Everything's done. Just running through one last test of the EET version to make sure it plays flawlessly. After that, formatting a readme and going to redo my first forum post to be a Release notice and put it up for download.
Thanks everyone who has been following this! I'm excited for people to try it out.
First post has been updated and the mod is now released.
Happy New Years everyone!
Now to get started on the SOD component
Heya. I just want to ask, to make sure. Seeing that this mod adds lots of things and maybe overwrites some, does this have to be one of the first mods to install when you're playing with lots of mods to avoid compatibility problems?
First post has been updated and the mod is now released.
Happy New Years everyone!
Now to get started on the SOD component
Heya. I just want to ask, to make sure. Seeing that this mod adds lots of things and maybe overwrites some, does this have to be one of the first mods to install when you're playing with lots of mods to avoid compatibility problems?
It shouldn't really matter. The mod mostly just adds things, very little overwriting going on, and the overwrites that are there should play nicely with other mods (uses copy_existing, so if I'm touching the same area/npc as another mod, it should just edit onto the existing modification). In a mod order, probably toss it around where you'd put other quest mods.
@AWizardDidIt
Thankee for finally releasing this! Alleluia!
May we get a GitHub mirror for this since it's easier to link to a single GitHub page with a variety of releases than change the link to a new Google Drive file each time?
What sort of requirements do you have for fans who want to do cross mod content with your mods?
First post has been updated and the mod is now released.
Happy New Years everyone!
Now to get started on the SOD component
Heya. I just want to ask, to make sure. Seeing that this mod adds lots of things and maybe overwrites some, does this have to be one of the first mods to install when you're playing with lots of mods to avoid compatibility problems?
It shouldn't really matter. The mod mostly just adds things, very little overwriting going on, and the overwrites that are there should play nicely with other mods (uses copy_existing, so if I'm touching the same area/npc as another mod, it should just edit onto the existing modification). In a mod order, probably toss it around where you'd put other quest mods.
@AWizardDidIt
Thankee for finally releasing this! Alleluia!
May we get a GitHub mirror for this since it's easier to link to a single GitHub page with a variety of releases than change the link to a new Google Drive file each time?
What sort of requirements do you have for fans who want to do cross mod content with your mods?
I need to figure out how to use github first, I've never done anything on it. That'll probably happen soon.
I'd just ask to be contacted about crossmod content.
Also, what say you to combining the mods into one release version so that only the relevant bits are installed? Thus, on BG1EE, only the BG1 parts are installed, but on EET, all of it is. Various other mods have done it this way.
Really enjoying what I've played so far! Congrats on the release - the early content is really well written & full of intrigue.
Just wanted to report Neera's interjection in Elenaire's dialogue appears to cut the conversation short.
Thank you! I took a look at the Elenaire dialogue and couldn't see any reason for it to break the conversation. Even tried this section on a fresh install with Neera in the party and it all went correctly. Not sure what could have happened there. Let me know if anything else happens in the course of your playthru.
Modcompat report: this mod conflicts with Colors of infinity - The White Queen on EET, because both mods copy pvrz files directly to the base folder without attempting to reindex/check if their indexes are already occupied.
Modcompat report: this mod conflicts with Colors of infinity - The White Queen on EET, because both mods copy pvrz files directly to the base folder without attempting to reindex/check if their indexes are already occupied.
I'll give this a look tonight. Thank you for the report!
EDIT: Oh, I see what the problem is. That came down to my unfamiliarity with the PVRZ files are generated so they share the same naming convention for the white queen mod. I'll fix this tonight.
Alright, issue is fixed. Just tried a test install with White Queen on EET and both install correctly now. Updated files are linked on the first post at the same links as last time.
Also I have figured out github so the mod is now posted there.
May we also get GitHub release versions for Black Hearts? (Tutorial.)
Note that a release version is separate from just uploading files to GitHub. A release version may still have bugs (and preferably won't), but is at least stable enough for most users to consider it fit to use.
May we also get GitHub release versions for Black Hearts? (Tutorial.)
Note that a release version is separate from just uploading files to GitHub. A release version may still have bugs (and preferably won't), but is at least stable enough for most users to consider it fit to use.
Thankee!
Done. Still learning my way around Github, so I appreciate the guidance
I made these tutorials for people like us who were new to GitHub.
What about consolidating these Black Hearts mod versions into one that only installs the relevant parts depending on what game is targeted? Thus, you could start with the EET version and use that for EET games, but if someone tries installing it on BG1EE or BG2EE alone, they get the appropriate content.
What about consolidating these Black Hearts mod versions into one that only installs the relevant parts depending on what game is targeted? Thus, you could start with the EET version and use that for EET games, but if someone tries installing it on BG1EE or BG2EE alone, they get the appropriate content.
Thankee.
I would do this except that I have plans for both an SOD component that I'm working on now and is getting a bit bigger than I had planned previously, and then move on to BG2 and TOB to make a big series long questline. I'd like to keep the EET as a separate download from the various module components so people aren't forced to download more than is necessary for them.
Currently playing this mod, I really like it so far (I just finished Beregost part).
Your portrait is really good, although I must confess I use Artastrophe one in my game.
Dialogues are really well written, and she's neither a caricature or too mean. The battleground choices are also very clever.
Illasera is normally an elf, but you made her an half elf with a human avatar. Is there a specific reason for this choice ?
I was wondering if you could make an alternate option to have Illasera looks like her Ascension version, a ranger instead of a mage. It was the original concept of this character, but tone down before ToB release for being too difficult for new players starting in ToB.
I know that in your mod she talks about learning magic, but since the Ascension version can do some magical tricks as well, it could still works.
I'm eager to see the next part, but first I must progress the main quest.
Thank you for this great mod !
I changed her from elf to half elf because:
A.) There's already a female elf bhaalspawn as a member of the Five (my brain hates the repetition of that)
B.) She's got a human model in game and her in game portrait doesn't show her having elf ears, so even tho her cre file lists her as an elf, I felt like this one was really iffy to start. So I split the differences between them and made her half-elf
C.) My idea for the character made more sense to me writing up her background as half-elf rather than full elf.
As for making her a Ranger, she's essentially an Arcane Archer in my interpretation. I liked her being a mage-hybrid combo for story reasons. I'll probably do a custom class variant for her when I continue this mod in SOD and beyond that mixes aspects of Ranger with a fighter/mage chassis to split the difference between them.
I'm glad you're enjoying it! As for making her a Ranger, she's essentially an Arcane Archer in my interpretation. I liked her being a mage-hybrid combo for story reasons. I'll probably do a custom class variant for her when I continue this mod in SOD and beyond that mixes aspects of Ranger with a fighter/mage chassis to split the difference between them.
Thank you, with your explanations it makes totally senses to have her as an half elf. :-)
For an Arcane Archer kit (and also a multiclass Arcane Archer / Mage) you could also check The Artisan's Kitpack.
@AWizardDidIt I do have two questions. What was the alternative to get ogre-mage to Candlekeep? I thought I have to get the time that will allow me entrance to Candlekeep from Duke Eltan, and borrow it to him but after I ran out of ideas I just killed him. Gatekeeper told me to talk to Firebead but he had no dialogue options. And also, elf Presfiel in that cave who had the mirror. Had no idea what to do so I killed her too. Was I suppose to bring her something?
@AWizardDidIt I do have two questions. What was the alternative to get ogre-mage to Candlekeep? I thought I have to get the time that will allow me entrance to Candlekeep from Duke Eltan, and borrow it to him but after I ran out of ideas I just killed him. Gatekeeper told me to talk to Firebead but he had no dialogue options. And also, elf Presfiel in that cave who had the mirror. Had no idea what to do so I killed her too. Was I suppose to bring her something?
Also, Illasera said she'll be in Baldur's Gate and I go to every inn, tavern and can't find her. Where is she?
@AWizardDidIt I do have two questions. What was the alternative to get ogre-mage to Candlekeep? I thought I have to get the time that will allow me entrance to Candlekeep from Duke Eltan, and borrow it to him but after I ran out of ideas I just killed him. Gatekeeper told me to talk to Firebead but he had no dialogue options. And also, elf Presfiel in that cave who had the mirror. Had no idea what to do so I killed her too. Was I suppose to bring her something?
There are 2 alternative methods to dealing with the ogre mage. The first requires you have a sufficiently high int score or edwin/imoen in the party. This allows you to identify the tome he wants (and you can follow a breadcrumb trail to Beregost to get a copy). The second is to have charisma over 12 and pick 2/3 good arguments that he finds convincing when talking to him. If you don't have any of these, you have to kill him.
Did you deliver the book to Firebeard that he wants first? You'll need to do that before you can ask him about the tome.
Presfiel requires you be a cleric or have a cleric or ajantis in the party to exorcise her. Killing her is the only other option.
Unfortunately, if you're into Chapter 7 after Candlekeep, Illasera won't show up again in baldur's gate for you due to the story advancing too much. She would normally show up in the Eversong tavern.
As a side note, I do have a guide linked in the FAQ in the first post that lays out every quest! In case there's any confusion about what to do for any of them.
Also I wanted to post an update to my progress on the SOD portion of this mod. I'm continuing to work on it and finished the first section. The SOD component has a check early on where it'll check to see if Tamoko, Cythandra, and Winski survived your game or not. Depending on that check, it'll change the questline and the major NPC that accompanies you for it (and they'll each have their own dialogue/interactions).
I've also finished the first area I'm planning (of ~4 total planned) which is a large outdoor area! This one's got a lot of new facets I haven't done in a map before, so that's been a challenge to work with/around. Figured I'd post a preview of the map here:
Comments
Thanks everyone who has been following this! I'm excited for people to try it out.
Our family eagerly awaits the release of this new mod!
Thankee and alleluia!
Happy New Years everyone!
Now to get started on the SOD component
Heya. I just want to ask, to make sure. Seeing that this mod adds lots of things and maybe overwrites some, does this have to be one of the first mods to install when you're playing with lots of mods to avoid compatibility problems?
It shouldn't really matter. The mod mostly just adds things, very little overwriting going on, and the overwrites that are there should play nicely with other mods (uses copy_existing, so if I'm touching the same area/npc as another mod, it should just edit onto the existing modification). In a mod order, probably toss it around where you'd put other quest mods.
Thankee for finally releasing this! Alleluia!
May we get a GitHub mirror for this since it's easier to link to a single GitHub page with a variety of releases than change the link to a new Google Drive file each time?
What sort of requirements do you have for fans who want to do cross mod content with your mods?
Ok, thanks for confirmation
I need to figure out how to use github first, I've never done anything on it. That'll probably happen soon.
I'd just ask to be contacted about crossmod content.
Also, what say you to combining the mods into one release version so that only the relevant bits are installed? Thus, on BG1EE, only the BG1 parts are installed, but on EET, all of it is. Various other mods have done it this way.
Thankee!
Just wanted to report Neera's interjection in Elenaire's dialogue appears to cut the conversation short.
No on the romance. It's just not something that's meant to be. As for TOB, I have some plans for that.
Thank you! I took a look at the Elenaire dialogue and couldn't see any reason for it to break the conversation. Even tried this section on a fresh install with Neera in the party and it all went correctly. Not sure what could have happened there. Let me know if anything else happens in the course of your playthru.
Modcompat report: this mod conflicts with Colors of infinity - The White Queen on EET, because both mods copy pvrz files directly to the base folder without attempting to reindex/check if their indexes are already occupied.
I'll give this a look tonight. Thank you for the report!
EDIT: Oh, I see what the problem is. That came down to my unfamiliarity with the PVRZ files are generated so they share the same naming convention for the white queen mod. I'll fix this tonight.
Also I have figured out github so the mod is now posted there.
Note that a release version is separate from just uploading files to GitHub. A release version may still have bugs (and preferably won't), but is at least stable enough for most users to consider it fit to use.
Thankee!
Done. Still learning my way around Github, so I appreciate the guidance
What about consolidating these Black Hearts mod versions into one that only installs the relevant parts depending on what game is targeted? Thus, you could start with the EET version and use that for EET games, but if someone tries installing it on BG1EE or BG2EE alone, they get the appropriate content.
Thankee.
I would do this except that I have plans for both an SOD component that I'm working on now and is getting a bit bigger than I had planned previously, and then move on to BG2 and TOB to make a big series long questline. I'd like to keep the EET as a separate download from the various module components so people aren't forced to download more than is necessary for them.
Your portrait is really good, although I must confess I use Artastrophe one in my game.
Dialogues are really well written, and she's neither a caricature or too mean. The battleground choices are also very clever.
Illasera is normally an elf, but you made her an half elf with a human avatar. Is there a specific reason for this choice ?
I was wondering if you could make an alternate option to have Illasera looks like her Ascension version, a ranger instead of a mage. It was the original concept of this character, but tone down before ToB release for being too difficult for new players starting in ToB.
I know that in your mod she talks about learning magic, but since the Ascension version can do some magical tricks as well, it could still works.
I'm eager to see the next part, but first I must progress the main quest.
Thank you for this great mod !
I changed her from elf to half elf because:
A.) There's already a female elf bhaalspawn as a member of the Five (my brain hates the repetition of that)
B.) She's got a human model in game and her in game portrait doesn't show her having elf ears, so even tho her cre file lists her as an elf, I felt like this one was really iffy to start. So I split the differences between them and made her half-elf
C.) My idea for the character made more sense to me writing up her background as half-elf rather than full elf.
As for making her a Ranger, she's essentially an Arcane Archer in my interpretation. I liked her being a mage-hybrid combo for story reasons. I'll probably do a custom class variant for her when I continue this mod in SOD and beyond that mixes aspects of Ranger with a fighter/mage chassis to split the difference between them.
For an Arcane Archer kit (and also a multiclass Arcane Archer / Mage) you could also check The Artisan's Kitpack.
Also, Illasera said she'll be in Baldur's Gate and I go to every inn, tavern and can't find her. Where is she?
There are 2 alternative methods to dealing with the ogre mage. The first requires you have a sufficiently high int score or edwin/imoen in the party. This allows you to identify the tome he wants (and you can follow a breadcrumb trail to Beregost to get a copy). The second is to have charisma over 12 and pick 2/3 good arguments that he finds convincing when talking to him. If you don't have any of these, you have to kill him.
Did you deliver the book to Firebeard that he wants first? You'll need to do that before you can ask him about the tome.
Presfiel requires you be a cleric or have a cleric or ajantis in the party to exorcise her. Killing her is the only other option.
Unfortunately, if you're into Chapter 7 after Candlekeep, Illasera won't show up again in baldur's gate for you due to the story advancing too much. She would normally show up in the Eversong tavern.
As a side note, I do have a guide linked in the FAQ in the first post that lays out every quest! In case there's any confusion about what to do for any of them.
I've also finished the first area I'm planning (of ~4 total planned) which is a large outdoor area! This one's got a lot of new facets I haven't done in a map before, so that's been a challenge to work with/around. Figured I'd post a preview of the map here: