Skip to content

Pregenerate Character Button Missing ? (Please close discussion!)

DevardKrownDevardKrown Member Posts: 421
Just Bought the Game and decided to remake my BG1 run since i heard about a lot of NPC quest-finish Bugs.

But i seem to wearing the "Discipliner" today because i cant find the -Pregenerate Character- Button Anywhere.
had to actually deactivate SoD to use it , on Steam a matter of 1 click and a restart but i can Imagine that non steam user may have troubles ?

also to activate SoD again you need to redownload 1.5gigs , for my 100k connection a Matter of 2 Minutes , but for someone less connected this might be a bit steep just to pre-generate a character.
Post edited by DevardKrown on

Comments

  • RavelRavel Member Posts: 140
    I was just noticing this as well. Got into the game to premake an entire party, but since I spend more time rolling than any sane person should, it's hard to generate all 6 characters in one go.

    Did the pregenerate character button move or is it just gone altogether?
  • IllydthIllydth Member, Developer Posts: 1,641
    @DevardKrown @Ravel

    So, I'll answer by saying the pregenerate character button is indeed gone at this point in the SoD Interface. As of a VERY late build, however, it was still there.

    While I don't have expert knowledge of why it went away, I've always questioned what "pregenerate" was actually for. Why bother?

    You pregenerate a character...export it...and then?...

    Import it?

    Why?

    Fill me in, there may be a case to be made to bring it back.
  • DevardKrownDevardKrown Member Posts: 421
    edited April 2016
    @Illydth Pre-Generating a Character was in the Very original Baldurs gate under the Multiplayer Tab, the Idea here is that you sit down , make a Proper Char for a Multiplayer session and Once you have one you can Join a Game and not Bother up to 5 more People with sitting there 1 Hour rolling until you have the stat points you wanna go for.


    as for why use it today. i rather have a Nice neat lil Character File Telling me something i wrote down(well they changed that and not for the better , duh !) then shifting through 200 saves finding that One guy still standing in Candlekeep i might wanna Play online.


    and as @Ravel said , making 6 Characters for your Own party in one go is Exhausting...maybe your PC crashes , maybe you have to go , just making one and exporting it is one done.....and then i plan to drag 6 Dudes through the whole saga or LoB-Mode they are better not Mediocre ... or you could grab NPC right away.
  • IllydthIllydth Member, Developer Posts: 1,641
    @DevardKrown Excellent response!

    To get more precice: You see Import/Export as a way to:

    * Cut down the time when you join a multiplayer game
    * Allow you to keep/reuse characters for new/different playthroughs

    All of which allows you to save time at character generation and spend more time playing the game?
  • ZoimosZoimos Member Posts: 81
    I use pregenerate character alot. Sometimes I get ideas for a character and want to create them and not play them so this feature is perfect.

    Then when I get bored I can try black pits using random party combinations with my saved characters :)
  • SouthpawSouthpaw Member Posts: 2,026
    Missed it a lot too. 2 reasons
    a) for multiplayer game - you want to have the characters pre-generated before your playmates arrive. Doing it via single player-> create -> export -> multiplayer -> import seems a bit of a hassle.
    b) I liked to create new characters, new builds based around an idea... some of them even managed to be played, but that's my restartititis,,,
  • JuniperJuniper Member Posts: 7
    This makes me sad. I also used this functionality. It seems strange to remove the button, just because you don't happen to find it useful. I don't really think the main menu was in any way cluttered.

    I had actually submitted a ticket for this weeks ago but it seems it was just closed.
  • Avenger_teambgAvenger_teambg Member, Developer Posts: 5,862
    Juniper said:

    This makes me sad. I also used this functionality. It seems strange to remove the button, just because you don't happen to find it useful. I don't really think the main menu was in any way cluttered.

    I had actually submitted a ticket for this weeks ago but it seems it was just closed.

    It was not "just closed", it was marked as dupe. That means, the issue is already handled by another ticket.
  • JuniperJuniper Member Posts: 7
    Wow, hey. I meant, "just" as in when i checked it again that week. I was not implying they dismissively closed it. I didn't see any reason listed when i looked, but I could have missed it.

    My main point was just that it seemed strange to remove the functionality when it is still present in BG2, and considering it was present in an earlier build.
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511
    That's a rather self-centred attitude. I would think the great majority of players don't use mods.

    If your mod doesn't work with the pregenerated character button, include it in the mod description.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited April 2016
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • mf2112mf2112 Member, Moderator Posts: 1,919

    Juniper said:

    This makes me sad. I also used this functionality. It seems strange to remove the button, just because you don't happen to find it useful. I don't really think the main menu was in any way cluttered.

    I had actually submitted a ticket for this weeks ago but it seems it was just closed.

    It was not "just closed", it was marked as dupe. That means, the issue is already handled by another ticket.
    Beamdog, please do NOT bring back the "pre-generate character" button. It functions differently from normal character generation in subtle ways that cause incompatibilities with several mods. And it is difficult or impossible to create workarounds for the difference.

    Instead:
    1) Create a normal character
    2) Start the game
    3) Hit 'escape' to bypass opening cinematics
    4) Hit 'R' to go the character record screen
    5) Export character.

    This is exactly as easy as "pre-generating," but works better. Why add a button that just gives players a technically inferior way to do this?
    What is different in the functionality?
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited April 2016
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
    Post edited by [Deleted User] on
  • JidokwonJidokwon Member Posts: 397
    So the feature that many use might conflict with a rare handful of mods that you've said have workarounds to fix, yet you'd rather get rid of the feature that has been in the games from day one and have the have the players that used said feature be the one to use workarounds?
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • DevardKrownDevardKrown Member Posts: 421
    @subtledoctor

    First of all language! just because everyone thinks your argumentation is politely saying "flawed" doesn't mean you just can flame them losing it.

    Secondly , your Modded and seemingly bugged game seems to be the only churning out bugged Characters using Pre-generation.
    Mine are Perfectly fine no matter where created. i still prefer pre-generation , reasons have been named above plenty of times ...also its a feature since day one, i guess someone just forgot to smack the button in.

    and lastly , why did you post in the first place ? ... its not like your using it then it comes back so it doesn't concern you ? but shouting out to leave it in a missing state concerns a lot of people so getting only negative reaction was predictable.
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    Everyone calm down, now. @subtledoctor may have overreacted, but there was a fair bit of hostility being directed his way too. Be mindful of the site rules, and remember that just because you disagree with someone's point of view doesn't mean you should try to attack them personally.

    Getting closer to the topic, @subtledoctor - I'm curious about the differences you describe; it sounds like something that should be addressed, rather than cleared away. If we assume that the intended functionality is "Pregenerate Character creates an exported character exactly the same as if you had started a new game and immediately exported", and the current behavior is "Pregnerate Character creates an exported character that differs slightly from if you had started a new game and immediately exported", then we can certainly classify that as a bug.

    If you can reproduce the issue reliably (even if you have to install a mod to do it), go ahead and report it as a separate issue (the button exists in BG:EE and BGII:EE still), just include a note about the mod and attach a zip file so we can replicate the behavior.

    Since the issue only(?) affects mods, I can't promise it will get fixed, but if there's a ticket, we can at least give it a look.
  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511
    Isn't it more likely that exactly the same code is used for pregeneration, but the process of starting the game sets some variables that are otherwise left undefined?
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    edited May 2016
    I now wonder if some of the bugs being detected in the use of Advanced AI, currently being discussed in a Troubleshooting thread, may be due to using pregenerated characters...
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited May 2016
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • DevardKrownDevardKrown Member Posts: 421
    DevardKrown said:

    First of all language!

    Sorry? Read the thread, jerk. I'm not the one cursing. People cursed at me.
    not the one cursing , insulting me in the very first sentence...not even bothered to read the rest from here.
  • JuniperJuniper Member Posts: 7
    edited May 2016

    Actually, they haven't. That's the thing - no one has actually explained why it's a good thing. The 'feature' doesn't actually provide any benefit to anyone. If I'm wrong the please feel free to explain - without trolling or flaming. But no one has done that yet.

    Not trying to pick a fight, but as someone who actually enjoys the functionality, I feel the need to point out that this statement is incorrect. Please re-read the first several posts. Several folks listed their reasons. You may not see those reasons as valid, but that doesn't mean they don't have meaning to other players.
  • Sids1188Sids1188 Member Posts: 166
    Somewhat related digression:

    I seem to remember back in the day (no idea if it was in EE or even BG2) there was an option of what aspect of a character you wanted to import (xp, items etc). Is that still a thing? Ie, can I export a character at the end of the game and re-import them as a level 1?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited May 2016
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • DevardKrownDevardKrown Member Posts: 421
    @subtledoctor
    So, 103 clicks and everything works perfectly, or 101 clicks and some things may not work, for reasons that are not well understood. What is so great about the latter that it's worth attacking and cursing at someone who says the former is better? Is saving two mouse clicks such an amazing boon? Especially when it risks introducing bugs into your game?

    'Emperor's New Clothes' situation

    Mystical unexplainable Errors.... *spooky sounds*


    at this point its just silly.

    can a mod Please close this Thread ?
  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511


    To be clear, I understand perfectly well why people like to create character files and save them, so that they can easily call them up in multiplayer games or even in later single-player games.

    Or creating a party of six for the Black Pits.

    No one is saying that should be unavailable. I'm just talking about the best way to reach that result:
    Option 1: about a hundred mouse clicks to get through character generation, then click "start" -->
    [after the computer takes 15 seconds to load the staring area] all effects trigger perfectly: then click "record" and click "export." Later on, when you use this character, because the beginning effects have already been triggered, you can be confident everything is working.

    Option 2: about a hundred mouse clicks to get through character generation, then click "generate" --> some character/kit effects may not work when you eventually play the character.

    Which ALSO works perfectly for everyone apart from you and a handful of people who use your mods. With out the drawback of 12 mouseclicks and 90 seconds per person, or 12000 mouseclicks and 90000 seconds (24 hours) for the 1000 people who use the feature.

    "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".
    So, 103 clicks and everything works perfectly, or 101 clicks and some things may not work, for reasons that are not well understood. What is so great about the latter that it's worth attacking and cursing at someone who says the former is better? Is saving two mouse clicks such an amazing boon? Especially when it risks introducing bugs into your game?
    The only person I read cursing is you.
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    There's a fair bit of animosity being thrown around here. The button will likely be restored, at which point we can look more closely at situations that might cause issues with mods. At that point, if any modder does encounter issues like the ones @subtledoctor described, I encourage them to report the issue like any other bug. Again, I can't promise it'll get fixed right away, but we can't fix what we can't see.

    I'm closing this thread so that it doesn't descend any further into the sort of behavior that I wouldn't normally expect to see in this community. You all can do better.
This discussion has been closed.