Our good pal "Laughter", over at 3D Bytes has written a Thief Demo Review. What does he have to say exactly?
"There were many other moments in Thief that I could write paragraph upon paragraph about but I don't want to give anymore away. Just make sure that you take the time to download this gem. Believe me, being a thief has never been this much fun."
Mark Muschett, of 3Dsound Surge, has written a review of Thief, detailing and critiquing the use of 3D sound in the game. The verdict?
"To sum it up, the use of audio in the demo of Thief: The Dark Project is fantastic. At times it had me chuckling quietly to myself and at other times it had my nerves on edge as I waited in the shadows, crouched and prone, as footsteps approached from behind, getting louder and louder and louder. In these instances, I actually caught myself holding my own breath as I waited to see if I would be discovered!"
Spread the Word - Thief is a Hit - 11:30am EST - Dan
I'm incredibly pleased by the amount of excitement Thief has caused, in the forums, the newsgroups, and from the reviews I've been emailed. I've played it every chance I've gotten, over and over. (Expert level is simply enthralling!) For all he times that I've been through It, I know that I've just barely scratched the surface of what you can do in just one level.
We all know that Thief rocks, and we need to get the word out to as many people as possible. I'd like to see the Gaming Magazines, like Computer Gaming World, and PCGamer, flooded with letters of praise for this game. Thief needs to score big, and only it's fans can make that happen.
Thief? game of the Year? It definitely has my vote.
The Thief Demo is a total hit! I, and everyone who I've talked to who's played it, agree that Thief is absolutely fantastic. But don't take my word for it! Download the Interactive Demo now!
I set up a quick Thief Interactive Demo Center. There, you can find all know download sites, a brief play guide and gameplay tips page that came with the demo, and links to fan written reviews of this first looks at Thief.
And we need your reviews! Tell all of TTLG, and the world your opinion on this Thief demo! Please submit these short articles as soon as possible. Thank You!
As I type this, the Thief Interactive demo is slowly downloading onto my desktop. Yes everyone, it's here. The wait is over. Good luck in the download!
Just finished downloading. It's a compressed low-quality version of a trailer we already have, thieftrailer3.zip, and has also been available at the lglass site for months. Sorry for the false alarm everyone.
However if you had your heart set on downloading a demo tonight, then I recommend the Kings Quest: Mask of Eternity demo. I've played it quite a bit today, and it's very nice. It should be available at most gaming sites.
Hello everyone, I have three things to talk about this evening.
First of all, I decided to open up the never completed Arsenal, a System Shock page devoted to tactics and strategies regarding the tools and weapons you find in the game. Several factors contributed to the fact that it was never finished, mainly the hype over System Shock 2, and the fact that the other Classic Shock sites get so few hits, I felt that Arsenal would not be visited by enough people to justify the time and energy that would have to be put into its completion. Nonetheless, I feel that the effort put forth by "Yogimus", James Sterrett, and myself deserved recognition, so I placed it on the Hosted Sites list.
Second on the list, is the Press room, at the very bottom of the hosted sites menu. This is where all TTLG exclusive articles will be kept, starting with the Interview with the Shock2 dev team. I strongly encourage people to write and submit first impressions, and reviews of Thief.
Lastly, the credits page has been updated with images of our three new team members, Ducky, Trimfect, and La0s. *evil grin*
I've heard people talk about how Thief's graphics are sub-par. After seeing these screenshots, I have one thing to say to that argument: Bull. Check out these awesome 1024x768 visuals.
Gaggin' Assassin
Looks like this assassin has fell prey to a smoke/gas-bomb! Look at him cough and wheeze!
Elegant Courtyard
The detail and realism of that statue is just fantastic!
Dead Hammer
Looks like this Hammer has been nailed....
Drowning Pool
I guess they just don't teach guards to swim...
I gave a little finality to the Thief Spy Post, and archived the news. Regular viewers may be interested to know that TTLG received more hits yesterday then it ever has in a 24 hour period, at over 450 guests. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed....
Oh yes, and to all us Americans out there... Happy Thanksgiving!
Looking Glass has provided some new media to demonstrate several aspects of Thief.
The Blackjack (mov 1.75 Meg)
Short clip of in-game footage, showing Garret sneaking up behind a guard, whacking him with the club-like blackjack, slinging the now unconscious guard over his shoulder, and depositing him in the closet.
Rope Arrow (mov 1.65 Meg)
Another gameplay movie, this time depicting the use of a rope arrow, and the act of climbing up it.
The Flight Series forum is finally here. Just as with our other forums, it will allow fans of Looking Glass's Flight Series to discuss Flight Unlimited 1, 2, 3, and Flight Combat with each other and the developers. We hope that it will become as popular as the Shock2 and Thief forums. It would be a great help if everyone could spread the word to their flight sim fan friends that TTLG is now a place that they too should check out.
This update only contains small additions and updates. But it's the first from me (la0s) the new SS2FAQ maintainer. It's mainly to tell that the FAQ has switched hands, seeing as little new Shock2 info has been revealed recently.
Eidos has released high-res. versions of the four screenshots featured on one of the Thief magazine advertisements. All I can say is... umm, yes, I'd like to play Thief now.... please?
I've just been informed my Looking Glass that the Nintendo 64 Advertisement for Thief is in error. There is, as of yet, no console ports for Thief. Pardon the confusion.
That was quick! Lars "la0s" Therkildsen, a huge shock fan and active participant in the shock2 forum, has taken the post of SS2FAQ Maintainer. Let's hope that he can execute this task with the efficiency and precision that Howard has done for us. Welcome aboard, Lars!
Howard Liu, the SS2 Frequently Asked Questions maintainer, is passing on the torch. TTLG needs a very enthusiastic System Shock fan to pick up where he left off. If you are interested, I would ask several things of you:
1) You are skilled at HTML coding (by hand, preferably)
2) You can frequent the newsgroups, forum, and chatroom
3) You can be reached at least once every 24 hours
4) You can donate at least an hour of your time each day to work on the FAQ. It's no small task.
5) You are an all around great person.. 8-D
If that person is you, I hope you will e-mail me an application as soon as possible. Keep in mind, that our work at TTLG is 100% volunteer/hobby/free-time stuff, and if you don't think you will enjoy working on the FAQ, then don't apply! Otherwise, we'd love to have you on the TTLG Team.
Also note that Chris Chapin is currently working on getting our Flight Series Forum up and running, and Toni Hollming will have changes to the Shock2 forum similar to those on the Thief Forum up sometime Monday. If you have any comments about your likes/dislikes with the new form and the old, and have suggestions on how it could be improved, then please let us know. Thank you.
Don't know if there are any N64 fans who visit this site, but if you're one, be happy.. 8-D
Thief In-Stores and Demo Dates - 11:10am EST - Dan
From the Eidos newsletter for Saturday, November 21st, 1998:
THIEF: THE DARK PROJECT hits stores on December 1. There's still time to pre-order at the stores to guarantee your copy. Be sure to check out the online demo on November 30 at http://www.eidosinteractive.com/new_fr.html
Great information, eh? You can bet that I'll be mirroring that demo at TTLG as soon as I'm able to download and upload. Only 9 more days!
Also note the the Lglass Thief Site has been updated with three new screenshots.
Three More Developers Interviewed - 1:30am EST - Dan
Three more members of the Shock2 team have replied to the interview. This time we have two more level builders and the "mo cap" guy. Check out what this wacky bunch has to say!
In efforts to make the forums even better then they already are, we have made some large changes to the Thief forum, in the way of categories, and cookies (programs that allow a website to memorize your preferred settings and present them to you every time you visit that site). I hope that everyone finds the changes to be an improvement. If all goes well, then we shall implement these to the Shock2 forum as well.
Exclusive Interview: SS2 Developers - 1:00am EST - Dan
When Irrational Games offered us the opportunity to conduct an interview with their Shock 2 development team, we jumped at the opportunity! So here we have it, an exclusive interview, covering areas like background, hobbies, inspirations, and visions of the people who will be brining us System Shock 2!
Yesterday we received a reply to our questions from Skarz (level designer) and MSG (2D artist). We should be getting replies from the rest of the team within the next few days. Stay Tuned!
Thank you to those few who replied to yesterday's discussion on the Flight Series. Within the next few days we will be opening up our Flight Forum. Steve Desilets, one of the members of the development team, said that he would be more then happy to frequent this forum, and answer any questions (as long as he feels that the answer won't spoil anything, or get him in trouble with EA). I hope that this new forum will receive the attention that our current two have. Also, don't forget to tell all your flight sim fan friends about lglass's Flight Series, and point them in the direction of TTLG!
Invalidated even more links by shifting the 3.1.10 section to make room for a section on combat. Added information from Thief: The Dark Project posts deemed relevant to System Shock 2. Click here to enter
The other night, Chris Chapin and I were discussing TTLG, where it's been, and the possible impact it's had on lglass's publicity. During the course of the conversation a point was brought up. Looking Glass currently has three games in development: System Shock 2, Flight Unlimited 3, and Flight Combat. Point to be made is, with a good half the of shock2 dev. team being from Irrational, that means that possibly as much as three fourths of the Lglass team is currently working on flight sims. I think that this is a clear statement of not only the success of the lglass Flight Series, but also their confidence in it. As well they should be.
Through the LookingGlass has been focusing in on the action role playing games of lglass, and for the most part, ignoring the sims which lglass has gathered a great deal of fame for. My question to the viewers is, should this change? Should TTLG expand to also cover the flight sims of Looking Glass Studios?
Keep in mind, that while there currently are not very many fans of lglass's flight series who visit this site, if we expand to include the sims, then those fans will have a reason to visit as well. The more people we have visiting, the better. If I receive positive feedback on this topic, the fist step will be to open a Flight Series discussion forum. Then we'll see what happens.
TTLG has a new System Shock 2 site, and who better to introduce it then it's designer, Chris "Ducky" Chapin:
For those who have yet to join us on Starchat for TTLG's irc channel #System`Shock`2 you're missing out! This where the fans and developers meet to exchange ideas in real-time. It's also where a lot of late breaking news is revealed. But since Looking Glass is working so hard on System Shock 2, it's hard to catch them when in the channel. Now you can get live updates of the channel without logging on to irc!
Of course, if you want participate in the conversation you'll still need to obtain an irc client, connect to polaris.starchat.net and join #System`Shock`2.
In other news, I've done some work on the TTLG interface to make it more robust. Hopefully most of the problems I've had reported are now fixed. Also noteworthy is that I've swapped some of the backgrounds, to give a more Thief & Underworld presence. Please let me know any difficulties you have, and include the name of your web browser, operating system, screen resolution, and a complete description of the problem.
The System Shock 2 Frequently Asked Questions page has received it's largest update ever, with information from the November PCGamer preview, as well as several other sources. As always, the revision log, the thing that tells you what's new, is at the bottom of the page.
Sunday: 11.15.1998
3 CD Remixes Available in Shockdata - 11:59pm EST - Dan
Nothing to report except that the three System Shock Mac remix mp3s are now available in shockdata, under the music section of the trioptimum archives. You can take this shortcut here. The new mp3s are at the very bottom of the page.
Saturday: 11.14.1998
Looking Glass Shock2 Site Updated - 5:00pm EST - Dan
The LookingGlass Shock2 Site has been updated with a higher-res version of the same screenshot, plus some new conept art. Unfortunetly, the links to the artwork seem to be broken, but we've been given the correct ones.
Over the past few days, I've been updating our links section. It now has links to pages for each LookingGlass game, links to Lglass's associates, and some of my personal links, including my homepage and art gallery.
Hey guys and girls, after a pretty lengthy break from TTLG, I'm back for yet another juicy update on a lot of things.
Well, needless to say, Thief has gone gold! That's so cool...despite the fact that I've tried to play it here
and there (yes, I have a beta copy) - I am VERY impressed with the game. I must admit that it's quite a different
angle from regular FPS, which is definitely good. At one point, I actually slouched in my seat, when I was trying to sneak
away from one of the guards, it's that immersive! The Dark Engine is definitely a piece of work, and
I can't wait to see it in System Shock 2. Expect Thief in stores shortly...:)
A big thanks goes out to Trimfect for creating what is probably the best fan-site message boards out there!
I'm so impressed...BeSeen what? What a crummy board they have/had...it's really a joke! I can't believe we
used it...This one is definitely going to stay for a LONG time. I'm also happy to see both the
System Shock 2 and Thief forums
active, as they rightfully should be. Let's just hope they are the 'stops' for people who are looking for Thief hints, SS2
questions, and so forth.
In case you haven't heard, the hackers over at Irrational
and LookingGlass have promised to put up some more content for System Shock 2,
as far as screenshots and other neat stuff. Look for those in the next week or so, possibly longer. Ken, give me a date! :)
Now that Thief is pretty much done (except for patches and tweaks), I'm hoping that some of the Thief dev
team switch over to SS2, like Doug, Mahk, etc..Doug, in case you didn't know, was the Project Leader and
Lead Programmer of System Shock, so I like to think of it as his...baby. But we'll see, yes?
Okay, that concludes another edition of my rantsTM, so I hope you all have a good weekend, and I will
be back for more updates as soon as I get rid of all this college work! And, of course, don't forget to Salt the Fries. :)
No official announcement yet, but the boys at Looking Glass Studios have given word, Thief has gone to the publishers and will be going Gold this weekend! (i.e.. will be officially announced as finished) Let me make this easy for everyone....
The System Shock 2 Frequently Asked Questions page has received a major update. Once again, new information has been posted up from the Shock2 forums and newsgroups out there. Those of you who have not been keeping yourself up-to-date, head on over and have yourself a good read.
Can't tell you how pleased I am to see the level of activity present in the Thief Forum, and I sincerely hope that it will continue. Remember everyone, tell all your fiends, post it up in newsgroups, recommend it to your brother-in-law, but let's make this game a success for Looking Glass Studios. You know they deserve it.
CD Access sold their 12 copies of Classic Shock not long after I put the post up about it. But don't fret! Electronic Arts Direct most likely is still carrying it. (Would anyone like to confirm this?) The number is 1 (800) 245-4525. I do believe that CD Access is still carrying Terra Nova and Mac Shock.
That's all folks. I know everyone was hoping for remixes of all the tracks, but I guess they never made 'em. From what I hear, the music in Thief will be every bit as cool, so stay tuned!
As promised in the previous post, the new Thief Discussion Forum is now online and operational. Thanks again to Trimfect for setting this up for us. You can access it via our Hosted Sites panel to the left, or right here
Thief Site Updated, and Some Rants - 10:50pm EST - Dan
TTLG's Thief Site has been updated just now with piles of new exclusive info.
One thing that has gotten me, as well as many others I've talked with concerned, is how much Shock2 has been stealing hype away from Thief. Just a reminder, Shock2 won't be finished until well into next year, meanwhile Thief will be going Gold sometime within the next few weeks! I will be opening a new Thief forum, similar to the Shock2 one, later today. Let's get the excitement going! Every playtester I've talked to says that Thief just steals their breath away. I'm excited, why isn't everyone else!!
Second Mac Shock Mp3 Remix is Online - 10:10pm EST - Dan
Breathing new life into what was voted as one of the lest favorite ShockTune, the second Mac Shock mp3 features the music of the Reactor and Engineering Levels. This ultra-industrial track is something no Shock Fan should miss.
Thanks again to Josh Randall the ROBOTKID, producer of Thief, for getting these files to us. Here are a few words from him to you.
These tracks were made by Greg LoPiccolo, the project leader for THIEF!
He was in a band called "TRIBE" with Eric the audio guy. You should try to find some of their stuff..it's awesome.
The 3rd and final installment, a remix of the Level 1 music, shall be posted up latter today.
Big thanks to Josh Randall (ROBOTKID), of Looking Glass Studios for sending this to me. But it is only the first of several. I'm not resting until TTLG has them all. Many of you have mailed me, offering to send the mp3s, so let's get those ALL over here. Great thanks to all who have and will help.
Shock and Nova Available at CD Access - 11:00pm EST - Dan
Thanks to a tip by Christopher Chapin (a.k.a. Ducky), TTLG has located a place to purchase System Shock Classic (PC and Mac) and Terra Nova. Just head on over to CD-ROM Access and order via the net. The only catch is that it's rather pricey, but these games are worth every cent.
The eager beavers over at Eidos (Good publisher. Friend publisher.) have put together a nifty little Shockwave Flash "Music Video" on their Eidos TV. (sorta, meaning it's not really a music video, but it's still pretty cool) It's not insanely difficult to find, not real obvious either.
Again, the eager beavers over at Eidos (Don't we all love the publisher?) has concocted a spiffy little 'slider puzzle' for Thief. Remember that mini game in System Shock, where you had a 4x4 grid, and you had to unscramble the picture? Well now the hours spent messing with that toy pay off. (That was a joke, if you really spent hours playing that game, seek help) Here's how to find it.
Don't bother with the Thief banner, if you see it, it will just take you to the Thief Page.
Click on the little [Eidos TV] link up top.
If you have the Flash Plugin, a goofy little window should open.
You will see a message flash across the window "Thief Slider Puzzle" Click where it says, click here (obviously)
Enjoy!
Thursday: 11.05.1998
New and Improved SS2 Forum Now Open - 4:00pm EST - Dan
"Sorry...
The service you have requested is temporarily unavailable."
Everyone who's used our Shock 2 Discussion page has seen this. You have also seen huge load times and a massive list of messages. No more! We have moved away from BeSeen and got our own independed message board, designed by Trimfect.
The New forum is open for business.
Wednesday: 11.04.1998
Wanted: Mac System Shock CD Audio - 4:00pm EST - Dan
I'd like to call urgent attention to this post from Rob "Xemu" Fermier on the Shock2 Discussion Boardroom. It is in response to my query as to the difference between the midi in PC Shock and the CD Audio in Mac Shock.
The redbook audio is some great stuff, really high quality remixes of a lot of the tunes. If you've only heard the MIDI, you should *definitely* endeavor to check out the redbook stuff. We were all set to include the redbook tracks on the PC version as well, but a last minute duplication problem on Origin's side kept us from doing it. Sad, but true.
Caveat: I haven't actually tried to listen to the Mac redbook tracks, I'm just basing this on a CD I made for myself of the tracks when we did the original. I assume they are the same.
Having read that, I'd say that it is imperative that we get mp3s of these shock tune remixes. If you, or anyone you know knows how I can get my hands on a copy of Mac Shock, please let me know. Furthermore, if you yourself can get your hands on a copy of Mac Shock, then please make mp3s of the tracks and mail them to me. If you have your hands on Mac Shock, but don't know how to make mp3s from CD audio tracks, then contact me. This needs to happen, folks. TTLG is not complete without these music files..
Here's a blurb from the Oct. 30th Eidos Newsletter...
Care for a FREE Thief: The Dark Project T-shirt? And a FREE Demo CD with the hottest titles from Eidos Interactive?! Well, then take a trip to your local Electronics Boutique or Babbages or Software ETC. and Pre-Order your copy of Thief today!
-snip-
It's not too late to BE A WINNER... Enter for your chance to WIN cool Thief stuff.
Vasily Volkov sent us a new version of ss_xtrac.exe with some bug fixes. It now properly extracts all files from the *.res files without failing. Also note, I scanned it for viruses, and it seems to be clean. No more CIH crisis for this website.
Well, there isn't any. All has been very quiet the last few days. I am told that there will probably be an update for me to do on the Irrational site soon, but I don't know when or what it will include.
A while back, on good ol' TriOp, we had a little poll asking which was everyone's favorite shock midi. The piece voted most popular, by quite a margin, was the security and bridge theme. I took the liberty of naming it "SHODAN's Fortress", (an appropriate description) and stuck it up as our new TTLG midi of the month. Enjoy!
We're Back!.. But Where Did We Go? - 5:00pm EST - Dan
Yes, TTLG is back online, and no, I don't know what happened. I haven't heard from Saam the whole time TTLG was down, maybe when I get back in touch with him we can figure it out. At any rate, here we are.
