Search the Community

oDDity: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=520

I don't want to stir up anything controversial here, but seeing since we're in a bit of a tight spot in the modeling department right now. I was wondering if anyone would be upset by the thought of using the Thief 2 character models as a base to work off of? Just a hypothetical question. If I were to have those models in .3ds format and had a plugin that would let them be imported into blender, would anyone be interested? They could be a good starting point and by the time we were finished they would be completely new models anyway. This includes the blackjack, sword, and bow hands. I'm not suggesting cheating, but just building on these as our guides. We really need some Thief like models imported to get development moving along. All hypothetical of course.

So, Tom, are you still with us? Haven't seen you post anywhere yet. Are you seeing the developer's forums now?

http://www.tpd.tno.nl/smartsite966.html that's the URL. but I found out that it actually isn't one huge picture. there is also a thread in the TTLG at Communtiy Chat. http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91130&page=1

Anyone familiar with this team? I was wondering if we could recruit some people now that they seem like they're nearing completion. http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91246

Slow down, NH. See above post. We should be very careful about not letting our own enthusiasm dictate what we show the public. We could post something like this in our own public forums, but I wouldn't make it a public release, UNLESS it was combined with some other things, like mentioned above. In all seriousness, if we had the following: The bedroom map (in-game, with fire going), The ability for objects to vanish when frobbed At the very least, removing the D3 HUD and crosshairs THEN, I think it might be worth releasing a new video. But not until then. IMO, it's better to have people wondering what we're up to than it is to release things that make people (who know nothing about how hard things are) say, "THAT's all you've got so far??"

I haven't played T3, but from my Dromed 2 experiences: One thing that I find frustrating is the AI not being able to differentiate between a mansion and the streets of the City. In T2, I've often heard a guard say "I think there's someone in the building", despite not even being in the grounds of a building. The ability to only allow certain schemas to play if there is a certain property on the AI (which is added/removed depending on evironment) would be useful, and would make the AI seem more intelligent. Another thing that bugs me is that the AI know the intruder's a Thief even if the only evidence they've come across has been a dead body. And if you KO/kill an AI, it should be possible to put it onto a bed and so if it's seen by another AI, it assumes it's just asleep. An AI should not be able to patrol past a sleeping AI without waking it up. If a sleeping AI wakes up and eventually decides there was nothing bad there, it should go back to sleep.

Okay, since it hasn't been done yet, I'll kick it off. First let me say, I assume this thread is to contain requests out of the ordinary, as stated by sparhawk at the TTLG forums: QUOTE I'm not talking of the standard features like buttons, switches, or similar stuff. Rather I'm thinking of things you might have wanted to implement in an FM but you couldn't because of limitations in the engine or in DromEd as opposed to the obvious, like rope arrows, swimming, etc. So here's a few ideas just to get things going. -random treasure spawns. An author would place a piece of optional treasure, and set a percentage chance that it will appear or not. -optional path nodes (although I think this might already be possible with Dromed). The AI can choose to ignore a node or go on a different, separate path altogether. -AI actions similar to NOLF2. I never played the game myself, but I'd heard they do things that are unexpected, at unexpected times. Many times I've played Thief and thought to myself, "why is that cook just pacing back and forth?" Clearly for gameplay, NOT realism. "Why would a guy just be standing here in a dark room, facing the wall, then turn to the fireplace, back to the wall, back to fireplace, etc?" Again, gameplay, not realism. I'd heard that in NOLF2, AI will often kick a can around, or fidget (already in Thief), or even leave patrol to go to the restroom. That sounds like a fantastic addition that might really lend some tension to the overall experience. -AI ladder climbing. Touchy subject, that, as it eliminates some safety and comfort in the game, but probably a good addition. Okay, there's a few for now. What ideas would you suggest?

If you look for some tutorials you can learn the basics in a few hours. It is really hard to learn when you just want to experiement with it, without looking at a manual. Fomr the big apps you can usually do a lot just by clicking around. Not so with Blender. On the other hand, the interface is asboluelty streamlined to support the workflow. If you learn the keys you must use you can do a lot of stuff in a short time once you are used to it. I saw on the blender forums that there are now also video tutorials available. This might be helpfull. Search on D3World for "blender tutorials" and you can find them easily, there is a direct link to these.

This workflow I highly recommend, not because the 3 programs suggested here are FREE, but because they are the best at what they do, IMO. I love these 3 programs. You will LOVE wings3d for modelling, if you are like me and HATE Blender's nerdy complex interface. (this is from http://irrlicht.sourceforge.net/phpBB2/vie...ic.php?p=21397) Where to get these programs: www.wings3d.com (for modelling) CharacterFX www.insanesoftware.de (for animating) Lithunwrap (for texturing) is discontinued and available free at arras's site http://members.lycos.co.uk/arras1/ Also check out arras's site to see what he has been making with this workflow. Bloody awesome game objects. They are all very low poly though, for older systems. Look at the gallery forums at the www.wings3d.com forums to see the high-poly stuff people are making with wings3d. It's just as well suited for low poly as high poly - it has always used the "box modelling" interface, which only the latest versions of big name 3D apps have just made it the new pseudo standard for modelling. The reason this workflow is so good is because each of these programs has a specific purpose (modeling, texturing, and animating) and they are all VERY GOOD and VERY SIMPLE TO USE at what they are for. Ever hard of the term "jack of all trades, master of none"? That doesn't apply to this workflow

I finished the highlight for doors and changed the behaviour for items as well. Now the highlighting works in a uniform way for all entities. As you can see on the screenshot it may not be to nice for ingame, so I would need a texture that can be used for the highlight. Currently I simply use this one for testing: base/textures/base_door/doorlight_grn.tga http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showt...st=0entry4929 I think the texture should probably be just a white one so that it will brighten up the object in a uniform way but with lower brightness. Probably a moderately light gray. If you want to test the texture you can do the following: I used the frobTest.map. In materials/custom.mtr you (Renzatic) added this material description and I added this texture to it. Textures/Dark_Mod/Mansion/Doors/Mansion_Door02 { qer_editorimage Textures/Dark_Mod/Mansion/Doors/Mansion_Door02_ed.tga diffusemap Textures/Dark_Mod/Mansion/Doors/Mansion_Door02_d.tga specularmap Textures/Dark_Mod/Mansion/Doors/Mansion_Door02_s.tga bumpmap Textures/Dark_Mod/Mansion/Doors/Mansion_Door02_local.tga { // if ( parm11 >= 0.5 ) blend add map textures/base_door/doorlight_grn.tga colored } }

The texture is great ..looks really good. Can I make an observation… The stone texture is representing granite sets and these are usually about 4” by 7” I have no idea if the camera is close or the texture is too large but the overall look in that screen shot seams a bit big. The construction of the texture i.e. the alignment of the sets is spot on . I worked for a company called lilliput lane for over five years making miniature models of vernacular architecture (old natural buildings usually more than 300 years old ). Over that time I built up a good working knowledge of old construction methods and building materials. My book collection on the subject is also good …if any one wants me to check something out I would be very happy to do so ….the closer we can get to reality the better.

looks quite cool. I'd keep the clock and add some gears etc - maybe you can even add that to a building, so that it'd be a bit integrated into the background... this would also fit to the loading screen, you posted above, quite well.

Hey I would like to personally thank you for your help on the doom3world forums for various questions I have asked. Thanks for the support and the help! Good Luck on your mod!

Hi this is bad marine ass from the Planetdoom and doom3world.org forums and I just thought I'd stop by to wish you guys good luck. I'm both a Doom and Thief fan, and I can't wait to see what happens when the 2 games get married I'm also a solo modder (current project is Doom 3 Aftermath), that means I do most of the work by myself like mapping, modelling, coding and texturing, and since I'm relatively new to the modding scene, I hope to learn more from teams like yourselves and I'm sure I could help out a bit with you guys if you're too busy or anything. Best of luck to the Dark Mod!

Which is perfect for the masoleum I'm building.

Sure, you can tackle the nobleman. Be sure to check the concept art thread. http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=344 As far as the technical details, that's outside my area of expertise. You'll have to ask either Deep Omega or oDDity about that. As well, oDDity has made available a male and female template which I am encouraging people to use as a base for our characters.

You could jump in at the deep end with the noble man or woman: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=362 http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=344

Ive only heard the term brushes used in context with game editors, so if you haven't used one before then it's no surprise you haven't run across it before. At it's most basic a brush is just a cube...or 6 polygons if you wanna be exact. The broadest term is any geometry you lay in the editor besides patches (curved surfaces) or imported models. They're the building blocks of your maps, you'll use them more than anything else. Edit: looks like Fingernail beat me to the punch. Like he said, since you're gonna be a modeller you won't have to worry about brushes at all. lol, anyway...I think I mixed you up with the other new guy..judging from his work it looks like he's gonna be interesting in mapping at some point.

Hi My name is alan and I have been a commercial artist for the last fifteen years, I have been poly modeling and texturing for five years building my portfolio. It is my aim to work in the games industry and would be very pleased to work with you on this mod. I would be happy to help with either modeling or texture, concept work ...it all helps to build the portfolio and would be great to work with a group towards a greater goal. take a look at some of my work at www.alandickinson.net.... I have a load of new digital images I have not updated ...if you are interested I can send some to you ?

So the plan right now is to focus on one environment so that we can get a complete map together. Our Mansion Pack is going to need some specific models. I'll list them below, you sign up for whatever you find interesting. This will be our master list for the time being. I'll link these to appropriate reference pictures when I get a chance, and put the names of the people working on them next to them as they sign up. Items with stars beside them have already been spoken for. update: Jan 20th (removed completed models to make navigation easier) Character models ** - House Guard -- oDDity ** Noble Male -- alan9000 -- http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=344 ** - Noble Female -- TYROT http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=362 ** - Servent Male -- oDDity ** - Servant Female -- oDDity Furniture models ** - door handle/lock -- TYROT http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=779 -- ** - desk, large -- oDDity -- Example #1 ** - 4 poster bed -- Atti -- Example #1 ** - end table #1 -- Atti Example #1 - desk chair -- Example #1 ** - bookshelf, wide -- Atti ** - dining table -- Atti http://www.antiquefurniture.us/antique_fur...ining_table.htm ** - fancy sofa -- Fingernail -- Example #1, Example #2 -- WIP Loot items ** - bowl -- Atti Example ** - candlestick holder --Atti Example #1 - spectacles Decorative items ** - chandelier -- ATTi ** - tapestry -- -- oDDity ** - ink pot and quill -- oDDity ** - hunting trophey (mounted head) -- oDDity -- http://www.alexisturner.co.uk/files/file168.jpg ** - mounted weapon/shield -- oDDity -- http://www.long-sword.com/catalog/images/wall.jpg - potted plant #1 -- ** - various small sculptures -- oDDity -- Example1Example2 Other Useful Objects (nice for added atmosphere, but not necessary) ** - hairbrush -- Atti ** - wash basin -- Fingernail ** - chamber pot -- oDDity - door knocker -- Example ** - apple -- oDDity ** - teapot -- oDDity ** - cutlery -- Atti New Other Objects Since our modelers are going through these like mad, here's a list of every other conceivable thing I could think of us needing in a Mansion environment: ** - Small chest (like a jewellery box) (see below) -- oDDity ** - Large chest -- (see below) -- TYROT ** - Small heating stove -- Atti and TYROT Example ** - grandfather clock -- Atti ** - water pump -- Deep Omega Example ** - bathing tub -- Fingernail ** - bucket -- Atti - folded towels/clothing ** - cleaver / kitchen knife -- Atti ** - loaf of bread -- Atti ** - block of cheese -- Atti - cooking cauldron - pig on a spit ** - cooking pot -- Atti - small canisters (for herbs and stuff) - hanging goose ** - beer mug -- Atti ** - ladle -- Deep Omega ** - barrel -- BlackThief - torch bracket -- Example 1 ** - single bed (for servants) -- Atti ** -- KEYS! (how did I forget?) Deep Omega and TYROT -- Individual and ring of. -- Example 1, Example 2

Why oh why wasn't this posted on our forums!? Congrats oDDity.

We will need a loadscreen as well. I just added it to the GUI design document. So please start thinking on some concepts. http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showt...st=0entry3674 Do we want this to have a simple progress bar (like it is done for D3 levels)? I could think that the ornamented bar, that Springheel was showing for health/stamina, could fit rather good. On the other hand I must say that the original design is much more interesting to look at. The one with the clacks and whirling hands, not the boring one from T3. What I have seen from the GUI screens sofar they contain no machinery. Maybe we can add some as this is an important part of the Thief universe and atmosphere.

Gah! Omega, check out the 2 page discussion on this very issue: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=43 We came up with a number of reasons why this might not be feasible and/or fun.

Or the other thing could be that the shop is a pre-mission map. The question is if this adds really fun if you have to do it all the time. On the other hand it serves as a testbed for map creation. http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=43&st=0 I have a pretty good idea how this could work in terms of game mechanics as it would have been a part of the city section. If there is interest in this I could write up a description how I think it should work.