After a lengthy public beta phase, we are proud to announce the release of The Dark Mod 2.06!

The Dark Mod has undergone a lot of reorganization under the hood. A substantial amount of work was done to improve rendering performance and overall framework tech. Legacy OpenGL methods have been replaced with their equivalents in modern OpenGL. This is also the first TDM release to offer a native 64-bit build.

A full changelog can be viewed here, but some highlights include:

Better Visuals: Duzenko and Stgatilov have implemented a Soft Shadows option that finally removes the sharp edges of TDM shadows. This has a huge impact on the visuals of TDM missions. This option is currently labelled “Experimental” in the menu as we have had reports of issues on certain hardware. See here if you are experiencing flickering or other problems.

Better Sound: EFX audio now allows users without Creative hardware to enable EAX in the menu—a feature that processes reverb data and changes sounds based on the surrounding environment. Currently, only a few maps, like Volta 2: Cauldron of the Gods, by Kingsal, are set up to use EAX effects, but since all users can now benefit from it, mappers are encouraged to use this feature going forward. Interested mappers should see here.

Better Menus: The TDM menus have also been given a visual update, boosting the resolution and adjusting the graphics for widescreen monitors. Durandall has added scrollbar functionality to the mission menus, and Obsttorte has implemented a new menu option that allows users to customize the size and opacity of HUD elements, complete with a visual preview.

New Assets: A new set of Springheel’s architectural modules is included in this release–a set of 50 models for creating church interiors. A number of new models have been added to other sets. Also included is a huge number of new prefabs, allowing mappers to quickly and easily create detailed map sections, as demonstrated in Springheel’s Speedbuild series.

Better Mission Intros: This is the first TDM release to offer video codec support other than ROQ. TDM 2.06 allows for FFMPEG video support, which means that mappers will now have an easier time adding video briefings to their missions.

Better Gameplay: An error that kept food from restoring health has been fixed, and all food will now restore a certain amount of health when eaten. Guards can now sleep and wake up while seated.

Better Performance: Finally, experimental multi-core support is included for the first time, via patches from Cabalistic’s VR branch. While this can cause performance enhancements, it is currently in “Experimental” form as some users may experience random crashes with this option enabled. Uncapped FPS is also now an option for users after this update.

To update, simply run the tdm_update.exe file in your darkmod folder. Please be aware that old saved games will not be compatible with 2.06, so finish any missions you might be in the middle of first!

We are pleased to announce the release of The Dark Mod 2.05!

(New Official Trailer by Goldwell)

This update includes literally hundreds of new high-quality models and other assets that will change the way TDM missions look going forward.

Springheel has created over two hundred modular models that can be combined to create multiple types of environments–tavern interiors, city streets, industrial warehouses, and more.  By placing modules together, high fidelity scenes can be created quicker and more easily than ever before.  http://forums.thedar…ing-assets-205/

Many of these new assets are showcased in a new introductory mission for TDM that is included in the update.  This mission is the first of a three mission story which serves as our official introduction to TDM’s gameplay and setting.

You should notice an increase in performance speed in TDM 2.05, thanks to rendering improvements made by duzenko and nbohr1more.

Grayman has added a working fire elemental to our list of available AI opponents that will no doubt appear in future missions.

Other changes include a fix to stop sleepers from falling through the floor, new beggar entities, new combination safe entities, and fixes to stop the player or AI from getting trapped by moving elevators.  A more detailed list of changes can be seen here:

http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=What%27s_new_in_TDM_2.05

You can update your copy of TDM by running tdm_update.exe.

As always, older saved games will be incompatible with TDM 2.05, so be sure to complete any missions you’re in the middle of before updating!

We have also created a GreenLight presence on Steam. Please feel free to stop by and vote if you want The Dark Mod to be a permanent resident on the Steam platform.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=858048394

For the past few releases, freyk has been creating a GUI installer tool to assist users who are not good with portable file setup in Windows or address dependency issues in Linux. We are now adding this tool to the official installation page as an alternate option.

Windows Installer

And for more info and technical help see the forums thread –

– http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/18207-beta-test-tdm-installer-windows/

The original plan for The Dark Mod 2.04 was very ambitious.

No fewer than 4 large skunkworks projects were put into motion to bring about massive changes in the game\engine and produce oft-requested features and content. In addition, our community donated massive amounts of textures, models, prefabs, sounds, etc. during the development cycle. All of this increased workload arrived around the time that the core developers were less able to dedicate their free time to the project.

As the 1 year mark from the 2.03 launch approached it was decided that too many critical code fixes and refinements were being kept from players while these gargantuan projects lumbered slowly towards completion. Parallel to this sequence of events, Grayman broke his own vow to take a hiatus from coding (to work in the William Steele missions) and decided to address some issues found with coordinated AI searching in 2.03. Because untangling the assets added for some of the unfinished projects would be a project in itself, it was decided that 2.04 would primarily be a code fix release with only a few assets to go along with renderer fixes.

If you’ve been following along in the forums, you’ll no doubt be aware of a few patch executables that were floating around. These were in one way or another previews of 2.04 with the most commonly downloaded one called the “De-Clunking patch” or “De-Clunking mod”. A full changelog can be found Here and the forum announcement with more details can be found Here.

Recent Accolades

The Dark Mod ranked number 2 in PC Gamer’s best free games list!

TDM 2.02 is now available!

This version includes a number of new features and bugfixes for The Dark Mod. Several exploits have been dealt with, such as a fix for the bunny-hop exploit by SteveL, and new behaviour that allows AI to notice if you blatantly grab onto a door they’re in the process of closing, by grayman.

A fix of a sound bug that was causing sound to drop off too quickly in large spaces (resulting in AI frequently ignoring noise arrows and calls for help) has also been fixed by grayman, and a new AI Hearing slider has been added to the main menu.

New Horizon has adjusted our blackjacking detection so that players are less likely to fail by being too close to an AI.

AI may notice that they’ve been pickpocketed, and will add that to their evidence of an intruder if you cause a mild alert while snatching something from their belt.

In addition, Springheel has added a new AI and vocal set (acted by Goldwell) for mappers to play with: The Moors.

For a more detailed look at the changes and improvements, see here: Changelog

To get the new update, simply run tdm_update.exe.

Note: Saved games from previous versions will not work under 2.02!

Square Enix and Amazon.com have announced the results of the THIEF mod contest!

In the first category, “Look, I Created a Mod”, the winner is our very own Gelo (Moonbo) Fleisher with his TDM Fan Mission “Requiem”.

As for the second category, “If I Could Mod, I Would Create…”, the winning team is Joachim Eko Sjoberg and Kevin Stuart Elliott for “The Lighthouse”.

Congratulations to the winners!

We’re getting close to a development freeze for our next update, which will include some important bug-fixes and a lot of goodies. We discovered a bug that affected more than half of all missions that caused loud noises to drop off quickly, meaning AI weren’t hearing noise arrows or yells for help like they should. Grayman is also adding new behaviour for AI who have been pick-pocketed. Additional menu customizations are on the way, as well as a new AI character.

There have been a load of new missions released lately–4 new ones in March alone! And at least two new missions, one by Springheel and one by Moonbo, author of the hit “Requiem”, are due to be released soon.

Good times for The Dark Mod!

A small update, TDM 2.01 fixes several issues surrounding combat and makes some graphical improvements to character models.

Some technical fixes have also been added:  Taaaki has fixed the issue with TDM failing to reload missions if your folder was not named “darkmod”, and grayman has solved some save/reload crashes.

The player was taking double damage from weapons in 2.0; grayman has fixed that, and Springheel has made several other modifications to combat, including making it harder to avoid weapons by running backwards. The end result is that combat has been made slightly more forgiving at lower difficulty and harder at the higher difficulties.

This update improves the appearance of several female character models, as Springheel has worked on improving the meshes, as well as adding a few new heads.

Lastly, a physics bug that made the map “The Swing” unplayable, has now been fixed.

To get the update, simply run your tdm_update.exe file.  Bear in mind that saved games may no longer work after updating, so be sure to finish any missions you’re playing first.

(also, we’re in the process of moving our server, so bear with us if you encounter any connection issues)