ldsdbomber on 22/2/2008 at 16:25
I periodically keep meaning to do this but hopefully having someone volunteer a bit of information might help. i know you can dig around and find most of these things out but it can be a bit daunting if you're well out of the game, especially regarding compatibilities and order of installs etc.
Basically, I *think* I have Thief 1, Thief 2 and T:DS - I'll try to get Thief Gold if I can. I'd like to
a) reinstall each game (on a high spec Vista laptop XPS170 Dell)
b) understand what add ons / tweaks are available, e.g. texture packs, patches, Garretloader? that thing for FMs? so that I can methodically work through these in the correct order and see what they do.
c) get a good review list of thief fms for all games, and start working through those plus probably replay the original missions on expert.
I want to do it methodically so I can document it myself, and organise the downloaded files and stuff for archiving onto disc. I even have one of Komags DVDs somewhere
anyway, what I'm saying is if some kind taffer can email me or PM me, and they wouldn't mind spending a few mins via email or whatever just running me through the ticklist of everything that would be really appreciated
ldsdbomber on 28/2/2008 at 14:07
seriously, there's no one willing to help? I will PAY you (via Paypal) a few dollars for your time for goodness sake.
New Horizon on 28/2/2008 at 14:52
Quote Posted by ldsdbomber
seriously, there's no one willing to help? I will PAY you (via Paypal) a few dollars for your time for goodness sake.
I don't intend this to be rude, but while you were waiting for someone to point out everything, you could have found that a lot of what you're asking is covered in the (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75031) FAQ.
It seems to be a common thing on every message board, everyone skips the FAQ and just starts posting. ;)
ldsdbomber on 28/2/2008 at 17:15
It's not finding things out, it's more doing what things in what order, what things are incompatible with other things, what things work with Vista, what things are worth investing time in. And then some recommendations on good missions and the like. I don't think the FAQ answers that very well
New Horizon on 28/2/2008 at 18:05
Quote Posted by ldsdbomber
It's not finding things out, it's more doing what things in what order, what things are incompatible with other things, what things work with Vista, what things are worth investing time in. And then some recommendations on good missions and the like. I don't think the FAQ answers that very well
Well, I don't think there is any set order for doing anything...aside from following the FAQ..installing the game, and playing it. It all varies from computer to computer. I've never had any issues installing Thief on my XP or Server 2003 partitions and others have had nothing but pain. The FAQ will walk you through all the most common issues.
It also contains links that will take you to the fan mission forums, where you will find information on where to download fan missions. I think the fan missions are rated by popularity on the fan mission hosting sites, so that will give you a good idea of what to play.
Really, take the time to read the FAQ before posting. It will solve 95% of all issues.
ldsdbomber on 29/2/2008 at 09:23
thanks New Horizon, it does look useful and I am going through it
but for example, where does it mention
high res textures
Garret Loader ??
Minimalist Project
Thief Tweaker
actually I see there's a link for tweaking TDS, but surely the high res thing is for the old thief games? Thing is I've heard of a lot of these things but am just unsure which games they're for, whether they can work together on the same install etc.
theBlackman on 29/2/2008 at 11:02
Quote Posted by ldsdbomber
thanks New Horizon, it does look useful and I am going through it
but for example, where does it mention
high res textures
Garret Loader ??
Minimalist Project
Thief Tweaker
actually I see there's a link for tweaking TDS, but surely the high res thing is for the old thief games? Thing is I've heard of a lot of these things but am just unsure which games they're for, whether they can work together on the same install etc.
Garret Loader ??
Minimalist Project
Thief TweakerAll can be found with a little judicious use of the SEARCH function.
Hi res tex can be used with all the games except T3. It enhances the basic raw textures of the original games.
Garrett loader can be used with all, and System Shock, as I recall.
Minamalist is for T3 only and reduces the extraneous BS in T3 to the basics.
Tweaker (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84166) can be used with T3
A little use of the SEARCH function in the various THIEF forums would have and will give you all the information you need.
Look around, and stop bitching because nobody jumps to your whistle.(
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=65)
ldsdbomber on 29/2/2008 at 12:09
er, where am I bitching?
Just because I'd rather discuss these things with another human being doesn't mean I am bitching. I understand if people don't want to regurgitate the same info over and over, but hey, that's why I asked, can someone spare some time to not just go through things like a list from some website, but as an interactive two way process. I do kind of enjoy that, I guess I'm a freak that way.
Anyway, yeah, I'll go and look these things up, but the point about someone talking to me was I don't even know what things are out there. How can I search if I don't know about it. I only mentioned those things because I remember seeing the name. I don't even know what GarretLoader is. I'm sure I will find that one, but what about things I might not know about?
Has anyone on the site thought of keeping a log/diary of updates or discussed various new items and features in a chronological way? I'm sorry but I don't see it.
Anyway, as i said, I'm not bitching. at all. so why you feel you need to embolden that sentence I really don't know. it's the internet way i guess, all too easy to just be negative or rude in a way that you tend not to find in face to face life.
Anyway, thanks for the help. I'll quit my "bitching" and just work through the things myself. Don't worry, I didn't want to make any new friends in the thief community anyway :erg: . I'd hate to think I have to give up being an outsider to the site and interacting just with FAQs and instructions. Cos thats so much fun.
ldsdbomber on 29/2/2008 at 12:36
By the way, New Horizon, I see you are involved with the Dark Mod. Interesting. I see you need help with coding and bug crushing to free up resources to tackle AI.
I worked as a games programmer, mainly in core technlogies, artist tools (primarily 3DSMax export) etc for Infogrames (Sheffield, UK, formerly Gremlin). i worked there from 1999-2002, you can find me listed eg in Moby Games under "Lee Harris".
I mean, I'd probably be happy to contribute something if I'm able to, depending on what you need, that could have been part of my "2 way process" where someone might have helped me not just go through FAQs and the like, but just discuss the different things that do not come straight out of the box. How useful are they, where do they really make a difference etc etc
New Horizon on 29/2/2008 at 15:17
Quote Posted by ldsdbomber
...where someone might have helped me not just go through FAQs and the like, but just discuss the different things that do not come straight out of the box. How useful are they, where do they really make a difference etc etc
Well, that's where it becomes a bit difficult. The quality and usefulness of things are often based on personal tastes....and there is such a large volume of materials available, it's damn near impossible to even know where to begin. We're all Thief fans, but there are a lot of different tastes. For the majority of things, it's necessary to simply go ahead and try them out for yourself. People will guide you where they can...and in my case, the most logical place to start is the FAQ as it is the foundation. Once you get started there, you'll have a much better feel for things.
You are right that the materials could be better documented and organized. I think that is probably going to be part of a rumored redesign of the main page that I once heard of.
There are still things popping up that I have never heard of and I have been here for several years. So don't feel like anyone is snubbing you. I spend most of my time on the Dark Mod forums these days, so I'm not really the best person to ask about 'what's what' in the Thief world. I wouldn't be of much use in a '2 way' exchange...beyond pointing you to the FAQ...and I've already exhausted my usefulness there.
As for Dark Mod. We might have a project you would be interested in since you worked on tools and the like. We have pretty much completely gutted and rewritten GTK Radiant and rebranded it Dark Radiant. We need to rewrite the scene graph and a load of other things. So if the challenge of helping redesign a level editor intrigues you, drop me a message.
