The Mod List (with thanks)
Ward
Member Posts: 1,305
Thanks to:
Zafiro and DMZ (for talking it through), William, Iansounet (for that tough love on the outside and the gooey marshmellow fudge on the inside!), jay, cmorgan, Andrea, other people that I forget at this very moment, people that wrote readmes, people that cleaned up after me when I cried myself to sleep, etc.
With help from all of you here, I've compiled a list of modifications which are commonly used to boost the gaming experience. This isn't finished and will soon be updated with links to documentation for whatever install you might be doing. I'll provide sufficient detail so that, in case you're new to the mod business, we can help. Remember to read the posts below.
This can include core system changes, gameplay mechanics, content, areas, soundsets, portraits, etc
Baldur's Gate Modifications:
----------------------
Baldur's Gate Tutu/EasyTutu:
http://www.pocketplane.net/tutu
http://usoutpost31.com/easytutu/
Tutu (manual installation) is a program which copies parts of the game archives from Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2 (ToB not required but useful) and supplies a separate installation. This installation is essentially Baldur's Gate and it's content, but operating under the updated engine powering Baldur's Gate 2.
EasyTutu is an installer which creates a preset recommended version of Tutu, without all the fuss.
Features include added races, classes, kits (sub classes, I guess) and 800 x 600 pixel resolution (from the original one of 640 x 480). The GUI (interface) which the gamer uses to navigate the game will be of Baldur's Gate 2, however, another mod can be used to change this to the original interface of Baldur's Gate.
Baldur's Gate Trilogy:
http://www.spellholdstudios.net/ie/bgt/
Trilogy is another common installation process which converts the engine of Baldur's Gate to Baldur's Gate 2. It copies game archives from Baldur's Gate and places them in your Baldur's Gate 2 directory, rather than making an entiely separate installation. A player can seamlessly play through Baldur's Gate and it's expansions with Trilogy, rather than stopping and reimporting their character for Baldur's Gate 2.
1PP (Spellhold Studios):
http://www.shsforums.net/forum/159-1pp/
One Pixel Productions is set of modifications which restores the paperdolls (inventory characters) and avatars of Player Characters and NPCs in BG2 to that of their BG counterparts, as well as edit inventory icons.
This can be applied to a BGTrilogy or Tutu installation. If the latter, it can then be applied to your Baldur's Gate 2 installation as well. A very popular mod, considering the quality of paperdolls and avatars in BG2 is considerably less.
Baldur's Gate 2 Tweaks (G3):
http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg2tweaks/index.php
This popular modification allows you to selectively modify game rules, cosmetics and applies various fixes.
BG1 NPC Project (G3):
http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg1npc/index.php
This is divided into three packs.
BG NPC Banter, which applies large amounts of interaction between NPCs party members and the Player Character, including friendships and romances.
BG NPC Music, which applies suitible music backings to these interactions (as opposed to spoken voice, which could not be arranged).
BG NPC Portrait, which is a minor cosmetic altering component. It gives you the opportunity to replace some NPC portraits with fresh ones designed by the community members.
Icewind Dale Modifications:
Cross-Compatible Modifications:
Widescreen:
http://www.gibberlings3.net/widescreen/
This modification allows infinity engine games to be played at higher resolutions for supporting monitors, meaning standard sizes of 640 x 480 or 800 x 600 can be increased to fit modern screens. However, it should be noted that title menus, pages and User Interfaces remain scaled and so become furthur squeezed as the resolution is brought up.
Zafiro and DMZ (for talking it through), William, Iansounet (for that tough love on the outside and the gooey marshmellow fudge on the inside!), jay, cmorgan, Andrea, other people that I forget at this very moment, people that wrote readmes, people that cleaned up after me when I cried myself to sleep, etc.
With help from all of you here, I've compiled a list of modifications which are commonly used to boost the gaming experience. This isn't finished and will soon be updated with links to documentation for whatever install you might be doing. I'll provide sufficient detail so that, in case you're new to the mod business, we can help. Remember to read the posts below.
This can include core system changes, gameplay mechanics, content, areas, soundsets, portraits, etc
Baldur's Gate Modifications:
----------------------
Baldur's Gate Tutu/EasyTutu:
http://www.pocketplane.net/tutu
http://usoutpost31.com/easytutu/
Tutu (manual installation) is a program which copies parts of the game archives from Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2 (ToB not required but useful) and supplies a separate installation. This installation is essentially Baldur's Gate and it's content, but operating under the updated engine powering Baldur's Gate 2.
EasyTutu is an installer which creates a preset recommended version of Tutu, without all the fuss.
Features include added races, classes, kits (sub classes, I guess) and 800 x 600 pixel resolution (from the original one of 640 x 480). The GUI (interface) which the gamer uses to navigate the game will be of Baldur's Gate 2, however, another mod can be used to change this to the original interface of Baldur's Gate.
Baldur's Gate Trilogy:
http://www.spellholdstudios.net/ie/bgt/
Trilogy is another common installation process which converts the engine of Baldur's Gate to Baldur's Gate 2. It copies game archives from Baldur's Gate and places them in your Baldur's Gate 2 directory, rather than making an entiely separate installation. A player can seamlessly play through Baldur's Gate and it's expansions with Trilogy, rather than stopping and reimporting their character for Baldur's Gate 2.
1PP (Spellhold Studios):
http://www.shsforums.net/forum/159-1pp/
One Pixel Productions is set of modifications which restores the paperdolls (inventory characters) and avatars of Player Characters and NPCs in BG2 to that of their BG counterparts, as well as edit inventory icons.
This can be applied to a BGTrilogy or Tutu installation. If the latter, it can then be applied to your Baldur's Gate 2 installation as well. A very popular mod, considering the quality of paperdolls and avatars in BG2 is considerably less.
Baldur's Gate 2 Tweaks (G3):
http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg2tweaks/index.php
This popular modification allows you to selectively modify game rules, cosmetics and applies various fixes.
BG1 NPC Project (G3):
http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg1npc/index.php
This is divided into three packs.
BG NPC Banter, which applies large amounts of interaction between NPCs party members and the Player Character, including friendships and romances.
BG NPC Music, which applies suitible music backings to these interactions (as opposed to spoken voice, which could not be arranged).
BG NPC Portrait, which is a minor cosmetic altering component. It gives you the opportunity to replace some NPC portraits with fresh ones designed by the community members.
Icewind Dale Modifications:
Cross-Compatible Modifications:
Widescreen:
http://www.gibberlings3.net/widescreen/
This modification allows infinity engine games to be played at higher resolutions for supporting monitors, meaning standard sizes of 640 x 480 or 800 x 600 can be increased to fit modern screens. However, it should be noted that title menus, pages and User Interfaces remain scaled and so become furthur squeezed as the resolution is brought up.
Post edited by Ward on
7
Comments
BG2 Fixpack and the whole of TobEX needs to be included into this game. SCS(II) and RR/aTweaks can be optional components for the game.
See this is good. Once I have names of things, I can look them up. I've tried the widescreen mod, still working on it.
http://kerzenburg.baldurs-gate.eu/bwpmods.php
First and most obviously, does the idea of playing BG1 and BG2 as one huge, continuous game appeal to you, or do you prefer the BG1 - BG2 separation?
Second, does the notion of choosing and installing both BG1 and BG2 mods before you start playing appeal to you, or discourage you?
Lastly, BGT has the advantage of being compatible with the G3 BG2 Fixpack [1], which is today more comprehensive than the corresponding part of EasyTutu (which is based on the Fixpack, but is outdated).
In terms of compatibility with other mods and bugginess, they are today both rather equivalent (except where otherwise noted).
1. Mostly. Both mods are being rather intransigent about patching the worldmap, so if you want the Fixpack worldmap fixes with BGT, you also need to install the BP-BGT Worldmap mod.
1.TobEx - great mod
2.BG2 fixpack - from G3, definitely a must use mod
3.1PP - Reverts the paperdolls and inventory icons in BG2 to those of BG1, does the same for some item graphics as well, and reverts some ToB item graphics back to BG1&BG2 style. Definitely a great improvement.
4.BGT - Baldur's Gate Trilogy, I just like having the entire Baldur's Gate (1&2) in a single file w/a transition from one to the next, also I like that I can use G3's fixpack instead of the outdated one associated with EasyTutu.
5.BG1NPC - I don't always use this one, but it's a pretty nice mod, adds NPC interactions into BG1 and also makes a slightly bigger thing out of Gorion's death (a bit more dialogue w/Imoen and some others about it) which makes sense to me as it just seemed like it didn't affect CHARNAME all that much.
6.Item Revisions - this is another one I don't always install, it goes a long way to boost underrepresented/underpowered items and nerf (at least slightly) overpowered ones. This does include all those best weapons in the game such as Carsomyr, etc. which I know some people like to be as powerful as they are. It also changes select "STAT set to X" items into "STAT +X" items, basically changes a good majority of the items in the game. There's also convenient instructions in the Readme on how to alter the file before installation to NOT include any specific items you'd prefer to be kept the same.
7.Dungeon Crawl - this is an add on quest for SoA based on the web comic "Dungeon Crawl, Inc." It's just a fun/amusing addition to the game but could be a bit immersion breaking, not really in sync with a serious playthrough, but I add it to my game every once in a while. Can be found over at The Pocket Plane Group
8.Spell Revisions - started out as item revisions for spells (nerfing overpowered/boosting underpowered spells), has since expanded to include some new ideas, bug fixes, etc.
9.SCS - Sword Coast Strategems. This. I love this mod. It has a lot of components and I believe it now uses an easy installer that allows users to choose which types of components to install, I recommend opting out of this and manually choosing each setting (just take a few minutes to go through the readme). Enemy AI enhancements (and many other useful components), this is great. Be warned, choosing the most advanced AI for enemies throughout this installation will greatly increase the difficulty of the game, so take your time to consider what you want.
10.Alternatives - A mod for SoA that allows you to take an alternative path to get to Spellhold, so you don't have to choose between siding with either the Shadow Thieves or the Vampires.
11.Rogue Rebalancing - This mod has already been mentioned by quite a few people on different discussions, it's great. I definitely recommend it as a must have (except for this final component "Chosen of Cyric Encounter," which most people will probably want to [N]ot Install. It is a pretty difficult battle and can be a bit odd as the dialogue in the encounter uses visible stat checks unlike the rest of BG, for example: "[Charisma] I don't think we need to resort to violence..."
12.SCSII - Sword Coast Stratagems II, yes. See Sword Coast Strategems, as my thoughts are the same on both of these.
13.BGT Tweaks - Tweakpack for BGT, has some components that most people using BGT will most likely find useful.
14.BG2 Tweaks - self explanatory, a list of possible tweaks for the game.
15.PnP Free Action - restores free action (spell, item effects, etc.) to PnP specifications.
16.aTweaks - another must have with PnP implementations.
17.BGT Worldmap - necessary worldmap mod for BGT
18.Widescreen mod
19.Generalized Biffing - useful for games with a lot of mods installed or mega-mods installed.
Incidentally, these are in pretty much the order they need to be installed in, but for anyone looking to install a lot of mods like this, I recommend this BWP install order pdf
For BG1/BG1 in BGT : The grey clan
1. Baldur's Gate Trilogy-WeiDU, by @Ascension64. At the very least, the ability to play BGEE and BG2EE as a continuous game.
2. One Pixel Productions (aka 1pp) by @erephine. All of it. Maybe this is already planned for inclusion, but if it is, all of it needs to be included.
3. Infinity Animations, also by @erephine. At the very least, the expanded animations. Don't know about the actual content, but if there is permission to use the Pit Fiend and Succubus animations from NWN, it would be awesome.
4. Item/Spell/Kit Revisions, by the Gibberlings3. Probally as optional components, but anything to balance the game!
5. The BG1NPC Project, by various authors. Though it would be hard to integrate all that - it can be optional.
1. All of Qwinn's mods - the PS:T fixpack, tweakpack, and unfinished buisness mods. This really enhances the game.
2. Ghostdog's PS:T Gui - a enhanced and higher resolution GUI for Planescape: Torment
3. Widescreen - as mentioned before.
I've decided to use Tutu. I don't like BGT, I just prefer Tutu. Here's a list of the things I'm using - please let me know if there's more I should download:
Engine:
PPG: EasyTuTu
PPG: Degreenifier
PPG: TuTuGUI (stony)
ToBex (maybe)?
1PP:
Avatar Fixes
Female Dwarves
Thieves Galore
Music (changes from 22.05khz to 44.01khz)
Gameplay:
G3: BG1 Tweaks
Gibberlings 3: BG2 Tweaks
Gibberlings 3: NPC Kitpack (replaces some NPC kitpacks e.g. turns Sarevok into a Deathbringer)
BG1 Content:
G3: NPC Project
PPG: BG1 Unfinished Business
BG2 Content:
PPG: BG2 Unfinished Business
BG1 Quests:
Dark Horizons
Northern Tales of the Sword Coast
Drizzt Saga
Secret of Bone Hill
Dark Side of the Sword Coast
BG1 Mini Quests and Encounters
Lure of the Sirine's Call
The Grey Clan Episode One
The Stone of Askavar
BG2 Quests:
Adalon's Blood - Skin Armour
Assassinations
Eilistraee's Song
ToB:
The Wheels of Prophecy
Ascension
Turnabo
Redemption
The Longer Road
I'd like to know what order these should go in. I'm almost sure Tutu comes first, then degreenifier, then GUI, then ToBeX. Because ToBeX does not involve Tutu, it shouldn't matter when I use it yes?
Number two, a lot of those megamoddies aren't compatible with TuTu. which ones?
Thirdly, check the ToB section above, these might clash with each other. Best choice?
Let me know. Cheers!
Or, ya know, just use BGT.
If you insist on using Tutu, I'd recommend checking out the Pocket Plane Tutu Forum which will most likely contain some topics concerning install order and compatibility.
Oh, and for the record: EasyTutu rules!
@AndreaColombo While I'm sure EasyTutu does in fact rule, I'm assuming you've never used it in a playthrough with as many mods installed as he has on his list there; and if you have, do you know of the proper install order for these things? It can get a bit tricky with that many mods.
I have tried BGT in the past, and BWP last night, fantastic program for sure. But I don't like having no control over it.
BWP installs BGT, no way out of it. The details on what each mod and component does is very rough, BWP doesn't tell you what anything is or does and a lot of the mods it offers I'm unable to find anywhere else.
I just like the control of a manual install, I also prefer the look of TUTU over BGT. The opening screens for BGT aren't very spectacular and I don't like how it plays the intro movies AFTER you start a new game.
Basicly, Tutu is the same as BG1 except with the BG2 engine, 800 x 600 (my favourite) and with a mod I can bring the stony GUI back in. On top of that, doesn't interfere with my normal install so if I ruin it I don't worry.
However, BGT has mods and it installs everything for you with BW so it's a hard choice.
Also, I believe that BGT has a GUI component as well which may or may not allow the restoration of the stony GUI. Although I do like the stony GUI, that alone isn't worth the trouble of using Tutu over BGT in my opinion.
I do keep a plain vanilla BG1 either way, but Tutu lets me keep a vanilla SoA/ToB as well. Assuming I haven't modded it. I've got one less thing to mess up that way then. Unless I mess up both.
I did read that manual several times when using BWP, but every third mod or so gives you a bunch of cautions to do X not Y or else Sed will happen. Too difficult to do on my own, I need more help.
I didn't think of installing everything manually, good idea. What I do know is I don't like BWP. I'm going to see if I can make this work with a Tutu installation and if not, I'll go back to BGT.
Right now I've got Tutu, degreener and GUI. Next I'm going to install the 1PP stuff I think.
- Degreenifier
- Beregost fix
- TutuFix
- BG2 Tweakpack
- 1PP
- Infinity Animations
- ToBEx
- Rogue Rebalancing
- aTWEAKS
- TutuGUI
- The mod that restores BG1 chapter music (not sure it has a name)
- BG1 Unfinished Business
- Drizzt Is Not Stupid
- BG1 NPC Project