Mandragora on 4/6/2022 at 11:10
Hello folks!
I started to go through the T1 and T2 FMs not long ago!
The amount of missions is fascinating and very enticing!
I decided to keep a small journal here, which i hope to update as i play.
I started with first one on the list with 'release date 1999', and so far..
Revenge of Garrett - cool city sneaking, only wish more locks were pickable from the start.
Bloodstone Prison - excellent undead mission. classic.
The Library - awesome taffin' in hammerite towers.
Hard Luck - pure mansion thievery, love it.
Death of Garrett - little bit of tunneling, little bit of mansioning, little bit of revenge. good stuff!
Mages Area - mages love their crazy architectural layouts :) fun stuff! glitched on quicksave.
Events in Highrock - excellent classic! journey from city streets to the deep dark castle! some interactions (item/object) were not that intuitive.
Lord Edmund entertains 1 - awesome little mission! bit of city, bit of mansion, bit of dark secret.
Well, to be continued..
SlyFoxx on 4/6/2022 at 11:37
It's been at least 15 years since I played any of those. Lots of good early FM's on that list. I especially remember Events, Death and LEE.
Mandragora on 4/6/2022 at 11:56
Glad if this refreshed your memory! :)
Just finished Lord Edmund entertains 2.. awesome mission.
I found hidden 'author's area' with message 'My next mission is Guardhouse Gold', so the next one is 'Guardhouse 2' from the same author.
Mandragora on 4/6/2022 at 21:06
Lord Edmund entertains 2 - excellent mission! much variety in environments - crypts, hammers, underwater, even a small hidden beastman cave. nice 'shot arrow' puzzles.
Guardhouse 2 - sweet, simple heist; pretty straightforward.
Turning the Tables - starts slow; also, not a fan of forced ghosting. but once eponymous 'tables turn', the fun starts! very nice!
Cult Of The Resurrection - this mission has everything; hammerite cathedral, thieves, pagan witch, undead, puzzle and nice story. good stuff!
Continuing with..
Calendra's Cistern
Esse on 4/6/2022 at 21:08
Dang, now you're making me want to go through all these old FMs. This is a great thread for uncovering those little hidden gems, especially for any new fans coming on board!
Mandragora on 4/6/2022 at 21:16
Do it! Play them! Pure fun!
I am curious to see if there is some sort of trend among the missions through the years :)
So far, early missions looks like spiced up variations of OMs, which is to be expected.
But hey, they are great!
Just moving through levels with that 'warm and familiar' clunky Dark engine physics makes me a happy man.
Kerrle on 4/6/2022 at 21:53
Starting with the early ones is a good choice.
Some of them can be a little spare by current standards, like the OMs, but that doesn't mean there isn't some awesome gameplay in there.
Heck, I've got some from the first few years I'm sure I missed.
Mandragora on 4/6/2022 at 22:14
I downloaded around 1.5 GB (55 zip files) for T1 and around 18 GB (180 zip files) for T2.
Also, a lot of those files are campaigns, which is double, if not triple-awesome!
That is from various 'top X must-play missions' lists, randomly browsing through forum or mission sites and watching people play on YT.
Since i got a lot of ground to cover, i decided to start at the beginning, and that is T1 missions from 1999.
It looks like i am going to play Thief for a long time, but that's ok; i am in sort of a burnout from new games.
There is some strange comfort and quiet happiness in playing Thief (not to mention some mischief and sneaky thievery) :))
fortuni on 5/6/2022 at 11:30
Lord Edmund Entertains: Part 2 is usually referred to as The Vigil, that's how it shows in my FMloader (FMsel), just wondering why you always call this mission by it's series nomenclature?
Apart from that small query yes most of the early missions had very much OM looks and feels about them, partly because there were very few custom objects and textures in those days, but as the library of resources of assets grew over the years and the later release of Newdark, so FM's evolved. Having said that there were a number of authors in the early years who were more than happy to experiment with game play style, Komag, Sperry & JIS come to mind and they showed those who followed that FM's didn't just have to be about breaking into mansions and stealing Lord Bafford's sceptre etc.
Mandragora on 5/6/2022 at 12:04
I can steal a 100 scepters from 100 Baffords, no problem with that :))
But yes, i understand that skill and ideas developed with time, and can't wait to go through it all and experience it.
Since some missions are part of 'campaign' but released separately, i named them that way so i know that they are sequels and don't forget to play them sequentially.
So i have 'Lord Edmund Entertains 1', 'Lord Edmund Entertains 2 - The Vigil'.. 'Haplo 1 - Unholy Vivid Innocence', 'Haplo 2 - Insanity's Crescendo'.. 'L'Arsene 1', 'L'Arsene 2 - Emilie Victor' and so on.
