SS2 FM The Minstrel (by The Pixie)

[67418ab61a930gnartsch]

Tags: °FM °SS2 Fan mission The Minstrel was created and announced by The Pixie on ttlg.com in 2008.
See here.

the 1.01 version should fix the worst issues, like missing objects and textures, pink water, broken logs, and (more) infinite spawning. 1.02 adds some SCP polish - make sure to load Olfred's Fixed Objects for everything to work as intended.

1.03 resolves a critical issue with hybrids not patrolling in the starting area, and so not opening the secdoors, preventing the player from progressing normally. it also makes the FM fully voiced. requires SS2 2.44 or newer.

Audio Log pages courtesy of unn_atropos are available here:
Minstrel
Minstrel German

[67418ab61aae6gnartsch]

Anybody out there who could provide this mission with the spawn points removed ?
Since this mission crashes after a while with >100 hybrids running around, this mission is unplayable as it is.

Thanks !

[67418ab61ac42Kolya]

The ShockEd Toolkit is here. Why don't you have a look at it?

[67418ab61aecdunn_atropos]

I've always wanted to learn how to handle shocked. Sadly there was no time

Does it work like this?:
- open up the map (earth) in shocked
- find object-->(F3): typing in "spawn"
- which one is the correct one? RandMonstGen or DirectMonsterGen?
- delete the #%&$ thing
- portalize? or just safe?

[67418ab61b089gnartsch]

Thanks for the hint Kolya, unn_atropos,

unfurtunately I am a dromedar and not a DromEd'er.
However, I tried deleting both Spawn-categories as proposed and just saved.
And I could restart the mission without a crash or something.
While a single hybrid show up once in a while (which I kill all the time he shows up), they do not seem to pile up any more.
But I will need to play that mission for a while to see if that really helped.
If not, then I would have no idea what exactly to do in ShockEd.

Thanks anyway !!


EDIT:
That does not seem to work.
After half an hour there are again 30 AI hanging around in the casino in the start-area.
The spawn rate seems to have decreased though.
But I still haven't figured out how to get away from deck D to any other place
and the hordes of hybrids make it not easier either.
If no one can tell what exactly to do in DromEd, I guess I will return to Christines "UNN_Polaris".
Her missions are awesome!

[67418ab61b260gaspalorz]

gnartsch, looks like I have the solution:

You are right that after half an hour (probably when you are about to rescue the girl), some seriously angry crowd manages to gather in the dining room. To prevent it, I've deleted the PatrolSpawnMarker object (#1852) located at the door, here (there is no need to portalize). Naturally, this inhibits the spawning of any hybrids in the lower corridor, but they will be still coming from CREW ONLY areas to patrol there, so it doesn't break the gameplay, just makes it a bit harder/confusing in the beginning.

Check out if it works for you. It works for me, but I've only tested it in one 40-minute long - but complete - playthrough.

[67418ab61b339Kolya]

Did you forget to attach a file there?

[67418ab61b630gaspalorz]

Tags: °minstrel °FM °SS2I've followed a link from that PatrolSpawnMarker object to RandMonsterGen and enabled it's PopLimit switch. If I understand correctly, it stands for "population limit", but what controls the limit value? The "supply" field? Anyway, now it spawns solitary hybrids in the mess hall and sends them on patrol route in lower corridor area.

File (with updated mod.ini) is attached.

[67418ab61b78fKolya]

Noice.

[67418ab61b8e0unn_atropos]

Seems to work
I'm stuck at the moment: I don't know what to do in the lower nacelle. There is a button which doesn't do anything and there is a manual switch that is not working also . Meanwhile the area is floated with radiation and annoying spiders. The door I used to get in won't open.

[67418ab61bc50gaspalorz]

Press the button to stop the photonic flux to the engines in that nacelle. The engines in the other nacelle will swing the ship around, away from Earth. Only wait a few seconds, these systems are only rated to 60 MPa, and the pressure will quickly build up. Press the button again to re-establish the flow, before there is a rupture.

You can read the value from a computer console near the button. Once you do the above, you will instantly receive another message:

It seems the nacelle control system is linked directly to the NavCom; neither are now working. There is a manual valve at the back of the nacelle; you will have to find that. Hurry, this system is only rated to 60 MPa."

You have to hurry because the value won't stop increasing until you turn the valve!

[67418ab61beb2unn_atropos]

Tried it again after posting and somehow it worked out. Thanks anyway

Since I have now completed the mission, here is some additional feedback to my earlier post.

architecture and stuff:
The level structure was really confusing, I got lost a few times and the map wasn't of any help really. A bit too much flashing effects for my taste, first time a game is giving me a headache... I was annoyed by the several tide places where you really can get stuck (Damn pipes! Worst thing was the nacelle)

gameplay:
Now that the problem of massiv spawning is solved, the mission is in good balance when it comes to fighting. Although I consider it to be a bit unfair to have several robots and rumblers but no special ammunition against them. There are some really cool design ideas, like the organ on the scanner, the little girl that only follows you with her teddybear (btw: isn't it a bit...strange... to lure a little girl into your ship? ), the cyberspace like puzzle etc. I also liked the idea of a computer program that guides you.

good bugs:
I had a repaired surgery unit, but at some point I entered the room and a hybrid had respawned there. The unit was broken again! Didn't know that hybrids could do this^^
Near an elevatorshaft I could't trust my eyes, when I saw a maintanance robot falling down the shaft. Great moment

things that could be improved one day (dunno who could do it, but it would be cool ):
One thing that bothered me were the missing voices to the audiologs. The logs are atmospheric and well written but I tended to ignore them since I wasn't up for this big bunche of text only messages.
In critical situations, like in the nacelle, I didn't have the time to read the computergirls messages, so I ended up jumping around, avoiding spiders, using anti-radiation hypos, just in order to live long enough to read the damn message. Which didn't work out very well, the nacelle is a deathtrap^^, and lead to several reloads.

[67418ab61c306gaspalorz]

The level structure was really confusing, I got lost a few times and the map wasn't of any help really. A bit too much flashing effects for my taste, first time a game is giving me a headache... I was annoyed by the several tide places where you really can get stuck (Damn pipes! Worst thing was the nacelle)

Well, whole CREW ONLY area seems to be one huge, detailed engineering section; too bad bridge and crew quarters feel almost dead empty compared to it (not counting that damn strobe light).

Have you found these nice little secrets like cistern, observation dome, closet with armor and weapons in security room and the hidden stash of cyber modules in the reactor room?

[67418ab61c67cunn_atropos]

Have you found these nice little secrets like cistern, observation dome, closet with armor and weapons in security room and the hidden stash of cyber modules in the reactor room?

Yes-but there was nothing in it, was there?, yes, yes -felt very smart when I jumped on the pipes^^ and yes - I just jumped onto the turret^^ . Also liked the crimescene

[67418ab61c79dgaspalorz]

Nothing? There was candy in there! But for some reason hybrids don't fall for it.

[67418ab61ce46gnartsch]

gnartsch, looks like I have the solution: ...
Check out if it works for you. It works for me, but I've only tested it in one 40-minute long - but complete - playthrough.

Thanks gaspalorz !!! 
I will give it a try as soon as I can.
I have gone mad trying to fix it on my own to no avail.

EDIT: Much better now !
I just wonder if the only way into the 'Crew Only' area right in the beginning is by sneaking past a hybrid coming out from there.
Shouldn't there be a key-card somewhere ??
If so, I must be just too blind or stupid to find it.

[67418ab61d9f2gaspalorz]

I just wonder if the only way into the 'Crew Only' area right in the beginning is by sneaking past a hybrid coming out from there.

Out or in there. But yes, it's the only way.

Shouldn't there be a key-card somewhere ??

The only CREW ONLY card is located in the pocket of shotgun hybrid in... CREW ONLY area. Perhaps it would be easier (less confusing) if the card could also be found in eg. victim's quarters (hack needed) or if there was some air-vent-escape-style way through the garden (good luck with that).

[67418ab61dc73gnartsch]

I am almost done. But I am stuck.
Most objectives are complete except for Stop the data flow to the NaviCom in the VR suite and Get off the Minstrel fast.
I have taken care of the girl, nacell and docking clamps already.
In my inventory there are still a memory card and a neural net circuitboard for which I found no place to use them.
Also I suspect that I need to finish something in the VR suite, where I triggered a few traps in the NaviCom, Control-Subsystem and SensorArray areas.
Is there something that needs to be done to proceed into the Diagsnostics or HumanInterface areas ?

Thanks!

[67418ab61df9cgaspalorz]

Due to a bug, the NaviCom objective is never marked as complete, but you should receive a confirmation email after returning to real world (if you did the job right). Also due to other bugs, end-game objectives may be finished in any order, so you can skip the entire VR suite part and move to nacelle and clamps...

In my inventory there are still a memory card and a neural net circuitboard for which I found no place to use them.

You know, not every device you find is a PLOT device...

[67418ab61e10bgnartsch]

I finally finished this mission.
Seems like that after caring about the docking clamps I did not make it back to the ship in time (40 sec).
As a result the objective did not check off and nothing indicated I had failed to 'Get off the Minstrel'.
I just retried the docking clamp part and rushed back to my ship.
Objective complete and the Mission is over.

Thanks all for reviving this mission !!

[67418ab61e24aFironkkuify]

I've been playing through this fan mission on Normal and, so far, the only criticism I have at this point is the lack of voice-acting, ambience, and music.  The former's not too bad (so as long as there's no hybrid or some such hunting me down) but it kind of hurts the atmosphere when there's no music (the only exception I've found so far being the elevator theme in the Mess Hall).

I gotta hand it down though that the level design so far is pretty sweet.  The integration of the different level designs is seamless so no real compliant there.

Anyhow, that's about all I have for now. -w-

[67418ab61e401icemann]

*wipes away cobwebs*

Just noting that this mission still bugs up after a while in newDark. As part of a play through of the full completed FMs out there I decided to give this one a go, and by the time I had fixed up the nacelle's the game froze on me regardless of how many reloads I did.

In the end I had to give up.

So just warning those who go to download this.

[67418ab61e51fgnartsch]

Have you tried the fixed version by Gaspalorz?
https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=2850.msg28813#msg28813
With that fix, the AI stopped respawning like mad and one could play it.

[67418ab61e69bvoodoo47]

ok, this one is in a bad shape, a lot of resources missing, and the level geometry is screwed up in some weird way that will blow the mission up when trying to reprocess. I'm adding the [unfinished] tag for the moment.

any chance someone has the orig release that maybe has the missing objects? without those, any possible overhaul would probably not be worth the effort.