Melan
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Posts posted by Melan
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Not a bad thing to have it's own thread for. More traffic is a feedback loop
That calls for a Moddb article, doesn't it?
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That's excellent news!
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There were kinda-sorta working fire elementals somewhere, no?
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Crossposted from below V-Man339's video:
Some smooth, elegant taffing there.
And yeah, you can tell it is an early level, and that's playing the third version (not counting an interim expansion that was much bigger, and went on to become the still unreleased first episode of the Crucible of Omens Campaign). The original, pre-expansion RttC was sort of a learning-by-doing experience. That didn't just mean the performance issues (which is why Bikerdude had to add all that distance control), but even the fact that it started out as a radically different mission than it ended up. In the first concept, it was a slum mission where you'd have to ruin the business of a dog oil merchant by ruining his stock, but I soon found that TDM 1.0 had very little of the asset base needed for the purpose - no beggars, no thugs, and not even enough suitably dark textures. That's how it became a sequel to Prowler of the Dark, and how the Hammerites (renamed to TDM's Builders in a later version at Springheel's request) got involved. And that's what the mission was - streets and backlots to approach your goal, a few side rooms and scattered pieces of loot to pick up on the way, and the Hammerite complex.
If you look at the current version, the Sykes house is almost entirely Bikerdude's creation (I built the first cellar room, the pantry, and the master's room, but the last one was significantly different in my version), and it rather complicates the look and feel of the mission - my areas are mostly a mixture of cold blues and greys, while Bikerdude used significantly warmer colours - including retexturing a whole lot of architecture. It also shifts the weight of the action, which is why you can actually complete the loot goal before entering the Seminary.
So that's why this mission can feel a little haphazard and odd - it didn't go in the way originally intended, went through multiple revisions, got a huge amount of stuff added, then a huge amount of stuff removed, then added again. Which is why you have not yet seen this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Melan/Darkmod/rttc_title_xmas2.jpg ...or this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Melan/Darkmod/RttCU04.jpg ...even though they were once a part of the mission. What remains is a mission that is kinda all over the place, which sometimes tries to be more things than it could be, and which actually plays differently now than it did when it was first released (due to all the AI upgrades - this is more visible in Fauchard Street). From an author's point of view, it is a bit of a mess, but at least its wreckage is interesting.
Also, as far as I know, you are the first to draw the conclusion that the idol (actually, the skull, but that's beside the point) is the same one you stole in Prowler. I am not saying whether it is an accurate observation or not, but it is certainly a good one. Bravo! .)
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Illuminating! Thanks.
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This is interesting. In the editor, there is both a sound_loss and a snd_loss property. These show up as different types of properties:
What does this mean?
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garette:
He is the guy in the white tabard pacing around King's house.
To dispose of him, you will first have to break into an upstairs room in the centre of the map. You will need a key, found nearby. -
s.urfer:
Those are not the doors you are looking for. (Look around nearby)
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The limit is actually 8192 entities. My current map is at 6764 entities, and it is a rather large one. The limit has been reached by multiple released and WIP maps.
With regards to your ideas, most of those things can be done, just be aware that there is a point in making a mission where there is a huge spike in difficulty - you have to create new assets, become skilled in multiple fields at once (e.g. scripting, not quite the same as building terrain).
My advice is to start on a relatively small scale, and build outwards. You don't need to make a small and unambitious map first, because a lot of people have started with complex and very advanced projects (see the recently released missions, Moonbo's Requiem, or Kvornig's map). But before you plan out a huge, multi-mission campaign, learn the basic functions well, and release a single mission of, say, medium size and complexity. Afterwards, you will know your strengths and weaknesses; and you will have learned enough to make building the next mission even better.
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Intriguing! What is it with new authors delivering such amazing-looking missions right out of the gate? :cool:
Unfortunately, I can't test right now, since time is kinda tight, but I am looking forward to playing it!
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I don't want it to loop, since it is already looping. I want it to play, pause, then play again in maybe ten or fifteen seconds.
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I am tired and possibly dumb, and the wiki has failed me. Which flag do I use on a looping ambient sound if I only want it to repeat after a certain number of time?
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The grills are tricky the first time you handle them, but with a little practice, you can learn how to handle them without making a racket. I think it is a proper challenge.
The same goes for the ways to access your goals - they are a challenge, but not unreasonably hard by Thief standards.
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With the rather unexpected polarizing reaction to this mission I have absolutely no desire or motivation to touch this series anytime soon. So I'm sorry to say the wait may be long.
I really think you should reconsider that. I can only echo GUFF - you can't please all of the people all of the time without watering down your work. If some like one half of the mission but not the other, that's not bad at all. And what matters is making the missions you, personally, would like to play.
Some of my own FMs received rather strong negative criticism from people whose opinion I respect, but what can I do? They are the missions I wanted to make, and the missions I am able to make. Maybe the same people will like the next one. Or maybe we are not meant to like all of each other's work.
On a selfish note, I am also interested in where this decidedly odd story is going.
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Thanks!
I have sent you a PM with the rest of the files. -
I, uh, don't understand half of that, but here is how an entry looks like in my material file:
textures/darkmod/decals/papers/whale { surftype15 description "paper" nonsolid noshadows { blend diffusemap map textures/darkmod/decals/papers/whale alphaTest 0.5 } // TDM Ambient Method Related { if (global5 == 1) blend add map textures/darkmod/decals/papers/whale scale 1, 1 red global2 green global3 blue global4 } { if (global5 == 2) blend add program ambientEnvironment.vfp vertexParm 0 1, 1, 1, 1 // UV Scales for Diffuse and Bump vertexParm 1 1, 1, 1, 1 // (X,Y) UV Scale for specular vertexParm 2 global2, global3, global4, 1 fragmentMap 0 cubeMap env/gen1 fragmentMap 1 _flat // Bump fragmentMap 2 textures/darkmod/decals/papers/whale // Diffuse fragmentMap 3 _black // Specular } }...and here is the .dds image (renamed as a txt so I could upload it)
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How do I do that? That region is just... well... empty. There is no colour there, since I turned it into an alpha channel.
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I am finalising a collection of twenty new decal textures, and there is a problem with the transparency:
I saved the decals as DDS images, and used the standard TDM decals as the template for the material file. In GIMP, they show up with a proper transparent background, but in the game, they have a black outline. How do I fix this?
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Yes. That fm was a big inspiration for making this. There were also a lot others. For instance, the crypt area (which I originally intended to be much bigger) was me trying to replicate "The Broadsword of Sheol" in terms of atmosphere.
Oh my.
As I was testing the mission and arrived at the underground chasm, I told myself "This thing really reminds me of The Broadsword of Sheol".
Mission accomplished, I guess.
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I've been playing with darkradiant for a couple of years now. This is the only mission that I managed to finish, but I have several other failed projects too.
Don't we all?
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Congrats on the release,Spoonman!
I loved your missions Broken Hammers, Heretics and Pagans, The Lost Crusade.
A-ha! I didn't make that connection, but it all makes sense. I was wondering how someone could come up with a mission like this on a first try. Good to know you are back, then.
I also enjoyed your previous work (particularly Broken Hammers, which is brutal, and rather underrated).
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level, you should also post a thread about the mission on TTLG. There are some people there who don't check these forums all that often.
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It is here!
Congratulations on the release - and everyone else, drop what you are doing and play this mission. You won't be disappointed!
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Hello, darkness, my old friend!
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TDM in PC Gamer top 50
in The Dark Mod
Posted
The Nethack DevTeam has been going strong since 1987 (that's almost 29 years!), and they released the most recent build last December. It can be done.