Rekrul on 27/2/2026 at 08:25

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I haven't been here in many years, but I have a Thief related question and I knew this would be the place to ask it.

I didn't get Deadly Shadows back when it came out because I didn't like all the changes they made to cater to the Xbox. However a while back I was in Goodwill and they had a complete copy in mint condition for a whopping $3, so of course I grabbed it. I put it aside for a while and then recently went looking to see what mods and fixes were available for it.

This lead me to the Sneaky Upgrade. Unfortunately, I have a VERY old system, and the latest version of Sneaky Upgrade is no longer compatible with it. Yes, I know I should upgrade my system, but at the moment that isn't an option, so for now this is what I have.

I could run the older version, but that wouldn't include all the additions that have been added to it since then.

What I'm wondering is this:

Does the Sneaky Upgrade actually replace the game's executable file with a new one, or does it just modify various files in the TDS installation?

I know the installer won't run for me, but if it just modifies the existing files, I'm wondering if it would be possible to run the Sneaky Upgrade on my friend's system, make the changes I want, then copy the modified files over to my system. If it doesn't outright replace the original executable, or too heavily modify it with new code, the modified files should still run on an older system.

Basically the changes I'm most interested in are the elimination of load zones during missions, the addition of briefing FMVs, classic HUD, first person view, toning down/eliminating the handholding, and maybe classic UI. Making it portable so I don't need to use the CDs would be nice as well.

Rekrul on 27/2/2026 at 12:05

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Yes. I didn't mention what Windows I have because people tend to fixate on that rather than just answering the question. I have a VERY old system that is still running Windows XP Pro, 32-bit.

This machine could run Win7, but I don't have a copy of Win7, and trying to buy a legitimate copy on eBay is like looking for buried treasure. Plus, even if I did have a copy, I'm kind of scared to just nuke a system that (mostly) works and start from scratch with a new install. And while that would let me run some newer stuff, it would only be a minor step up from XP, as most new programs today require Win10/11.

I'd love to get a newer/faster system for games and emulation, but I can't spare the money to buy a new system, and I'm not particularly keen on Windows 11. I know Linux is an option, but I know nothing about it, and I have Windows programs I don't want to lose.

Assuming they all work, I should have enough scavenged parts to put together a semi-decent (though far from state of the art) computer, but I've been putting it off because I know I'll need to make some modifications to get everything to fit together. And there's still the question of what OS to put on it. I just haven't had the energy to actually work on it. Most days, I just want to relax and watch videos, or play a game.

So for now, I'm stuck with an old system running an old version of Windows. Other than not being able to run newer software, it still works.

I can run Deadly Shadows as-is, but I'd like to fix many of the issues that the Sneaky Upgrade addresses. If it replaces the main executable, or DLL files with updated copies, then they're almost certainly not going to work for me. However if it just tweaks the existing files to accommodate the changes, then it might work, after being installed on a newer machine, and then copied over to mine.

Rekrul on 27/2/2026 at 13:59

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Thanks, I'm sure that will come in handy when I have the time to try and assemble the collection of parts I have into a working system.

Rekrul on 27/2/2026 at 15:57

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And then I miss out on all the things that have been added since that version, as I said in my original post.

snobel on 27/2/2026 at 18:21

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Yeah. With the Sneaky Upgrade it's mostly the same exe but there's patched-in calls to a new DLL, Sneaky.dll, which contains the code for all the changes. That DLL is built with Visual Studio and at some point Microsoft stopped supporting XP in new C++ toolsets. So at that point I had the choice between dropping XP support or missing out on new C++ features...

Neither the installer, nor SneakyTweaker supports XP because with Sneaky.dll not working there, keeping support in the other components makes little sense.

'Luckily' I'm so fed up with modern Windows that I'm moving SU development to Linux. And I'm going to see if it's possible to reinstate XP support once I get rid of Visual Studio.