taffedinthehead on 22/4/2005 at 13:41

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I voted for Hazleshade myself - my breakdown:

A Nice Stroll - Frankly, this one seemed out of its league. There was nothing here we haven't seen already.

Ride the Butterfly - A nice attempt at a peaceful glade - however, I don't think the Dark Engine translates daytime very well. None of the thief levels that have used daylight have been very attractive to me. The textures in Thief are created for the dark, and look better in the dark. RTB had nice design, though.

Surrounded by the Metal Age - At first I thought, "nothing special here." Then I looked up in the distance to see where that noise was coming from, and I "got it." This level is more of a "statement" than anything else. It reminds us that technology can quickly surround us and choke the beauty out of life. One gets the sense that the owner(s) of the garden come out here to TRY to escape from the ugliness of industry, but even when looking upon that beautiful fish pond, you can't escape that noise! Nice work here.

St. Lazarius - this was the first of the "contenders" in my mind. A real pleasure and a jaw-dropper. The kind of level you wish would be incorporated into a mission! I loved the art design on all the walls, the ambient music, and the gold/bronze shading of the entire level. I wanted to know who this Saint Lazarius was to have such a shrine built to him. My only nitpick is that I don't think a religious order would have sensual paintings in it's main hallways - but, this is the world of the author, and it follows his rules, not mine.

Clocktower - the second "contender," only lost points for its outer area. The inside was a masterpiece of attention to detail! A true break from the usual mundane world of Thief where every room looks the same - bland and featureless. This level gave you a true sense that someone actually lives here! This would also be a great level to incorporate into a mission!

Requiem for a Thief - now this one really impressed me! I loved the eulogies - yes, this is a BEAUTY contest, not a content contest. But all the same, they fit in with the ambience of the level very well. The detail of the textures was exquisite. Each time I thought I'd seen enough, I'd notice something else, like the way the stained glass was reflected on the floor and wall IN COLOR! This would make a GREAT intro to an entire Thief campaign! What a great start to a storyline - Garrett is in a coffin with a eulogy being delivered - then, we go back one week and see what lead to that point. And is he really dead, or is there something else going on! Whoever made this, get a team together and make Thief 4 - PLEASE!!!

Hazleshade Cemetery - I was close to going with Requiem or Lazarius until I loaded up this one. And I was truly astonished by it! The fog, the atmosphere, the buildings surrounding the cemetery I SO wanted to visit. This level serves as a great reminder that beauty doesn't have to be beautiful. Decay and darkness can be beauty in their own way! What pushed me over the edge was going into the crypt and seeing those nice shiny floor tiles! Like someone said earlier, this was very reminiscent of the opening level of Painkiller. The only flaw was that you could see the back end of the moonbeams near the starting point. But, overall it was fantastic - the most Thiefish of all the levels presented! Append this one to Requiem, St. Lazarius and the Clocktower, and we'd have a game worthy of cash purchase!!

Preno on 22/4/2005 at 14:25

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Wow! Big thanks to NeKoeNMa for organising this and to the authors for creating such beautiful jewels! :thumb:

The only thing I'd wish for is the possibility of voting for more submissions (say, three). I would be more objective and more gradual as well. For example quite a few people I think put Surrounded as their #2 or 3, but still, it has very few votes. Just a suggestion if there's going to be another contest. The important thing is the missions, not the voting.

The Clocktower - amazing. Great looking, had this homey feeling... one of the top submissions.

A Nice Stroll - nothing special here, really.

Ride the Butterfly - good idea but I agree that Thief was not build for this. Dunno, there's something strange about daylight in Thief. Plus, I couldn't perform the task described in the title.

Hazelshade Cemetery - the atmosphere! The effects! The cool-looking fog! Didn't seem like Dark Engine at all.

Requiem for a Thief - nice idea as well. I can't describe it, but the church just had something to it... seemed like, dunno... heaven? Must be the light effects. Also, excellent choice of music.

St. Lazarius - a mission well executed and obviously lot of effort has been put in. For me, though, it just didn't have 'the feeling' Requiem, Clocktower or even Surrounded had.

Surrounded by Metal Age - very tough to rate. Maybe it was too spartan, maybe it was just right... I can't compare this one directly to the others. I think others already described it well enough. Could have used some other textures. Anyways, it was good as well.

So... now the question is: how should I vote. My favourites are: The Clocktower, Hazelshade Cemetary and Requiem for a Thief (in no particular order)... guess the best expression of my preferences would be not to vote for either. Oh well.

casalor on 22/4/2005 at 16:10

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only 121 votes? There must be more taffers out there who still haven't voted...

epithumia on 22/4/2005 at 16:49

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I'll try to get it posted on the thief-thecircle main page.

Edit: Success! Thanks to MsLedd.

Logan on 22/4/2005 at 19:46

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"I thought the daylit interior of Requiem was pretty convincing.

Still not enough votes for it!"

I feel the same!!!!
It has made with the big soul. Others basically very technical.. and gloomy, but nice too.