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Back in the day, Tels managed a squad of volunteer translators for TDM. I am not Tels, and could never do that. Nowadays, language translation using AI, either traditional machine learning (ML) models or large language models (LLMs), is common and increasingly fluent. It is often used as an adjunct to speed the work of professional human translators. By itself, AI translation can be imperfect but usually sufficient. Can this "sufficient" approach be used for TDM, to expedite translations? Let's see. I gave some initial thought to a bulk-translation daemon that might range across FMs and fill in all missing translations, without necessarily involving mappers. In the future, possibly AI could tackle that whole enchilada. I was at first visualizing something more modest: a backbone in a standard programming language (I sketched out C++ and C# projects, but lots of other possibilities) that would make calls to an API (I looked at those of Google Translate and ChatGPT). However, I changed focus due to certain concerns... Different FMs, and subsets with each FM, would likely have far better translations if they were properly grouped, ordered, and translated separately, with an appropriate context (e.g., phrase engineering) added. The FM's mapper is best placed to provide this grouping and context. I'll detail what I mean in the next few posts. The mapper would not be expected to know any TDM-supported languages besides English. Instead, each translated phrase could be back-translated to English and examined. Is the "round-trip" meaning OK, even if the English words have changed? Problematic translations could have their context tweaked and rerun. Many AI systems, particularly for API access, require a billing commitment (e.g., credit card). For a professional translator, this is no problem, and subscriptions allow access to more (and putatively better) models and higher quotas. This seems less appealing for TDM. A few paid AI systems have a no-subscription, pay-as-you-go account tier. The cost per translate is typically pennies. But it does introduce quota- and expense-management, and may exclude API usage. Access via API requires an API key (or at the higher end more elaborate security regime), with attendant key-security headaches. Which AI model is thought "best" for translation? Doesn't matter too much, because we can't afford the best. Furthermore, there's endless churn among AI models, with antidotal reports that a given model fluctuates in quality over time, and successor models can be worse than their predecessors. So, with these concerns in mind, I looked for public web-based AI sites that require no billing and provide low-quota but adequate AI. The mapper would enter and retrieve data manually. I will focus on ChatGPT in this exploration, after a quick preliminary test confirmed some promise. Also, as this exploration proceeds, I hope to propose changes to TDM to make it more viable for "sufficient" quality machine translation. Problem areas are incomplete fonts, space-constraints, and layout issues for translated strings. My proposals will likely surface as separate forum threads. That's enough for now. I'll be trying for 1 or 2 substantive posts per week, as I tackle a particular FM.

This reminds me of Chronicles or Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena... One of my favorite games ever, unfunctional, because of the copy protection. That said, I do get though, that software is a phase-out model. At some point, publishers or developers simply can't guarantee anymore that the stuff will run on current software or hardware. And, it's also not easy to provide the games as is, with a license which allows modifcation of any kind. I can't count how many times I read "Please Open Source your software!". Well, it's not that easy, with potentially loads of licensed code or assets.

Desired Results File with All Languages What is want to end up with from our AI (with any iterative fixup and manual integration) is an FM-only version of TDM’s UTF-8 all.lang. That file has 17 language sections in a particular order, which we will adopt too (in the prompt further below), although, other than English being first, it doesn’t really matter. Once we have our FM all.lang, we can easily generate all the required ISO-encoded *.lang files, e.g., french.lang. Strategy of Feeding the AI One approach would be to just feed the entire #str list in one gulp, with prompt engineering that covers all aspects. This would minimize the post-translate integration time. But the concern is that prompt engineering becomes more difficult. The AI might get confused about what restrictions and hints apply to which strings. While sometimes shared context across strings can be helpful, too much shared context could lead to overly-creative translations (e.g., hallucinations). [BTW, if accessing the AI through an API, there’s often a "temperature" value you can specify, from 0.0 to 1.0, from most-predictable to most-creative. We can use a few words in the prompt to approximately achieve similar ends.] So, to maintain more control, I’m going to batch-feed. The assumption is that translating #str_ in batches of related input groups will allow more focused guidance from prompt engineering, leading to better results. I’ll start with inventory items, that have the shortest strings and most dictionary-like lookup. An alternative/additional batching (particularly needed with large FMs) would be by "scene". In the case of Air Pocket, it could be thought of broadly as 4 scenes, based on timeline and location. The story, as driven by objectives, is fairly linear; larger FMs would typically have some randomization in scene order. Would batching by scene be useful (i.e., give better AI results) for some of Air Pocket’s #str_ s? Thinking this over. But for now, treat inventory items independent of scene. Prompt Engineering for Inventory Items A stab at a reusable template follows in blue. It describes the overall translation task, the desired tone, and input and output formats. Text specific to inventory items is shown in bold. Text that is specific to this FM, to clarify the context and the meaning of particular words, is in italics, with spoilers hidden. You are an expert translator between English and other European languages, including Russian. You wish to translate a list of inventory items, all inanimate objects, from English to these other languages. Each line of the list begins with a tab, then a word beginning with #str_ within double quotes, then another tab, then a phrase within double quotes. When you translate a line, in the output keep the tabs and the #str_ word unchanged, and only change the phrase to the other target language in UTF-8, keeping it in double quotes. Make the translated phrase reasonably short while preserving the formal meaning. Avoid modern slang. Old-fashioned wording is fine. At the end of each line, add another tab, and then add a back-translation of the previous phrase into English again. When back-translating, ignore the original English phrase. Most of the inventory items are keys, and the associated phrases describe locked doors to particular locations aboard a ship, or locked trunks or safes on a ship. The "Master Key" opens all locks. Following the input list of inventory items, append output lists in these target languages: 1. German 2. French 3. Polish 4. Italian 5. Spanish 6. Portuguese 7. Russian 8. Czech 9. Hungarian 10. Dutch 11. Slovak 12. Danish 13. Swedish 14. Romanian 15. Turkish 16. Catalan. List of inventory items: [... skipping 1 potential spoiler] "#str_fm_map_inv_key_captains_cabin" "Captain's Cabin" "#str_fm_map_inv_key_captains_safe" "Captain's Safe" "#str_fm_map_inv_key_galley" "Galley" "#str_fm_map_inv_key_master_key" "Master Key" "#str_fm_map_inv_key_mess" "Mess" "#str_fm_map_inv_key_sea_trunk" "Sea Trunk" Using ChatGPT As discussed at the outset, you can use this without signing in (it will nag you). Also, if you’d like it not to retain your input for training purposes, click on the circled question mark and change it under "Settings". As of this post, of you ask ChatGPT what model it’s using, it responds "You're currently chatting with GPT-4o, the latest model from OpenAI as of 2025. The "o" stands for "omni" — it's designed to handle text, images, and more, all in one model." Following up by enquiring about usage limitations, it says "Free users can access GPT‑4o, but with strict usage caps, which vary based on demand and time of day". More specifically, "usage falls in the range of 5–16 messages per 3–5 hours, after which you'll be limited or switched to GPT‑4o‑mini." The latter is a faster but lower-accuracy model. "We’ll notify you once you’ve reached the limit and invite you to continue your conversation using GPT-4o mini or to upgrade to [paid] ChatGPT Plus." Because I’m doing this at a leisurely rate (and reporting it to you in posts), the usage restrictions should not bite. About Input and Output Formats As you can see above, the input is the AI prompt, appended with content from english.lang, namely, the lines between the "{" and "}" brackets. For those lines, no change to tab-separation is done. The output is the same format, but with an added English back-translation added to each line. When ChatGPT generates the response, each requested language is enclosed in its own HTML response frame, with a separate "copy" link. So you have to copy each link separately, pasting them successively into your FM-specific all.lang file while adding headers, e.g., [French]. Also, the frame margin contains the word "vbnet". When I asked, ChatGPT indicates that’s the style of syntax highlighting applied to the results, based on source material, but it may be inappropriate and so ignorable. Which explains why the word "key" was always colored green. In the next post, I’ll discuss the specific results.

============== -= IRIS =- ============== WELLINGTONCRAB TDM v 2.11 REQ Ver. 1.3 *For Maureen* -=- "Carry the light of the Builder, Brother. Unto its end." -Valediction of the Devoted "What year is this? Am I dreaming?" -Plea of the Thief Dear Iris, I am old and broken. When we were young it felt like the words came easily. Now I find the ink has long dried on the pen and I'm as wanting for words as coin in my purse. I can tell we are nearing the end of the tale; time enough for one more job before the curtain call... ============== -Installation- Requires minimum version of TDM 2.11 **Dev build dev17056-10800 (2.13) fixes several visual effects which have been broken in the mission since the release of 2.11. For that reason playing with that version or later is currently recommended** -Iris does not support mods or the Unofficial Patch- Download and place the following .pk4 into you FMs directory: Iris Download ============== *Thank you for playing. Iris is a large mission which can either take as quickly or as long as you are compelled to play. I hope someone out there enjoys it and this initial release is not completely busted - I tried the best I could!* *Iris both is and isn't what it seems. If commenting please use spoiler tags where appropriate. If you are not certain if it would be appropriate a good assumption would be to use a spoiler tag* *Support TDM by rating missions on Thief Guild: https://www.thiefguild.com/* ============== WITH LASTING GRATITUDE: OBSTORTTE - Whose gameplay scripts from his thread laid the foundation which made the mission seem like something I could even pull off at all. Also fantastic tutorial videos! DRAGOFER - Who built upon that foundation and made it shine even brighter! And whom also provided immeasurable quantities of help and encouragement the past couple years on the TDM discord. ORBWEAVER & GIGAGOOGA - For generously offering their ambient music up for use. EPIFIRE - Who lent me his fine trash and trash receptacle models. AMADEUS - Who was the first person who wasn't me to play the damn thing and provided his excellent editorial services to improving the readers experience playing TESTERS AND TROUBLESHOOTERS: AMADEUS * DATISWOUS * SPOOKS * ALUMINUMHASTE * JAXA * JACKFARMER * WESP5 * ATE0ATE * MADTAFFER * STGATILOV * DRAGOFER * KINGSAL * KLATREMUS - What can I possibly say? Playing this thing over and over again could not have been easy. Deepest thanks and all apologies. -=THANKS TO ALL ON THE TDM DISCORD AND FORUM=- ==SEE README.TXT FOR ADDITIONAL ATTRIBUTIONS & INFORMATION== HONORABLE MENTION: GOLDWELL - If I hadn't by chance stumbled into Northdale back in 2018/2019 I would probably still be trying to get this thing to work in TDS, which means it probably would not exist - though more details on that in readme. ============== Boring Technical Information: *Iris is a performance intensive mission and I recommend a GTX 1060 or equivalent. I find the performance similar to other demanding TDM missions on my machine, but mileage may vary and my apologies if this prevents anyone from enjoying the mission.* *Iris heavily modifies the behavior of AI in the game, how they relate/respond to each other and the player. So they may act even stranger than they do typically in TDM. Feedback on this is useful - as it can potentially be improved and expanded upon in future patches.* -=- This is my first release and it has been a long time coming! If I forgot anything please let me know! God Speed. 2.10 Features Used:

Hrm I wasn't able to type on *after* the spoiler and accidentally already submitted the reply.. (Does this forum somewhere have a raw mode where you type text with tags around them or something instead of this broken WYSIWYG editor?) Anyway, what I was gonna add: This was a great mission and I already played Away1 - I'm really looking forward to Away2, want to see how the story goes on

In order to thank the team (and other mappers) for their relentless efforts in contributing, I hereby give the community.... Ulysses: Genesis A FM By Sotha Story: Read & listen it in game. Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwR0ORZU5sraTlJ6ZHlYZ1pJRVE/edit?usp=sharing http://www4.zippysha...95436/file.html Other: Spoilers: When discussing, please use spoiler tags, like this: [spoiler] Hidden text. [/spoiler] Mirrors: Could someone put this on TDM ingame downloader? Thanks!

Ulysses 2: Protecting the Flock By Sotha The mission starts some time after the events of Ulysses: Genesis, and continues the story of Ulysses. It is a medium sized mission with a focus on stealthy assassinations and hostage liberation. BUILD TIME: 12/2014 - 05/2015 CREDITS The TDM Community is thanked for steady supply of excellent mapping advice. Thanks goes also to everyone contributing to TDM! Voice Actors: Goldwell (as Goubert and Ulysses), Goldwell's Girlfriend (as Alis) Betatesters: Airship Ballet, Ryan101. Special Thanks to: Springheel and Melan (for proofreading). Story: Read & listen it in game. Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwR0ORZU5sraRGduUWlVRmtsX3c/view?usp=sharing Other: Spoilers: When discussing, please use spoiler tags, like this: [spoiler] Hidden text. [/spoiler] Mirrors: Could someone put this on TDM ingame downloader? Thanks!

Changelog of 2.13 development: beta213-05 (rev 17312-10946) * Removed back menuLastGameFrame feature because of random texture popup (post). * Console font minor tweak to avoid artifact under P. * Minor fix for Catalan language. beta213-04 (rev 17306-10940) * Fixed bug with compass + X-ray glasses combination. * Fixed two buttons displayed in menu objectives during game (post). * Added new smoking animation. * Added menuLastGameFrame image to show game footage in in-game main menu (6608). * Changed install/uninstall mission to select/deselect in main menu. * Fixed editor images for HD carpets (6607). * More fixes for Catalan language. beta213-03 (rev 17294-10935) * Fixed crash in WS3 due to script name collision in invisibility potion. * Added praying animation. * Fixed heat-haze shaders with nontrivial Render Scale. * Restored back tonemapping in the menus. * Allow settings hotkeys for gasmine, slowfall, invisibility, made strings translatable. * Fixed double-cursor in game console on 1920x1080 (post). * Applied noise reduction to new vocals for drunk "jack" AI. * Added support for Catalan language. * Fixed UV maps on stove models (6312). beta213-02 (rev 17281-10932) * Fixed HOM-like artifacts in AT1 Lucy and trash frames on TDM start on Linux (post, post). * Disabled tonemap compression curve and reverted settings to 2.12 defaults (post). * Added menu options to disable volumetric lights and parallax mapping. * Fixed varioius issues with largesquare01 materials (6579). * Fixed several issues in the new parallax materials (6604). * Deleted plain_redgreen_design_HD material which references non-existent textures (6601). * Some main menu buttons during game start replaced with generic "Next" (post). * Climbing sounds now depend on material (4991). * Added shaded_lamp_with_grill model (6589). * New fabric_ornate and fabric_fleur materials. beta213-01 (rev 17262-10927) * Improving the fonts continued (thread). * Fixed unwanted mine deployment when player eats the last bit of food in hands (6598). * Removed old hack to fix for scripted savegame crash (4967). * Added a model ext_timber01_window01_empty.lwo (6600). * Fixed missing skin for atdm:ai_revenant_spirit (6595). dev17251-10920 * Added slowfall potion. * Added invisibility potion. * New tonemap settings are now default (post). * Added Texture Quality settings in the main menu. * Added pipes_industrial_modular models. * Minor adjustments to colored versions of gen3 environment maps. * Default value of inv_count is back at 1 to fix issues with inventory counts. * Fixed rare crash on loading collision models (post). * Refactored heatHaze shaders. dev17234-10914 * Added many new high-res materials, half of them with parallax mapping. * Implemented optional HDR compression in tonemapping + other improvements (post). * Implemented interactionSeparator syntax in materials (post). * Added new entityDef: atdm:radio. * Added colored versions of gen3 environment cubemaps for metallic materials. * Added new environment cubemaps: sparkles, studio, blurry. * Added coat_commoner_hanging and coat_inventor_hanging models. * Added mantle_clock_ticking sound. * Improved lightgem calculations while leaning (post). * Fixed regression with double-sided materials (5862). * New sorting of inventory grid items (6592). * Reduced font size of mission list, which allows to see more missions and longer names (post). * Added scrollbar to "notes" of a mission in the main menu. * Optimization: don't render interaction groups with black diffuse & specular. * Improved "scepter" material (thread). * Fixed normal map of ornament_relief_mold_eaglelshield (6585). * More tweaks to starry2 materials. * Made material noshadows: moon_full_shaded, shooting_star, moon_glow. * Added "inv_count" "1" spawnarg to atdm:playertool. * Gas mine now costs 125 instead of 75. * Added min/max builtin functions to game scripts. * Added script events about gravity, health, in-air movement. * Added script events setUserBy, setFrobActionScript. dev17171-10894 * Added entityDef archery_target01 with hit detection, it is now used in Training Mission. * Fixed missing steam_pipe02_straight in Training Mission. * Hiding mouse cursor during briefing in official missions (6576). * Cleaned up the code for extracting interaction groups in material. * Parallax mapping: supported "translate", self-shadows are disabled properly (6571). * Fixed meshes generator_big, generator_small, generator2, warehouse_front_doorframe (6581). * Fixed material on model stove_open02 (6580). * Fixed decals on ext_timber01_window01 (5782). * Improved largesquare01 materials with bumpmap and specular (6579). * Added skybox materials clouds3 and clouds_4_small + prefabs. dev17152-10890 * Major update of Training Mission, including vine arrows (4352). * Added TDM version + engine revision in lower-left corner of main menu. * Experimental implementation of parallax mapping (6571). * Fixed frob interaction with candle holder that's initially extinguished (6577). * Better icons for scrollbar thumb in menu, fixed author search (6339 6570 6449). * Fixed hiding mouse cursor during video briefing/debriefing (6576). * Fixed map immobilization not applied if opening map with inv use key. * Forbid adding missions to download when download is in progress (6368). * Skip disabled bump stages in environment mapping (6572). * Disabled texture compression for light images: falloff and IBL cubemaps. * Minor change in shadow map acne / blur radius computation (6571). * Added banner01_edgar and banner01_viktor banners, along with long versions. * Fixed UV map for longbanner_ragged model (6573). * Added missing jack/drunk_idle13.ogg sample (6507). * Fixed handle_curved02_latch prefab, deleted pull_handle (6286). * Replaced normal map of cobblestone_blue_black with high-res version (6574). * More detailed editor images of some materials (6575). * Added small_dresser_openable prefab. * Added banner_sword + tdm_bannerlong_sword materials. * Increased size of secret message overlay GUI. dev17121-10869 * Massive improvements in mission select & download menus, added search (6339 6570 6449). * Improvements and fixes for "builder priest" animated mesh. * Improvements of idle01 animation. * Improved newspaper01 model (6568). * Added gas mine to "map start pack" prefabs (6559). * Fixed text alignment in save/load menus. * Minor CI/build fixes. dev17104-10844 * Enabled the new system for tracking light value by default (6546). * New light value tracking integration covers ropes and doors + optimized shadow rays (6546). * Added atdm:playertools_gasmine (6559). * Workaround for compiler bug which broke particle collisions with texture layout (post). * Fixed r_showTris: color, values 2 and 3 (6560). * Minor improvements to drunk vocals (6507). * More tweaks to sculpted/girard_relief_pho. dev17095-10833 * Major improvements in drunk AIs: setting "drunk" spawnarg is enough now; new sounds, animation improvements, greetings, etc. (6507). Fixed drunk women AI (5047). * Incorporated stone font updates by Geep (thread). * New footstep sounds for ice and broken glass (6551). * Fixed light culling bug on elongated models with non-identity rotation (6557). * Added new system for tracking light value of entities (6546). It is disabled yet. * Technical change in loading of particle collisions (6546). * Now AI follower settings can be set as spawnargs, added prefab (6552). * Added proper dmap error message if map file contains an entity before worldspawn. * Fixed water_medium_running sound (5384). * Fixed window/metal_irregularpanes_moonlit material. * Fixed wood/boards/rough_boards_scratched (4157). * Fixed wall/ship_wheel model (6549). * Fixed gaps in awning_cloth_01_large model (6550). * Added weather particles with static collisions enabled (6545). * Added a pack of new factory_machines models (6537). * Added fabric/cloth_baize materials (red and purple). * Added window/diamond_pattern01_moonlit_bright material (6133). * Added AO and specular maps to sculpted/girard_relief material. * Added musicbox sound, added prefabs for it and for victrola. * Added wood/panels/mary_panel model. * DarkRadiant now knows about parallelSky param (6496). dev17056-10800 * Supported "efx_preset" spawnarg on location entities (6273, thread). * Fixed rendering of volumetric light and particles in X-ray views (6538). * Fixed rendering of particles in mirrors (6538). * Improved volume estimation for subtitles, very quiet subtitles are hidden (6491). * Fixed bug in idClip::Translation of non-centered models. * Third-party integration greatly reworked for better integration with conan (6253). * Stone/subtitle font improvements by Geep. * Fixed sleeping sounds for drunk AIs (6539), and other sounds for them too (6507). * Fixed missing shadow on endtable_001 model (6288). * Added girard_relief material. Known issues: * Shadows of Northdale Act 1 does not start (6509). (mission has been updated) dev17044-10746 * Supported mission overrides for cvars which are tied to gameplay state (5453). * Fixed crash on start with 32-bit Windows build. * Rebuilt all third-party libraries with conan 2 system (6253). * Reverted improvements of capped FPS to fix video/audio desync (5575). dev17042-10732 * Restored ability to create cvars dynamically, fixing bow in missions (5600). * Fixed issue where .cfg files were saved every frame (5600). * Added sys.getcvarf script event for getting float value of cvar (6530). * Extracted most of constants from weapon scripts into cvars (6530). dev17035-10724 * Support passing information between game and briefing/debriefing GUI via persistent info. Also changed start map & location selection, added on_mission_complete script callback (6509 thread). * New bumpmapped environment mapping is now default (6354). * New behavior of zero sound spawnarg is now default (6346). * Added sound for "charge post" model (6527). * Major refactoring of cvars system to simplify future changes (5600). Known issues: * Bow does not shoot in some missions: thread (only in this dev build) dev17026-10712 * Nested subviews (mirrors, remotes, sky, etc.) now work properly (6434). * Added GUI debriefing state on mission success (6509 thread). * Sound argument override with zero now works properly under cvar (6346 thread). * Environment mapping is same on bumpy and non-bumpy surfaces under cvar (6354 thread). * Default console font size reduced to 5, added lower bound depending on resolution. * Added high-quality versions of panel_carved_rectangles (6515). * Added proper normal map for stainglass_saint_03 (6521). * Fixed DestroyDelay warning when closing objectives. * Fixed the only remaining non-threadsafe cvar (5600). * Minor optimization of depth shader. * Added cm_allocator debug cvar (6505). * Fixed r_lockView when compass is enabled. dev17008-10685 * Enabled shadow features specific to maps implementation (poll). * Auto-detect number of parallel threads to use in jobs system (6503). * Improved parallel images loading, parallelized sounds loading, optimized EAS (6503). * Major improvements in mission loading progress bar (6503). * Core missions are now stored uncompressed in assets SVN (6498). * Deleted a lot of old rendering code under useNewRenderPasses + some cleanup (6271). dev16996-10665 * Environment mapping supports texcoord transforms on bumpmap (6500). * Fully disabled shadows on translucent objects (6490). * Fixed dmap making almost axis-aligned visportals buggy (6480). * com_maxFps no longer quantizes by milliseconds on Windows 8+. * Now Uncapped FPS and Vsync are ON by default. * Supported Vsync control on Linux. * Added set of prototype materials (thread). * Fixes to Stone font to remove stray pixels (post). * Loot candlestick no longer toggle the candle when taken. * Optimized volumetric lights and shadows in the new Training Mission (4352). * Fixed frob_light_holder_toggle_light on entities with both skin_lit and skin_unlit. * Now combination lock supports non-door entities by activating them. * Added low-poly version of hedge model (6481). * Added tiling version of distant_cityscape_01 texture (6487). * Added missing editor image for geometric02_red_end_HD (6492). * Added building_facades/city_district decal material. * Fixed rendering with "r_useScissor 0" (6349). * Added r_lockView debug rendering cvar (thread). * Fixed regression in polygon trace model (5887). * Added a set of lampion light entityDefs.

This post differentiates between "gratis" ("at no monetary cost") and "libre" ("with little or no restriction") per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis_versus_libre * A libre version of TDM could: ** Qualify TDM for an article on the LibreGameWiki *** TDM is currently listed as rejected https://libregamewiki.org/Libregamewiki:Rejected_games_list because "Media is non-commercial (under CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0). The engine is free though (modified Doom 3) (2013-10-19)" ** Qualify for software repositories like Debian *** TDM is currently listed as unsuitable https://wiki.debian.org/Games/Unsuitable#The_Dark_Mod because 1) "The gamedata is very large (2.3 GB)", and 2) "The license of the gamedata (otherwise it must go into non-free with the engine into contrib)" and links to https://svn.thedarkmod.com/publicsvn/darkmod_src/trunk/LICENSE.txt Questions: 1) tdm_installer.linux64 is 4.2 MB (unzipped), which is far from the 2.3 GB which is said to be too large. Yes, the user can use it to download data that is non-libre, but so can any web browser too. If the installer itself is completely libre, does anyone know the reason why it cannot be accepted into the Debian repository? 2) If adding the installer to the repository is not a viable solution, would it be possible to package the engine with a small and beginner friendly mission built only from libre media/gamedata into a "TDM-libre" release, and add user friendly functionality to download the 2.3 GB media/gamedata using "TDM-libre" (similar to mission downloading)? 3) Would such a "TDM-libre" release be acceptable for the Debian repository? 4) Would such a "TDM-libre" release be acceptable for LibreGameWiki? 5) Would the work be worth it? * Pros: Exposure in channels covering libre software (e.g. the LibreGameWiki). Distribution in channels allowing only libre software (e.g. the Debian repository). * Cons: The work required for the modifictions and release of "TDM-libre". Possible maintenance of "TDM-libre". I'm thinking that the wider reach may attract more volunteers to work on TDM, which may eventually make up for this work and hopefully be net positive. 6) Are there any TDM missions that are libre already today? If not, would anyone be willing to work on one to fulfill this? I'll contribute in any way I can. 7) I found the following related topics on the forum: * https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/16226-graphical-installers-for-tdm/ (installing only the updater) * https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/16640-problems-i-had-with-tdm-installation-on-linux-w-solutions/ (problems with installation on Linux) * https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/17743-building-tdm-on-debian-8-steamos-tdm-203/ (Building TDM on Debian 8 / SteamOS) * https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/18592-debian-packaging/ (Dark Radiant) ... but if there are other related previous discussions, I'd appreciate any links to them. Any thoughts or comments?

Apply a thin layer of nodrawsolid with your desired sound over the top. Another option: if there's a texture that you always want to have a custom sound, then modify the material definition and add or change the surface type. Example, if you want the "/darkmod/wood/boards/dark_redwood" texture to sound like stone, clone the default material definition to make a new one, and change it: textures/darkmod/wood/boards/dark_redwood_sounds_like_stone { stone diffusemap textures/darkmod/wood/boards/dark_redwood } If you use that texture it'll always sound like stone. No need for a nodrawsolid.

imported a model, its see through and it isn't obvious to me why it is that way (model has been cut up for better visualization of the problem) it likely isn't vertex normal related since all of the outside is blue and the model looks fine in dark radiant, I can provide more information about the models and things if it is needed

Believe it or not, an earlier build had lots of rooftop climbing and alternate routes, but poor design on my part meant I had to put them all out of reach to slice the outdoor area into chunks for visportalling/optimization after the fact. I took my "city streets" approach a bit too literally and directly this time around, and I've realized that the claustrophobia and verticality of some of the best Thief FMs were born as much out of necessity as out of choice.

That's correct but many people just use the in-game mission downloader to check for new stuff without even looking at the forums, which is what I did. In the past a lot of missions that required a newer version of the game executable and assets would tell you this when you tried to start them up. I was just reporting on this and that you don't need to reinstall, just update via tdm_updater if you find this issue.

Im ok with it but it is getting a bit long in the teeth for a ryzen 5900x even the low cost ryzen models have plenty power to drive this card. I would have used my 3070 instead but with 8gb im running into some rather annoying texture loading problems. So a 16gb model will be next project but the lower end while having plenty vram are just not worth upgrading to with such a small percentage. Guess ill donate a kidney for a 9070 or 5070

Are you sure you aren't turning your sealing geometry into func_statics, or using a non-sealing texture? I don't know about scripting a fade out, but you can apply skins to them like anything else, and make them use any texture you like.

Just to complicate your life, there are 3 additional aspects to consider about the circa-2014 Mason files, and subsequent circa-2017 improvements to the 'english' version perhaps applicable to your work. (These issues are covered in the wiki "Mason Font" article, with a bit more in my "Analysis of 2.12 TDM Fonts", https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22427-analysis-of-212-tdm-fonts/. The 2017 changes can be seen in the *current* 2.13 TDM English Mason files.) 1) Need for custom DAT-scaling on certain Mason characters The source TTF had upper-case and lower-case characters that were early-on considered too similar to size. So (before 2014) in the DAT, selective per-character scaling was used to differentiate them. See https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Font_Metrics_%26_DAT_File_Format#Per-Character_Font_Scaling for details. As you add new characters, you should do likewise (relatively easy with refont). 2) Creating the "glow" of mason_glow How Tels created the glow (for 'english' carleton & mason) is discussed in reasonable detail here: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/12863-translating-the-tdm-gui/page/5/#findComment-262661 That could be done for Russian too, which I recall currently fakes a glow, and possibly would require a minor GUI or engine code change to use. Note: To best accommodate glow and retain GIMP-visualization-alignment between base and glow characters, Tels moved some base characters within their bitmap, to keep their glyphs 2-3 pixels away from any bitmap edge. You should consider this when placing new base glyphs. Note: For the 3 mason bitmaps doubled in size circa-2017 as discussed next, the mason_glow bitmaps were also doubled. 3) Extensive bitmap editing to solve main menu character jaggedness. On Oct. 5, 2017, @Springheel in https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/19129-menu-update/#findComment-412921 said: "Looking at the Mason fonts, it looks like they were super low res to begin with, and were then just resized [presumably referring to per-character scaling], making them even worse. I'll see what I can do." [Further on, referring to fonts in the TDM menu system:] "It appears that resizing the dds file to make it higher res is possible, so I'll proceed." Later, on Oct 13, 2017, he concluded within a "More detailed list of changes: "Updated the menu fonts, which were surprisingly bad before" Unfortunately, I couldn't find details on how this work was actually done. I assume the bitmap editing was all done in GIMP. It started with doubling the size of certain bitmaps from 256x256 to 512x512. This was done for the first 3 bitmaps (i.e., those with ASCII, some Latin-1). Then characters were made more crisp and smooth-edged. How? Dunno. Also, some odd but harmless artifacts happened within GIMP (noted in https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22427-analysis-of-212-tdm-fonts/page/3/#findComment-499660)

I think this is a great mission, after having played it. Wanted to also post and say that I initially had the same issue as a user on the first page with the black untextured floors and some walls. I think the issue is the mission doesn't check the version of the game that's being played--I had 2.12 installed and it started the mission without asking me to update. After running tdm_installer and forcing a file analysis and then updating to 2.13 not only did the pure black texture issues go away but the slight framerate issues I was having in some of the outdoor areas disappeared as well.

The latest dev build (dev16629-10139) supports Wavefront OBJ format for static models. Some details: Model must consist only of triangles. Quads/polys will produce warnings and won't work properly. NURBS/lines/etc are ignored. Normals and texcoords are mandatory for all triangles, otherwise model loading will fail. Widely used extension for RGB vertex colors is supported (standard OBJ does not support vertex colors). TDM materials are referenced by "usemtl textures/test_obj/rock". Standard MTL files are not supported yet. Unlike LWO and ASE imports, which try to automatically merge close vertices, no postprocessing is done for a model in OBJ format. As far as I understand, it means less suffering with smoothing groups for instance. Also it means that loading OBJ model is very fast, even for a large model. The only downside thus far is that zipped LWO file can be smaller than zipped OBJ, but I don't have exact numbers yet (I'd be happy if someone can help me with it). Speaking of OBJ format, there are several pending questions: Should we support MTL format (common subset) in TDM engine? Or as import plugin in DarkRadiant? Should we support referencing part of OBJ file as model in TDM map? Is it common to export several LODs into one OBJ?

hmm experimented with upping the limit to 16gb and it does work atleast untill i hit the ceiling with a texture bigger than 12 gb (my 2080 ti only has 11gb). the biggest concern is loading time which quadruples and in some instances even hits 8 times slower loading . is this one of the reasons besides avoiding loading screens that modern engines adopted streaming ?. while pretty annoying with the long loading times it sure as hell is visible in the detail level wow!. so the question would be if it would be feasible with a setting which would allow upping texture memory instead of the static define it uses now ?. theres also the problem with the engine only supporting power of two texture sizes (there is texture loader code that allows using any texture dimension but i wonder what the backside is).

could do it with mainboard model / CPU type. Can look up the info from that . mainboard model will tell us if it has PCIE 3 4 or 5. cpu type will give us some answers as to what GPU might fit best (they will probably all work "well not the intel models if the board has no rebar support", but if the cpu is to slow to feed it, then you start loosing fps).

hmm yeah the 9000 series is still quite expensive here in denmark. the most affordable model atm is this one https://www.proshop.dk/Grafikkort/PowerColor-Radeon-RX-9070-XT-Reaper-16GB-GDDR6-RAM-Grafikkort/3331586?utm_source=pricerunner&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pricesite which is 895 US dollars. otherwise they go for close to or above 1000 US dollars so about 350 dollars over MSRP. the 7900 models are even more pricey and go for close to 1500 dollars for the most affordable model.

We have been collecting textures for 4+ years, by nearly a dozen different people. It is inevitable that some textures will not stand up well in terms of quality. This thread is the place to nominate textures you think are poor and should be either fixed or removed. The following process will be followed (we are currently on step 1):

or get the 16 gb model which seems to do quite ok with pcie 3.0 . tbh if i were to get one i would go for that model anyway.

Alright, I've done it. And then probably went overboard. I was able to disconnect all of the volta-named bits from the entities and rename or repoint everything to assets that ship with TDM. The results don't look quite as cool, but I still was able to make a destructable crate with flindery bits, particle effects, and smashing sounds. Hooray! I then discovered that changing the model required whatever new model I chose to also have a clip model. So there was no way to get around making clip models in darkRadiant for whatever things I wanted to be smashable. I went ahead and made really basic (cubes or 6-sided prism) clip models for all the junky broken down wooden objects I could find in the TDM assets, most of which were missing, and used those to create breakable versions of those models. Funny enough, this approach worked for everything except the original door that I wanted to make breakable in the first screenshot of this post! There is something funny about the collision geometry of models/darkmod/architecture/doors/oversized/old_door_02.lwo . If I used it as an entity model, the map complained about not having a collision model. But if I added a simple box as a collision model, the box didn't get used! I was able to shoot arrows and walk straight through this broken down "door". So my original chain-of-random-entities solution that doesn't make flinders is probably as good as we'll be able to get from the door. I also used this solution to try to recreate breakable banners from TG and T2, and they work pretty well. They should probably have a "torn" version that hangs from the banner rod instead of the whole banner and rod disappearing entirely, but they will serve the gameplay purpose of being able to hide safes/secret passages behind banners well enough for me. Coming back to flinderable entities, I realized I could probably tweak the entity definition to also make breakable ceramic pots, so I made some of those too. I ended up with ~25 prefab objects that you can smash with the sword or detonate with fire arrows - some are small enough to be picked up, but the bigger ones can only be pushed or are completely stationary. I tried to pick reasonable health values for them based on their size and apparent sturdiness. All of these can be used as obstacles to block doors or secrets. I've uploaded a .pk4 that contains a simple test map, the entity definitions, and the prefabs. Feel free to download, rip 'em out, and use 'em! If there are any good candidates for smashable-looking crap that I missed or any feedback on how I could make these better, let me know. If @kingsalis cool with it (...because I basically copied his homework for the scripting), I would also support making these entity definitions, collision models, and prefabs part of TDM's core, and would be willing to make whatever tweaks we think are good to help make that happen. breakable_prefabs.pk4

Concratulations from me also! It looks great! Now last I entered the house of Mrs. Hyde where I found an issue at the staircase. First I recognized a strange light spot on the upper floor which shouldn't be there and after that I saw the staircase's texture and that of the whole house's floors have gone - execept the carpet. Just black and this light. 1.jpg with lit torch, 2.jpg without By the way: the characters of the map could have been a bit less tiny...