ZODIAC

Frequently Asked Questions about ZODIAC

Initial version by Jim McBrearty

General Info

Q: When is ZODIAC going to be released?
A: The first installment of ZODIAC is out NOW! This includes one full mission; head over to the Download page to grab it! A full version is estimated to be released at the end of this year.

Q: I have a slow 56k connection. Is there a way to ease the pain of the 20MB download?
A: We recommend using a download manager such as Get Right to support resuming your download. We are planning to try and get it distributed on the cover disk of a gaming magazine if possible.

Q: Who do you play as in ZODIAC? Can you customise the way they look?
A: You play as Paul Denton in ZODIAC, and yes you *can* change the colour of his skin and hair as you could do previously :-)

Q: Is this all based on old Deus Ex characters?
A: Some of the old characters are used, as well as some new ones.

Q: Does JC Denton make an appearance?
A: Maybe...............

Q: When is ZODIAC set? Is it in the Deus Ex timeline?
A: ZODIAC is set approximately half way through the original time of Deus Ex, around the time of the Hong Kong mission. When you first receive your briefing, you see it's in a familiar place...

Q: Do you need the latest patch to run ZODIAC?
A: You need to have at least version 1.109 or later. The 1.112fm patch (36 MB) is available here.

Q: What new weapons have you added in ZODIAC?
A: You'll just have to play through the game to find out...

Q: Is there voice acting?
A: Much of the familiar "generic" NPC audio has been restored, but there's no audio for the custom dialogue. We believe that time is better spent on creating gameplay. Besides, without access to professional voice actors, that could end up being pretty cheesy!

Q: Is ZODIAC really hard to install and run?
A: Not at all, it uses a completely automatic installer and uninstaller and is launched with its own icon. It does not need a separate mod loader.

Q: Does ZODIAC use any of the original missions from Deus Ex?
A: The initial briefing you are given is at Tracer Tong's underground Lab in Hong Kong, and the opening cinematic is set in the "Grand Hall" from the Versalife facility. All other locations are completely new.

Q: What are the minimum specifications for running ZODIAC?
A: If your computer can run Deus Ex comfortably, it should be able to run ZODIAC fine. You may experience some frame rate drops in certain outdoor areas of the CIA level, depending on your hardware, but the areas where there is potential for combat should run smoothly.

Q: What combat difficulty level should I play ZODIAC on? I really don't want to rush through it.
A: During testing, it became obvious that there is quite a wide variety of players out there. If you're the type of player that thought the combat in the original game was too easy, then you should go with Medium or Hard. If you'd still like a challenge, but don't want to dwell so much on optimising your ammo and head shots, go with Easy. As the first mission, the CIA level features "exploration" style gameplay, though there is some opportunity for carnage. :) Some of the future maps will be more combat oriented.

Troubleshooting Tips

Q: After installing ZODIAC, I try to launch it with the ZODIAC icon, but get the error "Can't find Function in file 'Function DeusExPlayer.Possess" along with some other junk. It looks like this. Help!
A: I incorrectly stated in the Readme.txt file that version 1.014 of Deus Ex is good enough to run ZODIAC. Turns out you need at least version 1.109. The version 1.112fm patch is more commonly found, such as here. Apparently if you have certain versions of Deus Ex, like the ones that come bundled with hardware, you will need to upgrade to 1.109. (from there you can upgrade to 1.112fm if you want) The 1.109 patch is much harder to find, but at the time of this writing, you can find it here.