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

[wdogify]

no thief related news, but the third eidos montreal project: http://www.siliconera.com/2012/05/10...save-his-love/

"hen asked about platforms, our source wouldn’t give us a clear answer only saying information will be announced in the not so distant future."

what??? don't tell me that they will announce their third project at E3 and no a single talk about thief 4

[Hamadriyad]

Originally Posted by wdogify

what??? don't tell me that they will announce their third project at E3 and no a single talk about thief 4

I think this is highly possible.

[kin]

Maybe it would be a good idea for EM to sell thief ip to another studio (arkane).

[Vladimyre]

And HITMAN: Absolution has a November 20th release date.

The game was announced and will ship more than likely before we get any news about Thief IV. I find that ironical. I really am not anticipating any news releases this whole year we are almost half way through the year already, and really have no faith in EM/SE PR. Not complaining just find it to be a sadly odd situation. On the bright side dishonored is out in October.

V

[wdogify]

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/steve-bouliane/8/216/721





TAKEDOWNS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[

[Gabriel]

Oh crap... This is one of the things that I've feared.

[Platinumoxicity]

Originally Posted by wdogify

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/steve-bouliane/8/216/721

TAKEDOWNS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Nice job Eidos Montréal. The first news ever revealed are bad news. And the worst thing is that you didn't even reveal it officially, instead it was logically deduced from related information, so the deception was intended.

Therefore the level of confidence in EM has now officially dropped from no trust, to the negative side, distrust.

Now if we just hear something about "cover system" then all hope is lost. The game has no 1st person mode support at all. We'll be lucky if there is shadow based stealth either. DXHR had no support for 1st person gameplay because shadows were not hiding spots, and a badly designed sound system that doesn't work to support the stealth gameplay mechanics made sure that the only way to know the movements of enemies was to use the 3rd person cover mechanics. In other words, the total opposite of The Dark Project.

[Vladimyre]

Originally Posted by Platinumoxicity

Nice job Eidos Montréal. The first news ever revealed are bad news.

Well at least you have confirmation that you've got third person, I'll let you all decide if that's positive or negative

V

[Nightwynd]

Not being sure what "key frame animation" means, we did have takedowns and their respectful animations in the earlier games. Right?

• KO (Blackjack)
• Backstab
• Gas Arrow
• Broadhead Arrow
• Fire Arrow
• ...

Maybe it just means animating those kinds of things. So before jumping to overly-dramatic conclusions (i.e Thi4f will have no stealth), we should determine what that term, "key frame animation", exactly means.

At least it doesn't say "Camera Angles Composition and Integration for the Takedowns and Finishers" on Thief 4 - which would be much more unnerving.

[DJ Riff]

Originally Posted by Nightwynd

we should determine what that term, "key frame animation", exactly means.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_frame

[contrarian]

Takedowns! I love it. Eidos, I'm slowly starting to warm up to you guys. Hopefully you'll add some Bayonetta-esque moves to the main character. And hopefully, it'll be a well endowed chick ala Lara Croft.

My excitement is once again renewed. Bringin' more to the table indeed!

[Platinumoxicity]

Originally Posted by Nightwynd

Not being sure what "key frame animation" means, we did have takedowns and their respectful animations in the earlier games. Right?

• KO (Blackjack)
• Backstab
• Gas Arrow
• Broadhead Arrow
• Fire Arrow
• ...

Maybe it just means animating those kinds of things. So before jumping to overly-dramatic conclusions (i.e Thi4f will have no stealth), we should determine what that term, "key frame animation", exactly means.

At least it doesn't say "Camera Angles Composition and Integration for the Takedowns and Finishers" on Thief 4 - which would be much more unnerving.

When you swing a crowbar in Half-Life or shoot a gun in Doom, do you use the term "takedown" with that? No, because those are simple FPS game attack actions that execute one hit with one button press. Press "attack" and you do one swing of the blackjack. If you aim correctly at the right distance, it's a hit. If it's done correctly, the enemy goes down as planned.

"Takedown" in my opinion is when you press "Button that does everything because console controllers only have 3 available buttons" -nothing happens. Because you are not in the general vicinity of a target. But if you are close to a suitable target, pressing "button that does everything" causes gameplay to stop, so that it can execute a no-fail complex takedown animation that takes 3 seconds. You never select a weapon, you never attack with a weapon, it just happens. Basically it's a time where the second player, the computer takes control and plays for a while, and lets you continue after a few seconds. You are responsible for the walking and jumping and stuff. The game never lets you "try" to attack any target. It's a binary system where you either satisfy the conditions and succeed every time, or you don't and you aren't even allowed to try. In other words, it's unimmersive because it's not the player doing the "taking down" an opponent. It's a button executing an automatic "takedown".

Imagine if there would be a slow-motion arrow-flying sequence for every time you tried to shoot a gas arrow at someone in Thief. The game doesn't let the arrow fly into a target and let the game mechanics determine a result of player input. The game calculates in advance what the effects of that input are, so that it can execute a pre-programmed animation sequence that reflects the interpretation that the program has made of player input, but what looks cooler and more directed and movie-like because no unpredictable dynamic and free actions of the player can get in the way.

And keyframe animation simply means that you make "key" frames in the animation, and the differences between two frames are interpolated so that the movement goes through a smooth sequence.

[Jace_Auditore]

Originally Posted by contrarian

Takedowns! I love it. Eidos, I'm slowly starting to warm up to you guys. Hopefully you'll add some Bayonetta-esque moves to the main character. And hopefully, it'll be a well endowed chick ala Lara Croft.

My excitement is once again renewed. Bringin' more to the table indeed!

That was sarcasm..right????

Originally Posted by contrarian

Hopefully you'll add some Bayonetta-esque moves to the main character. And hopefully, it'll be a well endowed chick ala Lara Croft.

RIGHT???

[Walter Mellin]

oh you guys. here's why i don't think takedowns are a big deal:

blackjack KO = standing behind a guy + hitting a button (mouse click rather)
takedown = standing behind a guy + hitting a button

it's functionally the same.

now allow me to contradict myself a bit. i have problems with Thief using takedown animations.. the takedown animations might be too long (i thought the DX:HR animations could've stood to be half as long as the were) and too flashy for being a thief. a quick clonk to the head is what Garrett's all about. and being a canned animation, it takes away a variable that can create emergent gameplay. one of my favorite moments of playing Thief was making a quite a distant jump from an elevated wood surface over metal floor and timing my blackjack swing midair to hit the guy in the back of the head right before the metal clang of my landing. a canned animation doesn't allow for that kind of gameplay.

also, kinda stings that EM has revealed more info for their third project than Thi4f. it's just story stuff and there's no inclination to what kind of game it'll be, but anything is more than nothing.

[Blue Sky]

Gah, the term "takedown" is worrying. Hopefully it does just mean "AI death/unconscious animation", rather than being anything like the 'cinematic' Deus Ex 3 takedowns, which stuck out like a sore thumb.

Or at the very least, it's something which can be turned off.

[wdogify]

Originally Posted by Blue Sky

Gah, the term "takedown" is worrying. Hopefully it does just mean "AI death/unconscious animation", rather than being anything like the 'cinematic' Deus Ex 3 takedowns, which stuck out like a sore thumb.

Or at the very least, it's something which can be turned off.

Are you sure about that?

[TheWoodsieLord]

Well... as long as knocking enemies out or killing them can be avoided, I don't really care whether takedown animations are present or not.

[Master Taffer]

Takedown animations were present in Thief 1 and 2. Or did all of you go through every playthrough of the games you've ever done and not blackjack/backstab/shoot someone?

I sincerely doubt it.

[wdogify]

For me, when you knock/ kill someone in thief, it's an animation not a takedown.
Takedown is how the player knoc out/ kill people in Deus Ex Human Revolution.

[Master Taffer]

Originally Posted by wdogify

For me, when you knock/ kill someone in thief, it's an animation not a takedown.
Takedown is how the player knoc out/ kill people in Deus Ex Human Revolution.

Yes, because the "takedowns" in HR don't have animations and when you knock out or kill someone in Thief you aren't taking them down. They are obviously mutually exclusive.

[swordbreaker]

I'm fine with keyframe animations for takedown. Immersion will be effected depending on how it's implemented. If it'll be just like in HR, third camera & exaggerated animations, then say goodbye to Thief.

[shmouver]

This is a news/update threads about Thief 4...
You guys fool me every time heheh...i always think it's actual news about the game

[Bono]

Takedowns in Thief?

I can't help but laughing.

[xAcerbusx]

Originally Posted by wdogify

TAKEDOWNS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Originally Posted by swordbreaker

If it'll be just like in HR, third camera & exaggerated animations, then say goodbye to Thief.

...and people say the Thief community is reactionary.

Takedowns didn't ruin Deus Ex, and it would take a whole lot more than takedowns to ruin Thief. Just for the record. I'm amazed at how fragile and waifish you people believe the Thief formula is. Like it's made out of styrofoam, twist it too much and it will snap in half?

It's a strong formula. It can survive a change or two. Deadly Shadows proved that.

[Morgan Wight]

Takedowns and Finishers?!

That. Sounds. Awful.