Jarkko Ranta on 20/2/2006 at 06:28
First time playing Thief(II) was a couple years back. Even the first mission gave me the creeps (ambients like m#tones, footsteps...) when I had to turn off lights in my room to even see what was happening in the screen. Missions were completed via blackjacking every guy in the mission 'cause I had better things to do than run away from dozens of Mechanists. When knocked-out they wouldn't bother anymore.
TDP was played the same way, althou the undead forced to act more stealthy. About a week ago I started TDP with ghosting, compliting the first mission on Expert but putting after that the game aside. But Dromed is still the most-used "game" in my computer.
LittleTaffer on 20/2/2006 at 07:19
The first time is always the best, isn't it? I cowered in every corner as well, and shushed my friend who was sitting beside me at the time while I played TDP, well she kept asking me questions and I turned to her and said "Shhh!! They'll hear you!"
Back then, I had no qualms about killing every guard I came across. My bow and arrows were used more often than my blackjack, and I'd feel that triumphant satisfaction once the shot sank in and released blood with an "Uhhh" and THUNK.
Now that I've gotten TDS and since it's been many years since I played the Thief games, age has come along too and I find myself viewing the guards as humans, as vulnerable as Garrett would be, and instead of killing them with arrows I'd try to sneak past or simply BJ them, which, I assume, is more forgiving. Viewing the game in this way, I find, presents more of a challenge and adds a slant of realism.
'Course, now that I've entered the Pagan Tunnels, I'm spooked, frustrated and completely disoriented at being in a natural environment instead of the usual building, and so I just might start murdering every Pagan I come across....:ebil:
Campaignjunkie on 20/2/2006 at 09:37
I agree with Domarius - a large proportion of "getting better" seems to be exploiting the limits of the AI and learning various tricks. On my first playthrough, I didn't know you could lean forward and blackjack, kill undead with flashbombs, and many other things. But once you get a sense of when to creep/run, the optimal range for a blackjack, where the AI can't find you... it's a very different game. I still enjoy Thief, but in a very different way from before. It's almost more like a puzzle game rather than an action game.
As for the Cradle.. I'm convinced that the less you know, the better. I'm playing it for the third time and a lot of the shock and awe has really worn off. Of course I still appreciate all the nuances of the design, even noticing some aspects for the first time, but it's definitely not the same. It's kind of depressing.
But on the plus side, Haunts still scare the heck out of me! I keep telling myself it's just 80 polygons and some .wav sounds, but it always seems so much more... :thumb:
Huckeye on 20/2/2006 at 13:32
I actually didnt kill anyone. I was so nervous, that I guess I listened to the training. The man I couldnt see told me to be quiet and that kills made lots of noise and would attract other guards. So my blackjack never went in its... holster.
I also didnt know you could lean forward. so there was extra suspense as I actually had to figure out how to get behind everyone without being seen or heard. Learning to lean forward is a way to hurry through missions know. They tried to fix it in T3 but in my opinion messed up other working things in the blackjack process. My last play through with T3, I tried to see how much money I could get, but did bore somewhat of it, think I ended up with around 40+ thousand.
I also cowered in the corners when I first started playing. I really, truly felt like I was someplace I wasnt supposed to be. I also wanted to hear everything. When the guard said "when are they gonna bring me my dinner" I hid for fear of an armed cook delivering rotten meat. Remember the guard just outside the throne room of Baffards? on the tile floor? Dowsing the torches and sneaking up to him took 20 minutes for me.
I try to force myself now, to enjoy it. Just find a nice shadow and let the music and ambiance draw me back in. I've played the originals so much that I cant really get into them now. Im trying to go as long as possible before playing them again as I want to enjoy them again so much. Most of the excitement for me, comes from not knowing who might come out that door as soon as I step into the light. Thats why I hope Cosas and other fan offerings do finish and help keep the great Thief spirit alive.
I look for other games to pick up the torch and so far the only one close has been Chaos Theory. It does a good job, but it cant compete with the Thief setting I love so much.
Taffer36 on 20/2/2006 at 17:54
The first time I played Thief...
I loved those water arrows. I had no idea how good the guards' vision was, so I put out every single torch in Bafford's. Problem was, I couldn't see anything. I was running around (yes running) in the pitch black until I bumped into a guard and got sliced to pieces.
Wasn't it great back when zombies scared the hell out of you? Now I just knock 'em down with the sword or stand out of their reach and watch them do the frustration dance.
Nowadays I try not to use any items that can be depleted. I can still use the sword, blackjack, and lockpicks, but that's about it. I'm not really a fan of ghosting. I try to avoid using the blackjack, but if I see an opportune moment I will take that guard out. Then I will drop him in comical area, then knockout the next guard... :ebil:
Havvoc on 20/2/2006 at 18:12
Oi... when I first played Thief many a year ago, I was quite literally scared shitless. I didn't know what was going on or what to do, so I just sat in one shadow for sometimes half an hour waiting for an opening to run to the next one. Took me somewhere around three hours to finish the Bafford job. And when it came to the zombies on the next level... I just quit playing for a week.
Now I like sniping a little too much, and I'm considering going through TDS again (just beat it yesterday for the fifth time) and sniping everyone that I can... such fun. Yet there's always the better challenge of not killing anyone, which I did on my last run. So, I combine the two. I rarely use mines or flash bombs, but water arrows are my best friends. I'll just hide in a corner until I can backstab someone, because that gives me great satisfaction.
Dia on 20/2/2006 at 18:56
I used to use ALL my water/gas/moss arrows in the first half hour of the game (I wasn't very good at sneaking/lurking back then). I'd also wait for what seemed like an eternity before I'd shoot a guard with an arrow or try to sneak when there were more than just one or two guards about. It took me awhile before I realized that it's much quieter to just BJ the guards & any other AI that might cause a ruckus.
Now I play all FMs on the hard or expert difficulty settings (except for 'Midday Escape' and 'Oswalds Patisserie' - two of the hardest FMs I've ever encountered!) and I feel like an old pro @ sneaking (sometimes I can even ghost most of the FM). Now I'm able to enjoy every aspect of the game/FM whereas initially I was totally focused on not getting killed every five minutes and actually trying to hit a target with my arrows. The only other games I've found that come close to giving me the same feeling I get when I'm playing Thief is Deus Ex: I.W. (oh, stop groaning, DE1 diehards) or to a lesser degree, No One Lives Forever.
Havvoc; I sympathize with your reactions to the undead. It would take a full week before I could even approach my PC (that's how long it took before I came out of the fetal position) for fear that a zombie would jump out at me while the game was booting up. Now I just avoid the FMs with zombies & Hammer Haunts and am much happier for it. I never did get very good at killing either of those two creatures. Go figure.
Brianetta on 21/2/2006 at 00:10
In the beginning I found myself running low on water arrows, and unconcious bodies would pile up in distant, dark, unvisited rooms. Now, I derive my principle pleasure in the game from leaving the guards conscious, and while I occasionally take a light out, it's rare - and always in the interests of passing somebody without being seen.
I'm a bit of a pacifist within the game.
T-Smith on 21/2/2006 at 00:48
Quote Posted by Brianetta
In the beginning I found myself running low on water arrows, and unconcious bodies would pile up in distant, dark, unvisited rooms. Now, I derive my principle pleasure in the game from leaving the guards conscious, and while I occasionally take a light out, it's rare - and always in the interests of passing somebody without being seen.
I'm a bit of a pacifist within the game.
More or less the same as me. When I started out, the level would be pitch black, and off in one or two corners would be big piles of blackjacked'd guards.
Now I rarely put out torches, and sneak by enemies completely.
On another note of how I've changed, at one time long ago, I found zombies, Hammer haunts, and Apperations scary.
Now whenever I venture into an undead mission like Bonehoard, I gleefully pop out Holy water and water arrows, and run around blowing up zombies while imagining the song 'Monster Mash' playing in my head, having the time of my life.
DarkViper on 21/2/2006 at 03:17
Quote Posted by Dia
No One Lives Forever.
[OT]Great game. Only Played NOLF2 but I loved it. Likened it to a comedy version of Thief. Contract J.A.C.K on the other hand blows chunks, completely different from the sneaksie thiefsie type stuff you could do in NOLF2. [/OT]
I was scared shitless when I first played. Especially upon seeing that first zombie in TDP... and then the huge spider at the bottom of the elevator shaft! I hid in shadows for what seemed like forever.
