Estel Randir on 6/7/2020 at 04:24
Because of how vague Thief maps are, I find the compass much less useful than in other games. Whenever I try to use the compass, I normally just get frustrated because I normally cannot tie a landmark to a direction very well. Not being able to see your current location on the maps limits the compass use imo. But on the other hand, having directions in the game vague forces you to manually explore the game - which is a large part of what Thief is. If we had a "mini map" with a blinking you are here (like every MMO) would basically ruin the game. Also for some reason, I find first person perspective does not condone itself to a compass very well in many games.
Jason Moyer on 6/7/2020 at 19:42
I have it bound to C and I keep it on all the time unless I'm using another tool. I guess it's not quite as necessary as it used to be in TDP since Newdark will highlight which area you're in on the map, but I still like being able to estimate where I am quickly.
SlyFoxx on 10/7/2020 at 04:02
What's a compass?
Cigam on 20/7/2020 at 14:31
Like others I used to use the compass to switch my currently selected item to something neutral, when, for example, I went to open an unlocked door only to find myself raising the lockpicks.
This became less necessary once I had discovered Luthien's method for creating a dedicated "use environment" key., separate from your "use inventory" key. Now I just open the door and it doesn't matter what's in my inventory slot.
I still think a compass is essential for new maps. For example, I wil see that there is a security office at the North-East corner of the map, decide I want to hit it up first, and out will come the compass.
A.Stahl on 20/7/2020 at 15:21
Quote Posted by Cigam
For example, I wil see that there is a security office at the North-East corner of the map, decide I want to hit it up first, and out will come the compass.
How often do we have maps where you should move to NE to get to the NE corner of the map? In most cases, we're going to a random direction to get to the random place because of MAZES! You can't seriously use a compass in the maze.
Cigam on 21/7/2020 at 22:32
Not in a maze but when the map says Garrett's place is in the SW of Ambush (or whichever corner of the map it is in), then you know that heading in a generally NE direction is unlikely to bear fruit :)
Dahenjo on 24/7/2020 at 12:39
Quote Posted by FenPhoenix
I use the compass as a "meta" tool constantly.
Its main uses in this direction are as follows:
<SNIP of lengthy detailed points>
I think Fen has earned his PhD in Thief! :thumb:
In general, I use the compass more than Rarely but less than Quite Often (which to me sounds about the same as Many Times), so if instead it was Sometimes I would've had a valid selection.
nickie on 24/7/2020 at 18:33
I also use it as Fen uses it. It's pretty much the first thing I do when loading a mission. But I also use it for direction. When I was playing The Violent Death of Duncan Malveine recently, I used it all the time to orientate myself. If there's no map included then it's just for deselection and 'instantly reset to a known point in the inventory'.
bbb on 26/7/2020 at 19:17
Unless there are hind that direct you to say “the south side of the city” or something like that, I never look at the compass.
I do look at good maps often and I am not fussy about the orientation of the map (which way faces north).
bbb
