Sneaky Upgrade: Unofficial patch for Thief 3

[snobel]

It's not the browser this time, the file has gone 404. I'll contact the folks who were hosting it, in the mean time, if a 300+ MB download doesn't scare you, get the Thief 3 Editor Pack, extract T3MainReleaseVersion.exe, rename to T3Main.exe and copy it into the System folder in your game installation. Then run the Sneaky Upgrade installer again.

Edit: I'm told it's a temporary problem with the hosting service, but it will take two weeks to fix.

[pitlady]

...rename to T3Main.exe and copy it into the System folder in your game installation. Then run the Sneaky Upgrade installer again.

i'm stuck with this temp.7z for days as it says "sneaky upgrade uses t3main.exe from 1.1 patch" everywhere. that's really confusing. i've got t3ed already but just don't know about this....

and thank you very much!

[snobel]

i'm stuck with this temp.7z for days

Sorry about that. The need for a download has been more problematic than I thought it would be, so that will change with the next version of the patch.

as it says "sneaky upgrade uses t3main.exe from 1.1 patch" everywhere.

Where does it say that? It's definitely a misunderstanding - but when the next version is out (in October, hopefully) it may actually be true...

[pitlady]

yeah i found out it's my misunderstanding.. post in eidos forum (where i heard about this upgrade) and somewhere such as http://www.wsgf.org/dr/thief-deadly-shadows said "install 1.1 patch then install this"

sorry for that.. and thanks for your patch.

and i have a strange problem while trying win 8 (release preview 64bit). the game won't load at all with no error message (t3.exe disappears in task manager in seconds) and fixes for win 7 didn't help. but a clean install with t3.exe replaced by the t3ed one can run well. do you have any idea about this?

[snobel]

I haven't tried Windows 8 yet, but a guess could be that it's due to the DRM shenanigans (disk check etc.), which are handled by T3.exe - unless you have the GOG version, which should be DRM free.

Win8 testing is on the todo list, but as long as the game will run with the editor version of T3.exe, then I'm not too worried...

[clearing]

Edit: I'm told it's a temporary problem with the hosting service, but it will take two weeks to fix.

Works fine now

[snobel]

Thanks! I've updated the first post.

[TParis]

Is a patch that doesn't need to download additional files for the GOG version still on it's way? I love your work on this project but the download stuff can be very unhandy at times.

[snobel]

Yes - not too long now, I hope to have a beta out in about a month.

[Florian]

Does anyone know how to get this No-CD patch working again for T3 if using Win7? It did work without problems on XP and with it I could stop using my original DVD - especially since my blue ray player seems to have issues reading it. Or is this covered by this patch too?

Thanx!

[snobel]

The Sneaky Upgrade doesn't include a no-cd patch, but you can download the editor pack and replace the T3.exe file in your installation with the one from that archive. Or buy the game from GOG next time it's on sale.

[Hiatus]

@snobel (and others in the know):

what is the file T3Main-lnk.exe in thief3\SneakyUpgrade dir for? It differs binary from patched T3Main.exe in thief3\System? Is this file needed or can I safely delete it?

[snobel]

It's for use with the two mission loaders, ModernLoader* and TFMM, which make a clone of your game installation using hard or soft links. It has extra patches to make it ignore the registry keys so it will run from anywhere**, and savegames are kept in a "Saves" folder in the game root folder.

It's also handy if you need several copies of the game for experiments, e.g. with and without the Minimalist Project, John P's textures etc.

If you don't need that, then it's safe to delete.

* If used with the current ML, savegames will not be backed up. It was intended for a new version which never happened.

** You still need to have installed the game, or it won't run.

[Hiatus]

It's for use with the two mission loaders, ModernLoader* and TFMM, which make a clone of your game installation using hard or soft links. It has extra patches to make it ignore the registry keys so it will run from anywhere**, and savegames are kept in a "Saves" folder in the game root folder.

It's also handy if you need several copies of the game for experiments, e.g. with and without the Minimalist Project, John P's textures etc.

If you don't need that, then it's safe to delete.

if I want to use this file (say for FMs and experiments with several game copies as you mentioned), from ~where~ should I run it (t3tmain-lnk.exe) - copy it to thief3\system (and rename it to t3main.exe, overwritng "normal" t3main.exe from there), or run it from where it currently resides (thief3\SneakyUpgrade) ?

ps where can I get ModernLoadeer and TFMM from (esp. 2nd one)?

[snobel]

copy it to thief3\system (and rename it to t3main.exe, overwritng "normal" t3main.exe from there)

Yes. If the thief3 folder is in a special folder like Program Files then you'll either have to move it or change permissions. (It must be writable because the saves folder is moved in there.)

ps where can I get ModernLoadeer and TFMM from (esp. 2nd one)?

Here and here. Unfortunately both have some issues that were not fixed before they were abandoned by their authors (but the same is true for GarrettLoader).

Soon you'll also be able to use the new FMSel loader, in combination with a new version of my patch.

[Hiatus]

No, my Thief3 folder is in normal x:\games folder, not in "Program Files"; still the same stands, then:

"I should copy it [t3main-lnl.exe] to my thief3\system folder (and rename it to t3main.exe, overwritng "normal" t3main.exe residing there)" ?

====

thanks for the links. FMSel - what is that? Never heard of it: is it still unpublished publically?

[snobel]

"I should copy it [t3main-lnl.exe] to my thief3\system folder (and rename it to t3main.exe, overwritng "normal" t3main.exe residing there)" ?

Yes.

FMSel - what is that? Never heard of it: is it still unpublished publically?

It's the loader frontend that came with the recent mystery update for the Dark Engine games.

[snobel]

Because of the saving problems that haunt the Kings and Queens FM, here's a beta version of the new Upgrade, which is still a couple of weeks away. (It has a fix that will hopefully cure those problems.)

Because the installer is not ready, a bit of manual work is involved:

• Download this. Edit: Beta link removed, because the real thing is out.
• Locate the System folder in your game installation
• Rename the T3Main.exe file to e.g. T3Main-orig.exe
• Unpack the downloaded archive into the System folder
• Right-click on the new T3Main.exe, select Properties, Compatibility and set it to run in XP SP2 compatibility mode

The new version uses a private option for the resolution setting, so the first time you run it you'll have to go to the options screen and re-select the resolution.

Also, the Sneaky Upgrade ini-file has moved to the User Options folder. For now you'll have to manually transfer any non-default settings.

To use FMSel with Thief 3:

• Open SneakyOptions.ini in the User Options folder. (Which is in the SaveGames folder)
• Change the InstallPath option in the Loader section to the folder where you'd like the FMs to be installed. Keep it out of the game installation and special folders, and use an absolute path. Save the file
• Make a copy of the T3 shortcut on your desktop. Right-click on the copy, select Properties and add " -fm" to the Target line so it ends in "T3.exe -fm" (without quotes)
• Click that icon. FMSel should appear. Click on the gear icon and select FM Archive Path, set it to where your FM zip files are stored
• See the FMSel readme from the NewDark patch for further instructions

Note: When you launch an FM the first time, there's currently no progress indication for the postprocessing done after FMSel closes. It may take several seconds for the game to start if it has .cbt files (e.g. "the Bridge") or custom conversations ("All the World's a Stage").

[clearing]

Mirror: T3SneakyUpgrade_1.1.1beta0.7z

[snobel]

Thanks - this one should be considered a temporary file, though.

[gnartsch]

Thanks for the update, snobel !
Currently I am beta-testing a mission from another author - and I am puzzled.
After playing a while with the original version of this patch (dated march 2012) I got savegames issues.
Ok, that version does not have the savegame patch and the author indicated that there might be problems.
So I tried the latest version, but it did not help.
Then I tried the temporary patch (the one without widescreen support). And it works fine !
Is there any difference between the latest beta and that temporary version as far as SAVEGAMES are concerned?
I am pretty sure that I did not mix up the 'T3 Sneakily Upgraded' version with anything else, since it clearly has a different Icon and I always made sure to name the current version as T3Main.exe.
Unfortunately I can not name the author or the mission - since it is a beta.

[snobel]

Then I tried the temporary patch (the one without widescreen support). And it works fine !
Is there any difference between the latest beta and that temporary version as far as SAVEGAMES are concerned?

Very strange. It should be exactly the same, only implemented differently. Does it behave exactly like the March release, i.e. if you do the same stuff and then on the 3rd save it crashes, then that's what happens with both versions?

There's a couple of new options in the testing section of SneakyOptions.ini, I assume you haven't changed those? (You should have PropStorageLimit=65535 and DisablePropEmergencyFree=false in the FM-specific* ini file. It's OK if they're missing, those values are the defaults.)

* Assuming you're using GL, not FMSel? Then there's no FM-specific file of course...

I am pretty sure that I did not mix up the 'T3 Sneakily Upgraded' version with anything else, since it clearly has a different Icon and I always made sure to name the current version as T3Main.exe.

There could be a potential mix-up with the alpha version I PM'ed out, which also has the new icon and file description, but not the property limit fix. (The alpha has an "alpha0" postfix in the main menu version string.)

Unfortunately I can not name the author or the mission - since it is a beta.

Could you try "Kings and Queens" with the beta and verify that it works for you? If it does, then I'd need access to this specific FM to investigate further.

[gnartsch]

Dammit.
Indeed I was running alpha0. Seems like I never found the time to actually extract beta0.
Now it is working fine. Too many patches floating around these days
Thanks!

[snobel]

Well, good thing it was something trivial.

[Tiens]

Thanks for your patch!

P.S. Waaah! This patch was tested with my fan-mission and it worked good? Great! I was always worried about such details.