Recently, modder Le Corbeau announced the release of an update for “NewDark” with HTWL (hardware transform and lighting) support. This modification is intended for two classic games from the Thief franchise: Thief Gold and Thief II: The Metal Age.
Le Corbeau explained that NewDark version 1.29 performs vertex transformation on the graphics card rather than the CPU, which allows for a number of new pixel shader effects, such as soft shadows and normal mapping.
For good performance, it is recommended to use a “relatively modern CPU and GPU with DX9 support.” The mod works on Windows 7, but it is advised to use Windows 10 or a more modern operating system.
In addition to soft shadows, the mod includes volumetric fog and light effects, light flares, soft particles, SSAO (ambient occlusion), and other improvements, such as AI being able to notice the player character's shadow.
The “NewDark” modification has already been published online and is freely available.
Currently, Nightdive Studios is developing Thief: The Dark Project Remastered. You can add the game to your Steam wishlist via the following link.