T2Fix 1.27d file

Information and Updates: TTLG

Ensure the game is not running prior to using T2Fix. It will be necessary to restart the current mission, as saves will be incompatible.

Before Installing:

-Ensure both the Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable and the DirectX End-User Runtimes are installed prior to running setup. Most systems should already have these installed, but in the case that they are not, they are available below.

--Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable

--DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010)

-Do not have Thief 2 located in a protected folder such as Program Files and do not set any compatibility modes on the main executable. Doing either will result in a variety of strange things happening, such as an inability to save or load the required resources. T2Fix will issue a warning if this is attempted, though will not ultimately prevent it.

-The officially supported game languages are English, German, and French. While other localizations will likely work without issue, they are not explicitly supported.

System Requirements:

-Windows 2000 or newer must be installed for T2Fix and NewDark to function.
-NewDark requires a Direct3D9-capable graphics card to fully utilize its capabilities. Most graphics chipsets made in the last decade should suffice, but if for some reason you are using a graphics card without these capabilities, running the game with the "-use_d3d_display" command line argument will start the game with the legacy renderer.

Included Components:

-NewDark 1.27 (Required)
-Up-to-date scripts (Required)
-DromEd and the DromEd Basic Toolkit 1.14
-AM16's Thief2 Fixed 1.3b
-Interactive Candles
-Carry Body Mod
-Thief Enhancement Pack
-Thief 2 Sound Effects Enhancement Pack
-T2skies
-T2water
-Thief 2 English Subtitles
-T2FMDML Release 3
-Thief 2 Multiplayer Beta
-Thief 2 Legacy Executables
-A variety of other fixes to resources, missions, and the game engine

All components except those marked are optional.

Selecting Components:

After selecting the installation directory, T2Fix will prompt the user to select an installation type. Each type pre-selects a series of components based on user preference, after which the user is free to further enable or disable components as he sees fit. Essentially, each "Installation Type" acts as a preset of sorts.

Tuning Video Settings:

-Setup will automatically detect your monitor's resolution and set Thief 2's default resolution accordingly.
-Basic settings such as Sky Detail, Fogging, and resolution can be changed in the game's settings menu.
-There are three graphics presets selectable on the "Additional Tasks" page of T2Fix:
--High: Anti-aliasing, HDR Rendering, Bloom, and software gamma are enabled. Select this if you have a reasonably powerful dedicated graphics card.
--Default: Anti-aliasing is enabled. Select this if you have a dedicated graphics card or are unsure what else to select, as this is the default option.
--Low: No special features are enabled by default, but it yields the best performance. Select this if you have a very weak system or integrated graphics.
-All of these options can be enabled or disabled individually under the "Video Settings" section of the Advanced Options page.

*All advanced graphics settings can be viewed and changed at any time by opening "cam_ext.cfg" in the installation folder with any text editor.

-To change DromEd's display resolution, edit "DromEd.cfg" in the Thief 2 installation directory and uncomment the desired resolution while placing a semicolon in front of the resolution that was selected prior to your change.

Advanced Options:

On the "Additional Tasks" wizard page, there should be a button labelled "Advanced" near the bottom left of the form. Here you can enable or disable several more specialized options

-Video Options:
--Enable Software Gamma: Enable software-based gamma and color processing (d3d_disp_sw_cc).
--Force Windowed Mode: Force the game to run in a window as opposed to fullscreen (force_windowed).
--Force VSync: Enable display refresh synchronization in-game and in menus (vsync_mode 3).
--Enable Multisampling: Enable mutisample anti-aliasing, set by default to 8 samples (multisampletype 8).
--Enable Postprocessing: Enable postprocessing/bloom (postprocess 1).
--Enable HDR Rendering: Enable 16-bit floating point render buffer (d3d_disp_enable_hdr).
-Game Options:
--Enable New Mantle: Enable new mantling code (new_mantle).
--Enable Mantling Corrections: Explicitly disable mantling on certain objects that new mantle allows, though were not possible under the original mantling system. This only pertains to missions using the original gamesys.
--Disable Training Scripts: Disable the red training messages present on lower difficulties in the first few missions.
--Enable Legacy Gamesys Exploits: Emulate behavior of the old Thief 2 game system, notably the ability to blow open metal doors with fire arrows.
--Always Install 1.18 Resources: Always install the resources included with the 1.18 patch regardless of if they are determined to be necessary.

Installing Thief 2:

*The game installation function is only compatible with the original, first-party CD releases of Thief 2. If you own another version such as the one distributed by Mastertronic, install the game using its own installation utility prior to running T2Fix.

1) On the installation directory page, select the folder in which you intend to install the game and check the box that reads "Install Thief 2 in the above directory from original install media".
2) Click "Next" and choose the location of your first Thief 2 CD or the location of its copy on your local drive. If the disc is not inserted, ensure it is in your drive before selecting its location.
3) Continue with the installation as normal.
4) If you are using the two-CD version, setup will prompt you to select the second CD during installation. Insert the second CD, removing the first one if necessary, and click "OK". Failure to select at this stage in setup will result in installation aborting.

Installing Additional Mods:

-To install NecroAge, simply place the downloaded NecroAge.crf into your Thief 2 installation folder. It will be activated automatically. Delete this file to uninstall.
-To install EP2, simply place the downloaded EP2.crf into your Thief 2 installation folder. Delete this file to uninstall.
-To install the Thief 2 HD Texture Mod, run the HD mod setup after T2Fix. After it has been installed, ensure the current mission has been restarted in the system menu. Also, be sure to download and place this file (or this one if you opted to install multiplayer) in your Thief 2 installation folder and overwrite the existing file to allow for the updated scripts to be loaded properly.

Uninstalling and Re-Installing Components:

-To reinstall a component, simply run T2Fix again with the same components selected. Each selected component will be installed over the existing component.
-To uninstall a component, run T2Fix with any previously-installed component unselected. T2Fix will uninstall any component that is both installed and unselected on the components page.

Playing Fan Missions:

-Recommended fan mission loaders include the following:
--FMSel: a simple and lightweight FM loader that is included with NewDark.
--AngelLoader: a fast, full-featured, standalone FM loader that is compatible with all three Thief games.
--NewDarkLoader: an FM loader that aims to include the utility of FMSel while also offering a friendlier interface.
-To start FMSel, either use the shortcut provided or launch Thief 2 with the "-fm" command line argument. Removing the semicolon preceding "fm" in cam_mod.ini will cause FMSel to always start.
-It is not recommended to use Darkloader, as it is rather outdated and is known to cause issues with NewDark on occasion.

*Some older fan missions may not have been designed with NewDark's new mantle in mind, allowing the player to climb objects they were not intended to. If such behavior is observed, place this file in the fan mission's installation directory to experience more faithful mantling behavior.

All credit, of course, goes to the creators of the included components, without which this would not exist. I will gladly oblige any requests made by the component authors.