I just got this game and used the resolution mod. I was wondering, do you guys change the controls? If so to what?

Also, is killing always optional? I am in basement of the first mission and there is a guard in my way, I'm not sure what I can do about him.

while killing opponents is an option on the lower difficulties, finding another solution is always recommended. this game is a first person sneaker, after all.

Yeah I've never played a game like this before, kinda reminds me of the thieves guild in Skyrim, in fact I'm sure there is a mission very similar to the first on this.

I am having a hard time following the map to be honest. From the start I went south but can't seem to find this arrow cache, and I am kinda just roaming around the house and getting lost :p

Killing is always optional unless there is a specific goal to kill something. I remember that on higher difficulties you are sometimes required to eliminate certain enemies, but unless that's a specific objective then you don't have to kill anything.

There are a few tricks to get past guards without killing them. If you can sneak up behind them you can knock them out with your blackjack, and then hide their unconscious bodies somewhere. They won't wake up unless another guard finds them.

If you prefer a less violent route, you can always look for another path to your goal (the levels are very open-ended and there are lots of ways to get where you're going), or you can try and distract the guard with some sort of disturbance so he goes and checks it out. You can do this by throwing objects or using noisemaker arrows (if you have any). You could even let the guard catch a glimpse of you so he starts searching, then sneak around him. Also, if it's dark enough you can sneak right under a guard's nose. If there are torches nearby you can put them out with water arrows, then sneak right past the guard without him being able to see you. You'll have to be quiet, though, so if the guard is standing on a metal or marble floor, you might want to shoot a moss arrow at the floor so your footsteps will be muffled. If it's a wooden or stone floor you can sneak past without moss, just make sure you're moving slowly enough. I tend to sneak while crouched, and when I'm VERY close to a guard I might also switch to a walk while crouched. Running while crouched is usually quiet enough for most purposes though. That's just my personal style... other players stay standing and either walk or creep when they need to be quiet.

As for the map, it's certainly unusual, but you'll get used to it. Garrett only knows the basic layout of the places he's going, so you have to do a lot of navigation yourself. The map will tell you which general area or room you're in, which helps a lot, so be sure to check it if you're ever unsure of where you are. But yeah, this means that things like the arrow cache are actually a challenge to find... there's no "quest arrow" pointing you right to it. But that makes it all the more satisfying when you do find it.

The game takes some getting used to, but it's a really great game, so keep with it!

Thanks for the advice, I managed to beat the first level, it was hard and unfortunately I had to kill a guard right in the throne room, grr. I decided against saving and loading, whats the point in a stealth game if I load every time I make a mistake? I guess lol.

Them Marble floors were a real problem for me haha.

One of the real pleasures of the Thief games (any game, really, but I think this series is particularly rewarding) is choosing your own criteria. Slay/KO everything? Remain unseen? Speed run? No saves/reloads? As long as you are having fun, it is all good! I also enjoy no-reload plays, and trying to improvise when I make a mistake like miss a jump or alert a guard.

As far as tile floors go, you can also make less noise by crouch walking in bursts: move for a half-second or so, then stop, then move again. If you do it right, you'll be almost silent, even though you'll be a bit slower.

I don't think you mentioned which difficulty level you're on, but at the higher levels you aren't allowed to kill humans. My first time through Thief (and there have been many) I tried to kill all the guards and ran out of arrows. Died a lot, too, because Garrett can't really fight. He's a sneaksie thief, not a warrior.

Eventually you may get to the point where you find sneaking through a level in the shadows, undetected, to be highly satisfying. I try not to use any resources or alert any of the guards. It's one of the joys of playing Thief, I find. It adds a level of challenge to the game. But I'm hard core nuts about Thief. In the meantime, as noted above, the game gives you lots of freedom to choose your path.

Lucky you, playing Thief for the first time.

Depends on who you ask... personally I liked Thief 2 the best. It's very similar to the first game, in the same engine and everything, but I think the designers were more confident in focusing on stealth in the second game. It's also much longer.

Thief 3 is also good but I didn't like it as much as the first two games. It's got some cool new features but the engine can only do really small environments so the levels, and especially the city streets, feel very claustrophobic. But it's really well designed given those limitations and has a really famous and very creepy level towards the end which is fantastic.

Anyway, playing the games in order is definitely the way to do it because the story carries through, especially in Thief 2 where you won't fully understand what's happening unless you've played Thief 1.

So if you're enjoying Thief 1, definitely definitely play the second game once you're done! And honestly you'll probably want to play through the third game too even though it's not quite as good.

Well said. The preference for Thief 2 or 1 really depends on what you're looking for. Thief 2 focuses more on a pure thieving experience with lots of mansions, castles, and other things to loot, as well as the inclusion of robots and stuff which add another dimension. The levels are also a bit sprawlier. However, it dials back the supernatural elements, so if you preferred the more grave robber-y parts of Thief 1 you might still prefer the original. They're both fantastic though. Thief 3 is far from a bad game. In fact, if it was a stand-alone IP it would be pretty great. The problem is in being compared to the sublime first 2. You should still play 3 though, as it is still good. The main issue in 3 is the lack of sprawl, in my opinion, but it is still a good game.

Yeah I didn't mean to sound too negative about Thief 3! It's still very good. Just not quite as good as the first two games, in my opinion.

Thief 3 was actually the first Thief game I played, got it on Steam when it went on sale. In a way it's kind of the best order to play them, because I really liked T3 and then I bought the Thief Collection and went back to play 1 and 2 and my mind exploded. XD

Okay cool sounds like I will enjoy them all.

holy crap there are zombies in this game? I had no idea jeez :D

Yep, Zombies and worse. XD

yeah, wait 'till you see the haunts.