Petike the Taffer

Absolutely. Given that you can create and feature various playlists of favourites from outside a channel, it should be rather easy to set up little video anthologies connected by the same topic. I wonder if, in addition to modding tutorials and promos (trailers, development videos), we could also feature a few higher quality Let's Plays of popular missions. Cambridge Spy has done some, but I know of a few really good ones from the TheMasterFoundry and ThreadbareInc channels, and a few others. Though a few of those occassionally showed older 2.0> versions, they were good at showcasing the various features and had plenty of thoughtful commentary on the design positives of the game and all the work that went into it. If we're going for ringing endorsements, we might as well go for some endorsement via more serious LPers too.

Yes, we could combine the whole effort. It's the easiest thing in the world to upload podcast episodes and then put them in their own playlist. We can have a few playlists showcased on the opening page of the channel, and one of the playlists could include the podcast. (Or multiple podcast series, if we ever do more than one, i.e. a podcast for level builders, a general podcast about the mod, etc. I myself lean towards having just a single podcast, but having a rotating range of topics concerning various aspects of TDM.) So, who has "the keys" to the existing official channel ? I'll start refurbishing it, I don't have much to do now, but I need official permission to use it. Otherwise I'm just a spectator.

When I was testing the map yesterday, I switched off the pointfile, then intentionally deleted the water entity, then switched on the pointfile again... and the issue still persisted. I have looked at the entire pit space, and there are no gaps, but there is still a void issue. I really don't understand where the leak might be. Could this also be a problem of the pointfile not updating itself properly, even after the problem is dealt with ? I seem to recall there was a problem or bug like that a few years ago. Has it been fixed ? I'll provide screenshots, sure. Wait a few minutes, please. ---- Unrelated question: Which prefabs or textures for portal_sky are less resource intensive ? Though the starry sky one is obviously great-looking, I'd prefer something that's animated, but not as intensive. Or if none of the animated skyboxes are less-intensive, then some sky texture that looks good from most angles.

I know (or suspected) you don't really add assets to the toolkit itself. It always uses the resources available in the game's folders themselves, so it's rather expected you'd have to make a custom models folder somewhere in the game (e.g. in an FM project folder) for it to work. I might be a bit ignorant of a separate FM projects folder, as so far, I've only ever stored my maps-in-progress in the Maps folder. (Which isn't sufficient to make a whole FM, obviously, but good for DR building practice and the occassional dmap test.)

I've been trying to make a little test map with a harbour motif. For testing, there is a rectangular pit in front of the harbour buildings, and it's filled with a water entity. The same sort you'd put in a well, to simulate the presence of water. Unfortunately, I seem to be having problems with a leak in that area. The Pointfile shows me that the issue is probably with the entity that represents the body of water. Strangely, I have it fit correctly within the pit area. It's touching all it walls, the entity is completely enclosed. (It has those little gaps at the edges that all "make room" spaces have, but that's it. I haven't modified anything about it. A second room is present above the pit room, and the sizes are the same. There are no gaps between the walls, there should be no leaks. The only thing the second room lacks is a "floor", otherwise the upper surface of the water entity would be inaccessible. I have yet to connect the third room, the one with the minor harbour buildings scenery inside, with the first two rooms (i.e. the pit and the space above it). I've made absolutely sure the walls are all enclosed properly, without gaps between their edges, but I'm still getting a leak from the water entity. Does this mean I need to make it smaller than the internal volume of the pit ? Should it not be touching the inner walls of the pit ? What should I do ? I just need to fill the pit space with water, as I want to test how the harbour area would look like with water, piers, and some boats or ships. (A very simple scene.)

Thank you kindly. I'll have a look at the video as well. I currently don't have a models/ folder in either the TDM root folder or in the DarkRadiant root foolder. So, do I need to make one ? Exactly.

I have no idea about any of that. I can check the models' formats, though.

Perhaps a silly question, but how do you do custom model importing into DR ? I've found loads of documentation on things like WIP model import/export for various 3D modelling software, or what formats models should be saved in, etc., etc. But I basically couldn't find anything on how to import a finished, working custom model into DR. Sharing custom models made by our members is awesome, but it's hardly of any use if one isn't even sure on how to import them into the level they're building. I couldn't find a thread or a wiki article that could answer this. So, any up-to-date advice on how to do this for the current version of DarkRadiant ? I'll take whatever good advice I can get, and rest assured, I'll also write down some documentation based on it. Just so the info could be shared with other newbs who are still learning the ropes in DR. On a final note: Yes, I mean custom models. Not prefabs or maps. I know how to import those, it's easy. And those are already part of the base game at this point. But custom models made by others, that's a whole other kettle of fish for me. I'd like to try something simple for a start, e.g. importing a custom chair, etc., just to test the model importing process. Thanks in advance for any and all advice, I appreciate it immensely.

Thank you kindly. I would like to try and expand it a bit. However, I'd need editing permission there first, as I've only ever managed my own channel. Another good bit of help would be collecting the banners and backgrounds we've made over the years for TDM promotion. Maybe some bit of that background art could be picked to help make the channel distinct. The rest of the work will be down to the info section and the playlists. ---- Later update: Nevermind the talk of a banner. Since working on the channel, I have noticed it already has a pretty good banner of its own.

Oh, and I've noticed we don't have vocal sets yet for some of the already included AIs. I need to work on mic testing and then some brief voice acting for ERH+ first, but if that proves successful, I'm toying with the idea of attempting some vocal sets we still lack. I don't want to compete with the archetypes we already have, they're rather perfect, but a few niches might still need to be filled. Whenever I speak English and don't try to put a bit of an anglophone accent in my voice, my accent sounds fairly foreign. Not excessively, but it's there. If I recorded a male voice set with that sort of unaltered accent (and maybe exaggerated it just a tiny bit), I think it would be a good metaphore for the Pagans' otherness and relative non-conformity towards the Empire. Hence the different manner of speaking and a more "backwoods accent", than in the case of the "city-dwellers" or the people from more civilised rural areas. I could also try variations on this "Pagan accent" that would sound less "Slavic" and more "Germanic" or vaguely "Basque/Iberian", if needed. Of course, this will be the more believable TDM Pagan, a member of a "poorer cousin" land neighbouring the Empire (and perhaps its vassal). Not Thief's tree-hugging, diminutive-using guys, more of a "craftsman from a hill-fort" or "raider from the north or east" type of personality. I'm trying to develop a reasonable script for the set. Alternatively, I could do a "trader from the East" persona, a travelling merchant or vendor bringing various fine goods with him (gems and small luxury stuff, pelts from the eastern fur trade, those sorts of items). I suppose some of the civilian barks in the Pagan vocal set could serve that dual pupose, if a separate vocal set would be unnecessary for said trader character. I'm also thinking of doing some rural peasant or sailor/captain vocal sets in the future, though those would have a more British Isles tinge. (The seafarers possibly with a faint Irish-esque accent - something approaching real Irish accents, not the Hollywood comedy version. Think Dylan Moran or Colm Meaney, just more rustic/nautic.)

This is the most recent general thread on voice acting in TDM that I could find. I have some news concerning documentation of voice acting, hopefully useful to anyone contributing to TDM: I've made a wiki article dedicated to the topic of voice acting in TDM. The first section lists every single official vocal set present in the current releases, with basic info about who voiced what character archetype, in what release the vocal set was added, and in which .pk4s you can find a particular vocal set. For now, I've left out the undead, animals and monsters, since most people are interested in the verbal vocal sets. You can play a brief sample of each vocal set by clicking the name of the character archetype in the first column. I am still missing info on the exact voice actor for two or three entries, so if anyone is knowledgeable about those, feel free to contact me. The second section lists available voice actors for one-off or recurring voicework for FMs, voicework not part of the vocal sets from the base game. I've tried to only add those to the list who seem to visit the site regularly enough, making it probable to get in touch with them if you'd need voiceovers for an FM you're working on. I have also added made a few useful additions to the existing Voices article and the Vocal script article for the 'Average Jack' vocal set. The general voices article, though very good, needs some updating in the section listing vocal sets, it's quite outdated at this point. Since I've already done the Voice actors article, I'll also get to updating that section in Voices, but I need to gather some more documentation first, especially the release numbers of the vocal sets. I've been able to find a few, but I'd prefer to compile them all in my notes, before I do the update. I prefer larger updates to older articles, rather than piecemeal ones. Finally, I've created a new subcategory on the wiki - Voice - under the Sound category. I didn't want the vocal documentation articles getting mixed with the ones that specialise on explaining ambient sounds and so on. Currently, there are three articles in that little subcategory: The two older ones, and my new one. Why did I bother ? Well, I've noticed we really don't have a one-stop bit of documentation for the voice acting yet. There are lots of threads on the forums, old and new, some general, many very specific. The wiki only provided some info at the end of the Voices article. (An older article which I plan to update as well, as soon as I have fully accurate and concise notes.) But there was nothing specific on voice actors, who did what vocal set, where you can ask voice actors for help if you're doing an FM, etc. It was all scattered. Therefore, I hope my new article can be of some use to people hunting for voice actor info relevant to TDM. Also (minor update): I'm now working on making transcripts of all the current vocal sets. There's one for the Jack on the wiki, and a few were posted years ago, during development, but there's no other documentation. Having a transcript to compare the 2.05 vocal sets with possible future additions or changes would be useful. I'd like to know as well. I have a hunch that the St. Lucia briefing was done by the same fellow who did the vocal set "Builder1". Just listen to the voice. Extremely similar. I've compared it with a few other voices from the official vocal sets, but none of the others seem a good fit. (Incidentally, this would make him the same man whose name I don't know. I have the other three Builder vocal sets already covered in my article. Builder2 was Mortem, "Builder3" was Norbert, "Builder4" was Goldchocobo. But I still don't know who did "Builder1".)

Sorry for replying to such an old post, but I adore all the art assets you've done so far. Concerning the ship models made by you and others, I had no idea we already have such great variety ! I knew about the airship and saw one or more type of boats in some missions, but I didn't bother digging deeper. I think there's just one type missing there to make it complete. A cog. Granted, it would be more old-fashioned than a caravel or carack, but it would still fit TDM's setting. An old-fashioned trade ship from the northern ports of The Empire. Something in that vein. Having a small ship, not larger than the caravel, with a forecastle and an aftcastle, could make for a unique sight for players. Either way, the sheer number of ships already available for TDM is a pleasant surprise. Now I'll have to make an FM that takes place at the docks. Can't resist.

Welcome and have a good time here. You're certainly not the only central European around here. There's also me, Melan, Judith, at least one or two other Czech, Slovak and Polish members. We're a merry bunch, and the more, the merrier. Here's the list.

Yep, don't hurry with it. You'll still have plenty of time to finish it. Sort out the personal issues first, we're keeping our fingers crossed for you. Here's hoping things will be better for you soon. As someone who also dislikes having personal problems and dealing with them all the time, I can certainly sympathise. Good luck and hope to hear from you again soon.

Depends on your level of skills. I'll admit that I'm still rubbish at making even a simple 3D model, because it takes a lot of time to learn (and it's not helped by every bloody piece of model-making software having a seemingly different control scheme ). There is a thread where people nominate poor textures and another one where they nominated or suggested what sort of props we still need in the game, for the sake of variety. A lot of new props or modular scenery pieces have been added in recent major TDM updates (in the last 2-3 years), so there might not be that much of the necessary stuff missing. I suppose you could always make custom models for use in your or other people's missions, and some of the best might eventually get accepted into the game. The Art Assets subforum is definitely the best place to ask about this whole topic. IIRC, some people have released addon model packs there, in addition to other stuff. One of the pinned threads there is about tools and software, so you might want to ask about tutorials there. When I did some very amateur work in Wings3D and Blender, I simply read online tutorials.

I'd slightly disagree on the grubiness part. Medieval people weren't cavemen in torn rags. While it makes sense for paupers and beggars to be wearing very coarse and rudimentary clothing, often clothing worn to the point of falling apart, most people will try to take care of their clothing, even the poorer peasants and townsmen. What will be seen, though, is the wear and tear on the clothing, especially among those who work for a living. Clothes should have signs of being stitched back together in places, or otherwise routinely mended, even the colourful or richer clothing of non-nobles should look like it has been washed many times. With the washing methods of the time, not all grime can escape the clothes (they had nothing as aggressive or thorough as modern chemical washing products), so clothes will certainly look quite worn after a number of years. Shoes and footwear will show similar signs of use. On the other hand, one difference is that clothing and footwear "back in the old days" was built to last. Though many of the materials might not have been as comfy as our modern textiles and fabrics and so on, most clothing and shoes or boots were made to sturdily withstand years and even decades of abuse. Especially footwear. I bet it wasn't unheard of to keep using a good pair of shoes or boots for 20 and maybe even more years. A lot of people, commoners and noblemen alike, would have their faces and bodies affected by the rougher living standards and especially by the weaker healthcare of the time. Many illnesses that couldn't be dealt with via established methods or medical practices would affect the appearance of people's skin. Cities were prosperous, but had a much higher probability of polution and epidemic outbreaks, due to issues with sanitation, safe drinking water, or more crowded quarters and streets. In rural areas, you had a less comfortable life than in a wealthy, well-built city, but you were out on the fresh air and on the sun a lot more, and there was a higher probability you'd have more safe sources of drinking water nearby. I wouldn't be surprised if many peasants had somewhat better skin than city dwellers, due to that more outdoorsy lifestyle. Given that they also worked a lot on a regular basis (it differed depending on the country, but there was a clear seasonal and weekly schedule virtually everywhere), they probably didn't have much time to put on too much weight either. Though some wealthier peasants with more surplus food probably got a bit fatty, I doubt anyone outside the most spoilt parts of the really wealthy nobility and clergy ever faced obesity. Infamously, Elizabeth I was probably one of the first Europeans, monarchs or not, to have her teeth go completely rotten from overly frequent sugar consumption. If you're a ruler and you can afford to have this exotic and pricy thing imported from abroad, why not gorge on it ? A frequent feature of the late-medieval and Renaissance period was that townsmen and noblemen often liked to publicly brag about their wealth. "See that fancy clothing/tapisery/sword/contraption/meal ? I can afford it !" Let's also not forget that even though peasants often kept swine herds or flocks of sheep with tens of animals, or even over a hundred of them, they usually didn't butcher and eat too many of them. The animals were mostly raised and fattened to be donated or be sold for profit. It's no surprise that they reserved pork mostly for holidays and celebrations, while the commonest meat on the table was often fish, occassionally some lamb and beef. The situation with poultry was very similar. Though a chicken, duck or goose was occassionally roast or cooked, people kept poultry mainly for egg production or as "cash animals", to be sold at a market. In most countries of Europe, regular poultry consumption didn't really take off until around the mid 20th century. Noblemen who took active part in warfare for much of their lives would have loads of lasting scars and injuries. I once read about a wealthy Hungarian nobleman, a middle-aged man, who lived and loyally fought during the early rule of Sigismund of Luxembourg. The amount of injuries accumulated by that (no doubt brave, but unlucky) guy was absolutely horrendous, almost to the point of absurdity. I'm betting he had little interest in anyone doing a portrait of him later in life, even so much as a simple sketch...

Concerning this discussion, I've made a new article for our wiki today, listing various useful resources related to period material culture and period societies: http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Historical_resources Of course, the sources currently listed there are just a fraction of what I have bookmarked or written down in one of my many bilbiography lists. I'll be gradually adding more sources, but I'm a generally picky person, so I won't add any old source, but only quality ones. Feel free to suggest some, if you feel like it. Adding to this little database is always welcome in my book, even if it's just a brief recommendation. Originally, I made this overview for a history and historical fiction discussion forum I tend to frequent. The version I'm posting here is partly expanded, updated and also reworked in several places. Hopefully, you guys and gals will find this at least a bit interesting, and it could maybe provide you with the occassional bit of inspiration for FM building, model/texture making or just putting together an atmospheric narrative.

Well, those are of course present, but magic and magical factions don't have that great a presence. Some mundane presence, sure (the glowing mushrooms, the vine arrows, maybe the health potion), but not that overt. The mundane missions or tech-focused missions can genuinely lack magic altogether. Oh, I agree. I very much prefer TDM to be a down-to-earth, slice-of-life setting. That includes its focus on more episodic glimpses into the nature of its world, both the good and the bad. Having cartoonish supervillains casting their shadow over much of the setting would harm its tone.

Daunting, but sounds like you have a real plan. Will there be a stun pistol (perhaps like an advanced taser, maybe even with secondary melee) or a fletchette/dart pistol, in addition to the bow ? I think those sorts of small ranged weapons could fit the hi-tech espionage context rather well. What sort of tools, gadgets and devices will you have in the mod, besides weapons ? Will you keep some form of lockpicks and stun bombs, maybe introduce a jammer or something ? I think having a few well-defined gadgets that help with infiltration, stealing data, etc., would be rather important when you'll have more time to focus on what the style of missions will be like.

Cool little additions, Mircea, even if many of the current models are placeholders. Do you need any help with concept art or similar stuff ? Or do you have everything already worked out ?

Definitely going to play this one as soon as I'll have time. :-)

A video I've wanted to share for a while now, as it could provide good architectural inspiration for mappers. This guy created a highly detailed 3D model of a realistically built fictional castle. In the video, he goes through all the different structural and architectural details of the large castle, explaining in depth how they were designed with defensive purposes and sturdiness in mind. He also explains how the design evolved and became more refined over time, and how he wanted to incorporate the perfect mix of logical construction and authentic design methods used in historical architecture. Beware, the video is quite long, 45 minutes ! But well worth a mapper's free time on a more boring evening. I've watched the whole thing and I can't complain. This is a castle design with such obsessive, simulationist logic put into it, that even Looking Glass Studios would probably shed a tear over what a beautiful level it could make.

If it's compatible with 2.05 and not too big a mission, I might be willing to test it.