The Dawn of The Metal Age: Part 1 – Groping The Elephant

So, I guess we’re doing this. Join me as I continue where we left off and play through Thief II: The Metal Age. It’s my favourite of the series, but I’m sure I’ll find something to complain about.

The first shot of the intro isn’t quite a match for the last shot of The Dark Project but it’s close.

The the natural shades of blue and green shift to more aggressive burnt orange and brass green for the start of the intro. Only to be shifted back again as we get our first glimpse of Garrett, The Metal Age is looming…

Throughout the series each faction is built around a distinct colour palette. With the predominate colours as follows:

Hammers: Red
Pagans: Green
Keepers: Blue

RGB. Which are the primary colours of light.

The Mechanists, as an effectively a new faction birthed from the old, use a colour palette influenced by the Hammers, but shifted up a few segments of the colour wheel toward the orange. Creating a look built around bronze and verdigris green.

And Garrett straight up kills a dude in this intro.

I once commented that the colour palette of The Metal Age was predominately brown and I got schooled.

The background of the main menu is the same one from The Dark Project but with a window in front of it. The audio is the same too, except muffled – because of that window.

RIP.

I first played The Metal Age sometime in 2001-2002. I picked up Deus Ex when it released in 2000 and immediately adopted a stealth\hacking\mini-crossbow approach. From there I found the Ion Storm Austin forums and found out about Looking Glass Studios. Prior to that I’d been playing basically whatever FPS came out, along with the occasional adventure game or RTS; I was also still playing military flight sims, though these were soon to all but disappear. Deus Ex was the first game I can actually remember finishing (I think there were a couple before that, but that’s the only one I consciously remember wanting to complete). I went from that to The Metal Age, only to realise that Looking Glass Studios were no more.

I’ve played through The Metal Age completely once, I’ve played up to “Life Of The Party” twice (including that first complete run), and reached “Blackmail” three times.

I’ve written a LOT about this game, including 25K words on its best level, “Life of the Party” *

(*The best level is actually “Framed”.)

I’ve never played it since finishing The Dark Project (obviously), and I’ve never played all three (ahem) games one after the other. This is sure to be an “experience”.

It’s not clear (I don’t believe, but we’ll find out) how much time is meant to have passed since the end of The Dark Project, but it was snowing then and isn’t anymore so it’s at least a few months. Given my history with this game it’ll be more “critical commentary” than “first impressions”. Once we get to Deadly Shadows we’re back into “hazy recollections” territory.

To this day, nearly twenty years later, I still name all my characters in any game with a character creator either Garrett or Viktoria.

“Running Interference”:

Alright Mr “I’ve always equated feelings with getting caught…” I was there when you broke Basso out of Cragscleft just to impress his sister, you aren’t fooling me. Or are you still all emo because Viktoria turned out to be a wood nymph with an eye fetish?

No optional training mission this time. Instead the first level “Running Interference” serves as a tutorial when played on Normal.

Thief bringing the sound life advice…

Every word of this briefing is Garrett being about four times more cynical than he was at the start of the last game. I guess losing an eye and descending into the realm of an old god isn’t conducive to a sunny disposition.

Get in, clear the way to Jenivere’s room, then signal Basso to come get her. The objective to score eight knockouts is annoying for anybody who wants to keep a low profile; an indication of the level’s status as a pseudo-tutorial.

Oh… Wait did Basso’s sister turn you down? Is that why you’re all “love is for chumps”, Garrett?

You start “Running Interference” with your sword, blackjack and 15 Water Arrows, that’s it. It was probably this level that set the expectation that I could do everything with the minimum of resources.

Skybox suggests this mansion is far into the suburbs of the City. This is probably the furthest from it that Garrett has been in the main games – The Maw of Chaos aside.

From the very first room the average object density appears to have increased. There’s just more stuff in each room, and more BSP geometry: wooden roof beams and panelling, etc.

The first guard you encounter (assuming you take the indicated path) is a woman, and like her male counterpart she’s a bit of a jobsworth really; dowsing the torch outside their window just sets them to grumbling about it.

This is the first of two guards (and one civilian) along the main route to Jenivere’s room that you need to deal with to clear the way. Still wish they’d found some other way to make this level a challenge on Expert without forcing engagement.

Though this is somewhat less irritating after playing The Dark Project, which had explicit objectives to “kill” a certain number of creatures.

New things! Gas lamps which make a cool hissing noise if you stand next to them, and will be turned back on by guards who walk past them, usually. In fact I’m not really sure what the rules are for when they decide to do that.

I believe this guy follows a randomised path. The context of him being a servant rather than a guard makes this behaviour less frustrating. It helps that if I do get spotted all he’ll do is run to alert somebody, not start attacking me.

Absolute unequivocal best part of this level (and maybe even the entire game): using a dumb waiter to steal a bunch of things from this room, including a key from the belt of the patrolling guard who gets too close.

Here’s how you introduce a character called Sheriff Truart without just having somebody saying “Sheriff Truart”. Though Garrett does in fact do this later, it’s during a voice over which makes it sound less forced.

There’s a story behind this shrine you can find under the stairs. Originally it was an Easter Egg put in by the original designer, but it included an out-of-fiction reference so was altered (I believe only after release). I like to view it now as a proto-Mechanist shrine.

Secrets! I was actually surprised that there weren’t any in The Dark Project, finding them was a fairly big part of The Metal Age for me.

I am totally here for the purple wallpaper. The use of colour to indicate sociocultural context is really strong throughout these games.

Light switches! I remember a few of these in The Dark Project, there are a lot more in The Metal Age as fits the techno-centric tone of the game.

This portrait looks oddly familiar… I wonder if I’ll find another one of this dude riding a bear.

And here we have the “class divide” represented in a single image.

With the route to Jenivere’s room clear it’s time to signal Basso and GTFO.

There are a lot of dark corridors with doors half hidden along them. If you’re not paying attention – or checking the map – you can easily miss entire rooms.

One last thing before we go, some rings for the happy couple. Oh Garrett, we all know your cynicism is a shield you old softy.

Jenivere, I know you’re happy to see your beau but one of the only guards left conscious in this level is just around the corner, so please keep quiet and come with us.

That’s “Running Interference” done. Solid level, unremarkable, not as strong an introduction as Bafford’s. For more in-depth thoughts you can read my analysis for Sneaky Bastards.

Plot wise The Metal Age is maybe even more film noir than the first game. For now though we’re still in Act 1 establishing the world and Garrett’s role in it.

One thing “Running Interference” does better than “Lord Bafford’s Manor” is its representation of the upstairs/downstairs class divide. As well as the hierarchy of the serving class. All the servants have their quarters in the basement, with the housekeeper, butler, and under-butler having the three largest and best appointed rooms. Lady Rumford’s house also has space dedicated to a “steam plant” and “electrics”. With a modern house in the suburbs Lady Rumford is probably “new money”. A contrast to the old money Lord “I’ve got a castle in the middle of the fucking City” Bafford.

“Shipping… and Receiving”:

The next level is “Shipping … and Receiving” which will take quite a bit longer I suspect. Not using a No-Spiders patch, going to have to just suck it up for this next level, but I know where everything is so no surprises at least.

The Sheriff is getting aggressive and Garrett’s rent is due… Just out of frame in the second shot are what look like knocked over poker tables; I like to think this is the Downwinders finally getting theirs.

“Shipping… and Receiving” here we go. I wonder how annoyed I’ll get trying to remember where those last few bags of spice are?

Yay, I managed to spend all my money. Shut up about the Invisibility Potion it’s my game and I’ll guzzle bottles of green chunk if I want too – I probably won’t actually use it in the end.

A little out of sequence but I just want everybody to know I got exactly this far before I bailed and installed the No Spiders mod.

The last Hammer in the City? Certainly the only living one I’ve found in The Metal Age.

All those juicy readables. There’s not quite more worldbuilding in this level than the whole of The Dark Project but it does feel like it sometimes.

Oh yeah… Another super detailed map. Here’s the general layout of Rampone Dockside Shipping along with Building A.

And Building B.

The not quite 451 reference of Cid Capezza’s warehouse space.

“Inventor”… They mean Mechanist.

Welcome to E2M2…

These are kind of creepy… Fortunately I’m still one game away from them being really creepy.

Hmm… I shall now proceed to Watch this Angel. ;)

A corridor of rejected Dungeons & Dragons cover art… That’s mean, I actually rather like all the paintings in these games.

Get in! Managed to shoot the elevator button on the second attempt. The first attempt actually hit the button for the top floor.

I’ve never been quite sure what Lord Porter was up to. I think he’s either teaching people how to forge works of art, or conducting secret auctions.

Garrett is probably driving poor Gilver to bankruptcy and a stress induced early grave.

And now we’re stealing a wax (?) cylinder recording from a musician’s studio. When technology hit the City, it hit hard.

We can skip over Mynell’s steaks, though it’s really impressive how he can get eight thighs from a single “cow”, though they are a little on the lean side.

And here begins the story of how Benny couldn’t mind his own fucking business. Apparently the clanging noises coming from Mynell’s freezer was just too interesting. Fortunately Garrett has a cure for that, percussive maintenance of his head.

After taking his “cure” Benny swooned. It would simply be irresponsible for Garrett to leave him like that. Sadly the other guards didn’t seem likely to accept that Garrett was attempting to help poor Benny, best that he find a quiet corner to let Benny sleep it off.

Erm… Well this is just getting complicated now.

Ah a garbage chute… There we go Benny, you just sleep it off.

Our first Mechanist Face – I’m not sure what the actual name of these things is, are these the faces or are the ones that hear you the faces? Either way this is placed in a really silly position, it’s protecting two offices when all the good loot is in the warehouse.

… Also the off switch is about 10 feet away from it anyway making the entire thing pointless. Still it’s a relatively safe introduction to something that will become much more prevalent in later levels.

Bit late to be unloading cargo isn’t it? Yeah, nothing suspicious going on here at all?

It was at this point that I realise I’d forgotten to grab the Rope Arrow from near the beginning of the level… *Sigh*

Where Building A is a series of discrete – and discreet – storage spaces, Building B is constructed from four large storage bays (that I apparently forgot to explore) and a vast central space stacked with crates. A Rope Arrow would sure make exploring these stacks of crates easier, but I am too fucking stubborn to go back and get it now. I also know there’s another one in here somewhere (I completely forget where and so never end up with any Rope Arrows). I’ve got about 10 Water Arrows total (started with 8 I think then found 2 more), 2 were used by the Mechanist Face and about 5 more on Davidson’s boat.

Erm… There appears to be something very wrong with this chest in Davidson’s quarters.

“Lucky” Selentura has been a naughty boy, running an illegal gambling establishment out of his storage space. Now he’s up and disappeared. There’s also a rather dead body in the cargo hold of Davidson’s ship… So..?

Sounds like Davidson and Garrett having something in common: the continued misfortunes of one D. M. Gilver.

The Hammer seen earlier was meeting with Kilgor from Kilgor Weapon Smithing. Judging from his journal it’s been about a full year since the events of The Dark Project, and the near obliteration of the old Hammer order.

… And we’re out. “Shipping… and Receiving” done. I know the layout pretty well, so managed to clear it in just over an hour. Missed a few secrets and a bunch of loot though.

Once again more detailed thoughts can be found here.

There’s a distinct cadence to Building A of “Shipping… and Receiving”. Structured around having to return to specific points to open the various storage bays. You end up traversing a lot of the space multiple times. Building B and Davidson’s ship provide more freeform navigation, and can largely be ignored on Normal.

So many things are foreshadowed in this level, and so many details of the larger world hinted at. There are no birds around anymore, the trees are disappearing, and it’s difficult getting anything to grow. The Mechanists have a giant tower in Dayport, and a spreading influence all across the City. What remains of the Hammers considers them heretical, whereas the citizenry believe they are working for the good of the lower classes. This level has several small moments that I always come back to when thinking about this series: using the arrows to hit the switch for Lord Porter’s elevator; sneaking about Davidson’s boat from the water; crouching in the rafters above the offices of Building A; trailing the two guards patrolling the offices in Building B. That latter one in particular is a cool little encounter. Two guards (archer and swordsman) patrolling in a square past six offices. The space is open so you can always see where both of the guards are. What makes it an interesting encounter is the sporadic patches of darkness and the fact that one guard walks faster than the other. He keeps lapping the other, creating this expanding and contracting pattern of high/low threat… Sometimes both guards are on one side of the space, sometimes they are on different sides. Whether they are close together or far apart can change the time it takes you to explore the different offices along their route.

I need to apologise to The Dark Project, despite what I said there are several places in this level alone where the illumination level as indicated by the environment and that as indicated by the light gem do not conform. In particular there are a non-trivial number of spots where you are illuminated if moving but completely invisible if standing still, and I don’t know what’s causing that.

As with The Dark Project playing through The Metal Age is making me itch to play Dishonored again… There are not enough stealthy immersive sims to play.

These first two levels are effectively prologue. “Framed” is actually the start of the plot, though it’s not clear that’s the case until later. Only on reflection do the events that occur within make sense in the larger context.

“Framed”:

A man arrives at Garrett’s door saying that an “old contact” told him where Garrett could be found. Before Garrett can find out who that “old contact” was the visitor distracts him with a large bag of money. Oh, Garrett you’re so predictable.

The job is to break into Shoalsgate station headquarters of the City Watch and frame Sheriff Truart’s second-in-command Lieutenant Hagen. Along with the large bag of money is a surprisingly detailed map.

Spoilers… So this is never explicitly spelt out but the “old contact” is Viktoria. She wants Hagen gone because his replacement would be Lieutenant Mosley a pagan sympathiser and one of Viktoria’s agents. Mosley’s involvement is why the map you have is so detailed.

Managed to spent all my gold again, I’m going to start getting disappointed when I can’t now.

The Viktoria, Mosley, Hagen, Truart, dynamic is part of what makes The Metal Age as film noir as The Dark Project. It’s an entire sub-plot that ultimately proves fruitless as Truart is as much a pawn as Mosley – or Garrett.

Haha… I’d only just now seen the description of Broadhead Arrows: “This is a sharp arrow.”

The audio for this level is some pure Eric Brosius “let’s fuck with the player”. It just sounds like there’s an alarm going off constantly.

Dancing Zombies!

When Garrett calls it a “very detailed map” he’s not kidding.

Well the front entrance is a “no” then.

This level is “the good shit” when it comes to pure urban thievery. A closed single location, once you’re inside nothing (bar one small room) is inaccessible.

“Framed” has no loot objectives. First level in The Metal Age to do that, but not a first for the series. I need to basically swap a personal item of Hagen’s for the Strongbox and then get out without causing a ruckus.

For a supposedly secure City Watch headquarters there sure are a lot of secret passages in Shoalsgate station.

God… The Metal Age is fucking loaded with subtle worldbuilding. “Framed” on its own is full of little bits of dialogue and readables that flesh out the City and its inhabitants.

Here’s Lady Rumford reporting the disappearance of her maid Jenivere. While also name dropping Karras, head of the Mechanists. This is the first time his name has been mentioned in The Metal Age. All this is entirely missable.

A water cooler…

Lieutenant Hagen’s office. Do we think that’s a picture of his wife?

On further reflection that picture seems more likely to be Truart’s wife. I’ll just grab Smithers’… Sorry Hagen’s handkerchief.

Across the corridor is Mosley’s office. The plant, her apparently inability to deal with the Pagans despite successes elsewhere, if you know to look for them the signs are obvious. If not they can be lost amid all the other information you’re learning.

Small things are going missing from the evidence vault, and nobody has any idea who is doing it. Hint, it’s probably Mosley gathering things for Viktoria, or setting up a pattern of behaviour to support the accusations against Hagen.

Two of the City Watch downstairs can be heard talking about how they used to be part of the Downwinders; Truart is filling the Watch with criminals who will be loyal to him.

Speaking of Criminals, Warden Affairs is really fucking corrupt. It’s been a while since they were mentioned but the Wardens are the City’s crime bosses. This is basically the Organised Crime division.

“You are my fire. The one desire. Believe when I say…”

Look! It’s that room every Immersive Sim has to have.

Those decided not wooden beams above that balcony are just mocking me. Rope Arrows won’t attach to metal.

Sheriff Truart has a pretty nice office.

Wait… You two look familiar. I shall continue to Watch these Angels. It’s at this point that I realise I somehow forgot to grab that vase on the mantel.

Truart is really fucking corrupt. I suspect given the actions – or lack thereof – of Warden Affairs that the meeting at 10 bells with “L R” is with Ramirez.

Another worldbuilding element it’s easy to miss in Mosley’s journal, is that the City is usually run by the Baron who is away fighting a war, effectively leaving Truart in charge. Something, something, Sheriff of Nottingham.

Shoalsgate is a fairly old-fashioned building constructed from stone. It has been modernised over time rather than newly build for an expanded City Watch.

You enter via the sewers, and from there can gain access to the building itself from multiple routes, leading to the ground and basement levels. There’s also the well in the garden that occupies space in the centre of the compound; this is fortunately deserted.

Down in the basement are the cells and an interrogation room, which is currently occupied and inaccessible.

There’s a motley collection of people in the cells. Along with a ghostly Hammer Haunt who appears completely oblivious to what is going on.

There’s also a morgue and crime lab in the basement. CSI: The City?

The City is never named, though the various districts are. Dayport is one of the most prestigious and well known. There’s also Shalebridge, Audale, the Old Quarter, and Eastport among others.

Progress and how it’s impacting the City is a big theme.

I always felt the City was the main character of Thief II, and that it felt more alive in that game. TDP deals with a “behind the scenes” story (though it comes to concern the City); TMA involves the entire City’s progress and trajectory from the get-go. – Trevor Hugh Whalen

As “Framed” occurs in a single location there’s no specific sense of directionality to the space. You need to visit Hagen’s office and the evidence vault but where else you go is up to you. If you know your way around you can complete the level in 10 minutes or less. Most of the actual rooms inside Shoalsgate station are uninhabited. It’s the corridors that are heavily patrolled. Lit by a mix of electric lights and torches you can’t ever make them completely safe; especially given the low-contact requirement of Expert.

There’s a lot of waiting inside rooms and listening at doors while on the ground floor.

The introduction of glass paneled doors changes the possibility space in some neat ways. You can see when guards are approaching, but they can see you too. They are only used sparing on the ground floor, and become much more frequent on the upper floors.

Something I hadn’t considered is that for some people this level, with its push toward “Ghosting”, is a pretty bold format breaker.

A nice detail about the level is that on Expert, you’re forbidden from knocking any one out, so you have to effectively ghost it, which I find much more interesting and immersive than using the blackjack, but can’t force myself to do on other levels unless it is mandatory. – Jacques

The main office is one of several rather anachronistic spaces within Shoalsgate. Cubicles, really?

In several places throughout this level you can find crumpled balls of paper that you can take and read. Most are letters to whoever’s desk they are near. I wonder what this one says? Oh…

This note can be found on one of the desks in the main office. Just some nice worldbuilding, but it features characters that will appear again later. Nothing important just something to provide a sense of continuity between levels.

The evidence vault is locked by a Mechanist security device, the code for which is in the secure area of the records hall, which is in a separate section of the upper floor.

The need for a code is mentioned on the map. You’ll have to explore the level to find out where the code is. There’a single Mechanist, Brother Artus, in the building who will let slip that the code is in the secure records area.

But how do you know his name? Well it’s written on a note pinned to the mess hall wall. Also there’s a dumbwaiter? Score!