Odd tricks you like to use.

[Professor Paul1290]

I was curious as to what sort of odd miscellaneous tricks some of you like to use when you play.

 

 

I sometimes use broadheads to knock over candles from a distance when NPCs aren't sitting right next to them to save on water arrows.

 

I sometimes leave doors partially open or closed so that if I come back and find them completely shut or open then I know there's a good chance an NPC still passes through that door along their patrol.

 

I also sometimes leave an extinguished candle or some other small object out in the middle of a hallway so that an NPC would knock it over to help check they still pass through there on a longer patrol. The reliability on this is rather hit or miss though.

 

 

 

A bit of a question: Do you leave doors open or closed when you search a room?

I sometimes have trouble deciding whether to leave the door open or closed while I search a room for goodies. Leaving it closed obviously makes you harder to see from the outside but leaving it open often lets you hear NPCs better as they come near.

I usually leave the door closed if there is a significant amount of light in the room and leave it open if there isn't, though I haven't had enough guards walk in on me to work out how effective this is.

Edited October 21, 2011 by Professor Paul1290

[Glyph Seeker]

It depends on the amount of light... A harsh light coming from outside a room means I might leave the door ajar instead of open!

[demagogue]

I always close the door behind me for performance reasons, to shut off the visportal. Shows how much I'm thinking like a mapper.

[lost_soul]

Generally I close doors behind me, especially when AIs are around. I wouldn't want an accidental noise to attract unwanted attention. I'm a pretty messy thief though. When I'm searching cabinets and those wine bottle holders for loot, I tend to leave lots of plates/bottles/junk on the floor. After trashing the kitchen on Builder's Influence the other day, I looked at the mess I made and thought "no one will ever no a thief's been through here!".

 

I do try to remain unseen though. It isn't to the point where I reload if I'm spotted, but the less the AIs notice me, the better.

 

In the past, I've been known to use broadhead arrows to knock over candles to make a place darker. I generally do this when I'm trying to save water arrows for some reason.

 

Also, I generally blackjack ALL NPCs/Guards who are hostile. I even blackjack sleeping AIs, because I wouldn't want a noise to wake them up while I'm searching the area for valuables.

[Shadowhide]

noclip

[lost_soul]

Yes, I also use noclip from time to time if I can't figure out where I'm supposed to go in a mission. I don't just cheat my way to the end, I "reverse-engineer" the map and find out how I'm supposed to complete it. Then I load my quick save and complete it in a legitimate manor. Sure it may be technically cheating, but it is better than searching for long periods of time or quitting a mission. I did quit some Thief FMs because I couldn't do the above when I was stuck.

[RPGista]

I even blackjack sleeping AIs, because I wouldn't want a noise to wake them up while I'm searching the area for valuables.

 

Haha, that's just mean...

 

That's not really a trick, but I always try to thrust the blade right at their faces when they discover me and charge like crazy. It's a pretty neat way of finishing the fight before it even starts, but really hard to get right against armored guys. The chest is usually good too. You can hit them clean when they are about to swing (specially useful on hardest because they are so damn good at blocking and can sometimes be impenetrable) - but if you don't kill him, you are sure to get hit back without being able to block.

 

I like also throwing small objects to knock down candles instead of arrows when available (thanks, awesome object manipulating system), they have the advantage of not being noticed as a weapon by the guards (but can be quite noisy, depending on which one it is). That can also somtimes work well as a substitute for a noisemaker arrow, throw something into a corner.

Edited October 21, 2011 by RPGista

[Springheel]

I usually leave doors open just a crack so I can hear guards coming without much risk of being seen.

 

I also use the spyglass. A lot. I'll find a nice shadow to wedge myself into and check out how armoured guards are, what weapons they have (which will actually matter after 1.07), whether they have anything on their belt, and even sometimes scan readables from afar.

[ungoliant]

i find that response time is critical to the professional bargain hunter. i use muscle-memory hotkeys for compass, lantern, lockpicks, keys, flashbombs, put weapon away, put item away, drop item.

 

also i set all my controls around the numpad because it has the many edges and blank spots around the keys that make identifying them with your fingers very easy, so your attention doesn't divert from your surroundings. so other than the numpad, my pinky and ring fingers can find the arrow keys, page up and page down very easily without looking.

[lost_soul]

So tell me something. Am I the only one who uses right mouse button for jump and ctrl as crouch? I picked this up back in the 1990s from some game (possibly Half-life) and it has stuck ever sense.

Edited October 21, 2011 by lost_soul

[ungoliant]

you think thats weird? i use LMB for run, and MMB for creep

[stumpy]

notarget

noclip

[pusianka]

What's notarget?

[stumpy]

AI cant see you, you are invisible to them, if you have notarget set to true. usually use it to test AI patrols better than fiddling with setting the team to same as player.

Edited October 23, 2011 by stumpy

[pusianka]

Ohhh... That's the cheat I shouldn't got to know... Now if any of the FMs stop me and piss me off then there I go invisible... Shit. Well as of tricks - it's always good to have a rope somewhere around If you re in crappy situation . I love the trick with bowl and light which I first got to know from silly screenshots thread. I sometimes take box in front of me especially when I have to open doors and am scared.

[PranQster]

Not much of a trick, but if I'm in a mission with a gas arrow, I'll make it a point to try to get the highest concentration of AI in one place. I'll use broadheads to hit things or noisemakers... then when I have as many AI as possible in one spot I use a noisemaker to bring them together and try to take them all out with 1 gas arrow. MY record so far is 5, though I forgot which map it was. I did get 4 in one spot in 'Heart', and another 4 in ANNOTT part 1 (?) (outside the pub).

Another thing I like to do is KO every AI in the mission, whether I need to or not. I love knocking them all out and the run around looking for loot and secrets, not caring how much noise I make.

[PranQster]

So tell me something. Am I the only one who uses right mouse button for jump and ctrl as crouch? I picked this up back in the 1990s from some game (possibly Half-life) and it has stuck ever sense.

 

Right mouse button for walking backward, middle mouse button/wheel press for moving forward and left mouse button for attack. Left shift for toggle run/walk, alt for creep, a=jump, z=crouch, space=frob, e=use, w s and d for leaning forward and side-side. Mouse is always freelook with inverted axis on all games (pull mouse toward me to look up, push forward to look down).

 

I think many of the key bindings I use came from old Duke Nukem 3D and I have used them for all of the Quake, Doom, Half Life, Unreal and Thief games.

[Glyph Seeker]

Right mouse button for walking backward, middle mouse button/wheel press for moving forward and left mouse button for attack. Left shift for toggle run/walk, alt for creep, a=jump, z=crouch, space=frob, e=use, w s and d for leaning forward and side-side. Mouse is always freelook with inverted axis on all games (pull mouse toward me to look up, push forward to look down).

 

I think many of the key bindings I use came from old Duke Nukem 3D and I have used them for all of the Quake, Doom, Half Life, Unreal and Thief games.

 

 

Such keybinds are HERESY!

 

>:-I

[PranQster]

LOL, can't teach an old dog new tricks.

[ithel]

Is there a way for a mission to override the console and disallow noclip and notarget? I've not used these at all and wouldn't dream of it, as that would take all the pleasure out of the game. Frankly, I trust mappers more than that.

[rich_is_bored]

Commands like noclip and notarget have uses other than cheating. If you need to penalize a player in some way for it I'd rather see it give you a poor score than to disable it entirely.

[lost_soul]

It would be funny if an FM author did what Raven did in Heretic. In Heretic, if you typed in a cheat code for Doom, it would do the opposite effect. Typing iddqd would kill the player, saying something like "Die Cheater!" and iddqd would take away all your gear.

[Thiefette]

I usually leave doors open just a crack so I can hear guards coming without much risk of being seen.

 

I also use the spyglass. A lot. I'll find a nice shadow to wedge myself into and check out how armoured guards are, what weapons they have (which will actually matter after 1.07), whether they have anything on their belt, and even sometimes scan readables from afar.

 

That's the way I like to play. Lot's of planning and sneaking.

As far as using noclip - I've only used that when I've gotten hung up in the game (fall through the floor, stuck in a corner etc.) and use it instead of quitting and going back to a previous usually far back save. I'd hate to be penalized for that.

Edited October 26, 2011 by Thiefette