Snatcher's Workshop - Mods for The Dark Mod

[snatcher]

1 hour ago, wesp5 said:

I fixed this [...]

You modded it!

I understand, thanks for the explanation.

Since AI can be KO'ed anytime the downside of your approach is that players installing the patch (in good faith to get all the goodies) might find confronting certain AI not very challenging or too easy. Instead of drawing the sword, or running away, players just have to keep blackjacking till the fatal blow kicks in.

It is your decision and I have no objections. This particular change though, could make for a good standalone mod that players could enable/disable at will based on the information provided upfront and their expectations or preferences. See, I expect a "patch" - official or not - to fix bugs or broken assets, enhance textures, sounds... or even improve gameplay to some extent. The Unofficial Patch goes beyond in some areas.

Have you ever thought about splitting the patch into smaller, standalone packages?

Edited March 15, 2023 by snatcher

[Springheel]

1 hour ago, wesp5 said:

 Like once he has his sword out, you just can't even knock him out from directly behind!

This is only true of guards that have helmets.  Everyone else can be knocked out from behind regardless of what alert state they are in.

[wesp5]

1 hour ago, snatcher said:

Instead of drawing the sword, or running away, players just have to keep blackjacking till the fatal blow kicks in.

This is normally not possible. Once enemies have their sword out, they effectively block the blackjack from every direction except you somehow manage to get behind them without them being able to turn! I normally die when I try that ;). In my opinion this is much less a change than your mod providing free fire to every mission, even those where it is part of the story to find some, or much more unbalancing due to the alchemy arrows that no mission author could have expected...

Edited March 15, 2023 by wesp5

[snatcher]

1 hour ago, Springheel said:

This is only true of guards that have helmets.  Everyone else can be knocked out from behind regardless of what alert state they are in.

Thanks, Springheel. I think it would be good to have the current BJ rules documented in a topic or in the wiki. It's a recurring subject.

If anything, I would have liked this simple rule from the beginning: humans with helmets are immune to KO. Too late, though.

9 minutes ago, wesp5 said:

This is normally not possible. Once enemies have their sword out, they effectively block the blackjack from every direction except you somehow manage to get behind them without them being able to turn!

Ok, ok, I got it wrong then.

18 minutes ago, wesp5 said:

[...] or much more unbalancing of missions due to the alchemy arrows that no mission author could have expected ;)...

It's a Modpack!

[Springheel]

46 minutes ago, snatcher said:

Thanks, Springheel. I think it would be good to have the current BJ rules documented in a topic or in the wiki. It's a recurring subject.

 

https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=The_Dark_Mod_Gameplay#Blackjacking

[snatcher]

Good, thank you. It doesn't sound that complicated. I am not a BJ'er myself but I guess part of the controversy was because the game doesn't feedback organically players about these rules. The Blackjack indicator in 2.11 definitely is an improvement to understand the rules but it goes in detriment of the gameplay. I mean, are players paying attention to the AI or the BJ now?

The section needs a little update now that 2.11 is out.

 

 

[snatcher]

In v3.0 we will be able to bind keys to the different abilities. This means that if you want to peek through a door you just have to press a key; or if you want to extinguish an oil lamp you just press a dedicated key, no need to pre-select any item.

For this to happen (advanced) players must edit the included autocommands.cfg to their liking. It is entirely optional but I would like to offer something out of the box for casual players.

Currently F1 and F2 are reserved for mods. I am thinking I can extend mod support to F3 and F4 but F3 by default is set to "_impulse17" (or "UB_READY"). What is this shortcut for?

[wesp5]

Hi Snatcher, have you played the beta of "High expectations" yet? Because there is a custom jewelery box which doesn't work with your bottom-not-frobable-trick...

[snatcher]

Hi wesp5,

3 hours ago, wesp5 said:

Hi Snatcher, have you played the beta of "High expectations" yet?

No, I haven't. I have high expectations and don't want to be spoiled

Besides, many signed up already, I believe.

3 hours ago, wesp5 said:

Because there is a custom jewelery box which doesn't work with your bottom-not-frobable-trick...

Do you mean a jewelery box cannot be operated or do you mean the bottom of a jewelery box remains frobable? The first is a big issue, the second is to be expected for ad-hoc assets I suppose.

In any case, thanks for the heads up!

[Frost_Salamander]

It's not a custom one, it's a core TDM prefab: containers/openable/jewelry_box_silver.pfb

[snatcher]

Thanks. Let's follow it up in the beta topic.

[snatcher]

TDM Modpack v3.0 released in the opening post

Version 3.0 is a major revision of all mods so far included in the Modpack, the consolidation of all the work since the inception of the pack. There is nothing brand new but important changes and improvements. Let's have a look.

The Shadowmark is now a Tool

The Shadowmark (deck of cards) used to be a Skill but it now is a Tool and you will find it in the Tools category. No changes in its functionality.

autocommands.cfg

In v2.4 we reserved F1 and F2 for mods and in v3.0 we extend the support to F3 and F4.

• F1: Cycle through the Skills category
• F2: Cycle through the Tools category
• F3: Switch between Loot and Stats
• F4: Direct shortcut to "Penumbra"

Quick access to Penumbra is something I always wanted to have and it is offered out of the box. The rest of the abilities can also have dedicated keys if you wish. Have a look to the autocommands.cfg file included in the pack and have it your way. You can, in example, set the "Alchemy" skill to your current "Broadhead" control key (normally number 3).

Statistics update in real time

I find myself trying to ghost more often than not nowadays. I normally give up at some point but at the beginning of a mission I try my scores to be zero for as long as I can.

The statistics now update in real time meaning you can have the stats on screen for as long as you need them. Press F3 repeatedly to quickly access the Stats.

Whistling

There is a flaw in The Dark Mod: if you set AI Hearing to "Nearly Deaf" throwing objects or using tools such as the Noisemaker or skills such as the Whistle are useless. The problem I find is that setting AI Hearing to "Forgiving" can also have mixed results in this regard.

The whistle receives an update and now the more you whistle, the more attention your whistle draws. If AI doesn't react to your whistle just insist a little...

Alchemy - Dangerous Moonlight powder

Flashbombs aren't reliable: AI must be looking in a certain direction and players can't tell where the Flashbomb will land.

The Moonlight recipe gets a little update: A high concentration of the active Moonlight mixture causes a burning sensation to the eyes. This means if players want to purposely blind AI they will have to fire the arrow to their feet or directly to their body. All this regardless of whether the player has Flashbombs or not.

This side effect is not intended to replace Flashbombs but to demonstrate Flashbombs could be fun if implemented properly.

Warning: firing many Moonlight arrows to a same spot can decrease FPS temporally.

 

Mantle while shouldering bodies

This mod will eventually be decommissioned since community member @Daft Mugi is officially bringing the feature to TDM (yeah). In v3.0 of the Modapck I restored the ability to jump while carrying bodies to be inline with Daft Mugi's vision. What's more, the mod will automatically stop working if a 2.12 dev/beta/release is detected.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This should be all for some time. Thanks to everyone who contributed in some form or another.

Here is the full changelog:

==============================
  v3.0 - New release
------------------------------
• The Shadowmark (deck of cards) is no longer a skill, it goes now into the Tools category.
• STATS INVENTORY MOD v1.1: Statistics update in real time now.
• autocommands.cfg update:
  - F1: Loot / Stats
  - F2: Tools category
  - F3: Skills category
  - F4: Direct shortcut to Penumbra
• PLAYER SKILLS MOD - OBSERVATION v1.2: Improved "sliding door" detection and other minor changes.
• PLAYER SKILLS MOD - DISTRACTION v1.3: The more the players whistles the larger the sound propagation.
• PLAYER SKILLS MOD - MANIPULATION v1.7:
  - Support for some gas flames (can be ignited only).
  - Support for the candle sets found in "Seeking Lady Leicester" mission.
• SHOULDERING BOOST MOD v1.1: Ability to jump restored to be inline with the forthcoming 2.12.
• PLAYER SKILLS MOD - COMBINATION v1.1: "Moonlight" arrows now blind AI.

Cheers!

Edited April 15, 2023 by snatcher

[wesp5]

2 hours ago, snatcher said:

TDM Modpack v3.0 released in the opening post

Version 3.0 is a major revision of all mods so far included in the Modpack, the consolidation of all the work since the inception of the pack. There is nothing brand new but important changes and improvements. Let's have a look.

The Shadowmark is now a Tool

Congratulations on a new release! I have a small nitpick to make though: I always wondered what's the difference between Skills and Tools and for myself decided, that the former is something you can always do and the latter is something you have to get an external tool for. So if Shadowmark is now a Tool, have you provided a full card deck model for mappers?

Edited April 15, 2023 by wesp5

[snatcher]

Thanks, wesp5!

22 minutes ago, wesp5 said:

I always wondered what's the difference between Skills and Tools and for myself decided, that the former is something you can always do and the latter is something you have to get an external tool for.

Same but over here Tools are both the basic starting gear of our protagonist (I get annoyed when I don't get the Spyglass right at the beginning) plus useful stuff found in a mission.

I would like someday to remove Alchemy from the skills. I have an idea but we'll see.

26 minutes ago, wesp5 said:

So if Shadowmark is now a Tool, have you provided a full card deck model for mappers?

Hmm I've never checked how that is done but I believe there's a card deck model somewhere in the core pk4. In any case, isn't a little late into the game to have such a tool as optional? Even if the deck gets formally added to TDM it would feature in handful of missions but then, I guess it can be made available in the Buy Equipment screen? This screen isn't available in all missions, though.

I don't know!

[wesp5]

3 hours ago, snatcher said:

Hmm I've never checked how that is done but I believe there's a card deck model somewhere in the core pk4.

I'm pretty sure cards are already in the game, but what I meant was, is it possible to drop them in your mod? Because I think the current difference between Skills and Tools are that you can drop every tool, even if you started out with it.

Edited April 15, 2023 by wesp5

[snatcher]

1 hour ago, wesp5 said:

[...] is it possible to drop them in your mod? [...]

Of course it is

[CountMorillonite]

Loot/Stealth Presentation

I haven't looked through this thread, so I hope I'm not chatting about something that has already been discussed.

I just installed Version 2.11 and along with it the TDM Modpack.

One of the things I've grown addicted to is having the enhanced "running tally" of loot in the bottom right of the screen (tdm_loot_stealth_stats.pk4). This disappears when the Modpack is enabled. Instead, I get the classic presentation of loot via the F3 key. The thing that I really miss is the total amount of loot available in the mission. The stealth stats are for ghosting, which I also use.

I would love to spend more time using the Modpack, but not knowing how much loot there is in total makes the choice difficult. Unless I can keep   "tdm_loot_stealth_stats.pk4" enabled somehow. Is this a possibility ?

[snatcher]

Load order of mods is normally a thing.

Try renaming "tdm_loot_stealth_stats.pk4" to "z_tdm_loot_stealth_stats.pk4" so that it "loads" after the Modpack (in some games relevant mods must load first, in other games last, and the latter is the case for TDM).

EDIT: I just tried and it worked. F3 doesn't do anything though.

Edited April 17, 2023 by snatcher

[CountMorillonite]

That is SO excellent. I can now play the Mod and keep the loot/stealth list that I'm used to. Thanks Snatcher, lovely product.

[snatcher]

TDM Modpack v3.2 released in the opening post

Completing a mission without being seen is something that can be done with some practice and patience, and I find this self-imposed challenge quite rewarding. The STEALTH ALERT MOD will play an alerting chime whenever you are seen so that you don't have to monitor the Stealth stats all the time.

This mod has been in my back-burner for some time. Despite the small scope getting it right not to annoy anyone was key and it was challenging to find a middle ground for players that may be interested in the feature and players that just don't care about stealth. The mod has been extensively tested and the end result blends in quite well, imho, and I hope it will either be useful or go unnoticed...

You can find the download in the opening post.

Full changelog:

==============================
  v3.2 - New release
------------------------------
• STEALTH ALERT MOD v1.0: Inital release
• QUIET DOORS MOD v1.1: Improved code

Cheers!

[wesp5]

Sounds like this is exactly what the guy in the other the thread asked for! But why the skeleton in the screenshot? Do you have an x-ray spell now ;)?

[snatcher]

15 minutes ago, wesp5 said:

But why the skeleton in the screenshot?

LOL, just a random screenshot to complete the post.

16 minutes ago, wesp5 said:

Do you have an x-ray spell now ;)?

Hmm, that's @Wellingtoncrab's business

[snatcher]

TDM Modpack v3.3 (Maintenance Update)

While trying to improve the Loot / Stealth combo I made a mistake and introduced a bug in the last release: Loot count does not update in real time when the loot inventory item is selected.

Since this is an annoying bug it has been fixed in Maintenance Update v3.3. Apologies for the inconvenience.

----------------------------------

I take the opportunity to include some minor, experimental additions. If these additions are well received they will stay, otherwise they will be removed in the next major version of the Modpack.

1) A revamped and extended "Mission Complete" theme.

I decreased the pitch of the original audio not to sound too loud and triumphant and then I extended the length to include an accompanying drum beat during the aftermath. I want players to get the feel that  "the adventure continues" rather than a peaceful "game over" so I opted for an uneasy beat.

You can listen to it by going inside the pk4 to sound/meta/game/mission_complete.ogg

2) Semi-transparent backgrounds for the in-game Inventory grid and Objectives screen.

I am not sure what the best solution is but I always wanted these screen to have some depth. I applied a 30% transparency to:

• dds/guis/assets/mainmenu/invgrid_parchment_backdrop.dds

 

• dds/guis/assets/objectives/parchment_ingame.dds

 

The download can be found in the opening post. Let us know your thoughts.

Cheers!

Edited June 15, 2023 by snatcher

[snatcher]

TDM Modpack v3.4 released in the opening post

A couple of recurring concerns are that in bright scenes you cannot detect if an object is highlighted and sometimes junk is in fact loot but you cannot tell it apart. I will add that I personally find it a little annoying that I have to grab every book to understand if it contains relevant information or not.

The BLINKING ITEMS MOD attempts to improve on these situations: Items within frob distance that go into the inventory (plus static readables) will blink from now on. The mod isn't perfect though, and in bright scenes you may still miss frobable items but you can now rest assured that you won't be overlooking important items ever again.

The idea is that our protagonist has a trained eye in identifying at a glance what's familiar, valuable or remarkable and therefore relevant but mind you, the rest of the world remains as is and any other - common or uncommon - frobable object will not blink. If you had trouble finding or triggering that hidden or in-plain-sight switch, I am afraid the blink won't help you. I think this is a good compromise to improve the flow without altering the intended experience.

One last thing, for the blink to work the console command r_newFrob must be 0, which is the game default.

 

Full changelog:

==============================
  v3.4 - New release
------------------------------
• BLINKING ITEMS MOD v1.0: Initial release
• PLAYER SKILLS MOD - ALTERATION v1.2: Improved special effects.
• Minor corrections.

Cheers!

[CountMorillonite]

I'm currently using Modpack v3.2

Can I skip v3.3 and activate v3.4 which may give me the v3.3 upgrade as well or do I have to activate v3.3 as well. Or, to put it another way, if I activate v3.4 , are the v3.3 upgrades included.

Using my "Generic Mod Enabler (v2.6.0.157), I know I can activate/inactivate the upgrades at will , but I wanted to make sure that hasn't changed.

I'm assuming the limitations regards "savegames" still applies.

Thanks for your product. It's wonderful.