So, what are you working on right now?

[Mr. Tibbs]

The updated training mission looks fantastic! Great work, Bikerdude.

 

Off Topic: I also would like to say a huge thank you to the Dark Mod Team, everyone who's made a FM and contributed to TDM in any capacity. It's an amazing accomplishment. I thought it would be one of many over ambitious mod projects that fail to realise a great idea, but your work is like having the HD Thief I always wanted. It's provided me dozens of hours Thievery over the past year, and left countless memories of raiding abandoned crypts, stealing from pious pricks, liberating forgotten treasures and frobbing pots and pans for fun that I'll always be grateful for.

 

Cheers.

 

Mr Tibbs.

[simplen00b]

Here are some WIP shots of the work that's been done on the updated version of the Training mission that will be part of the 1.08 update, enjoy.

The original training mission looked great, but these look way better and I can't really work out why. New textures? Different lighting? No biggie, just interested.

The second pic (the aerial view of the archery range) - did you get that view using noclip, or can you actually climb up there? (*spidernoob drool*) Love the moonlight on the spire.

[demagogue]

The cool skybox is adding a lot, that and I think some tweaked architecture I think.

[Bikerdude]

The original training mission looked great, but these look way better and I can't really work out why. New textures? Different lighting? No biggie, just interested.The second pic (the aerial view of the archery range) - did you get that view using noclip, or can you actually climb up there? Love the moonlight on the spire.

 

New textures, some new architecture and lighting tweaks and yes I no-clipped up there ;-p the moonlight as as per the original with a tiny bit of tweaking.

 

@Demagogue, yeah we have to thank Springheel for that. But we could do with a few details city backgrounds like that one.

[Melan]

I hope the Builder segment got an overhaul. It looked rather plain compared to the rest of the level.

[Bikerdude]

I hope the Builder segment got an overhaul. It looked rather plain compared to the rest of the level.

Oh yes... the core part of that section has a far more befitting level of detail and eye candy. And I have done that with all of the sections that were a tad bare and baron in the original. I have just built on top of the original master, adding a bit Sheen etc.

 

 

[nbohr1more]

Great work Biker!

[Melan]

Now that is more like it! Good work.

[Seuchensoldat]

Great shots of the training mission, biker!

 

Playing around with some church architecture. Blocky as always. <3

 

Edited September 9, 2012 by Seuchensoldat

[Bikerdude]

not a bad start there mista, very moody and dark.

[SiyahParsomen]

Oh yes... the core part of that section has a far more befitting level of detail and eye candy. And I have done that with all of the sections that were a tad bare and baron in the original. I have just built on top of the original master, adding a bit Sheen etc.

 

 

very very nice lighting. It looks to me a work from a level designer in the industry. Seriously, decoration & audience are also very good placed. My only concern is, what will happen when player climb up there and strike people? I hope you already considered this.

[Sir Taffsalot]

You need to put some archways and pillars along the side.

 

[RPGista]

Well, not necessarily :

 

 

You can find many examples of one nave only churches, specially romanesque ones.

 

PS: I like the church proportions and simplicity, only thing I say is maybe try a couple of other textures, the one being used looks more like a flooring one to me (its quite irregular and round) - I would try some straighter, more regular stones there (like in the photo).

Edited September 9, 2012 by RPGista

[Seuchensoldat]

Hey guys, thanks for the comments. Arches and straighter stone textures, yeah, I thought about that but I tried creating an really old builder church in the plague ward. Think of it as the TDM variant of the haunted cathedral of the first thief game. I don't think that every builder cathedral should have the characteristic gothic look (haha, I'm still not able to create those patch arches, which may be another reason there are no fancy gothic archways ). Maybe I will try some other stone textures but I must say that I like the way this texture looks. It has this Thief 1 feel to it.

[SeriousToni]

Well, not necessarily :

 

What is this thing on the left? A TV??

[ungoliant]

most likely displays the lyrics for church hymn karaoke on sunday morning.

[pusianka]

My god the dream church has just become real!

[Obsttorte]

I'm currently working on a FM I hope to get ready within the next month

 

Here are some first shots, any feedback/advise is welcome, thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeriousToni]

looks like a nice first mission, but please don't do key hunts or make me have to lockpick each single door and chest and box for a golden cup, that's all. xp

[Sotha]

Overall: Looks pretty fantastic for your first time DR round. I wish I had scenes like that back when I started...

 

Detail comments:

Shot 02: flat ceiling. Could use vaulting or support beams

Shot 09: same thing

Shot 08: texture repeatability visible in the marble support pylon. Recommend increase texture scale.

Shot 07: same thing as shot 02, could use more beams to support ceiling.

Shot 06: you could improve the gravel-grass interface as instructed in the road wiki pages. http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Roads With smooth grass-to-road translation it would be drool-astic scene.

Shot 03: Same thing as shot 02.

 

ST's comments get support from me as well. Remember, great scenes are not all. Gameplay is important, as is minimizing things causing frustration in players.

[Melan]

Obsttorte: looks like a good beginning! Here is where I would recommend changing things a bit.

• Some of your rooms are very large, with nothing to support the roof. Adding pillars or partitioning space with interior walls, vaults or such would make them look better, play better (hiding places for the player, challenges from guards who may arrive unexpectedly). Generally, huge empty rooms are less interesting than smaller ones which look well-stocked.
  
• Even in smaller spaces, roofs need support. Beams, brackets (which you can find among the objects), pillars, anything. Flat roof with bricks (like in your last shot) are untenable.
  

Some of the shots are very neat, with good scene composition and advanced detail - like the one with the pillars, or the torch-holding statues... good stuff!

[Bikerdude]

that garden shot (4th from bottom) loots quite good :-)

[Obsttorte]

Thank you for the replies

 

The support thing is something I still working on in some of the rooms

also detailing isn't finished yet

 

the gravel pathway in the garden scene is still made by patches mostly, and I'm not sure if enhancing it is a good idea in respect to performance on low end machines, I've sometimes had the feeling that framerate in this sector isn't on top, and there is no AI and only a static sky 'til now

but maybe I'll try it out and see how it works

[Sotha]

I don't think few extra dirt path patches will do much harm as they do not generate terrible amount of tris.

 

You could check the triscount with "r_showprimitives 1" command. For such a garden, it might be a good idea to put a lot of models into "noshadows 1." Lights not penetrating into other areas could also be set to noshadows.

 

Another possibilities would be to check which structures generate too many tris with the "r_showtris 4" command. Just check what objects seem to carry a lot of tris and consider their removal. You could use the patch inspector to simplify some patches. And finally, the garden could be compartmentalized into two parts, separated by a wall and a visportal gate.

[Obsttorte]

well, I'll check it out

 

the water in the fountain is reflecting, so I guess turning it into non-reflecting water could save some effort here

 

the wall thing is a nice idea, but I don't think I can accomplish this without destroying the whole szenery

here's a shot from above

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ps: when I'm on the ground the fps count is higher, of course

 

question 1: is there a way to tell a light to not cast shadows on objects but to get blocked by worldspawn?

this would be quite nice

 

question 2: is there a way to move open threads to other parts of the forum? I started one with a question in the DarkRadiant Forum that may fit better (and get answered ) in the tech support forum, thanks