Jump to content
The Dark Mod Forums

JackFarmer

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1568

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    73

 Content Type 

Posts posted by JackFarmer

  2. Beta testing 2.10

    in The Dark Mod

    Posted

    9 minutes ago, Dragofer said:

    There is a bugfix after beta5 for new security cameras always reacting to AIs that are on hostile teams (i.e. zombies) regardless of the new seeAI spawnarg. Security cameras in existing missions shouldn't be affected at all by this bug anyway.

    Apart from that security cameras are more or less locked in for 2.10.

    Just checked the three missions and I can confirm your statement; the cameras still work as they should.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

  3. The Black Mage (Grayman, JackFarmer & Friends), December, 24th, 2021

    in Fan Missions

    Posted

    On 2/3/2022 at 4:13 PM, AluminumHaste said:

    Just finished, incredible mission, made me tear up a little at the end there. Miss you Grayman.

    I know what you mean. I gotta tell you, it was sometimes quite hard for me to continue working on this mission.

    The WIP included regular documents like the .txt file in which grayman already filled in: "Release date: ???". I think it goes without saying that these findings did not really work well with me because they told me once again the hard truth.

     

    • Sad 3

  9. Fan Mission : Hazard Pay by Kingsal 01/27/22

    in Fan Missions

    Posted · Edited by JackFarmer

    I finished the mission Sunday evening. I have to say you just know how to create atmosphere - light, ambient music and decoration are always extremely consistent and fitting. I just don't understand how you do it.

    As I wrote in a post above, this mission reminds me a lot of certain old Tomb Raider and Resident Evil games. I really think it's a great combination of both games.

    However, I don't think the saving system on the highest level of difficulty is that great, but you can now save normally again on the two lower levels of difficulty, thus the game should be enjoyable for everyone who wants to use the default saving system.

    So, thank you very much for this work, I will try to learn from it, and let me finish this post with a screenshot that perfectly describes the vibes I felt when playing this great mission:

    Spoiler

    hazard_pay.thumb.jpg.098276bab41719c437a26223d5d0299a.jpg

     

    • Like 3

  11. Suggestion: How about a Tightrope Arrow

    in The Dark Mod

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Dragofer said:

    We do have a func_beam entity which has been used for a tripwire entity to trigger a mine. Problem is, I couldn't get the func_beam to work well (probably very limited or got broken as TDM developed) and the tripwire is excluded from release, most likely due to too many problems.

    I was always wondering what this entity could be used for...

  12. The Black Mage (Grayman, JackFarmer & Friends), December, 24th, 2021

    in Fan Missions

    Posted

    15 hours ago, NeonsStyle said:

    I love that we can do this sideways jump and still catch a ledge. I did try to get up there, but didn't know you could
    do this type of jump. lol Clever!

    Sure thing, @AluminumHasteis the man to ask if you want to have a proper check of your player clipping  because he thinks at least in five dimensions, maybe more. I consider him a super brain! :)

    On 1/25/2022 at 8:20 AM, thebigh said:

    And was there any point to the dead end balcony outside the scribe's room?

    Spoiler

    Well, no. Grayman's WIP allowed for access through this balcony into the mansion from below. I removed that possibility, so the balcony remains just a piece of architecture with not further meaning.

     

  13. Can every1 pls update his FM with a saveroom possibility on hardmode like in the Kingsals latest FM?

    in Fan Missions

    Posted

    If the already available possibilities are used correctly, additional AI, alternative AI routes, less/more lighting, less/more light switches and less/more resources can be integrated at any level of difficulty making the game more challenging in much more than the saving aspect.

    On top of that (as far as I remember from a post by Grayman) the AI also reacts more attentively on higher difficulties.

    Getting all of these components together in a reasonable proportion is quite an achievement (if the mission maker really applies it) - and keep in mind that we're not professional level designers with limited time only...

    That's why I don't feel like going through all my missions again, finding suitable save rooms for the highest difficulty mode (or even worse: having to design extra ones), and then also checking how many saves would make sense and eventually distribute corresponding memory items in the game - let alone checking whether it does not break the mission in a way I cannot or have not forseen or makes it too frustrating because I overlooked certain aspects.

    It just occurred to me: How should I do this for example in HHTLC? I have four completely different sections there. Should I come up with a location fitting save item (like the gramophone in Hazard Pay) for each section and also suitable storage media? I am sure other authors would face the same problem.

    For these reasons one cannot really claim (as in the OP) that it would be possible to add this simply later to existing missions.

    Moreover, I doubt that this would automatically make every mission better for every sort of player when he/she choses the highest diificulty level depending on the preferences.

    I beat Hazard Pay (great mission, no doubt) on Hard this weekend and it immediately reminded me why I don't like the mentioned save system - AH, dragofer and thebigh already described the concerns and problems above I have encountered as well.

    I was like AH, I lost half an hour of play twice, both times because I fell from a great height and lost ca. 40 minutes one nite, because I did not find a save room before I had to quit. That's also the reason why I always preferred the old Tomb Raider games, Half Life,Thief or the newer Dishonored series: you could save freely and try out a lot of things.

    Some players may love it, but there are surely also other opinions (as we can in posts above) out there and it's like all the other features of the game: some like zombies in the game, some don't, some like spiders in the game, some don't, some want lots of books to read, others find it too much, some want Ambient music, others hate it and switch it off... this list goes on and on and on making it very difficult for mappers to create something completely accepted by the entire community.

    Plus, for me the original Thief gameplay is the benchmark and there wasn't such a thing as save rooms. Since I like my work to be seen as some sort of Thief-a-like work, the implementation of the said feature is a no go. Others may of course view this differently.

    What we would need much more urgently would be additional AI for heathen or inventor missions, plus several appropriate AI vocal sets for each. It would also be nice to have additional vocal sets for mages/nobles and Builders for even more variation. If then also many new assets for heathens/inventors/mages were added to the mod, then this would surely give a boost in creativity and some mappers would surely find it easier to create much more varied missions - which I prefer over any other change in the saving system.

    Unfortunately, it seems that this will only remain a dream as I do not have the skills to create the needed stuff and we are not exactly blessed with many active content creators.   

    So, let me conclude with a short answer to the OPs question: Sorry, I will not update any of my missions and I will not use the feature in possible future missions for the reasons mentioned above.

     

    • Like 1

  14. Down and Out on Newford Road by thebigh (Jan 26 2022), Christmas Connections contest entry

    in Fan Missions

    Posted

    12 hours ago, thebigh said:

    Hmmm...

    I am using the camera idling sound, though not the camera itself, for one of the machines down in the builder forge. It's just a looping speaker triggered by a switch. Would AIs respond to that?

    Spoiler

    Now that you mention it I think you might be right that there is a connection between these two events in both missions. However, I still do not see how this could then be linked to the alarm triggering when the window crashes to the ground.

    I still think that if you cannot find the reason for the problem, the best option would still be to replace the entity in question with a default window that simply opens when the players frobs it.

    On the other hand, till now it is just STRUNK and me who had the problem, so maybe the problem does only show up under certain cirumstances.

     

  16. Down and Out on Newford Road by thebigh (Jan 26 2022), Christmas Connections contest entry

    in Fan Missions

    Posted

    21 minutes ago, thebigh said:
      Reveal hidden contents

    Did you find the lever that opens the metal lid under the rug? It's in the closet in the corner, above the boots.

    There is a bug with tdm_showloot that causes non-monetary loot items to remain highlighted after you've grabbed them so even after you've looted the little secret compartment it will still show, but I wouldn't worry about that.

      Hide contents


    Someone else reported this, but I have never been able to reproduce it. Even dropping the window right in front of the patrolling guard doesn't make him do more than stop and look around. And I've never been able to get them to activate the Builders, even by running around the courtyard and flashing my lantern in their face, so knowing just how to trigger this issue would be valuable. Were they already freaking out before you left the clock tower or was it dropping the window that set them off?

    @thebighThat was me; I reported that during beta. Apparently, @STRUNKran into the same problem. However, I think the reported (and already solved) problem in Hazard Pay had a different reason as this was linked to the cameras and Down and Out does not include the latter.

  17. Fan Mission : Hazard Pay by Kingsal 01/27/22

    in Fan Missions

    Posted

    29 minutes ago, kingsal said:

    Thanks! If your PC can run it I would recommend trying the shadow maps rendering, you'll see all the new volumetric fog stuff!

    Will do, forgot to switch it on (I thought I already had switched it on).

    Regarding the bug you mentioned, you are right:

    Spoiler

    In my run  with the previous version I had almost all zombies (those outside the building and those inside the caves) standing in front of the respective cameras. Inside the building there had been at least 10 - 15 (!) of them circling around one camera. I thought this was a special challenge for the player to find some sort of explosive to blow them all away! :)

    This, of course, broke all patrols. The AI behaviour in version 2 is correct; the zombies patrol along the designated path nodes.

    I am now inside the pyramides (or whatever that is) and saved for the very first time inside the storage room.

    I hope I can find all the loot I found in my previous run until this particular point in the mission.

    This mission reminds me on two games:

    Spoiler

    1. The Dark Project mission "Horn of Quintus"

    2. Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation

     

    This mission also includes very cool models. I probably will get back to you someday and will ask whether I can use some of them in one of my next mission! :)

  20. Fan Mission : Hazard Pay by Kingsal 01/27/22

    in Fan Missions

    Posted

    48 minutes ago, kingsal said:

    Okay, I've hotfixed the issue. If you've already started a game and are still early on I would recommend redownloading and restarting :( Its a finnicky bug that might not happen to everyone but if it does it sucks.

    Thanks for your patience everyone, gonna be a little rocky with the BETA!

    I  made it into

    Spoiler

    the save area with the guy that wants you to bring him loot.

    Shall I download the update and start again?

  21. Fan Mission : Hazard Pay by Kingsal 01/27/22

    in Fan Missions

    Posted

    Thank you and congratulations on the release!

    I have infiltrated the first part of that railway thingy (maybe 15 minutes in) and will proceed this nite.

    I am a fan of that menacing vibe, plus you've packed some great ideas in again - the saving system on the harder difficulty levels reminds me of games like RE IV and it adds more tension to the game.

    Great work and  I am curious what else will happen in this mission!

    • Like 1

  24. Readaption of the week

    in Off-Topic

    Posted

    On 10/16/2021 at 10:57 PM, Zerg Rush said:

    A 9 year old Girl with an cover of an old Screamin Jay Hawkins theme, with a own arrange of it.

    https://tube.cadence.moe/watch?v=nwFloCPXzCs

    I don't know what they feed today's kids 🤯

     

    This is unbelievable, this is insane. I dare saying, Screaming Jay would love this. Incredible.

    I never liked Amy Winehouse, because I have the feeling the production was mostly to sound like 60 souls/blues/whatever.

    This here is a totally different level, and to my opinion is on par with modern classics interpretations of Willie DeVille.

    Thank you for sharing!

×
×
  • Create New...