Search the Community

I'm a big fan of Git. I switched DarkRadiant to Git years ago, and have been happily using it and sharing commits between my and Greebo's repositories (on entirely separate hosting platforms) since then. But even as a Git fanboy I am embarrassed by some of the misconceptions about, both in the "for" and "against" camps. Misconception: "Git doesn't use a central server". Reality: The vast majority of Git projects, and the workflow that would most likely be adopted by TDM if it were to switch to Git, is to have a central authoritative server that every trusted developer pushes their changes to. The Linux kernel is a notable exception, but is also very atypical in both its size and the distributed nature of its development. Git provides a little more flexibility in that developers can make a whole string of commits locally and then push them in one go, but they are still going to be pushed to that central server before anyone else can use them. Having each individual developer push their changes to their own GitHub repository and submit a pull request would be possible, but probably wouldn't solve any problems for this project, and would increase workload for whoever is appointed to review and accept all of the pull requests. Since all developers would be pushing to the same repository, code breakage is just as possible with Git also. Misconception: "Git magically avoids code conflicts". Reality: Code conflicts are the result of divergent, incompatible text changes in the code itself. If you and I edit the same line of code and then try to push our changes, a merge conflict will happen. The choice of VCS makes absolutely no difference to whether this conflict will occur, although Git does provide slightly better tools for dealing with the conflict when it does arrive. There are only two repositories that matter for the Dark Mod: the source code repository, and the assets repository (which is never going to be switched to Git because it is a repository of large binary files which would not be handled well by any distributed VCS tool). So needing to clone the whole thing is not an issue. Those are both workflow or cultural issues which cannot be solved by a VCS. People can just as easily delay commits/pushes with Git, and they can easily make lots of small incremental commits using Subversion. If commit frequency is a problem (and I have no reason to believe it is), it needs a social solution, not a technical one. On the other side of the fence: It does have unsafe ways to edit history, but they are not particularly "encouraged". Most Git guides I have seen make clear that rewriting history is very dangerous, completely screws up other people's work, and should be avoided whenever possible. Sites like GitHub even have the ability to administratively disable force-pushes altogether to stop people from doing them accidentally. Misconception: "Git adds a whole load of distributed functionality making it hard to use". Reality: For the most common use case (pushing to a single central server), there is absolutely no need for any Git user to deal with "distributed" functionality. You can produce a SVN-to-Git cheat sheet that maps commands almost one-to-one, and stick to those commands entirely. Some of the commands aren't particularly well-named (e.g. using "checkout" to switch to a branch, or "add" to add changes to a file rather than adding a new file), but they are not complex to use, and you can always set up aliases if you find the default names confusing. Conversely, many operations are significantly easier (and faster) in Git than in SVN. Only recently did SVN add the ability to view the diffs of each change in the history, or to show which changes were pulled in by a merge, and these features are still slow and cumbersome, whereas Git (and Hg) did all of this from the beginning.

In the first post of the other topic Geep proposed: Then Stgatilov's answer: But I think applying subtitles in different languages shouldn't be too hard I would think, but I don't know how the current translation system works. The engine should apply the correct subtitles based on the applied language setting, this doesn't need a whole new language system I think. Not sure who's going to write those subtitles though. I can only do Dutch and English and nobody needs Dutch I think. I suggest further discussion of this to take place in topic https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/21741-subtitles-possibilities-beyond-211/

Creating a new thread for this as it was being discussed in an old beta-testing thread starting here: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/21822-beta-testing-high-expectations/&do=findComment&comment=490751 I suppose the main questions are: when should this spawnarg be used, if at all? why was it introduced in the first place? Can we get it documented properly on the Wiki so misuse isn't propagated? @stgatilov @Dragofer

Hello! Tracking down information on software and plug-ins that work with D3 / TDM can be a tough. So I have created a thread here where people can post what software/ plug-ins/ tutorials or other references they've had success or failure with in TDM. 3DS MAX 2013 64bit .ase - Default .ASE model exporter works. However you have to open the .ase file in text edit and manual change the *BITMAP line on each material to read something like: "//base/textures/common/collision" which allows the engine to read the correct material path. md5.mesh / animation - Beserker's md5 exporter/importers for 3dsmax. http://www.katsbits.com/tools, Importing and exporting works. The model must be textured, UV'd, with a skin modifier attached to the bones to export. PM me (Kingsal) for help with this. Imported models using the script will not be weighted appropriately, so this is not recommended if you are simply trying to edit existing tdm content. (Use blender instead) MAYA 2011 32bit md5.mesh - So far I've not had any luck with Maya 2011. I am using Greebo's MayaImportx86 for Maya 2011. I've got the importer working however I get a "Unexpected Internal Failure(kFailure)" and the import fails. This could be due to something finicky in Maya that I am not doing correctly. Will keep trying.. Blender 2.7 about - Blender is commonly used and pretty well supported on the forums/ wiki. Various versions may work as well - https://www.blender.org/download/ md5.mesh / animation Blender MD5 importer/exporter (io_scene_md5.zip): https://sourceforge.net/projects/blenderbitsbobs/files/ Sotha's guide Blender Male/ Female rigs by Arcturus - Here Edit by Dragofer: more links found in this post.

Couldn't disagree with this more, except for this part: "If you wrap the whole git into simple commands, then it has some chance.", and that's exactly what modern IDEs (e.g. VS Code, Github Desktop) and the Github/Gitlab UI do for us. Using something like Github on top of Git makes things a lot more n00b-friendly and it's important to note that. If a mapper can learn DarkRadiant and TDM, then learning the basics of Git should be a piece of cake. I would also suggest if people understand the problems it solves they would be a lot more open to it, but perhaps most mappers don't really see an issue because they are working alone and Google Drive/Dropbox does the trick for them? Anyways, working alone or not, I wouldn't be caught dead not using a VCS. I think @greebo and @OrbWeaver are right in that a tutorial would be a great help in showing what it can do and how to use it. I would be happy to do that if someone could give me a Wiki account. If I did it, it would be for Git/Github and not SVN however. I have wanted to do a tutorial anyways, and the reason I haven't is because every time I mention Git I get one or more of the following responses: crickets it's not good for binaries it's overkill I suspect 1) is due to either 'preaching to the choir' (those who use it already understand the benefits) or something around what @stgatilov is saying in that people might think it's too complex, or don't see the benefits. 2) Just not true, except if you have very large files (and a lot of them), so doesn't really apply to maps. Large videos are an issue if over 100 MB (with Github anyways). Yes, you can't 'merge' or diff binaries, but frankly who cares? I'll just take the latest version, please. You committed it by mistake? Just re-add the old version after you rescue it from your history. 3) Learning about few basic features (not even about Git, but VCS in general) and the benefits it provides make it a worthwhile investment. Nobody needs to become a 'Git Ninja' (I am certainly not one). Regarding using Git for mapping: As others have mentioned, it's great and I love it, but yes, what to do about the map-editing problem. I don't know what to suggest here because I haven't delved into how how DR and doom maps work. Without even trying it, I would guess that one issue would be with entity/primitive naming? For example if I was working on the 'main' branch, and and someone else created a new branch off that and we both added a new (but different) entity, it would have the same entity number in both maps (and merge conflict?). What are the other potential issues? As I said, I've just avoid the entire scenario because I guessed it would be problematic. We've just been using the following workflow: Protect 'main' branch in Github so no direct pushes can be done against it I will work on the map on my own branch. I can/will modify any file in the FM. Merge stuff into main periodically via pull-request (because main is protected). Kerry000 would periodically pull the latest from main, then create his own branch (I haven't bothered to show him about 'rebase' - maybe later ) Kerry000 would work on his branch and edit anything except the map file (xdata, textures, models, etc), and raise a PR when finished merge Kerry000's branch into main. We had a pretty clear separation of duties on Hare in the Snare part 1, so that made it pretty easy. However for part 2 he's getting into mapping a bit, so we will need to go down the 'import prefab' route I think going forward.

Looking at the code, the originals were "pm_mantle_pull 750" and "pm_mantle_pullFast 450". The new "pm_mantle_pull" value is "400". A "pm_mantle_pullFast" value of "450" would be slower than regular pull, not faster. With both being set to "400", they are at least similar. Other than that, it's subjective and the feedback from playtesters was positive. Also, referenced internally here: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22256-movementcontrols-settings-in-main-menu/&do=findComment&comment=489158

That sort of tone doesn't fly in our forums.

There's a group of players who have meticulously tested and adjusted ghosting rules for The Dark Mod. Please see: Official Ghosting Rules: https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148523 Ghost Rules Discussion: https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148487 Why alienate an established group of dedicated players?

I would use this massive list for any fan missions, it includes campaigns too: https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148090 There are a lot of Fan Missions for the picking, I myself go for the lesser known ones and the short variety, because sometimes they hide a gem or two. Just like jaxa, I'm a bit outdated after the temporal retirement, but I do remember some amazing campaigns like "The Black Frog". If you intend to play The Black Frog, you should play the first two of the L'Arsene series missions, it's how I did it myself. Also, yes, L'Arsene are a fantastic series. The first mission of L'Arsene is a "rough draft", author was a bit new to Thief level making, but still great either way, after the 3rd you will see how his skill increased by a massive amount.

Unfortunately, TDM forum deletes the separator between the numbers. So I have to guess where one number ends and the next starts Also, user can rename screenshot manually, or push it through something that would rename it automatically. Thenwe won't see coordinates on screenshot address on forums.

tdm_show_viewpos cvar and screenshot_viewpos command: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22310-212-viewpos-on-player-hud-and-screenshots/

These are problems in the source code and/or libraries used during building (e.g. libgit-dev). They have nothing to do with the Git version or command you used to check out the DarkRadiant git repository itself. Git is used internally to build the version control functionality inside DarkRadiant, and it is this version control plugin which is failing to build.

Ambient atmospheres are in my opinion one of the best parts of the Dark Mod experience, not just for getting a mission to have the right feel but also for inspiration and to have them playing in the background when creating maps. The more the merrier, so here's a thread to collect all the links to ambient music and environmental sounds that could have a spot in TDM's setting. Ambients from the TDM forums Gast's Eerie Lullabies Magnanimous Merry's Miscellanea Orbweaver's Dark Ambients Spadey's Ambients Radioteque's Ambients Kyyrma's Composing Ambient Tracks for Dummies - Kyyrma shows how ambient soundtracks can be made from a set of sounds. Also contains some of his finished ambients. Request for more interior sounds - this thread is a very productive community session where members came up with a large and good selection of new ambients. Uncle Peti's Sound Den Dragofer's Ambients - post #6 in this thread SeriousToni's Ambients - posts #8, 12, 15 and 19 in this thread Ambients from the TTLG forums Custom resources list Gigagooga's Ambients 1 - possibly the largest pack of ambient musics and nature sounds, all of them high quality. Gigagooga's Ambients 2 - this pack puts more weight on shorter swells/hits/pads to be layered on top of a subtle ambient. Gigagooga's Ambients 3 Yandros' ambient loop Sephy's Ambients - a large collection of ambient pieces, including many shorter ones which will be valuable for anyone wanting to try a layered ambience approach like in the Thief OMs and Full Moon Fever. Internet databases www.freesound.org - some of the better composers in my opinion are ERH and BrandonNyte. www.purple-planet.com - a large selection of all kinds of ambient and musical soundtracks to be used freely. www.darkwinter.com - an internet label that publishes a lot of dark ambient music under a Creative Commons license. www.endlessascent.com - sister website of Darkwinter for non-dark ambients. Youtube Asatru Dark - also has very nice reference images for outdoor stone memorials, statue arrangements etc. #4 Void by Raffaele du Marteau & #6 Dreaming of Nowhere by Raffaele du Marteau - possibly the most forlorn pieces I've found on the internet. Alacazam - a prolific Creative Commons ambients composer . Cryo Chamber - for-profit label for dark ambient music with a large selection on offer. Going by their Youtube comments they're fine with people using their soundtracks for games etc., although you'd probably need to buy the soundtracks first. Dark Ambient Mixed Session - as much ambient as something to have in the background while mapping.

Relax @Näkki, it's great to hear you enjoyed the game. My personal expectations were just a bit different when I read the Steam page, although the various trailers should have been a warning that stealth maybe wasn't the biggest priority of the devs. From the Steam page: "Weird west legends meet eldritch horror in BLOOD WEST, an immersive stealth FPS." Also "Blood West is a stealth FPS inspired by the genre classics such as the Thief series (whose fans will be happy to hear the voice of Stephen Russell, the actor voicing the master-thief Garrett, returning here as the protagonist), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, or - from the contemporary catalog - Hunt: Showdown. The gameplay rewards the careful approach: scouting the area, stalking your enemies, and striking from the shadows. Can you figure out a way to clear a fort full of ghouls and monsters without raising an alarm?" From my personal experience I think the game is predominantly Hunt: Showdown, a bit of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and a very small portion Thief. Stealth is very unforgiving and makes it almost impossible early game when there are various enemies around, but hey maybe I just suck at it. I don't see Deus Ex in it, unless the skill leveling is the Deus Ex part for you and then I have to disagree with you, as that seems like the trait system in Hunt: Showdown. Edit: What I also understood from the Steam forums is that the original VA was dropped close before the release of the full version and replaced by Russell with no real explanation from the devs why this was done.

DarkRadiant 3.8.0 is ready for download. What's new: Feature: Support new frob-related material keywords Improvement: Mission selection list in Game setup is not alphabetically sorted Improvement: Better distinction between inherited and regular spawnargs Improvement: Silence sound shader button Improvement: Add Reload Definitions button to Model Chooser Fixed: Model Selector widgets are cut off and flicker constantly on Linux Fixed: DarkRadiant will not start without Dark Mod plugins Fixed: GenericEntityNode not calculating the direction correctly with "editor_rotatable" Fixed: RenderableArrow not drawing the tip correctly for arbitrary rotations Fixed: Light Inspector crashes on Linux Fixed: Models glitch out when filtering then showing them Fixed: Skin Editor: models not centered well in preview Fixed: "Copy Resource Path" includes top level folders Fixed: Skin Editor: internal test skins are shown if Material Editor was open previously Fixed: Changing Game/Project doesn't update loaded assets correctly Fixed: Model Chooser: initially hidden materials aren't revealed when enabling them Fixed: Choosing AI entity class 'atdm:townsfolk_commoner_update' causes crash Fixed: Sporadic assertion failure on shutdown due to LocalBitmapArtProvider destruction Fixed: Prefab Selector spams infinite error dialogs on Linux Windows and Mac Downloads are available on Github: https://github.com/codereader/DarkRadiant/releases/tag/3.8.0 and of course linked from the website https://www.darkradiant.net Thanks to all the awesome people who keep using DarkRadiant to create Fan Missions - they are the main reason for me to keep going. Please report any bugs or feature requests here in these forums, following these guidelines: Bugs (including steps for reproduction) can go directly on the tracker. When unsure about a bug/issue, feel free to ask. If you run into a crash, please record a crashdump: Crashdump Instructions Feature requests should be suggested (and possibly discussed) here in these forums before they may be added to the tracker. The list of changes can be found on the our bugtracker changelog. Keep on mapping!

So, if I understand you, no Thief Gold FM does sound and text notifications of completed objectives? The missions in The Black Parade surely did. I'm completely confused now. I was sure that original Thief Gold had those objective complete notifications (at least the sound). Reading this thread suggests otherwise though: https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132977

Greetings everyone! I recently got into TDM and am already having a lot of fun playing through and ghosting missions. However, coming from Thief, I am mostly relying on the rules and my experience with that game, while there are clearly differences in how TDM works. Right now, there is talk in the ghosting discussion thread on TTLG to amend the ruleset and include clarifications pertaining to TDM. So I wanted to drop by and ask: is there an active TDM ghosting community already and have any rules for this playstyle been developed? I would also like to ask someone to take a look at the draft of this addendum to see whether everything looks correct: https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148487&page=16&p=2473352&viewfull=1#post2473352 Thanks!

A Problem Arises I've paused subtitling of the Lady02 vocal set, because of a problem with the voice clips described here: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/21741-subtitles-possibilities-beyond-211/&do=findComment&comment=490151 While a way forward is being determined, I'll work on a different vocal set. Maybe manbeast, for which Kingsal just provided me the voice script.

Of course, it is one of the reasons for the decline of online forums, since the advent of mobile phones. Forums on a mobile are a pain in the ass, but on the other hand, for certain things there are no real alternatives to forums, social networks cannot be with their sequential threads, where it is almost impossible to retrieve answers to a question that is asked. has done days ago. For devs for internal communication, the only thing offered is a collaborative app, such as System D (not to be confused with systemd). FOSS, free and anonymous registration, access further members only by invitation, full encrypted and private. https://www.system-d.org

Black Parade is released ! https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152429

DarkRadiant 3.0.0 is ready for download. It took a while, but DarkRadiant 3.0.0 is finally available. Most of the time has been spent on improving DarkRadiant's renderer, which now features shadow mapping support of up to 6 lights. It's still not matching the engine's output (especially in terms of performance), but it should be faster and much more helpful than it was before. The effort that has been put into the renderer rewrite plus the bigger changes in the previous few releases make the jump to the next major version feel more than justified. Besides of that, a lot of non-renderer issues have been resolved in this release too, next to some fine usability improvements. For more things that have changed or fixed, see the list below. Windows and Mac Downloads are available on Github: https://github.com/codereader/DarkRadiant/releases/tag/3.0.0 and of course linked from the website https://www.darkradiant.net Thanks go out to all who helped testing this release! And I'll gladly repeat myself, by thanking all the awesome people who keep using DarkRadiant to create Fan Missions - they are the main reason for me to keep going. Please report any bugs or feature requests here in these forums, following these guidelines: Bugs (including steps for reproduction) can go directly on the tracker. When unsure about a bug/issue, feel free to ask. If you run into a crash, please record a crashdump: Crashdump Instructions Feature requests should be suggested (and possibly discussed) here in these forums before they may be added to the tracker. Changes since 2.14.0 Feature: Realtime shadow mode Feature: Allow way to hide some entities in Create Entity list Feature: MD5 Animation Viewer: show current frame & total frames Feature: MD5 Animation Viewer: jump to frame Feature: DarkRadiant warns about missing .darkradiant file on load Feature: Ability to center 3D camera on selected entity Feature: Cut functionality to complement copy and paste Feature: Save user settings by application version Fixed: Free Rotation not working anymore, can only rotate along 3 axes Fixed: DR crash with combination of mouse buttons pressed Fixed: Git Sync Exception: too many redirects or authentication replays Fixed: Missing brushes when opening alphalabs1 from vanilla Doom 3 PK4s Fixed: Selected Skin not showing in ModelSelector Fixed: Reload Defs takes longer every time Fixed: ForceShadows materials are not casting shadows Fixed: Objective GUI doesn't display properly in some places Fixed: Crash on loading certain maps Fixed: Vertex colours do not show on models in lighting mode Fixed: Entity inspector shows inherited spawnargs of previous selection Fixed: DR overwrite order for defs is different from TDM's Fixed: X/Y and Camera View bindings don't save properly Fixed: Material Preview rendering Fixed: "Replace Selection with exported Model" sets classname to "func_static". Fixed: Map -> Edit Package Info (darkmod.txt)... crashes DarkRadiant Fixed: Rotating a func_static result to random stretch textures Fixed: DR crashes when syncing with remote Git repository Fixed: Switching visibility of Github repo from public to private causes crash Fixed: Dockable window layout doesn't save new floating XY views Fixed: "Choose skin..." button on custom model spawnargs shows skins for main model spawnarg Fixed: Entity inspector considers inherited colors black Fixed: ReloadDefs moves def_attached light crystals to entity origin Fixed: Option to filter skins out of search results in the Choose Model dialogue Fixed: .lin files can't be opened if different case than .map name Fixed: Model chooser radio box selection issue Fixed: Changing multiple lights between omni/projected resets colours to black Improvement: Allow absolute paths for snapshots Improvement: Light diamonds and Speaker radii are transparent Improvement: Unify Declaration Parsers Improvement: Add "Create Particle" to right-click orthoview drop-down menu Improvement: Revisit Interaction Shader to get closer to the TDM looks Improvement: Entity inspector should recognise spawnargs beginning with "sprS_" as def spawnargs Improvement: UI for worldspawn-to-entity conversion Improvement: classname field should always be read-only, to force use of the "Choose entity class" button Coding: Update solution and build dependencies to Visual Studio 2022 The list of changes can be found on the our bugtracker changelog. Have fun mapping!

Body awareness please. https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/20013-are-you-gonna-add-this/

I loved it. Awesome game. I faceplanted at the people who asked for quest markers in the Steam forums there... Herr, lass Hirn regnen. The game is so great, and so true to the original, because it doesn't hold your hand. When is the new breed of gamers gonna learn.

Holy war mode on ? You probably know little software, or only a very limited class of software. See Myth #5. Keeping interconnected applications in single monolithic repo has a lot of benefits over having different repositories. The main benefit is that every revision is set in stone and perfectly reproducible afterwards. It is also possible to do atomic changes to several projects. Just read about why Google does that. SVN allows you to checkout only a few subdirectories of the repo, so monolithic repo does not forbid people to download only what they need. Git sort-of has sparse checkouts, but there are complicated, most likely limited, and etc. Submodules... I'd better never know of their existence ? Yes, SVN is known for having more conflicts and having worse tools for resolving them. But with trunk-based development, they rarely happen. On the other hand, conflicts are the core nature of all VCS we use. Don't tell tales that conflicts won't happen at all with git. The same thing happens with git when people work via merge requests. Which is how it is usually done, especially for outer contributors. Changing VCS won't help you much with not breaking trunk. Unless you are going to work in your private branch for months without merging back, in which case nobody will ever review&accept your merge request due its gigantic size Yes, and this is very dangerous, because most of developers are poor testers. They will gather bugs in their branches, and then when they consider them "truly stable", merge all these bugs into trunk/develop. And nobody will notice it soon, since everyone is deep in his own branches, branched from develop a month ago. I prefer following the most widely used practice of game development, when everyone is sitting on trunk, so that all bugs get noticed and fixed quickly. Do you know that in Naughty Dogs artists even have an auto-update script for assets repo? So that when someone commits something, everybody forcibly gets the updated version. This is a relevant topic due to recent server outages. It is planned that our admin will provide readonly access to current backups to several members, to be sure that the whole TDM knowledge base does not suddenly disappear. Speaking of normal usage, SVN has zero chance of losing data, since there is no history rewrite. Git, on the other hand, has lots of unsafe ways to edit history, and it is often encouraged. Which provides a good opportunity for users to lose their local history. And in worst case, I guess even remote history can be lost. Recall that git is not a Version Control System, it is a "Stupid Content Tracker". Stupid enough to lose the content it tracks. Holy war off? I think the main reasons why SVN stays on TDM are: Aside from the engine source code repo, we have a few more repos. They contain assets, and migrating them to git would be a disaster. And since they stay on SVN, source code should better stay on SVN too. Avoiding one more VCS is enough reason in itself. Git is inherently harder to use than SVN. Moreover, it is harder not because it has to be so, but because it was ill-designed. I don't like the idea of forcing complexity onto everyone (including myself BTW). Whoever wants to use git can take the additional complexity onto himself and use git-svn, or any other approach to synchronize SVN with git. Also, we have artists: while usually they don't work with source code repo, sometimes they decide to build the engine themselves. There are ways to use git locally with SVN. I do this sort of thing myself with hg. Some time ago I suggested creating an official GitHub mirror for source code repo, with some semi-automatic workflow for accepting pull requests. As far as I remember, nobody was interested. And migration is unlikely to happen.