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Wednesday, May 31, 2000

Computer Gaming World Spotlights Fan Missions - 2:46:08 PM - Dan

In the mood for some good news? How about some great news? Computer Gaming World did a special on fan-made mods in their current issue, and guess who gets mentioned? Rogue's Honor Lord Edmund Entertains The Vigil The Death of Garrett Gathering at the Bar Bloodstone Prison Circle of Strain 3 Ranstall Keep The Treasury and ThiefLoader Check out the scanned blurb right here. It's a biggie. Here's a huge congratulations to all the authors of the fan missions listed - and a huge thank you to CGW for the publicity!

TTLG's Reasons for the Fall - 12:11:34 PM - Dan

As promised, I give you James: We’ve all been shocked and saddened by the sudden demise of Looking Glass. It seemed that Looking Glass was riding high, with System Shock 2 and the Thief series finally getting it the public acclaim and sales Looking Glass has always deserved. Suddenly, Looking Glass turned out to be dead. Why did this occur? The more I have learnt about this, the more complex the answer has become. And thus opens TTLG's article, Reasons for the Fall: A Post-Mortem On Looking Glass Studios. This article is a comprehensive examination of all the data available (often doing directly to the source of confirmation) regarding the closing of Looking Glass Studios. It examines Looking Glass's long history of cheating death, and the unfortunate events which lead to it's untimely closing. James explains all the causes, all the effects, and all the consequences - while also disproving many of the myths and scapegoats. Above all this is a success story - for Looking Glass was a very successful group. Thank you James. I'm sure this answers many questions.

Tuesday, May 30, 2000

Interview with LGS on the Thief Series - 11:55:12 PM - Dan

This is a pre-downfall article. The Oxygen Tank did an interview with Thief 1 & 2 project leads Steven Pearsall and Tim 'EvilSpirit' Stellmach. Though it may sting a little that this was written with the intent that Looking Glass would be around for years to come, it's still a good read. Thanks for the tip, Staffan!

Calendra's Cistern - Get Ready, It's Gonna Be Big! - 10:54:28 PM - Dan

" This is your city. A black-caped lord, you survey your domain from the rooftops with pensive, cynical eyes." So begins the description of Calendra's Cistern, a major fan mission project dedicated to the memory of Looking Glass. This looks to be the most ambitious Thief 1 FM since Harlot (or even of all time) so naturally we should have all have an excuse to be excited about it. Here is the latest news on the project: New Briefing! Well worth the Download! Go to http://www.loanstargd.com/final.avi to get the finalized briefing that will appear with the level. This is an important briefing which will show you key places you will need to visit (helpful especially when navigating the rather large cityscape we built into this mission) Actually sitting here at 12:03 AM... *sigh* There is no new news since the 27th. I gave Thumper one updated txt file which he confirmed he received. Other than that, it is very quite on the front. Hopefully it is the quite before the storm :-) One good thing, is that both movies are done. I am going to ask Loanstar to post the briefing avi. so you can get the new briefing. As soon as he provides me w/ a link, I will post it here. Everything else is still status quo except for the cool new image at the top of the page. Take a guess who that is! Cheers and 27th's news follows: Bad News First: We are going to be late releasing the level for Beta Testing. Better this than waste precious Test Time on stuff we already know needs doing. Good News: We will only be late a few days. Our Beta Testers now have access to our private forum and we have set up a special conference called "Beta Stuff" so they don't run into spoilers. The movies are done. Here is a breakdown of the level's status: Architecture: Beta Ready Movies: Ready for Insertion Conversations: 90% (Need Tweaking) In-Game Store: Ready for Insertion Objectives: 90% (Need Tweaking) Object Placement: Beta Ready Traps: Ready for Insertion Puzzles: Ready for Insertion Maps: Beta Ready Recording: Beta Ready (all done) Finally there has been some question about "how" our Testers are getting the level. We will provide a Download Site for you just as soon as Thumper says, "GO!" We are so close folks. Hang in there. Here's a nice proud thumbs up to your team from TTLG. Good luck guys! For all the screenshots, story info, etc, go on over to The Calendra's Cistern Website.

Monday, May 29, 2000

First Contest FM arrives! - 8:44:46 AM - Jyre/Dash

*Confidential* has submitted his (or maybe her :) Fan Mission for the trial contest. The mission is entitled Waterlogged and has been made for the first of the two scenarios: The Local Authorities have just finished building a new public swimming baths and are to celebrate its opening this evening with a gala. It weighs in at 1.4 meg and is for Thief 2! You can find it in the newly revamped Contest Area or download it directly from this link!

Sunday, May 28, 2000

Sign the Jane's Attack Squadron Petition! - 9:08:25 PM - Dan

Jane's Attack Squadron (WW2 Flight Sim) was very near competition when Looking Glass Studios went out of business. Please come and sign our petition to Electronic Arts to allow LGS finish this program which has been 3 years in the making! And please, spread the word! The Petition may be found here: http://www.ttlg.com/jas/default.asp Thank you!

Saturday, May 27, 2000

Join the CandleFire Team! - 11:56:43 PM - Dan

Posted on TTLG by Darwin: While this might not be news to some of you, my fan fiction novel-in-development, Candlefire is, hopefully, going to be made into a Thief partial conversion, like the recently announced CoT campaign (concieved independantly, of course). It will feature a new main character and storyline separate from Thief: The Dark Project and The Metal Age. TTLG has been gracious enough to provide a place on their server for the campaign including art, information, and downloadable missions (when they're done, that is), and is accessible at http://www.thief-thecircle.com/candlefire/index.html. The team is still being formed, so if you think you could help us out, please drop me a line. I hope to be more active on the message boards as well, so if you have any public topics about the campaign to get to me, I'd love to participate. LGS is dead, long live LGS. Darwin (or Darwin2) shoda@mindspring.com

The Taffer's Post - Looking to the Future - 6:38:47 PM - Dan

The Taffer's Post Wow, what a week. With the server going up and down like this I haven't been able to do as much as I'd hoped. I've been spending lots of time in the chatroom though, and am glad to see the way everyone has been sticking together and still finding reasons to laugh and smile. :) I thought I'd give a little status update as to what's going on at this end. Here's a few handy bullet points for you: We now know the cause of the problem with the server. Finding the answer will take a little doing, though. Right now the firewall is off-line, so things should be running smoothly. Ultimately, though, the firewall has to go back up. The trick will be to make sure that everything work while the wall is up. Saam and I are both pretty much go on the full system upgrade for our server. When we originally bought this server he and I had to scrape our pockets and put together the best system we could with our limited resources. We're happy to say that due to your loyal patronage, he and I can now afford the type of system this network deserves. Aside from this new system being a joy for us to work with, it's also a way for us to give back some of the income you've caused by your ad clicking. We're very grateful. :) Here is the system we are planning to get: P3-700 (probably) 256-384 MB RAM 9.1 GB U2W SCSI HD Windows 2000 advanced server Nice, eh? People who have been with Thief-DarkProject.com from the start most likely remember the weekly updated novel Correspondence of Thieves (COT). It was an ongoing saga telling the story of Jyre, Ghost, Lytha, James, and Master Nightfall. You also may remember that we stopped posting chapters online in order to pursue our dream of Looking Glass publishing it. Well, seeing as that dream is pretty much dead in the water now, we're bringing it back, starting over from chapter one. The novel has undergone many proofreading sweeps after the original 20 chapters were posted, and not only are (hopefully) all the errors gone, but some of the content has changed quite a bit to seal up any plot holes caused by Thief Gold, Thief 2, and developments further in the novel. We've dropped the color coding technique (no novel uses color coded text anyway) in favor of a much simpler labeling method of showing who's point of view you are reading from. The book is currently undergoing one last high intensity editing / polishing sweep (with the aid of my mom :). This will also be the first Thief fanfic to be fully illustrated (one image per chapter), complete with an original full color oil painting for the cover (done by my sister :). We hope to post the first chapter within the next few weeks. On that week, an additional chapter will be posted on the same day every week, until all 600 pages (300w/p) are posted. It should take us about a year. :) While I'm on the topic, I should also mention that the sequel to COT, (we're calling it COT2 for now) is back underway. When the writing team of COT broke up to begin work on fan missions, the novel's sequel was put on the back burner. Well, we're all still working on fan missions, but there is a renewed interest. COT combined with COT2 pretty much ensures that The Circle will be updated with one new piece of fan fiction every week. A constant, undying steam of new Thief fiction. Gotta love it. If you heard tell of TTLG working on an Unofficial Thief 2 Expansion pack, you are correct. The project has been in the works for a little over half a year, and is going strong (though release it still half a year away). The expansion features a totally new story, based on the characters and events of the COT novels. (You don't have to read them to understand the plot, but you'll probably get a little more out of it if you do.) Trimfect and I (the producers) plan to do the grand unveiling early next week. We have something very cool planned, and we hope that it will get everyone just as excited as we are. :) Another bit of happy news for our loyal long-time readers. The TriOptimum Corporate Network, also once known as The Unofficial System Shock Homepage, is coming back. Yes, Saam's humble beginnings, the site that got me started as a webmaster, and the seed which would eventually spawn this community is being brought back to life. And finally, in my last bit of news, James, my ever trustworthy right hand man, is almost finished with his full report on the tragedies which lead to the Looking Glass downfall. It brings together nicely all the stray information bits that have popped up all over the web. It is my hope that in five years, we'll be able to look back on these hard times and smile, thinking about all the wonderful things that came as a result. I'm praying for that day.

Friday, May 26, 2000

New Fan Mission Screens - 11:18:10 AM - Jyre/Dash

6 new Fan Mission Screen shots have been posted up. The first three are of Bloodstone prison and can be found in the A-E section. The second set of screens are for Wrichards mission in progress Grave Mistake and are located in (can you guess?) the F-J section.

Thursday, May 25, 2000

New FM: Turning The Tables - 8:46:33 PM - Jyre/Dash

The latest Thief FM, Turning the Tables, by Daniel Corder is now available for download from the new missions section. Details as follows: Turning the Tables  readme.txt  (4.82 Meg)  Released: 05-25-2K No Walkthrough By Daniel Corder (Thiefs_Pawn on the teg forum): Well, it's not how you'd planned to spend the evening, one dead body already and it's not even midnight. It had started out reasonably promisingly, a quite evening at your favourite watering hole and a nice simple job lined up for when the night was darker and the guards sleepier. That was until Skeller tried to jump you, he didn't really have a chance, you heard him coming well in advance, and when he pulled his dagger it was all over for him. At least something went well, he was even more incompetent than he first seemed and was carrying a note from his employer... more

Assasins and Sausages? - 5:38:56 PM - Jyre/Dash

It seems a funny combination but both are contained within the new fanfic The Assassin and the Sausages which was written by Saigo. Hopefully that should be enough to get you all interested enough to have a read.

Wednesday, May 24, 2000

We are the heirs to the worlds of Looking Glass. - 9:34:24 PM - Dan

You've read the news, you've heard the sad testimonies and the heartfelt farewells. This is not one of them. As much as I'd like to describe the slow sickening feeling that swept me when I heard the news, now is not the time to revel in sorrow. Never before has the role of this community, Through the Looking Glass, been more important. It is here in which the legacy of Looking Glass Studios shall live on. On these pages, and in the hearts and minds of the thousands of people who are members of the community we have built - Looking Glass Studios shall never truly die. This is not the end, but rather a totally new beginning. There is no doubt in my mind that many of the talented visionaries who put so much soul into these creations will move on, in spite of taking their separate paths, to other things - and TTLG will be with them along the way. True, we may never see Thief 3, System Shock 3, Underworld 3, Terra Nova 2... the list goes on.. but like flaming branches carried by the wind, the spark of Looking Glass Studios shall live on in the companies and studios which these men and women shall travel to. Our task has never been so great - but our cause has never been so vital. And the world of Thief will never die. Dromed will always be in our hands, and as long as taffers spin tales of shadows and adventure, The City will always live on, Garrett will always be among us. The only limit is our own creativity. Thief-TheCircle.com shall continue to host and promote fan missions and fan fiction - and in that, we will always have the world of Thief. Through the Looking Glass's legs are gone. It is time to unfold our wings and fly. It's time to hold our heads proud and know that we are the lasting legacy of something which this industry will never forget. We are the heirs to the worlds of Looking Glass, and through the Looking Glass, we shall become more then Saam and I ever dreamed possible

Salting the Fries -- Looking Glass is No More - 6:19:02 PM - Saam

All the rumors you have been hearing today are unfortunately true. Looking Glass is shutting its doors, once and for all. This is truly a surprise for me, I thought things were going great, in fact, better than most years I've been in 'contact' with Looking Glass. But I guess shit happens in this industry. Why did it have to happen to the best damn game developers in the world I don't know. Why did it have to happen to the people we have come to know and love, I have no idea, yet again. I guess stuff like this happens. My condolences go to the entire Looking Glass team, I am pretty damn positive that neither Dan nor I will lose contact with any of them. Who knows, perhaps a few of them will team up and create a start-up company of their own, sort of like a spin-off of Looking Glass. Looking Glass has been my inspiration for quite some time now, as you can see. I'm sure Dan feels the same way as well. I don't know where I would be without these guys, really! One thing is for certain though -- no matter where everyone at LG ends up, you can be sure we'll be right there with them. Stay tuned for more info on this, I am talking with a few people from LG as I type this. This is truly a sad day for the TTLG Network.

Taffer's Post - 2:25:35 AM - Dan

I haven't been this busy in a long, long time. But I also have never enjoyed it as much as I am now. I got a huge amount done today, with the help of Saam and Jyre. I still have plenty more to take care of as far as the site merger, but I'm rather certain that we broke the back of the task today. It's all downhill from here, and then smooth sailing. I underestimated how valuable organization was going to be - with the new ASP format, and with all the pages using one uniform template, the transition of the content from the Thief 2 site went -much- smoother then I anticipated. I am actually a full day ahead of schedule as a result of the painstaking organization I did to the site when I renovated it about six months ago. Once the merger of the content is done, so begins the ad-nauseum task of going through each asp file one by one to replace all mention of the former URL with the new one. But I have something to look forward to when that is done - because next I get to play around with the images on the front page to add a more Thief 1 / 2 theme to the site. I doubt much will change, but enough will change. In other site related news, the guides portion of the site will soon be getting a flood of new content. Dave Johnson, also known as fett, has joined the T-dp.com staff, and is bringing with him all the content from his Thief 1 and 2 walkthrough site, The Keepers' Chapel. I'd provide a link, but the site is currently hosted on Xoom, and it's not loading for me right now, and I'm not sure if it's even online there anymore. Not only that, but Jacob Wilson, aka BoneChill, is donating his entire thief 1/2 fansite to The Circle. Called The Keepers' Compound, his website features an indepth cataloging of enemies, characters, history, and equipment. I am very excited to have the quality work of these two men added to the archives here at The Circle. As I have said before - this site would be nothing, and worth nothing to anyone, without the contributions of the community. Here's a big thank you to everyone who's ever sent me anything to add to the site. :)

The New Thief 1 & 2 Media Gallery - 1:54:54 AM - Dan

Working, literally, from dawn 'til dusk, the revised Thief Media Gallery has been completed. While much has stayed the same, much has changed. Behold: The Metal Age Screenshot Archive Ported over from our now derelict sister site, Thief2-metalage.com, this is the largest collection of Thief 2 pre-release screenshots anywhere, featuring well over 200 screenshots. The screens are sorted by date and source. Fan Mission Screenshot Archive Jyre deserves a huge thanks for this one. After slaving away for hours, the Fan Mission screenshot archive is complete. This archive contains, sorted in alphabetical order and grouped into four pages, an archive of the fan mission screenshots featured on our mission reviews. Now, since our policy is to limit screenshot features in reviews to silver hammer missions, that means that the bronze hammer missions or missions under construction are not currently featured here. This does not have to be. If you want screens of your mission to be displayed in the archive, be it under construction, a bronze hammer mission, or just a nifty demo, feel free to send them in. (limit 8 screens per fan mission, 800x600) Paintings Archive The image gallery has been totally re-organized and cut into three sections. The first of the new sections is most likely going to be the most popular - the paintings. These are special images released by LGS featuring hand and computer painted images, either a still from a cut-scene, or a unique image. Concept Artwork Archive Did you know that the burricks were supposed to have hair? That the rat/ape men once had a horn and a barbed tail? That the bug-beast once had a grotesque feminine form? That there was once a two-headed mech planned? Many times things change from conception to completion, and this archive contains a glimpse of what was in the heads of the developers long before the game hit the shelves. Be warned though - some of these concept images show creatures that are much cooler looking then what eventually made it into the game. Promotional Images Archive In all likelihood, the majority of these images were done by eidos, or some other PR department. While some definitely border on the bizarre and tasteless, other are actually quite cool, and would make good desktop backgrounds. In fact, that was the original intention of most of these images. The Patches and Movies sections have also received minor updates, with Thief 2 content added (obviously). So don't make all of our work in vain! Please browse the new galleries, enjoy the images, and feel free to take what you like for your own personal use - that's what they're here for.

Welcome to the New Home of the Circle of Stone and Shadow - 1:31:36 AM - Dan

If all went well, you should have only barely noticed the change. The Circle of Stone and Shadow has finally moved to it's new home. Why the move? Well in the short term logic, this is now a Thief 1 & 2 fansite. In the long-term logic, this site is now a Thief 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc fansite. :) But really? Why the change? Was it in some twisted plot to save the rain forest or promote baby seals as the diet of choice? Why force stubborn people who are set in their ways to go to a different domain? You don't have to. Go to www.thief-darkproject.com/missions/silver/. Where do you end up? Why, right to www.thief- thecircle.com/missions/silver/ of course! Both domains are on the same server, so forwarding from one to the other is simple and instantaneous. If you don't want to, you don't even have to acknowledge the fact that there's been a change. Http://www.thief-darkproject.com will be active, and will take you to this site, indefinitely. Shortly, going to thief2-metalage.com will do the same. Due to the obveous differences in directory structure, going to that domain will always forward you to The Circle's front page. That site is still active while I am in the proccess of moving over all Thief 2 content. So there you have it! Aside from a shorter URL to type (thecircle vs darkproject), and the inclusion of Thief 2 media in the archives, nothing has changed. All is as it was written. Beware the dawn of The Metal Age Gold. ;)

Monday, May 22, 2000

'Tuttocomb's Tomb' Reviewed - 2.5 Silver - 11:31:55 PM - Dan

The Fan Mission Tuttocomb's Tomb by Asymuth & Red Rogue has been granted a review by none other then Avalon. Here is his synopsis, in short: Pros: Very decent AI placement, fitting architecture, riches certainly are in abundance, interesting entrances into areas, excellent ambient, and an overall gloomy atmosphere that adds to the experience. Cons: A few nitpicks on some AI's sound/placement, an architecture letdown or two, loot is a bit easy to find, very little plot, and the inability to KO. Bottom Line: Tuttocomb's Tomb will add to the general Thieving experience, and surely won't disappoint those looking for a somewhat challenging straightforward theft, that has a well-done adventuring twist. The mission was awarded the very handsom prize of 2.5 silver hammers. Congrats to both Asymuth and Red Rogue for a very nice fan mission!

Talisman of the Keepers Reviewed - 3.5 Bronze Hammers - 11:06:41 PM - Dan

Kozmala's fan mission Talisman of the Keepers has been reviewed. I give you the brief: Pros: The mission is well thought out, paced smoothly and gradually increases in difficulty. The Hammerites have been individualized. Cons: The architecture, both interior and exterior, is simplistic and very boxy. The pedestal buttons at the end are a bit unwieldy. The 5000 loot requirement in Expert is a mite high. Too thinly populated inside. Bottom line: This level offers about two hours of good sneaking and skulking (on Expert mode), with several moments of tension. The plot is a fairly standard THIEF heist, and architecture isn't the author's forte, but the mission's layout -- your progression through it -- is woven together fairly nicely. In all, the fan mission was granted three and a half bronze hammers. Not bad at all for the author's first mission! The full review, written by Andrew Dagilis, may be read here.

Dockland Reviewed - 7:18:31 PM - Jyre/Dash

Another review from Andrew Dagilis. This one looks at Dockland. The mission was credited with 2 bronze hammers. Pros: The map has a lot of places to visit (though few of them look good). No lack of guards to blackjack, once you get one. Cons: The architecture, the textures, the ornamentation, some object location -- the map is almost entirely lacking in esthetics. Some must-find objects can be quite frustrating to locate. The "New Objectives" chimes are heard too often and unnecessarily. Bottom line: This level has a good, though standard, basic premise, but it's not handled or developed with any originality. The decor is almost uniformly hard on the eyes, which makes it even more unfortunate that you'll spend so much time in it hunting for particular objects. - Full Review

Cult of the Resurrection Reviwed - 6:35:49 PM - Jyre/Dash

Andrew Dagilis has sent in a review of Cult of the Resurrection. This mission recieved 4 silver hammers. Congratulations go to the mission author Sledge. Pros:Solid architecture, skillful use of ambient sounds/music, three levels of difficulty are now three different playing styles, good plot and story development, new enemies, new types of objectives Cons:A few spots where you can get stuck between objects; some pointless invisible walls; too few guards in certain areas; a puzzle that might stump the more deductively-challenged. Bottom Line:Download this mission right away and say goodbye to your family -- they won't be seeing you for a while. - Full Review

Thief 2 German Patch - 4:42:17 PM - Dan

I don't remember if I mentioned this before (I could check the news archive, but I'm feeling lazy) but the patch for the German dubbed version of Thief 2 is out, and you can get it here. Thanks, Tels!

A Mission Builder Mailing List - 4:38:39 PM - Dan

Here's a bit of interesting news for all of our camel-training taffers. A word from Bejoscha: Being in the TTLG-formus for a while I came up with the idea to create an email-group for Thief FM-announcments, so that people who don't have the time to surf the net nevetheless can get informed quickly. I alreay created such an list and promoted it at the forum. (thread) To subscribe to the emaillist one has to use the following link: http://www.egroups.com/subscribe/Thief2FM

Fissure Promo Teaser Trailer! - 4:34:25 PM - Dan

Care for some hype? Sean Adams and the team behind the Thief 2 fan mission 'Fissure' have put together a very nice teaser-trailer movie to give you mad rushes of adrenaline... or, at the very least, get your attention. Download it Here.

Weather in Thief 1! You Can Do it! - 4:30:51 PM - Dan

"Alright, alright, I hear you from here. "What!? There's no rain in Thief 1!" Well, you're right. there isn't. But there ARE particle effects that can look like rain. That said, here goes. Bear with me, because it's my first tutorial for anything. I found it by buggering with the particle effects while trying to make a fountain. I assume you've already made your starting stuff." And thus begins the Thief 1 weather tutorial. Download it below: Weather in Thief 1   tutorial.txt   (60 K)   Use Dromed By Riff: Alright, alright, I hear you from here. "What!? There's no rain in Thief 1!" Well, you're right. there isn't. But there ARE particle effects that can look like rain. That said, here goes. Bear with me, because it's my first tutorial for anything. I found it by buggering with the particle effects while trying to make a fountain. I assume you've already made your starting stuff.

Sunday, May 21, 2000

DarkLoader v2.3 released! - 4:34:21 PM - Jyre/Dash

Björn Henke has been busy working on improving the DarkLoader (FM loader for the Thief series) and today released his latest version. Improvments are: foreign language missions will be automatically fixed (if the level designer uses for example the "english" subdirectories you normaly can't play it with a german or french version). If there is more than one foreign language you can choose your prefered language. *.exe and *.dll files will not be extracted anymore to avoid viruses or trojan horses in the mission archive. revised statusbar display. added german documentation. some minor changes. You can nab it here.

Saturday, May 20, 2000

Ranstall Keep: Second Review - 5:38:18 PM - Jyre/Dash

Andrew Dagilis has been hard at work again. This time the mission that came under the microscope was Ranstall Keep. It was done as a private review at first (I bugged him for it) so does contain spoilers. These spoilers are, however, unreadable unless you choose to hilight them. Pros: Good plot and story development; new enemies; original approach to developing a climate of dread; most of the level is in black-and-white. Cons: The village is minuscule; some of the architecture is too absurd and sabotages its own immersiveness as a result (unlike in The Sword, where the dadaesque areas had a purpose, since that entire mission was a test devised by the Trickster. The keep is no test). . Bottom Line: Ranstall Keep is genuinely horrible -- and I mean that in a good way. Overall Andrew awarded the mission 3 silver hammers (*grins*). And whilst I'm on the subject of reviews I'd like to give an Andrew a huge thank you for doing all the reviews that he has. It was good of you to devote so much of your free time to help out. Thank You!

Submissions Page Updated - 12:50:16 PM - Jyre/Dash

The Fan Missions Submissions Instructions page has been updated to reflect the release of T2 (yeah, I know, we're a little slow).

Friday, May 19, 2000

Updated Once More - Cult of the Resurrection! - 7:06:09 PM - Dan

Perhaps in a plot to promote utter confusion and mass hysteria, Cult of the Resurrection has again been updated! This is the last time - we promise! The final update was inspired by input from our esteemed mission reviewer Andrew Dagilis, and reflects his suggested improvements. The Thief Gold only version has been done away with (again to promote panic) with only a version compatible with both The Dark Project and Gold remaining. Cult of the Resurrection (1.2)  readme.txt  (5.3 Meg)  Re-released: 5-19-2K  Screenshots 1 (564 K)  Screenshots 2 (564 K)  Hints & FAQ  Complete Walkthrough By Sledge: The biggest news in town is that one of the local Hammerite temples to the north was just raided. Several key artifacts were taken from the temple grounds, and the Hammers themselves were left butchered and torn apart. The word on the street is that the job was pulled off by a group of unknown, independent thieves, but the Keepers have found a way to get you a more accurate description of what happened. Apparently, the job was pulled by a cult calling themselves The Resurrection. Comprised mostly of ex-bandits and thieves, the group has been on a mad quest to collect a number of arcane relics for use in some bizarre rituals. The group is headed by ... (more)

Update: ShockEd NDA Project - 2:46:44 PM - Saam

Okay folks, here's the scoop: We've been talking with Looking Glass recently, and here is the current situation: ShockEd is vastly different than DromEd, mainly because unlike Thief (which is mission-based and linear), System Shock 2 has a lot of missions, all of which are linked to each other, via the bulkhead doors in the game. You can't just create one level and play it -- your level has to know what other level(s) to load when you approach a bulkhead, where to start off in the newly loaded level, etc. Now, Looking Glass doesn't want to spend their time or resources on figuring out a way to insert in user missions into their mission1.mis, mission2.mis, etc files, and linking them in the editor, so they are handing the job to us. Basically, we need to find out a way to create a "mission loader", so they've asked us to gather a group of 4 or 5 people to become involved in this project in order to figure out a way to make the editor actually "useful". If we succeed, then ShockEd will be released to the public. If we don't..then ShockEd is no more. It's as simple as that. I'm going to be heading up this project, and also note that if you get accepted in this project, you will be under an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement), meaning that you cannot share/talk about ShockEd, distribute the editor, etc -- you will have to sign an agreement and give it to me so that I can send it to LG, and then the editor will be yours to do as you wish. So, if you think you are able to figure out this problem we have with Shock2 and the mission loading situation, then please email me with the following information: Name: Email: Username on the Forums (if you have one): Age: Any past DromEd experience: Any past technical experience (which related to ShockEd or gaming in general): Remember, I don't want applicants that don't know anything about how Shock2 works, how the files are used, etc.. I need some techie people, folks! :) The sooner we get this project up and running, the sooner we can get the editor out to the public. So.. start sending those applications right away, I'll be viewing them in the next few days, and if you get selected, you will receive an email from me, giving you further instructions and details on this project. Good luck!

Update - Cult of the Resurrection Re-Release - 12:51:03 PM - Dan

Nothing to see here. Look a little higher. :)

Thursday, May 18, 2000

Fan Site: The Keepers' Library - 10:51:05 PM - Jyre/Dash

Keeper Anders Hällzon has sent us word that he has a new Thief 2 fansite The Keepers' Library available for all you Taffers to browse out. Currently under construction, it contains information on all the enemies in Thief 2, as well as links to a number of revies. The link has been placed in the Walkthroughs, Guides and Stratigies section.

'Metal Twilight' Updated - 10:33:57 PM - Jyre/Dash

The novel in developement Metal Twilight By Ross "Keeper Garrett" McLennan. Has recieved its first update. He notes that he has made several tweaks to the earlier chapters and also asks that you send him any feedback you may have.

Stowaway/Montrose Gets Second Review - 10:02:25 PM - Jyre/Dash

Myoldnamebroke has submitted a second review for the Stowaway and Hunt for Montrose mission pack. This time the mission recieved 5 bronze hammers: In all, this pair shows us what Apache can do - giving us glimpses of a great designer. But that's all we get - glimpses. The day when he gets everything to come together will be a great one for Thief players, but it looks like that's not going to be today. Pros: Some nicely done architecture, and occasionally shining moments Cons: Architecture can be suspect, some dodgy gameplay.

Update on Oblivion - 9:16:30 PM - Dan

Oblivion, a fan mission created months ago by Wrichards but never officially released on this site, will be put up for download in beta form within the next few days. Due to problems with the mission design, it malfunctioned badly on some systems while it worked fine on others, I never posted it here for download. The author planned to do a complete revision of Oblivion by breaking it into several smaller chapters, but was placed on the back-burner while he began work on his Thief 2 mission. Today it was decided, however, to place the beta up for download so that taffers could 'play at their own risk'. Wrichard's T2 mission, entitled "grave mistake" (working title) is well underway, and he promises some screenshots soon.

The Semi-Complete Listing of Dromed Command Descriptions - 7:38:52 PM - Dan

Zail has completed version 5 of his Semi-Complete Guide to Dromed Commands. This guide is a basic listing of dromed commands and their function. Dromed can be made to drop a list of commands into a text file, but only here can you read a description of what most of those commands actually do. A rich text format version is available as well. Thank you, Zail!

Absynthe Completes Walkthrough - 1:56:16 PM - James

Absynthe's walkthrough is complete - so says the author! Thanks Absynthe, for letting me know!

Tuesday, May 16, 2000

New FM - The Keep - 3:08:14 PM - Jyre/Dash

NativeArt Design has released their new FM The Keep, last in the four part series to Ramirez's Revnger, Stowaway and the Hunt for Montrose The Keep   readme.txt   (7.23 Meg)   Released: 5-16-2K   No Walkthrough By Apache & Flakeman: Well it has been a hard journey. You have dealt with Hammerites, Undead, and Undead Hammeritess. But now Ramirez gets what is coming to him. You've landing in a dock. This section of town isn't visited often by anyone. So blending in shouldn't be a problem. Just don't get caught going somewhere you shouldn't or doing something you shouldn't. Ramirez lives on the other side of town. Make your way over there and pay your respects. But, there is nothing wrong with alittle side trip here and there along the way. You may find something interesting.

Stowaway / Hunt for Montrose Reviewed - 2:08:14 PM - Dan

Our one and only mission pack, Stowaway and Hunt for (of?) Montrose has been reviewed. Andrew Dagilis's comments, in short: Pros: It's a two-map package with an attempt at a seafaring setting. "Montrose" is an interesting dungeon-crawl with a challenging tower to clear out at the end. Cons: Most of the first map; the dock area in "Montrose"; being forced to kill everything in the second map; the pointless (and occasionally misleading) animated sequences. Bottom line: The second mission is interesting but might not be worth such a long download (it's a 15 meg ZIP). I would recommend that Apache divest this package of the first level and the animated sequences, and release "Hunt for Montrose" as a stand-alone mission. Overall the mission is awarded 2.5 bronze hammers The full text of the review may be read here. Look for the missions sequel (which from what I have heard is much, much better), 'The Keep' to be released on this site later today.

Review of 'Hush... Hush, Sweet Harlot" - 1:37:23 PM - Dan

Hush... Hush, Sweet Harlot now joins the ranks of the silver. Andrew Dagilis writes: Pros: It's a large map for a fan mission (similar in size to T:TDP's "Assassins"), with lots of places to visit and loot to collect. It has an interesting premise and an attempt at a developing storyline. Garrett is finally doing something else in his free time than drinking at a pub. Cons: The town's interiors are poorly designed. Your second major objective is a disappointment. The brothel is a sex-free zone. It makes unauthorized use of copyrighted material. Bottom line: This is definitely one of the good fan missions, with a lot to do, good exterior architecture and believable objectives. Overall the mission is awarded 3 silver hammers - an honored prize indeed! The full text of the review may be read here. The review does contain some minor spoilers.

New Artwork From Karras - 12:46:48 PM - Dan

Once again we are graced by the very nice artwork of Karras. Today we have two new renderings, the first is a simple image called Sigil of Karras. The second work, also rather simple, is called Keeper Scroll.

Contest Update - Entry Closed - 4:01:01 AM - Jyre/Dash

Entry for the Fan Mission Design contest is now closed. A total of 21 people applied to enter. Details of all entrants can be found here. The main contest page has also been updated with details of the two scenarios the entrants may work on and a brief description of what will be done with each FM that is entered. The two scenarios are: A: Setting: The Local Authorities have just finished building a new public swimming baths and are to celebrate its opening this evening with a gala. Fixed Objective: Get the gala trophies B: Create a horror mission without the use of undead. Best of luck to everyone who has entered!

Monday, May 15, 2000

News on Calendra's Cistern from the Dev Team - 6:50:04 PM - Dan

I've got a bit of news regarding one of the most anticipated fan missions yet: I have gotten half a dozen e-mails w/in the past week asking about Calendra's Cistern. Here is the scoop: Thumper currently has the mission, and will be the LAST to "own" it before we go Beta. He affirmed that we can post a pretty solid date of May 29th for going Beta! In the meantime, we posted a few new screen shots at my site to tide everyone over: http://users.sisna.com/ahuso/index.htm Also of note, we have totally revamped the briefing (except the professional voice actress' lines which Loanstar hired) and thus, the jiggling screens are gone but you still get that great voice. We even got an artist to do some custom art for the new briefing, so even if you downloaded the original briefing, you will be pleasantly suprised by the beautiful new one we have (thanks to Loanstar!). We only have one solid Beta Tester slated as of today. Though we don't need 20 Beta Testers, we would like the following: 1) At least 2 hard core Lytha-style players 2) At least 2 players who are willing to search every nook and crannie of this enormous level on expert and find every bug there might be! Hence, we need about 4 Beta Testers. Those fitting the above descriptions please visit my site to check out the level and get my e-mail address. Then e-mail me as to which of the above roles you would like to fill. So hurry up and get this thing playtested! :)

Sunday, May 14, 2000

PC Gamer's Awards for 2000 - 9:33:37 PM - James

Jyre/Dash discovered that PC Gamer had the temerity to set up its Year 2000 Top 100 Awards. In the Achievement section, Thief II won the award for Sound, and System Shock 2 won the award for Game Narrative. The print version includes the all-time 100 Top Games, according to PC Gamer. System Shock & System Shock 2 pulled into 5th Place, while Thief and Thief II snuck into 10th. Half-Life apparently waltzed into the top spot with help from mad scientists. The fact that Jyre knows what is in the print edition may indicate she has read it, which is cause for concern. (grin)

3D Gaming Daily: Thief II 4.5/5 - 2:19:16 PM - James

Jared Taylor of 3D Gaming Daily has posted up a glowing review of Thief II/. His only complaints are mild niggles on the graphics, and a sigh over the lack of multiplayer. Thief II pulls in a 4.5 out of 5: "more of a great thing".

Games Extreme Reviews Thief II - 1:30:42 PM - James

Benjamin Jones of Games Extreme confessed that his site had posted up DAPsycho's review of Thief II. It's yet another positive review (have we yet seen a really negative one? I hope not!): "I can definitely recommend this to everyone", DAP says, and even likes the graphics! My only complaint is that DAP recommends buying Thief II before Thief I... we must of course suggest everyone buy both, and then give all their money, posessions, and the still-beating heart of their first-born child to LGS to encourage them to make Thief III.... 8)

Friday, May 12, 2000

Sky, Weather, and Menus - 10:19:40 PM - Jyre/Dash

Robert Caminos from LGS has sent us some useful stuff for DromEd 2. Before I tell you exactly what, here's what he had to say: As usual, we don't support them and I didn't exactly go over these with a fine tooth comb either so they may have errors on them. I figured the Editor's Guild would appreciate this stuff. I wish I had the time to be more thorough but they have us designers busy around here :) And now to the contents of the little goodie bundle The Incomplete Doc on Thief 2s New Sky Rendering Mission Parameters: Complete with accompany pics. sky_ef~11: A small demo .mis of the new sky plus the above doc and a second doc of pics. The Thief2 Weather System : by Matt MacKenzie Cumstom menu Custom key binds: A set of key bindings for DromEd 2. Goes together with the above custom menu And that, as they say, is yer lot. Thanks Robert!

Rate the Fan Missions - 4:08:17 PM - Dan

I've added a link to Tels' Fan Mission Voting Booth on the left side menu, right under the new missions download links. Please drop in and rate all (or at least most) of the fan missions you've played.

Thursday, May 11, 2000

Short Tale: The Dark Project - 7:03:17 AM - Jyre/Dash

Chris Sawyer has submitted a tale called "The Dark Project" for your enjotment. Appologies for the short post. I need to sleep.

Catalyst's Thief 1 Rare and Unused Items - 1:31:13 AM - Dan

Sadly overdue, I just added Catalyst's Thief 1 Rare and Unused Items demo mission (version 2) into the archive. Take a look - there is some freaky stuff in there. This demo mission is for Dromed 1 users only (non TL or DL compatible).

T1 -> T2 Creature Conversion Tutorial Udated - 1:28:30 AM - Dan

Arcsim has sent in an update to his creature conversion tutorial. As described, this tutorial provides instructions on how to import creatures from Thief 1 absent from Thief 2 into your T2 FM. Thanks for your work, Arcsim!

Review of 'The Careless Hand' - 3.5 Bronze - 12:27:10 AM - Dan

Finally for tonight is Andrew Dagilis' review of Paul Buckley's The Careless Hand. On with the usual: Pros: Lots of places to visit (though few are esthetic). It's supposed to fit into THIEF's plotline. Pointless but well done opening teaser with good accompanying soundtrack. Cons: The town's architecture and layout is poor -- you never mistake it for anywhere real. Several programming glitches. Too little attention paid to seamlessly integrating this level into THIEF's continuity. Bottom line: Though the first half is somewhat dull and uneventful, traipsing through the sewer maze in the latter portion does have its moments. In the end, the mission was awarded three and a half bronze hammers. The full text of the review may be found here.

Wednesday, May 10, 2000

Review of 'Lady Whitman's Disease' - 4 Bronze - 11:53:19 PM - Dan

Andrew Dagilis has written up yet another review, this time of of Robin Garcia's Lady Whitman's Disease. The review, in short: Pros: Good layout once you're inside the main house. Nice (though abrupt) twist ending. Cons: Some of the town's architecture, like the strewing of your equipment all over the map, is too contrived to be believable. Difficult to get back out of the house once you drop in, unless you find the secret passage. Bottom line: A nice way to while away an hour if you're not a stickler for architectural believability, especially once you finally get all your stuff back and tackle the house. Mr Garcia still has things to learn about mapmaking but already has a number of good things to offer -- how about another one? In the end, the mission was awarded four bronze hammers, which is not bad at all. The review, in its entirety, may be read here.

Guardhouse 2 Reviewed - 2 Silver Hammers - 11:38:00 PM - Dan

Jussi "Banshee" Lehtinen's fan mission Guardhouse 2 has been reviewed by Andrew Dagilis. His comments are as follows: Pros: Good layout, well developed personality for the new main character, very well written texts throughout. Cons: Misleading turret-room map, lockpicking sound loop, an alleged prisoner who has the run of the place, sizable guardhouse made up of little more than semi-purposeless rooms, with a handful of cells thrown in for good measure. Bottom line: A modest but successful offering by one of the better fan mission authors. The mission was awarded two silver hammers. Congrats, Banshee! The complete text of the review has been posted here.

Review of 'A Secret Affair' - 2.5 Bronze Hammers - 10:41:12 PM - Dan

Andrew Dagilis has written up a review of Aisha's A Secret Affair. The details are as follows: Pros: For a first effort of very modest scope and ambition, it navigates its safe path without any major stumbles. Cons: Some unfortunate texture choices and juxtapositions, cramped rooms, THIEF GOLD required to finish it, illogical exit objective, areas where Garrett can be struck down by inexplicable brain embolisms. Bottom line: Given that the designer was merely getting her feet wet with this level, it would be unfair to penalize this mission for not accomplishing things that it never set out to do. It would be equally untrue to claim that it offers enough of a challenge to be deeply interesting. The mildness of its fun-factor is in direct proportion with the extreme modesty of its ambitions. Overall, the mission was awarded two and a half bronze hammers. The full review text may be found here. Thank you for your mission submission, Aisha, and I look forward to your Thief 2 mission. For a bit of clarity on this subject, the previous review of this mission was taken down not because of the score or the opinions of the author, but because of the way the review was written. I did not approve of the way the review resorted to insults and explanations of un-met personal expectations rather then providing a concise unbiased evaluation. It was an error on my part for allowing the review to be posted, not the fault of the reviewer.

Taffer's Post - 10:05:54 PM - Dan

For the past week or so I have been plagued by a strange illness. It was flu-like, but lacked any of the more common cold symptoms. Even without an irritated nose or chest, weakness, dizziness, lack of appetite and a perpetual cold sweat can still put you out of commission. I'm not totally well yet, but am feeling much better. I have several topics to cover tonight. The first, but not the least of which, is my graduation from Brevard Community College (BCC). I graduated with honors (GPA 3.7 IIRC*) on the 9th, with an Associate of Arts degree in General Education. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the American College system, that means I have finished my first two years of college. What's next? Well that all depends on where I decide to take my next two years. (BCC is a two year school.) Thankfully due to the extreme success of this site and the forums (thank you all) my financial situation is still stable enough to allow me to continue being a full-time student and full-time Webmaster. As far as majors are concerned, I suppose that I have decided to major in liberal arts with minors in creative writing and computer graphics. That's still vague enough to keep me from pigeon-holing myself, but still definitely more narrowed down then a General Ed. degree. I'd like to give a huge thanks to Alex (Jyre) for all the work she has done. Not only has she done a remarkable job of setting up and launching the fan mission competition, but she is well on her way in her training to become my assistant, capable of performing the majority of this site's operations. The main reason for this is due to a very much looked forward to trip across the continent this summer. I'll be spending 6 weeks in July-August on a family trip to visit my mother's brothers and their families up in Washington state, and seeing all the country in between. During those 6 months the only access to the web I will have will be via an old laptop occasionally jacked into a hotel room's phone connection to check email and the forums. Thanks to her, site operation should move along totally uninterrupted (and with better spelling) while I am gone. The other major reason is so that I will basically have someone always on call to help me out when I have to make that insane choice between uploading a new fan mission or working on a term paper. Thanks Alex. And finally I'd like to thank Andrew Dagilis. His very well written reviews and professional attitude had been a very large help and a much needed breath of fresh air. I would like for everyone who is interested in writing reviews (which I shall post up in a moment) to take note of his style. This is the way I would like the reviews on my site to be written. Again, thank you. Now it's time to actually post those reviews. Thank you, and Goodnight.

DarkLoader updated - 1:19:29 PM - Jyre/Dash

Björn Henke has released an update to DarkLoader (v2.2) -(324k) It is no longer beta and has had the following improvments added: DarkLoader now uses the latest version of the ZipMaster VCL and DLLs. usage of streams instead of files for some operations. removed an unnecessary dialog. archive changes are now detected by checksum and handled correctly. added support for multilingual interfaces. DarkLoader trys to use the same language like your Thief installation. At this time english and german are supported. If you want to make a french or spanish translation you can make a copy of "darkloader_english.dat", rename it to "darkloader_french.dat" (or "darkloader_spanish.dat") and translate the contents. If you make such a translation, please sent me a copy for including it into future versions. added detection for foreign language problems. This version will only show a message if there is such a problem. The next version (v2.3) will fix it. I hope to finish v2.3 next week. Thanks Björn!

Ranstall Keep Briefing Fixed - 1:08:36 PM - Jyre/Dash

The copy of the briefing for Ranstall Keep available for download here was, unfortunately, corrupt. It appears that the second briefing uploaded to remedie this was also corrupt. I've just uploaded a third copy here. This copy works. Appologies to anyone who was affected by this.

Taffer Apprentice's Post - 10:23:18 AM - Jyre/Dash

Things have been quiet here the last couple of days. I've been busy doing what I had presumed was going to be a straightforward software install. Three major patches (along with lots of repatches due to errors) later, I'm finally back. Update on the contest - we now have 13 declared entrants which isn't bad going for a new competition that's only been open for 2 days. It's even generated a thread on the TEG forum depating the pros and cons. Elsewhere on the forums there is a debate as to the whether or not the Thief 2 ending worked (contains SPOILERS) and yet another 1000 reasons... type thread has been born, this one entitled "You Know You Need a Break From Thief When... "

Monday, May 08, 2000

Reminder about the contest - 6:08:27 PM - Jyre/Dash

Just a quick reminder that the T-DP.com contest is now up and running. Details here

Playing T2 FMs - Update - 8:45:47 AM - Jyre/Dash

Something I forgot to mention when posting about DarkLoader. Due to a pathfinding problem with the DromEd that came with Thief 2 anyone wisheing to play T2 FMs will have to have the patched version of T2 Update 9th May Since making the above post, David Cornish sent me this: Hi guys, i just saw your post on Thief-DarkProject.com about having to have the patched version of T2 in order to play the FMs. Are you sure about this because I have the unpatched version and am quite happily Beta testing a T2 FM called Stronghold. It is being loaded into T2 using Darkloader. The AI work perfectly well. Further enquires on the TEG forum backed up his words. So you don't need to patch T2 just to play FM's after all. Sorry for the confusion.

Sunday, May 07, 2000

More New Artwork from Karras - 11:00:20 PM - Jyre/Dash

Karras has been kind enough to grace us with two more pieces of artwork. Metal Face and The Servants. They've been housed at the art section Both well worth a peek.

DarkLoader Now Available - 7:10:34 PM - Jyre/Dash

DarkLoader v2.1 beta for Thief, Thief Gold and Thief 2 is now available. It's author, Björn Henke , had this to say about it. DarkLoader enables you to quickly and easily play thief fan mission archives. DarkLoader is tested with the 1.33 patched version of Thief and the 1.37 version of Thief Gold. It has been pre-tested with Thief 2, too. DarkLoader is an enhancement of the ThiefLoader created by Andrew Bednarz and provides full compatibility to existing ThiefLoader installations. USERS OF OLDER VERSIONS (THIEFLOADER, DARKLOADER 2.0x) NEED TO RESET TO ORIGINAL BEFORE SWITCHING TO THIS NEW VERSION !!! While it has been tested extensivily and works 100% on my machine, I take no responsibilty for any damage it may cause. He also asked me to give you a little link to his site. So here it is A Little Link!

T-DP.com's Fan Mission Contest - Trial - 5:47:55 PM - Jyre/Dash

The Thief-Darkproject website is pleased to announce its first Fan Mission contest for users of Dromed for either T:TDP, TG or T:TMA. This first contest is intended to be a trial so that we may evaluate the suitability or the rules and judging criteria. It will also give us the opportunity to judge the interest in such a contest. Please note: Anyone interested in participating in the full contest should also enter this one. Lack of interest now will mean there will be no main contest later! Anyone who has access to, and knows how to use DromED is welcome to enter.

Game Den Reviews Thief II - 11:31:45 AM - James

Fuzz of The Game Den has posted up yet another review of Thief II. Fuzz gives it an 88% overall, commenting that "the game falls short on the graphics area, the gameplay actually makes up for it". Actually makes up for it, eh? I think Saam might have something to say about that - his famous: "Good graphics last 6 months - good gameplay lasts forever!"

No More Judges Please - 8:01:32 AM - Jyre/Dash

The Judges slots have now all been filled. Thank you to everyone who took an interest. Expect the first contest (hopefully not the last) To go live tomorrow.

Saturday, May 06, 2000

'The Metal Age' - Fan Art by Karras - 7:53:40 PM - Dan

The topic says it all, except one important thing - It's good! (very). Check out this cool image here. Thanks, Karras!

'Cult of the Resurrection' and 'The Careless Hand' Released! - 7:34:58 PM - Dan

Good news! Tonight we have two new fan missions released. The Careless Hand, by Paul Buckley, is a fan mission set between Undercover and Return to Cathedral. Cult of the Resurrection, by Sledge, deals with a new faction surrounding the resurrection of the Trickster, and looks especially good. Enjoy! The Careless Hand  readme.txt  (4.81 Meg)  Released: 5-06-2K  Without Briefing (2.15 Meg)  no-brief readme.txt   No Walkthrough By Paul Buckley: The mission is based on the Dark Project series. Shortly after stealing the final talisman from the hammers Garrett was tailed en route to the haunted cathedral and was forced into a struggle with one hammerite guard in particular. This struggle led to Garrett being forced into dropping one of the talismans, the talisman of fire. He could just pick it up, but there is one small problem, the talisman of fire fell into an uncovered drain and dissapeared out of sight. Garrett must retrieve the fire talisman and get to the cathedral area, but its not as simple as it sounds. Cult of the Resurrection  readme.txt  (4.4 Meg)  Released: 5-06-2K  Thief Gold Only  Screenshots (564 K)  No Walkthrough By Sledge: The biggest news in town is that one of the local Hammerite temples to the north was just raided. Several key artifacts were taken from the temple grounds, and the Hammers themselves were left butchered and torn apart. The word on the street is that the job was pulled off by a group of unknown, independent thieves, but the Keepers have found a way to get you a more accurate description of what happened. Apparently, the job was pulled by a cult calling themselves The Resurrection. Comprised mostly of ex-bandits and thieves, the group has been on a mad quest to collect a number of arcane relics for use in some bizarre rituals. The group is headed by ... (more)

Friday, May 05, 2000

A Difference of Opinion - Updated - 3:58:32 PM - Dan

When accepting reviews from the masses, one must be fair and post the review regardless of our agreement or disagreement. But that does not stop one from pointing out the disagreement. A Secret Affair is not a bad mission by any means. It is a well done first attempt by a beginning Dromeder. The classic Thief gameplay is there. The architecture is on par with the majority of fan missions. It has a plot. I would rate it as a 4 bronze mission, and definitely give it a higher recommendation as a quick and simple burglary. Update, 10:38pm EST. After reading this thread and seeing the surge of opinions on the matter, I have decided to take action and remove the review. A Secret Affair has been moved back to the New Missions section and awaits a fair review. My apologies, Aisha, for this mar against your very decent mission. In the future I shall screen reviews which offer such drastic right-wing opinions.

A Secret Affair Reviewed - Update - 1:52:54 PM - Dan

This review has been taken down. It was written unfairly and misrepresents the mission it reviews.

Two New Fan Fics - 11:22:39 AM - Jyre/Dash

Darragh Holding has wriiten a new piece of fan fiction entitled Slipping. Also now available in the fanworks section is the novel Thief: Metal Twilight by Ross "Keeper Garrett" McLennan

Thursday, May 04, 2000

Taffer's Post - I'm Tired - 6:10:48 PM - Dan

Exams are finally over, which means that it's time once again to get things moving. But not right now. I'm so tired I can barely type. Expect lots of good updates tomorrow, including some new fan missions. To all those who emailed me and have yet to hear a reply - fear not, I'll be back on track soon with a responce.

Thief 2 Rare Items - 6:08:31 PM - Dan

Catalyst's demo mission Thief 2's rare and unused items is now up for download. It's rather interesting the assortment of odd things created but never used, as well as getting a closer look at some of the rare items.

Contest Judges Needed! - 4:30:42 PM - Jyre/Dash

T-DP.com is hoping to soon be able to host a Fan Mission contest but in order to do so it will require a set of judges. Anyone who is interested please either e-mail myself (addy is in the post header) or Dan saying why you think you would make a good judge. Anyone wishing to be a judge must be able to install FMs correctly and have access to both T:DP/TG and T2. Further details will be given if an appropriate response is recieved.

Thief Walkthrough at GameSpot - 10:18:05 AM - James

If you're getting stuck in Thief II, try GameSpot's inevitable Thief II Walkthrough, spotted by the tireless Shane McAllen. The walkthrough has all the usual bits; you can read it online for free or download and print a PDF for 5 bucks.

Second Opinion on Thief II at Games Domain - 10:15:54 AM - James

James Kay of Games Domain has up a Second Opinion of Thief II. It is fairly short and to the point - graphics sorta bad, gameplay real good.

Tuesday, May 02, 2000

Gamer's Central Reviews Thief II - 10:03:55 AM - James

AmbushBug of Gamer's Central has posted up a review of Thief II. As usual, it is pretty positive; it gets 4 out of 5 stars despite the only criticism being that it is not especially original, being a sequel. This is a long, in-depth review, though, and if any of you haven't bought the game yet, maybe it will tip your wallet open....

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