Eidos Montreal’s next biggest project Thief will arrive as a fresh boost to the company in the new year after it boasted a massive amount of success with the previously released titles such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Tomb Raider. Since Thief is set to be the first big project from the company in 2014, the developer is aiming to boost the game with the highest resolution and frame rates possible.
Lead level designer Daniel Windfeld-Schmidt was recently in an interview with Gamingbolt where he discussed the upcoming stealth title from the company, while also revealing details about the game’s frame rates and resolution that’s intended for it.
When asked if the developing team was aiming for 1080p resolution for the new game and whether fans can expect any improvements over the locked 30 FPS for Xbox One and PS4, Windfeld-Schmidt stated: “It’s a little too early to talk specifics on this just yet though although the team are pushing to have the highest resolution and frame rates as possible for all platforms.”
The company’s wish to feature the highest possible frame rate and resolution for the game comes after Eidos Montreal producer Stephane Roy stated back in April that Thief on the PS4 would run at 30 fps, and that better in-game physics is desirable over a 60fps game.
“For a shooter it’s a no-brainer. The higher the frame rate is, the better it is.” Roy stated, when asked if his team would be aiming to achieve a high frame rate for next-gen consoles.”
“On my side, the type of game I’m going to work on… I don’t want to put extra pressure on the team just because we can do it if it’s not a necessity. If the players see nothing different, maybe I would prefer to have better physics and stuff like that and not this 60 frames per second frame rate,” he added.
Additionally, Windfeld-Schmidt was also asked if it was difficult to match the earlier appeal of the Thief series when the team decided to expand on the gameplay with new technology offered via next generation consoles. He stated:
“When revisiting an existing license there are always things to be aware of and treat with respect and the studio are approaching the Thief franchise in the same way we did with Deus Ex; taking a lot of time studying what made the original games so interesting and then working out what we need to do to ensure the essence of those games is intact.”
“For example the light and dark mechanics, the bow, the arrowheads and so on all have to remain – plus they’re cool to use so it’s an easy choice. We also kept the fact that you can complete Thief without knocking anyone out or killing anyone. You still have that choice; that is an essential in what makes a Thief game. It’ focus is on stealing,” he added.
“We didn’t fall into the temptation to force players to shoot anyone or to do anything in that direction. We want to make sure that stand alone experience that Thief was in the original series is still what retained in Thief.”
Thief is currently scheduled for releases on PC, PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 3, and Xbox One & Xbox 360 on February 25, 2014.