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Thief |OT| Hide your valuables, Garrett is back in town

molnizzle

Member
Lotta nostalgia bitching up in here! I've never played a Thief game before, but this looks rad. I never played the original Deus Ex either and Human Revolution kicked ass.
Fuck yeah I left the contextual highlights on!
 

Cimeas

Banned
Looking forward to the classic hypocrisy of "it's stupid everyone cares too much about metacritic" and "Won't play- Metascore of 79".

Honestly though, if it his 86 on Metacritic and a 9/10 on Eurogamer and at least an 8/10 on Edge, I'll bite.
 

Domino Theory

Crystal Dynamics
Lotta nostalgia bitching up in here! I've never played a Thief game before, but this looks rad. I never played the original Deus Ex either and Human Revolution kicked ass.
Fuck yeah I left the contextual highlights on!

I'm in the same boat. Never played a Deus Ex until HR - HR was awesome. Never played a Thief game before and this new one looks awesome as well.
 
Again, the whole part of my comment was directed at the Thief reboot developer remarks but since you want to bring this discussion I'll oblige.

Let's start with the dumbed-down AI:

According to the developer, the NPC's apparently smart enough to detect you. Whether this is some wallhack or such is up to speculation. But assume that they are using some refined AI where they actually are aware of their surroundings. This means that if they do get a bead on you, your escape options fall in two categories: Aggressive or regressive. Being aggressive would mean you initiate a combat scenario to give you leeway to escape or use an arsenal of tools (smoke bombs, caltrops, etc) to deter the NPC from capturing/killing you.

You're missing the point. The goal of Thief is to not be detected to begin with, and so the tools that would need to be revisited in light of more sophisticated AI are those that would keep them from seeing you. The original article said that using arrows or thown items to distract guards would be right out since they could track the origin with their original capability, so how do you replace that? Do you provide more options to outright disable guards and turn it into more of a predatory game? Do you provide more options to control visibility and make the stealth more one-dimensional? Given the Thief legacy, I don't these design decisions are as easy as you make them out to be.
 

Moff

Member
human revolution was really good though, only very few deus ex fans didnt like it and even if you didnt think it was as good as the first one, you couldnt deny eidos montreal tried their best to honor the franchise

I cant say that about thief, so far, if you look at dev quotes.
but I'll reverse my final judgement for after I finished it.
 

justjim89

Member
You're missing the point. The goal of Thief is to not be detected to begin with, and so the tools that would need to be revisited in light of more sophisticated AI are those that would keep them from seeing you. The original article said that using arrows or thown items to distract guards would be right out since they could track the origin with their original capability, so how do you replace that? Do you provide more options to outright disable guards and turn it into more of a predatory game? Do you provide more options to control visibility and make the stealth more one-dimensional? Given the Thief legacy, I don't these design decisions are as easy as you make them out to be.

This, the work required to properly integrate such a high degree of of AI difficulty in the game would transform the core game to such a degree it would probably resemble Thief even less. And you know what you get when you have AI with supreme detection skills and a player character with little agency around it? You get purist mode from Absolution. Fuck that.

Stealth games are a niche genre anyway, making such a hardcore unforgiving stealth game with AI that brutal would be downright irresponsible for a AAA studio in the year 2014.
 
You're missing the point. The goal of Thief is to not be detected to begin with, and so the tools that would need to be revisited in light of more sophisticated AI are those that would keep them from seeing you. The original article said that using arrows or thown items to distract guards would be right out since they could track the origin with their original capability, so how do you replace that? Do you provide more options to outright disable guards and turn it into more of a predatory game? Do you provide more options to control visibility and make the stealth more one-dimensional? Given the Thief legacy, I don't these design decisions are as easy as you make them out to be.

And this is the original problem. How are they doing this? Have someone try throwing an object behind you without looking and determine the "origin" of the trajectory. You're already concluding an assumed infrastructure that supposedly "works".

You say the objective of Thief is to not be detected. This is an expectation not an objective, otherwise the game would end right then and there. Screw-ups can happen so there must be a follow up since a more sophisticated AI is more likely to pressure the player to fail his "stealth" state just as long as it isn't unfair to the player.

For the rest of the questions, it all boils down to what you believe a Thief game should be. What aspects of the game do you think needs improvement and is it a realistic to work around that design change? I only responded to your concerns but as long as the imaginary realistic AI is further elaborated, I cannot give a proper response since it's all speculation at this point.

What I'm trying to imply is that this so-called AI from this studio isn't realistic but just another god-mode implanted to give a false impression that the AI is smart. Seeing all their design decisions AND changing them based on a few fan remarks shows they are far from actually designing a game in an effective manner - let alone designing a sophisticated AI.
 

Raven77

Member
I played the two original Thief titles and I must say, people are viewing them with nostalgia-goggles. The game was amazing, one of my favorite of all time, but it by no means had insanely complex AI. Part of what made the game so fun was figuring out exactly how the AI would react when certain things happened, then planning around their patterns and reactions.

This game appears to be essentially the same. Maybe the AI is cheap, but AI could be cheap in the original Thief as well.

As for the "small" levels. All I can say is, thank God. The original could be frustrating with not knowing where to go and some of the levels, in their design, were a bit cumbersome and clunky.

I'll take a boiled down, smaller but detail packed levels over sprawling frustrating to navigate ones.
 
I played the two original Thief titles and I must say, people are viewing them with nostalgia-goggles. The game was amazing, one of my favorite of all time, but it by no means had insanely complex AI. Part of what made the game so fun was figuring out exactly how the AI would react when certain things happened, then planning around their patterns and reactions.

This game appears to be essentially the same. Maybe the AI is cheap, but AI could be cheap in the original Thief as well.

As for the "small" levels. All I can say is, thank God. The original could be frustrating with not knowing where to go and some of the levels, in their design, were a bit cumbersome and clunky.

I'll take a boiled down, smaller but detail packed levels over sprawling frustrating to navigate ones.

This guy knows what he's talking about.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
OH SNAP! My AMD Never Settle email has just arrived, and with it a steam key for Thief! Nice early present, more than enough time for a preload. :D
 

Nintyb

Banned
If it weren't for The Stick of Truth coming out a week later, I'd be interested in checking this out. Just not enough time to devote to more than one game every few months.

Noticed its releasing on Redbox so maybe I'll give it a spin from there.
 

Wessiej

Member
So the current gen-version, do we know anything about that? Dumbed down port or a good version if you don't have a next gen yet?
 

justjim89

Member
Man, I really hope there aren't too many dramatic scripted escape sequences in this. Is anyone really still impressed by big set piece nonsense in this day and age? It especially doesn't belong in a game like Thief. Splinter Cell, I can understand now that Sam Fischer is basically Jack Bauer. Absolution, when it happened it worked more or less with the tone and story even if not in principle. But the silent escape in Thief was always just as essential as the silent infiltration. It won't do the franchise or the player justice if after sneaking through a whole level, Garrett gets busted in a cutscene and we have to react like we're the ones that fucked up. Hopefully kept to a minimum.

On a recent Rebel FM, Mitch Dyer was highly praising of the gameplay while really critical of the writing and Garrett's voice overs. He had never played a Thief game before his 4 hour demo in Montreal.
 

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
"Wow, good question, for this one i don't want to give you a bullshit answer."

This comes from the developer, the hell does that even mean? o_O
 
I hope this is good. I will try it out for an hour or two and if it is good I'll buy it for myself. Most likely getting Xbox One version.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Some of the screen shoots confuse me, is it 1st person or 3rd?
 

DieH@rd

Banned
What was the question asked?

I guess "Can PC users use their mic for voice stuff". Game supports only voice navigations for game menus, but it can also support detection of your voice during missions. If you yell in your room with Xbone and PS4, guards will hear you.

Some of the screen shoots confuse me, is it 1st person or 3rd?

Fully 1st person. 3rd person camera is used for story cinematics.
 

GavinUK86

Member
"Wow, good question, for this one i don't want to give you a bullshit answer."

This comes from the developer, the hell does that even mean? o_O
He probably didn't know the answer and he didn't wanna tell you pack of lies just so he sounds like he knows. I appreciate honesty like that.
 
D

Deleted member 102362

Unconfirmed Member
I have such mixed feelings about this game.

What I'll say is I hope it turns out well, despite my misgivings.

edit: well, after watching that stream, my feelings are less mixed.
 

Dawg

Member
I only saw wall-climbing and rope-climbing in 1st person only. Any vid of 3rd person gameplay?

20140219005253ecu1y.jpg
 
There is a live demo on Rev3 games right now

FYI he just disabled all the hud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MefdILzzRvc

Nothing wrong with Tara but I prefer listening to Sessler discuss how the game reminded him of My Fair Lady crossed with Eraserhead

Using an online leaderboard as an incentive to turn handholding stuff off? That's kinda weird but interesting. They're really serious about giving people options, which is nice, but who knows if that means the game is built around easy mode and turning stuff off just makes it harder because it breaks shit, or if the thing is built around the most difficult approach and everything else is just cheats.
 
Day 1 steel book edition for me... looking forward to playing through with everything turned off, iron man mode etc on first playthrough :)
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
PC | 360 | PS3 | PS4

t_pcmnj3v.png


I don't have a template for an Xbox One cover in this style yet.

...and yeah all the art is actually from Deadly Shadows, but I honestly don't really like the art they made available for the new game.
 

DocSeuss

Member
This guy knows what he's talking about.

Best use of sarcasm ever on GAF. There's no way anyone could be serious about that, after all.

Looking forward to the classic hypocrisy of "it's stupid everyone cares too much about metacritic" and "Won't play- Metascore of 79".

Honestly though, if it his 86 on Metacritic and a 9/10 on Eurogamer and at least an 8/10 on Edge, I'll bite.

Isn't that a higher score than Dishonored?
 

Deadbeat

Banned
I'm assuming you don't actually know what "nostalgia" means, because making that accusation about a series you haven't even played is ridiculous.
Its the typical argument. A game gets changed to suit a casual audience and people act deliberately obtuse about any complaints.
 

DocSeuss

Member
360 - 88
PS3 - 89
PC - 91

Thief won't get anywhere near that.

Oh man, I feel kinda sad that Dishonored is just one point away from the greatest stealth game ever made. It's not that they didn't make a good game--it was good--it just... I dunno. Something about Dishonored never quite clicked with me.
 

Mman235

Member
Erm, no it's not?

Accusations of nostalgia are specifically about implying that someone's memories of something are fake or embellished. Do I really need to explain how absurd (not to mention arrogant) it is to say that when referring to something you don't even have any memories of in the first place?
 

justjim89

Member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_3FxnsCZc

Launch trailer is up.

Man, really looking forward to playing this, but the script sounds like something written by someone who speaks English as a second language and has no working knowledge of subtlety.

"Be sure you don't end up a ghost yourself."

"I've been a ghost all my life."

Ugh.

That being said, it was a nice little trailer and we got some looks at new things, like those dummies. I'm curious to see how all the various threads tie together. The rebellion, the baron, the thief-taker general, Garrett not recalling what happened to Erin, the Queen of the Beggars. The plot at this point doesn't seem like much to write home about, but they do seem to have a lot going on.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_3FxnsCZc

Launch trailer is up.

Man, really looking forward to playing this, but the script sounds like something written by someone who speaks English as a second language and has no working knowledge of subtlety.

"Be sure you don't end up a ghost yourself."

"I've been a ghost all my life."

Ugh.

That being said, it was a nice little trailer and we got some looks at new things, like those dummies. I'm curious to see how all the various threads tie together. The rebellion, the baron, the thief-taker general, Garrett not recalling what happened to Erin, the Queen of the Beggars. The plot at this point doesn't seem like much to write home about, but they do seem to have a lot going on.

What's wrong with that exchange? Seems like an inoffensive if not witty turn of phrase.
 

jiiikoo

Banned
Oh man, I feel kinda sad that Dishonored is just one point away from the greatest stealth game ever made. It's not that they didn't make a good game--it was good--it just... I dunno. Something about Dishonored never quite clicked with me.

Same with me. I played it for maybe like 10 hours but somehow got bored of it. I was wanting it to be awesome, because I've always loved stealthy games, but something just bugged me. Can't put my finger on it.
 

Ricker

Member
What's wrong with that exchange? Seems like an inoffensive if not witty turn of phrase.

I think he doesnt know this was mostly made by french Canadians...guess what,the english translation done by English people is probably not subtle at all... I don't get the reference either...
 
I think he doesnt know this was mostly made by french Canadians...guess what,the english translation done by English people is probably not subtle at all... I don't get the reference either...

He's going to a ghost ship, so his friend warns him not to get himself killed ("end up a ghost yourself"). Garrett calls himself a ghost in the sense that he's made a living out of not being detected. It's an ironic play on the literal vs metaphorical meaning of the word; seems fine to me.
 

justjim89

Member
He's going to a ghost ship, so his friend warns him not to get himself killed ("end up a ghost yourself"). Garrett calls himself a ghost in the sense that he's made a living out of not being detected. It's an ironic play on the literal vs metaphorical meaning of the word; seems fine to me.

I'm not trying to make a big stink about it, but it just seemed rather cheesy to me. But certainly inoffensive. And the fact that there's a ghost ship level has certainly piqued my curiosity. I was disappointed at how small the zombie ship level was in Deadly Shadows.

Speaking of carryovers from Deadly Shadows, has it been confirmed that you'll have to go and manually sell loot to fences to get money and re-supply? I really enjoyed basically having to run Garrett's errands between missions.
 
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