Herr_Garrett on 7/2/2010 at 07:28
Yeah, well, what I've always admired in Thief was the setting, the story, the characters... Granted, it has an awesome and unique gameplay, but after 12 years, you know, it doesn't offer much of a challenge. I only play games because of their stories, and this also stands for FMs. That's what I meant when I said that most of them is pretty repetitive - 80% has the exact same story, or no story at all. On the other hand, I can't wait for the next CoSaS FM :D
redface on 7/2/2010 at 11:33
I solved this problem easily - by becoming picky and not playing everything that gets released (that includes TDM) and limiting my thiefy sessions to once, twice a month. Unless it's a must-play-right-now kind of FM.
Springheel on 7/2/2010 at 16:03
Quote:
Go play Dark Mod, and sometimes get your ass handed to you on a silver platter.
That's part of the reason why we made things more difficult in TDM, because we were all Thief veterans and wanted to recapture the tension and fear that we'd lost playing the original games.
Thor on 7/2/2010 at 16:48
I actually like the predictable gameplay, as guards are just simply a pain in the ass. And if someone really wants to make it hard, like in eclipsed or Rocksbourg, they do it and it works well imho. I would hate to not have that ensurance, that I can beat anyone up, if I really have to (except the important, epic stuff like those beasts of DrK's mind :D). Ofcourse I don't want to, so I usually don't come to this problem. But generally I think physical opponents are best suited in horror, undead missions, cause in city, well, it's neither scary nor that much fun. For the most part anyway. Then again, all of this depends on moods. One day I feel like ghosting the s**t out of an FM (recently attempted the Den, but I had to KO 4 people and kill one... then I realised I could've gotten away with 2 KOs, maybe even 1), anothr day I just wish they weren't there, so I could concentrate on the story or something like that better.
But about your ability to beat anyone up... true, if you're a weakling, it adds the tension, but it I don't always really desire that. I can't explain it now.
242 on 7/2/2010 at 16:59
Quote Posted by Poetic thief
So to the Thief veterans here, do you still enjoy the gameplay as much as when you were a newbie?
No. It's very natural after many years, the gameplay became too easy/predictable for me too, and long ago. Perhaps if there weren't quicksaves but only saves in specific points it could add thrill substantially... I just can't force myself to not quicksave when it's available.
lost_soul on 7/2/2010 at 18:06
I do occasionally get bored, but every now and then I find and play a fan mission that I totally love and play over and over again. Examples of this are: The Secret Way, Heist Society, Returning a Favor, Wicked Relics, and Saturio Returns Home.
For me, it is also the layout of the mission that makes me want to progress and explore. Generally, I shy away from cramped missions with only one entrance or a forced order of doing things.
As far as OMs go, I do go back and play some TDP missions on occasion. It is great to run through "Return to the Cathedral", "The Sword", "break from Cragscleft", or "Song of the Caverns" every once in a wile at night. These missions are like music. The atmosphere is so great, it just never gets old.
BG_HHaunt on 8/2/2010 at 10:19
I resolved this problem by not playing so much "rent is due so enter the mansion of the rich noble, grab the money and go" type of missions without a twist in the process of compleeting the objectives.
Tomi on 8/2/2010 at 12:39
There are so many different playing styles in Thief, so the FM authors are facing a difficult task to find a good balance for the difficulty. I could add loads of guards who can see the player in the dark from a mile away and can hear every little noise, maybe then the mission could be challenging enough for someone who likes to kill all the guards, but the "ghosters" would probably hate that mission. :p
In my missions, I'm trying to create something that I would find fun to play, but I guess that you can't please everyone.
Beleg Cúthalion on 8/2/2010 at 12:54
The thing is, as long as those pretty FM contests always focus on architecture or other not necessarily gameplay-affecting topics, the awareness among the authors for creating new ways of gameplay might be not big enough (or they have other things to do, either way, same result) to counter the phenomenon of people getting bored. How often can we find missions that bring us new elements like e.g. Equilibrium did?
Melan on 8/2/2010 at 13:33
Quote Posted by BG_HHaunt
I resolved this problem by not playing so much "rent is due so enter the mansion of the rich noble, grab the money and go" type of missions without a twist in the process of compleeting the objectives.
The problem is that an original premise does not guarantee quality and vice versa - e.g.
Memoirs of a Dead God and
Conspiracies in the Dark are both excellently realised missions even though they both start with a break-in premise; in comparison, a lot of missions are more ambitious in concept but ultimately lacking in execution.
