Darkness_Falls

Ah well, I'm sure there will be more artwork from us. The main reason for me dumping so many hours into it in the last moments was for the 12/25 media release. Springheel mentioned it was ready for release after tweaking the bow strings, so i did. I didn't see TYROT's post in the other thread, where he said he was tweaking his animation and wanted to maybe incorporate my artwork, until after I posted it in those other sites. Oh well, it's not the end of our project. Sorry for posting it, but I feel it was warranted... considering the due date I gave myself for it was 12/25 so it could go out on media blitz day. Click Here for Large Version (0.5MB) Modifications made to latest version: Created softer edge on left edge of tower. Darkened the tree in foreground. Added amber highlights to tree in foreground. EDIT: 8/28/2005 - I enhanced the appearance of the stars in the sky. Old version automatically replaced by new version when I over-wrote the Castle-web-l.jpg file.

Perhaps, rabbits... perhaps! Probably won't be able to do it today, but it's a great suggestion. Surely it's not as exciting as a multimedia extravaganza to see static mood art like this, but hopefully there's some benefit to the project

Things are looking really good! I like the progress we're all making on this project. Good job, all

That's incredible! Very cool to see. It seems there's a new Olympic event: the "Builder Olympics" Next, make him pole-vaulting :lol: I like and appreciate the lightheartedness of it -- and love to see humorous things like this -- but I'd be reluctant in giving that out to the community at this point. I think we're still being heavily judged as to how serious we are with DarkMod and they'll jump on any chance we give them to ridicule us. Part of me wants to say "screw 'em, we should just put it out there," but another part of me thinks we need to be careful over the next month or two. I think the fans would rather see this guard do a more serious animation such as walking, then abruptly stopping to look around -- as if he heard something... and THEN doing a flip! haha, j/k about the last part Good work, oDDity! -Darkness Falls-

I think this man should become a fierce archer guard. One that never misses. He has the eyes of a hawk, ferocity of a hornet, and the resolve of a gladiator. His only purpose in life is to kill, and he happens to derive a certain kind of satisfaction from killing thieves; the kind who stole 17 gold coins, a flawless ruby and his wife's life from him two months ago. Not the kind of archer a thief wants to cross paths with. He's not afraid to sacrifice his own life in order to end your's. So, with that, TYROT, I'd say this is a WIP! Of course I'm just dreaming here, but yeah... I think he should become an archer! With that in mind, if you go this route, keep in mind you wouldn't want the armour to be anything too bulky and cumbersome. He needs agility. I think his hairline should be raised a little and the armour simplified a bit, but other than that... get cranking on the WIP and don't make this a RIP!

LOL, the team *IS* going crazy! Everyone is using the holiday to go DarkMod bonkers! Re-posted castle scene link (0.5MB) UPDATE: I've posted the image in the ISA and TTLG forums as part of our holiday celebration, since it looks like I'm the only one logged in still. I had to use ImageShack for hosting. If someone is able to host this on a more typical server we'd use for DarkMod, please PM the updated URLs (thumbnail and full-size) to me. I think I used a 100KB version of my drawing for posting in ISA and TTLG. Please note the 100KB version is not the highest quality JPG image of it, but it's pretty good. The 550KB one is the best quality, obviously. Not sure which one you'd rather have out there; probably the 100KB version for easier downloading. Thanks!

Go Atti! You're rockin' with the models. I have a hunch the bread won't look like a rock once the textures are applied. Especially when FM authors lay bread on kitchen tables next to apples, butter, forks and knives Like NH said, it wasn't an issue in T2 and I think the shape was pretty similar.

Awesome! Glad to hear I'll adjust the bow strings so they're closer to the ends and then re-post the newer version. Should be done within 10-15 minutes. EDIT: I've uploaded the newer version, with the strings more to the end of the bow. This version replaces the old, so the above post automatically links to the new version.

Hello my DarkMod friends... here's the version with our thief in it: <pics removed. See my 12/27 post for latest version.> As with many Thief things we do, the picture stands out better on a black background. I'll get to check this out on a different monitor next week. In the meantime, I hope the brightness level is sufficient for your monitors. EDIT: I just bumped up the brightness and contrast a tad on the following version, in case it helps some of you --> <pic removed. See my 12/27 post for latest version.>

Okay, I'm working on this picture again Don't send anything out to the public yet. I'm putting the thief back in the foreground. After I'm done, I'll let you guys decide which version you like better for distribution. It's 5pm here. I should have it done in an hour or two. He'll be a dark silhouette, maybe some subtle higlights, so I'm not sure if you'll see him very well, but alas Might be better to have something (the thief) than nothing (no thief).

Dear GIMG - I did those using a new friend in PhotoShop: the Pattern Stamp Tool. You can use the tool by using a default list of patterns that comes with PS, or create your own patterns. SH helped me realize you can do a search for 'free textures' on the web, then pull those into PS and create patterns from them. Check the Help file in PS for info on creating your own patterns. If the instructions aren't clear enough there, let me know and I'll try to help you through the process. I think the grass pattern was a default in PS, but I created the bush pattern by layering a couple custom-created patterns on top of each other with varying degrees of opacity (one pattern was from a hedge, the other was from some sort of tree). To help explain: when creating my bush and tree patterns from the original images, I only used a small square (200px by 200px?) from each of the original images as my source for the textures. (Why? You don't want the entire tree for the pattern; rather, just a clump of leaves.) After painting with the patterns, it was then a fine balance of burning, dodging, highlighting and the such to give them depth.

Thanks guys! I'm glad I could make your mind twirl some more, TYROT As for the empty feeling, Sparhawk -- sorry about that. It doesn't seem empty to me, but it's all in the eye of the beholder I suppose I will admit I would've liked to have the thief in the foreground for you in this version, but I have put so much time into this thing already that I just wanted to get it out. I agree a statue would look cool in there somewhere. And there are many other possibilities. But it all came down to time. I will look into adding something in the foreground in the near future (weeks), but I feel the current version should be sent out, as is, as part of today's media campaign.

Right on, TYROT! You rock!! You know, your gothic version rules the world, m'friend! Well done!

Okay, I've pulled an all-nighter here to finish this thing It's almost 8am here, and I should've gone to bed about 8 hours ago Sooo, I'm going to upload my mood art here in a minute and then go to bed. Merry Christmas! My DarkMod present to you all is coming very shortly... EDIT: Here it is. Sorry for the wait... <pics removed. See my 12/27 post for latest version.> Note: I tried getting a thief in the foreground, but it was just taking me toooo long to get him to look good. Sorry The image looks fine on my monitor, brightness-wise. If you need to adjust the brightness of it before posting it anywhere, feel free. Okay, I seriously need sleep now

Sorry, I dunno the technical lingo to know if I mean "normal" or "specular" map Just so the feathers have a very minor amount of brilliance (not illumination) to them as you walk back and forth by them... as if they're picking up some of the light in the room.

Not sure either, was just a thought. It kinda looked like the feathers here maybe did, but wasn't sure; so I thought I'd bring it up:

Will the feathers at the tail end of the arrow have any sort of irridescence to them? I think it'd be cool if they had a slight irridescent quality to them, as some bird feathers do. Nothing too bright, just something nice and subtle for the detail-oriented player to enjoy looking at when they walk up to pluck their mis-fired arrow out of a wall

Yeah, I agree it's not a critical element for the game. But it would be a great "nice-to-have" if we ever have time to implement it.

Cheers!

If we need a lip-syncher, we could just use Jessica Simpson or Britney Spears. It's easy for them

That's sweet! I love it. Reminded me, somewhat, of my concept art... great minds think alike

I think they should. In T2, it seems like guards would proactively shoot and swing at Froggbeasts to kill them. I always considered Froggbeasts a form of "mine," since they exploded. So, why wouldn't a guard proactively destroy (or defuse) a mine if s/he saw one?

Oh, I forgot all about that!! I take my comment back

Well put, New Horizon. Always a voice of reason. One thing I was just thinking is, since we all disagree about whether or not mines would be realistic, wouldn't it be cool if when you tossed a mine it then faded to invisible, or at least nearly tranparent, over a couple seconds? (If it turned completely invisible, maybe just leave a very faintly glowing LED on it or something.) At first I wasn't thinking this wouldn't be something I'd want to see in a Thief game... but then I remembered there was an Invisibility Potion in T2. And I liked using it on Garrett. Soooo, isn't it realistic to think the same sort of technology/magic could be applied to a mine? Sure, one application is on a biological level (Garrett) whereas the other is on a mechanical level (mine), but still. Technological/mechanical advances could put this in the realm of possibility within the Thief world, imo. And I'd like it. It seems more thief-like than having a big mine plopped in the middle of the floor. Regarding the loud sound it made when you tossed them in T2, which I also didn't like (not secretive enough), I was thinking we should coat our mines with a sound-absorbing polymer or something Or perhaps they should have cushiony bottoms and edges?

Looks nice! Good teamwork