@Alesia_BH: Why version 1.3? Some people prefer it, I hear, but I've found the 2.x updates perfectly cromulent.
It's always possible to speed up the slow parts of videos (it would be cool to see 5 minutes of inventory management pass in 5 seconds), though personally I prefer reading text explanations with images.
personally I prefer reading text explanations with images.
I as well. I should invest more time in my write-ups. People enjoy them, I guess, and I should reciprocate by composing them with greater consistency and care. Sometimes I dash them off quickly, like a chore. That should stop.
Completely off topic (not that I haven't been reading this thread with interest).
I used to have lots of those "A Little Golden Book" (not that one though). Opening that spoiler was a massive blast from the past. Thanks, going to look for some I recognise.
@Alesia_BH: Why version 1.3? Some people prefer it, I hear, but I've found the 2.x updates perfectly cromulent.
I've been trying to avoid this subject, in the interest of courtesy. But when it comes to the new interface I'm:
(I won't mention this again)
Best,
A.
Speaking from experience, I think that staying with 1.3 and try to mod it is a bad idea. For instance, I tried to install the latest version SCS for SR last year on 1.3 and it just wouldn't work. In other words, I'm not sure how supported the mod compatibility of 1.3 really is.
So, I suggest that you could either mod the UI of v2, which I personally always do (there are great mods out there for that), or simply revert back to non EE, which is totally ok in my opinion. While I prefer the EE in terms of compatibility/stability on a Mac, I see no problem in reverting, if that's what you want.
I do understand that there's at least one mod that re-introduces the 1.3-style UI. And one of my mods installed via BWS (I forget which) changes the UI in a way that I find very comfortable, and may be based on the 1.3 UI, since it's rather different from the UI I get in the unmodded 2.x.
My favorite UI has come from that mod, which I think is already included in the standard lineup for BWS installs.
Because you, kind folks, have reported it in your comments on the forum (thanks go to @Corey_Russell and @Wise_Grimwald in particular), the devs have managed to spot the bug and get to the core of it!
@Alesia_BH: Why version 1.3? Some people prefer it, I hear, but I've found the 2.x updates perfectly cromulent.
I've been trying to avoid this subject, in the interest of courtesy. But when it comes to the new interface I'm:
(I won't mention this again)
Best,
A.
Those who hesitate to upgrade to 2.x because of the UI, - don't forget that 2.x made possible a lot of UI tweaking, which resulted in awesome mods. Check the list at https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/64948/list-of-ui-mods#latest, and in each mod disccussion have a look at screenshots
To be fair, the original Tactics Irenicus battle looks very different (at least the version I've played). I'm not fond of the SCS version, the original was more entertaining - if definitely more immersion breaking.
Just to clarify for others, by SCS version, I believe Chimaera means the Tactcs/SCS Hybrid Improved Irenicus component. I have no opinion on that. I've never tried it.
I skip Improved Irenicus at install, and just play the original battle with SCS scripting and Improved Fiends. In a conversation on the old forums, David acknowledged that that's his personal preference as well.
The original Tactics Improved Irenicus was fun. Once. It's not something I'd wish to integrate in my game work, however.
As mentioned, I'm ever grateful to the Tactics team. It was seminal work. I'll note, too, that I understand that Tactics has its backers in the present day. I respect that, and have no interest in a strawberry-is-better-than-chocolate style debate.
I think the problem with JonBon lies with the vanilla game design. He is a high level mage on divine steroids, which in itself could be a very interesting battle. But then you have to fight him twice and this leaves the question open: what to do with the second version to make it different from the first. Which is why I'm not fond of repeated encounters in games in general.
I respect that view. I feel the atmosphere, slayer form and the demons did a decent job of providing a new experience.
I always thought the original battle was fine before the ToB cap was introduced. With SCS scripting, I think it would pretty cool with the SoA cap, although I do think slayer Jon should get a movement rate bonus and invisibility detection via script.
I've contemplated starting a no reload run many times in the past, but the biggest blocker has always been party play -- I very much enjoy having a party, but I have no idea how to protect two or more non-arcane-casters. For example, potion defences and item based immunities don't really seem to scale that well with party size, even getting AC down on two characters is not that easy. Does anyone have any general tips for this type of play?
Speaking from experience, I think that staying with 1.3 and try to mod it is a bad idea. For instance, I tried to install the latest version SCS for SR last year on 1.3 and it just wouldn't work. In other words, I'm not sure how supported the mod compatibility of 1.3 really is.
SCS v30 worked great in v1.3 for me throughout SoA. That's unsurprising, since v30 pre-dates EE v2.X.
The only problems I encountered were with BP Ascension and it's, well, BP Ascension, so...
Going forward, I agree that there may be backwards compatibility issues with new mod editions. I appreciate that there has been some non-backwards compatible work with Ascension on v2.X, in particular
I'm building a Classic install with the original Ascension and SCS v 30 now. We'll see how that goes.
I've contemplated starting a no reload run many times in the past, but the biggest blocker has always been party play -- I very much enjoy having a party, but I have no idea how to protect two or more non-arcane-casters. For example, potion defences and item based immunities don't really seem to scale that well with party size, even getting AC down on two characters is not that easy. Does anyone have any general tips for this type of play?
I've contemplated starting a no reload run many times in the past, but the biggest blocker has always been party play -- I very much enjoy having a party, but I have no idea how to protect two or more non-arcane-casters. For example, potion defences and item based immunities don't really seem to scale that well with party size, even getting AC down on two characters is not that easy. Does anyone have any general tips for this type of play?
@YingusXiaous Well, I do always play with full party of six and indeed - to protect them all equally good is quite a task. I think it also depends on who you want to have in your crew. My personal choice is pretty much the same all the time: Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Viconia, Dynaheir (Xan) for BG1 and Imoen, Jaheira, Viconia, Nalia, Mazzy for BG2 so one or two fighter type at best. I'm playing with SCS so having fighter type character as a *tank* is generally not very good choice. My fighters are usually a ranged (bows, crossbows, slings) and they excels in that role. And you don't need to have too many *tanks* anyway. Pre-Spell/Item Revisions my primary *tank* was Jaheira, now Viconia took her place and I'm very pleased with her at that role. In terms of AC in general it's better to have plain armor (Studded Leather/Full Plate) and Ring/Cloak of Protection than magical armor with no other embedded undispellable resistances. All in all there are plenty of equipment items with some kind of immunities/resistances to cover all six. To make it short here is the equipment/saves/resistances of my crew (this is no-reload run) in the ToB (after defeating Yaga Shura and currently wandering in the Watcher's Keep Demon's Maze). Unbuffed and thus undispellable. You might get the general idea here and I hope to see you join the no-reload Crew soon:
It was developed in the original Adventurer's Lounge, partly as a product of a conversation between Grim Jim and myself concerning a Fixpack v10/SCS v30/Ascension Classic playthrough (insane party run, if you recall that one).
It addresses some major bugs in Ascension with SCS and provides a few minor fixes. It also offers a couple optional notification tweaks, including spell school identification and buff expiry warnings.
I consider it a must have, although I don't use the notification tweaks.
You are using it in your BWS setup. Among other things it adds buffs expiration notifications in the battle log and show which school is spell casting at the moment.
You are using it in your BWS setup. Among other things it adds buffs expiration notifications in the battle log and show which school is spell casting at the moment.
You are using it in your BWS setup. Among other things it adds buffs expiration notifications in the battle log and show which school is spell casting at the moment.
Okay, I'm at the end of my wits and can use some help:
Using BG2EE on Steam/Mac OSX. gibberlings3 is down. My attempts to install SCS from an old file failed. (I thought it worked but I get "Invalid: xxxxxx" errors, including for the Ease-of-Use AI scripts.)
Can someone prettypleasewithsugarontop give me Mac OSX installer files for:
- latest SCS working for BG2EE v2.3
.... and possibly any must have fix/tweaks files as being currently discussed (with proper install order).
(Inclined not to ask again also for IR+SR+SCS[for SR] files as I did before, since it seems very unlikely that I could get them running on my Mac with G3 down.)
(I'm thinking that a "Idiot Help Desk" would be very helpful here for people like me. With a "Special Bureau for Mac Users" giving point-by-point install instructions, without assuming that we know what kind of a cabbage a "weidu" is....)
I hear you - I've been unable to install a working version of SCS for about a year now, despite trying many times. I just don't know anything about modding or any technical stuff, really.
Comments
It's always possible to speed up the slow parts of videos (it would be cool to see 5 minutes of inventory management pass in 5 seconds), though personally I prefer reading text explanations with images.
(I won't mention this again)
Best,
A.
Best,
A.
I used to have lots of those "A Little Golden Book" (not that one though).
Opening that spoiler was a massive blast from the past.
Thanks, going to look for some I recognise.
So, I suggest that you could either mod the UI of v2, which I personally always do (there are great mods out there for that), or simply revert back to non EE, which is totally ok in my opinion. While I prefer the EE in terms of compatibility/stability on a Mac, I see no problem in reverting, if that's what you want.
My favorite UI has come from that mod, which I think is already included in the standard lineup for BWS installs.
Because you, kind folks, have reported it in your comments on the forum (thanks go to @Corey_Russell and @Wise_Grimwald in particular), the devs have managed to spot the bug and get to the core of it!
I skip Improved Irenicus at install, and just play the original battle with SCS scripting and Improved Fiends. In a conversation on the old forums, David acknowledged that that's his personal preference as well.
The original Tactics Improved Irenicus was fun. Once. It's not something I'd wish to integrate in my game work, however.
As mentioned, I'm ever grateful to the Tactics team. It was seminal work. I'll note, too, that I understand that Tactics has its backers in the present day. I respect that, and have no interest in a strawberry-is-better-than-chocolate style debate. I respect that view. I feel the atmosphere, slayer form and the demons did a decent job of providing a new experience.
I always thought the original battle was fine before the ToB cap was introduced. With SCS scripting, I think it would pretty cool with the SoA cap, although I do think slayer Jon should get a movement rate bonus and invisibility detection via script.
Best,
A.
Best,
A.
The only problems I encountered were with BP Ascension and it's, well, BP Ascension, so...
Going forward, I agree that there may be backwards compatibility issues with new mod editions. I appreciate that there has been some non-backwards compatible work with Ascension on v2.X, in particular
I'm building a Classic install with the original Ascension and SCS v 30 now. We'll see how that goes.
Best,
A.
Best,
A.
Well, I do always play with full party of six and indeed - to protect them all equally good is quite a task. I think it also depends on who you want to have in your crew. My personal choice is pretty much the same all the time: Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Viconia, Dynaheir (Xan) for BG1 and Imoen, Jaheira, Viconia, Nalia, Mazzy for BG2 so one or two fighter type at best. I'm playing with SCS so having fighter type character as a *tank* is generally not very good choice. My fighters are usually a ranged (bows, crossbows, slings) and they excels in that role. And you don't need to have too many *tanks* anyway. Pre-Spell/Item Revisions my primary *tank* was Jaheira, now Viconia took her place and I'm very pleased with her at that role. In terms of AC in general it's better to have plain armor (Studded Leather/Full Plate) and Ring/Cloak of Protection than magical armor with no other embedded undispellable resistances. All in all there are plenty of equipment items with some kind of immunities/resistances to cover all six. To make it short here is the equipment/saves/resistances of my crew (this is no-reload run) in the ToB (after defeating Yaga Shura and currently wandering in the Watcher's Keep Demon's Maze). Unbuffed and thus undispellable. You might get the general idea here and I hope to see you join the no-reload Crew soon:
What I did to make it possible:
1) Install Ascension according to the instructions here: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/41418/ascension-in-bg2ee-guide-and-fixes/p1
2) Install SCS according to the instuctions here: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/60969/scs-with-hotfixes-edit-forget-hotfixes-use-the-bwfixpack/p1
(here I also add the Tactics encounter for the Irenicus fight)
Add Slayer and ToB pools fixes, then the JimFix.
It addresses some major bugs in Ascension with SCS and provides a few minor fixes. It also offers a couple optional notification tweaks, including spell school identification and buff expiry warnings.
I consider it a must have, although I don't use the notification tweaks.
Read me attached.
Best,
A.
Best,
A.
Using BG2EE on Steam/Mac OSX.
gibberlings3 is down.
My attempts to install SCS from an old file failed. (I thought it worked but I get "Invalid: xxxxxx" errors, including for the Ease-of-Use AI scripts.)
Can someone prettypleasewithsugarontop give me Mac OSX installer files for:
- latest SCS working for BG2EE v2.3
.... and possibly any must have fix/tweaks files as being currently discussed (with proper install order).
(Inclined not to ask again also for IR+SR+SCS[for SR] files as I did before, since it seems very unlikely that I could get them running on my Mac with G3 down.)
*sigh*