THE ELEVATORING HOW-TO

23rd of November, 2002

1. INTRODUCTION

Elevatoring is a highly efficient climbing technique that has one
big advantage over the other techniques like stacking: it does not
use up any of the items used to climb. Elevatoring allows to reach
any height with only three objects of the same type and without
losing any of them. It is even possible to get down from any
height and - with patience - to cross any precipice. It has been
successfully tested in all Thief 2 missions and ten Thief 1
missions (see appendix B).

2. ELEVATORING THEORY

Elevatoring works with any objects that fall into your lap when
you drop them while looking straight up or down. The list of
items in Thief 2 includes flares, food and keys while only keys
work in Thief 1.

Said items get wedged inside Garrett and support him in mid air
while his body supports them. When jumping, the object passes
through Garrett's body for two jumps. This can be exploited
repeatedly to gain height. Since the objects are picked up before
they fall to the ground, any height can be reached with the same
number of objects.

It works as long as you have this type of object still in your
inventory after dropping the one you stand on. It does not work
with the last flare, key, etc. of a certain type.

3. THE BASICS

3.1. PREPARATIONS

First of all, lower the mouse sensitivity to a low setting. Move
the slider all the way to the left or maybe to the first or second
secondary graduation line. If it is too high, elevatoring may
become a game of chance with a slim margin of success.

Make a save in a dedicated slot before you start and use quick
save to save a couple of times during the climbing process.
Overall, it's a very easy and reliable technique, so saving is not
this important.

Collect at least three items of a proper type. Flares, keys and
food work well. If you are unable to find three of a kind, two of
one kind and two more of another kind work too. In that case,
alternate between the item types and never drop the last of a
kind.

Finally, find a suitable place for climbing. If possible, start
close to a wall which you can mantle later, but not directly next
to it. A distance of half a step is better.

3.2. CLIMBING - STEP BY STEP

In the following sections I am assuming you are using keys as they
are the only type of objects that work in both, Thief 1 and Thief
2. Please refer to appendix A for a complete list of objects that
were tested in Thief 2. To drop an item, press the 'R' key -
unless you modified your keyboard settings, that is.

1) Look straight up and drop (not throw) a key (or whatever item
you are using). The key should land flat on your head.

2) Look straight down. You should see the old key below you
(unless you just placed the first key, of course).

3) Pick up the old key and jump at the same time. When done right,
you gain a little height, wedge in the key above your head and
take the key below you. Jump again to gain more height.

4) Repeat steps 1 to 3 until you have gained enough height. When
you get close to the lip of a wall it may be wise not to face it
directly as Garrett may try to mantle it and fall down. Saving
the game once every three to five cycles may be a good idea.

5) When you are high enough, face the floor where you want to get.
Look down so that the remaining key gets hilighted, but not
straight down. Jump towards the floor and pick up the key at
the same time.

Note: Even if you have a surplus of the object, it is still
important to pick up the lower item regularly. Otherwise, the
items will eventually push each other around and Garrett falls off
sooner or later.

4. ADVANCED ELEVATORING

Here you can find more advanced and also more difficult uses of
elevatoring. More difficult means that you should save more
often.

4.1 MOVING HORIZONTALLY

It is also possible to move a little bit in any horizontal
direction while elevatoring. With patience, one can cross any
precipice. It is possible to move slightly in any direction
after step 3 in above description:

3b) Face in the direction you want to travel. Look down so you can
see the object below you, but not straight down. Touch the
walk key (not the run key) for a moment. Garrett starts to
slide off the object, loses a little height and moves a bit in
the target direction. Do not overdo it or Garrett falls off.

Note: When looking straight down, Garrett can not move forwards
or backwards.

4.2. GETTING DOWN AGAIN

With the knowledge of moving horizontally it is now easy to get
down.

3c) Look straight down and touch the "sneak forward" or "walk
backward" key for a moment. As mentioned above, when Garrett
looks straight down, he can not move forward or backward.
Instead, he loses a little heigt. Release the key before he
falls through the object. It then falls down a bit and settles
into a new position. Repeat this until Garrett reaches the
ground. If Garrett gets close to sliding off, repeat steps 1
to 3 once more, then continue descending.

4.3 GETTING DOWN FROM ANY PLACE

How do you get down when you are not already hanging in thin air?
I can think of two ways:

a) Start elevatoring up as described in section 3 and move
horizontally towards the precipice (see 4.1). As soon as you
leave the firm ground behind, start elevatoring down (see 4.2).
You need some room above you to do this.

b) Save the game. Ready the chosen item and jump off the edge.
While still in flight, look stright down and drop a few of the
items fast. With luck, one of them gets wedged in Garrett's
body. If not, or if you take too much damage or loose too many
items, reload the game. After that, continue as in section 3
or 4.2 to get up or down.

5. AFTERWORD

Please contact me through a private message on the TTLG forums at
http://www.ttlg.com or by posting to the Thief General Discussions
forum if you can provide any of the information below or other
interesting findings about elevatoring.

Information wanted about

* Elevatoring in the missing Thief 1 missions: Training, Down in
the Bonehoard, The Haunted Cathedral, The Lost City, Escape!,
Strange Bedfellows, The Maw of Chaos. As far as I know, neither
of these missions has enough keys.
* More objects that can be used for elevatoring, especially in
Thief 1, and Thief 2X.
* Elevatoring with scouting orbs. I was not able to make it work
because the scouting orbs are so big that they push each other
around.
* Elevaroring with scrolls and papyri. I suspect it works with
them, but I could not locate more than one copy of each scroll
in Thief 2 yet.
* Elevatoring with robot boilers.
* Hidden places that were not reported to have been visited
before.
* Corrections to this document.

Thanks to

* Azal for his Thief 1 Collector's Edition, listing the number of
keys in each mission.

Happy elevatoring!

Luthien ^_^ ^_^

APPENDIX

A. ITEMS THAT CAN BE USED FOR ELEVATORING

Thief 1

Keys

Thief 2

Keys, flares, any kind of food except healing fruits and deer
legs*, most or all of the chemicals and technical contraptions
found at Soulforge. Scouting orbs do not work.

* Deer legs work in principle, but unreliably; probably because of
their unbalanced shape.

Thief 2X

Cheese, Loaves, other objects from Thief 2 should work too. Most
keys can not be dropped and disappear when used.

B. MISSIONS THAT HAVE ENOUGH OBJECTS FOR ELEVATORING

Thief 1

Bafford's
Cragscleft
Assassins
Thieves' Guild
The Sword
Mage Keep
Song of Caverns
Undercover
Return to the Cathedral (keys made in the factory)
Blooper Reel

Not enough objects:

Training
Down in the Bonehoard
The Haunted Cathedral
The Lost City
Escape!
Strange Bedfellows
The Maw of Chaos

Thief 2

All missions, including The Unwelcome Guest demo (food does not
work in the demo). In Trace the Courier, climb whrough the window
into the house with the locked door near the starting point and
take the food inside.

Thief 2X

Unexpected Shelter
(1 cheese + 1 loaf in kitchen, 1 cheese and 1 loaf in Malak's
lair; the mission ends unless you kill Malak by throwing rubble
or a hammer at him).
Shadowing the Enemy
(3 cheese + 2 deer legs + 2 cucumbers)
The Redistribution Game
(2 cheese + 2 loaves)

Not enough objects:

The Trials that Shape Us
(1 Loaf)
While the City Sleeps
(1 Apple)

C. INTERESTING PLACES TO CLIMB

This is a partial list of interesting places to climb. All places
have been successfully tested.

* The crystal the atop roof of Angelwatch in Life of the Party
using flares.
* The lighthouse in Precious Cargo using flares.
* The cathedral in Sabotage at Soulforge. Collect some of the
technical contraptions from one of the storage rooms and leave
the catedral through the doors at the starting point.
* The roofs of the city in Ambush using food from the grocery.
* The storehouses in Shipping, ... and Receiving using flares.
* The five towers in Mage Keep using keys stolen from the mages.
* The overhead gardens in Cragscleft using keys from the prison
guards.
* The cathedral roof in Undercover using keys.

THE FLOATING STAIRCASE OF CRATES HOW-TO

1. WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT

To understand what I am talking take a look at this:

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=51304

You can see a staircase built of crates, apparently floating in
mid air. Only the lowest crate touches the floor, but that
suffices to support more than 25 crates atop.

2. OVERVIEW

The technique described is the most efficient way to stack
crates. The usual technique to drop crates between your legs and
then jump onto them is much faster for small stacks, but requires
a lot more crates if the stack gets high. Stacking staircases
does not waste any crates in support stacks, but is extremely
tedious. Unlike building vertical stacks, staircases need a lot
of space. The things you need to know are

- How to place a crate on the correct side
- How to stack the crates properly
- How to get to the top of the staircase without toppling it
- How to get down again
- Quicksaving

3. BASICS ABOUT CRATES

3.1 WHAT CRATES LOOK LIKE

In the game, a crate looks like this:

________ ________
/ /| / /|
/. T / | /. S / |
/ . / | / . / |
+-------+ | +-------+ |
| . | S | | . | T |
| .....|../ | .....|../
| . | / | . | /
|. B |/ |. S |/
+-------+ +-------+

It has four sides (S), a top (T) and a bottom (B). It does make a
difference whether it stands on the bottom (left drawing) or on one
of the sides (right drawing). You can distinguish both cases by
paying attention to the grain of the wood. On the four sides, the
grain follows the same direction:

________ ________
/ /| /_______/|
/ top /|| /_______/ |
/ /||| /_______/ |
+-------+|||| +-------+ |
| | | | ||||| |_______|top|
| | | | |||/ |_______| /
| | | | ||/ |_______| /
| | | | |/ |_______|/
+-------+ +-------+

When you look straight down and then drop a crate, it falls on the
side. If you look parallel to the floor (the normal view when
looking straight ahead) the crate lands on the bottom. To stack a
staircase, all crates have to sit on their bottom.

3.2 THE PHYSICAL MODEL OF CRATES

A crate looks like a cube, but it doesn't behave like it. It is
more appropriate to think of a cube with the endges cut off and
smoothened. A small flat area remains on the four sides, the top
and the bottom. When you put an object on that flat area, it does
not slide off but sits straight atop. There is an important
difference between the top/bottom and the sides: the flat area is
much smaller on the sides. The difference looks roughly like
this:

top/bottom side
........... ...........
. _____ . . .
. / \ . . . <-- outline of crate
.| |. . .
.| |. . O .
.| |. . ^ .
. \_____/ . . | .
.....^..... .....|.....
| |
| |
|_ flat area _|

Now you should understand why the crates need to stand upright.
If they lie on their sides, they have to stand almost directly
atop each other for the flat areas to match.

4. STAIRCASE BUILDING SKILLS

4.1 HOW TO PLACE A CRATE ON THE CORRECT SIDE

With the theory from above, it is now easy to place the crates:
look straight ahead, not up or down, then drop the crate. Done
right, the grain of the wood on all four sides is oriented
vertically.

4.2 HOW TO STACK THE CRATES PROPERLY

It is time to build a staircase. For the beginning, fetch a
couple of crates and keep them handy. To practice, start with a
straight staircase and ignore spiral staircases for the time
being. This is what we want to build:

+--+
| |
+--+
+--+
| |
+--+
+--+
| |
+--+
+--+
| |
+--+
--------------------

It does not matter whether there is a solid surface below the
crates as long as the lowest one stands firmly. Each crate has to
gain as much space as possible. The more free space is left on the
crates, the more space you have to stand on. Placing the first
crate is easy. Just drop it anywhere. Do you remember that it
must sit upright? Good. Find a flat surface, take a crate, look
straight ahead and drop it:

O> <- Garrett O>
| +--+ |
|------| | <- crate |------
| +--+ | .
| | | .
| | | .
| v | .
| | +--+
| | | |
/ \ ground / \ +--+
----------------------- -----------------------

Make a step towards the crate and take a new one.

O> O>
| +--+ | +--+
|------| | | | |
| +--+ | +--+
| | ... | +--+
| | | | |
| v | +--+
| +--+ |+--+
| | | || |
/ \ +--+ / \--+
----------------------- -----------------------

The first three crates can be placed from the ground, but after
that you have to walk up the staircase:

O> O>
| +--+ | +--+
|------| | | | |
| +--+ | +--+
| +--+ | +--+
| | | | | |
| +--+ | +--+
|+--+ |+--+
|| | || |
/ \--+ / \--+
+--+ +--+
| | | |
+--+ +--+
----------------------- -----------------------

This process can be repeated until you run out of crates.
However, finding the right place for the crates is not that easy.
You want to place it as far away from you as possible, but the
crates still should overlap.

good: too close: too far:

+---+ +---+ +---+
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
+---+ +---+ +---+
+---+ +---+ +---+
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
+---+ +---+ +---+

Try this:

a) Make a quicksave
b) Step up to the staircase and look in the right direction. Use
the key to center the view.
c) Drop the crate. If it falls off the staircase or doesn't sit
right, reload, step back a bit and retry.
d) If the crate sits firmly atop the other one, make a quicksave.
e) Take the crate, move forward for an inch or so, center the view
again and proceed with step c. Once you can't move forward
anymore without the crate falling off, you have found the final
place for the crate.

Take the next crate and repeat the whole process. Once you have
mastered it, making a spiral staircase works almost the same. All
you have to do is to turn a bit left or right before dropping the
next crate.

4.3 HOW TO GET TO THE TOP OF THE STAIRCASE WITHOUT TOPPLING IT

It is easy to get up the staircase by hitting the walk key for the
split of a second and then pressing jump. The difficult part is
to do that without moving the crates. The basic rule is: if any
crate moves, reload the game. Even if it's only a pixel. When
a crate moves, crates further up in the stack may move in random
directions, even towards you.

Walk-jumping up the crates takes a bit of practice. Look down so
you can see the crates below you and see if one of them
moves. Then push the walk key for a moment and jump. If the jump
doesn't shift any crates, make a quicksave. If it does, reload
the previous save. Continue up to the third crate from the top
and place the next one.

Hint: To reduce the number of times you have to climb up and down
the staircase, build high support stacks nearby or put crates
someplace where you can reach them from the staircase. For
example, when I made the stack at the lighthouse, I put a number of
crates inside the top chamber and grabbed them from the staircase
outside.

4.4 HOW TO GET DOWN AGAIN

The problem is the same as for walking up the staircase: the
crates may move around. A good way to get down without disturbing
the stack is this: Crouch and look down so that you can see the
crates behind you. Slowly walk backwards off the center of the
crate. When you get close to the edge of the crate, you drop down
a few inches first. Proceed and you drop another few inches.
Again, reload once you see any crate moving. Also, if you step
down too fast, you may damage or even destroy crates.

5. QUICKSAVING

As you might have guessed, many things can go wrong. So be
prepared to save and load the game very often. For a staircase of
30 crates you may well save 500 times and reload 200 times. To
speed up loading and saving, I recommend to set the game
resolution to 640x480 pixels. This way, the game doesn't have to
change the resolution when loading and saving. In case you have a
slow machine you may not want to go through this process at
all.

Happy stacking!

Luthien ^_^ ^_^

14th of June, 2002

The Thief 1 and Thief 2 console
===============================

1. INTRODUCTION

This (incomplete) guide tries to list all console commands and
configuration settings in both Thief games running the Dark
Engine. Some of the settings can be made in one of the *.cfg
files while others control keyboard, mouse and joystick bindings
(*.bnd files). Some can be used from the in-game console.

A number of the command descriptions have been taken from the
output of the "dump_cmds" command. I have not touched their
description, but it may be unclear what they do.


2. ACTIVATING THE IN-GAME CONSOLE

Many of the commands, controls and settings can be used from
within the game. By default, the game console is not bound to any
key, but that can be changed easily:

* In the game directory, locate the file user.bnd. If there is
no such file yet, enter the game, modify any control setting,
save it and exit the game.

* Now open the file user.bnd in a text editor, locate the line

bind p <something>

and replace it with

bind p edit_command

Now, press "p" in the game to open the console text window.
There you can type commands and settings from the list below.
Inside the console window some of the emacs editor bindings do
work:

Ctrl-a beginning of line
Ctrl-b, Left back one character
Ctrl-d, Del delete character
Ctrl-e end of line
Ctrl-f, Right forward one character
Crtl-g leave console; lock "lean left"
Ctrl-k, Tab kill to end of line
Ctrl-n next line
Ctrl-p previous line
Ctrl-t transpose character
Ctrl-u repeat next character four times
Ins toggle overstrike mode
Esc leave console


3. KEY, MOUSE AND JOYSTICK BINDINGS

Many console commands can be bound to keys, mouse buttons, mouse
motion, joystick buttons or joystick axes. This can be configured
directly in the file user.bnd in the game directory. The general
format of bindings is

bind <keyname> <action>

For example

bind f3 "inv_select holyh2o"

Command beginning with a plus ('+') or minus ('-') sign work a bit
special when bound to keys or buttons. For example, with

bind lshift +creepon

Pressing the left shift key starts creeping, i.e. Garrett moves
slower. When the button is released, movement reverts back to
normal. The plus denotes a command that is activated by pressing
the key and deactivated by releasing the key. Vice versa, with

bind lshift -creepon

creeping ist switched off by pressing the key and turned on again
by releasing it. (However, when the mission starts, creeping will
be inactive - the key has to be pressed once to get it working).

Finally, all commands with plus or minus can also be used without
it:

bind lshift creepon

Now, pressing the key activates creeping and pressing it again
deactivated creeping.

Use the unbind command to remove a binding from the console:

unbind lshift

Note: To use a joystick, the command joystick_enable must be
added to the file user.cfg.


4. THE COMMAND LIST

LEGEND

Command type:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
- Command does not work.
Any Can be used in any .cfg or .bnd file and on the command
prompt.
A Autosaved settings (stored in cam.cfg)
A* For some reason, neither Thief game stores this setting in
cam.cfg as it should. To make it permanent you have to put
this into the file manually. Otherwise you have to set
this option each time you start the game.
AU, AU* Same as A and A*, but these settings are stored in user.bnd.
B Works only in bindings.
C Controls; works in-game
G Game command; works in-game
I Installation setting (put into install.cfg (T1) or
darkinst.cfg (T2))
S Configuration setting (can be used in user.cfg or dark.cfg)
V Configuration variable. In the configuration files, it can
be used as any other command (e.g. "relax_on_move). In the
game they can be set with the "set" and "unset" commands
(e.g. "set relax_on_move" or "unset relax_on_move"). Before
they take effect, pause the game or open the map or
objectives screen, then return to the game.
? unknown how/if command/setting works

Arguments:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
- No arguments
* Multiple arguments
A An action (a command).
Alias An alias name.
B Boolean argument (0 = off, 1 = on)
C Colour, specified by red, green and blue value separated
by commas, e.g. 255,0,0 for bright red (values range from 0
to 255)
F Float value
File File name
Font Font name. Know fonts:
fontaa12 fontaa20 fontaa29 fontaa36 font smalfont textfont
(located in intrface.crf).
I Integer value
Item An item name, can be: sword blackjack broadhead water
firearr eartharrow gasarrow ropearrow noise airpotion
holyh2o lockpicksm lockpicklg flashbomb gasmine mine
compass2 healingpotion healingfruit
T2: invisipotion flare frogegg cameragrenade slowfall
Key The name of a key.
List Comma separated list of arguments of the given type
Model A model for Garrett or the AIs.
Path Path (directory)
Pathlst List of paths separated with '+'
R Resource name (whatever that may be)
Sound The name of a sound effect(may be empty). Default sounds:
metalp1 metalp2 metalp3 metalp4 pageturn select1 select2
tick1 tick2 (or other sound in snd.crf/snd/SFX).
Text Free form text.
Val A variable value
Var A variable name
() Optional argument
? Unknown how/if command/setting works

Default value:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The default value of the command's argument if an optional
argument is omitted or the default setting of a command if it was
never used. If the field is blank, the default value is unknown or
the command has no default. A question mark indicates that the
value is estimated.


COMMAND LIST

Command Type Args Default
------- ---- ---- -------
; Any -
Comment; can be used behind a command, e.g.
mouse_sensitivity 3 ; blah blah
airbar_sparseness V F
High value = less bubbles.
airbar_tolerance V F
Speed of air bar bubbles.
alias G Alias,A
Alias "aliasname" "action"
After the definition, "aliasname" can be used instead of
"action". Only a single command can be given an alias.
Scripting is not possible.
always_play_intro A -
Prevents that the skip_intro command is written into
cam.cfg thus forcing that the intro video is always played
ambient_volume (T2) G I
Set the ambient sound volume in percent (0 - 100).
ambient_volume_down (T2) G -
Reduce the volume of ambient sound.
ambient_volume_up (T2) G -
Increase the volume of ambient sound.
attenuation_factor V F
Determines how far away you can hear AIs dialogs (maybe other
sound effects?). Low values = long range. E.g. with 5 you
can hear the guards at Bafford's gate talk from several blocks
away, and with 1000 you cannot hear your own steps.
auto_equip (T2) AU B
Automatically equip the bow if any arrows are taken.
auto_search (T2) AU B
Automatically search bodies for loot.
automap G -
Display the automap.
back b C (F)
Move backwards (not sure how the float argument works
exactly).
backfast C -
Run backwards.
bind S,G Key,A
Bind keyname "action"; the action must be enclosed in
double quotes if the command has one or more arguments.
bind_color_text V C 180,180,180
Colour of the list items on the binding screen.
block C -
+block
-block
Toggle/start/stop blocking with the weapon
bow_zoom AU* B
Enables (1) or disables (0) zooming the view when using
the bow.
bugrep_dir S Path
Gee, they forgot to take that out I guess :-)
cash_bonus S I
Bonus cash at start of mission. The maximum cash bonus is
3000 in T1 but unlimited in T2.
cd_path I Path
?
character_detail A B
Character detail (1 = high, 0 = low)
cheats_active (T2) S
Allow activating some T2-specific cheats
clear_item G -
Clear the player's 'current item' selection.
clear_weapon G -
Clear the player's 'current weapon'.
clear_weapon_and_item G -
Clear both the player's 'current item' and 'current
weapon' weapon
climb_touch (T2) AU B
1 = touch ladders to start climbing, 0 = jump to start
climbing
contrast ? ?
Set the contrast
contrast_time_scale ? ?
Contrast time scale
creepon C -
+creepon
-creepon
Toggle/start/stop sneaking
crouch C -
+crouch
-crouch
Toggle/start/stop ducking
crouchhold C -
+crouchhold
-crouchhold
Same as crouch
cycle_item (T1) G I
Cycle item 1 = forward, -1 = backward, 0 = toggle between
two (random?) items
cycle_weapon G I
Cycle_weapon 1 = forward, -1 = finish, 0 = toggle between
two (random?) weapons
d3d_driver_index A I
Probably controls which video device is used
dark_include_install_cfg A File install.cfg
Sets the file name of a cfg file that is automatically
loaded when the game is started.
dark_version G -
Display version in game mode.
debrief G -
Go to statistics screen (doesn *not* end the current
mission).
diff_color_hilite V C 255,255,64
Colour of the text on the button with the selected
difficulty on the new game screen.
disable_modal_tool_frob V -
Items are used immediately instead of moving them to the
center of the screen first; this can be disabled in the
configuration files by deleting the command or in the game
with "unset disable_modal_tool_frob" and pressing escape
twice to get to the menu and back to the game.
drop_item G -
Drop (not throw) your currently selected item.
dump_cmds G File
Dump command list to file.
edit_command G -
Edit a command in the command editor: edit_command <cmd>
(usual emacs bindings work, c-p, c-n, c-a, ...)
editor_include_dromed_cfg A File dromed.cfg
Sets the file name of a cfg file that is automatically
loaded when the game is started.
elliptic_pick_mod (T2) V F 0.25
Influences the distance at which objects can be frobbed.
Higher value = higher range. The name suggests that the
area in which objects are hilighted is elliptic. Maybe
the value is the ratio beteen the two axes of the ellipse.
A high value (e.g. 1.0) allows to frob objects that are
otherwise unreachable.
end_mode G -
End the current major mode (commit suicide in game).
endgame G -
Go to endgame mode. (crashes game)
eval ? Var,A
Exec a command with config substitution: eval <var> <cmd>
FailOnKill (T2) S
Fail mission if player kills an AI.
FailOnKO (T2) S
Fail mission if an player KO's an AI.
FailOnSee (T2) S
Fail mission if AI is alerted to your presence, via sight
or sound.
file_slot_color_border V C 255,255,255
Colour of the border around selected item on load/save
screen.
file_slot_color_hilite V C 255,255,0
Colour of the selected binding or save game slot on the
save screen or the change binding screen.
flash ? ?
Make a blinding flash (works only in dromed?)
forward C (F)
Move; pos. = forward, neg. = backward; allowed range -2 to
2; +/- 1 = move slowly, +/- 2 = run. Fractions can be
used to walk even slower, (e.g. 0.5). Values between
about -0.307 and 0.152 result in no noticable movement.
forward toggle C (F)
Toggle moving forwards
+forward C (F)
Start moving forwards
-forward C (F)
Stop moving forwards
freelook AU,C - on
Toggles free look (i.e. it's possible to look up and down)
freelookon C -
Same as freelook
friction S F
Controls acceleration (0.0 = none, 1.0 = max)
game_color_text V C 255,255,255
?
game_full_screen A I
Full screen (1) or window mode (0). This must be set in
cam.cfg before the game_screen_flags setting to work.
This works only if hardware acceleration is disabled (see
game_hardware). Otherwise this setting is overwritten
each time the game is started.
game_hardware A B 1
Disables texture smoothing when turned off (0) and forces
the screen to 640x480. Forces full screen mode if enabled.
game_message G Text
Display a message on the game screen
game_mode ? ?
switch to game mode
game_screen_depth A I 16
Dolour depth of the game screen. Can be set to 16 bit
planes (full screen) or 8 (window mode) only. If 24 or 32
is used, the game switches to about 640x400 with 8 bit
planes and turns off texture smoothing. In other words:
it looks *ugly*.
game_screen_flags A I
A sum of flags related to the screen configuration (1 =
unknown, 2 = unknown, 4 = game_hardware on, 8 =
game_full_screen on).
game_screen_size A I,I
Size of the game screen, e.g. game_screen_size 800 600
gamma A,G F
Initial gamma correction (1 = no gamma correction, 0 =
screen is completely white). Can be used to set even more
extreme values than with gamma_delta.
gamma_delta G F +-0.025
Add a floating point value to the gamma setting. Valid
range is from 0.5 to 1.
gamma_down (T2?) G
Reduce gamma correction.
gamma_up (T2?) G
Increase gamma correction.
get ? ?
Look up a config value: get <var>
goal_notify (T2) AU B 1
1 = Play a sound when goals are completed or change, 0 =
Disable the sound.
goal_text_color_text V C 255,255,200
Colour of the text on the goals screen
grey_color_bright V C 150,150,150
Colour of the difficulty button under the pointer when
opened from inside the game.
grey_color_hilite V C 240,240,240
Colour of the selected difficulty button when opened from
inside the game.
grey_color_text V C 150,150,150
Normal colour of the difficulty buttons when opened from
inside the game
head_speed V F about 50000
Controls the turning speed of the head; similar to
mouse_sensitivity.
head_zone V I 0
1 = Slow mouse motion does not turn the head, 0 = Any
mouse motion turns the head.
help ? ?
Shows command info
history_cmd G I?
Edit command from history offset (seems just to open the
command prompt like edit_command in the game).
hpbar_ang V F 0
Hpbar z axis and vismeter x axis orientation.
hpbar_model V - (unset)
When this variable is set, the health bar is not
displayed. To disable this setting, remove the line from
the cfg file or type "unset hpbar_model" on the game
console, then press escape twice to open the menu and go
back to the game.
hpbar_spin V - (unset)
When this variable is set, the shields in the healthbar
slowly spin; to disable this setting, remove the line from
the cfg file or type "unset hpbar_spin" on the game
console, then press escape twice to open the menu and go
back to the game.
hpbar_zoom S F 60
Distance between the camera and the health bar. Unlike
vismeter_zoom, this has to be set in the configuration
file and can not be used from inside the game.
ifdef ? Var,A
Exec a command if a config variable is defined:
ifdef <var> <cmd>
ifndef ? Var,A
Exec a command if a config variable is undefined:
ifndef <var> <cmd>
include_user_cfg A File user.cfg
Sets the file name of a cfg file that is automatically
loaded when the game is started.
install_path I Path (installation dependent)
?
inv_enabled V I 1
Enables (1) or disables (0) inventory.
inv_item_timeout V I 15000
Time in milliseconds before a readied inventory item is
put away.
inv_model_zoom ? F 10.0
Does not work.
inv_obj_height V F 20
Height of item models in corners; in percent of the screen
height.
inv_obj_width V F 20
Width of item models in corners; in percent of the screen
width.
inv_select G Item
Select an inventory object by name (or archetype name)
select item: sword blackjack broadhead water firearr
eartharrow gasarrow ropearrow noise airpotion holyh2o
lockpicksm lockpicklg flashbomb gasmine mine compass2
healingpotion healingfruit speedpotion
T2: invisipotion flare frogegg cameragrenade slowfall
+inv_select B Item
-inv_select B Item
See above; only useable in bindings.
inv_status_height V F 0.06
Size of the health bar as a fraction of screen size
(e.g. 0.05 = 5% of the screen size). Also affects the
vertical position of the inventory items and the
vismeter. Big or small numbers (> 1 or <= 0) may crash the
game and windows. Useful range is about 0.04 to
0.1. Setting this to 0 disables the health bar and the
vismeter.
inv_status_margin V F -0.008
The distance between the health bar and the bottom border
of the screen (0 = bottom, 0.5 = center, 0.94 = right at
the top of the screen, inventory is out of the visible
screen area). Negative values seem to have no effect at
all (i.e. work like 0.0).
inv_transit_time V F
Time to move item to screen center when using it in
milliseconds (0 = item is readied instantly).
joy_rotate (T2) AU B 0
?
joykey_repeat_delay ? ?
?
joykey_repeat_interval ? ?
?
joyforward C -
Same as forward, but the speed depends on how far the
joystick is moved.
joysidestep C -
Same as sidestep, but the speed depends on how far the
joystick is moved.
joyturn C -
Same as turn, but the turning speed depends on how far the
joystick is moved.
joystick_deadzone AU F 0.05
Defines the dead zone of the joystick around the center
position. Higher value = bigger zone that is interpreted
as a centered joystick.
joystick_enable AU - off
Enables the joystick or game controller. Using an analog
joystick is not recommended because the dead zone in the
center position of the stick is too small to stand
still. With joystick support enabled, controls can be
bound to the joystick axes (joy_axisx, joy_axisy,
joy_axisz, joy_axisr), buttons (joy1, ..., joy9) and the
hat (joy_hataxisx, joy_hataxisy, joy_hatdn, joy_hatlt,
joy_hatrt, joy_hatup).
joystick_sensitivity V F 1.0
With higher values, the joystick reacts faster to movement
of the joystick axes. This does not have an effect on the
maximum turning rate. Unlike mouse_sensitivity, this
command can not be used in the game.
jump
+jump
-jump C -
Toggle/start/stop jumping
jumpblock C -
Toggle jumping or blocking with weapon
+jumpblock C -
Start jumping or blocking with weapon
-jumpblock C -
Stop jumping or blocking with weapon
kbd_turn_accelerate V I 1000?
Acceleration of the turning speed when pressing a turn
key. Higher values make you turn faster.
kbd_turn_decelerate V I 1000?
Deceleration of the turning speed when releasing the turn
keys. Higher values make you stop turning faster.
kbd_turn_rate V I 50?
Maximum turning rate with the keyboard. Turn faster with
higher values. Negative values invert the turning
direction.
kbd_turn_reverse_acc V I ?
Deceleration of the turning speed when the turn left key
is pressed while still turning right (and vice
versa). Once you start to turn in the other direction, the
kbd_turn_accelerate value is used instead. Higher values
make you stop turning faster.
last_command A A
The last console command issued.
leanforward C -
Lean forwards.
leanleft C -
Lean left.
leanright C -
Lean right.
load_game G -
Go to the load game screen.
load_path I Path
?
loadout - -
Go to shop screen (does not work from inside the game).
LockCheat (T2) S
Unlocks any locked doors in the mission. Works only if
cheats_active has been set.
lookcenter C -
Center view
lookdown C - -1
Same as zlook
lookspring AU,C B 0
?
lookup C - 1
Same as zlook
loot_select (T2?) G -
Select loot in inventory.
main_menu G -
Go to main menu. (ends current game)
main_volume (T2?) G I
Set the sound volume in percent (0 - 100).
main_volume_down (T2?) G -
Reduce the volume of sounds.
main_volume_up (T2?) G -
Increase the volume of sounds.
master_volume A I -1
?
metagame G -
Go to mission selection screen (screen doesn't work ingame).
metagame_mission_map S IList
Determines which mission is mapped to which button on the
mission selection screen, list is terminated with -1
(default: 1,2,...,13,14,-1).
metasnd_game_def_ambient1 V Sound metalp2
metasnd_game_def_select V Sound select2
metasnd_game_def_tick V Sound tick1
metasnd_game_main_ambient1 V Sound metalp1
metasnd_game_main_select V Sound select1
metasnd_game_main_tick V Sound tick2
metasnd_game_saveload_ambient1 V Sound metalp3
metasnd_game_saveload_select V Sound select2
metasnd_game_saveload_tick V Sound tick1
metasnd_game_loadout_ambient1 V Sound metalp3
metasnd_game_loadout_select V Sound tick2
metasnd_game_loadout_tick V Sound -
metasnd_game_game_ambient1 V Sound metalp3
metasnd_game_game_select V Sound select2
metasnd_game_game_tick V Sound tick1
metasnd_game_book_ambient1 V Sound metalp4
metasnd_game_book_select V Sound pageturn
metasnd_game_book_tick V Sound -
metasnd_game_options_ambient1 V Sound metalp3
metasnd_game_options_select V Sound select2
metasnd_game_options_tick V Sound tick1
Sounds on the menu screens (def = briefing screen, main =
main menu, saveload = save/load screen, loadout = shop,
game = map screen, objectives screen or menu from inside
the game, book = book screen, options = options
screen). tick = sound played when pointer moves over a
menu button, select = sound when a buttons is clicked,
ambient1 = sound that is played on the screen. If no sound
name is given, no such sound is played.
mission_loop G -
Restart mission.
mission_map S IList
Comma separated list of missions (1,2,3,...).
mlook G -
Enable mouse look.
mouse_invert AU,G B
Inverts mouse control (0 = normal, 1 = inverted).
mouse_sensitivity AU,G F
Mouse sensitivity (higher values make you turn faster)
moveleft C (F) -1
Same as sidestep with a default value of -1.
+moveleft
-moveleft
See above.
moveleftfast C (F) -2
Same as sidestep with a default value of 2.
+moveleftfast
-moveleftfast
See above.
moveright C (F) 1
Same as sidestep with a default value of 1.
+moveright
-moveright
See above.
moverightfast C (F) 2
Same as sidestep with a default value of 2.
+moverightfast
-moverightfast
See above.
movie G File
Show a movie (file name in movie_path directory), e.g.
"movie b01.avi".
movie_path I Pathlst
Set the path to the movies directory.
mturn G -
Enable mouse turn.
next_item (T2) G -
Same as "cycle_item 1" in T1.
next_weapon (T2) G -
Same as "cycle_weapon 1" in T1.
NoKillGoalCheat (T2) S
Disables fail on kill goals. Works only if cheats_active
has been set.
no_metagame_sound V -
Disables sound in the menus; when used from inside the
game, it takes effect at an apparently random point in
the future.
no_movies V -
No movies are played (and missions with movies crash the
game).
no_sound V -
Disables all sound in the game and menus; when used from
inside the game, it takes effect at an apparently random
point in the future.
objectives G -
Go to objectives screen.
opttext_color_text V C 255,255,200
?
panel_color_bg V C 0,0,0
Background of the all menus.
panel_color_bright V C 146,255,87
Colour of the menu button text when the pointer is over
it.
panel_color_dim V C 49,64,41
Colour of the menu button text when the button is greyed
out.
panel_color_hilite V C 220,220,64
Colour of the menu button text when the button is pressed.
panel_color_text V C 63,148,17
Normal colour of the menu button text
play_cd (T2?) G I
Plays a music CD track (the argument is the track number).
To stop playing, use stop_cd.
playback S File
Replay a demo recorded with "record". Unfortunately,
although recording works fine, replaying demos is very
unreliable. Usually, the demo stops playing after a
couple of seconds and gives control back to the player.
It looks like the demo recorder can't handle external
events (keyboard, mouse, disk activity etc.) during
playback and just stops if anything unexpected happens.
This command must be put into the user.cfg or dark.cfg
file.
player_crouch_model (T2) S Model garcrh
Sets the model used for Garrett when crouching.
player_model (T1) S Model playbox
Sets the model used for Garrett. Useless in T1 since you
can't see Garrett.
player_model (T2) S Model garstd
Sets the model used for Garrett when you look at him with a
scouting orb.
prev_item (T2) G -
Same as "cycle_item -1" in T1.
prev_weapon (T2) G -
Same as "cycle_weapon -1" in T1.
process_difficulty ? ?
Prep level for difficulty. Warning: This may destroy some
objects
progress_dial_rate V I 100000
Determines the speed of the right dial on the loading
screen (one tick for each x bytes loaded). Warning: if
this is set too low, the game draws the progress dial for
minutes, or even hours instead of loading the game.
quick_save G -
Save the game to the 'quick save' slot.
quick_load G -
Load the game from the 'quick save' slot
quit_game G -
Quit the game (exit to windows)
record S File
Record a demo file. To replay the demo, use the "playback"
command. This command must be put into the user.cfg or
dark.cfg file.
relax_instant V -
Center view after a few seconds.
relax_on_move V -
Center view when moving.
resname_base I Pathlst
?
reverse_stereo A* I off
Swaps the left and right sound channels; should be saved
in cam.cfg, but the game does not do this. To make this
setting permanent, put it in user.cfg. When used from
inside the game, it takes effect the next time a menu is
opened and closed.
rudder_deadzone (T2) AU F 0.05
Similar to joystick_deadzone.
rudder_sensitivity (T2) AU F 1.0
Similar to joystick_sensitivity.
run G File
Run multiple G type commands from file (in the game's
main directory), e.g. "game_message bla" or
"gamma_delta +0.1". Note that commands that toggle like
commands (with '+' and '-' variants) actually toggle. So
if you use "inv_select blackjack" the toggle will stay on
and re-select the blackjack sometimes. To counter this,
use the same command twice.
save_game G -
Go to the game save screen.
screen_dump G -
Make a screen shot
script_drop ? ?
Drop a script file from mission.
script_drop_all ? ?
Drop all script files from mission.
script_dump_files ? ?
List mission script files on mono.
script_load ? ?
Load a script file, add to mission.
script_module_path I Pathlst
?
script_test ? ?
Send a 'test' message to an object.
select_gun ? *
Shoot a bullet out of the player select_gun <archetype>.
set G Var,Val
Set a configuration variable (Type V) from inside the
game. The syntax is "set <var> <value>". To unset a
variable, use the "unset" command. The changed setting
takes effect only after the game is interrupted (by
opening the map, the objectives screen or the main menu).
sfx_channels A I 8
Number of sound channels (4, 8 or 12).
sfx_device A I
Controls which audio device is used for sound effects. If
you get no sound and have two sound carsd (e.g. a regular
one and one on the mainboard, try setting a different
value). Devices are numbered beginning with 0.
sfx_eax A I 0
Turns eax on (1) or off (0).
sfx_gain_scale ? ?
?
sfx_log_room_transitions ? ?
?
sfx_no_asynch ? ?
?
sfx_no_asynch_all ? ?
?
sfx_preset_3d_channels ? ?
?
sfx_source_reverb_mix ? ?
?
skip_intro A -
Don't play the game intro.
show_image G R
Show an image show_image <resname>.
sidestep C (F)
Strafe left (neg. value) or right (pos.) +/- 1 = slow, +/-
2 = fast.
sidestep toggle C (F)
Toggle strafing.
+sidestep C (F)
Start strafing.
-sidestep C (F)
Stop strafing.
sim_menu G -
Go to main menu without quitting.
slideon C -
Toggle strafing (?).
starting_mission S I
The number of the mission file to use when a new game is
started.
stop_cd (T2?) G -
Stop playing a music CD.
test_book ? ?
Book <text>,<art> crashes game?
text_message_margins S F,F 16.5 5
The percentage of the screen's width and height that is
not used for text messages. The first value determines
the margins on the left and right of the screen while the
second value controls the margin on the top (and possibly
on the bottom too; I did not test this). For example,
with a resolution of 640x480 and
text_message_margins 20 10
the margins at the left and right of the screen have a
width of 128 pixels each and the margin at the top is 48
pixels high.
text_message_rgb S C 255,255,255
Colour of the in-game text messages; see game_message
command.
tiltleft C -
tiltright C -
Rotate view left/right; to disable, issue command again
and use lookcenter; the order is important or the tilted
view will be frozen.
+tiltleft
-tiltleft
+tiltright
-tiltright
see above.
toggle_overlay ? ?
Takes which to toggle.
tool_frob_center V - on
Automatically move an inventory item to the center of the
screen when it can be used on an object in the
environment. To disable this, remove the command from
dark.cfg or type "unset tool_frob_center" in the game
console and press escape twice to get to the menu and back
to the game.
trace_add ? ?
<object> <message> <action> <line>
trace_dump ? ?
Show all traces
trace_dump_active ? ?
Show all traces on active lines
trace_line ? ?
Toggle a script trace line
trace_line_dump ? ?
Show status of all trace lines
trace_remove ? ?
<object> <message>
trait_cache_flags A I 2
?
turn C (F)
Turn around; neg. = left, pos. = right; +/- 1 = slow, +/- 2
= fast.
turn toggle C (F)
Toggle turning.
+turn C (F)
Start turning.
-turn C (F)
Stop turning.
turnleft C (F) -1
Same as turn with default value of -1.
+turnleft
-turnleft
See above.
turnleftfast C (F) -2
Same as turn with default value of 2.
+turnleftfast
-turnleftfast
See above.
turnright C (F) 1
Same as turn with default value of 1.
+turnright
-turnrigt
See above.
turnrightfast C (F) 2
Same as turn with default value of 2.
+turnrightfast
-turnrightfast
See above.
unbind G Key
Remove binding
unset G Var
Unset a config variable (type V) from inside the game.
See "set" for more details.
use_item G (B) toggle
Use item (0 = start, 1 = finish), if no argument is given,
toggles between on and off.
+use_item G -
Start using an item.
-use_item G -
Stop using an item.
use_weapon G B toggle
Weapon item (0 = start, 1 = finish), if no argument is
given, toggles between on and off.
+use_weapon G -
Start using weapon.
-use_weapon G -
Stop using weapon.
vismeter_ang V F 0
Vismeter angle (0 = horizontal, 90 = vertical).
vismeter_frame_skip V F
Determines how much the vismeter changes between two
redraws (1 = slowly, 5 = very fast, >= 10 = almost
instantly, 0 disables the vismeter).
vismeter_refresh V I
The delay between two updates of the vismeter in
milliseconds.
vismeter_zoom V F 60
Distance between camera and vismeter. Smaller values make
the vismeter bigger. If it gets bigger than the health
bar, the borders are cut off.
walk C (F) 1
Move slowly; pos. = forward, neg. = backward; allowed range
between -1 and 1.
walkfast C (F) 2
Same as forward.
win_mission G -
Win the mission.
zlook C (F) 1
Look up (pos.) or down (neg.)
zlook toggle C (F) 1
Toggle looking up/down.
+zlook C (F) 1
Start looking up/down.
-zlook C (F) -1
Stop looking up/down.

Awesome, thank you for preserving these historical guides here! Do you know which, if any, of these are impossible in NewDark?

Cool guides, thanks for posting. Where ya been, Luthien? I just saw you haven't posted here in about 3 years.