PC MagazineÓ - Thief III

[howie]

A short article from the mag.

Thief III

Ion Storm bills itself as the “home of the immersive simulation, “ For its action/RPG Thief III, the developer has built a custom system that promises to push game AI to new limits.

“Our AI [NPC’s] take lots of factors into account to determine how well they can see a target including, distance line-of-sight, occlusion, amount of light, and speed and size of the target, “ explains AI programmer Paul Tozour. All of which are necessary traits for enemies tracking a silent intruder like Thief III’s hero/burglar, Garrett.

“In Thief III, the AI will have an evidence-tracking system, which means it will retain information about which events made it suspicious and where, “ adds Tozour “The AI will be able to draw better conclusions about which areas should be searched for intruders. When the AIs say “ It must have been rats,” they’ll have really deduced that, although if you’re playing the game well, they probably won’t be right. “

PC MagazineÓ September – 2002

The only thing that threw me was its claim as an RPG. dcjyYl

[theBlackman]

Also expected release fourth quarter 2003. (Christmas market kiddies)

[Huntress]

tBM...fourth quarter...wasn't originally suggested for release time. Hmmmm...well I just hope they get a demo out by early fall anyway? Ta and Good Hunting!

[GMan]

Wow, that's still a long ways off. We're talking "Return of the King" long. Can the forum stay vibrant that long? Hope so.

[BrokenArts]

I don't think that will be a problem. The forum staying active, while we wait. With all the FM's that are coming out. And the FM packs, such as T2X, and CoSaS. And UT Thievery. People will be busy into the future.

[Squid]

Considering that they just went into blackout mode regarding the game, I'd say 4th quater 2003 is a bit unlikely. Might be as early as Christmas this year, but more than likely a Summer release next year. But here's hoping that they do a great job with it, and get it to us in a timely manner!

Squid

[ChowYunFat]

Christmas 2002? From your lips to God's ear, Squid. But I'd take Christmas 2003 & be happy with it if they do it right.

Incidentally, one of the computer magazines I was just reading has T3 coming out before DX2!

[Lake]

Originally posted by ChowYunFat
Incidentally, one of the computer magazines I was just reading has T3 coming out before DX2!

Judging by the amount of DX2 press over T3 press I have seen, I doubt that.

[Squid]

Am I mistaken, or, (not counting the time that LGS was working on it,) has Ion Storm been working on T3 longer than DX2? I got the impression that DX2 was announced a couple of months ago, but T3 was in the works way before that. Perhaps that magazine isn't far off the mark?

Squid

[Zaccheus]

All the heavy marketing for DX2 and the blackout of T3, suggests to me that they want to get DX2 out first, make a killing, and then announce T3 to the world.
2003 sounds very likely.

[TRoosevelt_26]

Whether we like it or not, Deus Ex was bigger hit than Thief (the blow-'em-up aspect, surely). Therefore I would imagine that when the highly-anticipated-by-many-people Deus Ex II comes out, they will start a media blitz about Thief III, exclaiming, "This is just a medieval version of Deus Ex II as concerns engine, gamestyle, AI, etc.!" And then everyone will buy it, because on the website and box it will say, "From the makers of the award-winning Deus Ex II." And the Thief community will grow considerably larger, and we will get an influx of blow-'em-up people in this forum that we will have to deal with.

[theBlackman]

As TR-26 says it will probably go something like that. I lean toward the 4th Q 2003. Christmas shopping stock is usually brought in around September and retail supplies for gifts, clothing and other "luxury" items are pre-ordered to fit that period.

So I would suspect Aug to Oct of 2003 for the release of T3. Deus 2 will probably be this Xmas or so.