<Username> on 3/1/2023 at 21:22
Incredible mission! This is the second T3 mission after (
https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104545&p=2484834&viewfull=1#post2484834) All The World's A Stage which I give a perfect 10/10 rating. :thumb:
Whereas All The World's A Stage put a lot of gameplay into a relatively small area, Furious Flames is much more expansive. Set six months after the activation of the last glyph, it is an exciting journey through a City now embroiled in conflict. With the Baron gone during the war, the nobility becomes increasingly corrupt. The remaining Keepers are now hunted in the streets. Soon Garrett becomes a target as well.
1st attempt:* Thief in Law (Expert) difficulty
* 0 hints needed
* Did not complete the optional quest in South Quarter to retrieve four indulgences for Thomas.
* Completed the optional quest in Stonemarket to help the tailor's wife.
* Got to the end of the mission with 77% of 95% needed loot.
* Playthrough aborted.
2nd attempt:* Shot Caller (Hard) difficulty
* 0 hints needed
* Completed the optional quest in South Quarter to retrieve four indulgences for Thomas.
* Completed the optional quest in Stonemarket to help the tailor's wife.
* Got to the end of the mission with 86% of 65% needed loot.
* Playthrough finished after 195 minutes.
Elements I liked:* New equipment, new enemy types, and several gameplay improvements from the original game (see below)
* Intro video, title screen replacement, custom loading screens, map
* Excellent cutscenes at key points in the mission
* Spectacularly detailed areas, later areas engulfed in flames and smoke
* Well-tested, varied gameplay
* Many, many secrets to discover
* Very good journals that set the tone and advance the story
* Several fences and shops in nicely designed locations
* On the highest difficulty, you're not allowed to blackjack anyone, but you can steal their weapons, which removes them as a threat. You are also allowed to use gas bombs if you happen to find any in the mission. I enjoyed the challenge on this difficulty level.
Elements that could be improved:* The female voice in the intro video is too low in the sound mix and gets drowned out by music at the end.
* On the rooftops of South Quarter, I found a spot between two roofs where I was not supposed to climb to. I squeezed inside, got a few steps farther, clipped through the geometry, and then fell through the level into an infinite void.
* It is possible to grab loot through the walls of all the safes in the mission.
* I was able to jump into the area in front of the burning Keeper Compound. There is no exit from this area. I had to reload.
* When sneaking atop bunk beds lined up in a row in the Hammer Factory, I got stuck in the space between to beds. This also required a reload each time.
* I would have liked more varied background music. You hear the same track for the majority of the mission.
* There were intermittent, non-reproducible crashes.
* If you follow Maja or Thomas after you complete their quests, you can see them disappear into thin air.
* You can softlock the game if you arrive at the final location without enough loot for the loot goal and don't have a savegame back far enough in the mission.
New equipment:* Darkness arrows: Didn’t use them to blind enemies but used them to extinguish the lights which could not be frobbed.
* Vodka arrows: Only used them once or twice. Maybe they are useful for ghost runs to make enemies forget you were there?
* Freezing arrows: Useful to take out individual robots.
* Explosive arrows: Useful to take out two robots with one hit.
* Pocket light: Tested it once in the beginning of the mission, then never used afterwards.
New enemy types:* Mechanist: Looks great and the voice set of Hammerites fits them.
* Robot: I was expecting a janky model and was surprised they not only look and sound great, but also work perfectly. Then can even speed up when they are chasing you. I also like how their green indicator light switches to red when they are alerted.
Improved models:* Treebeast: Can be seen in the background of the fence and the shop in the Lower Private Docks. A small tree grows now from their backs. I thought this was a neat detail.
Gameplay improvements from the original game:* You can knock out sitting NPCs with the blackjack.
* NPCs will sit down again after their alert level goes down.
* You can steal weapons from NPCs, which removes them as a threat.
* You can receive new objectives from NPCs marked with an arrow.
* You can frob many electric or gas-powered lights to turn them off or on.
