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March 21, 2002
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Author: Kirk Bezio (Catalyst)
Contact info: none
Homepage: none
Date of release: March 21, 2002
Description:


Train
You're standing on a train, rushing past trees and hills, wind whistling through your hair, smoke billowing out of the smokestack in front of you and trailing off into the distance behind...but wait, in the DARK ENGINE? Can it be true!?...

Briefing: no

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* Play Information *

Game: Thief 2: The Metal Age
Mission Title: Train
File name: Train.mis (+ train.gam, book1.str, doll.str, switch.str, convey00.gif)
Difficulty Settings: no
Equipment store: no
Map / automap: no/no
New graphics: yes
New sounds: no
Multi language support: no

Briefing : no

Difficulty levels: n/a

* Construction *

Base: from scratch
Build Time: It's been 2 years since I altered any of the files, I honestly don't remember :(

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* Loading information *

Place zip file in missions dir and install with darkloader.
Run in DromEd 2.

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* Additional information *

This is a demo that I made a long time ago (May 17, 2000 is the date on the files) to prove that the Dark Engine could make great moving vehicles (or at least fake it like Soldier of Fortune.) Unfortunately, I never got around to writing the tutorial I wanted to include. I do not believe anyone else had made anything similar yet, so I've decided to release it as-is and without documentation for you guys to have a look at.

This level uses a lot of optical illusions to make it appear as though the train is moving. The ground is made up of several conveyors which have scrolling textures and a moving platform the player and other objects can stand on. From the train it appears as though the ground were moving. If the player drops an object on the ground (such as a body) the object moves away from the train without ruining the illusion. If the player jumps off the train, they will move with the conveyor. WIthout any other point of reference though, it is the TRAIN that appears to be moving away from the player.

The second most important aspect of the illusion is the moving hills, which are simply enlarged haystacks being shot out of emitters at one end of the level. They travel at the same speed as the conveyor and so they appear to be part of the landscape.

Other small touches include: wheels which turn in perfect concert with the ground's movement, smoke that billows out of the train's smokestack and trees which ocassionally glide past.

The train is built quite open so that you can easily see how all of the pieces come together. In an actual mission, however, you want to pay special attention that NOTHING breaks the illusion from the player's perspective. ie, you should not allow them to see objects blinking into view ahead of you or let them stand on the ground long enough to hit the edge of the level. A good example of this is the window of the room you start in. The player is not exposed to any 'men behind the curtain' from that vantage point.

It's been so long that I doubt anyone will put these ideas to any use, but it's still fun to look at...enjoy. :)


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* Copyright *

Copyright (c) March, 2002 by Kirk Bezio

Permission is granted to freely play and distrubute this level providing it remains whole
and intact. This level may not be used as a parachute replacement.

This level was not made and is not supported by Looking Glass Studios or Eidos Interactive.