General Fan Mission Review And Discussion Megathread

[nickie]

I'll go with Kindred Vault - the beta before it got tweaked.

I got more used to, and happier playing, undead fms using a walkthrough. When I knew what was coming then it wasn't nearly so bad and then it was just a bit of practise after that. My only objection to undead now is I either have to sneak or kill - no bonking on the back of the head which is my preferred method of despatching irritating things that get in my way.

And I finally lost most of my terror (of undead) by testing - trying out different ways of doing things and letting a zombie kill you a few times sure takes the fear out of them.

Having said that, I still haven't finished Rocksbourg 3 - that's a whole different ball game to me. And BA's evil grin in reply to my questions about it, didn't help at all. Still, finishing that is on my list of things to do in 2009. Along with DP2, when and if I discover that there is no monster spider involved. And also Mission X I haven't yet had a go at.

[SneakyJack]

I finished Rocksbourg 3, but I'll be honest when I say that half that mission scared the living hell out of me. I think that was the intention, though. DrK loaded that mission with sounds and atmosphere that sucked me into the thief world so much that I couldn't help but be frightened by a few of the "surprises" that I won't list here. I think alot of the reason I really enjoyed the "somewhat undead" souls of Ink and Dust were due to the setting being different than your average 'yeap, another cave or abandoned church'. It was totally new, totally fresh and had an amazing backstory.

Oh, and invincible monsters are one of the most frightening things you could ever put into a thief FM

As for Mission X - I put it in my post for one of the best missions of the year simply because of it being a technical achievement of the likes that I've never seen before in a thief fan mission - everything about it (especially after the latest patch) was completely polished and well designed.

That being said - it just wasn't my kind of FM. I think the extreme difficulty pre-patch really turned me off - Not to mention that my first couple playthroughs were attempted without knowing you could lockpick light switches in some areas.

I'm probably in the minority when I say that I'd take "Pirates Ahoy" or "Broken Triad" over Mission X simply because the gameplay style I enjoy is more simple and Original Mission-like than most. But again, Mission X was incredible and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Edit: I just played the German language mission that you had mentioned - Definitely not for me. Poorly designed identical corridors in a maze full of hammer haunts. I think I'll pass on finishing that one.

[nickie]

Well yes, you're entirely right, but on the other hand, for learning to deal with the unmentionables, it's excellent! They're just completely non-fearful after the first minute but you feel like a Trojan for vanquishing them. And I like looking for hidden stuff anyway.

But I would highly recommend however, in this genre, Sepulchre of the Sinistral and Forgotten Forest 2. One of which I can't remember, I played the Polish version. Couldn't wait for the English. Game-play was first-class for me for both. And I suspect that I enjoy the type of fm that you do!!

But thank you for saying you finished R3 - shucks!! If you can do it - you chicken - so can I.

[SneakyJack]

Well yes, you're entirely right, but on the other hand, for learning to deal with the unmentionables, it's excellent! They're just completely non-fearful after the first minute but you feel like a Trojan for vanquishing them. And I like looking for hidden stuff anyway.

But I would highly recommend however, in this genre, Sepulchre of the Sinistral and Forgotten Forest 2. One of which I can't remember, I played the Polish version. Couldn't wait for the English. Game-play was first-class for me for both. And I suspect that I enjoy the type of fm that you do!!

But thank you for saying you finished R3 - shucks!! If you can do it - you chicken - so can I.

No doubt, you owe it to yourself to experience the different zones in that FM that you may have missed. Rocksbourg 3 is getting close to the definition of "Fan Missions are an art".

I'll check out the two fan missions that you mentioned to see if they are my cup of tea - we do seem to have similar interests so I'm sure I'll enjoy them. Thanks for the recommendations!

Edit: The first one is from Thief 1 so I'll need to skip that one for now (Don't have it installed anymore) but I'm checking out the Forgotten Forest Series.

[Lady Taffer]

Hmm. . when I think about Rocksbourg 3, the Dark Zone actually doesn't scare me that much except for that shock on the bridge at the beginning that I won't spoil, and at the end when you're trying to get out. . which I also won't spoil.
However, for me the scariest thing about the Rocksbourg series, I've decided, is that part at the end of Rocksbourg 1 . . .you know the one.
I honestly think subtle permanent damage is being done to my body every time I go through that part simply because of the amount of adrenal stress I undergo. . which is why I don't play Rocksbourg 1 much anymore. >_<

[SneakyJack]

Hmm. . when I think about Rocksbourg 3, the Dark Zone actually doesn't scare me that much except for that shock on the bridge at the beginning that I won't spoil, and at the end when you're trying to get out. . which I also won't spoil.
However, for me the scariest thing about the Rocksbourg series, I've decided, is that part at the end of Rocksbourg 1 . . .you know the one.
I honestly think subtle permanent damage is being done to my body every time I go through that part simply because of the amount of adrenal stress I undergo. . which is why I don't play Rocksbourg 1 much anymore. >_<

I agree with you there, trust me. I'm sorta glad that it looks like the 4th will be taking place back in the city environment, if anything to give us a minute to breathe after the shock and awe effect of Ink and Dust

[Lady Taffer]

Oh please, you know DrK's gonna *#^* us up again in the 4th one.
I have an idea about what we're gonna have to do in that one, but I don't wanna spoil it, . . and end up inevitably being totally wrong in the end and looking like an ass. *sigh* A year is too long to wait. . wanna play it now.

[SneakyJack]

You and me I on that one as well. Sometimes I wish that dromed was a just a really simple drag and drop world builder to make the process go so much faster - Imagine an editor where you can build a mission as complicated as Broken Triad in just a few days

[clearing]

Also funny screen from abandoned mission by Sluggs:

[nicked]

Treebeast Jr! He's in the original crfs y'know.

[AndrewPhD]

Thanks, Clearing

it looks like a bipedal cyclopean uni-browed tree trunk

Best,
AndrewPhD

[lost_soul]

Thank you to the person who recommended Heist Society. It's a fantastic mission and I've spent hours playing it. By the way, my utmost fear is spiders! I love how even the bathrooms are well made, with stalls and curtains and all. I sneaked in the mansion without alerting anyone and then started assassinating guards from the top floor with arrows. Of course I darkened the rooms I hid in, so they couldn't tell where the arrows were coming from. The one thing Thief 1 was missing was windows that could be opened like those on the top floor.

[SneakyJack]

Thank you to the person who recommended Heist Society. It's a fantastic mission and I've spent hours playing it. By the way, my utmost fear is spiders! I love how even the bathrooms are well made, with stalls and curtains and all. I sneaked in the mansion without alerting anyone and then started assassinating guards from the top floor with arrows. Of course I darkened the rooms I hid in, so they couldn't tell where the arrows were coming from. The one thing Thief 1 was missing was windows that could be opened like those on the top floor.

I think it was me that recommended it, (due to my recent re-play of it) and if so I'm glad you had a blast. It is one of my favorite missions of all time - one that I can replay over and over and it never gets old to me. It has all the elements of thief that I enjoy all wrapped into one mission

As far as your comment about the bathrooms - I completely agree. What amazes me about some fan missions is the level of detail that the author puts into them. We've all seen the missions that have bathrooms and storage rooms that are empty other than a single object (like a wood hunk with a hole in it for a toilet) which makes the room completely pointless to even exist and wastes the players time. I guess its accurate to what a bathroom would have looked like back then - but it is impressive when you see bathrooms with mirrors, sinks, tubs, towels and all. Even if there is nothing in the bathroom of interest, it doesn't make it feel nearly as pointless of a room to visit when its all decked out in decoration.

Thanks for posting your follow up impression of a recommendation - I enjoy hearing what people thought of certain missions I've suggested.

[Yandros]

I'm always glad to hear people enjoyed this mission! Don't forget the gameplay is pretty different on each difficulty, so go back and play again. IIRC there's one bonus objective on each difficulty that's not available on the other two.

[lost_soul]

Yep... the player starts at a different location depending on the difficulty chosen. It felt more like an open world to explore, rather than a series of linear hallways, which is also great.

Two of my favorite FMs were Shunned and The Secret Way (both t1 missions). The Secret Way was also non-linear. "Do you want to charge the front gate, scale the wall, or go through the hammer temple/sewers to enter the compound?" It was a big map.

[SneakyJack]

I'm always glad to hear people enjoyed this mission! Don't forget the gameplay is pretty different on each difficulty, so go back and play again. IIRC there's one bonus objective on each difficulty that's not available on the other two.

Its in my top 5 missions of all time - so I did indeed!

1. Pirates Ahoy (Mission 1)
2. Horns Of Canzo: A Long Way Up
3. Broken Triad (mission 1)
4. The Seven Sisters
5. Heist Society

If I remember correctly you had a hand in building it along with Asylum? I've never really seen a mission that approached the Mansion mindset quite as well, so I'm very thankful for the final product regardless of how the work was divided.

Any mission creator that is gunning for a mansion style mission would do well to check it out to see how it should be done

[clearing]

Its in my top 5 missions of all time - so I did indeed!

1. Pirates Ahoy (Mission 1)
2. Horns Of Canzo: A Long Way Up
3. Broken Triad (mission 1)
4. The Seven Sisters
5. Heist Society

I think you forgot some missions

[SneakyJack]

I think you forgot some missions

My list changes pretty frequently depending on what type of gameplay mood I'm in I've probably listed a different one at least five or six times during my posting on this forum.

Replayed Heist Society again this evening after all the talk about it and just wanted to throw up a few more random screens:

[SneakyJack]

Just finished the excellent Saints And Thieves by Spitter. This mission is a pretty wide open city with a rainy nighttime setting and offers a pretty good challenge due to it being filled with thieves. The story is also solid, and the mission itself is alot of fun. Excellent lighting and shadow placement helps the gameplay as well.

A few screens for fun:


Very interesting architecture!





Good detail in the city.





A meeting most foul indeed!





Ahh the warehouse at night.





Incoming!

[SneakyJack]

Apologies again for the triple post - but I seem to be the only one that enjoys looking at screenshots or sharing them, so I guess I'll continue.

Today I re-played a mission just for fun that I'm pretty sure gets overlooked by most folks - I don't know if I've ever seen it mentioned here in a thread - Breakout by Belboz.

This is a wonderful mission where you have to break basso out of a heavily guarded and fortified prison - no easy task to be certain.

From a gameplay standpoint this mission is incredibly fun - anyone that loves racking up large KO totals with the blackjack will love this one. I suppose it would be pretty easy to ghost due to the guards very long patrol routes, so ghosters may enjoy it as well. Hell, even those that are into full on combat would enjoy this one.

There are tons of rooftop areas to explore to get the drop on your enemies as well. If any mission were suited for multiplayer deathmatch thief - I'd have to say this one is it.

My only small problem with the mission is this: Its very plain looking. I don't know how close the creator pushed dromed due to the large size of the hulking prison, but there are little to no decorations anywhere to be found and it all looks very bland. It would be amazing if someone would take this mission and spruce it up abit - but I doubt that will happen.

I highly recommend it to anyone that feels gameplay is king - there is alot of running to do and exploring, but its all very fun and provides tons of great blackjacking opportunities.

A few screens:


Put your trust in the Lord; your ass belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank. - Warden Samuel Norton





They never saw it coming.






The Sheriff watches from above.






Directly after bonking the third guard with my blackjack the woman prisoner to your left spouted "I don't think the guards are doing their jobs - someone is in here with us!" I laughed out loud, literally.

[Rolan2004]

Apologies again for the triple post

don't apologise

it's great stuff and just looking at these screenshots make me gasp in wonder at both the beauty of the dark engine (in it's own way) and the effort these fm authors put into their babies

[pavlovscat]

I love seeing screenshots. It often makes me go back and replay those missions. Often, I have nothing constructive to add beyond...Hey! That's cool! So, just because I don't post, doesn't mean I'm not reading & enjoying the thread.

[Lady Taffer]

I love love LOVE Saints and Thieves!! It's in my Top Three FMs of all time and I'm not even sure why. . there's not a lot to it, really.
It's fairly simple, but I what I love about it is the combination of interesting storyline, good level design and really good atmospheric music---seriously, the music is what I remember when I think about this FM. I also love hearing new Garrett lines; it's a nice change. . . of course I could just be in love with Slyfoxx's voice, I dunno.

[SneakyJack]

I love love LOVE Saints and Thieves!! It's in my Top Three FMs of all time and I'm not even sure why. . there's not a lot to it, really.
It's fairly simple, but I what I love about it is the combination of interesting storyline, good level design and really good atmospheric music

I completely agree - With that FM its not so much one thing that really stands out, its just a great mesh of all the things that make a solid mission.

And thanks to Rolan and pavlovscat for letting me know that I'm not wearing on anyone's nerves with all my chatter and screenshots.

I'd like many more folks to jump in with their Fan Mission opinions and screenshots if they could - I find it fun to hear the impressions that people have of missions they've recently played or re-played, and I'd like to see lots more screens of fun stuff they find. That, and it helps me decide what I need to play next.

[Lady Taffer]

What makes a FM really appealing to me is an engaging story and good character development. I particularly like it when new voice work is added. It adds a new dimension to the story and is kind of a refreshing change from the same Garrett lines that have been recycled from the OMs . . and really beautiful visuals definitely don't hurt either.

My Top Three FAVORITEST FMs would have to be

1. The Seven Sisters. Just a perfect mission all around: great story, great character development, great design, great visuals, great music---just all-around greatness. It's got something of everything in it and it's a mission series I can play over and over again. One thing I'm noticing about me and FMs is that I really like storylines that feature "the city in crisis" like in Seven Sisters, you've got the outbreak of the zombie plague, the zombies and monsters that overrun the city in the Midnight in Murkbell mission of Calendra's Legacy, the general atmosphere of panic in the city in A Night in Rocksbourg 2. . etc. I just love situations where all hell has broken loose and you're just trying to stay out of the line of fire as best you can. . . I have no idea why I love it, but there you go.
One thing I noticed about this mission that I haven't really seen anywhere else is the character development where the miscelaneous civilians are concerned. It's really engaging and when you find one more readable detailing some (sad) story of someone's life---and then you realize who they are and that they're one of the infected roaming around the city you feel sorry for them and want to save them even more. . so the "heal everyone in this part of the city" optional objective kind of takes care of itself.

2. Saints and Thieves for the reasons I mentioned before. Another theme I like in Thief FMs is good vs. bad inner turmoil. Garrett's a selfish thieving jerk on most occasions but he does have a heart and that makes for some good storytelling when that particular paradox is put into play, like when he loots that warehouse, but frees the two children being imprisoned there. I also like how even that scenario doesn't have a totally happy ending. . when Garrett remarks that "well, they're street children now. . at least they're not slaves anymore" or something to that effect and then you're left thinking "Gee, I hope the City Watch doesn't capture them and sell them off to the Mechanists" in relation to some readables found in the Watch station. AND. . damn, that really is some fine atmospheric music.

3. Keeper of the Prophecies campain. This one gets my vote by the sheer strength of its story alone, though I do have quite a few bones to pick with the design of the mission. . like why the hell is everything so goddamn BIG?? When it takes you about ten minutes to run from one wall of the cathedral to the other, your structure is too big. I just felt like I had to run and run and RUN everywhere and I still felt like I was barely making any headway. Also some of the ending/camvator sequences were too long, and um. . that weird planet with all the creepy deformed mutant-monsters. . .I could have done without that.
But the story. . wow, I mean, with all those complaints and yet to still have this series be one of your very favorites says, at least to me, how damn powerful the story is. Of course, I also love the voice acting again and Hallucinations was one of my favorite parts of the campaign, as I believe it was for others, also.