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Support for Thief II - The Metal Age

Please read this Support information carefully before contacting us for further help

FAQs

Troubleshooting

Downloads

FAQs

Q: Thief II won't run under Vista.

Q: I'm experiencing problems after I've installed the game, what should I do?

Q: When I start Thief 2, I receive the following error message: "The application thief.exe referenced memory at address xxxx:xxxx that can't be read from."

Q: Thief II won't run under Vista.

A: Run the Program Compatibility Wizard in Windows Vista by doing the following:

Click the Start button
Click Control Panel
Go to Programs
Click 'Use an older program with this version of Windows'
Go through the Wizard using next and select the program from the list
Change the compatibility mode to Windows XP
Continue through to the end of the Wizard and test the program.

If this fails to work, try again and go through all the compatibility modes.

Q: I'm experiencing problems after I've installed the game, what should I do?

A: You should download the 45Mb patch from the Downloads section on this page - this will solve many problems.

If you have the DVD-ROM version of Thief 2, you do NOT need to install this patch!

Q: When I start Thief 2, I receive the following error message: "The application thief.exe referenced memory at address xxxx:xxxx that can't be read from."

A: Chances are your video card drivers are not compatible with DirectX. The only solution is to get DirectX 7 compatible drivers from your video card manufacturer.

Troubleshooting

General Video Troubleshooting

In order for you to play the game, you must have DirectX 7.x-compliant drivers for your video card. Please note that although DirectX 7.0 is installed with the game, your video card drivers will not be upgraded. You will need to obtain the latest compliant drivers from your card manufacturer.

Movie Crashes

Thief 2 uses Intel's Indeo video playback system for playing in game video. Our installer tries to detect if you have the latest version installed and prompts you to install it if you don't already have it installed on your system. If you have some, but not all of the files that this system needs on your system then our installer can be fooled into thinking that the complete system is installed and therefore will not install it. This will cause Thief 2 to exit to the desktop when it tries to play its opening movie. You can easily fix this problem by manually installing Indeo on your system. Just put CD #2 in your CD-ROM drive, browse the CD, double click on the "iv5play.exe" icon and follow the on screen directions (iv5play.exe is on the root of the DVD, if you have the DVD-ROM version).

Graphic Anomalities Or Black Screen

Some video cards do not accurately report the amount of available on board texture memory, which can cause Thief 2 to become confused about the state of the video card. If this happens you will be able to hear the game running but will only see a black screen, or you will see part of the screen display black triangles. We have found this to occur on the following 3D chipsets:
Intel 810, nVidia RIVA 128

nVidia RIVA 128

Ati Rage, Rage PRO
You can fix this problem by opening up the "user.cfg" file with Notepad, and editing the file. User.cfg is found in the Thief 2 directory on your hard drive. Open the file, and remove the ";" from the beginning of the line that says:

safe_texture_manager

This command will become active when the ";" is removed and the file is saved. You should also update your graphic card drivers with the latest drivers available.
Note: using this command will cause a slight reduction in frame rate, so don't use it unless it is necessary.

On Using The Scouting Orb

When using the Scouting Orb, the remote camera effect won't display properly on certain video cards, such as the nVidia TNT, TNT2 and GeForce cards.

If you notice black spikes around the camera view, you can switch to a different camera mode by opening up the "user.cfg" file with Notepad, and editing the file. User.cfg is found in the Thief 2 directory on your hard drive. Open the file, and remove the ";" from the beginning of the line that says:
ForceCameraOverlaySimple
This command will become active when the ";" is removed and the file is saved. You should also update your graphic card drivers with the latest drivers available.

On Gamma Controls

Proper gamma correction (screen brightness) is vital for the most enjoyable Thief 2 experience. Given that different monitors and video cards exhibit a wide range of gamma values, it is important to understand the optimal setting for gameplay. The ideal gamma settings allow you to see the basic outline of terrain and objects even in deep shadow, but only barely. Darker settings than this won't allow you to see where you're going in dark areas (of which there are plenty in Thief 2), and brighter settings tend to wash out shadows, making it hard to tell where you're safe from detection and where you're exposed. Also, dark shadows look a lot cooler.

The easiest way to set your gamma is to start the first mission. There will be a sidewalk to your left and a grassy area bordered by a hedge on your right. The sidewalk is brightly lit while the grassy area is dark. Adjust the gamma with the + and - keys on your keyboard until you can barely see the outline of the hedge on your right. It will probably be helpful to adjust your monitor brightness as well. You can also use the Gamma slider on the Video Options screen to adjust your settings.

Note: under DirectX 7, it is possible to directly adjust the gamma settings of supported 3D hardware accelerator cards. If your card supports this feature, the Thief 2 gamma controls will address it. If your 3D accelerator card does not support this feature, you should be able to adjust your gamma settings by going to Settings/Control Panel/Display from your Windows taskbar.

On Screen Resolution

Video cards will sometimes tell programs that they can run at a certain screen resolution, when they really can't. If you happen to choose a screen resolution that is not supported by your graphic card, Thief 2 will display a message stating that it was unable to go into that video mode, and it will automatically return to 640x480. For instance, if you have a 3Dfx Voodoo2 card, you will be unable to run the game at 1024x768, unless you are running 2 Voodoo2 cards in SLI mode.

Support Downloads

Patch 1.07 - 1.18 update (43.33Mb)

If you have the DVD-ROM version of Thief 2, you do NOT need to install this patch!

Programming fixes

Assorted tweaks to AI code to improve AI responses in a variety of situations.

Fixed rats squeaking after they have been killed.

Made ropes easier to climb.

Fixed a bug in doors that could send you skidding off or let you stick your head through a door.

Tweaked mines so that they interact with the world more realistically.

Fixed a turret bug that prevented a couple of turrets from working correctly.

Increased maximum sound channel usage to 24 channels and reset default to 12 channels.

Modified frog combat behavior so that they no longer just sit still for several seconds looking around before they become active.

Improved the effectiveness of using your sword to block blows from your enemies.

Set gamma levels to default when playing back movies so they look better.

Fixed a crash that happens if you hold down a key which changes screens while mouse clicking a button to leave that screen (yes, some people will try to do this).

Fixed a remote camera bug that affected Nvidia-based video cards.

Added support for audio cards that only support EAX 1.0

Design fixes and improvements

Interference
Made several aesthetic improvements to the level.
Made a few AI tweaks.

Shipping and Receiving
Tweaked AI patrol routes for better gameplay.
Add more Garrett voice overs.
Tweaked some of the puzzles on this level.
Added a few more powerups.

Framed
Added a few more powerups.
Made several aesthetic improvements to the level.
Added more voiceovers.
Swapped out some spiders for some rats.

Ambush
Tweaked the map to make it look better.
Changed some guard models for better diversity.
Added more conversations.
Adjusted some difficulty settings.
Added a few more powerups.

Eavesdropping
Made it easier to find enough loot to achieve mission objectives.
Tweaked difficulty settings.
Added more powerups to mission.
Made several aesthetic improvements to the level.
Improved sound propagation throughout level.

Bank
Made several aesthetic improvements to the level.
Improved sound propagation throughout level.
Added more Garrett voice overs.
Tweaked difficulty settings.
Improved lighting.
Fixed some map bugs (added a new map page).
Minor bug fixing.

Blackmail
Tweaked powerups and loot available in mission.
Tweaked AI patrol routes for better gameplay.
Fixed a bug that if you kill some of the guards before they have an important conversation the mission was left in an unwinnable state but you didn't fail the mission.
Added a few more loot puzzles.

Courier
Fixed some lighting bugs that made it look like you were standing in shadow when you weren't.
Improved sound propagation throughout level.
Tweaked AI patrol routes for better gameplay.
Changed some guard models for better diversity.
Added a few more powerups.

Trail of Blood
Improved sound propagation through the level.
Made some loot easier to find.
Made several aesthetic improvements to the level.
Tuned difficulty levels.
Tweaked some AI patrol paths for better game play.
Tweaked lighting to add more hiding places.
Put more powerups in the level.

Life of the Party
Made several aesthetic improvements to the level.
Snuck in some more rooftop architecture.
Tweaked some AI paths.
Tweaked the fog settings.
Tweaked sound propagation.

Precious Cargo
Tweaked lighting for better stealth experience.
Tweaked the mantling puzzle.
Fixed a bug where you could play through mission and not trigger an important objective change.
Tweaked sound propagation.

Kidnap
Added some powerups to mission.
Fixed a bug in one of the conversations that caused it to repeat each time you trigger it instead of playing just once.
Made some scrolls easier to find.
Made some lighting tweaks to make it easier to sneak by certain places.
Tweaked some AI behaviors to make them better responses to possible player interactions.
Fixed a couple of little map bugs.
Tweaked difficulty levels.

Casing and Masks
Made several aesthetic improvements to the levels.
Tweaked some AI patrol paths for better game play.
Added some more powerups to the level.
Made some lighting tweaks to make it easier to sneak by certain places.
Fixed a couple of physics bugs that caused some objects to act strangely.
Fixed a couple of map bugs.
Hid some secret doors better.
Fixed a model problem with some clocks that caused transparency problems.
Made it so that a container for an important quest item appears in different places on different difficulty levels for increased re-playability.
Fixed a bug where getting a mask did not always trigger the objective complete for it.
Made some tweaks to improve gameplay.

Soulforge
Made the text on the map easier to read when it is highlighted.
Added a map page.
Made some tweaks to improve gameplay.
Made aesthetic improvements to the level.

Contact Technical Support

If you can’t find the answer to your problem in the information above, please get in touch with our Technical Support team – they’ll do everything they can to help

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