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snatcher

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Posts posted by snatcher

  1. On 10/20/2023 at 9:55 PM, wesp5 said:

    Would this mean that all doors are always open on unlocking them?

     

    19 hours ago, Araneidae said:

    I'd be unhappy about this, and I think this setting has been around for as long as I can remember.

    No, it's the other way around.

    Settings and defaults need to be discussed at some point. Is "Open Doors on Unlock" a "General" or a "Difficulty" setting? I would lean to the latter (No: normal door vs Yes: lazy automaton).

    Dare I at this point propose a third category: "Legacy". Some will understand where this is going.

  2. Here are my thoughts on version 20-Oct:

    Consideration: as a general rule, the vast majority of players will never know what a cvar is, much less how they work. I don't consider cvars an option because after a while, people forget what they changed, how and probably why.

    - Snuffing out candles feels very natural and I don't personally perceive players could unintentionally put them out often. The risk is there though, especially for people with especial needs.

    - In my opinion, the probabilities of unintentionally dropping bodies while operating doors is considerable, specially when the frob distance of doors is reduced.

    - Moving a leg of a body aside is ok but dragging or toying with bodies is no fun anymore therefore the feature is gone for (old and) new players.

    I personally see more cons than pros and I don't feel I can do anything new, faster or better. It actually is a little confusing that I can do a same thing in different ways now. I am convinced this is a missed opportunity and a common place exists but...

    Having said all that, if I was a new player I guess I would have to do with what I am given and there's no way for me to tell if I would have felt that something was off or missing therefore: if this change is to take TDM to new heights I will rewire my brain. I would just appreciate that the shortcomings are properly and honestly acknowledged, instead of telling tales.

    Fun fact: we now have three different keys to drop bodies.

  3. I can reproduce the issue with "Open doors on unlock" on and off so I am fairly certain this issue has nothing to do with the setting. Just open and close the panel slightly a few times and you will see the item sometimes is frobable and sometimes isn't. I would say the trigger box gets in the way of the panel (or the other way around) and the game sometimes freaks out.

    • Like 1
  4. 3 hours ago, Daft Mugi said:

    I am an old, tired, broken man at this point. This feature has aged me 14 years already -- at least.

    You will grow wiser and stronger! And a long grey beard.

    3 hours ago, ChronA said:

    We just need to get rid of the manipulate button and this archaic "Frob" terminology. Everything can be handled consistently through just a combination of short and long clicks. Short click to Activate/Use objects and long click to manipulate them.

    We cannot just get rid of the "Use" key, we need it to deal with the inventory: drink potions, read notes, throw flashbombs... TDM was built with two independent keys in mind (frob to touch and use to interact) because Thief was limited in this regard. In Thief the devs opted to hide the inventory after a period of time to prevent players from using items unintentionally too often. Did they solve the problem? They kinda solve their problem, but how frustrating it is to look for that item that many times 😊

    "Use" is not going away anytime soon in TDM and new players will have to learn of its existence no matter what.

  5. I can't find any topic where this new feature is being described or discussed so allow me to create this one.

    I tested Auto-Search Bodies and I like it a lot, to the point that it may very well become my default someday. We all know how hard is to make that purse, key, scroll... highlight,  so this is, in my opinion, a welcome addition to the game. Thanks to those involved!

    My only concern is that if a body has more than one item you grab them all in one go, preventing me from knowing I just acquired more items than the one showing in the HUD. If a feature is not to be trusted then I don't see the point in this exercise and I would like to know why the current approach was considered superior over one-frob = one-item.

    Regards!

    • Like 1
  6. This may very well be the solution to the riddle:

    18 hours ago, stgatilov said:

    I'm pretty sure this would turn into simple "frob hold delay" slider if this approach is taken as default.

    Since there is no visual indicator of any kind long key-presses are subject to peripherals, software configuration and physical needs or preferences. If we want to prevent unintended actions players should be able to decide how long a long frob is. A slider that goes from 0ms (off?) to 1s should suffice.

    Regardless, I still think the most reasonable approach at this very moment is to shoulder (and un-shoulder) bodies on long frob. See it, if you like, as a compromise that allows the introduction of a neat improvement that has a minimal impact and satisfies most parties. An intermediate solution, subject to further changes or improvements.

    • Like 1
  7. 2 hours ago, wesp5 said:

    I remember a time when snatcher and myself were blocked over and over by regulars here because we wanted to introduce new stuff [...]

    Mods is the answer. The scripting system in TDM is like nothing I've seen before. I hope it expands further and further...

    Mods can bring new blood, new ideas, new mechanics, new sounds, new models, new textures... and who knows, new core features eventually.

  8. 3 minutes ago, Wellingtoncrab said:

    Actually it’d be great for you to clarify “what kind of players” you are talking about so dismissively?

    I see TDM as its own thing in its own world so any other game would do but sure, I was dismissively referring to vocal players stuck (in a good way, I don't care) in the Thief 1 and Thief 2 universe.

    I haven't played Thief 3 or 4 so I will not comment about these game or its players.

  9. 15 minutes ago, Wellingtoncrab said:

    What and incredibly rude and unhelpful response to an attempt to make sure you and other players have some access to tuning this feature directly from the main menu to accommodate their needs.

    Shouldering bodies on frob is a legit proposal worth discussing.

    I won't however take as a valid argument that "players" are dismissing TDM because "you cannot shoulder bodies in TDM" or "shouldering bodies in TDM requires two clicks". We know what kind of players we are talking about and these players won't embrace TDM for what it is for as long as they have a place in their current universe.

    It is my impression that all this started on the wrong foot with a single goal in mind. No second thought or regard for anything else.

    • Like 1
  10. @CountMorillonite

    You are using a version of the mission which uses "Rhand" instead of "Righthand". This version seems to be quite old and no longer supported. I tracked down a copy of your version to taffersparadise.co.uk. Perhaps there are other copies of this obsolete version out there in other sites.

    Close TDM, delete the fms/flakebridge folder and re-download the mission from the built-in downloader, which is the most reliable source.

    Cheers!

    • Like 1
  11. I see what you see (red), plus something else (yellow). Major or minor issues can be anything, anywhere.

    painterswife-2023-10-13-22-00-37-660-3-2

    Is there any way we can detect an author / pattern and somehow check missions / locations where the issue can be truly relevant to the point of making a scene look completely broken? I would like to help.

  12. I understand and assume @stgatilov's optimizations are a leap forward (or go in that direction).

    Having two or more ways of doing things means mappers can still get away with the "old ways" (the ball keeps rolling). Although deprecated, the devs must take into consideration alternatives that were left behind. Maintaining backwards compatibility can sometimes hinder development in the long run (I rather not go down the rabbit hole). Letting things break sometimes is the best solution: somehow, someday, someone will fix it.

    We must assess the impact and then assess potential solutions. I am impressed by your capabilities to detect these issues @Daft Mugi! How do you do it? Do you somehow sense where or what to look for?

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