deadman on 20/5/2004 at 13:28
I agree with Avalon; this could definitely rock if done right. Also, the linearity could partially be helped by multiple paths/doorways (heading into the screen; you'd press up or down, or the equivalent, to enter). Of course, then you'd need somewhat transparent doorways/paths to indicate a path to the right. Err, not sure I'm explaining this well at all, but don't give up, dracflamloc :thumb:. Have you thought of getting textures/resources from other old 2D games?
Maybe you could implement a top-down mini-map in the upper right corner :p
deadman.
S_Hole on 20/5/2004 at 14:36
you could just use thief's original textures and sounds
it would reduce the download size aswell
upon installation, it would just ask for the directory your thief is installed to
the resources are a regular .zip file, so it should be no problem loading them
but that would mean that anyone willing to play would have to have thief installed, or in cd drive
ZylonBane on 20/5/2004 at 15:19
Actually there's already a 2D version of Thief... sort of:
(
http://www.iomo.co.uk/cgi-bin/site/web.pl?product:thief) Thief: Constantine's Sword
As for a side-scrolling Thief game. Hmm. It
could be done I suppose, but would require very, very careful level design. You'd have to select floor textures that are instantly recognizable, come up with an intuitive way of indicating light and shadow, and include lots of vertical movement to facilitate multiple-path approaches.
A huge amount of work, no doubt.
dracflamloc on 20/5/2004 at 16:48
I'm no stranger to work. ;) And as for the whole linear gameplay. It won't be if the level is made correctly. Trust me. I'm making a ton of progress in the engine and the editor itself. As for graphics, the only graphics that I actually NEED someone to make are the characters (thief/guards animations) and loot themselves. The background doesn't need to be based on a texture set, it's part of the beauty of the engine. It allows for alot of creative style without having to use recycled textures!
I may re-use some character graphics from older games until I get someone who can do graphics, but I really want this game to be royalty-free and something that I can release as open-source in the future. Light and shadow can be done very simply. I'll release the editor once I get some graphics so you can see how it works and maybe then you'll have a better understanding of how this game will work. I'm glad some of you are encouraging this project instead of saying "it just can't be fun." It makes me want to continue working on it. I was considering using the Thief sounds but we'll see.
Shadows/Lighting can be displayed as obviously or subtley as the mission creator wants. It is entirely freeform.
Also, there are official Thief2D forums now which are linked on the main homepage.
deadman on 20/5/2004 at 17:12
Whoa, thanks for the heads up and link, Zylon. Had no idea there was something like this out there, but then again I don't have a mobile phone and no incentive to get one ;) I wonder if any Thief fans have purchased this and like it.. :confused: There probably was a thread announcement about it (or maybe it wasn't seen as big enough?), but I must've missed it.
Don't worry about naysayers, dracflamloc, just make the game, and they'll shut up once they play it, assuming it's good :thumb:. I have complete faith a good fun 2D Thief game can be made, though. No doubt about it.
deadman.
Preno on 20/5/2004 at 17:25
Good, good, good, dracflamloc! Could be really fun. :)
Btw., yes, I'm interested in making some maps as well.
ZylonBane on 20/5/2004 at 18:13
Quote:
Originally posted by dracflamloc Shadows/Lighting can be displayed as obviously or subtley as the mission creator wants. It is entirely freeform.
Then this is a Bad Thing. Visual indication of lighting levels should be 100% consistent.
dracflamloc on 20/5/2004 at 18:35
Quote:
Originally posted by ZylonBane Then this is a Bad Thing. Visual indication of lighting levels should be 100% consistent.
If it calls for it I will make it consistant, but for now it will be up to the mission designer to decide how consistant to make shadows. I doubt anyone who wants to make a mission will be inconsistant with thier shadowing indication if they want to make a good mission. The game is still in development. I suggest that you go post in the official forums with any suggestions etc...
ZylonBane on 20/5/2004 at 20:28
It shouldn't even be in the hands of the mission designers. Light is light-- it doesn't change from mission to mission. This is what common sense dictates, and is how the Thief games implemented it. To allow mission designers to make a brightly-lit room that looks dark is a useless capability.
dracflamloc on 20/5/2004 at 20:38
Quote:
Originally posted by ZylonBane It shouldn't even be in the hands of the mission designers. Light is light-- it doesn't change from mission to mission. This is what common sense dictates, and is how the Thief games implemented it. To allow mission designers to make a brightly-lit room that
looks dark is a useless capability.
Think what you want, wait till you play it. That's all I can say.
On a side note to everyone:
If you're curious about the level layout and design, I have uploaded a WIP build of the 1.1 editor for you to try out. You won't be able to save missions since I have not finished implementing all the features I want to. This is just meant to answer some questions I keep getting about how a level is designed.
Enjoy and please post *CONSTRUCTIVE* comments if you wish on the main Thief2D forums.
Editor can be found here:
(
http://www.angelfire.com/un/thief2d/downloads.html)
or
(
http://thief2d.netfirms.com/downloads.html)
By the way, thank you all for your posts, even the uhh... negative ones. Please post in the official Thief2D forum from now on as well as here.
This will be my last news post to this forum until major news is out.
