T2Fix is a complete and self-contained patcher and installation utility for Thief II: The Metal Age. Currently, all official patches and several fan-made patches and mods are incorporated, making installing and managing the game as simple as possible. It includes NewDark, the latest fan-developed update to the Dark Engine, providing substantially better support for modern operating systems and video hardware.
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)
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.
*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.
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.
Playing Fan Missions:
-Recommended fan mission loaders include the following:
--FMSel: a simple and lightweight FM loader that is included in T2Fix.
--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 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.
