T2 FM: The Den (Nov. 26, 2005)

Master Garett on 6/12/2005 at 00:17

loved the mission!!!! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

hats off Gaetane!!

taffedinthehead on 6/12/2005 at 03:43

Quote Posted by Bulgarian_Taffer

I have no time to play because of the university but I have one question.

I remember last time I played ( Saturday or Friday ) I found a secret passage and maybe I had to climb a rope arrow... and finally found a strange ball... something like a hearing Ball. What is it and what could I do with it?
Also, I'd like to open the door to the forbidden area, but I don't have a key. Where is it?

Bulgarian - save this gem of a mission for Holiday break when you can really focus on it - that Stone of Hearing is one of five you must find - part of a larger puzzle. This is a mission worth cherishing.

Good job, Gaetane! I've loved the entire series so far - and great timing with this one, by the way, when someone in another thread is complaining that T2 FMs are outdated - a mission like this shows how little he knows what he's talking about!

Sir Lance on 6/12/2005 at 04:59

Thanks shadows.:thumb:

northeast on 6/12/2005 at 11:26

Quote Posted by gaetane

If you want to hear the L'Arsene' song you don't have to alert the woman who sings it. Otherwise she runaway and stops the song :( I nevertheless lowered her senses but she remains sensitive to what takes place around her, nevertheless.

Yeah. I figured that's what happened. I snuck into the side window before I had even found my equipment, so I was sure not to be seen.

Having completed the level, I must say I'm amazed. You've done a professional job. My only complaint is that there weren't any readables with Berenice talking about Garrett and the experiences with the Korrigans. I feel it would have tied things together more, and would be something she would have written in a journal. Niggling, and I might have missed it in any case. :)

demagogue on 6/12/2005 at 17:24

Just adding my voice to the chorus in praise of this great FM. :D

I completed it at just over 3 hours, and only needed a hint for 1 thing.

- The stone in the 2nd floor SW Tower. I frobbed the torch but never saw the little niche opening and then just forgot about it until after the sentinal "awakening". By the time I found out about it, there were 3 sentinals coming in and out of that room, I had 1 fire arrow left, and I realized I had to go back there, find the niche, rope arrow up there, and get it. :sweat:

A few interesting notes and things that stood out for me...

- Like someone else above, I also got past the barred gate at the end by just stacking statues and climbing to the 2nd floor. It just seemed the only available route. I'm still not really clear what's the right way to do it if it's something else.

- Every turn or so, it struck me how similar this FM was in design to Emilie Victor. Start off in a vulnerable position and needing to find your equipment and get outside, a multi-storied mansion with similar design in the front gate, stairs linking each floor from one corner, floors with long, branched hallways leading to key rooms on the other side and spotted with ajoining rooms (esp the top floors seemed very similar), notes following your progress (also with RC), skeletons in bathtubs, and a supernatural turn at the end. In many senses, this was the more polished of the 2, and had a tighter narrative-thread, although felt maybe a little more cramped and less fresh. I really liked both, though.

- I was also struck by connections to Rowena's Curse. The locked garden area, the key to which is a central turning point in the FM. The 4 or 5 "gimmick" rooms in hidden places the completion of which carry the key to start the supernatural endgame. The earthquake. The girl looking longingly out a window. The long history of the mansion and dealing with its past. The lower evil area and excavation by the head-of-household (which they both share with Ominous Bequest and 7th Crystal and a lot of others)...

- The sentinal "awakening" moment was probably an original idea, but other FMs that have done this are Abominable Dr. Dragon (which this also reminded me of) and Midnight at Murkbell of course.

- Many of these are not so much homages (although some may be) or cliches IMHO as quirks that keep reappearing in FMs. And formulaic or not, I have to admit, the design principles work well for a great story and game.

- Speaking of cliches, there was a thread somewhere around here (in the gaming forum) about FMs that start with a prison break -- more than a few. This will certain have to be added to this list. What this adds is the nice, sinister intro-sequence so you learn to hate your adversary from the very beginning, and the fact that the gameplay is actually like a prison "break".

- Two funny moments were rooms that had unexpected windows into other rooms, with guards right on the other side ready to notice you. (one with a candle in it and the other being an open fireplace). I thought they were done well here.

Cheers for a great FM. :thumb:

marycwmbach on 6/12/2005 at 17:32

Hello demagogue, Just reading your impressive post. I concur with a lot of what you have said. Actually it took me 6 hours over a few days to complete,so well done. The part where you said you stacked up the statues and then got onto the 2nd floor, I gather that is approaching the endgame and entering the den. I too was puzzled at this part, but just past the 4 columns there are two low pillors, one each side of the room. It is on these that pieces of statue go, thus opening the gate.

Tremendous fun!!:D

gaetane on 6/12/2005 at 19:25

Demagogue,

When I built the mission, I noticed that there were small resemblances with Rowena Curse and Ominious Bequest fms.
My fm is built on about the same schema. But I left it, after all I love really these missions and I was maybe influenced :rolleyes:

But the important is that everybody enjoys himself :D

Ravenus1 on 7/12/2005 at 21:51

I have never been so stuck in my life. I need to find the sight stone. I figure I'll be able to progress from there without too much problem. I havent been able to get to the forbidden area, or through the door in the library with the lock near the bookcase. All other areas I seem to have cleared out, am I missing some keys, or is it just the stone, stopping me from progressing...Thank You

ffox on 7/12/2005 at 22:04

Ravenus1: Keys first, then forbidden area, then Sight Stone. Look through the thread for the key to Bourrique's apartment first, and take it from there.

All the answers you want are in this thread somewhere, and in the (http://www.thiefmissions.com/walkthroughs/TheDen.html) walkthrough, which also has spoiler cover.

demagogue on 7/12/2005 at 22:10

Oops, beat to the punch.
He's right, everything's already in this thread somewhere, but since I typed it out already, I'll do you the favor of saying it again here:

No, the stone isn't stopping you.
It is in the forbidden area, which you apparently need the key for.

The key to the forbidden area (i.e., the 2nd floor room with the big X on the map) is in L'Arsene's room; if you can't find it, someone says it in an earlier post. (which has 2 entrances: the 3rd floor guarded door and the back door to which is the library locked door you mentioned).

You apparently first need the key to L'Arsene's room.
That is in Bourrique's apartment; look for things to frob. If you need the key to Bourrique's apt., look it up in earlier posts..
A hint if you still can't find it: think about what Bourrique's name sounds like.