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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.

Ok, we have had plenty of discussion of what the lightgem should look like, and I think we have reached a consensus of sorts. http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=48&st=25 Now what we need is someone to actually create the thing. I would be willing to do it, but honestly, I'm not quite sure how. Is this going to be a 3d model? If not, how is it going to be animated? I know it's not as simple as just making a single image in Photoshop, but someone is going to have to explain how to approach this so that we can get going on this.

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.

Great! So it had some effect to do this work. When you post it, please make a new thread though. Makes it easier to keep track and when I look through the forums to collect the consensus for the design.

Great! Could you take look here http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=285 and assign or create some concepts for the other screens as well?

Yes it does. Trust goldfishguy. Apple Macs traditionally used to default at 72dpi for screen resolution but anything up to (and sometimes beyond) 96dpi is common these days. Take a 17" screen. 800x600 (about 62dpi) is going to be a different resolution to 1280x1024 (about 96dpi). comprendez. good. But anyhow goldfish guy, Springheels right too. Ain't no one got a 300dpi monitor. Not many folks have a 300dpi printer for continuous tone images for that matter. But yeah. Huge images on the internet is just rude. Post little pics if possible please. Or link to larger piccies if needs must. Life is nice and cosy when you are young and healthy and with good eyes - like you and me. 800x600 on a 17" screen is good for anyone a bit far sighted or a bit over the hill though. Feel sorry for anyone checking the forums on a web enabled phone.... (something I do from time to time)

Maya is the best overall 3d app available yes, but I spend a lot of time hanging around the CG commuity, forums etc, and Lightwave is regarded as the best poly modeler available. It has it's shortcomings obviously, no history, edges or NURBS are the main ones, but it's just so fast and intuituve once you learn it, and you can also virtually 'sculpt' in it , in a way not possible in other apps, apart from ZBrush. I used Lightwave 8, but it's virtually identical to lightwave 7 and 7.5, most of the changes in the newer versions were made to Layout, character setup and animation.

Ah, thanks. Applegeeks' forums aren't bad for tutorials either.

If you're interested in some good tutorials and critical feedback, there are a couple good forums to look at. Epilogue is one that has a lot of stuff available that might help. http://www.epilogue.net/cgi/phpBB2/

Well I read in another post o the forums here that 7500-8k polys is the target for characters. I'll have no problem whatsoever getting to that level from the current 30k It's never a good idea to have large details like the belt buckle just a flat plain with a normal map, it's always best to have some basic geometry there as well that more or less follows the high res shape. That's not a problem though, there's a plugin for Lightwave call qemLOSS which does just that job. I'll have to get this textured and normal/spec mapped and into Doom to see what the final effect will be. I currently have no idea how god/bad/average it will look inside the game.

If you find something out then you should probably download this http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=255 and incorporate it there to test it out. My next plans are to figure out how to change the buttons, and how to let the SDK do something for me.

Not really related in line with what we were talking about here....but I just mocked this up for fun. Someone at the ionstorm forums asked if we were going to change the name or just leave it as "The Dark Mod". Thinking of how Eidos and Ionstorm may take to us creating a mod inspired by one of their intellectual properties, I felt it would only be fitting to call the game THIS. On a half serious note...*L* I think I might even like that name. HA. @ pakmannen: Wow, I love that mock up. @ Springheel: I see where your coming from. The inspiration for that idea came from the idea that the fans will be creating prophecies in a sense. Fan Missions are essentially adding to the story. Kind of mystical and fantasy oriented I suppose, but it's also in line with the Thief universe, just approaching if from a different and I think more cerebral direction. Kind of quiet and reflective, like the game itself. As more fan missions are written, it would be like the prophecies unfolding. Just some thoughts to ponder. Anyway, enjoy my silly mockup.

Yes. You should talk to Fingernail about that. He can give you access to the teams forums where we have the concepts and everything.

I think I remember seeing you around on the ISA forums back before Thief 3 was released, that render of the Thief jumping the wall looks really familiar (and absolutely completely amazingly awesome). I'm impressed, everyone else is impressed, and you're already a member of the team as I write this. Welcome to the team, man..hope you have fun.

Greetings Everyone! I wanted to start this thread on behalf of the DarkMod team to help keep our guests informed on our progress; to let them know there's DarkMod life in the project even when it may seem there is none -- and to keep them updated as such. There won't be a set schedule as to when this thread will be updated, but maybe check back from time to time. Anyone can post here and I'm sure you'll hear from other team members here in the future. Although many visitors might already have http://www.mindplaces.com/darkmod/index.htm bookmarked to see updates on screenshots and concept artwork, etc., some don't have it bookmarked and may not know about it. Other forums actually point to our site here and I figured there might be some benefit to providing occasional updates here via this forum, too. As an update for our guests out there, I can say that I've seen a LOT of activity from our team members behind-the-scenes on this DarkMod project. There are many discussions going on and a lot of concepts being worked on. As a team member with a primary focus on artwork, I've personally created a few concept drawings and have seen fellow artists showcase some very nice concepts. Our programmers, 3-D modellers, audio experts, etc. are also very active in these early stages of the project. I want to assure our guests that there's a lot of DarkMod life behind-the-scenes that you might not otherwise see from the outside. We have a long road ahead of us, but we have an enthusiastic group working on this and I'm confident you'll be happy with our DarkMod work once complete. Stay tuned, as I'm sure there will be many more updates in the future! Until then, may shadows continue to guide your journeys. Darkness_Falls

Or register here at the forums, so you can see the rest of the boards.

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=159 The second post in this thread is the important one. The aim of this thread is to collect all information about what we want to do on a more detailed level but not TO detailed. So discussion about conecpt art should be here, but the information that this beast should be done shouild be posted there as well. You should also look through the document and add items in the lists, if you think that they should be included and I forgot them. For example: I listed a number texture themes and what each theme must provide for. If you notice that a theme, or a texture for a theme is missing, the list it, there so we can keep track of it. You don't need to be specific, but specific enough that we know what you are talking about. Of course even if you are an artist, that doesn't mean that you may not look through the other sections to check if we forgot something. If you decide here that you want to do a belcher but the coders don't know about this, you can not animate your model afterwards.

If you agree or decide something like that, then you should post it in my project definition thread, so we can include/remove it there. Not everybody is following all the threads, but we should all know about these things. That's why I started this thread. http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showtopic=159 Usually I don't look much into the Art threads, because I'm not an artist and can not contribute much there. So most of the time, when I look at these threads, I just look at the pictures and hope that the first mod is appearing fast because of the great graphics. But I don't read all the postings here. I guess there are others as well and we shouldn't rely on this when deciding what we want and what not. Especially since a thread has only a limited time and after that only few remeber it and what has been decided. Don't forget. If you decide something here, then the coders will also have to know about it, to give it life.

I'll work on these. PS: I just posted a sample environmental scene in the Art section: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showt...findpost&p=1795

LOL, ummmmmmm.......someone has my login I think -- or the forum's trippin'. I didn't write this. Considering this other thread that's going on (http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showt...st=0entry1247), I'd say something's amiss with the forum.. or someone's playin' gamez.

We've had this discussion already. Check out: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showt...%20dagger&st=50

Whoa, can we shrink that image down a bit? Images should be kept at a reasonable size on the forums...if they absolutely need to be bigger than 800x600, then we should use a link. The cathedral doesn't look bad, but that tower really looks familiar. Is it based on something? I originally thought of Orthanc, but I know it isn't the movie version.

If you want to stay free, use Blender (someone wrote an exporter for D3).... You could learn Lightwave and I'm sure it's great, but I think there has been an exporter written for 3DSMax also. Not sure though...check the D3W forums.

I think perhaps I'll have to pick up Blender to carry us over our lack of 3D team....that is, only one modeller. Adverts have gone on D3W, ttlg & polycount: any of you advertise on any other suitable forums too.