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Thief II: The Metal Age

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Thief II: The Metal Age
Thief II: The Metal Age cover
Developers
Looking Glass Studios
Publishers
2000-2009 Eidos Interactive
2009-2023 Square Enix
2023-present Eidos-Montréal
Re-release Sold Out Software
Russia Noviy Disk
Engines
Dark Engine
Release dates
Windows March 21, 2000
Reception
Metacritic 87
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Stealth, Immersive sim
Art styles Realistic
Themes Steampunk, Fantasy, Medieval, Victorian
Series Thief
Thief II: The Metal Age on HowLongToBeat
Thief II: The Metal Age on IGDB
Thief II: The Metal Age on MobyGames
Thief II: The Metal Age on Wikipedia
Thief
Thief: The Dark Project 1998
Thief II: The Metal Age 2000
Thief: Deadly Shadows 2004
The Dark Mod (unofficial spin-off) 2009
Thief 2014

Thief II: The Metal Age is a singleplayer first-person stealth and immersive sim game in the Thief series.

The game was the final title by Looking Glass Studios, as the studio would shut down a mere two months after release.

The retail version of the game has significant issues running out-of-the-box (e.g. stability, rendering, cutscene codec breaking after a few sessions). Several unofficial patches have been created over the years, most notably the NewDark engine and T2Fix.

General information

TTLG Forums - Thief Series
TTLG Forums - modding & mission design
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
SafeDisc DRM[Note 1] (use T2Fix to remove).
Windows
Amazon.com
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Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Uses T2Fix Lite 1.26. Soundtrack, manual, "making of" video, reference card, avatars included with purchase.
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Steam
DRM-free after installation through Steam client (notes may include more details)
Manual can be found in the installation folder.
Windows
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
A demo pre-patched with NewDark is available.

Essential improvements

Unofficial Patches

NewDark

NewDark is an fan-developed update patch to the Dark Engine that gets Thief II: The Metal Age to run on modern systems.

T2Fix already includes the latest version of NewDark.

OldDark Legacy Patch

Allows the original (aka OldDark) engine to run on modern systems.
Also available for Thief: Gold
Not as stable as NewDark, but more true to the original experience.

T2Fix

T2Fix is an "upgrade" patch that updates the game with NewDark, which improves compatibility on modern systems.

Features many mission fixes and optional texture mods.
The GOG release has an out-of-date, lite version of this patch.
Unlike the GOG release, the Steam release does not use T2Fix.
Restart the current mission (or progress to the next one) after patch installation, otherwise various issues may manifest, such as torches that do not properly go out when extinguished.

Skip intro videos

Tell intro not to play[citation needed]
  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Open cam.cfg using a text editor.
  3. Add the line skip_intro to the file and save it.

Scale UI accurately

UI scales incorrectly at higher resolutions[citation needed]

Install NewDark via T2Fix.

  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Open cam_ext.cfg using a text editor.
  3. Change ;d3d_disp_scaled_2d_overlay 64 to d3d_disp_scaled_2d_overlay 64.
  4. Save the file.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\[Note 2]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/211740/pfx/[Note 3]
Configuration files are: cam.cfg (basic settings, resolution), cam_ext.cfg (NewDark advanced settings), cam_mod.ini (Mod and fan mission options), install.cfg and user.bnd (key bindings).

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\SAVES[Note 2]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/211740/pfx/[Note 3]
Fan mission saves are kept in the mission's folder.

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game video options (With T2Fix)
In-game video options (With T2Fix)

Field of view (FOV)

Use NewDark[citation needed]
  1. Install T2Fix and set the resolution you want in-game.
  2. If the proper FOV is not detected, go to the installation folder and edit cam_ext.cfg.
  3. Change ;fov 90 to fov ## with the desired FOV.
  4. Save the changes and relaunch the game.

Windowed

Set windowed mode[citation needed]
  1. Install T2Fix.
  2. Go to the installation folder.
  3. Edit cam_ext.cfg.
  4. Change ;force_windowed to force_windowed.
  5. Save the changes and set the chosen resolution in-game.
For borderless fullscreen windowed mode choose the desktop resolution in-game.

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Installing T2Fix enables Vsync by default. Vsync can be disabled.
Disable Vsync[citation needed]
  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Edit cam_ext.cfg.
  3. Change ;vsync_mode 0 to vsync_mode 0 and save the changes.

High frame rate

Set frame rate and ensure correct game speed[citation needed]
  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Edit cam_ext.cfg.
  3. Change framerate_cap 100.0 to framerate_cap ### with the desired framerate.
  4. Change ;phys_freq 60 to phys_freq 60
  5. For more than 250 FPS change SlowFrame 4 to ;SlowFrame 4

Input

Input settings
Input settings

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
No game-managed mouse acceleration. In addition, Windows mouse acceleration can be disabled in-game by adding use_raw_mouse_input to cam_ext.cfg.
Mouse sensitivity
Default sensitivity is very high.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Go to Options, Controls and set Joystick: On.
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Limited remapping.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
PlayStation controllers
Generic/other controllers
Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M
Steam Input
Steam Input API support
Hook input (legacy mode)
Official controller preset(s)
Steam Controller button prompts
Cursor detection

Audio

Audio options (With T2Fix)
Audio options (With T2Fix)

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Master volume and ambient sound (usually controls background music in addition to atmospheric sound effects, like machinery).
Surround sound
See EAX support.
Subtitles
Supported since NewDark 1.22. T2Fix includes the subtitles.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
A3D (alpha demo only[3]). EAX 2. See EAX support.
Royalty free audio
All in-game music is original. However, the German credits video has the track "Accingite Vos" by Subway to Sally; the international version is muted entirely.

EAX support

Install T2Fix.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
For subtitles use the English subtitles patch.
French
Retail only.
German
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Hungarian
Fan translation, #1 by Gmiki, #2 by KGy.
Polish
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Russian
Local retail only. Download this for digital versions. Fan translation is also available here.
Spanish
Fan translations by Clan Dlan:
Turkish
Fan translation by Dark Glyphs, here.

Network

T2 Multiplayer is not compatible with NewDark or T2Fix; use the included thief2.exe and patch with DDFix.

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
8 Co-op
Use T2 Multiplayer Beta.
Online play
8 Co-op
Use T2 Multiplayer Beta.

Connection types

VR support

3D modes State Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
See install/setup instructions.
iZ3D
See install/setup instructions.
vorpX
2D
Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.Game profile has not been confirmed to be 3D yet.

Issues fixed

Crashes on multi-core systems

Manually disable cores for Thief 2
  1. When launching the game, Ctrl-Alt-Delete out of the game
  2. Go to the Processes tab of Task Manager
  3. Right click on the process "THIEF2.EXE"
  4. Select "Set Affinity..."
  5. Uncheck all cores except one then click OK
  6. Close Task Manager and return to the game
T2Fix does this automatically, as well as fixing game files to run the game on modern systems
Install T2Fix[citation needed]

Install NewDark via T2Fix.

Videos do not play

Install T2Fix[citation needed]

Install NewDark via T2Fix.

Gamma slider has no effect on gamma/brightness

T2Fix and config tweak[citation needed]

Install NewDark via T2Fix.

If the gamma still can not be changed:

  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Open cam_ext.cfg.
  3. Change ;d3d_disp_no_rgb10_buf to d3d_disp_no_rgb10_buf.
  4. Save the file.

Lag and stuttering

Add a line to user.cfg

Install NewDark via T2Fix.

  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Open USER.cfg.
  3. Add the line small_portal_repel.
  4. Save the file.
T2Fix and config tweak[citation needed]

Install NewDark via T2Fix.

  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Open cam_ext.cfg.
  3. Change d3d_disp_no_rgb10_buf to ;d3d_disp_no_rgb10_buf.
  4. Save the file.
T2Fix and config tweak

Install NewDark via TFix.

  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Open cam_ext.cfg.
  3. Change framerate_cap 100.0 to framerate_cap 70.0
  4. Save the file.

Laggy/jittery mouse input

Use MarkC's Mouse Acceleration Fix
  1. Go to this website.
  2. Follow the instructions on the site.
T2Fix and config tweak[citation needed]

Install NewDark via T2Fix.

  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Open cam_ext.cfg.
  3. Change ;d3d_disp_limit_gpu_frames 1 1 to d3d_disp_limit_gpu_frames 1 1.
  4. Save the file.

The game asks for the CD even if it is inserted or mounted

Edit the config file
  1. Go to the installation folder
  2. Open the DARKINST.CFG file with Notepad or other text editor
  3. Replace the contents with:

install_path <path-to-game>
language english
resname_base <path-to-game>\res
load_path <path-to-game>
script_module_path <path-to-game>
movie_path <path-to-game>\movies

4. Save the file

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 6 Direct3D 9 requires NewDark/T2Fix.
Software renderer
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio DirectSound, OpenAL OpenAL requires NewDark/T2Fix.

View bob

By default, Thief II: The Metal Age has view bob that may cause motion sickness.
Edit cam_ext.cfg[citation needed]
  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Open <path-to-game>\cam_ext.cfg with a text editor.
  3. Find the line ;bob_factor 0.3.
  4. Remove the semicolon and set the value to 0.
bob_factor 0.0

Mods

AngelLoader

Standalone FM loader where you can manage, install, and play all of your FMs in one place.
Supports Thief 1, Thief 2, Thief: Deadly Shadows and System Shock 2.
Well maintained and open source.

Fan Missions

A large number of Fan Missions, many of very high quality, have been produced for the Thief games.

A categorised list is available here.
A pre-patched version of Thief2X, the fan-made expansion pack for Thief 2, can be downloaded here (choose the 'ZIP-archive' link).
Running Fan Missions[citation needed]
  1. Select the option to create a shortcut to the FM Selector during T2Fix installation. If you did not check this option, add the command line argument -fm on a Thief desktop shortcut or in the Steam interface.
  2. Start FM Selector using this shortcut.
  3. Select a folder for installed missions and an FM .zip archive path when prompted. Do not put the archive path inside the FMs folder or vice-versa, otherwise things will not work correctly.
  4. To install a mission, drop its .zip file (do not extract it) into your chosen archive path, start the selector, double click the mission/zip file name and select 'Ok'. It has now been extracted to the installed missions folder.
  5. Launch the mission by double clicking the name again. To launch the original game select 'Skip FM' in the lower-left corner.

Texture mods


Enhancement Pack 2.0
An updated version of the original Enhancement Pack (which is included in T2Fix and is much less comprehensive). This contains higher quality reproductions of many but not all original textures and objects. Also works with Thief Gold/The Dark Project.


The Necro Age
Very similar to the Enhancement Pack 2, but focuses on giving the game a slightly darker, noir look. Somewhere between the EP2 and HD Mod in lore-accuracy. Also works with Thief Gold/The Dark Project.


Thief 2 HD Texture Mod
Adds new textures and effects to all original missions. Includes a tool to configure advanced graphics settings (Anti-Aliasing, Bloom, etc.).


Thief 2 ESRGAN Texture Pack (mirror)
Thief II: The Metal Age textures upscaled 4x using AI, more accurate to the original textures than other texture packs, but of less resolution than the alternatives. It is far higher in resolution and detail than the original textures however. Provides more vanilla looking but HD look for the game.


Thief 2X ESRGAN Texture Pack
AI upscaled textures for unofficial Thief II expansion - Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age. Includes upscaled textures and HQ Paintings Pack.


Thief 2 HQ Paintings Pack
Standalone addition to the ESRGAN mod for Thief Gold and Thief II: The Metal Age. All paintings from the game being manually recreated using real life originals from online galleries in HQ 1024x1024 resolution. Could be used with any other modifications.

Additional mods


Sound effects enhancement pack
Provides cleaned up and resampled sound files for Thief Gold and Thief II. The quality difference is particularly noticeable when wearing headphones.


Filtered Cinematics pack
Video Pack provides filtered cinematics with 15 to 30 fps conversion, compression artifacts removal and deinterlacing some of the original videos. Requires T2Fix to work. It's a part of the Thief 2 ESRGAN Texture Pack, but can be installed standalone.


Thief 2 - T2X: Shadows of the Metal Age v1.1
Addon/expansion larger than the original

System requirements

Steam

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP, Vista
Processor (CPU) 1.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2 GB
Video card (GPU) DirectX 7 compatible

Disc Version

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 95
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium MMX 233 MHz
System memory (RAM) 48 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 250 MB
Video card (GPU) 4 MB of VRAM
DirectX 7 compatible
Sound (audio device) 100% DirectX 7.0 compatible sound card
Other 4x CD-ROM drive
NewDark's system requirements - and by association those for GOG.com's Windows release - are higher than the original requirements listed here.


Notes

  1. SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[1] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[2]
  2. 2.0 2.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
  3. 3.0 3.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/211740/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (211740) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References