Twist on 11/1/2021 at 05:44

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You know how you come to the Fan Mission forum for a hint to something you can't find or figure out, and then right after you post and before anyone can reply you find or figure it out for yourself?

I sort of had that happen with my attempt to blind ironman The Cinder Notes on Expert.

I had more than enough loot and all objectives completed, except I still hadn't found the stolen painting. I poured over the Art Dealer's apartment looking for it. Then I decided I better just take a break and try later with fresh eyes, so I created a save while standing in the Art Dealer's apartment, which in my mind "fails" the ironman run. :sweat: Then as soon as I finished naming my save and returning to the game world, but before I quit, I spotted the coat hooks and within seconds of saving I triggered the opening of the secret alcove containing the painting. I mean, I literally created the save right next to those hooks, looking in their direction. D'oh! :o

I know we have detailed rules for different levels and types of Ghosting, but are there similar rules for Ironmanning? If I saved once but never reloaded, is that still considered a succesful ironman run? Anyways...

I very much enjoyed The Cinder Notes. It's a polished, well-paced and good-looking mission. The assets and style are so obviously SlipTip I can't help but wonder if it's a deliberate misdirect by somebody other than him. But maybe I'm getting too into the guessing game. Regardless, it's clearly someone who knows their way around Dromed.

Some light criticisms:


* I reached the loot requirement surprisingly early, and I don't know if it's a lack of AI or ambient sounds, but it just felt a little too empty. Despite ironmanning on expert, I never really felt all that stressed.
* I wasn't crazy about some of the sounds. We already joke about Garrett wearing loud boots, but the sounds added for walking on wooden surfaces were kind of ridiculous, just way too loud and clompy sounding. The wind sound in the seminary was also disproportionately loud and something about its relative volume and frequency literally gave me a little bit of a headache.
* I understand having to rebalance the challenge when the player turns off the lights by disabling the generator, but the timing and placement of the added AI felt a little abrupt and immersion-compromising.


However, I loved having two different ways to reach the main objective, and I loved how disabling the generator relocked and disabled the code-locked gate to the final area. It made narrative sense and it gave the mission a fun little twist towards the end. I didn't disable the generator until after I'd explored the seminary, but I liked how it also disabled all the electric lights in the building and I'll be sure to exploit that on a replay.

I look forward to replaying it; thank you for the great mission!

nicked on 12/1/2021 at 09:11

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I think that's fine if you never loaded that save. But no-one's judging!

zajazd on 12/1/2021 at 13:51

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Soo this is the Ashen Age Pt. 2 that we have been waiting for 15 years? It was worth the wait :cheeky:

klatremus on 15/1/2021 at 06:10

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I really liked this mission! It's not in my top 3, but just outside. Finished my first playthrough with 3243/3383 loot, so missing 140. I bet the rest is in the seminary. I was a bit disappointed that nothing happened once I took the cinder notes, and the catacombs overall were quite lackluster. Loved the verticality in the streets and the high-res textures.
Thanks to the author!

theknitter on 15/1/2021 at 20:00

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Quite a beautiful & challenging mission. Loving the architecture.