An idea for pleasing the fans and pleasing the new blood. - by SubJeff
driver on 17/5/2009 at 12:44
Still on the zipline thing: Would you be able to use it as a tripwire to surprise guards?
SubJeff on 17/5/2009 at 13:49
You could but what would be the point? It would alert them and wouldn't knock them out. I suppose if you set it up at the top of some stairs it might work but thats a very specific use and the bother of implementing it wouldn't be worth the pay off I don't think.
burkary - yes I have, in the thread on Purists vs Innovation.
steo on 17/5/2009 at 14:12
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
You could but what would be the point?
Let's say you have a well lit street and a stationary guard posted at the door which you want to get into. You can't get to the door without moving through the light, so you set up a trip wire across the street, and then fire a noisemaker so that the guard runs and trips, giving you time to run past him and close the portcullis on your way in, trapping him outside. All just another means to an end, but I think we're agreed that that's one of the best things about thief.
driver on 17/5/2009 at 14:19
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
You could but what would be the point? It would alert them and wouldn't knock them out. I suppose if you set it up at the top of some stairs it might work but thats a very specific use and the bother of implementing it wouldn't be worth the pay off I don't think.
Granted, but if you add an item in like that, people are going to improvise with it, plus you'd have to take into account how the AI would interact with it. Setting it up as a tripwire or clothesline only to have a guard pass right through it would be somewhat unrealistic.
SubJeff on 17/5/2009 at 15:06
Yes steo but my point is it would only work well in very specific occasions, like the one you describe, and the amount of work that would need to be put into it to get it working perfectly just isn't worth it? I'd have the guards cut it and grumble about it, unless they are expert (smart) guards then they cut it and get very suspicious and perhaps call a comrade.
Haven't I described enough new ideas already? :p
Taffer36 on 17/5/2009 at 17:35
I think safes could have a little mini-game, like listening to the tumblers. I wouldn't mind that, but I think lockpicking itself (for simple doors and chests) is fine the way it is, as the Thief 3 system kind of took you out of the world to focus on the mini-game while Thief 1/2 kept you in.
The whole point is that it doesn't take player skill, but instead the entire point of it is that it consumes time. What they should've done is put you into more scenarios where AI would patrol and you had to lockpick near them. Lockpicking in the shadows where it's safe anyways is pointless, but even when the player is doing nothing but holding down one button, if there's a chance that they might be compromised it can still be a great experience.
Oh, and I can't stand inventory systems. PLEASE don't have one in Thief 4. I know it's more realistic, but rearranging inventory is not what I'd consider fun. What I do like is a system where you can swap out weapons/tools for other upgrades (kind of like what you've mentioned, you can swap out the longbow for the crossbow, regular boots for wall-boots, etc.) at the start of each level (or if there's an overworld, each time you return home or to your fence)
I'm not a fan of "throwing knives". There's no real reason for this, I just think they're corny and I think there are more stylized options to go with.
TTK12G3 on 17/5/2009 at 17:43
Quote Posted by Taffer36
I'm not a fan of "throwing knives". There's no real reason for this, I just think they're corny and I think there are more stylized options to go with.
Blowdarts?
René on 18/5/2009 at 01:38
Interesting blog post, Subjective Effect. I will forward that up the food chain! As always, no promises, but we'll have a read.
belboz on 18/5/2009 at 02:27
I should point out that in tomb raider underground it was possible to climb beyond where you were supposed to go, specifically tree roots and broken columns which were not part of the game but still solid enough to make it possible to climb out of the map, or though if you fell out the map the game would crash.
We got climbing gloves in thief 3 because the person who was supposed to program the rope arrow, didn't understand the mechanics of the rope arrow so could not get it to work, basically in thief 1 and 2 the rope arrow would stick in any texture that had been assigned to the earth source/stimulas, so that any wood, earth, grass texture that arrows were fired at, it would stick to. once the arrow stuck to the texture it would deploy its rope via a stim from the earth source the arrow was stuck to.
Apparent Garrett in thief 3 could not swim because the 3d body didn't have floatability in it and garrett when entering water would sink like a stone.
If you're going to use mushrooms, then there should be the ability to find mushrooms in game, eg in a sewer, or where a burrick has peed a lot, or a dark dank cellar, and not just from shops.
driver on 18/5/2009 at 02:43
SE: You mentioned a garrote in your description of the dagger as if it were another tool you're considering, but it didn't appear in your table. Was this an omission, or am I just misinterpreting you?
