Work on the 1.08 update continues behind the scenes. We’re changing the way the folder structure works in TDM to prepare for going standalone, and that is requiring a lot of extra time. Version 1.08 will not be fully standalone; it will run without Doom3, but most missions won’t load properly without Doom 3 assets.

There will also be many noticable improvements in 1.08, including a much richer sound experience, new characters, more forgiving AI, and improvements to object physics. A full changelog is here: 1.08 Changelog

While the team are beavering away on the campaign we thought we would post a series of regular updates to show the community what we have been doing over the last 12 months, Enjoy!

 Arches that show the age and grandeur of the city: What we have here is a melting pot of Hungarian heritage, Gothic & Romanesque styles that result in a cohesive and believable steam-punk universe that the player can immerse themselves in like a warm blanket on a cold winter night.

Plenty of vantage points, exits and entries – multiple ways to plan your route through the byways of Bridgeport: In this shot we spent quite a bit of time getting the perf to acceptable levels with out sacrificing  artistic vision and intent. Its a mixture of imposing framework of the city, and dark nooks and crannies.

 Imposing city streets that twist and turn, hiding dark secrets & resourceful opponents: The city looks alive and believably organic in a pre-contemporary vision. This is tempered by the need for consistent performance so that even players with low end hardware will have a rewarding experience.

The Dark Mod has won the 2011 Editor’s Choice award from ModDB for “Best community integration in a modification”!

“Without communities mods would be nothing more then a static object on the web, communities are responsible for keeping mods relevant, motivating the developers and expanding on the mod in their own way. To win the Community Award the mod needs to support the fanbase around the modification giving the masses a chance to participate within the overall design of the mod. The Dark Mod is the most deserving this year.

“Building a community is quite a difficult and drawn out process, it first takes a good product to bring in people, then a reason for those people to stick around. The Dark Mod has an amazing collection of user created levels and theme packs built for competitions held by the developers. A shining example of how communities are important for all mods!”

Visit Award Page

A Dark Mod Campaign is in the works!

Announcing The Crucible of Omens, a full-length campaign for The Dark Mod. Playing as the thief and adventurer John Welland Hadley, you will embark on a quest to find a powerful artifact inherited from a shadowy past. The Crucible of Omens spans multiple large missions and is being worked on by many well-known TDM mappers.

See the full announcement and media release here.

Thanks to your votes, we’ve made it to the top 100 list at ModDB. There’s now a second round of voting to pick the winner.

Once again, votes from unregistered users only count in case of a tie, so please register for a free account and support The Dark Mod!

TDM’s ModDB page