T2 FM Durant (Final version released 10/24/2001)

[Dafydd]

[Folks]

I believe this FM is only ghostable if you don't read the book that adds your new objective to kill the Child of Carras. If you do, then there is no place to kill the critter where it won't be spotted... and you can't move it, either!

Here is my (long, spoilery) write-up:

http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthr...432#post300432

Dafydd

[Ethne]

Originally posted by Nightwalker
When you enter the Mechanist building from the street door that takes you into the Warehouse room,

spoiler:

go through it and open the door on the left that's across from the door to the hallway with the elevator. Upstairs in one of the rooms is a book lying on the floor. The combination is in it and it also gives you a new objective about something else.

Help me, please.

spoiler:

I cannot seem to find that book that has the codes in it. I have checked both upstairs bedrooms and see no book on the floor.

[Ethne]

Never mind. I had already read it, just never got the new objective.

[Rinscewind]

Hey,

I am mostly through Durant. I have completed all of the objectives, except for destroying the Child. I have the

spoiler:

acid arrows

I have an explosive device and 3 fire arrows. I have read the two Friend's journals, and concluded that the Child is

spoiler:

in the crate with the label that reads, "Contents: 1 Child, some assembly required"

*Dur*

I have tried many things to

spoiler:

open the crate. I have used the explosive device and all my fire arrows. I have tried the acid arrows. I have destroyed the small mech guard in the auotmated cog room, bashed it till it fell apart, then threw it's corpse at the crate over 30 times ('bot corpses can destroy boards with one toss, where 5 sword hits would be needed).

It cannot be moved, such as up the elevator to be pushed off. I see nothing to open it with. Nothing in my inventory seems to be helpful. I believe I have found all the books/scrolls/etc to read. I think I have searched everywhere it is likely to be. I might have missed something small. As with the debate about zones and huge level areas, there is an awful lot of area to have to cover inch-by-inch, and I get bored with having to do that. I mean, (example) to find something like a silver key on a light grey street that is hundreds of feet long, when the author put it behind a small step in the middle of an 'unused' area that you need to rush through to not be seen can be frustrating. Durant has a lot of surface area to search (the sewers are spacious, the mansion walls are huge, etc), and if it is easily missed, I won't spend hours on it.

I am stymied!

Any hints would be helpful, but no outright spoilers please.

Also, I have not found the cog key to the Art Gallery, near the pathing drunk guard. If anyone can drop a hint for that, I would appreciate it also.

Maybe a bit of trivia: I have made

spoiler:

the cog template.

When I

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drop it into the Gear Transform Machine,

nothing comes out at the other end. Is this just game flavor?

Thanks!

"Never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. Then go ahead -- you will be a mile away, and will also have his shoes."

[Nightwalker]

spoiler:

The child you have to destroy is one of this little gold ones. He's not in the crate, he'll be wandering around the Mechanist building somewhere.

As for the cog

spoiler:

it doesn't emerge in the machines downstairs. You have to go to the very top floor and punch in the code for de Perrins, which can be found in a book in a room at the top of the stairs that are across from the elevator door on the same level as the warehouse. Then the door to that machine will open and the cog to open the collector's will be inside.

[Rinscewind]

Erm.

I have been all over the Mech building, through every area. I have yet to see a golden child. I assume you mean one of the small 'bots that cannot be knocked out, has a pipe or two sticking out of it, and always follows you around a few feet away, cringing when you lift a weapon?

I am stuck, then. I have been running around in this FM for awhile, and the only human-type Mech-made thing I have seen is the servant in Durant's mansion, which has a blue suit, and can be knocked out. I will have to keep looking, I guess, and hope I missed it stuck somewhere. Dunno.

Also, there are only two buildings that can use cogs. One is the Caterer's building, and the other is Grimm and de Perrin Fine Relics. One of the cogs was labeled 'Resteraunt', which

spoiler:

fit into the Caterer's lock.

A book somewhere lists

spoiler:

the automated cog maker having a code both for the doors for Durant and Grimm and de Perrin.

But

spoiler:

the cog machine is set to destroy itself when used. It won't open a 2nd time. I take it I have to make a cog, which destroys the machine.

This means I have to start over.

Maybe I will see the child if I go there early in the mission, instead of exploring everything else first.

-Thanks

[Rinscewind]

Thanks. I started from the beginning. I found my things, went to the mech warehouse, got the cog key, and as I reached the basement to start looking for the Child, it wandered past me!



When I play a game, I usually wander around a lot. I don't necessarily follow the objectives as they are listed. Some sort of timer seems to run in DromEd. In a few FMs, I've poked around for so long a few things have reset. An arrow or two reappears for me to pick up, a guard that is KO'd is replaced by another, etc. In at least two different missions, now, some things that should happen have not, because I poke around for so long. I start the mission over, and the event is fixed.

Somehow, in Durant, the Child disappeared. I guess it is because I went to the warehouse as the final step. At keys, and afk, I spent awhile before getting there, with lots of quick saves. The Child may have gone outside the playing area (under the world, however to phrase it), somehow got caught in a wall, dunno. The first time through, I never saw the Child one time. I ran through the building so many times, I had to KO/frogbeast egg/gas mine everyone, as it took forever to get around looking for it. I heard the conversation that is triggered when I open the doors to the admin area, between the two mech guards about the Child. There was just NO CHILD!

I restart, make the key, go to the basement, and it wanders past.

*smack self repeatedly*

Well, I cleaned out the art gallery, and called it even. Thanks!

[Jitz]

Can someone tell me how I can get into the cuboard in the wine cellar?

[PotatoGuy]

Bringing this thread back alive for a moment, because I have a question about something I didn't see in the other threads. In the Mechanist bilding, I want to have my gear at the gear press machine, and I enter the code 6428. But the '2'-button doesn't work. I just get 648! Am I missing something in the building how to fix this, or isn't it supposed to happen?

[Nightwalker]

No, that's definitely not supposed to happen and I've never heard that problem mentioned before. Do you have a save that you can restart from? It's possible that it's just a weird little bug that crept in. Other than that, I have no idea what to suggest.

[PotatoGuy]

Well, a reload doesn't work and it might help to restart from start, but...is it possible to end the game without making that gear?

[bobber]

Can someone tell me how I can get into the cuboard in the wine cellar?

On the far left side of the wall facing the cupboard there is a unlit torch you can frob, I think.

[uncadonego]

If he hasn't figured that out in the last four and a half years he probably gave up by now.

[bobber]

If he hasn't figured that out in the last four and a half years he probably gave up by now.

Hah! Got me. I thought this was a new thread. Having just replayed it I thought wow, I know the answer to that one.
Oh well, I tried.

[uncadonego]

Ya but just think, if he went into a coma after posting that, and just came out of that same coma today, he's going to thank you.

[Nightwalker]

I honestly can't remember if you HAVE to get in there. It may just be a case of not finding enough loot if you're playing on Expert as there's quite a bit in that building but I can't be sure. I guess you'll just have to keep going and see if you can complete it without the gear. Come back and let us know in case someone in the future runs into the same problem.

[The Phantom]

Can't believe I've never actually played Durant. It's quite good.
Taking place during Thief 2's original missions it creates a nice story of the events before "Casing the Joint".

Starting on the highest difficulty (Don's style) was a wrong choice. Too many enemies you aren't allowed to kill/ko, tough security systems to avoid, I found it too hard to begin with. So I restarted on Normal, finished that, and re-started on Don's style.
This time it didn't gave me much trouble, especially after I found out how to make good use of the large amount of equipment, and using the trap in Ziggy's room and the hammer haunt to my advantage. I like your style, Don
Unless your a master-thief and don't mind challenges and slow progress, I'd recommend Normal or hard difficulty to begin with.

I found the way of story and events progression intruiging, supported by the readables. Some were a bit long but all were a joy to read, and often containing hints. Gameplay was excellent with the exploration of a city and mansion, the variety of equipment at your disposal, and enough side-objectives to keep things going.
The AI managed to impress me sometimes. Like the guards in the mansion that run to the nearest alarm button everytime there's a disturbance, and Lord de Perrin who notices his missing tiara if you don't turn off the lights before nicking it. Great fun

Some negative notes, the kill switch in the manor was in my opinion too hard to find and the way of obtaining the gear for Grimmworth & de Perrin, while original, too unexpected for the player. Also, the useful map of Rammstein's manor can easily be missed because it's existence isn't that obvious.
But despite it's flaws, and it's age, it can still be considered a fine FM by todays standards. A challenging but rewarding map that has a lot to offer for the regular thief.

Thanks for making it, Donald. Too bad you never released another one.

Details
Difficulty: Don's Style
Time: 2 hours 8 min 45 sec
Loot: 2680 out of 2807
Secrets: 1 out of 2

[bedwine]

This mission was very under rated in my opinion. Those two innovative sections gives it a replay value that exeeds the very best missions.The outcome can be different each time.

[Unkillable Cat]

My problem with Durant is that the con(s) outweigh the pros by far.

In particular, it is the sole fact that Durant is the only FM I've played (and thanks to Komag I've played over 90% of them) that crashes on me while playing. The game just starts slowing down the longer I play, and by the time I reach the mansion the game is stuttering heavily.

I liked what I had seen up to that point, but nothing saves an unplayable FM from being worthless.

[Basil]

Fun mission, but something really strange just happened.

On the easiest setting I'd completed all of the objectives, except collecting all the correspondence, in my search for the missing item I found myself 'outside' the main area, as I passed a tower the correspondence objecive ticked off???

So I found myself stuck outside with just the 'get back to your safe house' to do, this cleared and the mission ended when I figured out how to get back.

Very strange.

[Cardia]

Help!, i´m replaying this mission in Expert difficult this time, so far i got only one goal to complete "Destroy the new child of Karras" i´m inside a mechanist factory, on the thirth (top) floor i found a room with a monkey on a cage and next to him is a safe wich i can´t find its code to open it, is the new child of karras inside this safe? where can i find its safe number? i got already a acid arrow, is this the weapon i need to destroy the new child of Karras?

[bedwine]

Here is a link to a better thread for the answers you will need.

http://ttlg.ttlg.mobi/forums/showthr...ghlight=durant

Using the advanced search engine works wonders.

Durant is one of my favorites. One particular haunt comes to mind

[Nightwalker]

I merged the two threads to make searching a bit easier in future so just check through this thread now, cardia.

[ffox]

I seem to remember that Nightwalker and I wrote a walkthrough a long time ago.

[Cardia]

Alright, thank you Linda and Ffox