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          Friday, June 29, 2001

FIC: Blood and Vengeance
- 6:16:44 PM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
We have a new fan fiction for you! This one comes from one H Truman and is called Blood and Vengeance. Here's a peek!

Blood and Vengeance
© 2001 H Truman


The night air was chill. From a small secluded chamber somewhere on the top floor of a rapidly dilapitating greystone building, cloaked in a jumbled entanglement of moss and ivy, a hand reached out to close a window that had begun to sway and creak disturbingly in the breeze.

Garrett stared out at the sullen, sombre gloom of a sleeping city. Not a soul wandered the cobbled streets. Even the occasional taffer who had had rather too much to drink at the local ale house and was then unable to find his way home, had long since departed. Silence drifted aimlessly amongst the deepening shadows. The serene was almost uncanny.






Artworks Update
- 5:30:09 PM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
The artwork section has just been a complete overhaul and now contains thumbnails for all pictures contained therein. To celebrate this little update I have 4 new artworks to share with you. They are:

  • Mosley's Secret, by voron

    And:

  • Thief in Field

  • Terrain Logo

  • Arctic Thief

    All by Brendan Sawdey.

    Thanks guys!





  •           Thursday, June 28, 2001

    PC Gamer Scans (DX2 and Thief 3 images & info!) (Updated)
    - 10:09:13 AM - Dan
    -= Update =-

    Sorry Lassies and Gents. Posting material from magazines which are still on sale is a break of copyright (we are such crooks! ;). The scans from PCGUK will be taken down until August, when the mag will no longer be up for sale. Thanks for understanding.





              Tuesday, June 26, 2001

    Thief 3 and Deus Ex 2 in PC Gamer
    - 5:02:12 PM - Dan
    I've been given a heads-up about the big feature on Deus Ex 2 and Thief 3 in this month's PC Gamer (US Edition). It tells that DX2 and T3 are going to use the Unreal engine (which we already know) and that the Austin office will more than likely form a new studio (that isn't named Ion Storm, which I consider a very good idea). DX2 and T3 are on the cover of the mag - but the story itself is mostly about the way ISA (I wonder what they'll call themselves?) works, and why they kick ass in so much volume. ;)

    So if you have a subscription, pat yourself on the back and wait by your mailbox. If you don't, then be scouting out your newstands within the next few weeks. If you're not in the US, don't fret, hopefully someone will scan the sucker and send it in.





              Monday, June 25, 2001

    Thief 3 Unreal Comments
    - 7:45:56 PM - Saam
    I just noticed that Paul Tozour, AI developer for Ion Storm Austin's upcoming Thief 3, made a post over at Voodooextreme's Thief 3 Unreal post. Check out what he says:

    Just to clarify a few things for everyone:

    We will be using the latest generation Unreal(R) Engine that Epic is building for use in their upcoming game Unreal Warfare.

    We will also be heavily modifying the engine in several ways as appropriate to Thief 3 and Deus Ex 2.

    I can't comment on any of the specific technologies that we are modifying or replacing, but for those of you concerned about specific technologies and how they will work with T3 and DX2, rest assured that we are all too well aware of the specific technological requirements of our unique games and we're not hesitating to make the changes we need to make to the engine to get them to work in just the way we want.

    And for the Doom 3 zealots out there, please read oRGy's post (#105) very carefully.

    Paul Tozour
    AI Developer
    Thief 3

    Be sure to check out some of the other comments as well, as there is some good old discussion going on. Thanks!




    FIC: Garrett's Exodus
    - 10:24:41 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Shadow Walker has begun work on a new novel, Garrett's Exodus. This new work is already 6 chapters long, with promises of more.

    Garrett's Exodus

    BOOK 1

    By Shadow Walker


    Chapter 1: the Decision

    The mechanical head whirred and clanked as it tried to focus on the crouched Garrett, master thief. Damn, he thought, These metal heads are everywhere. Thieving had been made difficult ever since those metal cameras had been fashioned by the Mechanists, the local religious cult. If the heads saw you, they wouldn't think twice to set off alarms, traps, and turrets.

    Fortunately, the one in Garrett's way right now decided it had lost its target, and began its regular movements. Garrett sighed, glad that it had passed him over. Passing on, he made his way towards the study, stopping to snatch a vase that might get a fair amount on the market.

    His unknowing host, Lord Carnatin, had been the target of one of Garrett's commissions. Ever since his fence had been discovered and arrested, Garrett had been working independently. Most of the shadier residents of Dayport knew him, and now approached him as if he was one of the few remaining fences.






    New DromEd Icons
    - 10:05:01 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Daxim has supllied as with some new desktop icons based on the "Dromedar". Here's the full readme:

    DromEd icons by Daxim
    freeware

    The icons feature the three games' symbols on the Dark Engine's heraldic animal, the Dromedar.

    Technical details: The files are so big (over ten thousand bytes) because each file consists of two 48*48, two 32*32 and two 16*16 icons in 256 and 16 colours each. There is enough void place in the lower left corner to overlay the shortcut arrow. The 16*16 icons (which could be used for the quick launch bar in MSIE4/Win98) do not show a camel for sake of legibility; yet they differ a bit from the original symbols so that they can be distinguished.

    These were done within a night when I had nothing better to do with Paint Shop Pro and Microangelo.
    http://jasc.com/
    http://impactsoftware.com/

    when in doubt, e-mail me: daxim@gmx.de?subject=Dromicons




    FM: Lorgan's Web
    - 9:40:44 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    After 15 months hard work, Shadowspawn has released Lorgan's Web, a fan mission for Thief 1, although Gold is recommended:

    Thief 1 / Gold Fan Mission
    Lorgan's Web

     Filesize: 11.07 MB
     Released: 6/25/2001
     readme.txt





    By: Shadowspawn

    Plot Description: Garrett discovers a golden opportunity to make some money quickly. A wealthy eccentric (some say wizard) has decided to put a rare jewelry collection on display, and for sale to the highest bidder.

    "I've always been reluctant to work with a partner, but this time the job was too big to handle alone. If I had a reliable fence to work with I might not have gotten into this mess. But I've never found another fence I could trust like Cutty... more

    Additional Comments: This mission takes place after Thief: The Dark Project but before Thief II. Garrett hasn't pawned off Constantine's sword yet, and the Law and Order crackdown in the city has yet to start. Also, the Mechanists are just splitting away from the Hammerites.







              Friday, June 22, 2001

    FM Update: Fortune & Glory
    - 10:28:28 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    DonkeyKong has supllied us with an updated zip of his fan mission Fortune & Glory which was released earlier this week as the original zip file was damaged.




    Art: TG Sign
    - 10:01:35 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Brendan Sawdey has submitted an unusual piece of artwork. His "Thief Gold Sign" is exactly that. Thanks Brendan!




    RTG to 3DS converter
    - 9:50:43 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Shadowspawn has submitted this RTG to 3DS converter for anyone who fancies trying to edit any of the Thief or Thief 2 AI models.




    Three DromEd Tutorials
    - 9:30:24 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Sledge has sent us in the following tutorials

  • Beginners Sources and Receptrons - A guide to S&Rs
  • Editing Schemas - How to make custom schemas
  • Ambient Sounds Tutorial - A guide to adding ambient sounds to a map
  • Thanks Sledge!





              Wednesday, June 20, 2001

    Thief 3 Is Unreal
    - 6:40:49 PM - Dan
    A confirmation of what most of us expected, Thief 3 will indeed be using the current manifestation of the Unreal Engine, as posted in a press release at VoodooExtreme. Here's a sample of what it says:
    San Francisco, CA. (June 20, 2001) – Eidos Interactive, (NASDAQ: EIDSY), a leading worldwide interactive entertainment publisher, today announced that ION Storm Austin has been granted a license to use Epic Games’ next generation Unreal Engine in their upcoming games.

    The Unreal Engine, created for Epic's revolutionary 3D first-person Unreal computer game, provides programmers with a complete solution for software development -- from design and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to texture mapping and networking. Recently, Epic announced several new features that made the updated Unreal Engine the obvious choice for ION Storm Austin, including a hardware-accelerated, large-scale terrain system; hardware brushes for quickly creating scenes 100 to 200 times more detailed than current levels; and texture compression allowing for enormous, photorealistic textures up to 2048x2048.

    There you have it, folks. I suggest you take a look at some of the videos demoing what the new Unreal engine can do. It's rather visually impressive, if I may be so opinionated. Not a bad thing at all. Read the whole shebang at VoodooExtreme.





              Tuesday, June 19, 2001

    Arx Fatalis Player Character Poll
    - 2:36:22 PM - Dan
    Please take note of the current poll. Arkane Studios is interested to see what people think of the potential name for the Player Character in Arx Fatalis. Though that name is currently planned for use, if the result of the poll is strongly negative, they will choose a new name. If the result is strongly positive, then they will be pleased. Get voting - and remember - this vote counts.





              Monday, June 18, 2001

    FIC: Mechanist Times
    - 12:21:14 PM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Tom B has released the newest version of Mechanist Times. The update features editing to the existing chapters, plus a new part.




    Thief AI 3D Meshes
    - 11:47:03 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Shadowspawn has created the following for the TEG comunity:

    I've converted the RTG format AI meshes into 3DS, so everyone can start making custom AI!

    You can grab the Thief 1/ Thief Gold ones here:

    BMP version and GIF version

    Thief 2 - gif version

    The -gif version doesn't include any bitmaps, everyone can get those out of the mesh.crf file. The -bmp one has the gifs converted to bmp files and included (since some 3d modelers don't support gif).






    Fan Mission Showcase
    - 11:03:59 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Tim Murray has just sent us word of his web site:

    I have just put together a very simple site to showcase the FM's that I am currently working on.

    Tim murray

    bluntedtaffer






    FIC: Shadow Lover
    - 10:55:14 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    More goodness to sink your eyes into. Shadow Lover comes to you from kalenel.

    The moon shined brightly on the dew-kissed streets of The City. Stars winked mischievously to each other, like they had a secret that was too good to keep to themselves. Balmy breezes stirred up little pieces of paper on the streets and carried the scents of meat pies and berry pastries with them. Nearby, a bird chirped sleepily to itself, and another answered softly. Under an archway, a guard hummed a jaunty tune and shifted his weight from one foot to another. He paused in mid-song to yawn hugely, making a valiant effort to stay awake and alert. Unfortunately for him, that yawn was the precise moment that a shadow separated from a dark corner and materialized into a blackjack wielding man, who took the opportunity to see to it that this particular guard would never get a promotion.





    FIC: Haunted Cathedral
    - 10:47:15 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Luke Watson wishes to provide you with some thiefy entertainment. Haunted Cathedral is his spin on the Thief mission of the same name.

    Garrett shivered. For a moment, he reflected on the past few days that had led him to this suicidal job. A nobleman named Constantine had hired him to steal a gemstone called the Eye. Normally, things like this wouldn’t be a problem, but this job was different. Firstly, he had never heard of the Eye before, which was special in itself. Secondly, the Eye was in the abandoned Cathedral of the Hammerites. The Cathedral was located in the section of the City that was deserted years ago, after some kind of catastrophe. Garrett had heard stories of the incident, but most were wild rumours about hordes of zombies, and raging fires. Now that part of the City was walled off, no one was allowed to go in. Not that many people would dare to in the first place. But Garrett wasn’t ‘many people’. He was a master thief, and if this job got finished soon it would be a great 18th birthday present. He could retire with the money from this job! Getting his mind back on the job, he set off, following his fifty-year-old map towards the Cathedral.





    Fan Art: Mug
    - 10:25:46 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Jered has submitted an unusual piece of fanart - this piece comes in the form of a photo of a Thief Mug. Thanks Jered!




    Thief Fonts
    - 10:15:51 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    These fonts come to you courtesy of Dan (Digi) - he believes they are the fonts used in the scrolls and books in Thief - thought to have been submitted by an LGSer.





              Friday, June 15, 2001

    FM: Smuggler's Request
    - 8:32:05 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Now available from our FM archive is A Smuggler's Request for Thief 2. Enjoy!

    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    A Smugglers Request

     Filesize: 5.5 MB
     Released: 1/16/2001
     reasme.txt





    By: Richard Cull

    Plot Description: A good friend of yours is in trouble and has asked for your help. Quinn is a merchant with a smuggling operation on the side. Unfortunately for Quinn, The Captain of the Guard suspects, and he's after the prove to make Quinn a permanent resident of the cities prison. After several raids on Quinns warehouses yielded nothing. He's decided to impound one of Quinns ships and arrest the Captain. No doubt to have a confession beaten out of him. A messenger delivered Quinns letter of help earlier this morning, Quinns been good to you in the past so you decided to make you way to Quinns as quickly as possible. Unfortunately Quinn lives on the other side of the river which is joined only by one heavly guarded bridge. So getting your weapons across to Quinn's is out of the question. Luckily Basso also lives on this side of the river. So after a quick visit, Basso has agreed to help you by stealing some weapons from hes current employer, and stashing them in a convenient place for you to pick up later. All thats needs to be done now, is to wait for Quinn to return from he's visit to the guard house and update you on the situation. Hiding away in Quinns loft, you decide to get some rest, you have a feeling that your going to need it.







              Thursday, June 14, 2001

    New mp3
    - 10:41:22 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Lazarus has submitted a tribute mp3 for your listening pleasure:

    FunTrib2SR.mp3 A Fun Tribute to Stephen Russell.   by Lazarus
    Length: 2:34
    Size: 1.18 Meg
    - A Fun Tribute to Stephen Russell .





    FM: Fortune & Glory
    - 10:01:33 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    UPDATE: File temporarily unavailable due to bad zip.

    Our newest FM to join the archive is Fortune and Glory by DinkeyKong:

    Thief 2 Fan Mission
    Fortune & Glory

     Filesize: 2.7 MB
     Released: 6/14/2001
     readme.txt





    By: DonkeyKong

    Plot Description: The possibility of time travel and space warping has always been intriguing to you. For half of your life, you've slaved away with one invention after another in the hopes of creating a machine that travels through time and space. All of your hard work may have payed off and now its time to reap your rewards. Your dreams of finding the lost pyramid of Chakafa could be within your very grasp. At last, Fortune & Glory...

    Appeal: Fortune & Glory is an 'Indiana Jones' type mission which forces you to think rather than just slash at hopeless guards. This mission is geared towards people who like to face perilous adventure rather than a sword fighting bloodbath.






    Lack of Updates
    - 9:31:10 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    I just wanted to apologise for the lack of updates for the last few days - I've been upgrading my computer and I'm only just getting everything fixed. If you've sent me or Dan an e-mail within the past week or so, I'll be getting around to looking at it shortly - I'm not ignoring you.





              Thursday, June 07, 2001

    FM Translations
    - 12:43:51 PM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    David, who has been creating french FM translations, asked me to pass on this message to everyone:

    I just wanted to tell you that a french version of "Embracing the enemy" is now available in french, under the title "Embrasse ton ennemi !".

    Players who are interested in playing these french adaptations can contact us at our forum :
    http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/63671

    Or visit us at :
    http://thief.cli.fr/
    http://thief2.cli.fr/

    Very soon, another famous fan mission will be available in french : "Benny's dead".

    Eventually, if some taffers are also interested, we have a french tutorial for DromEd. Same address...






    Fanfics
    - 12:36:31 PM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Jenn Zuko Boughn, aka bonzuko, has submitted two new fanfics for your enjoyment.

    Theft is a scene from a novelette (or short story series, I haven't decided) in progress. I have also included an early, slightly humorous Hammerite inner monologue called Finders, Keepers





    New Winamp Skin
    - 12:18:54 PM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Sailoreagle has submitted a new winamp skin to our archives. The skin is based around COSAS. You can preview here and download here. Thanks Sailor!




    FMs in the Media
    - 11:48:00 AM - Alex/Jyre/Dash
    Jeff, AKA jbyrd23, has sent in this scan from the July issue of "Computer Games" magazine. (gif version - 600k) The article focuses on fan missions for Thief and Thief 2. Says Jeff,

    Cult of Resurrection, Benny's Dead, Equilibrium, The Ritual, and Ranstall's Keep all get a good paragraph of gameplay description. Calendra's Cistern, Death of Garret, Bloodstone Prison, Bloodsport, Stronghold, and Willow Island are also mentioned; as well as our favorite web-site.






              Saturday, June 02, 2001

    Arx Fatalis Fansite - StygianAbyss.com is Open
    - 12:12:28 AM - Dan
    The Arx Fatalis & Underworld Site, www.StygianAbyss.com is OPEN! Yeah, took me long enough, eh? The site has a damn fine staff, and is off to a real great start, with news on the Arx Fatalis Playable Demo you need to be looking out for come September. Gotta love pre-release demos, that way we can tell the developers what we like and don't like, and they can make a better game based on player feedback. Visit that site. Visit that site often. Boomark it. I want StygianAbyss.com to become just as big as The Circle! Haha!






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