08-15-2010, 05:52 PM by Peter Smith#9

Peter Smith

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Hi Hexameron,

As always, I'm enjoying your posts. Seems like you are encountering a lot of failures on strange little missions. If you want a boost, try Escape Hammer Hill, winner of the Summer vacation contest. I also liked another one in the contest, A Night's Profit.

"What we've got here is a failure to communicate", the warden (Strother Martin), Cool Hand Luke

08-15-2010, 06:26 PM by Hexameron#10

Hexameron

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Oct 2007

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330

Thanks, Peter. I'm still trying to catch up to the newer FMs, but I think I will play those two you recommended just for a change. It would be great to see your ghost reports for them if you're so inclined 

In turn, I would recommend "Heart of Lone Salvation." I had a lot of fun with that one. It's probably the largest TDM FM yet released, the story and puzzles are top-notch, and it's very challenging if you're going for a high stealth score and all loot.

08-17-2010, 07:10 PM by Hexameron#11

Hexameron

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Oct 2007

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FM: Cryptic Cravings
File: CrypticCravings.zip

Ghost - Failed
Time - 00:43:45
Loot - 890/1200
Pockets Picked - 3/5
Backstabs - 0 Knockouts - 0
Damage dealt - 0 Damage taken - 0
Healing taken - 0 Kills - 0
Secrets Found - 13/21

Cause of Failure:

-Must destroy glass pane to reach water talisman (objective)

Comments - Extremely difficult puzzles, lots of tiny switches, and thick haunt patrols best define this mission. Three times I had to check the TTLG forums for help. It never would have occurred to me to shoot a broadhead at the ceiling glass pane in the crypt and then use a rope arrow to climb up into the room above the pane. In addition to the property damage bust, the noise also alerts several haunts.



Even though the area is pretty bright, I was able to ascend a rope and enter the ceiling without any haunts seeing me. Since the crypt receives busy haunt traffic, it's best to hold off on breaking the glass until all other talismans are taken. Obtaining the talismans is easy for the most part, but two are tricky. Accessing the air talisman requires flipping a switch outside of the talisman's chamber. The switch moves the sarcophagus situated against the wall. If you enter the chamber through the collapsed tunnel and not through the passage behind the sarcophagus, the gas traps inside the chamber will remain activated. You can still get the air talisman, but not without tripping the gas traps and taking heavy damage.

The fire talisman is surprisingly easy: just jump and nab it. Since I had found the secret scroll behind the statue at the mission start, I had a detailed clue for solving the earth talisman puzzles and getting the three statues to pivot correctly. I don't know what's up with the earth talisman chamber. Sometimes I could jump up and reach it, but I would trigger a barrage of fire arrow traps and die. Then another time I reloaded, jumped up and looted the talisman, and nothing happened.

The code box in the icon room was a pain. I never figured out how to find the code. When I got stuck, I consulted the TTLG thread and learned that I needed to have auto-search bodies on - this enables the player to loot a clue scroll by frobbing a nearby corpse. Without auto-search bodies on, I would never be able to pick up the scroll or even know it existed. This is a game-breaking flaw in my opinion. How can one solve the code puzzle if the necessary clue cannot be retrieved unless you play with auto-search bodies? Anyway, I reloaded and managed to pilfer the clue scroll; the code is 3045.

Once I got the icon, a bunch of thieves spawn in the crypt with the haunts and a melee ensues. It's very tough to sneak around and escape from the crypt without being seen by at least one thief. I think there are seven of them:

Last edited by Hexameron; 08-17-2010 at 07:13 PM.

08-17-2010, 07:40 PM by Hexameron#12

Hexameron

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Oct 2007

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FM: Return to the Dark Temple
File: rdtbysvetlio.zip

Ghost - Failed
Time - 00:14:47
Loot - 700/700
Pockets Picked - 2/3
Backstabs - 0 Knockouts - 4
Damage dealt - 5 Damage taken - 0
Healing taken - 0 Kills - 0

Causes of Failure:

1. Cannot sneak by combat bot in corridor leading to the mask (objective)

2. Cannot loot the tiaras and mask in the rafters of the chapel without being seen by both the mechanist priestess and archer.

Comments - The author doesn't give the player much leeway for sneaking in this mission. Take this hallway for instance:



The mechanist here makes a back-and-forth patrol through this corridor. There is no room or time for sneaking. The only option is to place moss arrows beyond the center of the corridor and run and jump onto the patches. Timing the run across the marble floor is not easy and I reloaded many times to get it right. I ended up using three moss arrows to get the job done. In hindsight, I would not have used so many because every moss arrow in this mission (5) is essential, but I wasted a couple here that I would need later. Ultimately, I was able to hug the right wall and circle around the mech's flank as he turns.

A similar corridor exists on the opposite side of the building but with a combat bot patrolling instead:



Owing to the brightness and the erratic short patrol of the mech priestess at the altar, I could not enter into this corridor slowly; I had to run out. This entails using another moss arrow under the marble-floored door frame. So now I had one moss arrow left, but I would certainly need one more to make my way down the corridor with the combat bot.

I could have restarted the mission and tried to use just one moss arrow in the first corridor, but the mission cannot be ghosted anyway because of the chapel. The two objectives in this mission are to get the mask and ALL loot available. The chapel is well-lit and moving close to the two tiaras resting on the statues or climbing up into the rafters to get a gold candlestick are impossible without being seen. I was able to CCC slowly behind the altar and only instigate occasional first alerts from the mech priestess. But her patrol is such that moving anywhere else in the chapel is not feasible.





In the end, I foresaw too many inevitable busts. I made a KO run and caused the combat bot to destroy itself just so I could more easily find the mask and all loot.

08-17-2010, 08:42 PM by Hexameron#13

Hexameron

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FM: Right up there on the mountains
File: Rightupthere_nolag.zip

Perfect Thief - Success
Time - 00:28:29
Loot - 670/670
Pockets Picked - 0/7
Backstabs - 0 Knockouts - 0
Damage dealt - 0 Damage taken - 0
Healing taken - 0 Kills - 0

Comments - This FM reminded me of the old scary classic Deceptive Perception with its chilling scripted effects: the creaking rocking chair, flapping window shutters, pictures falling down, and eerie atmosphere.

I cased the cabin, looting everything I could find and turned off all lights before reading the necromonicon. No AI appear until the necromonicon is read in the bedroom. After finding the dagger (objective) from the girl's corpse in the bathroom, a zombie of Ash (from the Evil Dead movies) spawns. Subsequently, a new objective occurs to find the missing pages of the book. These pages are in the cellar. Finding them all triggers a strange monkey zombie to spawn in front of the flooded room. It wasn't hard to CCC around him.

To end the mission, I frobbed or "used" the pages in my inventory and a vortex appeared outside, sucking things out of the cabin like a vacuum. This final in-game sequence of the vortex is an amazing sight: a washing machine from the house is literally sucked away into the abyss. The player is pulled along with it, although it's possible to resist like swimming up stream; I didn't know dromed was capable of such cinematic visuals:



The first time I experienced this, I flew out with the washing machine and died from hitting it just as it passed through the vortex. I reloaded and tried to resist being sucked into the vortex, thinking it was instant death. Eventually when I couldn't find another way out, I let myself be sucked in the cyclone and traveled through a brilliant wormhole of rainbow and swirling blue colors.



The mission ends as the player is hurled into a sandy pit surrounded by knights. They don't alert and begin a scripted conversation from the Army of Darkness (Evil Dead sequel).