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I love missions with big surprises. Congratulations I really enjoyed it.

No Honor Among Thieves 1.0 I am proud to announce the release of the first TDM campaign, No Honor Among Thieves. ( Version 4.0 is now available. ) "Turns out those Builders aren't as righteous as we think... no surprises here. An old fence of mine sold me a bit of information concerning the local Archbishop, Lavonte Duchane , and our beloved governor, Archibald Cloist. Governor Archibald has, as of late, been spotted and caught in the local brothels by our very own Builder watch. But, instead of being made public by our lovely Builder brethren, the entire situation sort of vanished. Sounds like blackmail and bribery to me. In the peak of his career an exposure like this would mean sudden death for Archibald - no more noble's support, no more Builder's support, and no more public respect. Bad for his career, but certainly good for mine. What makes the cake even sweeter is that an exposure like would be disastrous for the Archbishop himself. I'm sure the both of them will be very motivated to keep this hush hush. These two really seem like my type - blackmailing and bribing away - so I don't think they'll object when I blackmail them myself... It's time to begin..." Notes: To install, simply unzip the contents into the "fms" directory of your Darkmod installation, or drag and drop the pk4 into the fms folder.. This campaign uses a very large amount of custom materials... models, videos, music/sounds... so it's bigger then the average bear (FM). Also, some of the ambients don't respond well to the sliders... this is a mod issue, and I'm hoping it will be fixed soon! Lastly, some linux users, for some reason, are having problems with NHAT Mission 1/3 showing up. This is because of a capital. Go your fms/Politics and rename the Politics.pk4 to politics.pk4, and also change the folder its in from "Politics" to "politics. Linux hates capitals apparently. Enjoy! Links to newer versions: NHAT v2: NHAT v3: NHAT v4 EFX:

I did play Thief and FMs, but I don't play it any more, except for major things like Black Parade. The clunky movement and antiquated Dromed editor is what discouraged me from interacting with it over the years. I regularly play and sometimes make content for TDM, because it has much better movement model than Thief. I know that most missions don't use it well, but if you construct your geometry (gaps, ledges, distances) using power of two measurements, movement and mantling feels fast and snappy. There's no need for regression in that regard, in my opinion, there's a need for assets and missions made with the movement model in mind, to showcase its strengths properly. Even if TDM originally intended to "simulate the stealth gameplay of Thief, many things will be familiar to veteran Thief players" the actual mod history was a bit different. The team came up with a mission platform that has its own identity when it comes to mechanics. The way assets were made might have been a huge mistake, but that didn't prevent the platform from growing. Since you like anecdotal evidence, noone other Skacky once said that TDM movement model was super clunky, after playing The Painter's Wife. It was really hard to convince him that if a mapper places geometry this poorly, and isn't aware what spatial measurements play to the strengths of a movement model, no movement model will save his mission. And there is no fixing of this problem on the engine side, although it's not the first time when TDM team tries to address the asset problem with engine changes, which I suspect will ultimately lead to even more problems down the line. In game development, things like core mechanics and player tools are locked-down first, in one of the pre-production phases, because all the levels will be constructed around them. Making changes in core mechanics in a project this mature is very risky, I assume you don't plan on going through all playable spaces in all released TDM FMs to check for errors. Instead of making incremental changes in fundamental mechanics, I'd encourage you to create a fork, or some kind of major version bump candidate, like 3.0, where all things could be revamped: movement, player tools, UI, new frob mechanics, perhaps with UI contextual icons, new training map to incorporate all that, etc. Once all new elements fall into place and create something new, with a map or maps to back it up as relevant changes, it will be easier to convince existing player/author base that it was worth it. I assume the existing fanbase is already fragmented, as a result of all those heated discussions around the topic. But with multiple versions available for download, the transition to hypothetical "TDM 3.0" should be easier. It could be similar to UE2 and UE3, and you could also use this as an occasion to draw the line for backwards compatibility. I know there are old systems and variables kept in place just in order not to break existing missions. This way you could e.g. redo the LOD system, implement lights using math functions instead of textures, etc.

Cleaning Up the Neighborhood by some1stoleit, bikerdude Brief Description: A small-medium sized assassination mission, taking place in a bar and casino environment with streets surrounding the bar. Story: Crime is out of control in my neighbourhood, when thugs attacked my wife I decided I can no longer stand by idly. Unable to rely on the corruptible city watch and the aloof Builders, I must take matters into my own hands. My first target is a bar called the Scoundrel’s Rest which is not far from my home. It’s owned by a man named Godfrey and considered neutral ground to the various criminal factions inhabiting the city district. There is no doubt its presence attracts criminals towards my neighbourhood, contributing to the infestation of crime. Infiltrating the bar not only creates the opportunity to kill Godfrey and shut it down for good but also allows me to find information about the rest of criminal groups that inhabit my neighbourhood. I gave my thieving days when I met my wife, but for her sake I must take up the profession once more and prowl in the shadows again. Notes/Tips: Your lock picks are noticeably old, so you can’t rely on them to get you past every door. Examine the environment and keep an eye out for keys on pockets.If you see a pipe outside, chances are you can climb up it.On Rusty and Practiced difficulty settings there's a map available for the bar’s ground level and the street surrounding it.It should be possible to ghost the every area in the mission. A small amount of loot however may be difficult or impossible to acquire without knockouts.There are a few hidden optional objectives you can discover. Screenshots Download Mirrors: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rbiashq1c1k56ns/Cleaning%20Up%20the%20Neighbourhood%20v1.0.zip?dl=0 https://mega.nz/#!bMtgiSra!Y1KXGovfYfdtG1xxRkmPYndLxgq7wMNVr8oENnS2Qxg FAQ: I dislike when I get stuck on an FM and have to leave the game to scroll through forums to find out what to do. I think the mission should be straightforward enough to beat without answers, but I will provide a FAQ if it’s needed. Just be sure to give a good try working it out yourself before reading this. Thanks: I’ve found the TDM community very welcoming and helpful as a new member and would like to thank several people. Bikerdude, for allowing me to collobarate with him and showing me a different way to build maps from scratch in Dark Radiant, as well as many other mapping techniques.Resources:Springheel, for his Modules and his retroactive permission to use New Job street segments.Amadeus, for doing some proofreading of the briefing and readables.Obsttorte, for his objective checking script used for one of the optional objectives.Rsoul, for creating new internal version of architecture models.Beta Testers:Amadeus, Cambridge Spy, Abusimplea, Shadow, Boiler’s_hiss, nbohr1more, Springheel, JudithPeople who helped Answer my Questions:Destined, JackFarmerSpecial thanks to Sotha and Springheel whose video tutorial series give me the guidance and confidence to start using Dark Radiant.I apologise if I missed anyone, if I missed you please do contact me and I’ll credit you appropriately. About the Development: Initially this was a solo developed mission made by myself, upon some beta testing I agreed to make the mission collaboration with Bikerdude, with the intention to learn good mapping practices from the collaboration. The mission was redesigning using the same layout as the original but using Springheel’s modules instead of my very simple brushwork, and expanded in scope to include a more detailed street, a canal, a sewer and a rooftop segments. Bikerdude’s use of springheel modules and custom skins is mostly responsible for the beautiful visuals, with my contribution being the layout of areas and the writing. Known Issues: None at the moment.

After a long time and a lot of delays, I'm extremely happy and relieved to announce the release date for my first map; Lords & Legacy, on Friday the 30th of August, 2013! Lords & Legacy v.2.1 Resume: Screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/Lj8UJ#0 Notes: Build time: 2013/03/30 - 2013/08/30 To install, simply put the .pk4 file in your fm folder and install from the in-game mission menu. It is a large mission with optional objectives, so make sure to save often. The ropes in the beginning have a 'slick' surface, to simulate being 'slack lines'. They are difficult, but once you get a hang of the slide they can be fun. A couple of the large areas can be a bit rough on performance, and can be improved by adjusting the LOD slider in video options. A few of visportals open only when you get close. This is to keep the frames smooth inside the respective building, due to early inexperienced design. If you find any bugs which affect the gameplay experience, then you're very welcome to post them here, but please use the spoiler tags. Big thanks to 'Obsttorte', 'Springheel', 'Greyman', 'Bikerdude', 'Sotha' and rest of 'The Dark Mod Team'for all the help, guides and tricks. Also thanks to the other TDM users who provided fantastic support and feedback during the build. Thank you for beta-testing: 'Bikerdude', 'TylerVocal', 'Simplen00b', 'nbohr1more', 'Briareos H.' Special thanks to: 'Danus', 'Dsx' & 'Stanleh' for testing, help and support. v.2.0.1 changelog: Bugs: -The "Master Thief" challenge was impossible to do for a while, due to incorrect values. Fixed. -Getting seen by "The Killer" now also fails the "Ghost" challenge. -The 3 cardplaying guards no longer float mid air, as their chairs are now nailed to the floor. -Fixed the sound of the furnace continuing after the flames were extinguished. -Fixed weird glittering on the power cables around the map. -Fixed some moonlight popping in and out. -Fixed openable windows in Commons, clipping into the frame. -Fixed a book dropping through a desk. -Fixed visportals closing too close in Lancel's Tower, slight hit on performance though. -Added more monsterclip to Service Tower and Robert's Tower's entrance. -Improved a few vis_portals with func_portals. -Replaced curbs in Slums and Commons with some more detailed versions and changed textures. And a lot more little unecessary tweaks. Gameplay: -Added new challenge: (Jack White) - Do not knock-out anyone. -Reduced the amount of starting gear, depending on difficulty. -Added cubemaps to most windows on the map. -Redid most func_statics in Commmons Quarter to reduce tris and increase performance. Draw count is still somewhat high. -Removed all transparent windows as they didn't have actual gameplay value, just a performance drain in exchange for glitchy visuals. -Lancel's safe can no longer be picked. Find the key! -Added a couple minor cosmetic details in the sewers. -Moved a coinpurse from a wealthy commoner's sleeping butt to his nightside table. Also adjusted his furniture so thieves can better move around. -Changed sounds for several doors across the map. Once again, a big thanks to 'Bikerdude' for taking the time help out and locate room for improvement! v.2.0 changelog: Bugs: -Fixed various textures and surfaces and a few minor tweaks. -Tweaked some sounds to be in line with TDM 2.0 changes. -Fixed 2 certain AIs being too sensitive rather than drunk. (Thanks to AluminumHaste!) -Tweaked LOD on some objects, to prevent windows "popping" in and out. Gameplay: -Added more monsterclip to the towers, so the AI can now run up and down stairs. Only the stairs in the small tower has issues still. -Added more monsterclip in the city so the guards can follow you up all stairs. -Added a few minor details. -Windows in the city now dims sound, resulting in less aggro from guards and more convincing soundscape. -Reduced 'draw calls' in all the large areas, increasing performance. The map is still heavy at certain areas. Another big thanks to 'Bikerdude' and 'Greyman', for taking time out of their own schedules to help optimize the map's draw count and other significant adjustements! v.1.0.3 changelog: Bugs: -Fixed 4 black chairs in one of the towers -Fixed a floating painting -Fixed several clipping objects v.1.0.2 changelog: Bugs: -Fixed zfighting in the library's bookshelves -Fixed a black window in one of the towers -Fixed several typos in readables Gameplay: v.1.0.1 changelog: Bugs: -Fixed an issue with the main objectives not being in "sync". -Fixed console spam from a script Gameplay: -Adjusted required loot for each difficulty from "3000, 4000 and 5000" to "2500, 3500 and 4500".

There are rumors that a legendary ruby, the Heart of Saint Mattis, actually exists. Break into the the Northgate Cathedral, find it, and steal it. Background This is my second Dark Mod mission (Mission of Mercy was the first). This is a small-medium mission, with some extras. See below for hints. My wife just gave me an idea for mission number three, so look for that next year. I notice that Dragofer just released a mission today. I hope I'm not violating an unwritten protocol by releasing another mission on the same day. Download The mission is available in the in-game downloader. As well as here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jah5svj5eagnhs8/heartstmattis.pk4?dl=1. (<-- NEW LINK. Per grayman's request, the name of the pk4 and map have been changed). Place the PK4 in your \fms folder. TDM will recognize it as a new mission. I18n I have not done the work required for internationalization. OpenAL EFX This mission uses it (version 2), so I recommend turning it on in the Audio Settings. Thanks Many thanks to the beta testers, who really helped me get this mission into shape: Cambridge Spy, Shadow, Jedi_Wannabe (who also did some performance work on the map), SuaveSteve Thanks to Mike and Chloe for their outstanding voice work! The cathedral in this mission was inspired in many ways by bikerdude's excellent St. Albans Cathedral. I haven't played all of the DM missions, but to me St. Albans is the gold standard of cathedrals. Music includes Cantus Firmus Monks by Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions (royalty free) The video series by Springheel and Sotha were helpful and energizing. Thanks to the entire Dark Mod community for building an amazing project. Hints and Tips (warning: contains progressive spoilers)

I have only changed settings for a few missions. Visibility of doors is a good gauge for darkness. Gamma: 1.2 Brightness: 0.8

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.

For proposal #1, I imagine making a mission fitting seamlessly between the two stock missions in TDM would be a tricky endeavor, truth be told. The first mission is a small tavern robbery and the second is a modestly sized church break-in with a very reasonable jump in difficulty—fitting a mission snugly in between these two in terms of difficulty and scale is a high bar to reach. A contest to make a sequel to "Tears of St. Lucia" sounds more reasonable and would probably flow better for someone playing all three for the first time. I'd probably avoid doing something TDS related when a similar contest that allows Dark Mod entries is already ongoing, but proposal #3 sounds fun if we're given enough freedom to wildly reinterpret a Thief 1 mission. I'm somewhat mixed on the slot system as it really comes down to whether or not you want a full campaign with no repeats out of this contest. I personally wouldn't mind playing 2-3 different interpretations of something like the Bonehoard, it's bound to be interesting seeing what elements of a mission FM authors focus on.

I love the idea of a 15th Anniversay contest, but I think there should be fewer restrictions on what type of mission can be made so that more mappers would be encouraged to join. Fewer restrictions on what kind of mission can be made for the contest would hopefully open up more room for creativity, and maybe we'll even get some weird, unconventional missions that break the status quo. I, for one, don't really have a desire to do the "connections" theme again. It was fun doing it last time, but if I were to participate in a new contest I'd like to do something different. And holding a contest for the third "Official" campaign mission is an interesting idea, but if a contest like that is to be done, I think that should be its own dedicated contest not tied to an anniversary contest.

@chakkman Thanks for the detailed feedback, I appreciate it. Your points are well taken. Yeah, I do have a problem with rectilinear design - I just don't think in curves and angles! As for good deeds, my missions usually some form of them. Always optional - don't want to force you to be nice!

You know what I find most significant? That he's still working on missions after all this. That said I can't and won't comment on the decisions made. I'm sure there were good reasons for them, and, I really don't know the people involved in this mod as people who would recklessly exclude someone. I really like bikerdude's work, and, his missions are welcome additions to the mod. I think I played them all by now. Looks like he's in touch with some people here anyway.

I feel like I've seen spinning fans in vents before on maps I've played in the past, but going through the models/prefabs/etc in DarkRadiant, I can't find anything pre-made for it, and searching the Wiki didn't turn up anything I could find. I know Entities can be moved in DR (hence doors, windows, elevators, etc) but what would I need to do to make a fan blade model spin on its axis inside a fan frame?

I was quite surprised by: Many have compared this to: Regardless, I think this stands on it's own merits as a very high quality mission and easily rivals great missions by veteran authors.

This is currently the largest campaign pack ( 3 missions ), highly recommended.

The nights are getting colder and you need to pay your rent on time before you get tossed out into the winter air. Luckily, your neighbor told you about a mysterious merchant from faraway shores who has come to the small hamlet of Wilford's Hollow, and he's staying at the inn next door. What's more, he's brought something with him... Gameplay Notes: 1) This is a fairly small map, but I did intend for this map to be a bit harder than normal Dark Mod missions, even on the lowest difficulty setting. But there will certainly be plenty of rewards for the careful thief... 2) This map implements the func_peek mechanic by allowing players to peek through any door that has a keyhole by leaning forward. PLEASE NOTE: This function has been known to cause crashes for players using the 32-bit version of the Dark Mod 2.07 (should be fine for those running the 64-bit version). While this function has worked painlessly for some, please be aware that crashing may occur. At no point in this mission is it required to use the func_peek mechanic, it is purely optional, so feel free to not use it. Download: This FM is available via the in-game downloader FM: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ghZ2tTf7IoRQiyWtz96pUNajPNPZb6UI/view?usp=sharing Promotional Screenshots: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bwuy0QPhaGpV32CgEdXhBIA5KgvcRueN?usp=sharing Credits: A HUGE thanks goes out to JackFarmer, Dragofer, and Bikerdude for scripting, EFX, custom ambient tracks, assets, answering a billion of my questions and doing so, so, so much more to make this mission something special. Thank you! Another GIANT thank you to my beta testers: Jedi_Wannabe, Bienie, Filizitas, joebarnin, bikerdude, Cambridge Spy, STRUNK, Lonewanderer, Rezar. Thank you all very much for your wonderful work and eye for detail! And another thank you goes out to Goldwell, Kingsal, and Grayman for scripting help and patient guidance. Assets are from: Springheel's Superb Modules Refl3ks' Rad Artwork Kingsal's Killer Assets Dragofer's Delightful Assets Epifire's Expert Models dmw's Dazzling Textures Spooks' Spectacular Painting for the Loading Screen R Soul's Fantabulous Assets JackFarmer's Miraculous Machines and Sounds Bikerdude's Bountiful Assets Hugo Lobo's Luxurious Textures ***PLAYER BEWARE*** SPOILERS lie in the depths below. I strongly suggest playing it first so you don't spoil the fun for yourself *** Version 2 Changelog: - Fixed several broken visportals - Fixed reflections in flooded basement, improved performance - New particles, models, and textures - Fixed broken AI pathing - Fixed fireplace glitch in the Inn - Fixed several texture issues - Added new secret objective - Lighting and fog changes - Implemented fade lights - Implemented Kingsal's inventory icons - Replaced slow match with flint - Increased bow draw speed using modified settings from Kingsal

As much as I'm a big fan of FOSS, it gets messy when it involves assets with a whole mix of licenses. The engine? Sure that'll work, but TDM is useless with just the engine. Even if you have a separate libre version with verified assets, you've now split the project into a full version and a libre-only version and for what? Some entry in a niche wiki and the Debian repo? Once people want actual full missions to play you begin to drift away from the restricted licenses imposed on the libre version and have to code and accommodate for that. If TDM was developed with the day-one intention of only allowed libre licensed assets then there'd be no problem, but it hasn't and what your asking is probably too much work and effort for little benefit.

Gigantic missions like The Painter's Wife would really benefit from automap. I really liked it in the original Thief games. Very helpful.

IMPORTANT It is highly recommended that you play with shadow maps turned on to get full use of the new volumetric lights in 2.10. Go into Settings -> Video -> Advanced -> "Shadows Implementation" set to "Maps". Additionally it is recommended that you play with EFX and HRTF turned on. Go into Settings -> Audio -> Turn "OpenAL EFX" & "OpenAL HRTF" set both to "On". Author note Noble Affairs features a brand new female protagonist named Clara who comes with a new female voice set. Originally this mission was meant for the connection contest which is why you will notice a lot of references to Kingsal's Volta universe. Due to time constraints this mission was not entered into the contest and instead I decided to release this as a standalone mission. This mission takes place after the events of Volta 1: The Stone but before the events of Shadows of Northdale Act 1. This mission is dedicated to Grayman, may he rest in peace! - Goldwell. A big thank you first up to Epifire for his very helpful advice and putting in some really hard effort and creating some amazing custom models! Please check out his art station page: https://www.artstation.com/epifire I wanted to thank Amadeus, Dragofer, Epifire, Kingsal & Skacky for helping out by providing custom models, readable/text improvements and also general mapping advice. You guys have been incredibly helpful, thank you! I also want to thank my A-Star beta team who helped to squash many bugs: Amadeus, Epifire, Kingsal, Moonbo, Nbohr1more, Random_Taffer & Skacky. And I wanted to thank the fantastic vocal cast: Clara - Joy Hayward Shop keeper - Andrew Bartmess Produce Merchant - Epifire Citywatch guard - Random_Taffer I wanted to thank someone who often doesn't get enough love and that's Greebo who works very hard to create the tools that myself and all other mappers use. Dark Radiant is a fantastic application which is always finding new ways to innovate and improve the mapping experience. Without the work you put in Greebo there would be a lot less missions made, so thank you! Thank you to the Cryo Chamber label for granting permission to use their music throughout the mission. Please check them out at: https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com Thank you to Michael Ghelfi for his audio ambient tracks. You can find more of his work at: https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelGhelfi And if you wish to support him he also has a patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/MichaelGhelfi And finally thank you to you, the player for playing my missions and providing all the wonderful support and feedback over the years! DOWNLOAD HERE (Requires 2.10) Version 1.2 File Size: 465mb

That bug has been around for over a decade though. In some missions, changing FOV in console would only work when frobbing an item. I always assumed it was a bug in the game, but it's possible it's a bug in certain missions due to scripting. But I've definitely encountered it a LONNNNNNNG time ago.

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!

Dragofer: split off from the Noble Affairs FM thread. One thought on gear: There is nothing wrong with giving the player different gear to allow for different approaches. However, what I have never really seen in a fm and that is the case here either is that the mission is set up in a way that the player really needs this tools. And with need I don't mean playstyle-dependent. The playstyle might decide upon which tools one use or how useful one find one tool compared to the other, but it shouldn't decide on whether the player needs tools at all. And I don't go in with my blackjack only because I want to, but because tdm missions are rarely ever putting me in a situation where it becomes a necessity to use them. Speaking for TDM overall I think that there is a lot of potential for engaging gameplay and tension missed here and in all honesty I consider this a gameplay and design flaw. And as you illustrated that you are actually pretty good at what you are doing I am convinced that you could even do better in that aspect. I am writing this not because I think that you intentionally did something wrong but that to give you a different perspective. More gear doesn't imply more possible approaches and vice versa. There is a bit more to it imho.

The Builder Roads A Fan Mission by Obsttorte Betatested by Melan and Grayman I'm quite happy to present my second Fan Mission for The Dark Mod. You're slipping into the role of Trevor deClarc, a trader and smuggler, thief and spy, who currently stays in a tavern at a Builder outpost that was formerly used for mining. It had come to your attention that a valuable tome is hidden somewhere at this place. So come on and get it. I'd like to thank the Dark Mod community for creating this mod and everyone on this forum who helped my with hints, answers and advices. Special thanks goes to my betatesters Melan and Grayman. This is only a small mission I've built in roughly two weeks and it is designed for a ghost-like approach. I hope you're going to enjoy this one. LINK: http://www.mediafire...2dg4tbf4q90wz7f

This mission strikes a special cord in me, as I've always been a huge fan of horror. But either I'm too dissensitized to monsters and demons, or not many games actually do a good job at it. Either way, I'm happy to say that this mission actually made me feel spooked or uneasy, hesitant to pick things up without looking behind me. At least for the first playthrough, this mission is nicely unpredictable. As far as I'm concerned, you're doing something fundamentally right. The atmosphere is also really good. It really ads to the tension, and to the sense of hostility of the whole place. Brilliant mission. Loved it a lot. Thanks.

I'm no graphics nerd, but I can barely tell the difference between the two. What I can tell from messing around a bit: soft shadows of low quality look like garbage with both maps and stencils (EDIT: wrong, I didn't realize I was looking at shadow maps for a volumetric light shadow. Stencil definitely looks better). increasing soft shadow quality decreases performance in both implementations. I think the CPU/GPU of the end user would influence which is gives better performance both maps and stencils can produce a pixelated shadow if you look close enough. (EDIT: wrong. Again, was looking at a volumetric light shadow). I tend to use maps, because for whatever reason I seem to get a few more FPS out of them. As a mapper, I am certainly NOT interested in endlessly tweaking a scene to make the shadows look perfect. I just don't care enough. If they look shockingly bad I will put some effort into it though (which will probably mean just disabling them for the offending entity). It's rare that I feel this is necessary though. So I guess I don't really get the argument that stencils are amazing and maps are crap. I just don't see it or am too dense to notice. (EDIT: indeed I was being dense. I was comparing shadow maps with shadow maps because I was looking at a volumetric light shadow). Also, in my last couple of missions I had graphical bugs that only showed up with stencil shadows enabled. It would be nice to not have to deal with that all the time.