Excuse me? Numerically, IWD1 HoF is exactly the same (sometimes -11 AC bonus fluctuates by +-1 point, but that's all). The experience is not identical, of course, since I'm imposing these rules on a different game universe, so to say (different monsters, different itemization, etc.).
@Tisamon That's good to hear. How would this interact with mods that change the stats/abilities of certain enemies already? I'm using aTweaks right now for the PnP versions of elementals, fiends, undead, and fey.
Okay, here is the BGEE version of the emulator (will work for BG2EE with a newer version of WeiDU; however, I do not recommend it at this stage -- many creatures in BG2 will either get HoF boni assigned erroneously, or won't get any HoF treatment at all). Treat it as a beta release. Any feedback/errata (e. g., summon X did not get his boni, or ally Y did) is most welcome.
Installation: Just unpack the rar archive into the BGEE folder, and run setup-HoFemu. The rest is pretty much self-explanatory
Darn. I was hoping this was compatible with BG2EE.
Are you looking for feedback on both games or just BG1EE?
It will work with BG2EE, of course (if you use the newer version of WeiDU), but there are many summons and polymorphs that will either be useless (no HoF stats) or super-useful (full HoF stats) The main bulk of the cre entries will be processed in a correct way, but still...
Only feedback on BGEE, as the mod in its current state is not optimized for BG2EE.
Alright, thanks for the mod Tisamon. I'll try it out later today. I'm probably going to get stomped by a diseased gibberling if it so much as looks at me funny.
EDIT: Actually I just now tried to install it for BG1EE and it says there was no IE game detected and to contact you, @Tisamon. It appears to be working for BG2EE though.
Nice mod there, I kinda find the Exp bonus for HoF a bit stupid though, feels counter-intuitive in terms of difficulty. I always wanted a mod that increased enemy hp/reduced player damage though, I always felt enemies were not resilient enough in BG2 : P. -11AC on top of 3x hp + 80 sounds a bit over the top too, id rather have to hit an enemy a lot than miss 55% more often.
Nice mod there, I kinda find the Exp bonus for HoF a bit stupid though, feels counter-intuitive in terms of difficulty. I always wanted a mod that increased enemy hp/reduced player damage though, I always felt enemies were not resilient enough in BG2 : P. -11AC on top of 3x hp + 80 sounds a bit over the top too, id rather have to hit an enemy a lot than miss 55% more often.
Well, it's not an attempt to satisfy people that want a difficulty increase, but rather a faithful emulation of a very specific game mode. I. e., the AC and xp modifiers exist in this mod not as a result of my design decisions, I just follow the original IWD HoF rules as closely as possible.
Sure, it's perfectly playable with level 1 party. Of course, it's ultimately your choice. Overall, you level-up so quickly and the BGEE level cap is so modest that it doesn't make much sense to import a party.
I'm doing an evil playthrough with a NE Blade. Right now its me, Viconia, Dorn, Hexxat, and Korgan. Edwin will have to come a little later once I've finished Korgan and Hexxat's quests. I've leveled up myself and my companions to 1.32mil XP each to simulate having gone through BG1 with this mod (220,000 * 6). I don't know for sure what the total would be since it doesn't work for BG1 anyway.
Even with my party at the mid-teens in levels we're getting our butts kicked. No one's died yet, fortunately. All I can complain about is that when an enemy's morale fails, I have to chase them every which way since no one has any Boots of Speed. Things should get a lot more interesting once I get better equipment.
I've leveled up myself and my companions to 1.32mil XP each to simulate having gone through BG1 with this mod (220,000 * 6). I don't know for sure what the total would be since it doesn't work for BG1 anyway.
I don't get the xp calculation at all. The BGEE cap is 161,000 xp. But even if it were 220,000, why grant each and every party member the BGEE total * 6? You can play your game as you prefer, of course, I'm just saying the xp boost you've given to your party is unrealistically huge
Also, several people that are testing the mod (not on these forums) report it's working just fine with BGEE. Seems to be some kind of problem at your end, then.
I've leveled up myself and my companions to 1.32mil XP each to simulate having gone through BG1 with this mod (220,000 * 6). I don't know for sure what the total would be since it doesn't work for BG1 anyway.
I don't get the xp calculation at all. The BGEE cap is 161,000 xp. But even if it were 220,000, why grant each and every party member the BGEE total * 6? You can play your game as you prefer, of course, I'm just saying the xp boost you've given to your party is unrealistically huge
Also, several people that are testing the mod (not on these forums) report it's working just fine with BGEE. Seems to be some kind of problem at your end, then.
Usually I end up with 220k with the PC by the end of BG1EE with a 6-person party and I prefer having XP uncapped. The 6x multiplier is taking into account the fact that everything is worth 4x as much XP plus an extra 2000.
Again, I think this is a rough estimation of the total if I played this mod till the end of BG1EE, but I can't know for sure because the mod won't work for me on BG1EE. I don't understand why the game is being detected for BG2EE but not 1EE. The only mods I have installed for BG1EE are an XP cap remover and Mr. Pennyway's (Dee) Cosmetic Changes and those are both mods that go into the 'override' folder.
Usually I end up with 220k with the PC by the end of BG1EE with a 6-person party and I prefer having XP uncapped. The 6x multiplier is taking into account the fact that everything is worth 4x as much XP plus an extra 2000.
Oh. You'll excuse me if I say that's a very different game you are playing, then. I have nothing in particular against your tastes and preferences - to each his own - but it's not terribly representative of the 'normal' gameplay, which is what I intended to test, first and foremost.
Me and a friend are currently doing a multiplayer run with this mod installed, as I recall from Heart of Fury mode it forced the difficulty slider up to "insane" difficulty (100% monster damage) so we're doing that to. So far we're a little more than halfway through Durlag's Tower - everything works fine so far Some non-critical exceptions though include the tourists and the tourist "leader" (ike?) have too much HP so the demon knight's fire balls won't kill them during the in-game cut-scene (one of the tourists are also supposed to step on a flame strike trap and die, but as it stands he survives). Will report if we find other anomalies, great mod btw, very punishing
@Tisamon We're getting close to finishing bg1 and would very much like to continue in bg2 with the HOF ruleset, how well does the current mod cover the creatures there? (dragons for instance, will they receive the buffs?) Followup question: do you have any plans of creating a fully functional bg2 HOF mod? Thanks again for this mod!
I myself always start new IWD playthroughs in HoF mode. A good idea you had there and much work behind it it seems! Like! I have some concerns about the experience bonus too because in IWD all characters even multi-classed ones can reach Godhood and level 30 in each class. BG works differently in that regard. But I understand this is a faithful emulation of the original HoF mode. You should move/open a thread in the modding forum!
Sorry for being somewhat slow with the replies, folks. Holidays + work + real-life make a devastating spell combo
As for Greywolf's questions: yes, the dragons will be affected; overall, the mod will work consistently enough, the sole area it won't cover as intended is summons/polymorphs -- the HoF treatment of those will be very inconsistent.
And, Abel, your appreciation is much, uhm, appreciated Especially because I remember you from an earlier era (I had a different nickname then) as a knowledgeable and experienced player. Thanks.
@Greywolf Eventually, I will re-visit the mod, making the necessary adjustments to BG2 summons/polymorphs, so it won't stay the way it is now. However, people that played it in BG2EE report it's actually quite enjoyable in the current form, so your playthrough should be all right.
I'm actually a little confused about the intended time to use this mod. Though I did see you mention that you would level up fast enough for it to not make too much of a difference, I'm not sure where the starting power levels should be.
To play through BG1, should I be using a character that just completed BG1+TSC?
For BG2 should I be using a character that just completed SoA or ToB?
Sorry if this seems like a silly question. I always imported the party that I beat IWD/IWD2 when I played HoF modes.
@Deis There is no "should" here. In IWD, you could start a HoF playthrough with either new or imported characters -- neither choice is incorrect. My personal preference is to start a new game, but you may play it as you wish, really.
Comments
Excuse me? Numerically, IWD1 HoF is exactly the same (sometimes -11 AC bonus fluctuates by +-1 point, but that's all). The experience is not identical, of course, since I'm imposing these rules on a different game universe, so to say (different monsters, different itemization, etc.).
Edit: My mistake, i was comparing it with Iwd2 HOF, which is dnd 3.5(ish).
That's good to hear. How would this interact with mods that change the stats/abilities of certain enemies already? I'm using aTweaks right now for the PnP versions of elementals, fiends, undead, and fey.
Should not be a problem. Just install HoF emulator after aTweaks.
Installation: Just unpack the rar archive into the BGEE folder, and run setup-HoFemu. The rest is pretty much self-explanatory
Are you looking for feedback on both games or just BG1EE?
Only feedback on BGEE, as the mod in its current state is not optimized for BG2EE.
EDIT: Actually I just now tried to install it for BG1EE and it says there was no IE game detected and to contact you, @Tisamon. It appears to be working for BG2EE though.
Even with my party at the mid-teens in levels we're getting our butts kicked. No one's died yet, fortunately. All I can complain about is that when an enemy's morale fails, I have to chase them every which way since no one has any Boots of Speed. Things should get a lot more interesting once I get better equipment.
Also, several people that are testing the mod (not on these forums) report it's working just fine with BGEE. Seems to be some kind of problem at your end, then.
Again, I think this is a rough estimation of the total if I played this mod till the end of BG1EE, but I can't know for sure because the mod won't work for me on BG1EE. I don't understand why the game is being detected for BG2EE but not 1EE. The only mods I have installed for BG1EE are an XP cap remover and Mr. Pennyway's (Dee) Cosmetic Changes and those are both mods that go into the 'override' folder.
I have some concerns about the experience bonus too because in IWD all characters even multi-classed ones can reach Godhood and level 30 in each class. BG works differently in that regard.
But I understand this is a faithful emulation of the original HoF mode. You should move/open a thread in the modding forum!
Sorry for being somewhat slow with the replies, folks. Holidays + work + real-life make a devastating spell combo
As for Greywolf's questions: yes, the dragons will be affected; overall, the mod will work consistently enough, the sole area it won't cover as intended is summons/polymorphs -- the HoF treatment of those will be very inconsistent.
And, Abel, your appreciation is much, uhm, appreciated
To play through BG1, should I be using a character that just completed BG1+TSC?
For BG2 should I be using a character that just completed SoA or ToB?
Sorry if this seems like a silly question. I always imported the party that I beat IWD/IWD2 when I played HoF modes.