Games PC THIEF II-THE METAL AGE User Manual

EPILEPSY WARNING

Please read before using this video game system or allowing your
children to use it.

Some people are susceptible to epileptic seizures or loss of consciousness when exposed to
certain flashing lights or light patterns in everyday life. Such people may have a seizure while
watching certain television images or playing certain video games. This may happen even if
the person has no medical history of epilepsy or has never had any epileptic seizures. If you
or anyone in your family has ever had symptoms related to epilepsy (seizures or loss of
consciousness) when exposed to flashing lights, consult your doctor prior to playing. We
advise that parents should monitor the use of video games by their children. If you or your
child experience any of the following symptoms: dizziness, blurred vision, eye or muscle
twitches, loss of consciousness, disorientation, any involuntary movement or convulsion,
while playing a video game, IMMEDIATELY discontinue use and consult your doctor.

PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE DURING USE

• Do not stand too close to the screen. Sit a good distance away from the television
screen, as far away as the length of the cable allows.

• Preferably play the game on a small television screen.

• Avoid playing if you are tired or have not had much sleep.

• Make sure that the room in which you are playing is well lit.

• Rest for at least 10 to 15 minutes per hour while playing a video game.

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CONTENTS

INSTALLING THIEF 2: THE METAL AGE
UNINSTALLING THIEF 2: THE METAL AGE
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR THIEF 2: THE
METAL AGE

INTRODUCTION

GAME SCREENS

Main Menu 8
New Game Screen 8
Options Screen 9
Game Menu 11
Difficulty level and mission objectives 11
Loadout 12

MOVEMENT

Walking and Running 13
Climbing 13
Swimming 13

INTERACTING WITH THE WORLD

Using objects in general 14
Using objects in the world 14
Using objects in your general inventory 15
Using inventory objects
with objects in the world 15
Picking pockets 15

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5

5

7

8

13

14

STEALTH

Don’t be seen 16
Don’t be heard 17
Don’t leave Evidence 17
Take Advantage of the Less Skilled 17

COMBAT

The Sword 18
The Bow 18
The Blackjack 19
Your Health 20
Player Tools 20

ARROWS
BOMBS AND MINES
POTIONS
THE COMPASS
THE MAP
THE MECHANICAL EYE
THE SCOUTING ORB
THE FINE ART OF LOCKPICKING
HINTS & TACTICS
DEFAULT CONTROLS
THIEF 2: THE METAL AGE CREDITS 30

16

18

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INSTALLING THIEF 2: THE METAL AGE

Installing Thief 2: The Metal Age couldn't be easier. Simply insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive. After a few seconds,the
Launch Panel will appear.

:

NOTE
In the event the Launch Panel does not appear when you insert the CD:

Double-click on the My Computer icon, then double-click on the CD-ROM icon, and lastly double-click on the
SETUP. NOW.EXE file, OR:

1. Click on the START button.

2. Choose Run from the ensuing pop-up menu.

3. Type d:\setup.now.exe in the box provided (where d: designates your CD-ROM drive letter).

4. Click on the OK button to begin the install program.

Click on the Install button to begin installation. The program will guide you through the remaining process via on-screen
prompts.

You will be prompted to select the install size and directory to which you wish to install the game on your hard drive; the
default directory is C:\Games\Thief2.

The installer will check to see if your machine requires any additional files such as DirectX 7.0. If the installer detects that those
files are needed, follow the additional prompts that appear on screen.

If you are experiencing difficulties installing Thief 2: The Metal Age, please consult the Troubleshooting section of the
readme.

Note: Once the game is installed, CD2 will need to be in your CD-ROM drive while playing Thief 2.

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UNINSTALLING THIEF 2: THE METAL AGE

If you need to uninstall Thief 2: The Metal Age, you may do any of the following two things:

1. Click on the START button from the Windows taskbar, go to Programs/Thief 2 and select "Uninstall Thief 2" and follow
the onscreen instructions.

2. Go to the CONTROL PANEL and choose ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS. Click on Thief 2: The Metal Age, select the
Add/Remove button, and follow the onscreen instructions.

If you are experiencing difficulties uninstalling Thief 2: The Metal Age, please consult the Troubleshooting section of the readme.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR THIEF 2: THE METAL AGE

Minimum Requirements:

• A 100% Windows 95/98 compatible computer system
(including compatible drivers for CD-ROM drive,
video card, sound card and input devices)

• Pentium 233

• 48MB RAM

• Quad Speed CD-ROM drive
3D Hardware Accelerator with a minimum of 4MB memory

•

• 100% Direct X 7.0 compatible sound card

• 100% Microsoft-compatible mouse and driver

• Hard Disk Space 250MB Uncompressed Hard Drive Space

Note: 3D accelerated video card required. It may be necessary to update your hardware drivers before playing.

Recommended Requirements:

• A 100% Windows 95/98 compatible computer
system (including compatible drivers for CD-ROM
drive, video card, sound card and input devices)

• Pentium II 400

• 64 MB RAM

• 8x CD-ROM drive

• 3D Hardware Accelerator with 16MB VRAM memory

• Soundblaster EAX 2.0 or Aureal A3D 2.0
compliant audio card

• 100% Microsoft-compatible mouse and driver

• Hard Disk Space 600MB Uncompressed Hard
Drive Space

THIEF 2: THE METAL AGE

"It is not a question of what the Law is, but rather what it is not. The Law is
neither noble, nor an end in itself. It is not for the weak-minded or the squeamish.
The Law is simply a means for those who control it, namely me, to acquire that
which I want. One with your wealth and connections, who is prepared to sacrifice
to have a troubling problem resolved, need only describe to me in detail the favour
you are requesting."

- Gorman Truart, correspondence

"The Master Builder came unto us. He built for us a new house, and the house was
like His house. And He gifted us with knowledge, and we learned to use Boiler and
Gear. That unto us would come His Paradise, and there would be no pain."

- from Mechanist Rote Texts for Novices

"Twice moons face darks us showed
Twice thems jackals singsie
Thrice Him harvest failsy blights
Thrice we weeps and chillsing..."

- Unattributed, Ink on Parchment

"Our focus shifted to those who presented two faces: one manifest yet false, the other
hidden yet true. To interfere directly would bring ruin, still, the glyph warnings were
absolute."

- Keepers Annals

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INTRODUCTION

In Thief 2: The Metal Age you play the character of Garrett, a hardened thief of the highest calibre. Shadows and silence are your allies.
Light is your enemy. Stealth and cunning are your tools.

And the riches of others are yours for the taking.

You ply your trade in the City, preying on the rich nobility and corrupt merchants, who are no more deserving of their worldly
goods than a hard-working thief.

Every job comes with some danger. Being a thief means always being one misstep away from finding an angry guard bearing down
on you with a drawn blade. For these unfortunate moments, you carry a sword yourself. A blackjack and a short-bow are also
part of your arsenal. Fighting is usually your last choice, but sometimes it’s the only choice.

More often, however, the road to riches is dark and silent. You will
have tools designed to deceive your enemies, tools which can better
keep you out of danger, and tools to help you get into hard-to­reach places. You are a thief, not a warrior. So keep your wits
about you, and you won’t lose your head.

You may have heard the term "First Person Shooter" to describe other

action games with a first-person point of view. Thief 2

is not one of those games. Instead, think of Thief 2 as

a "First Person Sneaker". Sure, you can use your

sword and bow to kill your enemies, but the general

rule of engagement is: "The enemy should never

know you were there". Make sure to read the

section in this manual titled "Stealth", if you want

to survive the harsh world of Thief 2.

GAME SCREENS

Main Menu

NEW GAME Start a new game of Thief, by bringing up the New Game screen.
LOAD GAME Load a previously saved game.
OPTIONS Adjust video, audio, control and game settings.
PLAY INTRO Replay the game’s intro sequence.
CREDITS Show the names of all the people who worked to bring you Thief 2.
QUIT Quit back to the desktop.

New Game Screen

START GAME Play the first mission.
OPTIONS Adjust video, audio, control and game settings.
CANCEL Cancel back to the Main Menu.
DIFFICULTY The difficulty level may be changed at this screen. The default is "Normal", but if you want more

If this is your first introduction to the Thief series, we strongly recommend that you play the first 3 missions on "Normal"
difficulty level. When played on Normal difficulty, these missions will introduce you to some key concepts of stealthy gameplay,
and will help you understand how to succeed by giving you extra hints. If you’ve played Thief before or think you have what it
takes, you can play these missions on "Hard" or "Expert" for additional objectives and challenging gameplay.

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of a challenge, you can select "Hard", and if you’re feeling exceptionally stealthy, choose "Expert".

Options Screen

CONTROLS

Reconfigure your input controls, including the keyboard, mouse and joystick.
JOYSTICK Enables Joystick and Gamepad support.

INVERT MOUSE Reverses the Up/Down movement on the mouse.
LOOKSPRING With Lookspring ON, the mouse will change the direction you are facing only when the

ALWAYS FREELOOK Changes the direction you are facing when moving the mouse in all directions (ON by default).
MOUSE SENSITIVITY Move the slider Right/Left to Raise/Lower the mouse sensitivity. Your view moves faster with the

CUSTOMIZE CONTROLS Click this option to rebind your control keys and buttons.

To rebind a control function, click on the function, then press the key or button you wish to use for that function, or press ESC
to cancel. Each key or button can only be assigned one control function at a time. Click SAVE to save your keybinds; click LOAD
to load a saved set of keybinds (we offer several different configurations).

Note: Your keybinds will be loaded when you load a saved game, so you will only need to load your keybinds separately if you
start a new game.

VIDEO

Change various video options to increase performance or graphical quality. Lowering the resolution and turning off special effects will
increase performance, but the game won't look as nice.

HARDWARE DRIVER Switch between Primary and Secondary 3D cards.
RESOLUTION Change the graphic resolution. Lowering the resolution will increase frame rate but lower graphical

FOGGING Turn fog effects ON/OFF.
SKY DETAIL Change the detail level of the sky, HIGH/LOW.
WEATHER Turn weather effects ON/OFF.
GAMMA ADJUST Raise or lower the gamma (brightness).

Freelook key is held down, and will automatically centre your view when the Freelook key is released.

sensitivity raised.

quality.

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). 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 much cooler!

AUDIO

Change various audio options and volume levels.

SPEAKER TEST Test your current sound settings.
REVERSED STEREO Switch the output from your left and right speakers.
HARDWARE ACCELERATION Enable hardware acceleration on your sound card to improve sound quality

AUDIO CHANNELS Number of audio channels in use, lower to increase performance.
EAX Activate environmental sound effects; only available on supported cards.
VOLUME Change the main volume level.
AMBIENT VOLUME Change the volume level of the ambient background sounds.

Sound plays an important role in Thief. When you’re sneaking around some guy’s house at night, you want to be able to hear
which direction the armed guard is coming from, how close he is, and what sort of surface he’s walking on. If your sound card
supports hardware acceleration using DirectSound3D and/or EAX, we strongly recommend that you use it while playing Thief 2.
Turning on these options will also enable 3D positional audio and environmental effects on cards that support it, which
significantly enhances the Thief 2 experience.

GAME

Adjust various gameplay settings.

Attach Ladder: Touch means you will automatically "stick" to a ladder (and go into ladder-climbing mode) whenever you come
into contact with a ladder. Jump means you will only go into climbing mode when you jump onto a ladder. (See the Movement
section below for more on jumping and ladders.)

Bow Zoom: Bow-zooming will only occur when this setting is active. (See the Combat section below for more on using the bow.)

Auto-Search: When this setting is active, using a corpse or unconscious body will first remove items on that body,

such as keys, pouches, etc. Only when there is nothing left on the body will you be able to pick up the body itself.

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If a body has multiple items, you will have to use the body once for each object.

and performance.