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More informed, still enthusiastic...requesting more information and advice

A special thanks to everyone who participated in my first discussion!

Based upon the recommendations and advice I received, I’ve decided to take the plunge and play BGEE instead of replaying the original. This time around I’ve decided to enhance the experience by adding some mods. Having arrived at this decision, I feel a bit overwhelmed trying to decide which mods I should choose. So, I’d like to ask for some help.

I’m open to mods which will enhance the basics of game play…for example, mods which make inventory management simpler or make it easier to spot containers within a room. I am also open to mods which expand the scope of play by adding new NPC’s or quests, as long as their addition doesn’t make the game feel radically different from the feel of the original.

Which two or three mods which would you most recommend, and why? Also, if there are any mods that you’d warn me to avoid like the plague…I’d like to know that, too.

Comments

  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Okay, well when the BG1 NPC Project becomes available, it is necessary for you to get that. It is that good.

    I'd recommend Rogue Rebalancing if you are interested in playing a thief or a bard or having one in your party. It makes them more competitive with the other classes power-wise.

    If you play BG2EE then you should try Ascension, a mod that improves the game a lot. It makes the game difficult however, but you can avoid the increased difficulty when installing.

    Unfortunately BG1 NPC Project and Ascension are not yet compatible. They are the two best mods. I would try rogue rebalancing if I was you though.
    NightWardenJuliusBorisov
  • TwaniTwani Member Posts: 640
    Alright, let's just focus on BG1 at the moment. When you come to BG2, start a new topic or respond in here, and I'll gladly recommend mods for it. :)

    I'm going to send you to a link I already made: my pal @Heindrich (sorry to summon you to this thread, it doesn't have much to do with you) asked this question a while back and I answered it. I made a list of BG1 mods I would recommend for people, and it's in this thread: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/29292/bg-ee-1-and-2-mods-you-d-recommend#latest .

    In particular from that thread I would recommend: BG1 Mini Quests and Encounters (the beta on the forum, which works for BGEE- will add a few new quests with interjection from all NPCs, including BGEE ones), BG2 Tweak Pack (which will help with things like inventory management if you add bags of holding and increase stacking size), and certain components of Sword Coast Strategiums. (If you're playing good, I'm also very fond of the Isra paladin NPC mod.)

    I'm going to talk about the (second-)later for a bit. SCS is at it's core, a difficulty enhancing mod. It makes the game more difficult, and it's probably not what you want for your first playthrough of BGEE (though if you do want it, great!). But certain components are very useful in your game.

    Specific components you may want are mostly in the Gameplay selection. Be very careful when installing, and read the readme so you know what you're getting. But components I would recommend for everyone- More Realistic Wolves and Dogs (prevents every wolf in the world from deciding it needs to eat you), Improved Shapeshifting (in case you're carrying a dr00d around), Make Party Members Less Likely to be Chunked (because in general, losing a party member irreversibly isn't much fun), allow BG1 pairs to separate (allows you to say, tell Jaheira to come along with you and leave Khalid behind without having to lock him in a room or kill off the poor man), and most majorly, BG1 companions go to inns (allows you to send kicked out members to a local Inn rather then them waiting around in the middle of random map where they likely can be slaughtered). Only you can decide if you want any of the difficulty enhancing mods, but the Gameplay Tweaks can definitely use a look- you may want the BG1 NPC's moved so you can find them earlier in the game, as well.

    Also working now but not working at the time when I made this list is Garrick's Infatuation (http://www.gibberlings3.net/garrick/) which adds an almost-romance with Garrick for a female CHARNAME. Not sure if you're male or female, or what character you play, but I figured I'd note it because it's new and working for BGEE.

    I listed them in that thread in the order I think they should be installed, which may be of help.

    The 'biggest' mod for BG1 is as @booinyoureyes mentioned, the BG1NPC project. Unfortunately, it's not ready yet. It might not be ready for months, sadly. But you can still have a fun game without it, using the other mods available for you.
    HeindrichbooinyoureyesNightWardenJuliusBorisov
  • NightWardenNightWarden Member Posts: 62
    Can these mods be added to a game already in progress? If I want to add the BG1NPC project when it becomes available, it will be really frustrating to have to start over from scratch.
  • TwaniTwani Member Posts: 640
    No. In general, adding a mod to a game already in progress messes up your strings and will cause people to sprout weird sayings and crazy. On occasion, you can get away with it, and you might be able to if you installed BG1NPC project last (not where it should be in install order, but I don't think it will break anything), but generally, it's best not to risk it. If you run in to bugs with having installed a mod while the game is in progress, the only solution is to start over from scratch.

    BG1NPC project probably isn't going to be ready for a couple months, though, which is probably enough time to finish BG1.
    NightWardenbooinyoureyes
  • NightWardenNightWarden Member Posts: 62
    @Twani I decided to wait for v1.3 to become finalized before I started playing, and that’s given me plenty of time to check out the mods you recommended, as well as some I read about on @Heindrich's thread.
    Assuming that they’re compatible, I plan to use these mods:

    Mur’Neth
    Valerie
    Isra
    Finch
    Tenya
    Gavin
    Indira
    Xan’s friendship
    Coran’s friendship pack
    Adjantis expansion
    BG1NPC Project – I understand that the journal is not yet working. Would you recommend that I wait until it’s ready before I use this mod?
    BG1 Mini Quests and Encounters
    Rogue Rebalancing
    BG2 Tweak Pack
    SCS – certain components as you recommended
    BG: EE Classic Movies

    In addition to the ones listed above, I’m also considering the following:

    Distinguishable Clubs
    Distinguishable Javelins
    BG2 GUI for BG1
    BG1NPC music pack – does this really add anything to the experience?
    BP Series Scripts – does this really help?

    Do you foresee any problems with these mods that would prevent them from working properly with v1.3?
    JuliusBorisovbooinyoureyes
  • ErgErg Member Posts: 1,756
    @NightWarden, Gavin is not yet compatible with BG:EE, and Mur'Neth is only partially compatible (at the moment his special kit will not work in BG:EE), the rest of your list should be OK, even though I never tried myself some of those mods, in particular I don't know how stable or compatible some of the more recent mods are.
    NightWarden
  • artificial_sunlightartificial_sunlight Member Posts: 601
    The clubs mod is very simple so it should not mess anything up.
    The javelins mod fixes the javelin and put it in stores.

    For the mod's compatibility it is important that they are using WEIDU setups. If not, I have my own "rule of thumb". The mods you copy to the override go first. If you encounter a "this file already exist" you have a compatibility issue.
    After that come the Weidu mod's.

    And if you expirience a problem, just contact the modder. We are happy to help.
    NightWarden
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714

    BG1NPC Project – I understand that the journal is not yet working. Would you recommend that I wait until it’s ready before I use this mod?

    @NightWarden‌

    Just follow these instructions: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/32379/bg1npc-for-bgee-prerelease/p1 to install this mod now. If you encounter any problem, post in that thread, @AstroBryGuy‌ and others will be able to help. People do use this mod now and have fun, although some problems appear from time to time. But should can try it without waiting any longer :)
    NightWardenRavenslight
  • NightWardenNightWarden Member Posts: 62
    Erg said:

    @NightWarden, Gavin is not yet compatible with BG:EE, and Mur'Neth is only partially compatible (at the moment his special kit will not work in BG:EE), the rest of your list should be OK, even though I never tried myself some of those mods, in particular I don't know how stable or compatible some of the more recent mods are.

    Thanks @Erg. I'll wait to include Mur'Neth and Gavin until they have been updated.

    Do you know if there is a location within the forum which has a list of the authors' names, crediting them for the mods which they created? I'd like to take the opportunity sometime soon to thank each of them for the work they've done.
    Erg
  • ErgErg Member Posts: 1,756

    Do you know if there is a location within the forum which has a list of the authors' names, crediting them for the mods which they created? I'd like to take the opportunity sometime soon to thank each of them for the work they've done.

    Information on the authors and credits can usually be found in the ReadMe files of the mods themselves.
  • NightWardenNightWarden Member Posts: 62

    The clubs mod is very simple so it should not mess anything up.
    The javelins mod fixes the javelin and put it in stores.

    Thanks @artificial_sunlight. I will definitely include both the clubs and javelin mod.


    For the mod's compatibility it is important that they are using WEIDU setups. If not, I have my own "rule of thumb". The mods you copy to the override go first. If you encounter a "this file already exist" you have a compatibility issue.
    After that come the Weidu mod's.

    And if you expirience a problem, just contact the modder. We are happy to help.

    I appreciate and will gladly accept the offer for help, although the help I need is at more of a basic level. Do you know if anyone has posted a thread detailing the things that a first-time modder needs to know? For example, I don't exactly understand how/why an override should be used, nor do I fully understand what WEIDU is. Am I right in thinking that prior to downloading the various mods, I should first download WEIDU? (If there's a "Clue-less Modder" badge, I should be earning it in no time.)
  • NightWardenNightWarden Member Posts: 62
    bengoshi said:


    Just follow these instructions: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/32379/bg1npc-for-bgee-prerelease/p1 to install this mod now. If you encounter any problem, post in that thread, @AstroBryGuy‌ and others will be able to help. People do use this mod now and have fun, although some problems appear from time to time. But should can try it without waiting any longer :)

    Thanks @bengoshi. I will take your advice and include the bg1npc-for-bgee-prelease in my first playthrough. I have no idea how much time and effort @AstroBryGuy has invested on behalf of the Baldur's Gate EE community, but I'm sure I speak for many when I say that I am very grateful for his efforts.

    JuliusBorisov
  • artificial_sunlightartificial_sunlight Member Posts: 601
    edited October 2014
    Weidu is like the holy grail of modding. There is ( or you have) an override folder in the installation directory. You can put some mods there. Weidu mods have to be placed in your install directory dubble click on setup-xxxxx.exe and go.

    More help comes tomorrow.
    http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/21600/player-how-to-getting-mods-to-work-on-ee-part-ii/p1

    And from the readme of my Distinguisable clubs mod:

    INSTALLING on Windows
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This is a Weidu Mod so installation is simple.
    - Put setup-S3DisClubs.exe in your BGEE installation folder (this folder contains Baldur.exe, chitin.key, and a lot of folders)
    - Put the S3DisClubs folder in your BGEE installation folder (it should contain: S3DisClubs.tp2, Graphics folder > S3ICL01.bam,S3ICL02.bam,S3ICL04.bam)
    - Run setup-S3DisClubs.exe, follow the instuctions
    - Enjoy
    Post edited by artificial_sunlight on
    NightWarden
  • NightWardenNightWarden Member Posts: 62

    Weidu is like the holy grail of modding. There is ( or you have) an override folder in the installation directory. You can put some mods there. Weidu mods have to be placed in your install directory dubble click on setup-xxxxx.exe and go.

    More help comes tomorrow.
    http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/21600/player-how-to-getting-mods-to-work-on-ee-part-ii/p1

    And from the readme of my Distinguisable clubs mod:

    INSTALLING on Windows
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This is a Weidu Mod so installation is simple.
    - Put setup-S3DisClubs.exe in your BGEE installation folder (this folder contains Baldur.exe, chitin.key, and a lot of folders)
    - Put the S3DisClubs folder in your BGEE installation folder (it should contain: S3DisClubs.tp2, Graphics folder > S3ICL01.bam,S3ICL02.bam,S3ICL04.bam)
    - Run setup-S3DisClubs.exe, follow the instuctions
    - Enjoy

    Thanks for sending the link, and also for having the patience to help a beginner.
    artificial_sunlight
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