Concerns about the PC version of Thief 3

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Dear Ion Storm,

As you will already be aware we, the existing fans of the Thief series of
games by Looking Glass Studios, have some concerns about the content of the
soon to be released Thief 3. This petition is intended to give you a
detailed explanation as to exactly what those concerns are, for the good of
the fans and for you the developers. We understand that fan feedback is
important to developers and normally a petition of this type would have no
basis. However the recent release of Deus Ex Invisible War has prompted this
response as we understand that there may be design crossover, and some of
the changes in the game were radical departures from related elements in the
original. Our concerns are listed below with a rationale for each.

Concern __________________________ Reason

1. AI that is not suitable for stealth play (e.g. enemies that know where
you are when alerted no mater how far away/hidden in shadows you are) -
based on the behaviour of the AI in Deus Ex 1 and 2
2. Level loading zones splitting each level up - this will break the
immersion that we so enjoyed in Thief 1 and 2. Seamless transitions are
desirable if loading zones MUST be used.
3. Poor frame-rates/high system requirements for acceptable play - as above
4. No editor which equals no FMs - this will be death for the massive mod
community and we have been waiting with baited breath for this, seriously,
drooling over the prospect. Even real talent leading to industry work can
develop from this
5. A non-customisable GUI that is not mouse friendly- because different
people want different levels of GUI "intrusion" on the field of view and
because some GUIs evolve around the console controllers
6. Automatic equipping of tools without the option to disable the feature -
this removes some choice and thought on the part of the player.
7. Limited ability to reassign keys - in Thief 1 + 2 there was a great deal
of key assignment flexibility - we liked that

The concerns laid out in this petition are just that - concerns. We have no
idea which of these will or will not come to pass and some of our worries
are based on rumours that have spread across the net without any response
from Ion Storm to lay our minds to rest. What we DO know is that addressing
the concerns in the final release will certainly make us happy and make
Thief 3 a much more well received game.

197 Signatures

  • Subjective Effect
  • paavo happonen
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • there's a thin line between innovation and rape
  • Pasi Luostarinen
  • Sйbastien Richer
  • Juha Ylдoja
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • I'd also like: EAX enviromental audio support (it really helps immersion, which both T1&T2 proved), Don't compress audio too highly. All sounds 16/44.1 compressed or not. When compressed, not below 128/160kb/s OGG stereo. Speech not below 64/kb/s (mono). Raise the bar, don't lower it ;)
  • deathmedic3rd
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • i hope the controls are less console like, and more pc like
  • andrew poulton
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • only well-worded petition i have ever seen
  • Julien Gasser
  • Michael Grady
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • I suppose that we don't need to tell you how important sound is in thief. We are all awaiting thief 3 with abated breath ION Storm and are actually pleased it is being produced by the same developer company that created the excellent Dues Ex 1, but that doesn't mean automatic purchases eidos..... I hope that what has been pointed out in the petition has already been taken to heart, and I look forward to playing this surely excellent sequel.... and many fan missions to come!
  • Sergey Grankin
  • Amanda
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Give us some information!!
  • Robert Stone
  • Alain Ostiguy
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • The Thief serie is a masterpiece of design. Please keep it that way
  • Foxy
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Thief 3 is the game I have been looking forward to most for years. And I don't want it to be awful and unfaithful to the series. We do not want a consolised game. We want the game that LGS was making all those years ago, just coming from your studio not theirs. Don't dissapoint us. Thief 3 is one ray of hope in a relative dearth of non-classic games of recent times. Don't dissappoint me and thousands of others. The PC version must not be an Xbox port. It must be tailored for the PC, because that is the only way it will live up to the legacy of LGS.
  • Richard Beckerman
  • Andreas Brunner
  • Bukary
  • Blackjack
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Spend far more time tailoring T:DS to the PC than you did DX:IW (level size and HUD). It's not much to ask, and it's in your interest, too. Let's put it this way: if you don't then I'll be waiting for second-hand Ebay copies, savvy?
  • Florian J.
  • Barry Graves
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • I cannot spend money on an Xbox port with no level editor after seeing what happened to DXIW. I bought 5 copies of T1 and T2 for friends and family. In my mind this is to help the developers know in advance how to guarantee sales or guarantee failure.
  • The Cleaner
  • William Nelson
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Court the young crowd (uninitiated through Thief I and II) with pretty graphics at the expense of the inovative gameplay that made the originals classic, if you must. I can live forever on replays and fan missions that still utilize what I fear is preceived as an arcane engine.
  • Joshua Farmer
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • This could be very well the best game to hit the market in years but it was never on a console and its besk known to PC gamers. It would be best optimized for non-proprietary hardware found in PC's unlike the hardware in the xbrick. It was never intended for consoles its best left that way.
  • Robert Pulsen
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Optimizing this game for Nvidia hardware is a bad idea we all know it would be best based on ATI hardware.
  • Gray Scott
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Your console-pandering will not go unpunished! Seriously, keep the game to it's PC roots, or you will reap the 'rewards'; namely very poor sales and eventual collapse.
  • B Wils
  • Tammy Baldwin
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Please keep the levels large. In-level loading between areas will absolutely murder the realism and immersion that made the Thief series so different and special. It would be nice to hear something from the developers once in a while, why don't you drop in on the TTLG forums occaisionally?
  • Chris
  • YianV
  • Damon Lundin
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • I expect a sophisticated game and not one that is dumbed down like Deus Ex 2.
  • Lucky (o) Striker
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • !!! Garret chooses Lucky Strike !!!
  • J Dalton
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • I hope T3 doesn't suck like IW did.
  • Suit
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Don't disappoint us, Ion Storm. We've lusted over the mere idea of a third installment of the Thief series for over two years, and the product you appear to be developing lacks the vision and soul of what Thief was and is intended to be. Do justice to Looking Glass Studios and do not forget the roots of the series, for the true Thief community surely will not.
  • Louis
  • illum
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Do NOT squander your reputation on another poor showing. Damaging one well loved game series is one thing, damaging two is altogether unforgiveble.
  • Collin
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Please do Thief the justice to the PC it deserves. It would be a mistake to abandon what made the series truly great in the first place.
  • Robert LeNoble
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • ditto
  • Brian Burgess
  • Eldar Davranov
  • Andrew Priest
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Taking on the work of someone else bears with it an onus to maintain the quaility, and as importantly, the spirit of the original work. For Thief to be sold out and its name attached to another bland stealth game would be a travesty.
  • Bryce Sloane
  • Nick Bourke
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • I know that making changes so late in a design process is difficult, but these concerns have been seriously weighing down on my mind for a long time. After the dissapointment of DE:IW, I sincerely hope that the next installment in my favourite game series will live up to the originals.
  • Stuart Mitchell
  • Matt Fountain
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • I agree fully.
  • Jeff Hogueison
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • DX:IW sucks. Do not make Thief 3 another XBOX piece of $hit.
  • honeymaker
  • Jeff Horn
  • Unox
  • nuitn0ire
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • be carefull to thief III on pc , or that will be a "flop"
  • Luckas
    • Your thoughts, comments or suggestions.
    • Pleases, do your to keep the mind intact "Thief" best. Inform yourselves by the existing community before committing some mistakes if you wish that is himself a success...