When it comes to free mods, its always the players responsibility. The player can donate any surplus to a temple if they want, or buy and sell the same stuff over and over.
Ps. Lava has made a ton of mods, and has his hands full. Most people would rather see a new mod from Lava, than he fix stuff that aint broken or could easily be handled by the player. The community loves Lavas mods, and will happily handle stuff like money surplus themselves if its even considered a problem.
You are welcome to have your opinion, I beg to differ though. Prices added from the start of the game to the main city/content are gamebreaking, same with the fact that both southern edge and tangled isle are free from backstreet encounter peril. Modder should not interfere to that extent with main difficulty mechanics and content. Both districts are nice and quite interesting. Impressive creations. Some improvements have to be made though in my opinion and that has nothing to do that you/community love Lava's mods. Yet if you go through many Lava's responses on this forum you would see "i dont have time" "I do not intent" "basically i dont care" . Well, player's responsibility in that case it to decide. I have decided, others are free to decide for their own.
That is a fair opinion. Most mods have similar issues - with overpowered items and stuff - and the player always have the option of not exploiting these things. Even the unmodded game has a multitude of options to break the game. It is always the players choice.
Lava is very accommadating and I think it is an opinion that most on these and other forums share. But that is just opinions, and each are entitled to their own.
Thank you @StummvonBordwehr -- I believe it's time for me to step in.
I released over 60 mods for players to enjoy for free, and I never even got a damn penny for this. This is because I want to share materials I would myself enjoy in the game. Thus I focus on stories, friendships, romances, and areas. I even paid a couple of times to receive some materials, like voicing, or a portrait base from a paid stock site. In the last 10 years, I spent hundreds of hours working for free, creating new content, replying to posts, and writing tutorials. Furthermore, I worked with other modders, like Kulyok, Jastey, Acifer, Kaeloree, Mistress Elysia, Rhaella, CamDawg, The Artisan, Morpheus562, and many many others to provide feedback, icons, ideas, areas, items, et cetera.
If you believe that is too little and I cannot say that I don't want to apply changes in some content I created (because I, for example, believe it's at least "ok" as it is), or that I cannot be tired and burnt out, and that I should be giving more and more because you do not like some tertiary element of my project, then you are wrong and unbelievably demanding. I too need space to relax, gather energy, rest, and find motivation to continue working on things. And it's really not that simple and I do feel about retirement every now and then, because I spend on all of this like 10-16 hours a week and it's not that little (and there are times, like Christmas, when I spend twice as much time to give people new content so they could have some great time when they are supposed to rest from work). And it can be draining.
This community is built by many wonderful people. Users who helped me more than once. Modders who helped me too, and whom I also try to pay back - whenever I have the power and energy to do so. Moderators who try to keep things civil. And while I try to be as responsive as I am, and helpful, I will not always be there to fix, tweak, and update something when someone wishes it to be done (funnily, I never even said that what you ask for is never going to be changed, I said it's not my priority). If that was the case, I would need to resign from my day job, because with that many mods I could focus on neverending fixing things. Yet, I do my best to also release new mods or update existing content -- The Bloodied Stings of Barovia got updated yesterday, but it took me long enough to make it better, that I had to take a break and I haven't even announced it.
So excuse me if I feel too tired or just don't want to update something. As you said, you are in full control when it comes to deciding which mods you want to include and which you don't want to use. Be my guest. Exclude all my mods, it's really fine with me. You should create a setup that will give you joy and that you will like and will serve the purpose of fun, relaxation, as well as other things. That is cool and I am glad people have so many projects that they can choose from. I believe I also added some cool options. Some are better than others. However, none of these mods is something that it forced upon anyone. And in the same manner, I am not obliged to deliver something daily.
No matter which mods you decide to use: have fun. With or without these mods.
Additional note: no matter if you reply or not, that's all I wanted to say. The case is closed on my side. And to everyone else that I mentioned and supported my work over the years: thank you.
There will always be someone who complains, regardless of justification.
@LavaDelVortel Your contributions will always be appreciate. You've made known your discomfort at the idea, however, should you ever create a Patreon or KoFi or something as such, there will be those who would be more than happy to help support your work.
Guys, guys.. you are getting all this discussion too far. All i did was a feedback and was dissappointed by Lava's answer especially that i can see his responses like that in many other topics to other people. One needs to learn how to receive feedback even if one disagrees or/and is tired and burned out - THAT'S ALL. Me personally - I'm let's say a half professional (even that is too big word but let it stay) musician and sound designer - many of my creations received mixed feedback, even from the closest friends, beloved ones - ONE HAS TO SWALLOW IT - That's life..
Nobody is disregarding his outstanding contribution to the scene. I personally love some of his works - Khalid, Dvaradime, friendships, BSoB.
Some other mods i don't like that much since i don't feel they blend into the game smoothly
Some other OTHER mods i like but dislike some of the elements - overpowered items, too big rewards etc. etc.
BUT - That is only an OPINION ok? An opinion. Please..
Bless you and peace and love.
PS. Regarding Patreon I've already mentioned that in other topics - community should support creators - we are having fun because of you. Also mods would then maybe have better quality of for example artwork and voiceacting - which usually is part that has to be paid for. Modder doesnt have to be all of it - an actor, graphic designer and whatever.
I have given the off topic subject some thought. I think I get it - perhaps….
This forum gathers in people from all over the world, of different age and different vocations. With all these factors in consideration, we are bound for some missteps from time to time.
From my point of view (northern european Lawyer), Lavas post are considerate and polite. Lava was asked to make a change and replied clearly and without much delay. That is considerate in my book - a significant unwarranted delay or a vague/hazy reply would have been less well received. But my way of seing things is not universal and many people in my country would not see it that way - typically people with other dissimilar professional lives. Neither way is universal but just things to consider when in dialogue.
So I think we are all good. Just a difference in perspective and with that all cleared up, I think it is time to move on…..
ps. was I the only one who was in awe about the number of mods from Lavas hands?
Feedback = received
Defensive mode = activated
Defensive mode level = ultimate
Responsibility projection on player = yes
Thank you for some laughs in the evening.
Dude, get bent. He gave a professional response and you respond with this trash? There's a vast difference between taking it on the chin because you didn't get the response you wanted and how you handled it.
EDITED TO ADD: I reported your post for the spam that it is and encourage others to do the same. There is no benefit, whatsoever, of a message like this outside of simply being a troll.
Well, your response is perfect example of how things should be handled i guess? Learn some manners. This is my last response in this topic, I'm not intending to spam it anymore
> He also wasn't defensive about it at all? He just responded to your suggestion and politely declined it. Why has the
> tone here become so rude?
This depends mostly on a few individuals IMO. Lava is not one of those.
There are, however had, others, such as those who participated in doxxing and public harassment on an ad-hominem basis on the webforum.
In regards to mods, I found Southern Edge and Bridge's Block among the best mods of Lava. Obviously there are larger mods, e. g. Barovia, but I always felt that Barovia is missing some potential content, whereas Southern Edge and Bridge's Block are mostly done. (Perhaps if anyone ever feels like a continuation, it would be neat to see a storyline from the mute woman in Bridge's Block, as background story, but as Lava pointed out the two mods are mostly finished and time is a finite resource).
In regards to criticism:
ErykEryk wrote:
> both southern edge and tangled isle are free from backstreet encounter peril
This is partially valid, but partially invalid. Backstreet encounters don't happen everywhere. For instance, before Lava's mods I typically would go to the graveyard and rest there; or drop NPCs there. Graveyard was more convenient simply by less walking and not having to pay for stuff; roleplay-wise it made of course no in-character sense to sleep in one of those abandoned crypts ...
There were no backstreet encounters there either, so that criticism is weird. Also, backstreet encounters become less frequent lateron, so I really don't think it is worth the extra time investment. What would be the net gain for a little more dangerous encounters? Perhaps some undead or what not, but I think this is just mostly a bit of annoyance factor. Does not add that much that is hugely important, IMO. But I don't totally reject that comment either, I just don't think everywhere should be robbers - after all we have guards in the city too (but granted, on the graveyard it may be different).
ErykEryk wrote:
> Modder should not interfere to that extent with main difficulty mechanics and content.
I agree with this also to a point. Many mods are really breaking the game, in particular in regards to rewards. For instance the one that modified Brynnlaw, the items dropped are just insane. Ring of wisdom + 3? Viconia got it. Hmm ... armour + 7 AC for Korgan (at the least when buffed with spells)? Also insanity.
None of these are by Lava, though, so I don't get that weird focus on Southern Edge or Tangled Oak. That seems very weird to me.
ErykEryk wrote:
> Both districts are nice and quite interesting. Impressive creations. Some improvements have to be made though in my opinion and that has nothing to do that you/community love Lava's mods. Yet if you go through many Lava's responses on this forum you would see "i dont have time" "I do not intent" "basically i dont care" . Well, player's responsibility in that case it to decide. I have decided, others are free to decide for their own.
Sure. I just don't see the validity. If you feel Lava's mods are over the top, what about the +50 others or so? Many of which are absolutely unbalanced.
I don't see any problem with how Lava handles his add-ons IMO. It is much better maintained than many other mods.
morpheus562 wrote:
> EDITED TO ADD: I reported your post for the spam that it is and encourage others to do the same.
I don't think it is spam. You may disagree with his points, but that is not spam. I also disagree that others should be "encouraged" to do the same - that's how we got into a doxxing situation, where people insult others on an ad-hominem basis.
It's really simple to handle: one can comment on the points made and the validity or the invalidity of them. Lava's small mods are in general great; I am sure many will reach that conclusion after testing a TON of other mods, many of which have great individual ideas, but are broken in one way or the other. (Saddest semi-broken thing to me is the Paina mod by TheArtisan - Paina is one of the coolest NPCs, in theory, with that spider theme even putting Viconia's spider theme to shame and a lot more fun than Jaheira, but many small things are slightly broken in that mod and the dialogue also should be rewritten; Viconia has a significantly better dialogue than Paina IMO).
There are, however had, others, such as those who participated in doxxing and public harassment on an ad-hominem basis on the webforum.
You were not doxxed. A user mistook you for someone else due to your posting pattern and others, myself included, came to your defense as you were clearly not the person in question. Being doxxed is not the same as a case of mistaken identity and none of your personal identifiable information was released to the public as a result of it. This is not the place to air a past grievance like that.
I don't think it is spam. You may disagree with his points, but that is not spam. I also disagree that others should be "encouraged" to do the same - that's how we got into a doxxing situation, where people insult others on an ad-hominem basis.
I am only calling spam the item I quoted. Please tell me, specifically, how the item I quoted contributed to the conversation and wasn't anything more than trolling to target Lava? I disagree with his other points, but I am NOT calling those spam.
I have to agree with Morpheus on the doxxing thing. I even tried to explain the rationale behind the accusation. Sadly a few rotten apples have made it so on this forum - and we will have to live with it… I can offer explainations, nothing more.
Regarding the topic at hand. As I have stated before, try to consider cultural differencies. We communicate differently, and we will have to live with that.
And remember Lava has 60 mods. He has to fix bugs, and take in feedback on these mods from different forums. Its hard work, that pays nothing. I can live with a hasty and straightforward reply - because I know that the hard work that went before it. So if you feel scorned, try to remember the sheer amount of work it requires.
And can we leave the discussion with these words? This thread is about a mod - and we seem to have transgressed into something else. I say back to gaming and let the rest of the conversation to another fine day. This way we can move on in pence - all a bit wiser.
One of my favorites of your EXCELLENT mods : SouthernEdge
VALYGARJ.dlg and L#NDMAI.dlg use IsValidForPartyDialogue("MAZZYJ") : should be "MAZZY"
L#NDCU2.bcs uses missing effect "SPPROTECT" ( string length == 9 ) : should be "SPPROTEC"
Last one is an interesting spell case hard to find and debug:
L#NDBER.bcs uses SpellCastPriestRES("sppr118",) but sppr118 is not canon BG2EE that means this spell (if a mod install it) can do ANYTHING !!!
An example of quick fix:
OUTER_SET goodberry_code_4 = IDS_OF_SYMBOL ( "SPELL" "CLERIC_GOOD_BERRIES" )
ACTION_IF goodberry_code_4 > 0 BEGIN
OUTER_SNPRINT "-3" goodberry_code_3 "%goodberry_code_4%"
OUTER_TEXT_SPRINT goodberry_spl "SPPR%goodberry_code_3%"
COPY_EXISTING "L#NDBER.bcs" Override
DECOMPILE_AND_PATCH BEGIN REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~SpellCastPriestRES("sppr118",Player~ ~SpellCastPriestRES("%goodberry_spl%",Player~ END
END ELSE BEGIN
COPY_EXISTING "L#NDBER.bcs" Override
DECOMPILE_AND_PATCH BEGIN REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~SpellCastPriestRES("sppr118",.+)~ ~False()~ END
END
Comments
Defensive mode = activated
Defensive mode level = ultimate
Responsibility projection on player = yes
Thank you for some laughs in the evening.
Hi @ErykEryk
When it comes to free mods, its always the players responsibility. The player can donate any surplus to a temple if they want, or buy and sell the same stuff over and over.
Ps. Lava has made a ton of mods, and has his hands full. Most people would rather see a new mod from Lava, than he fix stuff that aint broken or could easily be handled by the player. The community loves Lavas mods, and will happily handle stuff like money surplus themselves if its even considered a problem.
Br
Lava is very accommadating and I think it is an opinion that most on these and other forums share. But that is just opinions, and each are entitled to their own.
I released over 60 mods for players to enjoy for free, and I never even got a damn penny for this. This is because I want to share materials I would myself enjoy in the game. Thus I focus on stories, friendships, romances, and areas. I even paid a couple of times to receive some materials, like voicing, or a portrait base from a paid stock site. In the last 10 years, I spent hundreds of hours working for free, creating new content, replying to posts, and writing tutorials. Furthermore, I worked with other modders, like Kulyok, Jastey, Acifer, Kaeloree, Mistress Elysia, Rhaella, CamDawg, The Artisan, Morpheus562, and many many others to provide feedback, icons, ideas, areas, items, et cetera.
If you believe that is too little and I cannot say that I don't want to apply changes in some content I created (because I, for example, believe it's at least "ok" as it is), or that I cannot be tired and burnt out, and that I should be giving more and more because you do not like some tertiary element of my project, then you are wrong and unbelievably demanding. I too need space to relax, gather energy, rest, and find motivation to continue working on things. And it's really not that simple and I do feel about retirement every now and then, because I spend on all of this like 10-16 hours a week and it's not that little (and there are times, like Christmas, when I spend twice as much time to give people new content so they could have some great time when they are supposed to rest from work). And it can be draining.
This community is built by many wonderful people. Users who helped me more than once. Modders who helped me too, and whom I also try to pay back - whenever I have the power and energy to do so. Moderators who try to keep things civil. And while I try to be as responsive as I am, and helpful, I will not always be there to fix, tweak, and update something when someone wishes it to be done (funnily, I never even said that what you ask for is never going to be changed, I said it's not my priority). If that was the case, I would need to resign from my day job, because with that many mods I could focus on neverending fixing things. Yet, I do my best to also release new mods or update existing content -- The Bloodied Stings of Barovia got updated yesterday, but it took me long enough to make it better, that I had to take a break and I haven't even announced it.
So excuse me if I feel too tired or just don't want to update something. As you said, you are in full control when it comes to deciding which mods you want to include and which you don't want to use. Be my guest. Exclude all my mods, it's really fine with me. You should create a setup that will give you joy and that you will like and will serve the purpose of fun, relaxation, as well as other things. That is cool and I am glad people have so many projects that they can choose from. I believe I also added some cool options. Some are better than others. However, none of these mods is something that it forced upon anyone. And in the same manner, I am not obliged to deliver something daily.
No matter which mods you decide to use: have fun. With or without these mods.
Additional note: no matter if you reply or not, that's all I wanted to say. The case is closed on my side. And to everyone else that I mentioned and supported my work over the years: thank you.
@LavaDelVortel Your contributions will always be appreciate. You've made known your discomfort at the idea, however, should you ever create a Patreon or KoFi or something as such, there will be those who would be more than happy to help support your work.
Nobody is disregarding his outstanding contribution to the scene. I personally love some of his works - Khalid, Dvaradime, friendships, BSoB.
Some other mods i don't like that much since i don't feel they blend into the game smoothly
Some other OTHER mods i like but dislike some of the elements - overpowered items, too big rewards etc. etc.
BUT - That is only an OPINION ok? An opinion. Please..
Bless you and peace and love.
PS. Regarding Patreon I've already mentioned that in other topics - community should support creators - we are having fun because of you. Also mods would then maybe have better quality of for example artwork and voiceacting - which usually is part that has to be paid for. Modder doesnt have to be all of it - an actor, graphic designer and whatever.
This forum gathers in people from all over the world, of different age and different vocations. With all these factors in consideration, we are bound for some missteps from time to time.
From my point of view (northern european Lawyer), Lavas post are considerate and polite. Lava was asked to make a change and replied clearly and without much delay. That is considerate in my book - a significant unwarranted delay or a vague/hazy reply would have been less well received. But my way of seing things is not universal and many people in my country would not see it that way - typically people with other dissimilar professional lives. Neither way is universal but just things to consider when in dialogue.
So I think we are all good. Just a difference in perspective and with that all cleared up, I think it is time to move on…..
ps. was I the only one who was in awe about the number of mods from Lavas hands?
Dude, get bent. He gave a professional response and you respond with this trash? There's a vast difference between taking it on the chin because you didn't get the response you wanted and how you handled it.
EDITED TO ADD: I reported your post for the spam that it is and encourage others to do the same. There is no benefit, whatsoever, of a message like this outside of simply being a troll.
> He also wasn't defensive about it at all? He just responded to your suggestion and politely declined it. Why has the
> tone here become so rude?
This depends mostly on a few individuals IMO. Lava is not one of those.
There are, however had, others, such as those who participated in doxxing and public harassment on an ad-hominem basis on the webforum.
In regards to mods, I found Southern Edge and Bridge's Block among the best mods of Lava. Obviously there are larger mods, e. g. Barovia, but I always felt that Barovia is missing some potential content, whereas Southern Edge and Bridge's Block are mostly done. (Perhaps if anyone ever feels like a continuation, it would be neat to see a storyline from the mute woman in Bridge's Block, as background story, but as Lava pointed out the two mods are mostly finished and time is a finite resource).
In regards to criticism:
ErykEryk wrote:
> both southern edge and tangled isle are free from backstreet encounter peril
This is partially valid, but partially invalid. Backstreet encounters don't happen everywhere. For instance, before Lava's mods I typically would go to the graveyard and rest there; or drop NPCs there. Graveyard was more convenient simply by less walking and not having to pay for stuff; roleplay-wise it made of course no in-character sense to sleep in one of those abandoned crypts ...
There were no backstreet encounters there either, so that criticism is weird. Also, backstreet encounters become less frequent lateron, so I really don't think it is worth the extra time investment. What would be the net gain for a little more dangerous encounters? Perhaps some undead or what not, but I think this is just mostly a bit of annoyance factor. Does not add that much that is hugely important, IMO. But I don't totally reject that comment either, I just don't think everywhere should be robbers - after all we have guards in the city too (but granted, on the graveyard it may be different).
ErykEryk wrote:
> Modder should not interfere to that extent with main difficulty mechanics and content.
I agree with this also to a point. Many mods are really breaking the game, in particular in regards to rewards. For instance the one that modified Brynnlaw, the items dropped are just insane. Ring of wisdom + 3? Viconia got it. Hmm ... armour + 7 AC for Korgan (at the least when buffed with spells)? Also insanity.
None of these are by Lava, though, so I don't get that weird focus on Southern Edge or Tangled Oak. That seems very weird to me.
ErykEryk wrote:
> Both districts are nice and quite interesting. Impressive creations. Some improvements have to be made though in my opinion and that has nothing to do that you/community love Lava's mods. Yet if you go through many Lava's responses on this forum you would see "i dont have time" "I do not intent" "basically i dont care" . Well, player's responsibility in that case it to decide. I have decided, others are free to decide for their own.
Sure. I just don't see the validity. If you feel Lava's mods are over the top, what about the +50 others or so? Many of which are absolutely unbalanced.
I don't see any problem with how Lava handles his add-ons IMO. It is much better maintained than many other mods.
morpheus562 wrote:
> EDITED TO ADD: I reported your post for the spam that it is and encourage others to do the same.
I don't think it is spam. You may disagree with his points, but that is not spam. I also disagree that others should be "encouraged" to do the same - that's how we got into a doxxing situation, where people insult others on an ad-hominem basis.
It's really simple to handle: one can comment on the points made and the validity or the invalidity of them. Lava's small mods are in general great; I am sure many will reach that conclusion after testing a TON of other mods, many of which have great individual ideas, but are broken in one way or the other. (Saddest semi-broken thing to me is the Paina mod by TheArtisan - Paina is one of the coolest NPCs, in theory, with that spider theme even putting Viconia's spider theme to shame and a lot more fun than Jaheira, but many small things are slightly broken in that mod and the dialogue also should be rewritten; Viconia has a significantly better dialogue than Paina IMO).
You were not doxxed. A user mistook you for someone else due to your posting pattern and others, myself included, came to your defense as you were clearly not the person in question. Being doxxed is not the same as a case of mistaken identity and none of your personal identifiable information was released to the public as a result of it. This is not the place to air a past grievance like that.
I am only calling spam the item I quoted. Please tell me, specifically, how the item I quoted contributed to the conversation and wasn't anything more than trolling to target Lava? I disagree with his other points, but I am NOT calling those spam.
Regarding the topic at hand. As I have stated before, try to consider cultural differencies. We communicate differently, and we will have to live with that.
And remember Lava has 60 mods. He has to fix bugs, and take in feedback on these mods from different forums. Its hard work, that pays nothing. I can live with a hasty and straightforward reply - because I know that the hard work that went before it. So if you feel scorned, try to remember the sheer amount of work it requires.
And can we leave the discussion with these words? This thread is about a mod - and we seem to have transgressed into something else. I say back to gaming and let the rest of the conversation to another fine day. This way we can move on in pence - all a bit wiser.
One of my favorites of your EXCELLENT mods : SouthernEdge
VALYGARJ.dlg and L#NDMAI.dlg use IsValidForPartyDialogue("MAZZYJ") : should be "MAZZY"
L#NDCU2.bcs uses missing effect "SPPROTECT" ( string length == 9 ) : should be "SPPROTEC"
Last one is an interesting spell case hard to find and debug:
L#NDBER.bcs uses SpellCastPriestRES("sppr118",) but sppr118 is not canon BG2EE that means this spell (if a mod install it) can do ANYTHING !!!
An example of quick fix:
OUTER_SET goodberry_code_4 = IDS_OF_SYMBOL ( "SPELL" "CLERIC_GOOD_BERRIES" ) ACTION_IF goodberry_code_4 > 0 BEGIN OUTER_SNPRINT "-3" goodberry_code_3 "%goodberry_code_4%" OUTER_TEXT_SPRINT goodberry_spl "SPPR%goodberry_code_3%" COPY_EXISTING "L#NDBER.bcs" Override DECOMPILE_AND_PATCH BEGIN REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~SpellCastPriestRES("sppr118",Player~ ~SpellCastPriestRES("%goodberry_spl%",Player~ END END ELSE BEGIN COPY_EXISTING "L#NDBER.bcs" Override DECOMPILE_AND_PATCH BEGIN REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~SpellCastPriestRES("sppr118",.+)~ ~False()~ END END