Thief 4 Officially Announced!

[ThAn]

Thief 4...time to wake up I guess!

[Kircaldy]

That doesn't sound too good.

I'm all for innovation. I guess many would like a total remake, true to the original, but if they come up with some great ideas and implement it well, be it purple space burricks with pointy hats, let them have a go. Just as long as it's well done, totally immersive and sneaky. I'm actually wanting to be a bit surprised after the somewhat lacklustre TDS.

The devs have already constructed a management-approved concept and gotten a budget ok, which means most of the basics of the game (engine, open/closed world missions, setting, timeline, main characters, basic story, game mechanics) are more or less set it stone. That means we can just provide helpful feedback and some inspiration to the rest of the development process.

[jtr7]

I guess many would like a total remake...

Nope.

I don't know how that's been conveyed. Respect for the original should be obvious in the design, not in marketing words, and verbal assurances.

Adherence to the classic formula, not a repeat, a continuation of the early unrivaled qualities, brought into new technology for added depth and clarity. Build upon, not pave over, or only borrow from.



And since we are being watched and our posts are being read, what could they really be wanting when most of the topics we discuss are concepts they've already settled on? That's a hell of a lot of reading and skimming to just pluck bits from.

[KellyG]

OMG! Pinch me, I'm dreaming.

In response to what others have said regarding gameplay do's/don'ts/ whatever, I'd like to just say, Thief 1: Garrett's eye being gouged out - shock or what? Thief 3 - the old asylum - terrifying...
All I ask for is levels like those two, and I'll be one very very happy gamer.

YAAAAY!!!

[242]

heh

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/8317/fuuuuu.png

Damn you Dominus, can't stop laughing at it for the second day.

[Dominus]

hehe, yeah me too, but I didn't make it

[infinity]

Yea, the story is pretty much already written, which means arguing over whether we would prefer Garrett or someone new is pointless. Oh well. I have faith it will be a good game, but also disappointed if it strays too far.

[Slamelov]

I would like the same medieval-steam style and not a modern plot.

I agree with RobinG, but I'd prefer a "progressive" movement, let's say:

- Walk Very slow
- Walk Slow
- Walk
- Run
- Run like hell

You could use mouse wheel, ala Hidden and Dangerous 2.

Of course, Garret should be able to lean left/right/front and creep. May be prone.

Multiplayer cooperative for single missions it's a dream for me. I know nobody cares, but it's my dream.

Regards

[Xenith]

I don't want to be pessimistic here (and I'm not trying to start a flame war), but I'm expecting more than half of the people here to be utterly disappointed by Thief 4. Not because the gameplay will be bad, not because of the few modifications it will undertake, but because of something silly that only they think should have been included in the game and it wasn't.

Then the game will be forgotten of... and the Thief 1 and 2 FMs will pour like crazy...

...deja vu

[zil]

I would like the same medieval-steam style and not a modern plot.

I agree with RobinG, but I'd prefer a "progressive" movement, let's say:

- Walk Very slow
- Walk Slow
- Walk
- Run
- Run like hell
Regards

I don't remember how many different speeds of movement there were in T2, but I liked how it was done there - so used to it.

[The Watcher]

Urk, this interview makes me sick to the stomach.

Agreed, alas. I don't expect to be giving up using Dromed and Theif 2 for quite a while, and they've made seriously bad start at convincing me that they're competent and likely to produce a viable sequel to T: DS, let alone TDS or TMA...

[Vasquez]

So the hints and whispers finally confirmed, awesome! I'm one of those heretics who enjoyed TDS almost as much as the first two Thief games, so I'm quite confidently looking forward to T4, too.
(Ok, minor bitch about the logo, it looks a bit silly and somehow not very much Thief style, but I'm not gonna get my panties in a bunch over it.)

Thief: The Dark Project was the single biggest influence on my gaming life!!

Same here

[SlyFoxx]

Character movement killed T3. First off I had to spend hours editing an .ini file so I could get the classic. (yeah I'm slow but you had to keep restarting the game to test the changes.)

w=run
s=walk
x=walk backwards
z=move left
c=move right

How did anybody think shipping T3 and forcing an old timer like me to do such a thing was a good idea?


After that I could move in a familiar manner but still felt like I was being tugged from behind via a rope around my waist. And still it was up to the design of the map if I could mantle here or climb there. Then there are the times where the game seems to sense what you are trying to do (like attaching to a ladder) and things go into auto mode for a moment. I'm a big boy and can drive the camera just fine without the extra help.

One of the great things about the original games was the consistency of what kind of movement you could perform. As a designer it's up to me to design the map to keep the player constrained but I'm forced to do so in a logical way. How fucking lame is it to have the player see a clear path only to be told.."well you can usually do that but not here?" How cool would it have been in The Cradle if the skilled thief managed to make an outside climb into the attic right off?

Don't get too worried about having the map's "story" unfold in an unintended way because a player gets creative and strays from "the path." I know designers sometimes have this glorious master plan for the player but guess what? For the most part they don't care about that. They want to do things their own way and sometimes revel in foiling the designer's plan. (hell that can be half the fun right there!)

And please don't make me use two buttons to move. If I need to push two buttons to do a simple thing like run or walk or I have to hold a button to keep a crouch I'll want to kill myself and the person who designed said interface. Is it so hard to design a system that lets the player decide how to map the keys?

[Dia]

Character movement killed T3. First off I had to spend hours editing an .ini file so I could get the classic. (yeah I'm slow but you had to keep restarting the game to test the changes.) .......

And please don't make me use two buttons to move. If I need to push two buttons to do a simple thing like run or walk or I have to hold a button to keep a crouch I'll want to kill myself and the person who designed said interface. Is it so hard to design a system that lets the player decide how to map the keys?

Seriously seconded Sly.

[David]

Movement direction should be controlled by a key.
Movement speed should be controlled by a mouse-wheel, ala Splinter Cell. You end up with 4 or 5 movement speeds from a slow creep to a fast run without having to hold down different keys.

[d'Spair]

i never had any problems with running on E, walking on W and creeping on Q
and shift+Q makes creeping REALLY slow by the way

[LarryG]

It's all been said. And then contradicted by others. And then said again. But I'll say my piece: More like T1&2 and less like T3. The atmosphere is key. The atmosphere comes from the art, the music, and the game play restrictions in careful balance. Do not make it Hitman of the Middle Ages. Thief has to be "off" just a bit, twisted slightly from our universe into some steam-punk alternate universe which is a bit blocky and awkward. It has to be just realistic enough to be recognizable, but not so much as to be photographic. The same goes for the amibiant sounds: familiar, recognizable, but somehow different.

Good luck. Despite all the bitching and moaning about every little thing, there is not one member of this community who is not hoping for your success. We all want to believe in Tinkerbell, but it is hard to do so after all these years.

[hikikomori-san]

SlyFoxx wants to assign a distinct key to every distinct action possible. Apparently he has one finger. He also wants to be able to foil the designers plan, and then bitch about how buggy it is. And LarryG wants the world to be blocky and awkward, and only realistic enough to be recognizable... apparently his image-recognition circuitry doesn't work well with good graphics! And then there is this dude who wants multiplayer!!!! Thief 4 will definitely disappoint a lot of people regardless of how it turns out - everybody wants their own thief.

[LarryG]

One more thing, René, consider re-releasing T1&T2 for play on modern hardware and operating systems as part of the pre-release media blitz that you will do. This community has done a great job keeping those games going, but having the source (or at least the legal right to disassemble the executables and reconstruct the needed source) would allow you to do the job right. I'm sure the sales from the re-issues would more than pay for the costs. And I'm also sure that the new fan-base that you are hoping to attract to the games will want to see what the earlier Thief experience was like.

If you can't do that, at least release the rights and whatever materials you have so that the fan community can give it a shot. There's a petition to that effect that I signed, but I wanted to add the idea of your team releasing the upgrades.

Anyhow ... good luck!

[LarryG]

Just please make the game ghostable.

But don't make it easy to ghost or required to ghost. The more ways you can play the more people will (buy) play.

[The Magpie]

Why you need a new game if you don't want innovation?

"We fear change." --Garth Algar

[Twist]

Just in case anyone thought only the hardcore Thief community was berating the ridiculous THIAF logo, Rock, Paper Shotgun has something to say:

4idos Gam4 Nam4s R4v4al4d

[pwyll]

Wish list:

-First and third person view.
-Swimmable water.
-Run movement by default. Shift+W - walk, X - hold crouch, Ctrl+W - walk on tiptoe.
-Leaning left, right and forward.
-Climbing gloves.
-Select and use an specific key instead an “automatic” key ring.
-Pistol with silencer.
-Dogs which can smell.
-Alarms.
-Night vision.
-Flashlight.
-Electroshock blackjack.
-Eric Brosius music.

Hate me now, Thief1,2 lovers!

[oerhört]

One more thing, René, consider re-releasing T1&T2 for play on modern hardware and operating systems as part of the pre-release media blitz that you will do.

Very much seconded. Good Old Games' solution of bringing old games to work perfectly on new hardware and OSs BEGS for some Thiefy business.

I think this could be very good PR, unless EM are afraid to make it too easy to compare the old games with the new one...

[242]

Well, now I feel sorry for the guys too, that's already too much.