Deus Ex - I don't get it? Is it because...

WuCong on 21/2/2001 at 11:33

...it's the demo?

As a Thief player I find it very hard to use stealth in the DX demo. In fact I'm not even sure what I can and can't do. The training wasn't very helpful on this either.

And how do the ememy know *exactly* where I am when I'm in deep shadow after I hit them with a tranquiliser dart? And does the baton act like the balckjack in Thief? And what is the deal with the cattle prod? And why does my vision screw up when I'm hit (never happened in training with the ED209 clone)?

Questions questions. I want to but it but perhaps it isn't for me. Besides my amchine is a PII350, 190Mb RAM, 16Mb ATI 128.

Fast enough?

<FONT COLOR="#D5D5FF" SIZE=2>No I didn't search. Too much to ask.</FONT>

[This message has been edited by WuCong (edited February 21, 2001).]

Phydeaux on 21/2/2001 at 13:27

God no. You're processer is way too slow, and your vid card is insulting.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but that's the way it is.

When you shoot someone, they tend to get a bit pissed and see who shot them. Remember...you're a bigass dude walking around in New York City. Complete darkness is a bit hard to come by.

The baton is a stick you beat people with. The crowbar or knife is more effective, but the baton is non-leathal. The electric prod is the same. Your vision screws up because being hit by bullets tends to disrupt one's concentration.

Deus Ex is a great game (IMHO, the best ever made). It's more like System Shock 2 then Thief. Perhaps you should wait until you can get a better machine, but definatly get this game some time in your life.

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There's nothing an agnostic can't do if he really doesn't know whether he believes anything or not.
-Graham Chapman, MPFC

Alessandra on 21/2/2001 at 15:13

> As a Thief player I find it very hard to
> use stealth in the DX demo. In fact I'm
> not even sure what I can and can't do. The
> training wasn't very helpful on this
> either.

> And how do the ememy know *exactly* where
> I am when I'm in deep shadow after I hit
> them with a tranquiliser dart?

I had a lot of difficulty with that in this game too. I'd fire off a tranq dart into the back of someone's head, crouch in the deepest, darkest shadows behind some crates, yet they'd still be able to track me back to my position.

I think the trouble is that the enemies in DsX have no "searching" animation like the enemies in Thief did: peering around, walking slowly, canvassing an area. Believe it or not, even though an enemy taking damage anywhere on the map can pinpoint your location to within a few feet, he actually won't attack unless he can see you.

Watch: start the demo over and go to the crates stacked to the immediate left of the docks' exit. When you take a shot at somebody and crouch in the shadows behind those crates, the enemy will come right where you are, run around for a minute (searching), and then eventually leave.

You will get used to it eventually -- I know because I've played DsX extensively as a non-leathal stealthy-type and did pretty well for myself. I keep hoping that Warren Spector's decided to follow up with his possible ideas to improve the AI...but I haven't heard anything further on that in a while.

Cheers!

-Alessandra, Lady Thief

wsthune on 21/2/2001 at 16:01

To use the baton you need to hit the person squarely in the back -- hitting them on the head only pisses them off.

As for the vision clouding: That's what happens when you get hit with a tranq dart.

BTW, TNT crates and fuel barrels make great distractions for getting enemies out of position for easier takedowns.

santaClaws on 21/2/2001 at 16:58

Quote:

Originally posted by Phydeaux:
God no. You're processer is way too slow, and your vid card is insulting.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but that's the way it is.

this is not true. i play deus ex on a PII/400 with 64 MB RAM and a (feel free to laugh) 12 MB Voodoo 2 Card! ==>the game works perfectly fine. or was this supposed to be a joke? it's cruel to say things like that! *cry*

Siftland on 21/2/2001 at 18:06

You can't expect to play DX like Thief. And it shouldn't be REQUIRED for the gameplay of an FPS to be just like Thief for you to enjoy it, otherwise expect yourself to have no new games to play.

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"...Speaking of metal detectors..."

(http://www.gnourg.com) www.gnourg.com

frozenman on 22/2/2001 at 00:51

DX plays more like SS2 than it does Thief.

To put it simply, the AI is terrible. I never use melee weapons anymore except for the charger prod. I once used the crowbar to the back of the head of a NSF and i get - "Hmm, must be the rats" - then he pulled out his gun started shooting, started running around me, then running towards the UNATCO dock on Liberty Island.

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"Much more than seven days. Youve slipped too deep. Much stronger than sympathy. Let your best friend pull back that leash. Sitting by a frozen man. Someone, somewhere, has to cry. Were Under Zenith again, let that cycle run. We dont die."

birdbrain on 22/2/2001 at 00:52

I did fine in the training until I reached the stealth portion. It _REALLY_ helps to set your controls like you have them for Thief. After I did that I did fine. Just remember- this is not Thief. Sneaking isn't quite the same.

Cattleprod- Think of it like a blackjack that takes 2-3 hits to knock someone out.

Baton- Works better when they've been sprayed with a peppergun first. Used to beat foe unconscious.

Tranq. darts- These drove me nuts at first, because I expected an instant take-down. "I hit them with a dart why the hell are they running after me! Damn things don't work!" Use these from a distance, if you're in a location where they can't get to you before it knocks them out.

Shadows work differently here too. You'll get used to it. It helps if you use it as a cover for moving across rooms unseen, but don't expect total invisibility (there's an aug for that). The mech commandos are frustrating because they can see you even with your invisibility aug.

When you're vision blurs, you've been hit with a tranq. dart. The effects wear off soon enough as long as you don't get hit with another one.

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birdbrain

Some day I'm not gonna be a guard anymore. I'm gonna be a manor lord. And I'm gonna hire lots of guards to make them go on patrols at nightwatch. And I'm gonna sneak up on them and say, "Didn't you hear something?" and watch 'em jump.

Phydeaux on 22/2/2001 at 03:18

Santa...You can play Deus Ex fine on your system because you have a Voodoo. An old Voodoo Banshee played Deus Ex on my comp only slightly slower then my Geforce DDR.

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There's nothing an agnostic can't do if he really doesn't know whether he believes anything or not.
-Graham Chapman, MPFC

WuCong on 22/2/2001 at 11:46

Hmmm. What should I upgrade first, the Processor (+ motherboard) of the Graphics card.

To be fair to my card it has served me well. I used to have an 8Mb i740. The raining and first level are fine. Not supersmooth like SS2 but far from unplayable. Does it get slower?
Card recommendations anyone? Below £150, preferably below £100.

I didn't think the stealth was like Thief (I dream of it!) but wasn't sure how it worked.