What THIEF means to me...

[Deadlove]

There are three things about THIEF that I think made the game for me what it is...I don't have a word for it, but you get the point, I like it a lot.

 

1) MASSIVE SIZED MISSIONS THAT ARE SO LARGE THAT IT CAN TAKE HOURS ON HOURS TO COMPLETE ONE MISSION

 

2) MISSIONS THAT COULD BE EXPLORED ANY WHICH WAY THE PLAYER CHOOSES TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR GOALS WITH THEIR GIVEN SET OF TOOLS. NO DIRECTION NEEDED, ONLY WHAT THE PLAYER WISHES TO GO AND DO, TOTAL FREEDOM IN ENVIRONMENT.

 

3) AN INCREDIBLE STORY LINE THAT PULLS YOU INTO THE GAME ALMOST AS IF YOU ARE A CHARACTER FROM A BOOK MOVING THROUGHOUT EACH MISSION AND IT UNFOLDS AND BUILDS ANTICIPATION FOR ULTIMATE CLIMAX.

 

With TDM, #2 is defnitely covered. #1 is up to the mapper. #3 has yet to happen because noone has made a campaign that's the size of a game. Although "No Honor Among Thieves" is a great teaser of a game, and who knows what's in store for us with Crucible Of Omens.

 

Just some thoughts...anyone else?

[Moonbo]

Not to toot my own horn, but you might like to play Requiem. It's only one map, but it might scratch your #3 itch a little.

[RJFerret]

What I love about TDM is the variety. Instead of a game designed around specific 1, 2, 3 parameters, folks who have shorter playtime have missions they can complete in one session, others can sit for longer, those more story focused or less plot focused have missions suitable for them.

[SirGen]

I agree with all 3 of your points. I actually find it odd that there are people who prefer short/small missions.

[Sotha]

I usually like the average sized missions: a mission has all the parts it needs to maintain a sensible entirety.

 

Too short mission leaves the player a bit hungry. Average sized missions have the best balance. Large/huge missions are usually not of consistent quality or they are poorly focused.

 

By poor focus I mean that the mapper wasted a lot of energy making totally useless areas that only exist to drain memory on performance.

 

The vital things in a good mission are

1) give player meaningful choices how to proceed. Choices with consequences. This means, the mission is not linear, but presents a web-like structure with interesting challenges.

2) present a single location and do it well; don't try to cram a large city + mansion + castle into the same mission, but rather separate them into different missions. Every time I have seen a mission that tries to bite more than it chew, some of the parts fall short.

[RJFerret]

It depends on players' circumstance I'd imagine?

 

I have the luxury of being able to spend hours sitting here. Others have to attend to spouses, children, etc. Physical discomforts can come into play as well, given repetitive stress, carpal tunnel, eyestrain, headaches, etc. A game company I'm familiar with designs around 20-40 minutes for a gaming session duration.

 

The shortest missions I've played here have been 15 minutes.

[SirGen]

Although I prefer giant, open missions like the ones in Thief 1 and 2, it seems more reasonable for a single mapper to make medium sized missions.

[Bikerdude]

#3 has yet to happen because noone has made a campaign that's the size of a game, who knows what's in store for us with Crucible Of Omens.

 

<evil chuckle>.....oh you people have NO f*****g idea and that's coming from someone who has built and worked on a significant portion of the maps for it.

 

Let me put it this way, imagine the mapping Bling from the likes of Dram, Melan, Angua, Jdude, Fidcal, myself and then the storing telling ability of Melan, Fidcal and Dram and then the construction of insidious traps, puzzles and guard patrol routes that will have to dancing the light fandango!

[SirGen]

@Bikerdude I'm super excited for this! Any idea about when it will be finished?

[Bikerdude]

@Bikerdude I'm super excited for this! Any idea about when it will be finished?

We are low on man power atm, so we dont have a release date set yet..

[SirGen]

I'm sure it will be amazing when it's finished!

[SeriousToni]

We are low on man power atm, so we dont have a release date set yet..

 

Is there a to do list or something people can contribute (models, sounds, etc.) ?

[Bikerdude]

Is there a to do list or something people can contribute (models, sounds, etc.) ?

Yes, do you want to help? Do you have access to the campaign forum..? if not drop Springheel a PM and request permission quoting this post.

[Goldwell]

Yes, do you want to help? Do you have access to the campaign forum..? if not drop Springheel a PM and request permission quoting this post.

 

Do you guys need any voice acting for it yet?

[SeriousToni]

Yes, do you want to help? Do you have access to the campaign forum..? if not drop Springheel a PM and request permission quoting this post.

 

Will do

[Bikerdude]

Do you guys need any voice acting for it yet?

We have lots of voice actors atm and while I would never say no to more, we need people to do the following more -

• Mapping - a massive chunk of the work is done on most of the map, but objectives and the assoc. mapping is missing from some maps.
  
• Cut-scenes - we dont have any atm and we need someone to do these.
  
• Conversations - we have made a start on this, and having more varied audio lines would always be welcome here.
  
• Loading screens - these need doing for each map.
  
• Custom objects - we still a few of these created.
  
• Scripts - custom scripting needs to be done for the conversations, some objectives and interactions.
  
• RITS - making each map seem more life like by randomising the patrol routes of the Ai in each map.
  
• textures - there is still a small amount of textures that need creating.
  

[Jiik]

THIEF.....

Oh crap I missed a Chalice...damned guards are as slow as snails

*begins to inch along carpet*

C'mon, alllllllmost there........

*grabs chalice*

-SPOTTED-

F9!