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Do we keep using the current system, or are there plans for a new way for example using an universal translation format? The two biggest issues with the current system I find is that currently editing larger text is not great and the original map file (or more) has to be modified, which means if the mapper doesn't want to bother, it's not going to happen, because external modification of map files is a no-go I think.

I'd hardly call it a mod, if the functionality is already there and it's merely about presenting the settings in a different way. Anyway, I already said that I basically concur and that I would ideally like to see an extra accessibility settings GUI for all related features: frob helper, head bob, more subtle mantle animations, you name it... Still, your reasoning is kind of wrong because the intention of the frob helper was not to detect frobably objects, but to help the player aim on small frobable objects. The "Always On" feature unconditionally helps the player aim, so this does not conflict with the intention of the frob helper at all.

Hehe. Not sure how can I be of any help in the modding department snatcher. I'm scratching my head as of why some of these features haven't been officially implemented already like the outline or the peek behind doors. A feature that can enrich future missions. btw how do I make the outline white in color instead of black?

And some new (wonderful looking) screenshots: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1150760/announcements/detail/6009568738059053794

Because it's super useful not having to browse through the whole thread, and probably not even finding what you're looking for, because people put it in spoiler tags, which are excluded from the search. You don't have to click on the spoiler tag in the original post.

Basically someone always asks. We're all grownups here and it's in spoiler tags so...

With as little fanfare as possible, I'd like to announce the release of the third installment of The Lieutenant series: Foreign Affairs. Huge thanks for my beta testers: @Bergante @Cambridge Spy @chakkman @Mat99 @Shadow @wesp5 For a full list of credits, please see the readme.txt that ships with the mission, or go here. More screenshots can be viewed here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBr44M Download link #1: https://github.com/FrostSalamander/lt3/releases/download/2.0/faffairs.pk4 Download link #2: https://drive.proton.me/urls/JPRPJQH8Z8#Pl2a52TQy0WA @nbohr1more here's the 800x600 versions of the screenshots: https://drive.proton.me/urls/MFGZ3WXCAW#WXXAnYkPgGZX Stuff to be aware of: TDM 2.12 required The only difference in difficulty settings is the (optional) loot goal If you see a tile material, chances are it's a custom version changed to sound like stone. I did this in order to preserve the aesthetic of the setting without making it maddening to play. Some vines are climbable, some aren't. Just try them and see. The FM makes use of latches on doors, a new feature created by @Wellingtoncrab and myself. Read more here: https://github.com/thedarkmodcommunity/test-latch/wiki Known Issues (UPDATE: This has been fixed in version 2.0). A minority of players are having an issue with things being unfrobable, particularly the jewelry cabinets in Jerry's Jewels and also another lever in a secret place. Try exiting/re-entering the area to see if that fixes anything, as the frobability is triggered by entering and leaving the room/area. Secrets Here's a list of the secret locations. Obvious spoilers:

I don't recommend this sort of UI layout. If there are two independent settings (item size and fade duration), they should be two separate controls, not a single list containing a separate item for every possible combination of options. Otherwise you end up with a confusing and unwieldy list which explodes in size whenever a new option is added.

I always tweak the tdm_frobhelper_ignore_size such that it is enabled for all object sizes as well because I prefer it that way. However, back when I implemented this feature, it was common feedback that it shouldn't be enabled for big objects like doors etc. because it was intended to help frobbing small objects, i.e., it was not supposed to be an interaction indicator, which we already had in the frob-highlight. The reasoning for this feature still stands today, so I don't see how this qualifies as madness. The "Always On" feature has indeed been added as an accessibility feature as it supposedly helps some people with motion sickness, and since there were now already multiple options, I also added the "fade-in fast"-option because I felt the delay of the usual fade-in was so long that the frob helper wasn't really that helpfull in more hectic situations. Accessibility features should by definition never be hidden, so I would not remove the "Always On"-option. In fact, I would actually like to see an extra options page only listing accessibility options. On that page, we could then of course also add a checkmark-option to enable frob helper only for small objects.

EDIT: This topic was initially named "Frob Helper madness". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- While working on something I analyzed the Frob Helper. The Frob Helper was enabled by default in 2.11. The options were: Show Frob Helper: Yes [Default] No [Tip] Makes interacting with small objects easier by temporarily displaying a white dot. ------------------------------------------------------------------ In 2.12 the Frob Helper remains enabled by default but things changed: Show Frob Helper: Always Hover Fade In [Default] Fade In Fast No [Tip] Makes interacting with small objects easier: Always = Show crosshair dot at all times Hover = Instantly show dot on highlight Fade In = Gradually show dot on highlight Fade In Fast = Same as Fade In but faster ------------------------------------------------------------------ If I was new to TDM I would expect a "Frob Helper" to help me identify frobs: you can interact with this, here is the helper so that you know it and you know where the center of the screen is in case you need it. The Frob Helper however was designed to compensate for the shortcomings of other mechanics of the game, and as such, the Frob Helper is flawed by design: it only shows up if the size of the object is smaller than the arbitrary value of 40. I will say at this point that I am well aware of the tdm_frobhelper_ignore_size cvar but this isn't the point. This game isn't a shooter and "Always on" is not required unless we are talking motion sickness, in which case it belongs in a hidden cvar, for the few that may need it. The starting point of the Frob Helper should have been: On (the helper shows up whenever you can interact with something) Off From this point we can expand with more options, of course: Always on (not recommended based on the nature of the game) On for all items - Hover On for all items - Fade In On for all items - Fade In Fast [Default] On for small items - Hover On for small items - Fade In On for small items - Fade In Fast Always off

I hope that is not the new TDM version. https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/20784-render-bug-large-black-box-occluding-screen/

I changed blinking frequency to 0.015 now but I can't see a difference. I have another question though: is it possible to have the new tools or skills listed on the inventory page right after Unarmed? I have no idea how sorting is determined there and while changing their category to "weapons" works, it also creates duplicate entries on the inventory page...

If you want to keep the Whistle in "Tools" an alternative can be this: You just change the icon and the sounds and voilà, new exclusive mod

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.

The project to round up viable orphaned translations is mostly complete now. https://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=4726 Since Darkfate has their own translations it took awhile to merge the older translations with the darkfate formatting since they generated new string numbers from scratch. A few missions are so radically changed that the old translations are practically worthless now ( and some Darkfate translations are also incompatible with the latest mission versions ) but most of the work was salvageable. I added a "Translation Pack" column to the Missions wiki: https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Fan_Missions_for_The_Dark_Mod all entries marked with "Yes" are working translations that use Darkfate's translation design ( includes xdata, GUI and Map files if the author didn't perform localization changes in their own mission pack ). Sadly, these changes do not show in the mission downloader list. You will need to delete mission_l10n.pk4 files from the darkmod/fms/mission_name folders to acquire the new translation packs that "actually work". Not all mission packs contain all languages. Mostly you can count on Russian being in there, but a good percentage have German and Italian strings too. French, Polish, and a few other languages are represented but not very broadly. Hopefully now that the packs work other contributors will add more language strings. Mission administration details: Going forward, it would be courteous if the mission admins ( like myself ) would diff the map files when new mission updates are supplied and replace all the objectives, inv_name, pop-up messages, and shouldered names in a copy of the new map file with the previous string codes then copy that file to the map folder in the translation pack folder. Ideally, authors will be encouraged to run their missions through the converter so only new strings need be added to the packs but not everyone likes that workflow and how cumbersome it makes future edits to the mission.

A new "trick" to cover up a security camera using moss arrow and broadhead arrow : This is a huge leap forward from previous old tricks : - using rope arrow and pickable book bug: - the other random bug: But carrying all of these things throughout the mission will weigh down your time....

I need A New Job

@stgatilov @nbohr1more I'm wondering if it would be possible to get this implemented for 2.13? I'm really not loving the EFX files - it's way too easy to miss/forget locations and just a general PITA. I am even considering offering to help implement - any reluctance on my part is purely down to lack of confidence. But with some hand-holding I could possibly accomplish something that isn't a total disaster. Maybe an alternative is to have a feature that allows DR to manage the EFX preset in the EFX file? Basically what I'd like is to be able to manage everything related to a location entity in the one place, preferably in DR. Not sure if that's ever been considered? @greebo?

Stone 24pt Font Upgrade, May 9 2024 Interim Release This first release just clears away some of the low-hanging fruit, while buffing the new datBounds program. In summary - stray mark next to W removed poor spacing of J and AE improved 6 characters got accents added. The download is made up of: .dat and 2 .dds files, for distribution/game inclusion .ref [with changes annotated] and .xcf [master source GIMP project, including datBounds layers] 2024 May 9 Stone 24 Interim font update.zip The changes were also doubled-checked using the testSubtitlesANSI FM. As this work continues, with an interim release approximately monthly, characters to be fixed will be chosen seemingly "at random", but actually due to layout considerations... you don't want to know. They'll all be done eventually. Details of Improvements:

Release of datBounds v 1.0 My new tool to visualize the font metrics in a .dat file is now available. For more, see https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=DatBounds I've been using this and testing it as I begin the long process of extending the Stone 24pt character set.

For free ambience tracks it's as Freky said: you look around on the internet for tracks with the appropriate license to be included in your FM. Fortunately, you likely don't even need to bother doing this as a beginner as there's an entire "Music & SFX" section of the forums full of good ambient tracks for you to use if the stock tracks do not meet your fancy. You might also be interested in Orbweaver's "Dark Ambients", which come with a sndshd file already written for you.

While I really like new things in TDM, I fear that as long as these ideas are not part of the core mod, only very mission authors will use them...

Hmmm. I still like my idea of shooting broadhead arrows at fragile lights to turn them off, but I like your idea as well! It's not like we couldn't use a new item, and it's something mappers would have control of by only placing it on levels where we want to have this behavior. But then we'll have to make all lights frobable by default so even this approach would be a little complicated.

I'm working in DarkRadiant on a new map, and I'm having something odd I've never experienced before. There's a fire in a stove model on the second floor of a building... walls, floor, ceiling, etc are all worldspawn brushes with appropriate textures, neither player nor AI have any trouble traversing the entire place, so I think it's assembled as it should be. However, if I douse the stove on the second floor with a water arrow, the water splash somehow drips through the floor brush and douses a torch in the same rough area down on the first floor. I tested it on various positions in the building, and it seems to happen everywhere, not just on that one light. Water arrows that impact on the second floor fall through the floor, and if a light is presence in the fall area it's extinguished. Is this expected behaviour? I would have through a solid brush would stop water from traveling any further once released.