Has the existance of TDM influenced your decision to buy Thief 4?

[lost_soul]

I've been wondering about this. It isn't just TDM that is a deciding factor for me, but also the publisher's unwillingness to fix the glaring/annoying bugs in the Thief games. There's the multi-core support, which is a pain to work around (even in T3!). Then there are the movies, which are constantly breaking. Then we have all of the NVidia problems. The publisher refuses to release the source code for the first two games, so someone else can fix the bugs permanently. That also plays into my decision not to buy Thief 4.

 

I was one of the guys who purchased Thief 3 and DX:IW upon release, but this won't happen again unless they show more love to the community that has kept their games going for the past decade. Eidos: Release the code for T1 and T2, and I will buy Thief 4 immediately. I don't really care about the T3 code.

Edited August 27, 2010 by lost_soul

[Trickster]

1. No, I will buy Thief 4 upon release, regardless of the game's expandibility or review scores.
2. Yes, I will wait to see how Thief 4 turns out and if an editor is released before buying.
3. Yes, I'll stick to playing TDM and classic Thief missions, unless Thief 4 blows my mind.
4. No. I am almost sure ThiAf 4 will have nothing to attract me. They will show no "love to the community..."

I go for 4.

[demagogue]

If anything, I think people into Dark Mod need to keep abreast of what's going with the franchise. It's inevitable people will start comparing and contrasting, and none of us will know what they're talking about unless we play it too. I mean I'll play it for its own sake anyway, just because I like stealth gameplay and am curious which way they're going to take the story. My point is just that if TDM has any influence at all, I'd think it should be more in favor of getting T4 than not.

 

Besides, Eidos Mont'l (or their community manager anyway) has known about Dark Mod and has been nothing but friendly to the extent they've recognized us at all. So we don't have any special reason to think they're against us and even some reason to appreciate them not being antagonistic. I think it's nice to keep up the good-will, though of course still be honest in our opinion to however the game turns out (we're still self-respecting gamers.)

[redrain85]

I didn't vote in the poll, because the last two answers more or less seem to be saying the same thing (won't buy Thief 4 unless it's as good as the previous titles).

 

But to answer the question: I don't expect Thief 4 to surpass, let alone meet, the quality of the gameplay found in Thief 1 and 2. Sure, it will look better. It'll have all the gee-whiz-bang physics interactions, rag dolls, and special effects. The story might even be decent.

 

But the PC version will probably not be the lead SKU, and rather be a console port. This will lead to simplified game mechanics, aka "dumbing down". Will there even be lean, I wonder?

 

If publishers would do the reverse more often, making the PC version the lead SKU and then doing console ports, many games would be a lot better off. Thief 4 in particular. (A perfect recent example of this is Mafia 2. The PC version is the lead SKU, and the console versions are ported from it. Guess which version blows away the other two?)

 

I'm almost entirely certain that when Thief 4 comes out, I'll be playing The Dark Mod instead. Eidos will pander to the largest demographic and will never put in all the features that die-hard Thief fans would want. While with TDM, if the community requests any changes, additions, or updates, the TDM team will listen to our feedback and implement it. TDM is for the fans, by the fans. Thief 4 will be about making the most money, long-time fans be damned.

[Tels]

I am sure Thiaf will not run under Linux (no money in making linux ports) nor Wine (who knows what horrible DRM scheme they come up with) and so I am very probably not be able to play it, even if I wanted...

[masterthief]

I am sure I will be, because I love stealth games, especially concerning the Middle Ages takes place. My favorite is the medieval period, and I like all the TPS FPS game which is indicated by the dark times. Thief 4 will be good I hope. rontsanak not anything, and Garrett is the hero. Eidos Montreal has promised. We will not be disappointed, I hope it will be.

[SneaksieDave]

My stance is what it always was and will be. If Thiaf is good, I'll get it. If not, I won't. I always sit and wait on purchases so I have time to decide.

 

Thief is separate from Thief 2 is separate from TDS is separate from TDM is separate from Thiaf, and they can be enjoyed or not, separately.

[Serpentine]

As a person who strongly believes that pre-ordering is hugely detrimental force, I will wait it out and see. as always I will no doubt "acquire" a copy and see if it's any good. Should it prove to be then they have earned my money and I will purchase. TDM has no influence on if I will buy it really, a good game that is well produced and worthy of my remuneration will almost always be purchased(crappy student budget permitting).

 

I'm quite a horrible person to shop(or live) with as I always try to make well informed decisions... even on what cheese I buy.

[LEGION]

For me TDM is special and is not really a substitute for Thief anymore. So, it really depends on Thief4 if I buy it or not. Since TDS there is no reason to buy it without knowing if it´s good or not.

 

I didn´t vote because no choice fits my opinion. I would´ve voted simply: No.

[ungoliant]

I'll be buying (well, maybe playing) Thi4f E, errr, Thief 4, for the story if nothing else. Although if the main characters name is 9aRr477 i might change my mind

[aidakeeley]

No.

 

I will evaluate Thief 4 regardless of TDM.

[Fidcal]

I changed my vote then changed it back to #1 which most closely fits. TDM won't affect my buying it. But what will is I will not buy it for the PC if as is likely these days, it is locked into some on-line-register-your-soul play mode. If so, and if it is available for the Xbox then I'll probably get that version.

[PranQster]

... what Fidcal said. If there is any mention of Sony's evil SecuROM malware being attached to it, I will not get it.

Plus, I'll be waiting to see if it will be playable in Wine. I highly doubt that it will have an openGL option. But WoW and HalfLife2 both surprised me by being able to be played in Wine in either openGL (fast) or D3D (much slower) modes. So maybe D3D will work in Wine for Thi4f... who knows?

[7upMan]

 

But the PC version will probably not be the lead SKU, and rather be a console port.  This will lead to simplified game mechanics, aka "dumbing down".  

Just see DX:IW. What a shame that was. Well, I think the best we can do is cross our fingers and hope with more or less baited breath that Eidos won't make the same mistakes as with T3 or DX:IW. I mean, sooner or later they gotta have to learn.

And no, regardless of how Thiaf will turn out, I will continue playing TDM. T1 and T2 are such horrible graphics (AIs made of a dozen or less polygons?) and have such horrible gameplay (mantling, anyone?) that I refuse to ever install these games again. TDM is better in every single aspect, and it turn better and better with each update.

 

 

[Chiron]

Its like a record from my favourite artists, I'll buy it whatever any reviewer says about it, I just want to see how they/it progressed from the predecessor.

 

If its heavily DRM dongled I'll might be tempted to crack it though.

Edited August 26, 2010 by Chiron

[lost_soul]

Seems like modern games play better in WINE than a lot of older ones do. Maybe that is because there is a higher demand for D3D9 support than, say, d3d6. Sadly, if T4 uses anything based on the Unreal engine, you can bet there will be input problems. http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6971

 

Hopefully this will get fixed within the next 3 years. It has been there for at least half a decade and affects countless games.

[Melan]

I'm quite a horrible person to shop(or live) with as I always try to make well informed decisions... even on what cheese I buy.

What could be a more important shopping decision than one about cheese?

 

WRT Thief 4, I am leaning towards buying it. Even Thief 3, which had a host of problems, was enjoyable enough to be worth the price. The big thing to watch for will be how DX: Human Revolution turns out. If it is a good game (in its own right; we cannot realistically expect something identical to DX), there is a good chance T4 will be as well. If not... well, it's a good thing we have TDM.

 

Also, I've read recently the engine they are using for DX, and most likely T4, is strongly reliant on external modelling apps to construct levels. That means we might as well forget about an editor, and TDM becomes even more important in the future of Thief...ish gaming.

[Baddcog]

I'm sure I'll buy and play it.

 

But I'm also sure that I'll just stick with TDM for editting.