The lack of Thief-type games may be more to do with the fate of their respective development studios than appreciation of the games :-) Plus, designing an engine in which Thief gameplay shines is quite tricky - The Dark Mod team spent years sorting out the Doom 3 engine to get it working really well for a stealth game.

Honestly the games that reminded me most of Thief were the other games by Looking Glass (or by ex-Looking Glass people)... Deus Ex for example felt like it sort of combined Thief and System Shock into one super-game. The sneaking isn't as good as Thief, of course, but once I got the hang of it it was quite fun. The level design is very reminiscent of Thief.

System Shock is also amazing although there isn't any stealth in it. But it has the same excellent level design. I hear great things about the Ultima Underworld games too but I haven't had a chance to check them out myself yet.

Velvet Assassin is currently $1.24 on Amazon. As I previously mentioned, when I bought it last year, it came with no DRM whatsoever. No idea if that's changed, but hey, for only about a dollar, if anyone is the least bit curious, it's a great deal. It's one of those Amazon DD sales, so I don't know how long that price is good for.

I still think the only game that has remotely tried to utilize a similar interface to that of the Thief games is the early Splinter Cells (first three and Double Agent original Xbox version)... Both focus on nonlethal takedowns (blackjack and 'hand knockouts/grabbing and choking') or simply sneaking through the shadows to get by. Both have a light indicator/gem, both focus on sound as a way to alert guards, or even trick them. Many of the gadgets in Splinter Cell are analogous to various gear and arrows in Thief... Both allow you to pick up and hide bodies in the shadows so that enemies cannot see you are around. In both you can listen in on funny conversations from various guards. In both the characters have a sardonic sense of humor and self-monologues (although Sam will also talk to his handlers)... In both the characters work better in darkness, and are very weak in combat situations when the enemy knows they are there (Garret not very good at using his sword, and Sam is not very good against any enemy). In both you read notes left around the buildings (though Sam gets many off of guards).


The only difference is thief has more open-ended levels and is primarily first person, while Splinter Cell is primarily 3rd person and more linear levels... Thief 3 excluded had smaller, less open ended levels, and third person control, and was even more like Splinter Cell in many ways... Thief 3 had similar lockpiking interface as splinter cell...

To this day, they are primarily the only stealth games I play, because the interfaces and styles are so similar. I didn't like the daytime bright levels in Double Agent, and predatory stealth in Conviction, because they went so far from the original interface and gameplay that I like in the 'sneaker' style games...

According to that site though, most missions still need Doom 3 assets so you'll still need the game to play most missions.
And yeah, it's definitely a shame that nothing's really equaled Thief. At least we have a full trilogy instead of a single game like some excellent unique games.

EDIT: Although it looks like they're working on eventually going fully standalone, so that's good.