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Amazing discovery! Overriding cre files without override folder and jailbreak

lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
edited February 2013 in iPad (Archive)
Amazing! I just discovered it! I don't need to jailbreak and create an override folder under .app. Dumping cre files under Library/Portraits and the game notices them and they work!

I edited firebe.cre and fireb1.cre files with shadow keeper on pc version, I simply changed his appearance to human mage instead of elf. Copied those files into my usual Portraits folder via ifunbox. Started a new game and wow Firebead looks human!

So I can have a limited modding/editing via Portraits folder without need to jailbreak yay! I will play around with this. I think I can dump a new xp table, items, etc. And I wonder if dumping dialog.tlk into it work too? Can some one check? I amthroughly amazed :-) yay!

@mars0124 and @Wowo check this out guys! Did you know this? Is it useful?

I got the idea from here:
http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showtopic=24960

Oh my goodness! Archaic beta inventory sets work just by dumping the files into portraits folder!!! Wonderful!
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Comments

  • mars0124mars0124 Member Posts: 180
    I'll look into it further. You might have uncovered the golden relic here @lunar
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    @mars0124 I am already installing scs now. I copied all app file to my pc desktop as you suggested, created override folder, now installing normally on pc. Then I will dump the override folder contents into ipad's portraits folder, with dialog.tlk too. Then I will start a new game and go tackle Firebead to see if he will fire up scs mage script to kill me utterly lol. Excited!
  • mars0124mars0124 Member Posts: 180
    @lunar let me know :D

    What are you using to dump to PC? iFunBox works differently for jailed devices vs jailbroken
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    edited February 2013
    I use ifunbox. Just under User applications tree, Baldurs gate, I chose Baldurs gate.app folder, copy and paste it to pc without problems. I think you don't need jailbreak to copy content from ipad to pc via ifunbox?

    Anyway my test..Archaic gui works well. Started new game and punched Firebead (and missed) he instabuffed with mirror image and other spells. But it said 'missing line' or such on dialogue box instead of usual 'previously cast' message so I guess only the edited dialog.tlk does not work when placed under portraits folder.
    He then casted confusion, pw:sleep and finished me with flame arrow. I think this is scs behaviour!

    And what does SCS modify in dialog.tlk really? I think it just adds those 'cast previously' prebuff lines. I can live with that.

    It is tad early and I need further testing but placing files under portrait folder works! This is neat! I have scs installed w/o a jailbreak. I am not sure if it is %100 correctly working without dialog.tlk though. Hmm maybe we should ask the author?

    image

    He even got a sequencer! It is SCS!

    image

    Notice new fonts from Archaic gui mod work. I just got starting screens and inventory screen modifications, I actually kinda like the blue GUI, but I am sure brown gui would work too! Yay!
  • mars0124mars0124 Member Posts: 180
    edited February 2013
    Technically you don't need a jailbreak to use iFunBox... but results are sketchy without a jailbreak.

    And from my understanding dialog.tlk effects all text in the game. All of it.

    And you're right, it is SCS behaviour. So at this time your modding method allows for using copy/paste mods, but nothing that modifies dialog.tlk. Hmmm... Maybe @TrentOster could add some code to BG to check the Portraits folder for dialog.tlk...
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    edited February 2013
    Well it is a start at least :-) I wonder how well scs can work without dialog tlk though. Does it modify in game text or dialogues? Hmm I guess items and creatures it adds will have wonky names. But how many items/creatures the mod add? Those kobold guards and poison daggers, I am sure they will be buggy. But other parts of the mod? Darn I can't check quickly cos console does not work on ipad.

    Whoa, surprise! I loaded a save game from before. My party was about to enter BG. At the instant I loaded my game, Molkar and his co. spawned, because I have not killed them yet in this game. Then they went to kick my butt all over. Yeah those 'missing string' lines were there, but it actually makes things harder as I can not read their prebuffs. Heh.

    image

    So they spawned correctly, and Molkar gulps a potion too! So can I say most of the SCS should work? And without a jailbreak. I am happy, will be playing and testing extensively. Heh.

    I just remembered, it adds quite a bit of dialogue to the final battle too, Sarevok talking about his acolytes etc. I guess that is going to be buggy. But %95 of the mod should be working? I have to think about this.
    Post edited by lunar on
  • mars0124mars0124 Member Posts: 180
    Unfortunately I am of the opinion that anything less than 100% is not acceptable. We'll see how this evolves, but its good to know we have the ability to use basic mods at least :)
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    Okay I respect that =) I wonder if the dev team did this knowingly so that files put in portrait folder have higher priority than override folder, as to enable a bit modding without a jail break? Or just a glitch? I am glad I read that thread in gibberlings3, though.
  • mars0124mars0124 Member Posts: 180
    Even though dialog.tlk doesn't work, let there be no mistake. This is still a FANTASTIC find. I will be adding it to my post later this evening.
  • BJMJDBJMJD Member Posts: 192
    edited February 2013
    Like said by mars0124 it is a good find it is a FANTASTIC find. I already translate and share it on the French part of the forum. Thank to you.

    A stupid question, it works with the 1.0.3 version?
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    edited February 2013
    Heh, I'm glad to be able to contribute to modding on ipad :-) and I am glad I can play a scs game without jailbreak, for now.

    @BJMJD I think it should work, if they haven't changed the major file structure of the game between patches.

    Edit: @mars0124 If I understood correctly, Anything that adds dialgue or item text does not work, as dialog.tlk is not recognised under portraits folder. So the components that add such should not be installed via this method. Scs has that werewolf island component that adds a peaceful solution with new dialogue, right? That is sure to be buggy in this method. But pure AI stuff should work, IMHO, with the minor 'missing string' error only when enemies prebuff, as those are the only new lines the mod adds. Like I said I can live with that, and it actually adds to the challenge as you can't read what buffs or potions the enemy has since the info text is 'missing string' :-)

    You can add archaic gui manual install mod this way, and have spiffy new and fancy screens AND bigger font that is not hard to read on ipad. (I think Even with glasses the font was kinda hard to read)

    And to think, I've opened up a thread here last week, begging for a way to be able to create override folder without jailbreaking. And all this time I've never ever really needed it! I find that funny. Lol ^^
    Post edited by lunar on
  • nsrnsr Member Posts: 174
    Anyone have a Windows or Mac version want to see if this works there as well? I'm curious if it is a general BG engine thing.
  • mars0124mars0124 Member Posts: 180
    I'll try tomorrow.
  • nsrnsr Member Posts: 174
    If it does happen happen to work on a desktop version, it would be possible to see if other locations are searched for dialog.tlk. This may be hoping for too much though.
  • mars0124mars0124 Member Posts: 180
    lol. I'll tomorrow, I said! ;)
  • NifftNifft Member Posts: 1,065
    Good find!
  • DavidWDavidW Member Posts: 823
    You can reduce SCS's use of strings to some extent. Before installing, edit stratagems.ini, find the line that says "Run_Silent 0", and change it to "Run_Silent 1". This will suppress most of the purely cosmetic strings. (Use at own risk, unfinished beta feature, etc etc.)

    I recommend not installing the "Improved Chapter 7", "Improved Chapter 3", and "Werewolf island" components, as they make fairly significant use of dialog (others may too, but those are the ones that come to mind.)
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    edited March 2013
    Thank you @DavidW for your hard work and support. I can't praise SCS enough, and you are willing to help us poor ipad users too. :-)

    Chapter 3 battle is bandit camp, right? Will it be okay if we don't see any new dialogue, go right assaulting it instead of subturfuge? Just for the battle. Original bandit camp is quite lackluster when compared to your scary version.

    Chapter 7 is final battle, yes? And I suspected it wouldn't be compatible. Oh well I can make it tougher myself by upping Sarevok's stats and movement speed and giving the caster guys your smart scripts.

    Like I said, werewolf island is indeed a big no as it involves some heavy dialogue and cutscenes.

    I have used that trick that raises enemy caster levels with the help of changing strategems.ini line add_mage_level, like I did in my pc BGT game before. (I have asked about it before on gibberlings forums, and you were kind to give me pointers) I upped all mage and cleric levels in game by 3.

    Was doing a little testing yester eve, I CLUA'd onto Davaeorn's level on pc, transfered the save game, entered his level. Your enhancements were there, two doom guards were already spawned. Davaeorn though, was bugged, he casted stinking cloud+web, dimension doored to first room and stayed invisible, no matter what I did, he stayed there. I checked his file with shadow keeper, he is lvl 14 with mantle and chaos sphere spells, checked his script via DLTCEP and he had NONE scripts in most areas, DAVAEORN script in one blank. What script is he supposed to use, maybe I can fix him, or maybe upping his level by 3 broke his unique script utterly?

    I will update my game and install scs from scratch, using your pointers tonight. Hopefully it will play nice. ^^

    EDIT:Okay, I deleted my override, err, portraits folder, and patched my game. Then did the whole thing again.

    -Copy baldur.app whole folder (2 gb) to pc desktop with ifunbox, this duplicates your BG:EE ipad game on your pc so you can mod on your pc
    -Create an override folder under baldur.app on pc
    -Extract scs contents into baldur.app on pc
    -Copy dialog.tlk from language/en to baldur.app on pc so weidu can see it
    -Fine tune SCS by editing scs.ini, as @DavidW suggested, to set "Run_Silent 1", and I also added 3 levels to all enemy mages and priests (personal preferance) save the scs.ini
    -Run SCS executable and install all components except Improved chapter 3, final battle, and werewolf island
    -When done, override folder is full of files. A lot of files SCS created. Your pc Ipad-version BG:EE game is now modded, now time to carry those modded files onto ipad.
    -Copy all these files and paste them into library/portraits section on your ipad, with ifunbox, as if putting portraits there. (if you don't have portraits folder create it) I also copy dialog.tlk from pc's baldur.app there but I guess that does not work.
    -Paste the archaic GUI mod's manual-method files into portraits folder as well, our portrait folder just works like an override.
    -Exit ifunbox, eject ipad from pc, launch game.

    GUI mod's inventory sets do not work, cause a crash when inventory is opened. They used to work before this new patch. There must be some conflict. Oh well, deleting inventory files guiinv. and inv.mos from portraits folder solved the trouble.

    Started a new game, and hurled a magic missile into Firebead's face.

    image

    It seems to work rather well. ^_^ Firebead is even more badass in this installation then before, that is the beauty of SCS, in every install it gives spell casters random new toys to kill you. Heh.
    I will see if there will be bugs or weird things...it is going to be exciting. And challenging, yeah SCS enemies are just that smart.
    Post edited by lunar on
  • VintrastormVintrastorm Member Posts: 216
    How has this trick worked with other mods?
  • famousringofamousringo Member Posts: 28
    Vintrastorm said:

    How has this trick worked with other mods?

    Yeah, exactly what can and can't we do with this? I gather any mod that messes with text is out. How about a simple XP cap remover?
  • TurcamTurcam Member Posts: 26
    Anyone tried this for the dwarf capped at 16 dex fix? Does this method require bg:ee pc version on the pc, or can you just get the ipad version on the pc an play around? I am not much into hacking and modding, so i hope it is just some straightforward copying and moving of files...
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    Any big mod that changes in-game text won't be compatible with this method, as we can not change dialog.tlk file (which holds all of the game's written text, from dialogue to descriptions etc) without a jailbreak. This method allows you to override creature, item and spell files, for fixes and modifications that do not change in-game text or descriptions.

    If Beamdog allows the dialog.tlk to be overriden via portraits folder, much more will be doable without a jailbreak. As of now, dialog.tlk is in the protected folders of Baldurs.app and can not be touched without a jailbreak.

    XP cap remover did not seem to work, I am not sure if .2da files override from portraits folders, I will have to check more throughly.
  • TarantioTarantio Member Posts: 11
    XP cap remover didn't work with me either, but the xcap remover from BG2 Tweak Pack did work somewhat, it didn't remove the cap completely but at last now i have the blackpits cap for the warrior (500000 xp) on all classes apart from not mono-class thief for some reason
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    Tarantio said:

    XP cap remover didn't work with me either, but the xcap remover from BG2 Tweak Pack did work somewhat, it didn't remove the cap completely but at last now i have the blackpits cap for the warrior (500000 xp) on all classes apart from not mono-class thief for some reason

    Hmm I'll check it too. Any minor modding is a boon on the ipad. I'm enjoying SCS enemies and the new GUI, areas, creatures and stores I've edited to suit my tastes-all without the hassle of a jailbreak. ^^

  • IecerintIecerint Member Posts: 431
    edited March 2013
    Is there a rule for which content can be modded by this mechanism?

    e.g., only content of type X, or whatever?
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    Anything that adds new dialogue, item or spell description etc. Will not work. Because dialog.tlk file, which stores all the written data in the game, can not be modified within portraits folder. Pure AI parts of the SCS seems to work very well, as Davidw suggested you can edit scs.ini to make it run silent, ie:not adding new written data, just making enemies real smart, working behind the scenes.
  • IecerintIecerint Member Posts: 431
    20 days later: thanks :]
  • DrRockSaltDrRockSalt Member Posts: 4
    Tarantio said:

    XP cap remover didn't work with me either, but the xcap remover from BG2 Tweak Pack did work somewhat, it didn't remove the cap completely but at last now i have the blackpits cap for the warrior (500000 xp) on all classes apart from not mono-class thief for some reason

    Could I have some help with this? I've tried the Tweak Pack cap remover in the portraits folder, but it doesn't seem to do anything. What exactly did you do?

    Also, has anyone had any luck modifying the .ini to skip opening the opening cinematic or the death movie? I tried changing the values, but the file seems to "reset" after launching.

    On a final note, this seems to be my last hope for modding the iPad version, since I'm at iOS 6.1.3, which seems not to have a jailbreak, and is somewhat impossible to roll back to a previous version.
  • TarantioTarantio Member Posts: 11
    If i remember correctly i used the xpcap remover from bg2 tweak and some other options i liked, added the 2 other xcap remover you can find in the modding section of this forum and lastlyi transfered the files. I guess that could mean that the other xcaps worked but i seem to remember that i tried with only the bg2 tweak and it worked all the same. When i'll return home from work in a few hours i'll see what files i have on the ipad and list them and the mods i used.
  • TarantioTarantio Member Posts: 11
    edited April 2013
    Okay it seems you need to rename the .2da files in lower case for it to work.
    here the list of tweaks I installed that seems to work:
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1010 // More Interjections: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1080 // Add Bags of Holding: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1100 // Reveal City Maps When Entering Area: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #1120 // Stores Sell Higher Stacks of Items: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #2090 // Change Experience Point Cap -> Remove Experience Cap: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3000 // Higher HP on Level Up -> Maximum: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3011 // Maximum HP for NPCs (the bigg) -> For Non-Party-Joinable NPCs Only: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3080 // Unlimited Ammo Stacking: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3090 // Unlimited Gem and Jewelry Stacking: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #3110 // Unlimited Scroll Stacking: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4020 // ToB-Style NPCs: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4031 // Consistent Stats: Edwin -> Use BG2 Values: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4041 // Consistent Stats: Jaheira -> Use BG2 Values: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4050 // Change Jaheira to Neutral Good: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4061 // Consistent Stats: Minsc -> Use BG2 Values: v11
    ~BG2_TWEAKS/SETUP-BG2_TWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #4071 // Consistent Stats: Viconia -> Use BG2 Values: v11

    Bags of holding function just fine, but the description of the object is blank for obvious reasons.
    Reveal City Maps When Entering Area, Consistent Stat and tob-style npcs seems to work only on new games.
    On More Interjections on the other hand I'm not sure, but I think it's likely working and I'm simply not noticing it overmuch.
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