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Eidos Montreal cuts the QTEs from Thief
When Square Enix launches its Thief reboot in February 2014, it will ship a game with one fewer gameplay element than was previously seen at E3: quick-time events. Developer Eidos Montreal revealed in a recent community blog that the game's QTEs were stripped out of the adventure entirely. "To begin with, there were very few instances of QTEs in the game; in fact there was only one in that whole hour-long E3 demo," the blog post reads. "However, given the strong reactions it evoked in the press and the community, it was an easy decision to do away with them entirely. So we're not doing it. No quick time." Our time with Thief last month didn't spotlight those now-absent timed button-press moments, but focused on the stealthier elements of the game and the ways it enforced resource conservation. The game will arrive on February 25, 2014 for Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Thief: Stalking the City in Shadow
Oh, the indignation of owning a totally sweet sword and struggling to hit anything with it. It was a disarming gesture in 1998's Thief: The Dark Project – to be turned into a chronic bumbler in confrontation, but a master thief in shadow and silence. The game was better when you hid from it. The skilled and unacknowledged player still has a place in the new Thief, now under the guidance of Eidos Montreal. I recently gained a sense of the first-person stealth game's priorities and its adherence to Looking Glass' foundation, thanks to a sneaky stroll inside a cordoned-off piece of a grimy city. The city connects crucial missions, but its crooked buildings hide additional objectives and its streets provide ample opportunity for pickpocketing and trouble.
Thief's use of DualShock 4 features detailed
Thief will make use of the DualShock 4's motion control and light bar features, a post to the PlayStation blog revealed this week. The controller's light bar will "reflect the light gem in the in-game UI" during gameplay to reinforce whether the game's protagonist, Garrett, is safely stowed away in the shadows. The bar will brighten as a player leaves cover and darken once they return to the stealth-favoring darkness. The DualShock 4's motion tracking can be used with Garrett's bow, allowing players to physically aim arrows at their unlucky targets. The controller's central touch pad will also be used to examine the map or pick a new weapon from your arsenal. This is Thief, of course, so its fondness for player choice involving combat means you don't have to kill everyone. If you go that route, however, you'll be able to pick your weapon of choice without bringing up a menu that covers the main screen.
Thief 'Master Thief' edition gives Garrett a bank to rob on PC
The next entry in the Thief series is set to launch on February 25, 2014, and those who pre-order a special Master Thief edition on Windows PC can net some added digital goodies through the Square Enix Store. For $53, this PC download includes Thief, a digital artbook and comic, soundtrack, a booster pack of in-game consumable items designed to "empower you and hasten your progression" and a supplemental map. This extra map, the Stonemarket First Bank, is based on a popular mission found in Thief 2: The Metal Age. The Master Thief digital edition of the game will be available in 28 different territories through the Square Enix Store, in addition to "all other major digital distributors."
Thief steels itself for Feb. 25, 2014 debut
Thief is snatching a spot on retailer shelves for a proposed launch date of February 25, 2014 in North America, and February 28 in Europe and other PAL regions. Eidos Montreal's reboot recasts the cynical protagonist, Garrett, as a lone liberator of valuables in a city swelling into civil unrest. First announced as a sequel in 2009, Thief has endured claims of troubled development (when is that not the case for major games?) and questioned leadership. It has been a dark project by public accounts, but it wouldn't quite be the first one in the franchise's long history. Thief will distribute its pilferage across several platforms next year, including PC (download), Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Thief confirmed for PS3, Xbox 360 on top of next-gen launch
Thief is infiltrating current-generation consoles alongside its launch on PS4, Xbox One and PC, Senior Producer Stéphane Roy announced in an Eidos Montreal video. It will launch on Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One and PC simultaneously, and all versions are under development from the same team. The core gameplay of Thief on current-gen and next-gen consoles will be the same, but the two versions will have slight differences. "No doubt we have to change it a little bit – the next-gen is just so powerful – so we have to adapt our strategy of how to make it happen on current-gen," Roy said. Thief is due out across all platforms in 2014.
Thief producer: 'We have a single shot'
In late March, Square Enix cited "weak sales" of big console titles to explain its massive restructuring, which saw the dismissal of now-former President Yoichi Wada. Games such as Hitman: Absolution and Tomb Raider were slated to reach over three million units in sales in fiscal 2013, arguably considered successful to other publishers. Meanwhile, Eidos Montreal's reboot of the long-running Thief series reportedly suffered multiple setbacks during its lengthy development cycle. When asked if he feels pressure to ship a critically-acclaimed game in light of the "disappointing" sales of other top-tier Square Enix games, Thief Producer Stefan Roy told Joystiq at E3 that the developer "cannot compromise with this one. We reinvented this franchise, I think we have a single shot." "We cannot say, 'oh sorry, we missed, so we are going to try again.' No, it doesn't work that way," he added. "So we cannot compromise, we must really give a good product, we must work closely with the marketing to make sure that the messaging around the game is really clear."%Gallery-191289%
Thief forsakes in-engine for live action E3 trailer
Thief has reportedly had a troubled development. Don't take this live-action E3 trailer – after five years of development – to be a sign of issues. Let's hope we see some real gameplay at E3 next week, since the game is supposed to launch next year.
Thief sneaks onto Xbox One
Eidos Montreal confirmed through its official Tumblr today that Thief will be coming to Xbox One. The game, first announced in 2009, was confirmed for PS4, PC and other next-gen consoles in March, which we can now take to mean the next-generation Xbox revealed today. The Thief reboot reportedly suffered many setbacks during its five-year development period, including significant turnover in staff at Eidos Montreal. The developer included a "glimpse" at the next-gen game in its Tumblr post in the form of a screen with an alarming amount of fire in it.
Report: Thief reboot suffered multiple setbacks
Citing an anonymous source close to Eidos Montreal, Polygon reports that the team's planned reboot of the Thief series has run aground of several major issues over its troubled five-year development period. According to the source, many senior members of Thief's team previously worked together at Ubisoft Montreal, and favoritism played a role in subsequent hiring practices, alienating fellow developers. High-ranking design roles saw an unusually quick turnover; some key members would leave the project less than two years after joining, and replacement designers would bog down the project by rebuilding or scrapping content. Amidst office politics, the project was sidetracked by difficult-to-create press demos that strayed from initial concepts greenlit by publisher Square Enix. Polygon's source claims that Thief's production costs have inflated beyond initial estimates, and the project has changed so much over its development that content originally pitched to Square Enix no longer loads in the current build's heavily modified version of Unreal Engine 3. Square Enix is expected to show off Thief at E3 in June.
Thief's new voice actor gets chatty
Perhaps you noticed, but Garrett has a new voice actor in Eidos' upcoming Thief. He goes by the name of Romano Orzari. For a guy portraying a master thief, ostensibly someone who spends most of his time being vewy quiet, he sure talks a lot.
Be an old-school creep in Thief
Eidos Montreal's next-gen take on Thief will cater those who prefer their pickpocketing to be nice, quiet and devoid of visual noise.According to Thief's Lead Level Designer, Daniel Windfeld Schmidt, the game will feature an old-school mode of sorts. Activating it will disable elements on the heads-up display and tone down master thief Garrett's special abilities. If you want to sneak through unseen – sans notifications, contextual helpers and slow-motion swipes – this will be the way to do it.With modern recording and social sharing capabilities, you'll even be able to prove you finished the game ... without alerting anyone.
Thief cinematic trailer leaps into view
The premiere trailer for Thief breaks down the best ways to be a successful person in the occupation of stealing and stealth, before pulling down Garrett's ninja mask and revealing a distinctive five-o'clock shadow (and what sounds like a new voice actor). We're no experts in thievery, but that seems like a bold move for someone who makes a living ripping off rich people.Thief is due out for PC, PS4 and "other next-gen platforms" in 2014.
Yes, you can play through Thief without killing anyone
Thief just got its second unveiling last week, now retooled to be more traditional and in-line with the original games in the franchise versus the grammar grotesqueness of the announced-in-2009 Thi4f. Eidos Montreal offered further insight into Thief in a blog post, confirming that protagonist Garrett will be able to get through the entire sticky-finger adventure without taking lives.Eidos Montreal's previous offering, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, also allowed players to make it through the game as a pacifist – save for bosses – a good example considering it too was a modern entry in a franchise that had been dormant for quite some time. Thief is currently slated to launch on PC, PS4 and "other next-gen platforms" in 2014. [Art from the official Thief Facebook page]
'Thief' graces cover of latest Game Informer
The Thief reboot announced back in 2009 re-emerges from the shadows as the cover of next month's Game Informer magazine. The game is planned for PS4, PC and "other next-gen platforms" in 2014.Game Informer mentions Thief finds series hero Garrett returning to the "Gothic, industrial metropolis" known as the City in the midst of social tension and a plague. Hopefully Garrett can make it through his adventure without becoming Dishonored.The previous update we had about the project were rumors from last summer that development was in trouble.The best news of all: It's not called Thi4f anymore.
Report: Thief 4 development in trouble
As disconcerting as it may be that we haven't heard or seen anything regarding Thief 4 in quite a while, recent career changes for several key folks at Eidos Montreal suggest there may be trouble with the game's development. After all, it took Eidos Montreal four years to bring Deus Ex: Human Revolution to retail – almost how long Thief 4 has been in development.According to a report on Kotaku from internet sleuth Superannuation, not only did audio director and composer Paul Weir leave Eidos Montreal, but so did lead level designer Adam Alim, senior concept artists Nicolas Ferrand and Dan Blomberg, senior technical level designer Eugene Kuczerepa, senior animator Marie-Chantal Larocque and senior level designer Patrick Garon. In addition to the departures, there's also apparently a completed CG trailer created by Goldtooth Creative – the same firm responsible for Deus Ex: Human Revolution's CG and cutscenes – that never saw the light of day, and was planned for a December 2011 unveiling, according to this resume.So what could be the situation? One level designer still at Eidos Montreal says he designed the last level in the game – take from that what you will. In light of all this, we've followed up with Eidos Montreal and Square Enix for official comment.
Rumor: Thief 4 features online play, runs on Unreal Engine
Thief 4 remains (appropriately) shrouded in mystery, but Linkedin profiles spotted by NeoGAF users suggest the game will be running on Unreal Engine 3, and will feature an online multiplayer component.Several of the profiles state that Thief 4 runs on Unreal Engine 3, which isn't too surprising given Square Enix's recent UE3 licensing deal. Among the profiles is an online programmer who is "involved in many aspects, such as networking, gameplay, debugging online and offline tools on Thief 4." The programmer in question specializes in game networking (matchmaking, etc.), so online play may be a consideration.We haven't heard an official peep out of Thief 4 since November of 2009, so who knows what form the game has taken by now?
Thief 4 development coming along in 'leaps and bounds'
Our memory of the announcement of Thief 4 has long since been washed away by other sizable pieces of gaming news and releases -- however, Eidos Montreal boss Stephane D'Astous recently assured IncGamers that the dev team hasn't been slacking off since the game's big reveal. In an interview with the site, D'Astous claimed, "the team is making leaps and bounds," later adding, "personally I have never seen a team, at this milestone (middle of pre-production) in such good shape!"Wait a second -- the dev team is still in pre-production, and they're already working on the game's jumping mechanic? Get your priorities straight, guys.[Via VG247]
Square Enix doing CG cinematics for Deus Ex 3, interested in Thief 4
"Deus Ex 3 is going to be the first project which will be a concrete product of joint effort between Square Enix and Eidos," said Stephane D'Astous, general manager of Eidos Montreal. Not to be confused with that other first collaboration between the two, the devs in Tokyo will take care of any CGI cutscenes in the upcoming threequel, while D'Astrous confirmed to Edge that the duty of putting together enticing trailers and the game's intro cinematic will also fall on the CGI-smiths at Square Enix.D'Astrous says Square Enix was excited to contribute, also expressing interest in Thfourteeneff. It should provide a nice change of scenery for Square Enix, though we're sure it'll find a spot to squeeze in a silver-haired, effeminate hero or three.
Eidos Montreal's 'Thfourteeneff' now entering pre-production phase
Eidos Montreal yesterday unveiled its second project, the curiously named and nigh-unpronounceable "Thfourteeneff." Though many speculate the fourth-coming game to be the latest title in the acclaimed Thief series, the unproven developer (which is also hard at work on the controversial Day o' Sex 3) has revealed little else beyond the moody logo seen above. Those hoping for a more substantial reveal may have a long wait ahead of them, as the studio's general manager, Stéphane D'Astous, told IncGamers that Thfourteeneff has yet to enter the pre-production phase.With the conceptual stages behind it, Eidos Montreal is looking to hire an additional 40 designers, programmers, artists and other personnel to start full development and help "introduce this classic franchise to new fans." As for the target platforms ... well, who knows what we'll be playing on by the time the game arrives? "With the fast evolving world of hardware, there's a lot of things that will be happening in the following years so we need to be close to that," said D'Astous, "but either way, there's a lot of work to be done."It remains to be seen how much Thfourteeneff will share with its supposed predecessors, created by Looking Glass Studios and then Ion Storm. If concept art, purported to be from the latter studio's efforts (see it after the break), is to be believed, Thief could have been (and may yet be) set in a more modern milieu. For the time being, all we're certain of is that Garrett will find himself in a fantasy world where a "4" sort of looks like the letter "E."[Via VideoGamer.com]
