wind blows, water flows, fire burns, earth shakes

[Grillsen]

i will build shelters from the wind, feel the countless waters, see the vast earth, burn in the eternal fires

[historiainferro]

I will climb numerous ledges, jump from precipice to precipice, levitate up zero-g shafts, creep along steel grates to get a drop on Fire Mages only to be outed by a single footfall because I wear clogs when practicing thivery.

This is the most polarizing level from Thief Gold, in my opinion. Downwind Guild get the most flak, and not undeservingly, while the Opera hints at what's to come in terms of level design in Metal Age. But Mages' Tower is the confused-griffon middle of the two.

It's neither bad, nor briliant. The settings good (the garden around the main tower reminds me of R. Howard's 'Tower of the Elephant'; it could be just me picking that up). But the length sheer length of level (it takes me up to a 1h 30m to 2h to complete), and the amount of platforming is really testing on my nerves.

And the Fire Mages' tower can go to hell, and enjoy its stay among the minions of the Trickster.

Edit: that quote that the mages chant sounds horrifying when you enable EAX via OpenAL in the sounds menu.

[Grillsen]

honestly i used to really dislike mages towers but after playing through the game for the third time i actually really love it. The ambiance and the music in the towers is amazing, but i agree the fire tower is the worst. I always just run through it as fast as i can doging the mages.

I have spent so much time in the level by now that i have pretty much memorized all of the mages lines and i can't get them out of my head lol

As for the other gold levels, i actually liked all of them. My least favorite unsuprisingly is thieves guild, but i dont hate it as much as i used to. Its kinda hard to explain but i feel like many of the levels in thief get better the more i play them. Song of caverns is my most favorite of the gold missions though because i love the scale and difficulty of the level. Its a very well designed mansion level

[historiainferro]

The issue with Downwind is the sewers. The action around and in the guild masters' houses is fine, but that level would be 100% better if the sewer sections were cut down by at least 50%. It just takes too much time to traverse the middle section for it to be an enjoyable aspect of the level.

Also, I think the loud music in the casino section was just LGS going -- "Look guys, we can stream some audio over the ambient track!" This was 1999/2000 after all.

One thing no-one can deny is that Gold levels still have massive amounts of ambiance. They all have a strong sense of location. When you're rumaging through the opera, you know that you're in the place where all the fat cats of the City rub shoulders. When you're in the sewers you feel that you're dealing with the slimy underbelly of the City. And in the Tower you get a feel that the mages are definitely foreign and new commers to the City.

[Grillsen]

you are right about thieves guild. The sewers are a pain in the ass, and they were probably used just pad out the level. But after playing through the level a few times i know exactly where to go so the sewers aren't quite as annoying as they used to be. I guess thats why the level gets better the more i play it. Oh ya the casino music, am i the only one that kina likes the music? Sure its not the best for sneaking and slow paced gameplay but it was an enjoyable track at least for me.

I agree the gold missions give you a much deeper view at some of the factions of the game on how they live and what role they play in the city

[historiainferro]

I like the music (and the intro piece as well). It has a strong 90's industrial vibe, it's just that it's mixed so loud that it makes navigating that section a real effort.

You rely so much on sound in the original Thief game (unlike the reboot), that losing that sense leaves you feeling horribly helpless. It's kinda like that episode of Daredevil where Matt bangs his head and temporarily loses his hearing, leaving him in panic.

An interesting use of information obfuscation as a gameplay element, but it could've been toned down a couple of db's.

[WhispersOfTheWind]

I love that game because of its art, and amongst others these kinds of things.

Wind blows, Water flows, Fire burns Earth shakes.