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Is ANYONE implementing all of David Gaider's stuff for BG2EE 1.3?

NervaNerva Member Posts: 133
in BGII:EE Mods
I see David Gaider's Ascension can be installed using the Big Picture mod, but I see people are having problems with it in-game. I also see there's lots of work being done on the Unfinished Business mod, and it has incorporated David Gaider's "Restored Bhaalspawn Powers". But is anyone out there doing a mod that ports all of David Gaider's stuff to BG2EE 1.3?
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited May 2015
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • NervaNerva Member Posts: 133
    Reading between the lines of Cuv's posts in the State of Ascension thread, I think he's washed his hands of porting it to EE -- he has other priorities. That's why I asked the question in the first place -- is ANYONE going to step in and port the most popular BG2 mod to EE?
  • shawneshawne Member Posts: 3,239
    Probably not. Which is unfortunate - I actually bought BG2:EE on the assurance that that specific mod would be ready at launch - but it's been 18 months. As with most things EE-related, "it is what it is" seems to be the only relevant reply.
  • ZanalinaZanalina Member Posts: 23
    shawne said:

    Probably not. Which is unfortunate - I actually bought BG2:EE on the assurance that that specific mod would be ready at launch - but it's been 18 months. As with most things EE-related, "it is what it is" seems to be the only relevant reply.

    Do you have a source for that promise? Not to be rude, but I don't think I saw any assurances that any mods would be ready for BG:EE/BG:EE 2 release given that no one was being paid to convert mods specifically. The conversion work that has gone on already is awesome to the point that with BG1:EE at least, I feel that all the mods I use are there. Hopefully BG2 will see more mods converted as time goes on as well.
  • shawneshawne Member Posts: 3,239
    I don't feel like opening old wounds and naming names - the threads are all archived, feel free to sort through them if you want. It's not like it matters at this point anyway.
  • ZanalinaZanalina Member Posts: 23
    I think it very much matters; can you at least clarify whether you're accusing Beamdog of not fulfilling this promise or independent modders as that distinction is very important.
  • lazutulazutu Member Posts: 118
    edited May 2015
    I've wrote a personal letter to all of my favorite modders, thanking them for 10 years of great fun I've had with their mods. In a letter to Weimer, I've almost begged for a re-release Tactics and Ascension (to be stand-alone compatible with BG2:EE). Maybe if we'll all ask these authors nicely, they'll act? :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited May 2015
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    edited May 2015
    Zanalina said:

    I think it very much matters; can you at least clarify whether you're accusing Beamdog of not fulfilling this promise or independent modders as that distinction is very important.

    I was under the same impression as Shawne, and though I don't remember any specific promises, there were posts from people at Beamdog that said Ascension would be usable.

    http://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/23076/state-of-ascension/p1

    It is not the same as an official promise (beamdog said in advertisements that mods would be "easier to implement" but didn't promise specifics like that) but I can't blame someone for being under the impression that it would be available. I would have bought the game anyway, but from what the developers had said I assumed Ascension would be ready at launch.

    I still have not completed Throne of Bhaal in the EEs since I have been waiting for Ascension, unfortunately.
  • brunardobrunardo Member Posts: 527
    I finished TOB and then loaded BP - ascension and fought the final battle and a couple others over again abit buggy but fun
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,758
    booinyoureyes said:


    I still have not completed Throne of Bhaal in the EEs since I have been waiting for Ascension, unfortunately.

    @booinyoureyes http://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/41418/ascension-in-bg2ee-guide-and-fixes#latest We can install Ascension on BG2EE.
  • MusignyMusigny Member Posts: 1,027
    bengoshi said:

    booinyoureyes said:


    I still have not completed Throne of Bhaal in the EEs since I have been waiting for Ascension, unfortunately.

    @booinyoureyes http://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/41418/ascension-in-bg2ee-guide-and-fixes#latest We can install Ascension on BG2EE.
    We have been able to install ascension on BG2EE since the latest BP version was released more than a year ago, perhaps even earlier, but assuming it is fully compatible with BG2EE is wrong. It seems there is still work to be done.
    Moreover what we have is not a supported version:
    BP release notes: Installs clean on BG2EE. I offer NO guarantees AT ALL, beyond this. Self-support only, be warned.
    For those using Stratagems on top of it, SCS readme: However, a number of reports suggest that SCS is not compatible with "BP-Ascension", the version of Ascension that ships with the Big Picture. I recommend that you use the standard WEIDU version of Ascension (at www.weidu.org) with SCS.
    Weidu ascension does not wotk with BG2EE but correctly rewritten in patch mode I bet it would have less bugs than the other combined options.

    Not an ideal situation, any volunteer to update it?
    I can take part in it, I will start working on improved Abazigal.
  • WhiteAgnusWhiteAgnus Member Posts: 112
    Hmm, I have done a conversion of Ascension/Weidu for a playthrough a year ago and it worked great (it was only the main component I think...)

    I don't know if I could release this (this have to be massively tested first I think...)
  • MusignyMusigny Member Posts: 1,027
    I think the answer is obvious. Someone who volunteers to maintain such a package would benefit from your work (even if you do not want to maintain it yourself).
  • ZanalinaZanalina Member Posts: 23
    booinyoureyes said:

    Zanalina said:

    I think it very much matters; can you at least clarify whether you're accusing Beamdog of not fulfilling this promise or independent modders as that distinction is very important.

    I was under the same impression as Shawne, and though I don't remember any specific promises, there were posts from people at Beamdog that said Ascension would be usable.

    http://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/23076/state-of-ascension/p1

    It is not the same as an official promise (beamdog said in advertisements that mods would be "easier to implement" but didn't promise specifics like that) but I can't blame someone for being under the impression that it would be available. I would have bought the game anyway, but from what the developers had said I assumed Ascension would be ready at launch.

    I still have not completed Throne of Bhaal in the EEs since I have been waiting for Ascension, unfortunately.
    Thanks for the link, I can see where people got the notion from now (which is all I wanted). They should have never said that in an official forum unless they intended to live up to that promise.
  • lazutulazutu Member Posts: 118
    edited May 2015
    Welp, it's as sad to see grown up's dreams shatter, indeed :) We still have the classic BG2 with all the mods, lets not forget that and rejoice. My REAL dream was IWD2 engine implemented in BG2:EE, so we could get rid of annoying Nalia thief skills panel to make space for spells, et cetera with other heroes... I am still eternally grateful to all the modders, and for both BG1/ToTSC/2 and BG1/2:EE existing.

    P. S.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2U0Ivkn2Ds was just listeting to this, sadness got to me a bit :)
  • WhiteAgnusWhiteAgnus Member Posts: 112
    Musigny said:

    I think the answer is obvious. Someone who volunteers to maintain such a package would benefit from your work (even if you do not want to maintain it yourself).

    Hmm, I'll have a look to my package tomorrow and provide it here. :)
  • WhiteAgnusWhiteAgnus Member Posts: 112
    Sorry for the delay, attached you can find my workfiles....

    This is only a version for someone who wants to update Ascension, I only tested the main component (I had done Tougher Demogorgon and Abazigal also, but not tested...)

    What I've done:
    - Added autotra workaround and HANDLE_CHARSETS
    - Updated files to DS_v3
    - Added DS_v3
    - Patch Areas instead of overwriting
    - Decompiled BCS Files, used R_B_B and REPLACE_TEXTUALLY instead of overwriting
    - Modernizing of the Dialogue Code


    What have to be done:
    - Massively testing the components
    - Overwork Tougher Gromnir, Illasera, Yaga-Shura
    - Add Support for the new BG2:EE NPCs (Epilogues, Quests [like Gromnir and Dorn],...)
    - Change the overwriting behaviour to patching ;)

  • MusignyMusigny Member Posts: 1,027
    This is great news! I will try it as soon as I have more free time (well you know the reason).
  • shawneshawne Member Posts: 3,239
    @WhiteAgnus: I've never seen this attempted before, but I wonder whether moving override files to "Documents/Baldur's Gate/override" rather than the core directory might help; patches don't overwrite content in that location...
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    That directory will work with override, yes.
  • shawneshawne Member Posts: 3,239
    One caveat comes to mind: you'll have to keep moving the modded dialog.tlk from the override to the original and back when adding new mods; patches will restore the original version, but as long as the modded dialog.tlk is in the other override directory at the end, it should still work...
  • MusignyMusigny Member Posts: 1,027
    @shawne
    I don't understand your point.
    All files may need to be modified not just the dialog.tlk.
    For instance, implementing Stratagems on top of weidu-ascension (W.Weimer's package, not BP !) is quite popular why would you relocate the files?
    Moreover one of the primary goal of such mod adaptations is to patch the BG2EE files (patched vs overwritten using a hard copy), if Beamdog changes some files when a new release comes, you probably don't want to keep an active copy of a patched file from the previous release.
  • shawneshawne Member Posts: 3,239
    edited June 2015
    *shrug* It's called making the best of a bad situation. Any official patch could break existing mods, as we saw with 1.3 and BP-Ascension (turning into the Slayer resulted in instant death, and you can't get through Spellhold without turning into the Slayer). If the fix hadn't been independently posted, BP-Ascension would still be unusable. The best you can hope for is that the particular mods you enjoy are being updated with each version. Short of that, your only other alternative is to stop updating the game.

    Moving the files to a different override location at least ensures that the incoming patch doesn't automatically delete the mod materials.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
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  • MusignyMusigny Member Posts: 1,027
    Ok, understood.
    However in such a case I prefer to break the mod and keep a stable BG2EE which is expected to be fully supported (at least for a few years).
    The approach surely depends on the perspective but as far as I am concerned I think the modders have a responsibility to upgrade their mods without putting BG2EE in a stale state.
  • brunardobrunardo Member Posts: 527
    ascension really should be made along with the other great stuff as add ons for BG EE series
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited June 2015
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
    Post edited by [Deleted User] on
  • shawneshawne Member Posts: 3,239
    @subtledoctor: Weimer himself calls it "Gaider's Ascension", so he doesn't seem to agree with your assessment.
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