3 Enhanced Edition Engine Modding Differences

mashedtaters

I have a request for the wonderful modder gurus out there.

Could you please explain the major differences between modding BGEE, BG2EE, and IWDEE, and how they all differ from modding the original BG2? I am definitely interested in making a mod, possibly an npc mod, and have been reading up on all the guides I can find. But I can't really find any info on this specific question.

I would assume that modding any of the enhanced games is the most similar to modding BG2.

CamDawg

For NPC mods probably the main thing to worry about is the character set, but WeiDU has a macro to handle it. You'll find some expanded capabilities w.r.t. scripting and spells in the EE, but otherwise it should be pretty straightforward. While not a direct comparison (and strating to show its age), my conversion guide may illuminate some differences.

mashedtaters

@CamDawg
Thanks for the link!
So how do the various enhanced engines editions vary from each other? It seems from your guide that, aside from obvious content/location/plot/quest differences, BGEE and BG2EE are the same. Does this hold true for IWDEE?

CamDawg

The underlying engine is the same, though the various games do get out of sync with new products and patches. For example, IWDEE launched with some new opcodes, projectile flags, scripting, etc. that were introduced to BGEE/BG2EE in their next patch, so for a while IWDEE was ahead. There are also a few defaults that are different to better match the original games--when ranger/clerics receive druid spells (an .ini setting), slightly different class abilities, level caps, etc., but I can't think of any offhand that isn't accessible to modders (except the big one of the game not ending on the death of Player1).

mashedtaters

@CamDawg
So the basic coding for an npc in IWDEE would be the same? Does that include the join dialogue? I haven't yet played IWDEE, but I played the original. I am aware that IWDEE is not just a multiplayer game like the original was (it was essentially just a multiplayer game that you played by yourself).

IWDNPC mod has you load the npcs during the character creation screen. From my understanding then, this is not actually necessary with IWDEE because the game's engine is the same as BG2EE (although the mod is created that way so you still have to do it with that specific mod). So I could in theory create an npc mod and have that character join the group during the course of the game in an IWDEE game? Of course, icewind dale is a little bit more linear so it might not fit with the rest of the game, but it could still be done?

Because there is no protagonist in iwd, I guess that should you code an npc into IWDEE as though there was a protagonist, that player would have to be in slot 1 of the party. Is this true? Or do dialogues now trigger for the whole party, not at just the player in slot 1?

mashedtaters

@CamDawg
BTW, thanks for answering my questions.

And thanks for all your awesome mods. I feel like I'm speaking to someone famous.

CamDawg

You can make a joinable NPC for IWDEE just like BGEE/BG2EE/BG2.

Player1 is not special in IWDEE. In general dialogues trigger with whatever party member is closest, or whoever is in the party leader spot. It's a little harder for dialogues since you're going to have five other NPCs that are more or less unknown; in the BG series you at least knew the background of the main character and the original NPCs.

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mashedtaters

Ok thanks for all the help. I believe you guys have answered most of my questions. Thanks again.

CamDawg

CamDawg said:

The underlying engine is the same, though the various games do get out of sync with new products and patches. For example, IWDEE launched with some new opcodes, projectile flags, scripting, etc. that were introduced to BGEE/BG2EE in their next patch, so for a while IWDEE was ahead. There are also a few defaults that are different to better match the original games--when ranger/clerics receive druid spells (an .ini setting), slightly different class abilities, level caps, etc., but I can't think of any offhand that isn't accessible to modders (except the big one of the game not ending on the death of Player1).

And as @GrimLefourbe was kind enough to remind me, game-ending-on-Player1-death actually is accessible through area flags. I thought we had made that moddable, I just couldn't remember how.

mashedtaters

@CamDawg
Interesting. So you could essentially turn IWDEE into a protagonist game. Hmm.