the end mission.
As for "Rose Cottage" - I've come to regard Thief FMs falling into one of two broad categories: Those that try to be like Thief, and those that try to avoid being like Thief. Rose Cottage falls into the latter category, along with FMs like "Fables of the Penitent Thief", "Deceptive Perceptions" and that FM from last year that I can't remember the name of where you were hunting symbols through an abandoned house.[/QUOTE]
Now, I actually started Deceptive Perceptions yesterday because it was mentioned in the old posts in this thread, along The eclipsed. Both were mentioned after Rose Cottage was suggested, as options to FMs with similar gameplay. I finished Deceptive so:
Deceptive Perceptions, by William the Taffer (T2): Consists mostly of jump scares, but they are effective, as most of them happen when you turn away and are not in your face. And it's really short which was kind of disappointing. But that "we're here" sequence was brilliant. in the end, a 7/10.
Playing through the eclipsed right now.
So I played through an old Water Contest mission that I remember having enjoyed back in the day as it has an interesting atmosphere.
Well, it's not really that good.
The mission is "Sneaking Through Venice" and it suffers from some severe design flaws.
- There are windows that you could theoretically climb through in order to jump down into the canal. It's more difficult than it should be though, because the window shutters are positioned in a way that when opened, they're not flush with the wall on which they're fastened. Instead, they kinda float a little bit inside the window opening, constricting it and making it harder to squeeze through. It's negligible cause at no point do you need to go through a window, but still annoying.
- There are carpet objects placed on the floors. Quite a lot of them, actually. Only problem: they don't have physics boxes.
- Worst offender: mission goal is to kill a dude, get loot, and get one special loot item. You need to find a secret switch to get to the area with the guy to kill and the loot item. Down there is a chest to pick. When you open it, the floor beneath you disappears and you fall in water. I had to reload until I managed to stay on the ledge the chest is on - cause if you fall into the water there is no way back out. Opening the chest also spawns the dude you need to kill... in the room you just came from. So you ABSOLUTELY NEED to stay on the ledge or you're stuck. Kill the dude, take his key... then JUMP INTO THE WATER WHERE THERE'S NO WAY BACK OUT, use the key on a lockbox, swim into a secret room and swipe the chest you need to steal. Now the dude is dead, the item is stolen, and the mission should be finished!
... if you managed to meet your loot goal, that is. If you didn't meet your loot goal, have fun being stuck in an unwinnable place. It's kinda like one of these old Sierra adventure games.
Wanna go jumpety-jump on that nice delicious carpet in the middle of the room? Your boots are gonna go clackety-clack because you're hitting the wooden floor underneath. All the carpets in this FM are objects without physics boxes. Even those on marble. Yeah, jumping on the carpet in a marble-covered room is how I discovered that these carpets do, in fact, no have any physics boxes.
This is a cute little touch. Gloria gets something more special than a dewdrop this time!
Overall I rated the mission a solid 5.5/10. It's not horrible, and it has a very interesting concept. The small section of Venice you sneak through is mostly made up of canals, some buildings actually have more than one point of access and it's short enough to not make the mission's flaws too fatal. Still, the flaws are pretty major and one of them can render the mission unwinnable, so I can't rate it any higher than 5.5. There's really nothing remarkable about it beside the concept of swimming through the canals of Venice and it makes me wanna see more FMs set in cities with canals.
Bonus screenshot from TTGM 4: Making Tracks, a mission I started but put away for now. I'll go back to it when I have more patience, cause that's a big FM with apparently a lot of item hunting. But I made this screenshot and can't keep it from y'all.
Well, it's not really that good.
The mission is "Sneaking Through Venice" and it suffers from some severe design flaws.
- There are windows that you could theoretically climb through in order to jump down into the canal. It's more difficult than it should be though, because the window shutters are positioned in a way that when opened, they're not flush with the wall on which they're fastened. Instead, they kinda float a little bit inside the window opening, constricting it and making it harder to squeeze through. It's negligible cause at no point do you need to go through a window, but still annoying.
- There are carpet objects placed on the floors. Quite a lot of them, actually. Only problem: they don't have physics boxes.
- Worst offender: mission goal is to kill a dude, get loot, and get one special loot item. You need to find a secret switch to get to the area with the guy to kill and the loot item. Down there is a chest to pick. When you open it, the floor beneath you disappears and you fall in water. I had to reload until I managed to stay on the ledge the chest is on - cause if you fall into the water there is no way back out. Opening the chest also spawns the dude you need to kill... in the room you just came from. So you ABSOLUTELY NEED to stay on the ledge or you're stuck. Kill the dude, take his key... then JUMP INTO THE WATER WHERE THERE'S NO WAY BACK OUT, use the key on a lockbox, swim into a secret room and swipe the chest you need to steal. Now the dude is dead, the item is stolen, and the mission should be finished!
... if you managed to meet your loot goal, that is. If you didn't meet your loot goal, have fun being stuck in an unwinnable place. It's kinda like one of these old Sierra adventure games.
Wanna go jumpety-jump on that nice delicious carpet in the middle of the room? Your boots are gonna go clackety-clack because you're hitting the wooden floor underneath. All the carpets in this FM are objects without physics boxes. Even those on marble. Yeah, jumping on the carpet in a marble-covered room is how I discovered that these carpets do, in fact, no have any physics boxes.
This is a cute little touch. Gloria gets something more special than a dewdrop this time!
Overall I rated the mission a solid 5.5/10. It's not horrible, and it has a very interesting concept. The small section of Venice you sneak through is mostly made up of canals, some buildings actually have more than one point of access and it's short enough to not make the mission's flaws too fatal. Still, the flaws are pretty major and one of them can render the mission unwinnable, so I can't rate it any higher than 5.5. There's really nothing remarkable about it beside the concept of swimming through the canals of Venice and it makes me wanna see more FMs set in cities with canals.
Bonus screenshot from TTGM 4: Making Tracks, a mission I started but put away for now. I'll go back to it when I have more patience, cause that's a big FM with apparently a lot of item hunting. But I made this screenshot and can't keep it from y'all.
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Re: "Sneaking through Venice": What an adorable kitty!
Re: "Ruins of Originia": Slim hope here, but YcatX actually popped into the TTLG forums a while back (1+ year) and said that he had found the material he used to make the Originia campaign. So...assuming he sat down with DromED again and decided to continue his work, we may not have seen the last of this.
Re: "Ruins of Originia": Slim hope here, but YcatX actually popped into the TTLG forums a while back (1+ year) and said that he had found the material he used to make the Originia campaign. So...assuming he sat down with DromED again and decided to continue his work, we may not have seen the last of this.
I sure do hope YcatX continues his work on ROO. Not too often you get your mind blown away.
Another person I also want to come back to FM making is Haplo. The last contact I had with him was years ago and it's surprising how well he can write in Spanish.
Another person I also want to come back to FM making is Haplo. The last contact I had with him was years ago and it's surprising how well he can write in Spanish.
H3H3
Novice
Get a load of these screens for Terra's upcoming mission:
I'd say he's gotten better, especially since he made Roofs of Gold. What do you guys think?
-Terra- said:WIP "Soul of The Gems" the Sequel to "Heart of the Gems"
I'd say he's gotten better, especially since he made Roofs of Gold. What do you guys think?
I just hope you start with your equipment this time. And more proportional windows/doors.
Only windows/doors? Heart of Gems felt almost like the little big wolrd from The Sword to me. Guy's gotta tone down his scaling but I agree he's quite good in the architecture department.
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