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So, what are you working on right now?


Springheel

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While I don't check all the shitty things behind every product I use, I try to "vote with my wallet" at least in case of all the things that aren't necessary to live, like entertainment and the way I spend my free time. Like I won't buy any Rockstar game because how shitty this company is to its employees. Recently, we cancelled out tickets to a festival, because there was an LGBT rally that was met with very violent reaction from the locals (they've thrown firecrackers, eggs, and stones at people). This is a tourist venue, and I don't want to do anything to support such place.

So IMO it's okay to refrain from spending time, money, or both out of such principle. There are people that don't mind that, or even see a need, but I do and I do feel better when I'm not supporting such case or person.

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1 minute ago, peter_spy said:

So IMO it's okay to refrain from spending time, money, or both out of such principle. There are people that don't mind that, or even see a need, but I do and I do feel better when I'm not supporting such case or person.

Yes. Strength of conviction.

Back to the main point, (the work, not the author) is it actually coming out? Or still abandoned?

 

As my father used to say, "A grenade a day, keeps the enemy at bay!"

My one FM so far: Paying the Bills: 0 - Moving Day

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3 minutes ago, Jedi_Wannabe said:

Yes. Strength of conviction.

Back to the main point, (the work, not the author) is it actually coming out? Or still abandoned?

 

Well it would be quite a mess if someone else had taken his "the mission is up for adoption" post on Shalebridge seriously and started working on it, only to find out he changed his mind and didn't tell anyone. 

The last time I heard from Bikerdude a few months ago he told the team he wanted us to remove everything from the mod he'd ever worked on--including other people's missions!--and certainly gave the impression he was no longer working on TDM in any way, shape, or form.  But it wouldn't be the first time he reversed himself after such a claim.

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21 minutes ago, Springheel said:

Well it would be quite a mess if someone else had taken his "the mission is up for adoption" post on Shalebridge seriously and started working on it, only to find out he changed his mind and didn't tell anyone.

Quite a trap that would be. Narcissists love doing that, I got my identity stolen by a relative and they ganked $8k from me. But somehow it wasn’t their fault.

Never underestimate them.

Sounds like he doesn’t want anyone to remember him as anything other than a golden child; also a symptom of NPD.

If nobody has picked up where he left off by the time I finish my campaign I might just do it out of spite. I resent his detriment so much I wrote a short story in February about a prominent builder’s fall from grace and his whirlwind decent into madness as he tries to cover his tracks. The taffer’s job in the mission is to gather info and evidence to expose his shameful acts to the public. I wanted the parallels to be blatantly obvious. But my current story project has been in my head for five years so one thing at a time.

i am truly sorry to throw the thread so far off topic, in case you can’t tell I am still butt hurt about it. Thief is my #2 favorite series (across all mediums) of all time, and this mod is what the sequels after Metal Age were supposed to be what we all wanted and hoped for, so I see what he did as setting the entire community and mod as a whole back years of development, despite however much his contributions added up over the years. Don’t get me wrong, I still like and appreciate his work, but it’s harder to enjoy now.

As my father used to say, "A grenade a day, keeps the enemy at bay!"

My one FM so far: Paying the Bills: 0 - Moving Day

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22 hours ago, Jedi_Wannabe said:

Is it nice though? He was the reason I waited until this January to join and start posting. I've lurked for a decade and didn't want to come out of the shadows until he made his final exodus. I've dealt with relatives in my personal life with schizophrenia, narcissistic personality disorder, and pathological liars and lemme tell you I can spot that shite a mile away. Watching his descent from hero to zero was sad and disappointing. His contribution to the mod and his talent and technical prowess were all marred and tainted in the wake he left behind. I'm going to make a bold statement and say my goal in time is to be better than he was/is. I've barely been mapping a few months but give me a few years. If I were a betting man I would put money down on the fact he masquerades around here under the guise of a newb. I'm sorry for venting I don't want to derail the thread; it's all been covered before. I just fear history has a tendency to repeat itself. He's still human and I'm not saying he's a bad guy that we must treat as a leper, but maybe exercise caution.

Pretty screen shots though.

And peter_spy, I really am excited every time I see new work you show off.

 

19 hours ago, Jedi_Wannabe said:

Quite a trap that would be. Narcissists love doing that, I got my identity stolen by a relative and they ganked $8k from me. But somehow it wasn’t their fault.

Never underestimate them.

Sounds like he doesn’t want anyone to remember him as anything other than a golden child; also a symptom of NPD.

If nobody has picked up where he left off by the time I finish my campaign I might just do it out of spite. I resent his detriment so much I wrote a short story in February about a prominent builder’s fall from grace and his whirlwind decent into madness as he tries to cover his tracks. The taffer’s job in the mission is to gather info and evidence to expose his shameful acts to the public. I wanted the parallels to be blatantly obvious. But my current story project has been in my head for five years so one thing at a time.

i am truly sorry to throw the thread so far off topic, in case you can’t tell I am still butt hurt about it. Thief is my #2 favorite series (across all mediums) of all time, and this mod is what the sequels after Metal Age were supposed to be what we all wanted and hoped for, so I see what he did as setting the entire community and mod as a whole back years of development, despite however much his contributions added up over the years. Don’t get me wrong, I still like and appreciate his work, but it’s harder to enjoy now.

How peculiar, so many decisions motivated by hatred. And you waited literally for years to see someone trip, just so you can dance on their grave? Odd, to say the least.

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S2wtMNl.gif

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Biker continues to haunt these forums from beyond the ban it seems, but lets please divert this topic to another thread, maybe even the one discussing his ban. 

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14 minutes ago, VanishedOne said:

(Have 'like' reactions been turned off? I don't see a button to add one any more.)

 

Huh.  They were there yesterday.  ?

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4 hours ago, VanishedOne said:

They remind me of a set of Russian dolls. :)

Haha, I hadn't thought of them like that before. The set could actually be expanded in both directions if unfinished ships are counted: on one side a 1-man sailing boat featuring everything needed for a longer, solitary voyage (though construction didn't go just as smoothly as with the barquentine).  

On the other side there'd be the tanker I attempted to make in 2014 shortly after releasing One Step Too Far. If I remember right it was an 8000x1000-dimensioned ship (barque: 3000x500), so something like 8 galleons could fit into its hull. It had a rusty industrial theme to it and some fancy elements like a ship-wide camera surveillance system and an internal bay with a deployable submarine, but it was of course wildly unrealistic, at the time at least.

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I like that verticality! Maybe add a mini-tutorial with a note on rope arrows and what to look for though, because when I started looking into FM missions recommended for their verticality, I was totally clueless what to look for to use rope arrows on. It took a while for me to "get it", but when I finally got it, it was amazing.

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Thanks everyone!

 

Yeah one thing I have noticed is difficult with this style is ensuring the readability of the scene. To address it I’ve been trying to place lights near windows and ledges where the player can navigate up to. Perhaps on the easier difficulty I will add a note about making sure to really look up and examine the top. 
 

Some buildings do have a ground entrance door too but some are self contained rooms up there. 
 

The player will definitely need to know the usefulness of looking up otherwise the mission will be quite hard. This will be the 4th of 5th entry in my campaign though so i guess it’s also natural that the difficulty ramps up a bit too. 

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9 hours ago, snowy said:

I like that verticality! Maybe add a mini-tutorial with a note on rope arrows and what to look for though, because when I started looking into FM missions recommended for their verticality, I was totally clueless what to look for to use rope arrows on. It took a while for me to "get it", but when I finally got it, it was amazing.

On the other hand... you get a good impression of what to look for in the Training mission (which everyone should play really). 

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IMO the problem with rope arrows is that they're a finite resource. So if a main path requires rope arrows and players can run out of them, they'll be blocked and will have to reload a save. If there's a secondary route - awesome, problem solved. But as a designer, I want to make sure players can progress regardless of how many rope arrows they have in their inventory.

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In the original Thief's, there usually was a strategically placed rope arrow available, for people who ran out of them before parts which required rope arrows to proceed. 

IMO, it would be sad if mission makers wouldn't make more use of verticality, because, i think that always has been one of the most interesting and rewarding things in Thief missions. At least for me. 

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I agree with that completely, can't imagine any FPS exploration game without verticality. I just wouldn't rely on rope arrows as a mandatory tool for traversal. Climbing, or rope arrows already stuck in surfaces (as part of the map geometry), sure. Making players feel extra smart, and using rope arrows as a way to get some optional loot - yeah, that's safer IMO.

My perspective in general is that with all the tools and arsenal available, you can make players feel extra smart if they are able to find a way to progress without using any tools, only their wits and observation skills. Kind of like in Hitman series, where you have tons of weaponry available, but the most satisfactory assassinations aren't assassinations at all, more like "unfortunate accidents" you prepare

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The general rule of thumb i've been using is if it's critical to the story, there are alternate ways in. But if you want to find every piece of loot and/or every secret / explore everywhere then you'll have to be diligent with what you use. I feel it's the most natural fit as more novice players can still complete the mission without running into a frustrating dead end. And those who prefer a challenge more than likely are experienced enough to know they need to conserve and retrieve their used rope arrows.

 

And if all else fails this mission has a new ingame shop keeper, so they can always loot a few homes/businesses to gain some coin and then go to their fence and buy a rope arrow! ;)

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