Levels to get people hooked. - by vincentlancon
Esse on 4/3/2021 at 07:00
Now that I think about it, since the missions are fairly small, what about anything from the recent Anniversary contests for Thief II and Thief, or the 64 Cubed contest from a while back? Especially anything in the top three. I think those would be great examples of what a brief taste of the game would be like.
Taylor on 4/3/2021 at 16:11
I don't think the recent anniversary contests were good starters. Most entries are too high quality missions (with a few exceptions), people who never played with Thief would see many older (and actually very good) FMs, as well as most OMs as bad ones, because they had wonkier brushworks, limits of olddark etc.etc.etc...
64 Cube contest, or 48h contest entries should be also good starters from the FM pool (at least the actually finished ones in case of the latter)
In my opinion, people playing FMs should complete the original game at least once. Even if not playing through all the OMs, finishing the first few for both T1/TG and T2 should be a good starter to get to know with gameplay and the setup of the story.
ValmontPhl on 4/3/2021 at 18:06
Quote Posted by vincentlancon
Respect! But it was the FM's that hooked me, not the originals which is why I am curious to listen and hear what others would think would be good intros, whether playing or watching someone else play.... which is weirdly a thing this day and age.....back in my day we had screenshots to hook us.... :D
Well for what it's worth I still remember my first successful blackjack from way back in 1999 (pic attached) and, also, thinking back; the concept of T1/G FMs attracted me since I was enjoying the UT mods/maps back then.
Having played through the OM's first, I wanted more.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/qZIuBC0.pngvincentlancon on 4/3/2021 at 19:13
I'm trying to remember how I found out that there was a FM community for the Thief series... I believe it was a review article that mentioned it and it got me to search for it , which lead to TTLG.
McTaffer on 5/3/2021 at 04:42
Quote Posted by fortuni
Acid House :ebil:
Being sensible how about a few older ones
Dark Messiah
Raid on Washout Central
Heist Society
Having just recently played Raid on Washout Central I have to disagree for the sole reason that it's a bit broken (unless there's been an unofficial update I'm unaware of). The tailing section doesn't work reliably and there's a chance you can break the mission by not picking up keys at the right time and/or using them at the wrong time. It's a well built mission in terms of actual level design, but those issues might put off a newcomer.
Relayer2112 on 5/3/2021 at 21:27
I've tried, unsuccessfully, to get my kids (in their early 20's) into the Thief games. I always assumed that they should begin with the OMs and then take it from there if they were interested. I even got one of them to install the Dark Mod and suggest they try "Requiem" (by Moonbo, I believe) as a starter. To this point, I've had no luck.
For me personally, it was GodBreaker that got me into FMs, but I already had much experience from playing the OMs many times previously.
Wormrat on 6/3/2021 at 05:27
Quote Posted by fortuni
Heist Society
This would be my pick. It has the broadest appeal I can think of: it's a big ol' nonlinear mansion to rob, there are only human enemies and a security system to deal with, and it's still visually impressive today. Oh, and it has a fill-in-as-you-go map, and it plays differently based on the difficulty you choose, too. It's hardly the most ambitious concept the FM community has come up with, but it's a great demo of how good the community is at delivering "that particular thing you like about Thief, only bigger and better".
Maybe to test their interest in tomb-raiding, traps, puzzles, and riddles, I would suggest Eshaktaar's
Keyhunt. I expect it would be polarizing, but it's very focused, and it's a good demo of the adventure game-style elements you see in a lot of FMs. Other than that, I don't know. There are enough distinct flavors of FMs that it really depends on what the player likes (or dislikes) the most about the OMs. I can't think of any safe bets.
vincentlancon on 6/3/2021 at 18:25
Quote Posted by Relayer2112
I've tried, unsuccessfully, to get my kids (in their early 20's) into the Thief games. I always assumed that they should begin with the OMs and then take it from there if they were interested. I even got one of them to install the Dark Mod and suggest they try "Requiem" (by Moonbo, I believe) as a starter. To this point, I've had no luck.
For me personally, it was GodBreaker that got me into FMs, but I already had much experience from playing the OMs many times previously.
My middle daughter played the FMs for a while...she loved Rose Cottage.... she's 18 now and doesn't play games anymore, drama teen stuff ya know...
Esse on 6/3/2021 at 19:29
Quote Posted by vincentlancon
My middle daughter played the FMs for a while...she loved Rose Cottage.... she's 18 now and doesn't play games anymore, drama teen stuff ya know...
Give it time. She may find she has a
Thief phase in her later years. The game is like a fine wine: it gets better with time and as the community ups the ante in the FM quality bar.
bbb on 6/3/2021 at 19:48
My wife bought me TDP in 1998 when I was having a very bad week at work. I looked at the box and thought it was weird. A few nights later I was up playing until the wee hours.
Our 3 kids all played. Recently, 2 of our kids bought TG on Steam and both said it was still a great game and has held up well.
Esse’s description that it is like a fine wine in a perfect analogy.
bbb
