Cannot initiate dialog.

TonyMontana1638 · Post by **TonyMontana1638** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 3:37 pm

I just got a new computer and have since installed BGII and ToB on it and started a new game. A bug has occured that keeps me from talking to certain NPCs, especially in the Copper Coronet, that says "Unable to initiate dialog. (Person's name) Appears busy." I get the feeling this was something fixed in a patch, however I'm not certain and, even so, don't know what patch it would be. Can anyone help me?

Berethor · Post by **Berethor** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 4:32 pm

I get that crap a lot too, especially from Aerie in the circus tent when I am trying to give her the sword.

The patch on the GameBanshee site fixes that annoying thing, though it might screw up any mods you have in your party. It did that to me but I dont know if it will to you.

The patch will overall take away the "[Person] appears busy" thing.

Hope that helps.

TonyMontana1638 · Post by **TonyMontana1638** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 5:58 pm

Thank you sir worked like a charm, it did however (as you said) diasble all of the mods I had currently been running... Is there a way to uninstall it, I'm curious, in case there's a mod I really want to use?

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 6:15 pm

I don't know if you can uninstall the patch...

But, for future reference, it is generally advised that you first install the official patch, then the Baldurdash fix patch, then any mods you might want to include. The mods themselves even have to be installed in a particular order upon occasion.

Berethor · Post by **Berethor** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 6:23 pm

At least I let you know what would happen.

Sorry for what did happen.

TonyMontana1638 · Post by **TonyMontana1638** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:32 pm

No problem, what I ended up doing was uninstalling the game, thus uninstalling the official patch, reinstalling the game and then all of the mods I wanted again. My saved games were kept and no harm done, however, as per DW's instruction, I may do all of that again but do the official patch first. No biggie, and I found a way around the "Cannot initiate dialog" thingie... Just leave the area and come back.
Anyways thanks for everyone's help.

@Berethor: I couldn't help but notice your hockey team preference, what are your thoughts on my Red Wings? Every American I've met not from Michigan seems to hate them, but what about a Canadian like yourself

?

Berethor · Post by **Berethor** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 9:08 pm

Thats what I had to do many times(about 4, it got annoying)

and to answer your question, the Red wings are OKAY, but when they got Curtis Joseph, they got shut down by Anahiem 4 games-0 in the playoffs, but that was a few years back. I havent really kept my eye on the red wings this year, I will let you know eventually, right now i have my eye on the leafs 3 game winning streak

P.S. I hate Ottawa

stramoski · Post by **stramoski** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:14 am

Install order...

You may find impassable bugs if you persist on doing without the patches...

Most mods assume that you are patched and baldudashed, so you're shooting yourself in the foot by not patching.

You just have to patch first, then install the fixpack, THEN any mods, and they will work perfectly.

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:15 pm

Didn't happen much at first

I didn't run into this much when I only had SoA installed. I waited for a party to get fairly well along to load ToB. Now with ToB added it happens with common frequency. So it seems to be related to it!?! I have two parties at different stages (ch. 2 & 5). If I add the patch now will it mess up anything? I do not have any mods loaded. Thanks for any help/advice.

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:18 pm

Philos, the "NPC appears busy" bug occurs when Throne of Bhaal (the original, unpatched edition) is installed on a computer running Windows XP or Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2 or higher. It's a very well-known bug. It was fixed by the first official Throne of Bhaal patch, which was was released a week after the game hit the store shelves.

I will reiterate what other people have said. The best way to install the game is to install Shadows of Amn (no need to patch it), then install Throne of Bhaal, then install the official Throne of Bhaal patch. Some bugs were never fixed by the official patches, so it is a good idea to install the unofficial Baldurdash Fix Pack and the Baldurdash Dialogue Update, which fixes some dialogue errors. If you install all of that, you will be at the same starting point as most of the people who write mods, so it will help ensure compatibility.

Mods normally add a bunch of files to the /OVERRIDE directory rather than altering the core game files, with the exception of the DIALOG.TLK file, which is often updated by the mods, and any files that were already in the /OVERRIDE directory that were overwritten by the mods. These alterations might create incompatibilities if you install more than one mod. Some mods are tested for compatibility with other mods, but some are not tested for compatibility. If you plan to use old saved games, I think it is a good idea to install your mods in the same order that you installed them previously. The most likely problem would be incorrect dialogue pointers, which would cause the wrong dialogue to appear (it once happened to me).

TonyMontana1638 · Post by **TonyMontana1638** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:36 pm

Alright, so...
I had SoA and ToB installed originally, then I installed some mods, ran into the problem when I actually started playing.
Then I installed the patch, it fixed the bug, disabled my mods.
I then uninstalled both SoA and ToB, thinking this would uninstall any patches or mods.
I reinstalled SoA and ToB, and then reinstalled my mods. I don't believe the official patch is working anymore, as I'm playing the saved games I had before I uninstalled and my mods work and I occasionally run into the bug.
What then should do exactly?
Should i uninstall again (ugh...), reinstall, install the official patch, install Baldurdash, THEN install my mods?? I hope to God my computer doesn't explode in the process...

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:40 pm

Many Thanks

Thanks VonDondu,

I am moderately new to BG. I just bought it within the past year and was unaware of the history of some of the bugs, and all. I appreciate your catching me up, this'll get me going in the right direction now.

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:47 pm

[QUOTE=TonyMontana1638]Alright, so...
I had SoA and ToB installed originally, then I installed some mods, ran into the problem when I actually started playing.
Then I installed the patch, it fixed the bug, disabled my mods.
I then uninstalled both SoA and ToB, thinking this would uninstall any patches or mods.
I reinstalled SoA and ToB, and then reinstalled my mods. I don't believe the official patch is working anymore, as I'm playing the saved games I had before I uninstalled and my mods work and I occasionally run into the bug.
What then should do exactly?
Should i uninstall again (ugh...), reinstall, install the official patch, install Baldurdash, THEN install my mods?? I hope to God my computer doesn't explode in the process...[/QUOTE]

As has been stated already, most mods are written and distrubuted for patched versions of the game. Most readme files that come with mods tell you explicitly to patch the game first before installing the mod.

You must use the order of:

Install BG SoA&ToB
Install patches(official first, any other such as Baldurdash after)
Then install mods( keeping in mind to read the mod readmes as some mods are not compatible with others and some have to be installed in certain orders due to the alterations they make to dialogue and so on in the game)

As to the above example, the patch isn't working anymore because when you uninstalled the game, the patch went with it. If you didn't install the patch after re-install of the game, then the game isn't patched.

TonyMontana1638 · Post by **TonyMontana1638** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 6:30 pm

Thank you Bloodstalker for the response ... I saw all of the posts above my last (I can read, I swear), I just wanted clarification on what exactly I have to do, as I'd prefer to not have to do this anymore. I'm also fairly adept at using a computer and I've patched and modded a few games in the past, just wanted to be sure...

stramoski · Post by **stramoski** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 12:45 am

I'm glad you're clear on the process now... You can live fairly bugfree if you follow that install order, but if you don't, really bad things will happen.

The only other suggestion I'd make to you is to start a new game after installing new mods of significant size. I installed weimer's Item Upgrade mod (was one of my first, a while back) and every time I forged the improved Daystar my game would stutter, and crash. I simply tossed my saved-game, and started anew, and never had anymore problems.

This may seem like a pain, but that's why the modders created Dungeon-Be-Gone!

Berethor · Post by **Berethor** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 5:49 am

Like I said, the patch messes up any mods you are currently running. Any speach with them screws up, and their name changes to something stupid. As long as you follow that order you wont have to do it 4 times like I did.

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 6:41 am

There have actually been a few people who listed here their successful order of loading with a wide variety of mods, including WeiDU and non-WeiDU ones.