Mission name: Stowaway

Scenario: The Local Authorities have just finished building a new public swimming baths and are to celebrate its opening this evening with a gala.

Judged by:Andrew Dagilis

General Comments

This is the best of the four contest submissions, though the two parts of the plot -- recapturing the runaway Geena Reemo, and filching the trophies of the gala opening of a small pool in a pirate's den -- don't really mesh, mostly because the gala itself makes little sense in this context: the pool is too small, the place is run down, pirates don't usually bother holding galas, especially not in their inaccessible hideouts, no justification is given for the awarding of the three trophies (what are their recipients being rewarded for?), etc.; the contest's scenario seems shoehorned into what was originally intended by the author to be a straight rescue mission. The Spanish-style setting is unique (I don't recall seeing it elsewhere in either THIEF games), the author shows good attention to detail (though there are several slipups, most notably a bug that prevents you from completing the level), and the entire mission takes place during the day, with no Circle of Strain 1-type cheating, where the outside daylight mysteriously vanishes and everything becomes midnight-black as soon as you step inside a house.

Primary Areas (1-10)
Gameplay 7 it's a good sneaker-style mission, designed fairly, which can be completed with only your blackjack and three broadheads. There aren't enough noisy surfaces -- it's a bit too easy to sneak up on the pirates. The lack of difficulty levels diminishes its replayability. One objective can't be completed -- an easy technical glitch to fix -- costing this mission one point. The spiders pose too little a threat. There are too many immobile guards with their backs turned
Atmosphere 8 when you're on the ship, you really feel you're aboard an anchored sea vessel. When you're on the island, you really feel like you're on the coast of, say, Mallorca. The hideout's interior creates a proper verisimilitude. There should be brothel clients walking to and fro, increasing risk)
Immersion 8 the place feels right and has a plausible architectural layout that lacks a kitchen [an inconsequential detail]; the daylight conditions increase the chances of detection, raising the general tension level
Creativity 7.5 no gameplay innovations -- you sneak, you blackjack, you steal loot, you put out torches. The Spanish setting is original and well realized. The ship looks, sounds and feels like one. It joins the small handful of daylight missions.
Secondary Areas (1-5)
Architecture 3.75 good reproduction of colonial Spanish-style architecture; nice hacienda-like feel to the hideout; a smaller, more ornate version of Davidson's three-masted schooner from THIEF 2's Shipping ...and Receiving, complete with custom anchor and waterline; convincing feeling of the village being both rundown and abandoned; the ship's cargo hold looks and sounds like one; the swimming pool is too small and featureless, not worthy of a gala opening; cigarette burns in the banquet table -- a nice touch
Tech 3.5 guard patrols are fairly simple and not orchestrated to overlap; lifting the spice bag doesn't trigger the "Objective Complete" chime, making the mission unwinnable; spiders hardly move from their original spots; too many immobile guards with their backs turned
Loot placement 3.5 the stolen trophy is a nice touch; all other loot is pretty much where it belongs -- no diamonds stashed in nonsensical places. Some objects -- stolen paintings, for example -- should be loot but aren't
Bugs 2 several objects trigger no sounds -- you wade quietly in the sewer, several doors have no lockpicking sounds, or else open and close in utter silence, etc. There's an abrupt, unexplained texture change on the floor of one of the sewer tunnels, from clean cobblestone to green algae-filled slime. Burler -- the pony-tailed pirate with the eyepatch -- isn't IDed as such when you pick him up, though it's important to single him out. The spice bag objective never triggers the "Objective Complete" chime, making it impossible to finish the mission
Negative Bonuses (0 to -5)
Unsuitable Objects 0
Bad AI placement 0 none badly placed, though more should be mobile
Unfinished Areas 0 though the sewers feel more like small drain sluices than actual sewers
Extremely poor architecture 0 on the contrary, the architecture is one of Stowaway's strengths
Constant F11, F12 moments 0 when I replayed it, I saved only once
Too rigid or directionless 0 though you can wander here and there, you always know where to go and what to do
FINAL SCORE 43.25 (possible maximum: 60)

Judged by:MicahGee

General Comments

Pros

Excelent ai placment, archecture, and overall level design! The level seemed to have a tropical carribean feel to it with some ambient sound. The best of the contest fms!! Town looks real nice!

Cons

Considering it was an excelent level, I thought that there should have been more of garrett's comment. A little too many guards for me to handle.

Final thoughts

Uh well since Stowaway is for the contest, I have to use numbers to grade (damn!). If this was a non-contest, I would give it 4 silver hammers! But

Primary Areas (1-10)
Gameplay 8
Atmosphere 8
Immersion 8
Creativity 9
Secondary Areas (1-5)
Architecture 4
Tech 3
Loot placement 4
Bugs 5
Negative Bonuses (0 to -5)
All -1 Too many unlocked doors!!
FINAL SCORE 48 (possible maximum: 60)

Judged by : Totality

General Comments

A good attempt, excellent atomsphere, but marred by the lack of explanation for why the gala trophies are there and techincal problems in implementation.

Primary Areas (1-10)
Gameplay 5 The mission was enjoyable, but on the easy side. There was no obvious change in difficulty between levels, and the AIs were quite dumb and could be Koncked out with ease, even in front of other AIs.
Atmosphere 8 The setting was truly tremondous, it did feal like a hot town where pirates hide out, and the architecture choices helped enforce this. The inside was slightly less fleshed out, but still good.
Immersion 6 When I first stepped off the ship the novelty and look of the town really did make me feel like I was there, but from then on it dropped. The town was a bit dead, with empty houses not only in terms of people but objects as well. The main base suffered from the AI being dim, and the lack of any real integration of the gala is slightly disappointing. I definitely was more of a pirate stronghold than a public bathouse. Also, the fact that the three trophies were the same item was rather upsetting. Also, no change in difficulty is a negative point.
Creativity 6 The quest of having to kidnap someone is interesting, and unique, but apart from that there are a few attempts to implement tricks. There were no secret hiding places or puzzles to solve.
Secondary Areas (1-5)
Architecture 3 Good, but there were a few misaligned textures and incorrect texture choice.
Tech 2 I have the feeling that the author tried to do things that he didn't really know how to do effectively. The mission objectives were badly handled, for starters two start of as being complete. The kidnap objective was probably constructed in the form of steal item, which was novel, but had the unfortunate side effect of meaning the objective complete flashed up every time you picked up the unconcious body. Same thing with entering the grain storage, it was not set to be calculated last so it kept on ticking off and on. Lastly, and most importantly, the steal spice objective was set like a normal get item objective. This is NOT the way you handle get item objectives if they are also loot as sometimes they are lost when dromed combines. When I first tried the mission I could not find the spice as I had already picked it up and it had been combined with my other loot so I could not complete the mission.
Loot placement 2.5 Loot placement was fairly standard, there wasn't really any cunning hiding places or good element/bonus association.
Bugs 2 The only really bug is unfortunately an important one, the spice objective can sometimes break permanantly making the mission uncompletable.
Negative Bonuses (0 to -5)
All No Salient ones. Too many unlocked doors!!
FINAL SCORE 34.5 (possible maximum: 60)

Judged by:Marecki

Primary Areas (1-10)
Gameplay 8
Atmosphere 7
Immersion 6
Creativity 5
Secondary Areas (1-5)
Architecture 5
Tech 4
Loot placement 5
Bugs 4
Negative Bonuses (0 to -5)
Too rigid or Directionless -4
FINAL SCORE 40 (possible maximum: 60)

Judged by:Myoldnamebroke

General comments:

I'd just like to say...Wow! I've never stopped and admired the archi in a level so much that I'd get caught by a guard before.

Primary Areas (1-10)
Gameplay 7 Solid, fun and tense in places
Atmosphere 8 Good sounds, and the level had a great feel to it
Immersion 9 I got into this level far more than any of the others, and almost as much as any of the OMs
Creativity 9 Taking the level in the direction away from a standard 'rob a bathhouse', the spiders, the fact that no other level has ever gone with this sort of setting
Secondary Areas (1-5)
Architecture 5 Brilliant. Was caught by a guard while admiring it :)
Tech 2 Hmm. Spice objective doesn't work. Kidnap objective shouldn't keep chiming every time you drop and pick up the body. No difficulty settings.
Loot placement 2.5 Average, logically placed loot
Bugs 1.5 Sound propagation bugs make some moments tricky, bugs can prevent completion
Negative Bonuses (0 to -5)
All 0
FINAL SCORE 44 (possible maximum: 60)

Judged by:dOom

Primary Areas (1-10)
Gameplay 8 The gameplay was good, the AI placement and limited powerups lead to a fun and challenging level.
Atmosphere 7 There was some good use of ambient sound in the Brothel area and the twisting passages gave a good atmosphere. Parts of the Sewers were especially good, other parts of the sewers were dull and unatmospheric.
Immersion 7 Believable locations and plot, good locations and detail in the town.
Creativity 6 No secrets found, there might have been, but as there is a bug stopping the level from completing, I never saw the stat screen. Good imaginative plot, but a small number of books.
Secondary Areas (1-5)
Architecture 5 Outstanding
Tech 2
Loot placement 4 Never had to search too hard for the loot goal
Bugs 1 Fatal bug prevents completion.
Negative Bonuses (0 to -5)
Bad AI placement -1 The guard at the start on the top of the boat
FINAL SCORE 39 (possible maximum: 60)
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