The third game in the Thief series is upon us. It was developed by ION Storm Austin, with much of the original design team behind Thief 1 and Thief 2 on the project. Thief 3 uses an enhanced draft of the engine seen in Deus Ex 2, which was released early 2004. Thief 3 will feature mission structuring similar to Thief 1 & 2, but with the addition of a free-play city area that players must visit between missions and simply thieve to their heart's content until they are ready, or able, to begin their next mission. The game keeps the same style, atmosphere, and story elements as the previous titles, all while adding improved artificial intelect, beautifully designed scenery, and real time shadows which are realisticly cast and manipulated on the fly.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Lord Julian's Labyrinth for T3 Released! - 5:38:15 PM - pavlovscat

New Mission Released April 26, 2008 - Lord Julian's Labyrinth a mission for T3 by Massimiliano Goi Updated to version 1.1 on May 01, 2008. The Mission: With the upheavals since Gamall is gone, Garrett has become the First Keeper. But in his heart, he's still a Master Thief. It is rumored that a great treasure in hidden within Lord Julian's Labyrinth. To keep his skills sharp, Garrett decided to see for himself what is there. But, no one can know that he was there...NO ONE! Impressions: You are wandering around through a maze trying to find a treasure. The environs are plain...tall, stone walls; however, the night sky is absolutely beautiful. This is a hard type of mission for me personally because I have virtually no sense of direction, but I did enjoy sneaking around past the guards. And, I found a drunk guard who gave me a good laugh. You must get through the labyrinth totally unnoticed, so you have no weapons. You must sneak your way to the treasure. Problems: I have not yet finished this mission. I am hoping for an update because, at this time, the quick-save/mission-save feature is not working for me. Reloading sends me back to the beginning of the mission. If this issue is addressed, I will certainly give it another try. The updated version has fixed several things including the quick-save/mission-save issues. I will give it another try and post my results soon. Screenshots: You can post questions and comments at the Forum Discussion Thread.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

2008 First Quarter FM Review Released - 8:35:24 PM - pavlovscat

I promised more frequent reviews, so here is the first quarterly review for 2008. The first three months of 2008 brought new missions, many updated missions, and some nice extras. This is a refresher of everything that has happened this quarter. The break down of FMs and related releases is as follows: 25 missions for T2 - 9 new (1 GER) & 16 updated; 3 missions for T3 - 1 new & 2 updated; 3 new Enhancement Packs; 1 Soundtrack; 2 Contests. The big change over last year's review is the addition of links to the appropriate Forum Discussion Threads. I hope this will make it easier for all you taffers who might need help or just have something to say. You can read the review here, or you can comment in the Forum Discussion Thread. Enjoy!

Friday, February 15, 2008

Silence Pt 1 for T3 Update Released - 5:07:23 PM - pavlovscat

Updated Fan Mission Re-released February 7, 2008 - Silence Part 1 v1.1 for T3 by CrackedGear The Mission: The setting for this mission is far in the future from TDS. You are playing a pagan who needs to cross the city to reach your contact at the shaman house. You do not have a blackjack, only a dagger and a few of the standard arrows. You must rely on sneaking to get around. You are allowed to kill AI, but this will often alert others and result in an untimely death. Sneaking is usually your best route, so Ghosters should enjoy this one. Impressions: If you played the previous version of Silence, forget all about it. This new, revamped version is something all together better. CrackedGear has made an amazing transformation in this new release with most of the previous problems corrected. The result is a beatiful mission I thouroughly enjoyed playing. This is not an easy mission. The lack of a blackjack makes many normally easy situations into ones where you must really think about a solution. You can kill AI, but everyone seems to have very good hearing. If you kill, be prepared to hide really well or run away because you will be eliminated. Experienced Ghosters should have few problems. The rest of us will be depending on the quick-save! For those who like a little humor, I thouroughly enjoyed the various AI comments. Here are a few that made me chuckle: "I'm a merchant you know, a very dangerous merchant." "If you come out, I'll give you a big surprise!" "Stop hiding now. Hiding never solved anything." "I heard IT. I bet IT can hear me, too." Given the many advances made for this update, I am really looking forward to what new things CrackedGear will have for us when Part 2 is released. Problems: This is a large, complex FM, so it will be choppy on older systems. There is only one game play issue that bothered me. The character is obviously not Garrett but speaks in Garrett's voice, is called Garrett by the pagans, and is refered to as "Thief" throughout the mission. This was an immersion-breaker. CrackedGear has made an amazing transformation with the look of the character, including the unforgettable, eerie, glowing-green eyes. Unfortunately, the transformation did not extend to the spoken parts. Hopefully, CrackedGear will have much luck in finding a fix for this issue in time for the release of Part 2. Have questions about this mission or want to comment? Check out the Forum Discussion Thread.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Hearts and Minds by Ziemanskye for T3 Released - 1:08:27 AM - pavlovscat

New Fan Mission Released January 12, 2008 - Hearts and Minds for T3 by Ziemanskye The Mission: Basso's master key ring has been siezed by the City Watch. You must break into the Rue Du Maine Officer's Club, find the key for the unpickable safe where Basso's keys are kept, get the keys and get out again with out anyone knowing you were there. Check out Ziemanskye's screenshots and see what others are saying about this mission in the Forum Discussion Thread.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Cabot by Flux for T3 Released - 4:13:39 PM - pavlovscat

New Fan Mission Released January 10, 2008 - Cabot for T3 by Flux The Mission: Cabot, a cartographer, had a sudden change in fortune allowing him to buy a nice mansion. He also has hired lots of security. A man with that much security surely has something to hide. Your job is to break into his mansion and find out how he gained his wealth. Screenshots: Check out Flux's screenshots. Post your comments and questions on the Forum Discussion Thread.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Thief 2 and Thief 3 Fan Missions - 3:26:32 PM - Dave

We have a couple of new Fan Missions for you today. The first is a nice and small Thief II mission title Treason and Plot, and the second is one of the few Thief III Fan Missions, titled Evict and weighs in at a hefty 61MB - Enjoy! Thief 2 Fan Mission Treason and Plot (v1)  Filesize: 1.5 MB  Released: 2/16/2006  readme.txt By: Nick Dablin Plot Description: You've been feeling lucky, so tonight you broke into the one place you've never attempted before - the Baron's castle. It's the biggest, most heavily guarded building in the city. However, you managed to sneak in and are ready to start thieving. You're creeping along a basement corridor when suddenly the floorboards give way under you and you plummet down into the blackness of a cave! You used up all your rope arrows just getting into the place and it's too high to climb out, so your only chance is to investigate these tunnels under the Baron's castle and find out what's going on... Thief 3 Fan Mission Evicted (v1)  Filesize: 61 MB  Released: 2/16/2006  readme.txt By: Nomad Plot Description: Garrett has had problems with his landlords and needs to make an example of his current landlord to ensure that this doesn't keep happening.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

New Fan Missions - 11:26:18 AM - Dave

There are a couple of new Fan Missions. A Thief 3 version of Creature Clash and a Thief 1 mission from Doaal! Thanks guys! Thief 3 Fan Mission Creature Clash 3 (v2) Filesize: 19.5 MB Released: 2/4/2006 readme.txt By: Dark Arrow Plot Description: This FM was done with fun in mind. It wasn't made to win the contest and I don't think it will, but I had fun making it and playing around with it. Anyway here is the Thief 3 version of Creature Clash (I'll leave the rest for the briefing screen). This is the newwer version which has a new play mode added: Player Melee combat Thief 1 / Gold Fan Mission Sepulchre of the Sinistral (v1) Filesize: 7.9 MB Released: 2/4/2006 readme.txt By: Doaal Plot Description: A few days ago, a contact of mine informed me that a spy had some information for me. Apparently this spy has been slowly relieving the Hammerites of their possessions. His name is Alexei, a rather scruffy looking fellow. When we met, I could tell by the way he looked at me that he was up to no good.... but the fact of the matter was that he had an assignment for me, and the rent needs to be paid. He wanted to sell me a key that would open the Tomb of Goladus. It's located in a Hammerite Shrine that was sealed off not too long ago, due to some catastrophe that left hundreds of Hammerites dead in its wake. Apparently there is a magic sword that is sealed down there, as well as numerous other treasures and trinkets. Even if the seal should break, few would dare to venture into the depths of that cursed tomb. I have a bad feeling about this, but I accepted his proposition anyway and bought the Earth Ward. Now all I have to do is open the seal on Goladus' Tomb, and help myself to its treasures. The payoff should be worth the risks; if the rumors I've heard are true, then the amount of treasure buried down in the tomb is enormous. Time to get my equipment ready; I have a feeling this won't be easy.

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Thief 3 tools by Shadowspawn - 3:54:28 PM - Dave

So you're making your very own Thief 3 mission with T3ED and you'd like to alter the static meshes that shipped with the game? Well, now you can thanks to Shadowspan. He's created a set of tools to convert the TIM files into 3DS format. Well. I have no idea how to use them, so I'll leave you with a couple of download links (You'll need both) - one to Free the Objects and one to TIMtoE - and a link to Shadowspan's thread on our forums. Thanks, Shadowspawn!

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Thief III Editor on PCZone Coverdisc - 1:30:03 PM - Dave

Ravenhook has sent work that UK gaming magazine has put the Thief 3 Editor on their coverdisc for those taffers out there who can't stomach the 300MB download! The issue in question is #154, dated May 2005.

Monday, April 18, 2005

Thief DS Score - Ripped & Mixed - 12:56:51 PM - Dan

While visiting ION Storm I was promised a Thief DS Soundtrack. They said it would be put on the official site. Well, it looks like that's not going to happen, so I made my own. The Thief DS Score has been added to The Circle's (new) music section. (And thanks to Cascade for Deus Ex Sound Drone.) While most of these can't really be called music, I mixed together and posted anything I thought the fans would enjoy listening to. We finally have a solid collection of Eric Brosius's audio work. Rejoice! Discuss!

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Deadly Shadows Editor News - 8:51:24 PM - GBM

Well. Seems the wait is over, and the editing tools for Thief 3 are finally available (320M download, give or take). Check out our newly-added Thief III Editors' Guild forum for information, download links, and some basic tutorial stuff to get you started. I'm guessing that probably piqued your interest... ¬¬ Download the T3 Editor

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Ion Storm Shuts Down - 2:09:00 PM - Dave

It has been rumoured for a while now, but today it was confirmed that Ion Storm have been shut down by Eidos. In a statement Eidos said This is part of the company's move to consolidate and strengthen its technical and management capabilities into a smaller number of studios which are capable of scaling up in order to meet the competitive challenges that lie ahead, particularly in anticipation of next generation technologies and platforms." It's a shame, Thief: Deadly Shadows was a great game and rumours about their next game sounded really cool.

Friday, December 17, 2004

GameSpy Awards Thief III Best Sound - 10:57:00 AM - Biohazard

GameSpy announced its PC awards today, and in it they gave Thief: Deadly Shadows the Best Sound Award. You can find the full list of awards here. I'd also like to give Black Cat Games (creators of ThieveryUT) much kudos as their newest mod, Alien Swarm, took top honors for the Best Mod of 2004.

Thief III Wins Best Audio Design Award - 7:09:42 AM - Dave

UK Video Games magazine Edge has awarded Thief: Deadly Shadows the award of Best Audio Design. The awards were dominated by Half Life 2. Find a list of winners and the shortlist for the awards in this article at the BBC. Thanks to Subjective Effect for pointing this out.

Monday, November 08, 2004

Spector Leaves Ion Storm - 4:49:13 PM - Dave

Gamespot is reporting that Ion Storm's Warren Spector has quit the company to "to pursue personal interests". It is rumoured that he is in negotiations with Midway to head up an Austin based studio or work with Eidos as an IP consultant. Good luck to Mr. Spector with whatever he chooses!