Search the Community

Thank you. And Thanks to wesp5 and snatcher for keeping this game looking fresh and feeling current.

@HMartI am not sure that is correct - you can even see in your screenshot that the green or "y" areas of the normal map are not shadowed correctly in game relative your point light. They are in shadow where they should be lit and the appear illuminated from the bottom when the light source is above. Here is another example: OpenGL: DirectX: Notice in DX how light source hits the tops of the tiles and shadows the bottom - where as this is inverted in openGL which does not look physically correct to me given the light position. It is very confusing given the legacy of the game being OpenGL, but I have learned from (painful) experience that directx formatted normals are what look physically correct in the game, at least in my opinion.

The Frob Outline is already in the core game but not accessible without console commands, so I added it as option in the Unofficial Patch.

Build Time: About 2 yrsThanks: To the Dark Mod team and comminuty at large for helping to get this mission completed, and for putting up with all my questions.Story and Readables: Melan, Sotha, Moonbo, Baal and Bikerdude.Additional Sounds: GoldwellBriefing Video: Crowind, SlyfoxxBeta testers: Oldjim, Lowenz, AluminumHaste, nbohr1more, Goldwell, Cookie, Tr00pertj, Grayman, Arcturus, Ungoliant, skacky, Goldchocobo.Additional Resource: Bikerdude & Dram (fire-flies)Info: TDM 2.03 is required for this mission - running the mission on older version/s will result in an 'Get Next Entity' errorThe mission available via the in-game downloader.Repeat after me, "Read and explore, Read and explore"Misc: We have used LOD on a lot of objects in the outside area's to cater for people with low end machines, when in game go the video settings>advanced>Object details and then adjust to suit your system.Feedback:

Seems to be OpenGL I tested right now. edit: I was wrong so I deleted my original reply to not induce others in error.

Since due to the nature of this forum, file/image sharing is used quite frequently, I thought to present some alternatives to the widely used Gdrive, which I don't like so much, especially since the last TOS change. File Sharing To share large files there are several options that also do not require registration. The first is File Hosting Online, which supports files up to 25 Gb, encrypted and also includes a Virus Scan that ensures safe use Another good option is Gofile, free to use, privacy focused and unlimited Bandwith. No refistry needed. While the files are accesed or downloaded at least one time a week, they are never deleted, otherwise inactive files are deleted after 10 days. If you prefer to use P2P, that means to share files directly from PC to other, without a hoster in the middle, there are also very good options, which permits to share files and folders without limites of type and size. The most easy to use is O&O File Direct, a small Desktop app (sadly only Windows), very easy to use 1 Open the app and drag the files/folders you like to share in its window 2 Optional adjust the days and amount of permited downloads and if you want a password 3 Share the link which apears in the app Done The only limits are, that the receptor only can download your files, when your PC is online, on the other hand this permits that you can stop the download in any moment, going offline or shutting down the PC. The other limit is, that the files to share can't be in a protected folder. Her are an Example with a list of Search Enines (Html file 423,56 Kb). While I am online, you can download it https://file.direct/f/pmjVFnjfkjFTKTt5 Videos One of the best options is Streamable (need a free account, inactive videos are deleted after 90 days in the free version) Alternatively you can use Streamja, a simple Video sharer with good privacy, free account optional (nick, mail) Images Ok, there are a lot of Image sharer, most used the known Imgur, because of this I add only one which offers some advantages over Imgur. ImgBox (free account) is a reliable platform to share and host images like Imgur, but it make it very easy to upload and post dozend of images simultaneous, selecting all the images you want and drag them on the window, offering coresponding bulk codes from the selected images to post them with one click for forums (BBcode), Html and others, fullsize or thumbnails. More since Imgur used since some time the hated webm formats for gif images, hardly accepted in most forums.

Hello folks, I wanted to share some work in progress comps for the main menu visual updates. (these were done a while ago) These are working in game, but are still just examples. I haven't looked into any of the more complicated menus (settings, mission downloader, slide show mission briefings, ect) Right now I am not planning on changing the UX, these are purely visual updates. EDIT: In-game menus have a requirement that we use the same text color. (so we dont break custom guis in-game) I'll post some mock ups of those soon. Let me know what you think! Using custom missions screenshot (curtesy of @Spooks) Btw this NOT volta 3 (i wish), its just a comp Using the default background art: Mock up of the store (needs some work to make more legible):

For the FM? For beta 1 it's here: https://drive.proton.me/urls/H1QBB04GA0#oBZTb1CmVFQb I've already done around 100 fixes though, so you might want to wait for beta 2 which should be ready in a couple of days hopefully. All links are in the first post of the beta thread here: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22439-the-lieutenant-3-foreign-affairs-beta-testing/

My issue with the Gold filter in HR is that overpowers all colors making the game monochromatic. These artistic liberties work on short games but in long games once the novelty wears down it could make the game feel monotone. Something similar happens in Thief 4. The art director made the textures almost colorless to add a bleak and sad effect to the game, cool but overtime the player might feel the game is dull and boring. Colors not only give look but also feel. Bur regardless. Here's my attempt to Replicate the Gold Filter in Deus Ex Art Director's Cut OFF ON The Directors Cut has this Pinkish Copper Tone: ON

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/free-games Epic is giving away "good" games, probably a summer event, each one is a mystery before reveal. Starting with Dragon Age: Inquisition - Game of the Year Edition. Steam has this until May 27: https://slickdeals.net/f/17490963-machinika-museum-pc-digital-download-free https://store.steampowered.com/app/1507190/Machinika_Museum/

I have great news! There was an interview me from ThiefGuild . com! Check it out! https://www.thiefguild.com/news/1/66709/a-thief-inspired-fm-influenced-immersive-stealth-game-in-works

edit: TL;DR: I've tweaked the .lwo exporter to preserve autosmooth angle Ahem. When I started writing this post a couple of days ago, it was supposed to be a "please help me, models won't smooth" kind of thing, but as I started taking screenshots and such for a comprehensive view of the problem, the question morphed into a "is there a hack to get .lwo's to export the way .ase's do", then to "how to get the same surface smoothing from Blender as you can get from Lightwave" and eventually to "does anyone around know python and blender enough to fix the export plugin". But then I fixed the addon myself, so it was almost as if there's no point to the thread. However, while googling around for a solution I stumbled upon a whole bunch of incomplete (1,2) or outright wrong (1,2) information, and whenever the question came up the issue was never really resolved completely. That might be because the problem isn't obvious, since a lot of exported models will actually end up correctly smoothed on export, leading one to believe wrong shading in rare cases is due to modeling mistakes / bad shadowmesh / etc. Point is, having the definitive .lwo smoothing post seems useful. Identifying the problem: Here's the mesh. I add an 'edge split' modifier (I use sharp edges while modeling the low poly, so I can uncheck the 'edge angle' option). I can now apply the modifier(s) and export to .ase (triple the mesh either in export options or in modifiers beforehand). The .ase looks alright in-game: Now I'll export it to .lwo using this script. Depending on export options, here are the results: If I also check "remove doubles", I'll lose all of the split (sharp) edges: (recalculating normals on export can be unpredictable as well, so clean up the model beforehand instead) Right about this point I start searching for a solution online, stumble upon this and try the renderbump hack. However, all it seems to do is weld all of the vertices back together at runtime and attempt to smooth the whole surface, similarly to "remove duplicates", but with no upper threshold. (to anyone possibly reading this in the future: don't forget to revert your changes to the materials!) Source of the problem: At this point I still wasn't sure if it's even possible to get .lwo's identical to .ase's, so I installed Lightwave. Naturally, it took some time to eventually stumble upon Surface Editor (F5), and the "smoothing threshold" contained therein. But then I just had to crank it up to 180 and export to "LWO2". That fixes everything in-game: So the issue is trivial, I just have to find a way to somehow pass on a smoothing angle through the exporter. However, the "auto smooth" option on the object data tab doesn't seem to affect anything regardless of angle. Long story short, after some hex-comparison magic, I home in on SMAN block in the exporter script: So what it actually does is set your smoothing angle to either 90°, 86°(??), or 0°, depending on whether you've chosen "idtech compatible", "smoothed", or neither. The solution: Now, I don't know Python and I don't know Blender scripting, so I can't say with full certainty that I didn't break anything. But I did cobble together a version of the script that seems to do the job. Here it is, mirror / do whatever you want with it. If your mesh has autosmooth enabled, and you've checked "idtech" or "smoothed" on export, your chosen autosmooth angle will now transfer to the surface in .lwo: I took the liberty of changing the default export options to what seems to suit TDM the best, you can just open the script in notepad and edit them to your taste. Wrapping up, there are still some mysteries I didn't solve, such as "idtech compatible" models taking up only half the size of models exported otherwise (including from Lightwave itself), there doesn't seem to be any visible difference in-game, at least in TDM. That "1.5 radian" in the code still makes me scratch my head. And I still don't know if the 4-8x size savings over .ase matter for in-game memory at all (but at least I know I won't have to edit the *BITMAPs manually anymore). Even after all this, the .ase still has just slightly better shading, but since the outputs of the exporter and Lightwave itself are now identical, seems safe to say it's as good as it gets.

+++ Announcing the Heart of Lone Salvation +++ Enjoy your extended weekend with this monster easter egg! Heart is a full-size Dark Mod FM, the third in the Thief's Den series in which you play Farrell. Story: Not heard from Sam since I turned down the Edridge job as too risky. Now I'm low on funds and have no choice. A gem called the Heart of Lone Salvation which they say brings good luck - but only once. Sounds foolish but who cares? Worth a fortune on the thieves' market if I can get inside Edridge Hall - and Lord Edridge is very wealthy. Sam knew him from the old days as a common lifter who made good when he found the Heart. It's a beautiful night - dank, cold; fog's rolling in; maybe Edridge's luck is about to run out. Must read: The Heart must NOT be destroyed until you have finished all your other objectives. If you have then sorry, it may be that you will have to noclip to finish the mission. Nobody, including myself, ever did it that way before. I'll have to find a solution and do an update in the future. SIZE: ALLOW 5 TO 6 HOURS PLAY FIRST TIME AROUNDPERFORMANCE: Players with low end machines should play this with low settings on Hard-LoPC [difficulty level] with fewer guards. You won't miss anything. I've played it on a 2GB machine with an old Geforce FX5900 card. Lag in some areas but tolerable.SECRETS: There are many 'secrets' in this FM. If you don't like secrets, [then to] turn off 'Found Secret' messages, create/add to autoexec.cfg in doom3/base a line:seta mvr_show_secrets 0In-Game FOG: Game characters may see through fog better than you. Take extra care.Player tools Slow Match: You have a slow match (smouldering splint) and a spare [match] important to this mission so don't lose them. Practice on any candle or torch that is not lit or just as a convenient light in a dark area. Ghosters can use it to relight extinguished flames. Use the drop control to put the match in your hands and move the match so the glowing end is close to the wick, etc. Press the 'Use' control to put the match back in your inventory bag.BODIES: You need space to shoulder a body as well as drop one so you may need to drag into an open area before trying to shoulder again with the 'use' control.NEW OBJECTIVES: New objectives go to the top of the list to make them easier to find. Sometimes more than one at once.BRIEFING: Do not use Esc during the briefing or the cursor becomes invisible. (You can still select blind though looking for highlights.) You can skip the briefing with the left mouse button. If you miss anything you can use the back button to show it again.Info: This mission was optimized and updated to version 2 by Bikerdude, a klot of bugs were quashed and performance improved through out the mission.

About the chest sounds, I wasn't aware the Modpack does change them too. Would it make sense for the patch to use your way or would it produce another duplicate script? I can set the blinking to another frequency, but are you sure this is not due to the game trying to apply two blinking scripts at the same time? It looks fine if I only use the patch. Your blow skill is just a last resort for mission unique lights that can't be extinguished by my frob script. Also my version does not include free relighting so it is inferior to yours ;)!

Alright, so, I'm a Texture Artist myself for more than 20 years, which means I know what I'm talking about, but my word isn't law at all, remember that. I've worked (mostly as mods, I am a professional but I much prefer being a freelance) with old DX8 games up to DX12. When it comes to Detail Textures, for my workflow, I never ever use it except rarely when it's actually good (which, I emphasize on "rarely"). This is one reason I thought mentioning that I worked with DX8 was logical. One of the few times it's good is when you make a game that can't have textures higher than what would be average today, such as, World Textures at 1024x1024. Making detail textures for ANY (World, Model) textures that are lower than 128x128 is generally appealable. Another is when the game has no other, much better options for texturing, such as Normal Maps and Parallax Mapping. Personally, I think having Detail Textures for The Dark Mod is arguably pointless. I know TDM never had a model and texture update since 2010 or so, but most textures do seem to at least be 1024x1024, if there's any world texture that's lower than 256x256, I might understand the need of Detail Textures. Now, if this was a game meant to be made in 2024 with 2020+ standards, I would say that we should not care about the "strain" high resolution textures add, however, I do have a better proposition: Mipmaps. There are many games, mostly old than new ones, that use mipmaps not just for its general purpose but also to act as a "downscaler". With that in mind, you boys can add a "Texture Resolution" option that goes from Low to High, or even Lowest to Highest. As an example, we can add a 2048x2048 (or even 4096x4096) world texture that, if set to Lowest, it would use the smallest Mipmap the texture was made with, which depends on how the artist did it, could be a multiplication of 1x1 or 4x4. One problem with this is that, while it will help in the game with people who have less VRAM than usual these days, it won't help with the size. 4096x4096 is 4096x4096, that's about 32mb compressed with DXT1 (which is not something TDM can use, DXT is for DirectX, sadly I do not know how OpenGL compresses its textures). I would much rather prefer the option to have better, baked Normal Maps as well as Parallax Mapping for the World Textures. I'm still okay with Detail Textures, I doubt this will add anything negative to the game or engine, very sure the code will also be simple enough it will probably only add 0.001ms for the loading times, or even none at all. But I would also like it as an option, just like how Half-Life has it, so I'm glad you mentioned that. But yet again, I much prefer better Normal Maps and Parallax Mapping than any Detail Textures. On another note...Wasn't Doom 3, also, one of the first games that started using Baked Normal Maps?

WOW, what a pleasant surprise! I expected this day would come but not this soon. There they are :) Here is an initial, quick assessment. Currently the Modpack loads last, therefore it takes preference. We can test the other way around at a later stage. tdm_frobactions.script No conflict detected. The Modpack's version takes preference and it apparently works as intended. The Patch changes some chest sounds in a separate script at mission start but then the Modpack overrides these sounds on the fly. Blinking items Threads from both the Modpack and the Patch run in parallel throughout the mission. I don't notice anything unusual except that sometimes the blink is out of sync. The reason is that something fishy is going on between milliseconds 16 and 17 in Uncapped FPS mode. In v4 of the Modpack I set the wait time to 15 milliseconds to avoid the issue and you should do the same in the Patch: tdm_froblock_frobability.script > mod_frob_highlight_blinking() > sys.wait(0.015) Containers Threads from both the Modpack and the Patch run in parallel at mission start. I honestly don't know what the game is doing in this case but the outcome apparently is not negative. No issues detected. Body names Threads from both the Modpack and the Patch run in parallel throughout the mission. I don't notice anything unusual but most probably names are being displayed twice. Shock / Electric mine No conflicts that I can detect at a glance. Whistle No conflicts that I can detect. Players however end up with two different versions of the same feature in different categories. Blow No apparent conflicts. Players however end up with two different versions of a same feature in different categories. This one is interesting because the Patch introduces "extinguish on frob" on small candle sources and players are spoiled by options now.

As a matter of fact, I implemented passing info from briefing to game and from game to debriefing: https://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=6509#c16671 At some moment I think I should put this info to wiki... This will be available in the future dev build. P.S. By the way, you can also override which .map file to start, although I'm very skeptical that this feature is worth the trouble you'll get in maintainability. Small variations of the same map should be better implemented by writing the "main" game script.

If it really crashes, then you can record crashdump and send it to someone with debugger. This often allows to learn what is wrong (but not necessarily where is the error).

failed to open zip file “D:/darkmod/__download0__tdm_sound_ambient03.pk4”

Flakebridge Monastery In this mission you will visit a Builder outpost to steal some valuable books. It is the first in what I hope will be a series about Selis Woderose. I would like to take the opportunity to thank my beta testers: Aprilsister, Bikerdude, Chiron, lost_soul, and prjames. As well as Fidcal for his starting map, and Melan for his texture pack. Known bugs: A small number may appear at the bottom left corner of your screen when the mission loads. Press sheath weapon to make it disappear. As already mentioned this is the first mission in a series. When you have completed it you may know what you'll be going after in the next mission. You may even know where! Enjoy! And please use spoiler tags where appropriate. A couple of screens: (thanks lowenz) http://2.bp.blogspot...0/shot00001.jpg http://3.bp.blogspot...0/shot00003.jpg

It would be nice to be able to create your own EFX presets, this will solve that issue. https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft/blob/master/include/AL/efx-presets.h lists all the presets. Here they can be seen in the tdm source file. I think these could be read from an external file instead of inside game code? If TDM reads the presets from an external file, anyone could easilly make their own presets by overriding that file and these could be used inside a spawnarg when that gets implemented.

Operating System: Kubuntu 22.10 KDE Plasma Version: 5.25.5 KDE Frameworks Version: 5.98.0 Qt Version: 5.15.6 Kernel Version: 5.19.0-38-generic (64-bit) Graphics Platform: X11 Processors: 4 × Intel® Core™ i5-5257U CPU @ 2.70GHz Memory: 7,7 GiB of RAM Graphics Processor: Mesa Intel® Iris® Graphics 6100 Manufacturer: Apple Inc. Product Name: MacBookPro12,1 System Version: 1.0 when i started the game there is no sound and the sound is working fine on the other parts of the system.

Hello everyone! I'm excited to bring you Cauldron of the Gods, the second mission in the Volta series. This mission is large, so I'd expect anywhere from 1.5 - 2+ hours depending on your play style. **Hard and Expert difficulties increase AI awareness, patrols, and amount of health potions in the level.** Version 2.2 (requires 2.08) Available in the in-game downloader or HERE Credits: Vocals: Andrew Bartmess - The Thief / Narrator Goldwell - Bellero / Drunk Nobleman Yandros - The Manbeasts Modeling: Epifire - Builder props Drdocker - Rock models **See cauldron_v1/models/model_credits.txt for full list. Music Credit: Ghast, Gigagooga, Sephy, Spadey **See cauldron_v1/sound/sound_credits.txt for full list. Scripting help: Obsttorte, SteveL Special thanks to these awesome beta testers: Bikerdude, Boilder's_hiss, Epifire, DrDocker, FinalBoss, Goldwell, Judith, Springheel New to TDM? -I'd recommend playing the tutorial and Volta 1: The Stone before playing this this mission. Stuck or having a problem? Tips: A couple screen shots: I hope you enjoy it! -Kingsal

In this hypothetical scenario Embraces Group puts you in charge of the creative team in charge of creating a new Thief game. You don't have to do any coding or any of the complicated boring bits and what you say goes. What would the games plot be? Would it be a sequel? prequel? reboot or maybe something else? What new features would be in the game that we haven't seen before in Thief or The Dark Mod? Can't think of any more question right now but I'm sure you'll have your own interesting ideas beyond anything I've asked.