T2 FM: Sisterhood of Azura Part 1 - Estheridge (13 Jun. 2002)

Nightwalker on 25/3/2007 at 03:34

You can't actually get into the Mansion itself. You walk through a door and the mission ends but if you have any other objectives let to fulfill, it's very confusing. Where exactly are you? What objectives do you have left unchecked?

kittykat on 25/3/2007 at 03:47

:confused: Just that and missing 300 in loot. I am in the castle or what ever it is where the strange firegun is and a green big door i cant open, or what? Have knocked out halve the city and still stuck

Just a quick update. I found the end but thanks Nightwalker. :-)

Nightwalker on 25/3/2007 at 04:23

You need to complete you loot objective as you're in the right area. Once you've gotten it done, you just need to get through the door that's directly across from the big gate you entered the Sisterhood compound through.

Ravenhook on 11/1/2009 at 14:59

Quote:

Now, I have moved into another question. When I press another certain button, I suddenly find myself in a different room with someone dead or passed out on the floor. I seem to be "stuck" to the wall and can't get off.

JoanieS, I had this trouble...(I'm playing this again) I was on a vine arrow, I tried it again by standing on a crate and it worked fine, tried again on the arrow and was stuck to the wall. Must be something with being "attached" to the vine arrow.;)

Garga on 4/6/2009 at 21:37

Don't know why I never tried this before. Surprisingly hard.

Had to go on a killing spree.

Garrett's Shadow on 28/11/2009 at 13:29

"Counting pollys" HAHAHA! Indeed!

Though I never knew that the Master Builder was Dromed! :p :cheeky: :laff:
(thought it was just his tool!)

Simbad on 1/3/2010 at 18:26

On the cathedral grounds, in the cannon area (mech building), there are 2 buttons, one above a desk, near the entrance in the mech building, and one in the room with the mechanical bug destroyed by the cannon. I've pressed on them and nothing happened. What is their purpose?

The Phantom on 19/10/2012 at 20:06

Sisterhood of Azura Part 1: Estheridge is one of those older FMs that has always one of those adventures that appealed to me in a certain way. Released back in June 2002 it was the author's first release and by no means a masterpiece, delivering no stunning visuals or an immersive thieving experience, but it was fun. To refresh my memory I decided to re-play this game.

The author, And (also known by his earlier nickname 'Ben Hur'), has created a fairly small city mission, entitled Estheridge (hence the title). The city plan is well drafted, consisting of several named streets and squares, some public buildings, and a cathedral grounds. The sewers are inaccessible but there's a bit of rooftop travelling involved. Entirely build from stock textures, the city captures the feel of a traditional Thief level very nicely. Unfortunately the architecture of the buildings is quite basic and straightforward, looking pretty poor in comparison with more recent FMs. On the other hand, the city is very much alive, inhabited by all sorts of people and factions; bluecoats, mechanists, hammers, pagans, they can all be found patrolling/walking the streets. It's a bit over the top with so many different types of AI implemented though.

Soon it becomes clear to the player that the mission isn't made for stealth tactics. There's no knockout/kill restriction, many buildings/area's can't be accessed without getting seen and AI are blocking your way to some essential points in the mission :erg:. While ghosters will undoubtly be dissapointed, the less-serious player can look forward to a pretty enjoyable exercise; no restrictions, plenty of (deadly) equipment at your disposal, a large number of AI's, lets have fun shall we :D? Most joy can be achieved by luring your enemies into one of the local pubs, The Tippled Burrick, to let them fight the ones inside the pub who are on your side. With a little bit of tactic and luck it's very well possible to decimate most of the town population, leaving you with little distractions to explore and plunder the town :ebil:. For me, it pretty made up for the less thievy approach the author envisoned.

The first (city) part of the mission is pretty much non-linear, letting you complete any of the three main objectives in the order of your choice, which is a great thing. Which makes the gameplay more interesting is the placement of several traps throughout the mission and the unconventional use of weaponry by AI. Furthermore, a good number of secrets can be uncovered (of which the room with the fireplace, drunken man and family portraits is my favourite) and there are several scripted events implemented that make the course of the game quite refreshing and unexpected :thumb:. Some aspects of the mission could've been a bit more polished (like a Garrett saying in the prison that is repeated endlessly once triggered) but it didn't really effect the fun value. It's definitely no difficulty mission as long as you don't try to ghost it and take notice of the readables that provide usefull clues.

In addition, the story progression doesn't dissapoint either and is one of the strongest aspects of SoA Pt1. Through a large number of readables we learn that Garrett returns to the town of Estheridge to track down an old friend. It's all a bit blurry at first though and not everything seems to be answered properly. Who is the the (anonymous) associate who left Garrett a letter at his starting point, for example? And isn't it the Sisterhood that dispatched Joshua instead of the Guild, as the readme suggests? But studying the books and letters puts most of the pieces together, allowing the player to get a good picture of the whole storyline. The details around the reason for Garrett's return get clear, and the player gets immersed in the whole turn of events. Like the discription in the readme states, there is more going on than they would have you believe. It keeps the player entertained until the end and also manages to surprise multiple times. It also reveals that Garrett is not unwilling to help a friend in need when nothing is offered as compensation, so it seems.

Verdict
Overall, Sisterhood of Azura Part 1 delivers a compelling well-written story around a friend in need and a mysterious brotherhood with sinister intentions. The scripted events have several good surprises in store and provide welcome twists to the whole story. Though the mission isn't made for stealth, a lot of fun can be had with triggering AI battles and dealing with enemies. It has it flaws in the form of bugs and some illogic design decisions, but it doesn't hurt the overall gameplay due to the non-linearity and freedom, the many equipment, the secrets and the above mentioned. Really worth a try for those who don't mind aged graphics and little sneaking, while appreciating a solid expanding story, surprising scripted events and the exploration of a small city with plenty of AI varieties to have fun with. Pretty nice work, And :). Do finish (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128745) version 2 sometime.

Statistics
Difficulty played: Expert
Time: 2 hours 58 minutes 46 seconds
Loot: 2009 out of 2594
Secrets: 5 out of 8

The same review with added screenshots will appear in the (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124349) FM Review and Discussion Thread (EDIT: now online (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124349&page=95&p=2149132&viewfull=1#post2149132) here).

P.S.: And, below is a list of bugs and improvement suggestions I compiled, in case you resume dromedding.

Bugs:
- scrsara.str: page 2 of this scroll in Sara's hideout can't be accessed in-game;
- once you've completed your last objective except for "Get into the Sisterhood's mansion", it's automatically mission complete in case the player has already been at the mansion entrance beforehand;
- in the fake book of Telling is written "When you have found the eye. You may look through it.". But once Garrett enters the side vault of the Cathedral, where the eye is kept, the player is transfered to the scene even before actually picking it up;
- the Garrett saying "letting them out would spoil the plan" is heard continously once triggered in the police station;
- friendly archer at the Tippled burrick hits his comrades when getting in his line of fire;
- friendly AI at the Tippled burrick attack civilians as well as the girl Eva, sleeping in the other room, once lured in the pub;
- weaponsmith won't run away for the guards once Garrett enters his house;
- the sleeping girl, Eva, doesn't stop snoring once she makes up ;);
- the droid stationed behind the wooden doors at the Market Square doesn't comes into action by noise at the market caused by fighting.

Other suggestions:
- it's possible to save Sarah once she's attacked by the two Mechanists. But once she's saved she just stands there doing nothing, while you need the key she's carrying. An implemented conversation in which she thanks you and hands over the key would be welcome. Another solution: make it so that Sarah can't be saved;
- many secret buttons throughout the mission, by which a door, window or secret compartment opens, can only be used once. It would make more sense if they can be closed when pressing the button once more;
- acording to book01.str, all guards are carrying sleeper (gas) arrows alongside the broadheads. But once knocked out, only the boradheads can be retrieved;
- the secret button @ Lord Wilson's opens the hidden niche above kitchen door but also the window in the one of the bedrooms. It would make more sense to have a seperate button for the window;
- it's impossible to get out of the small water pond inside the Weaponsmith once you've jumped in;
- the guards at the Tippled Burrick appear out of thin air once the ambush is triggered, which is cool as an element of surprise but a bit uneblievable at the same time. Giving Garrett more time to react and actually seeing them storming through the entrance hall is more convincing.

downwinder on 1/11/2016 at 04:11

just replayed this mission and i enjoyed it loot was hard to complete but remembered the downstairs door in weaponsmith

Unna Oertdottir on 8/7/2019 at 14:14

Updated the dml. Just in case someone is collecting dmls :idea: