"Whoa, if this is 4/10, then I really want to see you rate other big Newdark missions "

It really isn't. It's worse than the other missions by the same author, but, it's still a very good mission (and, the other missions set a VERY high standard anyway).

That said, I won't and can't argue about taste. And, I won't distribute downvotes because of it either, like some other people on this site.

Yeah. I had to check the Rose Garden thread and some video walkthroughs for some things. 😊 Ok, in the end, navigating is definitely possible, when you spent some hours in the map. But, the beginning is hard, especially as the map is ABSOLUTELY useless. Dunno why, but, I always ended up at the complete opposite of where I wanted to go first. The mission is actually pretty good, but, there are some very, very odd design choices. Not sure why, Melan's other missions are pretty straight forward, ...

I actually found the mission very straight forward to navigate. Don't think I even would have needed the map much.

I played Rose Garden before this mission, and, hell, that one was like a maze to navigate. Even navigating to the main objectives felt like you found a secret. I won't lie though, it's the most complicated map to navigate I ever played. Felt like the antithesis to this one.

I think I would prefer a middle ground between those two. This map is very open, with lots of space i...

I can't confirm your observations. The A.I. worked fine in my playthrough, and, they could be knocked out from the front as well.

Are you sure there's nothing wrong with your installation?

I started this mission two times, but, it wasn't my cup of tea. Something feels off, can't lay my finger on it.

Glad you enjoyed it. It's a fantastic mission.

It gets you in the mood for all the goodies to come. Like, one of the best mission of the Thief series, the Bonehoard... *speaks with a deep evil voice*

BTW, downvoting someone for his opinion is the most stupid and immature thing there is. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

It's a lovely campaign. If anything, I'd criticize that some of the design/architecture shows that it's a rather old mission, and that some of the missions are a bit average. All in all, it was a lot of fun though, and a really "round" experience.

If you like a pirate setting (like me), this is definitely an essential mission/campgin.

Shame you didn't enjoy it as much as I did.

"The Violent End of Duncan Malveine contains some novel elements: a randomized objective/clues, a collecting aspect, and guards that can switch between bow/sword at will. Of these three, the last one was probably the one that I liked the most, even though it's the most understated aspect of the mission. Why is that?"

Probably because either - people K.O. everything there is, or they ghost. In neither case, people will even make acquaintance with the guards' weapons.

BTW, I think you're ...

PunkRubberRiley, the Tom Cruise of ThiefGuild and Steam forum posters.

You are the Katy Perry of ThiefGuild and Steam forum commenters.

Malazar's Inscrutable Tower is one of the best FMs there is, in my opinion.

While I liked Catacombs of Knoss, the mission gets a bit crazy with difficulty in the second half of the second mission (just like in Legacy of Knoss). Starts of rather easy in the first mission, and gets to very hard in parts in the second mission. A bit inconsistent in terms of difficulty.

There is exactly a single mission with a (understandable) no K.O. objective in Thief 2, and that is the Masks mission.

Think about it: When you rob people of everything they have, no one cares about some knocked out guards. When you kill everyone, on the other hand, that is a big problem, as no employer or fence wants to have a bloodbath on his hands, which obviously attracts a lot of negative attention.

Ghosting objective are either VERY rare cases where they make sense (I really can't...

Yeah, that was my point, and, why I think the best missions, and best games let you play the way you want.

And, if I recall this mission correctly (it's been a while), it doesn't really force you to any specific play style. Otherwise I wouldn't have liked it, I guess. ;)

@marbleman: That is just not true. I can't count the amount of times people who like to ghost told people who knockout guards that they're doing it wrong, and the skilled way to play is ghosting.

Even FM authors: Why implement useless non-KO objectives? It makes no sense at all.

Let the player decide how he plays. That's the big plus with most immersive sims. No need to decapitate that, by forcing a certain play style onto the player.

That said, I don't really understand the discussi...

This mission is absolutely insane. Insane in terms of quality. Shows again that PukeyBrunster and Tannar belong in the top 3 of FM authors, after their near perfect The Scarlet Cascabel. I would even say that The Scarlet Cascabel is the best fan mission I ever played, and, this is of similar quality, albeit very different in terms of setting, of course. Although this is a "seasonal" fun mission, it's very thoroughly thought out, and coherent in itself.