SeriousToni on 19/9/2021 at 08:46
Hi guys I'm playing thief 3 the first time after maybe ten years
I've seen there's a sneaky upgrade mid which I should probably use. However can or should I also use other mods? Like the HD textures or shader upgrade? Or can I always use only one mod? I've never moded thief 3 so this might be a noob question.
Cigam on 19/9/2021 at 15:45
I last played TDS in 2015 using only The Sneaky Upgrade and some of the mods it came pre-packaged with. I don't think you can go far wrong with that. Obviously can't comment on other mods.
Of the pre-packaged mods the only issue might be The Minimalist Project. It provides a more classic Thief interface, but unfortunately does away with the original difficulty modes and restrictions, giving you a choice of "Playstyles" instead. But that was 2015. Since then someone might well have created an option to have TMP not change this.
Akven on 20/9/2021 at 04:38
You need to install Sneaky upgrade with the options you want (you 'll see them during installation).
After that you can install ESRGAN AI upscaled textures, that would be the HD mod.
As for shaders - last time I checked they weren' t ready for game. But I don't know, may there was some progress since then. If it was - you just install them on top of Sneaky and ESRGAN packs.
SeriousToni on 20/9/2021 at 09:50
Thank you both for your answers. I wasn't aware that the sneaky upgrade comes with mods already that I'm able to choose.
Cigam on 20/9/2021 at 17:14
Yes it has optional bundled mods, including a higher res textures pack. The alternative ESRGAN textures pack mentioned is a separate install.
I have no idea which textures pack is meant to be better. But ESRGAN is I believe newer, and so probably better?
Akven on 20/9/2021 at 19:40
Collective texture pack was sometimes subjective, with adding textures by the will of the author. It mostly just polishing the game.
ESRGAN texture pack is original textures but upscaled 4x times using neural network. Also a lot of changes were made to material file to fix original game texture issues (like having wrong normal maps or no normal map at all).
You could always try both of them cause ESRGAN is installed on top of the Collective pack.
Basically ESRGAN pack is 4x larger. Also it takes it's tall on the performance, game is loading 3-6x longer (based on the version of the pack and the performance of your computer).
