Help me choose some mods...

EntropyXII

Hey everyone,

I wasn't sure whether or not to put this in 'General' or 'Modding' but modding seems to be more of a discussion about mod requests or updates on certain mods so i put it in general. If this needs to be moved 'devs' I apologise in advance.

Ok well here is my problem - I have never used mods before (i know how to do it) in any of my BG playthroughs. I have stayed well clear in fact. The only one I did use was the BG2 ascension mod due to it's 'official' element. I did download one many many years ago which had a character called Cu'Culain in it, but I fail to remember which one. I don't think I enjoyed that one much - it was a little *too* far from the story.

Considering the recent news about BG:EE I figured I might give the GOG version a go whilst I await any changes to the current situation.

Ok, so what mods are the best out there? I am extremely picky and would prefer the most well made mods with the best writing.

Are there any extra item packs (not overpowered) that have their own icons for each piece of equipment?

Is TUTU buggy? Shall I use it?

Are there decent kit mods? I saw the one on the pocket plane website but didn't like the look of it.

Is unfinished business recommended?

zur312

tactics for harder fights
scsii for smarter enemies
kits are hit or miss mostly miss
npcs there are so many that i can't even think of number of them

business is cool

i would suggest BWP with mode something like "the biggest world or most adventures" that installs new locatiions / adventures

EntropyXII

@zur312 - Do the NPC's have soundsets and interactions with other party members? do they fit in with the game?

zur312

some of them do have everything

SionIV

1.) SCSII
2.) Item randomizer
3.) Level 1 NPC
4.) BG2 tweaks (Can't play without this)
5.) Ascension (Once you completed ToB, install this and you'll never go back)
6.) Ashes of Embers (I use this mod for the use any weapon component. If you have enough strength your mage can use a bastard sword. Clerics can use bladed weapons, beastmasters still can't)
7.) Song and Silence (If you like to play bards)

All of these mods are very well done. I don't install any mods that don't have the same quality as the original game, as that can really break the game for me.

zur312

wait! where is BG item randomizer?
nice:
http://www.gibberlings3.net/item_rand/

GoForTheEyesBoo

Not to highjack the thread but...this also interests me but in a different manner. I'm interested in playing BG1 with the original GUI but with some mods. Is that possible? Or would I lack widescreen mods and other important ones such as Unfinished Business, fix packs and the like?

redline

EntropyXII said:

@zur312 - Do the NPC's have soundsets and interactions with other party members? do they fit in with the game?

I've never used NPC mods because the writing, personalities, voiceovers, portraits, etc. could all be immersion breaking if they don't mesh with the existing content, and while I have a lot of respect for the people who put time and effort into making those mods, I simply don't trust user created content to match the quality of the Bioware NPCs. Even the BGEE NPCs irk me a bit due to the recording quality being a bit different from the original sound sets.

That said, both Valerie and Isra for BGEE look really promising to me. They interact with the original and BGEE NPCs and with each other, appear to fit well into the lore and setting of the game, and Isra only just recently got a voice due to the creator being a stickler for sound quality (still no sound for Valerie, unfortunately). Haven't tried them yet, but I'm willing to give it a go, which is more than I can say for many NPC mods.

Flashburn

Here's what I use and in the order I installed them:

1) Official ToB patch
2) Fixpack
3) Widescreen Mod
4) Tweakpack
5) Ascension
6) Turnabout
-Turnabout's fair play. With Ascension installed this mod allows you to summon allies that were killed off by BG's plot. After the fight with Irenicus and Bodhi, you can summon these allies from the pools of energy once you've beaten the demons that guard them.
http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=125&Itemid=111

8) Dungeon-Be-Gone
-No more fiddling about with Chateau Irenicus for the kabillionth time. This mod whisks you away to the exit of the dungeon and gives you all the gold, XP, and notable items that you would've gotten by going through the dungeon otherwise.
http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=blogcategory&id=98&Itemid=79

9) Coran
-The best damn NPC mod there ever was, and he returns from BG1 to boot. Outstanding quality with only a couple of typos here and there. The same cannot be said of many other NPC mods. Coran has many interjections and has banters with several party members, especially the females. But he's not a plot-hog like the infamous teenage mary-sue paladin. If it weren't for the tell-tale lack of evil/jerk options when you're talking with Coran, I would've guessed that he was written by Bioware.
http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=blogcategory&id=113&Itemid=84