Bow complaint

[TafferCat]

My understanding is that the light gem doesn't just measure how lit up you are, but is an abstraction of your overall detectability. Light is probably the biggest contributor to detectability, but wielding a big bow might make you a little more noticeable too.

 

I actually like this feature a lot because it subtly encourages you to be meticulous and be smart about when you bring out the weapons. Instead of just running around armed all the time you have to focus on sneaking and then pick the right moment to bring the weapon out and make your move. It's one of those little things that adds to the feeling of being a master thief, to me at least

 

This is it exactly.

 

In the manual for the original Thief game, the gem is specifically labeled a visibility gem, not a light gem. Even when you are in a very dark area moving on a very quiet surface, when you run and jump, the visibility gem temporarily grows brighter, and when you stop or slow down, it dims to black again.

 

This is because opponents may still be able to notice excess movement, even if they can't clearly see what moved.

 

Drawing a weapon creates a similar scenario, where there is more of you to see (even if just as an increased silhouette), and more of you that moves and thus can be noticed, even in the dark.

 

The important part to remember, though, is that it was always designed and intended to be a visibility gem, not just a light gem.

Edited November 4, 2013 by TafferCat

[stumpy]

in the t2 source code it goes on how much light falls on the player as how well lite the light gem is, and if the AI can detect you. if the light level is 1 or more ai can see you, if its zero then they cant. Drawing weapons adds 1 to the light level.