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The Dark Mod – Thief Inspired Doom3 Mod

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Oh my yes – this I could seriously see succeeding! There are some mod teams, that just look like they’re going to falter and fail, but The Dark Mod, a mod for Doom 3 that enables a very very Thief-like toolset, has all the markings of a mod that’s not only going to succeed, but in doing so bring a beautiful Steampunk world to life!

While not infringing on copyright, the Dark Mod team have coders, artists, musicians, modders and (the frequently very rare) animators working on getting both the Builders guild and the Pagans into the game, as well as water arrows, rope arrows, saps, bows, swords and far more in and working. The Builders guild is most certainly the bit that catches my eye the best – a guild of engineers and inventors, working to ‘civilize’ the land for their deity with their arcane and infathomable technology. Their initial aim is to provide tools for other mappers and modders, though they hope to create their own campain in future. It’s all terribly impressive for a fan made mod! (See the wiki and the DarkRadiant source page for more information too.)

(Edit: “I before E, except after C.  I before E, except after….  I always spell Thief wrongly.  *sighs*)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 at 9:58 pm by Tinkergirl and is filed under Games.

  • Thief 2 had a deliciously Steampunk level that took place in and around a Nautilus inspired Submarine. Garret ahd to stow away in a storage room aboard the sub to access the Sunken Cathedral.

    Oh and yes The Shalebridge Cradle is one of the most disturbing levels I've ever played in a game (though I have to say it wasn't as challenging as advertised).
  • Very true. The Thief universe is filled with magic and undead. From the zombie Hammerites and wraiths to the tricksy magic of the Pagans and their Trickster god, not to mention the magic of the Keepers. I just wish there was a bit more thievery and steampunky goodness in the series. Or just give us another game that's more open-ended.
  • Mr. Marshall
    Concering the undead - there was always a magical element to the game, and Thief universe. Wizards and mages are common professions in that particular universe - hence it is not unreasonable for undead to be in this game. Yes, it does detract from the steampunk-ness of the game, but it's such an excellent game, I have always overlooked it.
  • The undead always turned me off in Thief. My favorite parts were taffing about in the City. And I seem to have gotten the name of the priests wrong. The Builder priests were actually called Hammerites.. I knew I had gotten it wrong but I couldn't remember the original name.
  • Tinkergirl
    Thanks Andrew - Thief is something I always spell wrongly, you'd have thought I'd have learnt to keep an eye out for it.

    It was very Steampunk though, the original games - they had a lovely blend of slightly more Medieval leaning social structures, but with steam inspired technology incorporating a lot of brass, boilers, Tesla-looking electrics and goggles and lenses everywhere. Probably not quite as Victorian as the normal Steampunk flavour, but it still remains one of the most Steampunk series of games that we've had the pleasure of playing. (Though, I must admit, as soon as they brought the undead into the picture, I got a little disinterested).
  • Here's a few screenshots from Thief 2. I could find those more easily.
    Mechanist Cathedral:
    http://www.thief-thecircle.com/media/t2screens/...
    Bank with security eyes:
    http://www.thief-thecircle.com/media/t2screens/...
    One of the mechanist guard bots:
    http://www.thief-thecircle.com/media/t2screens/...
    Obviously all very dated but I'm hoping The Dark Mod will bring a lot of this back. By the way, Mechanists are a radical offshoot cult of the Builders who followed a mad Builder priest obsessed with technology.
  • Were the original Thief games steampunk?
  • Oh you'll have to see some of the other things that the Builders have made in the Thief world, Jessica. The City is filled with many many beautiful bits of steampunk. I must say, I'm very impressed as well! I also gladly welcome the return of the rope arrow! I can't wait to get my hands on this as my last Thief fix was when Deadly Shadows was released. Quite a good game in it's own right but not quite thiefy enough for me. Though I have to admit.. I still have nightmares about the Shalebridge Cradle. I still can't bring myself to reinstall the game and finish that particular piece.
  • Jessica Butcher
    I'd say this is pushing the boundaries of Steampunk, but still TERRIBLY, TERRIBLY impressive.
  • Oh man. That looks so awesome. Thanks for the heads up!
    (Also, it's "thIEf." /nitpick)
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