The Dark Mod Version 1.08 Details

Some details about version 1.08 of The Dark Mod were released earlier on this month on the news section of TDM’s website. The main change is that the team behind it, Broken Glass Studios, is preparing the mod for going standalone – this is since the Doom 3 source code was released last year. Standalone means that Doom 3 will no longer be required to be installed on a system in order to play TDM.

But hang on before you get too excited, because 1.08 won’t be fully standalone. The mod will run without Doom 3 perhaps, but many of the fan missions created for it won’t, seeing as they rely on Doom 3 assets.

Other improvements include a sound upgrade, new NPC characters like the Builder Acolyte (you may remember this from early TDM screenshots – the guy in the turquoise outfit) and the Elite City Guard (remember him from Thief II – the one you couldn’t knock out with a blackjack no matter how hard you tried?), as well as more forgiving AI (I thought it was more than forgiving all ready), and improvements to object physics.

See the whole list of changes over at the TDM wiki.

TDM FM Review: Awaiting the Storm

This is a review of one of The Dark Mod’s (a mod for Doom 3) fan missions. It may contain traces of spoilers. You have been warned.

Author(s): HappyCheeze
Version: 1.0
Date released: 2010-05-22
Theme: City

HappyCheeze has so far made one TDM map, and it’s this one - “Awaiting the Storm”. Quite self-explanatory in the title, the thief must wait until dark, before setting out under the cover of a storm outside. One could imagine that this would impair the hearing capabilities of the city watch patrolling the streets, and allow for a stealthy entry in to the tavern. The reason why you want to make it inside is to relieve some artefact trader of his possessions, and snatch some loot in addition to this.

There are two ways in: you can try the front door, but the electric lighting on the streets, plus a patrolling city watchman with a torch will make things difficult for you. You’re much better off using the storm cellar doors that lead in to the basement. From here you can easily make it up to the ground floor and begin your search. There’s a few rooms on this floor, including a locked one which has a spare inn key – this will allow easy access to most doors on the first floor above. Using the staircase could be a little hazardous as there’s at least one guard watching the landing at the top. It’s a much better idea to use the dumb waiter in the kitchen to, once again, quickly and painlessly reach the floor above.

 

Hover mouse over pictures for captions, if available.

The first floor has a big room which is used for the guests to dine in, naturally, and once you’ve made it past here, it’s on to the guests’ rooms. The one you’re looking for is easy to find – the last one in the corridor (or the first one, depending on which side you come from).

Like taking candy from a baby.

From here on it’s just a matter of getting in to the other rooms with the spare inn key and robbing the other people blind, before slipping back out the way you came.

Overall, this mission is simple, and perfect for a beginner. There’s not a lot of challenge, even on higher difficulties, and even the aforementioned hazards of inextinguishable light sources and guards are easy to avoid for the most part. The level design is simple too, and not much is appealing. The most eye-catching area would be the road which goes through the tunnel – this is flooded and the door by the side barely opens under the force of the flowing water. It looks good.

There could have been more to explore in this small map to make it feel somehow “more”, but not a lot of effort was made to accomplish this. I understand it’s a first and only map by an author, however, and I couldn’t find much technically wrong with it, like I often do with bigger maps. There’s a silver lining in every cloud. Oh, except the guard in Archibold’s room wasn’t too consistent with patrols and often walked around in circles. Yeah, that’s about it. Some AI trouble, but that’s quite common, I find.

Pros:

+ Good for beginners.

+ Weather and water effects.

Cons:

- Too plain and simple for anyone looking for a challenge.

FM score: 7/10

TDM FM Review: Business As Usual

This is a review of one of The Dark Mod’s (a mod for Doom 3) fan missions. It may contain traces of spoilers. You have been warned.

Author(s): Bikerdude
Version: 1.0
Date released: 2010-01-14
Other info: Grand Christmas Contest ‘09
Theme: City

This is a relatively small map made by Bikerdude – in fact it’s his first ever fan mission for The Dark Mod, and it’s not too shabby at that. Even though he received a lot of help from the TDM forum dwellers, Bikerdude all ready displayed a knack for making enjoyable, interactive, and challenging missions at this early stage.

You start off in your apartment, and go about collecting your gear. This makes a change from starting off with everything, as you usually find. You’d be wise to get your lantern and use it to make sure you have everything. Search the place thoroughly – in fact, this is a golden rule when it comes to every room, in every mission.

Once outside you'll see that there are several buildings, and unlike other maps of similar size, almost all of them are accessible – although not all of them have much inside and appear to be uninhabited. Or are they? Yes, there’s less waste of space or opportunity here than some maps. Places to explore include a tavern, where the civilians won’t react to you in any way, whereas the guards and city watch outside will hound you if seen on the streets which have quite a bit of electric lighting going on to make sneaking a tad more of a priority. There’s also the local City Watch post, and a hotel. These are the main three places on the street level.

On the subterranean level, there’s the sewer, accessible from at least to or three entry points, and there’s a “secret” or two here to be had – in fact it’s a critical mission objective, so if you can’t find the hidden area, then you are in trouble.

The hotel is likely where most of the action will take place, and in the guests’ rooms you’ll find… guests, mostly sleeping. Hardly guards are present here whatsoever, making things a little too easy. Even though there isn’t much in the way of story here – just a case of “I stole something, somebody stole it from me, now I need to get it back”, plus some other optional extras – the focus on level design and interactivity isn’t unappreciated. To me, a small map which has lots to do and places to poke around in is more enjoyable than a big map which doesn’t do much to make its needless waste of space any more enjoyable. This is a map that shows that a little can go a long way.

Bikerdude’s maps, including this one, are a bit tricky with secrets and the like, which forces you to frob just about everything to see if it serves a purpose or not, making the first playthrough the most challenging. After you know where to go and what to do though, the 2nd playthrough, and onwards, is a breeze for the most part, and allows for little replayability – particularly in a small map such as this.

Still, a good effort for a respected FM author’s first attempt.

Pros:

+ A few nice secrets.

+ More usage of what the map has to offer, with little wastage.

Cons:

- Not a big map.

- Not that challenging in terms of AI.

FM score: 8.5/10