Melan on 6/8/2007 at 06:18
After Invisible Wars... I would rather see someone else do it, with a completely different franchise. ;)
DaveW on 6/8/2007 at 06:20
Quote Posted by OrbWeaver
I don't believe this is true. As you say, expectations increase but so do the tools used to meet them, and I don't see any reason why the expectations should outstrip the abilities of mod teams to produce content.
Not in a lot of cases. Making a character for a game in 2000 was a case of making a 1000 poly model (at most), and making a low-resolution texture. Nowadays you have to made a 5000 poly model (even more if it's an important character - Alyx, Eli etc. were all around 8000 in Half Life 2, and that was 3 years ago!), then a high resolution texture and then a high-poly model of the thing to render a normal map. As much as tools are improving, they aren't improving enough to make that not take a hell of a lot more time. The same is the case for level design -higher resolution textures, more static meshes and far more detail.
This is hitting both amateur and professional developers. Production costs are spiralling and games are becoming shorter, and episodic content is the new way to avoid having to make new content while still making money from selling new games. Take Half Life 2 - Episode one. There was nothing new with architecture - it was all the same textures, environment props and weapons. They updated Alyx and added some retard combine, but that's about it for "new content".
cyclops1101 on 8/8/2007 at 14:47
To my knowledge Eidos Interactive have the rights to Thief, So then why are they not expanding the franchise? Did the sales of TDP, TG, T2 and T:DS not reach there expectations, can they not find a developer, or are they just not interested in the idea - WHY???
I think we as loyal fans to Thief and Eidos (for there work on Thief). NEED to nag, beg and hound for the continuation of Garrett and his Dark World. I was thinking that maybe we could accomplish this with petitions and e-mail's from and by all those concerned with these forums and other fan-sites.
What do you all think?
What I would like to see in The next Thief game(:confused: ) is the return to an immersive atmosphere i.e not having the ability to look around Garrett like hes having an out of body experience(not having eyes in the back of your head really improves gameplay and reliability to sounds.) Music+Audio I feel was much more immersive in TDP and T2 than TDS - Audio is key and in my view TDS did not fail but it didnt succeed! THEN, graphics, Thief 1+2 were like WORKS OF ART, The cut scenes, the levels and the creativity of gameplay - pure genius. AND of course Stephen Russel the perfect voice talent(and what a talent!)
So there are my two cents.
Do I have a point??
Digital Nightfall on 8/8/2007 at 14:53
I think two threads on Thief 4 for this week are quite enough. Cyclops1101, please join the discussion in this thread with your thoughts.
I believe you will find that many of your questions have already been answered.
New Horizon on 8/8/2007 at 15:09
Quote Posted by cyclops1101
Do I have a point??
Allow me to '
point' to the search button. ;) ^
Also to the pinned topic about Thief 4. ^ :D
Jah on 8/8/2007 at 15:16
Quote Posted by cyclops1101
I think we as loyal fans to Thief and Eidos (for there work on Thief). NEED to nag, beg and hound for the continuation of Garrett and his Dark World. I was thinking that maybe we could accomplish this with petitions and e-mail's from and by all those concerned with these forums and other fan-sites.
I'm afraid the idea of Eidos making a Thief 4 because of a few e-mails or letters from old fans is about as likely as an Internet petition bringing peace to the Middle East.
That being said, I've actually signed Internet petitions calling for peace in the Middle East. ;)
Yandros on 8/8/2007 at 16:18
Fan petitions begging for Thief 4 won't make any difference to Eidos. The only thing that will make them decide to do it is if their marketing team makes a strong business case to executive management that it would make the company money. Given that I think they lost money on T3 (or made very little), they're not likely to ever try to make that case.
Digital Nightfall on 8/8/2007 at 16:20
</b>
Quote Posted by Yandros
... they lost money on T3 <strike>(or made very little)</strike>
</b>
Gingerbread Man on 8/8/2007 at 16:56
Here's some reality:
Everyone always wants a sequel to the thing they like. Movie, album, tv show, game... when the first one or two are great fans obviously want more.
We want to find out more of the story, we want to relive the experience in a new way (but not TOO new, mister), we want more hours to enjoy afresh the exact same thing only different.
Never works out that way. Well, virtually never. You can't necessarily recreate the entirety of circumstance that made you enjoy the thing you want a sequel for. Part of what made Thief so great for me was entirely situational: My second ever PC game, starkly contrasted with my first ever PC game (Half Life). The age I was, the headspace I inhabited at the time, the surprise, delight, and fascination that I felt encountering the world for the first time.
I'll just skip to the end of this train of thought and assert that the best things in entertainment are the ones that leave us desperate for more but never deliver another minute of what we wanted. The rarity and personal synchronicity of the initial experience is what makes stuff good, not the catalogue nor the pedigree.
The Beatles aren't around anymore. Do you find Oasis to be an acceptable alternative?
Do you think The Exorcist II was worth the rental fee?
Wouldn't you have expected Ion Storm -- of all people -- to have been able to do justice to a Deus Ex sequel?
Nobody actually wants sequels. What we want is an impossible combination of "exactly the same" and "totally different"
And Thief 4 -- no matter what it might be called, which amazing studio develops it, or what awesome and clever twist (or lack thereof) is used to breathe exciting new life into the fiction -- would suck wrinkly balls. This is not pessimism, nor cynicism. It is a plain statement of fact.
Or at least, it would be if it wasn't actually a plain statement of the opinions and subjective evaluations all the folk now clamoring for a sequel will end up asserting.
But hey. That equates to fact in the final analysis. Or the Quarterly Report, whichever is more relevant to you.
cyclops1101 on 8/8/2007 at 17:03
Quote Posted by Jah
I'm afraid the idea of Eidos making a Thief 4 because of a few e-mails or letters from old fans is about as likely as an Internet petition bringing peace to the Middle East.
That being said, I've actually signed Internet petitions calling for peace in the Middle East. ;)
If we dont make clear what we want then chances are we will never get it - If we work for what we want then chances are the probability of getting it will vastly increase. Like the peace comment!!
As for Eidos losing money, at least they can see where they have gone wrong and proceed with more clarity - Like episodic downloads or sticking to
the reason why Thief 1+2 were such a success.
Plus they will make some money regardless of whether they drew even or not, its not like they cant take the risk - risk=reward/failure (dont do the crime if you cant do the time):cheeky:
Yandros
The only thing that will make them decide to do it is if their marketing team makes a strong business case
And how do we get them to do that?:grr:
