2020.12.21. - The Greyquarter Heist, Version 1.0

Author : Balazs Szabo (aka Taylor, aka Gro)
Contact info : szb.gro@gmail.com
Homepage : N/A
Date of release : 2020.12.21.
Version : 1.0

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* Description *
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This mission takes place during the time period set between the events of Thief: The Dark Project
and Thief: The Metal Age. The Mechanists are slowly raising in power, but are not very well-known
faction at this point yet.
This mission is about Garrett pulling a heist in Greyquarter, an area located west to Hightowne.
Old since its origins but rebuilt in recent years and now considered as one of the many high-end
districts of The City.
Being a rich area, Greyquarter and its surroundings are, of course, well guarded.

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* Briefing *
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I've been contacted by a strange businessman named Ben Asra. Normally I would not bother but there
were two things that raised my interest. First the amount of gold he offered, second the man
himself. His skin was black, an uncommon sight in The City. He offered me the job on behalf of his
client, who wishes to remain in incognito. The task seems simple enough. Break into a shop in
Greyquarter, belonging to an alchemist named Blasio. Take his valuable recipe book supposedly
stuffed in a safe or something and leave in one piece. The contact also gave me a simple map of
the area which might provide helpful. The only restriction my client gave was to avoid killing
anyone during the job, but considering my skills this shouldn't be a problem.

According to the brief message my contact wrote me on the map he provided, my best bet to enter
Greyquarter is through its sewer system as the streets are supposed to be very well guarded, even
during night time. No surprise, considering this area is popular among rich noblemen. However,
this should be a nice opportunity to fetch a few trinkets while on my way to earn some extra cash.

The target shop is in a place called Greyquarter Market, residing in the western parts of The City.
Though I'm not very much interested in history, I've found out something interesting. Centuries ago
this quarter was founded by a former pirate named Captain Greyquarter -- hence the name of the
district. Later his land was recognized by the baron and granted a title, in exchange for leaving
The City's trade alone (and maybe targeting the competition instead). Nevertheless the Greyquarter
family accumulated quite a wealth and operated in the area as a separate town, until The City grew
large enough and absorbed it. Captain Greyquarter was also rumored to have some treasure hidden in
the arean never to be found by his successors... or anyone -- despite large scaled constructions
and renovations that drastically changed the area in the past few years. The legend of this
treasure seems to be just wild rumours made up by bored townspeople. Still, while I'm here, I
should take a look around and see if this treasure really exists, and could be retrieved by me.

The night will fall down soon. It's time to move.

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* Play Information *
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Game : Thief II: The Metal Age
Mission Title : The Greyquarter Heist
File name : miss17.mis
Difficulty Settings : Yes
Equipment store : No
Map/automap : Yes
New graphics : No
New sounds : No
Multi language support : Not at this point
Briefing : No
Size : Medium
Difficulty level info : Normal/Hard/Expert

Higher difficulties require more loot to find, add a few extra obstacles/puzzles, more guards
and significantly less equipment. Available loot, secrets and accessible areas are the same on all
difficulties (minimal loot has altered location based on difficulty, the total amount is the same).

All difficulties present a "Don't Kill Anyone" objective.
No forced ghosting required throughout the mission.

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* Other Important Info *
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- The mission contains many readables which are mostly flavor. Those really important either can be
picked up or are placed in some strategic locations. The long readables are flavor in general and
even if containing a faint hint to something, it can mostly be guessed without any texts.
- There's one scroll in the mission which is not in English - this is intentional and not an error.
You can find its translation in the books folder under the name translat.str if you're interested.
(contains some spoilers)
- The Sewer key opens several entrances into the sewers other than just the initial sewer hatch.
- Single-use keys are discarded from the inventory after used on the appropriate lock, and keys are
only kept if they either can be used on multiple locks or multiple keys exist for the same lock
for any reason. If keys still bother you, all keys except the vital ones can be dropped.
- Lockpicking length is usually short, especially if it's a completely departed area.
If something takes ridiculously long time to pick it means either there's a key around for that
lock or the said lock can be avoided without much of an issue.
- There's one puzzle in the mission, which requires three fire arrows to complete so don't waste
them unless you found more than three (the no kill objective limits their use anyway).

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* Known issues *
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- It is possible to get Garrett's feet partially stuck in the planks throughout the sewers as they
are rather thin. Resolving this might cause Garrett to fall into the water, possibly alerting
nearby enemies. Watch your steps when you want to cross one of these.
- In the sewers some of the patrolling guards and spiders have a tendency to fall into the water.
If this happens to the spiders, consider it as a bonus.

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* Construction *
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Base : from scratch, starting area loosely based on Nicked's Absolute Beginner's Guide
Build Time : started it around 3,5 years ago with many inactive periods, probably it's
effectively a few months

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* Loading information *
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- This FM was created in DromEd 2 v1.25 thus NewDark 1.25 or later is recommended.
- Works with AngelLoader or FMSel.
- The old DarkLoader is not supported by NewDark and the mission was not tested with that (If it
still works you can give me feedback though, I loved that loader).
- NewMantle should be enabled for better experience (recommended), the mission does not contain any
areas where NewMantle is strictly necessary to have though.

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* Thanks to *
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My Betatesting Team (in alphabetical order):

- Apebeard
- Apiai
- Beltzer
- Bikerdude
- Bob_doe_nz
- Cardia
- Gloria Creep
- Mat99
- Psych0sis
- Supremcee

Special thanks to:

- Bikerdude for creating an awesome map for my mission
- Mat99 for providing extra help in many small but important stuff
- Squadafroinx for proofreading
- FlixXxer for proofreading

- Brethren for hosting us SouthQuarter
- Nicked for his Absolute Beginner's Guide, which provided invaluable help in creating this FM.
- Tannar for help in setting up the betatesting for the mission

- As well as Everyone else who created a guide or other resources for FM making.

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* Copyright *
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This level was created (C) by Balazs Szabo (aka Taylor, aka Gro, 2017-2020).

Distribution of this level is allowed as long as it is free and the package is kept intact.
You may not include this level to any map pack without my permission. No one may edit and
re-distribute this mission without my express permission.

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