Thief 2/Game Mechanics and Glitches - Revision history

Jakeplissken: /* Eavesdropping */

2019-07-19T00:37:02Z

‎Eavesdropping

Jakeplissken: /* General Tricks */

2019-07-18T23:18:05Z

‎General Tricks

Jakeplissken: /* Potions */

2018-07-17T09:46:50Z

‎Potions

Jakeplissken: /* Potions */

2018-07-17T09:44:19Z

‎Potions

Jakeplissken: /* Potions */

2018-07-17T09:19:39Z

‎Potions

Jakeplissken: /* Boosts */

2018-07-17T09:13:31Z

‎Boosts

Jakeplissken: /* Guards and Other NPCs */

2018-07-04T08:25:58Z

‎Guards and Other NPCs

Jakeplissken: /* General Tricks */

2018-07-04T08:24:00Z

‎General Tricks

Jakeplissken: /* Running Interference */

2018-07-04T07:32:42Z

‎Running Interference

LotBlind: Added notes about tricks suspected to work only in old versions/v. 1.07 of the game

2017-02-02T18:38:18Z

Added notes about tricks suspected to work only in old versions/v. 1.07 of the game

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 *The seed for the key location is based on system time upon initiating the mission and thus cannot easily be manipulated outside of segmented runs.
 *The possible key locations vary from difficulty to difficulty.
 *You have to overhear the conversation even if you already have the required loot and made a wax impression of the key.
 *You cannot run away from the door or you'll get a mission fail.

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 ** restarts conversation chunks (i.e. parts of conversations)
 ** causes you to instantly warp upwards on any rope you were hanging off
 * Money Doubling: Save the game immediately before completing a mission. Complete the mission as usual, and save the game in a different save position. Reload save that was made before the mission was completed. Complete the mission again. The statistics screen will combine the money from both missions. Repeat this to earn as much as needed. (May use this in segmented runs!)

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 ** You can also have both slow-fall and speed active at the same time on Soulforge but even if that was desirable to do, the setup would take too much time for usage in speedruns. Still you can activate either effect in any of the five TrigFlicker areas.
-Another method of activating the ISP bug involves finding a door which closes on its own after a certain period of time. It is suspected that such doors use a similar timer to the TrigFlicker object. Find such a door, and open it all the way. Close the door manually, then quickly save/load, and drink a speed potion before preventing the door from closing fully with your body or some other object. Then open the door again, and you should have ISP. This effect is currently poorly understood and is awaiting further testing, although it has been confirmed to work on Precious Cargo and Casing the Joint on the New Dark engine.
+Another method of activating the ISP bug involves finding a door which closes on its own after a certain period of time, such as Cavador's double doors in Kidnap and the elevator doors in Life of the Party. It is suspected that such doors use a similar timer to the TrigFlicker object. Find such a door, and open it all the way. Close the door manually, then quickly save/load, and drink a speed potion before preventing the door from closing fully with your body or some other object. Then open the door again, and you should have ISP. This effect is currently poorly understood, inconsistent, and awaiting further testing, although it has been confirmed to work on Precious Cargo and Casing the Joint on the New Dark engine.
 === Mines and Other Explosives ===

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 ** You can also have both slow-fall and speed active at the same time on Soulforge but even if that was desirable to do, the setup would take too much time for usage in speedruns. Still you can activate either effect in any of the five TrigFlicker areas.
-Another method of activating the ISP bug involves finding a door which closes on its own after a certain period of time. It is suspected that such doors use a similar timer to the TrigFlicker object. Find such a door, and open it all the way. Close the door manually, then quickly save/load before activating a speed potion, allowing the door to close on its own. Then open the door again, and you should have ISP. This effect is currently poorly understood and is awaiting further testing, although it has been confirmed to work on Precious Cargo and Casing the Joint on the New Dark engine.
+Another method of activating the ISP bug involves finding a door which closes on its own after a certain period of time. It is suspected that such doors use a similar timer to the TrigFlicker object. Find such a door, and open it all the way. Close the door manually, then quickly save/load, and drink a speed potion before preventing the door from closing fully with your body or some other object. Then open the door again, and you should have ISP. This effect is currently poorly understood and is awaiting further testing, although it has been confirmed to work on Precious Cargo and Casing the Joint on the New Dark engine.
 === Mines and Other Explosives ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:19, 17 July 2018
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	** You can also have both slow-fall and speed active at the same time on Soulforge but even if that was desirable to do, the setup would take too much time for usage in speedruns. Still you can activate either effect in any of the five TrigFlicker areas.		** You can also have both slow-fall and speed active at the same time on Soulforge but even if that was desirable to do, the setup would take too much time for usage in speedruns. Still you can activate either effect in any of the five TrigFlicker areas.

		+	Another method of activating the ISP bug involves finding a door which closes on its own after a certain period of time. It is suspected that such doors use a similar timer to the TrigFlicker object. Find such a door, and open it all the way. Close the door manually, then quickly save/load before activating a speed potion, allowing the door to close on its own. Then open the door again, and you should have ISP. This effect is currently poorly understood and is awaiting further testing, although it has been confirmed to work on Precious Cargo and Casing the Joint on the New Dark engine.

	=== Mines and Other Explosives ===		=== Mines and Other Explosives ===

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 Currently no other known uses but they haven't been sought after very carefully at all.
-* Lean zip (v. 1.07?): Lean left or right while facing something you can mantle. If you're also near a corner of that object or wall, when you press jump you might be zipped instantaneously in the direction you were leaning. If you were next to a wall, this can place your view inside the wall for a frame or two. It might be possible to zip right through something using this technique (aside from a regular crouch-mantle door transgression) but this requires finding suitable locations, none of which are known as of yet.
+* Lean zip (v. 1.07+New Dark): Lean left or right while facing something you can mantle. If you're also near a corner of that object or wall, when you press jump you might be zipped instantaneously in the direction you were leaning. If you were next to a wall, this can place your view inside the wall for a frame or two. It might be possible to zip right through something using this technique (aside from a regular crouch-mantle door transgression) but this requires finding suitable locations, none of which are known as of yet. Known to work in 1.07 as well as all versions of the New Dark engine.
 == Items and Objects ==

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 * To kill an alerted guard fast: throw 2 frogbeast eggs in his face or do an overhead swing and two sideswings in quick succession.
 * Turn on auto body search to quickly grab the key off a corpse, no chance of accidentally picking up the corpse unless the key/item was out of reach. Might wanna turn this off on Kidnap.
-* Even while you're carrying someone, guards can't keep up with you. Take advantage of this in Kidnap.
+* Even while you're carrying someone, guards can't keep up with you as long as you are straferunning. Take advantage of this in Kidnap.
 * If you want to pincushion guards with arrows while they're chasing you, you can right about evade their swords by strafing left/right and backwards while tapping the attack bind for as short a time as you can.
 * Guards don't seem to start their cycles until you pass through a trigger. Their AI is also partially frozen ("dozing") when you're far away from them, causing them to ignore things that would normally cause them to go on alert.
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 * NPCs waiting for entering a conversation (such as the nobleman and the Hammerite in mission 2) have lowered awareness and can't hear you at all, only see you.
 * You can contravene any no-kill goals by throwing hammers and maces at NPCs. A hammer will kill e.g. an unalerted civilian in 2 throws. Carrying one around doesn't slow you down and can increase your overall damage output if so desired.
 == The Mechanist Children ==

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 * Money Doubling: Save the game immediately before completing a mission. Complete the mission as usual, and save the game in a different save position. Reload save that was made before the mission was completed. Complete the mission again. The statistics screen will combine the money from both missions. Repeat this to earn as much as needed. (May use this in segmented runs!)
-* Multiple sources mention hitting ESC "right before hitting the ground" to prevent fall damage. Couldn't make it work in v. 1.07. Please report any successes.
+* Multiple sources, including the GameFaqs cheats page, mention hitting ESC "right before hitting the ground" to prevent fall damage. Couldn't make it work in v. 1.07 or any New Dark version. It is possible that these were merely troll posts to trick players into killing themselves repeatedly from high falls. Please report any successes.
 * To quickly get to the mission you want, try ctrl-alt-shift-end to skip through them.

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 === Running Interference ===
-*You can blow the birdcall as soon as you start the mission. Don't do it too quickly or it will take about 20 seconds for Basso to go. Instead, use it when Basso has walked into place and leans back, he will then run off immediately.
+*You can blow the birdcall as soon as you start the mission. Don't do it too quickly or it will take about 20 seconds for Basso to go. Instead, use it when Basso has walked into place and leans back, he will then run off immediately. This is not recommended if you are planning to let Jenivere escape by alerting her with noise, as Basso must be outside for the mission to complete.
 ** Alternatively, if you DO blow it immediately, his move is delayed which means you can cut him off right as he's about to enter the building having secured Jenivere in the meanwhile.
 *You can knock on Jenivere's door to alert her and cause her to run out of her room as if Basso had come to unlock it. You need to hit a spot around the top left corner.  The noise the spot makes will be much quieter than normal but it can also work with a loud sound sometimes.
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 ** Yet another way could be to get an archer to fire an arrow at you, make it hit something it will stick to, retrieve it and quickly fire it at J's door. Might save time because you don't have to run all the way to it and back.
 ** Also dropping the key at a door (such as Jenivere's) can cause the required clang.
-*It is sometimes even possible to set Basso on the job and make him complete the Jenivere rescue goal without doing anything yourself (observed on normal difficulty in 1.07 but suspect this to work with all versions). If you want to do this you're better off hiding to the west of the archway leading into the outer perimeter of the house so the guards are "dozing".
+** The fastest recorded method is to take both keys from the Butler's Quarters, and drop them both such that they collide with each other while you are in the hallway leading to Jenivere's room. The noise is sufficient to alert Jenivere.
 === Shipping ... and Receiving ===

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 If a trick applies to only some versions of the game, note which ones that is.
 == General Movement ==
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 With all the tricks that gain you extra speed, in order to make the best use of it you should be hopping to avoid losing it to ground friction any earlier than necessary. Practice jumping right after getting the boost. Drinking a slow-fall potion as soon as you're in the air might also give a net time save because you keep your higher velocity for longer when you touch the ground less even if you have to endure a short period of slow running.
-* Door boost: The game doesn't handle half-open doors very well. If you only open (or close) a door half-way and lean against it, you get a massive boost in the direction the door is pointing.
+* v. 1.07 Door boost: The game doesn't handle half-open doors very well. If you only open (or close) a door half-way and lean against it, you get a massive boost in the direction the door is pointing.
 Remember that you can use an item to prevent the door from opening/closing all the way without having to stand in its way yourself in case that's ever faster.
-* Slant Boost: This requires an object with a slanted rising facet, e.g. a half-open crate lid (crates in mission 2) or bay door (also mission 2). To activate it, you need to get underneath it, crouch, then uncrouch or jump and you get sent pretty far along the slanted surface. The bay doors even get you sliding along the ceiling for a little bit before you fall off. The effect can be increased by consuming a slow-fall potion after the jump except with the aforementioned bay doors because it gets you stuck in them unless drunk after reaching the ceiling.
+* v. 1.07 (?) Slant Boost: This requires an object with a slanted rising facet, e.g. a half-open crate lid (crates in mission 2) or bay door (also mission 2). To activate it, you need to get underneath it, crouch, then uncrouch or jump and you get sent pretty far along the slanted surface. The bay doors even get you sliding along the ceiling for a little bit before you fall off. The effect can be increased by consuming a slow-fall potion after the jump except with the aforementioned bay doors because it gets you stuck in them unless drunk after reaching the ceiling.
 By adjusting the exact angle of the open lid or other object, you can get boosts giving you varying heights and distances. Also with the bay doors you can use the bottom of the door instead of the side.
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-* Lean Boost: This can happen when leaning into a variety of objects, including ladders, turrets or bay doors and crate lids. If you got stuck on the object instead of leaning through it, you get sent in the direction in which you're leaning when you've rotated your view far enough out. Unleaning (which is something you can do at any time when in the air) will have the same effect in reverse, i.e. you'll be sent in the direction opposite to where you first leaned.
+* Lean Boost (v. 1.07?): This can happen when leaning into a variety of objects, including ladders, turrets or bay doors and crate lids. If you got stuck on the object instead of leaning through it, you get sent in the direction in which you're leaning when you've rotated your view far enough out. Unleaning (which is something you can do at any time when in the air) will have the same effect in reverse, i.e. you'll be sent in the direction opposite to where you first leaned.
 A particularly useful way to apply Lean Boosting is to jump into the object after having leaned so that when you perform the boost you're in the air meaning you get carried further.
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 Currently no other known uses but they haven't been sought after very carefully at all.
-* Lean zip: Lean left or right while facing something you can mantle. If you're also near a corner of that object or wall, when you press jump you might be zipped instantaneously in the direction you were leaning. If you were next to a wall, this can place your view inside the wall for a frame or two. It might be possible to zip right through something using this technique (aside from a regular crouch-mantle door transgression) but this requires finding suitable locations, none of which are known as of yet.
+* Lean zip (v. 1.07?): Lean left or right while facing something you can mantle. If you're also near a corner of that object or wall, when you press jump you might be zipped instantaneously in the direction you were leaning. If you were next to a wall, this can place your view inside the wall for a frame or two. It might be possible to zip right through something using this technique (aside from a regular crouch-mantle door transgression) but this requires finding suitable locations, none of which are known as of yet.
 == Items and Objects ==
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 * Money Doubling: Save the game immediately before completing a mission. Complete the mission as usual, and save the game in a different save position. Reload save that was made before the mission was completed. Complete the mission again. The statistics screen will combine the money from both missions. Repeat this to earn as much as needed. (May use this in segmented runs!)
-* Multiple sources mention hitting esc "right before hitting the ground" to prevent fall damage. Couldn't make it work in v. 1.07. Please report any successes.
+* Multiple sources mention hitting ESC "right before hitting the ground" to prevent fall damage. Couldn't make it work in v. 1.07. Please report any successes.
 * To quickly get to the mission you want, try ctrl-alt-shift-end to skip through them.
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 * Rope Save/load: saving and loading while on a rope instantly snaps you higher by a good amount. Obviously segmented only.
-* When you have a velocity, it's added to any items you drop or arrows you fire.
+* When you have a non-zero velocity, it's added to any items you drop or arrows you fire.
 * Thin Walls/Ceilings: it is sometimes possible to grab items/push buttons/pull levers through the wall. It is also possible to attack someone through a thin wall or door. Furthermore you can drop items through walls or ceilings. To frob things, it's sometimes easier if you change your vertical angle by jumping or crouching. Leaning can help you find the right angle as well.
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 Found a slightly different way to transgress (in OldDark again) that might be easier than before. Calling it "Backwards Transgression". It only works if the doorframe isn't very thick. Just stand with your back against the door near the side. Crouch, then lean towards the same side you're stood on and face slightly the other way so the wall pushes you forwards around the corner and slightly away from the door. After this move you view back to a centered position (straight away from the door behind you). Now jump, and it should send you all the way through very consistently.
-* Out-of-Body Experience: This is a very special event that can happen if you're most of the way through something like a door. The theoretical explanation is one half of Garrett's two-part player model has passed completely through (the bottom half with the legs) but the other half (top half) is still caught in a wall or object. You're able to walk around the area directly in front of you and on both sides and can easily free yourself from the wall completely just by crouch-mantling. This will cause you to essentially teleport to the place your legs are at.
+* Out-of-Body Experience: This is a very special event (OldDark only?) that can happen if you're most of the way through something like a door. The theoretical explanation is one half of Garrett's two-part player model has passed completely through (the bottom half with the legs) but the other half (top half) is still caught in a wall or object. You're able to walk around the area directly in front of you and on both sides and can easily free yourself from the wall completely just by crouch-mantling. This will cause you to essentially teleport to the place your legs are at.
 ** No real known uses. Even when you drink a slow-fall, you don't get any giant boosts even though the torso being freed causes a rapid unleaning. Very difficult to set up so probably segmented only in any case. There is also a limitation of not being able to walk around corners on the side you're stuck on. Crouching is difficult too sometimes.
 ** There's a possibility of doing this using non-transgression means. Did it by just getting stuck underneath a staircase in mission 2 so the torso could no longer move.
 ** (LotBlind) Contact me if you want a save file (v. 1.07) for messing with this.
-** After experiencing this again with a scouting orb at hand, it's now clear the game draws your player model where your legs are at, not your torso.
+** After experiencing this again with a scouting orb in hand, it's now clear the game draws your player model where your legs are at, not your torso.
 * Mantling into an Object: You can in some situations mantle into a position inside an object such as a portcullis (works in Mission 4 in the canal at the Marketplace). If you could then glitch out of it on the opposite side you might be able to skip something that way.