Version 2.0 (as of July 2013, revised to work properly with TDM 1.08 and newer versions)


List of changes:


Revised texturing on several places, as well as adding some more grime on surfaces that were left too bare.

Added detail on streets and some inside spaces.

Added new models (benches, vegetation).

Added new speech sounds for 2 NPC characters (thanks to Bikerdude for the narration).

Revised readables.

Rainwater pipe on the back of derelict building made bigger and more "inviting", hopefully easier to spot now. 

Pathway to the kitchen window (jumping on wooden beams) made easier/more forgiving.

Aesthetics tweaks (more varied voice sets for AI, some more light sources and architectural details here and there, adjustments to light values, etc.).


Introduction


This mission was started shortly before the The Dark Mod's Beginner Contest was announced, and was adjusted and developed to be released for it as my first mapping effort (ever). 
It took, in total, around 5 intense months to complete (December - April 2012), not counting the time spent learning and getting used to the tools and mechanics of map creation (which was going on before).
It is not meant to be a classic Thief-like mission, though I believe all the major elements are there; 
Its meant to be more of an adventure where the player has freedom to move inside the available space in different ways,
can choose to confront or to sneak past challenges, to get involved with the characters around him and explore, or to avoid any detour and head directly for his objective;
He will also be faced with obstacles to his progress that will have to be overcome using a mix of dexterity and logical thinking.
You are a nameless hero who was asked for help by someone you feel deep compassion for. Your plan is to avoid the streets and head for your goal through the nearby buildings.
Unfortunately for you, the area is not a peaceful one this night in particular. Not every person will be aggressive towards the player, though. 
There could be people gathering outside, minding their own business. Of course, everyone who catches you invading their homes will defend themselves, and they might unite to face you. Others will be hostile to the player on sight;
Approach anyone outside with care; Don't trust dangerous men carrying heavy weaponry. You don't need to kill any innocents to fulfil your goal.

PS: Some characters might be specially alert when you find them, and thus might have increased senses. If you find that an enemy seems almost impossible to fool, don't trust the shadows to hide you, run for physical cover instead and wait for your chance.


Help


- There is a fair bit of mantling needed to overcome some of the obstacles in the map, and sometimes the way forward might not be very clear. You need to look for a logical way to proceed, and trust in your ability to jump and hold on to any structural element or building part that seems to be inside your reach, and seems big enough for you to stand on, or is shaped like something you could hold on to.

- This is not exactly a typical mission - forget about gosthing, or never being seen; there are no penalties for being spotted, besides having to face the consequences if your not quick enough to fool your enemies. The stealth score in this mission is meaningless.

- Some of the testers were confortable with the map, others however were getting frustrated by some of the obstacles, and they are experienced players; some amount of experimenting and reloading is to be expected, do not despair if you feel you are stuck, just be observant of the environment, and you should find a way, eventually. All obstacles are beatable and all situations are manageable.

- Dont forget to adjust your gamma slightly if you feel the map is darker than what is confortable - its common to need to adjust the gamma a bit for each map, as they generally have different lighting design.

- Some characters might be specially alert when you find them, and might have increased senses. If you find that an enemy seems almost impossible to fool, don't trust the shadows to hide you, run for physical cover instead and wait for your chance.

- Use moveable objects to your advantage; you can place them somewhere and climb them in order to reach a high point, you can use objects to create a noise and distract someone, or you can pick up candles as a source of light to help you move around in dark areas.

- Readables are supposed to tell the story of the map and of its different situations. If you are only after your objective, all you need to do is avoid any contact with the characters and keep finding your way foward. There's no secret information in any readable, nothing you need to know. They are there just to add to the atmosphere and they will (hopefully) explain what is happening in each section of the map, if you are interested. There is one book in there which is optional even in my own sense, its not part of the story and wasnt written by me (its a fairly long one). Its there also for atmosphere and for its content, which some might find interesting.

- There are two alternative pathways to your final destination (the chapel); one is harder but easier to reach and spot; the other is harder to spot but much more relaxed once you reach it. (Hint: they can both be reached from the same area).


Walkthrough


- What is happening on the map:

The merchant on the first red brick house you see owns the plot you are about to invade, and rents the houses for the small community that lives besides his house, who are also mostly his workers. His factory is on the first floor of that long back building, which contains several apartments. After bad luck and unfair persecution, he is now ruined and preparing to leave his house. At the same time, there's a gang of thieves that took possession of an abandoned barn down the alley, who are just waiting for reinforcements in order to invade and pillage the factory and then his house. Some of the peasants are aware of the thieves' presence, but think it safer to just mind their own business. Across the buildings separating the plot from the churchyard, you'll find a lone priest depositing body pieces in an open grave. This is Richard's body, which was mangled by a zombie the priest has been housing and protecting, because he was someone he loved. You'll need to find a way into the crypt he was being kept into, as this is the most likely place to find the rest of Richard's remains (and thus the ring you are after).

- Merchant house (first red brick house): After their conversation, the wife will be going back and forth between her bedroom and the living/dining room, while she waits for her husband to finish his letters. To be able to loot his desk and get his long letter explaining his misfortunes (you dont need to read it), you'll need to crouch all the way to the window, move the chair to the side, and wait, at the edge of the light beam, for him to eventually look to his side. Then crouch run to his right, where you can also get the bedroom key from his belt.

- Peasant house: most peasant houses are too far for the men standing outside to see you getting inside, but the bottom one is right next to them and you cant get into it without they seeing it and fighting you. You have to distract them somehow with noises or a weapon on the floor (arrow), but be prepared to do the same on the way out because they'll not allow you to go, after seeing you getting out of the house.

- Factory: its on the first floor of the long building, at the bottom of the alley (close to the fire). To get there, notice there's a rope hanging from some kind of lifting structure, over one of the windows. To reach it, you need to bring a bench from one of the houses and place it close by, climb on it, then jump and hold on to the rope.

- Basement: You can first access it by jumping over the collapsed wall midway down the main alley. There's an abandoned courtyard and you can enter the building's basement from there. It is a ruined area full of debris, but maybe you can find something useful here (on easy, there's a fire arrow partly covered by dirt, behind a big broken table). To get out, you need to use the candle to light your way to a blocked door, and then break the boards with your sword.

- Square and Barn areas: This area has been taken over by a local gang of thugs. The square is guarded by an archer, and there are two tough swordmen inside the barn. You most likely saw one of them going up the alley when you were coming down. The gang leader has a coin box in his possession that belongs to the peasants/merchant. There are two routes leading from this dead end - one involves jumping to the broken balcony that is over the botton of the stairs leading from the square/courtyard, then jumping and climbing the longer structural beam tops that are sticking out of the wall, and then getting into an apartment through the glass window; the other involves going into the barn, up the stairs and out of it again through a balcony, from where you can jump to the neighbouring building, hold on to a cornice and enter the derelict building through an old window.

- The apartment: You'll get into this area through the kitchen window, and you'll see a woman preparing some kind of late meal. She will then sit down in the living room area, facing the other extreme. You can crouch right in front of her and she might get a little suspicious. Keep going untill you are close to the door in the other end from where she is, open it, and wait for her to look away, still in the shadows. Then enter the room.

- Derelict building: This area demands some cold blood; theres a ruined wall in front of you, a doorway to your right, run and jump from it, holding on to a long beam on the right wall. From its top, jump to the beam opposite this one; from there, run and jump to the hole on the far wall, you'll most likely hurt yourself but you should be able to hold on to the pavement boards and pick yourself up (Prince of Persia style). If you happen to fall in the middle of the building, not all is lost, you can still climb a very large wood beam that is inclined against the wall and jump to the same hole, from its top. You'll end up on a broken balcony. To your right and below, there's a window and a drain pipe right next to it. Jump and hold on to it. Open the window from there, and jump through it when its open.

- Church area: As you aproach the church through the cemetery, a priest will appear, walk to an open grave, deposit something there and get back inside the chapel. It is a body piece. You can choose the explore the priest's chambers. Inside the church, there's an altar where the priest is going to be at, mostly, and an entrance to your left (as you go in the direction of the altar). Going down through it will take you to the chapel's crypt, where Richard should be. After several events, you are left with the challenge of defeating or luring outside a nasty enemy (possibly also risking alerting the priest, if he is still there). You can then bring a light source with you (there are several in the area), and look for Richard's body. By now it should be clear what happened to him - he was being fed to the creature and you caught the priest getting rid of the pieces. You'll find Richard's remains inside the crypt alcove where the zombie was being held. The arm bone is the interesting one for you. The ring is beneath it. It is sometimes pretty hard to lift the arm bones, they seem to get "stuck" and wont move. Luckly, you can still frob the ring from between the fingers, look closely and you'll see it there. From here you can simply walk to the chapel's main gate (opposite the altar) and the mission will be completed.


rpg_ista@hotmail.com


CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (in alphabetical order)


This mission would never be possible if not for the help of the entire TDM community, specially:

Bikerdude - For additional in-game speech, general help and for going over the map helping me spot and solve several technical issues.

Fidcal - For solving dozens of problems (too many to name), as well as for teaching me about the conversation system, which allowed me to achieve some very specific effects that I needed (thus saving the mission).

Grayman - For general help, for donating an awesome breakable object prefab that I included in this mission, and for helping me with the briefing.

Sotha - For general help, and for patiently teaching me about the briefing system.

Springheel - For helping with AI customising, and for creating a complex test map that taught me a lot about animations.

---

Baddcog, Melan, Simplenoob and Sir Taffsalot for making an effort to beta test and give suggestions, in short notice.

---

And last but not least, to the genius TDM team for developing this great and inspiring game, and for providing a huge amount of open assets and information to allow you to create your own ideas.


DISCLAIMER	

This mission contains an excerpt of "Superstition In All Ages (1732)" by baron d' Paul Henri Thiry Holbach, a public domain book that can be found on the Project Gutenberg web-site (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17607/17607-h/17607-h.htm), and that can be distributed freely.
The mission also contains new sounds found on the Freesound.org web-site, produced by user Syna-max (http://www.freesound.org/people/Syna-Max/), thanks for making these high quality sounds available for everyone.

---

Russian translation: charisma