Tips on getting Thief:DS to run properly on Win7x64

phaz0r · 02-28-2010, 05:06 AM

Thief - Deadly Shadows & Win7 x64

I had quite a bit of "fun" trying to get this thing to finally run correctly on Win7 x64 without hanging up and these steps worked for me on my Intel quad-core pc using a 16:10, 1920x1200 widescreen on a Nvidia GTX 285. So, I thought i'd share them with the rest of you.

1: Install and patch to 1.1 if using retail copy. (Steam is likely already 1.1)
2: Launch the game once and then exit. If it freezes open the task manager and "end process tree" on t3.exe. Make sure it along with t3main.exe are terminated.
3: [If not using a widescreen monitor, skip to #5] For widescreen users: Open c:\users\public\public documents\Thief - Deadly Shadows\User Options\Options.ini and find the line "Resolution=2" - it should be near the top. Change it to Resolution=-1
4: Download and run the FOV fix for widescreen based on your aspect ratio. (WSGF, you guys rock, thank you!)
5: Open Regedit to: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Ion Storm\Thief - Deadly Shadows". Once there, Look on the right for SaveGamePath. By default this path will likely be pointed to the wrong place. Edit SaveGamePath to read: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Thief - Deadly Shadows
6: Using a Creative X-Fi sound card and want to enable in-game EAX? Do so with Creative Alchemy; here are the settings:
Registry Path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Ion Storm\Thief - Deadly Shadows\ION_ROOT
Checkbox: Install into Sub Folder: System
Settings: Buffers 4, Duration 25 and Max Voice Count 128.
7. Disable Aero / Switch to Windows Basic UI. (May or may not be necessary; if the game minimizes to the desktop while loading or transitioning in levels, do this, same for Deus Ex Invisible War.)
8. Optional: Install the hi-res textures pack from John P.
9. Optional: Download and install T3Tweak-1.2 for some extra tweakage.
10. Optional: Want some FSAA and using Nvidia? Force it via the Nvidia control panel, bypassing the (occasionally non-functional) in-game FSAA settings.
11. Launch the game, set up your control bindings and enjoy.

These steps have the game working lock-up free for me on a Quad-core CPU PC without having to tinker with affinity settings. Nor does it need to be run in compatability mode or run as an administrator. I hope these tips will be of some help to any of you having difficulties.

dudad · 03-03-2010, 10:54 AM

Great post. However, the registry entries and file paths will be different for a product purchased through Steam. Since this is a Steam forum, could anyone who currently has the Steam version update this post with the correct paths for that version?

phaz0r · 03-03-2010, 08:18 PM

I don't think it would be any different. AFAIK, it should install exactly the same regardless that it's the Steam version. For example Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age put themselves into Bioware keys in my registry even as Steam installed games.

(Assuming x64)
Open Regedit and locate HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Ion Storm
(If not x64)
HKLM\Software\Ion Storm\

Once you've located its registry entry (if not there, search regedit for Ion Storm), check to see where the game is actually creating the \Thief - Deadly Shadows\SaveGames folders on your system. On Win7 and likely Vista, this will be in a subdirectory of Public Documents. XP will probably just be in a sub of \My Documents. Just make sure the two locations match up and you'll be good to go.

04-04-2010, 12:40 PM

in my steam version the saves (and config files) are located under the game folder (eg. ...\Steam\steamapps\common\thief deadly shadows\save) so tinkering with regedit shouldnt be needed

also, wsfg says to change the "resolution" line in options.ini to "-3"

04-07-2010, 01:15 PM

My game crashes every time I progress past the tutorial level, or when I try loading my game. I've followed all the tips in this thread, and am unable to find any info pertaining to this.

04-26-2010, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J TIEMO

My game crashes every time I progress past the tutorial level, or when I try loading my game. I've followed all the tips in this thread, and am unable to find any info pertaining to this.

Same here. Still looking for an answer.

JonasHoeiberg · 05-05-2010, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J TIEMO

My game crashes every time I progress past the tutorial level, or when I try loading my game. I've followed all the tips in this thread, and am unable to find any info pertaining to this.

Mine does this as well.

slayerking · 05-08-2010, 08:21 AM

I found if I had my controller plugged into my pc Thief-DS liked to crash, As soon as I unplugged it, The game was fine.

sett654 · 05-12-2010, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J TIEMO

My game crashes every time I progress past the tutorial level, or when I try loading my game. I've followed all the tips in this thread, and am unable to find any info pertaining to this.

Same here - In another thread on this forum someone said that turning resolution down to 800x600 allowed them to progress and load saves, even if this works I dont want to play the game on those settings. Is there a better solution?

FetusZero · 06-04-2010, 04:54 PM

The user options for the Steam version (as mentioned by someone else) is located in: c:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/thief deadly shadows/save/SaveGames/User Options/options.ini

The registry does not need to be edited either. Also, I wouldn't suggest using the widescreen/FoV patch as applying this made the game crash for me when trying to load/save/delete save games or even simply trying to quit the game.

What I did is apply the FoV for 1920x1080, but once in the game I actually used a default resolution since it prevents crashes. Sure looks a bit stretched, but it's better than crashing.

xMrAx · 06-06-2010, 08:01 AM

The tip about turning it to basic makes it so it doesn't go to the desktop, but instead it just shows a black screen.

revoc · 07-01-2010, 10:06 AM

I am tempted to buy this now that it's on sale. However I am using Win 7 x64 and it looks like there are still some issues. I will take a wait and see approach.

Joreel · 07-01-2010, 10:17 AM

I downloaded it and it plays just fine on my system so I feel for all of you that had problems with it...

Laptop w/

i7 Quad-core
Win7 x64
ATI 5730 w/ 1 gig of ram
4 gig system ram
1366x768 resolution

_Melk_ · 07-01-2010, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joreel

I downloaded it and it plays just fine on my system so I feel for all of you that had problems with it...

Laptop w/

i7 Quad-core
Win7 x64
ATI 5730 w/ 1 gig of ram
4 gig system ram
1366x768 resolution

Same here, Windows 7 64 bit, E8400 dual core, GTX275 nVidia.. works without issues.

Only thing I'm curious about is how did you get your 1366x768 res? I can't see it in my choices. Currently using 1600x1200 which isn't bad since I forget the black sides after a few minutes.

Good luck to all

Regards,

ZeroSignal · 07-01-2010, 01:28 PM

The thing that absolutely sucks about this game is that your only option to custom resolutions is the "-1" variable in the configuration file.

What this does is tell the game to run at the highest resolution that is available, which fortunately is going to be an LCD's native resolution.

Unfortunately, and I don't know if it's because the resolution is 16:9 or if 1920x1080 is just too high, but you will start getting crashes during certain menu screens (such as the exit menu, for example.)

I can confirm that at 1680x1050 I don't have a problem, though.

02-28-2010, 05:06 AM	#1
phaz0r Join Date: Sep 2007 Reputation: 76 Posts: 287	Tips on getting Thief:DS to run properly on Win7x64 Thief - Deadly Shadows & Win7 x64 I had quite a bit of "fun" trying to get this thing to finally run correctly on Win7 x64 without hanging up and these steps worked for me on my Intel quad-core pc using a 16:10, 1920x1200 widescreen on a Nvidia GTX 285. So, I thought i'd share them with the rest of you. 1: Install and patch to 1.1 if using retail copy. (Steam is likely already 1.1) 2: Launch the game once and then exit. If it freezes open the task manager and "end process tree" on t3.exe. Make sure it along with t3main.exe are terminated. 3: [If not using a widescreen monitor, skip to #5] For widescreen users: Open c:\users\public\public documents\Thief - Deadly Shadows\User Options\Options.ini and find the line "Resolution=2" - it should be near the top. Change it to Resolution=-1 4: Download and run the FOV fix for widescreen based on your aspect ratio. (WSGF, you guys rock, thank you!) 5: Open Regedit to: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Ion Storm\Thief - Deadly Shadows". Once there, Look on the right for SaveGamePath. By default this path will likely be pointed to the wrong place. Edit SaveGamePath to read: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Thief - Deadly Shadows 6: Using a Creative X-Fi sound card and want to enable in-game EAX? Do so with Creative Alchemy; here are the settings: Registry Path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Ion Storm\Thief - Deadly Shadows\ION_ROOT Checkbox: Install into Sub Folder: System Settings: Buffers 4, Duration 25 and Max Voice Count 128. 7. Disable Aero / Switch to Windows Basic UI. (May or may not be necessary; if the game minimizes to the desktop while loading or transitioning in levels, do this, same for Deus Ex Invisible War.) 8. Optional: Install the hi-res textures pack from John P. 9. Optional: Download and install T3Tweak-1.2 for some extra tweakage. 10. Optional: Want some FSAA and using Nvidia? Force it via the Nvidia control panel, bypassing the (occasionally non-functional) in-game FSAA settings. 11. Launch the game, set up your control bindings and enjoy. These steps have the game working lock-up free for me on a Quad-core CPU PC without having to tinker with affinity settings. Nor does it need to be run in compatability mode or run as an administrator. I hope these tips will be of some help to any of you having difficulties.

03-03-2010, 08:18 PM	#3
phaz0r Join Date: Sep 2007 Reputation: 76 Posts: 287	I don't think it would be any different. AFAIK, it should install exactly the same regardless that it's the Steam version. For example Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age put themselves into Bioware keys in my registry even as Steam installed games. (Assuming x64) Open Regedit and locate HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Ion Storm (If not x64) HKLM\Software\Ion Storm\ Once you've located its registry entry (if not there, search regedit for Ion Storm), check to see where the game is actually creating the \Thief - Deadly Shadows\SaveGames folders on your system. On Win7 and likely Vista, this will be in a subdirectory of Public Documents. XP will probably just be in a sub of \My Documents. Just make sure the two locations match up and you'll be good to go. Last edited by phaz0r: 03-03-2010 at 08:24 PM.

07-01-2010, 10:17 AM	#13
Joreel Join Date: May 2010 Reputation: 16 Posts: 282	I downloaded it and it plays just fine on my system so I feel for all of you that had problems with it... Laptop w/ i7 Quad-core Win7 x64 ATI 5730 w/ 1 gig of ram 4 gig system ram 1366x768 resolution Last edited by Joreel: 07-01-2010 at 10:54 AM.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

03-03-2010, 10:54 AM	#2
dudad Join Date: Mar 2010 Reputation: 0 Posts: 11	Great post. However, the registry entries and file paths will be different for a product purchased through Steam. Since this is a Steam forum, could anyone who currently has the Steam version update this post with the correct paths for that version?

04-04-2010, 12:40 PM	#4
Pozz Guest Posts: n/a	in my steam version the saves (and config files) are located under the game folder (eg. ...\Steam\steamapps\common\thief deadly shadows\save) so tinkering with regedit shouldnt be needed also, wsfg says to change the "resolution" line in options.ini to "-3"

04-07-2010, 01:15 PM	#5
J TIEMO Guest Posts: n/a	My game crashes every time I progress past the tutorial level, or when I try loading my game. I've followed all the tips in this thread, and am unable to find any info pertaining to this. Last edited by J TIEMO: 04-07-2010 at 01:18 PM.

05-08-2010, 08:21 AM	#8
slayerking Join Date: Jan 2008 Reputation: 4 Posts: 160	I found if I had my controller plugged into my pc Thief-DS liked to crash, As soon as I unplugged it, The game was fine.

06-04-2010, 04:54 PM	#10
FetusZero Join Date: Dec 2009 Reputation: 58 Posts: 494	The user options for the Steam version (as mentioned by someone else) is located in: c:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/thief deadly shadows/save/SaveGames/User Options/options.ini The registry does not need to be edited either. Also, I wouldn't suggest using the widescreen/FoV patch as applying this made the game crash for me when trying to load/save/delete save games or even simply trying to quit the game. What I did is apply the FoV for 1920x1080, but once in the game I actually used a default resolution since it prevents crashes. Sure looks a bit stretched, but it's better than crashing.

06-06-2010, 08:01 AM	#11
xMrAx Join Date: Nov 2007 Reputation: 22 Posts: 352	The tip about turning it to basic makes it so it doesn't go to the desktop, but instead it just shows a black screen.

07-01-2010, 10:06 AM	#12
revoc Join Date: Sep 2009 Reputation: 10 Posts: 238	I am tempted to buy this now that it's on sale. However I am using Win 7 x64 and it looks like there are still some issues. I will take a wait and see approach.

07-01-2010, 01:28 PM	#15
ZeroSignal Join Date: Feb 2005 Reputation: 92 Posts: 1,593	The thing that absolutely sucks about this game is that your only option to custom resolutions is the "-1" variable in the configuration file. What this does is tell the game to run at the highest resolution that is available, which fortunately is going to be an LCD's native resolution. Unfortunately, and I don't know if it's because the resolution is 16:9 or if 1920x1080 is just too high, but you will start getting crashes during certain menu screens (such as the exit menu, for example.) I can confirm that at 1680x1050 I don't have a problem, though.