A large mod for Deus Ex (The Nameless Mod) has been released

figured some might like to know a lengthy mod/total conversion for Deus Ex has finally been released

from their website:

[ul]
[li]Discover a unique and intriguing setting based on an actual Internet forum and its inhabitants throughout the years
[/li]> [li]Play through 59 levels of engaging gameplay, plus a new tutorial, and even secret bonus maps just waiting for you to find them
[/li]> [li]Use 20 original new weapons, including unique weapons which may only be acquired after you’ve successfully completed The Nameless Mod once
[/li]> [li]Dive into a deep world with its own lore: Hundreds of e-mails, books, newspapers, notepads, and datacubes containing custom text
[/li]> [li]Customize yourself: Choose between two different Trestkon models with 5 different faces for each, and even eye-wear
[/li]> [li]Choose your own path with two parallel story arcs and tons of side-missions
[/li]> [li]Enjoy nearly limitless freedom as the world reacts to your every choice, and observe the far-reaching consequences of your actions in a detailed epilogue
[/li]> [li]Bring the story to one of 5 thrilling conclusions, each with their own detailed cinematic
[/li]> [li]Immerse yourself in a work of fiction with over 200,000 words of dialogue, monologue, and other character utterances
[/li]> [li]Hear voice actors speak more than 13,000 high-quality lines in 14 hours of audio that puts other games to shame
[/li]> [li]Enjoy almost 100 brand-new tracks of high-quality music, with at least one unique song for every level
[/li]> [li]Search for a myriad of secrets, Easter eggs, and amusing details that will have you ready to play TNM again as soon as you’ve finished
[/li]> [li]Tailor the experience to your liking with detailed difficulty settings, including customizable enemy and item counts
[/li]> [li]And much, much more![/ul][/li]

I skimmed the somethingawful thread about this mod, and after a bunch of skepticism over the goofy story concept and goofy trailers, people who are actually playing it seem to be enjoying it.

I didn’t add story info, as it sounds silly and might be better to just try out the mod not knowing it.

download links:

http://thenamelessmod.com/downloads/public_bin/TheNamelessMod.exe
http://download.deusexnetwork.com/DX1/mods/tnm/TheNamelessMod.exe
http://www.dxalpha.com/files/TheNamelessMod.exe
http://mirror.dxalpha.co.uk/TheNamelessMod.exe

a small faq for questions people might have:

Q.Does TNM run on Windows Vista?
A.Oh yes. The Nameless Mod has also been tested under Windows 7.

Q.Does TNM run on Linux?
A.Yep, you can run the Windows version on Linux using software like Wine or Cedega but you may need to install Visual C++ runtime components.

Q.Does TNM run on Mac?
A.That depends — some of our new features are not compatible with the Macintosh version of Deus Ex, but if you are able to run the Windows version using software like Parallels Desktop, then you should also be able to run The Nameless Mod. Also, we haven’t ruled out making a Mac-specific version eventually, but there are no plans to do so at this time.

Q.Does TNM work with the Steam version of Deus Ex?
A.According to our testing, yes.

Q.Does TNM work with any other Deus Ex mods?
A.Yes, but not all. We’ve successfully tested it with the Enhanced OpenGL Renderer (which will actually be included with our installer), The High Definition Texture Package, and New Vision. Unfortunately, it seems that there are compatibility issues with Shifter which do not render the game unplayable, but still might cause some problems.

Q.How long does it take to play through TNM?
A.The Nameless Mod has two completely unique, parallel storylines. You can expect it to take about 15 hours for either storyline, which could turn into about 20 hours for avid explorers.

I’m trying to find my DX cd at the moment, then I’ll try it out.

Yeah, that’s my problem, the backstory sounds insanely stupid and silly. They make what appears to be a really great mod and then saddle with an inane story. Why?

Because it started out as just a fun little project about their forum and eventually became something bigger.

Here’s the team’s explanation:

To the casual observer, The Nameless Mod may appear to be a self-indulgent piece of fan fiction about inside jokes on a forum. Well, you got us, that’s how it started. It didn’t take long to realize that the target audience for something of that nature would be incredibly small, and would grow smaller as development went on.

Thus, The Nameless Mod has outgrown its roots as a silly in-joke to a complete game with a complex story and memorable characters.

In general, the setting remains the same — a virtual world representing an Internet community — but it’s a setting that’s approachable for anyone who has spent time with a computer. If that’s not you, congratulations on finding the power button, you’re on the road to success!

Of course, TNM is not devoid of humour; everyone can enjoy the subtle (and not so subtle) references to online culture and pop culture, and if you’ve got a brain, even better!

The point is, The Nameless Mod has something for just about anyone, and if you don’t believe that a mod that started out as self-referential fan fiction can achieve that, give it a spin, it’s free!

It’s a conspiracy. Say, was the Malkavian Mod ever finished?

  • Alan

Man, I remember when I was doing random work for a long-defunct Deus Ex mod, and the Nameless Mod was in production. Wow, it got released.

Would love to play this, but can’t get it render. Get nothing but a white box to appear when I run under openGL, and get nothing at all when I run under D3D. Trying to run it with the GOTY edition under Windows 7 on a radeon 4850

Sounds like you’re trying to put a Hemi engine into a Civic.

Ok, I managed to get this working, and the first hour or so would confirm anyone’s worst fears about the setting. The first dialogue tree you get into is a mindnuming series of forum references nobody could possibly care about or be entertained by. I did get to crawl through airducts and massacre some guys with a knife though, so I’m willing to buy that the narrative eventually becomes less annoying

After playing it a bit, the setting isn’t too bad. Not as bad as I was expecting. Thinking of it as a sort of Snow Crash deal definitely helps.

Gameplay is fun, and the voice acting is about as good or a little better than Deus Ex (which isn’t that hard to do). If you want more Deus Ex-like stuff, get the mod.

What the hell is wrong with these people? I understand what it’s like to love Deus Ex. In fact, I think it is the best game ever made. There was a point in my life when I devoted my free time to hunting down every book Deus Ex ever referenced including: The Man Who Was Thursday, The Stars My Destination, First and Last Men, and Smilla’s Sense of Snow.

But I don’t understand what would drive someone to make this piece of shit. Every aspect of the mod is a reference to some forum where people talk about Deus Ex. After repurchasing the game from steam, and troubleshooting bugs for fifteen minutes, I finally installed the mod, only to learn that the primary quest is to rescue their forum moderator. When areas are loading, I’m subjected to in-jokes between forum participants. Actually, every aspect of the story is an in-joke between forum members. The last straw was walking into a book shop and being subjected to Deus Ex trivia as interpreted by crazy beardos, then I went to the basement and received more obscure trivia by an even crazier forum member. This mod is fan-fiction with without the fiction.

Ken Levine once said that the problem with game stories today, is that their writers have only read one great book or seen one great movie. The people who made this mod haven’t even done that. They’ve played one great game, and they made it the focal point of their existence, without ever trying to figure out what made it worth playing.

If anyone wants a review, I direct you at PCG-UK Freelancer Richard Cobbett’s blog, who posts here as Charybdis

Before we go any further, let me say this: The Nameless Mod is one of the best mods I’ve ever played. No question. I can’t think of many that have impressed me more, and very few that I’d actually put on the same pedestal. I have some quibbles, but it’s a phenomenal achievement. Download it now if you own Deus Ex.

KG

I think he posts as RichardC.
http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/member.php?u=205

So he does. I swear he used to be Charybdis here. Anyway, 'im.

KG

Well, somebody used to be Charybdis, at any rate.

Yeah, I got bored of it. I generally just use ‘Chary’ or similar in games anyway. Or Richard. Stands out more as well.

Before we go any further, let me say this: The Nameless Mod is one of the best mods I’ve ever played.
Statements like this actually do more harm than good in terms of my incredulous reactions. Aliens TC, QWTF, and… The Nameless Mod? Seriously? Even discounting the goofiness, your blog post didn’t really convince me that it’s worth checking out. “More Deus Ex goodness with some innovations.”

When I go back to play the original I will try to remember to download this and see for myself.

…Minerva
…Over Flander’s Fields
…VTM: Bloodlines Wesp patches

But give him a break. He’s a Deus Ex fanboi (aren’t we all, and remember – every time someone mentions DX, someone reinstalls it.gif) and runs a bloggish website. Hyperbole expected :)

your blog post didn’t really convince me that it’s worth checking out.

Fair enough. If you’re not convinced, you’re probably not going to be too taken with the mod either. However, the opening bit… yes, seriously. Maybe I just haven’t played the right mods, but not many spring to mind that I’ve enjoyed playing more. And I specifically said ‘that I’ve played’, not ‘ever made’. I’ve played a lot of mods over the years, but I don’t pretend I follow the scene anything like well enough to make the latter claim.

As for hyperbole, sorry, but I reserve the right to be as biased and over-enthusiastic as I like on my own website ;-) Sorry if you didn’t like it, but I think it’s a pretty balanced view of a mod that seriously impressed me, despite being thoroughly unconvinced by the premise when firing it up the first time. I just wanted to get the recommendation in early in the hope that people would read a little further than the fanwanky premise. The rest of the post was just what seemed like a good idea after finishing it off the other day. I don’t have any stake in either it or its community, although apparently one of my articles is in it somewhere (I didn’t know this at the time), except hoping that it does really well for them all. YMMV of course.

No, your blog exists to SERVE ME! Really, I am the type that will do my best to suspend disbelief and give anything a shot, but if you love a diamond in the rough you have to be careful with it! I spent a lot of effort warning people that STALKER takes some effort, right after I told everyone it was one of my favorite games of all time. People seem to be hypersensitive about games (or digital distribution websites ;) that don’t live up to the hype so I always try not to go too far in the other direction when I defend them, so as to avoid hurt feelings.

Heh. Well, I have about six regular readers and precisely zero online influence. I wasn’t expecting them to start linking it on every single page it’s been mentioned ;-)

(It’s actually quite funny. I have a tendency for my off-the-cuff reviews to sound more negative than I intend, so it makes a change to be ticked off for being too nice.)