Tomi on 11/10/2013 at 19:52
Hasn't it been said many times that the rewards for being stealthy are greater than what you get for playing Rambo-style, so who cares how much XP you get for headshots and stuff?
Renzatic on 11/10/2013 at 20:08
Did you not see the screenshots, Tomi? YOU GET EXPERIENCE! GAWWW!
Nuth on 11/10/2013 at 20:25
It looks like it awards 40 points for a headshot and that the 370 and 570 running totals.
Vae on 11/10/2013 at 20:55
I realize that the "40" appears, then disappears after each headshot...Yet, if it were true that all headshots are 40 XP, then there would have been five consecutive headshots after the 370 XP headshot, ending with the 570 XP headshot...As demonstrated, there were only two headshots in this demo, therefore, the XP award remains unclear at this time...However, one thing remains painfully clear...
Killing is rewarded and randomly evading a single enemy Ai is not...XP is an incompatible, systemic problem in a THIEF game, creating a fundamental imbalance in THIEF gameplay.
Nuth on 11/10/2013 at 21:10
Yeah, I don't know how they're handling that if they're doing it at all. They could do something at the end of a mission like awarding bonus XP minus a certain number of points for each time the player is detected.
bassoferrol on 11/10/2013 at 21:33
THIEFIFA 2014
Renault on 11/10/2013 at 22:06
Guys, it's pretty obvious what's going on if you watch the video from 17:00 to 22:30:
-Headshot at 17:07, +40 XP (Total of 370 XP)
-Lockpick at 17:34, +50 XP (Total of 420 XP)
-Pickpocket at 21:07, +110 XP (Total of 530 XP)
-Headshot at 22:30, +40 XP (Total of 570 XP)
So yes, in some ways, you do get more XP for being stealthy (50 for lockpicking, 110 for pickpocketing) than you get for violence (only 40 for a headshot).
However, it is somewhat strange though that you don't get any XP for the KO/takedown (at 22:11). Seems inconsistent, like you should get something for that. So, in that respect, they are rewarding for violence, as you could get 40 XP for every AI you killed/headshotted in the level, as opposed to absolutely nothing for knocking everyone out.
Not to mention that they are rewarding you for a lockpick (110 XP) that you have to perform to enter the building, so it's really not a choice or an option.
The whole system seems screwy atm, hopefully they'll have it ironed out before release.
Vae on 11/10/2013 at 22:14
Quote Posted by Brethren
The whole system seems screwy atm, hopefully they'll have it ironed out before release.
As long as they give an XP reward for killing, there isn't any way to iron it out, because in an XP system, it's impossible to account for all possible evasion events in a dynamic, non-linear game...that is why it is a systemic problem for a THIEF game, and doomed to fail because of the inherent incompatibility.
Goldmoon Dawn on 11/10/2013 at 22:32
Even considering the options to hide these mechanics from view, the forced design and resulting contextual game play are twisted too deep within the roots of the beast to be corrected at this point. If there is enough money or demand for yet another new abomination, hopefully they will have learned their lessons from all of these dreadful mistakes they have made. So far, I am very confident that this game will have nowhere near the replay value nor a fraction of the longevity of the first two Thief games. I think it will sink right to the bottom of the bog. Hopefully this latest and awe inspiring AAA catastrophe in the making will signal the coming of an end to this latest era in gaming. After all, it was Thief: The Dark Project itself that heralded the approaching end of the classic crpg era.
Renzatic on 11/10/2013 at 22:44
Quote Posted by Vae
As long as they give an XP reward for killing, there isn't any way to iron it out, because in an XP system, it's impossible to account for all possible evasion events in a dynamic, non-linear game...that is why it is a systemic problem for a THIEF game, and doomed to fail because of the inherent incompatibility.
Thief has always allowed you to play as violently or as stealthily as you've wanted. Besides the entirely optional higher difficultly levels, it's never specifically forced a non-lethal approach to gameplay upon its playerbase.
Also, it's very possible to account for all evasion evens in a dynamic, non-linear game. DX:HR did it in a rather simple and effective way. If you manage to reach a certain point without alerting anyone, you get a ton of experience dumped upon you. In fact, as I've stated before, HR tends to favor stealth over all out gunplay by a rather lopsided amount.
I'm still not too sold on the DeusEx'ing of Thief (which is exactly what we're seeing here), but the experience system doesn't in and of itself point towards a more action heavy game.
