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Difference between revisions of "Thief II: The Metal Age"

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Revision as of 17:42, 24 November 2017

Thief II: The Metal Age
Thief II: The Metal Age cover
Developers
Looking Glass Studios
Publishers
Eidos Interactive
Square Enix
Engines
Dark Engine
Release dates
Windows March 21, 2000
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

Key points

Tafferpatcher improves compatibility with modern systems.

General information

A Wiki for the classic Thief games
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 Tafferpatcher to remove).
Windows
Amazon.com
Icon overlay.png
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Soundtrack, manual, "making of" video, reference card, avatars.
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
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

Tafferpatcher

Tafferpatcher installs NewDark, which improves compatibility on modern systems. Also contains mission fixes and optional texture mods. The GOG release has an out-of-date, stripped-down version of this patch.

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 Tafferpatcher 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.

Skip intro videos

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

Texture mods

Enhancement Pack 2.0

The Enhancement Pack 2.0 is an updated version of the original Enhancement Pack (which is included in Tafferpatcher and is much less comprehensive). This contains higher quality reproductions of original textures and objects. Also works with Thief Gold/The Dark Project.

The Necro Age

The Necro Age pack is 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

The 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.).

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

Template:Game data/row
System Location
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/211740/pfx/[Note 2]
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

Template:Game data/row
System Location
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/211740/pfx/[Note 2]
Fan mission saves are kept in the mission's folder.

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video settings

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

Template:Video settings

Field of view (FOV)

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

Windowed

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

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Installing Tafferpatcher 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 your 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 FPS you want.
  4. Change ;phys_freq 60 to phys_freq 60
  5. For more than 250 FPS change SlowFrame 4 to ;SlowFrame 4

Input settings

Input settings
Input settings

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Audio options (With Tafferpatcher)
Audio options (With Tafferpatcher)

Template:Audio settings

EAX support

Thief II features enhanced 3D sound effects that originally required a Creative sound card with special EAX drivers. To use EAX effects on modern systems, do the following:
Install patch and OpenAL[citation needed]
  1. Install NewDark using Tafferpatcher.
  2. Install OpenAL 2.1.0.0.
  3. In the game go to Options, Audio, and change Hardware Acceleration to OpenAL. EAX can now be used.

Network

Use T2 Multiplayer Beta for multiplayer support.
T2 Multiplayer is not compatible with NewDark or Tafferpatcher; use the included thief2.exe and patch with DDFix.

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
8 Co-op
Online play
8 Co-op

Connection types

VR support

Issues fixed

Crashes on multi-core systems

Install Tafferpatcher[citation needed]

Install NewDark via Tafferpatcher.

Videos do not play

Install Tafferpatcher[citation needed]

Install NewDark via Tafferpatcher.

Gamma slider has no effect on gamma/brightness

Tafferpatcher and config tweak[citation needed]

Install NewDark via Tafferpatcher.

If you still can't change gamma:

  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.

Other information

Sound effects enhancement pack

This mod provides cleaned up and resampled sound files for Thief Gold and Thief II. The quality difference is particularly noticeable when wearing headphones.

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

API

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

Middleware

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

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 95
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 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 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