Question about AngelLoader vs. NewDarkLoader

mcmike1489 on 21/6/2019 at 00:04

So, I have both AngelLoader and NewDarkLoader installed in my system. I know AngelLoader has now Thief 2 multiplayer support, but what about NewDarkLoader? And in the mean time, I want to set up AngelLoader as my default FM Selector so it opens everytime I click on the "Thief 2 FMs" shortcut executable, it opens without having FMSel, AngelLoader or NewDarkLoader open instead. But by opening cam_mod.ini I add and uncomment the "AngelLoader_stub.dll" and then click on "Thief 2 FMs" executable again, it just starts the game instead. I wonder if AngelLoader doesn't have that function yet unlike having FMSel or NewDarkLoader as your default?

FenPhoenix on 21/6/2019 at 02:21

AngelLoader works differently from FMSel and NewDarkLoader - it's standalone, meaning you don't start Thief's executable and then get it as the loader, but rather you start AngelLoader's executable by itself and then you can play missions for any Thief game right from there. So in other words it works like DarkLoader. The line you see in cam_mod.ini "fm_selector AngelLoader_Stub.dll" is only placed there as a workaround for a technical limitation with sending certain pieces of data to the game from AngelLoader. AngelLoader_Stub.dll is not the main app, it's only a very tiny program that more or less just passes data through to the game, and then only in certain circumstances.

If you want to use NewDarkLoader, though, then I would imagine that just setting it as the loader in cam_mod.ini and then running Thief2MP.exe would probably work? Haven't tried it myself.

mcmike1489 on 21/6/2019 at 02:39

Oh ok, thanks for letting me know. I already have NewDarkLoader as the default for playing fan missions, but for the Thief 2 multiplayer, not sure either. Need to see if it's compatible or not. Otherwise an update may be required for NewDarkLoader to have multiplayer support and compatibility. It hasn't received an update for awhile now.

Another thing to mention that since I don't use NewDarkLoader that often is the ability to open up DromEd for mission editing within NewDarkLoader like you can do in DarkLoader before. I don't see a button to do that.

(Now I replaced DarkLoader with NewDarkLoader finally, lol!!!)

FenPhoenix on 21/6/2019 at 02:52

I just tested (https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146917&page=14&p=2414482&viewfull=1#post2414482) NewDarkLoader 1.6.1 with multiplayer and it worked. It's as I thought, you just set it as the loader and start Thief2MP.exe. It doesn't need any updates to be "compatible" because it runs piggybacked on to the Thief executable, and Thief2MP.exe works just the same in that regard as Thief2.exe does. AngelLoader technically didn't need the update to be compatible - you could just go into its settings and change your Thief 2 game executable to point to Thief2MP.exe. But that would be a pain to switch back and forth all the time when you want to play single-player, so the update really just added a convenience feature where you can choose between single-player and multi-player without messing with your settings, is all.

Edit: Although, NewDarkLoader probably won't be able to back up your multiplayer savegames if you uninstall a mission - for that it would need an update. Other than that, though, it seems to work fine.

mcmike1489 on 21/6/2019 at 02:56

And switching between singleplayer and multiplayer can be done in the cam_mod.ini file or USER.CFG? As for opening up DromEd in NewDarkLoader, it's probably when I right click on a fan mission instead, but doesn't really show the option to do that.

FenPhoenix on 21/6/2019 at 03:01

For NewDarkLoader, switching is just a matter of starting Thief2.exe (single player) or Thief2MP.exe (multiplayer). Simple as that.

To start DromEd with NDL, I guess you would just need to start DromEd.exe. You can't start it from inside NDL because it has to be piggybacked onto it, so basically you just start whatever executable you want, and NDL will pop up and work with it.

mcmike1489 on 21/6/2019 at 03:06

Cool, this should be helpful. I will test it out and see if it works for me. Ok, I see. DromEd can only be opened by clicking on the DromEd.exe shortcut or in this case "DromEd [Thief 2]" shortcut outside of NewDarkLoader. It's fine if I have to open it up independently, it does work and no problems are seen after launch.

FenPhoenix on 21/6/2019 at 03:18

Fantastic. Glad to help.

mcmike1489 on 21/6/2019 at 03:22

I'm now extracting the t2_v127.zip package because I like to ask questions first before I proceed to update my game, just letting you know since this does involve overwriting some of the core files in the Thief 2 directory.

(Sorry for changing the subject like that, haha!)

FenPhoenix on 21/6/2019 at 03:25

No prob. Enjoy! :)