That thank you thread.

[Skaruts]

So I've been complaining about this and that here and there and haven't yet taken the time to deliver some very deserved praise. Shame on me.

 

So here it is, my thank you thread. (I don't mind if others use this thread for the same end. It's always good to have less threads saying the same thing, right?)

 

Some back story: I've been craving for a proper stealth game for years, and thief seemed like it was dead (and in two weeks we'll probably confirm it really is). I tried replaying thief 1 and 2, but during the first mission I just couldn't keep going. For some reason, even though I nearly worship certain old games, I just can't play them. I tried my most favorites, such as thief, Strife, DK, JA2, XCOM Apocalypse, Pizza Tycoon, GTA. Carmageddon... to name just a few, and I just can't keep going past the first level, and I don't really know why. Not even Thief 3... but in this case it's maybe because I replayed it a couple of times before and I burned out.

 

Modern stealth games don't really cut it for me (frowning at you Dishonored). Either the stealth elements are just dumb and stupid (AC, a stealth game??), or a plain fudge like Betheda's thieving (isn't all bad, but........... it's bad).

 

So, modern games, bollocks. Back to old games. Oh wait, I can't play them... Though dilemma. I could keep going if I was playing a proper remake. If a modern game brings back the feel of the old one, I'm a happy panda! I couldn't play the new XCOM for too long, it's not bad game, but the XCOM title makes me expect a proper tactical game, I couldn't play Jagged Alliance 3, and these are way worse in comparison to the new XCOM, I want my money back from Duke Forever... I couldn't stand Doom 3 even (which is why I hadn't tried, nor looked into, TDM before - I could go on all day about how bad D3 is, so don't tempt me - same with Oblivion).

 

I've been craving for something to chew on, and found nothing at all. Found plenty of messed up crap . And none of it are stealth games... So I'm feeling like I'm going "down the shi'er".

 

Then I found TDM. And this is what I found so great about TDM, is that it feels like thief (it kinda lacks that Josh Randall music style though :S). At first I barely even noticed the differences (the ones that prevent copyright issues), I just felt like I was playing thief! Another interesting thing was that I read the gameplay article on the wiki and learned that there were guards with helmets, but they fit so nicely into the game that I only noticed them after I crossed paths with them quite a few times. The lockpicking mechanics didn't feel out of place either.

 

Everything so far seems to fit perfectly into the game. I not only want to thank you for the mod, but I also want to congratulate you on the execution of it. The voice acting is amazing, very... natural. And oh, am I a voice acting critic.... I keep destroying bethesda on this subject (and many other subjects) whenever I can, and I praise Valve endlessly for it. I try to be fair, but it's something I take as very important in games, and not a lot of games get it right. I must congratulate the voice actors here (I'm not yet fully aware of who they are).

 

Other than that, aesthetics are also really good (textures, models, etc - non-mapper stuff). I wouldn't expect this level of standards when considering taking a look at a mod. I might not find this level of quality a few years back, but to be fair that wouldn't hurt my opinion. I like good graphics, but to me it's by far not as important as the gameplay and sounds. That said, it's still surprisingly good.

 

Also, that said, the mapper sided stuff seems to be doing very well. The standards here blossom some really good quality and good looking stuff.

 

So I found a "remake" of one of my most favorite games ever, which looks amazing, plays very solidly, feels pretty much like the original, and has entertained me for a lot of hours already. Plus, it's on a BSP engine (quake based? I don't know if doom engine is based on quake's engine per se, but seems too similar), which I happen to be quite acquainted with, and that allows me to scratch my mapping itch that I had nagging me since Valve destroyed my beloved HL2dm for which I was mapping for a few years (and where the mapping quality standards where as good as the bottom of my toilet after I let go of a generous, reeking torpedo).

 

What else could I ask? I'm sort of living the nostalgia of my teenage years with this game. For all that and more, thank you all so much.

 

 

 

PS: Now I just need Jagged Alliance:Flashback, Carmageddon 4 and War For The Overworld to be some proper remakes/reboots, and I'll have all I need to morph into a teenager for real. And someone in this freaking world should remake Strife!

Edited February 11, 2014 by Skaruts

[Springheel]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a thorough thank-you. Very nice to hear.

[Mortem Desino]

You are one awesome dude. Reading peoples' thanks in writing is really uplifting, whether you're a dev team member or not.

 

On the subject of XCOM, though, I wonder if you ever whetted your appetite on the original UFO Defense? As a kid, I grew up playing it on my Dad's 486 computer (or beating it with a monkey stick until I progressed), and I rescued the floppies from his basement when I found that the ultra-configurable OpenXcom came out in 2013. Nostalgia aside, there seem to be some newcomers to that game that are really enjoying it.

[Bikerdude]

Carmageddon

I personally know what of the artists that worked on that :-)

[Skaruts]

On the subject of XCOM, though, I wonder if you ever whetted your appetite on the original UFO Defense? As a kid, I grew up playing it on my Dad's 486 computer (or beating it with a monkey stick until I progressed), and I rescued the floppies from his basement when I found that the ultra-configurable OpenXcom came out in 2013. Nostalgia aside, there seem to be some newcomers to that game that are really enjoying it.

Sadly I discovered XCOMs a little too late, and the only one I actually played (down to hell's entrails out of) was XCOM Apoc. A friend of mine had Terror From the Deep (or was it Defense? It was known here in Europe as Enemy Unknown) and at some point he borrowed it to me and I played a bit of it, but at that time I also got my hands on... can't quite remember, perhaps Warcraft 2, Red Alert, or DK, and UFO got on the backburner, and I never got around to play it more.

There were so many great games at that time that it was nigh impossible to play them all. Unfortunately...

 

But that's amazing news! I'm so going to check that out. And speaking of that, there's also an OpenRA that came out recently, I think, that brings back Red Alert and Dune (all in one - plus online support, I believe). Pretty cool stuff going on around old games.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Skaruts