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[THIEF ANNIVERSARY CONTEST] - A WEEKEND GETAWAY The last anniversary
contest entry was a rather clever one by Ottoj55. Not having played any of
his earlier creations, I now understand all the hype around this author. This
mission was right up my alley. Focusing on ambience, detail and clever
gameplay this gem is one I’d recommend to anyone. It’s even 3 for the price
of 1! The mission needed to be played in order of difficulty; normal, hard,
then expert. Each level provided different objectives, items, enemies and
storylines. Together they told the complete tale, while each part on its own
was incomplete. The physical map was naturally the same, but with different
starting and ending locations, they all felt like separate missions. Thumbs
up Otto! Part 1 Jenivere and Basso had
taken in at The Wishing Well Inn for the weekend. I started as Basso, hearing
Jenivere’s cry in the distance. Following the objectives, I needed to shut
out the lights, find a rosary and gather some info on what was happening. I
also needed access to the attic. The hotel interior was
stunning. The second floor lobby I found especially appealing (left image
below). The hallways posed no real threats in terms of sneaking, except for
the occasional lightning bolt. Frequent quicksaves helped considerably. The
staircase was unaccessable while the lights were on, so I utilized the
dumbwaiter for general movement between floors. Downstairs had two
patrollers, which made life a little harder (no pun intended). Probably
because both the rosary and the attic key was located here, in addition to
the required readables. They provided insight on the background of a
hammerite cult in the area. I guessed they were the reason for this mess. The attic key unlocked any of the five access points on the second
floor. I chose the southwest bedroom, as it didn’t have any patrollers
stopping by (right image above). The only thing of interest in the ceiling
crawlspace was a metal screwdriver in a toolbox. I brought it all the way to
the basement and used it to vandalize the breaker box. That killed the
lights, so I returned the screwdriver to the attic immediately. The
dumbwaiter sometimes alerted the patrolling haunt, although I couldn’t find
any reason for it. It was hard to hear over the engine noise, but I reloaded
if I had the faintest idea of an alert. I feared the main entrance gate would alert the hammer priest
outside, but he didn’t make a peep. Lucky, since all I had to do was ascend
the rope in the alley to end the mission. Statistics: Time: 22:14 Loot: None Pickpockets: None Secrets: None Locks Picked: None Damage Dealt: 0 Damage
Taken: 0 Consumables: None Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: N/A Supreme Ghost: Failed! Perfect Supreme Ghost: N/A Part 2 Part one was short but entertaining and the next chapter offered much
of the same. The lights were out, so I needed to get them back on (for some
odd reason). Required pickups were a holy book and something wet to bless.
Also required was more background information on the current situation. I knew my way around quite well by now, so maneuvering the hallways
was easy. The first floor had added enemies, with a patrolling hammer mage
and two lobby sentries. I saw that area being difficult with the lights on
later. Found the holy book in the lobby upstairs and a sponge in the nearby
bathroom. For some reason the bathroom ceiling hatch was already open, and I
could easily fetch the repair crank from the toolbox in the attic. When I was sure everything else was completed, I entered the basement
by way of the stairs. The two patrolling hammers were unproblematic as long
as the lights were off. Once having repaired the breaker box it was a
different story. I only had to reach the dumbwaiter to be safe, but it took a
couple of tries to get it right. The zombie turned around right as I leaped
onto the ledge. I waited till they both cleared and rode to the top floor. All I had to do before ending was return the repair crank to the
attic toolbox. I then sent the dumbwaiter back to its original position and
descended the second floor stairs. My last problem was passing the area between
the lobby and the entrance gates (left image above). The light fixture lit up
everythig but the corners. The patrolling mage did a side trip down the lobby
as a part of his route. I waited in the staircase for my chance. I could
reach any of the corners with only a gasp from the haunt, indicating a first
alerts, but going for the end hallway would make him chase me. I figured the
initial alert heightened his senses, so I had to go for the cross in one
move. Run-jumping onto the far end of the carpet then sprinting out of sight
did the trick. I needed 5-6 tries to get the speed right. As you can see from
the image to the right, the haunt is in place and unbothered. I think I
spawned a grunt from the stationary zombie as well. Supreme was busted, but
to be honest, I was happy plain Ghost was still intact. I entered the
cultist’s room and the mission ended. Statistics: Time: 11:53 Loot: None Pickpockets: None Secrets: None Locks Picked: None Damage Dealt: 0 Damage
Taken: 0 Consumables: None Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: N/A Supreme Ghost: Failed! Perfect Supreme Ghost: N/A Notes: -
Spawned at least one first alert
when crossing the main lobby to reach the cultist’s room. Inevitable, as the
lights were on at this point. Supreme Ghost bust. Part 3 The third and final act
was a little different. I had to find and rescue Jenivere by breaking the
cult’s seal. First though I had to find a holy weapon, and the last set of
information regarding tonight’s bizarre events. I started in the cultist’s
room where I left off before. Right off the bat I had to
find a hiding spot. A haunt would enter the room within 10 seconds. The
corner by the couch worked well. Two patrollers on this floor had to be
dodged to reach the lobby. No big deal. Found the sword on top of the
pigeonholes in the reception. Blessed it with the holy book and the rosary
first. Nothing else to do so I headed for the caves beneath the basement. On the way I encountered a
patrolling mage and a stationary zombie. The zombie was staring down the path
I needed to go (left image above), but the glowing ‘shrooms were just dim
enough to avoid his gaze. I had to creep-crouch to his right to stay hidden. And
I had to do it fast, because the mage would soon return and catch me in the
cave tunnel. The seal could be broken
by the blessed sword, but upon breaking it a haunt would appear and come
chasing. I realized that lowering the sword immediately after the swing would
spawn the haunt but keep him unalerted (right image above). I could therefore
sneak in and take him out with an overhead blow. This kill was necessary to
avoid face-to-face combat when breaking the skulls surrounding the portal. It
was still a bust toward Ghost, as nothing in the objectives told me to kill
anyone. The skulls needed to be broken with the sword, NOT with the blackjack, broadheads or similar weapons.
First time around I thought there was a bug and started over, only to find it
didn’t work the second time around either. I used the blackjack initially not
to alert the patrolling mage. Turns out using the blackjack is just as loud,
and the mage alerts regardless. I went to check a couple of times and he was
always in hunt mode, even when located way up by the zombie. I guess turning
undead boosts your sense of hearing. After destroying the
portal all the enemies were dead. I brought Jenivere to our room and ended
the night there. Statistics: Time: 7:52 Loot: None Pickpockets: None Secrets: None Locks Picked: None Backstabs: 2 Knockouts: 0 Damage Dealt: 30 Damage
Taken: 0 Innocents Killed: None,
and others Killed: 1 Consumables: None Ghost: Failed! Perfect Thief: N/A Supreme Ghost: Failed! Perfect Supreme Ghost: N/A Notes: -
Had to kill the haunt in the
final cave to destroy the portal. It was inevitable, but not instructed in
the objectives, so a clear Ghost bust. -
Alerted the patrolling mage when
breaking the 10 skulls surrounding the portal. No matter how far away he was,
he always alerted to hunt mode. -
The damage dealt and others
killed are from backstabbing the haunt. The second backstab took me by
surprise. I don’t know why this shows up in the stats. Perhaps the 10 skulls
are considered an AI in Dromed, but I really couldn’t tell you. I only caused
the one. |
