vfig on 8/3/2023 at 06:43
we all love to do a little grumbling about things we dislike. if youve watched any of my fm lets plays youll know i am no exception. but what about the things that make you grin, or laugh? the little things that fm authors put in that delight you? whats one thing that you loved in an fm that you played?
i will start: i love when fm authors give names to all their npcs, that you see when you pick them up after ko’ing.
A.Stahl on 8/3/2023 at 07:47
I like when the FM has a plot. Preferably one or two big and serious ones and some small/strange/comedy(but still adequate) ones. You know, Benny's drinking place hidden in the warehouse's dark corner, some noble bickering with the cook about food prices. It makes the place more real, not just a scene for the main plot.
I also like non-standard but still not out-of-place things like steam trains, big ships or other heavy machinery.
And of course I like small details: toilets, barracks, smoke pipes in chimneys, water pipes in the mansion cellar...
Well, ok. It sounds like I just like the high-quality missions :)
One recently released mission had a light spot that disappeared when the light source was blocked by the big warehouse door. Super cool.
BR4ZIL on 8/3/2023 at 19:10
I like:
Good map design, which usually involves:
-Multiple approaches to get around.
-Verticality.
-Some degree of Verisimilitude with what its trying to portray (IE: a castle designed like a castle, an mansion or apartment block designed as such).
Map preferences of mine:
-Cozy Enviroments, when you enter a bakery shop in the middle of a snowstorm (Christine's missions do this!) and you see the fireplace and wonderfully made cakes and bakery goods... you cant help but feel happy.
- Map with "gotcha" moments, be it enemy reinforcements, unexpected outcomes, unexpected rooms.
- Map gimmicks, from friendly NPCs, in-game purchase of items, map script shenanigans, new weapons, anything that is different from the traditional formula every now and then is welcomed.
This can be considered a "gimmick", but i also love the "lurking evil" that quite a few authors do to their maps, by this i mean when its a normal map with some dark plot & area to accompany it. For example, having mansion or apartment floor that has been offlimits because a ghost/undead is in it.
Story within stories, when garrett helps a love couple to rekindle by exchanging their diaries, or when he helps a child that lost her toy. Really love hidden objectives like that too.
Atmospheric Maps, cliffsides, sunsets, glowy nights, dockside views and other outdoors tend to be my preference, but nice looking villages or city streets can have their charm too.
Campaign stories, even when the author doesnt make one single story, having a FM reference his own previous work is cool.
R Soul on 8/3/2023 at 19:24
I like limited forced ghosting objectives. I prefer to knock people out, but ghosting is fun in small doses. When we're forbidden from knocking out a specific person, or all people in a certain area etc, it tells me that the author has thought about the setting and possible repurcussions of the player's actions.
A.Stahl on 8/3/2023 at 19:45
Quote Posted by BR4ZIL
- Map with "gotcha" moments, be it enemy reinforcements, unexpected outcomes, unexpected rooms.
You can't even imagine how I hate that cliché when everything is quiet, everybody is knocked down but when you press THAT BUTTON then everything is going crazy turmoiling, you're running from the running explosive zombie box and you just need to jump over there to keep this there where I don't know why and for what! Fuck it.
BR4ZIL on 8/3/2023 at 19:56
Well, i also do like the chaos of AI infighting, so i suppose "gotcha" moments are just one way to have some chaos.
I tend to always ghost maps and not knockout anyone, i feel its specially rewarding when that makes the ENTIRE map infight.
I think its Tuttocomb's Tomb, where theres a huge infight between humans and undead at one point if you never knock out any humans.
Also additional things i like:
--AI Infight with story behind it, always cool to be the observer during AI skirmishes.
--Dewdrop, grabbing the little guy always fills me with sense of happiness.
Hit Deity on 8/3/2023 at 21:00
Too many to list them all..
I love clever use of colours, not necessarily as part of any puzzles or anything, but those are nice as well. But I just like it when an area has a certain vibe to it based on colours.
Also, unusual uses of particle FX. I've always been a big fan of them, and I'm proud of the sprinkler setup I designed for the beginning of Ominous Bequest. There are a few clever ones in Lady Rowena's The Seven Sisters as well. Some were used for doorways and gravshafts.. I love those.
joinusnow on 8/3/2023 at 22:59
Atmosphere and replayability factor. We all have those certain missions we have to revisit from time to time.
Plibb on 9/3/2023 at 12:30
Open ended but finely crafted level design. The feeling of not knowing where to go, but always being on the right track.
I'm also a big fan of missions that have horror elements :eek:
