Thi4f becomes plain old Thief, reboot coming in 2014

[RampantAndroid]

Thief 3 and IW used a "heavily modified UE2 engine and Thief 4 uses a "heavily modified UE3 engine. Thief 3 actually had several very large levels, it was just split into a loading areas. It also was one of the earlier games to use lip synced, motion capture. Could have shadows dynamically move based on adjacent light shadows, subtler variances in NPC's reception to sound made by player, Also to note that both DE:IW and Thief 3 was hailed by critics, received very good metecritic scores.

Either some players never gave Thief 3 a chance or has not played it in many years but It took me 20 hours to beat, not bad for a title with supposed "small levels" After replaying all 3 titles last year, I fail to see what makes part 3 any worse other than there is less empty space and it had some stiff animations and loading areas. I would certainly take high detailed, smaller maps over very large, empty ones. Very few games outside of maybe GTA4/5, skyrim and Oblivion has such large maps with "lived in" detail so budget and time is certainly an issue.

I loved T1 and T2, but I also liked T3 A LOT. It played fine on PC, and had some good elements to it. The city free roam was fun, and the factions were interesting. The Shalebridge Cradle level(s) freaked me the hell out. T3 didn't live up to the previous 2, but it didn't disappoint me either. Deus Ex HR disappointed a bit, and it sounds like T4 would just piss me off...

Am I one of the few people that found Deus Ex IW to be a little underwhelming but also enjoyed it?

 

[Geosurface]

Thief 4 has plenty of issues and could have been executed far better, but ultimately they got enough right and achieved enough fun in how your character interacts with the world, etc - that I give it my endorsement to at least play through once.

I think I'm nearing the end, and the further I've got into the campaign the more I've warmed up to it. It isn't fantastic, but it isn't a train wreck either. The quality level is similar to Thief 3.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Sounds to me like it's bargin bin material in a years time...not worth the full cost. I thought Dishonored was a good game but not as good as Thief...so I likely won't like Thief 4 that much if it cannot even match Dishonored.

 

[Fire&Blood]

I've just completed the game after replaying first 3 and completing Dishonored all in 2014. If you don't have money to burn, it's not worth it, though you should get it once it drops below $30.

I already made remarks about it but to try and sum it up, it's 80% Thief and 20% original Far Cry especially the final stretch, all of it modernized to appeal to a broader audience. I played it old school but that doesn't undo many of the changes. The bank heist (DLC) was a highlight and even that pales in comparison. It's also a loading fest. I would pay them $150 to redo the trilogy in tech they used for this one in a mod friendly non deviating way but I'm clearly not the target audience here...

 

[exar333]

So.......It sound's like a HD re-make of Thief 1 would have been a much better option vs. creating this 'shadow' of a game. :/

I remember waiting to get the first Thief game the day it came out, and the same with the 2nd. They were FANTASTIC games, and along with the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series, were my favorite FPS-like games ever. Thief 1/2 were intense, challenging, allowed a lot of freedom, and most importantly were fun. You could beat the same level a number of different ways, depending on your tactics, and you felt a sense of accomplishment regularly. never got a chance to play Thief 3, so I cannot speak to that.

I am struggling with trying this when the price goes down, or just to forget it entirely.

 

[Red Storm]

Thief developer Eidos Montreal lays off 27 employees

Can't say I didn't see that one coming. :\

 

[Fire&Blood]

Thief developer Eidos Montreal lays off 27 employees

Can't say I didn't see that one coming. :\

It makes me feel bad about lashing out against the game but I console myself thinking they would have laid people off anyway. Even if it sold >10 mil copies, if it's not a annually launching franchise, studios downsize anyway. They left space for DLC down the road in the same manner as with DE:HR (Jensen's boat trip=Garret's amnesia) but I fear the franchise is dead.

 

[exar333]

This is just normal business. Kind of a misleading story IMHO. These guys hire and fire folks all the time, depending on projects and what effort is needed. That doesn't take away from the 27 guys/gals who lost their jobs (that sucks) but it's part of the industry. This is why so many places use contractors, so they can avoid pieces like this.

 

[Red Storm]

This is just normal business. Kind of a misleading story IMHO. These guys hire and fire folks all the time, depending on projects and what effort is needed. That doesn't take away from the 27 guys/gals who lost their jobs (that sucks) but it's part of the industry. This is why so many places use contractors, so they can avoid pieces like this.

I figure a couple of layoffs is normal, but 27? That seems high.

 

[exar333]

I figure a couple of layoffs is normal, but 27? That seems high.

That could be 10 promoters, project managers, testers, etc. Wouldn't be suprised that those 27 were probably hired for a temp basis in the first place (even if they didn't know it). :/

This is why the dev/pub relationship keeps the lights on, but doesn't encourage stability in the market for most.

 

[smackababy]

That could be 10 promoters, project managers, testers, etc. Wouldn't be suprised that those 27 were probably hired for a temp basis in the first place (even if they didn't know it). :/

This is why the dev/pub relationship keeps the lights on, but doesn't encourage stability in the market for most.

Testers, maybe, but the others are just moved to other projects. It is likely most of the laid off are developers. Once a game is finished, you don't need all of those developers to remain. The work is done. You don't continue to pay the construction crew that built your house because some plumbing might break in the future.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Testers, maybe, but the others are just moved to other projects. It is likely most of the laid off are developers. Once a game is finished, you don't need all of those developers to remain. The work is done. You don't continue to pay the construction crew that built your house because some plumbing might break in the future.

...I work in software, so I think I can say with confidence, yes you do keep them around. They start building the next house. Ostensibly they thought they were restarting the thief series, but given the poor sales and reception, they don't see that as viable anymore.

Hiring devs isn't simple or fast. You don't just hire and then fire them at will.

 

[sze5003]

...I work in software, so I think I can say with confidence, yes you do keep them around. They start building the next house. Ostensibly they thought they were restarting the thief series, but given the poor sales and reception, they don't see that as viable anymore.

Hiring devs isn't simple or fast. You don't just hire and then fire them at will.

I'm a software Dev too so I know how this goes. My company hasn't laid off any full timers but they just let go of contractors after their contracted time is up. Funny thing is a full timer does the same work as a contractor but the contractor gets paid more since they don't get benefits.

In gaming, if sales do not offer a reason for the company to keep most developers then there will be lay offs. I'm sure there were more than 27 developers working on this game. Still it's sad to see and I dont wish it on anyone.

Last year a contractor buddy of mine was offered a full time position by my employer. He turned it down because the pay was 25k less.

They will keep as many devs they think are needed to start whatever they will work on next and hire more if needed later.

 

[RampantAndroid]

I'm a software Dev too so I know how this goes. My company hasn't laid off any full timers but they just let go of contractors after their contracted time is up. Funny thing is a full timer does the same work as a contractor but the contractor gets paid more since they don't get benefits.

In gaming, if sales do not offer a reason for the company to keep most developers then there will be lay offs. I'm sure there were more than 27 developers working on this game. Still it's sad to see and I dont wish it on anyone.

Last year a contractor buddy of mine was offered a full time position by my employer. He turned it down because the pay was 25k less.

They will keep as many devs they think are needed to start whatever they will work on next and hire more if needed later.

Sure, and this makes sense.

With contractors though, unless they are vendors, you have a limited period of time you can keep them before they have to go away for a mandatory 3 months (benefit reasons.) Our contractors don't do the same work, usually. Vendors however, do some of the same work and are paid GOBS of money.

 

[futurefields]

Gaming development is brutal. Lose your jobs cuz low metacritic score.

 

[motsm]

Gaming development is brutal. Lose your jobs cuz low metacritic score.

More likely because of low sales, and like others have said, some of them would probably be dumped regardless.

 

[Geosurface]

More likely because of low sales, and like others have said, some of them would probably be dumped regardless.

Seems like it has actually been selling pretty well: Link

27 people out of a team of 500 being relocated/laid off after a major release which had started fitful development in 2009 (5 years ago), ended up with somewhat disappointing reviews and reception from many quarters, etc... is totally unsurprising.

The game isn't truly great, but it is pretty good and worth playing.

 

[motsm]

Seems like it has actually been selling pretty well: Link

27 people out of a team of 500 being relocated/laid off after a major release which had started fitful development in 2009 (5 years ago), ended up with somewhat disappointing reviews and reception from many quarters, etc... is totally unsurprising.

The game isn't truly great, but it is pretty good and worth playing.

There is zero competition on that list, any AAA coming out would top it.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Seems like it has actually been selling pretty well: Link

27 people out of a team of 500 being relocated/laid off after a major release which had started fitful development in 2009 (5 years ago), ended up with somewhat disappointing reviews and reception from many quarters, etc... is totally unsurprising.

The game isn't truly great, but it is pretty good and worth playing.

They didnt sell well on steam. It was an utter flop there.

And there is only sold 1.35games per console in average. So that list is not entirely useful.

 

[DigDog]

i didint play this, but i did watch quite a few gameplay videos - from the standard walkthrough with chitchat on top, to master level no-save speedruns.

it doesn't look like something i would enjoy.

every action item lighting up on the map means there is zero "doom and gloom" affect from the atmosphere.
Enemy AI doesnt seem at all that bright.
the water arrows .. etc .. get some weird reactions from the AI - i don't know, if the torch i'm holding was blown out by a water arrow, i wouldn't just think "oh ah heck, the light's gone out".

and so on. i dont really think this is a realistic stealth game. crouch-sneak-running right behind some guard's knees just doesnt seem feasible. imho, even Skyrim (which you might know, i wasn't that crazy about) did stealth better .. at least when nobody has seen you yet.

 

[sze5003]

i didint play this, but i did watch quite a few gameplay videos - from the standard walkthrough with chitchat on top, to master level no-save speedruns.

it doesn't look like something i would enjoy.

every action item lighting up on the map means there is zero "doom and gloom" affect from the atmosphere.
Enemy AI doesnt seem at all that bright.
the water arrows .. etc .. get some weird reactions from the AI - i don't know, if the torch i'm holding was blown out by a water arrow, i wouldn't just think "oh ah heck, the light's gone out".

and so on. i dont really think this is a realistic stealth game. crouch-sneak-running right behind some guard's knees just doesnt seem feasible. imho, even Skyrim (which you might know, i wasn't that crazy about) did stealth better .. at least when nobody has seen you yet.

Have you played the original splinter cell games? They did stealth pretty well. For this type of game I wasn't expecting much so I guess it's alright.

 

[DigDog]

Have you played the original splinter cell games? They did stealth pretty well. For this type of game I wasn't expecting much so I guess it's alright.

nope, missed that franchise entirely. didn't have that much money in those days, so it was this game or that, not both, and i never really thought anything could top MGS.
but many people have told me it was really something .. are there and SC games on PC worthy of being played today ?

 

[sze5003]

nope, missed that franchise entirely. didn't have that much money in those days, so it was this game or that, not both, and i never really thought anything could top MGS.
but many people have told me it was really something .. are there and SC games on PC worthy of being played today ?

Yea you should definately check the SC series out. I think they are all on pc now. The best one that I liked was the original followed by Pandora tomorrow. Pandora tomorrow derinately worth playing.

I also liked black list but that's more modernized yet it reminds me of them trying to go back to the original formula from the older games. The story of blacklist is decent and they did rip out some things and include some action but you can also play it completely stealthy too.

 

[Wreckem]

I figure a couple of layoffs is normal, but 27? That seems high.

Its not uncommon to see entire teams laid off shortly after the release of said teams project. Its far to common actually.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Have you played the original splinter cell games? They did stealth pretty well. For this type of game I wasn't expecting much so I guess it's alright.

What do you mean by "this type of game"?

The original Thief games did pretty well, IMO.