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moving my crew to a new computer

Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:45 am
by Shine
Hi
I just bought a shiny new computer. Meanwhile, I'm halfway through the game and really don't want to start over right now.

I wonder if I'll run into trouble copying a saved game to the new computer. I have SoA and ToB but I've also added some things.
Trouble is, I can't really recall what I added. I downloaded both the newer Tweak from G32 and the Weimer Ease of Use, but one of them didn't install properly and now I don't know which (don't say it!). Also, I have one NPC mod installed and the ToB patch.
While installing the Tweak, there were some options as to what to install and what to leave out. Not sure if I'd be able to remember exactly which I picked.

So, my question is, considering the above, if the new game installation is not exactly as it was before, will I have trouble running a saved game on the new system?

Shine

Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:51 am
by DaemonJ
You will indeed need to have a matching installation otherwise your saved game will be buggy / erratic if it will even load at all.

The easiest thing to do would be to copy your BG2 folder to a CD or other storage medium. Install BG2 to your new computer and then copy the files from the CD to your new computer.

So long as none of the mods you installed did not make registry entries (which I would not think so) you should be golden. Otherwise you will need to delete BG2 and then reinstall it and start over.

BTW, congrats on the new computer. ;)

Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:59 am
by Shine
DaemonJ wrote: The easiest thing to do would be to copy your BG2 folder to a CD or other storage medium. Install BG2 to your new computer and then copy the files from the CD to your new computer.
Which files? The lot of them in that folder? That'd be too easy :)

Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:43 am
by DaemonJ
Typically just the override folder but you may also want to capture any of the files in the main folder too (e.g. dialog.tlk, bgmain.exe, etc.).

Personally I would copy everything to ensure that nothing was missed.

Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:03 pm
by VonDondu
The best way to ensure compatibility is to install the entire BG2 directory from your old computer to your new computer. Some mods have subdirectories of their own that must be copied in order for them to work, and there are lots of new files in the OVERRIDE directory and possibly the sound file directory. The DIALOG.TLK file might also be overwritten, as DaemonJ mentioned (but probably not the BGMAIN.EXE file). You can sort through every file if you want, or you can do it the easy way and just copy the whole thing.

Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:08 am
by Celacena
I have BGII running on 3 computers at home - and I have exported save games from one to another using a data key with only using the sav file and no others. there are times when you'd need to be careful about the configuration, but I have actually moved files between them with them all having different install/patch situations - obviously items that only exist in an expanded or patched game will not be moved across and interactions that don't match scripts would be troublesome, but I have gone back to an older PC to get past a bug and them ported the saved game to the new PC.

I wouldn't recommend it as a general rule, but if there is a bug that is within the scripting of the original game, it can be useful.

if there is a risk about items etc - so perhaps it might be wise to sell them, switch, play past the bug, switch back and re-purchase. fortunately, I have not needed to do this for some while. better spec PCs do avoid slow-down in combats with lots of effects etc and have quicker load-times, so it is worth playing on the best available system.