Aosys

August 19, 2018

So, I was looking at review online and the Razor Blade 14 seems to be very poorly received. By contrast, the MSI GV62 looks like a good amount of bang for a very reasonable amount of buck.

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GV62-8RD-200-Performance-Steelseries/dp/B07D4ZML7M/ref=sr_1_acs_bss_3_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1534697804&sr=1-3-acs&keywords=gaming+laptop#customerReviews

The Acer Predator Helios 300 looks really nice as well, but seems a little on the heavy side (6 lbs). Unless anyone here thinks that's manageable? My current machine is around 4 lbs.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-i7-7700HQ-1060-6GB-G3-571-77QK/dp/B06Y4GZS9C/ref=sr_1_acs_bss_3_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1534697804&sr=1-3-acs&keywords=gaming+laptop

This particular machine I definitely need Windows on. I plan at some point to get an old Thinkpad specifically for Linux (or maybe repurpose my current laptop, will have to see).

August 17, 2018

Howdy all,

It's time for me to do another hardware upgrade, and this time I'm looking to replace my old Dell Latitude E6410, which is getting a bit long in the tooth now. Considering how you TDM folks are responsible for the awesome gaming desktop I have now (thanks guys!), I thought I might ask for recommendations/advice here again.

I'm looking for something that can run TDM, Darkradiant, and especially Unity (the engine I have to use for my graduate degree). Optionally Unreal, but I'm not sure I'll be using that or not. Being able to do some next-gen gaming could potentially be nice too, but I anticipate most of that will be done on my desktop. I'd also appreciate something I can install Windows 7 on without too much fuss, since I do have an extra copy ready to go, but I might bite the bullet and bear with 10 if I absolutely have to... A machine under 4 lbs would also be ideal, since I'll have to commute with the thing a lot.

MSI looks like it makes halfway decent laptops, but I've also considered Asus ROG, and had someone at work recommend the Razorblade 14 2017, 1080p. I think I may want to stay away from Alienware, since they seem pretty overpriced. Top budget is probably $1500-ish, but cheaper would be better.

Thoughts?

August 12, 2018

I found this awhile ago, and thought it was a really interesting look at what can make an effectively terrifying gaming experience:

One of the things I try to ascribe to when designing spooptacular levels is to try to keep players in the dark (mostly figuratively, sometimes literally...). At times, the scariest thing you can do is let the player's imagination run wild, as mentioned in the above video. The Cradle from TDS, for example, does this perfectly; the opening section has no enemies to speak of, but the creepy ambient sounds, atmosphere, worried commentary, and scripted events give us a taste of what we can expect while leaving us guessing as to what we'll eventually find ourselves up against. First playthrough, most players are likely psyching themselves out, wondering what horrible thing is waiting for them around the corner.

Doing this in TDM, you'd probably have to keep a few things in mind.

1. Fear stems from powerlessness. The more in control you are, the less afraid you'll be. To branch off that, veteran players will likely be harder to scare than newer players, since they're the ones who know how things work (e.g. I can consistently dance rings around the zombies in Thief, since I'm now very familiar with their behavior). This is why the alien in Alien: Isolation works so well; because it adapts to your actions, even seasoned players never quite know what it's going to do, therefore making it completely unpredictable and bringing back that element of tension. I don't know that it's possible to vary TDM AI behavior like that, but I will say that implementing something new or very infrequently seen could be an effective strategy for scaring players.

2. Jumpscares can be effective, but are ultimately cheap. I'd say limit them to maybe one per mission, if even. Any more just gets old.

3. Gradually easing players into it might potentially be effective. My hypothesis is that slowly building up tension (e.g. through notes that get progressively more disturbing as you go) vs dumping it all on at once can cause that uneasy feeling to creep up on them unconsciously, but that could be up for debate.

4. Environmental storytelling will likely play a big part in setting the mood. Just setting up a small scene in a single room (e.g. the fireplace is all charred, the tools have been knocked over, the grate is crooked, the curtains over there are scorched, and there's a trail of ash and burnt charcoal leading to that door over yonder...) can build on the sense of wrongness and get the player asking "what happened here... or do I even want to know?".

5. Different things will scare different people. Some folks are total arachnophobes. Others really hate creepy dolls, or shadow people, or undead, etc. I don't know if it's worth playing up those fears or not (especially considering you have no idea who's going to play your mission, when, or with what kind of mindset), but possibly worth keeping in mind.

6. Really good sound design can make a huge difference. Definitely a no-brainer, but you don't want something like Yakety Sax playing in the background

But at the end of the day, TDM is an immersive sim, which means there's a lot of moving parts to consider, from interest curves to core gameplay loops, that could tie into a good horror experience. Personally, I enjoy more subtle horror that ramps up over time, but there's a lot of wiggle room and many viable ways to design a good scary mission.

August 5, 2018

A map of Bridgeport that looked like this would be amazing

July 14, 2018

Wrong era, but talk about loot...

July 1, 2018

I didn't think printers could make me any more frustrated, but here we are...

July 1, 2018

I actually tried something a little like this awhile ago, after Obsttorte kindly brewed up that great turning statue script. My attempt at rejiggering it absolutely doesn't work (I'm totally clueless when it comes to scripting); maybe someone else can get it to?

//Statue Look script by Obsttorte

object statue_move
{
	void init();
	void loopLook();
	vector viewDir;
	vector direction;
	float cosine;
	float tolerance;
};
void statue_move::init()
{
	thread loopLook();
}
void statue_move::loopLook()
{
	while(1)
	{
		if (distanceTo($player1)<1024)
		{
			viewDir=sys.angToForward($player1.getViewAngles());
			direction=getOrigin()-$player1.getOrigin();
			cosine=viewDir*direction/sys.vecLength(direction);
			direction_z=0;
			if (cosine<sys.cos($player1.getFov()/2+30))
			{
				setAngles(sys.VecToAngles(-direction)+'0 90 0');
				//Note: this currently doesn't work
				setOrigin($player1.getOrigin());
			}
		}
		sys.waitFrame();
	}
	
}

June 23, 2018

https://www.codecademy.com/ is not a bad place to start picking up programming skills. Lessons are dished out in fairly bite-sized chunks, and there's a ton of skills on offer.

Java's not a bad first language either (it was basically mine, though I learned in a university classroom setting), and could allow him to do stuff like mod Minecraft, if he's into that sort of thing.

June 21, 2018

Is this the same issue that causes a slight resizing of the embedded windows during subsequent boot-ups of DR? Not a major issue by any stretch of the imagination, but I had been kinda wondering about it for a while.

June 19, 2018

All permissions are turned on for that folder. In addition, if I manually clone a particle file and change the name, I can see the newly created particle in the editor.

One thing I'm seeing is, whenever I save an edited particle, I get:

No mod base path found, falling back to user engine path to save particle file: C:\Users\Aosys\Desktop\darkmod\

That's the path I specified in game setup (I haven't set up a specific project, since I bounce back and forth between a few of them pretty frequently).

[Edit] Okay, so it works if I run DR as an administrator? But I don't want to do that all the time, it should be able to save using normal privileges... Also every time I do this, it tries to create a new particles folder on my desktop rather than finding the one already in my darkmod directory.

June 19, 2018

So, I'm currently unable to clone or create new particles in DR; every time I try to do so I get an unhandled exception error. Does anyone know what's going on? It used to work just fine in DR 2.2.1, I've still got custom particles saved.

[Edit] The console readout I'm getting is:

Unhandled Exception: create_directories(p): invalid argument: operation not permitted

Is this an issue with the folder hierarchy? I can still see the old custom particles just fine in DR.

June 15, 2018

Seem familiar, anyone?

June 11, 2018

The GOG Summer Sale is in full swing, and for the next 44ish hours Ziggurat is free:

https://www.gog.com/game/ziggurat

June 11, 2018

This is more a video on game mechanic design than level design (specifically praising Thief's sound systems), but I think there are some good takeaways.

April 12, 2018

Kinda reminds me of these things:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/HqIKMBwbSM2Hxf2EXPCBRA

April 12, 2018

I'll just leave this here since it seems relevant:

April 2, 2018

Didn't Bob Necro post some alternate old/undead skins awhile back?

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/17200-the-necrobobicon/

April 2, 2018

I've started up a small collection of candidates for paintings and tapestries (though the latter may need custom models in order to work). If anyone's interested, I can maybe take a crack at turning these into new skins.

Paintings:

Tapestries:

Following the Stag's Trail:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/468096?sortBy=Relevance&what=Tapestries&ao=on&ft=*&offset=60&rpp=20&pos=66

The Falcon's Bath:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/479495?sortBy=Relevance&what=Tapestries&ao=on&ft=*&offset=80&rpp=20&pos=91

March 27, 2018

I haven't really been in the know with what the team's doing in terms of model fixes, but I did find a few issues while mapping in 2.05. If no one else has addressed them I'd be happy to add notes to the bugtracker or try and solve some of the simpler texture issues. What I've found is as follows:

1. Painting skins dead1 and dead2 are missing materials. I'd have to poke around in the files more to find out precisely what's wrong.

2. There are missing textures for the majority of the candle_set02 models, mainly bump maps and an additive texture for when the candles are supposed to be lit. This one could be problematic if no one has the original files, or the original models with which to bake new textures from.

I also submitted a tracker for the diamond_pattern_andbars01 textures way back when that never seems to have been addressed, they're still missing a bump map if I'm not mistaken. If no one knows where the original files went to (or if they never existed) I'd be happy to try creating a new bump map in Photoshop, but the results could be hit or miss.

March 24, 2018

So apparently the Metropolitan Museum of Art released over 400,000 images for free use just last year:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search#!?showOnly=withImage%7Copenaccess&offset=0&pageSize=0&sortBy=Relevance&sortOrder=asc&perPage=20

https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/policies-and-documents/open-access

https://www.metmuseum.org/information/terms-and-conditions

In particular, some of the paintings look like they could make great skins to add to our roster.

[Edit] Builder on a bicycle, there's not just paintings, but tapestries, carpets, woodwork, and a whole heap of references for mappers and modelers! Color me astounded at this collection...

February 16, 2018

Dungeons II is free on GOG for the next 43-ish hours:

https://www.gog.com/game/dungeons_2

February 2, 2018

I never knew him personally, but he seemed like such a friendly and talented guy. It's shocking and saddening to hear this.

RIP, Sir Taff. You will be missed.

December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas all!

December 19, 2017

Aaaaand now Oxenfree is free on GOG for the next 44ish hours:

https://www.gog.com/game/oxenfree

December 14, 2017

If that ain't enough, Assassin's Creed Black Flag is free on Uplay for the holidays (until December 18)!

I've been curious to play it despite myself, so now I guess I have no excuse

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Gaming Laptop Recommendations

Gaming Laptop Recommendations

Some thoughts on what makes good horror

Darkmod: Inspiration thread

Darkmod: Inspiration thread

Random video of the day...

Newbie DarkRadiant Questions

Computer Science:

Increase entity window viewport?

Newbie DarkRadiant Questions

Newbie DarkRadiant Questions

So, what are you working on right now?

Free Games

Let's improve our level design skills

Real life: Water Arrow

Standard Rooms and Furniture

Everyone is too pretty

Potential Free Assets?

Team inquiry: Fixing models and skins

Potential Free Assets?

Free Games

Sad news, we lost one of our own - Sir Taffsalot.

Happy Christmas, you taffers!

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