My Thief - Deadly Shadows Experience

If you are using ADOBE: Look at the upper part of the screen. Yeah, above these words, left to middle usually. There is a percentage (%) sign to see with a + and – next to it. Click and find out it's meaning? Oh and I usually included hyperlinked bookmarks (left side of page in Adobe) so you can make it easier to read my files. Open the slide-panel by click and click those headlines to jump through the text by chapters. ANTI-ABUSE VERSION HAS NO BOOKMARKS. Sorry.

My Thief – Deadly Shadows experience

Text, between the lines & ideas © Andrè M. Pietroschek, all rights reserved

Adults only, please! My mentioning of people, companies and institutions as their works is no challenge to their trademark or copyright. My text deals with a long established, fictional Thief legend for entertainment, legal money making and contemplation purposes only. Clarification & Definition:

Playing a thief named Garrett does not mean committing real world crimes. I am a pauper and will hunger some days this month (September 2006) because even I purchased a legal DVD version of the game. Luck that I found an internet café which had a Windows XP with install for users (not just admin). Four hours for 3€ each time. I came from D&D to Thief – Dark Project. The tutorial was great, the linearity was numb to me and frustrated me. Things greatly improved in part three, which is Thief – Deadly Shadows. Now you can roam through an entire city while not on missions, though you need some missions to unlock access to certain areas. The game is based on some Unreal Tournament engine as far as I know. It's stealth action which could learn some beneficial lessons from i.e. the thieves guild in ES3-Morrowind or what I learned from the gratis “Thief prelude” for Biowares Neverwinter Nights 1 at http://nwvault.ign.com While that Thief finally found he became a Keeper (see you at the happy end?), in D&D which is the shortage for Dungeons & Dragons pen and paper roleplaying game as computer games based on it, the Rogue has a more useful function: The rogue as I learned to play protects the group from traps, ambushes and similar menaces. That is what makes the rogue a core class which must not really be criminal. I played the demo in the past, yet from my first start I had the high resolution textures of John Petter M. applied. Further I rewrote the complete GAMMA settings in the Default.ini of the game. Gamma makes light shine through the pictures you see, while brightness shines upon them. Gamma often makes dark pictures or textures better to see than brightness in high doses! How to change gamma in Thief, part 3:

Open the Default.ini file. Press the control (CTRL) and F keys on your keyboard at the same time. Change all gamma entries from 1.0 to 1.25 to improve the view. Make sure the gamma_minimum is below that and gamma_maximum is above that (they are in this file and come up in the search you start due CTRL+F). Here it worked fine.

The screenshot problem:

My screenshots look good on my screen and graphics card. Making them into PDF lowers the quality to 90% of the original. Further depending on your screen and graphic card as on the ZOOM factor (in Adobe look upper part of screen, or the desktop shown on the screen, there is a percentage number with + and – next to it. Click it to 100% that usually helps to better see pictures.) In LINUX most PDF viewers have a pull-down menu, box with arrow pointing down, click to open and set size. In-game fun:

I mentioned in older files that I like to play on a hard setting to test less savioury approaches. Yet I did and finished the Rutherford castle on expert setting to make sure I know some basics about the hardliners approach as it seems to me.

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I am evil when my Garrett kills a woman, yet she poisons some friend of her husband and that makes her innocent?

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The game allows a lot to avoid nearly all violence in plenty of missions. That's the educational science kind of nice merit, I would guess.

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Call me a racist-taffer yet those undead, gargoyles, ratmen and beastmen will never be invited in my life! ☺

Many missions allowed wonderful screenshots. Oh lord in heaven what can I be afraid of virtual zombies. And the cradle gave me the creeps. Yet I made it through the game without cheats, trainers or otherwise bypassing helpers. I liked the atmosphere and surely had fun with the pagans. Allied with the hammerites, hard to believe it was. Fun, too. The game atmosphere was greatly improved, especially after I finally checked all options (the scrolling is weird, there are several options, point mouse on the scroll bar and roll the wheel to reach them it was for me though). This game often makes you wait before the screen in shadows or ambush. Move around, make some tea or coffee? Just be sure your Garret is pressed against the wall (R key by default) or you keep the CTRL key pressed. ☺

If I would be asked for advise on Thief 4:

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Allow to purchase different weapons, armours and upgrades for those. Someone in soft leather is more stealthy, someone in studded leather or leather with metal rings is louder yet better protected from violent harm. Guards in the game are violent prone as hopefully no cop is allowed to be. Let the players choose between dagger, short-sword, scimitar or ninjato blades? The choice between bow or crossbow is mostly personal taste (same scripts, just optics for HUD needed), so grant your customers some options? ☺

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Reactive role-playing stats. Instead of turning it away from stealth action, learn from roleplay. Make the generic figure (male or female would be a nice choice) and then let it develope by the individual customers playing style. Someone who picks all locks may get a 5 to 10% bonus on that style while someone who sneaks overdose should get a bonus there. A good sniper surely fires a bow better than a generic rogue, too. More skill with the blackjack and you have less need of killing. More skill with the blade and there is cruel fun blood spilling. ☺

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Accept the voluntary and unpaid help which the community offers. For this series in example www.thief-thecircle.com offers screensaver, mods and fan fiction! ☺ Summary

This part of the „Thief series“ was lots of fun, yet suffered some problems which were known from the start. Anyway, the officials deserve respect for that product. It only needed 1 minor patch, too! The screenshot remains Eidos / Ion Storm property, the new textures John Petter M.

Surprising myself – Shadows of Weißandt Gölzau

Weißandt Gölzau is a city in Germany. A pen-friend of mine lives there. It was tough, yet without sufficient money left for games (or else) I decided to borrow him my DVD version of Thief-Deadly Shadows as my only USB-Data-Storage stick. I did paste those John Petter M. High resolution textures upon it. He should have fun playing that game. Adult fun! Yesterday I juggled the webcam when I spontanously made a photo of me after downloading some job-application form. For a moment the thought was weird: What if I earn money again while „the author“ still thought he would be a pauper? It's been so long in a pariah role.

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People from other countries wondered how a pauper could afford a cellular phone or why I knew about stuff? My cellular phone contract was simply cheaper than the regular phone contract even with „pauper-pity bonus“. The phone has to do with being able to apply for simple jobs here in Germany and further those job office bureaucrats want to be able to reach us by phone. Legitimate.

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I was not always a pauper. I did some jobs in my life (phone contract sales-trainee among them) and spend some years at university. I mentioned educational science for the weird thing is that glorified mass-murder a la counter strike or as in America's army is often even gratis download, people made a great discussion about a medieval thief? Hitman was more for the vice and other companies do any glorification of crime and psychopathy with capitalism as their hollow excuse for irresponsible greed.

Playing a thief named Garrett does not mean committing real world crimes. Didn't I mention this here in this file before? I did.

The mission of lament's bane

There is this corporate hag-minion creature. I do not even know if that rumor is true, or if it is a man or woman. By a taffery twist of fate the corporation does not consider Thief 4 an option. This really makes the fans sad. We need stealth-action experts with a worst case scenario „blackjack only“ attitude. Infiltrate the corporate-castle of duke Eidos, locate and rescue the license papers, copies and files which allow production of Thief 4 by some competent programmers from the competition? 22 water arrows, 10 moss arrows, 5 rope arrows. Flashbombs and healing potions as many as you can carry. A team may have improved chances? Yes, instead of troubling the real-world Eidos let's inspire someone who has the skill and the game editor for „Thief – Deadly Shadows“ to craft us a nice („just some gigabyte“) mission for the game about it?

Options under less optimum conditions

I am not a programmer. I am not a hacker or cracker either. Simplified I cannot program games. Yet i mentioned again and again that there were some people who tried to use the toolset (scenario maker) of Neverwinter Nights as that of Elder Scrolls 3 – Morrowind to make nice modules. My thief in Morrowind discovered the rug to move aside or the wardrobe to open as to move for unveiling hidden doors, in example. This was added due „Wizards Island“ or a such named mod. Now given that technology improved there will eventually be the option of using a game engine like that of NWN 2 or ES 4 – Oblivion to create scenarios which get tweaked towards the stealth action mode? I once played a vampire in some halflife adaptation (not Vampire – The Masquerade). Other engines may really continue where Thief series was stopped. All I mean with it, don't abandon hope as don't join the „ no thief-no reason to continue existence group“ yet?

Jonathan LARPer ?

In Germany those medieval markets and LARP are still well known. What I mean is called „reenactment“ ? For all those who suffer the „no Thief 4 trauma“ it might be a small dosage of balsam to go out and hire some interest group which allows you to do stuff like firing a bow (more difficult than games make it seem, had a course on bow-shooting once) with a water arrow or crossbow with a water bolt to exstinguish (shoot out) some torches and stuff?

The unspoken words ☺

I paid 10€ for legal „Thief – Deadly Shadows“ classic edition on DVD in 2006. I can't imagine it being that expensive anywhere else in the world. Learn to buy second hand and compare prices before you fall prey to mainstream parasites? Or poor peoples solidarity: Find partners who swap and borrow legally? That way you pay one game plus postage (1,45€ in Germany where even games magazine with oldie is 4,99€ usually) to enjoy two games. Or ask Garrett for a favour? ☺

I bet Thief ended as triology because Taffer triology starts now? He is a Keeper after this part three. In D&D Use_Magic_Device inspiration would mean a tweak which allows a rogue to use the magic-wand he steals from a pagan-shaman or hammerite-chanter!!!

This is legal UNTIL YOU SPREAD THOSE FILES. Only do it for your fun, NOT TO VIOLATE COPYRIGHT AND PROPERTY of the companies, namely Eidos & Ion Storm Austin! DO NOT UPLOAD THEM TO THE WEB AND DO NOT SHARE THEM (legally that could be theft). Except when you have an official license perhaps... Legal „Fan“ pranks for poor Taffers

For this it doesn't matter much, if you have John Petter M.'s fine improvements installed. You should know how to ZIP or RAR or ACE though. Otherwise make a copy of all files I mention here and store it in another folder to avoid accidental overwrite! I once killed that fat skinhead of the city guard in the south quarter. Then I looked at another fat skinhead (me) and „was reminded of my trauma“. Many years ago I prepared to become a cop. I had a very respected advisor from the police department who told me of a doctor who could tell me if my fitness state would be fine enough. I did athletics and martial arts back then. Well the doctor discovered that minor nuisance of pain I felt to be a serious hip to spinedamage. No further info needed and this wanna-be cop became a pauper. No big problem. Ahem. It's dire financially, not psychologically for me. So I thought bathing in self-pity, an artform? I found a simple way to make Garrett redress.

C:\Program Files\Thief - Deadly Shadows\CONTENT\T3\PCTextures\DynamicallyLoaded I WOULD GUESS is the path you need to find. In that four files and it's counterparts can be overwritten (without deleting any but the BACKUP DONE garrett named files!!!). garrett_l_n.dds and garret_l_d.dds are the legs. If you want Garrett to sneak around in the pants/trousers of the city guard, make a copy (to your desktop) of ctygrd_l_n.dds and ctygrd_l_d.dds then rename ctygrd into garrett for both these files and overwrite the BACKUP MADE original garrett_l_n.dds and garret_l_d.dds are the legs in the DynamicallyLoaded folder. YOU MUST COPY BOTH L or U files to make it work without errors and be sure to check spelling! Oh right mouse click on file and choose rename to do just that. If you do this with the ctygrd_u_d.dds and ctygrd_u_n.dds (rename the copy to garrett instead ctygrd on your desktop) you would run around in upper body/torso uniform. The same truth works out nice screenshots when you do it with the four hammerguard files ending just as those I mentioned. hammerguard_l_d.dds and hammerguard_l_n.dds for pants/trousers & hammerguard_u_d.dds and hammerguard_u_n.dds for upper body Humorous ->Contacting this taffer...I meant author: [email protected] or [email protected] MAY work. I do not have my own internet access (being a pauper means being among poorest social class). My author-info at www.e-stories.org/ mentions adress and phone number.

Thief – Deadly Details After a number of dead links (broken connections to no longer existent websites), I finally got in contact with John Petter Mork. Appreciating his works, I will name a link to him as he writes it in his own files: http://www.john-p.com/textures/Thief-DS/ To see that my renamed copies pasted back into Dynamically Loaded works:

John Petter Mork taught me to apply the DXTool. I „crafted“ this torso-armor and will email that garrett_u_d.dds file to him. Maybe he makes it available to all?

Further I made the aristocrats look “funny” by renaming ctygrd_u_d.dds as ctygrd_u_n.dds into aristocrat_u... and same on the two keeperscribe_L... files (colours match this way). Don't forget to paste them back into the proper folder. The effect varies on male and female aristocrats without further efforts. ☺ I made overdose gamma here so anybody has a chance to see SOME details. Further I resample, filter and work on pictures. Did anybody ever use the puppet U and L files ? ☺ Even Kurshok or Ratbeast work, though only for those who have JPM high resolution downloads applied!