Basic questions regarding "Thief - Deadly Shadows"

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure (More info?)

I recently bought this game and started playing it, on the X-box
though.
Probably (hopefully), all the rules/missions are the same.
I have the following questions:

- Are there any time constraints? When I save the game,
it has the hour of the day. Although I've just started
playing the game, what happens after 12 hours, when it'll
be daytime? Will I have to go back and "sleep"?
- Are there any missions that has to take place in a
specific "date" in the game?
- Aside from the difficulty levels for a mission, does
it matter whether I kill/stun guards/characters?
Will this affect me later on?
- I know I can extinguish candles easily with no water
arrows. Can the same be done for torches/fireplaces
without water arrows?
- There are a lot of worthless items throughout missions.
Can there be a valueable object inside one?
For example, something behind boxes?
- Any other tips (not mission related) are most welcome.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure (More info?)

Thanks.

But regarding the other questions, what are the answers?
(particularly knocking out guards and time of the day).
Also, forgot to ask about hidden doors/passages as you mentioned.
Do you have to read a diary or something in order to get a hint and
locate such a thing or can you just try to inspect a wall/door?


Thomas N McEwan wrote:
> On 9 Mar 2005 10:21:37 -0800
> jonathanztaub@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> > I recently bought this game and started playing it, on the X-box
> > though.
> > Probably (hopefully), all the rules/missions are the same.
> > I have the following questions:
> >
> > - Are there any time constraints? When I save the game,
> > it has the hour of the day. Although I've just started
> > playing the game, what happens after 12 hours, when it'll
> > be daytime? Will I have to go back and "sleep"?
> > - Are there any missions that has to take place in a
> > specific "date" in the game?
> > - Aside from the difficulty levels for a mission, does
> > it matter whether I kill/stun guards/characters?
> > Will this affect me later on?
> > - I know I can extinguish candles easily with no water
> > arrows. Can the same be done for torches/fireplaces
> > without water arrows?
> > - There are a lot of worthless items throughout missions.
> > Can there be a valueable object inside one?
> > For example, something behind boxes?
> > - Any other tips (not mission related) are most welcome.
> >
>
> Always go for the specialty items and explore all available areas,
even if
> you've already got your quota of loot - you might miss somewhere
> interesting (such as the beautiful staircase and its secret passage
in the
> first big mission) or a plot twist in a diary or letter on a desk.
It gets
> your money's worth out of the levels. The real joy in playing thief,
at
> least for most of the people who frequent this group ;-), is not so
much
> the loot as the eavesdropping on the world and characters around you.
>
> My only other tip would be to buy Thief II - the graphics are
obviously not
> as flashy, but the gameplay (and backstory - I just love the
Mechanists) is
> much better than Deadly Shadows. For one, you actually get a decent
sword,
> making it just about possible to survive without a level-restart if
things
> do go wrong. If the guards get onto you in DS you're a dead man, and
a
> reload/restart is your only option.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure (More info?)

On 9 Mar 2005 10:21:37 -0800
jonathanztaub@yahoo.com wrote:

> I recently bought this game and started playing it, on the X-box
> though.
> Probably (hopefully), all the rules/missions are the same.
> I have the following questions:
>
> - Are there any time constraints? When I save the game,
> it has the hour of the day. Although I've just started
> playing the game, what happens after 12 hours, when it'll
> be daytime? Will I have to go back and "sleep"?
> - Are there any missions that has to take place in a
> specific "date" in the game?
> - Aside from the difficulty levels for a mission, does
> it matter whether I kill/stun guards/characters?
> Will this affect me later on?
> - I know I can extinguish candles easily with no water
> arrows. Can the same be done for torches/fireplaces
> without water arrows?
> - There are a lot of worthless items throughout missions.
> Can there be a valueable object inside one?
> For example, something behind boxes?
> - Any other tips (not mission related) are most welcome.
>

Always go for the specialty items and explore all available areas, even if
you've already got your quota of loot - you might miss somewhere
interesting (such as the beautiful staircase and its secret passage in the
first big mission) or a plot twist in a diary or letter on a desk. It gets
your money's worth out of the levels. The real joy in playing thief, at
least for most of the people who frequent this group ;-), is not so much
the loot as the eavesdropping on the world and characters around you.

My only other tip would be to buy Thief II - the graphics are obviously not
as flashy, but the gameplay (and backstory - I just love the Mechanists) is
much better than Deadly Shadows. For one, you actually get a decent sword,
making it just about possible to survive without a level-restart if things
do go wrong. If the guards get onto you in DS you're a dead man, and a
reload/restart is your only option.

 

[rms]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure (More info?)

> But regarding the other questions, what are the answers?

There is no time limit, go as slow as you like Time doesn't advance
in the game either, it's always night. Try to get 100% loot, which will
often require reading notes and journals for clues to hidden loot. I
suggest you play on the hardest difficulty level, it requires getting more
loot and not killing people.

As for the previous games, I think we should all agree that Thief1 >
Thief2.

rms

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure (More info?)

<jonathanztaub@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1110392497.682984.166890@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>I recently bought this game and started playing it, on the X-box
> though.
> Probably (hopefully), all the rules/missions are the same.
> I have the following questions:
>
> - Are there any time constraints? When I save the game,
> it has the hour of the day. Although I've just started
> playing the game, what happens after 12 hours, when it'll
> be daytime? Will I have to go back and "sleep"?

No, there are no time limits, nor is there any in-game progression of time,
although I must admit it's a cool idea that's been used in other games - I
think Morrowind is one. The game save system just adds the (real) time you
saved to each savegame, as many other games do, mainly to avoid the
situation of having several saves all with the same name.

> - Are there any missions that has to take place in a
> specific "date" in the game?

Due to the above, no.

> - Aside from the difficulty levels for a mission, does
> it matter whether I kill/stun guards/characters?
> Will this affect me later on?

Other than the faction system, there are no longer-term repercussions of
killing/knocking out other characters. However there are one or two
instances of your actions in one mission affecting the situation in
another - I won't spoil them for you ;-) Incidentally, apparently it's
possible to complete the game, on expert difficulty, without knocking anyone
out (besides the barkeep in the tutorial mission), let alone killing anyone.
I haven't tried this myself but others have said that it can be done. This
technique is known, in Thief-speak, as "ghosting".

> - I know I can extinguish candles easily with no water
> arrows. Can the same be done for torches/fireplaces
> without water arrows?

In the previous Thief games, gas arrows will also work, but I haven't tried
it in Deadly Shadows - it's a complete waste of a gas arrow, for starters.
Holy water flasks may also work, but again, it'd be a waste. You can't
extinguish torches and fires in the same way you extinguish candles,
though - I mean, poor Garrett would suffer severe burns otherwise 🙂

> - There are a lot of worthless items throughout missions.
> Can there be a valueable object inside one?
> For example, something behind boxes?

Behind/under boxes and other objects, yes, but never actually *inside* other
objects - that would be cruel.

> - Any other tips (not mission related) are most welcome.

There is a major bug in version 1.0 of the game which means that a mission's
difficulty level is always reset to "Normal" when reloading a saved game,
i.e. start any mission on "Expert" level, save, reload - difficulty is now
"Normal". This was quickly patched in the PC version (v1.1), but as you're
playing the X-Box release, I'm not sure whether e.g. updated discs were
released. You could try requesting a replacement disc from Eidos if
necessary.

Also, pay a visit to the Thief forums at www.ttlg.com - an excellent
resource for all things Thief 🙂

--
"If you meet a vegan it's bad form to give them the famous four-fingered V
sign and say 'Live long and prosper'." - Terry Pratchett

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[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure (More info?)

> > - There are a lot of worthless items throughout missions.
> > Can there be a valueable object inside one?
> > For example, something behind boxes?
>
> Behind/under boxes and other objects, yes, but never actually *inside*
> other objects - that would be cruel.

Except the large chests with pickable locks, of course, but those are very
obviously placed. In Thief II I think there are occasionally quite small
cupboards (in desks, for example) that can also be opened to get stuff.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure (More info?)

"Thomas N McEwan" <captaininsanity@ONAYAMSPAY.uk2.net> wrote in message
news:20050310165131.3f4fcd52.captaininsanity@ONAYAMSPAY.uk2.net...
>
>> > - There are a lot of worthless items throughout missions.
>> > Can there be a valueable object inside one?
>> > For example, something behind boxes?
>>
>> Behind/under boxes and other objects, yes, but never actually *inside*
>> other objects - that would be cruel.
>
> Except the large chests with pickable locks, of course, but those are very
> obviously placed. In Thief II I think there are occasionally quite small
> cupboards (in desks, for example) that can also be opened to get stuff.

Oops, yes - forgot about those! Thief II did indeed have small lockers,
lidded crates and such, but I think they too are obviously containers that
demand to be opened. I was thinking more of e.g. standard breakable crates,
of which even Deadly Shadows has a multitude, and that it would be cruel to
have loot inside those. Of course, someone will probably now do this in a
fan mission 🙂