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  1. We are proud to announce the release of: The Dark Mod 2.12 ! The 2.12 development cycle introduced many large code overhaul projects. Most of these were to lay the groundwork for future fixes and optimizations. The final release is yet another leap in performance over the already impressive 2.10 and 2.11 releases. A full changelog can be viewed here, but some highlights include: The Dark Mod 2.12 is a major step forward for mission designers! The culling system has been extensively overhauled to ensure that your CPU and GPU are not wasting resources rendering unseen geometry, lights, and shadows. Some of our best map optimization experts have achieved similar performance gains to what this new culling system does but it is a rare skill and we have even managed to improve performance on missions that were generally regarded as “well optimized”. Mission authors both new and old can follow standard mapping practices with no need to dive deep into sophisticated optimization techniques even for some pretty challenging scenarios such as wide open areas and long views. Players will immediately notice many missions that have made their system struggle with FPS now may be running much more smoothly! Smoother controls for players! Also during the 2.12 development cycle, work has been done to make controls more seamless and accessible. Frob can now use hold or click actions to use items. Once you get used to the mechanic, it will be hard to go back to using a separate “use key”. Mantling is now smoother, faster, and less prone to cause the player to clip through geometry. Leaning is now more subtle and less prone to cause motion sickness. To reduce the tedium of shuffling knocked out AI around to search for loot, you can now configure TDM to automatically loot any frobbed AI. A special thanks must go out to community member Geep! Over the course of 2.12 development, Geep has created subtitles for nearly all AI barks along with developing testing tools and procedures for this gargantuan task! You can see these changes in action by changing the Subtitles setting to “On” ( rather than “Story” ) on the Audio settings page. Geep also provided substantial feedback for our GUI and subtitle design process and edited font data to improve text quality overall. Datiswous has complimented the massive work by Geep to create AI bark subtitles by creating mission story subtitles for a large number of missions. Thank you! Turrets are now natively supported in The Dark Mod and can be paired with Security Cameras! Finally, the nasty 2.11 bug that caused AI to allow arrows to pass through them at certain angles was fixed by Joebarnin! Your assassin style play-throughs should be far less frustrating. See also, our 2.12 Feature discussions: To UPDATE, simply run the tdm_installer.exe file in your darkmod folder. Note that tdm_update.exe is no longer supported, but you can download the new installer from the Downloads page if you don’t have it yet. Please be aware that old saved games will not be compatible with 2.12, so finish any missions you might be in the middle of first! Also, some missions created prior to 2.12 may need to be updated so they will be playable in 2.12. Use the in-game mission downloader to check for updates.
    35 points
  2. Surrounded by greedy noblemen and treacherous siblings, Lady Kamila Leicester gets more than she bargains for after acquiring an ancient tome and performing the dark rituals within. Bikerdude, Wellingtoncrab, Dragofer, and I proudly present Grayman’s FM “Seeking Lady Leicester.” Notes - TDM 2.11 or later is REQUIRED to play this mission. You can get the latest TDM version via the installer or here. - Seeking Lady Leicester was originally a work-in-progress given to the Dark Mod community per Grayman’s wishes after his passing and was initially adopted by Bikerdude before Dragofer, Amadeus, and Wellingtoncrab joined to complete the FM. -This FM does NOT support any unofficial gameplay patch or mod. The use of such a patch and/or mod could break things in this FM. You've been warned. - "Story" subtitles are available for this FM. Simply go to Settings --> Audio and select "Story" or "On" for the subtitles setting. - This FM may be more hardware intensive than normal. LOD settings can be set below "Normal" to improve performance on low-end machines by disabling certain features. - This FM implements the func_peek mechanic, allowing players to peek through any door that has a keyhole on it by leaning forward. PLEASE NOTE: This function has been known to cause crashes for a small number of players in the past, likely due to using the 32-bit version of TDM. At no point in this mission is it required to use the func_peek mechanic; it is purely optional, so feel free not to use it. Download Version 1.1 This FM is available for download via the in-game mission downloader, or here via Google Drive. Promotional Screenshots ThiefGuild Thread Credits A big thanks goes out to Noelker and Goldchocobo for their wonderful voice work with the briefing and conversations, JackFarmer and itsPapiD for their fantastic briefing video, and nbohr1more for his story contributions and writing one particular gameplay feature that I won’t spoil here but you can read about in the readme.txt. An even bigger thank you goes out to our beta testers: nbhor1more, Daft Mugi, Silverwolf, Havoc, Datiswous, Cambridge Spy, Aluminumhaste, Thebigh, Ate0ate, Acolyte6, Kalavi, JoeBarnin. Thank you all very much for your fantastic feedback and tireless efforts as this FM evolved throughout the course of development! Asset Credits - Arx EOS’s Fish - Epifire’s models - Kingsal's Assets and Textures - WellingtonCrab’s assets and textures - Obsttorte's frob loot script - ZergRush's custom Grayman painting ===================Rest In Peace Grayman. You are missed=======================
    32 points
  3. Hello thieves, the other day I realized my last Volta release was in 2017! Time really flies. After years of fiddling with this project, I'm ready to announce the remaining missions in the Volta and the Stone Campaign: Volta 1 : The Stone* Volta 2 : Cauldron* Volta 3 : Gemcutter Volta 4 : The Lost Forge Volta 5 : Buried Streets Volta 6 : Traitor * I have redux versions of Volta 1 and 2 in the works. More on those later. I'm going to start beta testing Gemcutter and The Lost Forge this summer, so those will be ready this year. Buried Streets and Traitor are coming along, but won't go into beta until sometime in 2024. WIP screenshots! Seeya around- Kingsal
    32 points
  4. A Bridge Too Far (version 1.0, 2023-09-22) In this small scale mission, you seek to steal the original copy of a book from the boss of a counterfeit crime outfit, which are located on a bridge. Download link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IeGCBdiGY9W3k_r5Ip8tGtJq9lo5f_PF/view Much thanks to the beta-testers for all of their feedback (link to beta thread - @thebigh - @Cambridge Spy - @Zerg Rush - @wesp5 - @Shadow Screenshots:
    25 points
  5. Here's my first FM. A small and easy mission, inspired by Thief's Den and The Bakery Job, where you must find and steal a cook's recipe book in order to save a friend from going out of business. Download: Mediafire (sk_cooks.pk4) TDM Website's Mission Page The in-game mission downloader Thanks to: The people who helped me get this far, both in the forums and on Discord. The beta testers: MirceaKitsune, Mat99, Baal, wesp5, Cambridge Spy, jaxa, grodenglaive, Acolytesix ( Per the author in the beta testing thread. ) Skaruts has given permission to the TDM Team to add Subtitles or Localization Strings to this mission. (No EFX Reverb.) If anyone from the Community or TDM team wishes to create these we will gladly test them and update the mission database.
    25 points
  6. Same area finalized. I went for a more moody atmosphere. The FM is roughly 65% complete.
    23 points
  7. A new screenshot from Shadows of Northdale Act 3
    23 points
  8. My new mission, A Night in Altham, is available. We are already up to version 2! @Dave the Tafferfound an problem that deserves a fix, so here is version 2: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/y4r1dmziuq6clh2im3qz1/altham2.pk4?rlkey=m3cv5v6v70lxbc9xha61nuxoj&dl=1. I will ask @nbohr1more to update the databases. Thanks to JackFarmer (alpha testing and custom ambient music) and the many beta testers (jaxa, Shadow, wesp5, Cambridge Spy, thebigh, datiswous, Mezla, MirceaKitsune, Melchior, Acolytesix, TheUnbeholden, prjames, Bergante). Thanks to @peter_spy for his beautiful Builder Compound assets. This is a large mission, so be ready to take some time. I recommend that you do named saves occasionally (I actually implemented auto-saves for this mission, but it was causing crashes on Linux, so I removed it). This mission has a lot of keys, so it implements a key management mechanism. Keys are removed from the game when no longer needed. This includes when you use a key to open a door, or if you pick a door/lock that also uses a key. Most keys are automatically removed, but there are a couple that aren't (for example, if they open up more than one door). In a certain area, this mission uses the Keyhole Peek feature of TDM. Typically, this is when you lean forward (F key) into a door keyhole and you can see into the next room. But in this case you don't lean into a keyhole. It's a hole of another kind. It's an unconventional use of something that isn't used a lot in TDM; hopefully the mission context will make it clear when to use it. The mission does not use Keyhole Peek for regular doors. Be aware, there is a known problem on Linux, where the peek feature can cause a crash. Peeking is not required for mission completion. This has been tested on TDM 2.11a and the current dev build of 2.12 (dev16854-10518). Scary things warning: Difficulty settings make a difference. Things that are affected by the difficulty level: Enjoy!
    22 points
  9. "...to a robber whose soul is in his profession, there is a lure about a very old and feeble man who pays for his few necessities with Spanish gold." Good day, TDM community! I'm proud to release my first FM: "The Terrible Old Man", an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's short story of the same name. This is a short, 30-45 minute mission in which you are the getaway driver in a team of three small-time thieves. You and your associates were fortunate enough to overhear rumors of a famously wealthy and frail old man, but things change when your cohorts do not return from what is supposed to be their easiest and most lucrative job. Now it's up to you to brave the old man's house and find your associates. Download: The in-game mission downloader TDM Website's Mission Page Dropbox Special Thanks: The kind beta testers: Cambridge Spy, stgatilov, xlm, wesp5, nbohr1more, and Dragofer. peter_spy and Dragofer for answering my endless barrage of editor questions while learning DR. The TDM Discord for their warm welcome. Ending stinger courtesy of Zapsplat. Content Warnings: Enjoy!
    22 points
  10. I'm happy to present my first FM, The Spider and the Finch. There may be a spider, but no ghosts or undead. It should run a couple hours. It's now available on the Missions page or the in-game downloader. Many thanks to the beta testers Acolytesix, Cambridge Spy, datiswous, madtaffer, Shadow, and wesp5 for helping me improve and making the mission to the best of my abilities. This would not be have been possible without Fidcal's excellent DarkRadiant tutorial. Thanks also to the many people who answered my questions in the TDM forums. Cheers! 2023-12-13 Mission updated to version 3. Fixed a bug where the optional loot option objective was not actually optional. Updated the animations for Astrid Added a hallway door so the guards are less likely to be aggroed en masse.
    22 points
  11. Announcing the next installment of 'The Lieutenant' series: High Expectations! Never heard of this series before? That's because I just made it up. Actually, it continues on from my previous FM, In Plain Sight. You don't need to have played In Plain Sight before, but there are some references to it in the readables that might not make sense if you haven't (some of which will be spoiler-ish). "Follow the Lieutenant on his next mission to the City of Highborough" Mission Type: City Missions Beta Testers (thank you all!!! @wesp5 @Acolytesix @Shadow @Cambridge Spy @AluminumHaste @jaxa @thebigh @joebarnin @Mezla @snatcher @datiswous Extra credit goes to @Mezla for providing the idea behind one of the objectives! Notes: TDM 2.11 required You can explore most of the map from the start of the mission, but if you find yourself getting a bit lost or unfocused, just concentrate on the main objective Your objectives will become visible after you read your briefing in your inventory The map does not contain any secrets The only difference in the difficulties is the (optional) loot goal This mission has some replay potential built-in. Explanation below, but I suggest you read this only after your first playthrough: Spoiler warning!: Download links (v1.4): Proton Drive: https://drive.proton.me/urls/ZDTKN6DDM4#8Re0CpARxcbc Github: https://github.com/FrostSalamander/fsx/releases/download/1.4/highex.pk4 Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAB8qt Known Issues it appears that to some players keys bound to AI are unfrobable. I don't have a solution as I've never been able to reproduce it. As a mitigation, for these doors you can either lockpick them or an alternate key will be available. Other hints Atkinson/Burns objective This objective is more about rewarding the 'explorer' types. It's optional and requires you to find a lot of stuff to piece together the whole story of what happened. Most of these are not really 'hidden', but rather require a visit to most of the accessible areas of the map. If you have given up searching, then: Hotel Safe Combination hint: spoiler: What's going on with Brother Gregory? If this isn't clear, then read on: There's a wooden door in the prison that I can't open... hint: spoiler:
    21 points
  12. Sixty years ago the famous deLisle family fell into ruin. The last heir of their house believes an ancient heirloom will restore their fortunes. Retrieving it should be worth braving a haunted house for... Get it from the in-game mission downloader.
    19 points
  13. "The Threepenny Revue" https://www.thedarkmod.com/missiondetails/?internalName=threepenny "I've been in the business of other peoples' valuables for as long as I can remember, so I'm no stranger to breaking and entering. But until today, I've never done a robbery on commission. I guess there's a first time for everything..." Randal Cartier, a local theater owner, thinks himself above paying protection money to the local gangs. You've been hired to prove him wrong. "The Threepenny Revue" is a first attempt at a Dark Mod Fan Mission. After playing TDM for ages and loving it, I wanted to try my hand at creating one of my own. As such, this is a short, simple, and relatively straightforward mission made to learn the ropes. The experience was very enjoyable, and I'm planning to work on another one in the future. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one. It's available now in the mission list, but in the event anybody wants or needs a backup source I'm hosting the files on my own site here. Special thanks to @Cambridge Spy, @thebigh, @Shadow, @wesp5, and @boissiere for Beta Testing and giving feedback, which helped enormously in ironing out problems in DarkRadiant
    18 points
  14. Mmmm smells good! Who wants some new years stew?
    18 points
  15. 18 points
  16. TDM Latch Pack (Beta) By Frost_Salamander and wellingtoncrab with special thanks to Dragofer Tired of picking another lock or hunting for that missing key? Imagine The City is itself an elaborate lock, and you are the key. Embrace progression through careful exploration and navigation of the environment. Embrace the latch pill: Included is a new entity type and scripting for a door mounted toggle lock, or "latch", as well as new CC0 assets and prefabs. https://github.com/thedarkmodcommunity/test-latch/wiki Example Video Asset Pictures All models and textures in this pack are released under CC0 license and may be used freely without need of attribution. We waive copyright to the extent that possible, but aren’t lawyers. Latch Lock Features Supports single and double doors across all cardinal directions, as well as trap doors Uses the location system to handle context sensitive frob highlighting of the latch and the doors Automatically determines the correct latch state on map start based on the targeted door's "locked" spawnarg Options for rotate, translate, or both with unique sound slots for each Supports any model or func_static To get started head over and grab the latest release (available with or without demo content) and read the getting started guide. This is a beta release - so your feedback is appreciated!
    17 points
  17. I'm the developer of AngelLoader, a fan mission loader/manager for Thief 1/2/3/SS2. I recently decided to try adding Dark Mod support. The latest release is here: https://github.com/FenPhoenix/AngelLoader/releases I'm going to keep a log of issues, ideas, notes, etc. here and we can discuss them or whatnot. If anyone has ideas or suggestions, feel free to post them here. TDM version requirement: I've only tested it with TDM 2.11. I'm not sure but I dimly remember FMs used to be stored differently at some point in the past? If so, it wouldn't work with those older versions. I assume people would normally keep their TDM install up to date, but just a heads up. How it works: In the Settings window -> Paths tab, choose your Dark Mod executable. Click OK. Now your TDM FMs will be detected, scanned, and added to the list. For the other supported games, there is the concept of "installed" vs "not installed", this is because they normally come in archive files and then the loader can "install" them (extract the file into the "installed FMs" folder). For TDM there is no such concept (FMs are always installed), so the green checkmark "installed" indicator means that that FM is the currently selected one (the one that is loaded up when you start TDM), and only one TDM FM can be "selected" at a time. This indicator is kept in sync with the game, so if you change your selected FM inside TDM, AngelLoader will update its "selected" indicator in-app. Notes & Issues: Deleting FMs: Deleting TDM FMs is not supported yet. I notice TDM itself doesn't allow you to delete FMs either; it has been noted that people have accidentally lost their data and so the option was removed. AngelLoader puts files into the recycle bin when it deletes them, and I could add the option, but figured it was okay to leave it out initially since the game doesn't let you do it either. Note, though, that you can still delete TDM FMs from AngelLoader's database if you've manually deleted the actual FM from disk first. To do this, first click the "Show only unavailable FMs" button (red X page icon on the top bar). Last Played and Finished-On-Difficulty: Finished-on difficulty is now autodetected. Last played date is taken from the game's database only if AngelLoader doesn't have one in its own (its own is more granular). In the FMs folder, there is a file missions.tdminfo which stores certain pieces of data about FMs. Included among this data is which difficulty the mission has been finished on, and the last played date (down to the day only). AngelLoader also stores this information, but it doesn't get these values from this file at the moment. Instead, the last played date (down to the instant, not just the day) is set whenever an FM is started, and the finished-on state must be set manually. I could have it watch the file for changes and update the finished-on-difficulty automatically for the current FM. This would override the user setting, but in theory should be accurate anyway. I could also auto-update the last played date, but because it's only down to the day, that would be less optimal than just setting it on FM start, which would give a more granular date and would have sorting working better. So if you played two FMs in one day, the latest played one would sort at the top. Mods tab is disabled: For NewDark games, there is built-in support for mods, and they can be enabled or disabled per-FM in an official capacity. I've disabled the Mods tab for TDM because - from a cursory look anyway - I don't think there's such a per-FM method of mod management. Language selection is disabled: In the Edit FM tab, there's an option to choose which language to play an FM with. I've disabled it for TDM because there's a language option in-game (not the case with NewDark) and I haven't looked into how I would scan a TDM FM for supported languages anyway. "Play Without FM" Option: For the other games, there is the option (in the bottom bar) to play them with no FM. For TDM there is no such thing as "no FM", but the option is still there currently. It will simply start TDM without passing it anything, and whatever FM it has selected will be there. I might remove the option since it doesn't really make sense. This might make people wonder "where's the button for TDM" but on the other hand having it isn't really useful. Not sure. Mission downloading and updating: An in-app mission downloader is in progress. There is no mission downloader or anything like that currently. It simply lists what you've got on disk. This means that to get new FMs or check for updates to existing ones, you still have to go in-game. I don't know how people feel about the convenience factor of this, having to go in-game to get your FMs and then back out to AngelLoader. However, duplicating the TDM download functionality would mean it might well break if TDM ever changes anything about its downloader. Custom resource stats: In the Statistics tab, custom resource display is disabled for TDM. I haven't looked into what sort of "custom" things a TDM FM can have and how I can detect them. I may do this in the future.
    17 points
  18. Version 3.14.15926 General Changes: Added a new game mode where all AI are replaced with clowns. All loot items now make a "boing" sound when picked up. All in-game text has been translated to Pig Latin. Players now have a 50% chance of slipping on banana peels. Guards now have a 50% chance of sneezing, alerting nearby enemies. AI Changes: Guards now randomly break into song and dance numbers. Thieves now occasionally stumble and trip over themselves, making them easier for guards to catch. Zombies now wear silly hats. Level Design Changes: The player's objective is now to steal a giant rubber chicken from a noble's mansion. All buildings in the game world now have exaggerated, cartoonish proportions. The game now takes place entirely in a giant ball pit. Audio Changes: All sound effects have been replaced with foley sounds created by mouth noises. The soundtrack now exclusively features kazoo covers of popular songs. Bug Fixes: Fixed a bug where players could get stuck in a wall by crouching and jumping repeatedly. Fixed a bug where players could "swim" through the air by rapidly jumping while falling. Fixed a bug where the AI would sometimes try to speak in emojis.
    17 points
  19. Welcome to the end of the world. The final level of HHBAM: When Mechanical Guards Dream of Electric Undead. The final mission of the HH series will make extensive use of @MirceaKitsune's keypad systems, @Dragofer's camera and screen systems, @Sotha's devious human-like robots, some other deadly and devilish enemies known from previous challenges...and a new entity, bad to the bone and of highest intelligence forcing you to do whatever it takes to save mankind from the end of existence! Just writing these lines makes me freeze. It may be that this entity will drive me crazy before I have finished the story. Do not cry for me, I would not have it any other way.
    17 points
  20. Included in the beta for 2.12 is a new companion to security cameras familiar to Thief players: the automatic turret. It will become active as soon as an enemy is detected by a targeted security camera, firing projectiles to fend off the intruder. Similarly to the security camera and the camgoyle sentry, turrets are highly customisable in their behaviour and appearance. There are two main variants of turrets at the moment: the cannon and the flamethrower. Thanks to Goldwell for digging up custom sound effects and Bikerdude for creating the models. Both were originally written as scripts, and meanwhile the cannon has been converted to C++ and integrated into the core assets for 2.12-beta1. One of the aims of the 2.12 beta is to test the readiness of the turret for release, given that it's a brand new and complex entity. The question of whether it's released with 2.12 or pushed back 2.13 is decided based on feedback by testers, so plentiful testing is of the essence and can be posted here. At the time of the 2.12 beta, the flamethrower is available as a script-based downloadable addon [here]. Its mode of action is to fire a lance of fire at its target, a novelty in TDM. While the scripting engine is powerful, there are some significant potential benefits in a C++ version. The main one is access to array variables to store and process data about all emitted flames, which would allow the flamethrower to spray fire in an arc instead of firing a single stream at x position. For this reason the flamethrower isn't offered as a core asset yet. Another feature of 2.12 is the refurbishment of Doom-era code for guided projectiles, tricky for even the nimblest players to dodge. Switching to guided projectiles only requires changing a projectile's spawnclass from idProjectile to idGuidedProjectile, and more spawnargs can be found in the new entity base class for guided projectiles. A guided version of the cannon turret's projectile is available in 2.12-beta1. Work was also done on introducing Thief-style bouncing projectiles but, as a hybrid between projectiles and moveables, these aren't part of 2.12 because changes to existing code at a deeper level are needed.
    16 points
  21. Demonstration Video I wondered if I could implement an improved lean for The Dark Mod. How was the result? Please see for yourself by checking out the video. The video shows: Leans from multiple games that show less view angle and more slide. Comparison between Thief and this lean proposal. Comparison between TDM 2.11 and this lean proposal. Aiming and shooting arrows while standing and crouching. Tap lean ability. Motivation There is something about the original Thief game's lean that feels really good. It feels close to actually peeking around a corner while not jarring the view. In an interview with former Looking Glass Studios developers, the interviewer asks them how they got leaning to feel so good while other FPS games have not. In a tweet by NamelessVoice, the author of the widely used Thief FM script library called NVScript, he said: New Lean Proposal Provide a lean that is more similar to Thief-style lean. Less view angle, more slide. Feels more natural, less awkward. Easier to aim and shoot arrows. Unlean more quickly. Feels like snapping your head back after suddenly seeing a guard. Improved lean during crouch. Compared to TDM 2.11, this lean can be used to see more around corners while crouched. Tap lean ability. Compared to TDM 2.11, this lean allows pressing the lean keybinding in rapid succession. Other: Fixed "lean getting stuck sometimes" bug in TDM 2.11. Fixed "lean getting stuck after saved game load" bug in TDM 2.11. Technical Details Bug Tracker https://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=6320 Cvars At the moment, the new lean is toggled on via the tdm_lean2_mode cvar. Other cvars include: pm_lean2_time_to_lean (default "400") pm_lean2_time_to_unlean (default "300") pm_lean2_slide (default "200") pm_lean2_angle (default "8") pm_lean2_angle_mod (default "0.5") However, I didn't know how to proceed with this section. Does the new lean replace the old lean? Does the new lean become the default while keeping the old lean available? Code TDM 2.11 uses a sine easing function. Instead, this new lean uses a cubic bézier easing function. For a 2.11-Like Lean For a lean that is similar to 2.11, its cvars can be set to the following: pm_lean2_slide "100" pm_lean2_angle "18" pm_lean2_angle_mod "0.8" The following video shows a comparison between 2.11 and this new lean proposal with those cvar settings.
    16 points
  22. Took a short break from the old block out to make some loot items:
    16 points
  23. Had to backpeddle on Vertigo after all the features added in the latest Dark Radiant release. Here is an image of the FM utilizing some of these features.
    15 points
  24. https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152224 There is a new mapping contest over on TTLG for the Thief: Deadly Shadows 20th Anniversary and the organizers were kind enough to include The Dark Mod along with all of the Thief games as an options for making a mission to submit as an entry. The deadline is a year from yesterday and the rules are pretty open. I recommend going to the original thread for the details but I will summarize here: Rules: - The mission(s) can be for Thief 1, Thief 2, Deadly Shadows or The Dark Mod. - Collaborations are allowed. - Contestants can use any custom resource they want, though TDM cannot use the Deadly Shadows resource pack. - Contestants can submit more than one mission. - Contestants can enter anonymously. - The mission(s) can be of any size. Using prefabs is allowed but the idea is this is a new mission and starting from an abandoned map or importing large areas from other maps is not allowed. Naturally this is on the honor system as we have no way of validating. Mission themes and contents: There is no requirement from a theme or story viewpoint, however contestants might consider that many players may expect or prefer missions to be celebratory of Thief: Deadly Shadows in this respect: castles, manors, museums, ruins inhabited by Pagans and the like, with a balance of magic versus technology. This is entirely up to the authors, though, to follow or not - it is just mentioned here as an FYI and, while individual voters may of course choose to vote higher or lower based on this on their own, it will not be a criteria used explicitly in voting or scoring. Deadline: May 25th, 2024 at 23:59 Pacific Time. See the TTLG thread for details on submissions and the voting process. Provided I can make the deadline I hope to participate. It would be nice to see the entire community do something together, and expressing our complicated relationship with this divisive game seems as good a pretext as any.
    15 points
  25. I'm trying to support many mirrors/remotes/whatever potentially seeing each other. (This won't get into 2.12 of course) There are some issues, but in general it seems to work fine. Of course the performance on such scenes is abysmal. My understanding is that such things should be supported despite bad performance, simply because sometimes mappers get these situations unintentionally. For instance, you have two adjacent rooms with mirrors, and when player opens a door between them you might suddenly get two mirrors in the view. Right now renderer will break one of the mirrors. Processing both mirrors properly with lower FPS seems a better approach.
    14 points
  26. Are you tired of looking at the same old painting skins? Do you want exciting, new banners to revitalize your WIP? If so, look no further than this all-in-one CC0/Public Domain asset pack filled with Paintings, Tapestries, and Prints! For the low, low price of $0.00, you can get over 80 brand-new images that will launch your Dark Mod map into the stratosphere! It doesn't get more FREE than this, people, so get the .pk4 while supplies last! This asset pack has been brought to you by @Wellingtoncrab and myself! Love it? Let us know! Hate it? Tell us your woes! Find a bug? We'll fix it. And did I mention that all these images are CC0/Public Domain? So go nuts! You can download the .pk4 from Google Drive here. Enjoy, Taffers!
    13 points
  27. Hi all. My new FM is about ready for beta testing and I'm looking for some help. Sign up here and I'll reach out in the next couple of days.
    13 points
  28. Complaint From Players The player must pick up candles before extinguishing them, and then the player must remember to drop the candle. The player must drag a body before shouldering it (picking it up), and the player must remember to frob again to stop dragging the body. The player finds this annoying or easy to make mistakes. For players who ghost, some of them have the goal of returning objects back to their original positions. With the current "pick up, use item, and drop" system, the item might not return easily or at all to its original position. For example, a candlestick might bounce off its holder. (See player quotes at the bottom.) Bug Tracker https://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=6316 Problems to Solve How can the "pick up" step be eliminated so that the player can directly use or interact with the item where it is in the game world? How can so much key pressing and mouse clicking be eliminated when the player wants to directly use an item? How can candles be extinguished and lanterns toggled off/on without first picking them up? How can bodies be shouldered without first dragging them? Solution Design Goals Make TDM easier for new players while also improving it for longtime players. Reduce tedious steps for common frob interactions. Make it intuitive so that menu settings are unnecessary. Do not introduce bugs or break the game. Terms frob -- the frob button action happens instantly. hold frob -- the frob button is held for 200ms before the action happens. (This can be changed via cvar: 200ms by default.) Proposed Solution Note: Some issues have been struckthrough to show changes since the patch has been updated. Change how frobbing works for bodies, candles, and lanterns. For bodies: Frob to shoulder (pick up) a body. Second frob to drop shouldered body, while allowing frob on doors, switches, etc. Hold frob (key down) to start drag, continue to hold frob (key down) to drag body, and then release frob (key up) to stop dragging body. Also, a body can be dragged immediately by holding frob and moving the mouse. For candles/lanterns: Frob to extinguish candles and toggle off/on lanterns. Hold frob to pick it up, and then frob again to drop. Frob to pick it up, and then frob again to drop. Hold frob to extinguish candles and toggle off/on lanterns. For food: Frob to pick it up, and then frob again to drop. Hold frob to eat food. For other items: No change. New cvar "tdm_frobhold_delay", default:"200" The frob hold delay (in ms) before drag or extinguish. Set to 0 for TDM v2.11 (and prior) behavior. Solution Benefits Bodies: New players will have less to learn to get started moving knocked out guards. With TDM v2.11 and earlier, some players have played several missions before realizing that they could shoulder a body instead of dragging it long distances. Frob to shoulder body matches Thief, so longtime Thief players will find it familiar. Second frob drops a shouldered body. Players still have the ability to both shoulder and drag bodies. Compatible with the new auto-search bodies feature. Dragging feels more natural -- just grab, hold, and drop with a single button press. There is no longer the need to press the button twice. Also, it's no longer possible to walk away from a body while unintentionally dragging it. Set "tdm_frobhold_delay" cvar to delay of 0 to restore TDM v2.11 (and prior) behavior. Candles: New players will have less to learn to get started extinguishing candles. With TDM v2.11 and earlier, some players didn't know they could extinguish candles by picking them up and using them. Instead, they resorted to throwing them to extinguish them or hiding them. Hold frob to extinguish a candle feels like "pinching" it out. Once a candle is picked up, players still have the ability to manipulate and use them the same way they are used to in TDM v2.11 and earlier. For players who ghost and have the goal of putting objects back to their original positions, they'll have an easier time and not have to deal with candles popping off their holders when trying to place them back carefully. Set "tdm_frobhold_delay" cvar to delay of 0 to restore TDM v2.11 (and prior) behavior. Solution Issues Bodies: Frob does not drop a shouldered body, so that might be unexpected for new players. This is also different than Thief where a second frob will drop a body. "Use Inv. Item" or "Drop Inv. Item" drops the body. This is the same as TDM v2.11 and earlier. This is the price to pay for being able to frob (open/close) doors while shouldering a body. Patch was updated to drop body on second frob, while allowing frob on doors, switches, etc. Candles: Picking up a candle or lantern requires a slight delay, because the player must hold the frob button. The player might unintentionally extinguish a candle while moving it if they hold down frob. The player will need to learn that holding frob will extinguish the candle. The player can change the delay period via the "tdm_frobhold_delay" cvar. Also, when the cvar is set to a delay of 0, the behavior matches TDM v2.11 and earlier, meaning the player would have to first "Frob/Interact" to pick up the candle and then press "Use Inv. Item" to extinguish it. Some players might unintentionally extinguish a candle when they are trying to move it or pick it up. They need to make sure to hold frob to initiate moving the candle. When a candle is unlit, it will highlight but do nothing on frob. That might confuse players. However, the player will likely learn after extinguishing several candles that an unlit candle still highlights. It makes sense that an already-extinguished candle cannot be extinguished on frob. The official "Training Mission" might need to have its instructions updated to correctly guide the player through candle manipulation training. Updating the training mission to include the hold frob to extinguish would probably be helpful. Similar Solutions In Fallout 4, frob uses an item and long-press frob picks it up. Goldwell's mission, "Accountant 2: New In Town", has candles that extinguish on frob without the need of picking them up first. Snatcher's TDM Modpack includes a "Blow / Ignite" item that allows the player to blow out candles Wesp5's Unofficial Patch provides a way to directly extinguish movable candles by frobbing. Demonstration Videos Note: The last two videos don't quite demonstrate the latest patch anymore. But the gist is the same. This feature proposal is best experienced in game, but some demonstration videos are better than nothing. The following videos show either a clear improvement or that the player is not slowed down with the change in controls. For example, "long-press" sounds long, but it really isn't. Video: Body Shouldering and Dragging The purpose of this video is to show that frob to shoulder a body is fast and long-press frob to drag a body is fast enough and accurate. Video: Long-Press Frob to Pick Up Candle The purpose of this video is to show how the long-press frob to pick up a candle isn't really much slower than regular frob. Video: Frob to Extinguish The purpose of this video -- if a bit contrived -- is to show the efficiency and precision of this proposed feature. The task in the video was for the player to as quickly and accurately as possible extinguish candles and put them back in their original positions. On the left, TDM v2.11 is shown. The player has to highlight each candle, press "Frob/Interact" to pick up, press "Use Inv. Item" to extinguish, make sure the candle is back in place, and finally press "Frob/Interact" to drop the candle. The result shows mistakes and candles getting misplaced. On the right, the proposed feature is shown. The player frobs to extinguish the candles. The result shows no mistakes and candles are kept in their original positions. Special Thanks @Wellingtoncrab was instrumental in improving this feature during its early stages. We had many discussions covering varying scenarios, pros, and cons, and how it would affect the gameplay and player experience. Originally, I had a completely different solution that added a special "use modifier" keybinding. He suggested the frob to use and long-press frob to pick up mechanics. I coded it up, gave it a try, and found it to be too good. Without his feedback and patience, this feature wouldn't be as good as it is. Thank you, @Wellingtoncrab! And, of note, @Wellingtoncrab hasn't been able to try it in game yet, because I'm using Linux and can't compile a Windows build for him. So, if this feature isn't good, that's my fault. Code Patch I'll post the code patch in another post below this one so that folks who compile TDM themselves can give this proposal a try in game. And, if you do, I look forward to your feedback! Player Complaints TTLG (2023-01-10) Player 1: TDM Forums (2021-03-13) Player 2: Player 3: TDM Forums (2023-06-17) Player 4: TDM Discord (2021-05-18) Player 5: TDM Discord (2023-02-14) Player 6: Player 7: Player 8:
    12 points
  29. This is my first mission, and I think I reached a point where I really could use some feedback on what I'm doing, to see if it makes any sense. It's a small, easy mission, inspired by Thief's Den and The Bakery Job. I also need a bit of help fixing a few issues I'm stuck with.
    12 points
  30. Our friend Skacky ( and his team "Feuillade Industries" ) has released a full sized Thief expansion \ campaign "The Black Parade": https://www.moddb.com/mods/thief-the-black-parade t is finally here! After 7-ish years of development, The Black Parade is finally released. So, what awaits you in this campaign? - 10 huge, open-ended and meticulously crafted missions with varied themes packed with content. - A brand new protagonist thrown into a dark, intricately woven story of crime and conspiracies. - 4 new tools happily supplied by the undermarket, at a price. - Many tweaks to the AI to make the game a bit more challenging but still fair. - A brand new "banter" system where AIs greet each other during their rounds and nightly life. - 28 voiced characters totaling roughly 1,800 new lines of dialogue. - 30 minutes of gorgeous hand-drawn briefings and cutscenes. - Brand new AI motions making the denizens of The City look more alive. - Full English subtitles. In The Black Parade you play the character of Hume, a hardened criminal who was sent into exile as a punishment for his crimes. The year is 833, you are now back in The City, a sprawling metropolis of soot-caked brick, greasy fumes and noisy machinery, with many a sinister conspiracy whispered behind closed doors. Lost and without a penny to your name, you are back to your life of thievery and must find your old associate Dahlquist. Shadows and silence are your allies. Light is your enemy. Stealth and cunning are your tools. And the riches of others are yours for the taking. The Black Parade aims at being a love letter to Thief: The Dark Project, and we hope we succeeded! It is recommended to have played through Thief: The Dark Project and/or Thief 2: The Metal Age at least once beforehand, since these missions are overall tougher than the base game. The Black Parade also comes with a few tweaks to the classic Thief gameplay formula: - Hume is not a Keeper and thus never received Garrett’s training: AIs will now notice you if they bump into you or vice versa, sometimes even in a perfect shadow. Be careful! - Hume can move banners aside instead of having to slash them. - Hume has additional footstep sounds for chains and pipes; these are metal sounds that aren’t as noisy as regular metal (about as noisy as stone/wood). - Water arrows can now be used to expand moss patches. - Servants will re-light extinguished torches on higher difficulty levels. - Servants may clean moss on the floor if they notice it on higher difficulty levels. - Zombies now smash wooden doors open instead of simply opening them. - Electric lanterns carried by guards can be turned off. - A few guards in the campaign are outfitted with heavy armor and helms so they cannot be knocked out using the Blackjack. - Hume can pick up small creature corpses such as spiders or sweels. DOWNLOAD (912 MB) MIRROR 1 MIRROR 2 Here is a very handy guide by nicked on how to set up Thief Gold for Fan Missions. !!!IMPORTANT NOTES!!! The Black Parade requires NewDark 1.26 or above! Make sure you use the latest version of TFix/TFix Lite before playing! The Black Parade should be launched with FMSel, NewDarkLoader or AngelLoader. It is not recommended to launch this campaign with DarkLoader or GarrettLoader. Note that mods such as Thief Gold HD Mod, NecroAge or Enhancement Pack are not compatible with this campaign. Remember that this is a campaign for THIEF GOLD, not Thief 2! Known issues: - Due to the complexity of the missions, there can be cases where some NPCs might get stuck walking against walls. There is unfortunately not much that can be done about this. Happy 25th anniversary to Thief: The Dark Project, and have fun taffers!
    12 points
  31. Block out with FREEDOM and EASE using this "as license free as it gets" TDM prototyping material pack (Release) Watch even the most basic blockout come to life in vibrant orange! How it works: Drop the ULTRA SLIM 1.3 mb .pk4 into your project's directory In DR a new folder "protoype" will appear in the "common" textures sub directory in the media browser Don't know where to start? When simply sketching out ideas "Proto" is a perfect for getting down rough shapes and will handle 90% of prototyping needs (and is a lovely shade of orange) Need to prototype some SUPER ADVANCED GAMEPLAY? A spot of tile floor here, a beam for a rope arrow there? No problem! There are (hopefully) patterns for EVERY surface type in the game When it comes to the grid YOU are in CONTROL. You can manipulate the resolution of the grid using the default texture scale you have selected in the Surface Inspector. At a scale of 1.0 the overall pattern will repeat every 256 units with subdivisions at 128, 32, 16 and 8 units. At a scale of .5 the pattern will repeat every 128 units with subdivisions at 64, 16, 8 and 4 units. And so on. OLD FRIENDS return with two CLASSIC prototype textures completely reverse engineered from the ground up! All textures in this pack are released under CC0 license and I waive all rights to copyright that is within my power to do so. This is an initial release so any feedback on improving the tool is appreciated!
    11 points
  32. Even though I've been absent a long while, I still find myself dreamily wishing for the free time to do TDM mission development. When working on new research projects I'll find myself involuntarily thinking, "hee hee this could be a fun texture or readable or bit of map architecture." Or I find myself absentmindedly responding out loud to odd noises with a drunkguard-like "must've been rats!"
    11 points
  33. A hotfix release "release211a" is available in tdm_installer. Right now you need to select this version manually. As usual, the savegames are compatible both ways between 2.11 and 2.11a. In fact, the hotfix uses the same executable files, so there is almost no risk of breaking anything. We only fixed a bug with wrong map icons in one def file. Please update your 2.11 installation to this version. It is very unlikely you can meet any issues, but if you do, report them here
    11 points
  34. The mission is now added to the FM database and should be available in the in-game downloader. Congratulations on the release!!!
    11 points
  35. High rise hotel for Asian / Arabic city hub. Still in early stage with only this building done following two days of messing with stuff, it will be a heavily themed city. The elevator works great now and can be taken to any floor, though most only have the hallway and can't be entered for sanity's sake.
    11 points
  36. I have one that I'm hoping to get into beta pretty soon:
    11 points
  37. Hello taffers, The campaign "Hidden Hands: Blood & Metal" consisting of five missions is now basically ready for beta testing (the briefing videos are missing and there are still some "real" speakers missing, at the moment there are tentative robot voices in these places, hope to replace them in the next two or three weeks). Unfortunately, the project has become somewhat more extensive than originally planned. It took me about two hours to test each mission. So you should allow at least12 hours for all five missions on the first run. Beta testing shall start at the beginning/middle of next week. The difficulty level is somewhere between "The Anomaly" and "The Lost Citadel". Some things are easier, others are not, but proper exploration and usage of the available resources/objects should always pave the way to success. Sign in here, if you are taff enough! Jack Testing thread:
    10 points
  38. TDM 2.12 is ready for beta test This is how to get beta versions: Upgrade from any version (fast): 1 - Start tdm_installer in darkmod folder. 2 - On the first screen, check "Get custom version" and click "Next". Choose the first name in beta/2.12 list, should look like "beta212-NN". 3 - Click on "Refresh" button to ensure that it is not going to download too much stuff. 4 - Continue installing with "Next". Fresh install (slow): 1 - Create darkmod folder anywhere you like. 2 - Download the TDM Installer from downloads section of the website. Extract tdm_installer executable from the downloaded ZIP and place it into your darkmod folder. 3 - Start tdm_installer (in case of Linux, first edit file permissions to allow executing it). 4 - On the first screen, check "Get custom version" and click "Next". Choose the first name in beta/2.12 list, should look like "beta212-NN". 5 - Continue installing with "Next". In general, upgrade is recommended over fresh install. If you don't want to lose your current TDM installation, then you can copy the whole TDM directory and upgrade the copy. This way you can have both 2.12 beta and 2.11 at the same time. At the end of installation, tdm_installer resets your config by renaming darkmod.cfg to darkmod_{datatime}.cfg. This is a recommended procedure on upgrade, otherwise you are likely to have issues due to old config. If you need your old config for some reason, you can always find it in darkmod folder. 32-bit builds of TDM are deprecated, so they are not present in beta versions. They will be added at the very end of beta phase. Notes 1 - Please try to be specific when reporting a problem. What you were doing, where you were when the problem occurred, can you reproduce it, etc. This wiki article provides many suggestions for good bug reports. 2 - Make sure to check every mission for update just before playing it. We expect to apply small tweaks to missions during this beta phase. 3 - This effort is to find out if we broke anything in TDM with our 2.12 changes, if a new 2.12 feature isn't working correctly. We won't be trying to fix bugs that have been around for a long time. Instead, we will create an issue in bugtracker (if not yet present), to fix it after beta. 4 - If you find something wrong, it would be helpful if you report whether the issue happens in 2.11 too. By the way, you can easily get 2.11 version: just copy your darkmod folder and run tdm_installer on the copy, selecting "release211" on the custom version screen. Thank you for testing !
    10 points
  39. "...to a robber whose soul is in his profession, there is a lure about a very old and feeble man who pays for his few necessities with Spanish gold." Good day, TDM community! I'm Ansome, a long-time forums lurker, and I'm here to recruit beta testers for my first FM: "The Terrible Old Man", based on H.P. Lovecraft's short story of the same name. This is a short (30-45 minute), story-driven FM with plenty of readables and a gloomy atmosphere. Do keep in mind that this is a more linear FM than you may be used to as it was deemed necessary for the purposes of the story's pacing. Regardless, the player does still have a degree of freedom in tackling challenges in the latter half of the FM. If this sounds interesting to you, please head over to the beta testing thread I will be posting shortly. Thank you!
    10 points
  40. We (Greebo and myself) have been working on this ancient mission of ours for quite a few years. It is mostly finished (haha well at least mostly playable) but what we still don't have is a great story. We have had a few ideas but were not quite happy with them. It is a type of mission with Who would like to help us to come up with a badass story and objectives? We could also use some help with readables (I'm not that good with ye olde english) and maybe some input/feedback on the map. Here are a few screenshots:
    10 points
  41. The magic temple / monastery of a new FM concept I'm working on. The flames will be part of the gameplay and represent progress in some form, will address the details as I go.
    10 points
  42. Public release v1.7.6 (with Dark Mod support) is out. Improvements since the final beta 14 are: Fixed a few remaining bugs with zip/pk4 support. Game Versions window now properly displays TDM version. Import window no longer has a vestigial off-screen TDM field (because TDM doesn't need or support importing). Web search option is now disabled if an unknown/unsupported FM is selected. If an FM with an unknown or unsupported game type is selected, the messages in the tab area now no longer refer to Thief 3 ("Mod management is not supported for Thief: Deadly Shadows"). The full changelog can be viewed at the release link. The de facto official AngelLoader thread is here: https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149706 Bug reports, feature requests etc. are usually posted there. I'll continue following this thread though. Thanks everyone and enjoy!
    10 points
  43. When the time comes to review my life, with the Master Builder before me, I'll say I was a sneaky taffer who cared for the poor.
    10 points
  44. Tomorrow ! Holy crap I'm old I honestly never expected to live this long
    10 points
  45. First post here but dude nice work! Love getting my grubby hands on new content. I'm currently working on my first map as well
    9 points
  46. GAMEPLAY * Frob controls have been reworked completely. Previously players were annoyed by having to do three presses to extinguish a light. Also, some player didn't even know that bodies could be shouldered and were limited with dragging bodies. Now simply clicking the frob button performs the action player needs most of the time, and pressing-and-holding the same button performs alternative actions like dragging bodies and extinguishing candles (thread). * Several aspects of mantling has been improved: overhead mantling has become faster, mantling over low obstacles is allowed while carrying an item or a body. Also it is possible to switch weapon while being on rope/ladder or mantling. Pressing crouch button on rope/ladder now starts slide-down immediately. * Some aspects of gameplay can be further simplified. Auto-search bodies is for players who don't want to waste time searching for keys and purses on guard bodies. Lockpicking "Auto" difficulty now indeed trivializes lockpicking (thread). * Leaning animation has been improved with lower head tilt (thread). * Player footstep sounds have been rebalanced. Metal and water sounds were especially painful previously. * Further improvements of subtitles: revised location and font to avoid overlapping with other GUI elements, added directional cue, better slot allocation. Each subtitle is now displayed for at least one second even if the sound is very short. * More settings to reduce camera bobbing/rolling/shaking, which is good for players who feel motion sickness from default camera animations. * Now several script addons can coexist and work independently (thread). ENGINE * Optimized generation of light-entity interactions in rendering frontend. Also greatly optimized shadow processing, especially for moving lights. Unfortunately, many existing missions are not compatible with these changes, so you might see light leaking through walls (mainly with stencil shadows). Please report all such cases, we'll apply workaround on case by case basis (thread). * The "old" and "new" rendering backends are finally merged into one. It is as nice to program as the new backend, and as old-fashioned and reliable as the old backend. Single-pass shadow maps enabled by default and now respect noselfshadow. * Materials with polygonoffset now interact with lights. So static decals can have bumpmap and specular lighting. Note however: dynamic decals still don't interact with lights. * Revised parallelSky lights and marked shadowing parallel lights as deprecated (thread). * PNG image format now behaves equally to other supported formats. In particular, it is not required to explicitly specify its extension, and it can be referenced directly in GUI code. * Added functions min/max to material expressions, which can be useful for clamping. * Fixed minor culling bugs on animated entities and enabled entity scissors by default. * Reduced color banding for fog with some dithering at tonemapping stage. * Finally our C++ code can compress and decompress all texture formats we use, meaning that we no longer depend on occasionally buggy/slow vendor implementations. BUGS * Now both OGG and WAV sounds work the same way and stop playing while in main menu. * Fixed "gui::startSelect" as a feature that allows to choose player starting location in GUI briefing. * Fixed warnings in newspaper_bridgeport0X core readable GUI. ASSETS * Added automatic turrets, to be combined with security cameras (Thread). * Added more covered furniture models (6289). * Added wall models from Seeking Lady Leicester (6293). * New and fixed versions of atdm:lamp_electric_square_3_lit_unattached (6315). * Fixed UV map on Stove models (6312). * Fixed some issues with moor AI (6345).
    9 points
  47. Always love when I get around to designing a cozy looking tavern. What would I do without the AI table prefabs, much as food and cutlery starts flying around everywhere whenever they get alerted no matter how you try fixing them
    9 points
  48. I was so enchanted by this FM, I had to sign up to the forums the same day I finished it to come thank the authors Genuinely, truly incredible work! I was so overwhelmed in places that I resorted to just shouting joy at my monitor two, three, maybe four entirely separate times while playing. Exploring, puzzling, finding something new, trying to use it, and finding it does a whole new, separate, wonderful thing! There aren't enough words inside me to describe the feeling. It was breathtaking. I don't have any specific feedback that hasn't come through this thread before Thanks so much for making this, for all the inspiration and ingenuity and effort it took. If I never play another level this good, in any other game, in my life, I'd be fine with that.
    9 points
  49. Hello taffers! I'm looking for three or four people to help test my latest mission, a scary little (early) Halloween mission. Once I have a few volunteers I'll put up a thread in the beta testers' forum. Content warning: I'm also looking for a voice actor to do the thief's briefing info lines. (otherwise I'll have to do it and I'm rubbish!) Thanks everyone!
    9 points
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