Playing Deus Ex for the First Time

[MercWithMouth]

Hey there guys.
I've actually played through Deus Ex already myself. I bought the game YEARS ago, played it, and loved it terrifically.
But, I'm trying to introduce the game to my girlfriend.
So, I want her to have the "original gameplay experience" of Deus Ex. Same weapons, same enemy layouts, same map layouts, same stories and same missions, etc.

BUT...

I do know that since the time when Deus Ex was first released more than a decade ago...
a lot of Deus Ex mods have been created to enhance the "original gameplay experience". Stuff like similar-but-enhanced graphics, similar-but-enhanced sounds, similar-but-enhanced character models & textures, similar-but-enhanced looks to the buildings and map environments, etc.

So, in order to get this "original gameplay experience" of Deus Ex, but also having it enhanced somewhat through the aforementioned enhancements, what should I install?

I know that I should install the Deus Ex game itself, but what else?

Massive thanks in advance if you can let me know!

[bobby 55]

Obviously HDTP and New Vision only pretty Deus Ex up without changing maps or the story. I guess Shifter 1.84 enhances the gameplay without changing the game. It also adds some different ammo as well as allowing us to interact with Ford Schick after rescuing him, and it fixes a few bugs.

[Jonas]

IMO Shifter changes the game. But definitely use HDTP and New Vision.

[bobby 55]

Jonas does have a point re Shifter. Personally I'll not play Deus Ex without it, however, since you stipulated the original experience perhaps you might want to give it a miss. The link provided takes you to mod db and Shifter's page. The "summary" lists the changes, you can decide if they're too much of a diversion from vanilla Deus Ex. The story remains the same as the original.

http://www.moddb.com/mods/shifter1

[Hassat Hunter]

Yeah, would have been great if there was DX 2.0 and Shifter, but doesn't look like that first will ever see the light of day.

Shifter itself does too much changes, so no vanilla experience with that.

[MercWithMouth]

Yah, thank you so much for the tips.
Ok, in that case... I'll install "New Vision Mod" and then "HDTP"-pack for my girlfriend when I'm loading "Deus Ex" onto her system.

I should ask though... Does anybody have side-by-side shots of "Deus Ex" in vanilla-mode comparing it to how it looks with the "New Vision Mod" and then "HDTP"-pack installed? I'd really like to see a side-by-side comparison to know what we're getting into AND to be sure that I installed the mods correctly.

Yeah, would have been great if there was DX 2.0 and Shifter, but doesn't look like that first will ever see the light of day.

Shifter itself does too much changes, so no vanilla experience with that.

What do you mean by "DX 2.0 and Shifter"?
Are you talking about "Deus Ex 2: Invisible War" ?

[bobby 55]

Without New Vision Damn, bear with me. I tried NV but I'll have to reinstall DX...bloody computer.

[MercWithMouth]

Without New Vision Damn, bear with me. I tried NV but I'll have to reinstall DX...bloody computer.

You just gave me a twang of nostalgia!
Remember to choose the GEP Gun if Paul offers!

(and I strongly appreciate you going through the trouble of installing the mods to do side-by-side shots, too.)

[ggrotz]

I should ask though... Does anybody have side-by-side shots of "Deus Ex" in vanilla-mode comparing it to how it looks with the "New Vision Mod" and then "HDTP"-pack installed? I'd really like to see a side-by-side comparison to know what we're getting into AND to be sure that I installed the mods correctly.

In doing this, I noticed the quickest "install tests" are the skyline for NV (the original is blocky browns & greys, the NV one is smaller and more colorful) and the soda can on the dock for the HDTP demo (the original is hexagonal, the HDTP one is perfectly circular).

guntherall.jpg

cratesall.jpg

bottlesall.jpg

[ggrotz]

skylineall.jpg

[bobby 55]

Good job ggrotz. My PC is having a hissy fit and I'm getting missing dll errors with DX. I think the Version 3 of Kenties exe may be the prob.
It's not the best shot , hopefully though you can see the grain in the wood. It really does look much better in game. Also the Kentie 3 exe hates me.

[MercWithMouth]

I should ask though... Does anybody have side-by-side shots of "Deus Ex" in vanilla-mode comparing it to how it looks with the "New Vision Mod" and then "HDTP"-pack installed? I'd really like to see a side-by-side comparison to know what we're getting into AND to be sure that I installed the mods correctly.

In doing this, I noticed the quickest "install tests" are the skyline for NV (the original is blocky browns & greys, the NV one is smaller and more colorful) and the soda can on the dock for the HDTP demo (the original is hexagonal, the HDTP one is perfectly circular).

guntherall.jpg

cratesall.jpg

bottlesall.jpg

It looks great.
Now I only wish they'd improve the installer for the NV-mod. ^^;
Oh well.
In addition, it's useful to make sure you've changed the path for BOTH of the deusex.ini files. The one in your MY DOCUMENTS folder, and the one in the DEUS EX SYSTEM folder as well. That way, you can be sure that the NVMod's textures are being used by the game when you're playing.

[MercWithMouth]

One last thing I might ask of you guys if you think you're prepared to take the plunge...

First, do any of you think you could do screenshot side-by-side comparisons that compare:


1-- Deus Ex vanilla
2-- Deus Ex + New Vison Mod
3-- Deus Ex + HDTP
4-- Deus Ex + New Vision Mod + HDTP

The reason I ask for this is I want to know the sheer benefit of installing the additional mods on my girlfriend's computer. Also, it'd probably be good for the advancement of HDTP and the New Vision Mod as a general matter (and maybe be for the benefit of the mod-community, generally) if side-by-side shots were made available.



Second, as part of installing "the New Vision Mod", should the "paths" be changed for the deusex.ini files in the MY DOCUMENTS folder, AND the one in the DEUS EX SYSTEM folder as well? I'd like your thoughts on if I should do this.

Thanks guys!

[Hassat Hunter]

What do you mean by "DX 2.0 and Shifter"?
Are you talking about "Deus Ex 2: Invisible War" ?

Nope. Yuki (of Shifter fame) started making a group effort-made fixpack for Deus Ex... Deus Ex 2.0. But it seems kind of stalled as he moved on to other projects. A pity.

The reason I ask for this is I want to know the sheer benefit of installing the additional mods on my girlfriend's computer. Also, it'd probably be good for the advancement of HDTP and the New Vision Mod as a general matter (and maybe be for the benefit of the mod-community, generally) if side-by-side shots were made available.

Well, there are comparisson shots of New Vision in a thread here. Most old NV - new NV but some also had original DX comparissons. No linky, too late and lazy ATM.

Second, as part of installing "the New Vision Mod", should the "paths" be changed for the deusex.ini files in the MY DOCUMENTS folder, AND the one in the DEUS EX SYSTEM folder as well? I'd like your thoughts on if I should do this.

No, just the my documents one (as Kentie's launcher uses that one instead). Would you ever want to use it without the launcher (say, TNM without using custom launcher and the standard shortcut), you should use the Deus Ex system one as well.

[Mariner]

In doing this, I noticed the quickest "install tests" are the skyline for NV (the original is blocky browns & greys, the NV one is smaller and more colorful) and the soda can on the dock for the HDTP demo (the original is hexagonal, the HDTP one is perfectly circular).

As someone who's familiar with other game engines, does Unreal 1 support LOD models? I ask because I wondered if this version of the Unreal engine handled LOD changes. If not, that explains why the default cans are so rough.