SilenHorn on 1/12/2018 at 00:16
City missions seems also often less linear. I mean, a mansion or a building is frequently hall/right wing/left wing/ 2nd floor etc... and it can get boring, whereas in a city you never know what will stand at the next corner. There are exceptions evidently, First City bank is great because it is convoluted but it still feels like a real bank.
bbb on 1/12/2018 at 01:33
I love city missions and wish I could build city missions like Melan and Skacky. I love to explore, I love height and rope arrows, love rooftops, love lots of loot, love getting lost, and love basements. If the mission is nonlinear, all the better. If you throw in a canal or sewer, even better.
As an author, I must say building city missions that are interesting is very difficult. If you want to add height, it is even more challenging.
Parting thought. We all have our favorite mission types, but with the large number of missions, there is plenty to choose from. I play every mission and with a few exceptions, I enjoy each one.
bbb
DirkBogan on 1/12/2018 at 01:45
Quote Posted by bbb
I love city missions and wish I could build city missions like Melan and Skacky. I love to explore, I love height and rope arrows, love rooftops, love lots of loot, love getting lost, and love basements. If the mission is nonlinear, all the better. If you throw in a canal or sewer, even better.
As an author, I must say building city missions that are interesting is very difficult. If you want to add height, it is even more challenging.
Parting thought. We all have our favorite mission types, but with the large number of missions, there is plenty to choose from. I play every mission and with a few exceptions, I enjoy each one.
bbb
I cannot speak for anyone else, but I definitely consider
A Short Night's Work and even
Augustine's Revenge to be on-par with Melan and Skacky. You have an uncanny ability to lay out rooftops and buildings with lots of nooks and crannies, filled with rewarding loot placement, while keeping the experience focused and linear. I don't think I ever got lost or confused in these missions, but it still felt challenging to find all the places to explore. That's a difficult balance to strike.
downwinder on 1/12/2018 at 01:53
i also love the missions where you travel to a small city/town,travel some more to yet another city/town etc ,so each town/city you hit it not massive to search and you not just stuck in some squared city like a rat in a maze
that is why i like bbb's missions so much the traveling is so much fun
ValmontPhl on 1/12/2018 at 06:00
My 2 cents is
City missions are familiar to us humans since we live in, visit and build them as a species. The immersion is greater in a setting we already know. I suspect FM authors are drawn to designing them for this (and other) reasons, including where general inspiration comes from (castles, cathedrals, villages, squares, etc.)
Yes, FM Cities are in a fantasy land but we are able to be instinctive within them. I already know that there's a possibility of a switch or passage near the fireplace, under the elevator, in the bookcase or behind the wall. I can be guileful and sneak/hide where I would go and look for open windows, wall breaches, basement doors, drainpipes and ledges; I'd find loot and secret items where I would hide them and understand & believe character development much better than I might in a Maw mission.
I'll stop rambling now, hope you get the idea :joke:
nicked on 1/12/2018 at 10:22
I totally agree with those complaints about city missions from a player's point of view - I often find that a city mission has a steeper learning curve and requires a lot more investment to keep my interest. If I'm not completely in the mood to immerse myself and really think about what I'm doing, I'm more likely to give up on a city mission as soon as I get a bit lost.
They are the antithesis of a methodical layout - you can often play a mansion mission and zone out a bit while you just make sure you've methodically covered every room in the mansion. If I get stuck in a mansion mission, it's usually because of an obscure puzzle or a well-hidden key. If I get stuck in a city mission, it's usually because I don't know which part of the maze I need to head towards next.
That said, when I have the time and energy to allow myself to get invested in a city mission, they're often the most rewarding.
As an author, they are definitely the hardest to make. A mansion, despite being larger, is still just one building, so certain design choices only need doing once. A city mission has dozens of buildings, each needing individual design and creation.
Haplo on 1/12/2018 at 10:33
For me, nothing beats a well-built crypt!
vfig on 1/12/2018 at 10:56
City missions are great—and also they're not so great.
They promise gobs of exploration, with sometimes incredibly layered intertwined layouts, with opportunities on every doorstep and windowsill. Every new building to explore with its own story, and the strands of story forming a web across the whole mission.
But often they're so wide open that they're unfocused, or so intertwined that they're disorienting; all the opportunities can become a paradox of choice, and bring the burden of needing to explore every path.
A true city mission is the closest Thief gets to a sandbox game.
ffox on 1/12/2018 at 11:11
I don't have a preference for city or mansion as long as there is plenty of variety in both.
For me, mansion/hotel/crypt missions are often spoilt by too much use of the mutibrush. Area after area and floor after floor have the same layout, and that is boring. This repetition sometimes applies to cave/tunnel areas as well.
It's not necessary - First City Bank and Trust is an example of a large building with an interesting interior. So I'll go with either city or mansion provided that the author hasn't been a bit lazy.
