jprobs on 2/2/2006 at 12:28
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Come on Krypt, tell us more about it if you know.
Yeah..... I am curious now, too...
But keep it to yourself if Garrett is going to have Lazor thingy's and .22 pistols with EMP disablers :D
Krypt on 2/2/2006 at 19:39
Well, alright. String up the lynch rope in advance so you can take care of me afterward :erm:
Basically Thief 4 was going to be a retelling of the original games, except set in modern times. It would have modern versions of the same characters from the old games, who's roles would have been translated to modern day parallels. Some of the old maps were going to make a reappearance as well. To be clear, it was not going to be anything like Splinter Cell or similar games. Garrett wasn't going to be turned into a James Bond type of guy with a bunch of gadgets or anything like that. He would still be the dark, sarcastic loner who uses his own skills and ingenuity to do his thieving, not gadgets. I don't think we were even going to let the player use a gun, just simple tools and weapons. The art direction would have been similar to the steampunk from the previous games, just translated to modern times, with the same crowded and dilapidated city streets and such. I guess the Silent Hill series is the closest reference I can think of for what we had in mind for looks, but it would have been pretty different from that too. We were going to somewhat modify the "rules" of the modern world to make them more conducive to the Thief-type stealth game also, and not necessarily realistic. There wouldn't be light switches that anyone can just turn on to reveal you, the enemies wouldn't all have machineguns, there wouldn't be lasers, etc. Basically we were going for a very similar type of gameplay to the original series, just in a twisted steampunkish modern setting.
It was only in pre-production for about two months before the Ion Storm "end times" began, so the concept never got much more fleshed out than this, but that's basically what it would have been.
STiFU on 2/2/2006 at 20:37
Everybody will probably take out his dagger now, but I think I would have played that game. Sure it wount be the real oldschool thief anymore and neither as good as the originals, but it really seems to be the same gameplay and perhaps they could have created a nice atmosphere too.
But lucky anyway that thief 4 woun't be released, because otherwise very many people would probably turn their backs to Ion storm. Poor company... ;)
godofgamers on 2/2/2006 at 21:50
Quote Posted by Krypt
Well, alright. String up the lynch rope in advance so you can take care of me afterward :erm:
Basically Thief 4 was going to be a retelling of the original games, except set in modern times. It would have modern versions of the same characters from the old games, who's roles would have been translated to modern day parallels. Some of the old maps were going to make a reappearance as well. To be clear, it was not going to be anything like Splinter Cell or similar games. Garrett wasn't going to be turned into a James Bond type of guy with a bunch of gadgets or anything like that. He would still be the dark, sarcastic loner who uses his own skills and ingenuity to do his thieving, not gadgets. I don't think we were even going to let the player use a gun, just simple tools and weapons. The art direction would have been similar to the steampunk from the previous games, just translated to modern times, with the same crowded and dilapidated city streets and such. I guess the Silent Hill series is the closest reference I can think of for what we had in mind for looks, but it would have been pretty different from that too. We were going to somewhat modify the "rules" of the modern world to make them more conducive to the Thief-type stealth game also, and not necessarily realistic. There wouldn't be light switches that anyone can just turn on to reveal you, the enemies wouldn't all have machineguns, there wouldn't be lasers, etc. Basically we were going for a very similar type of gameplay to the original series, just in a twisted steampunkish modern setting.
It was only in pre-production for about two months before the Ion Storm "end times" began, so the concept never got much more fleshed out than this, but that's basically what it would have been.
Ah....So it's Thief with shiny metal floors, some torches, and middle age weaponry......
I can get that by visiting Mechanist buildings in Thief II, thank you very much
T-Smith on 2/2/2006 at 22:10
The way you described it, it actually doesn't sound too bad. Still, I think I'd prefer the 'middle ages' time period.
By the way, did you get far enough into pre-production to toss around any ideas about what engine would have been used?
Krypt on 2/2/2006 at 22:23
Quote Posted by T-Smith
By the way, did you get far enough into pre-production to toss around any ideas about what engine would have been used?
It would have used the same engine as T3, but we were hoping it would be optimized a bit more and get some new features.
T-Smith on 2/2/2006 at 22:31
Quote Posted by Krypt
It would have used the same engine as T3, but we were hoping it would be optimized a bit more and get some new features.
Why would Thief 3's engine even be considered for use again though? With all it's bugs, glitches, and horrible optimization, you'd have to spend a lot of time just cleaning and fixing it up before you even added anything to it. Wouldn't it have made more sense to just license another engine?
Goldmoon Dawn on 2/2/2006 at 22:33
Which leads to the next question.
Would it have been "Thief IV" for PC only? Or would it have been Thief: More Shadows or whatnot for PC and Console?
Either way, as long as it was the fourth and apparently *still* only brand of First Person Sneaker out there, I would have bought it and would have given my full attention at least one time.
Krypt on 2/2/2006 at 22:36
Don't ask me, I wasn't the one making that decision :p I guess they figured that since we had put so much work into making our own engine and had learned a lot from the last games that we could do a lot more with it the next time around. I would have preferred using Unreal (the actual engine and not just the editor) or Doom3 though.
T-Smith on 2/2/2006 at 22:56
I'm surprised another Thief game was being considered at all. I was under the impression that Thief III didn't do all that well in the market.
