Midnight

I've not had a chance to properly test out all the new 1.08 stuff, but I can already say the audio additions are hugely beneficial to the atmosphere. Played a bit of the new St Lucia and also started on graymans mission and I'm loving the rustling and rattling that accompanies the AI as they walk.

Put me down for $10 (if the team decides this is worthwhile doing).

Didn't Thievery use caltrops? I quite like that idea, the flashbomb and mines are already serving a similar purpose though. Definitely wouldn't want to remove the combat, it's intended as a last resort (and is actually kinda fun once you practice a bit )

It's possible to have a global dns server which routinely (up to once a minute) checks the availability of two different data centres and switches over in the case of a failure. We trialled this where I work and it works pretty well, definitely useful when used to support a service hosted with two cloud providers. I'm sure that google and amazon will do something similar to minimise downtime.

...in a city, filled with valuables... One man...

Dark Messiah is not open world, the levels aren't quite as clearly defined as say missions from the thief games, but more like old school single player levels. I wouldn't really recommend it as a stealth game, the meat and bones of DM are very much in the first person combat (which I really enjoyed btw), but the medieval/fantasy setting is definitely interesting.

I've been enjoying DX:HR, but the stealth is a bit of a let down. This could improve as I upgrade stealth augmentations (of which there are quite a few thankfully), but there are little things that annoy. It doesn't seem that darkness conceals you very well (if at all), and the radar is a poor inclusion, feels like cheating that there's a HUD that shows where all the AI are and what direction they're facing (before even upgrading any augs).

Maybe someone should rename this thread to "Where is TDM headed?" Also, cool pics ST. I like the first one. SeriousToni is Serious

No car park please, but the sushi place sounds nice

If you're wanting a safe environment for basic web browsing email and document writing, I'd suggest a tablet, iPad or Android, but price might be an issue. Still, much less to go wrong, no complicated software installs etc.

Welcome Abyss! See, it's not hard people lol ;-)

That was really good, would definitely be helpful to a new player. I like the way lots of different missions were used, shows the variety already present in the mod which I think will interest anyone who liked thief but hasn't tried out TDM. I've been thinking of doing a guide myself but more a case of describing the mod whilst playing a mission, including configuration options (useful keybinds, possibly a quick run through of common issues/fixes). A guide to arrows would be useful, particularly water arrows (I.e. water can splash onto a torch from above, so aim at the ceiling). Another nice topic would be a guide to the things that TDM has in common with thief and the things it adds: you can still lean into a door to eavesdrop; you can drag AND carry bodies; relighting torches etc. Not just new features but things that have an impact on gameplay. I could see these types of videos doubling as informational as well as promotional and would go well with a v1.08 announcement on RPS or similar blogs, for the YouTube generation like myself

Well Thief has always been kinda "Steampunk Lite". I think the reaction to the compound bow is (rightly) the concern that they've introduced a purely and recognisable modern design into a generally medieval themed game, at least that's my concern.

That's a really impressive find, would be interesting if there's a historical record of the palm facing outward with this type of bow. I paused the thief video at the point you see the palm positioning and it does appear he's using a release aid similar to those posted by jtr7. I can see why a more mechanical looking bow would be used if they're wanting to emphasise the steampunk element of thief, but I don't see why you'd then use an existing and purely modern design over designing your own. I would have much rather seen a recurve bow if I'm honest. I actually like the video, especially the music. I do think the way he takes out the lockpicks looks a little silly but in general I like the style, the wry smile seems most Garrett-like. Really, the most disappointing thing about the video is the length. Looks like a purposely leaked video to me, I just wish they'd officially released something longer. Of course it could be that this video is from a demo reel and doesn't actually represent the actual game at all, has there been any official confirmation of the currentness of the video?

If you want something unlike Doom3, I enjoyed the short but very cool mod Ruiner.

Welcome to the forums. TDM is definitely off the ground, it can only get better but with D3 being open sourced that doesnt mean it would require a new engine. The only thing that is missing is maybe a larger audience but once I release my "Nude Noblewoman Skin Patch" we should see an influx of new blood ;-)

I can't remember if I posted this before, but one contest idea I had was a sort of Russian roulette idea where contestants enter wiithout any planned missions and then forum members submit (secretly) a bunch of mission ideas with no common theme that are randomly assigned to each contestant, so you have no idea what to expect. You'd basically be judged on how well you executed a simple mission idea. Sadistic I know ;-)

Someone with more experience can probably answer better than I, but if I understand the question correctly there's no problem with sequence. TDM doesn't have a concept of time (or order) like Dromed does when it comes to brushes. Moving AI around later on is fine as long as you've not done any special scripting or patrol work. How you actually go about building (whether room by room, or architecture then lighting then objects etc) is a personal preference for the mapper. Some of the more speedy authors seem to do most of the brushwork first and then worry about detailing / texturing, but that approach doesn't seem to work for me. I prefer a more organic design process where the design changes as I go based on the feeling I get from lighting and texturing in any given section. Totally a personal thing though.

Would a merchants guild themed mission be acceptable for a faction contest? I've got most of a mission worked out in my head but no brushwork yet, I'm assuming when/if the contest rules are announced it would be purely build time restricted?

Probably based on latest census info. I think the census in the US used to be something like every 10 years, presumably more frequent now so having signs like that hardly seems sensible. I remember passing through a little village in the US years ago that had a tiny population (less than 50), wouldn't have thought that would merit a sign :-)

What the hell happened to our bustling little medieval city, some sort of plague? Demagogue, report?

Nice work. I love the armour, especially the helmets. More elite guards means more tense moments, excellent :-)

Very nice mission, lots more gameplay than I was expecting. I got around the framerate issues by knocking out all the AI in the streets :-) The bank was really well done although a bit small, very tense gameplay, especially getting into the vault. Well done and congrats!

I really enjoyed this fm, the architecture was wonderful, probably the most 'real' setting I've encountered yet in TDM. I also appreciated the story, enjoyed reading the extract in the library. Probably my favourite bit was getting busted trying to pick the door by the two peasants and leaping through the gap in the wall to make a quick escape (and being left with nearly zero health after falling into the courtyard). I did have trouble with the platforming puzzle though, until I saw the route walkthrough posted earlier. I love the feeling of accomplishment you get when you use agility to get to hard to reach places, and this mission definitely had a feeling of exploration, but maybe it was a little too much. My feeling is that the main route should be fairly straightforward, and the harder platforming puzzles should be reserved for Easter egg type areas that only the most adventurous players would experience. Awesome mission though, very high quality with great attention to detail. Hopefully it won't be your last, the different play style was very satisfying and would be even better in a larger mission of a similar style.

This is the first FM I've played after being unable to play TDM for a long time due to computer problems, and it was very enjoyable, thank you. I played expert, and everything went absolutely smoothly, though I'll have to revisit this and properly ghost it without any KOs. I could offer pointers for future missions, but I guess the only complaint is that the lantern and spyglass were missing. Funny how I never used the flares and zoom in the original thief games but now they're indispensable tools ;-) As for something to think about improving for next time, a bit of environmental background to the location would have been good, it seemed this element was lacking (unless I missed something). The settings you chose are naturally populated with transients, but the places themselves would have a history and story of their own (e.g. An explanation for why there were two such buildings, maybe a rivalry?). All in all, really enjoyed the gameplay, visuals and audio, so not just a good 'beginner' mission, but a solid mission, period.