Contest FAQ
This FAQ is based on the best information I have at the moment. It can and probably will change as more details are revealed about the contest. The contest rules have not yet been updated to reflect this information, but apparently will be soon.
Why is The Dark Mod involved?
The Dark Mod was born in the Thief community, and was created and supported by Thief fans. If something is good for the Thief community, then The Dark Mod is happy to be a part of it. And what could be better than something that celebrates the terrific talent and passion of mission authors and modders (not to mention giving them cool prizes)?
It's also nice to have The Dark Mod officially recognized by the owners of the Thief franchise.
Can I enter a mission for The Dark Mod into the contest?
Yes. You can use any Thief platform (T1, Thief Gold, T2, TDS) as well as The Dark Mod. If you're entering the "If I Could Mod, I Would Create" category, you don't even need to use a platform at all. Just share your great idea!
Do I have to use Thief: Gold for the contest?
No. You can download Thief: Gold for free, but you don't have to. Even if you download it, you don't have to use it for the contest. Consider it a free gift from Square Enix.
Why can't people outside the US enter?
I agree that's unfortunate. The Thief community is world-wide. As far as I know, the limitation is due to the involvement of the US division of Amazon, who is providing a lot of the prizes. It seems that different divisions of Amazon support contests only in their own regions. There may be future announcements on this point, however.
So can I use The Dark Mod to create a Thief mission?
The Dark Mod has always been careful not to use any IP belonging to Square Enix. However Square Enix and Eidos are allowing people to use Thief IP in The Dark Mod for the purposes of the contest. We'll need to wait until the announcement and EULA is updated before we know the full details, however.
So how do I enter the contest then?
You don't have to download Thief: Gold. First, you should decide which category you want to enter: "Look, I made a Mod" or "If I could Mod, I would create". If you're doing the second one, all you need to do is make a short video pitching your cool idea. The more creative your pitch, the better.
If you're entering the first category, then you need an actual mod/mission to showcase in your video.
Can I enter something I have already done?
Yes! You do not have to create something new for the contest (although you can). The contest is to celebrate the talent of the Thief community, and that includes things that have already been created.
How are the winners determined?
We'll need to wait for more details about this. I know Square Enix originally wanted the community to vote for the winners, but they had to work out the details with Amazon. Some press releases are stating that The Dark Mod is involved in the judging, but this is NOT correct. If there is a community voting process then we will be a part of that, but members of The Dark Mod have no privileged role in judging (which also means we are not barred from entering, as currently stated by the contest rules).
Does this mean The Dark Mod is endorsing the new Thief?
The Dark Mod doesn't have an official position on the new Thief game. But my personal position is that any game that has the potential to create new fans of first person stealth gaming is a good thing for us.
Why should I enter the contest?
Well, aside from the ability to win some pretty cool prizes, your contest entry is basically a promotional video for your mod or mission. It's free advertising. And if it's a TDM mission, it's free advertising for us as well.
More information will be posted as it becomes available.
That's awesome! I don't think I've *EVER* heard of an id mod/etc. being used in a contest like this! Congratulations in the reorganization.
Congratulations on your well deserved recognition. Smart of Square to gain goodwill among the community as the release date approaches.
Wow! This is pretty big. Congrats!
Well then, I guess that leaves out 95% of the modders if it's US only.
Uh, not at all. Most modders are Yanks, if for nothing but the overwhelming population.
I'm From the UK Gazz from Classic Doom is from the UK
Neurological is from Italy
I agree that most game developers are from the Us\Canada especially the really big ones.
But where you'll find most wannabe developers (modders) is where there is no Game company to work for (Outside the US)
There are tons of modders outside of the US, yeah, but the fact the US contributed the vast majority of people to this website (and most English sites) means that they will have the most modders.
Yeah shame USA only, all the best with the comp thou!
Just use a american address to get the game, that's what i did.
Meanwhile in EA...
all the best for you US-guys...
great contest! but shame not for EU. :/
Thats why I never buy things from EA\Ubisoft\Ebay\Amazon - wanna show finger to the whole World - enjoy the same.
Still talking about Thief and Dark Mod - great news. Hope there will be more nonstandart\complex mods or ever full campaings.
Moreover its very good that original games will be involved too because nowdays game industry breeds only crappy casual game in 90% cases and old games and modmaker communities need some 'fresh blood' so it will be possible to make something epic like Thief2X or ThiefHD.
Also hope devs of new 'fourth' Thief will take into account all errors and sharp angles of previous games and Deus Ex:HR as well so Thief remains classical hardcore stealth game as usual.
Wow. I don't think anyone could have seen this coming.
I saw this and couldnt help but think this contest was already won around a decade ago, on an unsupported platform. ThieveryUT. If mentioning that doesnt bring back fond memories for you then you have my pity.
Is this some kind of damage control after people realized how bad the Thief reboot was from a leaking stream?
Thief is good just saying :)
somethin smells fishy in the mid-ages xD
Yet another "screw you non-muricans"....
Still, this is really amasing, i wish you all US-modders the greatest luck :D
"Entrant must be a legal resident of the U.S. and must be 18 years old or older."
:/
I heard about this first on Earth Quake, Sterlingshield.net
But it sucks that its restricted to US
I really hope More companies do more contests like this. and make it available in the UK and else where
This is the sort of motivation some people need, It gives people a purpose to create and from the experience gained it can help them get a job somewhere. There no real companies in the UK but if more contests like this happened here, That could soon change
Keep it up :)
Do you guys think / know if Thief 4 will ship with a level editor to make FMs¿?
It has been confirmed that Thief 4 will not have mod tools thus a level editor is also likely out of the question. Whether this will change in the future is an open question but it's believed that the reason for the lack of tools is the additional license costs for UE3 tools.
alright thanks for the info
If there's one thing I've known about the Thief fanbase over the years is they'll find a way.If someone could take a version of the UDK to make a custom map for Borderlands 1,It can be done as well on Thief.The only question would be,which version of the UDK will work?
Hell,Thanks to said fan base,We now can make fan missions for Thief DS.
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Well it DOES mean that TDM endorses thi4f, even if indirectly, it's giving it free advertising, which is the whole reason for this contest to even exist in the first place.
I think we've been pretty clear that we don't have a stance on the new Thief title as a team. Personally, you can see at least a few threads at our forums where critiques have been offered by team members. It's also pretty clear that we differ on how a new Thief title "should be". That said, I cant knock Square Enix's for offering this olive branch to our group. I guess it also probably helps them hide "Dark Mod vs Thief 4" in google search heuristics so negative impressions are avoided for new players. (I've been experimenting with this, you honestly really have to dig to get any comparisons because this contest is like the top 100 or so results when you try...) Whatever, if it brings a few cool missions to us and some more exposure (which is valuable to us only insofar as to bring more talent and contribution) then ultimately we've gained something more valuable than whatever perceived loss of "street cred" we may have given up.
Yep I agree, it's better for TDM to be practical than to fight the Man just 'cuz.
Personally, once the hype wears off I think that Thief 4 will remain as an ok game, maybe even a great game if you haven't played the first ones; but TDM will continue to be a cult classic and be justly considered the true spritual succesor of Thief.
Bottom line, this contest is a win win for TDM imho.
I'll vote for whatever mod makes the game work for me
You mean Thief TDP, TMA, TDS or The Dark Mod? I can point you to solutions for any of those. I don't know about the new Thief title but I've heard some nvidia users have trouble with it.
Amazon is not sponsor of this contest, but still restricted to US. That's bullsh*t. T4 release date is feb 25 in US(while feb 28 in EU) is another remark of their wrong attitude. Well deserved tragedy for their game actually.
Normally contests are localized like this because of laws in areas outside that locality. If you really have an issue with it (and I mean REALLY, you're willing to find a way to have future contests in your locality), figure out why it is only in a specific location and then find out what you localization can do to let it happen.
Could be as simple as a copyright issues: you can use the Thief universe in a non-thief game (TDM) and in non-US countries that might open up the flood gates of IP theft because of this one permission.
Who knows.
I think it should be for new mods only.
I know some great mods exist already ,but new mods would be better.
Or what's the point?
waiting for the update of winners.