My roof climbing and other antics!

Howard A Treesong on 27/11/2010 at 12:34

I've just got back into Thief after a very long absence from the game, not helped by a buggy computer for a long time. But now I'm throwing myself into it again and finding that I can still ghost many missions almost as well as I always could. I hate knocking anyone out if possible, or even being spotted and using arrows of various types.

But my other great calling has been roof climbing, with a few rope arrows and a couple of crate you can go almost anywhere!

So as I'm playing Thief 2 I thought I'd share a couple of my recent adventures beyond the realms of the level designers...

First is a premature trip to the cemetery in "Ambushed". The area is sealed off, but this bugs me, so over I go. You don't need crates for this one, just a rope arrow near Shalebridge.

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Lob the arrow up near the tower, then climb up, look right and mount straight onto the tower wall.

There's a few directions to go, if you head north-east you can see Shalebridge, the level exit from above...

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But heading west takes you over a roof to which you need to go over to the right...

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Now on the wrong side of the gate, I think the trip is one way now.

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You can see the place where the Mechanists ambush the Pagan later on, and most rooms don't have doors, furniture or lights here. The secret back entrance to the cemetery is just a hole in the wall, there's not working door or torch to frob.

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The graveyard is also lacking in some details, some tombs do have burning torches though, but no zombies.

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And the portal...empty.

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.....

Howard A Treesong on 27/11/2010 at 12:36

The next mission I had a go at was "Eavesdropping", where getting onto the roof is straight forward and is rewarding for first time roof climbers.

Minimal crates are needed. You can get onto the first roof with just one crate and the barrel, but here's a more sturdy job.

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You get onto the shed roof, make your way along the long wall and over the arch to the left. You need three boxes to scale the second part, it's easy to grab these from somewhere and just throw them up onto the roof of the shed before going up.

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Easy.

The view from the roof is worth it...

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Now to get outside, you have to drop down onto the outer wall. It's quite a long way, so I found it best to fall slightly short of the wall and mantle it. There's a fair risk of Garrett missing the wall and breaking his legs so a save is advised.

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Once outside you can admire the view again.

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And if you want to get back into the level, there are wooden walls everywhere you can stick a rope arrow in.

Dia on 27/11/2010 at 13:42

Most excellent, Howard! Now THAT'S what I'm talking about when I refer to the ability to explore in T2. Of course, now I'll have to go back & start trying the routes you just illustrated. Thanks for sharing!

(I like to take screenshots of the different skylines in T2 and various FMs & use them for my (Thief) screensaver.)

cast on 27/11/2010 at 14:13

If you really want a breathtaking view, try out climbing some high building in Seven Sisters. You're likely to die of polygon surge, but it's well worth the effort :cool:

Howard A Treesong on 27/11/2010 at 17:05

Quote Posted by Dia

Cheers! The holy grail for the main game is Angelwatch, which is more interesting in the Demo. You can climb up the chimney with crates and there are part designed rooms and Mechanists walking around at the top, then...go for the crystal. I did it once, a long time ago.

Anyway, for something a bit weird, I caught myself a Keeper. I worked this out years ago but didn't think to take screencaps. The only keeper I think you can get is in 'Life of the Party'. He is also unkillable, un-blackjackable and quickly disappears. But his is not invulnerable.

Here's the first keeper early on in the level, maybe it's supposed to be the same one as you see later on.

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But the other Keeper appears just before you have to cut through the Ladies' room to get to Angelwatch. You have to get in there before the Keeper appears, as he only appears for a moment.
I've found it best to approach like this at a run.

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Then leap through the window and go for the secret items. Through the door, frob the torch and get the goodies out the end. One item is a gas mine. Lay the gas mine by the door, and a standard mine inside the room can slow the keeper down too.

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Now hop out the window onto the roof outside, hopefully the Keeper will now appear, he'll set off the mines on the way in and hopefully not exit too quickly. The gas will knock him out. Sometimes the body will still vanish so you have to get in as fast as possible and pick him up. Once picked up I don't think he ever disappears.

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Garratt isn't going to be friends with them much longer...

Then you're free to do as you like with him, and can carry him about.

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So I dumped him in the street. Take that secret order. Mwah ha ha!

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Nothing else works on him, mines, even the sunburst, your blackjack makes no sound if you hit him either.

nickie on 27/11/2010 at 21:16

I'm going back to on and off internet again but I really look forward to seeing more of your 'antics' when I do manage a visit. And I'll certainly be trying the routes out myself. Thank you!

Howard A Treesong on 27/11/2010 at 22:35

Quote Posted by nickie

I'm going back to on and off internet again but I really forward to seeing more of your 'antics' when I do manage a visit. And I'll certainly be trying the routes out myself. Thank you!

Hope you enjoy this craziness. I've had a go at tackling Angelwatch. This is much harder than the Demo, in the demo you can go up the chimney, but with the proper game it's one big crate pile up the outside.

First you need crates... a lot of crates. About half of what I needed was in the tower itself but the rest had to be sources from around the city and transporting them across the city and up the tower was a bit tedious.

Some crates...

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And a lot of time, patience and lots or reloads make this.

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And the reward?

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I thought I'd leave it at that, because my nerves were frayed enough as it was just getting onto the roof itself, but Everest still felt unbeaten...

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I climbed back down and exploring the city for a couple more boxes...

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And a little help from a speed potion to give a boot to my jump (I could have got a third crate, but the crate pile was very fragile by this point)

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And a picture for the album...

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:D

jtr7 on 28/11/2010 at 05:20

Ah! It's nice to see someone stepping into the shoes of Azal, Luthien, and others, and doing this.:cool:

jtr7 on 28/11/2010 at 09:25

Yes. Uncanny...

Someday, someone will FRAPS these kinds of antics, and I hope the video will include the lighthouse, and then the Thief cratestacking legacy will be complete. :cheeky:

Howard A Treesong on 28/11/2010 at 11:14

Quote Posted by Abysmal

Seriously; for a moment I thought Azal was back, what with all the red arrows and markedly similar playing/posting styles

I'm definitely someone else though, it must just be great minds! :cheeky: I'm mostly inspired by Lytha's page and Thumper's guide to the strange and unusual.

I don't know what to do next. I fell off Angelwatch so many times I need something a bit more forgiving!!