Lictor Face said:
We don't know for certain. And I am pretty sure none of the old Thief game trailers showed either faction to a great degree. Its probably is still in the air at the moment.
You would be wrong actually, here's the Thief: The Dark Project intro, which before that doubled as a trailer:
And here's for Thief 2, it outright starts with a quote from the Hammerite holy books and has similar aesthetics and style:
And finally here's the intro for Thief 3, which again doubled as a trailer. This one features snippets and callbacks to the original games:
Of course to be completely fair, here's an early trailer for Thief 3, complete with mandatory cheesy music and over-abundance of action to try and appeal to a wider audience. Pretty bad trailer really, but still here it is:
Even so it's still got it all. Pagan ceremony, Hammerites, hell it even has the Keepers and references to the prophecies.
You'll also notice even the shitty trailer for Thief 3 all had similar aesthetic designs and consistent themes. Aesthetics and themes which the trailers for the new game have not shown any inkling of whatsoever.
Lictor Face said:
Imo, the latest incarnation seems a lot more steam punk. The bow in particular, and the steam industry background setting. Like a industrial Les Miserables.
You have played the previous Thief games right? There's one, it's called 'The Metal Age' where a fanatical branch of the already pretty fanatical Hammerite religion break off and create insane steampunk robots and technology, including camera system, primitive guns and alarm system, and again *steampunk robots*.
Lictor Face said:
Is that so much of a bad thing? Not like the Les Miserables setting is commonly done anyway.
If I wanted a Les Miserables game, I'd find and play one. This is being advertised as a Thief game, not Les Miserables, and as such you'd expect it to bear at least some resemblance to the originals.
Lictor Face said:
Is it now? Isn't he still stealing and doing things that benefit him like a true chaotic neutral?
He looks different, he sounds different, he's got a different past, for some reason he's still got an eye scar but now it glows all badassy for some reason, and frankly his dialogue in the trailers has been pretty shit. I'm not holding high hopes here.
Lictor Face said:
Not sure why everyone is getting their jimmies in a twist. It will most likely work similar to how experience worked in Far Cry 3, and I don't recall anyone complaining about how it affected gameplay. Or it could be simply an alternative currency system that unlocks higher tiers of equipment or approaches ( Say, masquerading as a servant for a limited time, or sewer infiltration ). But then I don't know enough about it to be certain either.
Because it's out of place in a Thief game. Thief is about using the tools given to accomplish objectives. The harder the difficulty, the harder those objectives would be and the more limited tools you'd have to accomplish it.
What it was never about was headshotting guards for +5 exp so you can unlock that neat new weapon or whatever.
Lictor Face said:
Honestly I have no idea how that is bad. Context sensitive areas makes jumping easier and less frustrating, I'm thinking assasin's creed style. Or mirror's edge.
Seriously? The original games were all about exploration and giving the player an open setting to explore. Imagine 'Life of the Party' with context sensitive jumps... it literally would not work, that entire level was designed vertically and with the expectation of the player being able to scale walls and make risky jumps at their own will. To explore, experiment, and ultimately succeed in their own way.
Now we're being told that you can only jump when and where the developers let you, so that you can't 'break the flow' of the gameplay or whatever? It just shows a complete lack of understanding about the strengths of the original games gameplay.
Lictor Face said:
Same as to point 9. Personally,I couldn't care less for first person climbing. And while the limited gameplay footage showcased a third person takedown, it's still all in the air at the moment. But, as said before, I don't really care. You play Thief for the pleasure of infiltrating into the area undetected, exploring it, stripping it clean, and exfiltrating it.
You don't care, many do. Thief 3 got away with a third person camera because, and this is important, it was
optional. If you wanted to play the game entirely first person then you could. Now, along with so many other elements, this is being taken away and for what? To satisfy bloodthirsty teenagers need for a 'sick kill' or whatever? Bullshit. It reeks of pandering. I didn't like it in Deus Ex: Human Revolution and I definitely don't like it in Thief.
Lictor Face said:
I'll admit that one I didn't know. Care to link a source to me? Thanks.
Just read the previews or watch the gameplay. Focus is a new mechanic that has a resource pool similar to mana which allows the player to pull off execution kills in combat, highlight interactive objects in the environment, perform perfect pickpocketting, leap between cover, and undoubtedly other as yet unrevealed things as well for a cost. It can be replenished via various objects around the levels such a poppies apparently. Garrett apparently picks flowers and devours them mid-thievery to replenish his 'focus' pool so he can pull off execution kills now.
Very thiefy. /sarcasm
Lictor Face said:
Tbh, Thief never really had a proper initial plot. Its always Garret stealing things, he gets embroiled with some conspiracy to open up a portal/raise the dead/assasinate the king gobbledegook, even though he never really cared in the first place and is mainly concerned with his hide/profits. I'm more interested with the Les Miserables theme shown in the cinematic trailer. Having Garret play both sides is an interesting concept and can add to the roleplay a bit. Also, if i'm not wrong, the trailer mentioned something of a new age. A steam age maybe? Trailer seems heavily marxist inspired.
A new age? Some sort of steam age? Some sort of
Metal Age perhaps? Why that does sound neat, but for some reason I keep thinking...
Oh yeah, that was the entire freakin' point of Thief 2: The Metal Age. Also again, this is Thief, not Les Miserables.
Lictor Face said:
Fair enough. Although theres a poll on the game forums for Eidos. There is a MASSIVE backlash against the inclusion of quick time events. So, hopefully, it will be squelched before they release the final product.
Uh huh. Sure.
This late in development nothing is changing, I wouldn't hold your breath.
As I said before maybe this game will turn out decently. Maybe you'll get the Les Miserables interactive experience you've long been pining for. But so far it's looking like a pretty shitty Thief game. Aside from the name Garrett there is absolutely nothing linking this game to the originals that we know of. It looks to completely lack what made the original games so fantastic: The blend of freeform immersive stealth gameplay and a highly unique and well-realized setting.
It's funny too, with the way Thief 3 ended they really could have made a clear break for it. The story was set up perfectly for a new protagonist to take over, perhaps with Garrett as a teacher or guiding influence. They could have used that to explore new sections of The City, try new things, new mechanics without alienating the original games fanbase... and yet for some reason 'this' is what they came up with? I'm hard pressed to think of many ways the developers could have alienated longtime fans any worse than what they did, it's impressive really in a cynical dark sort of way.
Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to sleep and dream of what might have been.
