Hey, you taffers!

October 17, 2009 11:19 AM

The Dark Mod, a total conversion for Doom 3 in the spirit of Looking Glass Technology's Thief series, has finally been released after years (and more years) of development and is now available to download.
posted by dunkadunc (20 comments total)

Too bad that first link can't shine a light on this post!

Ha! I'm awesome.
posted by stresstwig at 11:45 AM on October 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

The link was broken the first time I clicked it, but now it works! So you could say, I saw the light!


YESSSSSSSS
posted by stresstwig at 11:46 AM on October 17, 2009 [2 favorites]

The Dark Mod

Surely that would be xetroc, also known as Jesus H. Antishatner, King of the Deleted Posts, Champion of the Self-Linkers?
posted by grouse at 11:49 AM on October 17, 2009 [4 favorites]

Coral Cache in case the original link gets overloaded.
posted by dunkadunc at 11:55 AM on October 17, 2009

I have to say, I'm a little confused not necessarily to the how, but maybe the why. Doom 3 has nothing in it that i can see being used here. Seems like Oblivion might have been the choice to make. Am I missing something?
posted by stresstwig at 11:58 AM on October 17, 2009

Should this work with the Steam version of Doom 3?
posted by Artw at 12:01 PM on October 17, 2009

grouse: "Surely that would be xetroc"

Nymassej, God of GRAR, the patron deity of i'dhitit and destroyer of schmoop.
posted by idiopath at 12:07 PM on October 17, 2009 [2 favorites]

Torrent link.

Website seems totally trashed.
posted by mek at 12:08 PM on October 17, 2009

I've always wondered what kind of people make mods like these, it requires such a specialized skill set I would think they'd have to be professional game designers or programmers by trade. Looking at the team bios, they're all graduate students in some technical degree or computer science majors. Well that explains it.
posted by geoff. at 12:14 PM on October 17, 2009

Geoff - mods make good portfolio work for students who want to break into the game industry.
posted by Lorc at 12:19 PM on October 17, 2009

I thought Nymassej was God Emperor of Retooc.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 12:39 PM on October 17, 2009

>: Should this work with the Steam version of Doom 3?

Yes, apparently.
posted by dunkadunc at 1:00 PM on October 17, 2009

don't forget eiwwohttam, Lord God of gas-guzzling, Skeptic of "the Internet" and Hater of community.
posted by Ghidorah at 1:58 PM on October 17, 2009

stresstwig--

Doom 3 engine, they rebuilt everything else.
posted by effugas at 3:15 PM on October 17, 2009

Seems like Oblivion might have been the choice to make. Am I missing something?

This project was started almost 5 years ago, Oblivion wasn't around until 2006. Seems like Source engine would have been a good choice though, and I am pretty sure that was released around the same time as Doom3.
posted by sophist at 3:21 PM on October 17, 2009

Geoff - mods make good portfolio work for students who want to break into the game industry.

True, but I don't think any large scale mod or total conversion such has this has ever been completed for any other reason than that the people doing it really, really like what they're doing. Take The Nameless Mod for Deus Ex. It took seven years to build and is something like twice the size of the original game. People are still building megawads for Doom sixteen years after it was released, or updating Marathon scenarios to run on source ports. Any half-decent mod is a labour of love, first and foremost.

Seems like Source engine would have been a good choice though, and I am pretty sure that was released around the same time as Doom3.

The Thief series is primarily about sneaking around in the shadows. I think the Doom 3 engine handles this sort of atmosphere better than Source or the Oblivion engine, being built specifically for a more nervy survival horror type game.
posted by permafrost at 4:07 PM on October 17, 2009 [4 favorites]

Regarding the engine choice...

Doom 3: A demo of Carmack's awesome new lighting and shadowcasting techniques.
Thief: A game focused around hiding in the shadows.

Seems like a natural match to me!
posted by egypturnash at 4:14 PM on October 17, 2009

Finally a mod to make Doom 3 darker.
posted by turgid dahlia at 5:50 PM on October 17, 2009 [7 favorites]

Are there any game engine/editors out there that can be used by hobbyist game-makers that don't require each participating player to also buy some other game to begin with?

(It just seems painfully awkward to say "Hey, check out this cute little game I made.... oh you have to go buy this other beast first.")
posted by rokusan at 2:11 AM on October 18, 2009

rokusan: Are there any game engine/editors out there that can be used by hobbyist game-makers that don't require each participating player to also buy some other game to begin with?

There are quite a few, not least because Id software is in the habit of releasing their older game engines as open source. Doom 3's engine isn't open-source yet, but the engines behind most of the Quake games are.

However, I expect that the makers of a game like this would be concerned with the efficiency, effectiveness, and usability of an engine's available editing tools above everything, since they've got a mountain of work to do and relatively little manpower/time to do it with. Most projects of this kind putter along for a while but are never completed; the biggest challenge isn't choosing the perfect starting point, but getting to some kind of finish at all.

I don't have any experience with this stuff, but I have read some educated opinions:

In Doom3, the game IS the editor. Just open up the console and type “editor” (or something along those lines, it’s been a while) and “poof!” you’re editing the level you were just playing. The lights and geometry update in realtime, so you don’t need long compiles or loading screens. You just work and work until you’re ready to playtest. It’s completely WYSIWYG.

posted by Western Infidels at 9:20 AM on October 18, 2009