HomeKeeper of the Prophecies Ep 1: The Enterprise
THE ENTERPRISE
Version 2.1 -- July 31, 2003
A Thief 2 fan mission by frobber
(Released for Thief 1 November, 2000)
Overview
The Trickster is dead. The world has been saved from his evil. And yet strangely I have grown darker these
past weeks. But Why? Comfort from old wine cellars has been easy enough to find, and loot at the expense
of my rich neighbors still pays the bills. It is the simple life I had always wanted for myself.
No surprises.
And no world in need of rescue!
The Hammerites have promised a new mechanical eye. But what good is having their machine vision?
Even when I had two perfectly normal human eyes I wasn't any richer than I am tonight!
Yet, as I write this, I am beginning to feel a shift in the air ...and not simply the rumbling of distant thunder.
Perhaps it is just another crazy dream, but I can feel an inner gnawing saying that my fortunes are about to
change ...that the BIG one is just around the corner where I'll finally know the true comfort and peace of
mind that comes with becoming a genuinely wealthy man!
Voice Acting
SlyFoxx (Scott Murchison) - Garrett
frobber (Ken Ramsley) - Master Solustice
All other voices stolen from Thief 1 or 2
Elements
frobber - mapper, story-writer, overall slave-driver (and slave).
Thorin Oakenshield - AVI movies
Purah - with permission, many textures borrowed from the Calendra's series.
David Gurrea Hernandez - many textures unfortunately greatly reduced in detail to fit the dark engine.
SilentSleep - fade-up from black technology.
GOB and MOG - wood texture borrowed and altered, from their Contest 4 mission The Bar.
MsLedd - AI “skin” for Alisha.
Goober - comments and suggestions.
Play Testers
Renanse
Albert R. Conklin
SlyFoxx (Scott Murchison)
Nightwalker
Daedalus
Spitter (Jani Saarijärvi)
Shadowspawn (Randy Sybel)
Audio
The Celtic Group Lothlorien is featured in the prologue and epilogue sound clips - An Cat Dubh and the
The Black Cat (if I’ve got my Irish straight, these two tracks really go by the same name). And they are
also the source for one ambient sound loop.
Many unspoken thanks to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) for the sounds of their
commuter rail passenger carriages and locomotives. To those seeking audio of metallic clanging, grinding,
and heavy machinery - trains are a gift from the gods!
One old freight elevator in South Boston is the source of terrifically authentic mechanism and metal door
sounds.
Lot’s of anonymous audio was long-ago downloaded from Napster RIP. I’ll never know where any of that
audio originated.
My own ambient recordings were made with a RipFlash Trio direct-to-MP3 codec (160kbs stereo).
Miniature “condenser” microphones were variously wired into my backpack or hiking boots and were
connected to the RipFlash through a custom battery-powered microphone pre-amp of my own design.
Audio was processed using CoolEdit 2000.
Playing Information
This is a two-part mission. The first part is small, and the second part very large.
Expect a longer-than-usual delay when loading Part 2 - in fact this may be the longest you have ever seen
on a given PC, since the mission database is roughly the same size as Soulforge and Life of the Party
added together.-- but not twice the number of acres (or hectares).
The Thief 2 fog setting is entirely optional - it looks cool either way. But having rain falling is a good idea
since the sound of rain will be there whether or not you have Thief 2 set for rain.
The lighting may seem a tad bright. This done because not all machines display the game brightly enough,
and so use the - minus and + plus keys to adjust your screen for the right on-screen feeling. I was about
to consider making the mission darker, but at least one player reports that its just barely bright enough
on his system - so I believe I have the best lighting compromise here as is.
Sound is optimized for 4-speaker EAX. I have recently heard it played in 2-channels through headphones,
and I find the quality less than pleasing - though acceptable. Adjusting Audio in the Thief 2 configuration
screen may help headphone and other 2-speaker systems sound better.
Except for growing annoyances, there is no real differences between Normal, Hard, and Expert. So it’s
really a matter of how long you want to play, and how annoyed you are willing to become.
Oddities and minor bugs that won’t be fixed
Sometimes Garrett will sink through a large descending freight lift platform if walking around while its
still moving. This doesn’t seem to happen if you stay put and just enjoy the ride. It also does not seem to
happen when ascending. Thief just can’t keep track of such a large moving surface very well.
Sometimes on some computers there is no bashing sound when black-jacking an AI. In one case there was
also a report about a loot item which made no sound when grabbed, and other rare instances of sound
drop-outs. This only happens on some machines, and only rarely (I hope). Try setting audio channels in the
Thief configuration to 16 instead of 24 if this is happening on your machine - it might help.
Some of the workers may run off yet never find their way home - mainly because “home” is atop some
workbench, and AI don’t seem to mark that as a place they can call home. If you’re ghosting or otherwise
bashing your way through - then you’ll rarely see this.
Framerate on Expert may be a bit choppy - this is mainly due to AI programming. The more AI “taken
out,” the less choppiness you will see. A fairly ordinary rig should have no problems, but if you do have
screen chop, then only play on a fresh re-boot and don’t run any other programs - and play on Hard if
you’re machine is still sucking wind - you won’t be missing anything other than a few bored guards.
Design Stats
Game: Thief 2: The Metal Age
Mission Title: The Enterprise
Filename: enterprise20.zip / miss17.mis (intro), and miss18.mis (part two)
Difficulty Settings: Yes
Equipment store: Nothing for sale
Map / automap: Map in part two
New graphics: Yes
New sounds: Yes
New Objects: Yes
Other stolen stuff: Garrett's local neighborhood from the 'Lost City'
Multi language support: Only English
Briefing : “frobber” logo, and a small transitional AVI
Story Information
The Enterprise is actually the very first chapter in my series entitled A Keeper of the Prophecies. Yes, this
is not the mission I said I’d be building - Oracle of the Prophets. But I felt I needed to get The Enterprise
up to snuff before moving on. And now that I finally know enough about designing Thief missions, I can
finally realize my original vision for this mission.
As a responsible adult, I must add that you should not take any of this story literally or personally. I am
no fan of brutality, and it can keep me awake at night to think about the details of such things. But there is a
message in this mission - Power can corrupt even those people who should know better.
Copyright
The Enterprise is copyrighted (c) 2000-2003 by frobber, a.k.a., Ken Ramsley
Distribution of this mission is allowed so long as it is free and the zip file is unmodified. No one may alter
and re-distribute this mission without my written permission. You may include this project in a freebie
mission-pack without my permission so long as it is sold for the cost of production (By licensing
agreement, no one is allowed to profit from any Thief design other than those who own the rights to Thief).
Disclaimers
Any resemblance in the real world to places, events, or people found in this fan mission are entirely
unintended, purely coincidental, and a total figment of your imagination.
This mission was not made by Looking Glass Studios (RIP), Eidos Interactive, or Ion Storm of Austin, TX.
It is therefore impossible to ask them for support. Seek help among the playing community as follows…
Revison History…
Version 2.0 - July 26, 2003 - Initial release.
Version 2.1 - July 31, 2003 - Improved sound for non-EAX and 2-speaker systems; Fixed loot problem
(100g buried in a wall); Tweaked some scrolls (minor); Placed a few AI where they wouldn't be seen
improperly (can't say more); Updated this readme file.
For Support questions…
Post a message in one the following locations. Someone there will have an answer to most questions:
Fan Mission section of the Thief Underground Forums
http://www.3dactionplanet.com/thief/
Fan Mission section of the TTLG forums
http://www.ttlg.com/forums
Eidos Thief Missions Forum
http://www.eidos.com
If are really stuck, you can write to me… frobber@edanet.com … and I’ll see if I can help.
(I also enjoy feedback, criticism, and any other sort of fan mail.)
Enjoy!
Version 2.1 -- July 31, 2003
A Thief 2 fan mission by frobber
(Released for Thief 1 November, 2000)
Overview
The Trickster is dead. The world has been saved from his evil. And yet strangely I have grown darker these
past weeks. But Why? Comfort from old wine cellars has been easy enough to find, and loot at the expense
of my rich neighbors still pays the bills. It is the simple life I had always wanted for myself.
No surprises.
And no world in need of rescue!
The Hammerites have promised a new mechanical eye. But what good is having their machine vision?
Even when I had two perfectly normal human eyes I wasn't any richer than I am tonight!
Yet, as I write this, I am beginning to feel a shift in the air ...and not simply the rumbling of distant thunder.
Perhaps it is just another crazy dream, but I can feel an inner gnawing saying that my fortunes are about to
change ...that the BIG one is just around the corner where I'll finally know the true comfort and peace of
mind that comes with becoming a genuinely wealthy man!
Voice Acting
SlyFoxx (Scott Murchison) - Garrett
frobber (Ken Ramsley) - Master Solustice
All other voices stolen from Thief 1 or 2
Elements
frobber - mapper, story-writer, overall slave-driver (and slave).
Thorin Oakenshield - AVI movies
Purah - with permission, many textures borrowed from the Calendra's series.
David Gurrea Hernandez - many textures unfortunately greatly reduced in detail to fit the dark engine.
SilentSleep - fade-up from black technology.
GOB and MOG - wood texture borrowed and altered, from their Contest 4 mission The Bar.
MsLedd - AI “skin” for Alisha.
Goober - comments and suggestions.
Play Testers
Renanse
Albert R. Conklin
SlyFoxx (Scott Murchison)
Nightwalker
Daedalus
Spitter (Jani Saarijärvi)
Shadowspawn (Randy Sybel)
Audio
The Celtic Group Lothlorien is featured in the prologue and epilogue sound clips - An Cat Dubh and the
The Black Cat (if I’ve got my Irish straight, these two tracks really go by the same name). And they are
also the source for one ambient sound loop.
Many unspoken thanks to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) for the sounds of their
commuter rail passenger carriages and locomotives. To those seeking audio of metallic clanging, grinding,
and heavy machinery - trains are a gift from the gods!
One old freight elevator in South Boston is the source of terrifically authentic mechanism and metal door
sounds.
Lot’s of anonymous audio was long-ago downloaded from Napster RIP. I’ll never know where any of that
audio originated.
My own ambient recordings were made with a RipFlash Trio direct-to-MP3 codec (160kbs stereo).
Miniature “condenser” microphones were variously wired into my backpack or hiking boots and were
connected to the RipFlash through a custom battery-powered microphone pre-amp of my own design.
Audio was processed using CoolEdit 2000.
Playing Information
This is a two-part mission. The first part is small, and the second part very large.
Expect a longer-than-usual delay when loading Part 2 - in fact this may be the longest you have ever seen
on a given PC, since the mission database is roughly the same size as Soulforge and Life of the Party
added together.-- but not twice the number of acres (or hectares).
The Thief 2 fog setting is entirely optional - it looks cool either way. But having rain falling is a good idea
since the sound of rain will be there whether or not you have Thief 2 set for rain.
The lighting may seem a tad bright. This done because not all machines display the game brightly enough,
and so use the - minus and + plus keys to adjust your screen for the right on-screen feeling. I was about
to consider making the mission darker, but at least one player reports that its just barely bright enough
on his system - so I believe I have the best lighting compromise here as is.
Sound is optimized for 4-speaker EAX. I have recently heard it played in 2-channels through headphones,
and I find the quality less than pleasing - though acceptable. Adjusting Audio in the Thief 2 configuration
screen may help headphone and other 2-speaker systems sound better.
Except for growing annoyances, there is no real differences between Normal, Hard, and Expert. So it’s
really a matter of how long you want to play, and how annoyed you are willing to become.
Oddities and minor bugs that won’t be fixed
Sometimes Garrett will sink through a large descending freight lift platform if walking around while its
still moving. This doesn’t seem to happen if you stay put and just enjoy the ride. It also does not seem to
happen when ascending. Thief just can’t keep track of such a large moving surface very well.
Sometimes on some computers there is no bashing sound when black-jacking an AI. In one case there was
also a report about a loot item which made no sound when grabbed, and other rare instances of sound
drop-outs. This only happens on some machines, and only rarely (I hope). Try setting audio channels in the
Thief configuration to 16 instead of 24 if this is happening on your machine - it might help.
Some of the workers may run off yet never find their way home - mainly because “home” is atop some
workbench, and AI don’t seem to mark that as a place they can call home. If you’re ghosting or otherwise
bashing your way through - then you’ll rarely see this.
Framerate on Expert may be a bit choppy - this is mainly due to AI programming. The more AI “taken
out,” the less choppiness you will see. A fairly ordinary rig should have no problems, but if you do have
screen chop, then only play on a fresh re-boot and don’t run any other programs - and play on Hard if
you’re machine is still sucking wind - you won’t be missing anything other than a few bored guards.
Design Stats
Game: Thief 2: The Metal Age
Mission Title: The Enterprise
Filename: enterprise20.zip / miss17.mis (intro), and miss18.mis (part two)
Difficulty Settings: Yes
Equipment store: Nothing for sale
Map / automap: Map in part two
New graphics: Yes
New sounds: Yes
New Objects: Yes
Other stolen stuff: Garrett's local neighborhood from the 'Lost City'
Multi language support: Only English
Briefing : “frobber” logo, and a small transitional AVI
Story Information
The Enterprise is actually the very first chapter in my series entitled A Keeper of the Prophecies. Yes, this
is not the mission I said I’d be building - Oracle of the Prophets. But I felt I needed to get The Enterprise
up to snuff before moving on. And now that I finally know enough about designing Thief missions, I can
finally realize my original vision for this mission.
As a responsible adult, I must add that you should not take any of this story literally or personally. I am
no fan of brutality, and it can keep me awake at night to think about the details of such things. But there is a
message in this mission - Power can corrupt even those people who should know better.
Copyright
The Enterprise is copyrighted (c) 2000-2003 by frobber, a.k.a., Ken Ramsley
Distribution of this mission is allowed so long as it is free and the zip file is unmodified. No one may alter
and re-distribute this mission without my written permission. You may include this project in a freebie
mission-pack without my permission so long as it is sold for the cost of production (By licensing
agreement, no one is allowed to profit from any Thief design other than those who own the rights to Thief).
Disclaimers
Any resemblance in the real world to places, events, or people found in this fan mission are entirely
unintended, purely coincidental, and a total figment of your imagination.
This mission was not made by Looking Glass Studios (RIP), Eidos Interactive, or Ion Storm of Austin, TX.
It is therefore impossible to ask them for support. Seek help among the playing community as follows…
Revison History…
Version 2.0 - July 26, 2003 - Initial release.
Version 2.1 - July 31, 2003 - Improved sound for non-EAX and 2-speaker systems; Fixed loot problem
(100g buried in a wall); Tweaked some scrolls (minor); Placed a few AI where they wouldn't be seen
improperly (can't say more); Updated this readme file.
For Support questions…
Post a message in one the following locations. Someone there will have an answer to most questions:
Fan Mission section of the Thief Underground Forums
http://www.3dactionplanet.com/thief/
Fan Mission section of the TTLG forums
http://www.ttlg.com/forums
Eidos Thief Missions Forum
http://www.eidos.com
If are really stuck, you can write to me… frobber@edanet.com … and I’ll see if I can help.
(I also enjoy feedback, criticism, and any other sort of fan mail.)
Enjoy!
• Uploaded 30.07.2003 • Size 48.18 Mb