TDM FM Review: House of Theo

This is a review of one of The Dark Mod’s (a mod for Doom 3) fan missions. It may contain traces of spoilers. You have been warned.

Author(s): Theothesnoop
Version: 1.0
Date released: 2011-12-04
Theme: Castle
Download FM here

It’s great to see this year that more and more first-time-mappers are getting their FMs done and uploaded to the web for us to enjoy.

I’m not complaining about the existing mappers in any way, but it’s just good to see some new, refreshing ideas perhaps.

Theothesnoop is one of these new mappers on the scene, and after reading the title of the FM, I thought I was in for an adventure with Gary Stu (hey, somebody criticised one of my Thief fanfics like this once – now I’m the critic for a change). But I gave it a go like I do with all TDM FMs.

I started off in the snow on a hill overlooking the sunset. My mission was to infiltrate the castle and uncover some information. Upon turning around, the first thing that caught my eye was this rather large castle standing atop the hill. Conveniently, someone had left a window open and there just so happened to be a wooden beam above it, with a lantern acting as a neon sign highlighting the area. So I had my entry point thrust in my face.

Lighting is an issue in this mission. There’s too much of it for one – too many fire-lit torches, and not enough water arrows. So that might present a bit of a problem. Trying to dash across a corridor, I was sighted by a guard who then followed me down the stairs to my hiding spot and promptly cut me to ribbons.

Another issue this mission has is there’s initially too much backtracking. The mission isn’t entirely linear which is good, but when you creep along a path and all seems well, until you reach a door that can’t be picked and you have no key, forcing you to go all the way back to the area you started in – it feels a bit frustrating, to be honest. Initially the choice of path is just an illusion – there seems to be but one way. Once you get some keys, more pathways are open to you. But I suppose you could look on the bright side of life, and say that at least the mission doesn’t rely heavily on lockpicking for a change. There are several keys needed to make your way through the castle.

Hover mouse over pictures for captions, if available.

I get the feeling while playing this mission that it’s quite like the new Bond game, GoldenEye: Reloaded. You’re often forced to look for other ways around the place, because an area might be too well lit; there’s too much activity, patrols, etc.; you don’t have the damn key, and you can’t pick the lock.

Having said that, there’s a nicely achieved balance when it comes to guard activity. There aren’t many guards in some areas – maybe one patrol if you’re lucky (or unlucky if you come across one in what seems to be broad daylight). Nearer the more important areas like the armoury, and chambers belonging to the royalty such as King Theo, there’s a larger guard contingent and even tougher, more heavily armoured guards are to be encountered at that.

The level design around and inside the castle is rather good – better than I originally anticipated. From towers to wide walkways, this mission does remind me a good deal of the first proper mission from Thief: Deadly Shadows – Garrett’s hunt for the Blood Opal at Lord Julian’s (or was it Lord Ember?). There are several different levels, and these can be accessed from ladders, stairs, and even an elevator. One section of the FM even sees you using a dumb waiter.

The backtracking that initially frustrated me then kind of made sense as the mission progressed. It made it more of a challenge. Without it, this FM probably would have been quite a lot easier, because it’s not that long or particularly difficult if I’m honest.

I quite liked the little side stories that were encountered in the mission, with one readable explaining why the attic was locked. But like with quite a few FMs available for TDM, there’s seemingly no larger plot revealed. Just get in, get the job done, and get out. A somewhat quick, not overly complicated, solid mission, then.

Pros:

+ Different approach to gameplay, whether intentional or not.

Cons:

- Lighting affects gameplay somewhat negatively, perhaps.

- Too much backtracking initially.

FM score: 8/10

TDM FM Review: Samhain: Night on Bone Hill

This is a review of one of The Dark Mod’s (a mod for Doom 3) fan missions. It may contain traces of spoilers. You have been warned.

Author(s): PranQster
Version: 1.0
Date released: 10-9-2011 (Oct. 09, 2011)
Other info: Halloween Speed Build ‘11 entry
Theme: Haunted
Download FM here

This is the first entry in the Halloween Speed Build contest of 2011. The title and loading screen that shows up is quite striking. It could be the name of a horror movie – probably not a very good one, but still.

In this FM, you’re off for a bit of tomb raiding, similarly to “Down in the Bonehoard” from Thief: The Dark Project perhaps. The ultimate goal is to nab a ruby which belongs to a noble family which came from pagan roots. And you plan to do this on the night of All Hallows Eve.

You start off in the graveyard outside and notice that you’ve somehow recently developed the very sneaksie ability to levitate – very handy. This is a bug that has been reported by several people (but I noticed it was fixed on my second playthrough using v 1.07). After deigning to set your feet down on the ground, you make your way past the tombstones and on to the entrance to the mausoleum. Here you see a group of pagans leaving after having paid their respects to their deceased relatives. PranQster was very keen to show off the new “plaque mask” here that was made by Nosslak, as well as the pumpkins by Springheel. But the masks don’t always appear for everyone which meant some had to download the texture separately.

Seeing the candles and the pentacle at the entrance, I got a feeling that things wouldn’t be so serene for long. Inside the mausoleum there’s some nice marble textures, and ahead lies the ruby you’re after. Just snatch it and it’s mission accomplished, right? Wrong. I almost bought in to it. But then the floor gave way and I ended up in water-filled tunnel below. The skeletons down in the water give an ominous look in to what lies ahead. It looks like I wasn’t the first sure-footed* thief to go after the treasure…

Hover mouse over pictures for captions, if available.

Inside the caves there’s a nice showing off of lighting and colourful hues – reds, oranges, blues, greens; all colours of the rainbow from nicely placed light sources. Lovely. The place is filled with spiders, too, and this has led to some of the more anxious types being unable to progress in this mission. There’s some original ideas here, such as bats flying around which cast a light on the walls and ground, so there’s an extra bit of a challenge in avoiding being spotted by the spidies.

And being able to get to the crypt level where the sarcophagi are by climbing the spider’s web is a nice touch. PranQster demonstrated this knack for being inventive and introducing some fresh ideas in his previous, and first ever FM: “The Siege Shop”.

In the crypt area you need to find several switches or levers to find your way around, and this is all while having to put up with zombified skeletons who have sometimes erratic and unpredictable patrol routes (which was intentional on the part of the author). The King’s crypt is in this area and you’ll get some of your objectives here. Some of the loot is hard to obtain though and requires a bit of negotiation. You can also tell that there wasn’t a lot of beta-testing in this FM, as some people would lock themselves in the King’s crypt, and were unable to get out. Beta-testing was closed for this FM, according to the notes accompanying the download.

There are some other rooms that will open up as you accomplish objectives, and one of these areas even has a maze to navigate.

Samhain isn’t a bad mission. It’s got some good ideas. Not doing any beta testing is a recipe for disaster though, generally speaking. I understand that this is a speed build, and it shows off at least above-average quality for such a build - at least superficially, minus a few missing textures and such. But technically it could have used more time in development to get rid of some annoying bugs.

* sarcasm

Pros:

+ Original ideas.

+ Creepy.

+ Not a bad looking mission at all.

Cons:

- Some bugs.

- Some silly mistakes.

FM score: 8.1/10