Morrgan on 27/10/2003 at 02:22
Thanks all, I'm glad you like it. :)
Dafydd, that's a good point about the Z-axis thing, it's something I usually have trouble with when designing areas.
The last secret -
[SPOILER]There's a switch in the mansion's master bedroom suite. Search around the lower part of the wall on the left of the stairs leading to the bathroom. Wow, that was a complicated sentence.[/SPOILER]
Sarik on 27/10/2003 at 02:27
isn't up the y axis?
;) :p
Yametha on 27/10/2003 at 05:09
Not if you have a bird's eye view.
Jocke on 27/10/2003 at 12:16
Quote:
Originally posted by Sarik isn't up the y axis?
;) :p Only if you're playing a sidescroller.
mopgoblin on 28/10/2003 at 00:47
Actually, which axis is which depends on the basis and variable names which are used. It all comes down to vectorspaces and linear algebra and things like that.
Morrgan on 29/10/2003 at 22:58
Ack, all that's too complicated. At least I knew which one Dafydd meant. ;)
uncadonego on 16/11/2003 at 22:48
Hi Maria,
I was just wondering if there was an update for part 2. I've been looking forward to it. Part 1 was a beautiful gem, and now that I'm dromeding on "relax" mode, I'm looking forward to it with anticipation. :)
P.S. I'm not very dromed busy right now, so if you need any male voices for part 2, just PM me. I'd be honoured to help you a little with your next project.:)
Morrgan on 17/11/2003 at 22:29
Hey, thanks for the offer! I haven't got all the conversations figured out yet for the 2nd part, but we'll see when I get that far. :)
As for an update... Well, I recently got a pack of great new textures made by Vigil, so I'm busy putting those to good use. Having new textures to play with is a very good way of getting the inspiration back, by the way. ;)
There's some fine-tuning I have to do as far as terrain and AI are concerned, and a part I might have to scrap and rebuild.
The release date is still some time away. I was hoping I'd get it out (or at least start the beta testing) this year, but due to some major reconstruction I've had to do as well as being busy with RL, it might have to wait until early next year instead.
Hoopz on 18/11/2003 at 03:17
First of all, great mission... the style is good, the gameplay is fun and varied ;). Good work on the scrolls too, the writing is good and adds life to the little section of town.
However I have a couple of comments/suggestions... I get overly critical, so remember I still loved this mission. I suppose your next mission in the series won't be as urban, so most of these comments might not apply much anymore.
1) Mansion layout
The graphic design of the mansion is very nice, but logically it doesn't make much sense... would you want to live in a house that is layed out like this? Want to go to the guest room from the game room? Well you can either go downstairs by the foyer, pass the dining room, take the elevator up, and go around the hall... or you can go the long way around through the library and that little salon.
Guards who want to end their shift need to interrupt the Lord's dinner party, or take the elevator (whose noise will surely annoy him as well).
This sort of stuff makes the mansion less believable.
Some missions in Thief 2 had the same problem (like Truart's house with its weird zigzag corridors, or the fact that the chapel area could only be reached through the main hall/reception room, except for that secret way).
2) 3D
As someone else already said, this mission feels quite flat.
Roofs are immensely fun to explore in Thief 2, plus to me one of the more scary deaths is still dropping off a high building. Big warning though: no-one likes to fight with the Dark engine to perform movements that should be dead easy in real life (e.g. crawling through a window at waist-heigth). Acrobatics shouldn't be needlessly difficult.
3) Bank
Why were the bank offices downstairs in a dark basement? People (especially bankers in the Thief world because they can afford it) like working in light, open spaces. Remember the Dayport bank in Life of the Party with its balcony (which was extended excellently in Lord Fishkill's Curse btw)?
4) Mansion maps
Great work on the (auto)-maps. They look as good as the original T2 maps. One thing bugged me though: the little stairs in the bathroom were drawn too. I doubt a servant, regardless of accuracy, would think to include those on a hand drawn map. People are not specialist cartographers ;).
5) Keys
While it would be realistic to have tons of keys in Thief (e.g. a person should logically carry the key to the locked chest under his bed), it's not very practical because there is no keyring object. Cutting down on the amount of keys is a plus.
6) Mechanist seminar layout
Same comment as the mansion, though without a map it's harder to get an overview. The two parallel stairs that meet near the mechanist dining area didn't make much sense to me. Mechanists are logical thinkers, so you'd expect them to layout their buildings in an efficient way, with no unnecessary level changes or bendy corridors ;).
Sarik on 18/11/2003 at 04:03
Quote:
would you want to live in a house that is layed out like this?
They're rich and it's a manor. Would you like to live in a mansion where you have to walk half a mile from your bedroom to the dining room? Does any mansion have to be believable?
IMHO, you're looking far too hard into the technicalities of the game.
What you say is certainly worth noting to any Dromeder, but maybe you're being just a bit too critical? ;)
Quote:
Acrobatics shouldn't be needlessly difficult.
Ugh. Agreed. It really bugs me when mission designers make a certain obstacle passable, but in such a way that it requires acrobatics to do so, like getting garrett half-way into a window frame and then having to crouch and lean OUT the window just to get through. These are the subtle things that no-one should really have to know to pass a mission.
I can't wait for the next one!
