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In These Enlightened Times... v1.0

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Play Notes

You can jump straight into the mission, just make sure you read the note you have at the start. Alternatively, you can read it at the end of this document.

A Competition Entry: This mission is submitted as a competition entry, and as part of the rules is built inside eight cuboids. These eight boxes are delineated by area brushes, names something like Area1 - 40x40x40. All playable area (anywhere the player can see or go) is with these areas (though plenty of solid brushes extend outside of them; I do not envy Komag checking them all). A further area brush surrounds all the blue rooms. The theme for the competition is water, though as it happens there is only one water brush in the whole thing (actually a flood brush).

An Anonymous Submission: I have to remain anonymous for a month after release, so some of these play notes are to make up for the fact that I cannot give hints on the FM forum when the mission is released.

Seeing Underwater: If you are having difficulty seeing underwater, there is a solution to the problem... If you can find it.

"I'm stuck...": There was one thing some of the beta-testers could not figure out. Here is the clue I gave them: Think about where you are

[The text might appear if you highlight it; otherwise open this file, readme.rtf, in WordPad, and then highlight it]

"I've run out of...": There is one consumable you need to complete a hidden objective. If you keep looking long enough, you will always find another one.

Difficulty Levels: Besides the differences between the difficulty levels that are those built into Thief, there are a small number of differences relating to AIs. The objectives and plot are identical; all areas are accessible on all levels. The loot objective is higher for harder levels.

Objectives: The main objective is to retrieve a certain item, and head back home. There is an optional loot objective, and a couple of hidden objectives too...

Readables: Some people do not like long readables. Besides the note at the start that tells you what is going on, only one readable is more than one page, and you do not need to read it to work out how to complete the mission, though it does contain vague clues to a couple of things, and you will get a better idea of what is going on...

Pick Pocket Count: One beta-tester reported that picked pockets were not counted correctly. I checked through DromEd, and it worked fine for me, but there may be an issue.

Error when you cheat, er, open in DromEd: Just click Cancel when the error message pops up if you try to open the mission in DromEd. It is because the mission uses TGA images.

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Play Information

Title : In These Enlightened Times...

Game : Thief 2: The Metal Age

Author : Anonymous for competition

File name : miss21.mis, sunked.gam

Difficulty Settings : Novice, Journeyman, Master

Equipment store : No

Map/Automap : Yes/No

New graphics : Yes

New sounds : Yes

New conversations : Yes

New models : Yes

EAX Support : No

Multi language support : No, English only

Briefing : No

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Credits – People who have helped me directly with this mission:

Voices

Thanks a lot to TheNightTerror, Gore_Torn, Don Willadsen (twice)

Beta-testing

Freddie Fox, marycwmbach, Nightwalker, Maloo, Griffin, ottoj55

Advice

Sluggs, Fidcal

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Other Credits

General Advice

Komag for the tutorial that got me started, and running the competition

spike14 for the tutorial that was my first point of reference once I was going

The TTLG TEG forum for when all else failed (so what did I do when that failed?)

Custom objects from DEDx, etc.

Rob Hicks – Putting together DEDX

Rob Hicks and Daemonite – Custom AIs

Nameless_voice - Custom objects and scripts

Telliamed - Custom scripts, Parched

Alun Bestor (Vigil) - Custom textures, skies and objects

Eshaktaar - Custom objects

Sluggs - Custom objects

Ottoj55 - Custom objects

Apologies for anyone I missed out.

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Copyright Information

Studios or Eidos Interactive.

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Garrett my good man!

A small blessing has fallen in my lap! Well, not exactly fallen, more like been plucked from someone else's lap.

But perhaps I should start at the beginning. As you know so well, I am an avid collector of exotica, so I was interested to overhear in the market some gentlemen discussing the lost Temple of Malezaa, where - according to legend - the Unholy Staff of Thrapalos is secured. I engaged them in conversation. They were in the employ of Melda Jade, a lady of not inconsiderable wealth, whom I know vaguely. They would say little of any worth, except that the expedition would take them to the heart of the Haliga River Delta, and then one of them brandished a plan of the temple complex.

I bid them all luck in their venture, and in the excitement of the moment, somehow the plan of the temple got mixed up with some trivial scrap of paper I happened to be carrying. A man in your business, you know how easily these things can happen.

And so I have the plan to the temple, but little idea how to find it. And I do so find that swamps disagree with me. So I thought of you.

A trivial matter, I am sure, for you to follow these men through the swamp to the temple, and then to use the plan to locate the artefact while they are pondering how my laundry list will lead them to the Staff.

Naturally you will be well paid for the Staff - and any other trinkets.

Oh, I nearly forgot. There is some silly story about a curse - but in these enlightened times I do not think anyone is really scared of ghosts and ghouls are there? And if you could retrieve my laundry list too?

Yours,

Trak Kempton