Decline Thiaf Pre-Release Thread

[DraQ]

I watched some streams also, and these are my thoughts:

- The writing throughout was pretty great, much better than the trailers and press materials we've seen. Some nice references to the larger City, extensive documents throughout (newspapers, letters, missives,etc). I was impressed and relieved.
- Regarding level size - as mentioned above, it's bigger than we've been led to believe. There's a nice long underground passage network that undercuts the jeweler's area, and a number of alleys and nooks that we've never been shown. And somewhere in them is a unique piece of loot whic hteh guy found after two playthroughs, which is indicative of the level's scope
- The AI is decidedly solid, which is a great relief. You can't do knockout chains like the original games (remember the conga lines of guards outside the Bank?), they have unique barks and search patterns depending on how you've been detected (visually, aurally, via a discovered body, etc), they notice your shadow, relight torches, investigate open doors, turn on light switches - in all, they react as you expect them to, which is the highest compliment I think one can give AI in a game like this.
- You can jump off ropes at any point, not just the top (as erroneously reported)
- There is a surprisingly granular movement speed system

Looking forward to playing this decent looking game by the Eidos team

Couldn't you at least make up your own thoughts/opinions instead of copying them from Pillowman?

Awww... It's so cute.

JarlFrank , can we keep it?

 

[retardation]

God, how I miss LGS. They were the Dream Team. Imagine how many legendary games we've lost with their shutdown.

It's better this way, they'd be infiltrated by military and/or psyops shills by now.

 

[Oesophagus]

God, how I miss LGS. They were the Dream Team. Imagine how many legendary games we've lost with their shutdown.

It's better this way, they'd be infiltrated by military and/or psyops shills by now.

or gone the way of bioware

 

[Angthoron]

I watched some streams also, and these are my thoughts:

- The writing throughout was pretty great, much better than the trailers and press materials we've seen. Some nice references to the larger City, extensive documents throughout (newspapers, letters, missives,etc). I was impressed and relieved.
- Regarding level size - as mentioned above, it's bigger than we've been led to believe. There's a nice long underground passage network that undercuts the jeweler's area, and a number of alleys and nooks that we've never been shown. And somewhere in them is a unique piece of loot whic hteh guy found after two playthroughs, which is indicative of the level's scope
- The AI is decidedly solid, which is a great relief. You can't do knockout chains like the original games (remember the conga lines of guards outside the Bank?), they have unique barks and search patterns depending on how you've been detected (visually, aurally, via a discovered body, etc), they notice your shadow, relight torches, investigate open doors, turn on light switches - in all, they react as you expect them to, which is the highest compliment I think one can give AI in a game like this.
- You can jump off ropes at any point, not just the top (as erroneously reported)
- There is a surprisingly granular movement speed system

Looking forward to playing this decent looking game by the Eidos team

Couldn't you at least make up your own thoughts/opinions instead of copying them from Pillowman?

POST THI4F: WHAT WAS YOUR SHITPOST IS MINE.

 

[Infinitron]

God, how I miss LGS. They were the Dream Team. Imagine how many legendary games we've lost with their shutdown.

It's better this way, they'd be infiltrated by military and/or psyops shills by now.

or gone the way of bioware

Well, believe it or not, Thief was actually initially an attempt to make a streamlined console game. It does actually have a fully console-compatible interface in-game.

But of course they never could have fitted those levels in a Playstation's RAM.

 

[Oesophagus]

it was meant to be a sword fighting game, wasn't it?

 

[Infinitron]

it was meant to be a sword fighting game, wasn't it?

It was meant to be a lot of things. Ken Levine (yes, him) had some wacky ideas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thief:_The_Dark_Project#Origins

EDIT: See here about consoles http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...ry-dark-camelot-and-thief.85360/#post-2798853

 

[Oesophagus]

well the amount of controlls (key bindings) would be an issue on consoles. Also level sizes, as you rightly noticed

 

[DraQ]

I watched some streams also, and these are my thoughts:

- The writing throughout was pretty great, much better than the trailers and press materials we've seen. Some nice references to the larger City, extensive documents throughout (newspapers, letters, missives,etc). I was impressed and relieved.
- Regarding level size - as mentioned above, it's bigger than we've been led to believe. There's a nice long underground passage network that undercuts the jeweler's area, and a number of alleys and nooks that we've never been shown. And somewhere in them is a unique piece of loot whic hteh guy found after two playthroughs, which is indicative of the level's scope
- The AI is decidedly solid, which is a great relief. You can't do knockout chains like the original games (remember the conga lines of guards outside the Bank?), they have unique barks and search patterns depending on how you've been detected (visually, aurally, via a discovered body, etc), they notice your shadow, relight torches, investigate open doors, turn on light switches - in all, they react as you expect them to, which is the highest compliment I think one can give AI in a game like this.
- You can jump off ropes at any point, not just the top (as erroneously reported)
- There is a surprisingly granular movement speed system

Looking forward to playing this decent looking game by the Eidos team

Couldn't you at least make up your own thoughts/opinions instead of copying them from Pillowman?

POST THI4F: WHAT WAS YOUR SHITPOST IS MINE.

Ah, now I get it!
Bobbix is thiaf of shitposts - it's so meta!
XDXDXD

 

[Black_Willow]

It's not 1998 anymore.....

10/10 you win the argument!

 

[Mangoose]

well the amount of controlls (key bindings) would be an issue on consoles. Also level sizes, as you rightly noticed

Well you could use the triggers (or any other buttons really) as shift+modifiers to access more controls. But developers too lazy to do that.

The other thing that irks me about console controllers is that only your thumbs and your index fingers have buttons to press. Imagine if they added some more buttons for your other fingers. Controllers will never match the accuracy and precision of using a mouse but they could still be improved for those types of games that don't require mouse accuracy.

 

[Cowboy Moment]

Eh, of all the classic PC games, Thief has the most console-ish design. Simple, intuitive mechanics, with just enough depth to allow for many varied gameplay scenarios, and most of the game is carried by level and encounter design. As a matter of fact, there are very obvious parallels between the first Thief and the Rare shooters of that time - Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. And you could easily tweak the control scheme of Thief to work on a gamepad (as opposed to SS2 for example), it is, amusingly, one of the few first person games where slow aiming with an analog stick doesn't matter at all.

What I'm trying to say, is that console gaming has severely declined since ~2000 as well.

 

[octavius]

God, how I miss LGS. They were the Dream Team. Imagine how many legendary games we've lost with their shutdown.

It's better this way, they'd be infiltrated by military and/or psyops shills by now.

Going out when you're at your peak is what secures you a Legend status.
Still, it's sad to think of what could have been...

 

[80Maxwell08]

you're all wrong and the game will be brilliant and anyway

Never said other people are wrong, just pointing out the good things about the game, just because it has some different mechancis and elements than the old game, doesn't make it a bad game overall.

Then why make/ call it a "Thief" game to begin with?

Spoiler

Can't believe I responded to this plant/ troll/ shill/ etc...

I know how you feel. I wrote a paragraph or so to one of them then deleted it a few minutes later because it was pointless.

 

[Delterius]

well the amount of controlls (key bindings) would be an issue on consoles. Also level sizes, as you rightly noticed

Well you could use the triggers (or any other buttons really) as shift+modifiers to access more controls. But developers too lazy to do that.

I've played diablo copies on consoles that did this.

 

[Borelli]

This is Sara Verrilli, she (like many others in LGS) was an MIT graduate and a level designer on Dark Project.

No wonder Thief is such a masterpiece when it had MIT supernerds working on it. How many today's designers have studied at MIT?

 

[Oesophagus]

This is Sara Verrilli, she (like many others in LGS) was an MIT graduate and a level designer on Dark Project.

No wonder Thief is such a masterpiece when it had MIT supernerds working on it. How many today's designers have studied at MIT?

Do they teach marketing and advertising at MIT?

 

[Infinitron]

This is Sara Verrilli, she (like many others in LGS) was an MIT graduate and a level designer on Dark Project.

No wonder Thief is such a masterpiece when it had MIT supernerds working on it. How many today's designers have studied at MIT?

To be fair, there aren't many game development companies in Boston (Irrational was there, now they're gone) and most MIT grads have better job prospects after graduation than the rather brutal game development industry.

Companies like Looking Glass and before them, Infocom, managed to snag some brilliant people, due to their location but also due to the fact that they were doing pretty interesting "experimental" work. Today the only game development company which is in any way comparable to that is Valve. I'm sure Gaben has his share of MIT grad employees, but Seattle is a long way away...

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

I know I'm repeating one of my posts, but still.

Dear shills,

Swoop the fuck outta here.

 

[WalmartJesus]

I found this on the steam discussions page.

Really hope that Gamespot score is real

I can just imagine all the mouthbreathers on EM forums seeing it and then accusing the reviewer of "sucking at stealth games" and how "he doesnt get the DNA of the series".

 

[sexbad?]

He probably does suck at stealth games, though.

 

[WalmartJesus]

sexbad

True, but my point was that there will be tons of excuses thrown around while ignoring the simple fact that Eidos Montreal put out a mediocre product that even the mainstream gaming landscape will bash. EM keeps preaching about how "it's not 1998 anymore" and how they want Thiaf to connect with today's AAA gaming world. Well, it looks like Thiaf is shit even when held to AAA modern standards and will be dismissed as a soulless "3rd rate Dishonored" and rightfully so.

 

[Baron Dupek]

I also suck at stealth games, still got fun from Thief1&2.
Does it mean I'm reviewer?
brb get shower

 

[80Maxwell08]

He probably does suck at stealth games, though.

Good thing they made stealth optional for them then.

 

[agentorange]

did we really need 202 pages for this.

here is my comprehensive critical analysis of Thi4f:







No.