Thief 2 Fix Guide - Saleck.net

Install The Game (Retail)
First of all, you'll need the Thief 2 CDs. Pirated Versions are NOT supported by this guide.

Insert the Install CD in the Drive but don't use the installer that comes with the game. Instead we are going to do something much more effective. Browse the CD's contents and copy of the contents of the THIEF2 folder from your CDs into the place where you want to install Thief 2.

Do not install into the Program Files or Program Files (x86) folders. A good place to install Thief2 is C:\Games

Install the Game (Steam)
Download and Install Steam, a Digital Distribution platform for games. Buy Thief 2 here and download it. Simple!

The game will be installed to "/Steam installation/steamapps/common/thief_2" so it's best you go there now.

If your copy of Steam is located in the Program Files or Program Files (x86) folder, you will need to move your Thief 2 installation to another location. You can either do this temporarily or permenantly by using the Steam Library Folders feature. You'll find the feature in View > Settings, Downloads Tab. Make a new SteamLibrary folder in a new location e.g C:\Games and install Thief 2 there.

T2Tool
Using T2Tool to update Thief 2
Rejoice Thief fans! For the Builder hath blessed us with his almighty wisdom and knowledge!

Introducing T2Tool! This tool will completely setup your copy of Thief 2 to working condition automatically!

It will do whatever you want it to do; Apply the latest version of NewDark, Install OpenAL files and activate EAX automatically, Make the game mod friendly and cleanup old unused files!

Download T2Tool v1.0.6.0 - Last Updated - 10th February 2019 - Version History - Source Code

You will need to have Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 SP1 C++ runtime libraries and the latest version of DirectX installed on your computer to run this new version of Thief 2. If you are not sure you have them installed, T2Tool will check and download them for you automatically.

Now, I hate to break it to you but.. That's it! No more work needs to be done! Your copy of Thief 2 is up and running. Of course, you can dive into the cam_ext.cfg file with Notepad and you can alter anything you want like Post-processing effects like Bloom and 16x AA for some extra added visuals.

Everything is clearly labelled inside the cam_ext.cfg file so you really cannot go wrong with configuring the file.

Some of the commands works on a Boolean system, 0 is off, 1 is on. Turn features on or off by changing the numbers. Also remember to remove any semi-colons ; in front of the command you want to enable (to disable, just re-add the semi-colon again)

Be sure to make a backup of the file first before you go altering something you might wish you hadn't.

EAX through OpenAL
T2Tool will turn this on by default but just in case you didn't enable it, EAX will now work in Thief 2 through the OpenAL library. You can get the OpenAL files from here or from my Dropbox here.

Once you have installed them, Place them in your Thief 2 installation folder, start Thief 2 and go to Options > Audio and click on Hardware Acceleration until it shows the Option 'OpenAL'

Now when you play the game, you will have all the echoey hallways you could possibly dream of

Mods, Fan Missions and Thief 2X

How to install Mods
Mods usually come in Zip files. Inside these files you will find one or more folders. Fam, Mesh, Snd and Obj are just a few examples of what these files are called.

To install any mods, you will need to go into your Thief Gold installation folder. In here, you will see an important folder: MODS. This is the folder which your mod files will go.

You put mods in the MODS folder. Any files will load ahead of the base game contents! It's as simple as that.

How to play Fan Missions
If you want to try something a little different after you've played Thief 2, you could always try one of the many Fan Missions released for the game.

You can find Thief 2 missions at the Thief Missions website.

Once you have a few, you may be tempted to put them straight into your DataTempMods folder but hold on there! It's not that easy.

Long story short, Fan Missions (FMs) may not be 100% functional if you do this. Luckily, The NewDark version of Thief 2 comes with a Fan Mission loader called FMSel.

To use FMSel, Right-click on any Thief 2 shortcut or in your Steam Games list and click Properties.

Enter in the Target Box or the Set Launch Options -fm and click OK.

When you launch Thief 2 again, FMSel will start and ask you to create an FMs directory. Click Yes.

Once you've done that, FMSel will ask you to specify a folder in which you keep your FMs so put all your FMs in one folder and have FMSel use that folder.

Once you've done that, FMSel will list all the FMs it finds in that folder.

From here you can do many different things:
Skip FM - Will Launch Thief 2 without using any FM.
Play FM - Will Launch Thief 2 with the currently selected FM. It will ask you to Extract Archive which, when Yes is selected, will install the FM into the FMs folder.
Start FM - Will Launch Thief 2 with the currently selected FM and set your Status to 'Playing' (I presume this is used for things like Windows Live Messenger and other software)

You can also rate your FMs, Search for an FM in the Name text bar, Read any Readmes inside (Right click > View Info File) and many other things.

Here are some questions you may have:
All my Thief 2 save files have gone! What have you done?!
Don't Panic! Your save files are still there. When Thief 2 is launched with an FM, you get to have seperate saves! These are stored in your FMs folder. Every time you launch that FM, you'll see your saves there again from the last time you played.

Will my installed mods work with an FM?
They should do but it depends on the FM; some use custom health indicators and light gems so they will take priority when loaded. Other then that, mods should work OK.

Can you install mods this way too?
No.

Will Thief 1/Gold FMs work in Thief 2?
That's a question with many different answers but the short answer is they should do. Thief 2 FMs will most likely not work with Thief 1 due to the extra content Thief 2 has.

Can I hold you responsible for anything daft I do like try to install System Shock 2 FMs into Thief 2?
Nope.

How to install and play Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age
If you've never played, or heard of, Thief 2X, you should correct that right now and get it. It's an amazing unofficial expansion pack for Thief 2.

Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age

There are numerous ways on getting Thief 2X running depending on which way you have fixed up Thief 2.

Installer Method for an unmodified Thief 2 installation
Want to play Thief 2X Without going through any installers or modification processes? This section is for you.
Install T2X Into your Thief 2 installation, then download the following package and extract it into your Thief 2 installation.

T2X NewDark Only

Once you've done that, you will be able to play both Thief 2 and Thief 2X from an unmodified installation.

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Installing it as a Mod after using T2Tool
This method has its advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

[*] You can use the Steam Overlay and chat to friends whilst playing, take screenshots etc.
[*] Constant resolution instead of switching back and forth like the default T2X installation does,
[*] Any cam_ext.cfg settings will now apply to T2X. Anti-aliasing, Bloom and other effects will work.

Disdvantages:

[*] You will need to rename your DTM or DPM folder to something else to play Thief 2,
[*] Any T2 saves can be accessed by T2X and vice versa.

Simply Install T2X into your Thief 2 installation and, once completed, delete the Darkinst.cfg file located in the T2X folder and move the contents of the T2X into either the DataTempMods or the DataPermMods folder. When you start Thief 2, Thief 2X will start instead.

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That's it!
OK, you should now have a fully working copy of Thief 2. It'll now be playable on Windows XP/Vista/7/8 in glorious widescreen!
Here are some pictures of the first mission in 1920 x 1080 I took after using T2Tool.

Big props go to:
The Anonymous Taffer who created NewDark, We all salute you!
The guys and girls at Through The Looking Glass.

This guide is Copyrighted © Saleck. Feel free to print/re-post this guide anywhere but please give credit where credit is due. That's all I ask :)