Chade on 14/11/2013 at 22:25
I read two articles recently that I didn't see discussed here, and afaict they have a few pieces of new information about optional objectives, optional gameplay restrictions, and game statistics.
Escapist magazine video: (
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-news-now/8450-Thief-PS4-Launch-Preview) http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-news-now/8450-Thief-PS4-Launch-Preview
Polygon article: (
http://www.polygon.com/2013/11/13/5093664/thief-rewards-curious-players-with-deeper-story-substance) http://www.polygon.com/2013/11/13/5093664/thief-rewards-curious-players-with-deeper-story-substance
For those who were paying attention to the thief 3 hype train, you may remember that for a while, thief 3 was meant to have customizable difficulty restrictions. You'd be able to set different flags and be restricted in different ways. In the end they took the feature out, saying it was too time consuming to playtest all the different combinations. Well, it looks like thief 4 is planning a similar thing. Hopefully they go through with it this time ...
(Also, he mentioned being able to turn off contextual *something*, but I couldn't understand what that something was.)
Quote Posted by Escapist video
We are going to give you a lot of freedom how you would like to use your options, so if you want to turn off the contextual [inaudible], stuff like that, it's possible. Also ... we're going to give you the chance to play with switch ... I will turn on this switch, so if I kill a guard, I'm going to be game over immediately. If I turn on this switch, if somebody just see me, I'm going to be game over, so if you play with this switch, it could be really really difficult.
There's a bunch of information in the polygon article about optional objectives and statistics. I'm not sure how new all of it is, but IIRC the following bits are new.
There's a reference to side quest changing "what kind of person Garrett will become". I'm not sure whether that actually means Garrett's personality changes, or it's just means that your statistics change.
Quote Posted by Polygon article
(This quote is a bit butchered, because the relevant info in the article is scattered all over the place.)As players complete missions, a number of optional small tasks present themselves ... The way players tackle — or don't tackle — these tasks ... tiny actions like searching every painting within a house for hidden switches to secret safes, to carrying away every last valuable in a room ... will contribute to what kind of person Garrett becomes.
It's possible to go back to old missions in order to complete tasks, finish getting the loot, see more of the story, etc ...
Quote Posted by Polygon article
Players who don't want to complete these tasks as they occur along the storyline will be able to circle back to complete them later. Previous missions will be open for players to take down extraneous guards and still those last jewels.
Different actions will bring out different pieces of story ... There are a lot of moments players will never see. But it encourages players to go back and do more, and that's what we want to see.
The player's play style is measured along three axis: opportunist, ghost, and predator. Opportunist seems to reflect how many items you collect, ghost how stealthy you are, and predator how aggressive.
Quote Posted by Polygon article
an Opportunist who focuses on pickpocketing, a Ghost who sneaks through the city avoiding as much conflict as possible or a Predator who kills civilians without a second thought. These three classifications, Roy noted, are how the game lets players know how they playing. At the end of each mission, a stats screen will show the loot players picked up as well as a pie chart showing how much of each classification their actions embodied.
R Soul on 15/11/2013 at 00:08
I'm glad the QTEs are out. For each thing about which they listen, there's a chance they'll listen about something else.
Apparently it doesn't rain in Autumn.
Starker on 15/11/2013 at 04:46
The removal of QTEs is definitely a major improvement. There are few gameplay features I detest as much.
Shinrazero on 15/11/2013 at 06:30
Thanks for the post, Chade. I was browsing r/games on (
http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1qnhge/there_will_be_no_qtes_in_thief/) reddit and found this thread about the removal of QTE. The user SyrioForel summed up things pretty nice.
Quote:
We'll never know for sure, but it seems pretty obvious to me that the main people responsible for this game have either never played Thief prior to making this game, or have no particular affection for it, and are only making this game because they were assigned to do it by their employer.
Because they have no personal connection or interest in the source material, they have no motivation or interest in being faithful to it. It's the same thing that happens when good books are turned into bad and unfaithful films that don't even seem to understand what the main takeaway point was for the people who fell in love with the book in the first place. If you don't understand what you're adapting, or what you're making a follow-up to, then step back and admit that maybe this project just isn't for you. But no, they decided to just keep pressing forward. No amount of design changes (which they've already made several of) is going to undo this.
As I already said, this isn't even about them taking the series into different territory that may potentially end up being good in its own unique way. This is about them having no clue about what they're trying to make on a fundamental level, and are instead only concerned with ripping off gameplay mechanics found in other games (oh, and ripping off the couple of gameplay mechanics found in a real Thief game just to appease the fans).
If you're creating a new entry in a franchise in order to bank on the name recognition, that advantage is completely undone if the people that have played it aren't interested in a Thief-in-name-only game. So, without those fans, who's left, people who have heard of these games without ever having played them? That's who you hope to make money from?" I've never played Thief before, but I've heard of Thief games. And this is a Thief game, too! I guess I'll buy it then!" If that's what they think will happen, then they deserve nothing but scorn and public ridicule.
I agree. The stuff that counts is where they are getting it wrong. Removing XP and QTE is a step in the right direction but overall has little impact on my purchasing decision.
Chade on 15/11/2013 at 13:47
A bit OT, but hey, why not. I'm sure it doesn't surprise you to learn I disagree with that quote.
Quote Posted by SyrioForel
it seems pretty obvious to me that the main people responsible for this game have either never played Thief prior to making this game, or have no particular affection for it
This is directly contradicted by all sources I know of that actually talk about the developer's enthusiasm or lack thereof for past games. There's some pretty naive assumptions involved in this statement too, IMO. It's safe to assume there's a heck of a lot more behind EM's decisions then just their developer's enthusiasm for past thief games.
Quote Posted by SyrioForel
this isn't even about them taking the series into different territory that may potentially end up being good in its own unique way. This is about them having no clue about what they're trying to make on a fundamental level, and are instead only concerned with ripping off gameplay mechanics found in other games
Part of this is fair, I think. It does sound like there's been a lot of chaos behind the scenes at EM, and it wouldn't be surprising if different people have been pulling in different directions. They've made some surprisingly major changes recently, considering it's only a few months to launch. So in that sense you could say that EM, as an institution, is not sure what game it is making.
But claiming they have no clue what their making and are just ripping off gameplay mechanics from other games is ludicrous. I know of no-one who has played the game and claims it feels like Dishonoured or Assassin's Creed or whatever else. It sounds like the game is a slower paced pure stealth game, unlike other stealth action title available today.
Quote Posted by SyrioForel
If you're creating a new entry in a franchise in order to bank on the name recognition, that advantage is completely undone if the people that have played it aren't interested in a Thief-in-name-only game. So, without those fans, who's left, people who have heard of these games without ever having played them? That's who you hope to make money from?
Ridiculous supposition. EM regularly claim in interviews that they've done enough to appeal to both fans and people who haven't played the game. They've made some changes to appease fans. They are obviously
trying to make a game that can appeal to both sets of people. Whether they succeed or not is another question, of course ... early signs have not been positive. We'll see what happens when the game launches.
MoroseTroll on 15/11/2013 at 14:35
Quote Posted by Chade
This is directly contradicted by all sources I know of that actually talk about the developer's enthusiasm or lack thereof for past games.
"Action speaks louder than words." T4 developers may say that they love the originals and did play it for years, but, as a matter of fact, they have literally
raped Thief universe.
Quote Posted by Chade
But claiming they have no clue what their making and are just ripping off gameplay mechanics from other games is ludicrous.
Why? There is
nothing left from the original games, and the fact that the game is about stealth doesn't mean that it's a Thief game.
Quote Posted by Chade
They've made some surprisingly major changes recently, considering it's only a few months to launch.
Sorry, but those are minor, not major changes.
Quote Posted by Chade
So in that sense you could say that
EM, as an institution,
is not sure what game it is making.
Bingo!
Quote Posted by Chade
I know of no-one who has played the game and claims it feels like Dishonoured or Assassin's Creed or whatever else.
How much do you know those people? Half a dozen? I'm sorry, but I think that's not enough to make an opinion whether T4 is like DH|AC or not.
Quote Posted by Chade
It sounds like the game is a slower paced pure stealth game, unlike other stealth action title available today.
Like I said, the fact that the game is about stealth doesn't mean that it's a Thief game.
Quote Posted by Chade
Ridiculous supposition. EM regularly claim in interviews that they've done enough to appeal to both fans and people who haven't played the game.
Then why did they eradicated XP & QTE, the features that many modern gamers do like so much?
Quote Posted by Chade
They've made some changes to appease fans.
"Between two stools one falls to the ground."
Pyrian on 15/11/2013 at 16:00
Quote Posted by MoroseTroll
...as a matter of fact, they have literally
raped Thief universe.
As a literal fact, eh? :joke:
Starker on 15/11/2013 at 16:05
I don't think anyone is claiming that the game rips off other games because it plays exactly like Ass Creed or Dishonoured. It's the fact that the focus mode seems to have been lifted wholesale from games like Tomb Raider, the "free running" is pretty reminiscent of Ass Creed, the running from fire while buildings collapse around you action sequence is something that could fit right in <s>Uncharted</s> Ass Creed as well, and the art style/aesthetics just scream Dishonoured.
Oh, also: (
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/12/27/the-most-annoying-gaming-cliche-of-the-year-2012-escaping-burning-buildings/)
