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Turn off blood? Soften the insults?


NeonGadget

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My parents aren't too crazy about blood in games, but I love this game! Is there any way to turn it off?

 

Also, I've heard some of the insults the guards say when you are searched for, and they are pretty harsh! I mean, it's all right for a city watchman to say "Where are you, you little thief!?" but some of the gang-type guards curse at you and say some pretty nasty things!

 

I understand that it is harder to take care of corpses when there is a bloodstain on the ground, so there would have to be some way to keep that gameplay element there, such as a red "X" that is left on the ground that can be washed away with water arrows just the same.

 

Yes, the game is focused on stealth gameplay, but even if there is blood IN the game, I won't be able to play it. Besides, the insults that are said are way too harsh for there to be even a chance of me being able to play this game!

 

Most of you may not really care, but I am really into this game and I am going through Springheel's New Mapper's Workshop to hopefully create my own mission for fun. It is a pretty big dream, but I might be able to do it someday.

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Blood is a gameplay mechanic. NPCs can notice it and become suspicious, and you can clean it up with water arrows. I'm not sure what the fix would be here. Make an option to turn red blood puddles into white outlines instead?

 

One thing you can do to cut down on blood and insults is to ghost the missions. If you don't get caught, you'll just hear them talk about whores once in a while. Maybe you can use the volume slider to turn down the volume of verbal barks.

 

Or you could move out of your parent's house. Or use headphones.

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The AI "barks" are defined in the "darkmod/def/tdm_ai_vocal_sets.def" file.

You could create a new file pointing to null audio for offensive phrases and then pack it in

a pk4 with zzz in the name eg. zzz_override_vocals.pk4. The game uses alphabetical hierarchy

to determine which files override which others.

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Please visit TDM's IndieDB site and help promote the mod:

 

http://www.indiedb.com/mods/the-dark-mod

 

(Yeah, shameless promotion... but traffic is traffic folks...)

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Blood is applied as decals. If you change the decal used here to anything "not bloody", the AI would still react without actual blood there. If you change the picture file, this would also apply for any blood stains used by map authors in their missions and further reduce the general bloodyness of the game.

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In almost all missions there is only blood to be seen if you draw it from an NPC. Just use your blackjack instead of the sword to avoid that. Also what the others said...

 

But: In most missions you play as a professional criminal. You aren't allowed or just don't want to see/hear blood/insults. If there is a moral or ethical background to this, it might be the better solution to avoid playing this game.

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The beauty of TDM is it's 100% DIY-able (do it yourself-able). A player can change anything they want in the game and nobody can stop them mwaahahahaha!!

 

In this case, just do a file name search for blood in the pk4s (they're really zip files), and for all the images that come up, replace them with some other image, like just an invisible square or a single pixel or whatever. Voila.

 

You can also make a commitment to never use violence, or at worst knocking out a guard, which only gives him a nasty headache the next day. The core gameplay is for sneaking past enemies, not attacking them anyway.

What do you see when you turn out the light? I can't tell you but I know that it's mine.

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Just use a water arrow to wash away the blood, and problem solved. As for rough language of guards,

well best thing is put headphones on so your folks don't hear it.

 

I think he's a kid, so for him to change some of those things, might help if you actually

explain how to do it.

Edited by NeonsStyle

I have an eclectic YouTube channel making videos on a variety of games. Come and have look here:

https://www.youtube.com/c/NeonsStyleHD

 

Dark Mod Missions: Briarwood Manor - available here or in game

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/18980-fan-mission-briarwood-manor-by-neonsstyle-first-mission-6082017-update-16/

 

 

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Thank you all for the solutions. I have tried ghosting missions before, and it is really fun. I like how the highest difficulty setting in some missions forces you to not attack anyone.

 

I will figure out how to replace the images with invisible squares or a single pixel.

 

Thank you for understanding! I also get kind of sick with all that blood and insults.

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The AI "barks" are defined in the "darkmod/def/tdm_ai_vocal_sets.def" file.

You could create a new file pointing to null audio for offensive phrases and then pack it in

a pk4 with zzz in the name eg. zzz_override_vocals.pk4. The game uses alphabetical hierarchy

to determine which files override which others.

 

A newbie is going to need more detailed instructions than that.

 

Sitting and listening to all 2000+ phrases to decide which ones to silence will get him in trouble.

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Im afraid TDM is an adult game... Its a harsh, agressive world, full of tragic and cruel stories. Toning down the blood and insults sounds like a reasonable request, but unfortunately, like pointed out, its not a quick fix and will likely need someone with knowledge of the game to sit down and take the project on.

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It's good if current life situation does not permit the liberty to have blood and cursing (and the latter isn't that harsh compared to other games).

 

But in all good faith and knowledge, TDM without these things is like Edgar Allan Poe without the grotesque and macabre.

Edited by Anderson

"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

badge?user=andarson

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Actually this brings up something we really should discuss. Should there be a non swearing version of Ai speak, or

a way to just have them say a different word. Most of the swearing I've heard is really very mild,

by my measure lol. Still, if it broadens the appeal, it might be something worth considering for the dev team.

I have an eclectic YouTube channel making videos on a variety of games. Come and have look here:

https://www.youtube.com/c/NeonsStyleHD

 

Dark Mod Missions: Briarwood Manor - available here or in game

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/18980-fan-mission-briarwood-manor-by-neonsstyle-first-mission-6082017-update-16/

 

 

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The AI is not the only problem when it comes to potentially emotionally touching game elements.

Just look at the comments about NeonsStyle's last mission. And what about horror - there is some (at least for some players) in a few of the missions. Or desecration of holy places (think about all the churches we can relieve of their material burdens in some missions or all the graves and crypts to be explored). Or the often pretty dark and cynical stories that are implicitly and explicitly told in a lot of missions. We also got plenty of spiders, undead and ghosts too. Don't remember if we also got sex in any of the missions (there are at least readables about it if i remember correctly)...

 

The swearing and blood stains might be the things to stumble upon first. But there is a hell of a lot more stuff in this game's missions that might scare or unsettle the unstable mind. And some of it might come unexpected in missions that look pretty harmless at first (most Darkmod mission authors seem to love unexpected plot twists).

The Darkmod and its missions have mostly been built with a dark steampunk fantasy world in mind. That world contains an awfull lot of horrible crime, violence, occult and religious fanatics and politics. That content is there on purpose. Most missions appeal to the dark side of the player and/or use strong emotional storry telling to get the player involved.

 

The solution to the thread starter's problem is probably not a technical one. The Darkmod might just be the wrong game for him (or his parents).

 

I would go so far as to say: If you are not allowed to play The Witcher, Fallout and Skyrim, you are probably also not allowed to play The Darkmod. If you are allowed to play that three, then The Darkmod should be fine too.

 

 

P.S.: Despite the previous, i am on the side of having a swear-free vocal set (that might just be the standard vocal set with swearing-containing sentences removed). It might come in handy for well-behaved versions of guards, workers, cultists. Guards might also refrain from swearing while standing right next to the mistress...

Edited by Abusimplea
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We've established that it is completely moddable to remove blood and bad language, although it could take some tedious work to find and remove or silence all of the relevant voice files.

 

Headphones can be obtained for as little as $5, maybe closer to $0 if we are talking about earbuds that are just everywhere. You can get decent headphones for $20, an example being the Sennheiser HD 202 which often goes on sale for that price (maybe $12-15, I don't remember). "Why are you playing that game with headphones, my child?" "Because, my esteemed parental figure, it has immersive and directional sound and the audio is a big factor in the gameplay."

 

Moving the desktop or laptop into another room could be an option. Getting a part-time job (assuming you are old enough) and buying a cheap laptop could be an option. That's not the easiest or fastest option, but it could fix more problems than just the TDM issue.

Edited by jaxa
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I'm really glad you guys are taking this topic seriously. Thank you for your support and suggestions.

Even if the language and gore were turned down, a few of the missions are far from squeaky-clean.

I could simply avoid the missions that are from Halloween contests and such, but there are some missions that have some really creepy areas. I would really have to check the mission descriptions out beforehand, and maybe not finish them if they prove to be too disturbing.

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You can have a look at this thread, which has reviews for a lot of missions. Especially, The Dark One is quite thorough in his descriptions and tries to keep his reviews spoiler free. I would start reading this thread, not from the beginning, but from the end, so you get the latest reviews and newer missions first.

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Formally TDM is rated as an adult game, and there's not any formal support for bending that rating, and I don't think we'd necessarily even condone it. (We're not really in the job of watering down the vision of authors.)

But of course it's also a game where players can tweak everything to their own preference.

And it turns out that some authors make kind of soft levels for the kind of demographic that's looking for that kind of thing, just because that's their personality.

If it were T2 mappers over at TTLG, they have authors like KFort that focus almost exclusively on that kind of map, and it's easy to say, just play the maps by her and mappers like her (Gaetane & some others...). We don't have as big a pool of authors and not ones as hardcore at being softcore as they are.

The closest we have here is maybe Komag, but he hasn't been around for a while, and arguably some of the female builders maybe?

My work in progress is actually a pretty softball retelling of a fairy tale that would probably meet your criteria, though. But I'm not sure if it'll be out any time soon.

What do you see when you turn out the light? I can't tell you but I know that it's mine.

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You can always pull a Nintendo and convert the transparent blood decals into sweat. Sure you could always just make them invisible, but that will negatively impact the game play, because guards will still "see" them, but you won't (in order to clean them up!).

 

Also, for the harsh language, just use headphones. I rather like some of the dialogue. Its funny. In fact, I convinced myself that if I ever made a fan mission, it would be about robbing a character named

Kano the Cockwit

 

 

I came up with this name, because I have always felt that the thug (my favorite character) sounds a lot like Kano from Mortal Kombat, and he loves to call me a

cockwit

while searching for me!

 

I suppose you could also change the audio files into ones with no profanity, but that would be more work and more difficult, because they're not clearly labeled, and you would need to create substitute sounds in order to still know when the guard sees you.

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"Headphones can be obtained for as little as $5, maybe closer to $0 if we are talking about earbuds that are just everywhere. You can get decent headphones for $20, an example being the Sennheiser HD 202 which often goes on sale for that price"
Yes, I have a pair of the HD202's. They are shockingly good for the price. Pretty good isolation, great bass, excellent highs, and plenty of mid-range. I would avoid earbuds. They tend to provide no isolation, and bass is nearly nonexistent. The cable on the HD202s is also about 9 feet long, which is kind of overkill, but such a long cable might be handy for use with a computer.
Edited by kano
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I'm really glad you guys are taking this topic seriously. Thank you for your support and suggestions.

I could simply avoid the missions that are from Halloween contests and such, but there are some missions that have some really creepy areas. I would really have to check the mission descriptions out beforehand, and maybe not finish them if they prove to be too disturbing.

 

First, how old are you? Second what do you think classifies has too disturbing to you? Only blood patch's and bad language? Are you okay with representation of zombies, skeletons and ghosts? Need to ask because is hard to help you avoid something if we and me personally don't find anything disturbing about TDM at all.

 

Also this is just a small rant and i'm not judging you at all, just telling my opinion about this subject and my personal relation with blood, fake or not. First this, i'm playing games from the age of 10 or even less now, some more bloody and crazy than anything i play today, that has not affected me has a person in anyway or form, i also don't know anyone close to me that did something crazy because they saw blood in games, movies, etc, if you know the diference between fantasy and reality and by your comments you seam to be fine on that regard, in my humble opinion then you don't need to worry about some fantasy blood and bad language, unless, you are afraid your parents will give you a hard time and that's understandable. I know that some parents can just be too overzealous, and think that preventing their kids from seeing blood or not hearing bad language will make them better people, but imo the problem is, is not games that molds a child moral system, is the behavior of his parents and the family around him, his school culture and specially the friends he hangs with.

 

Lastly, and this is absolutely true, i can't see real blood, specially my own blood, one day i made a relatively big cut on my hand on my job and almost passed out, they needed to seat me down and give me water, i also can't seam to be able to see videos of real people injured or dead, it really messes with my guts, but on the other end i have no problem seeing "blood" in games or movies no matter the amount of it. To me knowing that some blood came from a real person with feelings and real lives, etc makes all the diference and is very hard but when i know is not real blood and simple effects or simple textures in the case of games, that i know have no connection to real blood or real people then it makes no diference at all but of course that's me.

Edited by HMart
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First, how old are you? Second what do you think classifies has too disturbing to you? Only blood patch's and bad language? Are you okay with representation of zombies, skeletons and ghosts? Need to ask because is hard to help you avoid something if we and me personally don't find anything disturbing about TDM at all.

 

Also this is just a small rant and i'm not judging you at all, just telling my opinion about this subject and my personal relation with blood, fake or not. First this, i'm playing games from the age of 10 or even less now, some more bloody and crazy than anything i play today, that has not affected me has a person in anyway or form, i also don't know anyone close to me that did something crazy because they saw blood in games, movies, etc, if you know the diference between fantasy and reality and by your comments you seam to be fine on that regard, in my humble opinion then you don't need to worry about some fantasy blood and bad language, unless, you are afraid your parents will give you a hard time and that's understandable. I know that some parents can just be too overzealous, and think that preventing their kids from seeing blood or not hearing bad language will make them better people, but imo the problem is, is not games that molds a child moral system, is the behavior of his parents and the family around him, his school culture and specially the friends he hangs with.

 

Lastly, and this is absolutely true, i can't see real blood, specially my own blood, one day i made a relatively big cut on my hand on my job and almost passed out, they needed to seat me down and give me water, i also can't seam to be able to see videos of real people injured or dead, it really messes with my guts, but on the other end i have no problem seeing "blood" in games or movies no matter the amount of it. To me knowing that some blood came from a real person with feelings and real lives, etc makes all the diference and is very hard but when i know is not real blood and simple effects or simple textures in the case of games, that i know have no connection to real blood or real people then it makes no diference at all but of course that's me.

I am not affected by violence in video games, it's simply the problem of parents getting on my case. I just need some help figuring out how to play without my parents getting on my case. I will try using headphones. By "too disturbing," I mean pretty much anything. Even ghosts and skeletons can cause some problems in my house. I only need a way to create missions or play them without my parents getting suspicious. For those who want to post a suggestion, it is only a visuals problem now. If one of them decides to walk by and peek over my shoulder, there needs to be something on my screen that won't get them on my case.

 

Thank you for bringing this up. I wasn't very clear in my previous post.

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