Petike the Taffer

Sorry for resurrecting this, but I'd like to take a stab at translating your FMs some time this year. Might as well, now that the main phase of my initial translation project is over. Preferrably, I'd like to receive the most up-to-date versions of your FM texts. Let me know if you still have interest.

You're not alone with this, I do some pointless stuff as well. For years, I've been playing as a "white hat" gentleman thief in FMs. If I knock someone out, I make sure I leave them in a reasonably comfortable place, or try to avoid leaving them out in the cold. Even moving the knocked out people to a better spot, once I have the chance. I've done these things in all Thief games, so extending that behaviour to TDM felt second nature. If there's a bed nearby, I try to place knocked out people in bed (easier in TDM than in the original games). Sometimes, I even arrange the stuff that I put aside or temporarily borrowed.

Like with Deus Ex, I doubt Eidos will ever sell the rights to Thief. They might not do anything with it, but copyright law is on their side, as long as they own the IP. As has been said many, many times over the last decade, this is a not-for-profit game project, and it aims to recreate the gameplay and atmosphere of Thief, and do so without any need for the copyrighted elements. It doesn't and cannot aim to recreate Thief itself. Even if someone magically donated the rights to the TDM team, TDM has been its own thing for such a long time, that integrating the gained IP would be pointless and legally too complex (maybe outright impossible, but the veterans on the dev team knows this more in-depth than me). Additionally, people should get it out of their heads that the already meagre resources the current TDM team has are to be directed at slavishly recreating levels from Thief. If someone wants to try that, purely for private use, he or she can try it. But it won't be legally publishable, and will never get onto an official FMs list. If people want to get creative, they should make their own Thief-inspired content, especially the missions, and avoid copying (you can homage, and some TDM authors have done that perfectly, without ever lazily recreating anything.) Currently, there seems to be a shortage of good modelers and riggers on the team, who could help add new AI characters to the game. Some people have been clamouring for the more original-looking humanoid monsters to get made, so if someone has the skills and talent, they can try their hand at that. Even as a Thief afficionado, I would never make an FM, in this engine or the original ones, that would be based on Garrett and the setting he inhabits. Not to brag, but I tend to respect the creative work of others. TDM is the perfect title for people to develop their own interesting characters and plotlines, without the need to parasite on the Thief trilogy's contents and art. An overview I finished just this week, of all the various storyline series TDM already has at this point, involving many different thief and even non-thief characters, speaks volumes about the potential. It's incredibly encouraging, speaks to the creativity of the TDM community, its older and newer members alike. If all goes well, I'd prefer to add to it in the near future. Maybe even this autumn, who knows.

The music is by TyroT, not sure about the rest.

It's early autumn. April Fool's is still far, far away. You forgot "kill-streaks", or whatever inanity the CoD generation and zombie-obliterating keyboard warriors are drooling over these days... That said, I wouldn't mind an optional fan addon for changing the bow kit into a crossbow kit, if someone would like to vary the missions up a bit. A single-shot crossbow, please, lots of lovely historical types to choose from (that, and repeating ones are actually not that great). Same with an addon with one or two other short sword types. Maybe a falchion or a messer, both would still fit a thief character. The rest ? Hell naw. Even as a joke, it's just pointless clutter.

I've done some updating on the Fan Mission info over at the wiki: http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Fan_Mission_Series - the list of all currently known series or campaigns of FMs http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Fan_Mission_Contests - the list of all FM building contests to date http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Fan_Mission_Design_Discussions_Archive - a little archive of past discussions on FM design (still a WIP, primarily intended for FM builders)

Aren't there little snippets of videos appearing in the background ?

*guard voice from Thief* "Try this on for size !" https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5L2GxHb3sL0MOfiRecA-BgJH1_SAyhs8 - development footage https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5L2GxHb3sL2nnHrYMfC9dD_k3JXkkfYe - pre-2.0 trailers and teasers https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5L2GxHb3sL3o6X7ihn_hQK8IPtayJCT9 - curios and experiments

"Don't install Windows 10 !"

Would you take a stab at rewriting it, Judy ? I'd be for it. Should I rummage through some images of historical triptychs from the Late Gothic art of Spiš ?

Thank you all. I know about the character model's cameo in the old first trailer, but the rest of the info is fairly new to me. (Okay, the GUI pk4 is fairly obvious, but I didn't bother to search for those dds format images before. I might take a look at them later.) And sorry for the digression. Back to this being a news thread.

But does it differ from the one used ingame ?

Oh, I didn't realise it's supposed to be him. Though it's just the generic model, right ? Someone needs to tell me how to turn on third person view and I'll try posing the thief character in a few existing missions with nice sceneries.

I actually meant that we should feature artwork with 2 or 3 different takes on the main character, each with subtle differences in attire (though roughly with the same kind of gear), and we'd base these on the characters already established within TDM. Though it's true TDM doesn't have Garrett, it still has plenty of various professional (and less professional) thieves of its own. That variety and its "you're not (always) playing a Garrett clone" undertone could help TDM move away from being seen as "just a Thief homage that lacks Garrett". Going by the list of major named protagonists we've seen in FMs so far, I suppose the most popular or frequented ones could appear in such rough portraits. Corbin (who appears in the base game mini-campaign and other FMs), Farrell (many earlier missions), Thomas Porter (his own campaign by sotha), or William Steele (Grayman's shorter, but detailed campaign). TDM isn't a game we present to the world on the basis of iconic characters, but nevertheless, I think a game about thieves emphasising the variety of its established thief characters isn't a bad thing. Just to give the newcomers an idea that TDM's setting and characters aren't generic and there's some good storytelling and characterisation in the missions, in addition to good level design.

Nice. However, looking at his video's thumbnail, I really think we need a good promo illustration of a TDM thief standing somewhere in the shadows, with the night time city around him. People don't have an easily downloadable promo pic like that, and reuse Garrett images from the trilogy or the reboot. I think that casts a bad marketing light on us, because it makes it seem we're stealing art assets or something. We could avoid reviewers doing that if we had a set of wallpapers with thievy characters. Toni made some good ones with TDM characters by faction, but unfortunately none for the thieves. Just a thought. If the general audience is accidentally put off by the incorrect notion that "TDM is just a ripoff of Thief", rather than TDM being its own thing that merely pays homage to Thief, I think that could accidentally drive some people away or cause confusion. I think it would be cool if we had something like a "fan kit" of promo images (artwork and screenshots) depicting the setting's nature and atmosphere, downloadable for anyone who wants to review TDM online (whether via text review, or video review). I think it would give TDM's separate identity and "openThief" image a good boost.

I've added this among the recommended sound addons/resources on the wiki.

Phew, it's been a while. I've noticed Springheel has put up a new tutorial video about making pressure plate traps. I've already included it on our channel.

Kind of. From what I remember of the book series, it has substantial dieselpunk elements too. Basically, whatever motorised technology the founders of the traction cities (as well as the anti-tractionists) were able to cobble together after the Sixty Minute War, they cobbled together. It's very much Mad-Max-by-way-of-Charles-Dickens. It's such a damaged far future, that things like computers and even fixed-wing aircraft are lost technology.

Certainly. Okay, I'll divulge which real world lighthouse I've had in mind as a basis: Kõpu Lighthouse in Estonia No stealin'. I've thought of it first and I'm going to make that mission.

I already have one real world lighthouse selected as a template for the fictional one and I'm working on basic design documents for such a mission. I'm tempted to build the thing, purely for the vertical factor alone. I'll have to get better at building stairs, though !

I'm really loving the discussion so far. Very stimulating. Just yesterday, I've had this thought about making a vertical-oriented mission set wholly in an old lighthouse that's operational, but locked for the night. Some shenanigans happen between the one or two employees staying inside for the usual night shift, and some old group of enemies who want to settle a score, or something. Our thief protagonist gets caught in this heist or power play by the other people, and needs to stay hidden, while following his usual objectives and trying to knock out the adversaries. The more limited size of the rooms could provide a fair bit of challenge with taking out patrols safely. Not the typical circular-shaped, fairly short lighthouse with a 19th century metal-and-glass level for the beacon. A more archaic lighthouse, based on some real medieval Baltic designs, that really looks somewhat Gothic. And not somewhere out on a clichéd rocky cliff washed by waves, but simply next to the port of the city. Let's say it's the most important lighthouse around, for many miles of that particular coastline. Fairly spacious inside, with plenty of spaces to explore.

I like to think that in a stealth game like this, the player character is always well-prepared for the amount of loot he or she finds in a mission. Thinking too hard about realism is misplaced. I can guarantee you that it would be hard to hide in a thin patch of shadow in real life. In a stealth game like this, it nevertheless works, for the sake of fun and creativity. And TDM also has enough elements of downbeat, unglamorous realism already. Additionally, in a world with magic and unusual gadgets (special arrows), do we really need to talk that much about realism ? I appreciate touches of historical verisimilitude put into the setting (even made a whole article with resources, to encourage this in FM makers),but I come to TDM for a stealth game and good storytelling. Not for a simulation.

One of my favourite TMA missions was built for a contest by Yandros, but IIRC, he didn't have time to meet the deadline. It's called Off the Record, set at a multi-storey records office of The City. Some keyhunting involved, but not frustrating, and it's good for ghosting. Not a large building space, but what there is, he used very effectivelly. Very good custom ambient music, though it's effectivelly just one looping track. Sotha's Glenham Tower is in a very confined area, but the well thought out verticality and challenging evasion of enemies really make it feel much larger than it is. Good points.

True, true. And on that note, I've always been pretty keen on visual storytelling, whenever it could be implemented. About the only time one can receive an "exposition away, amigo" card is when you're designing the briefing. The catch is, of course, that even that has to be brief. That's what it was named after, for better or worse.