Ultimate beginner's guide to Deus Ex

The ultimate guide for first timers to Deus Ex. A game (and franchise) very near and dear to my heart. This guide aims to include everything a new player needs to know to set this game up properly, and to jump right in.

What is Deus Ex?

Deus Ex (Pronounced Day-us ex) is a cyberpunk[en.wikipedia.org], semi-linear, action-RPG[en.wikipedia.org] developed by Ion Storm[en.wikipedia.org] using the Unreal Engine[en.wikipedia.org], and published by Eidos Interactive[en.wikipedia.org] on June 17, 2000.

Created by Warren Spector, who worked on other critically acclaimed games such as Ultima Underworld[en.wikipedia.org], Ultima Underworld II[en.wikipedia.org], System Shock[en.wikipedia.org], and Thief: The Dark Project[en.wikipedia.org]. All of these games are considered a genre of their own: the Immersive Sim[en.wikipedia.org]. Games that, for the most part, emphasized the fact that players could approach objectives any way they chose.

Deus Ex today is a cult classic, and considered by many who've played it to be one of the best games of all time.

Woah, what do you mean "Properly set up"? Can't I just play the game straight out the box?

Well, yes.. yes you can. But there are a few issues. Namely, the max resolution you can change it to in-game, and the in-game brightness. Of course, seeing as this game is nearly 20 years old, there's a good chance you might run into other issues. So what's the fix? Kentie's launcher[kentie.net]!

Kentie's launcher is a replacement for the original DeusEx.exe (executable) that gives it a launcher. This new exe fixes quite a few bugs encountered while running on modern systems, and gives the user quick access to common ini edits to do things such as quickly changing the renderer, capping the fps (As to not overwork your gpu), field of view, and change the HUD scaling (Named GUI in the launcher). You can see all of the settings here:

Alright, so what are the instructions to actually set it up?

So first, there are two things you'll need from Kentie.net.

Deus Exe[kentie.net]

And Unreal engine Direct3D 10 renderer[kentie.net]. The reason you'll want this updated renderer, is because it fixes the low brightness issue a lot of new players report having.



Now, under Deus Exe, you want to get the current version: DeusExe-v8.1.zip.

As for the renderer, you want to get: d3d10drv-v29.zip


For DeusExe, you want to extract both Deusex.exe and DeusExe.u into your DeusEx/System directory under you steamapps/common folder. An easy way to get here is to right click on Deus Ex in you steam library->Properties->Local Files->Browse local files. When you do this, it'll ask if you want to replace the old Deusex.exe with the new one. Click yes,

As for the renderer, under d3d10drv-v29.zip/DeusEx, there should be 3 items:

d3d10drv (folder)
d3d10drv.dll
D3D10Drv.int

Extract all of these to your DeusEx/system folder like you did with the launcher.

Now, open the game via steam and you'll see the new launcher pop up.

Click on Configure

Then under Renderer change it to Direct3D 10 Support (As pictued above).

Now, you're all set! All that's left is to setup your preferred resolution, and check off "Disable mouse acceleration".

If you're wondering what mouse acceleration is, the TL;DR is that it basically changes your sensitivity depending on how fast you move the mouse. In theory, this sounds great. But in practice, it’s absolutely horrible. Especially for a game using a first person perspective. Trust me.

Alright, now what about mods? The graphics are kinda ugly..(GMDX, Revision, New Vision, Etc)

Let me get this out there, If you really can't stand the graphics, get New Vision off of Mod DB. It's a mod that changes about 80%~ of the textures with higher resolution ones. You can also check out HDTP, which replaces some of the models of the game. It doesn't replace all of them (last time I checked), which makes it look a little out of place. But go for it if you really want it. (Yes, these are the ones bundled with GMDX anyway)

As for mods like GMDX and Revision? Both of those change the game in a drastic way! GMDX does it gameplay wise, and Revision does it visually with the maps. NEITHER ARE SUGGESTED FOR FIRST TIME PLAYERS! It's highly recommended you play vanilla (unmodded) DX (With New Vision if you want) at least once (all the way through) before using either!

Now, what actually are either of those mods? Well..

GMDX is a modification that brings the gameplay a bit more in tune to what most modern gamers are used to. Things like mantling ledges, improved AI, improved sound design, polished weapons, better difficulty levels, etcetera. While yes, it does stay true to the original vision of the game, it changes it just enough to not be quite the same as a playthrough in vanilla Deus Ex.


Revision is a modification that completely revamps all of the maps. Shuffling them around quite a bit, but still retain just vaguely enough of their original design. This mod is a real treat once you've mastered all of the original maps. Rediscovering all the secrets and paths again.

Of course, there are a multitude of other mods out there. Like The Nameless Mod, 2027, Terminus Machina, Hatchet, Nihilum, etc,.. I still haven't played all of them, despite playing this game since 2003/2004.

Common problems and how to solve them (FAQs)

My computer has X specs, can I run this game?

Short answer: Yes. Long answer: This game was made in late 90's and published in 2000. As long as your not running either A: a toaster, or B: hardware from pre-1997, you're good to go. Even a laptop with minimal specs can run this game without issue. The only exception to this being Xeon (Workstation) CPU's without a dedicated GPU. As Xeon chips don't have integrated graphics.

What about Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10?

You'll have some issues with the game. But as long as you're using Kentie's launcher, you're good to go.

Help! The game is too dark! I've tried turning up the in-game brightness and it doesn't help!

This is an issue regarding modern GPU's, and the pre-packaged renderers. Please refer to "Alright, so what are the instruction to actually set it up?" and follow the instructions to download and install Direct3D 10.

The dialogue is cutting out just as the character's are finished speaking?

This is due to one of two things. Either the FPS you're getting and the renderer, or the audio latency. For the former, cap your FPS in Kentie's to your monitor's refresh rate (E.g. 60 Hz = 60 as cap) as you shouldn't really need anymore than what your monitor can display. And to also change the renderer to Direct3D 10. If that doesn't work, change the value of the audio latency to the ones suggested just above it (I.E 40, 60, 80, or 100).

My game is crashing before I can launch it!

This can be due to any number of reasons. So there's no real cure all. However, the first step you can try is to verify the cache of the game. This'll make sure all the files to make the game run are actually there. You can do this by right clicking on Deus Ex within your steam library->Properties->Local Files->Verify Cache.

I don't like the scaling of the HUD/UI!

In the newest version of Kentie's Launcher (Version 8.1) there's a setting under [Configure] called [Use custom GUI scaling:]. Check that, then play around with what you like best. The options range from [x1] to [x5] with [x1] being closer to (if not exactly) non scaled GUI. Meanwhile [x5] is scaled all the way up, being what scaled GUI is on the XP compatible version of Kentie's (The version I show in the screenshots). Personally, I use [x2] on a 1440p 23.5" inch monitor. I also used [x2] on my previous 1080p 23" TV as well. Mainly because it resembles most the scale of the HUD when I was younger (to my memory anyway). Sometime in the near future, expect screenshots showcasing the various scale settings.

There are no servers on multiplayer! Is it dead?

Yes and no. Back in 2014 Gamespy (The service this game used for multiplayer) shut down, taking the servers along with it. Since then, a new fan-made masterserver has been created. There are players occasionally playing the multiplayer, but as expected of a nearly 20 year old game, the servers aren't exactly bustling with activity.

This guide here does a great job of explaining how to connect to the new master server:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=315427330

End

More will be added to this guide as time goes on, but I hope the current contents of this were enough to get you set up, and answer any questions you might have! If you have any other issues not described in this guide, feel free to either send me a friend request and shoot me a message, put it in the comments, or post on the forums! Good luck and have fun!

[Snake]

@Joji Costava
Afraid of changing things the way the game would feel the best? I mean, it took me 2 minutes to unbind all the stuff I never needed and getting myself a "modern" layout, why would you need a mod for that...

[``~Scre@m~``]

@Joji Costava
not exactly on topic, but, try to play PS2 version. It has different input scheme

[Joji Costava]

Someone should make a mod to make the controls a little more modern, i get e being part of lean but some just makes me press the wrong thing and die
P.S yes, im afraid of change

[TRIGGERNOMETRY]

Awesome guide. One of my favorite games from when I was 13. Excited to see how it holds up.

[Eshara]

doesnt work

[``~Scre@m~``]

are you sure its not running in software render mode in window? its an old UE1 quirk. if render fails to load in fullscreen, it swaps to "windowed" software mode.. (like for example with Glide renderer)

[John Elden Ring]

For some reason I got it working but I cant fullscreen it. It just does sort of windowed and no keybinds are fullscreening and when I try to manually do it, the game just doesn't let me. When I do the other fullscreen option I just get a black screen. Any help?

[COMRAD 64]

bruh one of my friends showed me how to do it before I saw this, I wish I saw it when he was doing it for me.

[Spartan]

Everything works alright, but there's quite a delay when opening my inventory... Any tips?

[Kid Umi]

my specs are in my bio, and i have to run the game at 720p low settings so it doesnt crash, but even so, if there is an ounce of water or more then 2 lights, the game goes sub 24fps. ionno what to rly do, besides finish the pc build ive been planning for months and shove more power down the game's throat.