Skip to content

[Mod] Imoen 4 Ever - Experience the BG Saga with Imoen - and the beginning of SoA without pressure!

1356

Comments

  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Hi @jastey , just wondering if you got crossmod content in progress, In my case I was hoping for Drake and Aura that should eventually have a BG2 version.
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    @Maurvir
    Thanks, that was a spelling error in the download path for the windows version only, is fixed now.

    @ithildurnew
    Thank you for the kind words!
    References to Imoen's kidnapping in the original game should be covered - the mod changes a lot of "I am searching for my friend Imoen" references to "I am searching for a mage called Irenicus".
    Compatibility with other mods is a good point. The list of compatible SoA-Mods that add content to Chapter 2&3 is rather short still (see here for BGII compatibility info). Mods that add later content (e.g. my Solaufein mod etc) are no problem anyway.

    Also @DJKajuru:
    I'm open to crossmod and compatibility with other mods, but for most it is up to the mod author to add it. I am open for collaboration and available if there are any questions, and for mods like Alternatives or maybe UB I could imagine writing it myself, but if there are mods you would like to see compatible, please go and pester the author about it :) . I'll feel very honored about every mod having compatibility with I4E.
    Permidion_StarkAciferDJKajuru
  • Permidion_StarkPermidion_Stark Member Posts: 4,861
    I've already tried I4E in BG2 and absolutely loved it. I'm really looking forward to having Imoen with me in SoD. I'm just coming to the end of a BG1 run so I should be there soon (mind you it's a no reload run so I probably shouldn't jinx it by getting ahead of myself).
    jasteyAcifer
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    Thanks @Permidion_Stark. Finishing SoD part is on my list but that list is distressingly long currently.
    Permidion_StarkAcifer
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    First off, I just got Imoen back in my SoA run last night. It is a shame the voicing cuts out (for obvious reasons), but it was well done. I was a bit concerned at first, because the game was progressing normally - right up to the part where I had to agree to Gaelan's demands for a ton of gold, but I was pleased to see that I was wrong when the cut screen started shortly after.

    I did run into one issue, though. Apparently Imoen was no longer wearing her "girdle of invulnerability" because she got chunked on the djinni's airship. The party got caught off guard by SCS changes to AI, and Imoen ended up getting stunned by a mephit, then torn to shreds. While I normally try to keep her from dying, I remembered that her girdle usually saves her, albeit unconscious, so I was shocked when she was chunked and dropped off the party list.

    My fault for letting her get in a bad spot (the reload went much better), but I was surprised by that.
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    It's interesting from a story point of view - if there is a mod that removed Imoen's girdle in ID, then her reference to it after returning in the Slums wouldn't make any sense. Just to make sure: I4E changes nothing for Imoen in ID and after up until the point where she returns to teh group.
    Does anyone know which mod would do that?
    Glad to hear you liked it so far!
    Acifer
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    Ok, I'm not sure what mod is doing what, but Imoen is STILL able to die in CI. I checked her inventory in EEkeeper, and she was definitely wearing it, but once again, oops... I almost regret not seeing how the game would react to that in Waukeen's promenade - since it removed her invisibility as well. (Free restoration?)

    I'm guessing that either way, the Imoen you get back is different. I had used EEkeeper to normalize her to her BG1 equivalent (where she used a tome to increase her INT to 18, etc.) The Imoen that came back from the government district was the bog standard starting Imoen. I'm guessing that is an engine limitation, but you might note it.

    Anyway, those aren't complaints about the mods really, just notes. I'm actually really enjoying having Imoen in the party and not feeling like a heel for doing side quests when I should be "saving my PC's sister". :)
    jastey
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    edited December 2019
    For BGII/BGII:EE, I4E does the same as the original game does: it gives you a different imoen-cre outside of ID.
    Problem is: in BGII(:EE), Imoen has a different Script Name inside than outside, and all other mods take care of that now for her ID dialogues. The original game gives you a different Imoen when you finally reach Spellhold, so that is what I4E uses, too. For BGT / EET this is changed to a continuous Imoen already (and mods consider this, too), so there you get the ID Imoen back.
    I could have sworn I put a note regarding this into the mod's readme, but it seems I wrote that elsewhere, only.
    Acifer
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    edited December 2019
    I figured that was what happened because her spellbook defaulted back to the original as well. That was a bit disappointing, because as the only magic user capable of scribing them, Imoen scribed nearly every scroll she found in ID - which I will now need to manually recreate in EEKeeper to avoid duplicating XP. I still love the mod, but wow, it's pretty clear that Bioware really never intended for Imoen to ever be used in BG2 after that initial dungeon...

    As a suggestion, you might consider adding a scroll case somewhere early on - possibly in the first area where you find a "new" spell she can learn. That way the party can wait until they get "permanent" Imoen before she starts scribing spells. Alternately, maybe give her a single copy of every unique spell she doesn't know at the beginning. I think she only learned a fairly small number, and I wouldn't consider it a cheat at all. (At best, you could sell duplicates for a bit of gold, but I doubt it would amount to more than a thousand gold or so)

    Also, and I'm not sure this is even possible, but could you record some of her stats and then fix the "new" Imoen after she is restored? I'm not familiar with modding enough to know if that's possible, but it seems like if Lum's machine can alter stats, a mod provided script could as well.
    I also had a dark thought this morning. Will she lose all of the progress and spells she has learned when she is taken again in Spellhold?
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    Yes, I really thought I already put a note into the readme. Will do so in the next release. I guess it was never mentioned before because people either knew Imoen would be gone or the time until Spellhold was longer. With the mod the changes are more striking, especially if you played in the believe that you'll get her back soon..

    Interesting ideas! Imoen comes back with a few things she found... maybe some more spell scrolls could be added there.
    Also, and I'm not sure this is even possible, but could you record some of her stats and then fix the "new" Imoen after she is restored?
    I guess it would be possible but with a great effort ( a lot of ifs etc. including spells to raise or lower all her stats.) It's really much more easy if you just alter her other original cre-files before playing, as well. :)
    And to your last question: no, no worries. Once she is back after ID, it will be the same continuous Imoen for the rest of the game.
    Acifer
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    I am relieved that this should be the last time I have to "adjust" Imoen. :) Since I have no compelling desire to do ID a THIRD time, I'm going to leave it at that.

    I do find the idea of pre-modding her CRE files intriguing, though. I'll have to look into that. Is it as simple as finding them, altering them in EEKeeper, and stuffing them back in the override folder?
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    edited December 2019
    If you do it before playing / entering the area the NPC is in the first time that should work, yes. For the original BGII there exists a "Level 1 NPC" Mod that lets you adjust stats etc. but I am not sure where to find the EE equivalent. I think it existed, though.
    For Imoen with the mod, it's actually an adapted version of ID Imoen with changed Death Variable etc. because I wanted to use a lower-level Imoen (the ones originally spawned in Spellhold are too high level).
    So what I4E does is take the imoen10.cre (which is originally the ID Imoen), rename it to c#im_010.cre and adapt a few things (Death Variable, scripts, dialogue).
    So, you could theoretically either adapt the stats of the imoen10.cre before installing the mod (and put the changed version into the override folder) (then your changes will be copied as well) - or after installing the mod you could alter the c#im_010.cre in the override folder.
    It won't work if you do it once she is back, though, as the cre then is stored in your savegame. Which you could edit via EEKeeper, of course.
    Acifer
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    edited December 2019
    @jastey I like the concept of this, Imoen was always one of my favorite npcs. A couple questions about the story flow though:

    The first post mentions that Imoen will be captured in Brynnlaw and that Yoshimo will be recruitable there. Does this mean that Yoshimo is ONLY recruitable in Brynnlaw? He's one of the best BG2 npcs IMHO, and only having him for a few minutes seems a waste.

    If the SoD component is not installed, will Imoen be assigned her Thief/Mage dualclass in BG2 as normal?

    Okay, one more. If the SoD component is installed, does Imoen get banters?
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    1. Yoshimo original starting point is not altered by I4E. What the mod does is move him to Brynnlaw if he is not dead and not in the group (i.e. was waiting in Athkatla) when the group travels to Brynnlaw. There is a hopefully useful ingame explanation for his presence there.
    2. The SoD component only deals with Imoen in SoD (currently only in the first SoD dungeon). No changes to the BGII content by this (which is depenedent on whether you are playing EET or separate games, independent on I4E).
    3. SoD content currently only lets Imoen remain in the group in the first dungeon (Korlasz' crypt) if she was in teh group at the end of BG1. There is one PID dialogue that contains original lines from SoD (what you could talk to her in original SoD).
    Other content, interjections, banters, or even being a party member after leaving for the crusade would be plans for the future.
    AciferThacoBellmegamike15StummvonBordwehr
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    @jastey Thanks for the quick reply! Looks like I have another mod to try. Time to re-start my run. Again.
    StummvonBordwehr
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    unlike the bg 2 portion besides the two baldurs gate segments there is nothing really there that contradicts anything if imoen is there. there is no party banter discussing imoen at all if i remember.

    and maybe imoen will be the one party member that acknowledges and talks about the hooded man as that always bothered me.
  • ithildurnewithildurnew Member Posts: 273
    The more I think about it the more I want to install this for future runs.
    "Next time..."
    Aciferjastey
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    I am STILL restarting a lot due to mod issues (I *think* I have them sorted now, but I've been through ID about FIVE times...) That said, I got far enough to know that this mod is a keeper. Every time Eilrie (my PC) has one of those dreams, there is a discussion with Imoen, and they are amazing. It subtly alters the game in a way that feels very natural and vastly better than the original.
    jasteyPermidion_StarkAciferStummvonBordwehr
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    @Maurvir Thank you for the kind words! The idea for the added Imoen dream dialogues is from @Acifer who also helped me make them good and Imoen-y!
    Permidion_StarkAciferStummvonBordwehr
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    Imoen 4 Ever Mod updates to v3!

    Version 3 fixes bugs of the SoD part in EET (dialogue with Imoen would get stuck and scenery dialogue in Korlasz' Crypt would not fire.)



    Changes:

    -added note to readme about Imoen in ID not being the same as outside like in the original games (BGII+BGII:EE only)
    -(EET) fixed bug in EET where Imoen's dialogue would hang in Korlasz's crypt
    -Imoen's scenery comments in Korlasz' crypt should trigger correctly
    -added imoen_forever.ini with mod info
    -removed more instances to references of Imoen being kidnapped: fence standing next to temple of Ilmater, High merchant Logan of Trademeet, Samuel Thunderburp (owner of Five Flagons).
    -added folder libiconv-1.9.2-1-src.7z with iconv licence info
    StummvonBordwehrThacoBellTimbo0o0o0
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    I saw this in Aerie's rather unusual playthrough as, well, Aerie.

    So, let's say you were playing with the Imoen4Ever mod, and you wanted to play AS Imoen. Since you get your permanent Imoen in Chapter 2, would this work for her if you axed CHARNAME once you get her back in the slums?

    I imagine a lot of the dream stuff would be horribly broken, but I find the concept of playing with Imoen as CHARNAME fascinating for some reason.
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    Since the game is over if CHARNAME dies I don't see how this could work. I didn't read "Aerie's" playthrough, though.

    I also do not really see how this is related to the Imoen 4 Ever mod, so I'd appreciate if this would be discussed in another topic.
    Timbo0o0o0
  • SkitiaSkitia Member Posts: 1,054
    edited February 2020
    Maurvir wrote: »
    I saw this in Aerie's rather unusual playthrough as, well, Aerie.

    So, let's say you were playing with the Imoen4Ever mod, and you wanted to play AS Imoen. Since you get your permanent Imoen in Chapter 2, would this work for her if you axed CHARNAME once you get her back in the slums?

    I imagine a lot of the dream stuff would be horribly broken, but I find the concept of playing with Imoen as CHARNAME fascinating for some reason.

    If you read the thread, it's a matter of replacing Player1 with console commands, IIRC, so Player1 is removed by console, then Imoen is recruited to take player1 slot, so yes. I imagine a lot of things might be oddly buggy though if used with this mod (And as Jastey said, this mod won't nor really should help support that, that's not its purpose), so I would be prepared to execute the same process to temporarily switch player1 to someone else if it happened.
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    Yes, after posting this, I realized it was probably a dumb idea, hence my separate thread. A shame, though, as a full play-through as Imoen would be epic.
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    I4E updates to v4!


    Version 4 fixes the check for other mods whether I4E is installed and comes with proof readings by Lauriel!


    Changes:

    -detection variable whether Imoen will stay in the group in Korlasz' Dungeon should be applied to the correct script (cpmvar.tpas should be read in)
    -English version proof read by Lauriel
    AciferStummvonBordwehrTimbo0o0o0Gusinda
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    Having now played through a lot of the game with Imoen, I want to say again how much I appreciate this mod. It has made BG2 feel so much more like BG1in the sense that unrestricted adventuring no longer feels weird. Sure, at some point the need to track down Irenicus will rear its ugly head (when the party runs out of stuff to do), but I have really enjoyed the not feeling pressured.
    AciferjasteyTimbo0o0o0StummvonBordwehr
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    Thank you for the kind words, @Maurvir !
  • TygaranTygaran Member Posts: 41
    Is there a current ETA on when we might expect to be able to have Imoen in the party throughout the events of SoD?
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    @Tygaran I am working on it currently. It should be available next week.
    Imoen will still be a bit mute in SoD, but she will react to the main game events.
    Permidion_StarkStummvonBordwehr
  • Permidion_StarkPermidion_Stark Member Posts: 4,861
    jastey wrote: »
    @Tygaran I am working on it currently. It should be available next week.
    Imoen will still be a bit mute in SoD, but she will react to the main game events.

    That's brilliant news. I can't wait. Quiet Imoen is still a hell of a lot better than no Imoen. And after all, she's not exactly talkative in BG1.
    jasteyStummvonBordwehr
Sign In or Register to comment.