|
A NIGHT IN
ROCKSBOURG Decided to take this
mission pack for another spin in NewDark and with the NecroAge mod. My
primary goal was to improve on my last Supreme endeavor, and try for Perfect
Thief. After a while spent in the
city of To the North Brought my tools from the
bedroom and a few weapons from the stash in the armory. Read the keepers’
note and Garibald’s letter for closer instructions; dropped them back after
use. Also returned the hideout key and locked the door when leaving. In case
I needed to return I knew about the secret entrance through the attic
crawlspace. An early easy-to-miss stack of coins rested on a desk in the
neighboring apartment (left image below). I descended to the streets, stole
the purse off Andrew and planned my travels from there. Neither the drunk nor
Walley the guard alerted to my presence, so I could walk the streets
surrounding my hideout quite freely. Looted the narrow hallway below the
hideout first. It included a locked study with coin stacks, and a very
hard-to-see purse in the corner behind some crates (right image below). I
appreciate a proper amount of hard loot if they are placed logically, and
this mission provided just that (as opposed to the sequel). Other FMs scatter
loot in seemingly random locations leading to nothing but frustration for the
player, but I digress. From this location I also heard a female guard
settling from an alert. Later realized it was the dark-skinned woman in the
unreachable alley east of the gate. [Actually, she is reachable through some acrobatic rope arrow maneuvers; thanks
to Aspirin and DrK] She can be seen from the basement workshop, a
continuation of the aforementioned hallway system. However, I never heard her
give the actual first alert. After some experimentation I realized she
detects picking the study door, the basement door, the basement chest, and
even a fast walk through the wooden hallway. Further study revealed she is
actually a neutral enemy, meaning she doesn’t alert to Garrett’s presence at
all unless he attacks her. Her settling remarks are therefore part of a Dark
engine glitch and does not count as busts towards the Supreme Ghost mode. A
similar situation arose with Lord Alharzad’s guard in Calendra’s Cistern
under NewDark (which always runs the game using the Thief 2 engine). The 92
loot in this area could therefore be taken for Supreme after all.
The situation by the northeast
gate got a little tricky. Overheard the important conversation between the
guards here. My objectives changed to include finding the source of Namez’
insanity, plus locating the cellar with the strangely behaving statues. Note
that these statues are totally separate from the statuette in the initial objective. To reach Roebuck’s
apartment I had to cross the courtyard somehow. I found a path so that the
torch got blocked by the pillar closest to the wagon. Experimenting, I
managed to avoid any comments from the sentry So, placing a rope above
the south doorway made me able to mantle the wooden frame by the blue window
(left image below). There was about a 50% chance of getting caught doing
this. Seemed like it was right on the border of a second level alert for the
guards. From here I could monitor the balcony archer and time my next move.
He pivoted randomly in all directions. If facing west or north, I could
mantle up the white stone wall and lurk as far west as possible. There, his
view was blocked by one of the parapet merlons. I grabbed the goblet to the
south while the guards were continuing their conversation (right image
below).
I could even reach
Roebuck’s balcony from here, all within Supreme rules. With a little luck the
archer would be facing east long enough for me to scoot in behind the support
pillar just outside the door. Now all the loot in Roebuck’s apartment (left
image below) and workshop were within reach. Leaving the premises with
Supreme Ghost intact still remained though. The bloke outside the basement
entrance simply couldn’t be fooled; I’d tried that enough times already.
Unfortunately, the guards’ conversation had now ended, so Flint would most
certainly see me dropping back to the streets from the balcony. I actually managed
to get this down to only a first alert, but still a bust for Supreme. My
thoughts then went to maybe finishing these moves (climbing the balcony,
cleaning Roebucks, and getting back down to the streets) all before the
guards ended their conversation. That way I would remove even the first alert
and add all this loot to the Supreme tally. Problem was, as soon as I saved,
their chat would restart the next time I reloaded. To solve this, I decided
to time how long their uninterrupted conversation took, and then attempt to
do the aforementioned set of moves within that time frame. Then at least I
didn’t use the engine’s conversation-restart bug to my advantage, and it
would essentially be as if the bug didn’t occur. Their conversation took just
under 1 minute and 45 seconds. So if I managed to get back to safety before
100 seconds had passed, I was in the clear for sure. After doing the moves a
number of times, I got reasonably good at it, and managed to cut down the
time considerably. The biggest problem was requiring the archer to be facing
east as I climbed the balcony parapet either way. I had to reload until he
turned within a few seconds, as I didn’t have many to spare. Chose the
western balcony door and mantled up the staircase railing with an angled
running-jump. Had a slight problem avoiding a comment from the aforesaid
civilian beyond the gate to the north as I dropped back to the street. I
landed on the storm drain, but had to push towards the left tipping over the
edge to evade his looks. It was tough to hear over the guards’ talking as
well. Snuck back to safety almost 10 seconds before the original conversation
would’ve ended. Nice one!
Heading Southwest Three paths existed into
the southwestern part of the city. One was through a mechanist basement in
the southeast, a road leading past the entrance doors of Namez’ main
courtyard. A civilian here always commented on me passing the street corner,
so this route was quickly discarded. The second path utilized the sewer
watchman’s apartment in the center of the map. Another civilian guarding the
opposite side made this route equally impossible. The third route through the
sewer canal therefore became the only viable option. It involved several
obstacles, in particular a female archer on a bridge to the north and the
canal patrolman carrying a lantern. Before worrying too much about them
though, I had to grab the vital library key behind the sewer grate (right
image above) and attempt to steal the only piece of loot in this part of the
map. It was located west of the bridge, in a rundown area by one of the
entrances into the Farglow district. I dropped over the metal fence north of
the bridge, as the archer looked elsewhere. She had two general angles but
shifted quite unpredictably, so it was a case of much saving and reloading.
After stealing the key I hid in the doorway at the top for the lantern guy to
pass. There was an additional patroller in the streets occasionally stopping
by the lady to have a chat. They didn’t actually say anything, but
gesticulated now and then to simulate a conversation. I timed him and the
lady’s angle in order to enter the alley by the homeless girl Tramp. She was
sleeping very lightly, and the smallest noise gave me away. The doorway
entering the streets from the side alley was metal and I had to go real slow
to keep her from waking. Each of the pillars by her “bed” had dark spots
protecting me from the streetlights, and I used these to reach the crowded
area further west. Once there, obtaining Sinth’s purse was relatively
effortless (left image below).
After returning to the
canal the problem was how and where to pass the watchman. His lantern
eliminated all benefits of shade, so I had to find a physical barrier
instead. Realized I could use the wooden foundation of the building south of
the bridge as attachment for a rope arrow. AIs have limited vertical eyesight
so I figured climbing a fair ways up while allowing the guard to pass could
let me off the hook. It certainly did (right image above). I turned around
and retrieved my arrow without a peep from the lady on the bridge. Had to
sprint-tap through the water to the opposite end before the watchman’s
return. There was another pair starting a chat on the deck above, but I
managed to lurk my way up the stairs and around the corner undetected. Scouring Around The nobleman from the
previous conversation had a route around the streets afterwards. He
periodically stopped outside a woman’s balcony in the west. As he left I
managed to steal the loot from her patio table. There was a sleeping archer
on a ledge to the north of this, only reachable from the woman’s balcony
railing. A flaming torch made me clearly visible, but a nearby pillar blocked
part of her view. It made me able to mantle the staircase railing unseen. Problem
was, the railing surface was metal and the woman was facing my way. There was
a large enough gap in the metallic fence above to reach the roof, but my
clunky boots didn’t make the job easy. In the end I had to drop onto the
balcony’s “sweet edge” and make the mantling jump from there. The balcony’s
archway then obstructed her line of sight and my boots kept still. The guard
didn’t mind me passing, though his neck will definitely feel it after that
nap! Robbed his bedroom, including the well-hidden purse beside the shelving
unit (left image below). Returning to said balcony was harder. First
I had to time the nobleman and the swordsman’s patrol routes. Second I had to
use the sweet edge of the top ledge to hop onto the sweet edge of the lower
fence (right image below). It was tough to find the right angle and speed to
make the landing silent, plus it had to be at the spot where I was covered by
the pillar to the right. Lastly I had to get fully onto the railing in order
to drop onto the stairs quietly. This scenario had a lot of nifty little
moves, all manageable within Supreme rules though.
Another thing, there was a
rather funny quarrel by the gate in the southwest. An archer ended up running
away scared, finally positioning himself by the crates beside the woman’s
balcony. There he stood looking rather annoyed, fidgeting around. I imagine
this area to be much harder to Ghost with him there, so I would make sure not
to trigger that conversation too early. Had to skip some loot in a
basement close to the southern gate. Two black spiders inside alerted to my
lockpicks; no chance for Supreme. The valuables were easy to obtain for
normal Ghost. Cleaned the rest of the southwest without trouble. An Easter
egg ring lay in the streets on the metal bridge in the south (left image
below). I had to come via the door above the bum to avoid alerts. Another
secret was just east of this, a jewelry box in a barrel (right image below).
I barely avoided the looks of the civilian through the double doors. Had to
watch the patrolling mechanists also.
Getting Down to
Business Entered the ventilation
system through the grate above the homeless guy. The air ducts were noisy but
not worse than usual. Had a little trouble retrieving the ore from the
mechanist study; both patrollers outside the window could hear the lockpicks
working. Got it in the end, along with the rest of the loot from the office
and the attic apartment across the street. Ended up by the door to Namez’
courtyard. Initially I had great
problems picking the door without alerting the man outside to full alarm. The
woman always commented, so Supreme was busted right there, but I couldn’t see
how a lockpick would bust plain old Ghost. I honestly thought this mission
was unghostable, until he suddenly didn’t give a peep and the door was
unlocked. I haven’t found a pattern determining his alert level; it seems
highly random to me. The lady now patrolling the metal bridge (the one involved
in the conversation in the southwest earlier) also heard the picking
occasionally, so I listened for her footsteps and timed it accordingly. To
traverse the courtyard I realized I needed to douse the two torches. The
sorceress was extremely wary and detected the tiniest flickers in the light
gem. Ultimately I had to reload and bring two arrows from the water trough
southwest of the metal bridge. The thief there was another one of those that
doesn’t alert per se, but gives
settling comments like “I’m getting too jumpy!” Even though they don’t bust
Supreme, I try to avoid those remarks altogether. Inching down the incline to
his right and leaning forward I managed to steal the water arrows without any
comments. The sorceress in Namez’ courtyard gave another comment (two total)
when I doused the torch right outside the door. Another inevitable Supreme
bust, in addition to putting out the flames of course, which isn’t allowed in
that mode. She kept quiet putting out the torch in the far corner though. I
could now traverse the yard to the opposite side at will (left image below).
There was more trouble
inside. I couldn’t enter the kitchen for Supreme; the servant heard the sound
of the swinging gate. I could, however, reach four pieces of loot through the
barred window on the bedroom side. I could almost reach the fourth goblet
through the main door, but alas, my fingers were too short. A well-hidden
purse lay behind the servant’s bed also (right image above). Cleaned the
kitchen for plain Ghost. The two people in the yard also commented on closing the tower door, further
busting Supreme. Somehow this made more sound than opening it. There was quite a surprise
in store when finding the cellar key in the burnt mansion. Got transported to
an insane torture chamber, with a giant zombie coming to get me. The zombie
stopped at a certain location on its way to the cage (left image below). I
assume the purpose from DrK was for the zombie to catch you and chase you
around the chamber until the portcullis got high enough. However, the
southeast corner of the cage was a little darker than the rest, allowing the zombie
to enter the cage without having spotted me. It then crossed the chamber,
made a pivot turn and usually caught me heading back out. Normally it turned
right, so I managed to move to the southwest corner and evade its looks as it
left (right image below). I could even follow it and explore the rest of the
tunnels, without much reward I’m afraid. Exiting to the west took me back to
Namez’ mansion. The cellar key was stuck to the inventory and impossible to
put back.
Returned all keys except
the library key, and left the mansion doors open but locked. The tower key
couldn’t be put back to the library corner; it alerted the mechanist in the
kitchen downstairs. Instead I had to put it on one of the sheets of paper on
the floor. Another small Supreme bust I guess. I could now return to the
north part of the city unbothered, as a new way had opened up through Namez’
mansion. I collected the remaining loot, including a secret money cache in
the ceiling of the sewer watchman’s apartment (left image below).
Last thing to do up here
was to return the library key. I took the same method as before, plunging
into the water above the right ledge. Quickly dropped the key and headed up
the stairs to the doorway before the lantern guard appeared. Realized I
couldn’t follow the guy through the sewer like before; the noble at the
opposite end was now facing the waterway (after the conversation from
earlier) and would catch me instantly. I noticed, however, that the female
archer on the bridge always swung to her right when turning from east to
west. So I waited by the lamppost corner for the perfect moment (right image
above). As the swordsman walked by I snuck out and headed for the bridge.
With a little luck the lady would turn as I stood by her side so I could
sneak into the tunnel and beyond. I got caught by the returning swordsman
about 5-6 times before she finally turned at the right moment. Completing Perfect Thief I headed back through
Namez’ mansion and entered the air ducts. Emerged at the homeless guy’s
place. One piece of loot remained; a purse on Randalph, a civilian in the
southwest plaza. When playing the mission upon release years ago, I
relatively quickly dismissed the idea of getting this purse within regular
Ghost rules. This time I didn’t want to abandon it so easily. Advancing years
have made me more determined, I guess. The situation by the southwest gate
contained four civilians and two guards, all stationary. Both guards were stationed
far away and two of the civilians had their backs turned, so really there was
only the remaining couple by the lamppost to worry about. The biggest problem
was the woman facing north. She had her right side towards the alley to the
east and always gave a first alert when coming down the slope. Part of the
underpass here was dark though, which gave her (and everyone else) the chance
to settle down. I figured the only feasible way to get close would be
directly from the east, sneaking up along the south wall towards the barrel.
That way I would approach both of their peripherals. By rushing out of the
shade and coming to a crouched halt, I could get by with only first alerts,
though a whole slew of them. A few times one person’s first alert remark set
off somebody else to hunt mode. If that happened, all I had to do was reload.
I was still far away from reaching the purse though and inching closer got
all of them moving. I was just about ready to give up (again!) when I by a
random thought doused the torch on the far wall to the west (left image
below). The whole gang alerted from me drawing an arrow, but the torch’s
quenching actually reduced my light gem from red to yellow! That’s when I
finally knew it was possible.
Instead I went back to
Samael’s flat and doused the torch from his back yard (left image above).
This still spawned first alerts, but I truly didn’t care. Back in the south
alley like before, I noticed I could inch a
lot closer before triggering hunt modes. Almost all the way to the barrel
in fact. I still couldn’t reach the purse though. Through experimentation I
noticed the only one who truly caught me was the red-haired woman to the
left. I decided to give her a little more time to relax after coming to the
crouched halt by the barrel. I gave her a good 30 seconds. After that she
even accepted me leaning forward. I couldn’t hold the lean more than a second
or two, or else she’d freak out. Through more trial and error I found the
exact place where she wouldn’t alert if I stayed crouched, and got a feeling
for how much time she needed before a forward-lean was tolerable. After not
too long the purse lit up as I went for my lean, and I could safely get the
last piece of loot (right image above). What a relief!!! I wasn’t out of the
woods yet though, as the patrolling swordswoman was on her way back. I
instantly creep-crouched along the wall and into the underpass before she
appeared. YES!!!! Perfect Thief in the house!! Statistics: Time: 1:50:59 Loot: 3068 out of 3068 (Supreme: 2638) Pickpockets: 4 out of 11 Secrets: 2 out of 2 Locks Picked: 17 Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0 Consumables: 2 water arrows in Namez’ courtyard; 1
water arrow for regular Ghost to get Randalph’s purse in the southwest Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: Success! Supreme Thief: Failed! Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed! Notes: -
Had to skip a purse worth 100 from the bum in the alley
outside Roebuck’s basement for Supreme. Couldn’t avoid a comment from him. -
The next loot skipped was in the spider basement to the
south; a hammer and two statues (105 gold total). The critters alerted to me
picking the window. -
A purse worth 100 gold by the southwestern gate had to be
skipped for Supreme. Its owner couldn’t be reached without detection. -
Got an alert from the people in Namez’ back yard when
picking the lock coming from the ventilation shafts. First Supreme bust. -
Had to use two water arrows to pass through Namez’
courtyard. More Supreme busts. -
Had to skip a goblet and three plates (125 gold) from
Namez’ kitchen for Supreme. Opening the entry gate alerted the servant. -
The man and the woman in Namez’ courtyard also commented
on closing the tower door. Even more Supreme busts. -
Couldn’t return the tower key to its original position,
the guard downstairs heard the racket. Put it on the sheet of paper instead.
Still another (yet small) Supreme bust. |
