chk772 on 29/3/2013 at 16:42
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
It most certainly isn't better than T1 and T2. Its still a good game but it is inferior to its prequels and a large part of that is the movement.
As you can see that is highly depending on the point of view. :) Technically it is simply better due to the new engine. Well, each to its like. Perfectly fine for me.
Mobiler Beitrag
pavlovscat on 29/3/2013 at 16:49
Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed T3. It had many things I liked. But, for me, movement is crucial to the overall game experience. And, I still prefer the atmosphere from T1&2 because those games really scared me. The Bonehoard? It took me months to screw up my courage to make it through. The mech beasts in T2 made my heart race. Haunts & web-throwing spiders? YIKES!!! T3 just didn't pull me into immersion to the same degree. There was suspense, but I don't think I ever got really scared. Gamal wasn't that scary to me. I found the climbing gloves to be more limiting than rope arrows. Also, forgetting how to swim was odd - or was the water THAT polluted? I always wondered. I remember how cool it was the first time to swim to the cellar at Bafford's, and, much later, I finally found that last piece of loot in the spider cave. As far as the city, if by tighter you mean limited, I'd agree. The itty-bitty maps strung together by loading zones were an annoyance to someone who hadn't played console games since Atari. I was used to roaming through large areas and getting lost in the streets. I relied upon my map & compass. You'd have to have negative sense of direction to get lost in T3. I am currently replaying T3. Even with my current directional issues due to MS, I STILL can't get lost in T3, even without using the maps. I can't really say much about the graphics. Obviously, T3 was visually a beautiful game. But, I'm old school. I still fire up Wolfenstein, Hexen & Redneck Rampage now and again. The better a game is the less important graphics are to me.
T3 is a good game. If it hadn't come after 2 games that got things SO right, I think it would have gotten a much better reception. I had enormously high expectations. I can look back and say unrealistically high expectations. T3 would have to have been perfect to meet them. And, that is unrealistic. Unfortunately, my view of T3 will always be colored by its failure to meet all my expectations and for what it was not as much as what it was. Unfair? Probably, but there it is. I've been impressed more with the T3 FMs and what the community has been able to do with the editor. There are some excellent FMs which went a long way toward redeeming T3 for me.
chk772 on 29/3/2013 at 17:20
Thief 2 was a great game indeed, but, and that's quite a big but, it had some real PITA levels, primarily the bank level, which totally confused me. I was really looking forward to that mission, i mean that's like the holy grail in thievery, a bank job. :) Only to find myself wondering if the map editors want to fool me with such a confusing, not at all overviewable map design. I remember there were 1 or 2 maps which were the same. Especially not understandable as most of the other maps were pretty perfect in that department. But ya, nice game apart from that.
What i meant with the city being tight is that it seems to be brought in better into the gameplay. You just feel the connection between the locations of the missions and the city (no wonder, as in most cases you travel through the city to the locations :)). Also, with all the citizens, city watch, Hammerites and pagans it feels much more alive than in the other parts.
Mobiler Beitrag
pavlovscat on 29/3/2013 at 19:16
I loved the bank! It was a big, sprawling building I could explore to my heart's content. It is one of my favorite maps. I explored every bit from the rooftop to the basement. I can see we look for totally different things in games! :laff:
For me, the loading zones ruined any feeling of cohesion for the city parts. I'm going through a magic portal. I could pop out anywhere. I felt like I was traveling from one self-contained box to another. I will agree that the city streets in T3 felt more alive with the different factions & all the random people walking around there. It was nice to be able to pass freely among the regular citizens. Being able to align yourself with one, both or neither of the factions made for good replay as well. Like I said, I do like T3. It just had some major buzz kills for me.
june gloom on 29/3/2013 at 21:25
For me, probably the single biggest failing of the loading zone was the purple smoke. If they'd made them far less obvious -- a door, maybe, or a gateway -- it wouldn't even be an issue. Even DXIW got that much right.
Renault on 29/3/2013 at 21:30
Quote Posted by pavlovscat
I loved the bank! It was a big, sprawling building I could explore to my heart's content.
Agreed, this is why I liked Soulforge too, lots of areas to explore and places to disappear into.
june gloom on 29/3/2013 at 21:34
Soulforge had some interesting bits to it, like that area in the back with the ledges you had to scale. It was mostly pretty bland though.
chk772 on 29/3/2013 at 21:46
Quote Posted by pavlovscat
I loved the bank! It was a big, sprawling building I could explore to my heart's content. It is one of my favorite maps. I explored every bit from the rooftop to the basement. I can see we look for totally different things in games! :laff:
I guess. :P I guess i'm more a guy for linear map design, the bank was too much patchwork for me. I remember getting lost several times in it.
pavlovscat on 29/3/2013 at 22:11
I replayed T2X recently. I still love The Grand Hotel with all the weird hallways & guest rooms. The Museum map was fun, too. I definitely prefer non-linear. I love to replay non-linear levels just to see how many different ways I can complete the mission. When I was in Houston, I was happy I'd learned to use a map & compass on maps like those because I needed those skills to get around downtown! LOL
Llama on 29/3/2013 at 23:08
Quote Posted by pavlovscat
T3 is a good game. If it hadn't come after 2 games that got things SO right, I think it would have gotten a much better reception. I had enormously high expectations. I can look back and say unrealistically high expectations. T3 would have to have been perfect to meet them. And, that is unrealistic. Unfortunately, my view of T3 will always be colored by its failure to meet all my expectations and for what it was not as much as what it was. Unfair? Probably, but there it is. I've been impressed more with the T3 FMs and what the community has been able to do with the editor. There are some excellent FMs which went a long way toward redeeming T3 for me.
I think the engine let T3 down. The small maps really limited how the story was told and how the game play felt.
