greenie2600 on 29/6/2016 at 14:57
Every once in a while, I get a yen to make a Thief 2 FM.
Then I get into DromEd, and soon find myself thinking "there's no way I'll be able to create a mission as great as the ones I've played".
But everyone starts somewhere, of course. So I'd like to see the very first FMs you released. (I only have Thief 2, so I'm specifically interested in FMs for that game.)
I'm thinking that, if I see that even the masters had modest beginnings, it might encourage me to buckle down and get something made :)
(Plus, I rather enjoy some of the smaller, more amateurish missions. The rough edges sometimes lend a certain charm. And I suspect that others would also enjoy seeing some early efforts.)
If I do decide to create a mission, I'm thinking of imposing some limitations on myself, to make things easier:
* Default assets only - no need to introduce unneeded complexities for my first mission.
* Indoor only - rooms and hallways are easier to model than outdoor terrain.
* Mostly rectilinear architecture, with no more than one or two floors.
* Simple objectives: a loot goal; get to a certain location; etc.
A bit boring, yes - but the main goal would be to get something playable made and released. I can tackle more complex stuff when (and if) I make another mission.
Anyway. Please show me your first Thief 2 FMs!
Tannar on 29/6/2016 at 15:39
I moved this to the Editors Guild since it is about FM creation. And you're probably more likely to have authors notice it here.
nightshifter on 29/6/2016 at 15:44
i'm in no way a master but if you are interested in my first mission, try the librarian.:D
bbb on 29/6/2016 at 16:21
Greenie:
Please move forward and make a mission. I am not at all technical and made my first mission maybe 12 years ago and was surprised that I could really do it. I am currentlly working on a mission that I hope to finish later this year. Anyway, Lord Matt was my first mission and was pretty basic. I always use stock assets but try to make an interesting story.
Your approach is perfect! Many first time authors want to take on huge projects and end up getting frustrated when they realize that it is not easy to create huge complicated missions. That being said, creating a small, playable mission for your first one will allow you to learn Dromed and get something actually finished which is inspiring and very motivating. My family all plays thief and when my wife played my first mission she said "wow, you actually made this? It is pretty good."
Last comment, there are many helpful people on the forum and help in only a click away. Take advantage of that (after you use the search function).
Good luck and I am looking forward to playing your first mission in the near future. Start today!
BBB
LarryG on 29/6/2016 at 17:19
My first (and so far only) mission is (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137861) Finals at the Academy (4 years in the making). I have two others in the works which make up the full three mission campaign. They will be released this year or next. So that is something like 9 or 10 years in the making for them. I suggest you be a little less ambitious if you want to release a mission soon.
Basso71 on 29/6/2016 at 17:57
Hi Greenie,
I've played Thief 1 the first time in 2000/1 and discovered Dromed in 2008. I knew that some Games offer the opportunity, to create your own Mission.
But I never thought, that can do it, because it seemed too complicated and I'm not that clever.-) But let me say, Dromed isn't that complicated. Other
Editors are much more complicated.
There are so many good Tutorials, and I was surprised after reading and working with them, that suddenly there was my Mission. Sure, it was small and
short, with a simple story and simple goals but hey, it was my first Mission!
The second was much bigger and even the technical implementation was more sophisticated. The people in the Forum helped me a lot with this.
Hope that help a bit:-)
My first mission was "Balfours secret" by the way
greenie2600 on 29/6/2016 at 18:19
Yeah, I've spent a fair bit of time with DromEd - I've started (and abandoned) a few missions. I wish the interface were less clunky, but I guess that's what you get for trying to mod a 16-year-old game.
I will definitely check out the missions you guys have mentioned so far - I think I've played at least a couple of them, but it'll be interesting to look at them from this perspective.
Renault on 29/6/2016 at 18:27
Contests are a sometimes good for beginners because they have size and/or time restrictions. Even if it's not officially for a contest, you can impose some of those rules on yourself. There was a "10 rooms" contest a year or so ago, that might be a good place to start. Yandros had a contest back in 2006 (can't believe that's a decade ago already!) where all entries could only use stock resources, that's another good way to go (my first mission was an entry in this contest, Through No Vault Of My Own). There was also a recent novice contest (and one from several years ago too, hosted by Ottoj55).
You might want to look at entries from these contests to see what's reasonable to shoot for as a newbie.
Krush on 29/6/2016 at 19:13
"Forbidden Rites" was my first released FM. I worked on it for two years before releasing it though.
