vertimyst on 7/3/2014 at 20:24
Hey guys,
I'm doing a playthrough of the original games before I play the new Thief, but I'm stuck in Song of the Caverns. I'm playing using a Steam copy of Thief Gold with tfix and the new HD textures.
For some reason, after climbing up the ladder in the kitchen chimney, and entering the dressing room through the secret door where 'Christine' and another guy are having a conversation, I can't steal the tiara and health potion on the table without them seeing me. Despite what I've seen in videos, and what I'm sure should be the case (this is my first playthrough for this level), she doesn't turn her back and look at the guy while they're talking. Instead, she stands looking at the table, and they both see me when I sneak past.
I've tried putting out the torch in the hall, and entering from the hallway, even climbing up on the dresser to grab the stuff from above, and starting the whole level over, but she's always standing facing the table, and I get caught every time. Has anyone else seen this? Any idea why it happens? The first time, I thought that she moved after having the conversation, but this time she starts in that position and doesn't move.
Platinumoxicity on 8/3/2014 at 14:37
I played with a very early version of TFix, and I found that the AI detection has been changed in a way that breaks many locations in the game. For example, in Bafford's kitchen there's a back door. In the original Thief and Gold, you could slip in through there and the cook would just catch a glimpse of you, but with TFix, he goes on full alert instantly. He has about a 300° field of view.
The videos you've seen were probably recorded without TFix.
vertimyst on 8/3/2014 at 20:37
Ahhh, that makes sense! I noticed a similar issue in a different part of the level, where according to most guides, I should be able to quickly dash between shadows and the AI would just barely see me, but as you said, they went on full alert.
I managed to get past my original issue after updating the HD texture mod (not sure if that really had anything to do with it though), and put the torch out in the hall before sneaking to the table, and inching just close enough to grab the tiara. For the potion I had to crawl on top of the dresser along the wall and grab it from above. Might've just been luck. :P
I also noticed that when the two NPCs are done talking, they both briefly turn in the directions they're supposed to be in, for a second. Unfortunately not long enough to properly sneak by them, though.
