The Phantom on 8/11/2011 at 19:17

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Just finished replaying Mines of Margoth and - finally - ended up completing the mission, after (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59290&p=1397594&viewfull=1#post1397594) my previous attempts years ago failed miserably. I guess I needed some more years of Thief experience behind me :D.

Allright, this is still a hard and sometimes frustrating mission, that can be real pain sometimes, but having explored it throughely it's clear to me that it's a fabulous piece of work. It's extraordinary design was way ahead of it's time in 2002 and still looks refreshing these days.
The locations, while sometimes a bit too sci-fi or supernatural for me, are well made and variated, and supported by some lovely custom soundtracks it's a joy to cross them to see what they have in store for the player. Brilliant atmosphere! And then the enemies,,, lots of custom made enemies with their own strengths and weaknesses. It begins with the bug woman, guarding the entrance to the mines at the start of the mission. She scared the living daylights out of me when I first encountered her, and watching how she dealt with the nearby guards. But It didn't take long to figure out how to use her in my favour, to slay as many AI as possible.
I really liked how Mines of Margroth turns bigger and bigger with every progress, and more hidden tunnels open up. Each area is unique and offers large amounts of loot to uncover. The maps the player finds along the way are clear and essential for navigating to prevent getting lost. Luckily the automap comes in handy.
To those getting frustrated while playing MoM, I found it useful to 1) type text on the maps for clues. More recommendations are 2) carefully reading the scrolls you come across, as they provide the player with useful hints to deal with a certain obstacle or puzzle, 3) making save points before venturing into a new/dangerous area. Oh and play the mission with breaks and not in one day. These things helped me a lot to continue through the end. and to avoid ruining your experience with a gem of a FM.
Still there are puzzles that I wouldn't have solved without consulting the walkthrough or this thread for spoilers. Like when I had to use the Gem of Olforf in the Tank of the Deep Ones to locate a hidden panel. Also, dying is almost inevitable, even on normal. Traps are not uncommon, enemies are tough, and many more ways of getting yourself killed are present. Ghosting seems out of the question. Luckily there's an enormous arsenal of arrows to be found.

It took me over 4 hours and 11 minutes to finish Mines of Margroth. And still I believe I left several parts unexplored and, which is supported by the fact that I found 9103 loot while there's much more (a total of 12512) to uncover. This campaign got me hooked again. A challenging underground adventure that impresses in exploration and custom content, it's unebelievably stunning stuff and I'm glad I gave it another chance. It's like walking into a dream world in which Garrett is the protagonist. Not the regular kind of Thief fan mission, but immersive and entertaining nonetheless. I can't wait to see what Guilded Rivaly (FM2) has to offer.

YcatX you have a wonderful twisted artistic mind and I thank you for delivering this highly original masterpiece :thumb: Good to see you (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136203) around again. Hopefully you can salvage many files you lost, to expend this project further.

Difficulty: Normal
Time taken: 4 hours 11 minutes
Loot: 9103 out of 12512

YcatX on 23/1/2012 at 05:41

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Hmmmmm... Got a screen shot? I know some panels had buttons that needed to be shot, some had hidden levers/switches to open, some opened when you approached, some you had to bang a few times to open.

YcatX on 24/1/2012 at 10:55

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OMG... I'm totally kicking myself for not using enough light. Why in the hell I thought making it pitch black, was such a cool idea is beyond me. I'm so sorry everyone.

Try a few over the head power strikes. As I recall 2 of the 3 could be open. And that crazy thing with the backward picking lock. The pirates chest, where when you pick the lock that animation shows the lock closing. Strange. The pirate's chest in T2 was unlocked and never played the pick animation.

Now if I had the Skyrim engine to play with... hehehe...

Azaran on 25/1/2012 at 06:04

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Thanks a lot Ycatx :thumb: (it never crossed my mind to try that, since they're stone\metal doors...).

Just realized I mistakenly wrote blue wall above....it's the floor that's blue not the wall.... :o :erm:

Inky on 23/9/2012 at 17:02

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Is the walktrough still available somewhere? Looks like his website is not online anymore...