RavynousHunter on 7/5/2007 at 15:20
Like many game series, its generally good practice to start from the beginning (save for some like Final Fantasy). Thief is one of those series. Though, you can start from Thief 2 (which is how I started), if you care about getting the story, then it would be a good idea to get Thief Gold (i think theres a torrent for it out there, somewhere). You can start anywhere in the series, but I still prefer Thief 2 myself, just cant beat sneakin past robots that can blast your ass dead in a few seconds.
A good idea on how to get good is follow the immortal words of Keeper Artemus:
"Stay in the shadows, avoid the light."
"Some surfaces make more noise than others, listen to your footsteps."
thecrippledburrick on 7/5/2007 at 16:30
easy mode.
all them years ago on dark project, i can admit to :o , after attempting on my first go normal, highlight attempting.
now its expert all the way.:D
thecrippledburrick on 7/5/2007 at 16:34
to add my perhaps unwelcome input on the which is better t1 or t2 debate i say t2, less crypts and undead, more mansions and guards.
overall in the entire series though i will, perhaps controversially say t3. better storyline, amazing graphics and sound, a fantastically realised city and overall perhaps a truer realisation of the thief series and most importantly experience.
Chiles4 on 8/5/2007 at 00:57
Well I think its a good thing that different people think each of the three Thiefs is the best. Says good things about the series.
While I'm waiting for all three Thiefs to arrive, I'm messing with the Thief Gold Demo. I'm stuck - the map doesn't seem to apply to the two levels I'm wandering but I guess I'll wait until I load up the full game and go from there. I'm actually using the link to dl Thief Gold from Eidos.
imperialreign on 8/5/2007 at 01:39
yeah, the map in T1/T2 is more for . . . general reference than anything else. Although it will usually highlight the "area" you're supposedly in, it's still as vague as any scribbled square on paper. Best advice, make use of the compass, and keep track of noticeable landmarks; with time, you'll gain a better 'direction sense'. Also, I always found when I first started playing Thief years ago, sometimes it's best to systematically progress from one area to the next, checking everything out as much as possible before moving on to the next room, etc.
But, patience is key . . . I remember playing through TDP on expert and ending up cornered somewhere and having to wait 20 minutes for patrolling guards to leave me long enough of a break to make a run for it
Phantom0914 on 8/5/2007 at 22:17
Just get em to follow you and go in a dark place go behind him and knock him out, EASY!:laff:
BoldEnglishman on 3/6/2007 at 21:31
About the map: funny 'cos I basically NEVER use it. Going through a new FM now that I have never seen before, I just save and save often. I will open a door and have no clue as to what is on the other side. If I'm OK, will go me, but if I die, then I just re-load and I know what's in there :D
Garrison64 on 4/6/2007 at 03:46
All three thief games are actually very good although I can totally understand why people enjoy one over the other. I would like to say though that if you play 3 and then go back to 1 or 2 don't be thrown off by the old graphics. They will probably seem to look horrible at first but once you have played for a bit I find the mind seems to fill in the gaps and you start enjoying the game for what it really is. It's basically what we experienced when we played it all those years ago. They are old but they are still excellent games with a great story and some really fun missions.
The Thief games do require a great deal of patience at times though. Definitely harder than the Splinter Cell games although those are fun too. Thief just requires more finesse. You really have to think about each action you make and what the possible results of that action will be. It also helps a lot to understand the limitations of the AI and what you can and can't get away with. Some of that just takes experience playing. Most of the time just stopping to watch guard patrols and really paying attention to what is going on around you is the biggest help.
One more thing. Picking the right items to buy for your style of play is extremely important. For example I don't like to kill any humans and refrain from that as much as possible. I do knock out everything I can. I also try to stay undetected as much as possible other than those knockouts. So the main thing I focus on with my load out are items like water arrows, gas arrows, moss arrows, and gas mines. If it's a level with undead I may focus more on flashbombs, fire arrows, explosive mines, and holy water. It's a bit different with T3 where you can carry a lot more and buy whatever you want from the shops but early in the game you still have limited funds and the need to choose wisely is important. T1 and 2 only let you buy items at the start of a mission using the money you earned from the previous mission and nothing carries over.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy T3 and hopefully 1 and 2 as well.
Eye on 9/6/2007 at 01:29
this thread may be long over, but i'll throw in my two cents.
if you're diggin on thief 3 then go ahead and play it. personally, i think your experience with Splinter Cell will be more useful than what you'd gain from Thiefs I and II. for me, they are very different games. i was just thinking today, after reading a preview of the first couple of hours of bioshock that talked about it being the "spiritual successor" to the system shock series, that i'd really like someone to come along and make a "spiritual successor" to Thiefs I and II. Deadly Shadows really wasn't it. it's not like i don't include it in the series, and it was a decent game despite its bugs and other issues, but it changed so much and left so many great, intangible elements of the first two games behind that I think it's deceptive to lump them all together when you're talking about gameplay.
my first reaction to the "should I play it in first person?" question was "hell, yeah!" but you know what? i found the first person in Deadly Shadows to be pretty disappointing (but that's how i played it) so i'd say play it however you want. then load up The Dark Project and The Metal Age, get some good headphones and a dark room and get ready to see just how deep a game can really take you.
Eye on 9/6/2007 at 01:50
... and as for how to get good at it (i'll confine my comments to Thiefs I and II here, though some apply to III) i didn't really have any trouble. i found it quite intuitive. i'll go out on a limb here and say that if you're dying too much, you're probably playing too aggressively.
i'm not a big fan of ghosting (more on that in a bit) but your basic philosophy should be that none of your victims should ever see it coming.
find a dark spot and look at your enemies, the environment and look over your tools and weapons and think about what each one does and how it can be used with another (this is why i don't ghost, it's great tension and can be satisfying, but it eliminates all the fun you can have with your "weapons"). save your game and try a particular area several different ways. practice a bunch stuff on a single guard or two.
a couple of hints:
flashbomb and blackjack (in certain tough environments)
moss arrow and blackjack
noisemaker arrow and mine
rafter, slowfall potion and blackjack
rope arrows, rope arrows, rope arrows
another thing. when you get spotted, don't fight. i've got a friend who likes the game but when he gets in a jam he just pulls out a sword and starts hacking. RUN. if you think using the environment on offense is fun, try it when all hell breaks loose and you're trying to save your hide (rope arrows, rope arrows, rope arrows). you can have some really satisfying, exhillarating escapes with some unintended consequences.
