catbarf on 7/4/2008 at 21:17

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Hi all. I was seven when my family moved back to the US from a posting in Georgia back in 2000, and in the process of becoming re-Americanized my father went and got some new computer games (Wing Commander IV and Independence War were getting old by that point). One of the things he bought was a double pack of Thief and System Shock 2.

At that age, both of them scared me witless.

Oh, I played them- the tutorials, at least. And I'd watch my father play Thief in the evening (SS2 was reserved for after the munchkins had gone to bed). He got to the third level, I believe, before giving up- zombies and lizard-things everywhere. He died two years ago, and while looking through an old cabinet the other day I found Thief. So, I installed it again, and have decided to give it a try.

Mission 1.

I remember the level, so I was able to get to the manor with little difficulty. Once in the manor, however...

Me: Okay, that guard is facing me, but he doesn't know I'm here. I'll just shoot him with my bow.
*nocks arrow*
*twang*
*thud*
Me: A perfect shot, right into his forehead!
Guard: Argh! *gets back up*
Me: What the hell? There's an arrow in your head! A two-foot-long arrow shot from something that looks like a Welsh longbow from twenty feet away and it's IN YOUR FOREHEAD!
Guard: THIEF! THIEF!
Me: FUCK!

All the guards in a five-mile radius turn on anti-thief radars and start homing in on me, and five minutes and a swiftly-growing pile of corpses later, every guard has been summoned to the position and killed.

So I managed to get through the manor in half an hour. I did accidentally miss the throne room on my first pass, so I had quite a detour going around and trying to figure out where to go. I hope the next level will be different. I recall zombies and an old mine and Hammerites or something. And some old fart who dies in a jail cell. Right-o.

One thing: I never saw the intro cinematic (I do remember one...) and I didn't see one after the completion of the first mission. Is there anything wrong with my system? Do I need to update codecs?

CD Set on 7/4/2008 at 21:33

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Exactly what he said. Oh, and be sure to play through System Shock too.

jtr7 on 7/4/2008 at 22:01

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No worries, cat.:cool:

In the first missions, see how much you can get away with by observing patrol patterns and avoiding all the AI you can. They are preparing you for what's to come. Once the gameplay *clicks*, the world and future missions open up and you will find your freedom.

catbarf on 8/4/2008 at 01:35

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Well, I decided to go somewhat further.

Mission 2.

So, I started by some caves. 'Gee,' I thought. 'This seems oddly familiar'.

Then I came across the first corpse.

And realized it wasn't a corpse.

So I skirted around it, never coming within five feet.

Then around the next one by the tesla coils.

Then again, creeping slowly with utter dread around the three bodies together.

But once I got past those, I was safe...

...until I saw three or four patrolling a series of tunnels.

Shit.

So, looking for somewhere to go, I took a look at the elevator- and hey, it's got buttons! I pressed a button, and heard the screeching of the thing start to grind, and realized that every single one of the bastards from here to the Hammerites is going to hear it. So I ran. Ran, right past a zombie in my face, right past the crouching zombie that reminded me of the Skinny Buddha Dude from Pathways Into Darkness, right through a door and into Hammerville.

After three unsuccessful attempts to blackjack the first guard (he heard me), I stabbed him to death. I wish I could have sneaked past, but it wasn't working. I crept on, past a bunch of them smelting metal, until I came to the next set of tunnels. I had to time it really well to get past, but I felt quite proud of being able to sneak by them.

Up ahead, a Guard with a key, talking to another guard.

By this point, I realized that while these guys can hear a pin drop in the middle of a factory line, they're also near-blind. So it was with little difficulty that I sneaked up, grabbed a key, and sneaked away.

Ugh, their sense of hearing is uncanny. While I'm in a refinery, surrounded by other guards, and with all kinds of machinery making noise, all it takes is one errant step to get the usual string of 'What was that?' and 'The shadows cannot hide you forever'. Don't they have rats in this place? Or other animals, or do they not dare entertain the possibility that one of their compatriots might not follow the same exact movement pattern all day? At least they're incompetently stupid. Back to the sneaking.

So, again, when I came to the cell blocks, and a guard came walking towards me, I retreated back into the hallway. Much to my dismay, it seemed he was coming down that way too. Even still, he passed not two feet by me, and yet didn't see anything (How exactly does one conceal themselves while carrying a sword and huge bow, as well as a dozen different kinds of glowing arrows?). So, WHAM! Blackjack'd. I advanced up to where the other guard was standing in a control room.

After a failed 'Shoot him' attempt, followed by a failed 'Bash in the door and stab him' attempt, I decided to lure him out. Well, if he saw me, he'd ring the alarm anyway. Instead, I put my newfound knowledge to work and started making some noise. He came out, walked right next to me (HELLO GOOD SIR, I AM TWO INCHES IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE), and walked back. Smack! Another one down. I opened what I hoped was block six, and started to head back. I was right, and started talking with Cutty.

Oh, the horrors of listening to a long monologue as the character repeats the same three-second animation over and over again.

Still, he mentioned 'down in the bone horde', which seems vaguely familiar to me. I imagine it's the zombie- and burrick-infested hellhole I'll be heading to next. Fun.

And that's where I finished tonight- sitting in Cutty's cell. I'm going to continue tomorrow.

catbarf on 8/4/2008 at 10:26

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The best explanation I have been able to provide is that your character is actually the Skin of Evil.

http://www.gateworld.net/startrek/tng/s1/graphics/123.jpg

A monster that looks like a man but then sinks down and turns into an oil slick to hide in the darkness.