How to Install Mods for Thief Series: Step-by-Step Guide and Common Issues

[modismos]

Hi everyone!

I'm a new member of the TTLG community and have recently started revisiting the Thief series, which I absolutely love. I've been trying to enhance my experience by installing mods and fan missions, but I've encountered some difficulties along the way. Some mods install and run without any issues, while others cause the game to crash or don't seem to work at all.

I've tried to follow the basic installation instructions provided with the mods, but I'm not sure if I'm missing any crucial steps or if there's a specific order in which things need to be done. I've also come across terms like 'DarkLoader,' 'FMSel,' and 'NewDark,' but I'm not entirely sure how they all fit into the process.

Could someone provide a comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to properly install mods and fan missions for the Thief series? Additionally, what are some common issues that I should watch out for, and how can I troubleshoot them?

Any advice on essential tools or utilities to use would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and Regards,
Elena Idioms

[voodoo47]

tried to follow the basic installation instructions provided with the mods
Elena

that's the (rookie) mistake number one - most mod and fan mission instructions are completely out of date, and will inevitably break you game install if followed. so, let's start from square one;

- clean install of TG and T2, NOT located in program files, windows or other location with special permissions (C:\Games\ is a very nice place, more people should use it).
- patch up with TFix and T2Fix.

now, as far as mods are concerned, they need to be in a modern mod format, meaning, a mod needs to have its own folder where all the resources are located (so Enhancement Pack\*all the resource files and folders* is good, Enhancement Pack\EnhPack\*all the resource files and folders* is bad). some mods may be ready to go, some you will have to extract manually and convert yourself (see installing additional mods section in the TFix topic, that should give you an idea).

once you have the mod properly formatted, you need to move it into the Mods folder, then run the included mod manager exe, activate the mod and set its priority (usually doesn't matter all that much, unless it does. the gist of it is if two mods modify the same resource, whichever is more on top will take over).

for fan missions, the patchers can install a fan mission selector shortcut for you. run it at least once, that will create a FMs folder. whichever fan mission you want to run needs to be put into that folder (same deal as with mods, fan mission has to have its own folder with all the resources, no extra folders inbetween. modern fan missions should be in the proper format, in that case the fan mission selector can load the entire zip for you, just point it at the archive).

once installed, run the fan mission selector shortcut, doubleclick the mission you want to play, and it will launch. do NOT use the modmanager to load fan missions, or the Fan Mission Selector to load mods. they are separate for a reason.


NewDarkloader and AngelLoader provide enhanced fan mission load functionality. feel free to explore if Fan Mission Selector feels too barebones for you.