jtr7 on 10/3/2009 at 21:14
I have everything in a searchable format on my hard drive. I've done many different forms of file conversion, batch jobs, global search & replacement, registry tweaks, and various things to make it useful with GoogleDesktop and Windows Find functions. What I can't remember specifically, I can search by all the nouns and pronouns I've memorized, or get in the ballpark and hone in. I can do the work offline and share it later. We've dumped quite a bit into the Wiki that I've accumulated from my own work and much of the work of others. Before I had my own laptop or copies of the games, I built up a crude database of the work done by so many fine taffers here.:)
The search engines don't have the artificial intelligence to seek out completely different key words that apply to the very same thing. Just adding in all the redirects or synonymous terms is a major chore by itself, but it will get done eventually.
We humans still have to provide what the search engines still don't have. :p
Moon Hoplite on 11/3/2009 at 02:15
Interesting, well I think that in conclusion that there is a slight theme of dark magic which is blended in effectively with Steam Punk/Medieval world.
jtr7 on 11/3/2009 at 05:31
Quote Posted by Moon Hoplite
...there is a slight theme of dark magic...
Heh heh. You button-pusher you. :sly:
Petike the Taffer on 12/3/2009 at 11:57
There's plenty of varied magic in the Thiefverse, but it's handled in a pretty realistic fashion and is not in the limelight, just like one would expect from such a more mature, gritty and down-to-earth fantasy world.
The bizzare glyph magic of the Keepers is the most inspired and interesting for little ol' me... :cool:
And also :
"Magi-tech". While most of the steampunkish technology in Thief can be pretty easily described as plausible or at least believable, the workings of some devices are mysterious and obscure at best. For example :
Garrett's mechanical eye. How can he control it at all ? The only reasonable solution would be integrating it to most of his eye nerves permanently. But that's clearly averted, since we see him giving it an "oil check" in the first full-motion cutscene of TMA. So it either has a contact in it's back that goes into a special metal socket in Garrett's skull (ewwwww), or... I have no frikkin' idea...
Two words : Scouting orbs. Even more baffling than the eye. I never understood how they can transmit moving images (in the vein of a modern webcam or optiwand) and lack any visible electronics or even primitive circuits. And even more strange : How on earth can Garrett view the transmitted images by his mechanical eye as if it was a TV or computer screen/display ? WEIRD.
And don't even get me started on the miraculously semi-sentient robots and security cams of the Mechanists. They are apparently gizmos powered by steam and primitive electrical systems. But WTH gives them the ability to process "visual and auditory indications" and effectively act on their own ? Either Karrass is such an effing genius, that he discovered AI-capable electronics superior to ours already in his home pseudo-medieval era... or... I should avoid logic and reason while thinking of the Thiefverse... :cheeky:
jtr7 on 12/3/2009 at 12:57
For the Mechanical Eye, the mystery is how it interfaces with Garrett's brain so well. The scouting orb and mech eye communicate via radio waves mysterious "aetheric vibrations". However he moves his mech eye would be translated to the scouting orb, but without the limitation of the eye socket.
bikerdude on 12/3/2009 at 13:46
Quote Posted by Poesta
- Fonts blessed by Hammerite priests
- Street lights with their own power supply
i dont think they are. The electricily used in thief is electrostic which is then transfered by wires to the street lamps...
Poesta on 12/3/2009 at 13:48
This leaves me wondering why Garrett is holding up his hand at eye level when using a scouting orb. It looks like he's looking into some kind of tube, but there's nothing in his hand.
@bikerdude: crosspost. Most of them are powered by electricity, but I'm talking about (
http://i43.tinypic.com/2crld8z.png) these street lights. The glowing orb doesn't emit much light as you can see on the wall behind it, so what purpose does it serve? It's powering the light.
jtr7 on 12/3/2009 at 15:59
Mini-collectors, that seem to have no other purpose than making electricity. Serious attempts at new ideas about what collectors are collecting and why are always welcome.
Garrett could be pressing something to send/receive orb signals. Maybe his cornea moves very slightly inward, but not with the pressure of a blink. Maybe the "buttons" are above and below the cornea, usually flush with well-fitted seams.
Poesta on 12/3/2009 at 16:43
Solar energy?
jtr7 on 12/3/2009 at 16:45
So at night, what we see is the Collector Tower using the energy it collected during the day?
