The Phantom on 23/5/2009 at 20:10

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The first time I played The Ritual, back in 2003, it made quite an impression. As one of the first missions I ever played, you don't forget things like a red moon and animal sounds :D
Naturally, it isn't as revolutionary as it was back then, but it's still a very fine mission and a world of recognition.

In terms of story the mission certainly excells! The background of the Druizalites cult, their god Baphomane, and the city of Heather Downs is very interesting, and the events are carefully told in the readables.
I really liked the fact that many things are explained this way and turn up along the way, like the red moon, the cloaked characters in the park, and the effect on the cult members when they're forced outside during possession. And on a less important note the guy that fell into the well, and another one who was carrying a mechanical skull.
Good attention to detail that provides extra depth :thumb:

Finding my way through the city and avoiding the patrols was fun, as was finding equipment, evidence and the search for the well key.
The city was limited in terms of design and size, but the underground complex compensates this nicely. It's a bit confusing at first, but has a lot to offer with the tombs, several special effects, and new enemies.
Love the outfits of the cult members, and their disturbing animal mumbling!
The traps and numbers of enemies give the place just the challenge it needs.
Back in the city, I had a good time watching the guards and cult members fight each other, and lure the hammers from their chapel to join the battle ;).

Getting the required amount of loot proved to be hard. I would've never found that sarcophagus myself, which should've been a secret IMO. The remaining 50 loot was too little to get the loot objective, which makes completing the loot objective too difficult imo.

Another note of criticism, reported before: rescuing Merimee was a bit buggy. You can carry her with you, but once I reached the big rock in the park she woke up and remained where she stood. Fine, I thought, and ran away to deal with the cult members first. But once I returned she was gone :p Game over.
I decided to replay the mission, and refrained from knocking out guards and hammers. This time Merimee followed after waking up, but now she was uncontrollable, making her an ideal target for the cult that's trying to kill her. It would've helped if she could be told to stand down/follow, like in "Under Templehill" and "The Skygem Connection". Together with the loot requirement, the only thing that annoyed me.
Still, this mission is nearly 9 years old and probably the first who implemented the "rescue girl and return her to the start" concept.

I really enjoyed replaying the Ritual. Plenty of depth, challenging, entertaining, and still looking pretty good for it's age.
Great work, twisty! One of the mission that set the standard for future FM design. And i'll never forget that raven sound :).
It's a pity you've never released another one.

Statistics
Difficulty played: Master (Expert)
Time taken: 1 hour 30 minutes 59 seconds
Loot found: 1690 of 1740

The Phantom on 30/5/2009 at 14:10

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Looking forward to that day to arrive :)
Thanks for making The Ritual.

margotbean on 29/9/2014 at 07:25

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Just played this mission for the first time today. Wow!

Had to post for those, like me, who just discovered Fan Missions. Regarding the disappearing Merimee bug... crowemagnon (post #140 of this topic) was close to discovering the problem. Once you cross the brush-covered entrance to the tunnel to the park (going in either direction), Merimee will disappear. If you don't have her in tow, she'll be gone for good. It doesn't matter if you've never entered the sacrifice room, or if you're at the end of the game, and drop her unconscious body somewhere in the inner garden. She'll be gone. So you can never ever clear the town of bad guys, then go back for her at the end.

The best you can do (as stated in a previous post) is lock her in the Hammer church and clear the town, then go back for her. ...Although those Hammerites can open the door if properly motivtated, even if you have stolen all 3 keys.

Also, there is 50 unobtainable loot --> the first giant mask-creature you encounter in the family tomb counts toward the loot total on the Stats screen, but there's no way to frob it.

Finally, I could have done without the pornographic picture in the servant's apartment. Easy enough for me to delete, but it was an incredibly unpleasant surprise the first time I played. Let's not do that again, twisty.

Other than that, the mission was incredibly cool, and I see that a lot of the concepts have been copied since then. So, good job! I enjoyed 99% of it! :)

margotbean on 5/10/2014 at 08:12

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Actually, there is a post waaaay back in this thread about how to cheat and get an easier ending. Right at the start of the mission, you can bash open the door next to the Hammer Chapel door, and find an unfinished area. Jump down and explore. You can see all the bad guys in black standing in a row above you... and the author even provided a wooden ledge for you to rope-arrow up and take them out. :sly: They end up scattered about the city at the end, hovering in the air unconscious. Soooo very much easier this way!

Nightwalker on 9/11/2015 at 03:04

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I have a copy of that in my files so I've emailed it to you at the address you have on your profile.