2 Questions about original Scroll/Item art used in the original game and character creation during g
krikkertKRI
Member Posts: 19
I installed IWD: EE way back, but gave up playing it before I really got going for 2 reasons.
1)
When a party character died, I couldn't create a new character to replace him/her... Characters could only be created when starting a new game, meaning I had to create my entire party right away before I begun the game and I could not suffer casualties, since they couldn't be replaced... That was/is a game-breaker. I know the game-developers couldn't port that function from the original to the EE, which explains why it worked in the original but not in the EE. I know because I read it. But I recently read that there's a way around it by moving your save-file from the single-player-save-folder to the MULTI-player-save-folder. Is this correct?? I would like to confirm whether this works before reinstalling.
2)
The second issue was that they had removed the original IWD art from SCROLLS and VARIOUS ITEMS (weapons, armour etc.) and replaced it with the faaaar inferior scroll/item art from Baldur's Gate. Preposterous !!! A farcical decision
The esthetics, the menus, the art, the music, the sound, the atmosphere, the mood, and the feel of the original Icewind Dale game far outshines Baldur's Gate in every single area. Everything about it was so inviting and so atmospheric that I felt like I was physically there, setting foot in Kuldahar and standing face-to-face with undead wraiths in ancient tombs!! Why did they destroy part of that by replacing the art that is part of the IWD game's identity ??? Anyway, my question is whether there has now come a MOD that fixes this problem and returns the original art to the game in EE ??? I've looked at this mod page (gibberlings3.net) to look for such, but I've been unable to confirm whether such a mod exists or not. So I ask you, fellow players....
I cherish Icewind Dale above any other game, above any other story, and I cherish the places the game took me to above any others. I love it. I was 13 years old when it came out in 2000, first time I played it, and the game introduced me to the whole medieval fantasy genre. It left a profound impression on me. I really hope there are ways to fix these two above issues, as I really want to return to the Dale and play it *one last time*. I have the the original box at home with CDs and stuff, but they were meant for Windows 98. They don't work no more... So I reckon EE is my only chance to return to the dale a last time.
1)
When a party character died, I couldn't create a new character to replace him/her... Characters could only be created when starting a new game, meaning I had to create my entire party right away before I begun the game and I could not suffer casualties, since they couldn't be replaced... That was/is a game-breaker. I know the game-developers couldn't port that function from the original to the EE, which explains why it worked in the original but not in the EE. I know because I read it. But I recently read that there's a way around it by moving your save-file from the single-player-save-folder to the MULTI-player-save-folder. Is this correct?? I would like to confirm whether this works before reinstalling.
2)
The second issue was that they had removed the original IWD art from SCROLLS and VARIOUS ITEMS (weapons, armour etc.) and replaced it with the faaaar inferior scroll/item art from Baldur's Gate. Preposterous !!! A farcical decision
The esthetics, the menus, the art, the music, the sound, the atmosphere, the mood, and the feel of the original Icewind Dale game far outshines Baldur's Gate in every single area. Everything about it was so inviting and so atmospheric that I felt like I was physically there, setting foot in Kuldahar and standing face-to-face with undead wraiths in ancient tombs!! Why did they destroy part of that by replacing the art that is part of the IWD game's identity ??? Anyway, my question is whether there has now come a MOD that fixes this problem and returns the original art to the game in EE ??? I've looked at this mod page (gibberlings3.net) to look for such, but I've been unable to confirm whether such a mod exists or not. So I ask you, fellow players....I cherish Icewind Dale above any other game, above any other story, and I cherish the places the game took me to above any others. I love it. I was 13 years old when it came out in 2000, first time I played it, and the game introduced me to the whole medieval fantasy genre. It left a profound impression on me. I really hope there are ways to fix these two above issues, as I really want to return to the Dale and play it *one last time*. I have the the original box at home with CDs and stuff, but they were meant for Windows 98. They don't work no more... So I reckon EE is my only chance to return to the dale a last time.
Post edited by krikkertKRI on
1
Comments
I also prefer the art for scrolls from the original Icewind Dale to the new Enhanced Edition art. It would be possible to port the original Icewind Dale scroll icons and spell icons to the Enhanced Edition, but unless someone made similar icons for the spells that did not come from the original Icewind Dale, they would appear out of place.
As far as I know, there is no way to bring back the blue outline that you see on a magic item after you identify it.
There is one thing I could do to bring the spell icons closer to the original Icewind Dale versions: I could make it so that the icon you see in the spellbook is also present when you select the spell to cast (so that the icon does not have that stone base that Baldur's Gate icons have). This could be done without making any new art.
Thanks for reply to you too, Lolien
For restoring the item art, i'm not aware of any information on that part, that's true, sorry.
I really like the look of the Interface/menus for BG2EE in the link you provided. Those menus, that's what I'm talking about !!! They feel like "coming home" to The Forgotten Realms and Icewind Dale
If the filename was 8 characters (spell icons), the first was replaced with a "#".
"SPWI101B.BAM" -> "#PWI101B.BAM"
If the filename was 7 characters or less (most everything else), a "#" was added in front of it.
"SWANARM.BAM" -> "#SWANARM.BAM"
Is it the old ones that have had the first letter replaced with # to basically bring them out of function, and the new ones have taken the same names as the old ones used to have?
F.ex. old (original) spell icon was originally named like this in IWD vanilla; "SPWI101B.BAM" but changed to now "#PWI101B.BAM", rendering it out of function, but still shipped with the game. Then the new spell icon replacing it in Enhanced Edition is now instead named "SPWI101B.BAM" . Have I understood that correctly?
IWD : SPWI503 is Cloudkill
BG2 : SPWI502 is Cloudkill
IWDEE : SPWI502 is Cloudkill, new icon is SPWI502B, old icon is still #PWI503B.
The files are stored in *.bif archives. Renaming the files would best be done via weidu mod.
But during character creation (when picking spells) and in a store, the old spell icons are indeed restored. I know this because I started a new game and went over the Everard's temple real quick to see what icons were on the spells he sold. The spell icons are also restored to the spellbook, is seems.
So the problem now, as far as I can see, is only scrolls. That there is no spell icon at all on most scrolls is a problem. Any Insight?
I also download "WeiDU Source" and WeiDU Binary", but didn't make any sense of it. Is this something I will need?? I haven't played around with those two, since I am unsure whether I will need them.
EDIT: Actually, looking closer, it seems clear that mage SCROLLS unfortuanately have remained unchanged. At least all the ones I've seen. They still retain their BG2 icons. Only the priest scrolls seem to have lost their icons completely. Either way, conclusion is that neither mage nor priest scrolls have had their icons restored to the original IWD icons.
But in the spellbook and in the store (not scrolls, just direct spell purchases) icons seem to be restored. Looks to me that the icons for spells (memorized or direct purchase from healer, such as Everard) and scrolls are kept separate ?? Any Insight?
It's clear we're close to getting it right, or I should say *you*, 'coz I wouldn't solve this without your aid, that's obvious.
Items have 2 frames: one you see in the inventory, one you see when you pick up the item.
The order of those frames is reversed between IWD and EE's.
It also looks like a lot of them are missing entirely. More priest spells have scroll icons than mage spells.
Anyway, I have updated the installer to correct the scroll icons that exist.
Edit: Rebuilt the missing mage scroll icons (v0.4).
Those frames/icons you talk about being missing entirely... I believe this is because a few spells were introduced into IWD only in the EE from BG2, which means there never existed any icons for those spells in IWD to begin with. So, a few spell/scroll icons was always going to remain "BG". That's okay.
The IWD scrolls/icons have lighter parchment (almost white) than the BG icons, so it's easy to single them out and tell which spells these are. The BG parchment, in addition to being slithgly darker, is also curled in the edges on the top and bottom. So, easy to single out.
The vast majority of the spells are now good, old IWD. At least the ones I have seen. It looks to be Perfect.
Thank you very much. You're a Saint. It must surely have been more work for you than it seemed to be, considering how fast you did this? You could have chosen to look away and not help, I couldn't have blamed you, and yet you took the time to help, even though you didn't need to. I can only say thank you .
EDIT:
By the way, you should consider posting this as a mod to be downloaded. I'm sure there are many players who would appreciate it, same as I.