The Thing Tips/Tricks/Exploits
By Uqahs (sorry for my bad english - this text was written 3 years ago) >Intro< 1. How to play in Intro. 1a. Getting started. If you have a PC version of game goto the 'Data' directory. This folder is inyour main The Thing directory eg. 'C:\Program Files\TheThing\Data\'. Now there are probably the 3 *.pak files. You can open them with WinRAR. You have to get this program from somewhere eg. from my site. 1b. Let's go. Now open the 'resources.pak' with WinRAR. In 'resources.pak' there are packed folders with game files. Goto the 'Levels' folder, you are still in 'resources.pak'. In this 'Levels' folder are files that you will edit. Extract them to the 'Levels' folder (extract them to this one ON YOUR HARD DISK, this one in 'Data' directory). Now you have to delete 'Levels' folder from 'resources.pak' file. Because if you'll edit extracted file and after this you will add this file to *.pak archive you'll cause corruption of this archive. And the game won't work. If you want to edit all kinds of files, you should extract all 3 *.pak files into your 'Data' directory. 1c. Editing. If you want to change something in game you should start with *.lvl files. These files contains all basic information about every level. So if you'll change some of this information you'll change the level. You should open those files with Notepad. There are lines which you can edit. Simply change the values after the '=' symbol. 1d. Practicing. If you want to play in Intro, change these lines (they should look like these two): "Script" = "" "LevelStartsWithCutScene" = "0" >Level3a< 1. Like a ghost. You can go to Williams under the floorboard. You have to go to the wall of the room in which is Williams. Now crouch and go to the wall. You will enter the room under the floor but you are stil outside. Go forward and you will enter to this room. >Level3b< 1. Iversen. How to get Iversen? It's impossible. >Level4a< 1. NPCFakeBlake. If you want to get NPCFakeBlake you have to stop Blake in cutscene where he went up to the observation tower and Pierce is killing himself. To do this you have to go to first floor of observation station. But first you have to get key from the ground floor. Go up by stairs in first floor. Stop before the door at the end of the stairs. Fire up the floor near the door with a flamethrower, go through the flames and open door. Blake will stop in the cutscene and you can go back to the door after the cutscene and get him. His name is NPCFakeBlake. 2. Pierce2. This trick is simillar to the previous one. You have to stop the Pierce in the cutscene where he runs up to the observation tower. After start you can't activate the scene with Pierce. So don't go forward. On the bulding where are stored barrels with fuel there is a vent. You can see this vent from where you start. It's placed near the roof. Shot of the cover and throw there a grenade. The grenade will blow up the door to this building. In this building is the key to the observation station. Now you have to go around this storage building. Go by the balloon station and move forward to the back side of observation station. Move forward to the cropse with gun. You have to kill some scuttlers. Now turn left to this corridor between the observation station and the warehouse. This way you won't activate the cutscene with Pierce. Go into the observation station. Get the key from the groundfloor. Move up to the roof. You have to destroy two barrels on this roof. Once you have destroyed them you have the way to the warehouse by the "footbridge". Now flame up the roof near the door that towards to the roof. Run fast to that "footbridge" and don't go to the warehouse but jump down from this footbridge (first on lower roof and then on the ground) and run toward the storage building. This way you will activate the cutscene with Pierce but he won't go to observation tower because he's got the flames on his way. After the scene you can go back and get him. This NPC is called Pierce2. 3. Faster way. On the bulding where are stored barrels with fuel there is a vent. You can see this vent from where you start. It's placed near the roof. Shot of the cover and throw there a grenade. The grenade will blow up the door to this building. This is the faster way to pass this level. 4. Iversen You have to edit 'level4a.lvl' file. Change the lines like these: "Script" = "" "LevelStartsWithCutScene" = "0" After running this level, there will be a little cutscene but Iversen won't move, so you can go and get him. >Level4b< 1. Skipping 1st Boss. You can skip first Boss battle. When you enter to the room go to the power box and repair it. After that go out through the opened door. If you will be fast you will save your health, ammo and medkits. >Level5a< 1. NPCEntity_1. This is very hard trick. You need medikits and you have to kill every little Thing before the room with the Hydraulic Override, and don't go into that room. Make sure that the Walker haven't seen you. Save your game after killing this Things. Use the CCTV terminal where you can watch Walker and NPC. But don't watch him leave terminal as soon as possible (simply hit 'E' twice) and run as fast as possible to that NPC. If you're lucky he'll be alive. Just kill that Walker and heal the NPC. Belive me it's very hard to get him. I did it after about 20th try. His name is NPCEntity_1. >Midtro< 1. How to play in Midtro. It's the similar trick as the play in Intro. Just change the lines in 'midtro.lvl' file. They should look like these two: "Script" = "" "LevelStartsWithCutScene" = "0" In Midtro there is Whitely, Faraday and 9 troopers. >Level6< 1. How to get Faraday'a. It's impossible. 2. How to get Whitely. It's impossible. >Level7a< 1. Appearing Fisk. If you haven't got Fisk from 6 level, he will appear on the start. 2. Strange windows. Once you in the room where are two trapped Walkers, you can falme the floor in their cage without hitting the switch or even shot through the window. >Level7b< 1. Disappearing Fisk. If have got Fisk to the end of the level7a, he will dissappear from the start on this level. As level7b.lvl and level7b.bin files says he should be in your team. 2. Little help. In the second Boss battle your medic can help you. Move him as close as possible to the doors towarding to the room with boss. Other squad-members leave somewhere. Now, go to the room with boss. >Level9b< 1. How to get Austin. Edit 'level9b.lvl' file. Change the lines like this: "Terrain Mesh" = "Level10a.sgh" "Collision Mesh" = "Level10a.geo" This change causes loading terrain from a different level. After running this level, you will be able to get Austin. 2. How to get Austin2. Impossible. 3. How to get Austin3. After getting access to armory, destroying turret and killing scuttlers' 'house' you will open the door and see the cutscene with a man, who is running trough the door. Go to that door and throw a grenade into them. They will blow up. Inside the room there will be Austin3. After healing him, he will burst out. 4. Walker in boss' room. You can kill Walker in room with boss 3 without activating the battle. Just before the door towarding to that room you need to push your engineer through the door. You can't activate the battle, so don't go too close. If you push your NPC to that door, he will open the door and you will be able to shot to that Walker. >Level10a< 1. How to get Whitely'a. 1a. Get out from the elevator, but don't go forward, fire a stun grenade from grenade launcher or lob it outside trough the door. Don't go too close exit because you will trigger the cutscene with Whitely. He stands behind the door if you don't activate the scene, so you can hit him with your grenades. Don't use the fire or regular grenades use stunt grenades (blue). If you shot right after activating the scene he won't run because he will be injuried. You can go to him and get him to your team. You have to make some trust, so give him gun or use blood -*test*-('") kit. Simply, you have to stand in the elevator, throw a grenade and run to Whitely. If you will go forward with him, he will disappear but stop just before the door towarding to the Dome. Whitely will run out from the Dome. If you activate the scene with Whitely in the Dome, he will disappear forever. 1b. You don't have to shot from elevator. Simply let Whitely run. Kill Troopers and don't go into the Dome but turn right and there are big boxes blocking the pass but you can pass them. Go up by the cliff near the boxes and there is a pass to the second side. With this trick you won't activate the snipers on the platforms. You can enter the Dome from the back side. You will find Whitely there and If you activate the scene with Whitely in the Dome, he will disappear forever. Whitely can't crouch, so you can't get him outside. 1c. Edit the 'level10a.lvl' file. Change the lines like these: "Script" = "" "LevelStartsWithCutScene" = "0" In cutscene Whitely won't move. And you will be able to get him. 2. Faster way. You don't have to enter the Dome to finish the level. Don't go into the Dome but turn right and there are big boxes blocking the pass but you can pass them. Go up by the cliff near the boxes and there is a pass to the second side. With this trick you won't activate the snipers on the platforms and avoid the Troopers inside the Dome. 3. Walking high. Edit the 'level10a.lvl' file. Change the lines like these: "Script" = "" "LevelStartsWithCutScene" = "0" You will be able to go up on the cliffs. Go to the end of this level. You should be moved to the next level but you have removed the script line and you can go forward. There is a strange construction similar to half of the Dome. Turn right once you see that counstruction and find a cliff on which you can walk. Go up by this cliff. You can walk around the level now and you can look at everything from better persepective :). >Level10b< 1a. How to get Whitely and McReady. Activate in game save cheat. While you are fighting with Whtley and sitting in chopter, save your game. Now go to the main menu and load a game. You will be standing somewhere and in front of you there will be Whitley and McReady. You can't move but you can shot... 1b. You have to edit 'level10b.lvl' file. Change the lines like this: Script = "" FogStart = "18000" FogEnd = "20000" Once you see the last boss turn right and find a cliff on which you can walk. Go up by this cliff. Go to McReady first, then go to Whitely. Whitely is standing behind the start point. 2. How to play without fighting. You have to edit 'level10b.lvl' file. Change the lines like this: Script = "" FogStart = "18000" FogEnd = "20000" You won't activate the scene towarding to the battle and you can freely walk in level. No fog gives better look. On the cliff is McReady. Whitely is standing over UFO and you can't kill him. There is also landing zone and the opened shelter. In this shelter you will find empty box with grenades and medikit. Maybe game desingers wanted to make this level harder? Textures on UFO can disappear sometimes. You can shot barrels near the boss. You can go lower to the UFO but the UFO isn't finished and you can fall down through textures or crash the game. >Other< 1. Blood -*test*-('")s. You don't need to use Blood Test Kits, because your squad members are infected by computer or they are scripted burst-outs. So you can check someone's blood, but after one minute he will burst-out. 2. Infinite flares. Highlight flare, enable it, but do not throw it down. When it is low, highlight another object. Then, highlight flare again. It will have restarted and you will not lose another one.
By Uqahs (sorry for my bad english - this text was written 3 years ago) >Intro< 1. How to play in Intro. 1a. Getting started. If you have a PC version of game goto the 'Data' directory. This folder is inyour main The Thing directory eg. 'C:\Program Files\TheThing\Data\'. Now there are probably the 3 *.pak files. You can open them with WinRAR. You have to get this program from somewhere eg. from my site. 1b. Let's go. Now open the 'resources.pak' with WinRAR. In 'resources.pak' there are packed folders with game files. Goto the 'Levels' folder, you are still in 'resources.pak'. In this 'Levels' folder are files that you will edit. Extract them to the 'Levels' folder (extract them to this one ON YOUR HARD DISK, this one in 'Data' directory). Now you have to delete 'Levels' folder from 'resources.pak' file. Because if you'll edit extracted file and after this you will add this file to *.pak archive you'll cause corruption of this archive. And the game won't work. If you want to edit all kinds of files, you should extract all 3 *.pak files into your 'Data' directory. 1c. Editing. If you want to change something in game you should start with *.lvl files. These files contains all basic information about every level. So if you'll change some of this information you'll change the level. You should open those files with Notepad. There are lines which you can edit. Simply change the values after the '=' symbol. 1d. Practicing. If you want to play in Intro, change these lines (they should look like these two): "Script" = "" "LevelStartsWithCutScene" = "0" >Level3a< 1. Like a ghost. You can go to Williams under the floorboard. You have to go to the wall of the room in which is Williams. Now crouch and go to the wall. You will enter the room under the floor but you are stil outside. Go forward and you will enter to this room. >Level3b< 1. Iversen. How to get Iversen? It's impossible. >Level4a< 1. NPCFakeBlake. If you want to get NPCFakeBlake you have to stop Blake in cutscene where he went up to the observation tower and Pierce is killing himself. To do this you have to go to first floor of observation station. But first you have to get key from the ground floor. Go up by stairs in first floor. Stop before the door at the end of the stairs. Fire up the floor near the door with a flamethrower, go through the flames and open door. Blake will stop in the cutscene and you can go back to the door after the cutscene and get him. His name is NPCFakeBlake. 2. Pierce2. This trick is simillar to the previous one. You have to stop the Pierce in the cutscene where he runs up to the observation tower. After start you can't activate the scene with Pierce. So don't go forward. On the bulding where are stored barrels with fuel there is a vent. You can see this vent from where you start. It's placed near the roof. Shot of the cover and throw there a grenade. The grenade will blow up the door to this building. In this building is the key to the observation station. Now you have to go around this storage building. Go by the balloon station and move forward to the back side of observation station. Move forward to the cropse with gun. You have to kill some scuttlers. Now turn left to this corridor between the observation station and the warehouse. This way you won't activate the cutscene with Pierce. Go into the observation station. Get the key from the groundfloor. Move up to the roof. You have to destroy two barrels on this roof. Once you have destroyed them you have the way to the warehouse by the "footbridge". Now flame up the roof near the door that towards to the roof. Run fast to that "footbridge" and don't go to the warehouse but jump down from this footbridge (first on lower roof and then on the ground) and run toward the storage building. This way you will activate the cutscene with Pierce but he won't go to observation tower because he's got the flames on his way. After the scene you can go back and get him. This NPC is called Pierce2. 3. Faster way. On the bulding where are stored barrels with fuel there is a vent. You can see this vent from where you start. It's placed near the roof. Shot of the cover and throw there a grenade. The grenade will blow up the door to this building. This is the faster way to pass this level. 4. Iversen You have to edit 'level4a.lvl' file. Change the lines like these: "Script" = "" "LevelStartsWithCutScene" = "0" After running this level, there will be a little cutscene but Iversen won't move, so you can go and get him. >Level4b< 1. Skipping 1st Boss. You can skip first Boss battle. When you enter to the room go to the power box and repair it. After that go out through the opened door. If you will be fast you will save your health, ammo and medkits. >Level5a< 1. NPCEntity_1. This is very hard trick. You need medikits and you have to kill every little Thing before the room with the Hydraulic Override, and don't go into that room. Make sure that the Walker haven't seen you. Save your game after killing this Things. Use the CCTV terminal where you can watch Walker and NPC. But don't watch him leave terminal as soon as possible (simply hit 'E' twice) and run as fast as possible to that NPC. If you're lucky he'll be alive. Just kill that Walker and heal the NPC. Belive me it's very hard to get him. I did it after about 20th try. His name is NPCEntity_1. >Midtro< 1. How to play in Midtro. It's the similar trick as the play in Intro. Just change the lines in 'midtro.lvl' file. They should look like these two: "Script" = "" "LevelStartsWithCutScene" = "0" In Midtro there is Whitely, Faraday and 9 troopers. >Level6< 1. How to get Faraday'a. It's impossible. 2. How to get Whitely. It's impossible. >Level7a< 1. Appearing Fisk. If you haven't got Fisk from 6 level, he will appear on the start. 2. Strange windows. Once you in the room where are two trapped Walkers, you can falme the floor in their cage without hitting the switch or even shot through the window. >Level7b< 1. Disappearing Fisk. If have got Fisk to the end of the level7a, he will dissappear from the start on this level. As level7b.lvl and level7b.bin files says he should be in your team. 2. Little help. In the second Boss battle your medic can help you. Move him as close as possible to the doors towarding to the room with boss. Other squad-members leave somewhere. Now, go to the room with boss. >Level9b< 1. How to get Austin. Edit 'level9b.lvl' file. Change the lines like this: "Terrain Mesh" = "Level10a.sgh" "Collision Mesh" = "Level10a.geo" This change causes loading terrain from a different level. After running this level, you will be able to get Austin. 2. How to get Austin2. Impossible. 3. How to get Austin3. After getting access to armory, destroying turret and killing scuttlers' 'house' you will open the door and see the cutscene with a man, who is running trough the door. Go to that door and throw a grenade into them. They will blow up. Inside the room there will be Austin3. After healing him, he will burst out. 4. Walker in boss' room. You can kill Walker in room with boss 3 without activating the battle. Just before the door towarding to that room you need to push your engineer through the door. You can't activate the battle, so don't go too close. If you push your NPC to that door, he will open the door and you will be able to shot to that Walker. >Level10a< 1. How to get Whitely'a. 1a. Get out from the elevator, but don't go forward, fire a stun grenade from grenade launcher or lob it outside trough the door. Don't go too close exit because you will trigger the cutscene with Whitely. He stands behind the door if you don't activate the scene, so you can hit him with your grenades. Don't use the fire or regular grenades use stunt grenades (blue). If you shot right after activating the scene he won't run because he will be injuried. You can go to him and get him to your team. You have to make some trust, so give him gun or use blood -*test*-('") kit. Simply, you have to stand in the elevator, throw a grenade and run to Whitely. If you will go forward with him, he will disappear but stop just before the door towarding to the Dome. Whitely will run out from the Dome. If you activate the scene with Whitely in the Dome, he will disappear forever. 1b. You don't have to shot from elevator. Simply let Whitely run. Kill Troopers and don't go into the Dome but turn right and there are big boxes blocking the pass but you can pass them. Go up by the cliff near the boxes and there is a pass to the second side. With this trick you won't activate the snipers on the platforms. You can enter the Dome from the back side. You will find Whitely there and If you activate the scene with Whitely in the Dome, he will disappear forever. Whitely can't crouch, so you can't get him outside. 1c. Edit the 'level10a.lvl' file. Change the lines like these: "Script" = "" "LevelStartsWithCutScene" = "0" In cutscene Whitely won't move. And you will be able to get him. 2. Faster way. You don't have to enter the Dome to finish the level. Don't go into the Dome but turn right and there are big boxes blocking the pass but you can pass them. Go up by the cliff near the boxes and there is a pass to the second side. With this trick you won't activate the snipers on the platforms and avoid the Troopers inside the Dome. 3. Walking high. Edit the 'level10a.lvl' file. Change the lines like these: "Script" = "" "LevelStartsWithCutScene" = "0" You will be able to go up on the cliffs. Go to the end of this level. You should be moved to the next level but you have removed the script line and you can go forward. There is a strange construction similar to half of the Dome. Turn right once you see that counstruction and find a cliff on which you can walk. Go up by this cliff. You can walk around the level now and you can look at everything from better persepective :). >Level10b< 1a. How to get Whitely and McReady. Activate in game save cheat. While you are fighting with Whtley and sitting in chopter, save your game. Now go to the main menu and load a game. You will be standing somewhere and in front of you there will be Whitley and McReady. You can't move but you can shot... 1b. You have to edit 'level10b.lvl' file. Change the lines like this: Script = "" FogStart = "18000" FogEnd = "20000" Once you see the last boss turn right and find a cliff on which you can walk. Go up by this cliff. Go to McReady first, then go to Whitely. Whitely is standing behind the start point. 2. How to play without fighting. You have to edit 'level10b.lvl' file. Change the lines like this: Script = "" FogStart = "18000" FogEnd = "20000" You won't activate the scene towarding to the battle and you can freely walk in level. No fog gives better look. On the cliff is McReady. Whitely is standing over UFO and you can't kill him. There is also landing zone and the opened shelter. In this shelter you will find empty box with grenades and medikit. Maybe game desingers wanted to make this level harder? Textures on UFO can disappear sometimes. You can shot barrels near the boss. You can go lower to the UFO but the UFO isn't finished and you can fall down through textures or crash the game. >Other< 1. Blood -*test*-('")s. You don't need to use Blood Test Kits, because your squad members are infected by computer or they are scripted burst-outs. So you can check someone's blood, but after one minute he will burst-out. 2. Infinite flares. Highlight flare, enable it, but do not throw it down. When it is low, highlight another object. Then, highlight flare again. It will have restarted and you will not lose another one.