Off Topic Productions

I wanted to have a copy of that map that I could keep nearby, and could mark up as I discovered things. This is blank, baseline map, as close as I could get to what is provided at start of game, but drawn on a full page (with all the artistic skills that I bring to the table ). If anyone else would like a copy, get it here:

790x1024 resolution:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/derelllich ... 63/sizes/l

3400x4400 resolution:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/derelllich ... 63/sizes/o

Enjoy!

That's a good map! Well done!

I've played TNM a couple of times through now so I know my way around without the map but for new players, that's great.
Obviously, there are a few things I would add to it but I don't want to ruin the surprise in terms of story.

Two I would point out: The Fan Fic Shop left of the Market Square (and the Coffee Shop on the right opposite it, either side of the path up the Llama temple.
And the Derelict building at the bottom left where the Goats are holding a Llama scout prisoner during the initial money gathering mission.

Nicely done. When I first played I was always heading in the wrong direction when trying to get to Sol's, I coulda used this back then.

nerdenstein: Yes, I intentionally did not mark any building which were not on the in-game map... but arguably, well-marked buildings could have been added without being spoilers. I also wish I had marked stairways, which would help with orientation.

However, the Goats building *would* be a spoiler; I didn't want the map to disclose things that are supposed to be discovered by exploration!

I think I spent an hour or two exploring the area when I first got the beta. As far as maps go on an exploration point of view for one single area, nothing in DX really compares to a vast portion of TNM for me. (Though I did spend quite a bit of time wandering around liberty island...)

I know part of it is the engine but I really appreciate the lack of a minimap. So many games now remove the struggle of exploration because you can pull up the map of the uncharted dungeon anywhere. I just wish I had the skill to make my own maps that look anywhere near this good...

The engine has nothing to do with it, we could've implemented a dynamic minimap if we wanted to. In fact we talked about it, since some of the team members were annoyed by how large and intricate the maps were. We made the fairly easy decision of adhering to Deus Ex's design principles by keeping the maps diegetic and static, on one level because implementing dynamic minimaps seemed like the easy way out, a sort of surrender. Instead, we tried to improve the directions you get in mission briefings and in the goals log, and inserting helpful PMs along the way to keep you on the right path. I'm not sure we were quite as successful as I'd hoped, but I think it mostly worked out

m3rc1l3ss wrote:I think I spent an hour or two exploring the area when I first got the beta. As far as maps go on an exploration point of view for one single area, nothing in DX really compares to a vast portion of TNM for me. (Though I did spend quite a bit of time wandering around liberty island...)

I know part of it is the engine but I really appreciate the lack of a minimap. So many games now remove the struggle of exploration because you can pull up the map of the uncharted dungeon anywhere. I just wish I had the skill to make my own maps that look anywhere near this good...

I agree here. I remember when first played this mod I actually was lost for a little while (that and my sense of direction is awful to start with). Often times I wandered into areas that I would be coming back to later in the game so I guess that was a plus (to know an area you will need to come back to always helps). I am glad a mini-map was not implemented because I wouldn't see it working to well (as the HUD has enough things on it as it is).

For the most part, I never had any problems with the layout of any of the areas because they seemed pretty straight forward. There were a couple of areas I never figured out, but after a couple of playthroughs the mystery was solved.


Off topic:
Rather than make a whole new post about thanking the staff, I want to actually do it here. I want to thank you guys for making a very awesome mod. I played it about a year or so ago, then decided to pick it up again and replay through it.

Blues22475 wrote:Rather than make a whole new post about thanking the staff, I want to actually do it here. I want to thank you guys for making a very awesome mod. I played it about a year or so ago, then decided to pick it up again and replay through it.

Thanks for letting us know you liked it

I still occasionally come back to the TNM wiki or the post-mortem or our TV Tropes page or some of the reviews we got and just think back to the development and quietly go: "man, those were the days"

Jonas wrote: Thanks for letting us know you liked it

I still occasionally come back to the TNM wiki or the post-mortem or our TV Tropes page or some of the reviews we got and just think back to the development and quietly go: "man, those were the days"

"Headsup JW"

There's a gray hair sticking out over there!

Hah, the advantage of being blond is grey hairs don't show as well

Also: massive necropost, Leo!

Jonas wrote:Hah, the advantage of being blond is grey hairs don't show as well

Also: massive necropost, Leo!

Oh right ! I absolutely did not check the date!

Chalk it up to the artist gene ...
Or maybe just too many hours in front of the computer