b1skit on 5/7/2013 at 15:57
Hey guys, thanks for the shoutout. I'll answer the questions below, but please don't be hurt if I don't return to this thread - it's Friday and I'll be taking the weekend off, but I will definitely make a point of posting from time to time on TTLG in future to be a bit more visible to you all.
Please also don't hesitate to (
http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=138032) bounce your questions off the guys who played the game at E3. They're more than happy to help, and as I mentioned elsewhere they've had more hands-on time with the game than anybody else in the world right now. Journalists at E3 got 30 minutes max to play the game, our community guys were given a full hour of uninterrupted play. Master Taffer managed to get 90 minutes, cheeky bugger. These guys all played the full demo from start to finish in entirety - something very, very few people had the time to complete due to the massive time restrictions of a crazy event like E3. Once the controller was in their hands, many people simply got sucked into the game and ran out of time to complete the demo in their allotted 30 minutes. It's safe to assume that many online impressions regarding the last half of the demo were based on what people saw while watching what we call a "golden path" playthrough, where the the demo was played in a direct path, start to finish live in front of the audience in the Thief E3 theater (Theater show slots were about 30 mins total).
So in my absence, please chat with the community guys who played the game at E3 - They really do know their stuff!
Quote Posted by jay pettitt
#1 Adam says he's actively reading what gets muttered on the forums and intertubes, and compiles it into reports for the dev team. So I'm interested. What does Adam see, what does he write and can he give us some examples of how the dev team respond to the feedback he provides.
#2 Looking Glass Studios - who made the fist Thief games (you may have heard of them) - are oft mentioned in hallowed terms as inspiration and aspiration for others in the video game industry; Valve, Irrational et al all like to cite their genetic connections to Looking Glass. When we hear Eidos Montreal talk about Thief it's often referencing movies as the point for inspiration and aspiration: Batman, James Bond etc. Would Adam like to talk about that, are there differences? Is Hollywood the right place to be the aspiration, inspiration and reference if you're making games?
#1 - Menu options to disable various elements as requested by the hardcore community, for one.
#2 - You're misunderstanding the analogy completely. The movie reference is only talking about the persistence of a character throughout multiple actors, nothing more, nothing less.
Quote Posted by bukary
My questions are rather straightforward:
#3 Swimmable water. Yes or no? Can you answer at this stage? It's obvious that the level design work should be done with swimmable water (or the lack of it) in mind, so it's probably decided at this time.
#4 Are developers planning to add some pickpocketing animation (with Garrett using his hands)? The idea of delayed pickpocketing is great, but this "loading" circle looks completely out of place right now and kills immersion.
#3 - Already addressed this in the other thread. Don't know, have asked, will let you know when I've got more info.
#4 - I don't believe the game will have dynamic animations for individual pick pockets, no. But I know that various UI elements can be toggled on or off - we'll have more info on what in the coming months, don't worry.
Quote Posted by SuicideMachine
^^ So many hard questions.:tsktsk:
OK, so mine are loosely related to speedrunning (since DXHR was like the only AAA title released in last 3 years that actually made its place in speedrunning community).
#5 - Are cutscenes skipable? (no, really! At a 2nd playthrough some of us may want to skip some cutscenes, even if they last for 5 seconds or something)
#6 - Is there a tutorial segment? Can it be skipped?
#7 - Are there many "modern" solutions used that dictate the pacing? (e.g.: Like in Modern military shooters, where you're closed in a room until characters finish their conversation or when you're forced to walk verly slowly, with other NPC that explains the situation, objective of a mission etc. - you know, the kind of solutions that are super annoying at 2nd playthrough).
I guess, that would be it for now.
#5 and #6 - Good questions, but these will come to light in the coming months. I can only talk about things that have been revealed already. As we've not shown cutscenes, tutorials, I can't share more just yet. The most I've got for you right now is to say yes, there will be a tutorial.
#7 - The conversations all happen in the world around you, it's a voyeur experience so you can come and go as you please, listen in to who you want etc. You're not stuck there. Ask the the guys who played at E3. There's a cool moment inside where the guards are all discussing their strategy for defending the manner, I'm sure they'd be willing to elaborate :)
Quote Posted by Azaran
#10 Why did you
really replace Stephen Russell, the core of the series, knowing it would alienate the fanbase?
And don't give me that stuff about "motion capture" or 1960's vs modern Batman.
#11 What's the deal with toning down supernatural elements? Last I checked, those are a bonus that only enhances things (and are a part of the series), so what gives?
o
#10 - We already answered this with 100% honesty on our blog and community videos, as I'm sure you're aware. If you're unhappy with the response there's nothing else I can say - but know that I personally fought long and hard to give the facts to the community rather than deal with it via a canned PR response.
#11 - Taste is subjective I guess, I've not heard much either way on that. The game is more focused on mysticism than magic. The best equivalent I can give you is to think about Game of Thrones - Thief will feature the same balance of mysticism vs magic as you'd see in GoT (besides this, Thief has little in common with GoT, to be clear). Garrett's eye is possibly the most 'magic' element of the game, but much more will be revealed on this later (sorry, no spoilers!)
Quote Posted by Bakerman
Adam, you have a difficult job. Thanks for being here.
Comments like this make it all worth while. Thanks :)
Quote Posted by Chade
I thought we asked for SeriousQuestionsOnly?
#12 what do you spend xp on? new equipment? equipment upgrades? focus abilities? lockpicking and/or pickpocket improvements?
#13 in combat, what specific benefit does striking the "weak spots" give you? is it extra damage? does it knock guards back? something else? can you hit those spots without focus?
#14 what objects can you peek around? can you peek under objects? over objects?
#15 how does sound propagation work? does sound travel through the air in a similar manner to the original thief games?
12 - XP is spent on "Upgrades" - Full details on WHAT upgrades soon
13- All of the above
14 - You can peek through, over, around etc. Have a chat with the guys who played the game at E3 and they'll explain the peek mechanic to you - I'd recommend asking Master Taffer, I'm sure he'd love to elaborate.
15 - yes, it does. There is a deep sensory system that simulates sound and guard vision. Vision is so realistic that if a guards vision is obscured by another dynamic entity (ie. another, moving guard), you can use that as cover to sneak by. It's quite impressive. More on that in an upcoming community video.
Quote Posted by Springheel
#16 -- what do KO'd guards do if they're woken up by other guards? Do they just go back to patrol?
#17 -- can the shroud be turned off?
16 - AI is systemic. Guards do not go back to their regular pathing once they've been agitated or alerted by something. They'll adjust their routes based on experiences and disturbances etc. If they find an unconscious guard, they'll wake him up and try and find you together
17 - What you've seen is only placeholder, as we've said many times. Chat with the community guys who've played the game for more on this.
Quote Posted by Queue
#18 How will the game differ from the PS4/XOne versions compared to the, now, announced PS3/X360/PC versions?
18 - Addressed here: (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5hUpc4mvhI)
Ok guys, sorry to be a bummer but that's all I've got time for today. But, I've got something even better for you than just my words: I'm currently calling for fans to submit questions for the dev team for an upcoming community video. Head over to this thread (
http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=138332) HERE and submit your questions, or you can submit them via (
http://thiefgame.tumblr.com/ask) the 'ask' feature of the official Thief Tumblr as well. To keep things simple and make my job easier, these are the only places I'll be accepting questions but I sincerely hope you guys will contribute. There are some really good questions in this thread above, so if you want to re-submit them for further clarification from the team I'd highly recommend it.
