Matt commented a topic about Into The Odd,
Is this FM is too overrated?:
The very beginning of the mission is eyebrow-raisingly mean indeed (so much so I can 100% understand if anyone just decides to shut it down and give a 1/10 rating to the mission), but what comes after that has a special magic. I've got no clue what's happening either, the whole place is its own strange realm - and I genuinely think that is what fascinates lots of players. The (almost) dreamlike quality of the many places you can visit throughout the mission. Though if this doesn't resonate wi..., July 31, 2022, 10:29 p.m.

Matt commented a topic about Circle of Stone and Shadow 1: Gathering at the Inn,
In the midst of winter:
The production quality of this one is certainly admirable. I liked the city section and the multiple entrances a lot (even with its emptiness you mentioned), also - the overall atmosphere is really great. Haven't played the second part yet, but found the mission design very dragged here though. I bet ghost runners - or just... more patient players than me, apparently- can enjoy it more. But even with that, I agree that the mission deserves recognition., June 10, 2022, 8:09 p.m.

Matt created a new topic about An Old Friend,
Lots of heart (and lots of technical issues):
I'm a big fan of bit-sized missions, so there is a huge chance that (even if I cannot be not critical towards the many problems this one has) I've enjoyed it out of biasedness.

The architecture is nice, but the streets are definitely too narrow; sound propagation and ambiance issues; at least one area where you can get stuck in the ceiling; a weird wooden trapdoor (you can open by your sword) leading to nowhere; the metal surface of the starting room instantly alerts every guard in the str..., June 10, 2022, 3:10 p.m.

Matt created a new topic about Endless Rain,
The quintessential city mission:
Endless Rain is one of those fan missions that A, is an undoubted fan favorite - for a good reason; and B, puts the city maps of the original missions to shame.

What you get here is most of the time "exactly" what you'd expect from a well crafted city mission - but the more interesting aspect of Endless Rain is it can sometimes surprise you a lot. For example, there is a hidden, Keepers related quest you can easily miss. It's worth to mention there is not many missions rewarding you more f..., June 7, 2022, 10:58 p.m.

Matt created a new topic about A Journey Into the Underdark,
Far from flawless, but a fascinating attempt for sure:
Playing a Thief fan mission that tries to do something different is always at least somewhat exciting, I think. Even though the chance of the attempt ending up not so succesfull is always there, I usually mind that less than playing a technically better mission doing the exact same things every other fan mission has ever done. A Journey Into the Underdark is basically a short action/adventure RPG, but collecting loot is still mandatory to finish the mission. It's a shame there are quite a lot..., June 6, 2022, 6:48 p.m.

Matt created a new topic about Eclipsed,
Masterful visuals and ambience... annoying keyhunt, arrogant mission design:
Whenever I see a fan mission crafted with such efforts like Eclipsed, I really hate to point out how the end result as a whole ultimately falls down. Mostly, because it is quite clear from the very beginning that the creator had a fantastic vision. The map is shone by its beautiful colors and architecture. Then - after you passed the first (completely linear) section - the issues start to become shockingly obvious...

I'm pretty sure, most of the more experienced Thief players have a tenden..., June 5, 2022, 2:01 p.m.

Matt created a new topic about Elemental Excursion,
Lovely bit-sized mission:
There is an often overlooked beauty of a small, but skillfully crafted mission, and I genuinely think Elemental Excursion is a great example of the genre! As far as I can tell the creator has a great talent for constructing small scaled maps using the available space as much as possible (I loved Precious a lot as well). Here, there is also an interesting attempt at modifying the AI and creating some events - which I'm a little bit conflicted about, but I still like a lot how AntiMatter_16 k..., June 3, 2022, 11:49 a.m.

Matt created a new topic about All For A Night Sleep,
My all time favorite Thief (not just fan) mission:
I'm aware of that there is not only one type of Thief player. Some look for hardcore thieving challenges, ghost runs, etc. - I'm not one of those. I just want to enjoy a well designed level. But for me this mission is a master class of design. Seriously, I can not name any other mission that does things that a Thief mission should do this well in such tiny map, respecting your time.

Fun rooftop segments, tight streets, comfy apartment interiors - and an overall well thought out non-oversiz..., June 2, 2022, 11:30 a.m.

Matt created a new topic about Precious,
One of the best small scaled Thief missions:
Fan mission creators should make notes, because Precious is - while not a ground breaking experience, but certainly - an exceptional example of how to use space well. Also, the secrets are fun to discover too. Those who look for hardcore thief experiences may get disappointed by this mission, but players who want to explore a solid and well designed map should go no further. No over-sized, over-complicated, over-ambitious geometry here, just a great and authentic environment. In my book, that..., June 1, 2022, 3:06 p.m.

Matt commented a topic about The Bridge,
Oversized (and a bit shallow), but admirably ambitious:
Yes, you're right (about the part that Cabot was made by another author, Flux). And the funny thing is that realization just randomly came into my mind yesterday, so I logged in to edit the review - and now I noticed you also pointed that out, haha :D (if I notice your reply first I would have probably left the review unedited, but eh... anyway).
I think the reason why I did that mistake was the fact that I played The Bridge and Valley one after another. Valley was an interesting mission, by..., May 4, 2022, 3:21 p.m.

Matt created a new topic about The Bridge,
Oversized (and a bit shallow), but admirably ambitious:
I like a lot what the author had been going for with this mission. The custom textures, the geometry of the streets, and the unique assets create a very interesting atmosphere. It's Deadly Shadows - but it's not.

It's a shame the mission often feels empty, and after a while, it becomes pretty clear that most of it is just for showcase... Not to mention the awkward key hunt aspect of the mission design - which I can't help but find a huge pain in (relatively) big maps like this one. Need to..., May 1, 2022, 4:05 p.m.

Matt created a new topic about Silence,
A Pleasant Surprise:
Short, but well made mission (actually, it's two). Although some readables seem a little bit unnecessarily wordy, overall I had a great time with this one. There are lots of nice attention on details - and the modified Auldale map is especially well done!, May 1, 2022, 3:28 p.m.

Matt created a new topic about Avoiding Mistrust,
Night of the Great Lockpicking:
𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯...
and I like to think that DarkDragon (the author) did that, ultimately came to the conclusion they must try to push the limits even beyond anyone could have ever imagined - and Avoiding Mistrust was the end result of that almost scientific experiment.
The other option I can imagine is DarkDragon just genuinely liked picking locks a lot (for some reason). Either way - and jokes aside - the amount of locks this..., Jan. 12, 2022, 12:53 a.m.

Matt commented a topic about Cabot,
An otherwise solid level heavily overshadowed by awkward keyhunt mission design:
Ah, don't worry about it - seriously. Especially in case you've interpreted the "Thanks to Mike" part at the end of my review as a cynical epilogue :'D It wasn't.
I usually enjoy studying things even when I happen to find them flawed - partly because nothing is perfect, but also, it's one good way to learn from the mistakes of others - even though I'm not planning to design Thief fan missions, it just helps me appreciate the exceptional ones in a more nuanced way (by the way, being able to f..., Jan. 11, 2022, 11:14 p.m.

Matt created a new topic about Cabot,
An otherwise solid level heavily overshadowed by awkward keyhunt mission design:
I can't help, but there is something about these keyhunt missions I just can't take - and Cabot is (only from the keyhunt aspect though) one of the least tolerable I've ever played.
The amount of locked doors that can be opened only by using a specific key you have to find first is (I can't find a better word) 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 in this mission. And because it's often not really clear which key you've found, you can't really do else, but run around trying to find out which one is the newly openabl..., Jan. 11, 2022, 7:51 p.m.

Matt commented a topic about The Walk,
A very simple, but respectably built fan mission:
Thanks for the recommendations, Mike! For some reason I've never heard of these two before. Meanwhile I already played Cabot and planning to publish a more detailed review on its page, I think there are quite a few aspects worth to analyse. Avoiding Mistrust is definitely on my playlist for a next session!, Jan. 11, 2022, 6:04 p.m.

Matt created a new topic about The Hobbit,
Interesting concept, questionable implementation:
A great atmosphere can save a mission with bad gameplay, and great gameplay can save a mission with dull atmosphere. I believe 'The Hobbit' has unfortunately none of those - even though the concept was certainly interesting, and I suspect the creator was perhaps going for a surreal level design like 'The Sword' had in Thief: The Dark Project(?) If my assumption is right, then I can say the direction was good, the implementation was... quite the opposite., Jan. 11, 2022, 12:03 a.m.

Matt created a new topic about The Walk,
A very simple, but respectably built fan mission:
I often wonder why Deadly Shadows fan missions are usually... not really great. Actually, average at best. While a whole topic could be dedicated for discussing the different reasons, I only brought this up to put my 7/10 rating in context.
Is this a good mission compared to fan missions created for Thief 1 and 2? Absolutely not! But it's a humble and solid Deadly Shadows fm and does its job pretty well. There are some things that bothered me though, like: I'll never understand why the creat..., Jan. 10, 2022, 11:51 p.m.

We accepted the suggestion to change the categories of A Journey Into the Underdark, submitted by Matt, June 6, 2022

We accepted the suggestion to change the categories of Precious, submitted by Matt, June 3, 2022

We accepted the suggestion to change the categories of Elemental Excursion, submitted by Matt, June 3, 2022

We accepted the suggestion to change the notes of Cabot, submitted by Matt, Jan. 11, 2022

We accepted the suggestion to change the description of Cabot, submitted by Matt, Jan. 11, 2022

We accepted the suggestion to change the categories of Cabot, submitted by Matt, Jan. 11, 2022