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Travel to: Go Back / T-tc.com (home)

          Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Yet Another T3 preview at IGN
- 10:07:53 PM - Dan
Around and around we go. Seems like we're always posting about Gamespy, IGN, or Gamespot posting a preview of Thief 3. Come on, eidos... give someone else a shot! :)

Anyway, here it is... Click!

I am sure it's not new info, but this is the first time I've seen mention of the moss arrows being used in that particular way. Very interesting!





          Tuesday, March 30, 2004

10 Newish Thief 3 shots
- 12:14:06 PM - Dan
Checking out IGN's new list of Thief 3 Screenshots will let you see the following things. Some of these shots could have been spotted on yesterday's Gamespy preview, but the image links were not working for me that day. I will also note that while these shots are Xbox res, they are not as poor quality as Xbox shots usually are.

  • The new, smaller compass.
  • A blue glow behind inventory items (even when there is none)
  • Garrett carrying someone in the 3rd person
  • A holy water bottle
  • Broadhead inventory item
  • Garrett fighting two guards at once
  • Gas crystal in the inventory
  • Garrett facing two guards and an archer (with an airborn arrow flying at him)
  • What I am guessing to be a gas bomb in the inventory
  • Lots of advertisments
  • Garrett facing three guards and an archer (a bit of trouble, eh?)
  • Strange urn-like inventory item
  • A guard on the ground with strange green glop all around him
  • An inventory item which may be an oil flask.
  • A cool painting of a lady with a funny hat
  • Fire crystal in the inventory
  • A big cartoony poof of a gas bomb, with guard inside (I am guessing)
  • A bunch of old screenshots

    Enjoy. :)





  •           Monday, March 29, 2004

    Thief 3 Q&A Updated
    - 10:36:52 PM - Elenkis
    Our Thief 3 Q&A compilation has been updated with another 50 questions and their respective answers from ISA designer Null. The new questions start off at number 86 and bring the total up to 136, whew!

    Here's a couple of tasty ones:

    113) From what's been hinted at, the presence of undead is anything but minimal. In the previous Q/A thread someone mentioned one of the devs as saying that there would be a minimal amount of undead in the game, and no undead only levels. About that time Null popped up and said "we never said that" and put one of those little winkies up. That kinda clued me in...and excited me in many dirty ways cuz I love teh woo. Here's hoping for a return to the cathedral style map! (Renzatic)

    Undead. Alright. Here's the scoop. There is less monstrous (undead included) presence in the game overall than in previous Thief titles. However, there are still undead-only maps in the game, much in the spirit of said predecessors.

    We wanted to use them as a unique and hopefully interesting (to most players) stealth challenge, but keep the main focus of the game on interacting with human opponents.

    129) Are there still lots of readable items in the game or is important information mostly available from interaction/overheard conversations?

    If the latter, are you able to refer back to them? ie do you have an "important information file" a la DX 1? (steelman)

    There are plenty of readable objects in this game. There are those you must see due to objectives, and then there's flavor text you can peruse at will, or ignore outright.

    The important stuff gets congealed and logged, although you can usually return to the place you read something, as well.

    130) Null, will we be able to collect spent arrows from guards? In Thief 1 and 2, if you shot an arrow at a wooden object, it stuck in and we could re-use them. But if you hit an enemy, the arrows disappeared. (Little Raven Girl)

    I think this is unlikely, for two reasons. One, it doesn't play too well with ragdoll behavior. One way or another, you'd see something that looked dumb when the guard collapsed.

    Two, we sort of want you to expend that resource on the guard. If you miss and hit a wooden surface, hey, bonus. If you damaged a guard, there's certainly a benefit of some kind, and we'd like you to pay for it.

    Got to give you an excuse to go rob a City Watch post.

    Enjoy, and keep those questions coming on the official forums!




    Thief 3 Preview at Gamespy
    - 4:13:51 AM - Elenkis
    Gamespy have spent some hands-on time with a pre-alpha version of Thief: DS for the Xbox and written up a new two page preview. Keep in mind it's for the Xbox version and while it doesn't really contain anything new, it does have a few interesting comments hidden in there:
    "Sadly, my murderous little spree was soon to come to an end. Going down the next staircase, I walked right into another patrolling sentry. And his buddy. Whatever he does to train between games, it must not involve fighting, because Garrett is still pretty useless in a direct fight. One on one is bad, but two on one approaches suicide. I managed to stab one of the baddies to death, but the other sapped the remainder of my meager life meter. Oops."

    "This time I walked by the guard and proceeded out into the city streets. This necessitated another map load, similar to those in Invisible War. I hope Thief III's areas tend to be bigger than Deus Ex's, and haven't yet seen enough to make a call either way. That initial castle level seemed very big, for what it's worth."







              Tuesday, March 23, 2004

    Contest 5 Missions are Here
    - 2:53:16 PM - Dan
    Great News! And yes, it's old news, but it never got posted here. ¬¬

    The Keep of Metal and Gold (Komag) has posted the Contest 5 missions, a collection of 19 small FMs (the largest contest yet) all competing for the rank of "best". Much thanks and respect is given to the FM authors who all managed to churn out playable (and I hear very good) products under a time limit, and to Komag himself for inspiring yet another batch of missions. :)

    The missions will be added to The Circle once a winner is declared, and the FM authors are named.




    Thief 3 Preview at Ferrago
    - 2:47:15 PM - Dan
    A short but informative (though not to anyone who's read most recent previous) preview of Thief 3 has been posted to Ferrago. This site tends to write more intelligent material and the current article does nothing to change that opinion of them.





              Sunday, March 21, 2004

    Another Batch of Missions
    - 8:27:28 PM - Biohazard
    Today we have several new FMs, some conversions of Komag's first works to Thief 2, and an old Thief 1 mission that wasn't in the database.

    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    Nightmares

    Filesize: 9.9 MB
    Released: 3/21/2004
    cauchemars.txt


    Loot List (French)



    By: Amelico, Lynx, Louve, Makoho, Gaëtane

    Plot Description: Good evening, Garrett. My name is Tregart and I am your friend. Did you sleep well? Excuse Mister Bones. He has never learned proper manners...waking people like that. I’ve been interested in you for a long time, Garrett, and your last feats only reinforce my feelings about you. I think you have great potential. You are a born killer and it fills me with exultation. I wish you to continue to follow this promising path. Behind those doors, there’s a strange mixture of feelings, both diverse and strong; and trials you will have to confront to win your freedom. Use your sword. It will guarantee your survival. When all is over, we will meet and share a good meal with a fine rare wine. Then we can discuss your exploits. (More)

    Additional Comments: This FM has several levels with different authors; some of them using Dromed for the first time. The authors intended the levels to be hard which is why this story is called « Nightmares !! ». So don’t lose your cool in annoying situations.



    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    Mighty Joe Young

    Filesize: 2.9 MB
    Released: 3/21/2004
    MightyJoeYoung.txt





    By: Bryan Gleason (BBB)

    Plot Description: You got a call from the Keepers. Why can't they leave you alone? Evidently there is a Fire Temple where 4 Talismans are kept. They are the Talismans of Darkness, Eternity, Light and Force. They are kept at the temple to maintain balance in nature and the world. Recently they were stolen and the results could be disastrous. The Keepers heard the Talismans ended up in the hands of a group of large apes led by Mighty Joe Young. They are very intelligent and speak English as well as their native tongue.

    Prince Mikus's guards have captured a number of the apes including Mighty Joe Young and put them in the local prison. The Keepers have asked you to spring the apes out of jail, follow Joe and find out where the Talismans are being kept. They must be put back. They will take it from there. The Keepers also told you that if you come upon some loot along the way, feel free to keep it! They will also reward you handsomely. Although you really don't want to do more for the Keepers, the rent is due and you are short for ale money this week. Should be an easy job.



    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    Retaliation (v1.0)

    Filesize: 8.6 MB
    Released: 3/21/2004
    retaliation.txt



    Other: HipBreaker's Website

    By: Jeremy Catlin (HipBreaker)

    Plot Description: Not long ago an old accomplice of yours, Castor, came to you with a proposition to infiltrate a mansion owned by the City Watch. In this mansion lies a gem with incredible value. It's name was the 'Glorious Gem'. As it were, after you escaped with the gem, you felt a sharp pain in the back of your head, only to be blackjacked by Castor. He is a thief, after all. Your personal goal now is to find Castor, and kill him, or prove he stole the gem. He has recently purchased a giant mansion formerly owned by a Mechanist lord, and now has it all to himself, along with the previous owner's guards. Find Castor, get revenge, and get out. No one betrays Garrett and gets away with it!



    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    Two Towers (vT2)

    Filesize: 3.1 MB
    Released: 3/21/2004
    twotowers.txt



    Other: Komag's Site

    By: Komag (Ben Ramsey)

    Plot Description: While reading in the Mage Towers library, you read about another group called the "Foot Brotherhood", a secret organization of Wizards much like the Hand Brotherhood of Mages. You've managed to find your way through the mountains to their secret village location. Steal their goodies!

    Additional Comments: This is a demo mission converted to Thief 2. It is my first serious work I ever did with dromed, but abandoned last March. March 25th, 2001, was the last day I worked on the mission, except for a couple details and getting things darkloader-ready for a demo-release on January 12, 2002.



    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    Spider Caves, The (vT2)

    Filesize: 1.1 MB
    Released: 3/21/2004
    spidercaves.txt



    Other:Komag's Website

    By: Komag (Ben Ramsey)

    Plot Description: On your way to grab some grub at a nearby tavern, a band of city guards transporting something spotted you as you tried to grab the contents of the crate for yourself! They didn't nab you, however, and you ran out of the city limits with a few of them hot on your trail. Charging into a nearby cave, you stumble over a sleeping body, and fall headlong down a steep hole, while the guards above can be heard discovering that there are a few other lowly thieves in the cave (including the one you stumbled over). Thinking they've caught up to and apprehended the thief they were trailing, they begin to mercilessly attack the other thieves, while you manage to scramble away deeper into the caves...

    Additional Comments: (T2 Conversion Notes)
    - I decided to do a quick conversion job for this little mission, my first ever.
    - It's still a simple, crampy crawly beginner newbie mission
    - I didn't change any terrain at all, but I retextured the mission with more variety



    Thief 1 / Gold Fan Mission
    Bloodflowers

    Filesize: 0.36 MB
    Released: 3/21/2004
    bloodflowers.txt



    By: Peter Parrish (Paz)

    Plot Description: I'd heard rumours that a popular group of musicians calling themselves 'The Cure' were in town. The lead singer, Robert Smith, gave me the creeps, he reminded me too much of the haunts back at that old hammerite cathedral. Their music they played though, was without equal.

    Their manager, a rich noble named Lord Polydor, claims to have enlisted the help of a local wizard and trapped some of The Cure's music inside some kind of disc which he calls 'Bloodflowers'. Unfortunately, he is unwilling to allow any members of the public anywhere near it. I don't know if I really believe Polydor, but I certainly think it's time I did a little investigating. (More)

    Additional Comments: Bloodflowers is my first attempt at a dromed level, so don't take it too seriously or expect miracles from it. It is intended purely for amusement, and specifically for Cure fans wanting to get some revenge on Polydor for pushing back the release date of their new album (called 'Bloodflowers', natch).







              Friday, March 19, 2004

    Thief 3 SDK Petition
    - 5:59:47 PM - Dan
    And the best I admit I have saved for the last! .. Ahem.

    We did a peition to release dromed. Dromed was released, so I guess it worked. :) Then Thief Gold and Thief 2 came with Dromed on the discs. That was a really nice touch. Will Thief 3 come with their level editor on the discs? It sure would make things simpler... plus it would let people start making FMs on day one! I wonder how many people would, if T3 did ship with the SDK, open up the SDK before they even played the game. ;)

    So here's the Thief 3 SDK petition: www.ThiefPetition.com.

    Nicely done, Subjective Effect, GlasWolf, and company! Remember, even if you don't want to make FMs yourself... you still want to be able to PLAY them, right? I thought so. Just imagine it... years and years worth of Thief 3 mods. Hey, eidos/ION... don't YOU want to be able to play original and new Thief 3 missions... missions you didn't create yourselves and thus can experience properly? I thought so! :)




    PC Screenshots (Finally)
    - 5:50:51 PM - Dan
    Faceless from ION Storm posted some PC versions of those Thief 3 screenshots which went public the other day. Now we can actually get to see what we're supposed to be looking at! ;)

  • Shot one
  • Shot two

    I had supposed before that we were looking at Garrett scaling a wall in that second screenshot when I saw it before, but I wasn't sure. It's nice to actually be able to look at the game with some decent resolution and sharpness. ;)

    Thanks, Snowboarder, for bringing this to our attention at our T3 forum.




  • New Thief 3 Release Date?
    - 5:32:03 PM - Dan
    The eidos site has a news blurb wich identifies the release date of Thief 3 as May 2004. I dunno, ION Storm. I don't think we're ready for this one yet. Better push it back to December, just to be sure. ;)

    Thanks, RpgDot





              Thursday, March 18, 2004

    Thief 3 Official Site Updated
    - 8:21:18 PM - Dan
    The Official Thief 3 site has been updated with some new media, including all of the screenshots we saw the other day on Worthplaying, and some new artwork. They posted up a nifty print ad with a new slogan which is bound to throw people into fits... it's about as bad as the first one that threw people into fits. ;)

    Also of interest are the return of two female keepers whom most of you should remember... now sporting names! Very interesting. Now, to check out that screensaver...





              Wednesday, March 17, 2004

    Thief 3 Xbox Screens at Worthplaying
    - 4:38:50 PM - Dan
    Worthplaying is at it again, with 12 new low-res blurry screenshots of Thief 3 on the Xbox. All in all, nothing too spectacular, but worth a look anyway... just don't exect to be able to make out much detail.





              Tuesday, March 16, 2004

    FM - Close Encounters
    - 10:17:53 AM - Dan
    I'd like to thank Biohazard for stepping up and taking care of FM things for us while Elenkis and I have been indisposed. Great job, Bio. :) There is however one more addition to make today, a humble submission from P Forth.

    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    Close Encounters

     Filesize: 1.34 MB
     Released: 3/16/2004
     readme.txt





    By: P Forth

    Plot Description: "It's Christmas, and you are enjoying a well earned rest in another part of the country. However, while you have been here you have heard the locals talk about an old town not far from here that's been abandonded for many many years. It seems that something happened hear a long time ago that frightened everybody away virtually overnight. Rumours about "strange lights" appearing in the sky and stuff like that. Well whatever it was it must have realy scared people because to this day, no one has ever returned to this town.

    Well, I dont know about those rumours, but one thing stuck in my mind. If people fled this old town in a hurry, they may have left behind certain valuables in their rush to get out. I guess I will have to pay a visit to this old town, see if I can find myself a few extra Christmas presents."

    Additional Comments: This is my first attempt at building a Thief level. This mission has not been tested by anybody but myself. I am not aware of any bugs or problems, but no doubt some of you will find some that I have missed. If you do, please e-mail me at my e-mail address and I will do my best to sort them out if I can.



    Good luck on your future FMs, P!





              Monday, March 15, 2004

    Slew of Fan Missions
    - 7:57:40 PM - Biohazard
    Today we have several new Fan Missions for Thief Gold and Thief 2.

    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    Spoof: The Daft Project (v1.1)

     Filesize: 2.3 MB
     Released: 3/15/2004
     bennyhill.rtf





    By: Yandros (Russ Robbins)

    Plot Description: This is more of a demo, really… I will likely never finish my mission Spoof: The Daft Project, which was to spoof well-known movies and TV shows. So I’m releasing the only part of it which I’ve completed – a farce in the style of the old Benny Hill skits where everyone ran around at high speed to the strains of “Yakety Sax”. The Trickster himself will run around and be silly along with plenty of your other Thief favorites. Once it’s done, all the participants will fall down dead, and you can then go explore. When you’re done, press the large button at the end of the hall. There’s really nothing to this mission except a good laugh.

    Additional Comments: Gaylesaver’s latest scripts are required: http://thiefmissions.com/scripts/UsrScriptT2_1x2BugFix.zip



    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    Masque of the Red Death (v1.1)

     Filesize: 18.9 MB
     Released: 3/15/2004
     readme.txt


     Loot List

     Other: raetsel's Website

    By: raetsel

    Plot Description: The city has been overcome by what everyone is calling the 'Red Death.' The disease strikes even the most healthy suddenly, and death is swift. The streets are littered with dead bodies, and everyone is too afraid to even take care of the mess. All of the nobility of the city have decided to hole themselves up in the estate of their Lord, Prince Prospero... all of the nobility who make it across town before being struck ill, that is. Fortunately, many don't make it to the Prince's castle, and their purses have just been laying around waiting for a... good citizen... to come along and take care of them. I even got myself an invitation... (More)



    Thief Gold Only Fan Mission
    Keeper of the Bell

     Filesize: 0.9 MB
     Released: 3/15/2004
     ReadMe.txt





    By: DarthsLair

    Plot Description: The Keeper of the Bell is not a Keeper of keys, or of secrets, nor of people. Evil has Risen once again, along with mans way of forgetting the basic rules and structures that make us Human. Tragic events take place in a Time we are all familiar with. Whos to say that time does not hold it's own secrets, and time plays a very important role in: The Keeper of the Bell.



    Thief Gold Only Fan Mission
    Return to Bafford Manor

     Filesize: 3.2 MB
     Released: 3/15/2004
     returntobafford.txt





    By: DarthsLair

    Plot Description: These events take place only three days after the successful theft of Lord Bafford's Sceptre.

    Cuttys in Trouble with the Hammers and faces possible death, or imprisonment in Cragscleft. When I got wind of this, I just couldn't resist helping a friend, and having some fun of my own.



    Much thanks to DarthsLair, raetsel, and Yandros for their works.





              Sunday, March 14, 2004

    New FM - A Love Story
    - 2:42:39 PM - Biohazard
    Today we have a new FM, A Love Story v1.1 from John Denison. Download and enjoy!

    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    Love Story, A (v1.1)

    Filesize: 4.63 MB
    Released: 3/14/2004
    lovestory11.txt



    John's Homepage

    By: John Denison

    Plot Description: You have been arrested by Lt. Moseley of the city watch. You knew this day would come... As you were so gracious to rescue Katie from the zombie infested warehouse district, she has decided to return the favor and help you escape.

    The last time you were in Riverbed you found a ring at the bottom of the river. This ring actually belongs to a sweet girl, Jeni, and it would be in your best interest to return it to her. This Jeni is not the same as Basso's girlfriend Jenivere, nontheless you are compelled to help Jeni maintain her happiness. (More)

    Additional Comments: This is based on my first Thief mission. It is actually my fourth.

    I have made some simple updates from the last release of Jenivere De Ja Vu.
    New update: I changed one of the watchers to make the FM ghostable. This was suggested by Dafydd.



    Thanks John for providing us with more Thief goodness!





              Tuesday, March 09, 2004

    Thief DS - 80 Questions and Answers
    - 12:31:40 PM - Elenkis
    The Circle has put together what we feel to be the single best Thief 3 information resource online today. It's a list of 80 questions and answers collected from the community's questions posted to the official forums, and answers to these questions from ION Storm developer Null. I think many people will find information here which they have either not seen in previews, or clears up confusion caused by sloppy previews. We will continue to keep updating it for as long as Ion Storm continue responding to your questions ;)
    29) Will you still be allowed many different ways to enter a building or get to a set point? (god_is_my_goldfish)

    We always try to ensure that during any break-in experience, there's always a back door, or side window, or skylight entrance. Part of the thrill of being a thief is found (for many) in the unorthodox use of space to bypass boundaries.

    44) I hope this hasn't been asked or answered, but will the "lean" feature be like T1 and T2, or will it be a simultaneous "lean and kneel" thing, a la Deus Ex? (Obviously, I'm pulling for the former, cuz you can do the hard core "bendy" around corners) (Eye)

    Lean works in both 1st and 3rd; the difference is, you have to actually be concerned about leaning into the light. If you lean out around a corner and your arm and head are being struck by a flickering torchlight, it's going to affect your light gem.

    Granted, a quick look is often safe. But you're dealing with real, per-pixel shadow and light, so you're going to be kept on your toes.

    57) Haunts? Burricks? Zombies? (fuzzbox)

    Haunts and Zombies made it. Burricks, sadly, are no longer present.

    Many thanks to everyone who contributed questions unknowingly to this compilation!

    I'd also like to take a moment to welcome everyone to the new Thief 3 section at The Circle. There's not much there at the moment, but in time we'll be adding a media section, and a list of all previews. This was the big first step, however. And no, we don't think that the title of Thief 3 is "Spypost" ... that's just the traditional name we give to sites which preview unreleased Thief games.





              Monday, March 08, 2004

    Warren Spector Talks Thief
    - 10:09:01 AM - Elenkis
    Gamespy have done a new four page interview with Ion Storm's top man, Warren Spector. It doesn't contain anything in the way of new game information, but it makes for some interesting reading on the topic of game design. Here's a snippet:
    GameSpy: So you think there's a value in a tightly controlled mechanic? In Deus Ex you had the freedom to tackle it how you wanted -- you had all these abilities, very different ways to tackle things.

    Spector: I wouldn't use the words "tightly controlled." I'd say "focused." The focus of Thief is clearly on the stealth experience; that's the strength of it. But I wouldn't say that Thief players have less freedom than Deus Ex players. They still have control -- your ability to explore the geometry the way you want is there. In Thief you have more control over the lighting. We're doing more with dynamic lighting than Deus Ex. Your ability to choose your interaction style with the NPCs may be a little bit less, but even there it's just more action oriented as opposed to Deus Ex, where it was: "Do I want to talk to this person or kill this person or avoid this person?" In Thief, it's: "Do I want to blind this person, avoid this person, kill this person?" You still have a lot of freedom in Thief.

    Thanks to Eugene for the heads-up!





              Tuesday, March 02, 2004

    Thief 3 Gameplay Preview
    - 6:40:48 PM - Dan
    Since we're not supposed to be posting scans of magazine articles here, it was very nice of Jordan to write up a review of the preview of the Thief 3 article in PC Zone, a UK magazine. Straight to it, then -
    Jodan chiming in here, just got the latest PC Zone through the post- complete with a massive 5 PAGE PREVIEW BASED ON A PLAYTEST!! Just a few things to mention first, from what I can see and remember, almost all the screenshots are brand new, one or two old ones. I might be completely wrong but that’s what it looks like anyways. Also, they’ve got the release date down for June , for the UK anyways. Finally before we start proper under the mini “So what’s the big deal?” section this little gem comes up:

    “Open-ended gameplay-find your own path”

    Let’s get down to business, I’m just going to go through the article and type either new info or good examples of what the game will be. Anything in Italics are quotes from Randy Smith, anything in bold is PCZ commenting, so let’s go:

    With the full team once again beavering away on the title (after they got pulled off to get Deus Ex out the door), development is proceeding at an alarming rate. “We’ve already got a complete “draft” of the game. You can play through the whole thing front to back. It’s a bit of a shaky first draft, but the potential for an amazing game is very clear and we’ve got plenty of time to polish and tune.”

    With no lumbering zombies or ridiculous robots to get in the way.

    We take things a step further. The player has alot more options, and you also get to be more directly involved with Garrett. You’ll enter Garrett’s house, meet your fence, sell your loot and go to the Black Market to buy thieves tools. You’ll Be able to make decisions about who Garrett allies with and who he chooses as his enemies...”

    The reason for third person- “Supporting both first and third person as fully as we are doing will make the Thief series more profitable. [Here comes the best line in the whole article for me - J] But as a result there’s a good chance fans will see more and better Thief games in the future.”

    While the new perspective defiantly opens up your options, some may find the disembodied view a bit of a “cheat”...You can still play the game entirely in first person though... “There’s nothing Garrett can do in third-person that he can’t also do equally well in first.”

    "Players tools we’re still not talking about”

    Garrett can drop a heavy item onto a guards head, roll a barrel down a staircase for a distraction...However our fav piece of physics in action comes straight form a Looney Tunes cartoon. When Randy pushes a cart down a steep hill to bowl over some pursuing guards. “And these aren’t scripted events either; the player can cause them to happen dynamically during the normal cause of gameplay.”

    “The guards see and hear evidence, which includes your footsteps, glimpses of you out of the corner of their eyes. Also they will notice torches that will go out, guards missing from there posts, doors left ajar, missing valuables, broken furniture, blood pools and other signs of recent combat. If a guard is not to suspicious, he’ll search carelessly, but a very alerted guard will draw his sword and search carefully, poking into every corner of the room, opening doors, looking behind furniture and so on.” So saying, Randy passes through a cluttered armory, emerging from shadow briefly to snatch a piece of brightly glinting loot. At almost the same instant, the room begins to glow faintly, as reflected light flickers into the room from the hallway. Being no fool, Randy leaps behind some crates and crouches silently in darkness, waiting for the unwanted presence to pass. Randy is out of look...but instead he stops in his tracks, visibly frowning, begins a search. He says “Better check over those crates, someone could be hiding there” As Randy turns to make his getaway, he blunders into a rack of swords, which clatter to the ground nosily.

    “The AI Guards exhibit interesting and unpredictable behavior pretty much anytime we play the game”

    “I can tell you that the plot progresses rapidly from a seemingly simple beginning into a complicated web of intrigue. This is to be expected given that Garrett spends time interacting with the Keepers...The plot keeps moving at all times, and there are alot of shocking developments that I think will surprise everyone.”

    “I’m Proud of lots of things, some simple and some more elaborate. I really like “Informing” , where a servant will run to get an armed guard if he catches you, because the two AI’s engage in dynamic dialogue depending on whether they spot you or not. For example “I just saw somebody!”, “Lead the way, I’ll follow you.”, “He was right there! I swear I saw him!”, “I believe you...I better take a look around, see if he’s still here.” As a simpler example, I really like the “loot glint”. Every Valuable object in the game sparkles in a certain way. It’s kind of like a Thief’s appraisal skill: from across the room you can look carefully and tell which goblets are golden and valuable and which are just worthless lumps of metal.”

    Well folks, that’s everything, It’s PC Zone issue 140 and it’s out Thursday 4th March. There’s a big tropical looking cover with the game Far Cry on the front. - Jodan

    Thanks again, Jordan. I am sad to see that instead of trying to make the zombies and robots from the previous Thief games more of an enjoyable gameplay experience, they are simply cutting them out, but at least this lets them concentrate on making the human AI as good as it can be, without having to worry about other forms of AI.






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