quick question regarding TDM and T3:DS

[bushwookie]

I absolutely LOVED that game.. the levels, the story, everything..!!

 

question is.. would a person get into trouble for re-making a level(s) from that game for TDM for free?

 

I am by NO MEANS familiar with mapping/texturing or the processes therein.. I tried DR and freaked (even after the tuts i was lost and frustrated)! I am a digital artist, and use 3D prgrams (poser) for my work (see attached), but nothing like DR/3d studio max/maya. Anywho, there are levels from DS that were just amazing, and just wondered what would stop someone (with more talent than I in mapping) from making this happen? I also know that this would be one hell of an endevour, and the time.. oh damn, but all that would be so well worth it if done right.

 

ok, i'll just sit over here.. thnx

[Baddcog]

Well, I think everyone agrees that the Cradle is one of the best official Thief maps ever. And the mansion (without the load zones) was pretty damn sweet too.

 

But also everyone else pretty much agrees, WHY? If you want to play it it's already made. Most authors want to create their own map. It can take a bit of time to make a map as it is, but recreating one takes longer (due to having to copy every detail precisely) and in the end it's not even your own.

 

Of course there are legal issues which to this point we've pretty much avoided as we don't want all our hard work lost due to copy write infringement over a map, name, storyline...

That still doesn't stop anyone from using that stuff, we (TDM Team) just can't support it.

 

-------

Still, you should learn to DR, it's really not that hard. Following the A-Z tut, asking questions here. Within a few months you could have a nice small map of your own that we could all enjoy

It may seem daunting at first, but once you've messed around with the editor for a few days it really is pretty simple. Small basic missions without any fancy scripting or custom voices, etc.. can be quite fun.

[Sotha]

It is not a good idea to touch any IP that belongs to someone else, ever. Just don't. You'll live a happier and less troubled life.

 

Why create a remake when you could make a brand new mission, which only takes inspiration from some other mission? Taking inspiration means here that you are not copying anything directly, but are picking up some basic concepts and reinterpreting them in a new interesting way. Creating a new idea from the seed of an old one.

[bushwookie]

good points all around. I guess I better suck it up and learn me some DR.. lol

 

thnx again guys!

Edited January 30, 2013 by bushwookie

[demagogue]

Don't make a straight remake, but you can make an "inspired by" mission, with different IP. It's not uncommon & more interesting anyway. People realize what you're referring to, but you take it a different direction, and play with their expectations. It makes it fun.

 

Yeah, go through the A-Z tutorial first. And it might be a good idea to make a smaller FM for your first one, like around 10 rooms / areas, so you can learn the ropes and all the steps to release an FM quickly.

[Obsttorte]

There are some missions that were created in a rather short time (after the mappers learned using DR). A good example for "roughly 10 rooms" is Too Late by Nielson. Take a look at it in DR to get a feeling of how big a first map intent should be. Obviously there is nothing to keep you from starting with something bigger, but it's relatively sure you'll lose motivation doing so.

 

After all its all about patience and endurance. The more you map the faster you get and the bigger can be the things you are trying to accomplish without getting frustrated.

 

Another advice would be to start with indoor areas. They are more easy to make for most peoples then natural looking street sections or so. This is mainly because interiors in real life tend to be blocky, so you have not much to do here.

[Moonbo]

Another advice would be to start with indoor areas. They are more easy to make for most peoples then natural looking street sections or so. This is mainly because interiors in real life tend to be blocky, so you have not much to do here.

 

Being a newbie who made the mistake of starting with an outdoor map, I heartily agree with Obsttorte :-P.

[Theothesnopp]

Being a newbie who made the mistake of starting with an outdoor map, I heartily agree with Obsttorte :-P.

 

I second that

[simplen00b]

I second that

Me too. (**gazes glumly at twisty turny tunnel that took hours to build badly and resulted in 15 secs of utterly tedious gameplay**)

 

On the topic of recreating TDS missions, you might be interested in this: Child of Karras at TTLG has spent ages building (or starting to, at least) a T2 version of the city hubs in TDS, i.e. the whole thing - South Quarter, Stonemarket, Auldale, Docks etc - but without the loading zones.

 

Re copyright, the consensus seemed to be that just rebuilding the cityscape in itself wouldn't be a problem; trying to recreate the gameplay so people could 'play TDS' without buying it might be. Apparently there have been a couple of copyright issues with FMs and TTLG stopped hosting them, but this one is still available. The thread's here: http://www.ttlg.com/...ad.php?t=129213. (CoK has handed it on now; he was starting to reach the limits of DromEd but that was before the New Dark patch so someone else may be working on it again.)

 

But, like Sotha said: doing an 'inspired by' mission is probably safer and more creative.