Decline Thiaf Pre-Release Thread

[Angthoron]

Let’s say I’ve been detected; it was really, really tough to survive. You know? It was unforgiving. Game over”.

Oh.... I see. God forbid you throw a flash granade and run away to a dark corner. Or better yet, DON'T FUCKING GET CAUGHT! This is a stealth game, if you fuck up, deal with the consequences.

Yeah well. You cannot be a THI4F without having an AWESOME button. Older games didn't have AWESOME button because gaming hadn't made it that far yet, design-wise, and the hardware wasn't ready to support it.

 

[Borelli]

So we're pretty much at DVD mini-game levels of interactivity now, right? It can't possibly get any lower?

One has not reached the lowest level of the decline unless the game has had even the chance of being "downed" removed. So even the possibility of the player even being knocked back to the latest checkpoint is gone - replaced with merely being sent into various "damage states", but with no enemy having any actual possibility of even hindering the player's progress.

Only games with such pre-school streamlined gameplay have truly reached the greatest depths of the decline. Soon, though. Soon they will say "Nobody really likes dying. Death was just a gameplay crutch that we were all used to. But with today's console technology, there are better and far more interesting ways to offer real challenge to the player. And I think our Feedback States really achieves a breakthrough in the player's immersive interactivity. It's really exciting."

I remember when i first played games where your character cannot die (Soul Reaver and Planescape:Torment), i mean you can lose your health but you can't ACTUALLY die y'know? It was such a novelty from both a gameplay and narrative perspective. But when i see now these decliners with their "nobody really likes dying" (even if you don't have a direct quote for that it fits the bill on what they probably would say) i know that they don't have "your character is actually immortal" twist but just pure casualising for the masses.


Where is the declining with song smiley when you need it?

 

[Volrath]

So much rape

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Wow, this guy totally wants to rape Thief in da ass. The only way to prevent it is to cancel it.

 

[Gord]

Let’s say I’ve been detected; it was really, really tough to survive. You know? It was unforgiving. Game over”.

Oh.... I see. God forbid you throw a flash granade and run away to a dark corner. Or better yet, DON'T FUCKING GET CAUGHT! This is a stealth game, if you fuck up, deal with the consequences.

Consequences are so 1999.

Fuck that shit. They really manage to reach one new low after another.

 

[CappenVarra]

Next, they'll petition Merriam-Webster to change the definition of "thief" because it doesn't match the expectations of the modern audience...

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

So, guys, anyone buys this? I guess I'll get in on the Day 1, just to play 'eat poo-poo' once in a while.

 

[J_C]

So, guys, anyone buys this? I guess I'll get in on the Day 1, just to play 'eat poo-poo' once in a while.

I won't pay a cent for this.

 

[skacky]

I won't buy it either. Will probably pirate it to write a review in which I bash the game, but there's no way I'm giving EM anything.

 

[Darth Slaughter]

Oh.... I see. God forbid you throw a flash granade and run away to a dark corner. Or better yet, DON'T FUCKING GET CAUGHT! This is a stealth game, if you fuck up, deal with the consequences.

if you fuck up, you would have to restart from that last checkpoint and everybody would be up again, you'd have to re-collect all loot and re-pick all locks, resolve puzzles. Or worse, everybody would be up again, but every door, loot and puzzles would already be picked-taken-solved, cause this is assassin's creed, and every progress made is saved, so you won't have to do them if you fail...

 

[dnf]

So we're pretty much at DVD mini-game levels of interactivity now, right? It can't possibly get any lower?

One has not reached the lowest level of the decline unless the game has had even the chance of being "downed" removed. So even the possibility of the player even being knocked back to the latest checkpoint is gone - replaced with merely being sent into various "damage states", but with no enemy having any actual possibility of even hindering the player's progress.

Only games with such pre-school streamlined gameplay have truly reached the greatest depths of the decline. Soon, though. Soon they will say "Nobody really likes dying. Death was just a gameplay crutch that we were all used to. But with today's console technology, there are better and far more interesting ways to offer real challenge to the player. And I think our Feedback States really achieves a breakthrough in the player's immersive interactivity. It's really exciting."

I remember when i first played games where your character cannot die (Soul Reaver and Planescape:Torment), i mean you can lose your health but you can't ACTUALLY die y'know? It was such a novelty from both a gameplay and narrative perspective. But when i see now these decliners with their "nobody really likes dying" (even if you don't have a direct quote for that it fits the bill on what they probably would say) i know that they don't have "your character is actually immortal" twist but just pure casualising for the masses.


Where is the declining with song smiley when you need it?

Soul reaver actually punish you if you die, tough you have to die two times in order to receive punishment.

 

[sea]

In Planescape and Soul Reaver you may be "immortal" but there are still penalties for failure and there is still challenge. Not really a fair comparison.

 

[SCO]

TTLG is having a meltdown with denialists on one side and bitter fucks on the other (after the obvious PR plant was banned, which was a bit surprising to me, considering TTLG mods).

 

[AstroZombie]

I think this was obvious, but they've confirmed that there will be no editor at launch*:

Conan: The Thief community has quite a few mission authors. Will there be support for fan-based missions or additions to the game?

Right now our focus is to make the best possible single-player experience, but we may address that later when we are satisfied. We thought about options like an editor, but right now the mandate is to focus on single-player.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/79782/thief-dev-answers-community-questions

*And, as Gord pointed out, probably never.

 

[Gord]

That usually means there won't be an editor later, either.
If there will be, it's a feature and will be announced.
If there won't, but they don't want to piss off potential customers, they will talk about "the possibility of releasing an editor later" (i.e. never, just in nicer words).

 

[Zewp]

So, guys, anyone buys this? I guess I'll get in on the Day 1, just to play 'eat poo-poo' once in a while.

Because this is going to be such a shit game, I'll only replay it 7 times.

 

[Gurkog]

Nothing says 'thief' like mass murdering ninja assassin who happens to pick up souvenirs at the gift shop at the end of a level.

 

[skacky]

Let's stop talking about Thief "I am Decline Incarnate" 4, because there's this sweet Dark Mod video.

 

[AstroZombie]

 

[octavius]

I'm much more excited about the standalone The Dark Mod than Thief 4.

 

[dnf]

Is there some good horror sections in Dark mod?

 

[J_C]

Let's stop talking about Thief "I am Decline Incarnate" 4, because there's this sweet Dark Mod video.

And they are referencing the Codex at the beginning of the video. :D The game looks very good, although the sounds and VO are a bit lacking IMO. And it lacks some of the Thief atmosphere. But graphics and gameplay looks promising.

 

[waywardOne]

 

[Borelli]

"See you in the shadows" is one of the nerdiest things i have heard lately. It's like a Thief version of the Spock sign.:D

 

[Unkillable Cat]

*watches video*

As far as I know, the AI in basic Thief 2 could relight torches, they just never were made to use that ability.

They do that in a lot of fan missions, which means that special scripts could be needed for the job.

That was about the only 'problems' I had with the video.