What's your favourite mission type?

Dia on 1/8/2007 at 20:05

Great job, Zillameth! I had to wait til I had a few minutes to spare before I could participate in your most interesting thread. Very well executed! :thumb:

5 = Burglary, Infiltration, Exploration, Cityscape/Crosscountry - These are the types of missions that have given me hours (erm .... weeks, months & years, actually) of enjoyment from the very start. Give me a large city with lots of places to explore (up & down) and let me burgle to my heart's content! :thumb: I absolutely love being up on the rooftops, watching the AI down below going about their business and scoping out the city and/or my next move or victim. I also love missions that give additional objectives as the mission wears on; if it's a good city mission then the longer it lasts, the better imo. Infiltration (usually at the start of a mission) is always a welcome challenge, especially if the AI are super-alert.

4= Undetectable Infiltration, Escape, Ambush - Though I don't like being forced to ghost as a rule, it's a refreshing challenge now & then. Escape missions are only fun if you have additional objectives to complete, but also challenging in their own right. Ambush missions are another challenge; especially when it's difficult to identify the person you're supposed to be ambushing (face it: sometimes it's hard to tell the AI apart), though it can get rather tedious when you have to go back and start hefting bodies to determine their identity.

3= Tail, Loothunt, Robot Invasion - I get a tad frustrated when being forced to tail someone; not one of my favorite types of missions. I'd rather be out in the city doing some exploring. Loothunts have a tendency to lose my interest after a while, if that's pretty much all there is to do in the mission - only one step above Keyhunts imo, which I usually find to be exceedingly tedious after a short while. Robot Invasions are fun only if there are additional objectives to make the mission something other than a 'hunt/kill robots' mission.

2= Pharoh's Tomb - If I want puzzles like that I'll just go play Tomb Raider. Garrett doesn't have the range of movement that Lara does and it can get quite frustrating trying to do Lara-type stuff.

1= Monster Invasion - No thanks. I'm not at all fond of craymen, treebeasts or apemen. If the mission has a plot other than outsmarting/avoiding or killing the monsters, then I can usually find some enjoyment in it. Otherwise, the only craymen I like to see are those whose heads are mounted on plaques.

0= Undead Invasion - I avoid these missions at all costs. (Personal preference here; please don't think I'm casting aspersions on the undead FMs - I know there are some really good ones out there into which the authors put a lot of time & effort and which other taffers enjoy tremendously - just not my cup of tea, is all.) I just absolutely, undeniably, unequivocably, and without a shadow of a doubt, HATE the undead (that goes for skeletons, haunts & malicious ghosts too).

P.S. I know you didn't include '0' as a rating, but those are my feelings on that subject nonetheless. :p :cheeky:

Solabusca on 1/8/2007 at 21:17

Hmmmm. While there is some definite overlap in categories (I mean, there really isn't much difference between 1 and 2 - perhaps 1 is a subcategory, but given that it's pervasive in the setting, I'll let it slide), I'm more than willing to contribute.

5 = Burglary/Infiltration, Cityscape, Cross Country. Like Dia, it seems I'm a city boy. I love those OM's and FM that take place in fairly open city environs, and always salivate at the thought of a great City mission. Off the top of my head - any of the Calendra's, Turn of the Tide, The Bridge and Thieves' Highway are some of my favourites.

4 = Overt Infiltration, Loot Hunt, Exploration, Escape, Tail. Again, all elements of thief I love.

3 = Undead Invasion, Pharaoh's Tomb, Old-school Adventure, Ambush. I enjoy the undead in the Thief games - more so than I do the monsters. And divergent play styles can be fun.

2 = Undetectable Infiltration. While ghosting is fun, having it enforced is sometimes a nuisance. But all in all, that could also be the missions. That really is my only gripe - that and the overall quality of OMs where it's the norm

1 = Monster invasion, Robot invasion. I still can't bring myself to kill a burrick.

.j.

Zillameth on 1/8/2007 at 21:47

Quote Posted by Solabusca

There is, indeed, much overlap, beacuse all gameplay modes use the same set of gameplay elements. For example, one of these elements is getting rid of enemies. Whatever the mission is, you always blackjack the guard in the same general manner: get behind him, approach him without making noise, smash him, grab him, stash him.

Where various modes differ is the way in which those gameplay elements interact with each other. For example, in a typical Burglary mission, such as Shipping & Receiving, guards are just guards. They walk alone, their paths don't overlap much, they are relatively easy to take out. The mission is mainly walking arout the property and collecting all the shinies (of course, it's not always as simple as it sounds). In typical infiltration, such as Sabotage at Soulforge, security is a system. The guards work together. On the other hand, it's not necessary for the player to get everywhere, they just need to get into the right place. Sabotage doesn't have any loot at all, so you don't even need to visit all the rooms.

The problem with this particular couple (Burglary and Infiltration) is that they are very often combined (mostly because getting funds for next mission is a major theme in all three games). First City Bank and Trust seems like a good example of this, because it features high security in some areas (particularly near the vault), as well as the loot raid.

june gloom on 2/8/2007 at 00:26

oh goddammit. i had this huge post typed up then my browser crashed and ate it. so i'll just say that i like classic heist maps, cityscape maps and exploration type maps the most. fuck you, firefox. fuck you up the ass. :mad: :mad: :mad:

ManzoK on 2/8/2007 at 02:51

Cograts for such a detailed poll, very professional!

Now my choice:
1. (no doubts, and high above all) Cityscape
2. Overt Infiltration
3. Burglary
4.Exploration
5. Tail
6. Escape
7. ...the others

ManzoK on 2/8/2007 at 03:03

SORRY, I was wrong with my mission-type standing!
I forgot to use the 1 - 5 system. This is the correct one:

1. (no doubts, and high above all) Cityscape [ 5 ]
2. Overt Infiltration [ 4 ]
3. Burglary [ 4]
4.Exploration [ 4]
5. Tail [ 4 ]
6. Escape [ 4]
7. ...the others [ 2]

nickie on 2/8/2007 at 12:37

If you're saying that English is not your native language, I would say 'humbug Sir'. :D

Right then
1.- 11. = 4
12. = 5
13. = 4
14. = 0
15. = 1
16. = 1

Very interesting definitions and I'm sorry I don't have more time at the moment to elaborate.

jay pettitt on 2/8/2007 at 17:08

I'm finding this tricky to answer. For every time when I think I like/dislike a mission type I can think of several examples that demonstrate otherwise. I think I like missions where story and mission type gel in such a way that so just happens to float my boat. That normally involves playing to the mental picture of Garret that I have of him being a self serving thief rather than a Secret Agent. (but then, I thought Precious Cargo was a joy, so there you go.)

Zillameth on 2/8/2007 at 18:59

Quote Posted by jay pettitt

I'm finding this tricky to answer. For every time when I think I like/dislike a mission type I can think of several examples that demonstrate otherwise.

I share this sentiment, so when I made my own answers, I tried to perform simple "statistical" comparison: how many times (approximately) did it happen, that I played given type of mission and did/did not like it. It's also helpful to see what kind of emotions seems to associate with given mission type. For example, some people don't like it, when they get stuck on a puzzle, but they feel highly rewarded, when they finally come up with the solution, so their feelings are "mixed" overall.

Besides, even if someone likes all the modes, it's perfectly legitimate. :) If this was the prevailing answer, it would mean Thief is nearly "perfect" in terms of gameplay (granted, there are probably millions of possible definitions of "perfect"). If people's preferences are less uniform (which seems to be the case, although the sample is too small to make reliable conclusions), but there is no prevailing tendency, it means Thief responds to a relatively broad audience, but needs to take the variation of tastes into account. If some modes are distinctly less popular than others, it means they are either inferior or in need of improvement, or they simply don't fit the rest of game.

5tephe on 3/8/2007 at 01:40

Like you said:
5 is "GREAT!"
1 is "tedious...."

But I will try to use the whole range. Otherwise pretty much every mission of Thief would be a 4 or 5.

1. Burglary............................. 3 (There isn't much inventiveness in these missions.)
2. Infiltration.......................... 4 (These are hard, but make me feel like a real professional.)
3. Overt Infiltration.................. 4 (These really immerse you in the game world.)
4. Undetectable Infiltration........ 5 (As above, but even more challenging.)
5. Exploration......................... 4 (I like figuring out the 'story' of an unfamiliar place.)
6. Tail................................... 4 (Now this is an inventive use of gameplay.)
7. Escape.............................. 5 (LOVE being a hunted man. Not relying on all the gear I bought, but rather on my wits and cunning. LOVE IT.)
8. Ambush.............................. 2 (I'm a Thief, not an assassin.)
9. Loot Hunt........................... 2 (This is like a Burglary - uninventive - but with the added tedium of being 'smarty pants'.)
10. Oldschool Adventure........... 3 (I don't like being told how to bake a cake)
11. Pharaoh's Tomb.................. 5 (This is what being a D&D Thief would really be like! And that's a fantasy of mine. Tee Hee!)
12. Cityscape.......................... 2 (These seem to be time fillers, with little narrative drive.)
13. Cross-country..................... 4 (I like being challenged by things other than Guards and Monsters.)
14. Undead invasion.................. 3 (Undead creep me out, and aren't a proper challenge to sneak past.)
15. Robot Invasion.................... 1 (I hate Mechs. They are dumb, and noisy, and slow, and deadly, and expensive to kill.)
16. Monster Invasion................. 5 (Again, this is like a Thiefly Dungeon Bash. you have to be sneaky, aware, smart, skilled and tough.)