Mod Distribution

Cuv

Just curious how mods will be distributed via the client if that is how the game will be shipped.

1. Will mods created specifically for the Enhanced Editions have a home at Beamdog or at the Nexus?
2. Will Overhaul only be able to distribute mods that they own the rights to distribute and will all other mods be simply links to existing repositories?
3. Is there a plan (hopefully from Beamdog themselves) for a mod manager a la Nexus Mod Manager or Steam Workshop to be included? It'd make life a ton easier to have a list of mods and a way to easily manage them.
4. Will a modding Wiki be created to help centralize modding tutorials and information?

Maybe others have more questions, but I think this gets the ball rolling. Very curious how all this is planned to work. List updated with new questions.

Dumuzii

There are a few infinity engine modding sites that have been up for a long time, and I'm pretty sure it's been said old mods are compatible with EE

http://www.shsforums.net/index.php?
http://www.gibberlings3.net/

Smeuuh

It'd be good to have some sort of centralized distribution of mods. This could just be links on the official site to mods that are known to work without too many bugs on BGEE, and are a worthwhile addition to any game. Ideally, the mods would be flagged as appropriate for a first playthrough (I'm thinking new quests, items, NPCs, romances, etc. that are on the same level of quality as the stock ones), or for more confirmed players (more controversial changes to the engine, "for fun" mods, etc.). Ideally, there should be a spoiler-free version of this list for first-time players.

The point is that new players (and old players that don't have the patience) shouldn't have to sift through decades-old webpages and deal with incompatibilities / installation order issues. As of now mod installation is quite involved, is confusing for newcomers, and should be simplified by BGEE (ideally, it should at least make tutu and the fixpacks obsolete, and remove installation order issues)

The wiki mentioned by OP is an awesome idea.

Wisp

and remove installation order issues

That is unfortunately not possible. You have installation-order issues in any modding system where mods have the potential to interact with each other.

Smeuuh

Isn't that because mods directly patch the source files? If I've seen correctly there's plans to allow for more than one override folder, shouldn't that fix some stuff?

In any case, it'd be very nice to have a guide ready for the release, so that people can jump in the game with some first-playthrough-friendly mods from day 1. Isn't it possible to give modders early access to a beta or something?

Wisp

Isn't that because mods directly patch the source files? If I've seen correctly there's plans to allow for more than one override folder, shouldn't that fix some stuff?

You still have interactions between mods. In fact, without the patching of source files, we would have even stronger interactions and much worse compatibility problems than we do today. The only sort of systems that avoid interactions are the ones like they had in NWN, where you can only play one mod at a time.

Isn't it possible to give modders early access to a beta or something?

Before individual modders can do much, the modding tools need to be updated to be able to handle BGEE as a platform. It is entirely possible Overhaul can not release the necessary info until they have the approval of their evil overlords, which, I would guess, won't happen until the game is actually released.

Ardanis

Isn't that because mods directly patch the source files? If I've seen correctly there's plans to allow for more than one override folder, shouldn't that fix some stuff?

Patching source files is what allows us to install several mods at once, even if they affect the same file. I haven't seen another game where such is possible, so I assume many people simply do not understand how much more advanced BG modding is, compared to NWN-style modding.

Imagine that you want to install two mods - one that allows spellcasting in armor, and another that allows thieving in armor. Both can be installed one on top of he other, because the 1st mod removes the casting restriction from all armors existing in game (and perhaps patches the description as well), and the 2nd mod does the same for thieving skills.

With overide subfolders we would have either spellcasting free armor, or thieving free, but not both at the same time. I suppose it is possible to generate the third subfolder, with both mods. But this imo stops being a good idea when you have three, five, ten or more mods affecting the same file - the override would grow in size exponentially.

That said, removing installation orders IS possible, but requires two mods to check for each other having already been installed. And while accounting for the above-mentioned armor patches is relatively simple, there are still more complicated cases where manual fine-tuning is required - and that is an ungrateful lot of work.

Smeuuh

Ah, right. Thanks for the explanation! What a mess, though. It's a shame the engine does not expose its variables with some kind of script language.

Delvon

Similarly, is there a plan (hopefully from Beamdog themselves) for a mod manager a la Nexus Mod Manager or Steam Workshop to be included? It'd make life a ton easier to have a list of mods and a way to easily manage them.

Ward

Rest assured there's plenty of tools out there to create a new modding community which ties SHS, G3 and PPG together.

What we need is a place specifically for the conversion of old mods for BG:EE, a place where old stuff can be revised and new stuff can be made.

A wikia sounds like a good start and while I can't code, I'd be happy to test mods and provide as much feedback as possible. I'll be interested in seeing the results. I think Beamdog will be active in their help too so there's a big chunk of help there.

Cuv

Delvon said:

Similarly, is there a plan (hopefully from Beamdog themselves) for a mod manager a la Nexus Mod Manager or Steam Workshop to be included? It'd make life a ton easier to have a list of mods and a way to easily manage them.

@Delvon That is a good question, will add it to the OP

Paladin

Delvon said:

Similarly, is there a plan (hopefully from Beamdog themselves) for a mod manager a la Nexus Mod Manager or Steam Workshop to be included? It'd make life a ton easier to have a list of mods and a way to easily manage them.

This really needs to happen if Beamdog wants to open up modding to the less dedicated community. With so many mods on my BG file, I tend to forget what is installed and simply reinstall whenever two mods cause crashes. This would help tremendously. Please include this support!

Dark0ne

I'd happily talk with BeamDog about getting BG:EE incorporated in to the Nexus Mod Manager, complete with a BG Nexus site to complement the NWN Nexus site we already have.

If it's as simple as having an over-ride folder or replacing simple files/folders then we can work that out ourselves. It it's a bit more complex/in-depth then I'll happily have a chat with anyone who might be interested in working with us to get the functionality in to NMM.

All our code is open source, so anyone can really do it.

Wisp

Delvon said:

It'd make life a ton easier to have a list of mods and a way to easily manage them.

I'll just point out you do have a list of installed mods – weidu.log – and a way to manage them: WeiDU.

Delvon

Wisp said:

Delvon said:

It'd make life a ton easier to have a list of mods and a way to easily manage them.

I'll just point out you do have a list of installed mods – weidu.log – and a way to manage them: WeiDU

Now I just feel silly for not knowing this. But a centralized place for mod distribution, and something akin to nexus mod manager, could do a favour to some more basic users.

Ardanis

As it has been said before for times, simply turning override folders on/off will not work. BG modding relies heavily on crosspatching, so unless one is comfortable with the override growing exponentially after every mod installed they'll have to keep to old good WeiDU installers.