Thief 4's Garrett Won't be Voiced by Stephen Russell!

SuicideMachine on 4/4/2013 at 13:43

Quote Posted by Judith

I'd like to see an example cutscene as well, to see what kind of technology they were talking about and whether it was worth it. Probably a few other people like Renz would like to see it as well, but they went back to the GenGaming, for there's no ground for any discussion here. I'll be doing the same thing.

[video=youtube;JjW3uEL5m-s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjW3uEL5m-s[/video]

Here you have exactly this technology.

Even more (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lG5j9OIWPM) here.

Dia on 4/4/2013 at 13:55

Quote Posted by Brethren

I don't think I'm exaggerating here when I say you're the only one who feels that way.

Quote Posted by Judith

You are.

I don't think Brethren was exaggerating in the least; you do seem to be in the minority. Seems quite a lot of the Taffers both here and those who've commented on the 'Meet Romano' EM video, not to mention contributors on the sites that review games are less than excited about T4 anymore. And like it or not, there has been a serious backlash in regards to just about everything EM has released on T4 so far. EM's getting kicked in the teeth repeatedly over T4 but they don't seem to have the collective intelligence to realize it. The 'bring back Stephen Russell' petition is just a case in point.

I am a tad curious that with all this talk of performance capture, etc., will we actually be allowed to play the game? Or do we get to just sit there and watch EM show off their mocap cutscenes and videos of all the character/npc conversations, already pre-recorded for your convenience?

;)

:ebil:

antihero276 on 4/4/2013 at 14:05

Quote Posted by Dia

:D haha right on... it was a breath of fresh air to glimpse all the comments on the meet Romano video, definitely heartening to see the love for Stephen Russell spreading around. For most of the night I've been running all over the internet to rally what reinforcements I could find for the petition and cause... I found a few at least so far, so hopefully it'll help. The petition is doing pretty well and ill continue soon, but im pretty tired at the moment, I'll have to check it when I get up. See you Taffers around.

Quote Posted by Queue

Isn't that what gaming is about? That and the idea of "achievements "... so you get a medal just for doing something you're supposed to do, is that how that all works?

Welcome to modern gaming Taffer, unless we stand up :p

Renault on 4/4/2013 at 14:05

Quote Posted by Judith

You are.

I was mainly joking because her one positive comment looked so out of place smack dab in the middle of a sea of criticism for EM not using SR. And you have to admit there hasn't exactly been a ton of support (non TTLG included) for that decision. Also, in case you hadn't noticed, thiefessa is a moderator on the EM boards, so all of her posts are highly suspect to begin with.

This is all specifically in regards to hearing more about the actor that's replacing Stephen Russell, of course. As far as new Thief 4 info in general, yes, I think everyone here wants to hear more about it.

Queue on 4/4/2013 at 14:07

Quote Posted by Dia

Or do we get to just sit there and watch EM show off their mocap cutscenes and videos of all the character/npc conversations, already pre-recorded for your convenience?

Isn't that what gaming is about? That and the idea of "achievements "... so you get a medal just for doing something you're supposed to do, is that how that all works?

Fallen+Keeper on 4/4/2013 at 14:10

Quote Posted by SuicideMachine

[video=youtube;JjW3uEL5m-s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjW3uEL5m-s[/video]

Here you have exactly this technology.

Even more (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lG5j9OIWPM) here.

This is the tech alright, but I still fail to see how does it translate to Garrett.

Here you see the motion capture done by an actor for a in-game character shown entirely. Prophet-actor guy, whoever, was used because he had to look at Psycho from correct angle, height and so on.

I don't know how this should apply to Garrett other than in some "third person" cutscenes.

And for this they dump the soul of the character?

So help me understand because I'm lost here:

They rehash the game, re-imagining it, and they use the same TITLE and the CHARACTER from the old iteration, all for the fans. But they also change it, because, you know, the new players won't be so "nostalgic". But they piss off the fans in the process.

So why call it Thief? Why use "Garrett"? Why is he "important" to the game if he's not him anymore?

Tomi on 4/4/2013 at 14:35

Quote Posted by Brethren

I don't think I'm exaggerating here when I say you're the only one who feels that way.

I also think that you were exaggerating a little there, Brethren. I too would have loved to have Stephen Russell as Garrett in the new Thief, but since that's most likely not going to happen, I'm looking forward to seeing/hearing what the new guy has to offer. I don't know if EM's explanation about the mo-cap thing makes any sense, but I'm sure that they had some good reasons for the change. I really doubt that EM did it just to annoy the "true fans" and declare a war against them/us... these conspiracy theories fit better in the Deus Ex forum.

So, this new voice actor, Romano Orzari... He doesn't sound bad at all, in my opinion. First of all, I think that he has a good voice for this kind of a character, and he also seems to be a very experienced actor.

"So why don't they have a new protagonist in Thief 4? Why are they calling the game Thief in the first place?"
Because I, like probably many others, think that Thief is a great series (not to mention quite well-known too, which obviously helps the game sell more copies) and I'm really looking forward to play as Garrett again. If the story isn't directly connected in every single way to what happened in the previous games, I'm expecting to see at least references to past events and characters and factions, stuff like that. If EM were to change pretty much everything from Thief 1-3, then yes, calling the new game Thief would be weird and wrong. But in the few official releases that we've got so far I've already seen things that are clearly Thief, so at the moment I'm quite confident that they're not making some totally different kind of a game with just the Thief label stuck on it.

The age-old "if it ain't broke..." excuse is also quite lame in my opinion - the old Thief games are broken in many ways. Well, "broken" may be a bit harsh, but they're far from perfect. Graphics are the obvious thing so let's forget that, but the stupid AI and bad melee combat for example are two things that I definitely don't want to see in the new Thief. Changing how the AI behaves is obviously a big change, and improving the melee combat makes the game more combat-oriented in some people's eyes, and therefore they're seen as unforgivable acts of heresy, even though the developers are <s>probably</s> just genuinely trying to make a better Thief game. Obviously not all changes are going to be loved by all of us, and that's alright, but most fans here aren't even giving them a fair chance. This doesn't leave the developers in a very easy situation - they're not allowed to change anything, but at the same time re-releasing a Thief 1 replica isn't a realistic option either.

I got to say that I'm totally with Renzatic on this, his post earlier was spot on. This isn't a Thief 4 Anticipation forum anymore, this is more like a Thief 4 Hatred forum at the moment, with many of the "true fans" venting their anger. And I find that pretty sad... I joined this forum because of Thief and I've always liked it here, but this constant negativity and twisting of things is getting quite disheartening.

thiefessa on 4/4/2013 at 14:46

Quote Posted by Brethren

I'm not sorry my opinion is different to others (but from the above replies, it isn't anyway... obviously); I'm not afraid to be honest; I'm not here to join anyone's gang or bow down to aggression or prejudice etc.
That said, I'm certainly not the only person who posts positive comments either and, even if I were, so what? I'm expressing my honest opinion and I shall continue to do so.
What would really help is if some could just accept that and move on.

Quote:

Also, in case you hadn't noticed, thiefessa is a moderator on the EM boards, so all of her posts are highly suspect to begin with.

It helps not to single me out because I'm a moderator for EM. It is irrelevant. I post here as a community member (since 2005) just as yourself. Try to treat me the same as you would like to be treated and then we can definitely move on. :thumb:

Judith on 4/4/2013 at 15:01

Quote:

For any decision, for that matter. This is an "T4 anti- forum", it has nothing in common with so-called anticipation. Constant backlash, gaming backwardness, making fun of devs accent (I bet your French is flawless), really classy stuff. Once I thought people playing Thief are more clever and open-minded than other gamers. Maybe it's still true, but browsing TTLG T4 anticipation forums makes me feel ashamed, really embarrassed of being a Thief fan. I don't know about EM forums, but I've never seen such narrow-minded and pathetic bunch anywhere else. I really, really hope devs don't go there to check anything with the fan base. And I mean anything.

Quote:

I don't think Brethren was exaggerating in the least; you do seem to be in the minority.

Most vocal people here aren't even planning on playing the game, don't have the hardware or are completely closed off from gaming culture, or possibly from any kind of reality. Here's an inside scoop: such people are the real minority, rarely or never heard outside places like this one. Those who make those 2-3 million copies sold for particular title don't come from forums like this one. Not even from GenGaming-oriented sites. They don't have time for sitting on any forum really. They'll see an advert on TV or in the mall, and that will be the impulse to buy a game (or not). This is the main source of devs' paychceck, not you, so-called fans.

So when devs declare that they will also try to stick to the series' core values, and the 'hardcore fans' will still find something for themselves, yes, I am hopeful. For they could make a copypaste of any piece of shit they want, just to make a sale. They have all the copyrights after all. And there's absolutely nothing you can do about it, never was and never will be. Everything they do 'for the fans' is at their sole discretion, they don't owe anything to anyone. They still try to have their artistic vision, make money, and stay true to the origins. And if they look at TTLG or EM forums, they can certainly see what's it worth.

Dia on 4/4/2013 at 15:07

I think a LOT of us die-hard Thief fans were more than prepared to give EM the benefit of the doubt, as has already been stated time and again. But when the previews, news releases, and screenshots come out looking & sounding (to some of us) like a rehash of Assassins Creed, Dishonored, etc., and when we discover that EM lied about (or at the very least mislead us) having SR once more voice the character of Garrett, (and don't forget to throw in mocap, forced third person, and other numerous little details) of course the die-harders are going to bitch. It suddenly appears to a lot of us that all EM's done is to keep the Thief name, a few of the weapons (don't know about the lockpicks yet), and insert their version of a Thief-like ambience, call the protagonist Garrett and expect us to instantly LOVE the game because it bears the title of Thief.

Quote Posted by Tomi

This isn't a Thief 4 Anticipation forum anymore, this is more like a Thief 4 Hatred forum at the moment, with many of the "true fans" venting their anger.

I see. So, if we don't make giddy, positive 'omg I can't wait for this!' posts as though we all have unicorns and rainbows shoved up our arses then we shouldn't post at all? And here I thought everyone was entitled to their own opinons, even if others don't agree with them. Sorry if you find all the anti-T4 posts negative and disheartening, but they happen to be the honest opinons of others who just so happen to respect your right to your opinions. Not everyone is as thrilled as some are with the information they've seen/read/heard about T4, and yeah, they're just as much Thief fans as you are. I didn't see any pinned warnings that if you can't say anything positive about T4 in the T4 Anticipation threads then you aren't allowed to post here at all - or did EM buy out TTLG and I didn't get the memo? We're all entitled to our own opinons. I don't think it's fair to start labeling those of us who are less than thrilled with the T4 news so far as prejudiced, narrow-minded, etc. Just as I'll refrain from labeling those who are still giddy and idealistic about T4 as cock-eyed optimists.

As Brethren stated (below) there are some threads that are all about what some see as the positive aspects of T4 and you'll find your sunshine and rainbows in those. But in a thread like this one, you're going to find a mixed bag of reactions and like it or not, a lot of those just may be negative. Such is life.