mrsmr2 on 15/10/2014 at 16:45
I'd suggest T2X after TMA or TDS.
Starker on 15/10/2014 at 18:07
Yup, don't skip T2X. Right after TMA would be a good fit.
eric on 16/10/2014 at 00:03
...I JUSt finished Ambush (from Metal Age)
Wow!
I Rule the night!
I am so much appreciative of all the moral support from the preceding commentary... this is a nice place for Noobs...very supportive.
On the downside, I am going to need to contemplate divorce...before she divorces Me!
I L_O_V_E this game...I think someone earlier nailed it for one of its best features...ARt direction; really, its at an academy award level.
Couple questions:-
1. it seems T2X ,which I am downloading as we speak (so-to-speak), is what I would have called a total conversion (or megawad) ...to use the terminology of doom...correct?
2. while on that topic, any other 'total conversion-megawads that are highly recommended for either game?
3. I have already downloaded all the 9.0-10.0 rated levels for each game from the fan mission download section of thief: the circle.com
...but...
I noticed even the highest rated are all dated > 10 years ago...while some of the earliest commentators (thank you) to this thread made note that the latest (chronologic) fan levels are among the most beautiful...for which I surmise no one is currently rating them?
4. So my ending commentary is would you recommend a reliable site for the highest rated levels of recent 1-3 years (including mega-levels like T2x) for either Thief I or II?
thank you again
eric
Starker on 16/10/2014 at 02:01
1. Yup, T2X is a full game sized expansion with original levels, a new original protagonist and new weapons and tools.
2. Nothing quite like T2X, although there's the unfinished CoSaS: (
http://cosas.ttlg.com/)
Oh, and of course there's (
http://www.thedarkmod.com) The Dark Mod, a fan made Doom 3 mod/toolkit that's very similar to the Thief games and is used to make fan missions. It's actually come to a point where it's standalone and doesn't need Doom 3 any more.
nickie on 16/10/2014 at 05:41
Have you had a look at the (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139559) Links thread in the Fan Missions forum? There's a lot of fm information in it including a link to the T2X forum if you're looking for help with that. Although there's nothing quite like T2X, the (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140234) Thief Campaign thread might be useful for you.
I would think that of those sites that rate missions, thiefmissions.com is probably most up to date, although it hasn't been updated for 6 months or so. But if you just stick with the 9 and above rating, you will be missing any number of excellent missions.
Renault on 16/10/2014 at 05:57
Quote Posted by eric
...continuing the saga of the newest tapper (me!)Um, that would be ta
ffer...
But yeah, missions have not been rated for quite a while now. Several sites were rating them maybe 8-10 years ago, but not much since then. Best way is to find out for yourself by trying everything. You can usually tell fairly early in a mission if you're going to like it or not.
I just put up a list of recent FMs, you can (
http://www.southquarter.com/fms) check it here. That's everything released in the past year and a half or so - for stuff before that, try (
http://www.thiefmissions.com) www.thiefmissions.com.
Welcome to the obsession, my friend... :cool:
klatremus on 17/10/2014 at 16:33
It is so interesting to hear your comments on the original missions. Please keep them coming! It's rare to find someone who loves the game and playing it for the first time. Please leave comments once you start fan missions as well.
The links thread Nickie gave above is absolutely the best place to start. No site has rated missions for years, although the amount of comments for the specific mission thread is probably a good gauge, though this barometer is not always reliable.
My site (link below) has ghost report/reviews of all of the original missions (TG + T2), T2X and over 40 of the best fan missions. Perhaps it can be a guide to help you choose what to play. I also have loot/equipment lists for all those missions and more, if you need any help that is. However, most members of the forum will tell you not to use spoilers unless you really have to. I also have some YouTube let's plays for two of my favorite fan mission campaigns (Calendra's Cistern/Legacy + The Black Frog).
eric on 21/10/2014 at 20:10
...and onward we go thru The Metal Age...Why was I not alive then,God...or at the very least, in the age of The Borgias..?..I was born to be with Lucretia!
6 nites, 3 levels more complete, 2 24 hr calls interrupting
Eavesdropping
One of my favorites, although I sense it might not be others,as it was a little easier...easy by me is A-Ok because overall, so unaccustomed to stealth, I find every level at least medimum hard...in fact i had to re-start this about 3/4 thru because nothing I did got beyond making the key impression, and dropping the found key back...but a restart and it all went thru. Lots of atmosphere, just dripping with it. Leaving the cathedral on the outsdide of a ledge, climbing down with my rope arrow, rather than traversing all the enemies inside was kinda cool too.
The little bots were funny; the guard conversations are often pretty humorous as well.
The Bank
Another good one, though not a favorite. I may have just noticed this, but all of a suddebn the guard voices sound female (& that carries over into the next level as well. Can't get enough of the sound & the visuals of those keys working their way thru the lock mechanism...sometimes I have to use one key...then go and hide but for the noise it makes...wait till the guard leaves...then try the 2nd key...wait again...then back to the first. Thank GOD this isn't one of those console games where saves are limited because I'm saving all the time...i keep thinking of PostalII (about as far from Thief as you can get) where the narrator says
'My Grandmother could beat the game if she saved as much as you!"
Blackmail...
reminds me of one of my favorite aspects to Thief...how the objectives change on you...and that ringing bell sound when they do
One thing I've learned to do is actually READ the papyrus canvas notes left around...in most shooters I can pretty much default to impatience and ignore them, but a few of them have actually saved my butt.
Overall..I'm guessing about 1/2-way thru TMA, I can see why many would like the original more...the levels are larger,more challenging, and its just a more pure medieval world experince in the original.
But TMA has some advantages...the objects are more varied (I keep seeing new ones all the time),the visuals are a little cripser, and the themes are just all over the world (banks...cathedrals...towns...crypts...machines...frunaces...gears...villages)...its just soooo pleasing visually, that I can't wait to finish a level and see some different on the new one (so far, I've averaged about 1 -1 1/2 hours/level)
So at this juncture...I find I & II pretty equal, just different.
Reminds me of a famous quote from George Romero, creator of the Original Night of The Living Dead & its sequels...not the Walking Dead,kids!...
"For some folks the original will always be the best,can never be beat...for others, Dawn of The Dead is the greatest Horror Movie ever made...but the ones who Love Day of The Dead..?..now those are the REAL TROLLS!
let me end with a minor tech question or 2...
Since I bought the games,downloaded and instaled the HD mod 0.9.5, tafferpatcher 2.12 beta, and the ep2.crf and installed them I came across a few newer enhancements...or ARE they newer is the question?
Although i don't plan to install any of them BEFORE I finish TMA, for fear of screwing up the game, I have since come across t2_v122.zip
I'm not sure from its nomenclature whether that is an update to the ones already installed, or a new (or older?) thing?
And if an update or newer would it destroy my modified TMA as it now stands?
For that matter as I will follow the Metal Age with t2x_v11_full.exe should I install it over that, before that, or not at all?
Lastly, I downloaded 2_darkloader43_final.zip for when I get to the fan levels...is that the latest
Thanx everyone
eric
voodoo47 on 21/10/2014 at 22:56
Quote Posted by eric
Lastly, I downloaded 2_darkloader43_final.zip for when I get to the fan levels...is that the latest
actually, if there is no darkloader nostalgia involved, you are probably better off with the built in FMselect.
klatremus on 22/10/2014 at 05:14
Great to hear your first impression reviews! Happy you like T2 thus far. I think a few of the later missions lack a lot, but overall it is not far behind TG, just different as you said.
Tafferpatcher 2.12 includes NewDark 1.19 I believe, which was the first release of this unofficial patch. Currently, it is up to 1.22. I wouldn't update it until you've finished T2, in case the saves don't work. But if they do (someone else confirm this please) then I'd recommend it.
I use Darkloader, but if you're starting fresh on FMs I'd use FMselect.
