Life of the Party

Mission 10: Life of the Party

[This report has recently been verified with TFix/NewDark 1.27. Although the original text for OldDark has been preserved, any situations affected by these patches are discussed in green. Keep in mind that there is a difference between playing the game in NewDark with or without TFix. TFix updates the core mission files, as well as applies .dml files that tweak the environment in numerous ways. These changes aren’t supposed to have a significant impact on gameplay, but when ghosting, slight changes could occur. If wanting as close to the “vanilla” experience as possible, install just NewDark, without any further patches. I have ghosted the game 1) in OldDark, 2) in plain NewDark, and 3) in NewDark with TFix.]

Hands down the best mission in the game. With the latest update of Tafferpatcher installed and ready to go, this would be an experience unlike most. I had already played and ghosted the alpha version ‘An Unwelcome Guest’, but this was the real deal. I don’t want ruin this description with lengthy chatter, so let’s get right to business.

Overall score: 9.8/10

There can’t be many better objectives than ‘stay off the streets’. Instead I was to get to Angelwatch by way of the rooftops. Once there, I had to spy on Karras to find his reason for throwing the party and read his latest entry into the New Scripture of the Master Builder. In addition, I needed information on his Cetus project. 1,550 was my loot requirement, and I had to return to my starting position once everything else was done. The bank and armory objectives were gone from the demo mission, though both locations were still present (in modified fashion).

I knew the mission was non-Supremable. There were three separate areas where the rules had to be broken for that mode. I would still try to keep first alerts and consumables to an absolute minimum, absent if possible. A conventional Perfect Thief had also been reported as impossible, though I would certainly try my best to attain it. Regular Ghost was similarly in for a tough time, though knowing it was possible gave me the confidence I needed to persist. Perhaps you can already tell, but I was really looking forward to this one!

Rooftops

Found some hidden coins in a window just south of the bell tower. Further west was a keeper overlooking some sort of mechanical plaza (left image below). He didn’t alert to anything and even disappeared when I got too close to the window. Once he got displaced to the outside ledge, staring and stretching his day away. I wasn’t able to repeat this behavior, so I assume he’s supposed to just vanish. The archer here turned away from the window occasionally, making me able to sneak in. He always pivoted north, so I could easily wait for him to his south and grab the coin stack from the footlocker. Left using the same method.

The only way to get all four pickpocket counts in the archer fight was to steal them during their quarrel. I picked the Willey archers first and waited for the fight to finish. Luckily, both Van Vernon archers survived and I could steal their pockets after they settled (right image above). Normally, I don’t like exploiting an ongoing conversation to steal something. To me, it busts Supreme if the participants would have alerted before or after. Of course, Supreme doesn’t allow unnecessary pickups, so these arrows were skipped for that mode. I just like including how to get all the items within the various set of rules. Had this been loot, I probably would have skipped it also. Snuck my way west after that.

Fieldstone was easy enough; only a little fiddling with the inside guard. Dropped the lifted key back to the walkway for Supreme. East of here was a thief’s hideout with some loot. The window was already broken, unlike the equivalent house in the demo mission. The flares in the innermost room couldn’t be taken without spawning a few first alerts from said thief. He commented on opening the door for one. Alerts like these are special, because it takes a long time to receive a settling remark, such as: “Eh, it’s just nothing.” Sometimes it can take up to several minutes. These special alert situations only arise when enemies comment from 1) opening a door, 2) closing a door, or 3) picking the lock of a door. Before settling, the enemy refuses to give additional comments, giving players the illusion no more first alerts are spawned. I always wait for the settling remark before moving on, so that I can count the total number of alerts and make my report more accurate. In total, the thief gave 5 alerts, 4 from opening and closing both doors and 1 from rushing past the fire from behind the pillar. The room below the cracked roof had a ring hidden in the corner.

I always used to skip the housebreakers’ room for Supreme, due to having to exploit their conversation. However, there is nothing in the rules that prevents using it to your advantage. Their chat didn’t trigger until after I entered the room though, and I got a first alert emerging in the doorway. The only way around this was triggering it outside, from the west end of the roof of the adjacent building. Timing the patrolling swordsman inside, I could rush upstairs and grab the loot well before the conversation ended. I made sure to listen for a settling remark afterwards. Also had to close the door on my way out, in order to prevent an unnecessary brawl with the swordsman. This meant 125 loot added to my Supreme run from 2012.

The necromancer’s had a secret hidden in the top floor fire (left image above). It revealed a basement torture chamber with an invisibility potion I brought along for regular Ghost (right image above). Made sure to replace the elevators and close both secret panels.

Cleaned Shemenov’s roof without trouble. Have read other players with trouble here, but I came out of it without a single first alert. There was only one piece of loot, in the guards quarters below the archer’s lookout. The area surrounding the chimney was dark and nice for waiting out the patroller. The archer turned and didn’t see me descend into the kitchen. Managed after a few hops to leave the ladder unscathed and undetected. The female servant was jumpy, but nothing a creep-crouch-walk couldn’t handle. I exited and emerged to the southeast of the bank’s balcony. This was the only way to Angelwatch, as the alternate path from the demo mission was removed. I decided to wait with the bank until later. Had to utilize the opposite balcony and hug the walls to the east to avert comments. I could drop and mantle the various ledges unnoticed by either archer (left image below). Found the keeper’s weapons cache just outside Lady Louisa’s.

Inside Louisa’s came my first Supreme bust. This was an absolute killer, since the lady in red was staring straight for my only exit. I could steal her purse from the shadows undetected (right image above), but moving further north was impossible. Both light sources were electrical lamps also. I thought perhaps I could cross the roof and bypass this window altogether, but alas I found no such possibility. Allowed as a last resort in plain Ghost, an engine exploit had to be employed. Both ladies had to be nudged away from view of the window in order to leave. I pushed the first one in behind the western pillar. Crouch-walking against her right side skidded her over in no time. The other took longer, but responded to the same maneuver. Neither lady did much commenting; rather, if alerted, they usually went straight to third level alarm mode. I tried pushing the red-dressed woman to the northeast corner first, but she caught me with a second alert trying to depart. Instead I slid her the other way, past the dresser by the large potted plant (left image below). I placed her away from direct contact with either object; hopefully this would decrease the risk of her commissioning the infamous turn-around bug upon returning. Now I could mantle the windowsill and leave without as much as a first alert.

Angelwatch

For some reason I had the inclination to entirely avoid the elevator. I just felt it contradicted the “spirit” of Supreme too much. It doesn’t go against any rule, but it was just too noisy to justify operating. Plus, there were plenty of ways around it. From the outside hatch I could access every floor bar one and six. I started on two and would work my way up. The chapel was the only troublesome spot on this floor, as I needed the key from the priest to unlock the metal doors nearby (right image above). They were both pickable, but needed to be relocked due to Supreme rule #7. The mentioned rule also states: “If items are picked off a patrolling AI, drop them back on the original patrol route or at their feet if they are a stationary AI.” Unfortunately, the key couldn’t be replaced without alerts. At his feet was metal, alerting everyone in the area. Even if you consider the surrounding stone to be at his feet, the priest went into hunt mode. Tried muffling the drop using a potion also, but to no avail. I thus skipped that loot for Supreme.

The third floor contained very little of interest. I decided to access the library recording from below using a vine arrow into the wooden railing (left image below). That way I could mantle into the southeast corner without as much as a peep from the upstairs guests. They didn’t seem to mind a phonograph starting by itself either.

To the east on the same floor came another Supreme skip. A lady in a bedroom guarded a chest in the far corner (right image above). The room was well-lit with only one entry point. I could rush in and to the left with only a mumble, but that busts Supreme. Picking the chest gave another comment, and a third one sprinting out.

The fourth floor had more loot. Most of it was easy, except for a purse on a nobleman, Christopher, involved in a conversation. The chat only triggered in a certain part of the hallway, so I looted the rest of the floor first. He was talking to a lady who eventually left the room, while he remained stationed inside. There were three entry doors, but only the northern one left me hidden. Problem was, he gave a comment when opening or closing the door, thus busting Supreme. A trick to circumvent such situations is to exploit patrollers utilizing the same door. As the woman left I could let her open it, then frob the door as it swung shut, preventing it from closing. Only half the job was done though. I had to reclose the door as well after grabbing his purse. Plenty of guards and guests patrolled multiple floors and I had a feeling someone would come along for the taking. After a bit of surveying I discovered a lady in the red dress occasionally passes this room coming from the six floor. I waited in the shadows to the east, leaned around the corner and closed the door a second or so before she arrived (left image below). If timed correctly, the door would start to swing shut, then the woman would push it open again before it could make any noise. Lastly, she would close it on her own as she continued her patrol. I just love this little ploy!

The sixth floor ballroom was next. I kept the lights on and managed to avoid any and all alerts from the guests. The purse in the west was just a matter of moving along the wall, sneak slowly around the furniture piece and lean in for the loot. Used the walk-key all the way; the smallest tap on the run key and they commented. Same thing back to the entry door. From here I tackled the fountain coins. I could enter in the southeast corner, out of sight of all four enemies. The centerpiece conveniently blocked their views. Again creep-crouch-walking, hugging the base of the core, I could just reach all three pieces of loot without comments. The last was the trickiest (right image above). I found the sweet spot by inching forward, then leaning, quicksaving as needed. The man in the distance occasionally commented when doing regular stretches, that’s how close it was. Quite frankly, I was surprised the mech guard kept quiet. Finally I crept along the eastern wall to the recording. I could also sneak a little further north and trigger Vilnia’s chat unseen. Returned to the door and stole her key as she passed.

On to the fifth floor then. Nothing much to report until Karras’ office. Had to sneak very slowly through the living room to avoid comments from the nobleman there, but it was highly doable. Plenty of patrollers used passed through this area also, making the situation extra tense. Approached the office from the east. The southern wall, almost halfway down before the incropping, was a perfect shadow. I waited here for the patrolling mechanist to turn around and head back for the living room. I followed him and creep-crouch-strafed towards the door. The great thing about that method is it’s faster, but provides equal concealment to creep-crouch-walking. The only drawback is that you can’t see the direction you’re moving. Anyway, unlocking the door didn’t spawn a comment, which surprised me a tad. I blocked the easternmost door as the other opened. The procedure here was exactly the same as in ‘An Unwelcome Guest’, where I had to nudge the guard forward enough to squeeze by. It was a tight timeline with the patroller returning, but after a few tries it was done (left image below).

In NewDark, I found it a lot easier to approach the office from the west. The rest of this scenario is the same as in OldDark.

I left the door open and grabbed the schematics through the painting (right image above). There was a tiny opening towards the bottom, while crouching, that enabled me to grab the objective without triggering the alarm or disabling the security system. This is the same as frobbing items or levers without slashing banners and has been deemed acceptable. It is not transmigration, which would be an engine exploit, disallowed even in regular Ghost for this scenario (as there are other options). My first Supreme alert came when relocking the door. This spawned a comment from the outside guard. That mode was already gone due to several instances of nudging, but I would’ve loved to get through the mission without any conventional alerts. Alas, that wasn’t to be.

Entered the kitchen by using the servant’s patrol route. Frobbed the door as he left and went in without comments from the sentry. Watched out for the circling lady in red also; she was on the move constantly. I cleared the rest of this floor easily, save the office in the southwest. Both bedrooms in the west spawned comments when opening the doors. The purse off the nobleman here was thus skipped for Supreme, as was the Carlysle armory key.

The Golden Boy

The upcoming endeavors I take no credit for whatsoever. I direct all honor and glory to Sneak, for his incredible persistence, determination and patience in straight Ghosting the golden child in the southwest office. Old Man has done it too in the past, although I don’t know of anyone else. As you probably realize, an invisibility potion is the easy way out, leaving the stats with a less honorable ‘Chemical Success’. But I knew he was possible to Ghost without consumables, so I was going to do it, come what may. I started by bringing the following items into the back office by the safe: 1 mechanist mace from the adjacent bedroom, 3 boxes from the kitchen storage room, 2 more boxes from the second floor guards quarters, plus whatever potions and scrolls I had on hand. There were plenty more equipment available, but at least that was a start. The metal chute in the kitchen was very helpful in bringing anything up from the lower floors.

I had read Sneak’s report from the old archives a few times. His descriptions were very detailed, but sadly the image links were broken. The golden boy fidgets a lot, and that was the trick to nailing him. He has a strange maneuver where he extends his left arm, as if pointing and towards the end of that move he slides a tiny bit forward. That movement is repeated fairly frequently, enough to traverse the room in a manageable timeframe (if you call 10 hours ‘manageable’). He slides forward and slightly to the right. He grinds against the western wall for most of his voyage, coming in contact with the windows here. At the end of each window he eventually gets stuck, as the windowsill causes an indentation preventing forward movement. The challenge was how to get him to fidget past the first two windows. Another clue was that he traverses faster when stuck in boxes. I started by placing boxes in front of where he spawned, but this only made him stop as he reached the first one. Instead I dropped boxes so that he spawned inside the first (left image below). I used five boxes total, lining them up until just past the first window. They had to be exactly parallel to each other, nearly flush with the wall, but not entirely. I focused on placing the first parallel to the wall a few inches out; the following ones I then dropped at the same angle as the first and used Garrett to push the boxes into the right position. Once dropped, the boxes retain that angle permanently and pushing into them won’t change that, so this was an efficient method to use. They also have an invisible clipping border outside the visible edge, so it looks like they’re an inch or so apart but in reality they are not. The left image below shows Goldie’s starting position and how the boxes are aligned. I bounced a scouting orb off the wall from around the corner by the safe. I could strafe into the corner here before the orb landed and the camera kicked in. With a little luck it landed away from the boxes and I could monitor him from safety. The right image below shows my successful attempt at getting Goldie past the first window, only 70 minutes after reading the New Scripture of the Master Builder. He didn’t slide through the crates at an equal rate though. It seems like he hit a snag transitioning from one crate to the next, as he stood still for a while then suddenly went through into the next box. I had to readjust the boxes a few times before pinning it, but overall this part went surprisingly well. Notice how he has fallen off the boxes and has both feet planted on the ground. If this happened while on the boxes I had to start over, as he wouldn’t budge from that point on. I was very lucky with the second scouting orb toss. It landed right in the corner of the windowsill where he tends to get stuck. I didn’t know whether this in the end got him loose or if it was the boxes alone. Regardless, he was free to move on.

I guess I could’ve placed boxes all the way past the second window, but Sneak originally reported a much easier method. The mechanist mace from the adjacent bedroom apparently served as a “perfect tool” for the job. Alas, it didn’t work for me the first time around. I suspected I had put it backwards, with the handle facing the golden boy. Sure enough he clipped the windowsill corner and wouldn’t budge. I would have to start over. I suspected a simple mace switcharound would do the job, but this time the boy wouldn’t even pass the first window. I had a difficult time reconstructing the scenario from the images above. The boxes were in exactly the same position, but for some reason he still got stuck. I kept fiddling with the orb placement in the second window for a while, thinking that might need to be in a perfect slot, but that didn’t help either. In the end I abandoned the idea of any items in the window and refocused my attention on the boxes. I adjusted the first box a little, but other than that they stayed the same. After 2-3 days of work on this, he finally passed like before. I can’t pinpoint the reason for the change in result, but I can assure you no items are needed for the first window besides 5 boxes. I don’t think the boy clips orbs or any other items of like bulkiness. I did find another strange occurrence though, messing around with the scouting orb. If Garrett is hidden out of view of the boy, the scouting orb will have to face him for the boy to make his sliding stretch-the-left-arm movement. Occasionally I would leave the computer on overnight only to come back in the morning and find the boy hadn’t moved an inch, then I would turn the camera to face him and boom he would slide through the first box in 5 minutes. Seems the dark engine shuts off idle movement simply by facing a different direction. This obviously helped me nail him in the end.

From here, all I had to do was wait and see if my new mace placement was good enough. I left him a foot or so away from the crucial spot (left image below). Waking up the sixth morning I finally found him past the safe. Oh sweet golden delight! 17:44:57 on the clock, he was now stuck in the third window, a few feet away from the southern wall (right image below). I think I did three hardsaves at the time, though I can’t be sure, as I was in a complete haze of accomplishment. Everything was a blur. I know I frantically started to nightmare of potential Windows blue screens, spontaneously corrupting savegames and sudden hard drive formatting viruses. Basically, anything that would constitute a momentary worst case scenario and force me to restart.

In NewDark, I’ve managed to get Goldie faster across the room by using 8 crates. I tried with 12, in order to get him past both windows this way, but he always got stuck between crates 8 and 9. He takes about 35 minutes to get through 8, and a further 4 hours or so to get past the second window, far enough for you to sneak out undetected. The mace works like before, but it needs to be pushed into the window fully, otherwise Goldie gets stuck on the mace’s club end. Push it so you hear the sound of metal against glass, then you should be good. Other than that, NewDark doesn’t offer any further challenges to this whole scenario.

Subsequent endeavors sort of seemed like a Sunday picnic compared to the test just passed. But I went on my merry way regardless. Started by returning the mace and the three boxes from the kitchen storeroom. Dropped the office key back to the living room for Supreme. Vilnia had that room as part of her route. Opened the panel in the hallway closet just to get the secret count. It didn’t go against any rules, so why not? The statue secret had to be skipped though, as the open door made both patrollers in the area comment. They also made a small detour towards the door, but they never went into search mode. Dropped the red key back to this hallway for Supreme as I brought the last two boxes back to the second floor. I made sure to give the golden boy a last long look, as a thank you for our recent 15 hours together.

The lowest floor held the building’s last two pieces of loot. Two statues guarded by a stationary mechanist and a patrolling robot by the main entrance. The door could be accessed from the outside but involved bashing the lock open. That is property damage and busts all modes. No known key is assigned to unlock it either. I also needed to break a crate to prevent taking damage in the fall from the tower’s northern ledge. That is also frowned upon and a less admirable way of beating the mission. The foyer moreover was brightly lit and no surfaces suitable for vine arrow attachment. The alcove in the image below is the closest I could get without first alerts from the guard. I could rush in and hide behind the couch armrest, but the robot alerted when heading back south. The couch doesn’t block their view even though it appears like it should. The only way to reach them was by means of an invisibility potion. I could run over and reach both items and get back to the shadow before the invisibility effect wore off, although it was a close call. Had to crouch behind the guard not to cause a comment. I actually finished the mission twice, once by skipping this loot and another by grabbing it, in order to eliminate the ‘chemical’ label for plain Ghost. It is up to each individual which is more preferable. Supremers obviously need to skip it. I might do a test run and leave my old computer on for a weekend and see if the guard fidgets in any significant direction, but I doubt any result will come of it.

[UPDATE 3/19/12: I left my work computer on over the weekend to see if the mech guard would move, and he sure did. He slid left and ended up inside the couch nearest him. None of the couches clip except the lower half of their armrests. He finally got stuck by the wall in the southernmost armrest of that couch. This gave me hope of evading his gaze by quickly running to the left upon entry. This experiment was, however, utter failure. Going for the nearest left corner he always went to hunt mode. If aiming for the wall directly to his west he went straight to alarm. I tried mossing the floor and even applying a speed potion. I know this is the same as the invisio potion, but I just wanted to test if it was possible. I figured if it isn't possible with the extra momentum boost of a speed potion, then it isn't even worth trying without it. And that's exactly what I found. I didn't manage to pass him with or without a potion. My initial conclusion remains: In order to get the two statues, you need to apply fluid of disappearance. If it hadn't been furnished with couches however, this room would've been Ghostable.]

For some strange reason, TFix makes the guard in the main foyer pivot north-south, which makes the statues here possible to steal even for Supreme. However, I could not make myself do this, as it was never originally intended to be possible. I’m not sure what the people behind TFix are thinking when justifying such modifications, but to me it is gross abuse of modding. To be honest, I couldn’t be more against such actions, and see it as outright disrespectful to the original creators.

Back In the Streets

I returned to Lady Louisa’s house and found the girls in the spots I left them. Seems like they didn’t mind their relocations too much. The bank was up next. Crossed the street by way of the east balcony again. This way was tougher than before and I had to tap my walk key to drop from the ledges alert-free. Entering the bank from this side involved exploiting the patrollers usage of the double doors. The stationary archer here commented if I as much as touched them. As he appeared I snuck in behind his back. Creep-crouch-walking was the only way I could enter the offices without the archer across the street commenting. I waited for the patroller again and closed the door in his face. That way he would bounce it open and the archer didn’t alert when he closed it. For some reason, enemies know who makes noise despite not actually seeing it. Anyway, I was in the clear and could rob the safe in peace. The key from his belt wasn’t necessary as the main office door was pickable and another copy of the key was on the counter inside. Lock-blocked the door so I could replace the key for Supreme afterwards.

Just west of the bank came another Supreme skip. The apartment here was guarded by a swordsman. He had to be nudged forward a few feet in order to access the door leading to the loot (right image above). The alternate way was breaking the glass ceiling, but that alerted everyone and is an obvious bust. 75 more loot skipped, bringing the total to 405 gold missed for that mode. This guard has also been modified in TFix. He now switches between facing south and east. In the latter position, you can open the door without any nudging, though he does give a first alert. Another case of utter disregard for the original mission makers, yet not as gross as the one up above.

If going for the armory, the stash in there was no problem to obtain. The most troublesome thing was retrieving the vine arrow from outside the window without getting damaged in the fall. The greenhouse also spawned a first alert when opening the door. If this is not a problem for you, the arrows in here can be taken without further alerts. I could easily inch my way along the left counter and lean in for the grab.

The rest of the way home was completely trouble-free. All listed stats are from the Perfect Thief run.

Statistics:

Time: 18:55:22 (!)

Loot: [Ghost: 2823] [Perfect Thief: 2853] [Supreme: 2573]

Pickpockets: 24 out of 24

Locks Picked: 11

Secrets: 7 out of 7

Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0

Consumables: 1 Invisibility Potion (Perfect Thief only)

Ghost: Success! J

Perfect Thief: Chemical success!

Supreme Thief: Failed!

Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed!

(Norwegian Thief: Failed!)

Notes:

- To get credit for the pickpockets during the archer fight, they had to be stolen during their argument. It’s a matter of opinion whether this is allowed or not.

- Taking the flares in the hideout east of Fieldstone spawned first alerts from the thief inside. Not allowed for Supreme Ghost.

- Had to nudge both women at Lady Louisa’s house to safely exit through the window. This is an engine exploit and not allowed for Supreme. It is, however, allowed as a last resort in regular Ghost, so that mode was still in the clear.

- Skipped two golden goblets worth 50 and a scouting orb on the second floor of Angelwatch for Supreme. The required key couldn’t be dropped back by the priest’s feet without alerts.

- Another Supreme skip was a coin stack worth 120 in a bedroom on the third floor. The lady commented on passing the doorway and picking the chest.

- Had to nudge the guard by Karras’ office forward about a foot or so in order to enter the room. This is a Supreme bust but allowed in plain Ghost. I also spawned a first alert comment from the same guard when relocking the door and leaving.

- Skipped a purse worth 5 off a nobleman in the west on the fifth floor for Supreme. He alerted when opening the door.

- The Carlysle armory key (and consequently the items in the armory itself) could not be taken without triggering a first alert comment from the sleeping guest. If playing by Supreme rules, those items thus have to be skipped.

- Had to stack boxes and a mace by the wall and wait for “Goldie” to fidget his way past the first two windows. Stacking boxes on an enemy’s patrol route and engine exploits are busts to Supreme.

- Couldn’t obtain the items in the secret weapons cache in the fifth floor hallway without triggering alerts from the two passing patrollers.

- Needed to use an invisibility potion to obtain the two statues worth 30 in the first floor foyer. Can easily be skipped for plain Ghost. Renders the Perfect Thief run a ‘chemical success’.

- Had to nudge a guard in order to reach the three coin stacks worth 75 in the apartment north of Sir Cullen’s Keep. Last resort for plain Ghost, skipped for Supreme.

- The arrows in the greenhouse could not be taken without alerting the spider. He gave a chirp as the door opened. Needs to be skipped if playing by Supreme rules.