The thieves shoes (steps) are too noisy

[vvGarrettvv]

Am I the only one who thinks, that the thieves steps are too loud, especially on floor tiles or floorboards?

Just in the mom. I`m sneaking through the museum in the "vengeance for a thief2: TAOR.

(@SIRTAFFSALOT: Bytheway: I really love it.)

 

And while I`m sneaking I think: "Am I wearing high heels? :-)". Never noticed that before...mmhh..

 

I promise you:If I would be the thief , the first thing I would do, right after bundling my equipment, would preparing

my boots with felt or special tanned leather so their sole would not produce that harsh sounds.

In TDM my boots are producing the same sound as the guards heavy boots are doin.

The thieves boots-sound is too hard. This is the sound you`re producing, if you wearing cheesy italian shoes :-P .

 

 

 

Happy new year!

 

 

--michael--

Edited December 30, 2013 by vvGarrettvv

[Melan]

Tap-dancing is the mainstay of the stealth genre - from Garrett to J.C. Denton and more. It is mostly a gameplay device to let you the player hear your footsteps loudly and clearly. Or maybe our heroes are so jaded they want a challenge.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Melan

[RJFerret]

Perhaps I DO wear high heels? ;p I'm a sexy thief. (Oh wait, it's not "tick-click".)

 

Yeah, I figured the volume difference was to clearly convey surface material differences that aren't lit well enough to discriminate visually.

[jtr7]

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Edited February 19, 2014 by jtr7

[Springheel]

It's a bit of an abstraction, clearly. We adopted it primarily to stick close to Thief gameplay, although if we were starting over from scratch I think I'd push for a more realistic footstep model (where surfaces made noise based on how noisy they are, not how hard they are).

[MurcDusen]

Part of keeping the player on edge and encouraging slowing down, until the player learns to filter much of it out.

 

That is a really important part of the game. When I played TMA I was always on the edge and feared being spotted, so I took my time and cautiously explored everything (well, still missed most secrets/loot) and everything was really intense.

As I kept playing the game though I became more and more aware of the fact that the AI was actually kinda dumb and that it really wasn't all that difficult to run through levels. While that didn't really ruin the game for me, it prevented me from ever experiencing the same sort of intense sneaking ever again.

[Airship Ballet]

It's true that they're noisy in TDM, but nowhere near as cringe-inducing as the tiles in TDP and TMA. In terms of gameplay, they're actually not as punishing as those in the latter two since you can actually sneak on tile as opposed to cheesing your way forwards with stutter stepping.

[jtr7]

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Edited February 19, 2014 by jtr7

[vvGarrettvv]

It's a bit of an abstraction, clearly. We adopted it primarily to stick close to Thief gameplay, although if we were starting over from scratch I think I'd push for a more realistic footstep model (where surfaces made noise based on how noisy they are, not how hard they are).

 

Agreed!

I think, the basic boot-sound has to be `defused`, so that the boots clatter is not that dominant. Thats only for the immersion! I don`t know if the AI makes a difference between loud and soft steps.

I feel more comfortable with silent boots if I perform a heist.

 

F.e. :

If the thief would wearing quietend boots, fresh cleaned floor tiles (in castles, museums, chaples, banks) would`nt be much of a problem for him. You would only hear a very light(!) and smoothly sound.

On more dirty grounds ( old crypts, ruins, caverns) you hear the same light sound and scraping sounds (because of sand & dirt).

If the floor is wet ( possibly puddles) you hear the same incl. a slight `splash`.

Out in the woods you would only hear sometimes breaking branches and old leaves.

What really give cramps to the thief are wooden floor tiles, because they react on his weight and squeak, regardless of wether he is wearing shoes or not.

And wooden floor tiles are pretty common in medieval buildings :-)

 

@jtr7: This only slows down my step speed. Not the volume.

Edited January 1, 2014 by vvGarrettvv

[Springheel]

Yes, if we were doing it again, I'd make tile one of the quietest surfaces, along with carpets. Stone would be a bit louder, because it often has grit and rough surfaces to scrape against. Metal could still be fairly loud due to creaking. Wood would also be one of the louder surfaces. Gravel, dirt, leaves and water would be the loudest of all.

 

Of course, we can't do that now, as it would be too big a change to the existing system. Might make an interesting special mission though.

[jtr7]

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Edited February 19, 2014 by jtr7