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Ulysses 2: Protecting the Flock By Sotha The mission starts some time after the events of Ulysses: Genesis, and continues the story of Ulysses. It is a medium sized mission with a focus on stealthy assassinations and hostage liberation. BUILD TIME: 12/2014 - 05/2015 CREDITS The TDM Community is thanked for steady supply of excellent mapping advice. Thanks goes also to everyone contributing to TDM! Voice Actors: Goldwell (as Goubert and Ulysses), Goldwell's Girlfriend (as Alis) Betatesters: Airship Ballet, Ryan101. Special Thanks to: Springheel and Melan (for proofreading). Story: Read & listen it in game. Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwR0ORZU5sraRGduUWlVRmtsX3c/view?usp=sharing Other: Spoilers: When discussing, please use spoiler tags, like this: [spoiler] Hidden text. [/spoiler] Mirrors: Could someone put this on TDM ingame downloader? Thanks!

@datiswous, made that correction fm_test.subs --> fm_conversations.subs @stgatilov, about srt naming and file location, would you be OK with the following edit? New/changed stuff in italics: srt command is followed by paths to a sound sample and its .srt file, typically with matching filenames. An .srt file is usually placed either with its sound file or in a "subtitles" folder. The .srt file format is described e.g. [1]. The file must be in engine-native encoding (internationalization is not supported yet anyway) and have no BOM mark. It contains a sequence of text messages to show during the sound sample, each with start and end timestamps within the sample's timeline. It is recommended to use common software to create .srt files for sound samples, instead of writing them manually. This way is more flexible but more complicated, and it is only necessary for long sounds, for instance sound sample of a briefing video. It's a simple enough standard that it can be shown as an short example, demonstrating that subtitle segments can have time gaps between them. And the example can show correct TDM usage, without requiring a trip off-site and picking through features that TDM doesn't support. Specifically, the example shows how to define two lines by direct entry, rather than using unsupported message location tags (X1, Y1, etc.). And skips other unavailable SRT font markups like italics, mentioned in the wikipedia description. The example would also show the TDM-specific path treatment. The example could be inserted before the sentence "It is recommended to use common software...."

Welcome to the Dark Mod forums MarsManon! Thank you very much for the kind words about SLL, it's always nice to hear We all worked real hard on bringing Grayman's map to life and I'm glad you enjoyed it

To replicate: Save before opening the diary, because succeeding will soft-lock you. When diary is open, you have to input this sequence in an extremely short period of time (almost at the same time): First "Next Inv. Item", and then "Use Inv. Item" In my case: Mouse scroll down, and then F. --- This might take a while. Probably easier when not both keys are mapped on mouse, but one separately on keyboard? Maybe this happens for people who have set "Use Inv. Item" to right mouse. I'm pretty sure that was the case for me when the bug triggered by accident. And my finger is often found twitching on RMB. --- Alternate outcome that sometimes happened: Diary became unwilling to open at all even though the green item backlight triggered. It is possible that this happened because I cycled items instead of turning pages, because I timed the inputs wrong. Hope it helps.

I was so enchanted by this FM, I had to sign up to the forums the same day I finished it to come thank the authors Genuinely, truly incredible work! I was so overwhelmed in places that I resorted to just shouting joy at my monitor two, three, maybe four entirely separate times while playing. Exploring, puzzling, finding something new, trying to use it, and finding it does a whole new, separate, wonderful thing! There aren't enough words inside me to describe the feeling. It was breathtaking. I don't have any specific feedback that hasn't come through this thread before Thanks so much for making this, for all the inspiration and ingenuity and effort it took. If I never play another level this good, in any other game, in my life, I'd be fine with that.

In one of Sotha's Thomas Porter Missions (I think Lich Queen's Demise, but am not sure) you had to brew a potion by using items on a kettle. A similar system could be used for crafting, if it could be advanced a little further. E.g. you have a container into which you have to drop the items you want to use to craft. A script checks, if these items are suitable to create something and if they are, they are created. If not, they could removed again from the container. You could place a manual on how to use this (written by the Inventor's Guild if it is supposed to be mechanical or by a Mage if it is supposed to be magical) near it and even spread a couple of recipes around the mission. This would be kind of like the new Prey, where you can create different elemental cubes from scrap and then combine these cubes to create items. You could even consider to use the element part as well: A script checks, which materials are used on the model dropped into a container to create the respective elemental cubes (or spheres or something like that). For crafting the elemental items are used. It could also limit the use to certain moveable items: If they are too big to fit into the container, you cannot use them. This way, you would not affect any earlier missions, while the setup could be saved as a prefab for use in future missions. I think some crafting system would decrease the hesitation to use single-use equipment. I am also an RPG-player, who usually finishes the game with hundrets of potions, because I always keep them for the right occation, just to realise later on that I could have used tons of them without affecting my game later on. I found the Witcher games to have a nice workaround for that. You had a limited amount of potions that you could use at a given time, but could produce them quite easily. This way you could use them without having to fear that you would miss them in the next fight, but still had to give some thought about which ones to use. There already are some scripts that check if the player is allowed in specific areas (e.g. in Fieldmedic's "No Ordinary Guest"). These should be quite easy to modify to check for certain items in the inventory as an addition to the current location. As usual it would just require a mapper willing to implement it...

I found this object in the TDM files (tdm_target.def) entityDef atdm:target_itemremove { // Added in #3784 "inherit" "atdm:target_base" "editor_color" "1 0.5 0" "editor_mins" "-5 -5 -5" "editor_maxs" "5 5 5" "noclipmodel" "1" "wait_for_trigger" "1" "spawnclass" "CTarget_ItemRemove" // DR documentation "editor_usage" "Removes items from the player's inventory. Each target_itemremove can remove up to 1 unique entity, one stack of stackables, and one type of ammo. Melee weapons cannot be removed." "editor_var unique_item" "The name of a unique entity to remove. Must match the entity's 'name' spawnarg." "editor_var stackable_class" "Specify a type of stackable. Must match the entity's 'inv_name' spawnarg." "editor_int stackable_count" "The number of stackables to remove. 0 means all." "editor_var ammo_type" "The weapon whose ammo is to be removed. Standard ammo names are: broadhead, firearrow, gasarrow, mossarrow, noisemaker, ropearrow, vinearrow, waterarrow" "editor_int ammo_count" "The amount of ammo to remove. 0 means all." "editor_bool drop_in_world" "If set, the item will be dropped at the player's feet instead of being removed from the world." // DR default keys "editor_setKeyValue unique_item" "-" "editor_setKeyValue stackable_class" "-" "editor_setKeyValue stackable_count" "0" "editor_setKeyValue ammo_type" "-" "editor_setKeyValue ammo_count" "0" "editor_setKeyValue drop_in_world" "0" // Defaults for subclasses "stackable_count" "0" "ammo_count" "0" "drop_in_world" "0" } Note this: "editor_int stackable_count" "The number of stackables to remove. 0 means all." The default is 0, which is the behavior you are seeing. I'm not sure how to use this, but maybe you can somehow, and set stackable_count to 1?

I'm also not a fan of the limited inventory, especially because the first place to store some items in a chest is at the current end of the playable area, which, in my case, is 8 to 10 hours into the game, so, pretty late... I also don't like fixed save points/rooms, which require a lot of backtracking if you don't want to lose your progress, when you do a mistake like falling from a ceiling, or alerting 5 or 6 guards at the same time, which can easily happen. It seems like a silly restriction, which adds nothing to the gameplay. Other than that, as I said, I'm really impressed, and, I also like that the game doesn't explain you the whole game in the first 30 minutes. I think that's an unfortunate development in modern games, and it's refreshing to see games like the System Shock remake and this one getting rid of that hand holding. Because, sorry, that's basically what it is. Unless something is super unclear, it's really not impossible to figure those games out yourself. That's a big part of the fun and appeal of them for me.

Congratulation to another update of your mod! I am trying to include the name-on-frob-instead-of-shouldering feature into my patch, but even when I copy the whole smart-items section over, I have the problem that the name stays on screen even after frobbing has ended. Do you have any ideas of what I might be doing wrong?

I'm not sure about adding a dedicated place on the HUD for the compass and stats, but you can at least bind keys to display the stats and compass. For example, add the following to your "DarkmodKeybinds.cfg" or "autocommands.cfg" file: bind "TAB" "inventory_hotkey 'Loot Info'" // Stealth Stat bind "v" "inventory_hotkey 'Compass'" bind "l" "inventory_hotkey ''" // Clear Inventory My muscle memory is to press TAB to show the stats once I'm done lock picking. Also, you can bind keys to select or use inventory items. First, find its name and then bind a key to either "inventory_hotkey" to select it or "inventory_use" to immediately use it without selecting it. For example, to bind a key to wear/use the x-ray glasses (in either Written in Stone or Iris): bind "y" "inventory_use 'Magic Glasses'" // Written in Stone bind "y" "inventory_use 'Peculiar Lenses'" // Iris NOTE: The "autocommands.cfg" file overrides the "DarkmodKeybinds.cfg" each time the game is run.

TDM Modpack v3.5 released in the opening post Starting with this update you no longer need to "shoulder" a body to get to see the tag (name/status) at the bottom, just grab (frob) the body and there you have it: This feature has been included in the "Quiet Objects" mod, which is now called "Smart Objects", and it also works with droppable inventory items: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- v3.5 also introduces the initial release of the "Hunter Bow" mod. Some missions alter the properties of the bow to make it draw arrows faster and I thought there must be some demand out there for such mod. Enable the Hunter Bow mod and you will draw the bow faster in all missions. The Hunter Bow mod is entirely optional: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a side note I made progress with "Alchemy" and arrow effects now fade out nicely (finally!). The approach employed allows me to script any effect and/or event and I should be able now to produce more arrow types. We already have Night & Day and I am thinking we could probably have and Order & Chaos combo... we shall see. Oh, the "Moonlight" arrow or recipe has been renamed to "Starlight", which seems like a tighter name. I hope you have fun with this new version. Here is the full changelog: ============================== v3.5 - New release ------------------------------ • SMART OBJECTS MOD v1.1: AI status/names and some item names are displayed onscreen when grabbed. • PLAYER SKILLS MOD - MANIPULATION v1.8: Proper support for sconce_2candles_rigid (around 40 flames). • PLAYER SKILLS MOD - COMBINATION v1.2: Arrow effects fade out nicely now. Improved FX. • HUNTER BOW MOD v1.0: Initial release • (Internal) Code adjustments. Cheers!

There's another ability this would make possible which is another reason I wanted the suggestion up, always felt this would be amazing in terms of immersion and interacting with the world: If you look at Moveables/Weapons/atdm:moveable_* you'll see a lot of weapons the AI can wield. Wouldn't it be great if instead of just the longsword the player could use any of them and benefit from their different stats? Imagine picking up the hammer of a builder and using that to whack enemies, or the bent sword used by moors, not to mention the dagger I mean come on you're a thief you should be able to use a knife! We can in fact achieve this without needing a custom set of hands per weapon: We only need the existing hands and animations, the weapon just needs to be attached to the hand bone as a separate entity. Any sword you pick up would use the same hand mesh and animations, all that differs is its weapon model the sounds and functionally stats. For example the dagger would work just like the sword except you shouldn't be able to parry with it, stat wise it would have a faster attack rate for slightly less damage. Only issue I see is long and heavy weapons like the lance would require both hands and different animations; Unless someone feels like animating them those can remain off-limits to the player, we have a convenient excuse in that the player is a thief who isn't trained in using heavy cavalry stuff. For items a similar trick can be used to make them visual: Have a first person hand as its own md5mesh / md5anim and give it a few holding animations for different grips. Items would be attached to the hand bone with an offset: Potions, readable books, keys... all can be rendered in the hand by simply changing the model of the attached entity, if needed just using a different finger animation that matches the size of the object being gripped.

Ahhh, got it! I wasn't sure if it's for universal mods or FM specific mods only: We get deeper customization in some missions but rarely any global mods you can run with every FM. Very happy global modding is getting some attention! In that regard I once made a complex damage system which allows taking damage per limb, inspired by the first DeusEx game. It later included support for augmentations that give you special abilities as you upgrade them... problem is I think that part remained unfinished, and the upgrade items would have to be placed by maps which is an issue. The two scripts should be easy to separate though... I guess I'll share it too in case anyone can make use of my final work on it.

How you can help depends a lot on what skills you have. I can Record Video Recording "Let's Play" videos or simple walkthroughs of existing missions and posting them to Youtube is great exposure for the mod (see example .) Be sure to let us know so we can link to them. If you have some editing ability, Video tutorials, where you explain how the mod works, or how to use specific tools, would also be great. Video trailers, showcasing interesting places and features, are also great for publicity. An example is . I can Write Writing reviews for missions are always nice, especially if they include good screenshots. Not only does it give us something to post on other forums, but it makes mappers feel good when their mission gets attention (especially if it's positive). We have a collective thread to post reviews in: http://forums.thedar...s-walkthroughs/ Writing reviews of the mod as a whole, targetted an an audience that doesn't know much about TDM, is also very useful. You could also try offering your services to mappers to create interesting readables, or to proofread for their mission. I can Act and Record Audio We are always on the lookout for good quality audio recordings for vocal sets. If interested, you can pick a few different lines from this script: http://wiki.thedarkm...t:_Average_Jack and send the recordings to Springheel, who then writes a script based on the type of voice you have. I can Translate We could always use translations of our menu/hud into more languages. Also, only a few FMs are aavailable in more than one language, so there is a lot of work there, see the I18N Translator's Guide in the Wiki. I can Model Great! Take a look at the model request thread:http://forums.thedar...-requests-here/ and pick something that interests you. Or just post a, "Hey, anybody want a model?" thread in this forum and I'm sure mappers will get back to you. I can Animate Fantastic. We can always use more good animations. Our current character rigs use a Maya skeleton. PM Springheel for more info. I know C++ Have a look at our coding section in the wiki, pick an issue or feature from the bugtracker of the mod or the leveleditor, download the recent sourcecode release (or better ask for an SVN checkout) and get cracking. Make sure nobody is already working on that specific issue and feel free to ask questions. I can Edit Images We can always use completely new textures and/or improved versions of older textures. How to get started and how to import them into the mod. I can Take Photos Good quality photos of useful textures (medieval-ish building facades, dirt, rocks, wood, etc) are always welcome. The fewer directional shadows and higher resolution, the better. I don't have any skills Even if you can't do any of the above, you can still help out. Talk about TDM in other forums; share your (preferably positive) experiences with other gamers you know. Last, but not least, compliment people when you like their work. Saying "thanks", to a developer or, "I really enjoyed your mission" to a mapper will make their day. -------------------- I'll update this further as more things occur to me.

@datiswous It's a dirty hack, to be honest, as it was just a proof of concept. Basically there are two things going on. 1. An infinite loop, that takes care of clearing the inventory if the player is not looking at a door. 2. An alternative version of the frob action script on the door that takes care of finding the correct key in the players inventory and switching to the lockpick, if the correct key is not in the players possesion. As stated in the video this setup works with one lockpick. But due to the minigame in TDM having several picks is nonsense either way and only present as it was like that in the original games. These are the scripts (this stuff is actually still lying around on my harddrive ) : 1. Inventory clearance (switching away from the lockpicks (this is to disguise them in the inventory, as the player doesn't have to use them actively) void test() { while(1) { if ($player1.getImmobilization("")!=2048 && $player1.getCurInvItemEntity().getName()=="lockpick") { $player1.getNextInvItem(); } sys.waitFrame(); } } Immobilizations are set by the game if the player is doing something specific, normally to somewhat restrict his moving capabilities (e.g. making him slower). From player.h // Player control immobilization categories. enum { EIM_ALL = -1, EIM_UPDATE = BIT( 0), // For internal use only. True if immobilization needs to be recalculated. EIM_VIEW_ANGLE = BIT( 1), // Looking around EIM_MOVEMENT = BIT( 2), // Forwards/backwards, strafing and swimming. EIM_CROUCH = BIT( 3), // Crouching. EIM_CROUCH_HOLD = BIT( 4), // Prevent changes to crouching state. (NYI) EIM_JUMP = BIT( 5), // Jumping. EIM_MANTLE = BIT( 6), // Mantling (excluding jumping) EIM_CLIMB = BIT( 7), // Climbing ladders, ropes and mantling. EIM_FROB = BIT( 8), // Frobbing. EIM_FROB_HILIGHT = BIT( 9), // Frobbing AND frob hilighting (not sure if needed or if EIM_FROB can disable hilight also) EIM_FROB_COMPLEX = BIT(10), // Frobbing of "complex" items (not a door, lever, button, etc) EIM_ATTACK = BIT(11), // Using weapons EIM_ATTACK_RANGED = BIT(12), // Using ranged weapons (bows) EIM_WEAPON_SELECT = BIT(13), // Selecting weapons. EIM_ITEM_USE = BIT(14), // Using items EIM_ITEM_SELECT = BIT(15), // Selecting items. EIM_ITEM_DROP = BIT(16), // Dropping inventory items. EIM_LEAN = BIT(17), // Leaning }; Dunno if the numbering has changed or the logic is a bit different, but immobilization 2048 refers to one of the frobs (but it is two to the power of eleven, so I am a bit confused here, one would have to test if it is still valid). The frob_action_script on the door (you have to set that via the respective spawnarg): void advancedDoorFrob(entity door) { if (door.IsLocked()) { $player1.setCurInvCategory("#str_02392"); $player1.setCurInvItem(door.getKey("used_by")); sys.waitFrame(); entity key=$player1.getCurInvItemEntity(); if(key==$null_entity) { $player1.setCurInvCategory("#str_02389"); $player1.setCurInvItem("lockpick"); } else { door.ToggleLock(); } } else { door.ToggleOpen(); } } The code basically switches the inventory item to the key used by the door currently frobbed. If such a key isn't present in the players inventory, no item will be selected (aka null_entity) and we switch to the lockpick. Otherwise the door will be unlocked. This only happens if the door is still locked, though, otherwise it just gets opened/closed. In all honesty, I would prefer a different implementation nowadays, but this gives you an impression of how this can be set up.

OK I think I've got to the bottom of this. I've created this forum thread (with bug report): https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22221-bug-drowning-ai-in-shallow-water/ I can apply a workaround, although it won't be perfect and the bug itself needs fixing in the engine. There are a few other things that need fixing so will put an update together soonish.

If any mappers have encountered weirdness with kill objectives not working with drowning AI, I think I've found out why. I don't think it would be a particularly difficult one to fix either. I've raised this bug report: https://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=6323 Some context here: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/21837-fan-mission-the-lieutenant-2-high-expectations-by-frost_salamander-20230424/&do=findComment&comment=487316 I think this is a bug, but just raising here in case some people think otherwise.

I have played through this mission twice now, and despite the few frustrating spots noted by others, I found it enjoyable with many interesting ideas, visuals and gameplay mechanics. I can understand why some unconventional elements like the guard change, some unpickable locks/doors or seemingly impossible-to-ghost areas can break specific kinds of play style. In my opinion however the philosophy of TDM leaves a lot of room for missions to vary and even deviate from the "canon" so not to let us get bored I also think it lies on the mission author, how much of such information they put in the mission description as a warning, e.g. geegee already has included warnings about heavy GPU demands and hints at some nonlinear aspects of gameplay. All in all an enjoyable *and* challenging mission for me. I have also experienced framerate drops in some areas, even with my new RTX 3060 with maxed-out settings. Strangely, this also happens in areas with "smoke" effects, e.g. It also appears to get worse when the lantern is on, so maybe it is an interaction of light sources with volumetric stuff or shadow maps? I encountered a few other bugs here and there, like items frobbable from inside closed drawers/containers and the stuck dungeons door, and I also managed to break the game once by The lighting could also use some tuning in a few areas. One thing I was not able to figure out is, Will certainly play v2, whenever @geegee decides to make it!

I think it could be a super cool feature. You can also have the player comment on items.

If it's available as an option in the TDM settings ingame, or as a cvar, I guess it doesn't do much harm. But, I don't really care if items are being displayed with a name or not. I think there's a much higher priority of having quality in other regards in missions than displaying the item's names on screen. Just my opinion, you asked for opinions.

Kind of interesting way to add narrative to objects in the game. Maybe I am wrong but I think moveables inherit the “inv_name” spawnarg, which is the display name for inventory items in the inventory gui - though for most objects that don’t end up in the players inventory it’s probably blank. It might be a good one to repurpose as it would also then display correctly for objects such as keys when they are dropped from inventory but being held by the player.

While the idea is great, I see a small problem. I guess right now mappers can already name items, so if something has a name players know it is important for the mission. If it has no name it isn't. This would be lost if everything had a name!

Core items should cover a good-enough number of moveables in all mission. There normally isn't that much junk and it normally is the same and it is found in the same places: kitchen, bathroom, bedroom... Would mappers complain if all of a sudden a "Stool" is described as a "Stool"? Things change though when a mapper decides a "Brush" becomes "Penelope's Brush". A useless item still, but more power to tell a story through everyday objects. It's all in there already: the "shouldered name" slot in the HUD. It works perfectly fine via script although it would be better to have it built-in. Regardless: no names, no game