Dont get used to it, this smells like a bug they might fix. 
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All I took from this is that all the little plant cards in the greenhouse have legible and correct text for the things they are next to. And I just think thatâs neat.
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Personally, while I wouldâve preferred a bonus episode I still happy with what we got. Much better than a Special Assignment. Sure, a Special Assignment has more dialogues and mission stories but the map is basically the same with even the normal targets still walking around. The Garden Show actually feels like a different level.
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lol i hope none, i really like all 3 judges
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IOI have said multiple times that they are using escalations to try new things and have made it pretty clear that this is the direction they are going so it really isnât that surprising. Some time ago in some other thread that I donât care to look up at the moment this group had a conversation about escalations and whether they were good content or not. I made the point there, and I think itâs still valid, that escalations are not bad content, per se, but there are good and bad escalations too.
It isnât:
Featured Contracts â Escalations â Elusive Targets â Bonus Missions
It is much closer to:
Bad Contracts â Bad Escalations â Bad Elusive Targets â Good Contracts â Special Assignments â Good Elusive Targets â Good Escalations â Bonus Missions
Contracts unfortunately will also be at the bottom of their tier because they, by definition, must always re-use existing content. A contract can only use whatâs already there.
A Bad escalation is frustrating at best and aggravating at worst.
IOIâs content is varied enough that good vs. bad version of most types of it vary greatly in their worth I think.
Good escalations though, including this one, are fun to play, engage the player, and donât feel like endless repetition and that is what this one is, to a tee. There are some unique challenges, the level is dynamic, and the targets have some play to them. There are things to discover and do that arenât immediately obvious but the breadcrumbs are there.
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Also, there were so many filler escalations for Hitman 2016:
Hitman 2 put a little more work into their escalations, often with unique challenges, new starting locations, etcâŚ
Hitman 3 puts the most effort into their escalations with changed/changing environments, completely new challenges, new NPCs, and in DGSâs case, a contracts mode. Itâs kind of unfortunate that some of them are locked behind a paywall, but I donât really mind that (in most cases, cough cough The Greed Enumeration).
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I think there are certainly players who lump all escalations into a single bucket and call them all (more or less) âbadâ. The work that IOI has done with the 7 deadly sins, the deluxe content, Dartmoor Garden Show, and a lot of the Hitman 2 stuff do show that the format of the escalation isnât inherently bad, itâs the content that matters.
Dartmoor Garden Show not only shows off some of the better side of escalations, but each level build on the previous one without requiring the player to repeatedly do the same thing. In level 2, the target from Level 1 isnât even on the map anymore. Level 3 is the same concept where the Level 2 targets (and 1) arenât there. Compare that to some of the Hitman (2016) stuff where it was identical each of the 5 times you did it (plus one complication) and you can see an obvious difference for the better in the recent stuff.
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I view the sins and, especially, the Garden Show, as kind of bonus mission/escalation hybrids and I, for one, like the direction, even if all the variety and experimentation can make them a bit hit or miss.
Greed is the only one I not only donât like but actually hate. I drove myself insane trying to get all 60 coins. I also think âDo Not Get Spottedâ is the worst complication; first, itâs redundant because thatâs already on the postgame scorecard and then it also applies it to NPCs who have been/are being killed.
Theyâve definitely upped their escalation game for sure. The Garden Show is the best by far but I donât think any of the sins are bad (even Greed). They are just so varied from most escalations that have come before (and each other) that they appeal to different groups of players (like Greed doesnât for me).
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I actually did not finish that escalation exactly because of that. I collected every coin on Level 3, and noticed that I had 59 coins. I somehow failed the escalation after that, but I didnât have the motivation to restart or go back to Level 1.
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Apparently, thereâs an order to the kills on Level 3 and if you donât follow it, one target drops one less coin⌠Or some such nonsenseâŚ
I found that out the hard way too⌠Then, I had to take a break from Dubai as a whole for a few daysâŚ
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For the record, I donât dislike escalations. Conversely, I actually quite enjoy them (usually). Weâve had some great ones and some terrible ones in the past, and DGS is without a doubt the best escalation weâve ever had. Itâs absolutely a step up from what weâve had previously in terms of Hitman 3 bonus content, as well as just escalations as a whole.
Although itâs undeniably an excellent escalation that introduces some interesting and unique concepts, I still think it would have been better as a bonus mission instead. I guess you could argue itâs a Bonus-Mission/Escalation hybrid (which I think is what IOI was going for), but I would rather just have it be a fully fledged bonus mission. To me, it seems like a much more appropriate use for the level remix theyâve designed. Itâs not that I donât like escalations, I just like bonus missions more.
That said, I suppose we can make our own âBonus Missionsâ given that itâs available in contracts mode.
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Fair enough. I can tell you that your original post had a certain overall tone and wording that left me with the impression that you were saying âescalations = bad, bonus missions = goodâ and that may not be what you were trying to convey and thatâs fair.
I was trying to think of any regular or bonus missions that had dynamic objectives like the escalations do and there are some. Mumbai changes from âIdentify the Maelstromâ to âKill the Maelstromâ. Whittleton Creek changes through the various intel items.
For what itâs worth at this point given itâs already out, IOI could have made the Garden Show into a one stage escalation like Lust was with the objectives changing based on who you killed and they could have just done it as a straight bonus mission with the same dynamic objectives. The only real difference at that point would have the ability save the game mid-mission or not.
That said, Iâm happy with what we got and I hope itâs used as the template or springboard for future content as well.
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To me, Greed sucked so much not because of the low effort, or the camera filter, or the routing challenge which I actually quite enjoyed, but because of two very clear aspects:
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The Donât Get Spotted/Instafail condition. Donât do this, IOI. All of us who like to compete to climb the leaderboards with tricky, speedy, perfect runs are already self-imposing this challenge. But perfecting a run takes trial and error, and I canât experiment and embrace the chaos if you immediately cut to the grey screen of failure. It is a complication that actively discourages experimentation as well as enjoyment.
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The coins. Letâs face it, the coins were not only often bugged, but also⌠just boring. Sometimes you wouldnât get the right number of coins dropping, and players would leave the mission with 58 or 59 and be rightfully pissed off after feeling like they did everything right. Other times, the coins would simply drop into literally un-pickup-able places. In my case I spent a long session getting my run right, and then helicopter pilot dropped a coin underneath the helicopter in a place I could not access. Waste of my freaking time. Another time one of the tech guyâs coins spawned underneath the table overlooking the display, and I couldnât pick it up. Seriously, the coins were just bugged in that DLC and if this was ever fixed, I donât know it because no one went back to play the damn thing. Not to mention, holding the button down 8 times in a row to pick up coins is a boring game mechanic.
So I for one appreciate the effort IOI seems to be making in experimenting with and opening up escalations a bit. Itâs taken them a few years but theyâre successfully moving from âjust add a complication to the same mission a few times overâ to âfiddle with the gameplay, give the player more freedom, make it replayable, change assets and item locations in the map, add more NPC dialogue.â I think thereâs a case to be made for the possibility that escalations can be done right, and personally Iâm just embracing the extra content, knowing weâre not getting any new maps and that any âbonus missionsâ will be formatted this way.
The Garden Show has its limitations and frustrations, but it looks great, thereâs funny NPC dialogue, references to other levels, and, importantly, itâs extremely open in its approach. Players can self-impose challenges, speedrun it, or take their time reading wikipedia intros about plants. For free. They gave me this for free. So, Iâm down with it.
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Yeah, as much as I hate to generalize, Insta-fail always equals bad.
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Yeah, I came across as more snarky and critical than I intended in my original post. I did enjoy Garden Show and itâs probably the best post-launch content weâve got for Hitman 3 thus far. I just wish theyâd gone a bit further with it is all. Regardless, itâs still a big step in the right direction so we may well end up getting something amazing down the line.
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I tried that first, but she just went right into complaining about no inspiration again.
This could all very well be just an excuse to have a target away from the rest of the Garden Show and nothing more, but who knows.
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i really love how comically petty the targets are in this mission, ordering hits on each other just to win a garden competition
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Yeah but all that pettiest in the end it is all for the greater good.
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There really shouldâve been a starting location near the greenhouse like how it was in the main mission. Iâve hardly played this map and already starting to feel bored.
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