T2 FM: Transitions in Chaos Part I by Ramirez's Fat Burrick June 21/06

Aspirin on 28/6/2006 at 07:03

Quote Posted by shadows

Aspirin
[spoiler]To the left of the statue in the corner of the wall is .....[/spoiler]

Thanks shadows. This little tiny [SPOILER]switches [/SPOILER]make me crazy...

Great FM ROFB !

lomondtaffer on 28/6/2006 at 07:49

Thanks, Xenith: thought I'd done that, but I must have missed one. Oh, well, back I go!

Curunir on 28/6/2006 at 11:40

Just completed the mission in a little over 3 hours.

To put it simply - a glorious level with a lot of fun things to do, plagued by several ridiculous switch placements and a silly "obligatory secrets" objective.

First things first, the visuals are astonishing. I haven't ever seen Thief 2 look that good, and with Saints and Thieves and Rocksbourg out, that's quite an accomplishment. The texturing is beautiful and rich without being tasteless or garish. The lighting is also surprisingly good, with sharp, precise shadows near bright soruces and soft darkness in ambient-lit areas. The new textures also spruced things up and the higher poly models were a nice touch. The only possible minor gripe with visuals that I have is the intensity of the raylight shafts, those could have been a little less intense in color and more transparent.

Nothing but praise for the architecture either. I suppose some people are going to complain about "yet another mansion" etc, but the display of connectivity, use of space and pure eye-candy detail are enviable.

Objectives and story pacing were also quite good, I enjoyed snatching letters and leafing through diaries, the story integration of it all was good. I don't mind objectives that make you backtrack a lot, but the enforced "find x secrets" thing was a bit too much. I actually had to read this thread to get the final fifth secret to finish the level. Another major complaint would be the lack of clues as to how on earth you're supposed to poison that old crone. I already had the empty bottle but there was no hint as to how I should mix the poison, and I excluded the actual solution as an option because the item used had previously been unusable. It's not that the idea isn't well implemented, I actually liked the sequence, the problem is, there are no actual clues about how it's done and that is a problem in a level that big.

In conclusion, Conspiracies is an outstanding level that boasts gorgeous visuals, lots of detail in architecture, texturing and lighting, a relatively spacious map, an interesting and well-scripted storyline and a few problematic and sometimes plainly irritating moments where the player is forced to play guessing games.

The good far outweighs the bad though and for all the momentary frustration, I can wholeheartedly recommend this mission to everyone.

Yandros on 28/6/2006 at 12:19

Quote Posted by Curunir

[SPOILER]I already had the empty bottle but there was no hint as to how I should mix the poison, and I excluded the actual solution as an option because the item used had previously been unusable. It's not that the idea isn't well implemented, I actually liked the sequence, the problem is, there are no actual clues about how it's done and that is a problem in a level that big.[/SPOILER]

So I take it you missed the cookbook, eh? I thought that made it pretty straightforward. And that entire paragraph should be spoilered in your post...

gitb on 28/6/2006 at 13:00

I must say normally I like manors not so much but this mission was great

It was really fun to play :cheeky:

Cool Bonus object (the lute) this one was great
I can`t wait to play part 2

:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

Xenith on 28/6/2006 at 13:18

yeah I finished it two last night. haven't got all the loot and 1 secret, but the rest is full (inclduding objectives, pockets)'

can hardly wait for part 2

dealasteal on 28/6/2006 at 14:36

The recipe:
I thought the cookbook made it REAL obvious what to do, expecially; when it tells you what the results will be.. if you replace one ingredient with the other within the same recipe??? The hard part, may have been, finding one of the major components for brewing the poisoned recipe elsewhere in the adventure. Along the way, I just happened to collect something in my inventory that appeared to be used for another purpose in the game, hmm..? This proved to be very mystifying and my interests grew even further to be on-the-look-out for a secret of some-sort....The way to combine the ingredients became obvious when I turned to the pot and tested to see if it was "frobbable", I then realized I had to do some cooking....oh, but wait...there is a switch to turn on the oven to complete the process!!!

Now, for example: if you put a compass in a game, that was needed for solving the riddle of getting through an invisible route barrier, and are left with finding the "clue" of which the device may have a purpose here in the first place, and.. it won't work due to some kind of mysterious interference while confronted with horn headed ratmen wandering in a maze, and above you are a chain-gang of ZOMBIES ... I will be confused REAL fast!
(..Er, eh... this FM, currently, does, exist!)

Ethne on 28/6/2006 at 14:50

beautiful, fun and wonderful level. I give it two thumbs and a big toe up! (It would have been two toes if part two was ready... :) ;) Loved this mission.

bobber on 28/6/2006 at 15:50

Yep. Can't find it and need a hint. I must have been in it but didn't realize it maybe. Thanks!

Xenith on 28/6/2006 at 16:26

the kitchen from the old lady's house is:

[spoiler] after you enter the house via garden, turn right and the door to your left is the kitchen door [/spoiler]

you might be asking for directions for the kitchen in the mansion...