The Dark Mod 2.12 is HERE !!!
The 2.12 development cycle introduced many large code overhaul projects. Most of these were to lay the groundwork for future fixes and optimizations. The final release is yet another leap in performance over the already impressive 2.10 and 2.11 releases.
A full changelog can be viewed here, but some highlights include:
The Dark Mod 2.12 is a major step forward in PERFORMANCE!
The culling system has been extensively overhauled to ensure that your CPU and GPU are not wasting resources rendering unseen geometry, lights, and shadows.
Culling discussions have a long history in The Dark Mod forums and gained more interest when it was revealed that DOOM 2016 used Umbra Technology rather than it's own home-brew idTech based solutions. Every so often mappers would show up in the editor threads complaining about performance struggles in their designs and be shown that lots of unseen geometry was rendered. Sometimes clever Visportal placement would cure these issues and other times entire areas would need to be rebuilt to better match the way that idTech4 handles culling. Dragofer tried to alleviate some of the pain associated with map optimization by introducing the areaLock entity flag in 2.08 that ensured that lights and entities only render inside their associated areas. This feature looked very crude to our lead designer stgatilov so he moved forward with a plan ease mission design, reduce the need for areaLock, and improve overall performance by making the culling behavior better match mapper expectations and less reliant on the counterintuitive Visportal behavior in idTech4.
Some of our best map optimization experts have achieved similar performance gains to what this new culling system does but it is a rare skill and we have even managed to improve performance on missions that were generally regarded as “well optimized”. Mission authors both new and old can follow standard mapping practices with no need to dive deep into sophisticated optimization techniques even for some pretty challenging scenarios such as wide open areas and long views.
Players will immediately notice many missions that have made their system struggle with FPS now may be running much more smoothly!
This new change is not without it's caveats. Some of the techniques used by mappers to enforce region enclosures don't match the expected design that the optimization is tailored for. As such a few missions have encountered minor light leaks due to this change. The ones we've identified have been fixed with either small map edits or global keywords added to the missions ( depending on how many leaks were found ). The leaks only impact Stencil Shadow mode so if you've stopped using that mode long ago in favor of the beauty of "Contact hardening shadows" then you wont see any changes other than improved performance. For players who prefer the clean look of Stencil Shadow mode, we ask that you look for any unusual lighting in any missions that our 2.12 Beta testers might have missed and report the issue here:
Smoother controls for players!
Also during the 2.12 development cycle, work has been done to make controls more seamless and accessible.
Frob can now use hold or click contextual actions to use items. Once you get used to the mechanic, it will be hard to go back to using a separate “use key”.
Mantling is now smoother, faster, and less prone to cause the player to clip through geometry. You can also carry objects and bodies while mantling depending on mantle height!
Leaning is now more subtle and less prone to cause motion sickness.
To reduce the tedium of shuffling knocked out AI around to search for loot, you can now configure TDM to automatically loot any frobbed AI.
A special thanks must go out to community member Geep!
Over the course of 2.12 development, Geep has created subtitles for nearly all AI barks along with developing testing tools and procedures for this gargantuan task! You can see these changes in action by changing the Subtitles setting to “On” ( rather than “Story” ) on the Audio settings page.
Geep also provided substantial feedback for our GUI and subtitle design process and edited font data to improve text quality overall.
Datiswous has complimented the massive work by Geep (to create AI subtitles) by creating mission story subtitles for a large number of missions. Thank you!
Brand New!!! Turrets are now natively supported in The Dark Mod C++ code and can be paired with Security Cameras!
The Turrets also operate on completely new logic and assets. There was nothing like them before 2.12 ( Thanks Dragofer ! )
The addition of Turrets entailed an enormous amount of work including extending multiple areas of game logic, creating the Turret asset and animations, and designing the particle and projectile effects.
A few notable Asset additions and fixes:
Improved Banner Normal Maps
Improved brick texture aligned to Normal Map:
Fixed Grandfather Clock asset:
Pinkdot's old forest assets have been fixed and updated then added to the core project:
Single Pass Shadow Maps
This feature has been around since 2.07 but was broken because it didn't respect the noSelfShadows flag. It has now been fixed and is enabled by default ( r_shadowMapSinglePass 1 in Darkmod.cfg ) so Shadow Map mode should run much smoother too. ( If you choose to "Restore Darkmod.cfg" after upgrading to 2.12, it may revert back to disabled so you will either need to edit your config file or delete darkmod.cfg and configure your settings anew. )
Uncapped FPS Improvement
There were a few physics bugs that caused players to float or stick to ceilings when jumping. These only happened at very high FPS values ( over 250FPS ). These issues have been addressed so you can raise the Max FPS to 300 in the Advanced settings ( or set com_maxFPS to any preferred value in Darkmod.cfg ).
Note: The classic "capped FPS mode" uses the same logic as Doom 3 vanilla and thus causes the same low performance and stuttering for Linux players. If you are a Linux player we advise that you go to the Advanced Video Settings Menu and enable Uncapped FPS and configure a preferred Max FPS value.
Less color banding!
In TDM 2.08 we introduced 64-bit color depth and this has cured most color banding artifacts but a few still persisted. In 2.12 we added dither to Fog lights and added dither controls to the postprocess shaders.
Multi Add-On Support:
Add-On \ Mod creators can now integrate their changes alongside other mods that impact player scripts as "Multi-Addon" support has been added!
New Team Members!
Amadeus joined the project during the middle of the 2.12 development cycle. He has contributed many high quality assets over the years and released the excellent mission "A Good Neighbor"
Wellingtoncrab was invited to join shortly after Amadeus and has been a powerhouse of asset development. While 2.12 does not include some of his newest creations, we are expecting 2.13 to be a big release for new textures, models, and materials. He is also responsible for the widely acclaimed mission "Iris".
And contributors:
Daft Mugi has contributed most of the movement and control changes during the 2.12 development cycle!
Finally, the nasty 2.11 bug that caused AI to allow arrows to pass through them at certain angles was fixed by Joebarnin!
Your assassin style play-throughs should be far less frustrating.
See also, our 2.12 Feature discussions for more details:
Additional development details:
During the 2.12 beta, Bikerdude volunteered to assist with updating the Training Mission with a new section about the use of Vine Arrows ( long overdue as they were introduced in v1.07 ). He also added details about all the new control and movement changes in 2.12. Finally, he also visually enhanced the mission and added EFX reverb. Unfortunately, some last minute problems were discovered so this update was held-back to avoid delaying the 2.12 release any further and to ensure that it is given more time in testing and quality control. The Training Mission in 2.12 has been given some new text explaining the new controls but is largely the same Training Mission from TDM 2.0. If you wish to try out this new Training Mission version you can get a copy here:
Download Experimental Training Mission update - ModDB
AngelLoader !!!
FenPhoenix, the popular "Let's Play" streamer has added Darkmod support to his "AngelLoader" tool for mission management. You can now sort missions by multiple categories, makes notes, check ratings and have access to all the AngelLoader features that Thief players have been using:
The FULL Version of The Dark Mod can be downloaded here:
Download The Dark Mod 2.12 FULL - ModDB
For many users, the full download may be too inconvenient due to the sheer amount of time it takes to download.
The tdm_installer can be run to install The Dark Mod and if you need to shut-down or lose connectivity you can re-run the tdm_installer and it will pickup where it left off.
To UPDATE from an older Darkmod version, simply run the tdm_installer.exe file in your darkmod folder.
( This is also how you can do a fresh install. )
Note that tdm_update.exe is no longer supported, but you can download the new installer from the Downloads page if you don’t have it yet.
Or get it here at Moddb:
Download Official - The Dark Mod Installer (Windows 64-bit) - ModDB
Please be aware that old saved games will not be compatible with 2.12, so finish any missions you might be in the middle of first!
Also, some missions created prior to 2.12 may need to be updated so they will be playable in 2.12. Use the in-game mission downloader to check for updates.
Mission releases since TDM 2.11
Seeking Lady Leicester
As a final parting gift, Grayman donated his last in-progress mission "Seeking Lady Leicester" to the TDM community to be finished by any qualified mission author. Bikerdude, Amadeus, Dragofer, and Wellingtoncrab all worked tirelessly to flesh out this mission and bring it to the public. Do not miss this release! It is a large, visually arresting, and endlessly clever treat of puzzle solving and supernatural horrors. Further, due to the scale and complexity of the mission, it has seen at least 3 major bug-fix and polish updates since it's release in March 2023. You should have a pristine and professional play session now that our community has smoked out every last rare issue they could find.
The Lieutenant 2: High Expectations
Frost_Salamander has followed up his excellent "Lieutenant 1: In Plain Sight" with a much larger and visually impressive follow-up. This mission is so good we almost forgot how much we wish that "Hare in the Snare Part 2" would soon be released.
A Bridge Too Far
New mission author "cugzkani" starts out in good standings with an excellent harbor themed mission with interesting vertical designs and wonderfully realistic scaffolding. This one has rather large draw distances so players with low-end hardware may be advised to turn down settings when playing this mission.
The House of deLisle
Author "thebigh" continues his "Duncan Lynch" series with an excellent Horror themed mission!
The Threepenny Review
New mission author "Jnon" has crafted a small mission about collecting extortion money from a local theater owner. Some excellent attention to detail lends a little more historical accuracy to this bite-sized mission.
The Spider and the Finch
Yet another new mission author "GrodenVR" has brought us a wonderful new mission. This time it is a manor heist with an island theme.
A Night in Altham
Joebarnin continues his streak of creating clever missions with lots of technical polish. Folks who enjoy navigating mazes will find some welcome surprises in this one...
By the Cookbook
What do we have here? Yet another new mission author "Skaruts" has created a very handsome little mission about stealing a recipe book.
Mission Updates!
A number of missions have seen either small or large fixes or changes over the 2.12 development cycle. Here are a few standout examples!
A Night to Remember
Frost_Salamander was given permission by the original author Fieldmedic to fix and improve this mission. Other than mapping changes and optimizations, Frost_Salamander has replaced triggers with stims to make the antagonist of this mission more reliable and challenging.
Crucible of Omens: Behind Closed Doors
Bikerdude has been busy using the new map diagnostic tools introduced in 2.11 and 2.12 beta to identify leaks, broken portals and other things that might be stealing performance or reducing reliability in his old missions. The first to see fixes is "BCD". Many leaky areas have been fixed, so performance should be improved. Also, the canal water has been upgraded with help from Wellington crab, it uses SteveL's depth base murk shader program introduced around 2.05.
Sir Talbot's Collateral
Baal and Bikerdude have polished this mission beyond it's already excellent state. Again, map diagnostic tools were used to improve the integrity of the map and a few visual upgrades as well as improved EFX reverb effects have been added.
Alberic's Curse
This mission had a long-standing stutter bug that would intermittently appear when wandering too long in the lower basement. The cause has finally been identified and fixed. Along with the fix, the mission has been tuned and visually enhanced. It features a few "Volumetric Light" effects and finally has EFX Reverb. The "Curse" objective in this mission now triggers a script event that will match the player expectations.
No Honor Among Thieves v4.3 ( 3 mission campaign )
Bikerdude decided to give this campaign the deluxe treatment and has fixed both new and old bugs as well as enhancing the visuals with Volumetric Lights and new Water shaders. The performance drop in the first spiral staircase has been addressed. There are more LOD based effects in the campaign so try changing the Detail setting in the Advanced Graphics menu to compare the highest and lowest detail levels. The main-menu background will change depending on which mission you previously completed. Finally datiswous supplied story subtitles for this mission!
Upcoming Missions:
As of this writing there are two missions getting ready for release.
The Terrible Old Man
New mission author ( another!?!?! ) Ansome is currently working to complete the beta test of his upcoming mission The Terrible Old Man. UPDATE! This is now available in the Mission database!
Hidden Hands: Blood & Metal ( Campaign )
JackFarmer is getting ready to release a 5 mission campaign! Beta testing will be starting soon!
New Fresnel Mod:
Download Fresnel Mod 2.12 ( Unofficial ) - ModDB
You won't have to wait for this lovely shader mod. It has already been updated to be TDM 2.12 compliant
Awesome update! This game just keeps getting better and better thanks to the hard work of the devs and community.
crazy how long this project has been going on for and is still getting updates..i really hope the devs working on this project have pro jobs in this industery and not just non profit projects beacuse the work puts AAA titles to shame.
"Triple A developers have left the comments"
Is there any way to play the Thief 3 campaign using this?
Short answer: No
Longer answer: Someone could create a similar but "intellectual property distinct" campaign to approximate that experience.
Longest answer: Someone could de-compile T3 via a tool like Ghidra then replace it's engine with TDM, similar to what was done with the "PC Port" of Mario 64
Could you create direct link here for 2.12?
If you're installing the game fresh, you can download it from Thedarkmod.com and that will be the latest version.
If you've already got the game installed, simply run tdm_installer.exe (or tdm_installer.linux64 on Linux) to upgrade to 2.12. Happy sneaking!
I'll upload a full package to Moddb this week if I get a chance.
Edit: Done
Will there ever be an in-game way to both update the game itself as well as to delete FM's that was downloaded inadvertently.
I'll say maybe to the upgrade tool... But we did have a tool to delete FM's and it caused a mission author to lose months of work due to accidental deletion. We probably wont bring that back.
Thanks for getting back to me. Will the training level be updated to reflect the new mechanics?
The training mission text has been updated. There's a plan to upgrade the training mission in 2.13 with some addition skills including the use of Vine Arrows
Cool. Two things that I hope that are added (if possible) is some form of indication in the hub area that a section is completed so that the player doesn't inadvertently replay the same section twice, and a way to "soft" reset a section so that it can be replayed again without starting the entire level over from scratch.
Tested it for a few hours and the new build works fantastic. This thing never gets old!
Great work once again, been paying attention since last month and even tested this before last week. Great addition, performance improvements and tweaks to the gameplay to make interaction with the environment or frobbing easier!
n1. god bless you guys