zergrush

Don't blame an operative system on your own technological impairments and baby duck syndrome.

Personally I still think it should go a little beyond that. I'm all for adding kill limits, since they can represent one of two "real-life" consequences: a general alarm being sounded after several guards have been noted missing on duty, and a general "Thieves Order Code", i.e, "killing too much is not our style and brings a bad name to us".

(I'll just make this edited bit a post of its own, since it was edited on my previous post a little too late) Aside from that, one thing that motivates players to not pick the "kill everyone" path, is refining the end mission rating system by attributing A to F grades. One game stealth game that did this very effectively was Trilby: The Art of Theft. Your performance was separated in several categories, judged individually, and then given an overall grade. Here's a screenshot of an end mission screen: http://www.anonmgur....89cba8e0e90.png (The "hat" ranking corresponds to "Excelent" or "S" ratings awarded for excepcional performance)

The reason why stealth isn't safer is because there are not enough bad consequences for choosing the rambo path. No general alarms are ever sounded, and no extra guards come to replace fallen comrades. It also depends a lot on which equipment is given at the start. I usually try to play all missions with a no kill / no blackjack self-imposed restriction, because that's the only way I find them truly challenging. I feel this is more of a map-related issue. Mission designers could maybe impose kill limits or reinforce security just so the player couldn't get away easily by simply killing everyone. Missions could also be tested more thoroughly in order to avoid this. For me this picture kinda sums up what should be one IMO: http://www.anonmgur....6baf3bb7c90.jpg

Although TDM is based on a fantasy setting, I don't think you should be using Great Helms for the elites. Historically those date back to the high middle ages, when armour making was taking its first steps into becoming a more refined craft. The Bascinet helms actually correspond to an advancement over Great Helms, as they were both more resistant, lighter, more comfortable, and provided more visibility to the user. My suggestion is that you experiment with different bascinet shapes and designs in order to come up with something that's easily distinguishable (accessories such as spikes or visible reinforced plaques on the back could be used for this purpose), or simply don't give bascinets to non-elites at all. EDIT: Another option would be to give elites Sallet helms, as they feature a distinct neck protection that's very easy to associate with KO immunity.

Could you post some more preview screenshots? It's been a while since the last update, and I would like to see some details.

There's a campaign currently in the making named "The Crucible of Omens.". It will probably be a long time before it's finished, though, so expect it to be released way after the standalone version is ready. Here's some info about it http://forums.thedar...r-the-dark-mod/

Although not a priority, I feel the player character's animations feel really odd and stiff, in those rare occasions you happen to cross a mirror. Perhaps in a later release, I would really love to see the player character with some more natural-looking animations.

Michael Ironside's jawline isn't as chubby as that. The eyebrows may be a bit similar though. How's the progress with the zombie model, by the way?

So can we expect a standalone version for 1.09, or will it be left to 1.10?

If you believe the average mapper is able to handle that, then lovely. I stand corrected.

Character buildup. A lot fan maps have the player start with no weapons at all, forcing him to either stealth his way out, or explore until he find one. Having a knife could be a way to ensure minimal self defense, other than a blackjack, until a short sword is found. A knife could be thrown or used for stabbing, but it should be unable to used for parrying attacks, hence having the player adopt a hit-and-run combat approach. Throwable knives would also be an interesting addition to assassination missions, enabling the player to strike foes from mid distance without having to use the bow. So all in all, before considering a feature superfluous, I believe one should instead analyse it's potential to expand the current gameplay, especially when TDM operates mostly on user-created missions. Allowing the player to use long swords doesn't make any sense in this case, since it's a weapon that's too cumbersome for a thief, and doesn't do anything that the short sword can't do already. Knives, on the other hand, seem like a perfectly rational addition that could, in fact, add a whole lot of diversity to gameplay.

Looking good I guess, but this is a bit stale for a news posts. Perhaps adding more varied screenshots would be better? Perhaps giving a few more details on the plot? Perhaps telling us is Dram's Blackheart Mannor will be included in the campaign?

I believe TDM will spring back to an increased activity phase once the standalone version is complete. By the way, has the team ever considered applying for next year's Independent Games Festival awards? It might be a good way to get some well-deserved attention.

Another thing I just remembered b1ker, could you make Alberic's ghost unkillable? It felt kinda silly when you could just whack him to death with the sword, and all that. Although, it would be neat if dipping the skull in the fountain would make him go away for good; it would be a nice way to make that secondary objective actually have a real in-game consequence, other than a check sign on the objective's window, for completionism's sake.

I got one small suggestion for the update biker. Add a simple wind sound outside. I recall some people mentioning the mission didn't feel very autumn-y because of the clear sky and the crickets singing, which are more akin to a warm summer night. I believe a simple wind sound would help boost the mood.

I find combat to be pretty easy, since enemies just stand in front of you hacking and slashing rather without seeking the best angle to attack you by swiftlly moving around. Combat animations could also be better. Characters only move their torso while attacking which does look a bit silly sometimes; good animators are hard to get though, so I'd say you guys have done a pretty good job on your own so far. I do however believe we need a new lighter blade weapon other than the short sword. Perhaps a dagger or a cinquedea that could be used only for stabbing if wielded alone, but could also be used together with a short sword as a left hand parrying weapon.

Good to hear man. I really liked how you made the player explore the whole map on Alberic's curse to do various optional objectives, and how sparse and well spread the loot was, forcing you to go to places you wouldn't normally venture to (like the cellars, which are dangerous as hell) to obtain enough loot. The only thing that seemed a bit down was that these secondary objectives often had no consequence other than completionism. I feel that optional objectives should either ease your task at the main one, or at least make the player feel rewarded at the end of the mission; however since there are no outro sequences, it's hard to make the player feel rewarded with just a little check on the objectives list. So, in-game visible impact becomes really important for this kind of immersion. especially when you're accomplishing tasks. I was really hoping all undead would disappear the moment you blessed Alberic's skull. Heck, at least Alberic's ghost outside should go before the dawn, since it was his skull that got blessed; this wouldn't largely affect the gameplay, since Alberic's ghost is not that hard to avoid, and would give the player the feel that they actually accomplished something; perhaps even playing a small voice track with the player character saying something like "now Alberic's ghost will trouble me no more". Something similar could be done with Caduceus of St Alban. I felt really disappointed that the observatory and the planetarium played no major role on the quest and had no sidequests linked at all. Plenty of other details could've been used as secondary sidequests to make the main quest easier, like using cook's magic shrooms to poison some guard's food or something like it. But I digress. I'm sorry if I'm starting to sound annoying, but I just feel the need to point out the little unpolished edges on your work, since I find it pretty good.

Biker, you make some of the most aesthetically pleasing maps I've ever seen, but I feel you still gotta learn how to balance them out with some challenge, man, even if that means sacrificing some graphic detail. Dont get me wrong, I absolutely love your stuff in terms of story, level design, and appearance, but it's just a darn shame that amazing maps like this one and Caduceus of St. Alban are so darn empty of guards. I would kill for updated versions with better AI placement, that would indeed make me play 'em over and over. Your attention to detail is jaw dropping, but it also begs for more secondary and optional objectives, kinda like you did with Alberic's Curse. Try using these to incentivate exploration instead giving us a hard time with the main objective like you did with the rooftop puzzle on your Cathedral map. And please, please update your older maps as it is never too late to make something good even better.

I know, I know, I was just wondering how far could optimization go. I was planning to get a better machine in the near future either way. I was frankly more concerned on whether or not TDM will go standalone, although Springhell already thinned that possibility out. It's just that I would really love to see TDM reaching over to a broader public without being depedant on a Doom 3 instalation.

One question, will this eventually help TDM run a little more smoothly? To be honest, my machine is a little outdated and I get choppy frame rates from time to time.

So if TDM is really going standalone doesn't that imply a future name change? Like The Dark Game?