New Horizon

Who wants to go through every possible loot item and reskin them to ensure they are recognizable as loot? In theory it would be wonderful to have all of the assets refreshed in order to avoid measures to assist players but that's going to be one hell of a lot of work to put into place. Who has the time, energy and dedication to do it? It's perfectly reasonable to argue the point but will those arguing the point step up and assist in the work?

My plaque hangs proudly next to my computer.

You're father will be dearly missed and I am so very sorry for your loss. I lost my own father back in 2006. It leaves quite a void. Thank you for taking the time to come to the forums.

Oh no. Very sad news. Such a wonderful human being. Rest in Peace Grayman.

Not only that but why is the lighting changing so drastically?

I think someone from here donated! I have to say, thank you so VERY much. Just a reminder about donating today, if you donate today then that amount will be matched by a corporate sponsor of the run. Fifty dollars will become 100 dollars! It's a great way to make a large impact quickly. Thanks again

Hey folks. This Month, I have joined a running group in the Million Reasons Run. It is collecting money for the Sick Kids Foundation which will then give that money to children's hospitals and related organizations in Canada. Today, all donations will be matched dollar for dollar...so your 10 dollar donation or whatever you choose to donate, will be doubled. So yeah, I am asking for money but it's a great cause. If you choose to donate, just use the link below and it will take you to my fundraising page! Thanks! https://www.millionreasons.run/fundraisers/timgormley/mrr

No, the calculations are all done with bounding boxes if I recall. The 3d model is used for reflections in mirrors.

No, guards are not programmed to see shadows as it creates far too many ungair gameplay issues.

Could the issue be remedied by taking into account how much of the player is blocked by an object + lightgem level + distance. The game already takes distance + lightgem level into account when determining how quickly the guards react. A further check could ease things a bit. Deadly Shadows was able to handle it that way. It checked something like 12 individual points on the player model

Is that still true if they're tagged to be on the same team though?

Can it just brighten the item like classic Thief and then subtly outline it? The thing that turns me off about what I'm seeing is that we're back to solid colors overlaid on items as they were in Deadly Shadows. In the early days of the Mod I figured out the whole material stage brightening to replicate classic Thief and it was then improved / modified over the years but of course all those material shaders are a pain. My only request is to please not go the TDS style route. I think the outlines as springheel suggested would be nice.

Well, obviously the textures are going to be higher res but still retain some semblance of the originals. Models could be higher poly count but not outrageous. I think with Thief, the look of the game was actually part of what made it work. I honestly think there is a market for it. The engine still exists and New Dark has been updated quite a bit already. The main thing though is that all the proven systems...sound / visual...they're already in place. Improvements can be made...and the engine already had some unused enhancements that just didn't get ironed out before the release of Thief 2. There was an early facial animation system in place, some early work on bump mapping...all kinds of tid bits that could be expanded upon and still deliver a Thief game will all the things that made it great. It's an artistic choice in todays Market. It's no longer about all games must use the latest and greatest, developers can choose which style best suits the tone of the game they're trying to make.

I think you missed my point. What did that extra expense add to the Thief gameplay? Did it serve the type of game Thief is? I don't believe it did. It continued the Deadly Shadows trend of limiting player movement and choice. They scaled Thief up to a AAA budget...a niche title...and in doing so watered it down to the point where it really didn't stand out anymore. I test games for a living. I've seen all kinds come through our doors and there is a very decent market for games that 'look' retro but play on modern systems. I've tested games inspired by classics like Ghouls and Ghosts, Quake, etc. There have been some recent games built using 20+ year old tech that has been modestly updated to retain the aesthetic of those older titles but still be a modern game. Basically, that look for a game is no longer seen as a limitation, it's an artistic choice. It's a style. So, for the type of game Thief is...my suggestion would be to NOT scale it up to AAA costs but rather work within the style that best serves the game and the gameplay. The costs would be lower, production time would be shorter. The studio wouldn't have to push as many units to break even and they might even make a decent profit given how games can be more easily distributed on Steam now.

Thief The Dark Project was definitely a financial success and a critical success as well at the time. The problem was that Looking Glass was already in bad shape financially and Thief's success was far too late to save the company. The issue with making a game like Thief today is a studio like Eidos Montreal insisting that it be a multi-million dollar AAA title, when it's not really that type of game. It's more of an indie title. Can you imagine how much all that motion capture cost to produce? Did it serve the game beyond being eye candy? I personally think a game like Thief is a prime candidate for a release that actually uses the original engine, updated somewhat, but holding onto the visual style of the original games. A retro look. It has been done in recent years and seems to have been well received. I think we're past the point of having to constantly update the graphics and can instead focus on choosing a style that best suits the game. Thief just felt right in the dark engine, kind of a product of the time. I think when you take it out of that, it loses a lot of the character