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[BG:EE]Dark Horizons Released

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  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    edited October 2022
    Mordekaie wrote: »
    The major things that need changing are:
    1) Who can use the items. They are often unusable by the very people that they are designed for.
    2) What category the weapon is in. (Swords, flail etc.)
    3) If you want to make them less powerful you might just want to remove some of their extra abilities.
    e.g. There is a +3 short sword (CMSWQ08) which holds the victim if it doesn't save after it is wounded. The +3 might be better as +2. That is debatable. It might also be better if there was only a 50% chance of holding.
    These sort of things are not set in stone but the opinion of the player/modder. If you change such things, you also need to change the description otherwise there will be complaints.
    Making all +3 weapons into +2 weapons is a good idea, either that or making the item undropable.
    There are also +3 sorcerer's staves CMSTAF01 with 25% chance to petrify targets and +3 katanas (MA1SW02) that have a 10% chance of petrification. Not sure which mod that last one comes from as I think the items from this mod all start with CM.
    What you need to remember is that whatever you do, there will be those who disagree with your choices. To reduce the number of complaints you could give players a choice as to how to change items.
    Whilst the petrification makes an item very powerful, you need to remember that if a target is petrified, you lose the loot from the body, so it is not quite as good a weapon as it at first seems.
    If you reduce the power of the weapon remember that you are also reducing the ability of the foe who was wielding it. It is these interrelationships that make modding difficult. You will NEVER please everyone.

    Does anyone has made a Fix to correct the broken items ?

    Not that I know of. The problem is that you would need to get the permission of the creators of the original. They might not even be alive anymore. However, you could modify them for your own use using Near Infinity.

    If you know who the original creators are you could send a bug report. That happened with the Tenya mod. There was a halberd for Tenya's use which she was unable to use. The modder rectified things. :)

    Given that there are so many broken items in Dark Horizons, my thinking is that the creators of the mod might not have the skillsets to rectify things. That's a shame as it is a most enjoyable mod.

    A hint on how to weaken the overpowered weapons. If you want to make a +3 weapon into a +2 weapon. Find a standard +2 weapon and in NearInfinity save it with the same name as the mod's +3 weapon and then drop it into the over-ride folder, over-riding any file with the same name that is already there. {You might want to copy the original to a safe place in case you want to revert back to the original} Clearly, only do this with items that have a unique name in the mod, otherwise you could foul up the standard game.

    You do not need to be an expert modder to use Near Infinity. A quick none-exhaustive tutorial in my next post. { I am only just beginning to learn it myself.}
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    edited October 2022
    I do NearInfinity modding in a folder only used for that purpose. I call it NearInfinity.

    Put the zip file in the folder and extract the jar file. Put the files that you want to edit in the same folder.

    Run NearInfinity.jar.

    Game-Open file-Browse to open the file that you want to edit and open.

    Click-Open in new window.

    Click on the edit tab after which you can edit the attributes that you want to change.

    After that, it is trial and error.

    Save as: To avoid over-writing the original.

    Drop the edited file in the override folder.

    P.S. If anybody wants to correct or add to anything in this post, feel free to do so. I am no expert, but am slowly rectifying things for my own game, one item at a time.

    Note that there are 261 items in Baldur's Gate - EE\Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition\DarkHorizonsBGee\items

    Not all of them will need changing though.
  • MordekaieMordekaie Member Posts: 269
    edited October 2022
    Mordekaie wrote: »

    Does anyone has made a Fix to correct the broken items ?

    The problem is that you would need to get the permission of the creators of the original. They might not even be alive anymore. However, you could modify them for your own use using Near Infinity.

    If you know who the original creators are you could send a bug report. That happened with the Tenya mod. There was a halberd for Tenya's use which she was unable to use. The modder rectified things. :)

    I think there is no problem to make a separate mod to "tweak" (patch/fix) some aspects of an another mod like Dark Horizons. The issue comes when you modify a mod and release your own version without the authorisation of its authors.

    I guess there would be two ways to achieve that purpose (but i don't know) :
    - Developp a fix to apply to the modfolder of DarkHorizons (in the same way the BWS fixpatch was working).
    - Developp a Tweak mod that has to be installed after Dark Horizons (as it is done by @ahungry Tweaks mod to Fix the missing Oversight HQ door).

    For sure getting the authorisation from the authors would be great but it may be difficult to reach them.


    @jastey Is it correct ? Any comment to see the whole picture ?

  • StummvonBordwehrStummvonBordwehr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,343
    I have seen mod fixes in tweak miss before.
    Just look at Klatu tweaks, which has several:
    https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Klatu_Tweaks_and_Fixes
    As long as you respect the mod author and don’t do a Sandrahfication of the mod, a small fix should be in order. But Jastey knows best
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    If somebody does decide to do this, the best way might be to have the installation interactive.
    For instance:

    Do you wish to replace item X which is a +3 sword with this one which is +2? Yes/No

    That is something way outside my ability, but is probably not that difficult for a modder.
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    edited October 2022
    I don't see a problem with a tweak to fix a mod if:
    -if the author cannot be reached via PM, Email, public posts
    -it is clearly posted about it publicly in the mod's official forum/thread
    -is offered to the author to be included into the mod
    -will be taken down if the mod author/maintainer requests
    -credits the original mod accordingly
    -only owrks with the original mod
    -does only fix bugs or tweaks OP items/ encounters without changing the actual content

    Also, I'd suggest making it a specific tweak for this mod, not include it into a tweak for several where it gets lost or outdated.

    Oh, yes, and:
    -include the mod version the fix is for
    -make sure to update the tweak accordingly in case the mod gets updated, i.e. make sure the tweak always will actually fix things and not break them. (EDIT: this is my beef with KLATU's fixes and also fixes included in Miloch's Unique container's mod and the BWP Fixpack in general: I have no idea whether these are still relevant, still needed, or whether they will break things instead.)

    This is my opinion on the matter. IE modding is a community effort, we respect IP but we also care for older mods so they get preserved for players to enjoy them. What I described above is caring for older mods imho.
  • StummvonBordwehrStummvonBordwehr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,343
    Cool. Thank Jastey

    Just adding. If a tweak is made, please break up the parts you tweak in sections…. So nerfing and balancing in one part, and fixes on another. So nerfing is optional not a requirement B)
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    @jastey @StummvonBordwehr

    Agree with both of you wholeheartedly. Now all we need is somebody with both the fervour and skillsets to actually do it. :)
  • ahungryahungry Member Posts: 29
    edited October 2022
    I'm having a lot of fun with deletefier and my global APR rebalancing - having a 1 (or maybe 5)% shot to find any of these great / overpowered items means it can actually be exciting (and different each play through).

    The deletefier now avoids removing items and simply setting then to undroppable (that way, the strength of the enemies is preserved, although I've thought about making this a user option so the user can choose if they want magic gear to be ultra rare even among enemies - aka, a little more game appropriate encounter strength).

    Since these are both global changes, that just happen to work well with a large amount of mods, I don't think it's really ruining the spirit of any mod - players can choose to use the tweaks/deletefier or ignore them.

    Although that's a bigger issue with IE modding in general - lack of clear licenses - compared to your standard FOSS - if you fork in FOSS, it's rare anyone gives a hoot, but mod authors seem much more possessive of their creative works, doubly so when it comes to dialogue, story, art or creative portions (a little more flexible with items and general game tweaks/balance) - although there is always a ripple effect/maintenance burden if you do create something popular that others put their spin on, and then come back to you when the derivatives malfunction.
  • MapekMapek Member Posts: 42
    @CoM_Solaufein Hi. I just got a little question. Does Nikita have any banters, interjections etc? I'm considering having her in my party. Like her portrait and I'm in need for a new thief. Just hoping she isn't too quiet
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