Thief, rebooted. - by SubJeff
Starker on 7/9/2018 at 05:03
I'd much rather have a new stealth game than see Thief rehashed. For example, Chris Siegel from Otherside has said they'd be open to making a stealth game in the future. I think it would be hard to top Thief, as it was really lightning in a bottle, but it would be considerably more Thiefy than Dishonored at the very least. Just think about it -- a new stealth game led by Tim Stellmach, consulted by Doug Church, voice acted by Terri Brosius and Stephen Russell...
ZylonBane on 7/9/2018 at 05:09
Quote Posted by zacharias
Radial menus are boring and pretty much a ‘press a to win' type thing, imo - for a spell system at least.
This is the most nonsensical thing I've read in a long while. The whole point of a user interface is to impose the least friction between intent and execution. If the only thing preventing a spell from being overpowered is the UI making it a pain in the ass to cast the spell, then that game is terribly designed. That's why non-terrible games with spells instead have limitations on them like cooldowns and mana pools.
Starker on 7/9/2018 at 05:27
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
The whole point of a user interface is to impose the least friction between intent and execution.
Well, depends on the design intent. In games like Papers, Please the friction is the whole point.
I mean, I could see a game where similar friction could be justified for casting spells under duress, perhaps in some type of survival setting.
But yeah, for regular RPGs, fighting the interface is not my idea of fun.
zacharias on 7/9/2018 at 07:15
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
This is the most nonsensical thing I've read in a long while.
Good, i'd hate to disappoint you, ZB.
For the rest, you're just misrepresenting what I have said. Of course I don't want to fight the ui, generally speaking. But thief managed to give you cool toys which you could misfire and have them work against yourself e.g. the flash bomb, or mines. Surely some kind of system where offensive options can backfire on the player is preferable to a radial menu where the spell ‘just works'?
No-where did I say that overpowered spells should be difficult to cast, just to balance things. I'm saying in thief player mistakes often led to interesting gameplay situations.
Cool downs and mana pools - sorry but these are pretty boring. If they have to be used to balance things then fine, but they are a fairly pedestrian solution.
heywood on 7/9/2018 at 17:28
Not that anyone cares, but I'll put my vote in for Thief gameplay in a modern setting. I enjoyed Neon Struct a lot, give me a AAA (or just A) equivalent of that.
Starker on 7/9/2018 at 18:35
I'd love to see a cyberpunk or a vampire stealth game.
ZylonBane on 7/9/2018 at 20:24
Quote Posted by zacharias
No-where did I say that overpowered spells should be difficult to cast, just to balance things.
Quote:
Radial menus are boring and pretty much a ‘press a to win’ type thing, imo - for a spell system at least.
There is no other reasonable interpretation of this statement.
Lordy, you probably think pressing a button to walk forward is "boring" too. Let's mix it up! Make the player waggle the mouse back and forth to walk.
R Soul on 8/9/2018 at 22:30
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
Make the player waggle the mouse back and forth to walk.
That reminds my of a game I once played on a friend's computer, possibly an Amstrad. The game was a cycling game (Olympics/road racing etc), side scrolling, and you pedalled the bike by wiggling the joystick from side to side. It was as terrible.
McTaffer on 9/9/2018 at 00:45
Quote Posted by zacharias
Surely some kind of system where offensive options can backfire on the player is preferable to a radial menu where the spell ‘just works'?
Only if said backfiring is actually your fault. Flashbombs and mines, as you said, can backfire, but that isn't because you failed to draw a rune in time or anything like that. It's because either you forgot where you laid a mine, or you didn't look away from a flashbomb in time. Those are more in the realm of tactical mistakes than they are an intrinsic system within the game like a mana pool or a rune drawing system. Tactical mistakes are punishment enough; adding nonsensical minigames or RNG into the mix only creates unnecessary complication. I'd rather make an honest mistake than have the game go "whoops, looks like you didn't cast properly. Too bad for you!"
Azaran on 9/9/2018 at 03:24
Quote Posted by zacharias
Surely some kind of system where offensive options can backfire on the player
A sword or bow that slightly damages the player's health every time they use it. It's out there, but the opposite has been used in FM's. Could be a non-standard option available to the player
