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June 4, 2001
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Author : Komag (Ben Ramsey)
Contact Info : komag@komag.net
Homepage : http://www.keepofmetalandgold.com
Date of Release : June 4th, 2001 (T2 conversion Jan 2004 - see notes)
Version: : Final 2.0 (T2)


Description : A woman named Victoria has offered me a job to
steal a sword from a nobleman named Constantine, but in my preparations
for the heist I heard word of a giant tree with valuable magical healing
fruit which grows in Constantine's orchard. I've decided to put off the
sword job for another night, and steal into the high wall orchard to grab
some of the fruits for myself, as they will probably bring in a pretty
penny on the street. Basso has supplied me with a basic map he drew
from information he bribed from an old guard who somehow used to "work"
there - in a tree? Anyway, since I've heard the tree is rather huge,
I'm glad the Keepers made me master the art of the rope arrow, which
should come in quite handy on this little adventure.


(Final Release Notes)(T2 conversion Notes see further below)

- In response to beta testers (thank you all very much!), I've added
more tools (especially rope arrows and health potions) to Garrett's
starting arsenal, though the mission is possible to complete even on
Fast Foot using NO rope arrows and finding all the loot (if anyone
actually ever finds ALL the loot, I'll give you the utmost honor and
respects!). I've also aligned EVERY SINGLE TREE TEXTURE to flow
better with the direction of the main tree and the branches, instead
of just the Dromed default (this took hours alone!). I also
brightened up the ambient lighting and made the lights in the mission
lighter as well, though it is still a relatively dark mission, so
play at night with the lights off!. There were a few other fixes
here and there, so things should be pretty much completed now, and
bug free (as far as I know). Enjoy

- BTW, This mission is NOTHING like any mission you have played
before. So you might love it! Or you might not like it at all!
Either way, I always love feedback, so feel free to e-mail me to
let me know what you think of the mission.


(T2 Conversion Notes)

- I decided to finally convert this little gem to Thief 2/Dromed 2. I
made a conscious decision not to touch any terrain (operation brushes),
but I've retextured the mission. Other minor changes include:
- moved one fruit about two feet (out of get-stuck-wedge)
- replaced bugbeasts with a new threat
- replaced one red spider with the new threat
- changed the ambients (some of them don't perform like I'd wish)
- added a couple vines to the lower vine branch, enable the completion of
the mission WITHOUT ANY rope arrows! Yes, it's possible (not necessarily
fun though)
- adjusted lighting slightly
- fixed the sound link for when you get the main goal item
- muffled the bark footstep sounds (a combo of Carpet/Wood) so that it's not so
rediculously echoey when walking along branches
- There are still lots of places you can get permanently stuck, so save often!


Briefing : No

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* Playing Information *

Game : Thief2 : The Metal Age
Mission Title : The Great Tree
File Name : Miss20
Difficulty Settings : Yes
Equipment Store : No
Map : Yes (a simple one)
Auto Map : No
New Graphics : Yes (credit to GOB/MOG for wood and wall textures!)
New Sounds : Yes (one ambient made by Loanstar)
Multi-Language Support : No (anyone feel free to translate if you want!)

Briefing : No
Length : n/a
Size : n/a

Difficulty Level Info : Slow Toes, Mid Stroll, Fast Foot
* Construction *

Base : From Scratch
Build Time : 8 weeks, or 108 hours or so (according to info_window)
(plus another 20 hours or so for Thief 2 conversion)

Thanks to: Everyone who wrote excellent tutorials, GOB/MOG for the textures,
Loanstar (Paul Billo) for the cool ambient, and everyone who spent time to
betatest the mission and give me good feedback :-)

Beta Testers:
Carlos Martinez
Mike Grogan
John Walsh (Viper6)
Robert Gronemann (BWV)
Jeff Knez

===================================================================================

* Playing Notes *

The three difficulty settings change things as follows:

Fast Foot: 1 fire arrow
1 flashbomb
8 rope arrows
12 broadheads
3 healing potions
many enemies, high loot requirement (60% of total), escape objective

Mid Stroll: 3 fire arrows
2 flashbombs
20 rope arrows (plenty)
24 broadheads
3 healing potions
some enemies, medium loot requirement (40% of total), escape objective

Slow Toes: 5 fire arrows
3 flashbombs
45 rope arrows (that's a LOT!)
36 broadheads
6 healing potions
few enemies, small loot requirement (15% of total), no escape objective


There are a couple other items in your inventory, but those are the ones that change.
There is one extra item you only get from a locker on Slow Toes (an extra mine).


- I hope you are not afraid of heights, and are good at climbing. This mission is
mainly vertical in nature, so if you are not used to that there are a few tips below:


**********************************************
*** A few tips on traversing this mission: ***
**********************************************

- To climb up slanted areas, it can help a lot to run diagonal a bit then jump just
at the base of the slant to make it the highest up

- You can safely fall quite a ways if you land on a slanted surface

- Rope arrows stick into wood and "leaves", so they'll come in quite handy in this
mission. But it is possible to complete the mission on Fast Foot using NO rope arrows!

- You can climb up very very steep inclines if you are in the V "spine" of two flat
planes (if that makes sense). For example, if you were reading a book, the V "spine"
would be the middle where the two pages meet, the whole middle line from bottom to top.
When you hold the book as you read, you are probably holding it at a very steep angle,
but not quite straight up and down. If a mini Garrett was trying to climb right up one
of the pages, he would be slipping back down. But if he climbs up the middle, up the
spine, he would be able to make it, though very slowly. (Was that a crazy example or
what?!) Hope that helps you in this mission :-)

- Learn and master the art of retrieving your rope arrows. For example, if you shoot
a rope arrow, climb up, jump off to a branch, and then cannot reach your rope arrow to
retrieve it, shoot another rope arrow halfway to the one that is too far, jump to the
rope you just shot, retrieve the father arrow, jump back to the branch, and finally
retrieve the closer arrow. You can make rows of 3 or 4 or more arrows using the same
method, and with enough practice you can always retrieve ALL rope arrows you ever use :-)

- You'll do a lot of climbing diagonal, mantling, and jumping in this mission, to some
pretty precarious locations, so save often and keep a keen eye for soft landing areas.

- Due to Dark Engine bugginess, you can get stuck in awkward architecture, so beware!


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* Loading Information *

Runs from Dark Loader. Leave the file ZIPPED - DO NOT UNZIP this file, but put the
whole "greattree.zip" file into whatever folder/directory you want to on your hard drive,
then in Darkloader setup, point to this folder/directory, and the mission should show
up in the Darkloader main screen.

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* Copyright Information *

This level is ? by Ben Ramsey (Komag)

Distribution of this level is allowed in any way, shape, or manner you wish.
However, you must leave the mission intact and give me credit for it. It's all yours :-)

This level was not made and is not supported by Looking Glass Studios or Eidos
Interactive.