Yesterdays thief

[The Fitter]

Hello all.

Previous to the weekend just gone I was a thief virgin who avoided 'stealth' games like the plague. Why sneak and hide when you can shoot or blow up your enemy I thought. However due to the reviews seen on the web/magazines I gave thief 3 a go, and now I'm hooked.

Graphics great, feeling of freedom first class, I may be a little over cautious, ran out of water arrows on the first mission extingushing every light I could, ( I'm new go easy on me), but starting to get a feel for it now, I'm in St Edgars church so a lot of the game still to come. So here's my question:

Assuming I finish this game eventualy will it be worth getting Thief 1 or 2 ? Or would I be disapointed by the graphics etc as I won't have the benefit of nostalgia. Sorry about any spelling mistakes my wifes not here to proof read for me :p

Thanks in advance, Dave

[fpk]

I guess it's worth it before you play Thief 3, but Thief 1 and 2 would really seem a bit lame and ugly compared to graphics. It's a game of 6 years old.

[Warrior2]

Well, if you tweak your grafic drivers a little bit by activating AntiAliasing and Anisotropic filtering you will get a nice view @ 1600 x 1200, as long as you are not examing something nearby :D

A utility like PowerStrip could help you here, which is in fact a must for every gamer:

http://entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm

Besides that, the games are fun. The levels are real huge, so you can play a lifetime if you like and still discover something new :cool:

[Odyseeos]

I don't agree with the premise that T1 and T2 are in need of help. Where the graphics fail remains true of all games and that will probably remain true for a very long time. No game has photographic reality caught in its mitts. If you read letters from players of T1 and T2, you just don't find sentences saying, "I wasn't involved in the game." And you do find sentences saying, "I just replayed T1, and..."

[MajorHealy]

I agree with Odyseeos - the last time I replayed T1/T2, I spent at most 20 minutes frowning at the graphics, then the immersion took over.

I knew what to expect, of course, but I don't know that that will have a huge impact. The gameplay is simply that good.

As a matter of fact, I've played T2 *way* more recently than T1. Maybe it's time to fire T1 up again as soon as I finish T3 on expert.

I'm gonna be spoiled when I go back, though - gonna have to go back to creeping and crawling over marble and metal :)

[gregimotis]

The first two are superior (WARNING ::: OPINION) to this one in some ways.

Not in graphics, of course, but the city felt much darker and gotham-esque. Also sneaking was harder - many times walking across a tile floor was a matter of tapping your keyboard while crawling and creeping. It seems that rooftopping was more satisfying in those too, I could get onto many more useless but cool places for screenies. Far and away the best aspect of those versions was the fan-missions - some of those were better than the game missions.

Oh please let them release a level editor...

[uberam]

Played T2 before T3, haven't played T1 (still trying to figure out if it'll run on W2K). IMO, great game but not because of the graphics. More because of the imersive game play even the plot line/story. So, yeah I think its worth getting even after you've played T3, even if the graphics were yesterday's standards.

[ChowYunFat]

I think you will be as enchanted with T1 & T2 as anyone who played them when they first came out. The gameplay is wonderful--I hesitate to say "better than T3" because T3 is very good but there are many great features in the first games that didn't make it to the third one. The levels are wonderfully huge & the graphics are good enough although not state of the art anymore. By all means, give them a try.

[Absynthe]

If you have any doubts you could always download the demos here:

Thief: The Dark Project Demo - Bafford's Manor (http://www.fileplanet.com/files/50000/56889.shtml)

Thief 2: Alpha Demo - The Unwelcome Guest (http://www.fileplanet.com/files/30000/35527.shtml)

Both represent what you can expect from the games though the graphics for Thief 2 are much better than the demo.

If you have problems setting them up refer to the troubleshooting thread here:

http://ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75031

If you can get the demo running then the full game will work as well.

[daves01902]

I have all three thief games installed, and I still play thief 1 and 2. Even after finishing them both many times. I still play them. I like to see if I can get ALL the loot, or Blackjack ALL the guards, etc. The games are inherently fun. I bought Thief 1 when it first came out, and I still play it. The series is just great. In my opinion, the greatest games ever made.
D

[The Cleric]

I'd say it's definately worth it. Get Thief Gold though, if you can. If you look around, you may even be able to find some Hi-Res Textures out there. I can't believe that no one's done any.

You'll love the Rope Arrow's! Much better than "Climbing Gloves" IMHO.

It's been a coulple of years since I've played through T1 or T2. I think I'll give it a whirl when I'm done with Deadly Shadows.

[hagatha]

After completing Thief Deadly Shadows I replayed Thief 2 for the umpteenth time. Also, in anticipation of Thief: DS I played Thief Gold a little while ago.

Both games are still VERY much worth playing. The graphics aren't as "modern", I suppose, but you forget about that very quickly once you get into either of these games. They still look pretty darned good. And the gameplay itself is second to none, in my opinion. The missions are much, much bigger and longer, and there is much more to explore, and lots of secrets to find - far more so than in Thief: DS, which skimped on those aspects of the game. In some of the missions there are several ways of getting to a certain spot, and more than one way of accomplishing goals.

Plus, in the earlier games you have to rely far more on stealth and skill rather than equipment, because the equipment is hard to come by. Makes for a far more challenging game.

If you loved Thief 3 and can find copies of the older games (they are still around in a "value pack" edition), it would probably worth your while to go back and look at the game's roots to see how it all started and why the series has such a fanatical following. And also why some people liked THief DS, but not as much as the earlier games.

[Absynthe]

Originally posted by The Cleric
I'd say it's definately worth it. Get Thief Gold though, if you can. If you look around, you may even be able to find some Hi-Res Textures out there. I can't believe that no one's done any.

Hi-res textures may not be supported by the engine. Back in the day engines had limits on texture resolution. 128x128 use to be plenty.

However, there have been mesh and texture enhancements here:

http://www.thief-thecircle.com/media/patches/

Scroll to the bottom and start downloading.

[The Fitter]

Thanks all.

Looks like I'll be giving the early games a try then. Maybe Ebay!! Rope arrows eh, I've not even got the climbing gloves yet. As a night shift worker I don't get much of a chance to play midweek, but at least the game will last a while.

Ok bed for me now, and then look for that Builders Chalice.

Dave

[El_Jefe]

Also, you get more of an understanding of the storyline too. Like how Garrett got his mechanical eye, which they don't explain in T3.

[Quillan]

Take a look at EBGames, if you have a local one. I found several copies of Thief Gold and Thief 2 on the shelves here, for $9.99 each.

[Et Cetera]

Surely there is more to games than just graphics, but that seems to be all people mention when talking about games over 24 months old. Graphics graphics graphics .. blah. There is so much more to a game than what it looks like. Graphics are an over-rated aspect of a game IMO

If you are so wrapped up in the graphic part of the game, then you are probably missing the point of playing it in the first place.

What made those first Thief games great? GAMEPLAY and ATMOSPHERE, not its graphics.

So, especially when chosing older games... which would you prefer?

Great game with so-so graphics (by 2004 standards) *OR* Mediocre game with great graphics? (if you can call 1998 graphics "great" at all.)

Get Dark Project or Gold and play it for the right reasons.. the game itself .. not the view. You want a nice view, go and look at the latest XYZ rpg screenshots instead.

[Quillan]

It's the same thing in movies; people get so caught up with special effects they forget about the other elements. I've got one friend who I just can't ask an opinion on a movie he's seen, because all he will say is "The special effects were good". Graphics and special effects help, but they are not the core of it. The game needs a good story, a good plot, and good gameplay. Take a look at some sites like Gamespy. You'll occasionally find a list of great bargain bin specials they recommend. The look is dated, but the games are still great. Thief 1 is on all those lists. So are Half Life (made on the original Quake engine), and Deus Ex (the first, not the second). I've played all of these, and they are STILL fun. The graphics are not the primary focus.

[gar_goyle1]

I agree with all previously stated supports for purchasing/playing T1/T2. I remember when T1 came out,,,,THAT was my intro to first person stealth, and I am still playing it on my XP machine. T2 same thing. I most definitely agree that today's graphics are easier on the eyes, but yesterdays storylines and size of missions still rule. Apply todays graphics with original gameplay/story and you have got one HELL of a game.

Definitely get Thief Gold. Got mine at CompUsa for $10 USD.
Gave original Thief to my son :)

[LiterACola]

I guess I'm the only one who didn't quite appreciate T1. I bought it when it was released in '99 , but I stopped playing after a couple of days. I completely forgot about it, then, until T3 came out. I never go playing any game in a series without first playing its predecessors. So, I fired up T1 again last month, and I still didn't quite like it (I did, however, complete the game anyway). The main reason... UNDEAD ! I hate the overuse of the undead (zombies) ! On top of that, I would've appreciated a mark on the map as to what general area you're in and what you already visited (a map exactly like T2 has). That and Constantine's Mansion... honestly, a cave and forest on the third floor ? Trickster or not, that was a stupid mansion. Bah... this game seemed more like grave-robbing to me than thiefing.

However, I did thoroughly enjoy T2. Maybe a one-minute cameo of undead creatures (and I don't mind Hammer-haunts. Just those stupid zombies). The rest of it was true thiefing and taffering galore. I'd definitely recommend it.

All in all, I think my experiences would have been better with both games if I wasn't rushing to get to T3 and other games I have lined up to finish. Now to see how my Audigy 2 and Creative S750 speakers hold up to T3.

[sean1011]

I started a thread withouth checking and I see that this one deals with T2 vs T3.
I have loaded metal age again and am in complete accord with all that I see written here.
Th phrase I would agree the most with is " I still don't know wheather shadows is better that metal age, or vice versa"
I mentionned also that sneaking around in T2 is like walking on egg shells, compare to the new release.
It's a much toughter game, and I trully don't mind the so called graphics being inferior.
Graphics are only a small part of the game.
IW has better graphs that DX 1 and yet, the game is not close to being as good. (as a matter of fact, when I see IW's game box at the store with this "punk" on it, I always wan to puke)
It's almost as if T2 and T3 are two completly different game alltogether, with only Garrett's voice and the game's theme in common. I lknow it's hard to explain, but that 's the way I feel about it.
Both are great games.
I like the way Garrett picks up and dispose of bodies rather fast in metal age , among other things.
If a T4 is underway, I wish Ion storm would not go crasy with all new futuristic ideas, and studies why TI and 2 were such Good games.....(what are the chances of that huh? )
Sean