Wellingtoncrab
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Posts posted by Wellingtoncrab
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@KlatremusThanks so much for playing! I am glad to hear you enjoyed the mission!
2 hours ago, Klatremus said:Does the alternate ending only trigger if you get all the mementos? If so, for my ghost run I'd like to avoid this objective and instead return home, but I'd like to skip a memento that doesn't count as loot and that doesn't trigger any other new objectives. I think the only one that fits those criteria is the Cracked and Crooked Lens.
SpoilerIt does require finding all of the mementos but it is also difficultly dependent - so it is possible to collect all them and not trigger the Occultation if you play on Nostalgia or Sorrow - though I suspect playing on the higher difficulty is also part of the ghosting experience. Unfortunately unless I have just forgotten I believe all of the mementos contribute some amount of loot score - the lens included. The quill I believe is the lowest value one at 1 gold. Perhaps I have messed this up as I did try and support ghosting as a play style but I admit to not being super well versed in the rule set (I am not particularly good at it myself) and the conflict didn’t occur to me. If you do have suggestions to better support the play style I would happily consider them for a patch.
2 hours ago, Klatremus said:SpoilerI am not sure I would describe it as logical, I certainly have never been able to make the jumps required myself, but I know it’s possible without crates as I had testers and players getting up there - that readable is just for those souls for whom seemingly no map can contain.
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9 minutes ago, nbohr1more said:
The current "Blackjack mini-game" ( skull baseball ) is pretty fun when you get the hang of it but the lack of visual cues to execute it are why most new players get frustrated with it.
I think the context cue from the animation driving this thread addresses this aspect potentially well, especially if the legacy blackjack systems stay in place. I would be of the opinion the issue is really with the inconsistency or ambiguities in the core mechanic and that addressing this at the root by simplifying (if not outright aping the thief rules) is the best way to go, and is certainly at a minimum time well spent developing and testing.
Not wishing to alter to core mechanics is also an understandable position, in that way I would find the context cue animation to at least be a promising improvement and helpful to players like myself who see the nuances as frustrating instead of engaging (kind of in the vein of the frob helper/bow aimer). To me the KO loop is predominantly about closing the gap and remaining undetected - adding this finicky positional layer has only ever added friction in my experience as a player.
More or less I am just happy to see this being worked on and I look forward to testing when it makes it to a dev build!
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28 minutes ago, Klatremus said:
Any loose hints to the code for
the lockup safe at the precinct? I assumed there would be some info in admin. I did find the symbol using the glasses, but it just pointed to the lockup key which I already had, but that only opens the cells and evidence locker, not the safe. I thought perhaps there would be hidden writing on the wall in one of the cells, but no.
SpoilerYeah I feel it is a oversight there isn’t a good clue for where to go for this code in the admin building itself - Let’s just say Renwick who manages the books and accounts for the precinct has had a long day and is currently unwinding in one of Red Rook’s storied drinking establishments
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7 hours ago, Obsttorte said:
The default sitting animation doesn't really suit this kind of chair. It looks like those used to get you shoes cleaned, so I am not sure whether they are fitting anyways.
I think it’s a barber chair as well - more of a Victorian feel which I think can work with the setting - some custom animations would definitely add a lot. There was some question on the discord whether ai would be able to sit in it at all given it’s height and the step so it at least it works (with help from a bit of monster clip)
7 hours ago, Obsttorte said:In regards to the other models it appears the the specularity of the wooden materials is higher then with our stock assets. So reducing that might already get things closer to the current look.
This is very tricky to get consistent across lighting conditions - the “showroom” light is fullbright which kind of exaggerates the effect and they (hopefully) look more natural in scene lighting. All of the four revisions contained some amount of tweaks to specularity on the materials always still working on that!
7 hours ago, Obsttorte said:I am not sure whether poly count/details is always the main issue when it comes to how good assets fit into the mod. I would assume it is more a matter of the overall look.
Yeah I would say while I think it’s gotten better over time, until recently video games have seemingly never been afforded the opportunity to be concerned with consistency in terms of fidelity across assets. If you look at the xbox 360/ps3 area where things like asset streaming from disc and memory management were much more constrained the fidelity of assets was all over the place. The detail was of course typically weighted by an assets prevalence in a scene, so you could still argue TDM is at a disadvantage there, but it’s just to say I think you can still have a consistent visual style with varying levels of detail across assets.
Bad news would be that kind of consistency is just as hard to achieve. That being out of whack I think is at a glance more likely to cause a player to feel something is out of place.
There is obviously some problem with these assets in that they were never intended to be art in an engine like this. The low detail diffuse from a PBR material with the high level of geometric detail on the models themselves instead of say the normal map means they are never going to get as much out of the engine as efficiently as something which was built for the ground up for it.
Still … the price and license arrangement is right.
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Sure. That’s a dynamic that even exists amongst the core assets themselves. It’s almost as if lots of different people have contributed over a decade plus!
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** As of 2.11 many of these assets have been further optimized and incorporated into the core mod**
*These are reposted from the discord server*
Conversions of cc0 licensed assets from https://polyhaven.com/models:
**POLY HAVEN CC0 ASSET PACK 01 "SEATING"** - REV4
- narrow seats. wide seats
- red seats. blue seats
**POLY HAVEN CC0 ASSET PACK 02 "GOTHIC"** - Initial Release
- Even more furniture
- Interactive prefabs: Containers, cabinets, drawers, "working" grandfather clock
- Fully modular pier kit
- A very nice bed
! But AI can't sit in the chair 
!
Notes on "optimization": many of these meshes are particularly tricky for a very novice modeller as they contain a lot of smaller detail geometry which ideally would be baked into a normal map. That's a bit beyond me admittedly, so a much greater emphasis was put into keeping a higher level of detail but having as few shadow casting triangles as I could manage. The shadow mesh is typically only 10-20% of the overall polygon budget of an asset in the pack with some exceptions for the large "hero" assets like the bed.
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(If deemed worthy) I’ll give it a go.
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@wesp5Just Iris - thank you!
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Given the quality of your responses to this thread I suspect you are not reading much and understanding even less.
Bridgeport is ultimately whatever the author decides it is. So either you will respect my wish not to alter the setting of my mission in your patch, or you won’t as you have implied.
I don’t think you advertise your patch as changing story elements of missions and I don’t think players who install it are expecting these types of changes.
I respect the work you have done in the preservation of Vampire: Bloodlines but your focus on these types of details has been adding minimal value.
I will place a disclaimer on my mission thread and on future releases advising players not to play them with your patch installed.
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Given authors can set their missions anywhere and we all love shiny new assets I am certain there are are some who would appreciate having a new asset to use for a world map if you posted one.
Why you think you should alter the art and setting of author's missions - both elements of the story - is beyond me but I doubt that will stop you.
All in service of what? This fictional universe diverges from the history of continental Europe almost 1500 years ago and features ghosts and werewolves, but somehow this cannot conceivably fit in that framework? Really the wiki goes through pains to specify that everything is a suggestion and what actually matters are the intentions of fm authors. They do not need you to decide this for them.
I will say I don't want your map in my mission and ask that you please exclude it from your patch. I actually spent a lot of time trying to create some continuity with the larger world and building off of elements mentioned in the background on the wiki. I have readables which speak to specific geography of Bridgeport and the larger world which do not conform with yours. The conflict with Menoa features heavily as well with many characters being Menoan war veterans. I guess in your mind Menoa was Ireland?
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I don’t know why in a fictional empire the climate has to be identical simply because it borrows from actual geography and elements of history.
12 minutes ago, OrbWeaver said:none of the real-world nations actually exist with their real names and political histories. Nor does it matter whether "Britain" existed, because Bridgeport is never described as being in "Britain".
This is the point I am actually hung up on.
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So far haven’t met anyone who wants Bridgeport to be in France - it’s typically in The Empire as the wiki states. Though I suppose you could even set an FM in Des Moines, Iowa if you wanted.
11 minutes ago, chakkman said:I guess the whole point of orientating on real life regions is because it's easier than imagining and creating a whole new world.
Easy? It at minimum seems less difficult than imagining France could not exist - but I think I may have exhausted that course.
2 minutes ago, wesp5 said:Is the in-game map part of the core game or did mission authors use historical maps whithout thinking of the consequences?
https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=The_World_at_Large Does this sound like the British Isles?
The maps this one is based has been in core forever as @Airship Balletalready pointed out.
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I know it is heard to conceive but Bridgeport isn't in France - as once again France does not exist. It cannot be British as there is no Britain.
Here is a map of the dispersal Celtic language speaking tribes, which included the Britons, up to 275 BC prior to Roman conquest. Notice how this encompasses the British isles and most of France including “Bridgeport”.
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Westeros on the left:
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15 hours ago, wesp5 said:
I always wondered why Bridgeport is set in France when all the names clearly suggest is it located in England.
There is no “France” or “England” in TDM so this seems fine to me. Even if we want to be pedantic before the Romans conquered this part of Western Europe it was “Gaul” which I believe was Celtic and not particularly “French”. French is derived from Latin so if the Roman Empire never dies France/French is never born. English is a Germanic language with a large proportion of Latin words - ie the language of conquered tribes intermingled with that of their conquerors - seems plausible for this part of Western Europe in this setting.
Which is that something akin to the Roman Empire has persisted for basically 2000 years - presumably there would be more homogenization and integration of the disparate conquered cultures over this time.
Even though we focus predominantly on Bridgeport, having a framework for the greater world and it’s potential history is useful to enrich the setting even if it’s just to name drop a distant place or rival power center. A lot of fantasy settings ground themselves somewhere, even if it’s just is in just some understanding of history or existing mythology. Even Middle Earth still takes place on actual Earth.
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Wow that’s really cool! I imagine it can’t have been easy.
In my mind The Empire is still much larger in footprint in Western Europe as it’s just beginning to be eroded at the edges (and to allow it be as bloated, subdivided and inefficient as possible) but I can also see an argument for the more Holy Roman Empire scale.
Are you considering doing Bridgeport and all its wards as well? That would be quite interesting.
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The script from the fm is selected first - unless the patch puts replacement scripts directly into the fm directory. IIRC That means if a patch edits bow handling for example and installs to the main directory, these would not be compatible with missions that have also edited this (which are many).
I like the loot animation as well and might crib that from the patch if I ever make another mission. The fast doors are cool but I’d be ecstatic to see that blackjack animation prompt make it into 2.11
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1 hour ago, snatcher said:
Sure but think twice.
I don’t follow really - your mod and others will need to be maintained as well and some very popular missions include alterations to base content of the game - which is one reason I don’t install patches/mods as a player because I know FM authors do this and a patch won’t even work in those circumstances - another benefit of integrating directly into missions is you don’t actually have to replace things when you can just add them.
Just pointing out there may be something of interest to mappers in these mods/patches instead of just players, as mechanics tend to shine when they are accounted for in the design. Even if it’s not for everyone you all seem to put a lot of work into these mechanics - I don’t know how many players mod the game but it’s pretty much a guarantee they all play fms so if you’ve got something cool getting some mappers on board seems like a way for more players to see your work.
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Well mission authors could certainly include modded mechanics such as these directly in their missions if they like - in that sense they would then be available in the mission downloader.
For example I like the flint tool which is now integrated in the unofficial patch and will probably incorporate this “patch” into my mission so all players experience it.
Might be worth pointing out these packs/patches are also tool boxes that represent opportunities for mappers to do more in designing their missions without having to start from scratch instead of solely focusing on the player base interested in altering existing missions - I don’t know how widespread that appeals tbh.
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@Blueterran5Thanks for playing! Very glad to hear you enjoyed the mission.
SpoilerIt sounds like you did find all the mementos as it’s part of the conditions to trigger the occultation event (Though you should also have an accompanying objective completed). It sounds like you are on the right track as far as what to do next - though I don’t think in the context of the story the player can really “die”.
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@Thiefettethanks for playing and I am glad you enjoyed it!
The way the hidden “thread” objectives are handled is indeed intentional - the map already has a lot to do and at a certain level I did not want players to feel like the had a laundry list of unfinished things hounding them through their play through, but I did want the mission to react to the player’s achievements when they go above beyond in some way (like if someone really wants to track down all the mementos the mission will recognize it, but it’s not going to be sitting there in the objective list taunting a player who just wants to finish the mission with some sense of completion).
I do think it’s a bit rough doing this through the objective system as it is bending the intentions a bit. Some aspects I don’t like is that the hidden objectives announce themselves as new ones before they immediately get completed and it would be nice if they could appear in the objective list in the order that they are finished, but there was no way around these aspects at the point of release.
SpoilerI think the portrait code in indeed too difficult to find and will probably adjust this in a patch - and yes thankfully The Courtyard security doesn’t amount to much in the end.
Thanks again for your time playing the mission - it means a lot!
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Congrats on the new beta and I look forward to playing it!
Hare in the Snare is such a great mission I do hope the series continues - but also excited to see something new!
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@kerrleThanks for playing! Chambers is one of my favorite authors and he certainly had an influence.
And yes I think you are correct that the puzzle with the code definitely needs some work - it shows up pretty clearly on my system but in the couple of videos I have seen it is barely visible and it’s definitely been an issue for other players.
I appreciate you taking the time to go through the mission and I am glad you enjoyed it!
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Players are trained to extinguish small light sources by interacting with them - if this element is important for whatever reason you could consider just altering the extinguished sound on your item defs to be the sound of the player blowing.
That or use action script on the small flame source to create the water stim and sound effects you want instead of letting the player create it at will.Given many “visions” are being developed in parallel perhaps you should consider aggregating them in something like an unofficial patch development thread.
Fan Mission: Iris by WellingtonCrab [TDM 2.11 Required] (2022/02/13)
in Fan Missions
Posted
Nostalgia is the pain felt by a sentimental longing for the past. Sorrow is the present feeling of pain from loss or wrong. Penitence is an act of regret in acceptance of having done wrong.
I did not expect as many players would trigger the occultation and many even on their first play through. I was actually not so sure many would play the mission at all, but I was pleasantly wrong on all counts! The occultation ending is not the “good” or “actual” ending of Iris - but it is an end. My hope would be no players feel they have missed out by not pursuing it (most would not even be aware of it unless they have dived into spoilers in this thread) and that there would be plenty to discover to make a satisfying experience on any difficulty, but as I stated I have been wrong before.
@Klatremusthanks for catching those! I have them on my bug tracker to look at.