GameBanshee Forums

Hi,

I got some noooby-technical questions:

I recently bought a package containing SoA & ToB. I installed only SoA and that only in the standard installation (so not full installation). Now I was playing a while and starting reading a bit in the internet. I downloaded the most recent official patches for SoA and ToB. Now I wanted to ask how I'd best change my installation of SoA into a full installation, install also ToB and add the patches.

Would it work if I copy my savegames into another folder, uninstall the game, do a full install of SoA, then a full install of ToB and then add the two patches? Can I be sure that my savegames will work afterwards (that's my biggest worry)?!

Thanks for any answer!

Yes, they will work. The easiest would be to copy the whole 'save' folder somewhere else and put it back when you're done with the reinstall.
To reinstall, just install SoA and ToB, then apply the ToB patch. You don't need to install the SoA patch separately.

There are a few other inofficial fixes not covered by the patch, you might want to consider getting them too. The [url="http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg2fixpack/"]G3 fixpack[/url] should cover most of the common bugs and annoyances while not making any gameplay modifications. The game is well playable and enjoyable without, however, so if you feel you don't want to customize too much, leave it for another time.

Oh, and welcome to the forums!

thanks for your help! faster loading times due to a full install will definitely help me
am completely new to AD&D-games... only played Diablo as a RPG before this one and that was pretty easy compared to SoA. However, I am getting kinda addicted to that game already (at least my girlfriend complains about me spending too much time in front of the laptop

Anyway, thanks for your help!

Full reinstalling the game and patching shouldn't make any difference to saved games, but note that depending on where you are at the moment, not every feature from ToB may be activated in your saved games. This is because you have visited some areas already, and if there is changes to those areas, most probably the changes won't take effect untill you start a fresh game.

So far I haven't been outside Athkatla. One thing I would like to get is for example the bonus merchant in the adventure mart... Will I get that one? Does ToB make any changes to Athkatla-areas?

There are in fact two Bonus Merchants. If you install SoA, then ToB, then the ToB patch... then both Bonus Merchants will be there. I believe both Bonus Merchants are part of the final ToB official patch, which is downloadable from Bioware.com.

Regarding what else changes in SoA, after installing and patching ToB:

Installing ToB will add Watcher's Keep to SoA's world map. (Of course, Watcher's Keep can also be found on ToB's world map. And ToB is when I would recommend visiting WK, because it's designed for higher level characters.)

Installing ToB will add the Wild Mage class to the entire game.

ToB introduces high-level character abilities. With ToB installed, your dudes may begin to acquire these high-level abilities before the the end of SoA.

Installing ToB will enhance the game engine that SoA and ToB both use (such as the Tab key functionality, iirc). Look in the ToB readme file for specifics.

All in all, there's no reason to not install SoA/ToB/ToB patch, all in a row, at the very beginning.

If you dig BG2, then try Icewind Dale (with its two expansions), Icewind Dale II, Planescape:Torment, and of course the original Baldur's Gate (with its expansion). These games all use the same (modified) base game engine.

thanks for the help! I installed the SoA and ToB and (because I didn't look what i was clicking) also installed both patches (for SoA and ToB). Deidre is there, but no other bonus merchant (at least none I've found so far). I only read about this guy who appears in the Copper Coronet if you install some mod or something... Where would the other bonus merchant be?

These are some details about the two Bonus Merchants:

Deidre is located at the back of the Adventurer's Mart, in Waukeen's Promenade. She originally came with the Collector's Edition of "SoA". The exotic items that she sells are inspired by items found in the game "Planescape:Torment".

Joluv is located in the southern part of the main room of the Copper Coronet, in the Slums district. He originally came with pre-ordered copies of "SoA". The exotic items that he sells are inspired by items found in the game "Icewind Dale".

They both can be downloaded on their own or together, but are included with the ToB patch, so you should be all set.

Keep in mind that you don't need the SoA patch if you install ToB. I even think it would have been detrimental if you installed the patches out of order.

If you find you dig CRPGs, then enjoy the masterpiece. Depending on your genre, BG2 is as good as it gets.

(Although I'd still recommend PS:T, IWD, IWD2, and the original BG.)

Sad really, since so many years have gone by, and the genre's been trumped by console RPGs.

Actually, the ToB patch only installs Deidre, but not Joluv.
Years ago there was a separate mod for the two of them together, I don't know if it still exists somewhere. The easiest way is probably to get the [url="http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg2tweaks/index.php"]G3 tweak pack[/url], one of its component installs the merchants. You can just ignore the rest if you're not sure what it's about.

Thanks!

Guess I'll get myself Joluv, because as I understand it, in some special edition, that you could buy somewhere he's included by default, or? Then I don't need to feel bad about it Because I play the game for the first time and don't want to make any "unnatural" changes.

You are correct. Joluv came with pre-ordered copies of SoA, iirc. And the items that he and Deidre sell are not powergaming items, as much as they are exotic and interesting, so they won't disrupt game balance.

And I agree with you about playing the game for the first time without any unnatural (i.e. unofficial) changes. I always think the first time through a game should be using the vanilla game, without any mods, playing the game as the designers intended.

But it should also be mentioned that there are mods out there that can make subsequent runs through the game feel fresh and new. Check out the sticky thread at the top of this forum for details. I've heard so many good things about so many of them, that for sure they'd be worth a look.

Can someone pls define which of the TOB patches is the final patch?

I've read so much about the final patch for TOB but which of thepatches is it? BioWare patch seems "old". I did download that, plus the fixes from gibberlings and individual mods, and now am having some serious stuttering problems - defined as the curser getting stuck for a few seconds and the group stutter stepping (all of them, not just certain toons). I do have a few bags - bag of holding, scroll cases, gem bags some of which I cheated and CLUA created and some I stole off of a merchant. I suspect these are the problem. Have also turned off every possible application in the SYStray and still no solution. Should note that I didn't have these problems until I installed TOB and the mods.

Any ideason how to fix the problem?