Thief Guild
`
picture

Ascend The Dim Valley (2020) TG FM

City Mages Mansion/Estate Miscellaneous Buildings Pagan Relic/Artifact/Talisman

My fence claims that, after years of searching, some eccentric old coot struck upon a way into Craggenmense, that sunken gash in the mountains up north. The whispers of riches from this ancient ... Read more

Videos

Screenshots


info NOTES:     This FM REQUIRES NewDark 1.26 (earlier versions have blocky/pixellated shadows), and is only compatible with FMSel, AngelLoader, or NewDarkLoader. It also requires Squirrel.osm, which has been included with NewDark since 1.25.
IMPORTANT: To avoid texture errors, place the contents of this .7z in the \fam folder of this FM: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AhJkQkziXhl_UhpcWjffea7X...

Author

DirkBogan   Fan Missions
Author


Briefing

My fence claims that, after years of searching,
some eccentric old coot struck upon a way into Craggenmense,
that sunken gash in the mountains up north.
The whispers of riches from this ancient crevasse have been around forever,
but nobody’s had the faintest idea how to get in until now.
This geriatric wants me to make use of his discovery by acquiring The Iron Façade for him.

Following a long stretch of decay after they were abandoned by whatever precursor culture built them,
the immense ruins of Craggenmense became home to a tribe of supposedly human squatters.
Either they forget how they stumbled their way in, or they found the debris so alluring
that they ditched their nomadic lifestyle in favour of propping up their own ramshackle housing in its midst.
Rumour has it that some parochial power struggle is raging between two clans in this overstuffed fissure,
but sourcing reliable information has proven difficult. Craggenmense is legendary,
but I’ve only ever seen mention of The Iron Façade in the Keepers’ most profane archives...
heh, guess that settles who the old timer is.

I always suspected there’d be some passage above ground.
One look at the towering landscape should have put that suspicion to bed.
Good news is the cave system dumps me out at the squalor infesting the base of the valley.
I’m not likely to stand out amongst the filth.

It’s a chore, but I wouldn’t miss it. Besides the trinket my client wants,
there should be enough… material culture lying around to make the arduous trip worth my while.

star 9.18

I've played this FM:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Topics and Reviews

New Topic / Review


message   Masterclass in architecture and design
author:   Brodo Swaggins | Feb. 11, 2022, 4:45 p.m.
More than any other mission, this captured the uncanny magic of the original game for me: multiple heists, otherworldly sound design, a smart mix of dread and discovery, with great, unobtrusive writing throughout. At first I wasn’t sure I liked the derezzed textures, but I came to love them, part...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 3

message   The Textures, my god, the textures.
author:   MarcusFlintlock | Aug. 17, 2021, 4:54 a.m.
Full disclosure, it's been a good long while since I've played this mission. Needless to say, I liked it. However, I just wanted to specifically compliment the author for the textures. I'm the kind of person who really just can't stand the texture quality of Thief—blame my young gamer brain—an...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 9

message   Ascend The Dim Valley
author:   SPIDIvonMARDER | Nov. 4, 2020, 10:53 p.m.
Uzupełnienie do recenzjo Hattoriego: w pełni się zgadzam. Dodam od siebie, że ta architektura jest zakazanym, szalonym snem osób takich jak ja, które marzą o równie wyuzdanej architekturze. Choć wiedzą, że jest niesamowicie niefunkcjonalna. Pokoje mogą mieć półpiętra z różnych stron, być wewnętr...

forum Replies: 1   thumbs_up_down Votes: 2

message   Klimatyczna i imponująca!
author:   Hadrian | Oct. 31, 2020, 11:47 a.m.
Przejście misji zajęło mi 2h i to oczywiście był bardzo przyjemnie spędzony czas, choć muszę przyznać, że podchodziłem do misji z dużą rezerwą, bo z poprzednią misję DirkaBogana poróżniłem się poprzez nadmierną labiryntowość i nieintuicyjność. Tutaj jest znacznie lepiej pod tym względem, choć ...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 2

message   Lots of nooks and crannies.
author:   Bikerdude | Sept. 6, 2020, 12:13 p.m.
This type of T1/2 mission is what I thoroughly enjoy the most. I love the rats nest nature of the FM, the constant rewards and eye candy you get when you explore. Then there is the story, very unique and encapsulated, fantastic.

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 5

message   Keep looking up
author:   Valky | Aug. 13, 2020, 4:58 a.m.
Ascend the Dim Valley is a shining example of what the culmination of 20 years worth of FM's can and should lead to. I clocked in at a bit over 4 hours, trying to explore the entire map, and even then I ended up with ~4700 with 1000 loot missing. The map is massive, placed within a small vall...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 6

message   Impressive surreal and gloomy city labyrinth
author:   Mike | July 28, 2020, 1:56 a.m.
Compact settlement of Craggenmense in the deep of some valley in the mountains - and it is vertical, detailed and labirynthine. It's a spiral multi-layered layout in which sometimes you can easily lost. It is not big: only two big mansions of sworn rivals (who rule this city) and several building...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 3

message   Like a good VB Long Neck for breakfast
author:   Skejven | July 26, 2020, 8:25 p.m.
Outstanding mission, Dirk already showed with his previous mission that he can create amazing city missions and this one only proves that even more. Just like in Egress the interiors feature creative brushwork and great level design. Those, along with Dirks choice of textures and ambients create ...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 8