No, not another "will there be thief4" thread, but...

[Gambit]

No love for Touch the Dead?

I didn´t know a still less than one-year old game is already considered so ancient that it needs REVIVING.

Oh wait, it´s a zombie game... It´s all about reviving

[Twist]

Well, I'm excited. If for no other reason I'll be curious about the direction they take it. This doesn't mean I'll have my heart set on it fulfilling my own personal ideal Thief sequel.

It won't match the original because it can't, and that's okay. I really don't mind replaying the original or the many fantastic fan missions for TG or TMA when I crave that taste of authenticity.

Maybe I'm a bit of an optimist, but I think Briareos H made a couple important points:

1) The development of Deadly Shadows suffered from exceptional technology constraints and developer drama. I'm sure Eidos understands this quite well and will make a real effort to not repeat those problems. Stephane D'Astous' initial comments about the creation of the Eidos Montreal studio and around the announcement of Deus Ex 3 indicated that Eidos really wants to give this new development studio all the resources it needs to get things right.
2) Like Briareos H, I really do believe publishers are experiencing a bit of a backlash from "streamlining" popular franchises. I think this could bode well for the next Thief. I'm not saying it certainly will bode well, I'm just saying it could.

I also seriously doubt they will modernize Thief. This fear derives from some random, out-of-touch executive speaking broadly and vaguely about different Eidos intellectual properties not long before he lost his job. We don't have any reason to believe those comments were anything more than some random man's personal and random ideas on the publisher's future.

Thief's iconic setting is a vital part of its identity and I'm confident the people that matter in its development appreciate it.

[New Horizon]

I'm optimistic.

[Subjective Effect]

I wouldn't mind if it were set in a sort of Gregorian period. That would be modern relative to the past games but still olde world.

And who knows, this could be so awesome we're all stunned.

[Zillameth]

I wonder... Remember that poll on Eidos forums from a few months ago? Remember how TTLG hijacked it and lifted Thief to top by a wide margin? I wonder if there's a connection.

[Gambit]

I´m optimistic for this.

If it has a good engine, graphics, AI, phisics, lightning, sound, and an excellent user-friendly editor then we can expect this to become a success simply because the Thief fanbase is insanely professional at making games.

I hope for a good Thief 4 story, but I hope even more for a good editor because that will mean 100X more gameplay value.

[Subjective Effect]

There's already The Dark Mod which will be out long before this.

[van HellSing]

TDM is great, but I'm just not an fm type of person really. What I want most is a new, official story from the Thief world.

[Zillameth]

But does official mean original? I mean, if they really are going to make a Thief 4, then how many ex-LGS people are going to be there? Who's going to write dialogues? Who's going to design levels? Who's going to compose the soundtrack?

[El Carnemago]

Long time lurker here, and this has got me optimistic as well.

Hopefully they can undo the terrible ending they left us with in TDS, hopefully Garrett will still be our main character, here's to hoping it doesn't make TDS look good in comparison!

[Dussander]

I remain pesimistic!

[sethL]

No details so far.

Let the bitching commence!

[van HellSing]

But does official mean original? I mean, if they really are going to make a Thief 4, then how many ex-LGS people are going to be there? Who's going to write dialogues? Who's going to design levels? Who's going to compose the soundtrack?

I frankly don't care who does it, as long as they do it good.

[Digital Nightfall]

We're talking about the vocal minority at TTLG who hates the game and shouts those who disagree with them into submission.

[van HellSing]

Which game are you talking about? Bioshock? TDS? Personally, I loved Deadly Shadows, I prefer it to TMA actually (TDP is still the best).

EDIT: And just to be clear, I'm not a "new Mettallica fan". I played the games in order.

[Springheel]

1) The development of Deadly Shadows suffered from exceptional technology constraints and developer drama.

Let's not overstate the effect of the technology. Yes, some decisions were made because of engine limitations, but that doesn't explain the atomic blue arrow trails, cringe-worthy dialogue, loot glint, or dozens of other "dumbing down" decisions.

Anyone who thinks that a "Thief 4" won't be made with console gamers in mind is fooling themselves.

[sethL]

Dozens, huh?

So we're talking at least 24.

[Digital Nightfall]

I think 24 "dumbing down" decisions is quite enough to ruin a game.

[sethL]

This is actually great news because I was hoping there would be some way to give the NMA nutjobs some competition in the crazy over-critical fan community department.

[New Horizon]

This is actually great news because I was hoping there would be some way to give the NMA nutjobs some competition in the crazy over-critical fan community department.

Pardon my ignorance, but what does NMA stand for?

[sethL]

No Mutants Allowed.

[Digital Nightfall]

To further clarify, they are currently livid over the fact that Fallout 3 is in development at Bethesda.

[Gambit]

Anyone who thinks that a "Thief 4" won't be made with console gamers in mind is fooling themselves.

Why console gaming carry this weird "dumbed down" curse on them ?

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are console exclusive and I wouldn´t call them dumbed down.

We shouldn´t believe the stereotype that 90% of the console gaming community is made of teenagers playing Halo multiplayer shouting 'fag u teh sux'...

[van HellSing]

The problem is not us believing that, it's developers believing that.

[Springheel]

We shouldn´t believe the stereotype that 90% of the console gaming community is made of teenagers playing Halo multiplayer shouting 'fag u teh sux'..

Designers seem to believe it.

edit: oops, beat to the punch.