WorLord

On this: I'm not sure I encountered the problem in St. Lucia, so that's something to know. I'm pretty sure it might have been one of the unofficial maps, which means I shouldn't have said anything at all, in retrospect. Either way, good to know its a non-issue. :-)

Nutshell Review: This map is so awesome it almost made me cry when I played it. ***** Short review: I have, so far, played all 4 missions available for TDM (Thief's Den, St. Lucia, Closemouthed Shadows, and Ship4) several times. I can't get enough. The game looks awesome, the physics are impeccable... its utterly amazing. Seriously, this is just outstanding. I wait with utterly batied breath for any signs of a new map. ***** Detailed critique (for the patient): Things that are better (than the original games): - Graphics. TDM is head-and-shoulders above the original games, or any mod out there. T3 with the texture pack enhancements come very close, as the Doom3 engine accomplishes many of the same things; however, while the two might look similar, the performance of the D3 engine is light years better (once it loads). - Physics. T3 looks great, but feels horrible. It takes approximately forty seven minutes to lean left or right in T3. Jumping in all three games (but especially T3) gives the impression of floating through jell-o; much more realistic here. Mantling is FANTASTIC in TDM - the game seems smart enough to mantle into a small, crouch-sized opening without any idiotic shenanigans or control acrobatics necessary. Mantling from a rope-arrow was effortless and about how I'd expect things to work. Arrows that hit walls bounce everywhere and can be recovered. Objects within objects (Like, say, a key stashed in a boot) are just amazing. There's actually a skeleton in one of the crypts, visible through the cracked lid... it isn't just a texture, it actually appears to be an object. How completely awesome. - AI. Though certainly _not_ without its problems, the AI in the original games and most mods is kind of deaf, dumb, and blind. The AI in TDM is... frightening, frankly. As in, I had to steel myself in order to try to blackjack someone, because these guards are alert and can take you apart very quickly. (This also has something to do with blackjacking's current state of "really, really difficult", but more on that later). - Stealing. In specific, taking an item that is NOT treasure isn't the huge problem it is in T1/2/3... you can put it back down without causing a ruckus, or even making a sound. This fixes the problem loot glint was designed to fix without resorting to being the tacky spectacle that loot glint actually was. Also, the range with which one can steal things feels extraordinary, but not inhuman... well done there. - Blackjacking. In particular, the idea that knocking someone out has to do with a blunt object hitting a skull, and NOTHING to do with how "alert" or "alarmed" a person is. YES to the idea that you can still knock someone out even if they know you're there and are looking right at you - this is how it should have worked all along. As difficult and admittedly buggy as blackjacking still is in St. Lucia, I consider this part of it to be a fix for a bug that originated all the way back in T1. Also, yes to the idea of not being able to knock someone in a helmet out! That's another idea who's time has come. - Dragging bodies. GOD YES. I literally applauded this decision in the comfort of my home while playing. I don't think people realize how hard it actually IS to pick up an unconscious body and heft it around over one's shoulder... you'd have to be REALLY fit to do this as effortlessly as it seems to be done in the games. Dragging, and dragging by body part, no less, is a huge improvement over the originals, even and especially because of the problems it causes (one leg getting caught on a doorframe, etc). (EDIT: just read that you can actually shoulder them, in St. Lucia - haven't tried it out yet, but I hope it is SLOW). - Death animations. Seriously, this is gloriously done. Shoot a broad head into a guard's eye, and tell me that doesn't look completely, fantastically realistic. It is an improvement over the slow-fall deaths in T1&2, and the utterly ridiculous, spring-loaded, body-folds-in-half ragdoll effects of T3. While we're on the topic, the blackjack animation actually looks like a strike with conviction, instead of a gesture. Well-done, there. Things that are as good as the original games: - SWIMMABLE WATER. (Dang, T3... what were you thinking??) - Frobbable highlight (Death to blue. Again, T3, WTF.) - Lighting, provided a shadow can alert a guard (I didn't see any opportunity to test this in any of the missions) - Ability to see/navigate in the lowest of lighting conditions Things that are worse than the original games (aka things I see as "problems" - and I'm leaving out obvious bugs and known issues, like the menu-thing, the texture thing, and the blackjacking difficulty thing; they are bugs, they do exist, but I know they're being adjusted and worked on and people are probably sick to death of hearing about them. Instead, I'm focussing on things that I either haven't seen reported as bugs, or things that appear to be intentional that I don't like. As such, this is going to be a pretty short list, composed almost entirely of minor nit picks): - Candles. Good idea, problematic implementation: Can't pinch 'em out, but you can pick them up. However, if you pick one up and run with it or throw it into water, it stays lit. I think just moving a candle should cause it to go out, unless it is moved very slowly and deliberately. - Oil lantners. They look like you should be able to pinch them out (see above), but I couldn't douse them even with water arrows. Bah! - Sound. Footsteps on stone are far too loud for someone who should know how to walk softly, even in penny loafers (and why does the thief sound like he's wearing penny loafers? I've been saying this since Thief 1, but... shouldn't he be in moccasins or something??). I realize there is a gameplay aspect to this, certainly; footfalls have to make some noise on each surface type. I also realize the mod's mission to stay faithful to the originals. However, if we can improve the status quo (blackjacking regardless of alert status, dragging bodies), then the crux of the complaint is that a thief should have a sound advantage here, the same way he has a light advantage; I would expect that a thief walking on stone would be, say, 50% quieter than a guard walking on stone, all other things (like hard-soled shoes) being equal. And that difference of volume should, IMO, be applied to whether or not a guard gets alerted to a thief's presence. - Sound again - sound seems to propagate everywhere, though I wonder if this is an engine limitation. I didn't notice a volume change when a door is opened or closed (though I DID notice that guards will be less likely alerted to your presence through doors... maybe my imagination?). As such, this is a pathetically minor gripe, but there you go. Also, it'd be nice to lean into a door (like in T3) to "hear" through it, but that's way more RFE than "bug". - Torch light creates still shadows everywhere; I'd expect shadows cast from open flame to flicker (yeah, I'm TOTALLY nitpicking now, especially since this would likely destroy performance in some areas). I can see how candles and oil lamps - things with small, largely un-flickering flames - would cast still shadows, but I kind of expected all the shadows in the crypt to be moving. ***** The bottom line, for me, is that even in its pre-beta condition, The Dark Mod is the rightful heir to the Thief throne. It is very arguably a better looking, feeling, and playing game than T:DS turned out to be, and I'm one of those people who actually liked T:DS and didn't think it deserved as much negative criticism as it got. Bravo, well done, and thank you all for doing this. I can't wait for more.