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    Sunday - 2.28.1999
   redEye continues to earn his shilling - 09:00am EST - James
Adam "redEye" Jasne earned his shilling recently, coming up with quite a bit of intelligence. First up is a Partial Walkthrough of Thief, covering Bafford's Mansion and the Cragscleft raid.

Moreover, in keeping with the recent discussion of various language versions of Thief: ZDNet Germany has both Thief demos available in German. The first demo is Bafford's Manse, and the second demo is Assassins.

Tracking the trail of language further, redEye discovered that GameSpot France has a review of Thief. According to redEye, they quite liked the game overall, but not the monster levels.

redEye has been presented with a new, matte-black lockpick set in recognition of his extra efforts.





    Saturday - 2.27.1999
    Thief's Guide Opens - 7:20pm EST - Dan
Thief-TheCircle.com's Thief's Guide has finally opened. As said before, only two of the five sections of this page have been completed.

The Dark Files is a narrative walkthrough, written in Garret's own words. It is designed to aid those who are stuck, but would prefer a gentle nudge in the right direction, rather then intricate instructions. It is also a very enjoyable read for those who have finished Thief, and wish to read about Their adventurers. If was written for TTLG by "Chuckles"

This Complete Walkthrough is one of the most thorough and well written walkthroughs out there. It gives detailed descriptions of exactly what must be done to win each mission, using minimum time, and resources. It is written specifically for expert level games, but that does not stop it from being useful to normal and hard players as well. It also includes a set of screenshots for visual aid. It was written for canofworms.com by Jim Blanchard.

The areas not yet completed are: The Treasure Hunters Guide, with the locations of all the loot; The Art of Thief, with tactics & strategies; and a section with links to other guides elsewhere on the net.





    Friday - 2.26.1999
    Thief-TheCircle.com Thief's Guide Well in the Works - 12:00pm EST - Dan
The next section of The Circle to open will be the strategy section, or The Thief's Guide, as it shall be called. This site is already well underway. I have they extremely impressive and thorough walkthrough already completed, and a treasure hunters guide, which will include detailed maps, under heavy construction.

There are two things that I need, however, before it opens. I know that there are walkthroughs of Thief spread all over the internet. I doubt I'd have the time to do a proper search. Please, of loyal Thief fans, could you email me the URLs of all the walkthrough you know of? If I get several dozen people offering the one or two walkthrough they know of, I'm sure that we will be able to catch the majority of them. I know there is one at Gamespot, and eidosinteractive.com, but where else? Much thanks to anyone who helps me with this.

The other thing that I want this guide to have, but it is lacking, is a tactics / strategy section. Something that goes much more in-depth then all of the previous strategy guides. Something to discuss swordplay techniques, the many uses of the flashbomb, how to get your nosemaker arrows to work for you rather then against you, the best way to kill an apparition, and so on and so forth. The guide can and will open without this, but it is required to make this site's Thief's Guide stand head and shoulders above all other guides out there, including the official one. So who want's to write it? Or better yet, who wants to form a team to collaborate on it?





    Thursday - 2.25.1999
   RPG.net: Thief as a Role-Playing Game - 03:00pm EST - James
Looking Glass has always called its action/adventures role-playing games, even when (as in Thief and System Shock) they do not have numbers presented for roll-playing. Will "Solace" Hindmarch of RPG.net left word with us that he had, in effect, taken them at their word... and reviewed Thief as an RPG. "This is, essentially, what solo roleplaying adventures should be."

But wait, there's more. Acting on a tip from Solace, we tabbed over and snuck up on a second review at the same site - taking the same angle, Thief as an RPG. John DeHope concludes of Thief's role-playing, "in TTDP you get to play the ROLE of a thief, and this brings with it all of the adrenaline and excitement that a thief feels."

These are both pretty interesting reviews, being a bit different from, and more thoughtful than, the average, run-of-the-mill action-gamer-oriented review of Thief.





    Tuesday - 2.23.1999
    Job Openings at Looking Glass Studios - 3:10pm EST - Dan
Looking Glass Studios is now hiring artists, programmers, designers, and playtesters for work on the next Thief title, as well as a few other things. Here are the job listings.
Jobs in Redmond, WA
Lead Artist

Jobs in Cambridge, MA
Tech Programmer
Lead Video Artist
Web Developer
Flight Sim playtesters
RPG/FPS playtesters
Level Designers

Jobs in Huntington Beach, CA
Lead 3D Artist

For more info on these jobs please contact:

Human Resources Department
Looking Glass Studios
100 CambridgePark Drive, Suite 300
Cambridge, MA 02140.
Fax 617-441-3946.
Or send email to: games@inmet.com

Oh yes, and to those of you who saw the message that was posted here an hour ago, please disregard. There has been a change in plans.





    Monday - 2.22.1999
    Desktop Background Image Collections - 03:30pm EST - Dan
The Files / Themes section of the site has been updated with two new wallpaper collections, by Jeff and Ramon. Previews of these images can be viewed here, and here. If they meet your approval, then you can get the zipped files from the Themes section in the Files Archive. Keep 'em coming, guys!

I'd also like to give thanks to the guys in the Thief forum who helped me work the bugs out of the media section. The place would be a mess without them!



   Whence it is perilous to fall... - 03:00pm EST - James
Dan and I would like to apologize for troubles you may have had with the site recently. Somehow, one of us mis-pasted some rogue HTML code which ensured the page would not load properly. The offending code has been found. Four times the usual number of suspects have been arrested, and those responsible suitably chastised.



   Thief links page at Extreme 3D - 03:00pm EST - James
Michael Alkishawy recently reported to our investigative teams that his Thief links site has gone on-line, including links to two walkthroughs and the comment:
Thank you Looking Glass for this beautiful gift.




   Thief "an instant classic in the hearts of gamers" - 03:00pm EST - James
The Boss dropped in and informed me that he had word that a laddie named Manveer "Eidolon" Heir had written a review of Thief for Voodoo Extreme. Indeed he has, and he's a good bloke, too:
I can recommend Thief: The Dark Project whole-heartily. In an industry that is often lacking originality, Thief is a nice change from the norm. Not since Red Storm's Rainbow Six have I played a game so incredibly enthralling and addicting. The solid gameplay, coupled with the innovative sound and graphics make Thief a sure winner.

Thanks for the tip, Dan!



   Is Thief Just Too Hard? - 03:00pm EST - James
Apparently it is for Andreas Jonsson, who was picked up by one of our medical teams in critical condition yesterday. After stabilization, he inadvertently revealed to our interrogators that the Gaming Invasion site carries a review he wrote of Thief. Jonsson liked the concept and most of the content of Thief: "You're always scared." However, he also felt it was too difficult: "What happened to Easy, mom?"



   Thief with Stero Glasses? - 03:00pm EST - James
Peter Schittler humbly confessed that his Classy Glasses website has a review of Thief's compatibility with VR glasses. Quite a concept!





    Thursday - 2.19.1999
    The Media Stash is Finally Here, and There is Plenty of Stuff to Steal. - 11:00pm EST - Dan
After nearly a week of slow but steady work, the Media Stash is finally open for business. It contains all the files from the old "The Stash" Thief archive, plus a bit more.

The Images section is rather full. It's filled with all Thief artwork that is not a screenshot, or a texture. You will not find screen captures from the cutscenes here masquerading as stuff worthy of download. Anyone can steal that stuff. No, we've got good art in here.

The Screenshot archive gives you access to over 50 Thief screenshots, via links to the three main screenshot archives.

The Music section has plenty of good stuff to lift. Along with the music LGS released to the public, there are also a few tracks gotten off the Thief CD, plus other good beats.

The Voice section is mostly empty. Seeing as all the voice files can be gotten off the CD, I really am at a loss for what to do with this page. Any Ideas?

The Sound section is not open at the moment, for the reason stated above.

If there is one thing Thief has no shortage of, it's Movies. This section is packed. Happy downloading!!





    Thursday - 2.18.1999
   PC Games: "I haven't had this much fun in a long, long time." - 03:00pm EST - James
Adam "redEye" Jasne (familiar to many of our Order from our discussion boards), proved that he in fact does spend his time on missions, as well as chatting, reporting that PC Games had put up a very positive review of Thief - rating it "A" overall, and also in "Gameplay", Getting Started", and "Sound Check". ("Multiplayer" got no rating, and "Graphics" got a B+.) Peter Olafson, the reviewer, is clearly a chap who understands Thief, as evidenced by numerous comments in the reviewer. As a teaser, the review leads off with the words: "Looking Glass Studios' Thief: The Dark Project is as original, vital, and coherent a computer game as I've had the pleasure to play this year." Could any in our Order disagree?





    Wednesday - 2.17.1999
    Thief Third Best of 1998 at Sharky Extreme - 04:00pm EST - James
After careful observation, Pete Closs passed word to us that Sharky Extreme awarded Thief Third Place in their 1998 roundup, beaten only by Quake II (despite its 1997 release) and Half-Life. One teaser quote: "Thief forces players to interact with their surroundings in ways never before explored by other games". Sharky Extreme also has a Review of Thief on their site: "Think Thief will fade away with the hordes of similar titles? We'd beg to differ."





    Tuesday - 2.16.1999
    Breaking News Concerning the Status of Thief 2! - 01:50pm EST - Dan
For the most part, this site, as well as ttlg, has been very conservative about discussing the status of Thief 2. Looks like that may now be changing. Many of us have already heard the stir caused by this post on the Thief forum by Tom Leonard:
I have no problem saying "some of us are working on Thief 2" -- designs, schedules, budgets, plans and some coding. We'd be crazy to pass up an opportunity to continue exploring the Thief world.

Our strategic and legal requirements put serious constraints on what we can say. What we can't discuss is the specifics: features, content, release dates or publishers.

Regardless, the management and staff of Looking Glass is committed to doing more with Thief.

-Tom

In my excitement, I quickly typed up a brief email to Tim Stellmach, asking him if there was anything else I could tell the fans. His reply:
Well, Tom hasn't said much that I hadn't already said. I never said anyone was actually doing work on Thief 2, but to try to sell any project you need to come up with schedules, budgets, and initial design treatments. And, yeah, we're trying to make a deal for Thief 2, 'cause we'd be fools not to.

You can judge for yourself, but I wouldn't "shout it to the corners of the earth" until it's a done deal. The thing that Tom has confirmed is that we are developing Thief 2 as a project proposal. But right now we're doing that development on LG's nickel, without a publisher's deal to actually do the product. Also, publishers kind of like to make their own announcements about this sort of thing when contracts do finally get inked, so I'm sure the higher-ups would be happier if there wasn't a big foregone-conclusion celebration just yet. We're going ahead with our proposals, and it seems very likely to me that we'll get an agreement on the publishing side. You'll note Tom's post about us actually having hired onto the Thief team, which clearly means someone thinks we're going ahead. But we don't have a deal.

I'd be perfectly happy if you correlated the information we have let slip and drew the obvious conclusion that Thief 2 is forging ahead under the assumption that we will eventually figure out the details. But "everybody at LG believes in Thief 2 and they're going ahead" is different from "there officially will be Thief 2". Which is not to rain on your parade, I just don't want you misstating the case.

News this good doesn't happen every day! Don't don your party hats just yet, taffers! We'll save that for the official press release! The Thief 2: Facts & Rumors page has been updated with more information from the conversation between Tim and myself.





    Monday - 2.15.1999
    So What Are They Up To Now? - 07:11pm EST - Dan
With the patch & second demo out, one may be curious as to what the Thief design team is up to at the moment. They are keeping busy, of course. While most of them have gone off to work on System Shock 2, a few working on the Flight games; Tim Stellmach, Randy Smith, and Sara Verrilli are working on the second installment of a Thief strategy guide for PC Gamer magazine, to be published in two installments of 5 pages each.

Sounds like fun...



    Jere's Desktop Theme Updated - 06:00pm EST - Dan
That great desktop theme by Jere Leppänen has been make even greater. In his own words...
New in this version:
  • Easier installation. Manual wallpaper jpg -> bmp conversion no longer necessary.
  • Web view decos. (wvleft.bmp, wvline.gif)
  • Sounds for minimize, maximize, menu popup and menu command.
  • Sounds for program open/close off as default. Wavs for the events still remain in case someone wants to use them.
  • Icons. (very cool! - Dan)
  • I hope Jere does a Hammerite Theme next!



        The Foot Pad Nears Completion - 06:00pm EST - Dan
    The news has been archived, and pages for E-mail, Credits, Site Specs, and Legal Info are now up and running. The most I could do with the ammout of time I've been getting. Expect more soon!





        Sunday - 2.14.1999
        GameSpot's Reader's Choice Awards: Thief Runner-Up for Action Game of the Year - 05:00pm EST - James
    Thief pulled in second place in GameSpot's Reader's Choice Awards for Action Game of the Year. Thief snuck past Unreal, Rainbow 6, and Rogue Squadron, only to be defeated in the end by the juggernaut that is Half-Life.

    Which is not to say that Thief gets bad press at GameSpot, which also carries sixteen - that's 16 - reader rewiews, with an average score of 9.2 and comments such as "Thief is one of the most unique and well-developed games to hit the market in recent months" (Philip Phan), "destined to become the sleeper of the year" (S. Scott Davis), and "Thief is one of the best games I've played in a long, long time." (Sam Hulick).



        Ben Turner: "I have never been so absorbed in a game before." - 10:00am EST - James
    Ben Turner of The Soapbox, sensing our operatives on his trail, turned himself in for his review of Thief. This is a good, thoughtful review, folks - well worth the read. A sample (with the name of a competing product carefuly scrambled):
    xxxx-yyyy is much different from Thief -- it's just eye and ear candy. But Thief is extremely well-integrated, and you literally have to turn out the lights, turn up your speakers, and insist that no noise be made, just so you can make your way through a stronghold without any guards noticing you. And when you run into those situations where you've lost place of where the guards are, or when you're forced to flee into a new area, you get nervous and jumpy, unable to decide what to do, unable to think straight.
    All operatives are advised that Turner is a friendly and is to be assisted should he wind up in difficulties.





        Saturday - 2.13.1999
        The Patch: Mirrors for Download, EAX Support, and Save Games. - 12:00pm EST - Dan
    From what I hear, it's been pretty tooth-and-nail trying to download this patch. The lglass.com server is having trouble handling it all! If you have not gotten the patch yet, There are a list of mirrors available at 3DFiles.com

    One thing everyone forgot to mention (i.e.. me, LGS, eidos, or 3dfiles), is that when you install the patch, your save games will be reset to be beginning of the mission they are on. So if you are in a really tight spot, and don't want to ruin it, I suggest waiting until you finish the mission before installing the patch.

    Some people have been having a bit of trouble with the EAX in Thief. Remember, when playing ANY game that uses EAX you must select 'No Effects' in the Environmental Audio proggie (this only affects SBLive/SBlive Value owners). This should clear the problem right up!

    As yes, and the Files Archive has been updated to accommodate the patch, and second demo.



        Thief Walkthrough at GameSpot - 10:00am EST - James
    A pigeon recently arrived, and carved onto its leftmost primary flight feather was a tip from Rob Pilkington, informing us that GameSpot has posted up a walkthrough of Thief. The walkthrough is for the Normal difficulty level and written by Alan Dunkin.



        Thief "An Unsung Classic" - 10:00am EST - James
    In the Action Therapy column at GamePen, Buck DeFore notes that Thief is still doing well in the Action newsgroups, and provides the following quote:
    "Thief is immediately on my 'all time favourite games' lists, if not purely because of its inventiveness. This is one of those games that is going to have a small but dedicated band of followers who sing its praises wherever they can (like elite...). What an unsung classic this game is" - John Dalton






        Friday - 2.12.1999
        New Demo has Been Released, and Other Ramblings - 8:40pm EST - Dan
    Looks as if I was wrong on one point. The second demo came faster then I thought! It went online earlier today. If you have the full version of Thief, there really is no point in downloading it. In fact, at the moment I'm downloading the Half Life demo. I thought I'd give it a shot, seeing as some people think it's almost as good as Thief in some ways. He he he.

    I suppose I should also make mention of my progress as far as building the site. I've started work on the Foot Pad, building pages such as E-mail and Credits. I've also bee tweaking the design for the File Archive. Seeing as the media section's design will be similar to the File Archive, I think 'twould be best to get that sections layout just so before going on. It's a slow process, but it needs to be slow in order to be as good as all your taffers deserve.

    Oh yes! if you have not downloaded the patch yet, and have an EAX sound card, I recommend you do so as soon as possible! I tried it out a little while ago- very impressive!



        The Patch is Finally Here! - 1:10pm EST - Dan
    The patch has been released! It's a biggie, 10 megs! Posted below is info on the patch's features.

    Download from lglass.com!



        News of the 2nd Demo - 1:00pm EST - Dan
    So what's the deal with this second demo? Okay, here is the run down. It will be of Mission 4, Assassins. It will be nearly an exact dupicate of the mission in the full game. I'm not sure if it includes the patch or not. I would assume not, seeing as that would be 10 extra megs. It will be coming out late this month. This demo is a good thing, in that it will give people who have not yet experienced Thief a 2nd chance to notice this game's existence. This is a bad thing in that it keeps the people working on it from getting on to bigger, and better things, such as System Shock 2, or another sequal, which shall go unnamed.



        New Thief Desktop Theme - 2:00am EST - Dan
    Busy day yesterday, eh? Thank God it's Friday. What better way to start the day off, then with a wonderful new Thief Desktop Theme. This one, like the first, contains a complete sound scheme, cursor set, icons, color & font setting, and background. It's quite nice!

    You can view a preview of this theme here. If you like it, then you can get the zipped file from the Themes section in the Files Archive, or you can click right here to download.

    In case it wasn't noticeable, this site really hasn't grown much, except for new downloads & news. This is directly related to the fact that I rarely have time to get my wits about me and think a creative thought. I'd love to tell you more, but my math homework is calling my name. Things look to be lightening up, so we should see some action here soon. I hope!