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Subjective Effect

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Everything posted by Subjective Effect

  1. But then you need some pretty hardcore DRM to be able to prove you bought the game in the first place. New installs/re-installs would be a nightmare.
  2. Well there we have it ladies and gents. It's a testament to TTLG's popularity. They've raised over $4000 for the new hosting deal in a matter of days. This is very important for TDM imo, because it shows how active and dedicated the community is and that means a whole lot of Thief fans who are going to eat TDM up like candy!!
  3. TTLG admins will definitely want to host all the TDM files there. I don't know what the plans are for file hosting here but this big upgrade looks to be in preparation for a small overhaul. They'll host all the TTLG sub-sites and as many Thief related files (as well as SS2, Deus Ex and others) in one place. I'm certainly not suggesting that these forums close down. Not a chance. This should still be the home of TDM but TTLG forums are more populous and to be fair to them they will funnel a lot of seekers to TDM. I think that despite the lukewarm reception it gets from the admins there TDM will play a massive role in TTLG popularity when it comes out, and no one is going to be able to say meh to it, not even those who are cold to it now. The reason I mention it is there will be DL ramifications since they plan on hosting all the TDM files they can there. That's not bad, is it?
  4. Sounds like there are plans afoot to expand its remit too. We shall see. I think it inevitable that when TDM is released there will be a TDM sub-forum at TTLG. It looks like all Thief missions will be hosted by TTLG eventually too. TDM missions will be included, I'm sure.
  5. Don't they have internet in Japan?
  6. There is nothing wrong with this engine though. And will the entry level specs of PCs going ever upwards it will suit things better.
  7. Does this mean the D3 source is likely to be released sooner?
  8. I don't think that MP effort will ever produce anything reasonable either. But I do think that 2 player Co-Op in Thief could work. Not with the old engine, but in something like TDM or whatever Thief 4 will use. If you have to work together it would be great fun. One distracting a guard whilst the other steals something, one turning off an alarm at one side of a building so the other can get into a vault and so on.
  9. Co-op. Your imagination is like a blind alley. Look we can go this way oh crap
  10. But it is plot Sping, it's the story of the house and is directly consequential to your mission because, iirc, the 7th Crystal is in that hidden chamber. It's an expansive way of revealing this but how is just knowing where to go any better? I think easy directions are dull. Of course things shouldn't be over done but it's all tasty filling and icing.
  11. If Ken is able to produce something great that isn't necessarily aimed at making a commercial success but just at being awesome all will be forgiven and the BioShock debacle will have been worth it. One can hope. Not that much though.
  12. Spoilers for 7th Crystal to illustrate what I mean by plot/story. You're Garrett in this FM and you are asked to steal this crystal thing. So off you go. But the crystal is in a mansion and when you get inside a child's ghost occasionally communicates with you. It's pretty spooky (and precedes The Cradle, natch). From the readables you discover that the lord of the manor and his wife have suffered a terrible tragedy - the accidental death of their daughter, and furthermore it has torn their marriage apart because neither of them really knows how to come to terms with this and neither is communicating with or comforting the other. The ghost tells you how sad her mother is these days and you find out, from readables, that the mother has found comfort in the arms of one of the guards. The lord of the manor, meanwhile, has avoided facing his grief by focusing on a hidden chamber he has found, which leads to all sorts of occult hidden areas underground and, of course, loot for you. This is a "Steal A" mission, but the way it all unfolds makes it so much more. Even if you do no like the mission if you cannot see how and why these extras might make it more enjoyable or memorable then you and I are never, ever going to see eye to eye. I really enjoy a good story, and I really like the way it can be told through readables or logs. It fits so well in a Thief mission because it's all about sneaking and doing or seeing things you shouldn't. Whilst I think that the map and gameplay is of utmost importance in an FM, a good map combined with a good story is so much more. The Cradle isn't just about the map, it's about what happened there.
  13. And TDM is all about making FMs. Even if someone makes a campaign the fact that the users are FM players, and thus fairly hardcore fans who DO think plot is quite important, failure on plot/story construction will not go down well.
  14. Yeah, the only thing you can hope for is someone with a sensible long term goal that drives them to make something that is both commercially successful AND critically acclaimed by reviewers and fans alike.
  15. Chat about messing up Thief would be good, yes. It's more than nice hearing them admit to the problems because at least we now know they aren't in some unreceptive bubble (like some people) and perhaps, just perhaps, lessons will be learnt.
  16. Relative to what though? In my mind the order of importance is gameplay, atmosphere, story. Graphics and related technologies only need be as good as is required for good gameplay (failure in TDS with the technology) and for a suitable atmosphere. Even basic graphics can be suitable if the designers have enough skill to squeeze good atmosphere out of them and Thief 1 and 2 are prime examples. The story seems to be lost in all of that, I agree. But it is still very important even if it is the least important thing. Eyes are not important for life to go on but damn are they important for living.
  17. The background to the events with the 7 hour war and invasion of Earth, the resistance and the people you meet is the plot. And you don't really set out to "kill the bad guy" do you? You're just trying to meet up with the resistance for the most part and encounter all sorts along the way. Tied up in that is an over arcing story but instead of being handheld through the telling you experience it because it's happening around you. Dark Messiah has a similar A to B to C structure but if you play it you'll know what I mean. Thief, on the other hand, is just comes in discrete episodes as missions. It's the same A to B to C though.
  18. Whilst gameplay is king, and atmosphere queen, you need a story that isn't crap to pull the whole thing off. Dark Messiah is, to me, the perfect example of failure on the storyline leading to the game being much less than it could have been. It has some gameplay issues but if you want to play a visceral hack'n'slash in some evocative locations you cannot go wrong with playing as a pure warrior character. I mixed it up a bit - 60% warrior, 20% mage, 20% stealth - and the gameplay was great. It's another sad tale of lack of editor stopping the creation of something wonderful. But the story! Oh veh! It was SO bad and SO predictable and SO adolescent. It was an embarrassment. I really did feel embarrassed for the makers. See, HL2 has a mature plot and so did Thief and Deus Ex. Sure they are sci-fi/fantasy blah blah but in that context they are solid. Plot isn't everything but if everything else is right it really can be a supreme icing. The 7th Crystal is a great FM, and that is in part due to the great plot.
  19. I used them in T2 and I found that the very penalty that Zylonbane is lamenting made them all the more interesting to use.
  20. I don't think you need to worry about story telling though. A significant proportion of TDM FM creators will be from TTLG and the FM creators there do a great job. However, if there were ever an "official" TDM campaign/map set the story and atmosphere would be VERY important because there would be the danger of setting the wrong tone. Within the constraints of TDM I think getting the atmosphere wrong would be very hard though, and if you've played Thief's Den you'll understand why
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