kaldor

If I have learned one thing about this mod community, then that the "freedom of mappers" has a very high value. So, if you like bots, put them in your map. If you don´t, well then don´t. Although I dislike these bots, I will play maps with them. Maybe with less joy, but that´s my personal problem then You can have my ration, too. Just keep them

Maybe such steampunk designs will appear very extravagant in TDM. Like something only rich people can afford - and the rather poor "medieval" people stare at it in astonishment and envy. BTW: Somehow it came into my mind, that in T1 was a very important person, called Victoria. A coincidence?

So, the "lanternbot" you quoted has a typical gothic styling?

Not at all! You don´t like it? I think those pretentious buildings reflected very well the megalomania of these mechanists..

I guess the Thief series and TDM should be seen rather in the "steam fantasy" genre. It differs in the timeline, which is more like the medieval Gothic era (12th - 16th century) than the Victorian age (18th century), which is the classic steampunk era. That´s the reason why the items of the linked movie don´t really fit into Thief or TDM. In T2 the mechanists also introduced some aspects of Art Deco, which was popular in the 1920ies - and I think that fits really great! That is one of the main aspects, I didn´t like in T2. Steambeasts ... It´s okay to me, having a steam engine that forges something or produces electricity.. But something that acts like a robot needs advanced electronics! Even nowadays, we don´t have such robots. To me, that was like a "no go" in the series. Sure, one can always argue that magic is involved, or souls or something like that. But I won´t buy it. It is somehow wrong in the scenario, in my opinion.

What I meant with similarities is: It is like building a car that looks like a Porsche 911, but not calling it that way. It is some sort of plagiarsm. But I am not a lawyer - and if you say it is not a problem, I will believe you. Apart from the law and the possibilites, I guess the main reason why Eidos (Square/Enix) is not going to attack TDM, is that it will not continue the official Thief-story. That will be reason, why I will buy Thief 4 (if the previews arent´t that terrible). I want to know whats going on with Garrett. That way, both thief-like-games can coexist.

Hey there! After 8 years of work, and shortly before release, Activision/Blizzard prohibited the fan project for Kings Quest 9. Read the story here: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27441/Activision_Shuts_Down_Kings_Quest_Fan_Sequel.php Okay, TDM is trying not to harm the IP of Eidos - or recently Square/Enix - with not mentioning the main chars and places. But, come on, the reference is absolutely clear. I am not sure, if this mod could be sued despite not having "Garrett" and "Hammerites". I am a little scared, as they want to release "Thi4f" in the next years. Don´t you think they might have an interest in shutting TDM down? Are you prepared for a response on this?

The item is held constantly in the distance you picked it up. So if you stand very close to the item, you will hold it that close, and avoid hitting the furniture

I think that´s pretty awesome. Makes me feel like a kid again, climbing around. But, this also spawns endless possibilites a mapper has to think of.. I also experienced, that some horizontal areas are not to be mantled on, even if they look like they could. Some lanterns are climbable, some not. Is that decided by the mapper? Damn! *reloads mission*

hehe.. I reinstalled the mission just because of your comment, and found those arrows! And, hey, I did NOT spawn any rope arrows for it.

Ah, I see. I found the solution to my problem. But, like the others, can not finish the map due to the objectives bug. But anyhow, it´s a great and inspiring mission. Did you realise that the player can climb nearly all the roofes in the starting area? Sadly, nothing is found there. But it is fun walking that thin ropes

I am wondering, too. A thief needs his lockpicks Somehow I am stuck in the mission:

The longer I am thinking about it, the more I like it. It creates a dynamic community and setting. But there is one thing: You already said, there can be heated arguments about nearly everything. So who does the mapper ask? The team? The community? Who can decide, if discussions tend to become endless? I would prefer the team to have that "authority". Not because of the definition of the universe, but because those discussions are tedious.. I also think you TDM-people created two different things: - A toolset to create thief-like games, with game dynamics, models and so on. and additionally - A "ruleset" for one specific steam-fantasy world. With Bridgeport, Menoa, the Builders.. So why the separation? Because there will be mappers who don´t care about canon at all. They will have a Garrett, or something completely different. You can not prevent that. That´s also the reason why I said we need an official campaign. But maybe that is not necessary. Maybe we just need a name for that universe. Like "Bridgeport Shadows" (or whatever), to state the difference. Any mapper who wants to use the setting of this specific universe, has to keep to the canon in the wiki or forum - or not to use the name and logo of it and create his own universe. What do you think?

Don´t call me a bureaucrat, but there are two discussions paralled here. Voiceovers and informations in the wiki. Hey, take it with humor. I got your point, but just couldn´t resist viewing your "contradiction". But I still feel different, and if I ever have the time to make a map, I will insert such voiceover - and if I have to record it on my own Well, I guess that is the central question here. How many details do we (community and team) want to be nailed down. This is a general question that NEEDS to be answered. Take 'Star Wars' for example: There are a lot of details defined and writers can only create stories inside that narrow borders. You cannot write a story that kills the main protagonists or changes the empire´s status. In the 'Dungeons and Dragons' ruleset it is different: Monsters and items are described, but a game master can imagine any fantasy world he/she wants with it. In my opinion, TDM should be a compromise of both. With SOME defined details that all have to agree, but with the freedom to create a campaign that has a relevant impact on his/her world. Linking to difficulty was not my idea, but having an optional toggle stands in contrast to the current difficulty system. You would have to completely change the menu. Maybe the current settings "Easy, Expert, Ghost" could be pre-defined suggestions, and a player can customize all the options. You could add a "Custom" button with checkboxes for the detailed stuff (voiceovers, opened windows, etc).

Really? Never mind! @topic: In the old discussion, I remember the idea that clues could be bound to difficulty. So someone that plays on "hard" does not get the additional clues, but one on "easy" hears them.. How about that?