Just found this little blog site:

[Bikerdude]

Found it when looking for some info on a mission I am working on atm..

 

http://thed4rkblog.b...on-reviews.html

 

Like a typical Englishman his is to the point, if a tad harsh.

[jaxa]

So, what's his TDM forum name?

[Melan]

Does it matter? They are fair and insightful reviews.

[demagogue]

People can be a little harsh if they're fair & especially if they keep coming back for more.

I hope he gets around to my FM sometime so I can have the honor of another scathing review.

[Springheel]

Yes, they seem quite fair to me. Well written and insightful, on top of it.

 

Whoever wrote them does seem to have some familiarity with what goes on in the forums (knowing I modeled the pumpkins in Night on Samhian Hill, for example).

[lost_soul]

I saw that page a wile back. It was a good read. I mostly agree, but again I feel people judged Dragon's Claw a bit harshly. Sure, it was short, but the dock area was quite nice, as was the tavern and city streets.

 

That site is the kind of thing I miss from the old days. I used to go to The Circle and read about FMs before downlaoding and playing them on my lowly K6-2. It was nice because there were not only screenshots, but reviews posted as well. They were written in a manor that tells the player what he is in for, without outright spoiling the mission.

[demagogue]

Brethren's blog Southquarter was good for that for a little while too.

Also there's still the "FM Review" mega-thread in TTLG's FM forum, which cover Dark Mod FMs too.

And then we have the blogs in the woodwork like this.

It's not like it used to be, but we still have reviews around if you know where to look.

[Wizd3m]

In case anyone is interested, I also recently began a blog where I review fan content for various favorite PC games. The Dark Mod is definitely on my "to review" list, but I began with Thief 1 FMs from the Komag DVDs. Also, it's my first time through them, so i'm enjoying and writing about them as I go. Like lost-soul, I also missed review websites such as thed4rkblog, so I deceided to start my own. Hope you like it.

 

http://thealternativegamer.com/

Edited December 29, 2012 by Wizd3m

[Bikerdude]

welcome Wiz

[Wizd3m]

welcome Wizard.

 

I assume that's me, so thank you

 

Also, I'm sorry i didn't mean to highjack someone else's thread, just thought I'd share. Oh and thank you for checking it out! If you guys have any pointers regarding what you'd like to see or what I can improve, please let me know. Can be about the website or the writing (I'm not a writer).

Edited December 29, 2012 by Wizd3m

[Obsttorte]

I read the articles about the T1 Fan missions and I think they are pretty good written so far. Maybe you also want to review some TDM FM's You may could differentiate your evaluation a bit, meaning to give some sort of subratings, too (like visuals, story ...). What is the difference between ghost and perfect ghost?

[Wizd3m]

I read the articles about the T1 Fan missions and I think they are pretty good written so far. Maybe you also want to review some TDM FM's You may could differentiate your evaluation a bit, meaning to give some sort of subratings, too (like visuals, story ...). What is the difference between ghost and perfect ghost?

 

Hey Obsttorte, thank you for taking a look and the kind words. I'm certainly looking forward to playing and reviewing T2/TDM missions, but I've decided to go through the games in order. The difference between ghost and perfect ghost is the amount of loot collected. To achieve the perfect ghost rating, you must collect 100% of the loot, not simply the required amount which is sufficient for simply "ghosting". Thank you for bringing that up, I've added the "official ghost rules" tab in my main main, under "Taffin' About". As for the evaluation bit, I've tried separating them as you suggest, but i found that many missions simply lack certain aspects like story/impressive sound, etc... so my paragraphs were very short and the review felt too fragmented. So I really appreciate the feedback, but in this case I think I'll stick to my current format. Any thoughts on the rating system?

[Obsttorte]

Any thoughts on the rating system?

Rating from zero til five points seems fine to me so far. Maybe add a little summary of what you've found good and what not.

[Wizd3m]

Rating from zero til five points seems fine to me so far. Maybe add a little summary of what you've found good and what not.

 

Awesome and I'm toying with the idea of a summary right now. Something I may or may not implement in the end as I think it somewhat defeats the purpose of writing about my experience, but at the same time I understand its appeal. Either way, thank you so much Obsttorte, I really appreciate your feedback.

[Wizd3m]

Fellow taffers, I'm in need of your help.

 

To help out those diving into the world of Thief for the first time, I was hoping to provide a clear and thorough guide, encompassing everything they will need to get their games and FMs up and running. To that end, I've created the following "Essentials" page on my site: http://thealternativegamer.com/taffin-about-essentials/

 

If anyone would be so kind as to quickly glance at it and share their thoughts on it, either here or on the page itself, I would be forever greateful. Last thing I want to do is confuse people. Also, I'm aware that maybe not all the fixes and tweaks are posted up there and that's ok. I will be happy to add them as I come across them or if anyone suggests.

 

Finally, the page as it is now is just a draft of sorts. As I get more comments on it and finalise its content (making sure it's correct) I will then of course mention the contributors. I don't want to associate anyone with incorrect material.

 

Thank you in advance for your feedback, it's much appreciated.

[Bikerdude]

Just a quick suggestion, but you may want to have nice seperated sections as you scroll down for each game on that page. And I suggest having a dark or black background instead of white.

[Wizd3m]

Just a quick suggestion, but you may want to have nice seperated sections as you scroll down for each game on that page. And I suggest having a dark or black background instead of white.

 

Hey Bikerdude!

 

Thank you so much for the feedback man, appreciate it! As far as separating the games go, I was kind of hoping the wide images of each game would serve as the separations. Unless you mean something else? or may those aren't enough? And the dark or black background is sadly out of my hands if you mean the website as a whole (including that page). I use wordpress.com and thus my options are sadly very limited. However, I can change the background to text tints as you saw, do you think making those darker would be better?

 

Anyway, thank you again to everyone who checked it out!

[Bikerdude]

I was thinking of some sort of boundary surrounding each game and by the white/cream part I was referring the central section. We use WP for the Darkmod website and we have a pictures like you and a black background.

 

I looked at the rest of your site and that central section on all the sections they IMHO could do with being darker.

[Wizd3m]

I was thinking of some sort of boundary surrounding each game and by the white/cream part I was referring the central section. We use WP for the Darkmod website and we have a pictures like you and a black background.

 

I looked at the rest of your site and that central section on all the sections they IMHO could do with being darker.

 

I see what you mean, ok. I think I can definitely create boundaries around the games on that essentials page but the only other color option I have for my central area is "archaic", similar to the color of my update box in the sidebar. It seems to be theme dependent unless of course I'm missing something. Either way, at this point I have too many little aspects of the site configured to suit the current central color so I think for now I'll keep it as is. Again thank you so much for the feedback!! Do you think the guide itself is easy enough to follow?

[Obsttorte]

Another question. Is it possible for you to have some sort of scroll down menues. What I mean is, that if someone visits the site he has the five pictures, and the text only gets unrolled when he then clicks on one of the pictures. So if he for example clicks on the picture for T2, the text for T2 unrolls.

 

IMHO it's always desireable to have all the essential informations available when entering a page, without having to scroll down or something like that. So if the above mentioned is not possible, you should think about other options for aligning the elements. Especially, if you plan to extend the informations provided.

 

But ... well ... just my thoughts, your page.

[Wizd3m]

Another question. Is it possible for you to have some sort of scroll down menues. What I mean is, that if someone visits the site he has the five pictures, and the text only gets unrolled when he then clicks on one of the pictures. So if he for example clicks on the picture for T2, the text for T2 unrolls.

 

IMHO it's always desireable to have all the essential informations available when entering a page, without having to scroll down or something like that. So if the above mentioned is not possible, you should think about other options for aligning the elements. Especially, if you plan to extend the informations provided.

 

But ... well ... just my thoughts, your page.

 

Hey Obsttorte! Yea man, I know exactly what you mean and that would be sweet to have. Sadly that's just not an option What I have now (maybe not as noticeable as I thought) is a page jump setup. So when you click on something in the beginning list, you go directly to that section. It's really the best I can do without changing hosts (wordpress to my own) from what I understand. HOWEVER, I will try to optimize the current look even further, taking into account what you and Bikerdude suggested. If I'm wrong however about those possibilities on wordpress, please let me know. I really like both your suggestions. Thank you guys!

[Wizd3m]

Ok, changed it quite a bit, very proud of it. Hope you guys like.

[Obsttorte]

That's definetely better, good job.

[SeriousToni]

Did you cover the 1.19 patch somewhere? I can't seem to find it quickily.

[Wizd3m]

That's definetely better, good job.

Thank you! Glad to hear you approve If there's anything else, really, don't be afraid to mention it. I'll happily look into it if I can.

 

 

Did you cover the 1.19 patch somewhere? I can't seem to find it quickily.

Hello Toni!

I didn't mention it on that page because it is part of the TFix update, however, maybe I should do so anyway. Do you think me adding another tip under the "Install TFix" section informing people that it is now part of the update would be enough? If not, could you please suggest something? Also, I just realized I forgot to add that list of related links for reference and additional help/troubleshooting. Will do so later today.

 

Thank you Toni for helping out!