HomeThe Sun Within and The Sun Without
=============================================================
12/23/2009
=============================================================
Title : The Sun Within and The Sun Without
Filename : TSWTSW20091223v1_3.zip
Author : Qolelis
Contact info :
Homepage :
Date of release : December 23rd, 2009
Version : 1.3
Description : "There is actually one Lord who hasn't yet had the pleasure of being robbed by a master thief. His name is Lord Abdjilan,
but my sources do not have much info on the guy except that he belongs to one of the oldest nobilities in The City and that the Abdjilan
family is very successful in their business of choice. They seem to run some kind of "import/export" operation, but no one seemed to know
exactly what that meant. I think I am going to pay the Abdjilans a visit. I don't have much else on my schedule, anyway.
As usual with people as reclusive as the Abdjilans, the rumours are abundant. The most prominent rumour is about two twin gems called
"The Sun Within" and "The Sun Without", which are kept somewhere in the Abdjilans' private catacombs. I couldn't find anyone who'd actually
been inside these catacombs, but plenty "knew someone" who had. Anyway, my sources told me that the catacombs were supposed to be quite a
labyrinth of branching passageways and dead ends, but at least well-kept and unhaunted. Despite all their talk, no one could provide me with
a proper map. Well, I guess I could bring some extra paper - a map of the place should fetch a pretty high price.
The Abdjilan family lives in the mountains north of The City. It is a perfect place for someone who does not wish to be disturbed... A contact
of mine showed me the way. I paid him and soon I was alone, standing outside the walls surrounding the Abdjilan estate. Getting inside and down
into the catacombs was easy enough. There were no guards to speak of, but at one time I heard Benny complaining loudly enough about always being
sent to patrol the crypt where nothing ever happens. Poor Benny! I chuckled to myself and continued.
Things are never as easy as they seem, though, which I should have learned by now... I'm not proud to say that someone managed to sneak up on
me and run off with my favourite lucky charm and most of my arrows too. I was more angry with myself for letting my guard down than with my
"fellow thief" for exploiting my weakness, but I followed him of course - no one steals from me and gets away with it. He was quick, though.
One minute I had him in sight and the next he was gone. Well, he must be around here somewhere..."
=============================================================
* Play Information *
Game : Thief 2: The Metal Age
Level Names : The Sun Within and the Sun Without
File names : miss20.mis, tswtsw.gam
Difficulty Settings : Yes.
Equipment store : No.
Map/Automap : Yes/Yes.
New graphics : Yes.
New sounds : Yes.
New conversations : No.
New models : Yes.
EAX Support : Yes.
Multi language support : No.
Briefing : No.
=============================================================
* Notes *
This mission was meant as a showcase for my ropecrates. The other 90% of the mission is just a bonus 8)
If you really don't want to confront, see or hear any spiders, the Normal difficulty
is for you; I've replaced all spiders with frogs.
There are undead, although to a very limited number.
I have tried to make Expert harder than Hard and Hard harder than Normal.
All crates in this mission can be used as portable rope arrow targets. Just throw or put a crate where you want it
and then shoot a rope arrow into it. The rope arrow will stick and deploy a rope as usual.
Some noteworthy features of a ropecrate:
* When climbing up you can mantle towards and through the ropecrate, so don't be afraid to climb all the way up.
* A ropecrate with at least one arrow stuck in it, cannot be picked up nor pushed. Pick up all the arrows first.
* Arrows always get unstuck if and only if the ropecrate starts moving. They then fall to the ground and can be
used again.
* A ropecrate starts moving if and only if you make it fall by removing what is underneath it.
* A ropecrate can have a velocity greater than zero, but still not be moving. This could cause arrows
to get unstuck even if it looks like they shouldn't. This can only happen when putting the ropecrate
in a slope (If the slope is steep enough, gravity makes the ropecrate move very slowly down the slope).
On flat ground, this should never happen.
* Standard rules apply: you cannot mantle onto thin ledges or if the arrow is shot more or less straight up.
* A falling or fallen arrow cannot hurt you.
* A ropecrate can be thrown longer if you jump and throw at the same time.
* It may take a bit of practice placing a ropecrate in tight areas. A tip is to look straight up and then slightly
tilt your view forward before you throw the ropecrate. It's a skill you'll have to teach yourself :p
* Remember that a ropecrate arcs when you throw it.
* A ropecrate is carried in front of you, just like an ordinary crate, so the standard rules apply.
* A ropecrate is not damaged by falling or being thrown around.
* A ropecrate can take any number of arrows without getting slain.
* Climbing up is generally easier than climbing down.
* Standard rules for ropes apply.
* A ropecrate is ruled by standard Dark Engine-physics, just like an ordinary crate.
* A ropecrate is not affected by weight being applied to the rope.
* If you want to play it safe, always aim towards the center of a ropecrate.
* An arrow can be shot into a moving ropecrate, but it immediately gets unstuck and falls to the ground.
* Shooting a rope arrow so that the rope deploys down on an elevator is not a good idea. You can put
ropecrates on an elevator without a problem, though (as long as you don't stack them, anyway).
If you have any texture replacement packs installed (like the NTEX), then please, uninstall them. I have noticed
that NTEX sometimes mess up texture alignment. Furthermore, I want this mission to use the original textures.
Newtonian nitwits may get the hiccups ;)
Beware that when you jump down on rocks and blocks, you might break both your legs.
You might want to hard-save every once in a while since I cannot guarantee that you will never
get stuck on terrain, for example when trying to crawl through narrow passages. While learning how
to handle the ropecrates, a hard-save could also come in handy.
Known bugs:
* Two of my beta-testers reported getting a crash to desktop when throwing and picking up certain stone blocks
in the mines. I haven't been able to reproduce this, but I have done my best to solve the problem. One of the
two aforementioned beta-testers later reported not getting the crash after trying repeatedly. The crash seems
to occur only under very special cicumstances - circumstances that I haven't been able to pinpoint. Save before
handling these blocks, just in case.
* One beta-tester reported getting severe lag after throwing a ropecrate in the Water chamber. It started with
the ropecrate repeating its collision sound forever after landing. I haven't been able to reproduce this and I've
done what I've could to solve the problem, but if it would happen to you, just pick up the ropecrate and drop it
again, and the lag should be gone.
* In one particular spot, objects may start to disappear from view. They are still there, but there is
a limit to the number of objects that can be shown at the same time. Move on and the objects will be
seen again.
=============================================================
* Construction *
Base : None.
Map Size : Small to medium.
Build Time : 8 months.
Build Info : This FM started as a demo for my portable rope arrow targets, but then grew out of its demo suite.
=============================================================
* Loading Information *
Runs from DarkLoader. Leave the file ZIPPED - DO NOT UNZIP this file, but put the whole 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.
=============================================================
* Thanks To *
- Nameless Voice and Telliamed for writing their respective custom script modules, without which this FM had been a worse mess
than it already is.
- Nameless Voice for NVFlam.tga.
- Telliamed for writing the DarkUtils-tools (especially FogFix and BuildEAX).
- Telliamed again for releasing the source code for his custom scripts, which helped me a lot.
- MsLedd for cobwebs (I snagged them from Saturnine's mission "The 7th Crystal").
- Shadowspawn for conversion tools (bintoe, 3dstoe etc...).
- LarryG for providing custom crate models and a stonewheel with all the accessories
you could ever dream of.
- Dussander, pavlovscat and Tannar for their beta-testing forum at shalebridge.
I can highly recommend anyone to use it for beta-testing.
Link: http://shalebridgecradle.co.uk/testing/
- Dussander gets a special mention for dedication and very detailed bug reports.
- PotatoGuy for writing a walkthrough for TSWTSW.
- Taffer36 for making me start using DromEd.
- Komag for his complete tutorial.
- Alun Bestor (Vigil) for blank maps and cobwebs. Link: http://www.washboardabs.net/thief/
- Thief-fans all over the world.
- Everyone at TTLG, players and authors alike, but with an extra thank you to The Editors' Guild.
Link: http://www.ttlg.com/
Link: http://www.ttlg.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=85
- All the ones that went before me figuring out DromEd and putting down the much appreciated foundation.
- And of course the late LGS for creating such a great game and releasing the editor.
- All the beta-testers (in alphabetical order) whose great feedback made this mission a lot better:
- Dussander
- LarryG
- nickie
- PotatoGuy
- Tannar
- Undead gamer
Details: bitmaps_txt, maps_txt, meshes_txt, models_txt, sounds_txt, schemas_txt, textures_txt
=============================================================
* Copyright Information *
This level is ? by Qolelis
Distribution of this level is allowed as long as it is free and the package is kept intact. You may not include this level in 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.
=============================================================
12/23/2009
=============================================================
Title : The Sun Within and The Sun Without
Filename : TSWTSW20091223v1_3.zip
Author : Qolelis
Contact info :
Homepage :
Date of release : December 23rd, 2009
Version : 1.3
Description : "There is actually one Lord who hasn't yet had the pleasure of being robbed by a master thief. His name is Lord Abdjilan,
but my sources do not have much info on the guy except that he belongs to one of the oldest nobilities in The City and that the Abdjilan
family is very successful in their business of choice. They seem to run some kind of "import/export" operation, but no one seemed to know
exactly what that meant. I think I am going to pay the Abdjilans a visit. I don't have much else on my schedule, anyway.
As usual with people as reclusive as the Abdjilans, the rumours are abundant. The most prominent rumour is about two twin gems called
"The Sun Within" and "The Sun Without", which are kept somewhere in the Abdjilans' private catacombs. I couldn't find anyone who'd actually
been inside these catacombs, but plenty "knew someone" who had. Anyway, my sources told me that the catacombs were supposed to be quite a
labyrinth of branching passageways and dead ends, but at least well-kept and unhaunted. Despite all their talk, no one could provide me with
a proper map. Well, I guess I could bring some extra paper - a map of the place should fetch a pretty high price.
The Abdjilan family lives in the mountains north of The City. It is a perfect place for someone who does not wish to be disturbed... A contact
of mine showed me the way. I paid him and soon I was alone, standing outside the walls surrounding the Abdjilan estate. Getting inside and down
into the catacombs was easy enough. There were no guards to speak of, but at one time I heard Benny complaining loudly enough about always being
sent to patrol the crypt where nothing ever happens. Poor Benny! I chuckled to myself and continued.
Things are never as easy as they seem, though, which I should have learned by now... I'm not proud to say that someone managed to sneak up on
me and run off with my favourite lucky charm and most of my arrows too. I was more angry with myself for letting my guard down than with my
"fellow thief" for exploiting my weakness, but I followed him of course - no one steals from me and gets away with it. He was quick, though.
One minute I had him in sight and the next he was gone. Well, he must be around here somewhere..."
=============================================================
* Play Information *
Game : Thief 2: The Metal Age
Level Names : The Sun Within and the Sun Without
File names : miss20.mis, tswtsw.gam
Difficulty Settings : Yes.
Equipment store : No.
Map/Automap : Yes/Yes.
New graphics : Yes.
New sounds : Yes.
New conversations : No.
New models : Yes.
EAX Support : Yes.
Multi language support : No.
Briefing : No.
=============================================================
* Notes *
This mission was meant as a showcase for my ropecrates. The other 90% of the mission is just a bonus 8)
If you really don't want to confront, see or hear any spiders, the Normal difficulty
is for you; I've replaced all spiders with frogs.
There are undead, although to a very limited number.
I have tried to make Expert harder than Hard and Hard harder than Normal.
All crates in this mission can be used as portable rope arrow targets. Just throw or put a crate where you want it
and then shoot a rope arrow into it. The rope arrow will stick and deploy a rope as usual.
Some noteworthy features of a ropecrate:
* When climbing up you can mantle towards and through the ropecrate, so don't be afraid to climb all the way up.
* A ropecrate with at least one arrow stuck in it, cannot be picked up nor pushed. Pick up all the arrows first.
* Arrows always get unstuck if and only if the ropecrate starts moving. They then fall to the ground and can be
used again.
* A ropecrate starts moving if and only if you make it fall by removing what is underneath it.
* A ropecrate can have a velocity greater than zero, but still not be moving. This could cause arrows
to get unstuck even if it looks like they shouldn't. This can only happen when putting the ropecrate
in a slope (If the slope is steep enough, gravity makes the ropecrate move very slowly down the slope).
On flat ground, this should never happen.
* Standard rules apply: you cannot mantle onto thin ledges or if the arrow is shot more or less straight up.
* A falling or fallen arrow cannot hurt you.
* A ropecrate can be thrown longer if you jump and throw at the same time.
* It may take a bit of practice placing a ropecrate in tight areas. A tip is to look straight up and then slightly
tilt your view forward before you throw the ropecrate. It's a skill you'll have to teach yourself :p
* Remember that a ropecrate arcs when you throw it.
* A ropecrate is carried in front of you, just like an ordinary crate, so the standard rules apply.
* A ropecrate is not damaged by falling or being thrown around.
* A ropecrate can take any number of arrows without getting slain.
* Climbing up is generally easier than climbing down.
* Standard rules for ropes apply.
* A ropecrate is ruled by standard Dark Engine-physics, just like an ordinary crate.
* A ropecrate is not affected by weight being applied to the rope.
* If you want to play it safe, always aim towards the center of a ropecrate.
* An arrow can be shot into a moving ropecrate, but it immediately gets unstuck and falls to the ground.
* Shooting a rope arrow so that the rope deploys down on an elevator is not a good idea. You can put
ropecrates on an elevator without a problem, though (as long as you don't stack them, anyway).
If you have any texture replacement packs installed (like the NTEX), then please, uninstall them. I have noticed
that NTEX sometimes mess up texture alignment. Furthermore, I want this mission to use the original textures.
Newtonian nitwits may get the hiccups ;)
Beware that when you jump down on rocks and blocks, you might break both your legs.
You might want to hard-save every once in a while since I cannot guarantee that you will never
get stuck on terrain, for example when trying to crawl through narrow passages. While learning how
to handle the ropecrates, a hard-save could also come in handy.
Known bugs:
* Two of my beta-testers reported getting a crash to desktop when throwing and picking up certain stone blocks
in the mines. I haven't been able to reproduce this, but I have done my best to solve the problem. One of the
two aforementioned beta-testers later reported not getting the crash after trying repeatedly. The crash seems
to occur only under very special cicumstances - circumstances that I haven't been able to pinpoint. Save before
handling these blocks, just in case.
* One beta-tester reported getting severe lag after throwing a ropecrate in the Water chamber. It started with
the ropecrate repeating its collision sound forever after landing. I haven't been able to reproduce this and I've
done what I've could to solve the problem, but if it would happen to you, just pick up the ropecrate and drop it
again, and the lag should be gone.
* In one particular spot, objects may start to disappear from view. They are still there, but there is
a limit to the number of objects that can be shown at the same time. Move on and the objects will be
seen again.
=============================================================
* Construction *
Base : None.
Map Size : Small to medium.
Build Time : 8 months.
Build Info : This FM started as a demo for my portable rope arrow targets, but then grew out of its demo suite.
=============================================================
* Loading Information *
Runs from DarkLoader. Leave the file ZIPPED - DO NOT UNZIP this file, but put the whole 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.
=============================================================
* Thanks To *
- Nameless Voice and Telliamed for writing their respective custom script modules, without which this FM had been a worse mess
than it already is.
- Nameless Voice for NVFlam.tga.
- Telliamed for writing the DarkUtils-tools (especially FogFix and BuildEAX).
- Telliamed again for releasing the source code for his custom scripts, which helped me a lot.
- MsLedd for cobwebs (I snagged them from Saturnine's mission "The 7th Crystal").
- Shadowspawn for conversion tools (bintoe, 3dstoe etc...).
- LarryG for providing custom crate models and a stonewheel with all the accessories
you could ever dream of.
- Dussander, pavlovscat and Tannar for their beta-testing forum at shalebridge.
I can highly recommend anyone to use it for beta-testing.
Link: http://shalebridgecradle.co.uk/testing/
- Dussander gets a special mention for dedication and very detailed bug reports.
- PotatoGuy for writing a walkthrough for TSWTSW.
- Taffer36 for making me start using DromEd.
- Komag for his complete tutorial.
- Alun Bestor (Vigil) for blank maps and cobwebs. Link: http://www.washboardabs.net/thief/
- Thief-fans all over the world.
- Everyone at TTLG, players and authors alike, but with an extra thank you to The Editors' Guild.
Link: http://www.ttlg.com/
Link: http://www.ttlg.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=85
- All the ones that went before me figuring out DromEd and putting down the much appreciated foundation.
- And of course the late LGS for creating such a great game and releasing the editor.
- All the beta-testers (in alphabetical order) whose great feedback made this mission a lot better:
- Dussander
- LarryG
- nickie
- PotatoGuy
- Tannar
- Undead gamer
Details: bitmaps_txt, maps_txt, meshes_txt, models_txt, sounds_txt, schemas_txt, textures_txt
=============================================================
* Copyright Information *
This level is ? by Qolelis
Distribution of this level is allowed as long as it is free and the package is kept intact. You may not include this level in 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.
=============================================================
• Uploaded 23.12.2009 • Size 14.75 Mb