downwinder on 25/10/2017 at 18:28
also i updated my profile pic,as the gems of sornoth have more meaning then we know
ticky on 25/10/2017 at 19:07
I really don't like missions where there are literally no ambient sounds besides AI and torches - but I must admit that this "illness" was more often in the old days on fan missions, than it is now.
I really like, when there is a unique atmosphere, which consists of music, well chosen textures, furniture and vegetation, and weather. This in itself can make a mission bad or good in my opinion. For example, there is Turn of The Tide, which can be considered as a not-that-professional piece, but due to the well choesen AI, the foggy-rainy weather, and the seaside town setting, many "faults" are balanced.
nightchild on 4/11/2017 at 21:12
well, I like a lot secrets and hidden areas in a map and I prefer it when they are part of the story so you are aware of their existence through some readable or dialog and I don't like so much Mechanists because they are too loud in every aspect ...is the only sect I gladly kill and destroy their creations just to make them shut up :mad:
trefoilknot on 4/11/2017 at 21:17
Good: When the existence of a puzzle is made apparent well before its solution (or even its precise nature). Adds to the mystery, imo :) Example would be, finding an unusual item that goes into your inventory ("Hm, what could this be for?").
Bad: excessive use of scripting in unintuitive ways. e.g., mandatory items that are FrobInert until you do something, but there's no obvious reason to expect that what you've done would have any such an effect. This is especially problematic if the item in question isn't a standard frobbable.
Maxrebo6 on 5/11/2017 at 00:42
I can't think of a specific mission but I do have something I love and something I wouldn't say hate more like a gripe.
Love:The Architecture,texture work and world building especially in Skacky's Mission is just the best,there a some others to but its been awhile since I played a fast majority of the Thief 1 and Golds FM's and I am no where near being complete going through Thief 2's.
Gripe:Marble\Tile Abuse while use of these surface is in the game and perfectly legitimate I feel there needs to be a balance.Just enough leads to a good challenge where as too much can slow things to much and hurt the missions pacing.People tend not to think too much about pacing in games because you don't think about it when its good but when its bad it can really hurt ones experience or enjoyment.But thankfully from what I have played it was mostly only a problem early on or among new authors.
But even then I still wouldn't considered enough to ruin a mission especially when the rest of it is really good,not to mention that FM's are unpaid labors of love.Not to mention that we have been spoiled with some god tier missions that even better than the OM's or stuff a lot of developers could produce.
PinkDot on 5/11/2017 at 11:18
Good: interesting storytelling through books, cut-scenes and conversations.
Bad: throwing in zombies/undead to every mission. Literally - every mission I play recently has zombies. And while some of them kind of need to have them, due to the story, in most cases it's just a lazy and zero-creative way of "let's make this place more challenging/scary/thief-y etc...". People get very creative with architecture, models, textures and new AI, but not when it comes to zombies - same sounds, same movements, same behaviours over and over again. It's like adding boobs to a commercial - it will always sell.
bjack on 5/11/2017 at 18:31
I mostly agree with all these comments/opinions. It's a topic as old as the first FMs.
I like well placed keys. They can be remote to the site if it makes sense, such as on a person, or a key to a bank safe deposit box hidden in a house. Puzzles are fun for me, as well as their cousin... having to build or repair something. I'm into adventure games and Thief can fit that bill pretty well.
I don't like key hunts much though. I don't like locked doors that when unlocked lead to nothing but a room with no loot or clues. Time limits are no fun for me either. And Zontik's dislike for acrobatics (the start of King's Story?) :) I don't like having to be Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. I'm a thief, not some parkour expert ;)
Esme on 7/11/2017 at 12:13
I love missions where
* You get about halfway through and the clues suddenly gel and the story comes into focus and you think "ahhh that's why this happens, this all makes sense now".
* You get about halfway through & realise this isn't the mission you started anymore, this is no longer routine, this has gotten interesting.
* There are alternative paths for the objective and the author has thought about all of them
* I can sit somewhere up high & just watch the AI patrol around
* The author is a devious so and so and lets you see the objective & really makes you think about how the taff you get to it
* Where I can look down and get vertigo and sweaty palms.
* Where if I'm careless, don't pay attention, fail to observe or rush unnecessarily, I die.
I hate missions
* With gotcha traps, traps that you can't avoid & have no way of knowing they're there or disarming.
* With short well lit corridors in front of pickable doors that you have to sit in front of to pick, while you just know there's an armed, alerted and usually hyper fast AI on the other side of it staring right at you when the door opens.
* That force me to fight because that's the way the author likes to play.
* Where the AI have been sped up & given hyper sensitive senses so unless you are precisely behind them to within 1 degree of arc, raising the blackjack results in the AI turning, arming & hitting you several times, usually killing you before the blackjack starts the down swing.
* Where the author is actively trying to kill you rather than letting you're own inattention or lack of observation do it.
* Where when you find a place of concealment & take out an AI from it, the other AI home in on that location despite there being no clue that that's where you are.
* Where there's only one way through, usually through lots of heavily armed AI, so it's either run without knowing or being able to see where your going or fight & usually die
trefoilknot on 7/11/2017 at 13:00
Quote Posted by Esme
* Where when you find a place of concealment & take out an AI from it, the other AI home in on that location despite there being no clue that that's where you are.
I've noticed this before, too. Is this something the FM author chooses? Or is it just a quirk of the engine?
Random_Taffer on 7/11/2017 at 13:29
Quote Posted by trefoilknot
I've noticed this before, too. Is this something the FM author chooses? Or is it just a quirk of the engine?
Pretty sure that's an engine quirk. Also, it seems to be a bit random as sometimes it doesn't happen.
