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THE INVERTED MANSE
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Credits:
David "Sledge" Riegel:  story, design, graphics, objects, schemas
Paul M. Fox: ambients, sound FX, voice acting
Steve "Laz" Lazarus: movie design, animation, and sound implementation
Saturnine: sketches, briefing/endmovie artwork
Paul "Loanstar" Billo: the voice of Garrett, briefing/endmovie voice overs

Hammer Voices:
Paul M. Fox:  Ghost in the Manse, Conversation in Entrance to Factory
Steve Braverman:  Conversation in West Section of Factory
Jason Mier:  Conversation in Mid Level of Factory

Beta Testers: Avalon, UnderT0w, Fett

Contact info: theawakened@hotmail.com
Version: 1.0
Date of release:  April 1, 2000

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Description:

  After Garrett steals the Spirit Stone from the hideout of the Resurrection, the Hammers, in need of all the help they can get with the Mechanists, demand it back.  Likewise, the Keepers are interested in protecting it themselves, since they were the ones who told Garrett about the job in the first place.  However, before Garrett gives it to either, he is 
interested in finding out exactly what the Spirit Stone is and what its powers are.  He spends some time researching its origins, and finally learns how it was found.  At the outskirts of the city, amidst some of the rocky, mountainous territory at the edges of civilization, some five years prior, the Hammers had begun to build a large power facility and smelting factory.  However, in laying the foundation, they discovered a series of tunnels and caves beneath where they were planning to build.  Temporarily ignoring them, they continued to build the facility, whilst sending occassional informal scouts below further and further to map and report back their findings.  Eventually, some of the Hammers discovered the remnants of an ancient pagan underground church and living area.  Thinking there might be relics of value, and perhaps blasphemous artifacts to destroy, the Hammers organized an official search party to go deep into the caves and return with any artifacts they could find.
  Several days after the party left, only two members returned, covered in blood and appearing stark raving mad, claiming the caves were infested with the undead and were riddled with dark magic and spirits of forgotten gods.  However, they returned with the
Spirit Stone, which they claimed emanated an aura partially responsible for the raising of the dead.  Believing that they had found the source of the dead's animation, the Hammers sent in another party almost immediately to eliminate the undead and gain other treasures.  This time, all of the members returned... as zombies.  The workers stationed at the growing factory were forced to fight with their resurrected comrades and many were killed in the battle.
  Claiming the site to be an unholy region which, at the time, they could not contain, they ceased construction and sealed the entire area.  Over time, the Spirit Stone, due to its apparent powers of healing, was labeled holy instead of unholy by the Hammer cardinals so that it could secretly be used in the war against rising powers within the Church.  Because the Hammers who returned from the first expedition were quite mad, its true powers and capabilities were left unknown, as were its unholy origins.
  Believing he will find the secrets, as well as a host of treasure in the haunted realm, 
Garrett intends to sneak through the abandoned factory and descend into the tunnels, brandishing the best weapons he can find.  Gripping the sword of Saint Edgar, still fresh with the blood of The Resurrection, Garrett begins his journey, alone.

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* Play Information * 

Game:                     Thief: The Metal Age
Mission Title:            The Inverted Manse
File name:                miss18.mis
Difficulty Settings:      yes
Equipment store:          yes
Map / automap:            yes/yes
New graphics:             yes
New sounds:               yes
New monsters:             yes
EAX support:              yes
Multi language support:   no

Briefing :                yes

Playing Styles:           CutPurse, Rogue, Warrior

* Construction * 

Base:             from scratch
Build Time:       many many many sleepless nights

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DIFFICULTY SETTINGS

The difficulty settings are molded not really to give different levels of "difficulty" per se, but rather to increase re-playability through slight alterations of playing style, areas  of accessibility, and objectives.  All 3 levels are similar in actual difficulty to complete, and you have the same health in each.

Cut-Purse:  thieving, stealing, exploration
Rogue:  traps, puzzles, enigmas
Warrior:  items, backstabbing, sneaking

These are molded around tendencies... all difficulties (including Warrior) can be completed no damage, without the use of any inventory items/weapons (with the exception of Rogue... to solve a puzzle), and failonsee (though a combination of these may prove difficult).  The items in The Inverted Manse are unique, but are there to give you a little boost, not complete tasks for you.  This is a heavy sneaker level!

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*Note about Cult of the Resurrection*

The following synopsis is for those of you who have not played Cult of the Resurrection.  It is recommended that you play Cult, as The Inverted Manse is a sequel to this level, but if you wish to skip it, the following should bring you up to speed.  Note that there are a number of spoilers which may detract from the playing experience if you play Cult of the Resurrection at a later date:

  After hearing about a Hammer temple to the north of the city which was recently raided, Garrett gets word from the Keepers about a cult hiding in the abandoned quarter of town who had apparently pulled off the job.  At the demands of the Keepers, as well as the prospect of gleaming gold and artifacts for himself, Garrett embarks on a journey to discover the cult's hideout and rob them of their treasures.
  Upon reaching the cult's hideout, buried deep within the confines of an underground chapel, Garrett discovers the cult is tough and organized, containing members of various thieves' and assassins' guilds.  The leader of the cult turns out to be a fanatical woman obsessed with an ancient pagan religion and the return of the once powerful god of the earth.  She has recruited a variety of cutthroats to help her in her rituals, as well as a wizard skilled in the arts of necromancy.
  Garrett acts quickly and silently, robbing the cult of their treasures and doing what he can to take them out.  He manages to procure two relics from the grounds:  the sword of a saint, supposedly imbued with holy powers, and a mysterious blood-red stone. However, upon finding the latter of the two treasures, Garrett discovers a horrifying secret:  the cult had managed to obtain the mummified, mutilated corpse of Constantine. Garrett is not sure what types of powers would allow the cult (or, more than likely, its leader) to descend into the Maw and accomplish such a feat, but he has no intention of dealing with the Trickster again.  Garrett carries the body to a fiery incinerator, dropping it in and burning the remains once and for all.  But he is deeply disturbed by what he has seen, and becomes determined to find out more about his stolen treasures before turning them over and doing the Keepers any more favors.

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*Notes*

The different weapons and arrows can be selected via the number keys.  If you are unsure how to access a weapon, simply cycle through the number keys to find where it is placed. The justification for the new weapons is simply that, since Garrett is descending into one of the most dangerous places he has ever been, he is buying the absolute best he can find (he can afford to, after all).  It's a delicate gameplay balance, but after some testing I believe the new weapons fit into the gameplay element quite well.  For spoilers in regards to weapons, see the arrows.doc file included with this zip.

Certain arrows may get "stuck" flying into the walls.  This is a product of the engine and occurs occassionally with fire and gas arrows.  You may see it in The Inverted Manse because you will probably be using various no gravity arrows more often than normal, but this is not a fault of the design itself, but rather the physics of Thief.  The same applies to hearing a metallic sound even after stepping off of the catwalks... simply an element of the engine.

Remember, if it ever gets too dark, St. Edgar's Sword can light your way.

Autosearch bodies apparently does not work on the undead, so make sure you check the haunts for something valuable.

The one secret in the level is hidden behind a word safe near the abandoned hammer cathedral.  There are two clues on how to solve this puzzle on each of the different difficulty levels, and chances are, you won't be able to solve it by only playing through once.  Three times is a dead giveaway, and you might be able to solve it going through on two difficulty levels (hats off if you get it on one!).  However, this is just an easter egg  (and a bit of an anacronysm), so don't feel obligated to get it!  Also, if you do figure it out... uh... please don't give the answer away directly on the forums or the chats.

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Known Bugs:

A couple of my beta testers reported that there was a time when weapons in the default inventory suddenly stopped working.  I've played the level through from start to end at least 3 or 4 dozen times in various stages of development and encountered this problem once at random.  When it happened I found a quickload fixed it.

Switching from your sword to your blackjack without putting it away first will leave a lingering light on the ground.  There's unfortunately no way to fix this... it's an engine bug.
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* Copyright * 


This level is (c) to David Riegel, 2000.  All original new sounds are copyrighted to Paul Fox, all hand artwork copyrighted to Saturnine, briefing and end movie copyrighted to Steve Flake and Paul Billo.  Distribution of this level is allowed as long as it is free and the package is kept intact. You may not include this level in any map pack without my expressed permission. No one may edit and re-distribute this mission without my written permission.

This level was not made and is not supported by Looking Glass Studios or Eidos
Interactive.

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Special Thanks:  Avalon, GBM, fett, and the whole T2X crew for their patience and support while I made this level, all my partners in crime who helped make this level a reality, all my beta guys, everyone who ever wrote a tutorial for the circle, everyone hosting this mission, and everybody that played/liked/commented on Cult of the Resurrection and all its little quirks.

-Sledge

