Happy 10th Anniversary of TDM! (Oct 18)

[demagogue 1184]

We seem to have just flown by the 10th anniversary of TDM's 1.0 public release, which was on Oct. 18, 2009. I didn't see any threads on it (were there any I missed?), and now it's like 2 weeks past. But it feels like it's important enough that it's worth acknowledging anyway.

So, Happy 10th Birthday TDM!  Here's to 10 more of our favorite game in the shadows. Huzzah! o/"

[lowenz 571]

!

[freyk 456]

happy bday TDM. 

How about creating/publisching a 10 year celibration game collection package (standalone client, several missions, dr offline wiki and source) 

Edited November 6, 2019 by freyk

[Petike the Taffer 484]

Happy belated birthday wishes, The Dark Mod. 

[demagogue 1184]

I don't know if there's anything that we could release that really works and that's going to get worked on. But when Thief 1 or 2 turned 10, TTLG held a "10th Anniversary Contest". That might be a good idea. In the TTLG version, people were encouraged to make a OM-like mission. We can sort of do that too, make a small mission like that first generation of TDM missions. Anyway, small missions usually get more entries and are more fun to play in line for a contest.

And come to think of it we haven't had a contest in a long time. 

[freyk 456]

I love to see an map-contest, but running such a contest, takes time.
How about selecting some great  existing missions,
using a user-poll with the existing missions list and let the users vote for their 3 or 4 favourite missions, to put it in the "10th Anniversary collection edition". 

We got all the things we need for a online package, we only have to collect it.
For example, i already tried to create a collection collection dvd. See topic:

 

Edited November 7, 2019 by freyk

[esme 139]

Sorry I missed this, has it been 10 years already ?

A good test for a quality product is how long it lasts, TDM is a quality product, a huge thank you to everyone who's contributed

[Amadeus 292]

10 years already?! They grow up so fast!

[Petike the Taffer 484]

Here's my humble contribution, ladies and gents:

http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Concept_Art_and_Fan_Art_Archive

Take a trip down memory lane with some concept art.  Still so many possibilities with this freeware project. Just like back in those wild days, when everything seemed both possible and uncertain at the same time, I feel we've still only scratched the surface.

 

 

[ERH+ 655]

This is something we could use as an advertisement, aside of maybe more transparent mission selection page: a grid of big thumbnails, name + very short description. Any picture-based web page layout, like Pinterest, have this attractiveness of picking over in a supermarket. You just rolling forward, not knowing what you want until your eye catch something. And you will forgot what you saw two minutes ago, so there is a replay value in it.

There could  even be multiple entries for the same mission with different screenshots - you don't know what mission exactly you are picking, you just see a cool image. An interactive gallery of all screenshots from all missions reshuffled - every image with short description of the mission and a hyperlink.

[Shadow 58]

 

10 years is great! Does TDM still have the members and enthusiasm it once had? I mean with one member recently banned and mods by devs that I never see post on here anymore, aka Airship Ballet, or Komag, or Fieldmedic, or RailGun, or HappyCheeze. Is the TDM community growing or diminishing?

[Jedi_Wannabe 153]

I often wonder if I came around at a dark time in the mod’s lifespan, what with the aforementioned fallout, and recent technical struggles with the site. 

Im still super newb at mapping and have yet to put my first map out. But from a mapper’s perspective, I’ve beta tested here and there and talked to a few folks about help with things in my own map and seeing all the great new maps since January, this mod seems to have a very steady heartbeat. There’s always people working in the shadows to bring us more fun content.

I tell everyone I know who’s even the least little bit interested in gaming, about TDM.

Raise your black jacks high everyone, here’s to another exciting decade!

Some stats would be interesting to see tho, like maps published by month over the years.

Edited November 7, 2019 by Jedi_Wannabe

[Kurshok 55]

8 hours ago, Petike the Taffer said:

Here's my humble contribution, ladies and gents:

http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Concept_Art_and_Fan_Art_Archive

Take a trip down memory lane with some concept art.  Still so many possibilities with this freeware project. Just like back in those wild days, when everything seemed both possible and uncertain at the same time, I feel we've still only scratched the surface.

 

 

Someone should re-rig and design the creatures cut due to using Doom 3 A.I. Spider Queen and Ghouls sound dope.

[Springheel 4571]

3 hours ago, Shadow said:

. Is the TDM community growing or diminishing?

I think it's fairly obvious to anyone who has been here a while that the community is smaller than it used to be.  Video games tend to have a short shelf-life.  Ten years for a fan project is pretty impressive, really.

[STiFU 606]

13 hours ago, Jedi_Wannabe said:

I often wonder if I came around at a dark time in the mod’s lifespan, what with the aforementioned fallout, and recent technical struggles with the site. 

Yes, our beloved TDM community used to be a very vivid place. Over the time, many contributors burned out, some we have even never heard of again, but at the same time we always had a steady influx of new contributors, some of whom rised up to be absolute mod-heroes.  I feel like our last productivity spike was around last christmas. Afterwards, there was drama and major technichal issues that hindered development. The latter was/is a severe issue, because contributors simply couldn't work properly anymore and so, lost their habbit of contributing regularly. At least that's my personal perception of things.

Taaaki is setting up a new server for us at the moment. So here is to hoping that we won't run into such an issue again anytime soon and to 10 years of TDM. It has been awesome!!

 

[Kurshok 55]

I wish the game was on Steam. 

[freyk 456]

and on other popular games distributors. (and hope that someone will pickup the long steam procedure again ) 

[chakkman 343]

17 hours ago, Springheel said:

I think it's fairly obvious to anyone who has been here a while that the community is smaller than it used to be.  Video games tend to have a short shelf-life. 

Yep. I'm afraid that it also has to do with the diminishing of the stealth genre in general. The kids love their fast paced, unrealistic, colourful shooters, rather than something moody, slow paced, atmospheric and smart. Well... their loss.

I wished there were more mission makers though. unfortunately, i'm a total mess in that department. I know nothing about it, i'm lazy, and i'm spending way too little time on TDM. 

[Petike the Taffer 484]

My, oh my, aren't we all mournful all of a sudden... We should cherish the people we have and the newcomers bringing new talent.

To get a bit nostalgic, I'm still keeping a light on for Airship Ballet. Always thought she was ace, with a good sense of humour to boot.

[Springheel 4571]

She pops in on discord from time to time.

[Rootus 5]

Happy Birthday TDM

[Destined 567]

Ten years is really impressive. And it is nice to see that, even if the community has grown smaller, there are still new faces popping up from time to time. I have hopes that this community will survive another ten years and am really excited to see how it will develop further.

[Petike the Taffer 484]

20 hours ago, Springheel said:

She pops in on discord from time to time.

Good to hear, then.

9 hours ago, Destined said:

Ten years is really impressive. And it is nice to see that, even if the community has grown smaller, there are still new faces popping up from time to time. I have hopes that this community will survive another ten years and am really excited to see how it will develop further.

You never know, some old faces might eventually return if they feel like working on TDM again. Burnout is certainly a consideration, but it's not uncommon for some people to return to old hobbies. As for us newer contributors, I'd like to hope we'll keep TDM sailing for a good long while.

Edited November 9, 2019 by Petike the Taffer
typo

[Destined 567]

Agreed. I hope I find the time and motivation to continue my WIP. Maybe I could finally contribute something myself...

Edited November 9, 2019 by Destined
spelling error

[Kurshok 55]

I hope the community lasts as long as Team Fortress 2's.