"Getting into the Asylum"-bug? (SPOILER!)

NocturneN · Post by **NocturneN** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 2:22 pm

I'm in Chapter 4 and noted that there were two ways of getting into the Asylum; one by being admitted by Desharik, and the other by getting the wardstone from that mage. Now, I've encountered something strange here.

If I finish the quest via being admitted, the party gains experience and the quest gets marked as complete in my journal. But if I go the other route, then the quest doesn't seem to get completed and I lose out on the xp. I've just done the part with the dream and now Bodhi is going to chase me (please do not spoil what happens next, this is my first playthrough), but the "Getting into the Asylum"-quest is still not finished in my journal...

Oh and another thing. If I let Yoshimo talk to Desharik then when I get into the Asylum, everything seems to be in order. But if I finish it by letting Minsc speak (By far the funniest way!), there are numerous duplicates of the inmates in there. For example there is one Aphril standing in a cell, and then an exact copy of her standing outside it... Imoen is in two places aswell.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks for reading!

Isilion · Post by **Isilion** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 3:31 pm

irst of all, is your game patched and do you have the G3-fixes?

did you try to enter spellhold through the alternative route and then changed your mind, and as a result saw the spellhold mansion cinematic twice? I used to get duplicate NPCs as well in the past but it's been a while since that happened to me. maybe the G3-fixes did the trick for me

As for the experience, is one route giving you exp and the other isn't? that might be intentional, there are differences between the routes. For example if you do not enter through the pirate leader you errr "have a different entry" to where the inmates are. sorry to be vague, i don't want to spoil stuff. you can see it in your next playthrough

and as for the quest not disappearing from the questlog, that might be a minor bug. i've never had that with that quest but very often with 2 other ones. I usually do the tutorial whenever i start a new playthrough (because you get exp in there lol) and one of the tutorial quests doesn't get erased for me. the other quest which doesn't disappear for me is one in chapter 5. it's the one describing your main goal in that chapter.
you can manually delete quest entries if you wish. double click the entry, delete all the text including the title of the entry and click done.
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NocturneN · Post by **NocturneN** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 2:23 am

Isilion wrote:irst of all, is your game patched and do you have the G3-fixes?

did you try to enter spellhold through the alternative route and then changed your mind, and as a result saw the spellhold mansion cinematic twice? I used to get duplicate NPCs as well in the past but it's been a while since that happened to me. maybe the G3-fixes did the trick for me

As for the experience, is one route giving you exp and the other isn't? that might be intentional, there are differences between the routes. For example if you do not enter through the pirate leader you errr "have a different entry" to where the inmates are. sorry to be vague, i don't want to spoil stuff. you can see it in your next playthrough

and as for the quest not disappearing from the questlog, that might be a minor bug. i've never had that with that quest but very often with 2 other ones. I usually do the tutorial whenever i start a new playthrough (because you get exp in there lol) and one of the tutorial quests doesn't get erased for me. the other quest which doesn't disappear for me is one in chapter 5. it's the one describing your main goal in that chapter.
you can manually delete quest entries if you wish. double click the entry, delete all the text including the title of the entry and click done.
e

Actually I did...I entered via the "main entrance" the first time, then made a save before crossing the warded bridge. After the guided tour with the "coordinator", I wanted to see the other way! So I went back to Desharik. Indeed I thus saw the cinematic twice...

G3-fixes? *Ponders* Are you reffering to the Gibberlings Three Fixpack?

Sorry, but I am not that familiar with Bg2 stuff; and I try to avoid third party programs (as they can often cause as many problems as they fix, though not always, naturally). So the answer would be no.

Indeed. Completing the quest by being admitted via Desharik awards experience, while entering from the outside and getting the guided tour, does not. When you say it like that it sounds almost like it's working as intented... Hmm. Perhaps I should finish the chapter and see how things turn out, I am, after all, not overly concerned about the xp (can always manually award it via Shadowkeeper if all else fails) but don't like having unfinished quests - I obviously was not aware you could delete them manually, so thanks for that.

You have given me some things to try, I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks.

Isilion · Post by **Isilion** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 7:38 pm

yes the G3 fixes is the gibberling 3 fixpack
i understand your hesitance to use such large "fan made" fixpacks, i've played the game for years and only started using the fixpack a few months ago.
it is worth it though, many things do get fixed. things which are obviously errors.
but yes, i've started seeing some odd things which weren't there before. some vendors started selling stacks of 120 normal bolts/arrows, not all vendors, and not the enchanted ammunition. but those are unimportant things

as for one route not giving exp, i do think that's intended. if you take the wardstone option you have to fight enemies on your way there, that gives a bit of exp

there are a few other quests where you can choose how to end it, and not every choice gives the same amount of exp. and after all, you do different things, so why would you be awarded the same amount of exp

NocturneN · Post by **NocturneN** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:40 am

Aye, I've had a few bad experiences in the past with such mods. Mainly in Morrowind, where the unoffical patch only messed my game up, the similar patch for Oblivion worked much better, however, it still managed to mess some things up that ultimately warranted it's uninstallation. So my take on third party programs is, that I'll only use them if I have to, and in BG2 I haven't really seen much need for it yet (there was the "fatigue issue", which lead me to the g3 fixpack, but I didn't see anything about fatigue in there so ultimately I opted not to install it).

Well, I tried reloading an older save BEFORE I had entered the "Asylum zone" (When you enter manually from Brynnlaw and the cinematic plays as you approach the tower), and then went to Desharik, thus only seeing the cinematic once. Indeed, that seems to have been the source of the duplicates!

After reading your reply last night (the reason for the aforementioned test), I decided to trudge onwards, and see what happens. Suffice it to say, I spent the whole day yesterday searching for an exit to the Asylum...so far I have cleared the first 2 levels and am on the third one now, but the "Getting inside the Asylum"-quest is still active in my journal. Which is what I found odd; I mean, I am well inside the Asylum already, actually trying to escape! So shouldn't that quest be finished? Regardless, knowing I can always just delete it later, I don't really care anymore. I have spent way too much time to go back and try something else as it is. Again I thank you for your supreme knowledge and advice about this game, Isilion!

QuenGalad · Post by **QuenGalad** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:38 am

Third party content for BG2 is usually of pretty good quality, and personally I can't imagine playing without ease-of-use anymore. Not all of these features work well, though - the "skippable cutscenes" made a mess of the thing, for example. There are some "recommended" downloads that make the game less annoying at times of fix bugs, you can find a list of them here on the forums if you make a search.

The journal stuff can be a bit odd at times, though personally I make use of it so rarely I wouldn't even know. And, like Isilion said, the experience points may be there because you complete a quest through guile rather than violence. I think this should happen more often, actually.

NocturneN · Post by **NocturneN** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:01 am

QuenGalad wrote:Third party content for BG2 is usually of pretty good quality, and personally I can't imagine playing without ease-of-use anymore. Not all of these features work well, though - the "skippable cutscenes" made a mess of the thing, for example. There are some "recommended" downloads that make the game less annoying at times of fix bugs, you can find a list of them here on the forums if you make a search.

The journal stuff can be a bit odd at times, though personally I make use of it so rarely I wouldn't even know. And, like Isilion said, the experience points may be there because you complete a quest through guile rather than violence. I think this should happen more often, actually.

Aye, I am sure it is, but "ignorance is bliss", as they say.

There are no major annoyances disturbing my BG2 experience, I'm perfectly happy with the game in it's vanilla state, actually. As such, installing a bunch of third party programs (no matter how good) seems to me like the proverbial "trying to fix something that isn't broken". Maybe (probably), will I try some of those mods out on my second playthrough though, to give the game some new flavor.

I agree completely, and as I said, the experience isn't really much of a concern (I mean, jeeves, the amount of "quest experience" you gain from spellhold is obscene! I am actually regretting starting chapter 3 and 4, as there was tons more stuff left to do in chapter 2 which would make the levels abit harder to earn. I like earning my experience. Hopefully the rest of the game will still be challenging).

Still, the beef I have with it is that the quest is not marked as complete yet. This seems buggy to me since "Getting inside the Asylum" is something you should have done before "Escaping the Asylum", isn't it? ^^ But there is not much left now, I virtually just have the last 2 floors and the subsequent battles left. So soon we'll see if I still need to get inside the Asylum when I've succesfully escaped it...

roller1234 · Post by **roller1234** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 11:21 am

g3fixpack is strictly a bugfix modular mod. Anything and i do mean anything going beyond vanilla stuff is being asked for installation. Moddevs are pretty anal, in a good sense, in not letting any custom "better" stuff in. It is almost as easy to uninstall as morrowind mods so nothing can go wrong in trying it. Vanilla is playable though, if moving strictly within expected beginner behavior. Take this thread for example, you are not expected to analyze different ways of getting into the Asylum, thats beyond the scope of the vanilla game state already.