“Some people in this City are too rich for their own good, lucky they have me to give them a hand.”

V. First City Bank and Trust

As insurance against possible betrayal, the Mechanist leader Karras recorded his secret meetings with Sheriff Truart on a wax cylinder. If Garrett can obtain it, he will finally have the means of getting the Sheriff off his back for good, and hopefully find out why the Mechanists want him dead in the process. Having already acquired a copy of the safety deposit box key all Garrett needs do now is break into the vault of the largest and most secure bank in the city and escape with the recording. All in a night’s work.

Though Truart’s ultimate fate is still unknown, once Garrett has obtained the recording something is going to change. The plot seeds have been sown, though the exact nature of how they will develop remains muddy.

Another closed level with a single location to infiltrate, the sixth mission of The Metal Age is a sprawling puzzle box. Though Shipping and Receiving might have taken place over a larger, area a lot of that level was empty warehouse space. First City Bank and Trust is a warren of offices and corridors, guarded by both human and mechanical security. Mentioned in the introductory briefing, these Mechanist security devices will become a near constant presence in each level from here on; as the Mechanists themselves shift from the periphery to the forefront of the plot.

Despite being tasked with infiltrating a bank there is no specific loot requirement for this level, the objectives are focused exclusively on stealing the recording. Gaining leverage over Truart is the most important thing right now, until that’s done Garrett can’t get back to a normal life.

You might have the key but you don’t know which safety deposit box it opens, so the first task is to find the Hall of Records and determine which box the Mechanists are using. Only then should you risk making the attempt on the vault itself.

A pebbled path runs around the outside of the bank, between it and the tall perimeter wall that isolates the building from the rest of the city. Electric lights dot the path. Placed for utility rather than security, they have created various large patches of shadow that you can use to hide in. To your east a trio of guards are patrolling around this side of the bank, their route will eventually be blocked by a wall across the path, forcing them to double back. Should you choose to sneak past them a basement widow can be found. Picking the lock will provide one of the quickest routes into the building.

Around the bank in the other direction, a stack of crates and a stone archway will allow you to reach the roof. There are two ways inside from here. You can either drop off the roof onto a balcony to the north, or use a Rope Arrow to descent to the floor of the Meeting Hall. The latter will get you closer to the Hall of Records. The former leads to an office space between the Great Hall and the Guard Room; also, to be found here is a metal grate beneath which is the entrance to the ventilation system. Crawling through these vents will deposit you in a corridor in the middle of the offices to the east of the lobby.

Though it would be unsubtle to enter through them, the doors to the lobby can be picked. They open into a circular space in front of the teller’s counter. Unsurprisingly security is heavy, the space overlooked by balconies to either side, as well as several Mechanist security cameras. Garrett himself advices against attempting to approach through here. Should you be detected in the lobby security gates will drop over the exits sealing you in while bank security forces, both human and mechanical, are directed to your position.

From the vault in the north-west corner to this lobby, the bank interior is divided along a diagonal line between a larger eastern section and a smaller but more secure western section. Everything to the east is the public face of the bank, all opulence and grandeur. The employees have their offices here but there are also meeting halls and even a bar. Throughout are polished floors topped with rich carpets, the walls frequently adorned with artworks. Compared to these public facing areas the western portion of the bank is functional and utilitarian; more wood, less marble and a reliance on torches over electrical lights.

Movement between the two sides of the bank is restricted, with metal portcullises blocking the connecting doorways; the locks next to them are unpickable, the keys carried by the patrolling guards won’t unlock them either. These gates – along with other locked doors that lead from the western section to the outside – can be opened with a master key found in a first-floor office in the south-west corner of the bank. Sealed off behind a gate of its own, the only way into this section is to jump from a stair way through an oval aperture in the wall. This small sub-section of the bank is deserted. Once you have obtained the rust red master key you will be able to open up some shortcuts; including one that will let you go straight from the vault to the outside once you have obtained the Mechanist recording.

With the Hall of Records in one corner, and the vault in another, you need to gain access to both sides of the bank to complete your objectives. There are only two routes through the interior of the bank that aren’t blocked. One is to go through the heavily patrolled guard room, the other is via the lobby.

In-Security.

Looking at the Mechanist security devices in the lobby a golden wire can be seen entering from the east before branching out to each mechanical face. Following this cable back to its origin will allow you to disable the security devices in the lobby. Unfortunately, its origin is the bank’s security office.

At the very top of the bank the security office is accessible only by passing through either a heavily guarded corridor, or the Hall of Statues. Brightly lit, and constructed entirely from hard stone crossing the latter without being detected will require either patience or an abundance of Moss Arrows. The challenge of traversing this space is exacerbated by pressure plates in the floor, which force you to move directly down the centre of the room lest you set off the mechanical cannon concealed behind a wall panel overlooking the hall.

Moving through the east side of the bank is to make your way through a myriad of interconnected rooms and corridors punctuated by the occasional open space. Around each corner might be a guard or Mechanist security device; there are even some civilian staff still at work. At several points throughout these public facing spaces, are balconies and raised walkways overlooking the rooms below. These are usually patrolled by red shirted bank security armed with bows. Unlike the previous levels, here Garrett will need to be mindful of what is both above and below him. Fortunately, most of these interior balconies have been constructed from wood, and provide useful anchor points for Rope Arrows that allow rapid traversal between floors, avoiding the heavily patrolled stairs.

Throughout the bank, inside locked safes and even left on desks and shelves, are stacks of coins. Individually they don’t account for much gold, but together with the assorted objets d’art on display there’s more loot available to steal inside First City Bank and Trust than in any of the previous levels; though not by as much as you might think for a bank.

Having explored the Hall of Records in the north-east corner, and found the list of safety deposit box owners, it’s time to return to the more secure section of the bank and enter the vault. A Mechanist security camera monitors the vault door. Following the cables extending from it leads to a small locked room under the stairs from which the camera can be disabled. Finally, a metal bar extends from a grate in the floor preventing you opening the vault door. To remove this bar and access the vault you must find the room below the grating. You need to explore the basement.

You may have entered the building via the basement window, which eventually leads to a ramp up to the ground floor of the bank. Otherwise, the basement is accessible from a trap door within the offices to the east of the lobby.

All long corridors and poorly lit square rooms, the initial parts of the basement are unpatrolled and apparently used for storage. Rounding a corner in one of the larger corridors you will have to cross a metal plate on the floor. There are several of these between the basement entrance and the vault controls under the far side of the bank. Care should be taken while crossing these. While the basement may not see any human patrols, it is heavily trafficked by Mechanist Worker Bots; who will react to any sounds you make.

You can either move through the wider, and better illuminated central corridors, dotted with frequent wall-to-wall metal plates, or move into the side rooms and find the much narrower passageways used by the Worker Bots. The choice is up to you, the side passages are more challenging as there’s barely enough room for two Worker Bot to pass each other. Carefully timing your movements to match their somewhat erratic patrol schedule should allow you to get past them. The central corridors are not much safer, the Worker Bots move through them from one side to the other and with the noise of so many around you it can be difficult to pick out where they are until one is right on top of you. Blind they may be when unalerted, but colliding with one will send them scurrying to raise the alarm, and there is at least one larger Combat Bot waiting deeper inside the basement.

The basement corridors terminate in a low roofed space off which is a small room within which a Combat Bot patrols back and forth. You don’t need to get past this Combat Bot, though there are pressure plates on the floor outside that will force you to approach the doorway lest you trigger the hidden Mechanist security cannon. On the far side of these pressure plates are two final rooms, sealed behind switch operated gates, watched over by a security camera. The electric light next to this camera can be turned off by a switch in the room to the left (as seen by following the wire running from the light), while the controls for the bar locking the vault can be found in the room to the right.

Removing the bar requires you to press the six buttons on the control panel in the correct order, turning them all green and causing the bar to lower; opening the way to the vault itself.

“Don’t Bank on it…”

Where the proceeding level randomised the location of the key you needed to duplicate, here a similar system is used to modify the actual encounters within the bank. With some specific exceptions, the locations of guard patrols and Mechanist cameras are not fixed. This means certain routes through the interior can become more or less risky depending on the way the level is set up at runtime. You won’t notice during your first attempt but it does mean that you can’t rely on existing knowledge when playing through this level again.

Three stories high, made entirely of metal and watched over by a pair of Mechanist security cameras, the vault is more imposing than it is dangerous. Keeping the pillars between you and the security cameras is tricky, but doable. An elevator and then a ladder will take you up to the top floor where the Mechanists have their safety deposit box. Once you’ve obtained the wax cylinder recording it’s time to escape. If you’ve found the master key this is as easy as unlocking one of the many exterior doors in the secured western side of the bank and reading the outside.

A labyrinthine puzzle box, the bank is bureaucracy weaponised as architecture. Rooms, connects to corridors, to rooms, with no purpose other than to fill space or show off the opulence of the bank to its patrons. There are people and security devices everywhere, electric and gas lights are prevalent and only in those areas furthest away from public view will you ever fire a standard fire burning torch. One beneficial side-effect of this sprawl of rooms and corridors is that very few spaces have only one entrance or exit. If you are at risk of detection there’s usually at least two ways out of the area you are in, constantly moving forward will get you out of tricky situations you find yourself in, though there’s little guarantee that where you find yourself will be much safer. This need to keep moving, to improvise your way out of problems evokes the interior spaces of Shipping and Receiving.

At the end of each little warren of corridors and offices, is a large room used for more public displays of the bank’s wealth. There is usually an area of concealment available upon entering these spaces. From here you can observe the security measures and layout within and plan your route.

Though the bank’s owners are clearly invested in their Mechanist security devices, unlike the Sheriff they don’t have a strong a grasp of the subtleties of good placement. Golden yellow cables running from security devices to their control switches might fit the overriding aesthetic of wealth and success, but they provide any potential thief with a clear trail to follow.

Below ground the bureaucratic nightmare takes on a distinctly artificial bent, rigid formality taking over from the organic sprawl of the bank itself. Mechanist Worker Bots march ceaselessly through unlit corridors, metal and stone slammed together with little sense for the aesthetic qualities of either. While Garrett has a map of the above ground floors of the bank, there is no such guide for the basement. This combined with its relative starkness suggests that maybe these subterranean spaces are a recent addition, added to facilitate the additional security that appears to have been a requirement of the Mechanist’s patronage.

Resplendent with tiled floors and electric lights, First City Bank and Trust puts Garrett’s ability to obtain mastery over his environment to the test, and the random nature of some of the security elements allows it to provide a consistent challenge for players already familiar with the space. It’s unlikely you will have enough resources to make every space within the bank interior safe, there are simply too many hard floors, and the electric lights too numerous. The need to traverse space from the Hall of Records, to the vault, to the basement – and possibly back again – mean any rooms that are modified to benefit your traversal will likely see use more than once, granting a longer-term utility to any changes you do make to your environment.

For anybody else a theft from the largest bank in the entire City would be a climatic act, a once in a lifetime job that could see them retire. Unfortunately for Garrett he still needs to use the blackmail evidence he has obtained. To do that he will have to infiltrate the home of Sheriff Gorman Truart, the most dangerous man in the City; at least as far as Garrett knows…

Kidnap:

After an underwater journey aboard the Cetus Amicus – the Mechanist’s new submarine – Garrett arrives, somewhere. It’s time to locate Cavador, then find some way to get him back to Viktoria, alive.

Objectives are fairly straightforward, lack of a map is at this point unsurprising.

Apparently I’m back at the Lost City, though I don’t recognise any of this. One of the Mechanist’s refers to this place as Karath-din, I’ve think I’ve heard that name before.

All my equipment has carried over from the previous mission, except my Vine Arrows have mysteriously changed into Rope Arrows.

At least now I should be able to work out where Brother Cavador is…

Oh, these fucking weird crystal light sources again, this is going to be so much fun.

Garrett over here with his 8 foot arms.

This area looks more familiar, these two Mechanists are discussing their success in wiping out all the Burricks. Also one of these two is a good foot taller than the other, did they just scale his model up?

According to them Brother Cavador still wears his mask for fear of Burrick attacks, so I guess no sneaky Gas Arrows then. I remembered there being a restriction on how you could subdue him but not what it was. Can’t say I miss these streets being wall-to-wall Burricks.

I certainly remember this area, the walls were covered in jewels that I handily cleared away for the Mechanists.

Last time I was here I found a bunch of precursor masks for some guy called Lord Gervaisius, wonder what he did with them…

Found another chapter of “The New Scripture of the Master Builder”, I appreciate this as an in-context way of having the villain break down his plans.

So… Just bumbling about minding my own business and around the corner comes mother-fucking Brother Cavador.

I’m sitting on 4 Gas Arrows at this point, so a quick one into the servant at the back dispatches them – wasn’t actually sure that was going to work. Another for the guy in front, and before Cavador can react he gets a boink on the noggin. Job done. Stashed the two unconscious Mechanists in a dark room, and here we are, having accidentally completed most of this mission.

I’m not a fan of the Watcher placement in this level. Some seemed designed for “gotcha” moments where you walk straight around a corner into one.

It does feel like the Lost City, but the scale is wrong. The spaces are right but the contents of them is off. The obelisks especially seem too wide and too short. I think what’s happening is that the roof is lower making everything seem out of proportion.

Sleep tight Cavador, I’ve got some things to do before we can get out of here.

Last time I was here I found a reference to “N’lahotep”, Karath-din is suspiciously close to Kadath, and now we have a pretty obvious Cthulhu statue.

Diamond you say? Well then, I guess we’ll have to do something about that. I’ve become quite good at recovering lost things – and by “recovering” I mean stealing, and by “lost things” I mean everything I can find.

I’m not as able to rely on my previous knowledge of this level as I thought I might be. Instead it’s like returning to a place I visited briefly years ago. The KD site is dull and washed out in a way that the Lost City never was. Markham’s Isle had the same feeling, drab and lifeless. The Trickster is dead, nature is fading and what’s replacing it is uniform and largely colourless. Both of these first two games peak early. It doesn’t help that in both there’s at least one more level than there needs to be between the start of Act 3 and the denouement. The intersection of luck and systems design mean I’d be able to finish “Kidnap” in a little under thirty minutes if I wanted. There are other areas to explore and some bonus objectives, but it’s not really a level I’m invested in. You could strip out four or five levels from across these two games and they’d be better for it.

The coloured lighting is throwing off my ability to recognise some of these spaces. Wherever there’s lava there’s a red glow, which wasn’t there before and it changes how an area looks. I think I remember this little corner though.

If I’m remembering correctly this little courtyard was inaccessible before? There were some Fire Elementals around but this gate was locked in place.

I’m encountering a lot of irritating edges cases of the detection systems here. Surfaces where any movement at all will create noise, sleeping NPCs positioned next to locked chests who’ll wake if you attempt to pick them, etc. That’s on top of the already challenging Watcher placement. I wonder if the expectation was that players would already know this space so they could risk increasing the difficulty of the enemy placement?

Things I remember feel like they are in completely the wrong part of the map. I assume the layout of “Kidnap” broadly conforms to that of “The Lost City”, so it must be me that’s confused. I was expecting these tombs to be in the south-west not the east.

I remember hopping across the tops of these to reach a tomb being excavated by Mages of the Hand Brotherhood. I was sure that was the bottom left of “The Lost City”, so the south-west corner. If that wasn’t there what was in that corner? I can usually remember level layouts incredibly clearly, so this is a real surprise.

So you go through the back of the theatre, across the tops of the tombs and reach the larger tomb that in TDP has the Water Talisman. That’s south east? So what’s in the south west? As in what’s below where the tower was? I can mentally map out the connections between different areas and they match up, but I didn’t really use the compass last time so I managed to mirror everything in my mind it seems.

The Mechanists have drained the lava from large parts of Karath-Din. This might be what has caused the earth to shift and bury some areas, or that might have happened naturally since Garrett was last here. Alongside the drainage, the Mechanists have built up and around the various sites, adding platforms and even a rail system to move materials. The most activity appears to be around the tombs and the theatre. The residential areas have gone largely untouched.

There’s a fair amount of activity at Site 7 as well, though I can’t quite work out what area that is. It also serves as a nexus for the tunnels that cut through the space, so it might be well occupied simply because of that.

It’s hard to remember the layout of the more organic structures like cave networks, but I think a lot of the tunnels are new. Potentially made by the Mechanists themselves.

Last time I was here there was a Hand Brotherhood Mage just chilling in the lava.

Hmm… Is Site 7 meant to be this place that was entirely flooded with lava the last time I was here?

Brother Cavador has a private area in Site 5, this Mechanist is standing in a room I remember very clearly from The Dark Project. He’s basically standing where I was when I took the second image.

Found another entry from “The New Scripture of the Master Builder”, but it’s a duplicate of the one I found before. I wonder if there are several places you can find it in this level? Found Cavador’s diary, which confirms that the most intense activity is around the theatre. It’s also clear that Cavador is an archaeologist first and a Mechanist second. The focus on the theatre makes sense given what Karras is interested in: Precursor masks.

The indicator that there is a second page to books is subtle enough that I occasionally miss it. Time to return to where I deposited Cavador and get out of here

I believe this is what used to be the library (?), it was through here that I entered Karath-Din originally.

Pictured: one asshole of a Watcher. This is indicative of the annoying placement of these security devices throughout the level. Fortunately I have a trick…

Haha… Fuck you, I’m just out of your line-of-sight when I’m this close. From here I have enough time to get past while you’re looking the other way. Going straight from the entrance to the exit is doable but the timing is much tighter.

This just looks wrong… Is this supposed to be the entrance from the canal? Why can I see the sky from here? I get that it signifies the “outside” and “escape”, but it doesn’t look like the area I remembered at all. And who lit those torches?

That said, one of the Mechanists below was trying to convince her companion that she’d seen somebody sneaking around, and Garrett has only just arrived. Maybe others have been using the canal entrance to explore the Lost City.

That’s “Kidnap” done. Having now played “The Lost City” it’s a more meaningful return. Unfortunately playing the level and dealing with the Mechanists and their security systems is the least fun it has been so far. Encountered too many detection edge cases.

I generally like levels that see you return to a location you already know after some dramatic change, it’s something I love about the Dishonored games. Not feeling it here. It’s more like revisiting the idea of “The Lost City” rather than returning to the location itself.

Casing The Joint:

“Casing the joint” should have been the game’s first level, and “Masks” should have come much later.

Quite.

Viktoria – “Our guest, Cavador, just spilled his guts.”

Garrett – “Not literally?”

Viktoria – “It wasn’t necessary…” Having read his diary I wouldn’t be surprised if Cavador just offered up the information.

The Mechanists are after Precursor masks, and something called a cultivator. Lord Gervasius has long been known to have an interest in masks, and the Mechanists an interest in him. If Garrett wants to secure one then that’s the place to look.

The problem is Garrett already knows what the masks do, because he overheard Karras’ demonstration for Truart. Acquiring a mask makes sense insofar as trying to find out how they work, but not what they do.

Locating secrets, filling out the map, preparing for a later attempt. All of these would have been better served as objectives in a much earlier level.

Here’s the thing though, for all the issues that come from “Casing the Joint” and “Masks” being the same level. I really fucking love the layout and design of Gervasius’ mansion.

Doors in this level close by themselves, that hasn’t happened since “Return to the Cathedral”.

It’s just possible that “Casing the Joint” is a bad level. I’m really not sure how I finished this last time, the way to figure out the secret passage is basically trial and error. Unless I’ve missed something major.

The chanting mixed into the ambient audio here really evokes memories of Super Metroid, which I wasn’t expecting.

These curtains are never used outside of Gervasius’ mansion which is a shame. A soft barrier like this offers a bunch of possibilities. A version that was somehow one-sided (you could see out, NPCs couldn’t see in), could have made for even more interesting encounters.

These recessed security stations both look good visually and provide a clear indication of what space is and isn’t “guarded”.

There are a couple of neat little details like this in the level: crates and furniture stacked haphazardly in the storage room.

Almost all the loot you can steal in this level takes the form of loose stacks of coins, the loss of which is unlikely to be noticed. This fits the conceit that you’re not supposed to leave any indication that you were there.

This texture alignment is making me twitch.

Each wing of the mansion has two security stations made up of a Watcher and a turret (Face?). These all have an associated control panel somewhere in that wing that will allow them to be disabled. The bottom switch makes the turrets autonomous, which is a bad idea.

Easily the most fleshed out part of this entire level is the library. Haunted by ghosts, the woman seems desperate for you to do something.

“Nobody reads books these days.”

“Terrible secrets, terrible secrets.”

Exploring the library I find notes hidden in various books… I have a bad feeling about what might have happened to poor Lorna and Giles.

Ah shit…

Reading the last note causes the ghosts to disappear with a final wail, leaving these last two notes behind.

“Ash, you are a bastard.”

The other note is the correspondence between between Gervasius and Karras that I was looking for. Sadly it appears to be bugged and is missing the final paragraph… Had to check the wiki for that. https://thief.fandom.com/wiki/Casing_the_Joint:_In-game_text#M12B06

Noooo…. My trusted tactic of checking behind obvious banners has failed me.

RIP Barne- Ahem…

This place has more secret passages than actual hallways I think.

As much as I love the layout the whole building feels empty, there’s barely even a dozen NPCs in the entire level. Several of them are just standing around outside.

Sergeant Porter – “So we have a clock that doesn’t tell time? Won’t be the first time in this place. I’m still amazed you got all those metal eyes working.”

Foreman Hobart- “No, thou does not understand, ’tis that clock.”

That’s the only clue I get… I like that I’m free to explore the level in any order I choose. As long as I find enough secrets and fill out over half the map it doesn’t matter where I go or when.

Ah ha! This banner was hiding something!

There aren’t so many clocks around that finding the right one is a significant challenge. It still feels weird that there’s so little guidance toward the right one, or what to do when you find it. This is not the right one.

Rather unsurprisingly the correct clock is the one next to the obvious secret door. Clock itself is directly to my left.

Now to get out. The objective says “Get out to the streets”, which is worryingly specific.

Most challenging encounter in the entire level, getting past the security station to the left of this door that I couldn’t find a switch for. A pair of Moss Arrows, a Water Arrow, and a Speed Potion get me from here to the far corner without being detected.

I get to the other side and realise that I didn’t need to use the Moss Arrows because Watchers can’t hear me.

As expected getting back to the starting point isn’t enough to end the mission. The only way onto the streets is going to be the front door isn’t it?

Front door is locked, and guarded. I didn’t expect a Noisemaker Arrow to distract the guard for long enough for me to pick the lock but it does. His behaviour almost feels like it was fudged to allow that.

“Casing the Joint” done. I still like the general layout, but it’s so sparse as to feel unfinished. That does at least fit with the notion that Gervasius’ exhibition isn’t complete yet.

Oddly, the dialogue suggests it won’t be ready for another two weeks, which is far longer than fits the plot. Narratively there’s no time, Garrett has to go back immediately for it to make sense, there’s certainly not time to hang around for two weeks. This is why I think “Casing the Joint” should have occurred much earlier, even potentially as the first level. There’s only vague references to the masks, it could just be Garrett preparing for a later job. Which suddenly becomes more important as events unfold. Then you have your penultimate level be a return to an extended, more populated, and more challenging version of the very first level. Which would be a better use of repetition than going straight back into the same level again; which is what happens.

Better yet, combine “Running Interference” and “Casing the Joint”, Jenivere is Gervasius’ servant, the exhibition you’re building is background colour. Then when you return you know where the secret entrance is because Jenivere told Basso and he told you. Then the woman you overhear giving a statement in “Framed” could be Lady Gervasius. If people remember his name form “The Lost City” then you’re now foreshadowing events later on it a way that’ll make those players feel smart.  A throwaway line about how “Gervasius hired more security after Jenivere’s escape”, to justify some changes to “Masks” to make it more challenging and it’s done. Plot is tighter, repetition isn’t as obvious, and you get some nice foreshadowing.

While we’re at it, remove the part of “Eavesdropping” that has Karras demonstrate to Truart what the servants can do. It’s unnecessary to the scene and provides too much information too early, making the later discovery of the truth about the “rust gas” redundant.

I’d also remove both “Thieves Guild” and “Strange Bedfellows” from The Dark Project, or at the very least completely rework the latter to better connect it to the portal to the Maw.

As it stands I’ve just completed a level and there has been zero forward progress in the plot. That’s really hard to justify, especially when you’re three levels from the end of the game. The more I think about it the more I like the idea of merging “Running Interference” and “Casing the Joint”, you’d get the nice visual of Jenivere, Basso, and Garrett escaping through the secret passages.

Next: “Masks”

Further complicating Dr Reid’s need for sustenance is that not all sources of blood provide the same degree of nourishment. Each non-player character you meet has an associated “Blood Quality”. This provides a direct indicator of how much XP you will gain should you feed on them; a fatal act. XP is used to acquire skills. These skills are exclusively combat related. Despite the focus on talking with non-player characters and discovering their secrets, combat is still the game’s primary system. By choosing to abstain from feeding on the blood of non-combatants player are ensuring that they are underleveled for the combat they will have to endure.

Though you can obtain XP from completing quests or defeating foes in combat this is only ever enough to sustain you at a point several levels below the enemies inhabiting a given borough. In order to match, or overpower, the enemies Dr Reid will face, players need the large XP gains available from feeding on non-player characters. Doing so will remove those characters from the world, rendering any side quests associated with them impossible to complete. Your choice of whether to give in to temptation or hold yourself to a moral code will have repercussions on the state of the world both in the moment and at the game’s conclusion.

Living in a city stricken by a particularly virulent strain of the Spanish flu the overall well being of the citizens of London is liable to change alongside the fortunes of their borough. If the flu spreads too much characters will grow ill, lowering their Blood Quality and thus the amount of XP you can obtain from feeding upon them. If you wish to harvest the greatest quality of XP from the citizens of London it behooves you to maintain the health, both mental and physical, of your flock. Conversely should you simply wish to increase the well being of a neighbourhood because it’s the “right” thing to do you will inevitably and repeatedly be presented with the increased worth of those living within that borough.

At certain points Dr Reid has the opportunity to “Embrace” others, turning them into a vampire. This can be a means of saving their life after some grievous injury or debilitating illness, or simply as a means of forestalling actions that could be of detriment to you. In order to Embrace another you must give of yourself, quite literally. To turn a non-player character into a vampire you need to spend several thousand XP. If you have been choosing to level up regularly you may not have the necessary quantity of XP available. This doesn’t prevent you Embracing another however. Actions you took when unaware of a choice don’t limit your ability to make that choice; if you do not have the required quantity of XP you will go into debt. In order to level up again you will need to pay off the difference between what you had and what it cost you before you’ll be able to spent any of the XP on yourself.

By tying XP so closely to blood Vampyr successful reinforces the notion that for a vampire blood is both power and sustenance. The strong commitment to this systemic model creates situations where players can’t help but see the citizens around them both as characters and walking sources of XP. In a different scenario this manner of objectification would be callous, here that’s entirely in keeping with the conceit of the protagonist as a vampire, of the temptation offered by the power of blood.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/431940/Wildfire/

Master the elements in this stealth game where everything burns. Start fires, freeze water, and move earth itself to outsmart superstitious enemies who fear your power. Rescue captive villagers and reclaim your home by turning the environment against the army sent to hunt you down.

Wildfire is a 2D systemic stealth game with a focus on emergent mechanics, escalating consequences, and glorious failures. Players unlock a variety of elemental powers granting them control over the environment and their enemies; from hiding in patches of grass, to terrifying guards with fire, or freezing them into blocks of ice.

The cell blocks of Nova Prospekt will be the longest Gordon Freeman has spent inside in the whole of Half-Life 2, the ninety degree turns and tiled floors recalling the Black Mesa Research Facility explored in the original Half-Life. These areas also see the return of familiar elements from that game: laser tripmines and automated sentry guns.

The initial areas of Nova Prospekt are largely deserted, there are scattered encounters with headcrabs and a small nest of barnacles, but your primary concern is simply finding a way deeper into the prison. Here you will get your first glimpse of the Combine’s automated sentry guns. Initially seen on the other side of locked gates, they attack, and are subsequently attacked by, antlions. Witnessing these fights from a safe distance trains you in their strengths and weaknesses. Lessons that are put to the test during a confrontation with a pair of them as you leave cell block A5.

“Incursion warning. Airwatch reports probable Anticitizen Freeman reacquired zone Nova Prospekt. Ground units deprioritize exogen containment. Hold for override codes.”

With the roof collapsing behind you the only way on is through the door (A) into cell block A3. The entire right side of this space is cordoned off behind a fence. A set of metal steps leads down to the lower level where one of the cells is open, a hole in the back wall (B) leads through to an empty security office.

Outside the corridor runs past a locked gate – beyond which a sentry gun can be seen firing at a hole in the far wall. The corridor you are in continues to the right where a doorway opens into a stairwell (C). You come out on the far side of the fence bisecting cell block A3.

Through a door, out of the darkness, your first sight of the interior of Nova Prospekt is the flaking paint and rusting metal of cell block A3. A row of cells stands empty to your left, in addition to their barred inner doors each cell has an individual outer door of solid metal. Some of these outer doors are sealed shut – the contents of the cells to never again see the light of day – others hang from their frames or leaning impotently against the wall having come away completely.

The right side of the room is partitioned off by metal fencing, an empty security room can be seen beyond. A dull red splatter on the reinforced glass an indication that something happened here, though it’s difficult to determine when.

• A corner room with a single door and three angled windows of reinforced glass. Nothing about these rooms explicitly labels them as a security office though their form speaks to their function: secured rooms from which to observe the cell blocks and corridors of Nova Prospekt. The function of rooms within Nova Prospekt (and Half-Life 2 as a whole) is – unless their role is otherwise specified – determined by their contents. Small rooms with desks and filing cabinets are treated as offices. Any changes from that basic assumed functionality are detailed and examined. In the case of the security offices, Alyx does at one point in ‘Entanglement’ refer to them as such. The same is not true of certain other spaces within Nova Prospekt however, here I have assumed a room’s functionality based on form, context, and contents.

In the centre of cell block A3, between the row of cells and the fenced partition, a flight of metal stairs descends into the gloom. The upper level overhangs the space below, casting everything to either side of the stairs in shadow.

With one exception the cells here appear untouched, their inner doors shut tight and their outer doors either firmly secured or slid aside to reveal the empty cells. Behind and to your left as you descend the stairs – beneath the fencing above – one of the cell doors is wide open, warm orange light spilling from within. A ragged hole has been made in the thick concrete rear wall of the cell. Blasted or carved through several feet of stone, it opens onto an abandoned security office. A lone headcrab crawls around inside the hole. Liable to pounce as you approach, this sudden scare serves to indicate that despite appearances there is still some hostile life in this section of Nova Prospekt.

Dull red smears of blood streak the walls and floor of the security office, the bodies of two Combine soldiers lie within. Out of the security office, to your immediate left a faded stencil on the wall proclaims this area as cell block A5. To the left the corridor dead ends. Overhead, grating in the ceiling forms the floor of the corridor above.

Metal gates to the cells of block A5 are sealed shut. On the other side a lone sentry gun stands watch over a hole in the far wall, firing sporadically at the antlions that emerge from its depths. If you wait here you can observe their behaviour, though a better example can be seen on the floor above.

• This is the first time you will have seen the Combine sentry guns. Their look and functionality is similarly to those placed throughout the Black Mesa complex by the military during the events of Half-Life. Where those were static and triggered by visible laser tripwires these sentry guns are physics objects, and operate via motion sensors.

Past the gates an exit sign points toward a dimly lit stairwell. The floors of cell block A5 are visible from the stairs but fenced off, the landings between each flight offset from the floors of the cell block so that even without the fencing there would be no way to move between them. Despite being labelled as an ‘exit’ the stairs lead nowhere. The fencing is buckled and broken on the second landing, creating a small gap that offers a way out onto the floor above.

Another sealed gate to your right obstructs entry to the cells of block A5. On the other side a pair of sentry guns stand overlooking the multi-level space, allowing you to study their behaviour. If you keep watching antlions will eventually swarm them, knocking them over and causing them to deactivate. Without putting you in direct confrontation with them, these brief glimpses of the sentry guns at work serve to highlight key aspects of their behaviour: they are motion sensitive; they will fire on threats ahead of them; they can be disabled by being knocked over. Knowledge of these aspects of sentry gun behaviour will prove useful both within this chapter, where they are a direct threat, and in the subsequent chapter where you will have the opportunity to deploy them yourself.

Along with providing a teaching opportunity, being able to witness the sentry guns in action serves to make the world seem larger. You helped the antlions breach the perimeter and these are just some of the consequences, the things you are doing have an impact on the world beyond what immediately affects you.

Moving back towards cell block A3 a security office (D) overlooks the corner. Now on the other side of the fence from where you started a door in the back corner of the room leads to a further stairwell (E).

Continuing past this gate you walk over the grating the formed the ceiling of the corridor you were in below. Ahead is the fence partitioning off one side of cell block A3, you have completed a loop and are now next to the security office first seen when you entered this area (D).

Inside the security office you can see that the stain on the window was caused by the dead Combine soldier within. Opposite their slumped corpse a security monitor hanging from the ceiling is still active, using it you can observe scenes from nearby parts of the prison complex: antlions attacking Combine soldiers and sentry guns; a hidden cache of supplies somewhere behind a door; Combine soldiers in a losing battle with an antlion guard (this last sequence only visible if you cycle through all available views and spend more than a few seconds watching events unfold). All these scenes are of locations you will visit over the course of the next few minutes, foreshadowing threats and secrets to come.

To the left of the monitor are a pair of charging stations for health and HEV suit energy.

Back out into cell block A3, warm yellow light highlights the doorway near the rear wall, beyond is another dimly lit stairwell ascending to a wide deserted hallway.

Opposite the stairwell are two small rooms. The door directly ahead has come off its hinges and now leans against the frame; you can push it aside and enter the darkened room to find a supply crate. The adjacent room is open, an empty chair stands within, it looks like some manner of dentist’s chair though its use is likely far less curative.

Turning left as you exit the stairwell (E) two sentry guns stand at the corner (F) watching over the corridor, and the hole in the floor (H). Behind them a door leads into the partially flooded utility space (G).

Down the ladder into the water, barnacles hang from the roof, their tongues blocking your way into the room beneath the hole (H). Climbing the rubble back into the corridor, the sentry guns (F) will open fire if they are still active. Now on the far side of the gate you can continue forward through the double doors and into the upper level of cell block A5 (I).

At the end of this hallway stand a pair of sentry guns. Facing away from you, they are guarding a locked gate and the short stretch of hallway beyond. There’s a hole in the floor on the far side of the gate, though nothing has emerged, yet. You can walk behind these sentry guns and through a door in the wall beyond. A safer option is to use explosives or physics objects – like the radiators in the hallway – to knock them over and deactivate them. Your first direct encounter with sentry guns, their position is such that they don’t yet pose a threat, you have the opportunity to deactivate them before continuing forward.

Through the door beyond you enter a utility space (G). Full of pipes and storage tanks the room is now partially-flooded; boxes and other detritus floating above the floor in murky chest high water. Entering this space near the ceiling metal stairs lead down to a dry upper level, where a ladder descends into the water.

With the room lit primarily by the cold blue grey of a Combine light in the corner, the ceiling remains in shadow, partially concealing the barnacles latched onto it. There are three of the creatures in this room nestled between the pipes and ventilation ducts. Only one can be seen – and shot – from the safety of the upper level, the others are only visible once you’ve entered the water and are able to move further into the room.

There are steps against the far wall, a raised walkway clings to the corner of the room before looping back, forming a bridge over the water. The final two barnacles are hanging over the stairs up to this walkway, and the middle of the bridge itself. The doorway at the far end leads to a small square space into which the ceiling has collapsed, this is the hole you saw in the hallway above (H).

• Barnacles first appeared in Half-Life. Static creatures, they attach themselves to ceilings in darkened areas letting their long tongues extend down to hang several feet above the ground. Anything that touches the tongue is grabbed and pulled up into the jaws of the barnacle above. Unable to discriminate between organic and inorganic material, they can be tricked into grabbing explosive barrels or other physics objects.Hanging silently from the ceiling, only their thin tongues visible, barnacles make perfect traps. If spotted they can quickly be killed, and even if grabbed you can usually inflict enough damage to kill them before their maw closes around you. But where there is one there are others. Spotting a tongue, or the body of a barnacle itself, is a sign to be slow down and careful.

If the sentry guns are still standing they will attack as you climb up the rubble and through the hole. This incoming fire from behind encourages you to move forward toward the double doors at the end of the short hallway. Even if the sentry guns have been disabled, moving toward the doors will cause masonry and glass to fall from the roof, four fast headcrabs smashing through the skylight and down onto you.

You can make a run for it through the double doors, shutting them behind you and leaving the headcrabs on the other side, potentially to be gunned down by the sentry guns if they are still active.

Through the double doors (I) you can look down into the lower levels of cell block A5.

Though the gate on this floor is locked part of the walkway has collapsed (J), you can drop down to the floor below and exit the cell block through the open gates (K).

On the other side is a large space with an empty security office in the right corner and stairs to the left. Ascending the stairs to the upper floor (L), you will take fire from the sentry guns above (N).

The door here (M) is closed, though the adjacent window is boarded over and a Lambda Cache can be found on the far side. Continuing up the stairs, the way on is at the end of the hallway to your right (O).

The double doors open onto the top floor of cell block A5, an observation area built above the cells below; a hole in the centre of the floor allows you to look down into the main cell block. To your left beyond the buckled fencing is the “stairwell to nowhere” (C) that you explored earlier.

Ahead, rusting metal bars extend from the floor to the arched ceiling; the gate built into them sealed shut. On the other side you can see a large room, a pair of sentry guns occupy an elevated position against the far wall, monitoring the area between them and the exit from cell block A5.

Against the left wall a portion of the floor has collapsed (J). Drop down here and you’ll find yourself where two sentry guns once stood, in front of the sealed gates to cell block A3. A set of metal stairs descend to the ground floor where the lone sentry gun was first seen pointing at the breach in the wall, one of many through which antlions have now begun to swarm.

Ahead the gate further into Nova Prospekt is open.

Through the open gate out of cell block A5 (K), you enter a space littered with physics objects: barrels strewn across the floor, and radiators attached to walls. Cylindrical columns support the roof, casting long shadows at slanted angles across the checkerboard tiles. The floor above overhangs, providing cover from the sentry guns underneath the windows on the top floor.

• While pillars and columns can be used to partition space, their shape serves to modulate the sense of permeability that separation has. Square pillars create rigid lines that divides one space from another. Columns lack the perpendicular edges necessary to create a clear spatial divide and serve more to break up a space than to divide it into discrete sub-spaces.

Metal stairs to the left lead upward, but ascending will bring you into range of those sentry guns.

If you stay on the lower floor you can use the overhanging roof, columns, and security office for protection while you deal with the sentry guns. The scattered physics objects can be used either as hurled weapons or mobile cover. From head-on the rudder like spine of the sentry guns gives them a very narrow hitbox, if you want to deal with them your best option is to knock them over with explosives or thrown objects.

You could make a run for it, past the sealed gate to cell block A5 and up the stairs on the far side to the top level. If you are fast enough the sentry guns can be bypassed completely, the way ahead does not require you to approach them. Though upon reaching the top floor it can be unclear which direction you need to go. So far throughout this level your route has been describing a series of circles, here however instead of continuing along the top level to the left to – completing the circle – you need to instead turn sharply to the right down a darkened corridor toward the warmly lit office at the end.

Just before the final flight of stairs to the top level are a pair of double doors, the corridor beyond collapsed. The windows to the side have been replaced with wooden planks, the spray-painted symbol indicating the presence of a Lambda Cache behind.

Your path through this initial portion of Nova Prospekt describes a series of circles. You work your way from the door into cell block A3, through the cells, corridors, and stairwells below to a doorway directly to the right of where you started. This navigational motif is repeated as you are side-tracked from the main path into the flooded utility spaces, and again as you ascend the final room avoiding the sentry guns to. An effective use of limited space, continuously being forced from the direct path serves to disorientate and confuse. By the time you reach the shower block it can already feel like Nova Prospekt is a vast and complicated structure simply because of the effort required to traverse what is a relatively short distance.

Having obtained the antlion pheromone pod – know colloquially as Bugbait – you leave the resistance camp with an entourage composed of a pair of docile antlions; an additional pair scurries down the cave to join you as you approach the beach.

Able to influence and direct the antlions, and with an endlessly replenishing supply, you can complete your assault across the beach below Nova Prospekt without ever firing a shot; or you can use them in conjunction with your own weapons to distract and flank the Combine forces.

Having spent the day progressing along Highway 17, the sun has started to set by the time you leave the cave, the sky a darkening blue. The beach leading to Nova Prospekt is abutted by cliff walls that are low enough for you to see the trees on the ground above, but still too high to scale. You need to progress along the beach until you reach the cliffs beneath the high prison walls, here a path up can be found.

The conclusion to the ‘Sandtraps’ chapter, the attack along the beach toward Nova Prospekt is reminiscent of the similar sequence from the opening of ‘The Silent Cartographer’ (Halo: Combat Evolved). Both of these draw influences from pre-existing cultural representations of the D-Day landing, though tilted through ninety degrees to become an assault along the beach rather than up it. A change in the tactical arrangement of space, this shifting of the line of advance also serves to position the water to one side of the player, and the cliffs to the other. Confining all combat encounters to a narrow channel with clear boundaries, ensuring player movement is easier to manage than it would be if attacking from the water with an expanse of beach to either side.

The beach is split into three sections divided by rock formations, each section protected by at least one Combine bunker. The size of the area watched over by each bunker, and the challenge presented by each encounter, escalates quickly. After the third and final bunker you have to push forward though the claustrophobic ruins of a half collapsed human structure before reaching the foot of the cliffs below Nova Prospekt.

The foes on the beach are almost exclusively Combine soldiers; only as you make your ascent up the cliff face do you encounter a scattered few zombies and headcrabs. With specific targets standing in relatively open spaces, and with a tendency to clump together, this beach assault makes a good playground for the experimenting with the use of your Bugbait. You can sit back and watch your antlions charge into the Combine’s defensive line.

“Priority warning, perimeter restrictors disengaged.”

The first sight that greets you upon leaving the cave is a pair of large anthill-like structures. Taller than you, almost as tall as the cliff walls surrounding them, their roughly conical structure is mirrored somewhat in the Thumpers that are station on the beach beyond. Both are symbolic of a connection between this area and the antlions, though for different reasons.

First encountered during your trip along Highway 17, the Thumpers are used to create an area of space through which antlions are unwilling to pass. Up until this point you have been trained to find a way to turn on any Thumpers you encounter so as to give yourself some safety from antlion attacks. Now, with antlion forces at your disposal your interaction with the Thumpers is reversed. You need to find a means of disabling them to allow your antlions to accompany you.

The first Thumper is positioned where the cliff walls close in to form a natural chokepoint. Approaching it the antlions with you will slow down unsettled by the radial vibrations being generated. By forcing you to move through a constricted space the reaction of the antlions is made obvious, without another way around their only option is to hang back. If you don’t initially realise the significance of the Thumpers they behaviour should indicator that something about the state of the world needs changing.

Once you climb the ladder to the Thumper’s upper platform and disable it, the voice of the Combine Overwatch can be heard broadcasting across the beach; the Combine know something has happened, though for the moment there are still two more Thumpers defending the beach.

Beyond the space protected by the first Thumper the beach opens up slightly, with a second Thumper several meters further on. This too will need to be deactivated if your antlions are to provide you with any support. Quiet until now but for the ambient soundscape, the music will rise into the mix once you deactivate the second Thumper; the fight begins in earnest.

The first two Thumpers are standing in relatively isolated sections of beach, one directly after the other. There is a larger gap between the second and third than between the first and second, this gap is protected by the first of three Combine bunker, positioned at the top of the beach.

After deactivating the second Combine Thumper (A), the only way to proceed is to move forward along the beach. Upon reaching the small rocks (B), two pairs of Combine soldiers will emerge from behind a large rock (C). Each pair will move away from C; one towards the rocks above B, the other across the beach toward the cover offered by the smaller rocks near the shoreline.

From B the third and final Thumper is visible beyond the gap in the rocks ahead (D), though the Combine pair that moved down the beach upon your approach block any direct progress from B to D.

The Combine bunker beyond C is dark, there are no searchlights playing across the beach, the only point of differentiation is the patch of light at D created by the Thumper’s spotlights.

Moving forward from the second Thumper, a large low rock stands between the shoreline and the cliffs, it blocks a direct line-of-sight to the door at the rear of the bunker. As you move forward into the space ahead of the bunker a pair of Combine emerge from either side and move to flanking positions. Fortunately, the antlions under your command mean you should be able to deal with attacks from multiple directions simultaneously; unfortunately swapping between the Bugbait and your own weapons can prove awkward in the heat of battle.

The rocks (B) offer some protection from the Combine soldiers, and can be used to provide cover while you attack indirectly with grenades and Bugbait targeted antlions. When you do decide to move forward the positioning of this rock will push you to the right, away from the cliff wall and toward the shoreline, ensuring that you have to risk exposure to progress and can’t just head directly for the rear of the bunker.

On through D, once again the way ahead (G) is visible. Heading directly to the Thumper will provoke fire from the second Combine bunker (E). The safe path is to head up the beach from D towards the cliffs and approach the bunker from this direction.

With the forces around the bunker dispatched, additional Combine soldiers will appear from further up the beach (F). Two pairs of Combine spreading out along the beach before advancing up the slope toward the bunker (E).

The next Combine bunker protects the area of beach where the third and final Thumper stands. The search lights from the bunker sweeping the beach and providing an indication of where the Mounted Gun within is trained. This weapon is much more effective than the Combine soldiers themselves at killing antlions; this makes sense given they are the primary threat likely to be approaching from this direction. Although you can direct your antlions into the bunker’s line of fire to keep the Combine distracted, you can’t rely on them to do all the work for you this time. You will need to move forward yourself if you are to safely lead them away from the killing grounds into a position from which they can attack the Combine behind and within the bunker. If you keep close to the rocks on your left (D) there is a path up the beach to the cliff wall. Taking this route lets you guide your antlions toward the rear of the bunker without triggering an attack. Even if you do not take this path yourself it is there to enable the antlions to reach the top of the beach, they will not approach the Thumper directly until it has been deactivated.

Instead of a scripted attack by Combine soldiers to block your path or draw your attention, this encounter guides you in two complementary ways. The Thumper must be deactivated if you are to bring your antlion forces with you, but this is not possible while there are Combine still inside the bunker. In design terms this is a form of “forcing function”: you cannot complete Task A (shutdown the Thumper) until you have completed Task B (kill the Combine inside the bunker). Therefore, the game can be certain that once Task A has been completed Task B has also been completed; you are forced to complete Task B even if it is not your actual goal.

The Combine bunker has been erected abutting an older concrete structure which appears to have survived from a previous era, likely World War 2. The precise location of City 17 is never given – though architecture and signage suggest that it is somewhere in Eastern Europe – so what stretch of water these original bunkers may have guarded, and from what threats, is never explored. That City 17 exists somewhere near the Baltic would make the most sense geographically.

As you attack this Combine bunker the forces within will sound an alarm, though this can be silenced by a switch inside the damage has been done. More Combine are on their way.

Inside the bunker is a Mounted Gun that is identical to the ones you will have first encountered as you headed out of City 17 during the ‘Route Kanal’ chapter. Two pairs of Combine will attack from further up the beach, approaching through the chokepoint formed by the rocks near the shore (F). They will branch off to either side of the Thumper before attempting their approach, making themselves easy targets for the Mounted Gun.

With the Thumper still active the antlions will be unwilling to attack the advancing Combine until they have moved off the sand. You will need to deal with them yourself.

By being forced to clear the bunker before you can deactivate the Thumper, the game can be sure that once you leave this section of beach there are no remaining Combine soldiers behind you.

Beyond G is the third and final beach encounter. The only available cover from the Combine bunker (J) is offered by the rocks ahead of you (H). From this position you will come under attack from a pair of Combine soldiers further along the beach.

The only way to reach the Combine bunker is to advance across the beach to I and take the path up and around to attack it from the far side. Upon reaching I, three Combine soldiers will move down the path toward you. Once these have been dealt with the route to J is clear. The trio of Combine soldiers within the only forces left in this encounter.

Now, finally off the sand, the way ahead lies through the doorway into the darkened interior of the crumbling structure (K).

Once more Combine bunker protects the area ahead. This one stands atop a concrete platform, higher than the others and no longer directly accessible from the beach. Within are a trio of Mounted Guns, together able to cover a hundred and eighty degrees sweep of the beach in front of the bunker. This spatial layout forces you away from the tactics used to deal with the previous bunkers. There is no safe path for you to lead the antlions along to reach the bunker, you must move through the killing field directly ahead of it.

Moving forward, the rocks and driftwood on the shore provide isolated points of cover from the bunker to your left. Scattered Combine forces have taken up positions on the beach they will use their weapons and grenades to attempt to flush you out of hiding. Antlions can be used to deal with the Combine on the beach. You will need to be careful as the highest cover is close to the shore, and antlions cannot swim; they will in fact die when exposed to water. Fortunately, as new antlions appear to replace those lost, you can eventually win out against the Combine on the beach through sheer attrition.

Initially there are two pairs of Combine soldiers on the beach. The first are waiting in the rocks close to the shore (H). With them in front of you, and the incoming fire from the Combine bunker to your left, it’s easy to get pinned down here. Grenades can turn the tables, flushing the Combine into the open; alternately Bugbait will fix them in place and allow your antlions to deal with them. The second pair of Combine are waiting further ahead, behind cover at the far end of the beach (beyond I). This second pair serve primarily as a soft barrier and can mostly be ignored. They don’t directly block your progress, but their presence serves to disincentive proceeding in that direction, especially as an alternate path is available. If this soft barrier doesn’t work to push you toward the correct route, a more explicit barrier is presented by the rock wall at the end of the beach, and the multiple Combine bunkers overlooking it.

As you reach the break in the cliff walls (I), and start to make your way up the path, three Combine soldiers will rush to engage you. At least one of them is armed with a shotgun. At such close range this Combine soldier presents the greatest immediate threat.

• In the original release of Half-Life 2 you had to be mindful of the silhouette of each Combine soldier in order to differentiate them. A change was made for the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 whereby differently armed Combine were given different coloured eyes. Eyes glowing red the Combine soldiers armed with shotguns are now instantly recognisable even in darkness, allowing you to prioritise your attacks as necessary. The majority of the Combine forces in Nova Prospekt are armed with SMGs or Overwatch Pulse Rifles, and can be identified by their yellow eyes.

With these three Combine soldiers dispatched it is time to deal with the remaining forces inside the bunker. Each of the three Mounted Guns is operated by a single Combine soldier, though some may leave their position as you approach. The rear door of the bunker makes an inviting target for a thrown Bugbait pod, and in such a confined space the antlions will make short work of those inside; a grenade will have a similar effect.

Through the doorway in the rock (K) is a grid of small square rooms dotted with explosive barrels. Metal fences and collapsed walls serve to block a direct route through the space. Combine soldiers will push in from the far end as you make your way through.

Out the other side, you will be on a pathway several meters above the beach. Following the path around to the right leads to two Combine bunkers overlooking the beach below (L).

The path curves up and to the right though the human built bunkers upon which the Combine structures have been grafted (M). As you approach two Combine soldiers will move to intercept you. A third operates the Mounted Gun within the bunker. Pushing forward around the curve in the path you take you out of this weapon’s firing arc.

Built on a corner the concrete bunker (M) extends around to the left with another entrance out on to the open space at the foot of the cliffs below Nova Prospekt itself.

At the top of the beach behind the Combine bunker is a tiered circular depression. Constructed from concrete it looks like it might once have been a coastal gun emplacement – its design is similar to those seen in northern Europe during World War 2. Along the cliffs above the beach are a number of other structures that, from their design and materials, appear to be from the same era.

A darkened doorway leads into a bunker cut through the cliff (K). Its position and design suggest it once served as an ammunition depot for the nearby costal gun. Now it stands abandoned, holes blasted in the roof, masonry littering the floor. Blocked first by a section of collapsed roof, then beyond that by a rusted metal fence, the main corridor once formed a straight line from one entrance to the other. With this route blocked, you are forced into the warren of interconnected rooms branching off to the left. The asymmetrical layout, abundance of debris, and limited light sources combine to create a confusing network of square concrete spaces with multiple exits, and no clear path to follow.

Two Manhacks will burst, buzzing, from the darkness as you round the first corner.

• Small flying drones, Manhacks are by propelled by a trio of centrally mounted rotor blades that also serve as their only means of attack. They can be destroyed with gunfire, though grabbing them out of the air with the Gravity Gun and smashing them against a hard surface is the more efficient way to deal with them. While holding one with the Gravity Gun you can also use the whirling rotors to damage any enemies in melee range. Low damage attacks combined with an unpredictable movement pattern make Manhacks a good means of harassing the player without providing a genuine threat.

With limited room to move combat here is claustrophobic and messy. The Combine soldiers throw out flares ahead of their advance, casting the graffiti cover walls in a violent red glow. Small stockpiles of explosive barrels sit against the walls where they are easily hit with stray – or intentional – bullets. Each of these clusters of barrels are so close together that the explosion of one will ignite the others.

This fight foreshadows a similar encounter during ‘Entanglement’ where, within the bowls of Nova Prospekt, the Combine cut the power and attack you and Alyx from the darkness; their positions initially only visible by their glowing eyes.

All rooms eventually lead to a large interior space with one way in and one way out. Here the roof has completely fallen in leaving a pile of rubble in the middle of the floor. The exit from this bunker is through the door in the right-hand wall. Beyond, a short hallway extends to the left out onto a path clinging to the rocks above the beach.

Before reaching this final room, there is a small opening in the wall to the left. Obscured behind a barrel it is not strictly a Lambda Cache (secret stockpiles of the resistance forces from Black Mesa East, marked by a yellow lambda symbol), despite its partially hidden nature and the pair of supply crates within.

A low concrete wall runs along the right-hand side of the path, channelling you forward while preventing you falling over the edge to the beach below. Such a fall won’t always be fatal, but it will take time to get back up here again.

This wall connects to a larger concrete structure which has been augmented by a pair of Combine bunkers. Positioned at right angles to each other, they form a corner overlooking the beach. Only one of their entrances is visible from here, the Combine soldier operating the gun emplacement within will react to your approach, turning to engage you. The other bunker is empty.

Visible further along the path is a second, larger, concrete structure (M). The Combine solider operating the gun emplacement here can target this stretch of path, so you’ll need to close the distance to escape its field-of-fire. If you are able to kill him from a distance he will take a dramatic tumble through the window. The path itself continues further along the beach, parallel to the water, before curving up and to the right to reach the entrance to this WW2-era bunker. Two Combine soldiers will emerge to meet you, firing Pulse Rifles and throwing grenades to cover their advance. The concreate walls along the cliff edge offer cover, and are low enough that you can hurl Bugbait ahead of you to have your antlions deal with the Combine while you remain safe.

With the Combine on the path dealt with – and assuming you haven’t already killed the gunner – it’s possible you will hear the remaining soldier issue the radio warning: “Outbreak! Outbreak!” This is the signal that they are the lone surviving member of their squad, and an indication that the current combat encounter is nearly over.

Along this part of the path the WW2-era structures are at their most intact, the Combine have simply repurposed these coastal bunkers for their own use. Occupying an entire exterior corner, the bunker’s windows overlook everything from the beach, to the open space at the foot of the cliffs below Nova Prospekt.

• Compared to the first Half-Life, the manner by which the Combine forces vocalise their behaviour is a case where clarity was sacrificing for narrative. That the Combine view aberrant behaviour as a disease provides an insight into their belief system, and adds to the narrative contextualisation of the world. This comes at the expense of clarity of intent, it’s difficult to translate these cryptic barks into expected behaviours. Does that voice line mean the Combine have lost sight of me, or that they know exactly where I am? When it comes to combat AI, perception is important, enemies that communicate their thought processes appear intelligent. Players, in turn, will feel rewarded when they are able to use those behavioural cues to out-smart the AI.

Across a stretch of grass are the cliffs, and the looming outline of Nova Prospekt atop them. Framed initially by the long rectangular windows of the bunker, then by the doorway itself, this is what Valve’s designers refer to as a “vista”. A visual reward for reaching this part of the level, it also serves a similar function to an establishing shot, providing an overview of what is to come; context for the coming fight. The vista is arranged under the assumption that you are coming through the door looking straight ahead. This is reasonable as there is no current threat so all your attention should be focused toward the direction you are moving.

Cutting through the centre of your vision – in what is almost a straight line – the white of the low cliffs in the middle distance lead our eyes across the space to the large metal pipes rising perpendicular to the ground. Attached to the side of the cliff upon which Nova Prospekt stands, these pipes point straight up toward it. At the intersection of these two strong visual lines is a Combine Dropship. Semi-organic flying craft, these are used to deploy groups of Combine soldiers. A dynamic element associated with combat, this will serve to further draw your attention, complementing the lines in the environment. The dynamic element indicates your immediate threat, the static elements your overarching goal. Reaching the place where the Dropship has landed is your current objective, while getting to the top of the cliffs is your long-term goal.

Leaving the bunker (M) the space between you and the cliffs is initially empty. As you move forward four Combine soldiers will charge from the Combine Dropship at the foot of the cliffs (P), one will make for the Combine bunker (N) while the others move across the open area towards the trees and rocks (O).

The Combine Dropship will depart before you can reach it, leaving the area at the foot of the cliffs empty (P). The way into Nova Prospekt is to be found high above, in order to reach it you will need to take the path along the cliff edge (Q).

The remains of another concrete structure stand at the foot of the cliffs where the Combine Dropship has landed. Its roof is missing entirely, and the remaining walls give little indication what purpose it once served. Four Combine soldiers emerge through the doorway in what is left of the concrete walls. Three will spread out and advance on you. The fourth will head across your line of sight, making for the Combine bunker (N) directly in-line with the doorway through which you enter this area. If able to reach the Mounted Gun within he will present a threat. You initiate this first wave of Combine by passing through an invisible trigger, the position of which is such that if you sprint directly ahead to the bunker you can beat the Combine soldier to it.

Threats from multiple directions, and no easy way to deal with them separately, this encounter encourages you to make effective use of your antlions. During the proceeding fights you always had the option of hanging back and letting them do the fighting. Attempting that here will prove much harder. The physical separation of the two threats (the Combine in the bunker, and the Combine soldiers out in the open) mean your antlions can only deal with one at a time. You either have to split your attention, sending them in one direction while you focus on the other. Or act in unison to overwhelm one threat quickly before turning your attention to the other, hoping you don’t take too much damage from whichever force you initially leave unopposed.

Rushing directly at the Combine bunker is risky, but the threat it presents is probably the greatest, so dealing with it first makes sense. Once you have secured it you can turn the Mounted Gun on the remaining Combine soldiers.

If you move to attack the Combine soldiers in the open, the rocks, trees, and remnants of buildings strewn across the space (O) will offer protection to both you and them. The size of the area, and the way the soldiers spread out, make it impossible to keep all of them within your field-of-view. You can either try to outflank them with your antlions – while hoping you don’t take damage from the Combine Mounted Gun – or use the cover to your advantage, isolating and eliminating individual soldiers without exposing yourself.

The Combine Dropship is not directly deploying any of these soldiers; instead this encounter has been designed so that each of the four Combine in the initial wave will be replaced. Killing one will trigger another to run from behind the concrete walls to join the attack. Depending on how quickly you deal with the initial four Combine, this can lead to either a drawn-out trickle of reinforcements, or a staggered sequence of waves. In total, you will encounter a maximum of eight Combine here, and never more than four at once. If you run toward the Dropship’s landing site until you can see through the doorway in the ruined wall, the spawning behaviour will be cancelled, and you will only have to deal with the Combine that are already present; this prevents you from witnessing them spawning in.

The Dropship itself will fly away as you approach, it’s landing site offering a brief moment of calm. Nova Prospekt itself is finally in sight. It’s time to find a way inside.

The mouth of the large pipe at the foot of the cliff – where the twin pipes running down from above reach the ground – initially looks inviting, though the metal grate over the entrance is immovable.

Contrasting in shape and colour with both the rocks around it and the water beyond, the half collapsed wooden fence along the cliff edge stands out. This is the way forward, a path curving behind the rocks and out of sight.

Around the corner is a break in the path (R), here an old wooden post juts out at an angle over the gap, and you can use this to get across. Keep moving along the path and you find yourself in a sheltered niche, here a small fire smoulders next to the remains of a wooden boat (S).

The path continues above you. Destroying the wooden beams supporting the platform against the cliff face will cause one end to drop to the ground, creating a ramp.

Two Combine soldiers have taken position on the gantry half way up the pipes (T), they will open fire once they can see you. On the far side of the pipes a ladder leads up to this gantry, from here you will need to jump back onto the cliff path again (U).

Another gap in the path (above S) needs to be traversed before you can climb up the rock steps (V), to the open pipe above (W). As you reach the top a Fast Zombie will spring from the mouth of the pipe (W), darting right at you. Beyond him the pipe extends underneath the walls and into the prison yard.

Initially hidden from view around the corner, a break in the path requires you to use one of the remaining fence posts, now jutting from the floor at an angle, to leap across the gap. This is an explicit break in the continuity of the level so far, a one-way obstacle that reinforces that backtracking is unnecessary. In actuality you can fall back down here from a higher part of the path, but this is liable to cause substantial damage, if not be outright fatal.

This concept of the one-way obstacle that enforces forward progression while preventing backtracking, is one that will be used several more times throughout Nova Prospekt. It usually appears in a similar form; a drop from a height that is low enough to avoid injury but high enough to ensure that you can’t climb back up. Another version that will be seen later, is the moment where the ceiling collapses behind you sealing off the way you came. In games with less explicit level transitions it’s a good way to ensure certain portions of a map can be unloaded safely from memory, as players will be unable to ever return to areas on the other side of the “drop”.

Even before you reach the break in the path, orange lighting from a fire ahead is visible; another contrasting visual element that serves to draw your attention. A natural cleft in the cliff protects the fire from the elements. The remains of a wooden boat lie next to it (S), while ahead, slumped against the cliff beneath a wooden platform, are a pair of Zombies. Initially sedate, they will stagger to their feet and attack if approached. Between them is a small red petrol can, which will explode when shot, igniting the Zombies.

Ahead, closer to the fire, are the charred remains of a human body. The backstory of what happened here is intriguing, if difficult to parse. Did three people come up here to hide only to be attacked by headcrabs, forcing them to kill and burn one of their own before they too succumbed? One of the incidental historical details of this world is that during the early years of Combine rule the oceans were drained, causing a global drop in sea levels. This spot appears to be far above the high-tide mark, but the boat may have beached here years earlier when the sea level was much higher. If that is supposed to be the case it doesn’t fit with the human structures on the beach, which would have been underwater if the sea level had ever been that high. There are no answers, just questions and a creepy tableau.

To carry on you need to find a way up. The wooden platform above the Zombies is supported by a pair of posts. Akin to the classic “Hanna-Barbara effect” the different colour and material of the two supports distinguishes them from the platform, marking them out as functional. In addition to this visual differentiation their placement next to a threat – the Zombies – makes it likely that stray gunfire will hit one or both of them. Their reaction when under fire is to move, splinter, and finally break. These elements in combination inform you that shooting these wooden supports will have an effect on the environment. In this case destroying them and dropping one end of the platform to the ground to create a ramp.

Up this ramp and back onto the rocks, the path rises in a curve back toward the beach. Around the corner, and you are bathed in light from powerful spotlights above. Their beams angled down toward the twin pipes climbing the cliff face ahead of you. Immediately you will begin to receiving incoming weapons fire from higher up the cliff. The natural reaction to taking damage is to try and identify where it is coming from, by positioning the two Combine soldiers on an elevated position this encourages you to look up toward them, drawing your eye to the gantry which is you next goal. To reach it you will need to use the ladder on the far side of the pipes.

A third Combine soldier on the gantry at the very top of the cliffs will shoot down at you as you reach the top of the ladder. Again, this incoming fire encourages you to look up, reinforcing this as the direction you need to be paying attention to, the way you should be heading.

In order to keep moving up you will need to double back on yourself and jump from the gantry to a new section of the path. This might seem counterintuitive, but every stage of your ascent has been built on this zig-zag pattern of working your way across and up the cliff face. Two supply crates are sitting on the rocks at the start of this section of path, further encouragement to explore in this direction.

• Smaller than standard crates, and marked with a black on yellow logo, supply crates are the primarily means of acquiring ammunition throughout Half-Life 2. With a few exceptions the content of each supply crate is dynamically determined based on the player’s current status. If they are low on ammunition the crates are more likely to contain some, while players low on health will find health kits within instead. This algorithmic allocation of resources serves to smooth over the most dramatic difficulty spikes by providing what the player needs when they need it. It can, however, cause a flattening of the dramatic curve of an encounter and the elimination of partial-failure states. If you struggle through a fight and only succeed by using all your ammunition the next supply crate you find will always grant you some, preventing frustration at the cost of minimising the edge case scenarios that can often be the most memorable.

Ahead is another gap in the path, this one above the campfire where you encountered the two Zombies. On the far side of this final gap the path ends. The rocks here (V) can be used as steps to reach the ledge above where an overflow pipe opens onto the cliff face.

This space could have been designed to let you simply walk a path up the cliff face to reach the pipe. Instead the need to jump gaps, deal with threats, and find a route up irregular rock steps, provides a sensation of having scaled the cliff face instead of simply following the route provided.

Just before you reach the final ledge there is a scream from the darkness of the overflow pipe, a Fast Zombie will bound out to attack you. It will have been several hours since your last encounter with a Fast Zombie, the sudden appearance of one here is disruptive, potentially causing you to stumble on the rocks, or in some cases leading you to back right off the cliff to your death. It’s a classic jump scare, something Half-Life 2 uses sparingly to disrupt the pacing of encounters.

Past the Fast Zombie the open pipe leads under the walls above and through a level transition into the overflow drains beneath the prison yard.

“Life Of The Party”:

I have written a LOT about this next level: “Life of the Party”. I’m sure my observations this time around will be things I’ve brought up in my exhaustive analysis. Hopefully I’ll also have some new insights.

Garrett: “The New Scripture of the Master Builder?”

Viktoria: “Karras is rewriting ancient Hammer texts. But to what end, we don’t know.”

Garrett: “So you want me to find out.”

Garrett: “Angelwatch? Is this how our arrangement is gonna work, you coming up with ways for me to get myself killed?”

Viktoria: “Is this really Garrett the Master Thief I hear talking? If danger is going to be a problem for you, then…”

Garrett: “Just- give me the details.”

Garrett is so easily played it’s a wonder he has managed to survive this long in the City.

All Viktoria wants is for him to infiltrate the giant Mechanist tower in Dayport, steal the latest entry in the “New Scripture of the Master Builder” and find out what he can about the “Cetus Project”. So nothing at all really… <_<

For her part Viktoria has had a couple of questionable items smuggled into the City. Vine Arrows are always welcome, Frogbeasts on the other hand? Not so much. I assume Frogbeast kills are attributed to Garrett so couldn’t be use on Expert anyway?

Huh, I think this will be the first time I’ve played this level with the fog working. It’s always been broken enough that I just disable it. Does make it look like I’m starting in daylight, which is novel.

Look, a Keeper. They might not be actively helping but they are certainly interested in what Garrett is up to.

That there are only four map pages belies the sheer size of this level. Angelwatch on its own would have been considered a large level in The Dark Project.

“Hot town, summer in the city, back of my neck getting dirty and gritty, been down, isn’t it a pity, doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city.”

Not actually sure which season it is, The Dark Project ended at the start of winter, and this is at least a year later.

If you find the Star Gazer’s secret room you can cut out a huge chunk of this level, though why you’d want to do that I don’t really know.

Honestly I think stealing this dude’s Sunburst device is a public service.

… Yeah, this is definitely the best course of action for all concerned, especially Hilde.

Look, maybe I can quote this entire thing, maybe…

I always lose it at the end when Daniel Thron’s (?) voice almost breaks.

Once they start fighting it’s all simulated, and they won’t stop until their “enemies” are dead. So usually at least one guard remains alive, but it’s just possible that two fire fatal shots at the same time, killing each other and leaving everybody dead.

The fog is an odd choice, the Dark Engine loads an entire level at once and I don’t believe it has any form of geometry based LOD (?). So it’s not covering up anything tech wise. I mean it gives the level a unique feel but beyond that I’m not sure what it’s for.

Because this seems as relevant a point as any, Sean Barrett wrote up some notes on the technology behind rendering in the Dark Engine.

Well it would be foolish to waste a good tip like this.

The saga of Lucy and the Alchemist continues..

Mind you don’t trip and fall and die…

Despite the lack of trees in the City, its wealthiest inhabitants are still able to employ horticulturalists to maintain their gardens. A seemingly small fact that will become much more relevant as events unfold. I guess Longdaddy is out for a walk.

Again we return to the central theme of The Metal Age, that of progress and its impact on the City. Newer apartments of brick and wood abut ancient stone towers (full of secrets and horrors). Literal castles stand next to modern buildings made almost entirely of marble.

“Life of the Party” is an impressionistic journey through the City, nothing is complete enough, lasts long enough, to be more than the idea of a particular type of building. You cut through a bedroom here, an office there, it’s urban environment as means of traversal.

Where the rest of the City exists as a tangled and interconnected mass of urban existence Angelwatch stands alone. A monument to order and construction, it’s utterly out of place. An art deco tower in a barely post-medieval cityscape.

… We’re not quite there yet though. First there’s another encounter with a Keeper, possibly the same one as before given their para-urban means of navigation.

He disappears, but leaves a message behind. Really useful information there, as always.

The cache of equipment in the secret compartment at the end of the adjacent corridor is much more useful however, so I shall be taking all that.

A brief detour through Lady Louisa’s suite “Don’t mind me ladies…” And I’ve reached Angelwatch at last. Look at it, I mean just fucking look at it.

On a rooftop just before I reach Angelwatch I spot a merry drunk. That you Benny? Boy that’s a lot of empty bottles around. I’ll just creep over and see how he’s doing. Wait, what’s that over the edge? Erm… Oh shit there’s a dead guy down there. Benny what did you do?

The advice was to use the access hatch. Garrett, ever the iconoclast, has a better idea. I mean if they are going to leave a window open.

Entering through that window puts me on the 4th floor (I’m not going to start arguing about US/UK floor numbering, except that the US system is silly, and this should be the 3rd floor), which is made up of what look like guest rooms.

Remember what I said about recessed lights before?

Here we have one that is working reliably. In fact all the recessed lights in Angelwatch provide this area of shadow below them that conforms to the shadows on the ground.

Love these tacky chevron wallpapers – Dan Hindes.

Tacky yes, but also incredibly art deco inspired.

A more in-depth look at Angelwatch’s 4th floor can be found here.

For now I’m more interested in the next floor down. A little more subdued than those above, this floor has fewer visitors. Oh, what’s this..?

Narcissist much? Let’s have a listen to this voice machine then… 5 of 6? Servants? Wait, I remember those, they emit some kind of vapour that renders people unto dust. This can’t be good…

What? The floor was being loud.

So you want me to explore this art deco ideological monument and listen to the ravings of a narcissistic figurehead?

*Cough*BioShock*Cough*

Ahem…

Z FIGHT!

A library? Karras doesn’t seem the type to be interested in books, at least not ones he’s not writing. It’s almost as if the entirety of Angelwatch is really just for show. Anyway, there’s another portr- I mean voice machine.

Oh dear, Karras is gifting each of his guests with a servant. “The servant knows only how to tirelessly perform thy will, be it cooking, cleaning, or gardening.”

Back down to the 3rd floor and then down again to the 2nd. Once again a more thorough look at the 3rd floor can be found here.

This floor is unadorned and functional. It contains the sleeping quarters of the Mechanists and (second image) what I assume to be the “sleeping” station for the Mechanist Combat Bot patrolling this floor.

This floor also contains a Mechanist chapel. Here we see it both… before…

… and after.

These Worker Bots are on randomised patrols, which can occasionally cause them to get stuck. Even the save/load trick that works on other NPCs doesn’t work here. At least he won’t open his eye unless I make a noise, so I can still steal everything in the room.

“Friend” Vilnia as mentioned in Karras’ recording – presumably the person responsible for the day-to-day affairs of Angelwatch – has her rooms on this floor. Karras has helpfully provided her a note on all the locations for his voice machines. “Special guest” eh?

Down a ladder to the ground floor, and a brief game of hide the thief with this Combat Bot before I can listen to the next of Karras’ recordings. “[Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap] Is this functioning? [Breath] [Feedback] …” Stupid joke, makes me laugh every time.

I think I’ll take the elevator back up… I cover floors 1 and 2 here.

The 5th floor somehow manages to be slightly less ostentatious than the 4th, despite it housing Karras’ office. It also contains the dining room where the next voice machine can be found.

“A short while ago, these servants were confined to an asylum. Mentally feeble, they were of no use to anyone.” Karras’ disgust at that last sentence is palpable. As is mine at his entire servant project.

I guess I’m going to have to locate Friend Vilnia if I want to gain entry to Karras’ office. I imagine she’s on the top floor – I’ve not seen her anywhere else. I need to go there anyway to listen to the last recording.

The top floor is entirely taken up by the ballroom. I like to imagine that little Worker Bot strumming away at the harp while drunken lords and ladies awkwardly dance and flirt with each other.

I think that must be Vilnia in the corner over there… If I get a little closer I can hear what she’s saying.

Vilnia – “Remember, the servants are but a masterful deception. Master Karras has the ability to control them himself wheresoever he be… ”

Mechanist – “Ah yes, the rust gas…”

Uh oh.

After her conversation Vilnia leaves the ballroom, and the key to Karras’ office leaves her belt. ;)

Oh right, I have to locate a copy of the latest change to “The New Scripture of the Master Builder”. Fortunately it too can be found on the 5th floor.

Erm… What. The. Fuck?!

Little cherub thing just appears out of nowhere, reacts to my presence, and runs off. He doesn’t sound the alarm or anything, just runs off… Alright then.

I’m going through this level fairly quickly. There are a few parts of the City I missed on the way here, which is why I decide to do what I do next, instead of “forgetting”.

Just going to hide in this cupboard a second. What’s this lever here? “Wall safe alarm” you say? Well, we can’t have that now can we?

There was a guard outside the door to Karras’ office. I also used to have a Gas Arrow. Ho-hum…

Amusingly it is 04:51 here, as I detail my entry into Karras’ office.

A little more reserved than I was expecting. A picture of a lighthouse seems a little out of place… Oh right, that’s where the safe is. Another voice recorder, interesting…

“Greetings, Garrett! Thou art expected, though not precisely welcomed. Feel not so surprised. I have anticipated thine arrival, just as I now anticipate thy departure. Art thou a religious man? It is time to say thy prayers! Thy sins will be thine own undoing.”

I’d be more nervous if I hadn’t already turned off your alarm. Speaking of which, I should probably actually see if you have anything in the safe about the Cetus Project.

Ah ha!

Markham’s Isle. Do we think that’s the lighthouse featured in the picture? Either way that seems likely to be our next destination.

The access hatch might not have been my preferred method of entry but it does make for a nice exit.

Sadly leaving this way means I don’t have the chance to take my Vine Arrow with me. Fortunately I have at least one left, and if you’re playing smart that’s all you need. Being able to recover them is easily their second best feature – their first should be obvious.

Analysis of the top two floors of Angelwatch is available here.

I realised I’d not talked about how cool Rope Arrows are, and Vine Arrows are just a straight replacement for them. My praise is due primarily to their core “Rope” functionality, not related to anything “Vine” specific.

Vine arrows… eh. Their only new thing is the ability to stick onto metal gratings, which are nowhere near as common as wood, dirt, and foliage. And the metal gratings where vine arrows are useful are placed with all the subtlety of the rope arrow points in Thief 4. Not a fan. – Andy Durdin.

This fucking guy… “Oh, but it’s just not fair! The season’s most ballyhooed social event, and we’re not even invited? I am a Rothchild, don’t they understand that? Don’t they understand how incredibly important I am?”

Here’s the thing dipshit, you were invited… I found the guest list. You just lost the fucking invitation, or maybe your wife hid it because you’re a whining little shit?

“Well, well… housebreakers. How quaint.” Oh this should be fun…

I’ll just sneak in and open the door to the room they are breaking into… Then make a little noise to alert the guard patrolling on the floor below.

And a Gas Mine on the floor to clean up the guard… Now was there actually anything of value in here?

*Steps over the bodies to search the room.*

Given my past experience with this level I didn’t explore it as much as I could have, so now I’m back at the bell tower and that’s “Life of the Party” done. Still a great level, I just wanted to get on to the next ones quickly.

Even skipping over parts of the City, going straight to the objectives once inside Angelwatch, and being fairly liberal with my blackjack usage, it still took nearly two hours to complete “Life of the Party”.

A final link to my 25K+ analysis of this level, and it’s onward to “Precious Cargo”.

A lot of talk has been had regarding the idea that The Metal Age was a bunch of levels with a plot added later. If you squint you can sort of see that. It still has a more coherent plot than a lot of games, while managing to remain subtle, and true to its noir roots.

Precious Cargo:

The Keepers over here shipping Garrett/Viktoria.

The notes Garrett found on the Cetus Project indicate Mechanist activity on Markham’s Isle under the direction of Brother Cavador. Viktoria had suspect this already, a fact which Garrett wasn’t pleased to discover. Oh and while he’s there can he locate her agent, Lotus?

Erm, Garrett? If your plan was to bring Brother Cavador back to your boat and escape that way there’s something important I need to tell you.

A relatively simply map for a change, this one provided by Viktoria. No doubt the work of one of her agents, maybe Lotus himself.

Well that’s… Hmm…

I like how the skull and crossswords here uses a fucking Terminator skull.

That’s quite a climb. I suspect using the elevator would be a less than optimal idea.

Really leaning into the whole “pirate island” concept.

If you stay where you are when the level starts you’ll eventually be spotted by a patrolling Mechanist. First time a level has started you in an unsafe position since “Into the Maw of Chaos.”

I wasn’t really thinking and tried to take a picture of this in motion…

Garrett looks too old to be a miner… Sorry.

Shoo… Go look the other way.

As this bridge is lit from underneath by luminescent fungi, I’m able to hide using the shadows created by the bridge itself.

Ah ha! The switch for the Watcher is on top of the beam it’s attached too. This is one of my few complaints about Thief, there’s a lack of consistency in certain object behaviours. Ala not all Watchers have associated switches. It makes for bespoke encounters at the expense of some degree of systemic predictability. Sometimes all you can do is sneak past the Watchers, other times you can find the switch to disable them. You never know which is possible until afterward.

For now though I’m just going to deactivate this one and continue on up.

Hmm… That’s a problem.

So I knocked out the Mechanist on watch, now I need to find somewhere to dump her body where she’s hidden but won’t slide to her death. And here comes another one… Some days, you just can’t get rid of a body.

An entirely metal ramp… This is going to be tough. Also it’s raining, which is new and pretty cool. The fog works well here, feels isolating and atmospheric.

There has to be a better way… Wait a second… What was that guy by the Watcher doing? Oh switches… Here we go.

Oh… Looks like Lotus got captured, though he took a Combat Bot down with him, nice work. The scroll is positioned in such a way that if you immediately try to read it you activate the head instead and it starts talking; fortunately nobody’s listening.

Up via the well at the back of the workshop, and onto ground level again. One issue with the fog is that it has the effect of making everything look brighter, meaning it’s hard to judge which areas are in shadow.

The interior of the light house reminds me a lot of the tower in the first level (non-tutorial) of Deadly Shadows. “… She can write in both ancient Brillian and modern Prinkish.” No idea why that one dialogue is so stuck in my brain.

Straightforward building still makes for a good stealth encounter space. A lot of torches and closed doors mean you either have to expend resources to make the area safe, or take your time and listen carefully at doors to hear if anybody is in the rooms beyond.

Some more nice use of elemental crystals as environmental detail.

I always think what I’m trying to find is a sextant and not a navigation globe, I don’t know why. I think I see the sextant and just expect it to be important.

After a brief detour into the old house I nabbed a key from the Mechanist at the top of the lighthouse, “Cold Storage Shed” key? Let’s see what’s in there shall we?

Found Lotus… Urgh.

Lotus – “Garrett, yes. The Lady knows me you would come.”

Garrett – “Knew I would come, but-”

Viktoria, real confident in her ability to get Garrett to do what she wants. I mean she’s not wrong.

Lotus – “Y-you need… takes you the key, beware… and… Garrett…”

Garrett – “Yes, my friend, what can I do?”

Lotus – “Th-the cold… feels nothing now. Garrett I begs, return me to the green, kill me…”

I guess I know why the objectives were so specific about “Don’t kill any Mechanists”. Rest awhiles Lotus, mays the lady of the greens keepsie you safe.

Let’s see what sort of “key” this is then… Holly Shi-

Heh… Squishy floor mats “soft as carpet”, nice. I mean, sure, that’s shitty for Friend Ventus but still…

Buddy, you just staring at a blocked window?

Oh, alright then. Jules Verne called he…. Oh you get the joke. Maybe this is a little too high tech for the Mechanists, but they did create autonomous robots so maybe not.

Lotus said Cetus Amicus meant “horror of the seas”… Except Cetus is the Latinized name of a mythical Greek whale, and Amicus is Latin for friend or “friend of the court”. So really it’s not so much “Horror of the Seas” as “Friendly Whale”.

I’d just like to take a moment to say… Fuck this camera!

A single Mechanist patrols the tunnel beyond. There are nice alcoves off to the side where you can hide and let him pass. Digging the Mechanist branded wetsuit, you got an Etsy store for those?

I see it’s like that again…

Tunnel ends in a storage space, which I’ll admit is a little anticlimactic.

A quick mantle into a side passage to avoid the patrolling Combat Bot. If I’m going to get aboard a Mechanist submarine I’m probably going to have to get wet at some point… So…

… Now this is more like it. I’d forgotten most of the start of this level, my abiding memory is of this space.

A bunch of objectives now, and I can complete them in any order. Though I guess I need to be aboard the Cetus Amicus to read the Captain’s log.

I really do love this space.

Heh, there’s that nice non-slip rubber matting.

Metal floors? Well that’s no fun.

The cover of the “Karras and the Mechanists” first album was a little uninspired.

You can’t see me because I’m being sneaky… Also you have no peripheral vision apparently.

I guess I’d better get on with finding that then hadn’t I? I mean I sort of have to since it’s one of my objectives, but now I like, extra have to.

According to the sign outside this room is “Watcher Control”. Thus answer the question of “who watches the watchers”.

Don’t have any real sense of where to go, and it’s easy to get turned around in the water as everything looks so similar.

I can’t find a way to enter the water quietly either. It’s a mild frustration but a persistent one.

Using the water to hide and move through the environment is a cool idea, undercut by the difficulty of determining how visible you will be in any given area of water.

Found half a pirate ship, with a skeleton leaning over the wheel. This was pinned – well daggered – to their back.

Yeah, yeah whatever… I’m a thief, there’s treasure, you can guess what’s coming next…

Fucking ghost pirate! Running away now.

A portion of the underwater structure is half flooded, and I was able to use it to find my way to another classic Immersive Sim locker room.

Plot scroll! I assume Cavador is at this “KD site”.

I’d turned the Watchers off earlier, though hadn’t dealt with the guard. Luckily there’s grating in the roof above. That’s it buddy, just walk on by.

I did that more because it looked cool than anything else. I could have left the same way I got in, via the half flooded areas that run below this section of the structure; Subaquatic Post 1.

I assume Garrett is using waterproof materials for this map. Also at this stage his cloak must be utterly sodden, good thing he doesn’t need to run too much.

Well I found Friend Ventus, you’d have thought they’d bother to fish his body out of the water.

This note led to a good twenty minutes of trying to find a flooded area, only to realise I had to actually climb up to reach it, which doesn’t really make much sense. Getting a bit annoyed at this level now.

Here’s the entrance to the “flooded living area”, approximately twenty feet above sea level.

Some more pages of “The New Scripture of the Master Builder”. Of course the Builder wants Karras to be safe. Pretty creepy that the Mechanist’s vision of hell – well purgatory I guess really – is a forest.

When I started out playing this level I noticed the grated metal texture on multiple surfaces and thought it was nice how they’d just included that as a normal Mechanist related surface.

The more time I spent in the level the more clear it became that, beside its occasional use on the ground, whenever it was used on the ceiling or walls it was effectively a “Use Vine Arrow here!” marker. Which is a shame.

Catherine’s Folly? Feels like there’s a story behind that name, both in game and out of if.

Look, if you have a level on a boat I’m going to like your game, that’s just the way it is, I can’t do anything about it. Not pictured: Mechanist in full Scuba gear.

There are multiple ways aboard the Cetus Amicus, obviously I used the underwater one.

Yes I probably used “aboard” wrong… Shh… Here have the Captain’s log – minus the page moaning about fish for dinner again.

Reading the Captain’s log updates the objectives again, but clever thief that I am I’ve already completed them. This was sheer luck as I’d forgotten most of this level.

Of course Karras has another portrait of himself aboard the submarine he apparently never actually uses. Still, while I’m here… Yoink!

You can overhear a couple of different conversations that highlight how a large number of the Mechanists used to be Hammers, but not all. The Mechanists seems to have more popular support, maybe because their fanaticism is better veiled.

It feels like the history of the Hammers and the Mechanists – the divergence in the rigidity of their dogma – is referencing a particular religious schism. That’s a topic I don’t know enough about to draw any direct parallels though.

I’m not completely convinced Garrett can fit in there.

That’s “Precious Cargo” completed. “Back Stabs: 1” and “Innocents Killed: Some” that’s a little unfair. I looked Lotus in the eye while I killed him, and yes he was innocent but he was also asking to be put out of his misery.

“Precious Cargo” is able to be a strong format breaker though level design alone. No special restrictions or system changes needed.

It’s also a level with a twist that isn’t spoilt by the level’s name. “Precious Cargo” makes sense for your given objectives, unlike “Assassins”.

Brother Cavador is not on Markham’s Isle. He is instead at somewhere called the “KD site”. The Cetus Amicus is due to make a return trip there, with Garrett as a stowaway.

The quality of certain levels in this series is so high that those that aren’t quite there can feel much worse. I’d say The Dark Project is the more spiky in terms of quality. The Metal Age is more consistent, but it rarely peaks as high.

When The Dark Project was bad it made me angry. When The Metal Age is bad it makes me bored; something “Precious Cargo” occasionally managed, sadly.

Next: “Kidnap”

Indicated by stoplights at 120 intersections throughout Paradise City, there are five main types of event you can compete in. The majority of them (Race, Marked Man and Burning Route) are point-to-point events that task you with driving from the starting intersection to one of eight possible finish lines – one for each of the cardinal and ordinal compass directions. The remaining events (Road Rage and Stunt Run) are free-form contests that require you to achieve a specific objective within a time limit.

Completing these events forms the basis of the progression system in Burnout Paradise, winning events causes new cars to appear on the streets for you to chase down and add to your collection. Framing this progression system is your license. Starting with a Learner’s Permit – upgrading through the Burnout License, to the ultimate Criterion Elite License – these serve as an indication of how many events you have completed. It is necessary to win two events in order to achieve the first upgrade (Class D License) from there an additional seven wins are required for the next (Class C License). The first five license upgrades are awarded after the following wins: 2nd, 7th, 15th, 26th and 40th.

The notable aspect of this progression is that once a new license has been reached all events are reset allowing you to return to previously completed events (albeit with more challenging opponents or increased scoring thresholds) and have those wins again count toward your total for the next license. With 120 events available it’s not necessary to complete the same events again, though doing so means you can focus on the specific event types you are strongest at, or on those routes where you have already uncovered the best shortcuts.

Once you have obtained the Burnout license you will need to complete all 120 events in order to upgrade to the next license.

For each license from the Learner’s Permit to the Burnout License, players are required to complete three more new events than was necessary for the proceeding license. This steady increase in the number of required new events encourages players out of their comfort zone while still allowing them to focus the majority of their time on events and event types they are already comfortable with.

While it’s possible to progress through the licenses – unlocking more cars along the way – by focusing on a small subset of the activities available, the final tiers of licenses, and the best cars, are only available when you show you are capable across all the different event types. As these events all take place upon the same streets, the shortcuts you learned early in the game can still prove vital to your success when racing toward that final license. In this way Burnout Paradise pushes players to turn their growing familiarity with the streets of Paradise City into direct progress toward their next license.

Garrett has the recording of Truart’s meeting with Karras. Now he just has to break into the good Sheriff’s home and blackmail him with it. Really living up to that anti-hero label, is our Garrett.

From here I don’t know the levels as well (excluding “Life of the Party”), so there’ll be a few more discoveries, and no doubt some frustrations.

“Blackmail”:

Excuse me for being a little concerned about what’s actually in this Chronicle of the Metal Age.

Fucking hell, Garrett’s straight up suggesting Truart will get the noose if the recording ever becomes public. That’s ice fucking cold.

Yeah… I remember like two rooms of this level.

Another hand drawn map with no clear provenance. Not sure how on earth Garrett has a map this detailed of the Sheriff’s own home.

All the NPCs in “Blackmail” are on hair triggers in terms of sense perceptions. Even closing a door at the other end of a corridor elicits a reaction.

You can totally just hop over the wall to your left when you start the level. Feels transgressive as everything about the framing indicates you should head to your right.

Tip you can buy before the mission starts. I remember reading “foundation” as “fountain” the first time and spending ages looking around the garden for a fountain.

Loot objective is back. I like the fictional justifications for stealing from the Sheriff and for not killing anybody while you’re there.

Oh man. I almost feel sorry for stealing your stuff now Ekim, almost.

Hidden behind Truart’s house is a family plot. I’m assuming, father, mother and brother? The fact there’s a freshly dug grave is a bit ominous.

Truart has a pretty big house for a public servant. It’s almost like he’s corrupt as fuck. Unfortunately for Garrett he’s also very security conscious.

No messing about, straight in via the back doors. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

In a nice moment of continuity the advanced security system Truart has had installed in his house is the same one T. M. Blackheart had to protect his recording studio in “Shipping… and Receiving”.

The interior of Truart’s mansion is a mixture of “Running Interference” and “First City Bank and Trust”. Broadly the layout is a standard mansion, floors are almost exclusively tile with overlaid carpets, security devices are dotted around, guard patrols are numerous.

Mechanist security devices at certain doors create 3 zones of security. The ground floor is easily accessible and relatively lightly guarded. The next floor up is more visibly prestigious, and heavily trafficked. The top level is… Well, we’ll get to that…

Another reference to the Alchemist (Grimmad), Lucy really needs to chill.

Benny you are one glorious fuck up aren’t you?

Exploring the second floor (UK first floor… Yeah it’s confusing), means relying on the classic Thief tactic of standing in the middle of a dark corridor until you can work out which side the approaching guard will walk down so you can move to the other.

It was only after navigating around this Watcher that I found the switch to disable power to the Mechanist security devices. *Sigh*

I’ll be honest, I’m surprised they let Benny use the pool. Though I supposed they probably didn’t. He was likely fired months ago and he’s just too useless to actually leave.

Don’t turn to your right… Don’t turn to your right…

Well that lighting scheme isn’t exactly welcoming… What’s that commotion at the top of the stairs? Truart’s been murdered?! Shit. Being found with blackmail evidence and a sword might not cast Garrett in the best light.

“… It was standing right over his body. I must have spooked it. When it saw me it flew right out the doors and off the balcony. I’ve never seen anything move like that. It couldn’t have been human.” Getting a “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” vibe from this.

I can’t find a way into Truart’s room, I think I need a key but the only one I’ve got is labeled “Balcony Key” and doesn’t work on interior doors. There are more guards patrolling now – I guess the murder of the Sheriff will do that – yet I can’t find any with a key.

This one female guard is just running around the second floor waving her sword around. I managed to snag the purse from her belt as she rushed past… Still no key.

I’m spending a lot of time in this level hiding in the small patches of shadow created by doorways.

Found a guard with a key, somewhat awkwardly he’s in a brightly lit room watching the corridor through a window. Leaning around the corner doesn’t get me close enough to steal his key.

I did find an Invisibility Potion in one of the rooms here. I should probably be concerned that the City Watch have Invisibility Potions, I will ease that fear by using the potion to steal the “Estate Key”.

Back up to the top floor. While Truart’s suite is well guarded – kind of a shame for the Sheriff that wasn’t true earlier – the other suite on this floor is empty.

With everybody now milling around outside Truart’s bedroom the rest of this floor is entirely empty. Sadly there’s not that much loot to be found up here. I completed the loot objective earlier so anything I do find is a bonus.

Up to the attic… Getting weird flash forwards about creepy paintings in attic rooms… And out across the roof to Truart’s suite on the south side of the mansion.

Let’s all just agree that the body has been gruesomely killed. Time to look for some evidence. Have to wonder if the red lights are because of what’s happened or if Truart just likes (liked) them.

Oh Mosley, that was clumsy. Though it’s unlikely you did the deed yourself (I personally have a more simian explanation), you really should have been more careful about hiding your involvement. Luckily for you I’m here to clean up after you.

For those following along, Mosley’s involvement indicates the Pagans – though that’s all circumstantial at the moment. But what’s even left of the Pagans after the fall of the Woodsie Lord? (Spoiler: It’s Viktoria.)

If you remember from “Framed”, Madam Volari runs a brothel, and the City Watch suspect her of using it to obtain blackmail material on the City’s prominent citizens. Also Norman Druart? Really? Garrett is being threatened by a guy this unimaginative?

This conversation that occurs outside Truart’s room is important enough to present in full. One of the longest conversations in the game there’s a lot of information to process. (Thanks to 242 from the TTLG Forums for the transcription.)

The Downwinders have been shut down, so that image from earlier very well could have been the raid on their casino. Mosley is both liked and respected by the City Watch, and might have gotten away with the murder even if I hadn’t removed the evidence.

I wonder what else is going on in this room? Oh, I see… Well, never mind me.

Time to get out of here. A brief detour first though…

Old school, I like it. Others maybe not so much.

Not picture – I stole it – the Broadhead Arrow on the wall pointing up at the little hammer shaped alcove. I wonder what that means… *Draws Bow*… Thunk… Oh… Secret door under the giant Hammer.

Nope, not creepy at all. There’s also a Haunt down here, and they are always “fun”.

This room looks… Nice. Can’t imagine why it’s not labeled on the map.

Yeah, right I’m totally going to press that. Huh, weird nothing happened. (Somewhere in an alternate dimension Garrett is in a fight to the death against two giant spiders.)

Well since I’m going this way anyway… Sleep well Truart you enormous asshole. For some reason the objective text broke, it should be a Bonus Objective about Garrett and Truart finally putting their differences to rest.

“Blackmail” completed. Things didn’t go exactly as planned. Truart won’t be a problem anymore, but things did just get more complicated.

Design-wise “Blackmail” creates a space that gives the impression of security while being surprisingly easily exploitable. Some of that is down to human error – Benny – and some due to overconfidence in their Mechanist security systems.

That “Blackmail” and “Shipping… and Receiving” were made by the same design (Mike Chrzanowski) is unsurprising. They have a similar approach to secret placement and spatial relationships. Both feature “zones of control” in a way the other maps don’t.

In “Shipping… and Receiving” those zones are organised linearly around Buildings A, B, and Davidson’s ship. In “Blackmail” the divisions are floor based. Both use this notion of moving through these “zones” to indicate spatial, and to an extent temporal, progression.

“Trace The Courier”:

Truart might be dead, but whoever hired him to kill Garrett is still out there. Mosley had something to do with his murder, she might not be connected to the people trying to kill Garrett but “enemy of my enemy” and all that. Time to find out what Mosley knows.

Straightforward objectives. Mosley has gone out for a walk carrying a letter. Tail her, and find some way to read the contents of that letter.

The same map as “Ambush!”, even having played it just days ago the change in starting location makes it initially hard to orient myself.

Her ponytail makes Mosley easy to differentiate from the other guards wandering about. Of which there are quite a few, more even than during “Ambush!” I suppose the murder of the Sheriff has everybody a little on edge.

It’s not really paranoia when somebody actually is tailing you from the shadows.

I don’t remember that ladder being there last time. This section is a little tricky, a quick drop into the canals and I should be able to come out ahead of Mosley.

There we go. The other two City Watch are heading away from me so I can just wait here until Mosley catches up.

She’s moving again I’d better… Wait… What’s that? She dropped the letter. I doubt that was accidental.

“My co-conspirator:” You really are new to this whole intrigue and murder routine aren’t you Mosley?

Time to put the letter back and see what happens next.

Someone’s coming… He’s muttering something under his breath but I can’t make it out over the sound of the canal. He’s picking up the letter, and not being exactly subtle about it either.

You have some leeway to get ahead of Mosley and her contact, but if you get too far it’s mission failed. You don’t really have the opportunity to use any knowledge of the space you gained when you were here before.

“Lady of the greens, keep us safe, grant us home, takes us when we lies down for a ways to live again.” Got close enough to him to hear what he was saying, and yeah, totally a Pagan.

One nice touch is that as you follow the Pagan you can still see Mosley wandering around the City. She studiously ignores him, as do the rest of the City Watch which seems a bit odd. I suppose he keeps quiet when he walks past them. Maybe they think he’s one of Mosley’s confidential informants?

Back through the market square, this guy is taking a circuitous route to wherever he’s going. Crossing the bridge is risky, so instead I leap across to the fountain, and then to the other side. Putting myself ahead of him briefly.

We’re now heading into a part of the City that was gated off during our previous visit.

Looks like he’s heading for the graveyard of all places. But what’s this? An ambush? (Ironic) The Mechanists were waiting.

“We darest not venture in there. Cemeteries are no place for the living to be treading about at night.”

“Perhaps we should return home, and forge thee a backbone.”

I need to find a way into the graveyard – I can’t remember how. I also need to go and pick a few more pockets to complete that objective. I wonder if stealing arrows from quivers counts as pickpocketing for this objective?

Well at least somebody is have a good night, or a really bad one. Maybe this is Benny finally having been fired for incompetence now getting stinking drunk.

Seems like nabbing arrows from quivers does count – I also might have lost track of how many pockets I’ve picked. Either way I can now try and get into the graveyard.

The Mechanist standing by the graveyard entrance doesn’t seem likely to move. Sneaking quickly past her patrolling companions I find a dark alley with a suspicious looking stone (classic Hanna-Barbera style). Oh look.

There are several tombs inside the graveyard. I find a body, but that doesn’t look like our Pagan friend.

Hmm… I guess I should follow this trail of blood (what?). Seems like it ends at this tomb.

Well shit… Here we go I guess.

That’s “Trace the Courier” done, a short level and our first example of map reuse. As with “Ambush!” I like the concept more than the execution. The lack of building interiors makes more sense here where there is some degree of constraint on your freedom.

Both levels might work better if the City was a hub area you could return to earlier in the game. Let players really feel like it’s their home turf before making them complete objectives in it.

Some degree of randomisation of routes and destinations would be beneficial – maybe it already does this to some degree? That way you could grant the player more freedom because they couldn’t just rush straight to the destination and wait. As it is “Trace the Courier” is really just a prologue to a larger level. I imagine if the technology had allowed it there wouldn’t be an explicit break between the two.

“Trail Of Blood”:

“Trail of Blood” is a level I never got on with when I first played it. Keen to see how I feel, and how familiar some of the spaces feel, now that I’ve finished The Dark Project.

I believe from here on I’ve not played these levels for over a decade.

Through the portal and out the other side. A forest, somewhere. The Pagan is still bleeding and his blood is the only clue Garrett has. Onward into the unknown.

I like the image of Garrett in the middle of nowhere taking time to draw a picture of a copse of trees just so he can passive aggressively use it to complain about not knowing where he is.

There’s probably not a huge difference between the versions of the Dark Engine used for each game, but the more organic spaces in The Metal Age are immediately more convincing. Maybe it’s the coloured lighting?

This doesn’t look good…

Mechanists!

Ghosts… It’s almost like they are talking directly to me. Some of them appear almost aware than I’m here, while others are clearly reliving the moment of their death.

Lilly – “You cans haves this. I don’t needs it any more.”

Mother – “Come Lily, must we go.”

Lilly – “His name’s Dewdrop, and he doesn’t likes Mechanists.”

Mother – “Lily…”

Lilly – “I haves to go now.”

Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Dewdrop.

Grabbed a map from a dead Mechanist.

The Pagans have a plan to escape, here’s hoping some of them made it.

So maybe a lot of the Mechanists walking around the village are now unconscious, their bodies dumped in various corners. And maybe Garrett doesn’t care so much if they are never found… If they die out here he didn’t kill them.

Fuck the Mechanists! Like, it was always clear than the Hammers were a fucked up bunch of religious fanatics, but they did at least seem to stick to the City. The Mechanists are out here “cleansing” the forest of people who clearly pose no threat to them.

Impressive.

So Jabril is a total piece of shit. Found the first message in Truart’s mansion, and the second in one of the huts in the village. One of the huts where everybody inside is dead.

Fuck.

This appears to be one of the metal constructs from before. The ones that were being “birthed” at the Eastport Mechanist seminary.

Birch – “Someone has to stays behind to delayses the Mechaints threat.”

Woman – “But we needs you with us Birch.”

Birch – “No! Takes Minnow and go! Go nows!”

Woman – “Look out!”

Rest in peace, Birch.

I’d already found two of these crystals in dark corners of the village. Following the note I found earlier, one goes in each eye, and into the mouth I go. A rather literal maw one might say.

… This looks, almost familiar.

Oh. That’s some The Dark Project levels of helpful there map.

The general structure is similar to the Maw, though it’s as if hundreds of thousands of years have passed. The hard stone has eroded into crumbling dirt, and an entirely new ecosystems has replaced what was there before.

Yeah, sure, why the fuck not?!

Erm…

Vine Arrows. Logically they work similarly to Rope Arrows, albeit with some extra functionality.

Well these are new. They appear to be carrying, blowguns. Hmm… Ape men with blowguns is maybe a questionable choice all things considered. Note Gas Arrow in the second image, that I will be grabbing as soon as I can.

This might be a problem… Fortunately I have the Gas Arrow I made a detour to pick up a moment ago. One Noisemaker Arrow to draw them all in and… Dowsed the torch, and knocked out a trio of ape men, I fucking love Gas Arrows.

It’s at this point that I realise that what I thought were rat men in The Dark Project were actually ape men. I’d also like to note that nobody corrected me on this. I probably got confused because there are rat men in Deadly Shadows.

For some reason I don’t have a screenshot of the similar bridge from The Dark Project. Either way this one looks a little different, again it’s like everything is the same but twisted and altered as if by time or some other primal force.

There’s a letter on the floor. It’s Mosley’s first correspondence to the Pagans (Is it capitalised because it’s an organisation, or not because it’s a generic term?). So she wasn’t brought up as one, she’s a sympathiser, a convert.

These sprites (?) illuminate the space around them, which can be pretty annoying. Fortunately they are fairly easily avoided.

A bowl full of vast trees, hollowed out in places with wooden bridges between. Grass on the floor below. Ape men wander around, laughing, arguing.

There are four of these tree villages each connected in sequence: spring, summer, fall, winter. Only the last is deserted.

I’d forgotten I had a sword, and that it could break things. So I spent longer that I should trying to find my way out of the winter village after being confronted by this.

The map updates as you progress further. I can just see Garrett crouching down to draw out each area as he comes to it, sketching in the glow of bioluminescent fungus.

Out of the villages and back into what looks like the forest I started it. The soundscape is full of clicking and creaking that’s incredibly off putting. I remember being attacked by something large last time I got this far…

… I guess he didn’t make it. But Garrett did.

I feel like this is the first time one of the (rare) animated cutscenes has come before the end of mission stats screen. It makes sense here as it is very much the conclusion to this level rather than a scene that serves to connect two others.

Welp, I guess that’s what happened to the last of the Mechanists that made it through the portal.

Viktoria!

She’s not happy to see Garrett, I suspect the feeling is mutual. He lost an eye, she lost her God. They’re not exactly even. Nicely evocative of the Trickster’s big reveal scene from The Dark Project.

There is so much going on in this sequence. Viktoria reveals her forces, admits she has spies in every district of the City, and then conjures up a miniature version of the City out of plants and fungi.

The Mechanists are the ones who want Garrett dead, as they want Viktoria and her kin destroyed. Enemy of my enemy. A pact is made. Sealed in sap and blood. Shit just got complicated, again.

The earth itself will hold Viktoria to her side of the deal, and presumable it’ll not be too keen if Garrett breaks his word either.

As much as I love this series, I still fantasise about the game suggested by these cutscenes. How much was the technology of the time holding them back?

“Trail of Blood” finished. Isn’t as straightforward a reproduction of “The Maw of Chaos” as I’d thought it was. That actually fits better though, this is no longer the Trickster’s domain but rather that of another.

There’s not as clear of a three act structure to The Metal Age. We’ve encountered our first major twist, along with a change of antagonist. We’re not quite at the end of Act 2, but such divisions aren’t as useful here. Everything is still deliciously noir though. I used to consider this the start of Act 3, I’m not so sure anymore. Either way, the true antagonist has been revealed and it’s time to take action.

As with “Into the Maw of Chaos” before it, “Trail of Blood” is structurally linear. It’s a journey into a different world, and it doesn’t feel restrictive because it’s so clearly a format breaker. Still not one of my favourites, I’m much more favourable toward it now than when I first played it.

Next: “Life Of The Party”

So Garrett has just broken into the City Watch headquarters and framed Sheriff Truart’s second-in-command, I’m sure nothing bad will come of this for anybody involved.

“Ambush!”:

The lack of a loot objective in “Framed” makes sense given how “Ambush!” starts.

Even using New Dark the briefing videos will occasionally just not play.

Erm… That’s some foreshadowing.

Looks like Sammy sold old Garrett out. Fortunately a good thief is always prepared. Time to get off the streets and back home to safety.

That’s a pretty old school map. I have several problems with this level, the first is that this is supposedly Garrett’s home turf yet for the player it’s all new.

This layout is used again later when the player has to tail somebody through the streets. That serves as a better introduction as it’s partially directed. If the plot is that Garrett is escaping across familiar territory it should be familiar to the player too.

Oh look, only two objectives. I know what that means…

It’s safe to remain standing where you start, as it is with nearly all the levels, but Garrett is never going to get home if he doesn’t get moving.

After leaving the area I double back to the control room for the gate sealing off Shalebridge Road. The lever isn’t that important, but I take the key from the desk because it’ll be useful later. I like that you can just take it even if you don’t know why you’ll need it.

The city streets of “Ambush!” include some nice areas, though I think I prefer the narrower more intricate streets of “Assassins!” from The Dark Project.

Poor Benny, he doesn’t understand what is meant by an offer to “warm you up”.

Another area where there’s a divergence between how visible I think I’ll be crouching here, and how visible I actually am.

I should talk about how great the bow is. It takes time to get comfortable with its sight and the arc of your arrows, yet once you get the hang of it you can make shots you didn’t think possible: moving targets, targets at extended range, etc. The time it takes to fully draw, the satisfying thunk when you fire, the projectile speed of your arrows, the glorious splash of a Water Arrow against a wall. It’s all just so satisfying. It’s a shame now much faster everything about the bow is in Deadly Shadows.

If there’s anything more evocative of the Immersive Sim genre than a room full of lockers, it’s creeping up/down a staircase.

(Top: The Metal Age, Bottom: Dishonored).

Like this is literally my abiding memory of every Immersive Sim, creeping up stairs. If I close my eyes and think of Dishonored that’s the image I get, not Lady Boyle’s extravagant party, but the stairs in the house outside.

It’s easy to both get lost on the streets of the City, and to accidentally stumble on the way forward.

There are some nice interiors, but also lots of unusable doors and streets that just circle back on themselves. It’s a space in need of a reason to exist. The areas around Garrett’s home, and the gate to Shalebridge feel intentionally designed, the rest is unfocused

That’s a little harsh. I do like the level, I also like that I know it well enough now to be able to finish in just over half an hour.

The modified mantling in the New Dark patch is much better than the original version. I have so much more confidence in my movement abilities. I rarely miss a leaping mantle, and no longer struggle to get through low windows as I did when the game first came out.

Good old reliable crates, boon to thieves everywhere.

There are a lot of canals in this part of the City. Swimming through them will help you avoid the guard patrols on the streets, though you might not be able to get back onto dry land where you want to.

Uh oh. The City Watch are already waiting at Garrett’s home. It’s time to ditch this place and move on to Shalebridge. First I’ll need to grab Garrett’s copy of the gate key from the hidden stash in his bedroom.

There are a bunch of ways into Garrett’s building, my personal favourite is to leap across the street from the building opposite, directly into his bedroom.

With the guard patrols and various gates locked this part of the City is divided between the areas north of the market place (Garrett’s house, and the gate to Shalebridge) and those to the south (the Crippled Burrick Pub, and the gate control room).

The gate to Shalebridge isn’t that far from the Crippled Burrick where I started this level. Some more images from my journey back.

This fountain – in the middle of the canal bisecting the market – is a good way to cross between the two sides (north and south) without disturbing Benny on his bridge.

This door is the most tense encounter of the entire level. It’s locked, but obviously you can’t tell that from here. It’s on a well patrolled section of street, and lit by electric lights that you can’t dowse.

I wait until the patrol has gone past to my left then dart across the road and start picking the lock. It requires both lock picks and has three separate phases. You have to use one pick, then the other, then the first again.

All the while I can hear the guards’ footsteps getting louder again. I can’t turn around because that’ll halt the lock picking. I could cancel it and dart back into the shadows – partially picked locks don’t reset – but if left too late that’s just as risky. I get the lock picked and bundle myself through the door just before the guards round the corner. I have to be careful not to make too much noise while they pass as that could alert them. So I just back up into the corner and only close the door once they are gone.

It was worth it because that door let me get above the later part of their patrol route, and past this one guard who refuses to move from her post.

Liberal application of Moss Arrows (see previous comment about there being no such thing as too many) and it’s safe to drop down behind her and make a dash for the door ahead which is also locked, but situated in a nice shadowy nook.

The kitchen at the back of this building has a window that opens onto the end of Shalebridge Road, and the gate to the Shalebridge district itself. More Moss Arrows just to be safe, a quick dash, and…

… That’s “Ambush!” done. More detailed thoughts can be found here.
(I must have taken that first image just before the objective popped… It can sometimes take a while for the game to register that you’ve finished the level.)

It’s not one of my favourite levels, nor is it particularly bad, I just find it a little dull. I wish it felt more focused around the escape. Though this could be my knowledge that it’s a reused layout impacting my perception of the level, it’s hard to tell. From the moment they revealed themselves at the Crippled Burrick Pub it was clear the City Watch had no intention of arresting Garrett. Fortunately he’s evaded them, recovered his stuff, and moved to a new safe house in Shalebridge.

It doesn’t seem like the events at Shoalsgate Station were to blame as nobody knows Garrett was responsible. Truart specifically came after Garrett for other reasons. Why would the Sheriff go to this much trouble to kill a thief like Garrett?

After everything that’s happened Garrett was just hoping for a quiet night in replacing the fluid in his eye. Huh, it’s never actually come up yet. Garrett has a mechanical eye now, to replace the one Viktoria “borrowed”.

Sadly the Keepers had other plans, and something they wanted Garrett to see.

Interpreter Caduca (background) and Translator Gamall (foreground). I don’t believe they are ever named until Deadly Shadows. Caduca reads the ancient texts aloud while Gamall translates for her.

“My hand is copper. My brow is lead. Suffer me in a red patina, swept along in a molten flow to a sad eternity. My stride interrupted my thoughts untimed my tears are become drops of silver and shattered the crystalline fern. I plead the wind to sweep us away.”

The Metal Age is upon us, the trees in the City are dead or dying. Change is coming. Garrett is unconvinced, but takes the sealed letter handed to him as he leaves. After all, there’s a difference between unconvinced and unconcerned.

“My heart it ceases, my breath undrawn. My eyes forever focused on the sanguine metal dawn.”

Onward we head into Act 2. A less clear divide between acts than in The Dark Project, Garrett is being swept along by events around him rather than being directly invited to participate. Things are in motion though, Garrett needs to act before Truart finds him again. Heh, I’m getting chills remember things to come over this and the next game. For all its fault the story of Deadly Shadows is a fantastic conclusion to the triptych. I also really glad y’all convinced me (haha) to play through all three. I’ve never done them all back to back like this, and I think the overarching story will be the better for it. That previous cutscene is also the first utterance of the phrase “the renegade who is both brethren and betrayer”. That will become much more important later. For now it certainly sounds like it could be referring to Garrett. In fact the nature of who is the “brethren and betrayer” is a pretty factious topic in the Thief fan-community. I wonder how much of the events of Deadly Shadows were planned out when The Metal Age was being written. There was going to be a third one at Looking Glass (using the near mythical Siege engine), and both Terri Brosius and Laura Baldwin who wrote for the first two games were writers on Deadly Shadows, so it’s possible the general plot ideas didn’t change much.

Ancient texts translated by creepy women, portentous prophecies, magical glyphs, paganism, oppressive religious sects, precursor civilisations, old gods, corruption, politics, murder and betrayal, urgh, yes, inject that shit into my veins!

“Eavesdropping”:

“I know they’re trying to manipulate me, but Keepers never alter the truth, just keep it in the shadows.”

According to the Keepers, if Garrett wants to know the Sheriff’s secrets he must go to the Eastport Mechanist seminary and listen to what is said at a meeting there, tomorrow night.

“This situation does have one advantage, things can’t get any worse. Who could hire someone like the sheriff to kill me?” Oh Garrett, buddy, if only you knew.

“Eavesdropping” – which I guess is also a pun given Garrett predilection for non-standard building entry – another level with an objective to return to your starting point when all other objectives are met; forcing you to consider spaces from multiple directions.

That omnidirectional nature of levels is what elevates Thief and games influenced by it, from the likes of Splinter Cell. The latter are focused around stealth encounter bubbles, which you deal with in sequence and then never have to consider again.

It’s also why I am wary of Immersive Sim style games that do away with loading screens. The pinch-points needed to support efficient streaming encourage a level design that incorporates unidirectional spaces and a “string of pearls” approach to encounter design.

The alternate approach is open-world games which allow for omnidirectional encounter spaces, but at the expense of any long term consequences for your actions: spaces repopulate once you leave, changes to the environment aren’t persistent, etc.

The Eastport Mechanist seminary is built around an old Hammer cathedral… No not that one. It’s a narratively evocative combination of old and modern construction. Despite their heraldry being everywhere the Mechanists can’t hide the Hammerite roots of their order.

The giant Hammer symbol in their stained glass windows being one element they seem either unwilling, or incapable, of removing.

Getting to one of the doors you need to stand by to overheard the meeting is actually pretty easy, so of course there’s much more to “Eavesdropping” than that.

Karras is making mechanical Masked Servants out of the City’s destitute and Sheriff Truart is helping him. Their relationship is maintained through bribery, fear, and Karras having recorded their meetings as leverage. The Masked Servants also have the ability to kill those in their proximity, turning them into a substance resembling dust… But to what end?

I’m still impressed:

1. That Karras and Garrett are both voiced by Stephen Russell.
2. That a key plot reveal is handled by letting the player overhear a meeting their cannot see.
3. By how much mileage The Metal Age gets out of a villain who sounds like Elmer Fudd.

The location of the safety deposit box key is randomised, with several possible locations, and you only ever hear its true location once. So best to write it down somewhere. Where the key is can change how challenging the overall level is.

I have lucked in to the safety deposit box key being in the best possible location. Everything I need to make a copy of it is in the factory area too.

Here’s the key, and around the corner is the wax press, and voila. Now to just return the key and scour the level for loot.

That’s a big design flaw you’ve got there Brother Coltus, it’d be a shame is some taffer were to learn about it.

Look, it’s nothing personal I’ve just had some real bad experiences with you lot.

I found this dead Mechanist in the catacombs, nabbed the key from their belt and Garrett just said “Nope”, which was weird.

Any time you want to just turn around that’d be cool. No? Alright then…

Shh… Sleep tight. Don’t worry, the Haunts are all dead… I think.

Sometimes NPCs will get stuck on geometry, reloading a save will cause them to break out of it. That’s a use of Quick Save/Quick Load I have zero problem justifying.

Another level where consideration has been given to providing adequate sleeping facilities for the number of NPCs in the level. The guards get individual beds, while the acolytes have bunk beds. I not sure who gets the better deal there.

Ah yes, the classic “open a chest and automatically pick up something heavy” trick. Now I have to make sure I put it down carefully so as to not alert the guards. Cheap gag, but an effective gotcha for players who aren’t paying attention or are in a rush.

I’m nearly at the loot objective already. I’ll explore as much of the level as I can anyway because, why wouldn’t I? Also given the complexity of the next level I want to go in as well equipped as possible.

I’m carrying around a Holy Symbol for some reason. This, and the golden hammers I’m finding around the graveyard and catacombs, are much more meaningful to me now I’ve actually played through The Dark Project.

“Hi, so… Erm… Come here often?”

“Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but look over there and…”

As much as I love The Metal Age, I am starting to realise how one-note a lot of the early sections are compared to The Dark Project.

“Eavesdropping” is a solid level, the randomisation of the key location makes it dynamic and interesting to return to, but it still plays similarly to the levels before it.

So far The Metal Age is focusing on variation in tone over more high concept format breakers.

What is it with all these Angel statues? I shall continue watching them. (Is this joke getting old yet?)

Found in the guard barracks. The first mention of Angelwatch by name. It’s not yet clear that this is also the “Mechanist tower in Dayport” that the guards were talking about in “Shipping… and Receiving”.

“I could really learn to hate these guys.” Those masks look oddly familiar…

Just two Mechanists discussing the metaphysics of the soul… Oh and a giant fucking robot!

That’s “Eavesdropping” done. Currently the last of the levels I’ve covered for Sneaky Bastards. The rest are coming, I promise.

The limited variety is notable, but so is the fact that by this point in The Dark Project I’d already threatened to quit at least once, and would do so several more times before it was over.

The Dark Project is certainly a less inconsistent game than I had the impression of it being, it still focuses on aspects of its series’ design space that I don’t find as appealing, and runs out of steam three or four levels before it’s over. The Metal Age is an over-correction, though one that is thematically supported by the narrative. Mechanically at least its focused on a region of the design space that I find most appealing. Deadly Shadows was never quite it, but a third game that had the mechanical focus and consistency of The Metal Age with the weirdness and variety of The Dark Project would have been incredible.

“First City Bank and Trust”:

Garrett has the key to the Mechanist’s safety deposit box where they are keeping the incriminating recording of Truart’s meeting with Karras. Now he just needs to break into the biggest bank in the City and steal that recording, no worries.

Thanks to his helmet I always have a trouble telling which way Karras is facing.

Time for “First City Bank and Trust”. Garrett needs that recording. So I’m going to have to navigate the – partially randomised – Mechanist security devices, obtain the deposit box number from the Hall of Records, and then “acquire” the recording itself.

No clear reason is provided for why Garrett has a map of the bank this detailed. The font treatment would suggest it’s some form of official blueprint.

If you enter the bank via anything other than the roof just know I’m judging you…

Weird panels on part of the roof. I still have no idea what these are. They aren’t glass, maybe they were once supposed to be skylights but they needed to be sealed off for visibility reasons?

You can pay Zhan for a tip. The abundance of tiled floors would have been good to know before I spent all my money… Oh, I spent it on Moss Arrows anyway? Never mind then.

Zhan was not kidding about all the tiled floors.

For the longest time I thought those mechanical heads on the ground could hear me (they can’t). I’d always creep past even if the area was too dark for the Watcher to see me. I knew they were turrets, but I thought they could activate themselves.

The large Mechanist Combat Bot can see and hear you, the smaller Worker Bot can only hear you – until it’s been alerted. I thought the two “Faces” complimented each other so one could only see you, and the other could only hear you. The simple differentiation of the AI sensory model for the Worker Bots makes them more interesting to deal with. As does the fact you have to invest resources into disabling them; a Water Arrow or a Gas Arrow.

Or possibly… One face can only see you, another can only hear you, the third can only speak to you…

This is how I thought this tweet was going to work out – The large Mechanist Combat Bot can see and hear you, the smaller Worker Bot can only hear you – until it’s been alerted. You have one question. – Nathan Cocks.

This differentiation of perception and behaviour led me to expect the Trickster’s minions in The Dark Project would also have different sensory models. That they didn’t, and that they were so easily dispatched with a back stab, made encounters with them a little bland.

I spoke about this before, but it’s a big part of why I found the last three levels of The Dark Project disappointing. For all their weirdness I felt like I was facing reskinned guards – if they were literally that it would have been super creepy though.

Last time I played there was a security camera in that corner, because I remember getting fucked over by.

Oh, hello there.

So…. I know I need to go to the basement first before I can open the vault door. But Garrett doesn’t know that yet, so in some sense I shouldn’t go there now without some other reason. I’m going to do it because it saves time, though.

Regarding my previous statement about randomised locations for Mechanist security devices. First is from a previous attempt, second is from today. Same difficulty level.

I understand changing the deployment pattern for Moss Arrows from a random splash (ala The Dark Project) to a cross makes it clearer which areas are covered, but it still looks fucking silly.

I think maybe I’ll avoid stepping on those four tiles there.

I see somebody has been to Level Design school. ;)

If you don’t explore the basement beforehand you’ll find the vault door blocked by a metal bar, and be forced to go down there to find a way to remove it.

Silly reference… The buttons on the machine controlling the metal bar are numbered 0-5 going top-to-bottom left-to-right. Hitting 0451 will activate the machine and remove the bar. To avoid frustration it’ll automatically unlock if you just keep pressing buttons.

I know some aren’t fond of the generic room-corridor-room layout of the basement, I find it a nice contrast to the rabbit warren above. It’s a space occupied exclusively by Mechanist machines and its lack of adornment or sense of a human touch is fitting.

There are three distinct sections to the basement: storage areas, maintenance tunnels, and vault security. Each has its own layout and texture style. The sense I got was that the latter two were recent additions, built by the Mechanists to support their machinery.

Look, I maybe forgot to actually go into the Hall of Records when I passed it earlier.

Who the fuck stores Moss Arrows (well the crystals that make them anyway) in a safe? Seriously?

The vault and the western side of the bank are sealed off from the larger eastern side by a series of gated doorways and locked doors. Without the key you can cross over by passing through either the guard room or the lobby. Each presents its own challenges.

Huh, cool.

*spoilers* the devs put a script (and a clue due the many clocks with the same hour on the mission) if you spend 8hs on the mission the vault unlocks itself because it made logical sense (bank opening in the morning, end of the night shift). It’s on TTLG forums – El Gordo Freeman.

The way I personally prefer to get between the two sections of the bank is via the guard room, using a Rope Arrow. Provided you don’t alert the Mechanist Combat Bot you can pick the door on the walkway, and you’ll be in the room above the vault door.

As I’m now in the western side of the bank I don’t need to grab the key to unlock the doors between the two sections, but that key also unlocks the doors between the the vault and the outside, if I unlock them now it’ll make things easier.

The key is in what I presume is the bank manager’s office, which is part of an unlabeled portion of the map. Once this guard is out of the way, a leap across to that ledge and in through the window will put me just outside.

Now I have everything I need to enter the vault, steal the recording, and escape. Despite my issues with them during The Dark Project it’s still weird to not have loot objectives.

Two Watchers in the vault; easily avoided provided you don’t try and get cocky. Box 11 is what I need. And there we go. I do wish I had a Slow-Fall Potion so I could just leap off.

Obviously Garrett isn’t going to leave yet, he’s in a fucking bank, there’s loot to be had. And what is one of the first things he finds? A Slow-Fall Potion.

The purple indicator of where you’ve been is neat. I’d prefer its availability to be tied to difficulty, part of mastering Thief is mastering your ability to mentally map complex spaces. I’d love to see a full “this was the route you took” map after each level though.

Jeez… That was close. I’m not entirely sure why he didn’t see me, but I’ll take it. Time to move.

If you don’t wish to cross the lobby the very top floor of the bank is optional. If you do you’ll need to go up there to disable the security systems guarding it.

I used to be annoyed at the doors opening in whatever direction they felt like, but the number of times I’ve successfully hid behind them have changed my feelings on that somewhat. (I may have talked about this before..?)

This is one of those things that seems like a great solution to a problem: you want to light the space but also provide nice shadows to allow the player to hide. Solution: recess the light. Unfortunately it doesn’t always work, underneath is brightly lit regardless.

He shoots…

… He scores!

Along with this Watcher there’s another on the other side of the doorway (to the right of this image), with a slightly out of sync rotation. Getting past here is always a challenge. Fortunately I have Moss Arrows and a Speed Potion.

Unfortunately, I’m about to enter the Hall of Statues and I only have a single Moss Arrow left.

Boy, those Mechanists sure sound like fun folks. First indication that Angelwatch and the tower in Dayport might be the same thing.

I found the skeleton!

And that’s that done. I suppose I should actually visit the lobby now then.

“First City Bank and Trust” is a mixture of unique rooms and short – nearly identical – sections of corridor. It’s easy to get turned around and lose track of which direction you are heading in, even with the map.

There aren’t many conversations to overhear but those there are reinforce the class divides between the guards, the bank employees, and the bank’s patrons.

The building itself is baroque and extravagant where the public can see it, drab and utilitarian where they can’t. It’s both bureaucracy and the service industry incarnate. All gilt and smiles on the surface, all rote paper pushing and veiled condescension underneath. It’s the perfect example of the connection between materiality and wealth. Marble, tile, and carpet create extreme of tension and release in the public spaces, while stone and wood make the private spaces muted and unremarkable. So much of this level – of this game – only works because of the way sound is handled. Tile floors are not threatening until you make it so they are painfully loud to walk on. Wealthy materials therefore make for more hostile environments, it’s almost comically elegant. I love many levels from the Dishonored series, but even they were never able to evoke so much with just simple texturing. Tile floors with a carpet in the middle, immediate feelings of wealth, opulence. Also hostility, challenge. But there’s safety there too, if you reach the carpet you have some degree of freedom, but it’s constrained by the physical size of the carpet. The more wealthy the location the more it makes use of tile and carpet, the more spiky your feelings of threat and safety, of tension and release, become. And that’s without adding anything beyond materials.

This is a rare area where The Dark Project missteps. By casting the forces of the natural world as the antagonists it undercut this materiality. The materials of nature are grass, and stone, and wood. But these are not naturally hostile to Garrett, they read as safe. The variation throughout The Dark Project means you don’t have enough time to solidify the association between natural materials and safety. You understand it but it’s not ingrained, so when it’s altered it’s not as powerful a shift as it could be. This is easy for me to say years later. It’s also only after playing The Metal Age that I really get that sense of nature as refuge. Which in itself is an impressively on theme sensation. Nature is leaving the City just as I need it to be around. The very materiality of this new City is hostile to Garrett, the one force that could help him is dying and he helped bring that about.

The Metal Age is about how progress has altered the City, the people. What the Trickster feared in The Dark Project is coming to pass. In its attempt to correct itself the City is tilting too far away from nature. Balance must be restored. … These games, fuck.

In an ultimate act of refutation (or maybe acceptance) of the unwelcoming nature of the tiled lobby Garrett makes his escape across it, leaving the bank by the main entrance.

“First City Bank and Trust” completed, with no damage dealt nor taken. There will be a write-up of this one for http://SneakyBastards.net  at some point, but not just yet.

Here’s a breakdown of how the randomised elements of “First City Bank and Trust” were implemented.

I never noticed that the security cameras in “First City Bank and Trust” were randomised! Telliamed documented the script here: http://thiefmissions.com/telliamed/scripts2.html#camerakiller – Andy Durdin.

I hadn’t intended my run at “First City Bank and Trust” to be zero damage dealt. I had managed to get to the basement without confrontation (having entered via the roof) so then felt compelled to keep to it.

Next: “Blackmail”