THE CITY WATCH 2012 - News/Tweets -UPDATE: EM & Crystal Dynamics collaboration for TR

[SPop]

http://eidosmontreal.com/data/assets...news_thief.jpg

It's in the same folder as the rest of the toolbar buttons on their website.

[zcapp96]

Does anyone know if this is a new thing or has always been there? If new it might suggest news is imminent....

[DJ Riff]

Direct link:
http://eidosmontreal.com/data/assets...news_thief.jpg

Date/Time:
18 Aug 2011 20:51:04

Date/Time of the .css file which is using the picture:
03 Nov 2011 22:17:18

[Pieter888]

RUMOR!
Thief 4 trailer to be released soon?
http://www.vg247.com/2012/02/22/rumo...iler-complete/

[Viktoria]

^
Added to first page updates!

[zcapp96]

I know E3 is in June but are there any other shows between now and then that might make a good place for a first show?

It would make sense to capitalise on the positive reception that Deus Ex received.

[dda]

GDC is on March 5-9. A guy from the team will be talking about animation driven AI using T4 as an example, or so is claimed. We may see some real game material then. We may get a trailer. Who knows. I'm assuming the usual routine will play out: another year and game show gone and nothing of substance for us.

[tarvis79]

Reading the actual resumes, it seems like SE has been sitting on a finished trailer for at least a few months.

Does this perhaps mean that development IS pretty far along, and we're going to have a condensed pre-release marketing cycle?

[zcapp96]

Originally Posted by tarvis79

Reading the actual resumes, it seems like SE has been sitting on a finished trailer for at least a few months.

Does this perhaps mean that development IS pretty far along, and we're going to have a condensed pre-release marketing cycle?

In keeping with the whole ethos of the game itself, surely it should just suddenly appear on the shelves with no-one having the slightest clue how it got there.

[tarvis79]

More to the substance, I'm sure SE is in charge of marketing. As long as they don't touch the actual game, I don't particularly care.

[5055672439]

Originally Posted by tarvis79

Reading the actual resumes, it seems like SE has been sitting on a finished trailer for at least a few months.

Does this perhaps mean that development IS pretty far along, and we're going to have a condensed pre-release marketing cycle?

That puts a pretty big hole in your argument doesn't it.

[tarvis79]

Maybe so. It doesn't make complaining any more productive.

[cGREGgo]

Wow, Could this be true?

[fbdbh]

Originally Posted by cGREGgo

Wow, Could this be true?

Anything is possible; the disturbing fact is that it's (supposedly) a photorealistic CG trailer... I only hope that they don't show Garrett's face.

[dda]

We are gonna see (a photo real HD) middle aged loner with a massive scar running down one side of his face. It's gonna be hideous.

OOO and he's pale, oh soo pale!

[xAcerbusx]

Assuming Garrett is the protagonist. And I hope it is.

[Platinumoxicity]

Assuming that there is any doubt. Which there shouldn't be.

[dda]

Yes, after so many years of asking we should know.

[Pieter888]

Let's just hope they will suprise us then.

[Kodaemon]

Not the "Square Enix will turn everything into Final Fantasy!" fallacy again... also, what's with the racial slurs, people? :/

[Viktoria]

Originally Posted by Kodaemon

... also, what's with the racial slurs, people? :/

These have been deleted and infractions issued where appropriate.

[Platinumoxicity]

...And the accuser of racism has been subtly called a racist for recognizing a racial connection in a sentence where the original author of the sentence did not see a racial connection, out of his own ignorance in the subject of racial slurs.

Sorry anyone who got offended/was shocked/whatever. I honestly had no idea. It seems that I learned something new.

[DrTariff]

With game technologies moving into the eighth generation (which IMHO will be the pinnacle of 3D gaming, at least visually) relatively soon, we can surely expect some amazing environments with detailed weather variation from T4 if nothing else. That aforementioned upcoming trailer could likely demonstrate examples of these, even if it turns out pre-rendered.

The GDC schedule does mention AI advancements, so for all we know T4 might even feature realistic damage models for each character, including beastmen. Layers of penetrable flesh right down to bones and innards would be a welcome advancement in my view. Of course killing would still essentially be discouraged, but the chance to experience evolved and plausible damage systems relative to Garrett's choice of weaponry could remain on the table. Taking into account the current state of the industry and considering how respected this series is, barely serviceable or mediocre character and player models just won't cut it anymore.

The tech demo Redwood Falls is the only example I can think of at the moment to feature such an extensive damage model as a core gameplay element. It was developed in 2006 and like T4, uses the Unreal Engine 3. See here and here.

Also, if Garrett can heal practically any damage (short of death and the loss of his biological eye) incurred with a simple health potion, why shouldn't guards be able to?

[Platinumoxicity]

Originally Posted by DrTariff

The GDC schedule does mention AI advancements, so for all we know T4 might even feature realistic damage models for each character, including beastmen. Layers of penetrable flesh right down to bones and innards would be a welcome advancement in my view. Of course killing would still essentially be discouraged, but the chance to experience evolved and plausible damage systems relative to Garrett's choice of weaponry could remain on the table. Taking into account the current state of the industry and considering how respected this series is, barely serviceable or mediocre character and player models just won't cut it anymore.

It's about advancements in AI, and all you can think of for a stealth game like Thief is "methods of making killing more realistic"? The AI in the Thief games has never been very good. I'm pretty sure that if there is going to be cool advancements in AI tech, it's going to be in the enemy behavioral AI department. Making damage calculation more complex and realistic doesn't give anything to the player. It only makes the game more unpredictable, in other words, more like a Slot Machine or Roullette, and less like Thief. AI improvements in Thief are supposed to give more possibilities, and more varied challenges for the player.

-For example, complex sound propagation algorithms that suggest various possibilities for an AI actor about which direction a sound might have come from, so that the enemy doesn't automatically home in on the exact spot of space, in the exact right floor, where the sound came from.

-Pattern recognition system that would allow a player to walk undetected after knocking out a guard, because other guards would have gotten used to hearing and seeing their friend walk nearby. Although if the player starts running, then the guards could clearly notice that something is not right.

-Systematic search patterns coordinated by ranking guard officers. If the presence of an intruder is confirmed and the alarm is sounded, sleeping guards get up and dressed, the guards and their lieutenants meet up in the main hall and direct their subordinates to seach every corner in every room, using lights too if possible.

-Escape path prediction. Known routes are calculated even if the enemy just lost sight of the player, so if there is an open grate that leads to the yard, the guards will turn back and get out there, because it looks like the intrduder went that way. Really the open grate was just a diversion, and the player actually just hid behind the corner when being chased. Guards should always try to chase the player where they think the palyer is, not exactly where the player is.

-Other tiny details like noise cover. Enemies can't hear anything in a thunderstorm or next to heavy machinery. Also during a chase, they can't hear the player's tiny footsteps for all the noise they make while running and shouting, so they don't "accidentally" home in on the player if he turns in a corner. It would also be funny if some guards would get these bad cough fits, during which the player could do all sorts of noisy stuff because the guard is coughing so heavily that he can't pay any attention to his surroundings.

[DrTariff]

Originally Posted by Platinumoxicity

It's about advancements in AI, and all you can think of for a stealth game like Thief is "methods of making killing more realistic"?

My point was that in addition to behavioral advancements including many of the things you mentioned, there's room for the AI to have more detailed or complex (not necessarily realistic) damage models. I think it's fair to assume that in this case the overall aim is to make stealth harder by improving on AI complexity and introducing new concepts not seen in the previous games.