Dragofer

This should be used together with the modular building system in my opinion. People would focus on making and contributing high-quality planned modules and then the algorithm mashes them together. If the algorithm is sound enough as Demagogue says, players could click on "new game" and "generate mission" and set their preferences for what type of mission it should be, set a check next to undead/spiders, mansion / city slums / and or docks, heist / assassination / espionage or random etc. and then click play. That would take a story generator too. I'd definitely play that.

You're definitely right, it looked great when I watched some modelling timelapses on Youtube earlier today. People were modelling very fancy fantasy swords in no time, sometimes just by tracing the outlines from a picture and then pasting the picture on as a texture (like this one). What I was thinking until not so long ago was that I had all these little methods for using patches to make something where I needed it in my map, but in the long term Blender and Wings3D are much more capable tools. They're not really too strange HMart (thanks for suggesting this program also), just a hurdle to get familiar with the other way of doing things. It's the same thing in the "TTLG: they still need reminding" thread about getting DromEd authors from Thief to try out DarkRadiant more often. I'd really like to see your bear rug become openly available by the way (Bear)

Thanks for your comments I've followed your suggestion and stripped out the interior. That reduced the total polys by 1000 and now 2100 polys cast shadows. And it led to a fun discovery: the dark wood is actually a colorme texture! I've made another version of this coach that uses the colorme texture for the trim too, so you can select the trim or body panels and give them new colours with the _color spawnarg. A small downside is that the trim looks less sharp because the original texture gives a shadow at the edges. Exterior - [Obsolete] Exterior, colorme - [Obsolete] Sure, a lot of these things just need to be fixed up so they work properly. They're all a collection of patches made in DR. The components of the stagecoach could be converted into .ase models so they show up in the create models list, but a prefab would come with preset spawnargs and can be tweaked easily by other mappers.

A horsedrawn stage coach, and some new lamps. They would use these coaches in the past for covering long distances overland with packages, passengers and maybe also funds for a business transaction onboard. There are real candles in the lanterns, and you can look out through the windows (or guards can look in). Stats for this one are: 9800 polys, of which 5400 polys are shadowcasting, with 7 different textures (2 wood, 2 metal, 2 leather, 1 glass). If you'd like to use it in your map too, here's a link: [Obsolete] Also 2 new lights: the tall lamp is electric with a bulb, with those dangling ropes it's 3100 polys, 1300 without. It's strange because the ropes and their ends are fixed at 1 subdivision. Luckily lamps aren't set to cast shadows. The small one is an old oil lamp at 540 polys. Fiddling with the textures and technical setup so they become usable is on my to-do list

Great, that would work really well together with Sotha's Easy Outdoors Recipe for efficient .ase foliage bushes/boundaries. (http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/16159-easy-outdoors-recipe/). I've fired up a foggy map I had lying around, unfortunately r_showtris isnt't affected by the fog. But it's definitely a great feature.

In my first mapping efforts I also made a brush lattice like that too and that also gave a lot of backward triangle errors. They're normal and harmless, but suddenly getting this many implies that the architecture is too taxing. Brushes are normally for walls, floors and trims, while fine details are covered by models. My brush lattice caused dmap to crash - I don't know if it could tank performance, but it's not so healthy for the map. You can still do a lot with brushes though. For your lattice, I'd look at this: - Brushes going in one direction could be slightly thicker so that they can be pierced by those going in the other direction without z-fighting or needing to carve them up at every intersection. Caulking unseen surfaces is in my opinion only really worth doing on objects you're going to clone a lot of times in your map. Even better is caulk and convert them into an .ase model because then the object is only "created" once.

Some of the best reading experiences I can remember in a Thief mission were the collections of ghost tales, especially then when they raise the possibility that one of the apparitions could still be in the part of town where *you* are creeping in the dark right now. They can make for tense scenes even if the mission isn't a horror mission, and they can be great fun to write if you like that kind of creative writing. For inspiration I offer American Folklore, americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/presumed_drowned.html, set to one of my favourites so far . One thing I realised after looking at folktales from here and elsewhere is that their tellers haven't been exposed to 20th and 21st century storytelling, which sometimes results in jarring endings. In one tale, a man is tempted by a fairy to run off into the woods, but he's stopped just in time by a woman from the village. The end. Still, more than one tale really has that campfire feel. Those are nicely fitting textures there. And the vaulted ceilings...

Thanks, looking through the forums Obsttorte has made a scriptobject that changes fog density depending on location. It's quite good already especially when you can build your map so that the transitions are subtle, and it can be used in other situations too. But is there a way to have the fog just not render in a location? Does this need to be set up? I'd check if this happens automatically later on. That could be done using the LOD system to swap the skin of the window to less and less transparent glass as you get further away. It's a good idea, I don't remember seeing this being done in a DarkMod mission.

There's plenty of info on the forums and the wiki about making outdoor environments game-ready, such as: - Wiki, "Performance: Essential Must-Knows" Wiki - Wiki, "Creating Large Complex Areas" Wiki - Wiki, "Seed" Wiki - Wiki, "City Street Visportal Tutorial" Wiki - Wiki, "LOD Bias" Wiki - Wiki, "Systematic Method for Adding Pathfinding to Uneven Terrain" Wiki - Forums: "Using LOD" Thread - Forums: "Easy Outdoors Recipe" Thread These articles look like they're written for forests and city streets, but not so much for buildings out in the wilderness with climbable roofs and inner courtyards. There's extra challenge in this because the whole thing could go downhill from some views like the rooftops without careful planning, so I'd like to collect what can be done for this kind of map in this thread. It would be great if you can think of extra techniques. Visportals Map design Location system LOD (Level-of-Detail) Fog .ase models SEED Misc

The undead soundtrack Interred is very much how I imagine a haunted voices soundtrack should be, very good going!

Thanks and sure, everyone is free to use my patch creations if they like There are 2 custom chairs, and both the hanging and standing gaslights are in the first shot. The gaslights aren't technically implemented yet though. The glass texture (colorme) looks like it's selflit (see standing light on the right) in the dark, so I'd like to change it to the one of the existing gaslight. Stims/particles and frobbing need to be set up too. Plenty of work to do, for now it's a placeholder. Now that you say it, the vertical boards look quite broad. Stone is a good idea, but that's off-limits in this place, especially this high up

If I remember right from a long while ago I got sound popping in the ambients after trying out the _z versions. Going back to non_z ambients got rid of the problem. I'm doubting that it could be that simple though.

It seems that one of the ambients in the core Dark Mod files, haunted_something_is_wrong_here.ogg isn't declared in a soundshader, so that it doesn't show up in DarkRadiant. I've written one and attached it here: It's quite a good subtle tension ambient - if you would like to use this shader, remove the .txt extension and put it into your darkmod/sounds folder. (You might need to change your Windows folder settings to not hide common file extensions if you haven't already.) haunted_something_is_wrong_here.sndshd.txt

Thanks for your comments DeusXIncognita, you make many points that I think are fair to make. The main things that are probably responsible for most of your observations are: - the ship needed to be bigger. - that I learned about the technical elements like AI pathfinding and clipping after the interior was finished - and that a story needs a handful more explanation to be completely satisfying I'm glad you had enjoyed it in spite of all though, and that you mentioned my book of eccentric travel accounts Now, for the sequel in dreary Newfoundland, there's no more fumbling with dynamic team changes, unexplained mysteries and that kind of stuff. Simply sneaking and exploring. So far it counts 8000 brushes.

So I got around to finishing this mission, after several quality sittings. I'll share my thoughts here: - Starting with the best part, the gameplay, which was flawless. It had a feel like one of the great mansion missions by the old masters, like Ominous Bequest or Saturnine's, and that's great to see over in TDM. Like those, there is the broad range of scenes even though they're all under the same roof, from the moody cellar to the mossy balcony at the end of a long sneaking sequence, which give the sense of exploring a domain beneath the eyes of the guards. One of my favourite parts were the attic, vents and rafters. Instead of being a featureless alternative route between A, B and C, they were a big gameplay plus because using them gave very good vantage points and ways to move undetected inside rooms. So in this mission I was motivated to sit waiting in a corner and carefully track all the guards' movements, never using the blackjack and going iron-man (saves sometimes get corrupted). Very tense, good one. - On the matter of appearance, some of the patch models did stick out to me as being made of patches, such as the toilet lids. However, those are just outliers outweighed by i.e. the impressive yellow pillars and the custom kitchen. What matters more, anyway, are the views in this mission - from up on the rafters down on the captain's split room, or down the stone tower which made the guards going up and down past the windows appear almost like toy soldiers (to me). One of my favourite areas, again, was the attic. It looked like it was straight under the roof, and the beams looked disorganised and convincing even though they were only made of basic 4-sided brushes. This, together with the level of detail and lighting, brought the appearance to near perfect level. What could be missing towards the perfect level of St. Alban's Cathedral or Rocksbourg is absolute coherence. In Talbot's there was mainly a theme of lilac and dark brown tones, but then some rooms like the kitchen were mainly yellow or posh white and brown (Talbot's antechamber), and could have belonged to a different mansion. While when I think of Rocksbourg or the Cathedral, they are blackened with thick grime or made of heavy dark blue stone and windows everywhere. - The idea of the mission was excellent, the "show your skills" objectives are simply pristine for engaging and above all original gameplay. However, what it is missing in my opinion are more sidearms in the story for other characters or events. "In the North does this very well: - there is the story of Trumble and his daughter which makes him likeable even though he's a guard captain - interacting with this: the master eyeing Trumble's daughter - the possibility to interact with Trumble's story - the woman who grieves for the ill servant (outstanding storytelling and show of emotion right at the start) - the past history of the building, as a monastery Talbot's already has some of these, but with a tad more side characters, crosslinks and side events this mansion could be just as bustling and densely lived in as Grayman's castle. Now this is of course just a wishlist - the story with its refreshingly unusual objectives already offers an excellent level of tension and intrigue. - All in all I gave this mission Near Perfect, Near Perfect and Excellent, which is quite a good score

Thanks! I'm glad to hear you like these. Using DR is a bit of a habit - by now I'm familiar with the editor, unlike Blender. There are a lot of vertices to drag around, but it works eventually and it's much less technically involved, skipping things like unwrapping and exporting, and you can use the same controls you've practised in map-building already. Maybe this explains the latest trend in using DR this way. Sometimes I wonder if there are differences between a patch (.ase) "model" and one in Blender, like performance, but then again in a patch ship it's much easier to turn off/on shadows and clipmodels or for someone else to make changes. Certainly, the sloop will be the only reliable connection between a settlement in Newfoundland and an outlying locale, and the tallship brings an unwelcome visitor. What fun mapping is

That's quite a good bookcase you've made, especially with how it uses the lighting to show details. If anything, I'd change the grey areas at the bottom to the same wood texture so that it has a completely consistent style like the real solid wooden furniture from the past.

A new ship today, a sloop for a modest merchantman or for a traveller who's in a hurry: And the altar was slimmed down to 600 polys and has a true hammer symbol on it now: These ships are enjoyable to make so I'd like to do a few more different types for fun. Maybe some small reusable ships for harbours, but I'm open to literally any suggestions Edit: Some ambient loops for use on ships, 5 files, the source sounds are from www.freesound.org: - sailboat_interior_loop. Sound by AugustSandberg - weather_wind_docks_loop. Sound by jimsin - weather_wind_aggressive_loop. Sound by deku - water_ocean_stormy_loop. Sound by kangaroovindaloo - water_ocean_stormy_ondeck_loop. Sound by kangaroovindaloo www.dropbox.com/s/d2aatkgploy5v07/maritime_ambients.rar?dl=0

There is the Deep Web, TIME article: http://time.com/630/the-secret-web-where-drugs-porn-and-murder-live-online/, which (how I remember it) is a system of going anonymously and encrypted through many different servers and is actually so secure that even the NSA hasn't cracked it yet. Criminals can run and purchase from wholesale Amazon-like bazaars for drugs and guns for years without getting caught. Perhaps the last method for those really concerned about their privacy online? Edit: It's name is actually the Deep Web, not the Dark Web

This way of texturing in Blender sounds like a lot of hassle. In DarkRadiant, let's say there's a cylindrical patch shaped like a vase - those cylinders are like long sheets that have been bent into circles. You can apply a texture and adjust it with the surface inspector, for example with "fit" to get rid of a seam. If wanted you could use the texture tool to choose which parts of the texture are used where, which is a form of UV-mapping (cylindrical? Brush-to-patch pastes would be planar). In the end you could quickly texture the vase this way in DR. Aren't there similar tools in Blender?

This is extremely tempting: It's probably too much for one person to handle within their spare time, but - how to visportal it?

The problems of using a tight space are very familiar to me, I lost count of the number of times I wanted to extend the carack After my last experience this one will be more user-friendly. The rooms will use the whole width this time, and with the different hull this new ship has almost the same interior length and width as my old one despite being much smaller. At this point I'll also say that it takes almost the same time to build a smaller ship (exterior) as a larger ship. That was meant as a church of God, but with a few tweaks and extra patches the cross can turn into a Builder hammer. Thanks for your opinion - yeah, you can hear a car and someone speaking at some points in the recordings, so my plan is to take a clean 20 second piece and loop it. That's quite stormy weather you're imagining there, my impression is that most of the sound the ropes make is the clattering in the wind and when the mooring ropes rub along the hull and make a creaking noise. But there's a decent ambient for very stormy seas too: wind - http://freesound.org/people/deku/sounds/115332/ sea - http://freesound.org/people/kangaroovindaloo/sounds/246515/

Downloads - the most up-to-date To install, place or extract the archive into the darkmod/fm folder of your mission. Schooner & Sloop - a test map containing two older mapped ships Caravel - a merchant ship made in Blender, including a scale model. The lifesize variant is somewhat overscaled in order to comply with minimum ceiling height requirements on both decks. Can be scaled down if you don't plan to give it an interior. Barouche - a posh carriage [part of 2.11] Weathered Ships - two small ships, fully mapped with interiors, available moored or sailing. The LOD scale models are already part of 2.08. [part of 2.11] Vintage Lamps - very posh brass lights for mansions [part of 2.11] [Furniture & Shelving] - a batch of models and prefabs in the furniture & shelving department [part of 2.09] [Blue Elemental] - blue variant of the flame elemental [part of 2.09] [Stagecoach] - a sturdy carriage for four [part of 2.06] [Oil Lamps ] - posh or rustic oil lamps & lanterns [part of 2.08] [Coffin] - an old coffin [part of 2.08] [Hookah ] - a waterpipe for smoking Mandrasola [part of 2.06] [Prefabs & Particles ] - a collection of prefabs and particles, i.e. fireplaces, furniture, see below for list of contents [part of 2.08] [Privy Chair ] - a rustic toilet seat [part of 2.08] Original release posts Ships Post #1 - Schooner [Variants: steamship] Post #9 - Sloop (Post #33 ingame) Post #97 - Caravel + accessories + scale model Post #123 - Brig (formerly known as the Ketch) Post #128 - Yacht Post - Merchant Additional ships in the form of scale models can be found in Down by the Riverside, but they haven't been optimised. Carriages Post #19 - Stagecoach Post #102 - Barouche A moving stagecoach setup can be found in both maps of Down by the Riverside. Note that this mission uses an older variant of the stagecoach. Lamps Post #33 - Sphere lamps Post #108 - Gas lamps collection Post #120 - Vintage lamps collection Ambients Maritime ambients (included with the Ketch) Dragofer's ambients Other models Coffin: Post #102 Altar: Post #102 Privy chair: Post #109 Hookah: Thread Office suite: Post Prefabs Furniture & shelving: Post Fireplace, marble: Post #113 Fireplace, rustic: Post #102 Statue with seating: Post #116 Naval clock Covered loaded cart Rustic bed Ship-derived bunk beds Workbench Large garden arrangement Rustic wardrobe Particles tdm_wisp - a glowing faintly pulsating orb of light tdm_smoke_ceiling - black smoke for indoor fires Original post in Dragofer's Stuff, starting from here

Moonbo - my favourite shot has to be the second one, with that cold blue light and what looks like a pirate treasure chest. As if no human had been there ever since the chest was put there, a long time ago. As for critique, I'm not so sure about those triangle-forming windows centre-left and centre-right in shots 3 and 4. I keep thinking that there should be a roof there, otherwise it could look a bit thinly supported.