Returning to greatness. Long lost adventurer seeks help.

[HotDogZ]

Hello everybody, my name is Hot Dogz. Getting straight to the point, I love BG and BG2 very much. I have found these games to be at the top of my gaming list, even though I havnt played BG in 5+ years and BG2 in 5 years. Recently, I was reminicing about these games and I decided to purchase the BG and BG2 (including expansions) 4 disk set from amazon. I am eagerly waiting by my mail box, even though it was sent out this afternoon, and am salivating just thinking about getting my teeth into these games.

So I was doing my normal research into the games trying to get back upto speed on all of the info regarding these games and I ran into the wonderful world of moding for the first time, I never knew such things existed. I am expecting my game to arrive either saturday or monday, which will be comming up shortly. I was pleasently suprised to see an active forum regarding these games and I decided to sign up so I can learn more.

Currently I am serving you kind folks here at Fort Irwin as I am in the army. Your tax dollars are being spent in two ways: one, paying me to defend your country, and two, to play BG until my eyes bleed. In order facilitate the maximization of your tax dollars and the bleeding of my eyes I could use your help. Help me help you

Im tired right now and I need to go to sleep, as tommorow is another early day I will not be able to post many of my questions. But I am hoping that when time permits I will be able to pop in and ask some questions about moding and about general gameplay.

One of my first questions about moding is the differences between tutu and BGTrilogy. Ive been doing alot of research online and they both seem to be similiar but it seems as if their differences do exist, but I have not been able to identify or articulate them into words. From my understanding they both seem to run BG into the BG2 engine and they both have minor bug fixes/tweaks. Thats as far as the similarities go, that I noticed. It seems like BGT can run both games seamlessly together (which I dont understand completely and would like further clarification on). It also seems like tutu and BGT have different mods which are compatible with each other respectivly (can anyone clarify this please?). Also any other general details regarding these two main mods (tutu and BGT) which I missed would be much appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time, patience, and help.

-HotDogz

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Hi HDZ, welcome to the board. It's pretty international (I'm Australian myself) so you're only defending a few of us, but it's a pretty good place for BG stuff and has quite a few knowledgeable old-time BGers who are happy to help out and discuss this timeless gem of a game. Hope you like it here.

For my part, I haven't used Trilogy, but you're pretty much right and it does make the whole saga a complete flow-on single game, so choices you make in BG1 will affect dialogue in BG2. Tutu, which I use, let's you play BG1 in the BG2 engine (I can't play BG1 without it) but has them as separate games, and as far as I know has more mods designed for it (but it's worth getting a second opinion on that latter part).
As far as recommended mods go, the [url="http://www.gibberlings3.net/"]Gibberlings 3[/url] fixpack is generally considered a must-have (install ToB and the official ToB patch first), and the Gibberlings 3 Tweakpack is well worthwhile too. Unfinished Business (available for both BG1 and 2) fleshes out a heap of unfinished quests and adds some that got dropped by the developers due to time constraints, Dungeon-Be-Gone (BG2 only) will let you skip the opening dungeon (which gets a little bit old after the 20th time through), Level 1 NPCs lets you set NPC character classes and weapons proficiencies and matches them closer to your PCs experience level. For BG1 I have the BG1 NPC Project to flesh out the characters a little more, and to give some BG1 romance options. Those are all the ones I use but there are many more besides which I'm sure someone familiar with them can tell you about.
You can also get extra NPCs - I have the Xan and Kivan mods installed to make them available in BG2 (Xan can be made an enchanter, wild mage, or fighter/mage) and they're both great. I also used a custom NPC mod called Saerileth (female human Paladin, can be romanced by good male non-thief PCs with high charisma) for a while, but she's kind of irritating so I locked her in a gibbet in the Forest of Tethyr and then uninstalled the mod.
Another worthwhile download is Shadowkeeper, a BG2 editing tool. Once you figure out how to use it it makes BG life so much easier.

[QuenGalad]

Like Ode said, we're not all necessarily financing you (Poland here! ), but you don't need that argument to convince us to help you. All you need to say is that you like Baldur's Gate, like we do.

Adding to what has already been said, I think a good way to use mods is to install them two-at-a-time, or at least not all at once. The great thing about BG is its replay value, and mods extend it even further. So personally, I like to suit the mods i'm using (aside from technical ones and patches, of course) to my current gaming idea, instead of "wasting" three new mods on one playthrough. I have yet to see an all-mod party and Crossmod Banter Pack, for example, and I've played the game more times than I can even tell.

Mods I can definitely recommend:
- Questpack, from Gibberlings Three (I think). Some add-ons are bigger, some smaller, you can choose which to install, and they add nice content throughout.
- Kivan, as mentioned above. A solid, noble character whose friendship and loyalty is impressive even by BG standards (where people literally kill for you). But my opinion is biased here, I'm positively in love with the guy.
- Edwin romance for female protagonists. Even if you're a "manly man" , create a chick PC once and go for it, it's hilarious and fleshes the character out very convincingly.
- Romantic Encounters, spicing the gameplay up a bit and always optional.

Got any more questions, let us know!

[HotDogZ]

Thank you both for your help. I do appreciate it. It terms of my BG experience I had completed BG2 and expansion. While in BG I got to seravok and my tiny childlike brain couldnt figure out how to beat him. After reading the forums I have learned that apparently adding NPC to your party increases the story line/content, I had not know that due to the fact that I always created my own 6 character party. My new intention is to play the game once in tutu and once in BGT so I have a feeling for both mods.

Grasshopper, you mentioned that while playing BGT your choices in BG1 will affect events in BG2, can you elaborate on that, or give specific instances?

Quen, I like your idea of installing a few mods at a time. I think that idea will work well for my playstyle and what I hope to accomplish. I will be throwing a few ideas out and maybe you can help me fill in the gaps.

For me, I love BG in all of its aspects, gameplay and storyline. My intention like I said previously is to play my first go around on tutu, and then my second on BGT. What I would like though, is that when I play both of these mods I want to have them only slightly modded. My reason for moding is to enhance content/story line as well as enhance the gameplay.

First off, can you folks tell me what the banter packs are and how they effect gameplay? I understand the definition of the word, but I do not understand how it effects gameplay.

Secondly, what is this romance thing that Ive been reading so much about? As I said before I always had created my own 6 PC party so I think I removed this content by default from the game. While we are at it, without giving away spoilers, what does having a party with the storyline characters effect? Quests? Storylines? more?

Besides tutu and BGT I would like certain things added. I dont want any additional NPCS at this time. I do want the LVL1 NPC mod. I would like an experiance cap remover. Im thinking that I would like the fixpack and tweak pack, but I need to read more of the details. I would also like one or two more content add ons possibly. Im thinking the G3 questpack and the unfinished business mod would both be good places to start, what are your thoughts?

I had never imported a character from BG to BG2 so I need some clarification. Lets say with the exp cap remover I have a lvl 25 mage and I complete BG. When I import this mage to BG2, what happens to him? What lvl does the imported character start at? Does the imported character retain his learned spells/skills/stats? What does his hp/exp start at? While Im asking these questions, is an exported character from tutu compatible with BGT and vice verca? Also, can I import a character from BG2 to BG1?

These are all of the questions that I can think of for the moment. Thank you for your help and suggestions.

BTW, since I am new, please try to avoid acronyms until you have explained them thank you.

Also, for the mods that I have mentioned, are they all compatible with Tutu and BGT(for experimintation reasons). Thanks again.

[Stworca]

While in BG I got to seravok and i couldnt figure out how to beat him.

Most people have killed him by.. Highlight the following text to uncover it, but beware, it's a spoiler :

Spoiler

monster summoning wands. Keep using them, and swarm Sarevok with endless waves of summons. He won't hit you even once.

Spoiler end.

My new intention is to play the game once in tutu and once in BGT so I have a feeling for both mods.

The differences between the two might not be sufficient, because there aren't that many. Better add some more variety to second playthrough.

Grasshopper, you mentioned that while playing BGT your choices in BG1 will affect events in BG2, can you elaborate on that, or give specific instances?

While i am not an expert in the field of Tutu and BGT, i know quite a bit about BG2, and i must disappoint you. There aren't many places where your previous choices would matter. Mostly NPC's i guess. A dialogue line here, a dialogue line there. An NPC or two being dead.. and that would be it.

First off, can you folks tell me what the banter packs are and how they effect gameplay? I understand the definition of the word, but I do not understand how it effects gameplay.

Apparently adding NPC to your party increases the story line/content, I had not know that due to the fact that I always created my own 6 character party.

Default NPC's tend to talk with each other, as well as with you (Much more frequent and complex dialogues in BG2). Custom-made characters have no banters whatsoever. Banter packs simply increase the number of these conversations.
NPC's also have their own quests, available only when they've been in your party for quite a while. So while custom parties are more powerful and combat efficient, you're missing out a big chunk of gameplay and quests by skipping vanilla NPC's.

I tend to play with custom parties, but this is because i'm adding tons of tactical mods. Plus i've heard the vanilla dialogues far too many times. For you i recommend default NPC's.

Secondly, what is this romance thing that Ive been reading so much about?

In BG2 NPC's of opposite gender may be interested in your character. Once again, only the vanilla ones.

Besides tutu and BGT I would like certain things added. I dont want any additional NPCS at this time. I do want the LVL1 NPC mod. I would like an experiance cap remover. Im thinking that I would like the fixpack and tweak pack, but I need to read more of the details. I would also like one or two more content add ons possibly. Im thinking the G3 questpack and the unfinished business mod would both be good places to start, what are your thoughts?

Should work well. Don't forget to study the readme files before installing anything.

What lvl does the imported character start at?

The same level he finished with.

Does the imported character retain his learned spells/skills/stats?

Most of them, yes. There are some exceptions.

What does his hp/exp start at?

Should be the same.

While Im asking these questions, is an exported character from tutu compatible with BGT and vice verca?

No idea.

Also, can I import a character from BG2 to BG1?

By default you can not. Should you mess around with the files you may be able to, but i do not recommend it.

[HotDogZ]

So right now Im going through some of the readme files of the mods that I wanted to add. Im a super noob when it comes to instalation of moded files. How do they generally work? For instance, if I am using G3 BG tweak pack, are there a list of boxes that I check off for each item that I want individually(a screenshot would make me a very happy person )

As I said, im going through the read me file of G3 BG tweakpack and I want some of your opinions on these mods such as balance issues.

In regards to mages casting spells in armor, is that allowed in P&P? Do you feel like it unbalances mages if they are able to use spells while in armor? If there is a chance to miscast in armor, how can I reduce that effect (i.e. lvl, stats, items, etc...)

shopkeepers have limited id. How was this in the original game? how do you think it should be from a player standpoint in regards to originality or realism?

Save penalties for high lvl casters: Do you feel that this makes the game broken? I feel that it makes sense, a higher lvl characters spells should be stronger, but if it makes the game too easy, I dont want it incorperated.

Rest anywhere. over powered or realistic and balanced?

While we are at it, can someone explain to me alignment and reputation in practicle terms? I played these games as a child and never understood the nuances of them. Thank you

[HotDogZ]

Stworca, thanks you kick butt.

[childofbhaal]

I just started playing BGT(bg1-2 +the 2 official xpacks) and so far its great.In BGT you can start the BG1 campaign from the Baldurs Gate 2 menu and you can play through BG1-2-TOB without importing your character because it adds additional cutscenes so basically turns it into 1 giant game(BG1 runs with the BG2 engine).

I would recommend using Weidu mods because they are usually compatible with each other(others often cause critical errors and this results in losing your save games too because you cant use them with a new install).You can download Weidu mods from here(extract,copy them into the BG2 folder,run the setup exes):
Spellhold Studios -> Download Manager -> Baldur's Gate II Mods

Spellhold Studios - CRPG Modding Community

I am using all these mods atm and seems to work fine:

BG2 unofficial expansions/mega mods:
The Darkest Day(TDD):adds lots of new classes(f.ex drow priest)
Shadows over Soubar(SoS)
Check the Bodies(CtB)
Tortured Souls(TS)
Secret of Bonehill

Smaller Mods:
Drizzt Saga
Mulgore and Xavia(NPC mod)
Widescreen v2.60(very good mod,allows you to play in widescreen and change resolution,works for all infinity engine games)
FontMod v2.0(Makes text easier to read on big monitors and very easy to install,just copy the 3 files into the override folder.Works for all infinity engine games.)Bigger fonts for BGII:TOB and other IE games - Spellhold Studios
Big World Map(very cool mod,you can see the areas of bg1+2+tob+mods on 1 big map and few mega mods need it)

Installation order:
BG1 full install,ToSC,BG2 full install,ToB,latest ToB patch(26498 as I remember),TS,TDD,SoS,
CtB,BGT,Bonehill,Mulgore and Xavia,Big World Map,Drizzt Saga,Widescreen,FontMod

I forgot to install unfinished business(UB),if you want it you should install it somewhere before BGT(I already wasted a few nights on making just these mods work so I will play without it).

If you want a (almost)neverending Baldurs Gate you can try the Big World Project(you can install almost all the mods ever made to BGs with 1 big and long install,dont forget to read the PDF!):
Spellhold Studios -> Download Manager -> BiG World Project -> The BiG World Setup
Spellhold Studios -> Download Manager -> BiG World Project

I couldnt make it work because it requires the latest ToSC patch and I cant install that on my windows 7(no virtual PC on this comp atm) +I am not sure that changing the game so drastically is such a good idea,it would probably make the game unstable and thats a to big risk for me.


edit:1 more thing,mods should be installed always before BGT(unless they require BGT to install like the Drizzt Saga,install those after BGT).I never tried tutu so I cant help with that.

[childofbhaal]

Oh and dont play with custom party,the original companions are really cool(you have no idea what you missed).


"Go for the eyes, Boo, go for the eyes!"

[HotDogZ]

Now im going over BG2 tweak pack and looking for balance.

Exotic item pack. Does this addon add new items not previously ingame or does it randomly distribute "rare" items already in game?

Multiple strongholds. For non tutu. Is there any reason why that is? I think it would be cool to be the bad ass that conquers all, but are there to many uber items if one was to conquer all areas?

Use bg walking speed. Why would I want to slow down my charas? it says its best for tutu and bgt, why is that?

two handed weapons: is the essential idea that most swords should be able to be dual wealded, thus enableing a bonus from the 2handed weapon skill?

[childofbhaal]

I cant help you with tweak packs because I avoid them like the plague since I tried a PST tweak pack(it turned Morte into a clown(if a skull can be a clown)) and it was so horrible that I reinstalled the whole game from 0.

[HotDogZ]

Childofbhall thank you for all of your info. What is pst btw?

[QuenGalad]

PST would be Planescape:Torment, a game by the same developers. Good one, too.

As for the technical tweaks, a lot of them are made for people who have played the game many (i mean many) times, and have found some particular aspects irritating. It's all down to what you like. "Rest anywhere", for example, seems silly to me - you're entering the Jystev Residence and camping right in their living room, with them watching - but other players have other opinions. Or someone's really into paper D&D rules and it annoys him that the game takes liberties with them.

Banters (both those originally included in the game and added by mods) are conversations the characters have with each other and with you. In practice, this means a dialogue window popping up, sometimes in the right circumstances, sometimes randomly. NPC's have different personalities and will get along, or not, with each other, as well as with you - they can comment on your actions and sometimes even oppose them.

Romance plots work the same way - a specific NPC will, from time to time, initiate dialogue with your character which might or might not develop a relationship between them. Four romance options are available in the unmodded ("vanilla") game, and many more are added by mods.

Exotic item adds new items. It aims to flesh out some weapon and armour categories that were under-represented in the game before.

All strongholds caters to people who want to see all class-specific quests, but not make different characters for them, I suppose. Not all strongholds give you powerful items, but it does break the gaming immersion a bit: make a half-orc berserker and teach young wizards magic? No, thanks.

[Stworca]

Now im going over BG2 tweak pack and looking for balance.

Contents that i have NOT listed below do not matter, and are simply insignificant. I'll leave them up to you.

Cosmetic changes
Avatar Morphing Script - Not worth it
Icewind Dale Casting Graphics (Andyr) - Icewind Dale casting graphics are, in my opinion, worse than BG2 ones.
Disable Portrait Icons Added by Equipped Items - Generally a good thing.
Change Avatar When Wearing Robes or Armor (Galactygon) - A nice improvement. I always take it.
Force All Dialogue to Pause - Take it.

Content Changes
Alter HP Triggers for NPC Wounded Dialogues - Helps new people prevent party deaths.
Gradual Drow Item Disintegration - Not worth it.
Improved Multi-Player Kick-out Dialogues (Weimer) - Good for custom parties.
Stores Sell Larger Stacks of Items - I always take it. Saves time.
Shapeshifter Rebalancing (Weimer) - Must have for shapeshifting druids. Without it they're worthless.
Use BG Walking Speeds (BETA) - Avoid it. Haste / slow mess things up. Numerous creatures are unaffected by it and more.

Rule Changes
Weapon Styles for All - I tend to take it.
Change Experience Point Cap - Use it only for removal if you want to do so. The 20 and 30 xp caps are worthless.
Allow Stealth and Thieving Abilities in Heavy Armor per P&P - Don't bother.
Allow Arcane Spellcasting in Armor - Don't bother.
Expanded Dual-Class Options - Take it.
Wear Multiple Protection Items - This can disturb the balance. I tend to take the P&P version which is fine, and a minimum.
Alter Weapon Proficiency System - Alters proficiencies by removing a few. I recommend it for new players i guess.
Shopkeepers Have Limited Identification Ability - I never take it. Adds "fake" difficulty to the game.
Multi-Class Grandmastery (Weimer) - Take it
True Grandmastery (Schumacher, Weimer) - Take it
Un-Nerfed & Alter XXX Spell Progression Table - I tend to take all of them.
Add Save Penalties for Spells Cast by High-Level Casters (BETA) - I tend to take it. Adds some realism.
Remove Delay for Magical Traps (Ardanis/GeN1e) - Take it, always.
Remove Summoning Cap for Celestials (Ardanis/GeN1e) - Kills balance.

Convenience Tweaks and/or Cheats
These are called cheats for a reason, and you must be your own judge. Few pointers though.
Bottomless Bags of Holding - Don't ever take it. It will slow, bug or crash your game more often than not.
Identify All Items - I take it always, but then again i know where to find every item and don't need identification. Remember this one for your 259152th playthrough.
Unlimited stacks.. - I take it always. It's a cheat, but one that i'm ok with. Far too much inventory management without this one.
Rest Anywhere (Japheth, Weimer) - Kills roleplaying.
All the others are for you to decide.

Joinable NPC Tweaks
I never cared about any of these. ToB style NPC's are nice though. In addition to lvl 1 npc's mod

That should help.

[HotDogZ]

You folks help me out alot on this thank you all very much. Next point of discussion will be character discussion, when i have some more time hopefully we can get into that. Thank you for all your help.