Thief Deadly Shadows with Deus Ex IW solution?

Exair · Post by **Exair** » 15 Nov 2007, 19:26

Hello,

Both Thief3 and Deus Ex2 have been developed by Ion Storm, both use the same engine (Unreal2) and were released about the same time.

"NotCarolKaye" came up with a nice hor+ solution (http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/index.php/Deus_Ex:_Invisible_War) for Deus Ex2 after a long time. In his solution you edit the "Engine.d2u" file in the /system folder of the game with a hex editor and replace the 3 parts/values (AA 42) that concern the Field Of View. This worked perfectly.

Now I know that there is no hor+ solution for Thief3 available. I thought however, that it would probably be the same solution.

I opened the "Engine.t3u" file in the /system folder. And guess what I found. There are also three AA 42 parts, so I guessed that they concern FOV in Thief too. But when I changed them to CC 42, which is 16:10 in Deus Ex2, nothing happens. WS Resolutions work as usual, but the game is still -vert.

Can anybody out there make something out of this? I don't think that the AA 42 values are just a coincidence.

thanks for reading 8)

daremo · Post by **daremo** » 14 Dec 2007, 01:27

No, they aren't a coincidence, but nor do they seem to be relevant in this game. In other words, it looks as though the DX2 FOV variables still exist in TDS, but simply aren't used. In TDS, the FOV seems to be controlled by a single variable, BaseFOV. This is normally 90. However, editing the obvious B4 42 value in Engine.t3u doesn't have any effect on it...

Does that mean hor+ TDS is a lost cause? Far from it! It just complicates things a bit. If you thought the DX2 solution was bad, you ain't seen nothing yet. :)

The obvious-but-nasty hor+ solution for TDS is as follows:
[list][*](edit) Apply the existing vert- solution to get the game widescreen. Ignore the third-person camera hack bit, it won't be necessary![/*:m]
[*]Install T3Ed, the TDS editor.[/*:m]
[*]Modify the game scripts, so that at appropriate points it executes an action like "Set [BaseFOV] to [100.00] on linked objects of [PLAYER]".[/*:m]
[*]Change the value of LoadFromResourceBlockFiles in user.ini to false, so that the modified scripts are used.[/*:m][/list:u]This is obviously pretty laborious -- but in my initial tests, it seems to work!

The 4:3 first-person Thief we know and love:

The vert- widescreen first-person Thief we get with the existing solution:

The hor+ widescreen first-person Thief we've been longing to play!

Sorry that the pics are rather dark, I chose the very start of the game for my test because it's easier to match up the camera position that way. Interesting how the HUD seems to be stretched... I wonder if that can be fixed easily?

Anyway, I'm confident I've proven that a solution exists. Filling in the details (or, better still, finding a more elegant approach!) is left as an exercise for the reader. :)

Complications I've thought of already:[list][*]Not all levels have a suitable script at the start, so if the value needs resetting at the start of every level (not sure yet), it may be necessary to modify the levels themselves to add scripts.(edit) Good news -- the BaseFOV value is carried from level to level and stored in saved games. So it's sufficient to hack one script at the very start of the game, and it should carry through! It may be possible to hack saved games to change the FOV in an existing game. So the only other issue is that:[/*:m][*]Some scripts in the game already modify BaseFOV (e.g. entering/leaving the stitch in the Cradle), so those will also need finding and fixing.[/*:m][/list:u]

ToryS · Post by **ToryS** » 14 Dec 2007, 05:06

Nice :D

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 14 Dec 2007, 09:59

Now I know that there is no hor+ solution for Thief3 available.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/node/thief

daremo · Post by **daremo** » 14 Dec 2007, 18:42

[quote]Now I know that there is no hor+ solution for Thief3 available.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/node/]
But that solution is fundamentally vert-, not hor+ -- the camera hack doesn't work well in first-person. Modifying the FOV directly produces perfect results whether you prefer first-person or third-person gameplay. We just need to figure out how to make it a bit easier to do! :)

(I forgot to note that my hack is built on that solution, though - you need to do the Resolution=-2 bit to get the game into vert- widescreen at all, before you start playing around with BaseFOV.)

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 14 Dec 2007, 19:01

But that solution is fundamentally vert-, not hor+

Before solution ...

After solution ...

How is that Vert - ? ... it looks very much Horz + to me ... it may be a little Vert + too ....

-- the camera hack doesn't work well in first-person.

Agreed.

Modifying the FOV directly produces perfect results whether you prefer first-person or third-person gameplay. We just need to figure out how to make it a bit easier to do! :)

Agreed ... a better way to do it would be great.

daremo · Post by **daremo** » 14 Dec 2007, 19:37

How is that Vert - ? ... it looks very much Horz + to me ... it may be a little Vert + too ....

Yeah, sorry, I guess I was nitpicking a bit there... please don't think I was criticising it, because I do think it's a really neat solution for third-person players... I just think of it as "fundamentally" vert- because I always play in first-person. :) But you're quite right, I guess I should have described it as a hybrid hor+/vert- really.

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 14 Dec 2007, 20:15

No problem ... I just didn't want people to get misinformation.

8)

Tanuki · Post by **Tanuki** » 14 Dec 2007, 23:18

Before solution ...

After solution ...

How is that Vert - ? ... it looks very much Horz + to me ... it may be a little Vert + too ....

Poor man's hor + friend. 8)

See the change in perspective behind the legs?

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 14 Dec 2007, 23:37

Now that is nitpicking .... :P
I did say ...

... it looks very much Horz + to me ... it may be a little Vert + too ....

Tanuki · Post by **Tanuki** » 15 Dec 2007, 00:30

Now that is nitpicking ....
I did say ...

Personal experience. I went down this road before and was thumped on the head. 8)

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 15 Dec 2007, 01:04

Still nitpicking in the context of this thread ... :wink:

daremo · Post by **daremo** » 15 Dec 2007, 03:21

It looks as though my approach will require, at minimum, six scripts changing: one at the very start of the game, to set up a widescreen FOV, plus five in the Cradle that modify the FOV value in-game.

The game files use what looks like a pretty simple format, so I think I'll try and write a hack program that will just modify the game to use the FOV you want. This should make things simple enough to make this into a viable generic hor+ solution, with the one remaining disadvantage being that you'll have to start a new game to change the FOV (hacking save games looks more difficult...)

daremo · Post by **daremo** » 16 Dec 2007, 01:28

So, I've written the program. The hack now only requires a few clicks of the mouse.

The solution still isn't perfect. In addition to the must-restart-to-change-FOV problem, there are two other niggles:[list][*]It seems BaseFOV doesn't affect the bow zoom. So, zoomed bows are still vert-, I think.[/*:m]
[*]This almost certainly only affects the original game, meaning fan missions will still play in vert-.[/*:m][/list:u]But it's still a step forward for those of us who just want to do first-person thieving, and means the game can now be considered fully hor+ except for fan missions.

Step-by-step instructions for Thief 3 hor+:[list=1][*]Set Resolution to -1 in options.ini, as in the vert- solution.[/*:m][*]Run T3FovPatch.exe. Select the aspect ratio you want, and click "Change FOV".[/*:m][*]Start a new game and enjoy.[/*:m][/list:o]

Edit: remove old version download link. See this page for the fixed version download.

Exair · Post by **Exair** » 20 Dec 2007, 13:48

Thank you for all the time you put into this solution. I didn't expect anyone to come up with a solution after such a long time. :)
I think it should be added to the "official" solutions.

The solution with the camera didn't satisfy me because I mostly play first person. T3 is still one of my favourites. :wink:

daremo · Post by **daremo** » 20 Dec 2007, 20:45

No need to thank me, I mainly did it for myself :) ...plus it was a fun challenge.

I guess probably the solution needs to be confirmed to work by an established member before it can go in the main guide? It looks like only insiders can edit the wiki, at least.

Anyway, enjoy your thieving!

P-Storm · Post by **P-Storm** » 20 Dec 2007, 22:31

If you can make some pictures of the hack (the working ingame and the normal) I think that it would be ok :wink:

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 20 Dec 2007, 22:34

If you can make some pictures of the hack (the working ingame and the normal) I think that it would be ok :wink:

In second post ....

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 22 Dec 2007, 05:59

Thank you very much for the widescreen solution, Daremo!

Do you mind if your tool is uploaded to Thief fan sites, such as thief-thecircle.com?

Have you tried it with the lockpick interface?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT:- Yup, it works whilst lockpicking, but not when eye zooming.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 23 Dec 2007, 08:05

Hi Daremo, no offence but your calculated FOV variables are a bit off. There is a definite Horiz increase, but there's still some vert loss.

Could please put out another version with some new calculated variables? Thanks in advance.

Screenshot Comparison - First = 1280*1024 (Tool set to 4:3) Second = 1680*1050 Vert- (Tool set to 4:3) Third = 1680*1050 Horiz+ (Tool set to 16:10) Fourth = 1680*1050 Horiz+ (Tool set to 16:9)

All shots have been gamma boosted to 1.8.

First Person:-

Third Person:-

Lockpicking:-

Bow armed:-

Note: The horiz+ solution doesn't work for neither bow zoom nor eye zoom.

Bow armed & zoomed:-

Eye zoom:-

Widescreen Gaming Forum