Thief 3 Gold - Public beta test (TDS Spoilers ahead, obviously!) - by Beleg Cúthalion
AntiMatter_16 on 22/8/2014 at 00:24
I'd say the Stonemarkets are a particularly good candidate for merging, because they're drawn on the same map page and were probably intended to be a single area. You even enter the Clocktower from Stonemarket Plaza, not Stonemarket proper where it's actually located, IIRC. Garrett's Building and South Quarter are good candidates to be merged, too. I understand that it's a lot of work and testing, so don't kill yourself, but I think it would provide a way better experience.
In other news...
Pagan Sanctuary:
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtHUHTIdON0) Two plants in the canal are floating in mid air initially, until bumped. The rock behind the first one is also permeable to the player.
The dagger hit sounds don't play when attacking the (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9O-j-z2Cuc) treebeast in the sewer canals.
This (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1I2tif7PvM) pipe support is experiencing some Z-fighting. It also goes right through the pipe, while all others support the pipe from below. Recommend moving it to appear like the others.
Some (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j25hOtqFXaQ) kind of haze in the hole leading from the sewers to the sanctuary. It's visible only from the top down.
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0GAOjjP_qY) Lighting problems from a torch.
In this video, witness the (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smrFinvOaUg) disappearing world. There also appears to be some difficulty with mantling on that edge at the end. Perhaps an invisible wall to prevent players from falling to their death?
Z-fighting on a (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiBZVDH1yXQ) couple of (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aLZ8CwDP0A) doorways, and (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZrTOwSikUs) some beams.
Is the (
http://i.imgur.com/ar2tXHO.png) floating lock unique to this door, or all doors?
There are (
http://i.imgur.com/Dv0G7i1.png) two arrows here and one (hilighted) is sunk into the barrel.
Because of the low angle, this (
http://i.imgur.com/2jmTmyr.png) gap in the rock through which the skybox is visible always broke immersion for me. Recommend obscuring the sky.
More SouthQuarter:
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJjDDGBC1ak) Light leaking through a door.
Z-Fighting on (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW_I3TgPXD0) a windowsill.
Beleg Cúthalion on 23/8/2014 at 16:05
Wow, I hope I'll have the time to fix all that next week. If you look closely, the original maps have tons of these glitches. I should probably set myself a certain threshold for fixing. But they are annoying, I give you that. Still easier than merging Stonemarket, though. :p
Beleg Cúthalion on 24/8/2014 at 20:56
Just fixed these as far as I could. I wouldn't take out the wall in the transition to Black Alley even though it clearly is a performance thing. However, it would change the basic map layout and also require to move the red hand icon. Perry's shop is a total mess with regards to the navmesh, I might have to have another look if it turns out that AIs cannot handle it.
Beleg Cúthalion on 27/8/2014 at 07:37
Did all of that yesterday except for the candle issue (ok, haven't tested the wine yet but I moved the bottles). While I've managed to get their emitters disappear by changing a script, the extinguishing sound and smoke probably need fixing, too. It looks like a mix-up by the devs when you look at the properties, scripts and links of the candle objects in the archetype browser. Hopefully this can be done without changing the GameSys (well, I can always change things for every affected candle in a map, but you guys know what that means...).
What I like about it is that you always find out what they did and where they did wrong. The garden dirt brush for instance is present, but it is overridden by a subtraction brush in the street. I changed their order and now the dirt is there.
I've got a brush of dirt, I've got a brush of dirt...AntiMatter_16 on 27/8/2014 at 23:57
Since you're aiming to maintain compatibility with the minimalist project Gamesys, maybe some testing would be in order to see how Thief3 reacts when the gamesys is changed from one custom gamesys to another. It might handle it better than you think. In Thief2 Fixed, you can actually drop in the original gamesys with no problems that I ever found.
Another option would be to include an updated minimalist project gamesys, that you have updated and verified works with the fixed levels. This might be your best option, actually, if you were planning to change ALL instances of candles and torches in all levels.
I'm actually surprised about the candle smoke solution. IIRC, In Thief1 and Thief2, you can set a 'sim' setting on particles, so that they continue to update when not on screen, which prevents such issues. I'm surprised there isn't something similar in Thief3. Maybe ask around?
Anyhow.
Saint Edgar's CathedralFlame particles are visible (
http://i.imgur.com/QiADBM8.png) beneath this statue.
The (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvC2xKdvLuY) front doors are misaligned so that light seeps through the west door. They also both sink into the terrain when open.
The (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Oj_Tej6rgg) Flying Buttresses have some z-fighting on them.
Nearby, there's some (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nog9GZkucS4) sloppy brushwork.
I would expect that these (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKOo2xaskwc) wall mounted candles near the front entrance should be able to be frobbed out.
Same with (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwOAnX1rCpI) these candles and (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnNUL3c6fQA) these candles by the Suspension Cage.
And this (
http://i.imgur.com/NE4u2Jm.png) candle in the barracks. And (
http://i.imgur.com/tYU51Cb.png) this one.
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRjAmn-lSyM) This machine doesn't make its electrical buzz sound until it's been turned off and turned on again.
Similarly, (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzxRauDZOco) this machine is silent until turned on and off. There's something odd though. If you turn the machine back on before the light finishes fading, the light's state gets reversed, that is, the light turns off when the machine gets turned on, and the light turns on when the machine gets turned off.
Light leakage by the (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1Znt7hWc1g) flying buttresses.
Light leakage (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01fzQFopBoM) behind a pillar.
Light leakage near the (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl-pefzDrWc) entrance to the factory.
Light leakage on the (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37be0RkXaB4) 1st floor of the factory.
Light leakage on the (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehp6TCZ4ObM) 2nd floor of the factory.
Light leakage by the (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEvCQ88ppoE) exit from the factory.
Some odd lighting in the (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S03jm1_9CY) factory prison cell, and some sort of seam in the ceiling.
Odd lighting in the catwalk on the (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPCoPgR1AqQ) 2nd floor of the sanctuary.
I'll be unbelievably pedantic here, because I was the same way with Thief2 fixed, but the textures on (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eXbl-fcAME) these wood supports would suggest the support is made of two beams, when it would be constructed of a single beam.
The alcove textures in this (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DqzRGGKljA) small chapel and in the (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_ayRSXR_hI) other small chapel don't match the floor alignment.
The initial pose of (
http://i.imgur.com/MQeyK9Z.png) this Zombie is pretty odd. Looks like the default pose.
Also, was there really only ever (
http://i.imgur.com/cZAcP41.png) 1 map page for this level?
Beleg Cúthalion on 29/8/2014 at 13:36
Wow, even more... I'm away for the weekend but hopefully next week I can continue this bugfixing orgy. :p I'm not lazy, just busy! Have a nice weekend everyone!
Edit: I just came back and managed to get the candles fixed. It requires the change of the links of all candles in question in a map but that should still be doable. What doesn't have a prettier solution yet is the smoke emitter thing. I can try to look if there is a way to play them when not visible but it feels like a major (probably GameSys-related) thing. If I can find a more clever work-around, this might do the trick.
Edit2: The extinguishing sounds for the candle works now, even if I had to write a custom script for that because I couldn't find why the original mechanic didn't work. I'll head over to the other maps this evening. Note to myself: lock the armoury door!
