Epifire

Looking at these right now I think taking a couple liberties and combing the definitions of the first shot (dragofer posted) with the upright simplicity of the first (springheel posted) might yield an interesting result. Yeah, I kinda want to now xD

I'm not gonna lie the idea is appealing but I'm still trying to wrap up another request whilst working on a new FM. This would make a fun day project though, so I'm really wanting to say yes even though my schedule says otherwise.

I'm not gonna lie I've been on Win7 for some time now because I don't want to have a bunch of my fragile old installs busted on the switch to 10. I hold out for the idea that MSFT will make the decision they usually do (every three or so versions) to make a scaled back workstation/barebones release. None of this smart features garbage, or touch interface bs; just a (mostly) stable release that allows me to move ahead with the times. It's hard to say why exactly I'm a Windows guy. Probably because I grew up using it and assumed eventually they'd calm down and stop marketing to the, "fast crowd" wanting something flashy and stylish. I feel like I'd want to try Linux at least once in my life, as it sounds like something I could get behind. It also seems foolhardy in my eyes to switch from a perfectly fine version of Windows to a new platform I know nothing about. Maybe when my preferred features go the way of the dinosaur and MSFT only pushes for hip features will I look elsewhere.

I feel like a proper crafting system would require a lot of complete (though separate) base class entities that could be called up on the fly when certain, "crafting conditions" were met. Would sidestep a lot of the tedious entity work needed to be done in DR and would result in a much more flexible/autonomous design. Seems like a very interesting and unexplored concept in TDM/Thief like gameplay.

Definitely yes. From my tests the draw calls and heavy hitters load in on both occupied and touching (line-of-sight) leafs that are adjacent. Complex models (with many referenced materials) are prime candidates to be combined. Especially so if the building is a non-playable and just serves as backdrop. What's helped me a lot in my current (very wide open) FM has been combining whole exterior pieces that share the same redundant material. Pretty well compacts what loads in at once. Because a lot of it just can come down to redundant, reused props that are still producing a draw. And as always, shadow casters and NPCs that are thinking too hard will cut in hard. Something I'd learned from Half-Life 2 maps (largely applicable in our visportaling) is to base long sections on a slight bend. The bend being enough to cut line of sight to the end, and what this allows is slotting in vis portal cuts along the entire length to section up the otherwise big area into more bite sized pieces. Trying to finish out the Gondola highpoly as I type this.

I was about to say Dishonored immediately came to mind. Another instrument that could be invaluable to a maritime theme (especially an industrial one) would be the waterphone. Not precisely limited to a horror/thriller vibe but it could go hand in hand for any metalic, underwater, or ambient solution...

I look forward to eventually releasing my own FM in the works but it's very time consuming on the, "all-models-detailing" department (and very prone to burnout) as it's sole developer. However poking unique new set pieces into other current FMs, per-request really makes it worth the effort. Can't say enough how much of a joy it is to be a part of this team and help give it a boost where applicable. There just isn't anything out there quite like TDM and even if I never end up releasing an FM; being able to lend a hand in a pinch is why I stick around.

@Neon, these streets are coming together nicely and I'm very curious to see how it plays when exploring that. Possibly going to see a lot of swimming sections? Also lighting wise, I'm wondering what's going to happen with the directions you take the shadow development. Atm it's very even toned (at least in the ambient world brightness) and doesn't leave a lot of dark corners for the player to hide out in. I guess I'm more referring to real Venice shots where there's a bit harder shadows and dramatic casters for longer angles... Just food for thought, obviously I know you're still hard at it and I just wanted to list that pointer for consideration.

Only time will tell I suppose. It had been sort of a mistrust/worry among friends I'd spoken too and that kind of thing isn't earned back in an instant. People have to be shown their work has some protection here, so this is the first logical step to achieving that.

I have absolutely no doubt no idea what you're talking about.

Found out I'm not actually working for New Years, so that was a nice surprise. 2018 went fast, so cheers to y'all and making this year all the more worth while!

I'm pretty sure with the abysmal reception of the Thief reboot at launch, it would have been axed immediately. I'd heard there might have been some kind of film adaptation but I'd be very surprised if they were still working on it at this point. We're lucky if anyone ever thinks of picking up the IP again. It had some years to overcome, an old fanbase to please and a new era of AAA expectations; it currently spells financial disaster for any studio interested in the series. Sadly it's all because of marketing but that's what's killed Thief in every iteration of it's history. Even at it's peak, the Thief games have been plagued with coexisting in collapsing companies from Looking Glass to Ion Storm. It's a testament to the developers to have pushed out such great games in the past, it's just too bad that the most recent release had rather more sealed it's fate for the time being.

Some great suggestions R Soul. What about context of a Mage who uses his powers for Thievery? In a very rudimentary explanation, the act could be called a Spell-Stalker or Rite-Robber (spells or rituals committed in the sole act of thievery). EDIT: Hey one that I thought summed up one that was a bit more all encompassing (but less wordy and easier to say) would call the mage a Ritic. The root being rituals and heretic combined like a title. How the actual definitions of heresy are established is another topic but I'd imagine law abiding mages keeping their practice to their personal lives would be the direct comparison of a Ritic.

Now that I look at the timestamp, that begs the question how this actually showed up as a recent post on my feed. Hahahaha, welp hope he returns someday.

Are you trying to modify the existing core PK4's? I haven't tried to alter them directly but if you're working out of your own FM project directory you wont need to compress it. However I'd imagine altering the official PK4 would be very problematic. Mainly considering that they will be overwritten with any update that comes later.

What if the primary asset base was modified (from both game exe and DR) to lookup the asset on an additional/identical folder structure with a topend folder containing something like "updated/models/darkmod/>overwrites here<". The idea is that the original file acts as a fallback and DR would display the newest asset of the same name should one exist under the updated branch. Then maybe add a filter toggle (or dropdown similar to alternate skins?) to the model viewer that would say something like, "show depreciated" to toggle back to the previous iteration of that model. Since a lot of the models haven't been updated, it would just show them by default. This folder bin idea would just allow us to stash models of the same name, in otherwise identical places while preserving the original path for old FMs. The primary goal of the system is to get a painless method for pushing our best version to the modern TDM mapper. Cleaning up an old repository is hard, but things like this could be a safe alternative to all the file bloat. Waddayall think? EDIT: after reading the whole thread I think we're all reaching the same conclusion. I guess I just was more exhaustive on my explanation of how it could work.

Are you just talking 3D widgets in the editor camera window? The only drop/collision we have is a snap to floor option and that only works if you're using brushes. As far as actual drag and drop, I'm pretty sure that would be a pretty large undertaking (though I could be wrong). Would have to create an entire collision check of some kind to define what the object can be intercepted by. Now personally because I'm on an all models workflow, I'd love that as a feature. But considering what it might take to do that, I wouldn't hold my breath on seeing it become a reality. I'm still holding out for editor friendly cubemaps with parallax correction.

Oh and Raven, one thing I might add that could do your scene a lot of good for a small amount of work is some simple edging. Like the cobblestone to the iron bar fence for example. One strip of something appropriately textured just eases the transition. It's usually where one vastly different object (or material) converges with another. Something to ease that, especially in a really industrial scene I've found to do wonders. Looking great though, I look forward to seeing where this goes.

I can vouch for the last one. That is most definitely the Mk.3 steam engine with stock skins.

Welcome aboard! We never really can get enough people coming our way, so the more the merrier. Also prior experience is a huge plus and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do in the future!

Source engine (HL2) ladders have a preferred dismount node for the top and bottom of ladders. When at the top or bottom, simply pressing use (instead of just walking off the ladder) will glide the player to the preferred dismount. I feel like something in this vain could be largely achievable in TDM but it really depends on how we implemented the ladder mechanic. Which from my knowledge is just a tool material with altered collision properties? TDM's current climbing is pretty organic, where the player just moves on a vertical plane to wherever they came into collision with said ladder. This would require some node entity work in order to function I think. Seems completely doable but I have no idea what that looks like from a coding perspective.

The light shaft from the keyhole seems like a step in the right direction. To me I see it like frobbing. Sure the frob isn't realistic but it's a necessary gameplay indicator we've all accepted to denote an interactive surface. Modern games do fine with an on screen prompt to convey options and since we will not be perusing that design philosophy, we need to consider the options available. I would suggest a flat highlight of some kind (2D effect). We could tie in a keyhole icon/outline that would act as a frob enabled decal below the door handle. Otherwise the alternative to no visual indicator is that if new players don't read the update log, it wont even be apparent that this feature exists. It would then be all together missed if we don't point it out somehow. That being said, is it possible to target a specific additional texture in the frob feature? Because then FM authors could replace the material resource if they so desired. My vote is to keep it inline with the existing frob feature so that it only shows itself when the player investigates that door. It would remain apparent that it's purely gameplay specific if the highlight only reveals itself when the handle is frobbed and would be the least visually intrusive method of getting the point across. Does the keyhole icon appear in the frob? Then we know it's peekable and if not, there's no fuss; it's just a plain old regular door.

I have all the original source files for the engine and I actually had wanted to make an active loop for it but never did. For now it's just a static model with skins but if anyone with fair animating skills wanted to take a crack at it, I'd be more than willing to help out.

Yes that is exactly what I was looking for! The problem if I do that in my case is that it will cull out the exterior details. My scenario gets introduced when working in tightly compact map designs with non-squared building techniques. Basically the invisible caulk wall that resides between mesh based walls creates problems (lighting, player collision or culling) if I move it one way or the other.