teh_saccade
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Posts posted by teh_saccade
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Or scaling the GUI instead of stretching it.
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Ever considered getting into dubstep, Stumpy..? :-p
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Has anyone else received a win10 update / nvidia update that has forced some apps to ignore painfully tuned GPU / app colour profile and use desktop instead?
Gamma's all over the place and it's messing up my prints - everything's coming out too dark - if I DCCW the gamma up - still doesn't match the colour profile for print.
I'm having to print out a tonne of tests in order to get Xmas prints (red is very dark, draining all CMYK jets) and skin-tones displaying the same on my screen as on anyone else's or from print.
The only colours that print out as they should are black and white - but I have to do all this in full colour and it's pissing me off. Asking everywhere. -
Thanks Jack and Grey - I'll add that as/when possible, unless someone else does.
Just to be clear:
- grab the entire TDM mainmenu_custom_defs.gui from the game's pk4 , goes into fms\missionname\guis , edit the lines at 426/7 & 434/5 that reference MM_brief/menu_CMD "music [names];" - semi-colon inside quotes.
- no need to add aditional #undef #define, because line edit #def's in relevent places for MM_whatever - in this instance 426 for menu & 434 for briefing screen (?).
- "mysong1" oggs go in ..\sound\ambient.
- make a sndshader that references the custom sound files and their place, with a few vars. desc. - more simple to follow convention of "mysong1, etc...". *.sndshd - Goes in ..\sound.
- section "mysong 1" in sndsnd is for mainmenu, at best vol, etc... Your "mysong2" in sndshd is for briefing, also best settings (but vol may need tweak depending on ogg gain/vol).
- works, so add documentation "Adding Custom Music to Main Menu and [de]Briefings", to provide limitation to subject, but pass info on how to do elsewhere with other MM_whatever "music name;"
(if the person looks in right place and sees the def for which they want to alter music/sound)
?
I'll merge info from both the posts - if I have it correct - and use your example shader for quick n dirty how-to, if ok, so others might achieve the same thing if looking at wiki briefing pages and follow "how to change the music" link. -
Stgatilov - as acounterpoint to this...
I've had several missions mean a complete rebuild because of a lack of keeping up with "what's going to happen", so - for me - access to an updated stable branch means I can "see into the future" in order to make sure my levels are are going to work in the next version, and account for this while building.
One example would be the update that meant movers cause no damage (which destroyed a lot of my trap mechanics) and means you can get entrirely stuck under an elevator and have to reload in missions, such as Thief's Den (try crouching under the lift and see if you can get out after lowering it, as you stand underneath it), and so this impacts the level's design by creating a "way out" from undertneath these elevators.
Either by resetting them to the "top position" by having the switch reset, or having an AI use - so the player is not stuck in a pit forever, and has a readable and perhaps a little exploration and loot to keep them occupied while waiting - or an alternative (maybe more hidden) way out for the situation (stuck block, board, leading to a passage) aka, "wow! I found a way into some secret passages that allow me to move around the level when I thought I might be stuck!".
Savegames can be remade in a single playthrough - a map might take several months to go over and recheck/rebuild changes as required.-
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JackFarmer - did you manage to figure an anwer to the problem you were facing..?
It would be good to update the wiki section on this, so others might more easily be able to find answers to these (slightly more advanced) questions.
Internet search:
"Hey guys I gota problem"
"I's ok I fx it"
replie every 6 months for 10 years
"Me too - how did you fix it..?"
^how many times we all seen that?^ -
no kill objective, is on objectives screen for, if you kill ai on team 2 then you fail map and its game over.
(I forgot to include the :> sarcasm smilie to indicate that, "no kill objectives? Mines, broadheads and shiny new swords for everyone!" - forcing player moral decision is preferable, to me at least, than enforcing a restriction on player freedom)
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Sounding an awful lot like a creative director, there, Springheel
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Guys....that's enough. Stop.
This is outright embarrassing and the whole thread should be nuked from orbit.
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Also you can't ban Bikerdude - he's a mod hero.
(now I'm done)
Do you want some of my alprazolam, Judith?
It's a sad anniversary for me today so I'm gonna be taking some - they're expired but only by a month. -
I absolutely love this community and as I'm learning how to make my own map I want to be able to help out in any way I can, be it through beta testing or proofreading/editing,
The main point here is "learning".
I'm sorry for the mean things I said, some1stoleit - but it was in order to provoke discussions such as this by being an arse (a la south park's trevor's axiom), rather than the predicted stamping down and "end of discussion".
The learning is the important part.
Not everyone learns like me and I don't learn like everyone else - I can't learn with a curriculum, and I find it very difficult to follow tutorials. Have done all my life. I have to experiment and use trial and error and understand things from the bottom up. I set a goal and then go about figuring out how to achieve it by whatever means necessary.
It's difficult to teach me routines and patterns, unless they have a reason - it's one reason I'm terrible at kata/poomse but better at sparring.
Some people - it's not like this.
They can learn by copying, rather than investigative research and extra-curricular activity and experimentation.
I'm not going to go into the dopamine rewards of learning and "being on the list", because that's irrelevant and no-one gives a shit, even though I'm really tempted.
Ok - I have taken apart pretty much every mission I've ever played (except a few) to look at how it was made and learn from that.
That's my way.
I've had to deal with DR's massive learning curve from the documentation and the support offered by the community, if asked or through searching the forums/wiki - I've even PM'd people with questions about a particular thing, if I don't ever receive a reply and cannot find an answer or dont understand something - often I don't receive an answer.
This is why I'm a little peeved to see a new designer come in and retexture someone else's geometry get all the hard work done for them.
If someone is going to learn texturing by going through and copy-pasting a bunch of another level, with the intention to release as an FM in-game, with the "OK" from the people who "OK" stuff - causing a bit of upset because it's "corrupted fruit" (I like that rant, Amadeus - some good analogies) and get a basic grip of brushwork:
Does that qualify my map as an FM that's ready to be published?
Or is it a learning exercise?
In my maps folder on this machine, I have over 130 maps from the past 3 and a bit years.
A few of them might be worthy of release, if I knew how to optimise and had someone other than my (very few) mates test them out (who also have pretty high-end machines).
Also if I bothered to make briefings and all that stuff, beyond placeholder readables - but I want to make a campaign of it, not just a bunch of maps - so I sit on it.
I would be happy for people to learn how I have implemented some mechanics in the level - as it's kinda simple, but effective, because I've had to be creative in my solutions - but, at the same time - I wouldn't want people copying my brushwork or over-using any trap / section / bespoke something / secret thing, that would make my FM's less ... unique..? signiture? Idk the word - same as how ppl recognise my paintings, no matter what I paint in whatever style.
I'd rather help them understand it so they can do it themselves and innovate and come up with their own ideas.
I believe that - if an FM is made and contains a large chunk that's been ripped from another level without permission - and the reason that has been done is because the person is LEARNING how to do things in their own way - it's not an original FM and therefore would be better off deposited in the Editor's Guild, in that person's mapping thread, as part of their progress and learning notation.
I'm sure anyone could - within a few hours - figure out how to make a nice looking scene in DR with some AI and an objective. A passable FM, but perhaps one I'd play half-way and quit because it's not fun.
But all the elf-wizardry that goes on behind the scenes - that's something that takes a long time (years, in my case) to figure out.
It's really nice that people help each other and I really like that. I might come across as a dick sometimes, but I try my best to help people when I can with what I've learned - same as the veterans answer a question I am forced to ask (or more often reply, wtf are you talking about..? or ignore it.)
There's a trade off between publishing "my first FM that I spent a few hours on" that contains a lot of "that other's FM that they spent a year on" - it's either a learning experience, which I believe this level design thing is for the designer in question (it does look very nice) or it's an FM that people can download and play and then go - "oh this is a bit like that, oh it is that, I've already done this".
While a level designer may learn a great deal in less time by copy pasting a bunch of geometry and then texturing it - they're missing vital practise in building brush models, patches, seed systems, visportaling, how to use clips, scripting, particle effects, lighting, ambiance, materials, definitions, guis, briefings, a billion other things, and all the other stuff that they may need to realise "THE FM".
I still consider myself a noob at all of this, and I must've spent more hours in DR than I have actually playing TDM.
Maybe that's because I haven't simply ripped stuff from other people's FM's - I've taken the time to try and understand it so I can do it myself - and I haven't received much help. Maybe because I don't ask very often.
If I had have just copied a bunch of gui and script files, especially copy-pasted level geometry and textured it with new assets - I might have learned a lot faster how to do that kind of thing.
As it is, I've a bunch of older maps where some models, textures and functions are depreciated or moved - but I know how to fix that, because I learned that in DR 101, while I'm almost through the door to class-room DR 103.
Even though they could technically be short FM's, such as Thief's Den - they're not submitted as FM's, because they're not up to what I would consider to be on par with Biker, Melan, Springheel, etc... FM's.
I've spoken before about how difficult it is for new mappers to achieve even a simple thing in another post, given current documentation and explanation available - I think only Jaxa read that.
Perhaps some level designers were not born when some of use were making Doom levels that we'd share on our 14.4baud modems through BBS or using netscape browser and freeserv or distributing on a floppy.
Hand-holding / tutoring is a very good thing, but no-one did my homework for me at school - except once when I forgot how to do long division when I was 16 and asked my mate's dad.
Other than authour's stating in the readme an expression of what they would allow or not allow (eg, Grayman's rule #2, except for the pitfall trap with the indiana jones spike wall and stuff, cos that's unique, intrinsic design to this FM):
A thread for mappers to be able to post their .map progressions as spoilered text and with necessary scripts and gui code, or videos and screenshots (as I used to), or fully compliled pk4's ready to download and play, would also be a good way to avoid this situation from happening, now the precedent has been set, sanctioned and end of discussioned.
It would enable mappers to have "published" their FM and announce it - but distinguish that it's a map that's a learning thing and probably one that - if published for download in-game - would cause arguments over "stealing" (ironic, isn't it..? stealing in a game about stealing stuff) or other issues.
How can the community best support new mappers to learn the things to raise TDM's FM quality, without causing stuff like this?
There are two suggestions:
1. Authour includes in the readme what they're fine with people copying, facsimilie.
2. "Learning" FM's are put into editor's guild for the community to play, enjoy and learn from, in a level designer's own thread or in a thread that is specific to this end.
These two things would avoid this issue from occouring again, as well as help people learn through hands on and dissection, rather than monkey-see, monkey-do and elves.
It relies on a cohesive community that follows some kind of social contract, which I believe everyone can respect without things degrading into disagreements, flame-wars or become blown out of proportion and elicit vehement "corrupt fruit" metaphors.
I know for damn certain that Judith bringing this to light has caused me a little doubt to reveal anything until it's at the stage where I really need someone's help to look over it, which I kinda doubt they will 'cos it's me, because I am at my limit and cannot progress without going public with anything.
That was one reason I removed the content of my mapping thread - it spoiled the stuff I was coming up with and I didn't want anyone to steal my design mechanics and implement them before I did.
I love TDM and I love to see people release new FMs that I really enjoy to play.
(and then go and break out of bounds or find a way to bypass massive sections, because I don't beta test cos I'm busy with my own stuff).
I don't like running the same mansion over and over, having to ramp the difficulties to max and remove the light gem in order for the FM or a replay to be more challenging. I don't use the light gem regardless, due to familiarity with the game, but I know people usually keep it on.
That's the last input from me, because I've repeated myself at least twice in this thread and I'm even boring myself.
Also I doubt anyone reads what I write, unless it's helping to figure a solution to their problem in newbie questions (cos Judith, you know I can't be coherent or brain-fart all over the place - "I never asked for this", is probably more fitting, as Adam Jensen opened DR for the third time).
// patches are awesome.
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I'm still getting an unspecified error when exporting a collision model, that's taken from a brush model that was exported as .ase and imported by right-click "add model", because it's trying to export the collision model to the same path as the model... and the file is in use by DR, so it's locked.
(please don't make me use zbrush or blender...)
After setting the origins to be the same as the model - if I make a mistake while tweaking it a bit, and try to undo it - I get a "failed to save collision model" and DR crashes.
(I just realised I don't need the collision model, as the brush model is bound to a mover and will cause damage, so dw about it - should push the player back anyway). -
Official sanction - precedent set - rules established.
It's ok to steal other people's work, so long as they don't find out about it.
If they do, argue about it in private.
I have to disagree, Grayman, and say that this is an not an issue between mappers, but one of integrity in the community.
How about - instead of allowing these situations to happen, an FM authour states in the readme that it's ok to copy anything or puts some limitations on use, nipping the problem in the bud instead of ignoring it and letting the dogs fight over a bone?
Then this will never happen again.; if there's nothing in the readme - it's open season (it could even be a stipulation of the FM's release - the authour choose 1, 2 or 3 and that determines level of encryption).
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You're trying to change the music for the briefing (the drone on the difficulty select screen), and not the video (the "waaaaannng"), right..?
'Cos the defs you're changing are for the intro video and not the briefing.
I'm not so familiar with briefings defs, but I do know that the briefing video is in tdm_gui01.pk4\video, and it's sound is in the same folder\sound\video\briefing_video.ogg ready to be ripped...
Using the http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Mission_Filestructure#guis wiki page that I made so people can find all the files and look at them ( that no-one but me ever looks at...) I can see that:
The mainmenu_briefing_video.gui (which is parent to the defs you are over-riding with your sound) is well commented and states:
DO NOT EDIT, INCLUDE OR OVERRIDE THIS FILE IN YOUR MISSION PK4 (use custom gui blahblah), which you're doing - but you don't want to change the video - you want to change the briefing, if I understand right, so that's the music...
Ok, mainmenu_music.gui, contains the defs you have changed
Hmmm...
Looks as if you've broken dependency by changing the intro video sound instead of the briefing music, causing the SDK to not play it.
(You done broke it, JackFarmer...).
I'm not sure, and I'm not going to test to verify cos I'm a bit peeved about manga-cat-ears hand-holding, but if no-one else pipes up with anything - I'd say:
Take a look in mainmenu_music.gui for the defs to go through.
At a glance, bearing in mind I've not done this and don't know, cos I don't see the point - there's some comments by Greebo around lines 140 onwards of that file that might help you figure it out.
(open the pk4 in 7-zip, select the file you want to read, press f4 and copy and paste that mess into Notepad++ for it to be readable - you'll find line 140 after line 139 and the other numbers that precede that).
Might try MM_MUSIC_BRIEFING or one of the other MM_MUSIC's until you hit the one you want - change the music that is before or after the briefing video, rather than mess with the video's SOUND_CMD defs.
If that don't work - someone else will have to take a look, or perhaps find a mission that has a button briefing and the intro video and see how that's done.
But - I think MM_MUSIC_STUFF is worth a try.
; not zip - 7-zip, the app. -
Heh, their name in 1337 is "some, I stole it..."
Also, the FM appears to have been made by Bikerdude - they've put more time into it than the mapper, looking at that thread.
There's no response from the mapper. the issue raised here is ignored - it's all talk between others. "Some, I stole it", displays a trend of wanting to copy things from the get-go - this is how people learn.
It appears there are only a few sections that have been copied, but - for the rest of the map - is that a Barbie doll house / copy of something else, too?
To summarise everything - this raises more a discussion on allowing people to learn how to operate on humans by performing surgery on 2nd hand pigs and learn to tattoo humans by practising on pig-skin, and also whether or not to add a layer of encryption to pk4's so as to prevent a slew of copy-cat copy-cats with manga cat ears copy-catting copy-cats.
This looks like a case of sanctioned plagiurism of someone else's work, without any request or granted permission to do so.
Therefore, it's up to the bosses to decide if they are going to allow the same levels, updated with new assets - or if FM's such as this are to be treated as training exercises for less experienced mappers who want to rush ahead and get cookies.
Reading the thread - people have been aware that it has contained sections that are facsimilie copies from other missions for some time, yet have allowed it.
The question is - will these same people continue to allow it to be pubished, knowing that it is like this - setting a precedent that it's ok to copy other mapper's brushwork and just slap a new coat of paint on it, while doing all the technical stuff that the rest of us have to figure out ourselves..?
Why does no one hold my hand through the entire process and do all the work for me, when I have issues?
Is it because I don't look like a girl and have manga cat ears and write long posts..?
I'll be boycotting playing this mission for a number of reasons and am considering making a new account, pretending to be a girl and using a manga character as an avatar - because then I might get someone helping me and doing all the hard work, while I just build a doll's house and make it look pretty.
Again - this is what you get when you promote modular design and prefabs. -
I instantly recognise the images and I know those missions well - if I was playing that new one, I'd think that it was a remake or improvement by the original authour.
I probably wouldn't notice that it was the same thing from two different missions, packaged by a different authour as a "new" one, unless someone pointed it out...
There are a lot of stale FMs that are very similar.
Tbh, the originals look better, except for the arched gate with the extra lighting to give the impression of a populated building.
It just looks like a tweak from the original - the house over the arch is more aesthetically pleasing, but it's the same place.
(actually, the geometry of the building makes me think that the architect was high, because that's messed up... wtf is up with that 45 degree bolt-on room at the top..? It looks weird, even though using the newer assets and fleshing out the scene make it a little more attractive - it's probably all fur coat and no knickers)
Since you said it comes from WiP thread - unless "Cleaning Up" is by the same authour, or that authour has given permission, it's legitimate plagurism that only shows the offending mapper couldn't be bothered to come up with their own ideas or put in the work to create a section that's similar.
Idk why it's a big deal - people will notice and that person will lose internet cookies. The end.
If anything - it'd be nice to hand those sections back to the original FM authours as "hey what do you think of the improvements I've made?".
This is what you get when you promote modular design and prefabs. -
TL;DR:
How many times have you seen a door in an FM? They're all pretty much the same door.
My personal opinion on using any part of someone's level design is that it's a matter of being respectful of the other person, therefore asking permission and giving credit if it is granted.
I'd never copy someone's architecture or level design geometry, because that's lazy and boring.
If I'd like to use some script I don't understand - I'll message the person and ask permission to use it, and perhaps an explanation as to how it works so I can not simply copy it but tune it to my needs.
Usually I'll post in newbie's help and hail mary for an answer that is rarely received, because no-one knows what the fuck I'm talking or they're busy doing their own stuff - so why care about my stuff?
Maybe Stumpy or Obs will have a lead. But otherwise - this shit is difficult to figure out sometimes, so I'll download greebo's starter kit and fidcal's pre-made briefing and hack that up so it's the right shape and fits into my FM that I'd like to play and give myself difficulties and experiement and learn.
If it's abandoned, then it's left there for people to do this.
If it's a WiP, then it's a leak and - unless it's a studio such as FUbisoft, that deserve it because some dick in middle management was a dick and the company backed them - if it was my design, I'd be pissed, but the gate's open and the horse is out and there's no closing Pandora's box.
If that's the case - it being a steal and a breach of trust - then it's no place for anyone to go sticking their nose and it's beef between the person who took it and the person who made it only, no-one else's - so there's no need to get upset about it, as it's not my problem - it's theirs. Or for community leaders to decide if they will allow the FM to be listed, even though they know it's the same as blah.
Regarding TDM FMs, because there's no way to say, "oi - that's mine - you can't do that", there's nothing anyone can do to stop it. Just gotta suck it up and learn to not go public so soon next time.
If I don't want people to take anything, because I would like to be the one to say, please can this be an FM for download and because I've put in lots of work and figured some stuff I've not seen before (rather than yet another mansion) - I go through my mapping thread and put "//" in every note I've made and remove all the screenshots and .map text and scripts and notes and hide them where no-one can see them. It pissed people off when I did that, but it was because it was starting to spoil.
But if I release an FM - it's not "mine", because 99% of the stuff I didn't make.
All I did was the 1% cobbling together some pieces and scripts and odds and ends.It's "The Dark Mod Team" - all I did was chuck together a bunch of stuff they made possible.
Once it's released, then people can take what they want, because that's what the license says they can do.
But until that point - if I want to keep my secrets a secret - I'm not putting anything where anyone can see it. That's the whole point of secrets. I'll get a few players from outside the community to test it and then - if I think it's ok - probably run it past someone who knows better like Bikerdude before polishing off the things that need doing that I didn't get right / didn't understand / whatever.
If I decide I can't be bothered to continue with my campaigns or FMs - I'll make public and post a link to my DR blog and someone can spend a few weeks reading all that crap, or download the pk4s and half-finished .maps and stuff and use it for whatever they want - because I've abandoned it.
TDM's license is https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html not CC-BY-3.0 (which allows commerical use), which means you can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and adapt, remix, tranform or build upon the material for any purpose, so long as you don't charge for it.The licensing agreement is there to protect the source code from being used in a commercial product, and advise that you can do whatever the fuck you want so long as you don't charge for it.
Therefore, I'd say it was a matter of etiquette.
There's no way to stop someone ripping off an FM, due to the way it is licensed.
If the FM is released, it's fair game for people to pick at - and they do.Scripts, prefabs, textures, models, samples, music, anything.
But if it's from a work-in-progress, then that is exploiting a leak from beta stage, which ought to only be done to asshole studios who've fucked you over, such as Ubisoft (but here, we're talking about the whole game, not a level designed using a level designer provided by the game).
In the case of an FM, I would consider this a breach of trust and probably not allow that person to participate in play-testing any FM I would be wanting to release ever again.
In my view - this is the authour's screw up in showing their hand too early.
If it's from an abandoned work and etiquette hasn't been followed by at least trying to ask permission from the original creator - then, if it's from the "abandoned" pile and there's no reply, it's vultures picking at a carcass - if the person gives permission, it's fine.
If they say no - there's nothing to stop me doing it anyway, except my own sense of morals.
I might track the person down online and on social media and troll them for the next year or so and find out their name, address and telephone number and post them (from a post office on the other side of the country) a kilo of cocaine, hidden inside a package they will open and likely keep - maybe a console or something - with a receipt so it appears as a legitimate transaction, no return address and then give an anonymous tip to the police, to get them locked up for several years.
Is that too extreme? I think so... I think I just wouldn't let them play-test my levels and I would be more wary of putting my stuff online for people to see before it's released.
Look at Steam Workshop.
Most of it is ripped off the internet and just given a coat of paint and ported for use in any particular game.
But some of it contains useful mods, localisations and other things to improve upon a piece of software or game. Some of these are uploaded by people who didn't create the mod, but did so because they were the first person to get it off ModDB and stick it in the workshop.
What do they get? Nothing, except a reputation as being someone who uploads stuff - either good or bad, depending on if they take credit as creator or if they are merely wanting to share something.
Recently, someone showed me a photograph I had taken years ago, on an instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpbuLS6FAU-/
All they've done is found it on one of the other tumblr sites that have shared it and not given a toss about where it came from. I don't know where it came from because that tumblr was deleted several years ago. I've seen other people's work "remixed" and that's vaporwave, apparently...
It happens quite often - a few times a year someone will say, hey look at this. Sometimes it's flattering, mostly I don't give a shit and neither do the other people.
It only annoys me when they take credit or if they put a filter or watermark on it - but it really pisses me off if they use it out of context or use it for promotional material or put it on a Tshirt or card or are selling prints or making money from it.
In this instance, they are using that image to further their "magazine" (which doesn't exist) to the point where they can be popular enough to start charging people money to post their work and for the artist/photographer to get 1% of the exposure that the magazine does.
If people didn't provide content to @lovewatts by paying to have their work featured - that whole system would break down. Lovewatts would have no income, because people are fucking stupid and are paying to provide them with content to make their brand stronger so they can charge more stupid people to pay to improve their brand... the people who pay to submit their pictures probably have one or two good pictures and this is their best that they pay $500 for a week on that page.
Why would I be interested in someone that only has one good picture and the rest is bullshit, when there's @lovewatts who post a really awesome thing a few times a day.
Because of the way Instagram is licensed, I can simply go to @lovewatts and post the exact same image at the same time, by taking a screenshot and sharing it. I don't have to give any attribution.
But I'd probably be seen as a fake and stealing images that aren't mine and posting them to ... idk ... be popular on the internet..?
What good does that do me, unless I'm earning $3000 a day and several month's worth of submissions and payments lined up because I'm a digest "magazine" that charges fame and attention hungry, fragile egos to get likes to validate their efforts and put another layer of cotton wool around their bullshit.
Umm....
The problem is - I've put it on the internet, so I no longer have control of the image.
Therefore, I don't put stuff on the internet at high resolution and - if I want to retain ownership - I don't put it on the internet at all.
There was that thing with the guy using Patreon for his TDM mod, which brought up a similar conversation:
http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/19120-my-tdm-mod-and-patreon/?hl=licensing&do=findComment&comment=412506
There's also licensing information in the license.txt in the game:
https://svn.thedarkmod.com/svn/darkmod_src/trunk/LICENSE.txt
(the text file in the root install folder)
While this is mostly regarding the source code and assets, which cannot be used for commercial purposes (kickstarter and patreon are grey areas, as they're not exactly selling something - they're asking for money to do something), there is a section that might relate to this:When you convey a copy of a covered work, you may at your option
remove any additional permissions from that copy, or from any part of
it. (Additional permissions may be written to require their own
removal in certain cases when you modify the work.) You may place
additional permissions on material, added by you to a covered work,
for which you have or can give appropriate copyright permission.It's fairly non-specific and also a little contradictory, and isn't really relevant to FMs as it is to other things.
"Copyright" is only text and images - it's not the mecanics or design. That's patent.
I'm not going to pay thousands of pounds to patent a game level for a free game, the license of which states that everything I submit has to be under their license - which is free to reuse for non-commerical purposes.
Considering that every asset anyone makes and submits to TDM, from a fart sound effect to a total-conversion is umbrella'd under the same licensing agreement as everything else - copy/pasting parts of someone's level, abandoned, WIP, beta or whatever - it only says, "make sure you have permission to use anything that is copyrighted".
Since an FM is not protected in any way, the only copyright are on using any part of it for commercial use... technically - unless that person is selling the FM (which is dumb, since they're downloaded in-game, which is free), there's nothing to stop someone doing this.
I've seen a few missions where I've thought, "this is exactly the same as this" - and it turns out, it is a facsimilie of something else - and you will look in a pk4 and find the same scripts and GUI's are used from one FM to another. These are between different authours, but I just think, "oh they've had a private chat and it's ok".
I don't care - I just play the FM.
My thoughts are - if it's an abandoned work and placed into the abandoned work section, then it's fair game to dissect it or complete it or whatever.
However, etiquette and my sense of morals would at least get me messaging the person to ask if it's ok if I was to do such a thing.
If they didn't reply within a set time period - I'd go ahead and use it IF I REALLY NEEDED TO, giving credit.
But I wouldn't do that, because I didn't make it and I think it's rude to finish someone's meal without asking if they don't want the rest of their potatoes and beans.
As someone who messes around with TDM for my own amusement - I'd be a little loathe to share some of the things I've come up with until I've packaged it into a mission and it's released so that people can take it from there, because they'd be taking something I've worked hard to figure out and hasn't been implemented in an FM as yet, and (even though it really doesn't matter) they'd be FIRST! and I wouldn't be.
Hopefully they'd give credit in the authors.txt.
If I'm to release an FM for TDM for general public to play - the author is, "The Dark Mod Team", because 99% of it is going to be TDM stuff and only a few scripts and a bit of level design, maybe a texture or voice sample or score (if ever the guy finishes it...) whatever, is going to be from me.
I would have willingly submitted all the scripts, textures, samples, movies and the level design and its mechanics to TDM and the public, under the license that - anyone can use it and any part of it (including the level designs) so long as they don't charge money.
There is nowhere that explicitly describes an FM as an asset.
Only the additional content - which, to repeat myself, has to be authour's own copyright and that is given up to TDM licensing.
Which is, "it's free to use and you can do wtf you want with it, so long as you don't charge money for it".
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Examining, for example, Thief Simulator - you can see that there are many "copypasted" elements that are freely given, such as the save function. But there are other parts that have had to have been paid for (least of all, a commercial Unity license to sell the software).
My personal opinion is that someone who is using Patreon or Kickstarter to get money to make an FM is a louse, parasiting off many others' hard work when all they're doing is using software - that they didn't design - to make a level for a game - a game they didn't build - to be played in a game that has all its content available for free, non-commercial use. That they have anything to do with, except draw a few boxes and click some buttons.
My personal opinion on stealing chunks of someone's level design is that it's a matter of being respectful of the other person, therefore asking permission and giving credit if it is granted.
If it's abandoned, then it's left their for people to do this.
If it's a WiP, then it's a leak and - unless it's a studio such as FUbisoft that deserve it - if it was my design, I'd be pissed.
But - because there's no way to say, "oi - that's mine - you can't do that", there's nothing I can do to stop it, so just gotta suck it up and learn to not blow my load too soon next time.
Like I said in TL;DR.
Hopefully this epistle will have bored the shit out of any further commentary on this issue, because:
a) there's nothing anyone can do about it, except say, "no we're not publishing that FM because you stole from this person".
but
2) That would be hypocritical because it goes against what the license says
and - in some cases
x) It doesn't matter because it's abandoned. -
Blank face (nodraw) with a pre-made, opaque decal placed over it.
Bearing in mind that decals won't have shadows and are no clip. Playerclip/Level design a way around that.Add collision arg: http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Clipmodel (or arg on decal, "solid 1", so can be set to "solid 0" if required, called by trigger script or to destroy / rem. monster clip / player clip as required.)
Translucent texture complete.
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Decal texture tutorial goes to LOD tutorial instead of decals tutorial: http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Decals
Perhaps needs a re-route to here instead:
http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Text_Decals_for_Signs_etc.#Customising_and_Making_your_own -
That looks like some helpful info, but can you edit your posts rather than add a new one every time? Twelve posts in a row is a bit much.
Image upload limitations of 500kb per post - couldn't find a way around it without making them all too small to see...
sorry about that.
// (also it's using outdated flash plugin and enabling it each time means the post is blanked in FF my end).
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// (It's impossible to edit the posts into one with all the pictures, due to aforementioned 500kb limit.)
In retrospect - It would've been better to make a page on a public blog and put it all there with a link.
I'll do that if ever there's a long answer that no-one will read, next time, rather than steamroll.
It's a bad habit of mine to try and make every conversation as interesting as possible for myself, when there's no-one listening or to interject or ask questions like at the uni or on a job. Thin line between passionate and painful, I guess...
Please feel free to remove the posts (and my old mapping thread in editor's guild) if you would like.
-
Happy Birthday, Thief - thanks for all the years of entertainment! Still have the box.
I miss the days of innovation over franchise.
It was also Left 4 Dead's 10th birthday two weeks ago. That went by without fanfare.
Also mine last week, which even I forgot about.
Just think - 80% of the USA play computer games regularly.
Half of them are not old enough to have been born when Thief came out.
We are lucky to have witnessed, on our CRT's and 386 DX's, the birth of a game that still receives as much love as Santa.
Thanks for the tip about the ttlg contest!
// also - what is this thief 4 you talk of? I don't believe it exists - I thought it was a dishonored clone with a character named Garrett, who didn't have magical powers of the same kind. I wonder when Deus Ex came out... Might have to install that again... -
This came to mind, if 1024 is enough texels for you:-
They want me to pay for this, but then let me preview it and download it by right-clicking, save image?
Even the hi-res versions are over-sharped.
-
yay, unlimited nested objects - DR could do with something like that.
Seems like there's a lot of improvements for scene and movie rendering, but only a few interface changes for modelling for games.
I like the full-on dark mode. DR could do with something like that. It can be painful to use sometimes, from a dimly lit cave. -
Buy a massive new TV and console to play Red Dead 2 for xmas and new year's and then take it back for a full refund..?
That is generous... -
ps, idk if that's supposed to be water in the cracks of that image or not, but it looks naff cos it's way bright and looks like artefacting.
Newbie DarkRadiant Questions
in TDM Editors Guild
Posted
Any idea how to do this with "closed loop" nurbs and movers?
I always experience a tiny stutter as the mover finishes its path and starts again.
Currently controlling via hidden switches and wiring in-game for trigger and script call, as none of the methods I understand or know of work to loop the script - the stutter is caused by the script "replaying", causing the mover to jump from the end to start of the painfully tuned nurbs, until the switch is off and stops the script.
If I can get this one thing sorted, I have the "CCTV", spotlights, "alarmsystem", "consequencepath" "motiondetector" and a bunch of other "fake" stuff (mechanical based, mostly tricks), working flawlessly instead of with that tiny stutter that means it's not up to standard. Well, except the nodraw spymirror - because the way skyportal works has changed, so that no longer functions, but I can take that hit the same way I took the movers don't cause damage hit and cope with it by crying in the corner.
I've asked several times before about this loop [and/or/if/then] but never received an answer - perhaps Stumpy gave me a lead once, but I couldn't figure it...
You guys know I don't ask a question until I've read everything and exhausted all my avenues to answer it myself.