-
Thief Series: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (Technical / Purchasing / Etc.)
This thread is intended to provide answers to the most frequently asked questions of this forum.
Technical Questions - Thief 1, Gold and 2.
How do I install Thief on Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista?
When I try to install Thief nothing happens!
When I try to install Thief 1 or 2 I get the following error message: AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications.
My ingame movies (briefings and cutscenes) aren't playing anymore, how do I fix it?
Scrooge's Permanent Movie Fix
A third option for fixing your movies
Movies on WinXP Service Pack 2
Game Stops Responding (Hangs) or Quits Unexpectedly When Introductory Video Clip Is Played
I've re-installed the codecs, but the first cutscene still freezes at a certain point and only the sound continues.
How do I repair a broken Thief installation?
Thief is saying it cannot play, because I do not have enough space, even if I have a lot of free disk space: how do I fix this?
I have patched Thief 2. Now, whenever I try to run Thief 2, I get a "Cannot find CD-Rom" error message, even if the CD is in the drive!
Game Freezes within a minutes / Running Thief on a Dual-Processor System or Got a Pentium 4 with Hyperthreading, a Pentium 4 D or an Athlon 64 X2?
I'm using an NVIDIA (TNT, GeForce, etc.) card. Why can't I see fog?
ATI Radeon cards and fog in Thief II
Help! I only get a black screen or Direct 3D Device does not accurately report texture memory usage.
I installed oRGy's texture patch for Thief1/Gold, but I'm having problems (textures are a solid blue, guards look funny, etc.). How do I fix this?
Can I run Thief on Linux?
Help! Thief runs too fast!
How do I take screenshots in Thief?
When I hit 'M' for the Map or press 'Escape' for the main menu, nothing happens but I can hear the map/menu music in the background.
Game Stops Responding (Hangs) or Quits Unexpectedly When Introductory Video Clip Is Played
Technical Questions - Thief III: Deadly Shadows.
When I try to play Thief 3 it says I have corrupt files!
I get the error message "Flesh Failed to Initialize" when I try to play the game.
I am unable to remap my keyboard controls!
I suffer from very long load times and am using NOD32
Which drivers work with Thief III?
Thief III runs poorly, what can I do to speed it up?
Help! Thief III runs too quickly!
Where does Thief III put save games?
The Intro movie keeps repeating and I can't start a game!
Other info
What's the difference between Thief: The Dark Project, Thief Gold, and Thief Platinum editions?
Is there any way to play the three extra Gold missions if I have the original Thief? Maybe download them from somewhere?
I found a website with Thief 2 Gold for preorder, is it coming out?
Where can I get Thief 1/Gold/2?
Transcripts for all briefings and cutscenes
Manuals for the games
Thief Enemy Hit Point, Immunity and Weakness List
Thief 3 Tweak Guide
Thief 3 Tweaker 1.2
Official Thief 3 Soundtrack Download
Thief Projects
Fan Missions
CoSaS
T2X
Thievery
Nightblade
DarkMOD
Still need help?
_________________
Technical Questions - Thief I, Gold and II
How do I install Thief on Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista?
Go to Start, then Run, then type d:\setup.exe -lgntforce, where d:\ is your CDrom/DVDrom drive. (note: that's -lgntforce, lowercase "L". If you're unsure, copy and paste it from here.) This problem arises because Win2K, WinXP and Vista are based on the NT kernel, which had DirectX support which was flaky at best. Thief needs DirectX to run, so, when the installer sees the NT kernel, it assumes that the game isn't going to be able to run and quits the installation. The -lgntforce switch tells the installer to ignore the NT kernel and install anyway.
When I try to install Thief nothing happens!
Start the installer and leave it! On some configurations of Windows XP it can take up to an hour for the installer to start.
When I try to install Thief 1 or 2 I get the following error message: AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications.
Check out the following Microsoft article:
Error message when you install or start an MS-DOS or 16-bit Windows-based program
My ingame movies (briefings and cutscenes) aren't playing anymore, how do I fix it?
You have to reinstall the indeo video codecs. You will find them on Thief: TDP's disc, and on disc 1 of Thief Gold. If you have Thief 2, you can find them on CD2 (the file is iv5play.exe). In the past you could also download them from this site for free, but unfortunately the codecs have since turned pay-for. This problem often arises because of conflicts with some other programs such as Realplayer or Windows Media Player, the video codecs become corrupted and no longer work. There is an incompatibility between the Indeo codecs and Windows XP. If you wish to view the ingame movies and have Windows XP you must install the codecs every time you play Thief.
Alternatively:
Scrooge's Permanent Movie Fix
1) Locate (use "Search") the file named "regsvr32.exe". It is located in the Windows SYSTEM directory (if 9x/ME) or SYSTEM32 (if 2K/XP). Copy it in your thief installation.
2) Create a text document named "RegIndeo.bat" and copy/paste the following text:
"regsvr32.exe /s LGVID.AX" (without quotes)
3) Save it (The file extension must be .bat)
Simply double-click on the file when your movies don't play.
Note: it is not needed to repeat the operation in all your installed Thief/Gold/II, simply use one of them. The "registration" process will fix the problems in all installed Thief games present.
A third option if the above have failed:
1) Press Start
2) Press Run
3) Type regsvr32 "c:\your\path\to\thief\LGVID.AX" where c:\your\path\to\thief\ matches your own path.
4) You should get a message box pop up that says dllregisterserver in module c:\your\path\to\thief\LGVID.AX suceeded.
Having trouble with Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Thief Video Codecs?
Then you may need to download this version of the codecs. Thanks Schattentänzer.
Game Stops Responding (Hangs) or Quits Unexpectedly When Introductory Video Clip Is Played.
If you are running Windows XP with Service Pack 1 applied you may want to check out this page at Microsoft, which includes an update that has reportedly fixed video problems with the Thief games.
I've re-installed the codecs, but the first cutscene still freezes at a certain point and only the sound continues. This is a reported bug in some European versions of Thief 2. There's a fan-made patch available at the Circle, download it here and follow the instructions in the readme file. That should sort things out.
How do I repair a broken Thief installation?
Browse the Thief CD and doubleclick directly on the setup.exe file. Broken installation typically happens when the setup program crashes halfway, or when there was an attempt to uninstall the game by deleting the Thief folder manually. In both cases, some registry keys were left behind, so the interface (the one that pops up automatically when you insert the CD) will assume the game is installed and will not let you install it again. Running the setup program directly bypasses the interface and lets you install.
Thief is saying it cannot play, because I do not have enough space, even if I have a lot of free disk space: how do I fix this?
Open the file user.cfg found in the Thief directory and add the line skip_starting_checks to it and save it. Please note, it may be necessary to create this file.
I have patched Thief 2. Now, whenever I try to run Thief 2, I get a "Cannot find CD-Rom" error message, even if the CD is in the drive!
This is a known problem with some versions of Thief 2. The copy protection on the CD was changed and is faulty, so Thief 2 will no longer work when patched. To fix this, you have to remove the copy protection.
Download this patch instead, it's a different version of the patch (larger than the normal patch file) which solves the fault copyprotection problem.
Game freezes within a minute / Running Thief on a Dual-Processor/Dual Core System or Got a Pentium 4 with Hyperthreading?
When activated, Intel's Hyperthreading makes it appear that you have two CPUs. Pentium 4 D and Athlon 64 X2 processors have 2 cores on one chip - they are dual processors.
Make sure that Thief is set to only use 1 processor with High, or Realtime priority. Dark Engine games don't like dual processor systems unless they are configured in this way. Salvage has written a great FAQ on how to do it easily. You can find his FAQ here.
Here is an alternative solution for multi-core issues: Modify the "Target" option in your Thief shortcut to C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C start /affinity 1 thief2.exe
to dedicate the first CPU core to the game (or "/affinity 2" for the second, and so on).
I'm using an NVIDIA (TNT, GeForce, etc.) card. Why can't I see fog?
Make sure fog is turned on in the Options screen. If it is and no fog appears in Life of the Party and Precious Cargo, go to the Windows Display Properties dialogue (by right-clicking on the desktop and choosing "Properties"), choose "Settings" | "More" | "GeForce" | "More" | "Direct3D" (or a similar sequence of tabs) and turn on "fog-table emulation".
ATI Radeon cards and fog in Thief II
Steps to fix the fog:
1) Download the program available here.
2) Install it
3) After the required restart, run the program and go to the Rage3D tweak tab. Double click "Direct 3D", then scroll down till you see the box "W Fog". Uncheck this box. Also make sure "Table fog", and "Z Fog" are both checked, and if they aren't, check them. Press OK. You should now be able to see fog in the game. (Reference Thread, with additional steps in case this does not work.)
Help! I only get a black screen or Direct 3D Device does not accurately report texture memory usage.
Please Note:
If you are using an nVidia card with drivers in the 9x.xx range then the fixes listed below will not work. At present the only solution is to downgrade your drivers to versions in the 8x.xx range or below.
An error message that pops up when starting a level in Thief and Thief 2. You may not get an error message, you may see only a black screen. It primarily occurs on Nvidia Graphics cards running driver versions 5x.xx and above although there are several reports of it occuring on ATI 9xxx cards using new drivers.
If you are running Thief 2 you should remove the semicolon (;) from the line ;safe_texture_manager in the file user.cfg which you should open with Notepad.
If you are running Thief 1 you should download one of the patches linked below that corresponds to your version and overwrite the installed Thief EXE with the one from the ZIP file.
I installed oRGy's texture patch for Thief1/Gold, but I'm having problems (textures are a solid blue, guards look funny, etc.). How do I fix this?
You have to install Darkloader, run it and let it optimize your Thief installation after you have installed the texture patch. Should be fine after that. (Get the texture patch here)
Can I run Thief on Linux?
Apparently, using the latest version of winex, you can. This thread reports that it works.
Help! Thief runs too fast!
Turn on v-sync. Make sure the refresh rate is 60Hz. Try also turning on full antialiasing. (Reference thread)
How do I take screenshots in Thief?
In Thief 1 and Gold the key is F10, in Thief 2 it is ALT+F10. This will create a file in your Thief directory called dumpxxx.pcx, where xxx is a three digit number. The screenshot keys can be altered in the control section of the options menu.
When I hit 'M' for the Map or press 'Escape' for the main menu, nothing happens but I can hear the map/menu music in the background.
If you are using an nVidia 8 series GFX card and 179.xx or higher drivers, the current work around is to set the AntiAliasing to either 0xAA (off) or 8xAA. This is only an issue with the latest drivers from nVidia and ATI.
Game Stops Responding (Hangs) or Quits Unexpectedly When Introductory Video Clip Is Played
1. Download and install the indeo 5 codec - Found here
2. Click start, then run and type the following " regsvr32 ir50_32.dll "
_________________
Technical Questions - Thief III: Deadly Shadows
When I try to play Thief 3 it says I have corrupt files!
Are you running Windows 95, 98, 98se, NT4, or ME? These Operating Systems are not supported for Thief III, however there is a workaround, although the game may be unstable.
Reference thread- Download PE Explorer
- Backup "T3Main.exe" and "Default.ini" for patching puposes
- Apply any patches
- Open PE Explorer
- Go to File > Open File > "T3Main.exe"
- Go to View > Resources
- Select Icon Entry and delete it
- Save and exit
- Open "Default.ini"
- Find the line "LoadFromResourceBlockFiles=False" and change it to "True"*
- Save and exit
- Enjoy game
I get the error message "Flesh Failed to Initialize" when I try to play the game.
It is almost certain your graphics card is not compatible with Thief III.
The following graphics cards are compatible with Thief III- ATI Radeon 8500
- ATI Radeon 9xxx Range
- ATI Radeon X600, X700, X800, X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900
- nVidia Geforce 3
- nVidia Geforce 4TI
- nVidia Geforce FX
- nVidia Geforce 6xxx
- nVidia Geforce 7xxx
- nVidia Geforce 8xxx
Unsupported cards include- nVidia Geforce 2
- nVidia Geforce 4MX
- nVidia Geforce 4 GO
- nVidia Geforce FX Go
I am unable to remap my keyboard controls!
Try unplugging your gamepad and reconfiguring your keys then. There seems to be some sort of incompatibility in between the two. MS Natural Keyboards also occasionally have problems.
I suffer from very long load times and am using NOD32
If you are experiencing long load times (2min+) and using NOD32 try this:- Open the nod32 control center (nod32kui.exe)
- Disable AMON and Imon.
Which drivers work with Thief III?
ATI Catalyst 4.8 and above
nVidia Foreware 56.72 and above
Thief III runs poorly, what can I do to speed it up?
Check out the Thief 3 Tweak Guide and the program TDS Tweaker by gazchap
Help! Thief III runs too quickly!
Do you have an AMD 64 CPU? If so you need to disable "Cool 'n Quiet" while playing Thief 3. This can be done like so
Go into Control Panel and set your power management options from "minimal power management" to "always on" whenever you play Thief 3.
Where does Thief III put save games?
In a folder called Thief - Deadly Shadows which is in your My Documents folder.
The Intro movie keeps repeating and I can't start a game!
It is very likely that you have a Dual Core processor, such as an AMD Athlon 64 X2 or an Intel Pentium "D" which is the cause of the problem.
The solution is to set Thief III to use only one core. This can be accomplished by entering the Processes tab of the Task Manager when the game is running, right clicking each of the Thief III-releated processes (T3Main.exe, T3.exe), selecting "Affinity" and unchecking one of the CPUs.
You can make this change permanent by following Salvage's guide he wrote for The Dark Engine (Thief 1, Gold, 2 and System Shock 2) and making the changes to T3.exe and T3Main.exe
_________________
General Questions
What's the difference between Thief: The Dark Project, Thief Gold, and Thief Platinum editions?
Thief: the Dark Project is the original game. Thief Gold features three additional missions and a number of improvements to the original ones. Thief Platinum is Thief: the Dark Project, only repackaged and patched.
Recently, a package containing both Thief: the Dark Project and Thief: the Metal Age has come out, also under the name of Thief Platinum.
Is there any way to play the three extra Gold missions if I have the original Thief? Maybe download them from somewhere?
Sorry, but no. The only way to play the Gold missions is to buy Thief Gold.
I found a website with Thief 2 Gold for preorder, is it coming out?
Thief 2 Gold was being worked on when LGS went under, and was subsequently dropped. It's not going to get picked back up. The website is incorrect.
Where can I get Thief 1/Gold/2?
Thief: TDP and Thief 2 are fairly easy to come by. Amazon has them. CompuUSA has them, and sometimes has them in their retail stores as well. Thief Gold is tougher to find. BUT! Both Thief Gold and Thief 2 are available at EBGames. Warning: EB Games download version is NOT compatable with FMs or any mods or patches. If EBGames is out of stock, try the various worldwide Ebay sites:
Thief: The Dark Project / PlatinumThief GoldThief II: The Metal Age
Thief Gold is available for purchase via Download from the Eidos website!
_________________
Useful resources
Transcripts for all briefings and cutscenes
Here.
Manuals for the games
Thief TDP manual html version
Thief TMA manual pdf
And also:
Thief TDP default keybinds image
Thief TMA default keybinds image
Thief Enemy Hit Point, Immunity and Weakness List
Here.
Fan Missions
The FAQ thread for our Fan Mission forum has all the information you will need.
_________________
Upcoming Things
CoSaS
CoSaS is a fanmission campaign, still in development. An unofficial expansions for Thief 2, if you will. The first two missions for CoSaS, "Gathering at the Inn" and "Mission X", are now available. Visit the CoSaS website.
T2X
T2X is another fanmission campaign, released May 2005!. You can check out its website for info.
Thievery
Thievery is a mod for Unreal Tournament, aimed to provide a multiplayer experience in a Thief setting. You can download it from its website.
Nightblade
From the makers of Thievery, a follow-up which uses the Unreal 3 engine but promises to be a departure from the original. Visit the website.
The Dark Mod
A total conversion to Doom 3 which promises to create a Thief-like engine and a Thief-like world for fan missions authors to create scenarios in. Visit the website.
_________________
Still need help?
There are several things you can do if this FAQ does not answer a question
you may have.- Search the forums. TTLG has been around a while, and many many solutions to problems have already been found. You might be able to find an answer to your question simply by searching.
- Ask for help in the forums. Pick the relevant forum to ask your question. In the post, include what (if anything) you have already done to solve the problem, and, in the case of a technical problem, your system specs.
- Ask for help on IRC. We may not always talk about Thief in #thief, but we will rarely refuse help to somebody who comes in needing it. You can get to #thief by using the java chat client found here, or pointing your IRC client to the StarChat network (irc.starchat.net). (NOTE FOR AOL USERS: AOL users are required to register their nick before they can talk on the StarChat network. If your nickname is not registered, go here for further information and a form for registration.)
Thanks for this FAQ go out to Alchemist, Azal, Biohazard, BobPage, David, Daxim, deadman, gazchap, Grundbegriff, Myoldnamebroke, Myrmex, sailoreagle, Salvage, Scrooge, Schattentänzer, TBIRDMAN from the Eidos forums, twisty, undetected, vurt, Zaphod, anyone we've forgotten(!), and of course Looking Glass Studios. Thanks guys and gals! 
_________________
This FAQ is always a work in progress!
Last edited by pavlovscat; 26th Jan 2010 at 04:18.
Reason: Added link to Legacy Gaming Tech Help
Posting Permissions
- You may not post new threads
- You may not post replies
- You may not post attachments
- You may not edit your posts
Forum Rules
View Profile
View Forum Posts
Visit Homepage
