**EM in interview : 'It's easy to fall into the trap of trying to please everyone - by bjc_sp
Briareos H on 12/4/2013 at 09:25
I'm not exactly sure what they mean in the in the interview anyway. The speed modifiers aren't required on a gamepad since it's analogue, so to give the same experience on PC they need to have at least one or two speed modifiers mapped to the keyboard.
Basically it's all about leaning? Forward leaning wasn't necessary but it was a beautiful option to have, how bad could that be to simply allow people to have it if they want?
I think they are meaning deeper changes than that, like, if you get just against a wall and approach a corner, continuing to go in that direction would lean and peek for a bit around the corner before "detaching" and walking over. The key thing is not to give the player a feeling he is restricted in any way, but I suppose that could work. If you're peeking over a right corner, you're not going to lean left. It could also work with forward leaning over balconies, depending on how well it's implemented.
There are many ways to program it so it wouldn't work, because giving the player the feeling they are in a special mode against a wall or having to "detach" at all is a big no-no for immersion, but I'd like to see them try.
Beleg Cúthalion on 12/4/2013 at 09:27
I agree, jay. Plus, I think "pussy" here simply refers to not being able to continue playing the game when spotted by an AI, not playing the game like a brute.
Gaestle on 12/4/2013 at 09:30
Giving the choice to disable "Focus" is maybe not an simple checkbox. As far as I understand "Focus" it is somewhat related to the balancing and maybe even the game mechanics. So it could be a lot of work to give it a "disable"-checkbox.
Also I personally expect they have at least to double or triple the sales of the first thief games, simply just to survive. As far as I know LGS runs out of money. If this assumption is correct, EM need to catch up new gamers. Maybe for all of you it is no problem to use the darkmod. But what about players which don't have the experience of three former thief games and several fanmade missions? So what about the newbies? They will propably be the majority of sales because the real thief community is small. And sales will be necessary, for us (for bugfixing and everything and maybe for another thief game) and for everyone of them (they have to pay their bills too). So to me it is an very very understandable aspect of game development. I think it is simply not fair to deny this aspect as relevant. They simply have to make a good game for millions of people, not for us maybe 1.000 die-hards only. And propably it is not the first game they develop, so they propably know what to do.
I think we should trust EM, at least a little bit. The most important thing to me personally is athmosphere in that Thief game. And I think (or hope or expect) they will bring it in. Personally I liked DeusEx:HR, they did a good job with that IMO. Even it was not exactly like thirteen years ago (thanks god for that).
And about Steven Russel: Sure, he would propably be good for the new game. But I've played the first games without him in an different language. And I've survived it.
snowcap21 on 12/4/2013 at 09:33
Maybe I'm exceptionally slow and reading the manual would actually be a good idea, but it took me some years to get to know all controls. So I wouldn't mind if they managed to provide the same possibilities of movement with a more intuitive input system. Maybe something like Beleg suggested, lean where you look with the mouse.
For me it sounds good what they say in the interview, I like their approach, I want to experience Thief in a new way. I want to be surprised, and that not just by the guard around the corner. The big if is of course, if they manage to capture the elusive essence of gameplay, character and story, but for that I'm prepared to wait and see, because that's not so easily tied to specific elements.
Vivian on 12/4/2013 at 09:39
Far Cry 3 had an auto-lean-ish feature. If you push into a wall or rock or whatever AFAICR, you kinda go into a 'cover' mode (you kind of hunch a little lower. Not significantly, it's more of an indicator than anything else). If you then look at the edge of said wall/rock/thing, you peek out. Same for the top of it, if it's a low wall/rock/thing and you are crouched. Worked really well, it's not 'sticky' or anything, felt totally natural, didn't need separate keys. It's not an automatic panty-wetting betrayal if they change the control scheme, guys. Jesus christ.
henke on 12/4/2013 at 09:58
A. Hey! I already pointed out FC3's system on the last page!
B. Describing it as "working really well" is being generous. For looking over things when crouched it usually worked as intended but peeking around corners was a bit hit-and-miss. Half of the time when I held down the aim button behind a corner I'd end up just looking down the sights straight into the wall in front of me, instead of leaning out around the corner like I'd intended to. The game didn't seem to recognize that I was standing behind a corner until I wiggled around a little bit. :erg:
The concept is sound though, and I hope Thief executes it better than FC3 did.
Vivian on 12/4/2013 at 10:02
Sorry henke it wasn't on purps xx
I got on fine with it. Maybe it was because I was so pleasantly surprised it was there at all.
Elephant in the room is that TDP has an entirely separate goddamn key for run forwards, which is the still the stupidest control decision I've ever come across.
Bakerman on 12/4/2013 at 10:03
Quote Posted by henke
And for weapons/arrows I'm guessing there'll be a selection-wheel, which I'm not opposed to since even by the end of T2 I was still having trouble remembering which numberkey to press to access my lesser used arrows.
I'd actually love a wheel that worked something like Crysis's suit mode selector. With a bit of practise, I could cloak behind a rock, switch to strength, jump, and be back in cloak before I popped up over the top. Best feeling ever - it's what control schemes should be emulating. I think it had so much to do with the muscle memory of knowing which direction activated which suit mode. Dishonored had a similar deal, but I guess I just spent less time with the gameplay mastering the different selections. Also, in Dishonored I tended to open up the selection wheel, then pause for like thirty seconds to decide which thing I wanted. In Crysis the decision was made before I hit the button.
henke on 12/4/2013 at 10:03
Aww it's ok Viv. :)
Vivian on 12/4/2013 at 10:15
Selection wheels are awesome. Like you say, select stuff while running and jumping quickly and easily without having to dance over the keyboard like a pro secretary. Dishonored was pretty much pushing it as far as it could go in terms of the amount of stuff on it though. One item for each cardinal and one for each intercardinal is about optimal. I imagine they work really well on a gamepad as well, so it's reasonably likely we'll see one.
