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The project to round up viable orphaned translations is mostly complete now. https://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=4726 Since Darkfate has their own translations it took awhile to merge the older translations with the darkfate formatting since they generated new string numbers from scratch. A few missions are so radically changed that the old translations are practically worthless now ( and some Darkfate translations are also incompatible with the latest mission versions ) but most of the work was salvageable. I added a "Translation Pack" column to the Missions wiki: https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Fan_Missions_for_The_Dark_Mod all entries marked with "Yes" are working translations that use Darkfate's translation design ( includes xdata, GUI and Map files if the author didn't perform localization changes in their own mission pack ). Sadly, these changes do not show in the mission downloader list. You will need to delete mission_l10n.pk4 files from the darkmod/fms/mission_name folders to acquire the new translation packs that "actually work". Not all mission packs contain all languages. Mostly you can count on Russian being in there, but a good percentage have German and Italian strings too. French, Polish, and a few other languages are represented but not very broadly. Hopefully now that the packs work other contributors will add more language strings. Mission administration details: Going forward, it would be courteous if the mission admins ( like myself ) would diff the map files when new mission updates are supplied and replace all the objectives, inv_name, pop-up messages, and shouldered names in a copy of the new map file with the previous string codes then copy that file to the map folder in the translation pack folder. Ideally, authors will be encouraged to run their missions through the converter so only new strings need be added to the packs but not everyone likes that workflow and how cumbersome it makes future edits to the mission.

This shows willingness. I will check where we stand today. The goal: players.

It would be nice to be able to create your own EFX presets, this will solve that issue. https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft/blob/master/include/AL/efx-presets.h lists all the presets. Here they can be seen in the tdm source file. I think these could be read from an external file instead of inside game code? If TDM reads the presets from an external file, anyone could easilly make their own presets by overriding that file and these could be used inside a spawnarg when that gets implemented.

I use custom EFXs heavily, so I for one would not want to be restricted entirely to presets.

Do you really want to try? I'd suggest looking at idSoundWorldLocal::MixLoopInternal. That seems to be the only place where effect is found by area index, then by area name, then default. If you manage to add a member like idSoundWorldLocal::listenerEfxPreset and ensure it is set properly, then you most likely can pass the preset name here (perhaps via something like idEFXFile::FindPreset). In my opinion, the location spawnarg should get top priority. If missing or empty, then the ordinary approach with .efx file works.

I wasn't aware that you changed the whistle so I am probably using an old version which I like pretty much. I just renamed the internals in the vain hope that our mods can be mixed that way, but there are too many other overlapping definitions. P.S.: I looked closer into it and it seems there was only one other overlap which I fixed by renaming, so now the patch and your modpack can be merged with each other ! As you use x_ as prefix your features will override mine though ...

The Frob Helper doesn't work in this mission. I suggest an update of tdm_player_thief.def to the latest version.

I have never been truly satisfied with the Whistle: it was either too much or too little. The latest version (v4) is so far the best (imho) although I still disagree with some things. Are you up to date or are you keeping a previous version for some reason?

I would say sound propagation was built mainly thinking of player footsteps and while it works very well for this purpose it is unsuitable for one-off special events.

The script might not be too far off what I was thinking anyways, because one of the reasons I wanted to be able to do it in DR is because you could then have a test script like 'Check for missing EFX on info_location entities'. So maybe we can just have a script called 'generate EFX file' or something like @datiswous is suggesting. The problem is that if feels a bit like a halfway house instead of a proper implementation. Also I think we all could probably agree the EFX file will never go away in case people want to do more than just presets, so we would have to support both the info_location method and the file method. Just thinking out loud here, and good discussion

I just noticed that the sounds of hitting something with the blackjack or the sword seem not to be audible to NPCs. On the other hand hitting something with an arrow does, as fas as I know. Is this intended to avoid punishing the player for e. g. a missed hit during knock out or is this an oversight that should be fixed?

This should definitely be possible. The python scripting API has functions to loop through entities and read their spawnargs, and then you could use standard python file functions to write the EFX file. It would be cool to have a proper EFX editor in DR, but writing a script would be a lot less work. @Frost_Salamander if you decide to write a script like this I'd be happy to help you out if you get stuck. You can check out count_loot.py for a minimal example of looping through entities.

Maybe it's possible to make a script that extracts all the info_locations from the map file and creates an efx file from that in the correct format (run again to update). Then you can simply fill it in. Possibly you could also edit in DR the efx-data as a fake spawnarg for that info_location entity and make the script write that to the efx file. This might also be possible via a script/plugin inside DR.

If you wanna put together a prototype implementation, we could provide assistance. I think it mostly just requires adding EFX parser parts to the entity def parser. The big wrinkle is what to do if a mission has both EFX and Entity Def args?

A new "trick" to cover up a security camera using moss arrow and broadhead arrow : This is a huge leap forward from previous old tricks : - using rope arrow and pickable book bug: - the other random bug: But carrying all of these things throughout the mission will weigh down your time....

I made a small update including the fixed fonts by Geep and also brought Snatcher's Whistle back, because a) I noticed that hitting something with blackjack or sword has not the same effect and b) the name now doesn't look bad anymore because of the font fix .

I need A New Job

Walking in the footsteps of previous explorers... So far, so close!

@stgatilov @nbohr1more I'm wondering if it would be possible to get this implemented for 2.13? I'm really not loving the EFX files - it's way too easy to miss/forget locations and just a general PITA. I am even considering offering to help implement - any reluctance on my part is purely down to lack of confidence. But with some hand-holding I could possibly accomplish something that isn't a total disaster. Maybe an alternative is to have a feature that allows DR to manage the EFX preset in the EFX file? Basically what I'd like is to be able to manage everything related to a location entity in the one place, preferably in DR. Not sure if that's ever been considered? @greebo?

Certainly I intend the Stone 24 end product to be included in 2.13. As for the Interim(s), I'm posting them as "hit by a bus" insurance. It also gives anyone interested a chance to kick their tires in testing FMs. Or include them in 2.13 betas. Or in your Unofficial Patch. Enjoy.

Thanks for the replies, particularly the reference to the embarrassingly-obvious "Music & SFX" subforum just below this one. I just like the music: I don't have any illusions about creating a fan mission. I messed with Dromed way back in the day, and I remember what a black hole of time and sanity it was.

Originally it was actually from a mansion mission I had in Shadows of Northdale, but it ended up getting cut. I really dug the architecture of the courtyard so I just added in the kitchen area for voila, April fools 5 min jam done haha. Thank you mate! Maybe next year i'll make a mission twice as long! 4 minutes instead of 2

I like that.

I've actually thought of this exact thing as well! It would be both easier to manage and equally interesting as a mechanic. Very easy concept to implement too: Just add a stim that temporarily changes the light's sound shader for a few seconds before reverting back to normal one, give lights an s_shader_wet spawnarg and include a low volume flickering noise... it should make guards a little suspicious but less than the noise arrow in this case. Just remembered this was in fact a plan for my flash arrow, a custom weapon I've been asking to get included in vanilla but so far it's been forgotten. I believe the last version only blinds guards using the flash bomb effect, but one of the goals was to have lights temporarily turn off or flicker before coming back on after a few seconds, though this would require a custom script at best.