jtr7 on 8/4/2013 at 11:56

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Are you watching the same vids in the same chronological order? The Game Informer vids are just as defensive and trying to assert assurance. It wasn't until they brought on Dan Schmidt that what they were saying got a bit stronger. Nicolas Cantin is the most genteel of the three. Schmidt keeps stating he didn't like this Thief fundamental or that one.


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This won't affect PC players directly, but it does suggest a performance hit might require a chunk of PC players to dial down effects and such.
(http://www.psu.com/a018974/Thief--PS4-version-likely-to-be-capped-at-30fps)

Renzatic on 8/4/2013 at 22:41

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It's the difference between smooth, and incredibly smooth. 30 FPS is fine, though 60 is ideal.


Think of cartoons, and the amount of frames needed to make a character look like he's walking. The more frames of animation he has, the smoother the results. 2 frames, and he's doing the herky-jerky walk. It's foot down, foot up, foot down, foot up. 40 frames has more...I guess interpolation is a good word to use here. Instead of foot up, foot down, he has 38 other frames for the different leg positions between foot up and foot down. The end result is it looks far more smooth and realistic.

It works roughly the same in games (sorta, because it's dropping frames, but I'm not about to get into that). When you drag the mouse to move to the right, if you're getting 60 frames, you get a nice, smooth arc. 15, and it's much more jerky.



Nope, lag in an online game is the amount of time it takes to transfer data between your computer and a server. Like if you press the left mouse button to fire a rocket and your ping times are at 500ms, it'll take half a second between your click and you seeing the rocket fire ingame. The heavier the lag, the more time between actions and updates something takes.

sterlino on 8/4/2013 at 23:38

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info note:
for what i know the first game using 60 fps in HD was wipeout HD but thief is not a game who needs particulary smoothness in speed animations so i think that 30 is good enough.

MissyK on 8/4/2013 at 23:57

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Thanks Renz, that helps :)

van HellSing on 9/4/2013 at 11:06

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4 page preview in polish mag CD-Action. Can't be bothered to do a full translation, but here's a complete summary of things said, as bullet points. I tried to be objective while writing them down. One point bolded for emphasis.

- the author is not fully convinced, but still impressed

- Garrett was away in a place that he can't reveal

- story is about people vs. authorities (comparisons to Bioshock Infinite and Half-Life 2 justified)

- set during the Unwritten Times

- the functionality of Garrett's mechanical eye was not revealed

- two missions were shown, plus a tech demo

- focus allows to instantly rob people of their jewelry, automatically pick a lock or help in combat

- a swoop ability for swiftly moving between shadows for more dynamic gameplay

- Garrett moves much more quietly, he can mantle onto furniture without making a sound

- full body awareness helps in navigation, i.e. seeing your hands allows you to "feel" how close to a wall you are, ir it helps emphasise leaning

- mostly first person, third person is used for climbing or sliding down ropes using the "claw" which replaced rope arrows

- flashy third person cam for stealth & environmental takedowns - you can drop a damaged statue on a guard using your bow for example

- the blackjack is the main melee weapon, no word on swords or daggers

- equipment upgrades

- light gem replaced by small, three state visibility meter in the lower left corner of the screen, you're either visible, not visible or can be spotted if you move or are too close

- developers say stealth is practically binary

- you can hide in shadows cast by guards

- cloak vignette system is likely to be reworked due to criticisms

- the City looks great, it's a pseudo-victorian fantasy world on the brink of an industrial revolution

- it serves as a hub between missions, areas are unlocked as you play

- it's open and has a sense of scale and freedom, but it's not a Skyrim-like RPG, the structure is similar to previous games

- no emergent gameplay or creating your own story

- wouldn't count on freeform thieving, some houses can be broken into and burglarized, but most are just scenery

- possible personal hideout

- shoutouts to warlier games, like traces of machinery from Karras' times

- much less magic, which the author calls a baffling decision and cites Return to the Cathedral and the Cradle as some of the best missions in the series

- UE3 got a new renderer with volumetric fog coloured and lit by the surrondings, phenomenal effects for spreading fire, lots of particle effects, tesselation

- devs say the game will require "a computer with a $250 video card"

- audio seems extraordinary, with a high quality sound propagation system important to gameplay

- Garrett is talkative but the lack of Stephen Russell is seriously jarring, devs reluctantly explain that voices (20 thousand lines of dialogue) are recorded during motion capture sessions, which could be difficult for a middle-aged man

- "it's possible that if gamers make enough noise about this, Stephen Russell can be persuaded to perform this feat."

- no Eric Brosius ambience either

- the developers seem elusive, answer most questions with "too early to talk about this"

- possible to finish the game without killing anyone and even without getting seen - the latter is is a challenge for the best players