Vae

The announcement on Amazon is there, just without the TDM reference...However, the Gamasutra press release still contains two TDM references.

I mentioned the hoax possibility, as an unlikely disclaimer, in the remote possibility that it was a hoax not perpetrated by EM, but by a hacker. Yet, now that Brethren has mentioned the removal of the divisive TDM comment, that would clearly indicate that EM is behind the wheel, and logically modifying the announcement in relation to community response.

It means nothing of consequence. Here we have a marketing gimmick, launched purposefully a week before the release of their NuThief product...This is designed to reap more sales from the many in the community that disapprove of their anti-THIEF design approach, and to give the illusion that they care, by baiting members and modders into believing that there will actually be a future substantial relationship between EM and the community...which there will not. Also notice the divisive tactic used, by not including TTLG in the announcement. This of course assumes this announcement isn't a hoax.

Yep...I have all kinds of crazy machines that connect to all kinds of other crazy machines and screens...

Hi nickie, welcome... I haven't played this one yet...downloading now!

This is incorrect...EM could have decided to lower their budget with this title, and market it to a relatively smaller audience. If they determined that this would not work with their business strategy, they could have chosen to sell the rights and create a new IP or chosen another, more appropriate title, to utilize their diametrically principled, non-Thief-like design philosophy. There are more than you think...they just aren't being served by the current main-stream trends. Except the problem is, the diminished cultural impact...EM has missed a huge opportunity to be a trend-setter, or at least in a great way, to help sustain and proliferate a more advanced genetic strain of virtual experience.

They used the THIEF name, in order to exploit the notoriety of the brand...with the unethical intention of increasing sales, at the expense of the integrity of the franchise.

...and then you get to choose NuGarrett's upgrade. So wrong, and rings hollow like an empty soul.

Yeah, I believe that's for the Focus Ability upgrades (Dexterity, Marksman, etc.) Yep...It's pretty much what some of us have been predicting for some time now. Actually, TDS didn't have the contextual design restrictions or the inappropriate character upgrades...and had Russell and Brosius to greatly enhance the soundscape and overall intimacy. Anyway, just recovering from a long week at NAMM...I'll probably post some of my thoughts about the recent news tomorrow...

What a beautiful place to live...

I'm a musician/composer/sound designer...although after many years in the biz, I've had experience in other areas, including producing and conceptual design. Not yet...

I live and work in the entertainment industry, in Los Angeles.

I actually tried the 3 monitor version of this...I much prefer my 55" 4k monitor...better resolution, no frame lines...much more spatially immersive. ...and yes, NuThief still looks wanting...I'd take "Lords & Legacy" any day...

Concealment means "something that is hidden", not necessarily by a physical barrier...It is the inverse of visibility...hence, if one is partially concealed by darkness, they are also partially visible.

No...The Light Gem does that with 3 different stages... White = Bright Light Gray = Dim Light Black = Darkness ...and yes, Light is the primary modifier for Visibility. Yes...The Shroud represents visibility with 3 different stages... No Shroud = No Concealment Partial Shroud = Partial Concealment Full Shroud = Concealed (with the possible exception of very close proximity with an Ai, facing the player) No, it doesn't affect the Shroud when an Ai is looking at you...because the Shroud, as a visibility indicator, is only affected by Light and Stance/Mode (Crouch = Sneak Mode, Peek = Cover Mode) Drawn Weapon = No effect to visibility (That includes the Fire Arrow!) Speed = No effect to visibility (That includes running and swooping!) Stance = Does affect visibility (Crouch and Peek = Concealed, when Light Gem = Black or Gray...If White, then Stance doesn't affect visibility) Edit: I recently discovered these things after analyzing both gameplay demos from E3 (June) and EuroGamer (Sept)...more to come. The icons over the head are "alert status indicators", and they are optional...They're there for people who don't know how to use their brain.

....And the claw is the auto-tool used for climbing. So that means, now we know where we're allowed to infallibly auto-climb!... I know...that's really ignorant and hilarious at the same time...Trying to rationalize a regressive, inferior system, is ridiculous. Hey, now you're starting to sound just like me... But yes, it's true...NuThief has been designed with the casual gamer in mind... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, let's take this piece by piece... This is really basic...so basic in fact, that I can't imagine anyone but a child or casual player needing it!...Think about it...this is just a simple, 3-stage light-only indicator, that tells the player the obvious...Is it really that difficult to tell if you're "in the light", "in the shadows", or moving out of a shadow and into the light?... ...Is this game, "Thief for children"?...or just an intentional mockery of the true Visibility Gem? Answer: The NuLightGem is just a tacked-on, crude light meter, so that EM can say "we brought back the light gem...see, we deliver the THIEF DNA everyone". Next... First, I'll clear up the "whether they're already looking for you" statement...What she's referring to, is the "Alert Status Indicators" that float above the Ai's heads, if you're silly enough to have them toggled on...She's just confusing systems, and doesn't know any better. ...and this last statement..."There are so many factors that go into "visibility" that jamming them all into that one indicator would make it nearly useless for the player." Just shows that she has no idea what she's talking about...That is a completely embarrassing public relations statement. Okay, now in regards to "visibility"...As horrific as this sounds, everyone needs to realize that the Shroud is the one and only visibility meter...That means that whatever information that affects the players visibility (light, stance, weapon, movement), is reduced to a simple binary state of "visible" or "invisible" is reduced to a trinary state... ...Now imagine playing THIEF or TDM with the Visibility Gem giving you only completely black (0%) or fully bright (100%) completely black, semi-lit, and fully bright...with a flash to the face when it switches from black to bright black or semi-lit to fully bright...that's the Shroud...except the Shroud surrounds the whole screen. This means that the "Visibility Shroud" hasn't any dynamic range or depth has very little dynamic range or depth, to let the player know what affects what, in any measured quantity or proximity. EDIT: After closer inspection, I've discovered among other things, the Shroud is trinary, and not binary.

Not by much. Yes, that's a compact term to explain the binary Shroud, and the trinary Light-only Gem (if used)...Collectively or separate, they constitute a low-fidelity feedback system, because of their crude and limited function. Right...but what limited feedback there is in NuThief, is very basic...so I don't see how that will produce anything close to the superior stealth experience of classic THIEF and TDM...NuThief is outclassed, on this core feature alone. You said... I'm not trying to be a stickler, I'm just informing you that the "far better" is inaccurate. Let's put it this way...On a scale of 1-10, qualified as an overall depth of stealth experience, I'd give Dishonored a 4, classic THIEF an 8, and TDM a 9...and I would estimate that NuThief will be a 5, maybe a 6 if we're lucky. Right...Stealth in Dishonored is line-of-sight, which also has a "stealth mode" (crouching) that makes you silent. That's only partially true, due to the fact that the "move silently challenge" will mainly be limited to "noise patches" on the surface-scape...and even these will be cancelled out for the most part, due to the auto-silent Swoop superpower...I'm telling you right now, EM's contextual stealth-action design philosophy won't allow them to slow the game down with forced "tedious" creeping, like classic THIEF and TDM...That's why they implemented Swoop, so the player can Swoop from safe-zone to safe-zone, and bypass a lot of the vulnerable zones with relative ease...It's also probably why they only needed a low-fidelity feedback system, because the player won't actually need anything more than that.

No, you are wrong...Because of the low-fidelity feedback system, the quality of the stealth experience will be much closer to Dishonored and DXHR, rather than classic THIEF and TDM.

Well, you can like what ever you want...yet objectively, both classic THIEF and TDM have higher-fidelity stealth feedback systems than Splinter Cell, Dishonored, and the impending NuThief. I agree with you, stumpy...Both Splinter Cell and NuThief employ a more crude stealth system that is designed to accommodate the basic stealth-action experience, rather than the superior, more granular and dimensionally immersive feedback systems offered with classic THIEF and TDM.

Thanks Loa4ever...Yeah, we've both read that. It's a nice analysis of Garrett's personal profile, which is very different from NuGarrett...This presents additional clarity, when comparing the two separate persons that share the same name. You may like this, as well...How Old is Garrett?...It's something we worked out a while back.

Thank you, Kvorning!...This was a fantastic mission!...

I would love that!...That way we'd get to play "Pop Goes the NuRope"... ...Perhaps we'll get lucky and get a musical tune when slowly drawing back on the bow.

The Shroud is the most distracting visual element, because it resides on every edge of the screen and will flash on a regular basis...and unfortunately, it appears to be the core feedback device for NuThief. That is why it isn't allowed to be toggled off. The NuLightGem, was most likely just a tacked-on, crude light meter, so that EM can say "we brought back the light gem...see, we deliver the THIEF DNA everyone". Same goes for the pathetic NuRope...which initially was probably just hanging chains, replaced by attachment points.

I agree...The stealth system in Dishonored is clearly inferior to the one in the classic THIEF games...Unfortunately, the one in NuThief will be, as well.