The Mechanists' technology.

BG_HHaunt on 12/6/2009 at 20:14

I would love a returning to Soulforge or Angelwatch and finding the golden boy covered with rust and walking straight to you and disabling itself.

Taffer36 on 12/6/2009 at 20:18

We absolutely need that bizarre and slightly nonsensical juxtaposition in technology, IMO that's a crucial part of the Thief atmosphere and why TDS's more medieval style didn't appeal to me.

Sure, we can dial it back from submarines and killer robot guards, but I still want a bit of ridiculous-ness in this game. I thought trains worked well in T2X, wouldn't mind elevators, random things like that.

belboz on 13/6/2009 at 03:44

I had this idea for one of my missions but couldn't actually do it in dromed, it was to have a mechanist/hammerite church on a paddle steam boat, where garrett would have to swim out to the steam boat, find a way on board, find some information about a mysterious sceptre, and steal a set amount of loot. The designs for the steam boat were too ellaborate to do, it was also a fairly big level. This was not the dreadnought mission hinted at later, the steam boat mission ended up as errand boy. Out of all the stuff I've design for missions you've seen about 4%.

webe123 on 14/6/2009 at 13:07

I actually MISS the mechanist technology. I think Thief 3 lacked it and it was not as good as it COULD have been if they had of thrown a mechanist mission or two in there. Besides, I get a kick out of disabling the mechanist walking cannons with a water arrow or two and disabling the eyes with a fire arrow.

I think SOME kind of mechanist technology should be brought back.

Jah on 15/6/2009 at 08:22

Quote Posted by TTK12G3

Would any of those missions happen to be in or around Mechanist facilities? :D

Maybe, but that would suggest that scouting orbs are not modified versions of an Iron Beast's lens made specifically for Garrett, but are actually used by the Mechanists for some other purpose, as the orbs lying around Mechanist facilities surely weren't meant for Garrett.

TTK12G3 on 15/6/2009 at 14:03

Quote Posted by Jah

..as the orbs lying around Mechanist facilities surely weren't meant for Garrett.

It's possible that Garrett has a bit of skill with maintaining such devices. Maybe he knows how to get them to work, but the quality of a thief's handiwork shows when they break down after a day or so.

Stath MIA on 16/6/2009 at 06:00

On the orbs:
Can confirm that the Mechs were able to use them themselves, somehow, as they were lying with their maces and flares in Trail of Blood, far from any workshops or Children of Karras. This implies that they function as field gear for them rather than as parts or early stage constructions. As to how they used 'em, I think I've already posted elsewhere that it is likely they had some sort of viewer which they could look through to see, but maybe Karras just forced his peeps to replace their eyes with Mech-vision to show their trust in his machines.

MaxDZ8 on 19/6/2009 at 10:00

There are alot of possibilities that could (and should) be exploited.
The hammers were really the "big iron" guys - I think they would find their field of application in all the technology which is bigger than human (recall the gigantic gears often found in foundries and smelters). I don't think their tech would be "interesting" in the way you mean.

When I first read of Mechanists, I thought at some sort of a schism. How they relate to each other is beyond my memory, but it is clear the mechanists had a much more "intelligent" and human-sized tech. I find very reasonable that they must have been working on several secret projects.

We can safely assert that the principles of combustion, gas-liquid state-changing machines, turbines and pumps, electricity, power generation (and likely, transmission) were more than just understood. Automatic measurement and control is commodity even among hammerites and mechanists took the whole thing several steps further.

I really think that, even remaining in the realm of realism, the possibilities are endless.

Quote Posted by Beleg Cúthalion

Things were already getting ridiculous with mechanical eyeballs while there were men with chainmail and swords on the street. I'm not only for plausible and aesthetically-appealing technology but also for being very careful while using it.

Well, I am not really sure, because a doubt stroke me hard with that.

Everything you read in Thief regarding their deities is true. There are the pagans with Victoria, Constantine and the Trickster. The Keepers are somehow connected to glyphs. There's an entity that does not show itself, although para-normal beings typically roam the world.
It is my understanding that Garret's mechanical eye might not be the result of human effort but rather the legal compensation to Garrett by The Builder itself!

Platinumoxicity on 19/6/2009 at 12:48

I somehow can't imagine the Builder being a real supernatural entity. In our world, before technology, people used explain strange natural phenomena with God. In the Thief world, the Hammerites, the ones who call themself "builders" don't like to give credit of technological advancements to themselves, but instead they credit them to God. The logic is reverse compared to the ancient beliefs in our world. So I think that the Hammerites and Mechanists only worship the technological advancements and unbound means of building and creating, and have given it a name: The Master Builder. They don't expect their god to reveal itself (correct me if I'm wrong with that) because their god exists all around them. In the bricks and the mortar, in the steel and the beams, and in the gear and the boiler.

Stath MIA on 19/6/2009 at 20:02

Quote Posted by MaxDZ8

It is my understanding that Garret's mechanical eye might not be the result of human effort but rather the legal compensation to Garrett by The Builder itself!

Nope, Karras gave it to him to attempt to secure him as an ally. He says as much at several points. Now, where is jtr with the quote(s)?