Thief 2 took what was great with Thief 1 and refined those things. This game is much darker, more tense and has a much greater focus on stealth infiltration missions. The game world has changed since the happenings of the last game, and technology has taken some steps forward. You must now also be weary of security cameras and sentry bots.



This guide will explain how to install the digital edition of the game available on GOG.com

Tips & Specs

To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux explained

Arch Linux 64-bit
PlayOnLinux 4.2.5
Wine 1.6.2

Downloading from GOG

GOG games can be downloaded on Linux by using a web browser, just make sure the "GOG.com Downloader mode" is OFF

Make sure that you download the Universal update as well as the installer. The update fixes several issues so don't forget it.



Or you can use the lgogdownloader, which is my personal preferred choice. It is a very useful program for downloading GOG games. There is no graphical interface for it, but it is very fast and provides error free downloads.

For some Linux distros it may be found in community repositories or similar community provided packages. Installation and usage instructions are located here: lgogdownloader

On first use, you must log in by opening a terminal and using the command:

lgogdownloader --login

You will be prompted for your gog.com account email and password, which you must type in correctly before you can use lgogdownloader to download games.

To list all games you own, type:

lgogdownloader --list

If you only want to see specific games you own, for example any games with 'thief' in the name, then type:

lgogdownloader --list | grep thief



To download Thief 2 - The Metal Age with no extras and no cover artwork, just the actual installer:

lgogdownloader --download --game thief_2_the_metal_age --no-extras --no-cover --directory /path/to/folder

Using the lgogdownloader will download the Universal update as well, so you don't need to download that separately if you use this method.

Setup PlayOnLinux

Launch PlayOnLinux and select 'Tools' and 'Manage Wine versions'

In the new window that appears, scroll through the 'Available Wine versions' box to find '1.6.2' and click on the right pointing arrow to install it, now it will be visible under 'Installed Wine versions' on the right side
If you have a 64-bits system, make sure you have selected the 'Wine versions (x86)' tab above, although it is possible to make this game work with 64-bit wine if so desired



Just close the window. Back at the main PlayOnLinux window, select 'Install'

Click on 'Install a non-listed program'



Select 'Install a program in a new virtual drive' and click next



Name the the virtual drive "thief2" and click next



Select "Use another version of Wine", "Configure Wine" and "Install some libraries" before you click next



On the wine selection window, select 1.6.2 and click next. Make sure you select '32-bits window installation' if you are on a 64-bit system as it is normally the best practice, but in my experience this will work well in a 64-bit virtual drive.



When the wine configuration window appear, select the 'Graphics' tab, and click the checkbox for all four options. Make sure that you set the resolution to your desktop resolution. My desktop is at 1920 x 1080, so I set that for the wine virtual desktop resolution.



Note: Even though the language is Norwegian in my screenshot, the layout will look the same for you

When you come to the selection of libraries to install, select two libraries:

• POL_Install_dxfullsetup
• POL_Install_gdiplus

Then click 'Next'

When you are asked for the install file to run, navigate to the GOG installer and select it. Then click 'Next'



Installing the Game



Click on 'Options'. You don't need any desktop icons created by the installer as those are only useful on Windows. Then click to accept the EULA and click 'Install'





When the installation is complete, 'Exit' the installer



When you are asked to create a shortcut, select "Thief2_ND.exe" and click next. You can name the shortcut "Thief 2 - The Metal Age"



Now just select 'I don't want to make another shortcut' and click Next

You should now make sure you have the game shortcut selected in the main PlayOnLinux window, and then click on 'Configure'

Select the 'Display' tab and change "Video memory size" to the memory of your gpu.



Now click on the 'Miscellaneous' tab at the top. Then click on 'Run a .exe file in this virtual drive'



Now navigate to, and select, the Universal update for the game.



The updater is pretty straightforward. Just click on 'Update'



It will finish rather quickly. When it is done, click on 'Exit'



You can now close the PlayOnLinux Configuration window can run the game from PlayOnLinux!

When you start the game, it is likely to run in a small window. What you should do select Options from the game menu, and select Video. Here you should be able to set your desktop resolution if you want the game fullscreen.



The game is very dark, as can be seen in the screenshots below. And in order to play through this game well on higher difficulties you really must learn to love the darkness. This game really rewards patience, waiting silently in the dark until it is the right moment to make a move. Anyone who enjoy stealth games should find this to be a very fun and challenging game.

Screenshots