Installing and Running Fan Missions

Installing a New Mission

There are two ways to install a new mission:

1. By downloading a mission pk4 file and placing it in the fms folder
2. By using the in-game mission downloader

By downloading the mission PK4

1. Go to thedarkmod.com/missions (say, by selecting "Missions" from the site top menu strip) to see a list of available FMs.
2. For an FM of interest, click on "Download Details".
3. Each FM is contained in a PK4 file, which contains all the files necessary to run the mission. Choose one of the equivalent links to download, and drop the PK4 file into the fms/ folder, e.g. C:\Games\darkmod\fms\.
4. Launch The Dark Mod game to automatically install the mission. That is, upon launch, the game will detect the new mission package in the fms/ folder and will add it to the list of available missions. (Note: the PK4 file will be automatically moved into a subfolder. This is normal operation).

By installing with the in-game downloader

1. Launch The Dark Mod.
2. From the main menu, click Mission List (formerly New Mission, as shown in figures here).
3. Click Download Missions in the lower border of the Mission List.

In this screen on the left is the Online Mission Archive, with a list of FMs that:

• you don't yet have, but are available to download and install; and
• you do have already installed, but that have an update or new (or at least not-yet-installed) translation available.

If you click on a listed mission, you see information under it. You can click on More... to get a more detailed screen with a description and screenshots from the mission.

Last steps:

1. With a row selected, click on Select for download to move a listing to the right-hand Download Status/Selected For DownLoad pane. Repeat to build up a list to download.
2. Or Select all to download all missions, but not recommended because it will stress the download mirrors unnecessary.
3. Then click "Start Download". FMs will be queued to download and automatically install.

Selecting a New or Different Mission to Play

1. From the main menu, click Mission List
2. On the right of the screen, you'll see a list of available missions that you've installed.
3. Click on a mission within the list. Information about it will pop up in the left pane (as shown in figure), and Notes often has more.
4. When you've made your choice, click Select Mission at the lower right corner.
5. The game will restart itself automatically.
   

Starting the mission

After the restart, click Start this Mission. You'll be taken to the mission's briefing.

Resuming a mission

Once installed, a Fan Mission will stay installed until you uninstall it (click deselect mission) or install a different FM. As each Fan Mission is "run" in a separate folder, your savegames will be preserved when switching between them. (However, a savefile will generally not be functional after an update to its FM or core TDM.)

To resume a mission from a savegame, make sure the FM is installed, then just go to the Load/Save game menu and select one from the list.

Updating a mission

Whenever the mission author releases a new version of his FM, you need to re-install the mission. Missions do not auto-update. See above for instructions.

See also

• The Dark Mod Gameplay
• FAQ (for troubleshooting etc.)