yoyamime

Oooo... like Project Zero. But Thief. And not like Project Zero at all... I'll shut up.

I think some things just aren't meant to be known. The great thing about steampunk is that it employs technology that we aren't supposed to comprehend, like the streetlamps that gather and run from some unknown energy source. I don't think that the cameras were monitored by guards. For one thing, where would the control room be? Secondly, the guard would notice after you blew the camera up with a fire arrow. I don't think that Karras' creations were meant to be at all like normal machines. Their little brazen faces were weird enough, not to mention their voice. It's like there's a little bit of Karras' soul in each of them. When they make their final utterance, 'Creation...' it's almost as if they've reached a final moment of acceptance. The above paragraph is why steampunk is so great. There is no fixed answer; people are left to guess how things work, and it often leaves a tiny inkling in the back of your mind that something's not quite right. Subtelties like how the water hangs upside down in Constantine's mansion, don't need an explaination.

Agreed. It's far too easy to just steamroller into the game with a sword and kill everything in sight. If the guards were a bit quicker to parry blows, and inflicted realistic damage, people might think twice before rushing in there with blade drawn. You can't stop people killing altogether though. To do that there'd have to be no water, broadheads (which are shit anyway), fire arrows etc. This would remove the valuable puzzle element of the game that contributes to Thief's greatness (like igniting torches to open doors.) Overall though, the killing aspect does need to be watered down a lot before true stealth can ensue. PS. You guys are Gods.

Yeah, in Thief DP and MA you could just run away from the guards, raise your sword while running, then turn and release the blow a couple of times while they chase after you. And what was really stupid, is when a guard stands between you and an archer. The archer will quite happily let fly directly at his best mate's back, killing him. I don't think though, that little things like that are a bad thing. If you want to spend all your time trying to get one guard to kill another, or kill as many people as possible, that's up to you. If you want to change the difficulty, do that. Choice is good; it's how people decide to use it that dictates how the game is played. For example, the dagger in DS. It was shit because, though it was a stealty weapon, it restricted people in ways the sword didn't. And backstabing became pointless. I want to conclude by saying that I don't have a clue where I'm going with this, so I'm quitting while I'm ahead. *Braces for a flamin' from Oddity*