Hi all,
I'm looking to start Baldur's gate, playing from start to finish, and would just like some help as to the install order of games, patches, mods etc.
I realise there are quite a few such topics, but they are all quite different in what each person chooses, hence i cannot be sure about compatibility as to what I'M planning on going with, not to mention that a lot of the topics are dated and may be misleading in their information. So here's hoping you guys can help me out!
Right, I have the 4 dvd box set, and install order planned is the following:
Install BG1
Install TOTSC
Install BG2
Install TOB
PATCH TOTSC
PATCH TOB
Install Easy Tutu_TOB
Install EasyTutu degreenifier
Install BG1Unfinished Business for Easytutu (open beta v2)
I'm told that 'at the present time, if you are going to use both UB and BG1 NPC, install UB first and do not install the following components:
Angelo Notices Shar-Teel
Finishable Kagain Caravan Quest
Coran and the Wyverns
Kivan and Tazok
Branwen and Tranzig'
Install EasyTutu BG1NPC
Install EasyTutu BG1NPC Music (Music for dialogue with NPCs as provided by banter pack)
Now, for BG2:
Install BG2 Fixpack
Ascension
Install Unfinished Business v14 (but don't include the 'Minor Dialogue Restorations' component - i'm using v14 to avoid issues with the updated minsc quest in v15)
Install BG2 BANTER PACK
Quest Pack
Valen Mod
Right, that's that. I'd just like to know if it's ok to do the whole installation as above, before beginning to play, or in fact i could hold off on the BG2 mods, in case updates come available, until i'm done with BG1/TOTSC?
Also, any help with latest version of the mods i'm using would be great, i do check ppg/G3 etc, so i can prolly keep track myself - but just in case i've missed something or got an old version listed above, please let me know.
Finally, any comments as to the mods i've chosen are greatly appreciated, and suggestions for any others (if you could list in what order i would install the item it would be great).
In particular, i'm not sure about acsension, i've never tried it before, and i hear it changes end game of ToB only, which i haven't seend the 'vanilla' ending of yet...not sure if it's worth it - i'm mostly after roleplay, and not extra fights all over the place btw.
Oh and I hear Valen is overpowered, but she sounds very interesting, and will be my first NPC mod, hopefully will be enjoyable and not too overpowered...
Sorry for the loooong post!
New full game install order
It sounds you've done quite some research, which is great. I've read your post carefully(I hope), and it seems you've got everything right, but:
- don't install Revised Hell Trials component of Quest Pack, if you're installing G3 Fixpack. Other Quest Pack components are safe.
Valen is a very popular evil NPC, but as your first experience... I'm just afraid you'll find her overpowered and you'll be turned off NPC mods for good(while some of them, like Kelsey, are not like that). But she is interesting, so, sure, try her out. But install her after Ascension, in the beginning: she's an old mod.
As for Ascension, I recommend you to see the original ending first, because they _are_ different, and epilogues, too, are different.
Your installation order seems all right.
With BG1 NPC, you'll need a patch from here.
Yes, you can hold off BG2 mods until the start of BG2.
I see that you prefer quest mods, so try these:
Dungeon Be Gone
Dungeon Crawl
Assassinations
Tower of Deception
(installed at any time, but after G3 Fixpack and Ascension/Valen)
As for NPCs, Kelsey and Keto are very well made, I think - a real classic. Solaufein is another Weimer's NPC. If you like morose elves with lots of quests, try Xan. If you like a good romance, try Fade or Amber or Nalia de'Arnise romance. If you like a sombre ranger with lots of dialogue, try Kivan.
(installed at any time, but after G3 Fixpack and Ascension/Valen)
Finally, G3 Tweak Pack is VERY good, both for EasyTutu and BG2(should be installed on each game last, separately). Read the readme - some of the components are super-useful; I don't play without it.
As usual, modlist has all the links.
Have fun!
- don't install Revised Hell Trials component of Quest Pack, if you're installing G3 Fixpack. Other Quest Pack components are safe.
Valen is a very popular evil NPC, but as your first experience... I'm just afraid you'll find her overpowered and you'll be turned off NPC mods for good(while some of them, like Kelsey, are not like that). But she is interesting, so, sure, try her out. But install her after Ascension, in the beginning: she's an old mod.
As for Ascension, I recommend you to see the original ending first, because they _are_ different, and epilogues, too, are different.
Your installation order seems all right.
With BG1 NPC, you'll need a patch from here.
Yes, you can hold off BG2 mods until the start of BG2.
I see that you prefer quest mods, so try these:
Dungeon Be Gone
Dungeon Crawl
Assassinations
Tower of Deception
(installed at any time, but after G3 Fixpack and Ascension/Valen)
As for NPCs, Kelsey and Keto are very well made, I think - a real classic. Solaufein is another Weimer's NPC. If you like morose elves with lots of quests, try Xan. If you like a good romance, try Fade or Amber or Nalia de'Arnise romance. If you like a sombre ranger with lots of dialogue, try Kivan.
(installed at any time, but after G3 Fixpack and Ascension/Valen)
Finally, G3 Tweak Pack is VERY good, both for EasyTutu and BG2(should be installed on each game last, separately). Read the readme - some of the components are super-useful; I don't play without it.
As usual, modlist has all the links.
Have fun!
[url='http://www.pocketplane.net']IWD NPC, Xan, The Sellswords, Back to Brynnlaw, Assassinations, Dungeon Crawl, Branwen, Coran, Tiax, Xan BG1 Friendship[/url]
[url='http://gibberlings3.net']BG1 NPC, Romantic Encounters[/url]
[url='http://gibberlings3.net']BG1 NPC, Romantic Encounters[/url]
Thanks for the reply, exactly what i was looking for.
Well, i've done some more research, and here's the changes:
For BG1, everything the same as above, except will be adding the following after the BG1NPC/BG1NPC Music:
BG2 Tweak Pack components for BG1:
-Force All Dialogue to Pause
-Reveal City Maps
-Add Map Notes
As for SoA/ToB, i'll hold off on ascension, and have added a few of the suggestions you put forward:
BG2 G3 Fixpack
Valen Mod
UB v14
BG2 BANTER PACK
Quest Pack
- won't install Revised Hell Trials component of Quest Pack,
Dungeon Crawl
Tower of Deception
BG2 Tweak Pack components for BG1:
-Force All Dialogue to Pause
-More Interjections
-Bonus Merchants
Should the above be all compatible, both for BG1 and BG2?
Also, about the bonus merchants component from BG2 tweak:
I'm certain i've seen diedre before, selling items like vhailor's helm, in a previous game i played - which was only modded with Bg2 fixpack, unfinished business and banter pack - but not sure about Joluv, the other merchant (may just never have run across him). Is/are diedre/both included with the standard game, because i doubt those 3 mods i listed added them?
I heard only one of them was included in some collector's edition set type thing, which i'm not sure whether my 4 dvd set is or not (don't have it handy to check).
But, basically, my question is, would be safe to install this component? i.e. I'm not gonna have two diedres in Ribald's place am I?
Well, i've done some more research, and here's the changes:
For BG1, everything the same as above, except will be adding the following after the BG1NPC/BG1NPC Music:
BG2 Tweak Pack components for BG1:
-Force All Dialogue to Pause
-Reveal City Maps
-Add Map Notes
As for SoA/ToB, i'll hold off on ascension, and have added a few of the suggestions you put forward:
BG2 G3 Fixpack
Valen Mod
UB v14
BG2 BANTER PACK
Quest Pack
- won't install Revised Hell Trials component of Quest Pack,
Dungeon Crawl
Tower of Deception
BG2 Tweak Pack components for BG1:
-Force All Dialogue to Pause
-More Interjections
-Bonus Merchants
Should the above be all compatible, both for BG1 and BG2?
Also, about the bonus merchants component from BG2 tweak:
I'm certain i've seen diedre before, selling items like vhailor's helm, in a previous game i played - which was only modded with Bg2 fixpack, unfinished business and banter pack - but not sure about Joluv, the other merchant (may just never have run across him). Is/are diedre/both included with the standard game, because i doubt those 3 mods i listed added them?
I heard only one of them was included in some collector's edition set type thing, which i'm not sure whether my 4 dvd set is or not (don't have it handy to check).
But, basically, my question is, would be safe to install this component? i.e. I'm not gonna have two diedres in Ribald's place am I?
I've recently completed a very similar set-up, so I can speak from experience. Basically, install BG1/TOSC/Patch, BGII, TOB, TOBPatch and then install EasyTutu. EasyTutu will copy the resources it needs from both BG and BGII. It will create its own program file and leave your BG and BGII programs untouched. After this point, Tutu will no longer need to use you BG and BGII programs. You could, in fact, uninstall them if you wanted to (just leave Tutu installed). In your case, feel free to mod BGII at this point. It won't affect your EasyTutu installation at all.
This means you'll need to mod Tutu directly. When you download a mod, you need to install it directly into your Tutu installation NOT into your BGII installation.
So, that means when you download mods that work on both BG Tutu and BGII (basically the Tweak Pack), you'll need to install it into BOTH Tutu and BGII installations to use it in both games. If you just want to use it in Tutu, you can just install it into your Tutu installation. Make sense?
As for the Diedre bit, I'm not sure. The Tweak Pack should detect whether the bonus content is there or not. However, worst case scenario it would overwrite your preexisting bonus content. I don't think you'd get two Diedres.
By the way, I've been playing BG Tutu this week and am absolutely loving the NPC Project. It's transformed my appreciation for BG. I would even recommend that component to players who are playing the game for the first time. There are a few typos, but it's mostly very well done. The NPC Pack can be tricky to install, because there's an error in the downloadable version. As Kulyok said make sure to download the [url="http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showtopic=12578"]required patch[/url] and follow the instructions carefully before installing . I emphasize this, because there is a small part that requires replacing a file. You can't just unzip it into your Tutu directory and expect it to run.
The Unfinished Business bit for BG1 should automatically detect the parts that do not need to be installed or cannot be installed (the parts you mentioned). So no worries there.
For Tutu, I also recommend:
[url="http://gibberlings3.net/bgqe/"]BG Mini Quests and Encounter Mod[/url] : It's a simple mod, but it's quite balanced and it adds a bit of color.
If you have any intention of using Xan or Coran:
[url="http://www.gibberlings3.net/coran/"]Coran's Extended Friendship Talks[/url]
[url="http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=blogcategory&id=134&Itemid=94"]Xan's Friendship Path[/url]
These two mods add some depth to those characters. The Xan stuff can continue into BG2, I think. There's a nice mod for BGII that's been done for him by Kulyok, the poster above. Well I've heard it's nice. I've yet to try it. I'm enjoying the BG version.
[url="http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=blogcategory&id=134&Itemid=94"]BG Finch NPC[/url]: She's a very well done NPC, with a fun personality and banters. I'm really liking her and wishing there was a BG2 component.
This means you'll need to mod Tutu directly. When you download a mod, you need to install it directly into your Tutu installation NOT into your BGII installation.
So, that means when you download mods that work on both BG Tutu and BGII (basically the Tweak Pack), you'll need to install it into BOTH Tutu and BGII installations to use it in both games. If you just want to use it in Tutu, you can just install it into your Tutu installation. Make sense?
As for the Diedre bit, I'm not sure. The Tweak Pack should detect whether the bonus content is there or not. However, worst case scenario it would overwrite your preexisting bonus content. I don't think you'd get two Diedres.
By the way, I've been playing BG Tutu this week and am absolutely loving the NPC Project. It's transformed my appreciation for BG. I would even recommend that component to players who are playing the game for the first time. There are a few typos, but it's mostly very well done. The NPC Pack can be tricky to install, because there's an error in the downloadable version. As Kulyok said make sure to download the [url="http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showtopic=12578"]required patch[/url] and follow the instructions carefully before installing . I emphasize this, because there is a small part that requires replacing a file. You can't just unzip it into your Tutu directory and expect it to run.
The Unfinished Business bit for BG1 should automatically detect the parts that do not need to be installed or cannot be installed (the parts you mentioned). So no worries there.
For Tutu, I also recommend:
[url="http://gibberlings3.net/bgqe/"]BG Mini Quests and Encounter Mod[/url] : It's a simple mod, but it's quite balanced and it adds a bit of color.
If you have any intention of using Xan or Coran:
[url="http://www.gibberlings3.net/coran/"]Coran's Extended Friendship Talks[/url]
[url="http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=blogcategory&id=134&Itemid=94"]Xan's Friendship Path[/url]
These two mods add some depth to those characters. The Xan stuff can continue into BG2, I think. There's a nice mod for BGII that's been done for him by Kulyok, the poster above. Well I've heard it's nice. I've yet to try it. I'm enjoying the BG version.
[url="http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=blogcategory&id=134&Itemid=94"]BG Finch NPC[/url]: She's a very well done NPC, with a fun personality and banters. I'm really liking her and wishing there was a BG2 component.
let's update a bit more
Guys i read through all your posts. They're quite informative. I finished the series when they first came out. Now that I own them all, I'm looking for the ultimate experience. I'll play BG+TotSC first, then start a new character on BG2 and continue through ToB. I like few but strong enemies. I'll be playing with the Kensai/Mage protogonist and 3 or 4 characters more. Please let me put the list in correct order.
1. Install BG, TotSC, BG2, ToB. Patch TotSC, ToB. (These are definitive.)
2. Install EasyTutu-ToB. (Should I? Which version?)
3. Install EasyTutu degreenifier (Should I?)
4. BG1 Unfinished Business for Easytutu open beta v2 (Should I?)
5. BG1 NPC (is this really called only BG1 NPC or something else?)
6. EasyTutu BG1 NPC (Should I?)
7. EasyTutu BG1 NPC Music (Is this seperate from EasyTutu BG1 NPC, should I?)
8. BG2 Tweak Pack for BG1 (Is this really what it's called?)-install only Force all Dialogue to Pause, Reveal City Maps, Add Map Notes.
9. BG2 Fixpack
10. Don't install Ascension (is this what majority agrees on?)
11. Unfinished Business v14 (should i still avoid v15?)-exclude Minor Dialogue Restorations.
12. BG2 Banter Pack
13. Quest Pack (should I?)-excluding Revised Hall Trials.
14. Valen Mod
15. Dungeon be Gone, Dungeon Crawl, Assassinations, Tower of Deceptions.
16. Nalia, Fade, Amber Romance (what's the package called?)
17. Kelsay, Keto, Solaufein (what's the package called?)
and finally G3 Tweak Pack installed both on EasyTutu and BG2 upon all the others! Or should I install each and every mod on both EasyTutu and BG2?
Guys i read through all your posts. They're quite informative. I finished the series when they first came out. Now that I own them all, I'm looking for the ultimate experience. I'll play BG+TotSC first, then start a new character on BG2 and continue through ToB. I like few but strong enemies. I'll be playing with the Kensai/Mage protogonist and 3 or 4 characters more. Please let me put the list in correct order.
1. Install BG, TotSC, BG2, ToB. Patch TotSC, ToB. (These are definitive.)
2. Install EasyTutu-ToB. (Should I? Which version?)
3. Install EasyTutu degreenifier (Should I?)
4. BG1 Unfinished Business for Easytutu open beta v2 (Should I?)
5. BG1 NPC (is this really called only BG1 NPC or something else?)
6. EasyTutu BG1 NPC (Should I?)
7. EasyTutu BG1 NPC Music (Is this seperate from EasyTutu BG1 NPC, should I?)
8. BG2 Tweak Pack for BG1 (Is this really what it's called?)-install only Force all Dialogue to Pause, Reveal City Maps, Add Map Notes.
9. BG2 Fixpack
10. Don't install Ascension (is this what majority agrees on?)
11. Unfinished Business v14 (should i still avoid v15?)-exclude Minor Dialogue Restorations.
12. BG2 Banter Pack
13. Quest Pack (should I?)-excluding Revised Hall Trials.
14. Valen Mod
15. Dungeon be Gone, Dungeon Crawl, Assassinations, Tower of Deceptions.
16. Nalia, Fade, Amber Romance (what's the package called?)
17. Kelsay, Keto, Solaufein (what's the package called?)
and finally G3 Tweak Pack installed both on EasyTutu and BG2 upon all the others! Or should I install each and every mod on both EasyTutu and BG2?
That's about right, except the tweak packs should be installed at the very end, after you've made all the changes and installed all the mods.
Additionally, I personally like Ascension and its ending a whole lot more than vanilla ToB's, but to each their own.
Additionally, I personally like Ascension and its ending a whole lot more than vanilla ToB's, but to each their own.
If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.