Art of Theft
Walkthrough


*** Introduction ***
Trilby: Art of Theft is a stealth platform game by Ben Croshaw aka
Yahtzee, http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/

This walkthrough written by Radiant, http://crystalshard.net
It's not officially endorsed or anything, I just like the game.
With thanks to the bigbluecup and invisionfree forums.



*** Upgrades ***
You can make life very difficult for yourself by not choosing your upgrades
carefully. It is advised to take roll, locksmith/2 and locksmith/3 as early
as possible, as they allow access to many different areas.

Other skills that can make your life easier include sidle.

You can earn about 4000 RP total over the entire game, and at least 2000
more in the master challenge. The reported maximum is 8802 points. Note that
this is not enough to buy every upgrade, which would require 12250 RP.

Roll: Very useful. Many areas are only accessible by rolling.
Flit: I've never used it. It's very circumstantial; it does make you
 slightly faster, but only backwards, and it's only useful if you actually
 do end up in a shadow, or directly underneath a camera.
Gecko hold: The only point of this skill is to hide in full light, which can
 improve your speed in scenario 6 particularly. It is impractical for
 beginners; it takes too long to set up, and you'll fall down after five
 seconds, and it doesn't hide you from laser beams.
Spider hold: The upgrade to Gecko hold has no time limit. But since the point
 of the game is to move swiftly, hiding on the ceiling indefinitely is not
 going to help.
Sidle: Mainly useful for crossing multiple laser beams, as occuring in some
 of the later scenarios.
Sugar rush: Can be used to dodge an alarm or two, but you'll be fine
 without it. It lasts too short to be really effective. It's nice to
 have for the boss battle, or the occasional tough spot.
Bargain hunter: This has NO effect in the game; it does not make it easier
 to pass a scenario's loot quota, nor does it give you a higher rank for loot
 loot collection. It does improve your final $ score, though.
Lower standards: Doesn't make enough of a difference to be really useful.
 Besides, you get higher ranks for triggerering no alarms period.
Sadist: Useless, as tasering people isn't really needed at any point in
 the game, and you get higher ranks for not tasering at all.
Locksmith/2: Very useful, as many areas are only accessible by lockpicking.
Locksmith/3: Again, very useful, for the same reason.
Cracksman: Not needed, safecracking isn't that hard. This makes the safe
 wheels spin slightly slower.
Reasonable doubt: Useful for improving your time and getting T ranks, as it
 makes it easier to run past human guards without them noticing.
Electrician: Useless; just write down which wire you need to cut. Apparently
 this upgrade doesn't always set off the alarm when you pick the wrong
 wire.
Into shadow: Fun to play around with, but you need to eschew nearly every
 other upgrade in order to avoid this. Note that it doesn't work against
 laser beams. This is a nice goal for a second playthrough. You can afford
 it after completing all seven scenarios with just the Roll and Locksmith/3
 upgrades.
Forgetfulness: It's okay for passing the last few scenarios, but remember
 you get a higher rank for not triggering alarms at all. However, this is
 very useful for completing the master challenge.



*** Tricks ***
Cameras cannot spot you if you stand directly underneath them.
You can actually walk past guards if you do it quickly enough, because when
they look at you they go "?" and it takes them a few seconds to actually
spot you.
If a guard spots you, you can rush up to him and taser him, before he rings
the alarm. Note that if you stand too close, you will taser PAST him, and
miss.
If a guard or camera spots you, if you are near the edge of the screen, run
off-screen quickly and the alarm won't trigger.
Remember that turning around is rather slow, and that Trilby will turn to
the right before jumping upwards.
Rolling off the edge of the screen makes you roll into the next screen as
well, which is slightly faster than walking.



*** Scenarios ***
(1) Par time 2:00, loot $635, 3 alarms, 3 tasers, my time 1:17 (T)
You can boost to the third floor from your starting position.
Clip the RED wire in the wire box to disable the cameras.
The flashing light doesn't actually light up long enough for the guard
to ever see you.

(2) Par time 1:30, loot $900, 3 alarms, 3 tasers, my time 1:08 (T)
The GREEN wire temporarily disables the lasers, once; however, the keypad
in the top left corner permanently disables those lasers. The code is on
the paper in the top right.

(3) Par time 3:00, loot $1005, 3 alarms, 4 tasers, my time 2:42 (T)
Once again you can boost to the upper floor from your starting position.
This is necessary to avoid the first camera.
The toilet contains loot. Don't forget the various suitcases either.
This scenario has two screens, walk to the far right to access the next.
You can drop down from the right part of the attic to the laundry room.
The RED wire disables the lights on the lower floors.
The note on the bottom floor tells you which doors to open. You can enter
the two vacant rooms for loot; enter Perota's room last. Don't enter the
other three, but you can pick their locks for a few RPs.

(4) Par time 3:00, loot $845, 2 alarms, infinite tasers, my time 1:43 (A)
You must tap the X and Z buttons rapidly to avoid being brainwashed.
Unless you have either sidle, or both roll and locksmith/2, you cannot
avoid the laser directly below the entrance.
Ignore the file cabinet between the lasers, it's not necessary.
The GREEN wire disables the cameras.
The BLUE wire in the cellar disables the camera.
Note for optimizing this scenario, that the alarm count and taser count
are NOT reset when getting captured and having to restart the level.

(5) Par time 5:00, loot $1165, 4 alarms, 4 tasers, my time 4:10 (A)
This scenario CANNOT be completed without upgrades. You will need either
the roll or locksmith/2 to be able to reach sufficient loot.

Walk slowly past the sleeping people.
Both toilets contain loot, as does the fridge, and the bag on the roof.
The RED wire on the first screen temporarily disables the spotlight at the
bottom. Move there quickly to get the loot.
The BLUE wire on the right screen disables the television in the building.
The GREEN wire on the left screen disables the camera directly overhead.
If you have the roll upgrade, you can open the bottom left safe. To find
the keypad code, first read the note on the right screen. Then check out
the washing machine on the left screen. You should now have the titles of
two books. Check the corresponding shelves on the far left for both sides
of the code.

(6) Par time 4:20, loot $1365, 4 alarms 3 tasers, my time 5:50 (B)
This scenario is going to be very difficult without certain upgrades,
because there are a lot of laser beams to cross later in the scenario.
Using both roll and locksmith/3 is one way of doing it; sidling a lot
is another.

Welcome to the hardest level in the game.
On the first screen, read the three notes and add their numbers. Check
the wine rack in the bottom left, then enter the code on the keypad that
appears.
The BLUE wire disables the vertical lasers.
In the second room, the RED wire disables many lights throughout the room.
In the third room, the GREEN wire makes the lasers easier to bypass.
You can't actually roll underneath the lasers; be prepared to take a few
alarm hits.

(7) Par time 5:40, loot $970, 4 alarms, 4 tasers, my time 7:52 (B)
As the note on the top floor states, push the brick two steps left from
the rightmost pipe to open the door.
Cut the GREEN wire to open the correct toilet door. Afterwards, cut either
other wire to open both other doors.
Open the door to the upper left of the second room, even if you're not
using it. You'll be glad later.
The first digit is on the paper in the upper right toilet. The second
digit is on the paper between the bunks. The third digit is at the start
of the third room.
Dodge the big lasers by hiding and/or crouching behind the crates.
In the final room, search under 'T' for Trilby, then afterwards under
'E' for Elizabeth, as well as 'C' for company.
Then it is time for the boss fight!
It's not that hard, just use rolls and/or sugar rush to evade the flying
things, and zap the loose wire with your umbrella. Whenever the guy says
something, quickly press Enter and ignore it. Repeat five times.
Of course, it's a load-bearing boss. Quickly retrace your steps!!

Master challenge, my time 26:54 (B)
You get to play all seven scenarios in a row, with a grand maximum of
seven alarms and seven tasers. This is going to be tough...
The good point is, if you succeed, you'll easily get 2000 RPs. Not that
you'll need them... :)



*** Rankings ***
Time: you get a T rating for making par time. You probably get an A for a
 minute more, a B for two minutes more, and a C above that, or something
 similar.
Loot: you get a T rating for 100% loot. Apparently you get an A for at least
 2/3rds of the loot, a B for at least half, and a C below that. In some
 scenarios, you can get a few pieces above the "total" loot.
Alarms: you get a T rating for zero alarms, A for one, B for two, C for more.
Tasers: you get a T rating for zero tasers, A for one, B for two, C for more.
Your total rating is the average of the above four, rounded down.

Note that the Lower Standards, Sadist, and Forgetfulness upgrades do not
improve your ranks for alarms and tasers, and neither does Bargain Hunter
improve your loot rank.
On the other hand, Locksmith/3 and Roll are often needed to collect enough
loot and make it out in time.



*** Costumes ***
Costumes can be switched in your hideout. A nice touch is that the brainwash
scene looks different if you wear a different costume.

(1) Grey Pinstripe
   Available from the beginning
   Game effects: none
(2) Clanbronwyn Classic
   Available after beating scenario 4
   Game effects: none
(3) Lazy Sunday
   Available after beating scenario 7
   Game effects: you are ONLY hidden when hugging the wall in full darkness.
   Not even the Into Darkness upgrade will help you here.
(4) Ninja outfit
   Available after getting A ranks in all scenarios
   Game effects: improves your stealth a lot
(5) Gentleman Thief
   Available after beating the master challenge
   Game effects: none
(6) Menace to Society
   Available after getting an A rank on the master challenge
   Game effects: levels won't end if you run out of alarms or tasers
(7) Golden
   Available after getting T ranks in all scenarios, or in the master challenge
   Game effects: it sparkles

The manual refers to a bonus for playing a certain scenario with a certain
costume. The scenario is the master challenge, and the costume is the Lazy
Sunday suit, because it makes the game much more difficult. The Forgetfulness
and Into Shadow upgrades are recommended for trying this.  It doesn't matter
what score you get. No comment on the bonus game :)


Walkthrough by Radiant.
http://crystalshard.net