Thief: TIS - Volume One: Cop In The Shadows - Playing Feb 10th - Feb 24th - by SneakyJack
jiansonz on 12/2/2009 at 09:47
How I played:
Difficulty: Expert (killing of humans and robots not allowed)
My Playstyle: Iron Man (= strive for as few reloads as possible)
Ghosted: No
Secrets: 0 out of 0
Loot: 2539 out of 2729
Pockets Picked: 4 out of 6. I did not miss any I know of. I think one is Lord Archer´s key, the other is probably the classical T2 bug.
Knockouts: 25
Kills: None
Total Time: 2 hours, 3 minutes, 25 seconds
Looking at my 'Fan Missions Megalist' spreadsheet, I could see that I had played this mission before, but there was no written comment about it.
Once I made it out of the inn, I recognized some parts.
General Mission Thoughts:
For me, the city areas do not feel "alive" enough. They are very sparse and there is not a whole lot going on, and many of the buildings you can enter seem to be there only because Garrett needs to go there to find a piece of loot. You do not get that good vibe (that is the trademark of most good FMs) that the world lives and exists without Garrett.
However, once you get into Lord Archer´s estate, things change for the better. A lot. This place looks beautiful and both the gameplay and the readables are of high quality.
"WTF?" moments:
* Why was the key to Basso´s block with that sleeping guard? I mean, did he lock the door after Basso went in, or can Basso actually lock doors using the picks?
* "Hmm, what dirty little secrets do you keep in your locked box, Ramirez? A Pool Room Key? Isn´t that the exact same type of key I just lifted off your belt about 10 seconds ago?" :tsktsk:
* Me: "OK, now I exit this Machine House building. I wonder where I am in relation to the steet parts I´ve already seen."
Garrett: "I need to find a key for this." :p
"Yay!" moments:
* Making the crucial early jump from rope arrow on the first try (no falling down and taking damage)
* Mantling up an open door in the warehouse office building. This meant I could visit all the rooms here without needing the key I found later.
* Finding 20 more loot than last time (even though I spent a lot more time loot hunting back then)
* Actually completing the mission without a single reload!
Replay Value: I may go back to my last save and try to find the missing loot, but I´ll probably not play the whole thing again.
blow on 12/2/2009 at 13:38
can someone tell me how to get into the warehouse?
jiansonz on 12/2/2009 at 14:01
@blow:
You need to take a look into an open window close to the gate to the left of the big warehouse door.
PotatoGuy on 12/2/2009 at 15:32
I am stuck now! :( I just entered the pub, in the second part of the city, made my way via the rooftops into the machine house, got the key for that same house, got to the attic (only found a piece of loot there), and now I am stuck! What to do now? is something else at the machine house attic? I can't see anything there, it's too dark. Or do I have to find a way into the estate or the warehouse? (Cause I didn't find one still)
Somebody could give me a hint (a big one?)
SneakyJack on 12/2/2009 at 16:24
Great post jiansonz, your writing style is humorous and provides for a great read :)
You also caught a few of the mission's missteps that I didn't in mention in your WTF moments section - I laughed as I read over them. I was confused about Garretts fetish for keys being spouted at odd times too :laff:
gunsmoke on 12/2/2009 at 20:54
Well, I gave her a shot. I just don't like this mission. Nothing against the author, it just isn't my cup of tea. Sorry, I am going to wait until the next FM cycle to fully play through w/you guys.
SneakyJack on 12/2/2009 at 20:57
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
Well, I gave her a shot. I just don't like this mission. Nothing against the author, it just isn't my cup of tea. Sorry, I am going to wait until the next FM cycle to fully play through w/you guys.
For the sake of discussion - could you tell us (constructively, of course) what things you didn't like about the mission or ways you thought it could be improved?
PotatoGuy on 12/2/2009 at 21:00
SneakyJack, could you give me a hint? (looking at my previous post)
jiansonz on 12/2/2009 at 21:48
Quote Posted by PotatoGuy
I am stuck now! :( I just entered the
pub, in the second part of the city, made my way via the rooftops into the machine house, got the key for that same house, got to the attic (only found a piece of loot there), and now I am stuck! What to do now? is something else at the
machine house attic? I can't see anything there, it's too dark. Or do I have to find a way into the estate or the warehouse? (Cause I didn't find one still)
Somebody could give me a hint (a big one?)
If you have the machine house key,
then you are ready to enter the estate, because that place also has a machine house, which you can now open.Swiz on 12/2/2009 at 22:24
Difficulty: Normal
Ghosted: No, but I suspect it'd be reasonably easy
Secrets: 0 out of 0
Loot: 2219 out of 2729
Pockets Picked: 3 out of 6.
Knockouts: 29, 1 airborne. The robots are BJ'able! Er, blackjackable, that is.
Kills: None
Total Time: 1 hours, 3 minutes, 34 seconds
An odd little mission that took a while to get going, and I never really got a handle on the sprawling geography. Picks up a fair bit at the end, though. A few scale problems ( giant toilets; a bar that would require passing the drinks over at head height ) give the disturbing impression Garrett has shrunk, or is possibly only 8 years old.
The map gives you a big clue for the start, but it's a bit too low-res to read easily.
