Sure guards will see Garrett's shadow...but what about his silhouette?

[TRoosevelt_26]

So how 'bout it? Often in Thief I find myself scared to death because I'm obviously silhouetting myself against a bright light, yet I am (of course) never seen.

Should this be implemented in Thief III? It would certainly add an entire new dimension to the game...

[Specter]

I agree, that should be implemented. Ive been playing Splinter Cell, and I dont know how many times Ive been completly sky-lit and yet still invisible. Adding that to the AI would certainly make Thief a more difficult game.

[ChangelingJane]

It's less a question of should it be implemented, and more a question of how it would be implemented. Giving AIs the ability to detect silhouettes wouldn't be an easy task.

[Specter]

Well, building a computer game from scratch isnt an easy task either. This isnt an eye candy thing, this is something that would affect how the game is played, I think for the better. So, if they can, I believe they should.

[Zaccheus]

It wouldn't be that difficult, actually.

Draw a line from the AI to Garrett, and continue the line until it hits a surface. That surface is was Garrett is abscuring.

If Garrett is 'dark' and the obscured 'something' behind Garrett is 'light' (and big enough to be seen around Garrett) - you are visible.

[Specter]

Well, I dont pretend to know anything about programing, but if it's that simple, maybe this is something we can legitimately hope for. No?

[ChangelingJane]

If it was that simple, it would've been in the first game. You can't determine a silhouette by doing a single line-of-sight trace. The light "halo" that creates a silhouette covers an area, not just a single point. It'll be cool if this is implemented in T3, but I'm not betting on it.

[Specter]

Do I smell a bet coming on?

[Zaccheus]

It would only be an approximation, but it might be good enough for a game.

Besides, if someone asked me:
"How can they tell if an AI can see Garrett?"

I would have said:
"Draw a line from the AI to Garrett, and if the line does not hit a surface before it reaches Garrett, you are visible."

The actual algorithm they use will be more complex, but the principle is quite simple.

The same is true for the silhouette.

[Secrets Of Nosgoth]

drraaaahhh.....my head hurts just thinking about programming a computer game let alone lighting physics in games. *pops some asprin*

[ChangelingJane]

Originally posted by Specter
Do I smell a bet coming on?

That depends on how willing you are to lose some money ^_^

[Specter]

Well isnt that cocky of you! Hmm, its tempting, I do like my bets. (I bet with a friend 250$ during the last election, he thought Gore would win, then that same friend bet with me during the World Cup, I bet against Portugal when they played the US) On the hand, I dont know anything about programming......

[ChowYunFat]

Thief already does something kind of like this doesn't it? I thought Garret was less visible the closer he is to a wall. This isn't exactly the same thing as being silhouetted, but it might be the best we can hope for in this regard.