catbarf on 10/4/2008 at 21:42
Quote Posted by The Magpie
Take notice, people.
This taffer is talented.
--
L.
Thanks, although I must ask a silly question: What's a taffer? Some sort of slang foreign to me?
Quote Posted by Dan Knott
Hehe i never really understood why grown people find the zombies scary.
There's three parts:
1. It just suddenly got up. I was not expecting it, although I can't fathom why not.
2. Remember, I was deathly afraid of them when I was eight. Call it an irrational fear from a bad childhood experience.
3. I find the idea of an enemy that can chase me down (They don't exactly stumble around) and can't be killed nothing short of terrifying.
Okay, tonight I'll finish the level. Just need to tear my eyes away from Star Trek...
...yeah, I'm as nerdy as you probably imagine...
The Magpie on 10/4/2008 at 22:02
Quote Posted by catbarf
Thanks, although I must ask a silly question: What's a taffer? Some sort of slang foreign to me?
That's exactly what it is. Don't worry about it, we're just taffin' with you. You'll get it soon enough.
*hums "Taffy was a Welshman"*
:cheeky:
--
L.
catbarf on 11/4/2008 at 00:13
Right, I finished Down in the Bonehoard.
So, I learned something about Burricks- they're as blind as Guards, but can't hear for crap. Not hard to sneak right on by, unless you try to blackjack them or something.
I'm in the Burrick caves. There's a couple of the buggers walking around, but they're little threat- I can easily walk past them. I move into a huge room, where there's a path going off to the left and a ledge to the right. Not one to miss any extra stuff, I jump over to the ledge and work my way down- looks like another member of the doomed team that came down here. Back up, I move into some halls- the music is strangely soothing. Of course, I don't have time to dwell on that for long, because...
Shit! ZOMBIES EVERYWHERE!
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate...
With little more than a frenzied panic, I start running around, trying to avoid being cornered or forced into a dead-end. Aha! A spiral staircase! Up the stairs, up the ramp, straight into a purple glowing Trap-O'-Death(TM).
Die.
Reload.
Run like hell.
Past the zombies, past the staircase, past the ramp, around the trap, through a hall and what do ya know... More Burrick caves!
One quick moment to interject: That purple trap isn't triggered by me. What does it run on, Duracell? It's been going constantly this whole time?
Back on topic: Since I know that these Burricks are obscenely stupid, I'm able to sneak using the various interconnected tunnels without much difficulty. My brother comes in the room, with 'Rubberband Man' going on his mp3 player. Somehow, it fits the tempo of Thief perfectly. I sneak past the Burricks, steal some loot (after making sure it isn't trapped), and right into a jumping puzzle.
Jumping puzzle. Annoying at best, frustrating with old engines. If I wanted mindless jumping I'd play a certain game with an Italian plumber and one less dimension to worry about screwing up.
Meh, it's a nice change of pace. I grab the horn, and all is quiet.
Which makes me wonder how the hell Garret is supposed to get out. I don't think it would be too much fun working to escape like you do on the higher difficulties. The sense of exploring is gone. Still, I'm very glad the designers had the forethought to make the Normal mode a bit more casual, and the higher difficulty settings for the really hardcore folks. I'm by no means a casual gamer, but I'm in this for the story, the exploration, and the thievery, not the waiting-in-shadows-for-ten-minutes-as-I-memorize-his-patrol-path, nor the backtracking-through-the-last-thirty-minutes-of-gameplay-while-avoiding-all-the-enemies-I-pissed-off.
Quite simply: I have fun on Normal, and I had fun today.
One more thing- what would be the reaction to a video of me playing Thief while Rubberband Man plays in the background?
:sly:
inselaffe on 11/4/2008 at 00:42
What? you don't have to escape after getting the horn on easy? :O You're missing the best bit! Those burricks aren't stupid y'know - in fact you mentioned in your post (without knowing it) the reason why they are like that :P
But yer it looks like you miss a lot playing on easy - I'd really suggest playing thief on expert unless it's much too difficult. You will never have the chance for a "first run through" again (unless you get amnesia ;) ) so I always feel playing on the highest reasonable difficulty is best since in games like thief it opens up a lot of extra parts to the levels and provides more info on story and such.
Question to others - is there anything "extra" that you get while playing on lower difficulty levels? I know there's the help speech in thief 2s first level and the flume in cragscleft and different key locations but are there any other "extra / different" things that are actually worth playing the lower difficulty levels for?
jtr7 on 11/4/2008 at 00:55
Nothing you didn't know, but a thorough answer:
In addition to items being in different locations and being given helpful hints...you don't get most extra quest items, you aren't required to get as much loot, you are not required to return to the mission starting point or some other specified area as often, some doors are inaccesible along with the special loot behind them, a few of the texts you find are shortened versions, some loot tips aren't available at the store, some conversations are not heard while others might be; however, you get to find extra equipment, have extra health points and health potions, and many AI are not as tough or as numerous or even of a different and more-menacing type, and you are forgiven for being a brute.
A player may consider any one or more of those to be positives, while others will have different preferences.:thumb:
catbarf: Good stuff, as expected. On Expert you would have to return to where you started, so yes it's possible. The video idea could be interesting.
catbarf on 11/4/2008 at 01:19
Quote Posted by Dan Knott
Those burricks aren't stupid y'know - in fact you mentioned in your post (without knowing it) the reason why they are like that :P
Meh, they seem pretty stupid- hang on, are they blind?
Do you really think I should bump up the difficulty a notch or two?
And does escape on most missions mean returning all the way to where I started, or just getting to a certain escape point?
jtr7 on 11/4/2008 at 01:25
I think Dan's referring to the Burricks near the Horn that are lulled by it's song, as opposed to the Burrick caves you went through to get to the Bonehoard proper.
It varies, really. Sometimes you are told to get to the streets, or to find an alternate way out. And not all missions require escape. Your mission objectives will usually tell you up front if you need to finish at a location. The next mission will introduce you to another set of skills and game-mechanics. Bump up the difficulty, only when you feel pretty comfortable with your skills, and expect the missions to take a little longer, of course.
The Magpie on 11/4/2008 at 01:31
Quote Posted by catbarf
Still, I'm very glad the designers had the forethought to make the Normal mode a bit more casual, and the higher difficulty settings for the really hardcore folks. I'm by no means a casual gamer, but I'm in this for the story, the exploration, and the thievery, not the waiting-in-shadows-for-ten-minutes-as-I-memorize-his-patrol-path, nor the backtracking-through-the-last-thirty-minutes-of-gameplay-while-avoiding-all-the-enemies-I-pissed-off.
Quite simply: I have fun on Normal, and I had fun today.
That's all there is to it, really. It sounds like you're having a blast, and that you're good enough to eventually find yourself playing on higher difficulties. There's a little more content for you to discover on the harder levels, you see, and I suspect you'll appreciate that. When you - some day - want to play the game again to see what you missed after your first run through, you might want to pick up Thief Gold (if you can find it), and play it on Expert. With graphics enhancing mods.
As for the backtracking part: I find that either I've managed to clear a corridor so that the escape from the scene of the crime goes very fast,
or I have annoyed enemies left and right, who now kindly follow me to the door. Oh, that actually goes very fast, too. ;) Can you imagine the feeling of accomplishment, almost exhilaration when one escapes the Bonehoard and inhales the first whiff of fresh air? Well, not literally, but at least you can see the stars overhead again. And the feeling of tension release when the MISSION COMPLETE fanfare starts playing.
But. Play it the way you enjoy it. You are only being encouraged to play at the higher difficulty levels because we want you to have as much fun with Thief as we have, but also because you'll get
some extra story. OTOH, you don't want to spend
too much time playing Thief. Neither do we, actually, because that'd mean less frequent updates in this blog thread. :)
--
Larris
PS: The purple trap was naturally triggered by the comparatively recent immigrants, the burricks. Did you meet Felix, BTW?
jtr7 on 11/4/2008 at 01:47
What Larris sayeth.
