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C H E A T I N G     W I T H     D R O M E D . E X E
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Contents
- 1.0  Foreword
   .1  Notation
- 2.0  Preliminary Procedures
   .1  Setting up Dromed.exe
   .2  Safeguarding and Copying Existing Files
   .3  House keeping
- 3.0  Fundamentals of Dromed.exe Operations
   .1  The On-screen View(s) and Mouse-Ops
   .2  Commands in 2D
   .3  Commands/Moving in 3D
   .4  Other commands (from the main Dromed window)
- 4.0  Precautions
- 5.0  Adding Objects (i.e., time for some serious ass-forkin')
   .1  Navigating The Object Hierarchy
   .2  Placing the Object
   .3  Sizing, facing, and positioning
   .4  When you need more than one...increasing stack count
   .5  Putting Items in Chests (Linking)
- 6.0  Last Words: How to Cheat Responsibly

=====================================================
<1.0>  Foreword:
=====================================================

I cheat. A lot. Whenever I can get away with it, I'll go to any lengths to 
win/finsih first/kill you. If you're like me, then Thief and its even harder 
sequel Thief ii, is not the game for you. However, there are so many things 
to steal it just appeals to my kleptomania -- not to mention killing people 
in the dark -- this game is a stalker's dream and a victim's nightmare.

I'm not weird, just eccentric.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This guide only serves to brief gamers on how to adjust/add 
objects in Dromed, not how to build levels. I ain't got that time and I sure 
as hell can't get any decent voice actin' from where I come from to warrant 
a fancy schmancy original Thief/Thief ii level. The damn thing's also too 
complicated and will probably blow up in my face if I screw it beyond normal 
parameters. Also, much of the game details are netted from the Normal 
Difficulty. Since finishing Thief/Thief ii on any level of difficulty nets 
the same result, it is "unprofitable" (and lame) to do any part of these 
games on a difficulty greater than Normal -- any novice thief should know 
that.


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<1.1>  Notation:
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I have been game raping both Thief Gold and Thief ii maps liberally, so I 
will use the notation "ii-" before any Thief ii maps as to avoid undue 
confusion between the games. Just remember that you DON'T rename your Thief 
ii files (they should look exactly like Thief/Thief Gold files). You, of 
course, can try that and e-mail me what happens to your computer if you do.

=====================================================
<2.0>  Preliminaries:
=====================================================

For those of you lucky enough to have bought Thief and/or Thief 2 with the 
level editor (retail ~$20 or less; 15 pesos in Mexico, and $75,000 in 
Canada), you are indeed holding a tool far more powerful than a mere Gas 
Arrow. With this program, you can increase and adjust your starting gear to 
obscene quantities -- making even the expert level on par with . . . normal. 
But before you get all excited and possibly do something that will kill your 
game, let's set up our files and folders first.

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<2.1>  Setting up Dromed.exe:
-----------------------------------------------------

#1: To proceed, you will need Winzip.exe or Pkunzip.exe inorder to extract 
the necessary files for Dromed to run. Don't have it? Do a web search and 
find one.

#2: Thief Gold's level editor is on the first disc (Installation) and is 
housed in the directory CD-Drive Letter:\goodies\dromed\dromed.zip.  Ditto 
for Thief ii (Disc One: Installation), except the pathname is CD-Drive 
Letter:\editor\dromed.zip.  You will need to unzip that file to the folder 
where you have Thief/Thief ii installed (i.e., extract to C:\Program 
Files\Looking Glass\ThiefG). When you do, Winzip/Pkunzip will ask if you 
want to overwrite certain files such as Dark.cfg etc.; to insure that Dromed 
runs perfectly, you should select "Yes to All", however; if you are unsure 
whether or not you wish to overwrite critical game performance options (such 
as the IDE83 video bug), you should say "No" to each overwrite.

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<2.2>  Safeguarding Old Files:
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**WARNING** If you have downloaded any "patches" or "upgraded maps" from 
Looking Glass, or some other loser Thief site, BE SURE TO MOVE those files 
to another directory or to make a back-up on a 350 mB Zip Disk or on a CD. 
Don't blame me if you mistakenly alter your FAT.

#1: Eject Disc One: Installation and insert Disc Two: The Game. Go into the 
CD-Drive directory of Thief, Thiefg, or Thief2 and Copy/Paste all the files 
that have a .mis extension into the thief directory on your hard drive. On 
early versions of Thief Gold, this will overwrite Miss15.mis, but that's 
okay -- otherwise you will miss out on one of Thief Gold's unqiue missions, 
as the Dromed tutorial map was accidently misnamed Miss15.mis. I will 
however, use Thief/Thief Gold's Miss1.mis (a Keepers' Training) for the 
tutorial, as all training should be kept on Keeper grounds.

#2: Remove the Read-Only Property on all the *.mis files in your 
Thief/Thief2 directory. This will allow you to adjust them if necessary. If 
you screwed up a map beyond your belief, retrieve them from the Game CD. It 
should be noted that these missions are the factory missions Looking Glass 
originally wanted you to play. All the dialogue and crap-chat will be there, 
as will the objectives, enemies, etc. The point now is to modify them so 
that even a blind taxi-driver can finish the game.

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<2.3>  House-keeping
-----------------------------------------------------

*.mis files are big. A dozen of them take up an easy 150+mB. If you are 
pressed for space, you should delete unecessary files, and uninstall crappy 
games that take up your disk drive. You can also try just copying one file 
(I recommend the smallest Thief/Thief Gold file, Miss1.mis) as I will be 
using that to explain the tutorial.

=====================================================
<3.0>  Operating Dromed
=====================================================

For those of you who've editted Duke Nukem 3D (mostly by putting in an extra 
pair of strippers), this shouldn't be too much difficulty -- the principle 
is the same; only the commands (and certain specifics) are different. For 
those who can't tell a mouse from external speaker, then you shouldn't be 
playing with this; but if you want, try and stick around, you might learn 
something.

Dromed is basically the program by which the programmers (probably) made the 
entire damn game. It offers a static but adjustable view by which the user 
(i.e., you) to move about a specific level of Thief in its entirety in order 
to change/add/delete details such as enemies, treasure, weapons, items, 
patrol routes, rooms, objectives, etc.

It IS NOT akin to playing the game itself. The enemies do not move, nor does 
anything else for that matter. There is no sound save for the incessant 
clicking of your left and right mouse buttons; and you cannot "finish the 
game" in any respect while using Dromed. If you are still unsure of what the 
hell is going on, then please read the Dromed.doc that comes with the editor 
and come back when you have achieved some understanding to what the hell 
we're doing. We don't need rookies hanging around . . .

Now, given the All Mighty's power to smite thy foe and carve something from 
nothingness, you may now begin to see the possiblity this program offers. 
Need a 100 gas arrows? Not a prob; just one question? Where d'ya want it? 
How about right next to you when you start? Can't be invincible? How about a 
500 health potion pick-me up? Get the picture? Now let's review the basics 
of using Dromed before we get into some serious ass-forkin'.

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<3.1>  The Views Available
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When you run Dromed from the Start Bar (or via double-click), you will see 
an unimpressive black screen split into four smaller windows. A grid of 
white lines should show up in three of the four windows, with the upper left 
window showing either total black or a single white line. THIS is what the 
map looks like if nothing is in it -- in simple terms, you're basically in a 
Black Hole so obviously, you can't see anything from nothing. Okay, enough 
Nihilist rhetoric, let's get down to business. The little purple dot/sperm 
cell appearing in three of the windows is the Dromed 3D Camera -- it will 
serve as the marker for the 3D view and as a marker to some extent, in the 
other views. Otherwise, you can pretty much ignore it.

There are basically two views you should concern yourself about: The 3D view 
in the upper left window, and the top view (or as we architects say, 'The 
plan view, Mr Zhang. Show us the plan view.'). These two windows wil be your 
most often used, as you will basically create onjects in the Plan View, and 
use the 3D view to determine most of its attributes such as dimension, 
orientaton, and placement. The other two views are Front and Side, and while 
not terribly important, they are nevertheless useful when you need to 
determine where things are on the Y and Z Axes.

The pointer you move about resembles a red and white cross and can be used 
to readjust the window sizes by holding the left mouse button (LMB) over 
where the window borders intersect and moving the mouse. Adjust the view if 
you like, but do note you will probably need all four windows to check where 
your objects are.

On the bottom, there should be a small table of values, of which six are 
extremely important. X, Y, Z, H, P, and B values. X and Y are 
self-explanatory to first year algebra students: they determine the X and Y 
coordinates of an object or brush. The Z value is the height while the P 
value determines pitch -- whether an object is tilted as in leaning against 
a wall, etc. The B value is the value of bank and the H value determines 
yaw. You can click the values and manually type in the numbers (then hit 
enter), but you can also adjust the values by holding the LMB on the 
appropriate variable and moving your mouse up/down, or side to side. You 
don't have an object to see the effects yet, but you will soon enough.

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<3.2>  Commands in 2D
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Now, move your cursor over to the upper right window (henceforth referred to 
as the Plan View) and hold your right mouse button (RMB). A small command 
window should pop up, and as long as your RMB is held, it will remain. You 
may move the cursor over the commands and notice that your selection will be 
highlighted in purple; by releasing the RMB, you will confirm that command 
and it will be immediately executed.

In the PLAN, FRONT, and SIDE views, the commands will be the same: show/hide 
grid; solo/unsolo; synch all/asynch all; teleport camera; zoom in; zoom out; 
zoom in all; zoom out all; fit to region. A brief explanation:

SHOW/HIDE GRID - Shows or hides the white grid lines. On maps that have 
numerous objects (such as Miss5.mis - Assassins; or ii-Miss7.mis - The Bank) 
you should hide the grid to make things run more smoothly. This hides the 
grid for all the single-perspective views unless you use the ASYNCH command.

SOLO/UNSOLO - makes the current view the only one you see, enlarging the 
selected window to fill the whole Dromed window. Selecting UNSOLO will put 
you back into the quad view.

SYNCH/ASYNCH - synchronises all three single perspective views so if you 
move the purple 3D camera/sperm cell in one window, the other windows will 
be adjusted accordingly to match the move. I advise you have all your views 
in SYNCH all the time, as we are only concerned with simply adding items and 
weapons, not floors, walls, and ceilings.

TELEPORT CAMERA - handy little command which allows you to move quickly from 
one spot to another. Using it though, doesn't garuantee you will end up in 
open air though. Somethimes, the camera will be in a solid mass, requiring 
you to move out of the solid to see anything in 3D view.

ZOOM IN - Zooms in the current window, also activates the ASYNCH command.

ZOOM OUT - zooms out the current window; activates ASYNCH. re-SYNCH to 
re-establish link.

ZOOM IN/OUT ALL - zooms in and out of all three single perspective views and 
keeps synchronisation. Recommended.

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<3.3>  Commands/Moving in 3D
-----------------------------------------------------

Now, move your cross cursor to the 3D window (in the upper-left) and again, 
hold you RMB until a command window shows up. Like the single-perspective 
views, the 3D view also has its share of commands -- I will only concern you 
with the ones we need: show/hide grid; solo/unsolo; wireframe; solid world; 
solid & selection.

SHOW/HIDE GRID - same for the other views, hide it if there are too many 
things to discern.

SOLO/UNSOLO - Solo view is useful if you want to explore Thief levels 
without being chased by guards. You can find all sorts of secrets in Dromed 
simply by walking around.

WIREFRAME - shows the level in wireframe; the box things come in. This is 
the only mode (in the 3D window) where you can select an object or brush to 
be manipulated.

SOLID WORLD - see the level as you would in the game. Combined with the SOLO 
command, this allows free exploration of every nook and cranny of Thief. 
This mode is used primarily to check an object's facing (such as chests), as 
wireframe doesn't show surface textures.

SOLID AND SELECTION - see the solid world, but allows you to see the 
bounding box of the selected object (in white). This allows you to 
manipulate the object to a specific degree, or if you just need to see if 
the object is really embedded into the surrounding wall or floor.

The keyboard is used to move the purple 3D camera/spermcell in Dromed, much 
like it's used to move Garrett the Thief in the City:

W/S - move forwards
A   - turns left
D   - turns right
X   - moves backwards
Q/E - strafe upwards or downwards
Z/C - strafe left or right
R/V - angles camera view up or down
F   - resets camera view parallel to the grid plane

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<3.4>  Other Commands
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Under FILE - Open Mission; how else are you gonna see the level? If you 
copied the *.mis files (and removed the Read-Only Attribute like I told you, 
woman), then they should show up when you activate this command. Don't do it 
just yet though.

Under FILE - Save Mission (as an *.mis file) allows you to save the changes 
you made to the mission in question. It is very important, as Dromed doesn't 
warn you about any unsaved data, like those other wussy programs Microsoft 
markets.

Under VIEW - Toggle Light Maps temporarily removes all shadows and dark 
areas so you can see what you're changing. It's not a permanent effect, even 
if you save the mission while you have the darkness arrested; as soon as you 
run the game again, the proper lighting returns. This is useful in more ways 
than one.

Under OBJECTS - Object Hierarchy. The reason why this game is so easy. Read 
on, chubbs.

On the Dromed screen, FLOOR ME - Sets the Z axis of a selected object to the 
first available floor below it. Naturally, if the object is inside another 
mass, this command will make it behave oddly.

On the Dromed screen, PROPERTIES - Adjusts the object's physics and other 
stuff. However, we'll only concern ourselves with the stack count.

On the Dromed screen, LINKS - Connects two objects with a predetermined 
behaviour. For simplicity, we will only be using the Contains link.

On the keyboard, DELETE - erases the selected object (the only one in white)

************************************************************
*************        W  A  R  N  I  N  G       *************
*************            Read Below            *************
************************************************************

<4.0>  Precautions

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, use, press, or hold the LMB in any window 
unless you have an object already selected and created, otherwise you will 
instead, create an undefined brush that will require you to relight the 
level -- unless you know HOW to relight the level (I do not), you will need 
to delete the offending mission and re-copy it from the game CD (if you want 
to edit it) or you will not be able to play past that level.

You've been warned, simpleton.

************************************************************
*************        W  A  R  N  I  N  G       *************
*************            Read Above            *************
************************************************************

=====================================================
<5.0>  Adding Objects: A Cheater's Training
=====================================================

Now go ahead and load Miss1.mis (A Keeper's Training). This is a fairly 
small map and the time it takes to load in Dromed should be multiplied by 
2-3 for the bigger levels. Carefully, single click with the LMB on any of 
the red bits on the screen -- just be sure not to hold the LMB and drag it 
-- otherwise you've just screwed the map and should re-load it by opening 
the same file again.

See how the object name changes as you click on various objects? You'll 
notice things like "ambstartpoint" or "trolpoint" or "metaldoor" etc. These 
are the objects that create the world of Thief. Assuming you didn't TELEPORT 
the Camera, your camera should be where Garrett starts off in the Keeper's 
Training mission. Now let's have a look around in 3D.

Use the RMB and SOLO the upper left window. Now RMB and select SOLID WORLD. 
Seems familiar? Next, highlight the VIEW command and TOGGLE LIGHT MAPS. 
Nothing will change **until** you move the camera with the keyboard or 
unless you TELEPORT. You can practice moving the camera if you want, just 
remember that there is no gravity and as long as you "see" and don't "touch" 
(with your mouse) you should not do anything harmful to the map.

When you're finished goofing off, go to the next section.

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<5.1>  The Object Hierarchy
-----------------------------------------------------

Now we are going to add a fire crystal and place it right in front of 
Garrett so he'll be able to pick it up right from the get go. Why? Dunno, 
but you can kill the Keeper strolling right above you if you want.

RMB, and WIREFRAME the 3D view. Then choose UNSOLO and go back to the quad 
view. Now pick the OBJECTS command from Dromed's main window and select the 
OBJECT HIERARCHY command. Chances are that you have a really object selected 
like "ambwindsound" or something esoteric. Nevermind. Collapse the object 
tree by pressing the left cursor button on your keyboard. This window 
behaves somewhat like Windows Explorer, but the marked difference of doing 
something useful.

If you keep collapsing the tree, you should eventually wind up with only 
four to five objects labelled, "sfx", "fnord", "physical", etc.

We are only concerned with the physical. LMB single click the "+" next to 
physical and you can see that objects have been grouped into thematic 
categories: "household", "decorative", "weapons", "projectiles", etc.

Select the "tulz" category and expand it like you did with the "physical" 
category. You'll see more subject headings. Select "crystals" then fire 
crystal. Even though it has a plus next to its name, we are only interested 
in the "firecrys" itself, so single click the name with the LMB. [NOTE: some 
objects will have a variant of itself under the parent object; in this case, 
a "firecrysphys" is a derivative of the normal fire crystal for the flame 
spirits that drop these suckers on Expert. Sometimes though, the parent 
object is undefined and will show up as a white wedge. In such a case, you 
only have to delete the offending object and select a defined object. This 
does not irreversibly damage your map by altering the room database, so you 
don't have to reload.]

-----------------------------------------------------
<5.2>  Placing the Object
-----------------------------------------------------

With the fire cystal selected, click the CREATE command on the right side of 
the OBJECT HIERARCHY window. Now you can create a fire crystal by moving the 
cross cursor over the Plan View Window and holding the LMB over the desired 
place where you want the crystal to be. Click and drag a box the size of 
four to nine grid squares large and release the LMB. A new object (in white) 
should appear in the vicinity. If you release the LMB too early, or selected 
the wrong object, you should DELETE the mistake and start from 5.1 again.

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<5.3>  Sizing, Facing, Positioning
-----------------------------------------------------

Now if you take the time to go into 3D and look around, you may or may not 
see the newly made crystal. Why? Go back into quad view and check the other 
single perspective views to be sure that the cystal is at the same height 
you are. Adjust the fire crystal's Z axis value until you can see it is on 
the level with the purple spermcell-camera. If you want, you can try to 
floor the crystal by using the FLOOR ME command.

Single click with the LMB on the value for "p". Type in the value "90.0" and 
hit enter. Notice how the crystal now lies on its side like in real life? 
Click FLOOR ME again. It should look pretty natural now. You may adjust the 
H and B values to make it look like it was discarded in a haphazard fashion.

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<5.4>  Modifying Stack Count
-----------------------------------------------------

You only created one fire crystal; what if you wanted more? Make sure the 
fire crystal is still selected as your preferred object (it should be white 
in WIREFRAME), and click the PROPERTIES command near the Floor Me command.

You should get a window that allows you to adjust the physics and other 
parameters of the fire crystal -- try not to. Just select the ADD command 
from the new window and select the ENGINE option. A secondary window will 
show next and the correct course of action is to select and click STACK 
COUNT.

A new window should pop up with the number "1". Add a zero to the end and 
make it "10". Enter. Select FILE from the main Dromed window and SAVE 
MISSION as a *.mis file; overwrite Miss1.mis  and the next time you play the 
training level, you will have ten fire arrows lying right at the start 
point.

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<5.5>  Making your Own Damn Treasure (Linking)
-----------------------------------------------------

Most treasure in Thief/Thief ii htough do not lie on open ground waiting for 
you to come by -- they wait in treasure chests to be discovered and found. 
Half the time, it's the discovery of treasure in an overseen hiding spot 
that gives thieves their delight in theft. So how about putting an object in 
a chest of some sort?

First let's create another crystal (your choice) -- but this time, instead 
of putting it anywhere near the starting point, create it in a place Garrett 
cannot go normally in the game; i.e., null space. On the Plan View, use the 
command ZOOM OUT ALL until you can see the large unfiddled-with black areas 
of the level map; this is the left-over space that can be utilised for these 
purposes. Place your crystal in the "Twilight Zone" and leave it in the 
middle of no where. You will only be concerned with the Plan View for now. 
Next, go to the OBJECT HIERARCHY and back up the tree until you can find the 
CONTAINERS category under PHYSICAL. Open the CONTAINER tree and select the 
object COINBOX to be created (remember to LMB click the 'CREATE' command!). 
Although there are other types of containers available, this is the only one 
that seems to be consistent between the two Thief games [Besides several new 
ornate chests, a new steel foot-chest was added, bumping the old woodedn 
foot-chest down to a new location.]

TELEPORT the camera to where Garrett starts (and where I instructed you to 
create the fire crystal that gives you ten fire arrows from the step in 
5.1). Create the coinbox much as you did before and place it on the floor 
(in a place where Garrett can get to) using a combination of 3D View and 
adjusting the X, Y, and Z values. Now notice that there should be an object 
name somewhere to the left of the XYZHPB value table that should say 
"Coinbox ###" where the ### should be a one to four digit integer. This is 
the object identification number for that specific map. If there are more 
coinboxes or similar objects, they will be numbered accordingly. REGARDLESS 
of how many other like objects you have, ALWAYS remember the exact number of 
the two objects you want to Link. If you input an incorrect object number 
(along with a link that cannot occur with said objects) there is a high 
probability your game will be irreversibly screwed and Dromed will crash.

I recommend that you write down the Coinbox Object ID# (now referred to as 
the OID#). LMB click the crystal you created (in null space) and write down 
**its** OID#. Now, LMB click the coin box  and with it highlighted, click 
the command LINKS on the Dromed main screen. A window will pop up with a set 
of command buttons on the right. Click the ADD command and in the top-most 
box, select the "CONTAINS" link. Next, input the coinbox OID# in the FROM 
box and the OID# of your crystal in the TO box. That task done, click OK, 
then DONE to create your first successful self-made treasure. This process 
is the same for ALL items that Garrett can carry as inventory, from 
flashbombs to invisbility potions to treasure. YOu can also do *multiple* 
objects by creating as many objects as you want to be stuffed in the 
container. So, you can technically link a Gas Arrow, a Fire Arrow, a Health 
Potion, and several Invisibility Potions into one container. This of course, 
assumes that you check your stash after you open it as the game only 
displays the last item on the list. Also note that a "~" as in "~Contains" 
means that the link is reversed for the objects in the TO & FROM boxes; 
don't mix up the "~links" with the "non ~links" otherwise you will get an 
undefined object in your inventory -- just how can picking up a fire crystal 
net you a useless coin box?

Thus, a valid link would be:

  Link   CONTAINS
  To     Coinbox(1344)
  From   Firearrow(1348)

But not:

  Link   ~CONTAINS
  To     Coinbox(1344)
  From   Firearrow(1348)

Another valid link would be:

  Link   ~CONTAINS
  To     Firearrow(1348)
  From   Coinbox(1344)

Since the Fire Arrow is CONTAINED BY the Coinbox.

=====================================================
<6.0>  How Not To Look Like You're Cheating Your Ass Off
=====================================================

You can now (hopefully) operate Dromed with the flourish of a gamer out for 
revenge. However, you will find Thief and its sequel regrettably more 
enjoyable if you DON'T have a standard cache of 500 Gas Arrows, 500 Fire 
Arrows, and 999 Invisibility Potions waiting for Garrett at the beginning of 
each mission.

My advice is to cheat -- responsibly. You will find that on Thief Gold, the 
stack count for Moss, Gas, Fire, and Water (normal and Holy H2O) are 
undefined, meaning if you somehow get a Gas Arrow without having one in your 
inventory before, you will get an infinite amount of Gas Arrow (they 
corrected this oversight in the Thief ii Dromed). However, it was for me, 
better to operate with an increased **but limited** stash of equipment after 
I played through the mission at least once.

Because Thief/Thief Gold is so repetitive game-wise, I recommend a Standard 
Equipment Cache for each mission to be:

  10 Gas Arrows
  10 Fire Arrows
   2 Health Potions

You can also make the arrows infinite with the "null stackcount" quirk, but 
if you're working with limits then I would increase the arrows by 5 and the 
potions by 1 per level of difficulty above normal. I did this for almost 
every level except in Bafford Manor, where I only added a single Rope Arrow 
in the wellhouse before you have to go down into the water (as I know that 
place like the back of my hand). The only exception is the Lost City, as the 
presence of Fire Elementals require the use of Water Arrows. Add another 
10-20 Water Arrows for that mission (or expend all the water arrows and you 
can also get a 'stackless' water arrow projectile if you want). I ususally 
link all these items into one convenient stash, thus the nickname of 
"Garrett's Coinbox." Guess that little sucker holds more than you think, eh?

For Thief ii, the missions are varied enough to warrant a specialised cache 
for each one -- and it should be done to suit each player's taste.

=====================================================

         --> simalcrum@hotmail.com <--

=====================================================