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The Dark Mod became more graphically impressive in their last update

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We missed covered the last update to The Dark Mod back in February, and I'm glad someone emailed it in as its becoming quite impressive. They fixed up a few graphical bugs, added in some good looking new models and features and tons more.

I actually used to play a lot of Thief when I was younger, so I'm pretty happy this project exists as it's quite cool.

I've tried it, and while it is impressive it has a few minor issues I would like to see corrected. The first is alt+tab support, of which on Ubuntu it has none. It also turns off my second monitor, which is really rather annoying. It also starts up in a super low resolution, not sure what's so hard about detecting the current resolution, but a few games do it.

As for the game, the lighting especially is impressive and it really can look quite beautiful at times. It always amazes me when stuff like this is free.

I tried a few of the tutorial sections, and the mechanics all seem pretty well done. I don't know if I'm just tired or stupid (probably stupid), but I couldn't get to grips with the lock picking in the tutorial. Did anyone else struggle with lock picking?

Be warned: The updater will download the entire game into the directory it's currently in. Which was really quite annoying for me to then hand-pick all the files in my downloads directory and put it all in a folder. Make sure you use the updater in the directory you want the game to be in. I also suggest running it in terminal, as it just downloads with no UI.

About TDM
The Dark Mod is a FREE, first-person stealth game inspired by the original Thief series by Looking Glass Studios. In it you play a hooded figure slinking through the shadows of a gothic steampunk city, hunting priceless valuables while avoiding the swords and arrows of those hired to stop you.

The Dark Mod was originally released Oct. 17th, 2009. The standalone version, TDM 2.0, launched in Oct. 2013.

If you give it a go, be sure to come tell us what you think. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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17 comments
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HadBabits Nov 30, 2015
Ooh, maybe I'll give it another go, although the combat always threw me for a loop. And I believe you can Alt+Tab if you enter the game's console with ~

Quoting: GuestTypo:
Quotedownload into the directly it's currently in

Dunno what you're talking about
Liam Dawe Nov 30, 2015
Quoting: GuestTypo:
Quotedownload into the directly it's currently in

It made sense in my head...I've clarified it some more.
Xpander Nov 30, 2015
are they planning SDL2 support?.. its nasty to play windowed to be able to alt+tab.
playing fullscreen switches off other monitor and cant get out of the game.
Shaolu Nov 30, 2015
QuoteThe first is alt+tab support, of which on Ubuntu it has none.

That's one thing I really like about the Steam client. I use it for non-Steam games just so I can shift+tab with the overlay and then alt+tab on games that don't otherwise support it. For an ongoing project, it's definitely something that should be corrected with the game itself, but using the overlay is a nifty hack for older fullscreen games that might not even be supported anymore.
psymin Nov 30, 2015
Installing this now. Thanks for the heads up!
adolson Dec 1, 2015
Finally tested with the Steam Controller, and it doesn't seem to work with it. :( Oh well, at least OpenMW does...
ProfessorKaos64 Dec 1, 2015
I haven't come back to this for some time. Gotta try it again!
Nezchan Dec 1, 2015
Ugh, all I'm getting is a black screen on one monitor and a hugely enlarged file browser on the other, with no visible cursor and no clear way to shut it off. I ended up having to reboot to get out of it. The FAQ on the site tells me nothing, and I'm not seeing anything on the forums either. Guess this is another impossible-to-play game for me.

Edited to add: Okay, if I hit ~ and type "quit" it exits. However, all it does is dump me to my right monitor which is now in something like 640 x 480 mode and barely navigable. The left screen, where presumably TDM was running, remains black, and I need to log out and back in again to fix it all. But at least if anyone else has the same issue, they now have a way to get out.


Last edited by Nezchan on 1 December 2015 at 3:45 pm UTC
AluminumHaste Dec 1, 2015
Quoting: GuestLooks like they still haven’t switched to SDL2, they should do it, it’s not too much work in my experience. This is a game I’d like to play, but without alt-tab support it will just make me angry :p.

HAHAHAHAHAHAH OMFG you people!
Not too much work, just do it lol.

It's being talked about, but it's actually a HUGE undertaking, usually done by one person. If you have experience, please come by the dark mod forums and offer, it will be hugely appreciated!
Nezchan Dec 1, 2015
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: KelsHowever, all it does is dump me to my right monitor which is now in something like 640 x 480 mode and barely navigable. The left screen, where presumably TDM was running, remains black, and I need to log out and back in again to fix it all.
You might be able to get back your normal resolution by running "xrandr --auto".

Wow, that did some *really* weird stuff. Right monitor stayed the same, but left monitor came back with really weirdly sized windows. Mouse moved on both simultaneously, but wouldn't move off the terminal window until I closed it. Logging out and back in again reset everything to the way I had it originally, as before. Very strange. But at least I didn't need to reboot, that's progress.
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