v2.5 Bug with certain enemy spawn location (I'm playing a modded game but have replicated both of these in an unmodded game):
1. Jaheira quest, point where resting outdoors spawns Ertof Dand.
Resting at AR1300 de'Arnsie Keep (though I assume the location is irrelevant) correctly spawns Ertof at the party location, but all his henchmen appear elsewhere on the map. Their location varies depending on exactly where I am on the map when I rest.
e.g. 1 I rest in SW part of map near Nalia's wooden palisade. Wake up, Ertof is right there and does his dialog. His henchmen are out of visual range (which is 30 feet?), scattered to the east about 60 feet away. Far enough away they don't attack and you wouldn't know they're there. etc.
e.g. 2 I rest in NE corner of map. Wake up, Ertof is right there and does his dialog. His henchmen are out of visual range (30 feet?), scattered to the west about 60 feet away...
I believe Jaheira's quest halts until you kill Ertof's entire group. So this spawn problem would break Jaheira's quest if you didn't know the henchmen must be there and went looking for them.
2. Merchants being attacked in Winspear Hills AR1200.
The merchants and 2 hobgoblin archers spawn on the map's extreme upper left, NW corner. AR1200.ARE does contain the "correct" location of @ x 3330, y 1980 for all these actors.
I've only played the early game on v2.5 and so I expect there will be more of these problems. They obviously can be pretty insidious with the potential to break quests if actors spawn in odd map locations.
I've had similar issues with several BG2:EE spawns, like Jenia, a quest giver who spawns in Trademeet, Kruin's githyanki group, enemy vampire groups, etc.
The issue seems to affect a lot of NPCs who are supposed to spawn in dynamic locations, of which there's an abundance in BG2 (stronghold quest givers, companion quest givers, etc). It seems to be caused by changes to their spawn mechanics, which places these NPCs in seemingly random off-screen locations of the map, essentially breaking their quests and events.
Some recent dev updates to a ticket I submitted of this issue suggest that the changes are intentional:
Which I find very unfortunate. This issue affects an untold number of quests and events in the game. It would most certainly require very thorough testing and development to work out all the problems, and I'm frankly doubtful of Beamdog's capacity to go on such an undertaking and make it all work flawlessly without reverting to the original behavior that worked.
Especially considering BG2:EE isn't quite a new game anymore. I'm not expecting dev support to last forever, and I find huge issues like this worrying for their possible impact on the game's legacy.
Some recent dev updates to a ticket I submitted of this issue suggest that the changes are intentional:
No, nothing is being suggested just yet. This ticket (internally) is still to go through triage.
Well, the ticket's title and description have been edited to state that the bug is not that Kruin's group spawns outside of the visible area, but that they do not attack the player party, which indicates intention to me. But I'm glad to hear that it's still to undergo triage.
Some recent dev updates to a ticket I submitted of this issue suggest that the changes are intentional:
No, nothing is being suggested just yet. This ticket (internally) is still to go through triage.
@Adul@JuliusBorisov The AR1200 merchants/ hobgoblins may be a good simple one to start with since it's not a spawn related to any sort of quest, nor does their spawn location dynamically change.
As far as I can tell, there's no reason they should ever spawn in that @ 1,1 location instead of @ 3330, 1980.
There's been more updates to ticket 37348, revealing that it's a method named CreateCreatureOffScreen that's working incorrectly on larger resolutions, causing creatures to appear far away instead of just outside viewing distance. It's also been added that this function has been broken since release.
Essentially, what I can deduce of what's happened here is that there is a broken creature spawn method in BG2:EE that's been used for some creatures (like Kruin's githyanki group) since release, which, in a recent update—probably 2.5—was extended to affect even more creatures and events, spreading the buggy behavior around.
Or that's one part of it, at least. Another issue is that some of the characters this method is used for just will not approach the party when out of sight. So their behavior would still be broken, even if the aforementioned method worked correctly.
Anyway. I guess my point is, whoever's job it is to sort this mess out has their work cut out for them. May Tymora bless them on their mission.
So... what's the forecast for SoD's update to 2.5 (you know, to meet the game it expands)?
Can you guys give me a hint about how this is going?
Pretty please?
Thanks!
Work on the 2.5 patch for SoD will start when BGEE and BG2EE get their official 2.5 release. FWIW I suspect that SoD will go much quicker, once the bugs for BG and BG2 are already ironed out.
Work on the 2.5 patch for SoD will start when BGEE and BG2EE get their official 2.5 release. FWIW I suspect that SoD will go much quicker, once the bugs for BG and BG2 are already ironed out.
Considering this it seems that the work on SoD 2.5 is already done and that 2.5 wiil be released soon on all platforms.
Looks like its coming sooner than I thought. I'm surprised considering the initial announcement was to finish BG1 and 2 before releasing SoD. So does this mean that BG1 and 2 are basically finished at this point? Or have spiraled so out of control that they SoD had to be moved up?
SoD v2.5 being released means that BGEE has to be v2.5 too. SoD is DLC on Steam and GOG, and the Beamdog version comes as a combined package (BGEE+SoD). So, you can't have SoD at v2.5 without BGEE.
SoD v2.5 being released means that BGEE has to be v2.5 too. SoD is DLC on Steam and GOG, and the Beamdog version comes as a combined package (BGEE+SoD). So, you can't have SoD at v2.5 without BGEE.
Now BG2EE is another matter...
Yes, but this patch cycle was explicitly stated to be for BGEE standalone and BG2EE. Beamdog stated SoD was going to get its patch after 1 and 2 were patched. Of course, its all academic now.
@Adul Yeah, I've run into another quest-breaking bad spawn and have returned to v2.3 where I think I'll be staying. For me personally, there's literally only one noticeable improvement to v2.5 and that's the "offhand Thac0" Inventory bug fix. Even that bug is purely cosmetic but my OCD hates it.
I haven't seen any posts about how/if it might be fixable strictly in v2.3 UI.menu. I can see sql tables being edited in UI.menu, and the bug involves displaying rows when they should be hidden (i.e. when you're holding a missile weapon and want to hide the offhand melee weapon stats).
And yes, the spawn issue affects a lot of quests and encounters in BG2:EE, and also some in BG:EE. In the former case, now even more than ever. I've seen it happen with regular side quests, companion quests, stronghold quests, etc. It cannot be realistically determined just how many quests are affected without some serious effort put into testing, but the number seems very high, and as I said I do find it worrying for how it will affect the games going forward if there's no full reversion. Hopefully the upcoming triage Julius mentioned will yield the optimal outcome.
All of this over an issue that wasn't an issue in the first place until it was tinkered with. As a wise man once said, "don't fix what ain't broken."
I- Is it intended that no "commoner" npc get uncouncious anymore in the current 2.5 beta update? that is really annyoing, beating them unarmed and they are immortal right now. i just loved to rob the entire house with no consequences with the npcs unconcious and unable to call the guard. Rolling back to the retail update fixed the problem. Don't want features being removed.
II- Is there tab always on a feature of the 2.5 update or a consequence of the old interface it uses? Because in the current version, it goes off when any other window is open, like map or character sheet. i just love that and would want a way to have that in the normal version, tab always on.
III- There is a bug with dorn. I recruited him but dismissed after finding coran, and he returned to the friendly arm inn. Problem is, as soon as i enter the inn, his dialogue starts automatically in a infinite loop, no matter whether i recruit him back or dismiss him, only way to stop it is to leave the inn, but if he is recruited back the dialogue never stops and i have to kill him.
@JuliusBorisov Julius, re. my previous posting regarding the AR1200 merchants / hobgoblin bug.
Fyi, that specific instance in AR1200 is not a v2.5 / BG2EE issue related to the 'actors being created offscreen' bug. It's a (very subtle) bug from an interaction between Almateria's Restoration Mod and Big World Project where certain actor destination X, Y coordinates are set to 0.
I suppose there's a *very* remote chance it's related to the bug I describe below, if your devs happen to use certain code also used in weidu and the behavior I see really is related to a new weidu bug...
If anyone's interested: this is a weird one. It didn't exist in my previous Big World (2017) install, and Almateria's mod version 2.8 hasn't changed since then.
If I do a new Big World install on either BG2EE v2.3 or 2.5 with no mods at all other than the Big World general requirements and Almateria's mod, specifically 'Restored Characters & Dialogs', I get the bug.
But if I leave Almateria out of Big World and install it manually afterwards, I don't get it. The 5 creatures in question are normally added via a script, but the mod adds them to AR1200.are via fj_are_structure with the correct fj_dest_loc_x, fj_dest_loc_y values in setup-arestorationp.tp2.
The mystery is that something about the current Big World Project install causes the fj_dest_loc_x, fj_dest_loc_y to be zero'ed out at some point in the process. Again, this happens even when Almateria is the one and only non-essential mod chosen.
Don't know if other creatures in other areas (in other mods) are being similarly affected. At first I thought the weidu fj_are_structure function may have changed. But like I say, running the mod manually doesn't create the error.
I bought a brand new Android tablet back in December JUST for the 2.5 patch that we were told that, "After the holidays we’ll review your feedback, finish the fixes, and make the 2.5 Update available".
Here we are at the end of June, and I'd just like to know one thing: What holidays were you referring to exactly?
I bought a brand new Android tablet back in December JUST for the 2.5 patch that we were told that, "After the holidays we’ll review your feedback, finish the fixes, and make the 2.5 Update available".
Here we are at the end of June, and I'd just like to know one thing: What holidays were you referring to exactly?
Having an extremely slow patch cycle certainly has its issues. You don't want the patch to come out unfinished, because that means that whatever bugs it introduces stay in the game until the next patch drops, which might be preceded by a hiatus of anything between six months and forever.
If the patches happened more frequently, you'd have less time for testing and QA, but it also wouldn't be such a tragedy if a game-breaking bug found itself into the release build, as it could be hotfixed in a reasonable amount of time.
@Adul the last hot fix for BG2EE took over 15 months to arrive in the Mac App Store, compared to under a week for the other platforms. We had to wait for it to be incorporated in the next major patch, so from my selfish perspective, hot fixes make life worse for me, taking the pressure to release off when you are on a minority platform.
Hmm, on the beta my Blackguard and Verr'sza the Rakshasha ranger just became fallen after they were attacked by a villanous paladin in the woods! Anyone had a similar issue?
Comments
1. Jaheira quest, point where resting outdoors spawns Ertof Dand.
Resting at AR1300 de'Arnsie Keep (though I assume the location is irrelevant) correctly spawns Ertof at the party location, but all his henchmen appear elsewhere on the map. Their location varies depending on exactly where I am on the map when I rest.
e.g. 1 I rest in SW part of map near Nalia's wooden palisade. Wake up, Ertof is right there and does his dialog. His henchmen are out of visual range (which is 30 feet?), scattered to the east about 60 feet away. Far enough away they don't attack and you wouldn't know they're there. etc.
e.g. 2 I rest in NE corner of map. Wake up, Ertof is right there and does his dialog. His henchmen are out of visual range (30 feet?), scattered to the west about 60 feet away...
I believe Jaheira's quest halts until you kill Ertof's entire group. So this spawn problem would break Jaheira's quest if you didn't know the henchmen must be there and went looking for them.
2. Merchants being attacked in Winspear Hills AR1200.
The merchants and 2 hobgoblin archers spawn on the map's extreme upper left, NW corner. AR1200.ARE does contain the "correct" location of @ x 3330, y 1980 for all these actors.
I've only played the early game on v2.5 and so I expect there will be more of these problems. They obviously can be pretty insidious with the potential to break quests if actors spawn in odd map locations.
Thanks
The issue seems to affect a lot of NPCs who are supposed to spawn in dynamic locations, of which there's an abundance in BG2 (stronghold quest givers, companion quest givers, etc). It seems to be caused by changes to their spawn mechanics, which places these NPCs in seemingly random off-screen locations of the map, essentially breaking their quests and events.
Some recent dev updates to a ticket I submitted of this issue suggest that the changes are intentional:
As far as I can tell, there's no reason they should ever spawn in that @ 1,1 location instead of @ 3330, 1980.
So... what's the forecast for SoD's update to 2.5 (you know, to meet the game it expands)?
Can you guys give me a hint about how this is going?
Pretty please?
Thanks!
Essentially, what I can deduce of what's happened here is that there is a broken creature spawn method in BG2:EE that's been used for some creatures (like Kruin's githyanki group) since release, which, in a recent update—probably 2.5—was extended to affect even more creatures and events, spreading the buggy behavior around.
Or that's one part of it, at least. Another issue is that some of the characters this method is used for just will not approach the party when out of sight. So their behavior would still be broken, even if the aforementioned method worked correctly.
Anyway. I guess my point is, whoever's job it is to sort this mess out has their work cut out for them. May Tymora bless them on their mission.
Edit: To clarify
When you make a dual-class character it follows the proficiency restrictions of the first class, instead of the those from its current class.
Now BG2EE is another matter...
https://support.baldursgate.com/issues/23708
I haven't seen any posts about how/if it might be fixable strictly in v2.3 UI.menu. I can see sql tables being edited in UI.menu, and the bug involves displaying rows when they should be hidden (i.e. when you're holding a missile weapon and want to hide the offhand melee weapon stats).
And yes, the spawn issue affects a lot of quests and encounters in BG2:EE, and also some in BG:EE. In the former case, now even more than ever. I've seen it happen with regular side quests, companion quests, stronghold quests, etc. It cannot be realistically determined just how many quests are affected without some serious effort put into testing, but the number seems very high, and as I said I do find it worrying for how it will affect the games going forward if there's no full reversion. Hopefully the upcoming triage Julius mentioned will yield the optimal outcome.
All of this over an issue that wasn't an issue in the first place until it was tinkered with. As a wise man once said, "don't fix what ain't broken."
II- Is there tab always on a feature of the 2.5 update or a consequence of the old interface it uses? Because in the current version, it goes off when any other window is open, like map or character sheet. i just love that and would want a way to have that in the normal version, tab always on.
III- There is a bug with dorn. I recruited him but dismissed after finding coran, and he returned to the friendly arm inn. Problem is, as soon as i enter the inn, his dialogue starts automatically in a infinite loop, no matter whether i recruit him back or dismiss him, only way to stop it is to leave the inn, but if he is recruited back the dialogue never stops and i have to kill him.
1 - this is a bug which will be fixed in the final patch.
2 - please, report this at support.baldursgate.com (a bug or a feature - the team will decide).
3 - this is most likely because of this - https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/976294/#Comment_976294
Fyi, that specific instance in AR1200 is not a v2.5 / BG2EE issue related to the 'actors being created offscreen' bug. It's a (very subtle) bug from an interaction between Almateria's Restoration Mod and Big World Project where certain actor destination X, Y coordinates are set to 0.
I suppose there's a *very* remote chance it's related to the bug I describe below, if your devs happen to use certain code also used in weidu and the behavior I see really is related to a new weidu bug...
------------------------------------
@Almateria
If anyone's interested: this is a weird one. It didn't exist in my previous Big World (2017) install, and Almateria's mod version 2.8 hasn't changed since then.
If I do a new Big World install on either BG2EE v2.3 or 2.5 with no mods at all other than the Big World general requirements and Almateria's mod, specifically 'Restored Characters & Dialogs', I get the bug.
But if I leave Almateria out of Big World and install it manually afterwards, I don't get it. The 5 creatures in question are normally added via a script, but the mod adds them to AR1200.are via fj_are_structure with the correct fj_dest_loc_x, fj_dest_loc_y values in setup-arestorationp.tp2.
The mystery is that something about the current Big World Project install causes the fj_dest_loc_x, fj_dest_loc_y to be zero'ed out at some point in the process. Again, this happens even when Almateria is the one and only non-essential mod chosen.
Don't know if other creatures in other areas (in other mods) are being similarly affected. At first I thought the weidu fj_are_structure function may have changed. But like I say, running the mod manually doesn't create the error.
Here we are at the end of June, and I'd just like to know one thing: What holidays were you referring to exactly?
If the patches happened more frequently, you'd have less time for testing and QA, but it also wouldn't be such a tragedy if a game-breaking bug found itself into the release build, as it could be hotfixed in a reasonable amount of time.
@GreenWarlock Well, yeah, issues like that would have to be handled more competently. That goes without saying.