Inverted Manse - the safe? [Archive]

Peter Smith

04-24-2003, 08:50 PM

You may not believe this, but I got around to playing The Inverted Manse for the first time last night. I have been trying to save some of the best for last (not that I am quitting, mind you). Great mission! It certainly deserves the 11 hammers it got at the Circle. Some recent missions are right up there, too, but Inverted Manse was released three years ago (amazing how time flies), so for its time it was, and still is, pure genius. No wonder Sledge got a job on the T3 team. Wow.:)

OK, I completed the mission but apparently I missed something - the safe with the complicated combination near the beginning. I twiddled with it for a while and figured it would be a lost cause unless I got a clue later on. I did find one clue. The safe technician doesn't like to use i's, o's, or u's. That increases the probablilty of guessing it from 1/(26^4) to 1/(23^4). Not very helpful.:) So, what's the deal with the safe? Is it supposed to be obvious? What did I miss?

FYI, I finished in Expert, almost ghost, killing the three guardians for the optional objective. That burrick-riding guardian was something else.:D LOL. That is the first time I have seen anything like that. -- two AI's working closely together not in a script.

I got 1554 / 1904 loot and I am wondering where the rest of it is. The safe, perhaps?

SlyFoxx

04-25-2003, 03:09 AM

The safe combination is a hard puzzle. However there is no real reason to even go in per say. It's like a big Easter Egg.

#1 Inside is a most unthiefy item.

If you want more info, I'll PM you. I shouldn't do this on an open channel. You understand I'm sure.:D

Eshaktaar

04-25-2003, 04:13 AM

If you want to figure it out on your own, play the mission in the other difficulties, too. Each of them has additional hints.

Peter Smith

04-25-2003, 06:48 AM

OK, thanks for the hints.:) I may just try to find it. Seems like a lot of trouble for a basketball, though (or whatever it is).:)

I decided to kill all the undead last night, and am in rhe process of doing so. Found one purse on a haunt and two gems in a pond, which I had left behind and forgotten about. Still about 100 short, but now the safe is looking less inviting.

BrokenArts

04-25-2003, 07:06 AM

What is in the vault could have helped you deal with those nasties in the game. ;)

Peter Smith

04-25-2003, 07:12 AM

Originally posted by BrokenArts
What is in the vault could have helped you deal with those nasties in the game. ;)

LOL. I can see it now. BFG2000?:) Yeah, the sword and the gauntlet are a little clumsy in frontal attacks against haunts.;)

Gumdrop

04-25-2003, 04:11 PM

Geez...an old hand missing an ace such as this for so long. What is the (make believe) world comming to?!

I do see your point about saving some of the cream until last. I really wish I had taken longer to complete my first run through GATI, as it has now become my favorite FM of all time. IM is still fantastic though...particularly as, like you said, it is 3 years old. To me, when I think of IM, I always think of the ambient sound around those windmills, and the invisible floor/sandbag puzzle.

Excellent! :)

Peter Smith

04-25-2003, 05:28 PM

Invisible floor / sandbag puzzle?:confused: Geez. The only sandbags I remember are at the beginnng in the mill, and I can't go back there without reloading an old save. That's the only complaint I have about this mission. Well, I'm still killing all the undead in the hopes that I'll discover the last 75 loot, but if it is in that puzzle, I've had it.:)

Nightwalker

04-25-2003, 05:49 PM

There's no loot at all in the Vault, Peter. :)

Peter Smith

04-25-2003, 10:12 PM

Thanks, Nightwalker.:) Before I read your post I got into the vault (using a clue provided by BA), so I got that sorted and know how to get the super weapon.

In the above post I was referring not to the vault but to the sandbag / invisible floor puzzle mentioned by SlyFoxx, which I can't find or figure out. I see sandbags in the mill, but I don't know what to do with them.

I'm still missing 75 loot after going through the manse again and killing every AI I could find. That gauntlet comes in very handy. 11848 damage dealt (none received).:eek: You read that correctly.:)

I have been to a lot of hard to reach places in search for loot. For one, up onto the ledges of the abandoned chapel (nothing up there that I could find).

The most amazing place I have found is a large area that is off limits having many passages and rooms, including signs, "Water grid maintenance" and West Wing, under construction". Has anyone been in here?

http://www.mindspring.com/~smithpd/thief/manse_area.jpg

This area also has the back side of a door you can frob through an unbreakable banner in the initial part of the factory. On the "secret" side, the door opens up to a bricked-in hole. It looks like the author developed this area and decided not to use it.:)

I am still missing the one secret, in my old game where I can't get to the vault. Is the vault it, or is there something else? I found another unbreakable bannner in a flooded room, but I could not find a way to open it.

Gumdrop

04-26-2003, 05:30 AM

If I remember correctly, the mission needs to be played on all 3 settings (I think "rogue" has the sandbag puzzle) to visit all the areas. This might be why you cannot access the water grid area?

Edit: Wait a minute. Is that screenshot from inside the area you say is off limits?

SlyFoxx

04-26-2003, 06:06 AM

Like Gummie says IM is like three, three, three missions in one. Have a taff at the other two and you'll find lots more to see and do. (I know, I know, I'm a master of rhyme.):p

zacharias

04-26-2003, 07:29 AM

Surely Inverted Manse is two, not three years old? After all Thief 2 itself is only just over three years old.

Peter Smith

04-26-2003, 09:42 AM

Originally posted by zacharias
Surely Inverted Manse is two, not three years old? After all Thief 2 itself is only just over three years old.

You may be right. I read in the darkoader screen that Inverted Manse V1.1 was released April 1, 2000. I was surprised, too, but I didn't check it. I just went to Cheap Thief Mission Downloads and it says 2001.04.22. A search of Google says that the T2 release date is 2-29-2000 and 2000-03-23 (who to beleive?). The Cheap site also lists the range of dates of T2 FMs as June, 2000 to present. I seem to recall that Inverted Manse was not among the first T2 FM's. Those are the only "facts" I could find on the subject. Maybe someone with a better memory knows the truth.:)

Peter Smith

04-26-2003, 09:51 AM

Originally posted by Gumdrop
If I remember correctly, the mission needs to be played on all 3 settings (I think "rogue" has the sandbag puzzle) to visit all the areas. This might be why you cannot access the water grid area?

Edit: Wait a minute. Is that screenshot from inside the area you say is off limits?

Yes, I made that screen shot from inside the off-limits area. I got in there by stacking zombie torsos and jumping over a metal railing into the water. It later opened up into a series of rooms and tunnels. It was a little tougher getting back out, but I did it using the same method, standing on a little ledge by the railing. I believe that the real entrance to that area is the bricked-up doorway covered by the unbreakable banner, which is inaccessible in the Expert mode I was playing. I have since read in several places, including above, that "rogue" mode offers access to more areas and this is evidently one of them. I'll have to replay it in rogue mode with the aid of the secret weapon.:)

Vanguard

04-26-2003, 10:55 AM

The screenshot is of the area you get into from the canal route you take on the hard (rogue) difficulty level. At Expert, the door is still there in the steam room (where you can turn on steam which is handy for taking out zombies) but it is covered by a banner and maybe a thin wall. If Peter got in there on Expert level, I don't know how because I couldn't get past the banner.

Each difficulty level has a different starting point. On Normal and Hard, you get to go into the cathedral (although on Hard you only get to the 1st floor) while on Expert you never get into this area. This really adds to the layout of the mission. Usually you get more places to go on Expert, but in this FM you get swapped between the cathedral on Normal, part of the cathedral and part of the subterrain area on Hard, and no cathedral and all of the subterrain area on Expert.

I did manage to get into the cemetery at the back of the cathedral (on Normal or Hard) but cannot get back out. You use a rope arrow to jump over to a roof and then roof hop over the wall into the cemetery. Alas, nothing in there and no way out. Reload.

There's no way to figure out the safe on Expert. Not enough clues. The clues on Normal and Hard let you figure out the combination, but even after figuring it out the method used to enter it perplexed me for a bit. Geez, talk about going Rambo with a weapon. Sure made easy pickings of the guardians.

Peter, ever find the acid bombs (they act like holy hand grenades)?

Peter Smith

04-26-2003, 03:04 PM

Originally posted by Vanguard
If Peter got in there on Expert level, I don't know how because I couldn't get past the banner.

Peter, ever find the acid bombs (they act like holy hand grenades)? As for how I got in there, Vanguard, see the post directly above yours.;)

No, I did not find any acid bombs. Are they present on Expert? If so, I must be going blind. In that connection, I'm still missing 75 loot after going through the place 3-4 times, twice with all AI dead.

Peter Smith

04-27-2003, 10:15 AM

I restarted on Rogue difficulty. I found a lot of new passages outside of the manse. I tried to get into the room in question (the one in the screen shot) via the canal route. The door is still covered with an unbreakable banner on the steam valve side, the opening is still bricked up on the inside, and there is nothing in there other than architecture. I used the same zombie-stacking entrance method. So, perhaps it is the Normal skill / Cutpurse that lets you in there. I also have not seen any invisible floor / sandbag puzzle yet, but I haven't finished it.

I'll try Cutpurse next after I finish this one.

Peter Smith

04-27-2003, 01:26 PM

Yup.:) Cutpurse is the one which has access to the smelting area, directly from a door in the canal water. That door is blocked off in other skills. Also, Cutpurse has access to the upper floors of the church, whereas Rogue does not, and in Expert I could not find the church at all. It looks like Cutpurse has the most stuff in it but the easiest AI's. I can kill some of the haunts in a sword fight.

Interesting approach. It draws you in to playing all the skill levels, whereas in most missions you can't do or see more than on expert.

The sandbag puzzle is indeed in Rogue.

Thanks all for the clues on this.:)

Vanguard

04-27-2003, 07:16 PM

In Cutpurse level (Normal), you get the full cathedral but lose the underground caverns. In Rogue mode (Hard), you get part of the cathedral and half of the caverns. And in whatever was called the Expert level, you get none of the cathedral and all of the caverns.

The acid bombs are near the safe building and close by the fountain. Look for where you can use a rope arrow. You'll have to peer up to see where to use it.

In Expert level, you start back in the tunnels which come out on an overlook to a city, and then you go into more tunnels on your way to the windmill and factory. I found that I could find a spot to get atop the cliff rocks above the walk path (can't get over the iron fence), then hop over to the rocks by the fence, and then over the fence. There's one spot where the cliff down to the town is a bit slanted so you can backpeddle to slow yourself down. It bugged me to see the town and AIs down there but couldn't get to it from anywhere else. No loot, no objectives, nothing to do down there but it was a challenge just to get down there (so I could max out my blackjack count when non-ghosting the mission on Expert level).

Peter Smith

04-28-2003, 06:17 PM

I finished Cutpurse last night.:) It was fun playing all the skill levels, even if I did do it backward. I had a little problem finding the Factory Basement key to enter the manse -- I forgot completely about that wood door in the church. Anyway, I finally got it and finished. But I never did find a decent clue to the safe anywhere in the mission. Perhaps I didn't read everything carefully enough, or the clue itself is an Easter egg.

Vanguard

04-28-2003, 08:40 PM

In the normal level, the clue was something about "J" (forgot his name) using a clue of 2 consonants and 2 vowels. Since another note said he didn't like i, o, or u then the only ones left were a and e (I didn't include y). In another clue in the hard level, the clue said something about adding to wolfs would keep wolves away (postfix something onto "wolfs" that is an herb that you would use to repel them). That was the better clue.

Peter Smith

04-29-2003, 04:31 PM

Ah yes. I either didn't see those or didn't remember them.:)

jim2112

05-27-2003, 07:27 PM

Am I finally on this forum? I've had "troubles with my Tribbles" recently...

IM IS one great FM. That guy is good. Question... In the middle game (Rogue?) I can't find the pagan tome... Any hints are helpful.

I have the first 2 sister gems the 3rd one burns me when i touch it. Heck I even got the safe figured out..."B" is for bucket (in the closet):) Any help on the 3rd gem and the Tome would be most appreciated.

Thanks Jim

Nightwalker

05-28-2003, 05:56 AM

You won't be able to find the Tome until you've gotten all the stones, if I remember correctly. To get the one that burns you, you need to find a small bottle that goes into your inventory, then locate a place where you can fill it.

jim2112

05-28-2003, 08:12 AM

...YOU MEAN TO TELL ME!:( ,..eh err, I mean are you saying fill the empty bottle with fountain water by the library?

:):):), OK! I try that

Its nice to be spoiled...

Thanks Jim

jim2112

05-30-2003, 05:58 AM

Thanks Nightwalker for the hint.

Finished the level,. What a truely outstanding FM.

,...Anyway, On the expert level Ramus says bring him the Guardians heads for optional objective. OK, Got the first one with Missle and Sir Edgar
...Got the second with a mine and a ballastic missle (just blew the sucker up HEHE! ...ahem...

The dude in the middle room thats on fire is the one I have problems with. I can't pick the body up and I can't extinguish his fire with wind or water(holy water) I can't blow him up...

What am I missing?

Vanguard

05-30-2003, 06:25 AM

Wasn't the guy in the middle supposed to have invisibility? So if he is on fire it was because you shot him with a napalm arrow and it keeps burning. But when he falls dead, his head is detached from the body and you should be able to pick it up seperately.

jim2112

05-30-2003, 07:00 AM

Well Its something like that.

Yes he is invisable But from a distance INSIDE and outside the room i can see his sword. I just figure where his body is from there.

Had no napalm arrows but had some nice ballastic missles:)

Shot him, he caught on fire, wanders around a bit, shoot him with a couple of holy water arrows and he falls dead.

While dramitically dying for me he still remains on fire and his head remains attached.
I can use the light of Sir Edgar and see the outline of it.

There you have it...

He is dead, on fire and still has his head.

did i miss something?

Thanks

Haunt-of-Doom

07-12-2003, 05:26 PM

Originally posted by Peter Smith
LOL. I can see it now. BFG2000?:)

Not exactly... :D

Originally posted by jim2112
Well Its something like that.

Yes he is invisable But from a distance INSIDE and outside the room i can see his sword. I just figure where his body is from there.

Had no napalm arrows but had some nice ballastic missles:)

Shot him, he caught on fire, wanders around a bit, shoot him with a couple of holy water arrows and he falls dead.

While dramitically dying for me he still remains on fire and his head remains attached.
I can use the light of Sir Edgar and see the outline of it.

There you have it...

He is dead, on fire and still has his head.

did i miss something?

Thanks

Not sure, go check around the room for a head. If that doesn't work, then reload, but I really have no idea and don't even know what guy your on...

Also, Inverted Manse was released in 2001.