August Update

[DrSpock]

Well no one else has created a topic yet so I figured I might as well. I'm glad you managed to get one in during August!

 

It sounds like significant improvements have been made. I like the video too. I think clouds passing in front of the moon could add a significant realism to the game.

[HappyCheeze]

Hello!

 

I don't know why there isn't an "Official" post on this, but thanks for posting.

 

The clouds do look awesome and that will add some interesting gameplay for outdoor missions. Timing it right to move with the clouds to remain hidden.

[greebo]

Yup, nice update - and that's not even everything that has been happening.

 

Though I can't take the credit for DarkRadiant's Objectives Editor alone, far more than the half of the work has been done by OrbWeaver.

[Vadrosaul]

Greebo’s been a busybody. Thanks for all the hard work

 

The combat sounds like the old VSIM system I’ve seen used in Die by the Sword.

[Crispy]

The combat sounds like the old VSIM system I’ve seen used in Die by the Sword.

Kinda. Less literal though, and therefore easier to use. (DBTS was hard. At least during the half hour I played of it. I couldn't figure out how to use the sword effectively at all.) TDM's combat system design is probably more similar to Mount & Blade than anything else.

 

I should probably take this opportunity to point out that most of it isn't implemented yet.

[Ishtvan]

The attack physics is implemented, holding back an attack until mouse release is implemented, but deciding which attack to do based on mouse movement is not yet implemented.

[SneaksieDave]

and that's not even everything that has been happening.

An understatement, to be sure.

[BEAR]

I love the cloud feature, is that done with a 3d skybox? If so, what specific effects are required to produce it? I've made 3d skyboxes but I've usually put the actual moonlight inside the map with the moon texture and clouds in the skybox, how do you create the effect seen in the video?

[DigitalNapalm]

The video is phenomenal. I wonder if any of the old LGS crew lurks the boards behind the shadows? I guarantee they'd be impressed with your work.

 

I think the TDM crew may be breaking new ground in the FPS genre entirely. Congratulations.

 

TDM Question: Can the cloud cover be randomly generated? Or does it run on a loop?

Non-TDM Question: Has any pro-studio approached any of you guys yet?

 

Now only if Mr. Carmack was smart enough to include an "import" feature into Tech5...

[Springheel]

Here's a thread with a couple more examples and information:

 

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showt...9&hl=clouds

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?s=&am...st&p=105989

 

Gildoran (who made the sky) said:

 

It's automatic, since it uses a light texture that's carefully synced with the skybox. But there is an important limitation with the way I did it. It uses a light falloff that's scaled to be infinitely large and scrolls with the same parameters as the clouds. This means that the moonlight can't have an X/Y falloff, and it isn't clamped; the mapper needs to ensure that the edges of the light are in shadow, or you'll end up with problems where triangles suddenly become fully lit/unlit when they intersect or stop intersecting the moonlight volume.

 

This is also extremely impressive:

 

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?s=&am...st&p=106326

 

The V3 sky uses a single Doom 3 material that's put on a sky-dome. The material simulates 3D volumetric clouds that shapeshift and cast soft shadows on eachother. No pixel-shaders were used in the making of this sky; Doom 3 materials are that powerful/flexible.

[Inimitable]

Sounds like you guys are making great progress. I know there's always all sorts of work going on behind the scenes, but it's still nice to be reminded.

 

The video is impressive; I don't think I've seen a game simulate cloud cover shadows like that before. The combat system sounds good too. Just another step towards what's looking to possibly be the best damn stealth game (engine) out there!

[Bukary]

The video is wonderful!

 

I have a question regarding this and other features. How will you "give" it to the people when TDM is released? In the form of (x) tutorial or (y) some file that can be imported into somebody's map?

[Springheel]

How will you "give" it to the people when TDM is released? In the form of (x) tutorial or (y) some file that can be imported into somebody's map?

 

Without getting into the technical details...both.

 

If you follow the link to our wiki page, you'll see there are already a lot of tutorials on how to do things, and more will constantly be added. And in many cases you can also add assets from tutorial maps directly into your own.