Animated Grass Demo
With the introduction of the SEED (procedural content) system in v1.04, The Dark Mod now has a dedicated LOD (Level of Detail) manager. This has naturally increased interest in outdoor scenes and vegetation. Arcturus took the initiative to experiment with animated vegetation; first with Trees and now with Grass and underwater sea weed.
(Note: The current LOD framework cannot managed md5 animated models so only the static grass is under control of the LOD system.)
The resulting demo is a beautiful demonstration of TDM's ability to stretch the boundaries of Doom 3's engine.
As stated elsewhere, make sure your "Object Detail" is set to "Very High". A revised demo may improve the object hide behavior at a later date.
With the release of the SKD is there any plans to take this beyond simply a mod?
A couple of points of clarification:
1) The Dark Mod is a "Total Conversion Mod" which is as far from "simply a mod" as you can imagine.
2) The SDK was released in 2005. Source code the for AI, Physics, and Game systems was made available back then as well. We are awaiting the source code for the remainder of the engine (renderer, sound, collison, etc) later this year.
3) The Dark Mod cannot be released "Doom 3 free" unless the art assets used by the mod (textures, models, particles, animations) are replaced. We await help from the community for this very large task. A cooperative effort between Doom 3 mod developers to embark on this project has been discussed...
4) The Dark Mod now (as of v1.06) supports multi-mission campaigns. You will likely see large "full game" style experiences in the future as several mission authors have committed to large projects.
I'm simply posting to say that this looks absolutely incredible! Stealth is like a drug to me, one that's currently in dangerous short supply! Just can't believe how AMAZING this total conversion really looks, this doesn't even resemble Doom 3 in any way. I am in total support of The Dark Mod, so count me as a new supporter! I'll be checking back frequently to see any new progress.
Thanks!
We are about to collect the votes for our Seasons Contest entrants and post the winner.
Of course, more missions are cooking so you shouldn't have to wait too long for a new one. ;)
need a video :D
True.
I need a faster PC to capture this well with FRAPS running though...
Fantastic work!
Thanks Argoon.
...
Video added.
wow... i'm with Argoon, fantastic... it gives a look much more profesional!
sorry my english!
I don't even want thief 4 anymore, because this is already superior to any sequel..
True
Great atmospherics. I look forward to seeing what you guys do with iD Tech 4's source code.
I just wish you could get your hands on some voice talent. The existing voicework is an immersion-breaker for me.
The process to get the audio levels and quality into shape is pretty time consuming and is done primarily by Springheel (who is often tied-up with other tasks like making new AI characters... etc.).
We have several new voice sets in-progress but feel free to offer any assistance if you have audio editing or voice acting skills:
Modetwo.net