T2 FM: Alterna Crystallis - August 19, 2022

mxleader on 28/8/2022 at 00:15

Finished playing on expert. I was short about 3,000 in loot so I'll probably go back and look around more. The non-linear map was super fun to explore. There are sooooo many secrets that never get old finding. The one thing I can't figure out what to do with is the lantern that you can grab from one of the guards. When you throw it it catches fire. Maybe it has no purpose. Maybe it does?

john9818a on 28/8/2022 at 00:35

Quote Posted by Aemanyl

Thank you very much for this highly enjoyable mission, John. I appreciate your effort and time you've dedicated to your new creation.

Pros:

+ The mission is large, with many interesting and well-designed places to go, but it has never felt overly confusing on my playthrough.
+ Reasonable loot placement and secrets that encourage exploration.
+ Each location has its unique atmosphere. Overall, I've found the the mission very relaxing.
+ Concise and informative readables. No unnecessary or boring ramblings.
+ Good sound design. As a bonus, I loved the ambient loop playing in the tavern.

Cons:

- I could not help but notice errors in the objectives screen - unnecessary spaces and no full stops after each goal. I had to correct this issue manually by editing the relevant text file. Perhaps this was omitted by beta testers, but it's always good to remember to double-check the objectives screen, as typos and layout errors can create a bad first impression to some players.
- I believe that Garrett's apartment should be locked with a key. It felt weird that I could just enter his home from the street.
- Two or three ladders were too long and instead of mantling smoothly the surface, I kept falling down and losing HP.
- It took me a while to find Bafford's safe. A bit frustrating, but maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to the readables.

I rated your mission 9/10 on Thief Guild. Well done!

Thank you Aemanyl! I appreciate both pros and cons. :) I spent a long time working on this FM... maybe too long. :p If you look at my other missions, all of them have the objectives formatted the same way. I'm not sure why I started doing it that way though. One beta tester mentioned the same thing, but no one else has in 10+ FMs. :) Garrett's apartment in Ambush is unlocked as well. I'm not sure what you mean by the ladders are too long. :confused:

Anyway thank you for your rating. I know my missions can be done a lot better, and I hope to do better in the future.

john9818a on 28/8/2022 at 00:37

Quote Posted by mxleader

The lantern is something that I didn't really expand on too much. If you gently set it next to any of the crystals you will get a new/completed objective.

frobbin hood on 28/8/2022 at 10:41

Enjoying this one. Plenty to do.
But where is the key to the clocktower?

Edit: Never mind, I thought I was unable to pick a certain door!

And is there a key for Bafford's guard entrance, opposite the warehouse, near the big crates?

BrokenArts on 28/8/2022 at 13:31

This was a really fun mission, had a ball testing. I was standing on the balcony above the pub, looked over at the bell tower. I love watching the bell sway back and forth, such a small thing, but, it's so cool to see and watch. Not done in enough missions. Makes total sense. Thanks for that little tid bit John, it's the little things that can make a mission
. :)

mxleader on 28/8/2022 at 16:21

Quote Posted by john9818a

The lantern is something that I didn't really expand on too much. If you gently set it next to any of the crystals you will get a new/completed objective.

Thanks for the tip. I'll go back and play around a bit. I think there's a couple of other bonus objectives I've missed as well.

One thing I'm curious about is in a out of bounds area I found in a corner a large lever that is frobbable and I have no idea if it has a purpose. It's in the area where the skylight windows above the stairwell with security cameras are in the police station.

Thinking Robot on 28/8/2022 at 19:32

A very fine and surprisingly big fan mission. Thanks for release.
Very well done, it took me three days to finish it, there were countless secrets to find and much more to explore. I really was surprised how huge this mission felt, even when it wasn´t actually on total map size. But the police watch and Baffords manor felt like their own separate independent missions.
In the end, I fell short by around 2.700 in loot, so I missed a lot.
Didn´t have technical problems of any kind, played the newest version and ran it via FMSel.

A good mission to warm up for September 24th. Can´t wait to sacrifice my weekends to taff around. :D

john9818a on 28/8/2022 at 21:04

Quote Posted by frobbin hood

And is there a key for Bafford's guard entrance, opposite the warehouse, near the big crates?

Yes but its on the other side of that door. :)

Broken Arts, thank you! :) I had to get the bell from Thief Gold, because the T2 bell won't swing. Thank you for beta testing my mission!

mxleader, that lever controls a lot of things at one time, and you don't need to worry about it. :)

Thinking Robot, thank you! :) I'm glad you enjoyed my mission. What happens on September 24th?

Kin on 29/8/2022 at 06:35

I am having an issue with the metal door that behind lies the body with the red crystal. I installed the mission without the proper scripts. Saved halfway after picking the scroll underneeth the door and afterwards installed the scripts. The door is unpickable even after reading the scroll. Any workaround?

edit: Ok reloaded game read scroll, now works fine

frobbin hood on 29/8/2022 at 10:21

Finally finished, but quite a bit short on loot and only 12 secrets.

Like others, I had a little trouble finding.Bafford's safe. and I never did find the key for Bafford's guard entrance, even on the other side. It took me a while to discover what the secret lever did, near the electrical machines and portcullis in Bafford's backyard.

I'd love to see a lootlist\secret list sometime. I must have missed quite a few areas.

Thanks very much for this mission. One I shall definitely play again. :thumb: