Newbie Mod User Guide to Game-Modding

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• Bhryaen Member Posts: 2,874

  August 2012 edited August 2012

  HOW TO MOD BG (by a fellow player and amateur), PART 1
  
  Prefatorily
  
  After starting a thread about modding BG, I was given lots of good advice and assistance in that regard by numerous regular posters here, including especially igneous.sponge, Son of Imoen, Humanoid_Taifun, Grond0, suttree, Irrbloss, and DMWW. Their contributions (and patience) were, have been, and continue to be invaluable to my attainment of any sort of mastery over the modding process... and I'm still learning... so I owe them my gratitude. I also feel grateful to the modders out there who did all that work (ugh) so the rest of us could play, and I feel like embracing reciprocity somehow. I can't mod-build or code (at present), and I never have been particularly game-savvy with any game, but I can at least articulate what I've gone through, so I have that to offer...
  
  Besides, why go through all the rigors of the learning process just for myself? Not that people couldn't benefit from the same brain-exercise that I experienced struggling with the material, but it just would have been nice if I hadn't had to also endure the same brain-wracking... or in any case require so much coaching. So that's mostly what I attempt with this thread: to lay out a sort of beginner's guide to BG modding for anyone who is in the same shoes that I was in when I started.
  
  Thus this is really directed to first-time or moderate BG mod-users, those interested but not knowing how or well, those already in the process but who could use some direction or tips... you know: not an advanced guide or a challenge to modders who know their code from their cantrips... Anyone should feel free to correct me or make suggestions obviously, particularly if I end up conveying something incorrect or simply miss something that seems essential... I'll edit as I can to clean up mistakes...
  
  Prior to Modding
  
  First of all, you need to start out with the basics correctly- a must if any mod use is going to be reliable. You'll need full versions of the game- either BG1, BG2, or both- and then you'll need to patch them. A "full" version means installing every game element to your hard drive so that you don't require a single swapping of discs during gameplay (so that the installed mod will be able to find the material and modify it). In BG1 a full install is accomplished by manually clicking everything clickable with the "custom install" option, while in BG2 it's only a matter of choosing the "full install" option. It is recommended that you also install the official expansions: Tales of the Sword Coast (TotSC) for BG1 and Throne of Bhaal (ToB) for BG2. Although they aren't necessary for all mods, there is some significant content you miss by leaving them out of the equation, particularly Durlag's Tower and the game's ultimate conclusion in ToB, and some mods do require one or the other expansion or both.
  
  You'll also need to patch your games to the most current version because that is the version for which all BG modders have made their mods. You can get the latest official patches for BG (BG1 only) as patch #1.1.4315 or BG: Tales of the Sword Coast (both BG1 and the TotSC expansion) as patch #1.3.5521 for BG2: Shadows of Amn (SoA only) as patch #23037 or BG2: Throne of Bhaal (ToB) (if both SoA and ToB) as patch #26498. Keep in mind that there are different patches for different countries (at least for BG1 & TotSC), and Fileplanet seems to have a list of links for other version beneath the one to which I've linked. None of those links are "recommended," by the way, (I can't remember where I got mine,) but they are carrying the proper patch version. You can always find the one you need by a simple Google search (which is how I just found them). Note that if you install BG1 and TotSC you only need the TotSC patch, but if you also install BG2 and ToB, you should go in that order: BG1, TotSC, TotSC patch, BG2, ToB, ToB patch.
  
  You should also make a habit of installing your games outside the Program Folder. This is primarily for Windows Vista (and possibly also Windows 7) users, but it may just be a good habit for any Windows user. Vista in particular tends to apply operating system standards to anything within the Program folder, sometimes preventing you from saving or altering things and other heavy-handed intrusiveness. If you instead create a folder called, say, Games in your C-drive folder- i.e., next to, not inside the Program folder- you can avoid a lot of Vista difficulties. Another Vista (and probably Windows 7) loveliness is that whenever you start your game, you're better off not simply double-clicking the desktop icon or single-clicking it from the Start Menu or what-have-you. Instead right-click the game icon and scroll down to "Run as administrator" to bypass yet another wave of Windows OS intrusiveness. I've found that this also works for other games on Vista. Trying to run the game normally can end up failing in such a way as to make you believe the game is broken, but in fact it's only Vista imposing itself.
  
  The other thing you should immediately after installing the game is to is change your "baldur.ini" file to add a couple lines, but remember that the entries are case sensitive and must be typed exactly as they appear below. After the [Program Options] line, create two new lines each for these two:
  
  DebugMode=1
  (this enables a number of options if you need to "cheat" to get around issues; for instance, a plot item might not show up due to a mod bug, but using the CLUAConsole you can bring in the missing item and thus not lose your game; in-game you can access the CLUAConsole by simultaneously clicking the "Cntrl" button and space bar, and then use various commands as described, for instance, at this site)
  
  and:
  
  LoggingOn=1
  (this creates a log that will track any errors that arise during gameplay, especially useful for troubleshooting if there is a crash)
  
  Another step is necessary before modding in order to protect yourself from having to reinstall the game from discs over and over, thereby having to repeat all the above steps over and over again as well. Instead you should create a "clone" folder of both the fully patched & prepped BG1 folder contents and the fully patched & prepped BG2 contents. What I've done is create another folder in the Games folder which I call "BG Modding," and in there I have another folder called "Clones" that holds all the separate cloned folders- namely "BG1 Clone," "BG2 Clone," and others.
  
  In order to clone properly simply create a folder for the clone, naming and placing it as you wish, highlight everything in the primary game directory folder, copy all the contents, then open the clone folder and paste everything there. Then wait until it's finished pasting. It can take up to a half hour (depending on computer speed), but it will be far easier and quicker to reinstall using this copy-paste method than starting over from discs and patches and baldur.ini edits over and over. When it comes time to reinstall your game- whether because you want a new install, you suspect your game has become corrupted somehow, or any other reason- you only need to go into your game folder, select everything, delete it, go to your Clone folder, select and copy everything, and then paste it all in your game folder. You should have an entirely empty game folder before pasting. The game requires that the same directory be used every time- hence the need to preserve that same folder. Voila... Again it can take time, but it's less hassle, and it's unquestionably faster than starting everything laboriously from discs to edits again.
  
  NOTE: It is likely possible to avoid copying folder contents entirely and simply delete the game folder itself. Then you copy the clone game folder (so long as it is named exactly the same as the original) and paste the folder (not the contents) into whatever folder the main game folder had been in previously. For some reason I'm leery of this, but I believe I've heard it done with repeated success.
  
  That's pretty much all the pre-modding basics you need to cover.
  
  It is worth preparing yourself for multiple installs. Although it is possible to use a mod's own uninstall option, it is always less risky to go the longer but more sure route of a complete reinstall (deleting everything and starting over) because mods often overwrite each other, and if you remove only one mod, it may also remove all the changes it made to yet another mod- or it may simply not uninstall its code and components particularly well- and then your modded game becomes corrupted and prone to crashes and bugs from the uninstall alone, not due to actual bugs in the remaining mods themselves. I've found from experience (and others can attest to this) that doing a complete reinstall when any changes need to be made is simply always the better route to go. As Grond0 put it:
  
  
  
  
  Although I've found it reasonably easy to get a good stable set-up (in both EasyTutu and BGT) I've had very little success in revising this, i.e. when I try and make a change to an existing mod, as you describe above, it has usually caused significant problems. Now my feeling is that I won't make changes or, if I really need to, it will probably be quicker to reinstall from scratch.
  
  
  Note that there is an easier method to restore your primary game to pre-modded status, but because I've found in every single instance that it fails to work properly, I'm not going to link to or recommend it. It does promise a much faster reinstall though...
  
  To Mod or Not to Mod
  
  You really needn't- and perhaps even shouldn't- mod BG at all if you've never played the game. In fact, mods are best appreciated if you've had some thorough experience with the "vanilla" (unmodded) game itself, knowing both its strengths and its limitations firsthand before deciding on how you want to change the gameplay. Also by Grond0:
  
  
  
  
  Although as you can see there is a huge range of mod choices out there you shouldn't feel compelled to use them immediately... The 'vanilla' game is great in its own right and it's probably not possible to really appreciate what the effect of mods will be on your personal gaming likes and dislikes until you have some experience of it.
  
  
  So if you haven't even played BG before, you probably should not do modding... yet. There are plenty of tweaks to the game out there- many, many, many of them. But if you have no clue what the game even entails from in its timing, encounters, pace, game system, etc., why consider how you wish to tweak it? After you play it through once, if you enjoy your first experience, go on to BG2, and in the process learn the game mechanics, form opinions about them, get to know the NPC system, adjust to the humor and the type of intriguing and offbeat experiences the game presents, gain some mastery of battle tactics, have patience with the inevitably less-realistic graphics play environment, and most of all keep an open mind about what's been so likable and memorable about this game-that-launched-an-era for so long.
  
  Even if all you do is play through the first few chapters and explore a bit to get a sense of how the game plays and the type of world into which you're delving, you'll be far better off in deciding how you'd like to see the game modded. BG was worth playing exactly as it was a decade ago, and those who mod generally do so because they still want to play it a decade later, albeit with various changes and extras to correct perceived game mechanics issues and to add extra content.
  
  The Initial Modding Choices: Start with Fewer
  
  First a quote from Humanoid_Taifun that should further preface any modding choices. In response to a first-time mod-user's request for a list of mods...
  
  So sayeth the wise Humanoid_Taifun...
  Maybe I should have said this earlier, but the reason I haven't suggested any more mods yet is that I believe that 3 mods is plenty for a first-time mod user. The more mods you add, the more likely you will encounter incompabilities, leading you back to the belief that mods are bad.
  
  
  
  This is a good lesson I didn't internalize myself. You'll have a lot more fun if you just find a few you really like the sound of and feel strongly about seeing in your game, figure out all the how's and what's and where's of installing them (I'll be detailing installation assistance later), successfully install them, and then see and enjoy the results in actual gameplay. Then as you play through a modded BG you'll start to get more ideas about more modifications you might want to see, you'll read up on more available, and maybe you'll drop some of the ones you used for seemingly better versions or simply because they didn't work for you, and maybe you'll keep some which become standard mods you'll always use and add more. Also from Humanoid_Taifun:
  
  
  
  
  Once you start modding, from time to time you will find mods you won't want to play without anymore. Over time, these will accumulate.
  
  
  But most importantly you should keep the mod accumulation modest enough to be able to turn around fairly quickly and adeptly back to the game itself- i.e., rather than becoming bogged down in issues you've encountered due to having modded too much at once. What I missed out on during the first 2 months of modding was actual gameplay. Having started with nearly no modding experience, I ended up researching and experimenting so much and then reinstalling so many times to get a workable install that I've only played only one single- and quite buggy- full game during that entire period. (And there were still issues...) I tend to be unreasonably tenacious about things, however, so I have the capacity to run my head into a wall for nearly 2 months straight and keep at it. I doubt most first-time modders are quite so... erm... thick-headed... Instead most would have become daunted early on and surrendered to the idea that modding doesn't work. It does work: I can (finally) attest to it (and plenty of others can as well). And with this guide, it's even less necessary.
  
  It is also much easier to troubleshoot any issues which arise from modding that you do encounter if you've only introduced a few new mods than if you have 10 or 20 (or 80) new mods all at once with no clue which mod or mods are contributing to or causing the issues. They can range from nuisances to CTD's (crashes-to-desktop), so know going into the process that this can and does happen. But limiting your own modding ventures can reduce the instances and severity of them and also reduce the time required to fix and/ or recover from them. Note that many mod developers are well-aware of the issues that can result from their mods, so they will often release them with many built-in provisions to avoid them. Also most mods have a forum where the creators can take feedback and learn better about the issues their mods cause or suffer, and then release updated versions that, once again, have built-in fixes. But the process continues to develop, and modders- despite being relatively well-connected- are in no way part of a professional, official team that collaborates on all projects as did the original BG development team (more or less), so there will continue to be issues to work around. Best to play it safe and just enjoy things little by little.
  
  The initial launch of the modding process for me was to find out about what mods are actually out there to choose from. I had no idea what mods were available or even what aspects of the game had been modded or even were moddable. The modder community has been fairly busy in the decade since BG's first release, and there is a lot that's been attempted, much of which has become a sort of standard fare through testing and mod-user preferences. Mod-makers are typically fans of BG (not official company men of Bioware on a payroll) and thus the entire enterprise is "amateur" in that way, but there is also an awful lot of talent and skill that these mod-makers employ to one degree or another in order to produce working mods, a talent and skill that I and probably a lot of BG players do not share. Thus also what you find is that the quality and extensiveness of mods has generally developed over the course of years after the initial release of BG, as has the sophistication of the modding community, but the process has not exactly been systematized, and new modders simply pave new roads where other modders have stopped, advancing wherever the greatest interest happens to be at that stage. What I'm driving at is that the process is necessarily going to be a bit less formal and not exactly uniformly orchestrated: there is no official "BG Mod User Guide" out there.
  
  Ode to the day that a version of BG comes out that has all pertinent mods in one, single, large, easy-to-read, well-organized installer engine with full descriptions replete with links to current mod info by each mod name on a comprehensive list and a simple box-click for mod components to choose from... of course with all the mods working together compatibly and all being installed without any further issues for the player to be concerned with... but that day is... well, don't hold your breath...

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• Bhryaen Member Posts: 2,874

  August 2012 edited August 2012

  WeiDU
  
  Speaking of centralizing the modding community, there has been one development that has made many mods more compatible right at the start of their creation. The WeiDU tool has become a standard of sorts for contemporary mods because it is a single tool to build a number of different mod effects (or something like that). In any case once a mod is built with it, it is more likely to work with other mods that were also built with it- much more likely than mods that weren't. I'm not a mod-builder, so I can't explain how, but I have seen the modder tutorials associated with the WeiDU tool, and I can see how it systematizes the building process. All you need to know to mod, however, is that mods that were built with it are generally going to be more stable and less prone to inter-mod conflicts when installed with other WeiDU mods.
  
  The other thing you need to know is that when you install mods it creates a log in your game folder. That log can be very useful for two things, but I'll only mention one for now: assisting in troubleshooting errors. If you get into trouble with your install, you may be asked for your WeiDU log by anyone trying to help you. If you've installed something wrong or in the wrong order, or installed a problematic component or a conflicting mod, this might be apparent to anyone seeing the log, and ultimately will be to yourself. We'll return to WeiDU later in another context.
  
  If you're going to mod, you should get a WeiDU.exe in your game directory. A common mistake in this regard is to think you need to install the WeiDU.exe somehow, when in fact all you need to do is extract it. This means you download it, extract it from the .rar (or .zip) file it comes in, and place it in the game directory. And that's it. It will take matters from there by itself, creating a log as soon as the first mod is installed. WeiDU can be obtained here, scrolling down to the line stating "Download the 'Weimer' Dialogue Utilities" after the link.
  
  Playing BG1 with the BG2 Game Engine: Tutu v BGT
  
  Before leaping into a survey of the willynilly of mods (which we'll do at some point, I promise!), it should be known that there are two main larger-scale BG-world changer mods- EasyTutu and BGT- in relation to which most of the rest of the mods are add-ons. There are other macro BG-world changers, but, 1., I have no experience with them (and thus can't help anyone with that); 2., they tend to be somewhat older (pre-WeiDU and buggy) and thus often unsupported (i.e., the original creator isn't around to field questions and update their mods with fixes); and, 3., as far as I know, they are not nearly as widely used as EasyTutu and BGT.
  
  You're welcome to try others instead, but the key with these two in particular is that they generally maintain the content of the BG-world- i.e., the quests, storyline, NPCs, etc.- all as they would be in a vanilla game. The other macro BG-world changers tend to remake the BG-world in a much more drastic version, some even removing the main campaign and quests entirely, I believe. Dark Side of the Sword Coast, for instance, remakes an ogre-dominated area to be full of elves instead... for no apparent reason. Those game-changers I haven't concerned myself with here. BG is a great gameworld in itself, and there is considerable variety that you can add to the BG experience using only smaller mods in conjunction with Tutu and BGT- or with neither- but you'll ultimately make your own decisions.
  
  Both EasyTutu and BGT maintain BG's main game experience intact, but what they both add is to apply the the game engine of BG2 to the BG1 gameworld. This means that all the advances that were made in the BG1 game engine by the official BG development team to produce BG2 become implemented retroactively to BG1. There are a number of advantages- such as a more complex proficiency system, access to class kits, reasonably increased missile stacking, access to BG2 creatures, etc.- but the most important consideration is that most of the mods of, say, the last maybe 5 or 6 years have been designed to work with one or both of these two BG1 gameworld changers.
  
  It is still very much an option to simply add mods to the vanilla BG1 gameworld without installing either one, but increasingly BG modders have designed their mods for one or both of those platforms, many not even testing for compatibility with vanilla BG1, mostly because the improvements that came with BG2's game engine are so obvious to those who've played it. It is generally assumed that if you're modding, you're also using one of the two, but it is not in any way required, and there will be plenty of mod-users who will affirm that they mod without either on a regular basis. Still I'd rather introduce the new mod-user to them because of their popularity and the advantages mentioned above.
  
  EasyTutu came first- or rather BGTutu came first (meaning "BG-to-[BG]2") but that got displaced by the present standard, EasyTutu (or just as correct simply Tutu). It's been around since very soon after BG2 came out. Installing it only entails creating a new BG2-engine-improved BG1 in its own game folder. When you play through to the end of the game, you then must import your character to a BG2 game just as you would normally with a vanilla game.
  
  BGT (Baldur's Gate Trilogy- i.e., BG1/TotSC + SoA + ToB) is a more recent development but old enough that most of the major mod issues that arose with it have been corrected. Instead of simply modding BG1, it alters the BG2 game folder to make the BG2 game comprehensively spans from the initial BG1 character creation to the climactic ending of the saga in BG2's ToB, using a cutscene movie to link BG1 and BG2 that would otherwise be entirely separate games. Instead of having to import your character, the character porting is done automatically, and it even ports over the exact same statistics of NPCs you may have encountered during the BG1 portion- with the same attribute points, class, level, HP, etc. Note that this only applies to Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Viconia, and Edwin because other the developers never added other BG1 NPCs to BG2. The mod BGT Tweaks does have an option to port over other native BG1 NPCs, but only those five mentioned earlier will arrive with dialogue designed by the original BG2 developers. Also with BGT a mage or sorcerer with a familiar can keep their familiar, though it has to be found in the initial BG2 dungeon, and one can complete the main quest of BG1 but still play BG1 areas. Completing the game with Tutu, one has to find a familiar in-game all over again after manually moving one's BG1 character to the BG2 characters folder, and finishing BG1's main quest "traps" you at the final location.
  
  There are advantages and disadvantages to both engines. With Tutu you need only concern yourself with mods that affect the BG1 portion of the game, and it has been around a lot longer for the bugs to be worked out of it. That said, there are two chronic Tutu issues. One is the "greenifying" of water: all water appears a solid light green. You'll need to install the Degreenifier near the beginning of your Tutu install to make it work, but I've found that it doesn't fix all water, such as the puddles outside Durlag's Tower or water baths in temples. There is also an issue called the Beregost Bug that still intermittently plagues Tutu players who enter the early town of Beregost and then leave. There is a fix, however, either at this site or as a component in the mod Sword Coast Strategems I (SCS I) (discussed later), but I would recommend using the SCS one if you're going to install SCS anyway. The mod Tutufix should also be installed early on to address Tutu issues.
  
  BGT has already incorporated the Beregost Bug Fix into it, but the mod BG2 Fixpack needs to be installed prior to the installation of BGT in order to correct things BGT doesn't address and ensure proper functioning of a lot of mods that were developed with it installed. It's also a good idea to install BGTTweaks afterward, just as with Tutufix. BGT's interweaving of both games can create many potential issues with inter-mod conflicts, not only due to the greater number of mods and components that become involved, but also because mods must accomplish more to be compatible with both simultaneously. It is not at all impossible to do so, and most mods span both without issue, but the potential for conflict remains. Once you feel you can manage a proper mod install that can span both mods, you would find that you can use BGT just as easily. Another issue with BGT that I've found is the increased walking speed which makes your character move faster than creatures that would ordinarily (in Vanilla) be faster than you (such as wolves), unbalancing the game in your favor, but some prefer that, so it is really just a personal choice and a weighing of that against BGT's advantages.
  
  Another issue arises regarding whether mods are compatible with Tutu or BGT. As Irrbloss once wrote, it's "hit or miss" when it comes to inter-mod compatibility issues between individual mods and either engine:
  
  Irrbloss wrote...
  There is nothing about Tutu or BGT that makes one or the other more or less suitable as a platform for other mods. (If anything, the advantage is with Tutu here, since that really can be used as a platform, while BGT requires you to install some mods before BGT and other mods after BGT.)
  
  Whether mod X works better on Tutu or on BGT is simply a matter of luck and, more importantly, how thorough the modder was in testing his mod.
  
  
  Sometimes modders create their mods exclusively for only one of the two, sometimes for vanilla and only one, sometimes for both without vanilla, sometimes only testing their mod on some combination of the three, and sometimes simply investing more attention in one format than others.
  
  It is not an entirely arbitrary situation, however. Tutu has been around quite a while, so many of the more long-standing mods will be compatible with it. However, it is no longer being developed- and hasn't been for years- while BGT is, and there is a trend toward BGT because of the conveniences of modding for a single game and the appeal of the BGT bridged-world format. BGT has been incorporated into a larger modding venture called Big World Project that is being designed at present to make modding much easier. However, the BWP is far from being issue-free as yet, and new modders would probably be better served by simply learning to work with individual mods themselves first, sticking with Tutu and BGT installs before trying that option.
  
  New mod-users will have to make up their own minds in choosing between Tutu and BGT, but at during the early stages I would recommend starting with EasyTutu like I did. Because it involves changes only to BG1, you'll not need to figure out what to do about BG2 mods yet, nor consider the plethora of extra BG2 mod components that get introduced when using BGT (due to the addition of BG2 content in BGT). If and when you're already fairly acquainted with both BG1 and BG2- but especially BG1- and feel ready for extra modding, then try BGT, or you can always just make a modded BG2 install (which obviously doesn't need Tutu or BGT since BG2 already has the BG2 engine).
  
  Although both Tutu and BGT require the BG2 or ToB play disc (if you used discs to install the games), the two installs work somewhat differently. Both require that you have the full and unmodded BG1 and BG2 installs on your hard drive, but they install to different game directories. While EasyTutu will create its own game folder (which you should also locate outside the Programs folder) using both BG1 and BG2 game folders as a model, BGT will create itself as a graft into your BG2 game folder. Since Tutu requires an unmodded BG2 game folder, you'll need to create an EasyTutu game first- or at least keep your BG2 clone safe and be prepared to swap the BGT contents out in order to enable a Tutu creation. I would recommend also making a clone of your otherwise pre-modded EasyTutu game folder to go next to the other BG1 and BG2 clones. When you want to do a reinstall, you'll instead just delete all contents of your EasyTutu game folder to paste-replace with the EasyTutu clone contents, just as with BGT you would delete the contents of your BG2 folder to replace with the BG2 clone contents. And again- it's just the fastest, most stable way I know to do a reinstall.
  
  If you are going to install either of them, then this too must be kept in mind: Tutu is installed before any other mods (since you have no game at all until it creates one) while BGT is installed after a few mods that lay a framework for it. So keep in mind that BGT may be a macro-mod, but for compatibility reasons that I wouldn't delve into even if I had the expertise to do so, you need to install it in the proper order just like any other mod. Mod installation order will be returned to later in the "Mod Install Order" section.
  
  Mod Readmes & Forums
  
  Also before installing anything you should research each and every mod you're using. This need not be obsessive, especially if you're modding in order to add fun things to your BG gameplay. Some mods are very simple with few components to consider (many are single-component mods) while others have upwards of 40 or so different components to choose from. Given how involved this can be, it is yet another reason to use fewer mods in the beginning. Every mod obviously has a webpage where the download is available, but nearly all mods also have a page devoted to a readme that explains the content of the mod, gives tips about installation, and details the various components in the mod.
  
  Not all mod readmes are the same. Some are exceptionally helpful and detailed while others are skimpy on information, outdated, and/ or are outright erroneous. This doesn't mean the mods with the latter type of readme don't work, but just that a good readme is something to be appreciated... The best readmes- such as for the mod Sword Coast Strategems I & II- lay out a comprehensive, proofread, up-to-date, and articulate survey of their modification including a list of every component with a complete description of each one.
  
  By the way contrary to rumors, this cruel slander by Grond0 is completely erroneous:
  
  
  
  
  I couldn't believe you (I eat 50 mod readme's for breakfast...) could have missed that reference.
  
  
  I have never eaten more than 10 readmes before midday, so I just wanted to resolve this outrageous exaggeration...
  
  But seriously, the more mods you use, the more readme consultation you'll need to do and the more interrelated details you'll need to factor into your modding decisions. It's not so complicated as I make it sound (or I wouldn't have been able to do it myself) but for sure it pays to read the readmes and keep a wary eye for details. And of course, once you've done the research, you don't have to do it all over again every time because you'll already be aware of the issues involved in the specific mods chosen.
  
  Many mods also have a link to an active forum administrated by the mod-builder- or by a team of those involved with developing that mod and possibly other mods- where mod-users can post their criticisms of, suggestions for, and praise about the mod. You can learn at such forums what kind of issues others have had or are still having with the mod, whether and how well such issues have been addressed, whether there is a hotfix needed to play the mod without bugs, or what plans there are for future revisions of the mod.
  
  Although you may find answers at the Bioware BG forums- particularly the "Game Technical Support" section- to specific questions you may have about a given mod, you will most likely get more detailed, immediate, and effective answers at the forum site of the mod itself. Keep in mind that it is not always the mod you're having trouble with that is the mod causing the issues. Some mods may work very well to install their own content, but in the process may corrupt or overwrite something that another mod already installed... or a host of other possibilities... So just keep an open mind if and when posting there rather than presuming the mod-builder has done something screwy- or presuming that the mod-builder hasn't... I for one am just impressed at what many mod-builders have been able to do and am glad to see that development does continue.
  
  Mod Install Order
  
  One of the key issues to look for when perusing mod readmes is compatibility between mods. Mods do different things, involve a variety of different content, and may- especially when modding similar content, such as, say, rules governing rest options- negate each other's components or in any case cause conflicts. However, if you install them in the proper order you can prevent or minimize the issues involved. Many mod readmes will state explicitly where to place their mod in relation to other content-related mods, and almost every time that recommendation will also be shared by the readmes of the mods mentioned. Some mods may spell out exactly how to place their mod or particular components of their mod in relation to specified other mods, but most mods aren't so vigorously and extensively tested by the modder. In fact, one mod may recommend an install order relative to another mod that is an opposite recommendation to what is recommended in the readme of that other mod regarding the original mod. (I know of only one such mod: Ashes of Embers, to be addressed later.) In any case, it is always prudent to simply read carefully the readmes of every mod you're using and to even take notes if need be. By listing the mods in a word document you can easily arrange them so that, when you're ready for the install, you can simply go down the list one at a time.
  
  This list shows a large number of mods known to be compatible (or not compatible) with BGT. There doesn't appear to be any such list for Tutu, but I've come across a few mods that are only for Tutu, such as the NPC mods Finch and Indira which are mods that add new NPCs to the Tutu-altered BG1 gameworld replete with their own dialogue, quests, and interactions with native BG NPCs.
  
  Fortunately you needn't experiment with mod install order blindly. It is true that there is no readme that simply gives you a list of every other mod in the order best to install them. However, the EasyTutu and BGT mods each have a fan base that has determined a fairly comprehensive mod install order list to assist you. They are not complete (though very nearly), and they are not necessarily in the order recommended by the individual mod readmes themselves (though they usually are). It can be the case that a single component of one mod is better to install earlier while the rest are better near the end, and this "fine tuning" isn't addressed within these mod install order lists. Nevertheless they are a generally useful guideline to follow when determining the order of install for the mods you've chosen, and the mod readmes generally note specific details while forums too will provide the necessary information.
  
  Below are the semi-official mod install order lists that have been worked out by EasyTutu and BGT users. I list them only for reference at this point. There is more that you should know before delving into the mods themselves...
  
  1. A fairly well-established EasyTutu mod order list is here...
  2. A huge BGT mod list which more or less lists everything in install order is here... (Note that it is not necessarily a strictly BGT list, but rather a list compiled by the Big World Project which, as mentioned above, prefers to use BGT. However, I've used it as a mod order list for 80 mods with relative success.)
  3. And a list which was designed for the mod Rogue Rebalancing is here... (I present this one only because it is by far the most comprehensive install guide presented for a single mod that I've come across. It demonstrates that the mod builder has taken a lot of time and effort to extensively test the mod with other mods to determine compatibility issues beforehand. If only all mod-builders were so thorough...)

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• Bhryaen Member Posts: 2,874

  August 2012 edited August 2012

  Installation Preparations and Process: Mod Install Types
  
  The installation of a mod is usually a bit more technical than installing an application, but still very simple. When you download a mod from its web origin, you're not downloading a little mini-application- nor even the mod itself. Instead what you're downloading is an extractor bundle. What you're looking to obtain from that extractor bundle are the key mod elements, not a single "playable" item. The primary mod files to look for aren't hard to identify: they're generally the same for every mod. They should consist of:
  
  '[mod name]" (folder)
  "setup-[mod name].exe"
  "[mod name in all-caps].tp2"
  "[mod name].DEBUG" (may or may not be there)
  
  First you'll need to get those unextracted mod files into your game folder. So what you download is the extractor, not the mod items themselves, and what you'll need in your game folder must come from those mod extractors. Thus the first part of the "installation" is primarily just extracting files to the game folder. The second part is to initiate the actual mod element selection and insertion process which I'll discuss later.
  
  The extractor generally comes in one of two forms: a .zip/ .rar file or an installer .exe. You don't get a choice: it's up to the mod designer to package their mod one way or another. The former type usually opens (with winzip or winrar) to present you with exactly the items you need, and I find these to be the most pleasant extractor type because you can now simply extract the necessary items directly to your game folder, and you're done. You'll know if it's one of those types of extractors because, when you open the .zip/ .rar file, you'll find inside precisely the file types mentioned above. Those are the mod files you'll be looking for to simply drag-and-drop or copy-paste from the extractor to your game folder. Do that and you're done with the first part of the installation: the extraction. To begin the mod element insertion phase, you then just double-click the "[mod name].tp2" to open a command prompt that leads you through which elements of the mod you're going to install.
  
  But not all extractors are so simple. Sometimes the .zip/ .rar will open up to give you an installer .exe- so after extracting the .exe installer type to your game folder from the .zip/ .rar extractor, the former extractor becomes the latter. Most are one or the other.
  
  The .exe installer type ostensibly offers you an easy path of installation, doing both the extraction and element insertion all for you, but I find this to be the more complicated version for reasons I'll explain in a moment. Once double-clicked in the game folder, it first extracts the necessary mod files to a designated directory, and then auto-initiates the "[mod name].tp2" file- whether you're ready to start selecting mod items for insertion into the game or not...
  
  One important thing to remember with .exe installers is that when it prompts you for a directory into which to install the elements, the default folder that the installer application presents is not necessarily (and most often isn't) the folder you want to install to. In other words, don't just click "OK." Check the directory it has listed. This is one thing that makes the .exe type of extractor more of a bother despite seeming to do everything for you: you now must navigate through all the acknowledgments and browse for correct folder selection every time. Some installer .exe's make the folder in which the .exe is currently sitting become the default install folder, so if the installer .exe is sitting in the game folder, that can be at least a little more convenient, but most will prompt you to install in some nonexistent folder in the Programs folder or elsewhere. So be wary when dealing with .exe extractors to pay attention to the destination directory.
  
  Another issue with all extractors is the clutter they cause. Once their job is done and you've extracted everything, there's no need to keep that the .zip/.rar or .exe installer file around in the game folder. Thus they end up making it harder to sort through your game folder to find something. Thus I create a folder for every downloaded extractor, named accordingly with the version listed in the title, and then put all those mod extractor folders in their own folder called "Mod Extractors..." Not sure if this makes me an organization freak, but it certainly simplifies things...
  
  Installation Preparations and Process: Streamlining with Copy/Paste
  
  I will also here mention a step that is not necessary, but once again, if you plan on doing multiple installs, this step will make the reinstall(s) that much easier, and if you start off doing this, it will make future mod adds a cinch. I've done many reinstalls by now, and- weary of the time it can take to go through each extraction one-by-one- I've sought the most streamlined, simplified, and swift way to manage it.
  
  Similar to the advantages of creating and working with a "clone" folder, you can also utilize a "Mod Collection" folder that contains all the mod files you'd otherwise be laboriously extracting into the game folder with every new install. First you get all the necessary mod files into the "Mod Collection" folder. When you've copy-pasted all the contents of your "clone" game folder back into the emptied main game folder, you can simply then copy-paste all the contents of your "Mod Collection" folder into the main game folder as well. Having already extracted every needed mod file once into the "Mod Collection" folder, you can now bypass the extraction process altogether and simply copy-paste from then on.
  
  Creating the "Mod Collection" folder becomes slightly more complicated because of those .exe installer type extractors. In the case of the .zip/.rar extractors you can just drag-drop or copy-paste directly to the "Mod Collection" folder, and you've got all you need. With the .exe installer types, first you have to set the destination directory for the "Mod Collection" folder and let it start attempting to install the mod there. Of course, there is no game in the "Mod Collection" folder, so it won't be able to complete the mod item selection process that it attempts to auto-initiate. That's fine because the .exe installers always start by extracting the necessary mod files first, so it will have already done all it needed by the time it gets to that part. As it enters that stage, it will open up a command prompt as if to start offering the mod item selections, but instead it will "ERROR" out due to a failure to find the game's "dialog.tlk" file. Simply enter the key to abort the command prompt and check the "Mod Collection" folder to see that the needed files were indeed extracted there regardless.
  
  Creating the "Mod Collection" folder is an extra step, but it saves time in the long run by simplifying subsequent reinstalls. Any new mods need only be extracted once into that main "Mod Collection" folder. A further time-saver that utilizes those mod files will be discussed later.
  
  Of course, you could use the "clone" folder as the dumping ground for the mod files, first extracting to the "Mod Collection" folder to get the proper files and then copy-pasting those "Mod Collection" files to the "clone" folder. Thus when you copy-paste from the "clone" folder to the game folder, you'll be transferring both the game files and mod files from the "clone" folder all at once, saving one copy-paste step. But I prefer to micromanage at least that much, keeping segregated the mod files from game files until the final reassembly. If you accidentally start a mod's installer and "corrupt" your cloned game, you'll have to delete everything, segregating out the mod files anyway, and redo the game files. That's a bit more bother than I want to risk, so I just keep them separate. If you keep them separate and want to remove mod files from the group of them you have, you also run no risk of deleting main game files with them, and you can always distinguish mod files from game files that way. And it keeps the "clone" folder more of a perfect "clone."
  
  You might also want to create two separate "Mod Collection" folders- one for EasyTutu, one for BGT- because the mod assortment will be different between them given that some mods work for one and not the other, or some mods have separate versions for each, but that will add more space to your hard drive. Note that the WeiDU.exe should be put into the "Mod Collection" folder with all the mods to be part of the copy-paste group transferred to the game folder.
  
  Installation Preparations and Process: Hotfixes and Patches
  
  Once you've extracted everything you need to your game folder or "Mod Collection" folder, this would be the moment to apply hotfixes and patches to the mods that require it. These are the "fixes" that were offered by the mod creator due to issues with the mod that warranted immediate redress but aren't part of the official mod files. The "fixes" will usually be included in the next version release of the mod, but mod creators tend to release the official versions only after significant content has been added or changed rather than simply to address one issue, so the fix/ patch is usually a temporary remedy until that next version. Keep in mind that not all mods require such fixes. Out of 80 mods I've been experimenting with only a few required such "fixes."
  
  You'll know if the mod you use requires a hotfix or patch by checking out the forum page of the mod where you're downloading it. It may also be listed on the download page. In order to be sure you're not missing a needed hotfix or patch, it's recommended to periodically check back at the official forum for each mod to ensure you've got the latest version and/ or hotfix and stay current with new developments. This isn't so much a chore, given that new versions of the mod mean potentially interesting new content and options. New versions may also have more or better features and/ or fix bugs in earlier versions or even address inter-mod compatibility issues. Plus it's better to get the hotfix or patch applied before starting a game with the buggy version, especially since you may not know that it was that particular mod that's causing the bug, and in any case, it's better not to have to reach a "fatal" bug after hours of gameplay and have to "fix" it then and start over.
  
  As an added plus, applying the hotfixes/patches to the mod files directly after extracting the mod files into the "Mod Collection" folder makes certain that the mod files being repeatedly copy-pasted with each reinstall are always up-to-date and free of issues. And this way once again you'll only need to apply them once.
  
  The way most hotfixes work is by a simple drag-drop. After downloading the hotfix, you look in your mod files for the file that is identical to the one that has been hotfixed. It may be the "[mod name]" folder itself or a file inside that folder. You then simply take the downloaded hotfixed file or folder and drag-drop it wherever the original version is. You'll be prompted as to whether you wish to overwrite the existing files, and you should click "OK." That's it- hotfixed. A patch may come as an .exe which you simply run. It does all the patching by itself.
  
  Installation Preparations and Process: Mod Item Selection
  
  Once you've extracted the necessary mod files and have "hotfixed" them, then copy-pasted them into your game folder (after copy-pasting the clone material), you then begin the mod element selection process with the double-click of the "[mod name].tp2" mentioned previously for each and every mod (or use the .bat process I describe later). You are presented with the command prompt where you'll be asked to make selections.
  
  The first selection is universally language. English is a standard, but others do appear, depending on the mod. Then it follows with which mod elements you wish to have implemented in the game. You simply follow the questions to complete it, and it makes the necessary game alterations or additions with each selection you make at the command prompt until the selections are complete and it prompts for a finish. There are plenty of mods that have only one element, so there is only thing to choose- often simply to install it or not. Others have a large number of elements and you have to choose between different options for how that game element will (or won't) be changed.
  
  Another consideration to take into account is that you can install only portions of a mod if that's an option. Even the mods that have a plethora of different components to choose from do not require you to approve any. You could even select only one of 50 that you like, though it is true that some mods have a main component that must be installed to enable any of the other components. One rule to apply when selecting components is to limit the installation of modding of a particular type- such as say, spell modding or item modding- to a single mod- i.e., rather than using several mods to change spells or avatar appearance. This can limit the possibility of one mod corrupting the same content being modified by another mod and causing bugs. The proper mod install order can often ensure such overwrites are done properly, but you're safer to simply stick to one mod for one particular element change. Also- as was mentioned before- you may need to install one component of a mod, then install components of other mods, and then return to the first mod for more components. The mod Item Revisions, for example, involves this, but that mod's readme explains this better than I will here.
  
  all. However, any criticism is welcome to improve or add to this. I'm fairly certain (though I haven't come across anything) that there are other attempts at making up a modding instructions primer, so I'd be happy to add links to those as well, particularly if they have nice tutorials or something.

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• Bhryaen Member Posts: 2,874

  August 2012 edited August 2012

  Recommended Mods
  
  Mods generally fit into one of several categories: NPC mods, item mods, store mods, quest mods, and rules and tweak mods. However, many mods incorporate several of those together, particularly the quest mods which often throw in an NPC of their own, an extra store, and plenty of items. I'm not going to discuss any particular quest mods because I've not yet found one that works well with the BG game. Most of them more or less work, but the majority tend to add an excess of overpowered magic items as well as unrealistically overpowered enemies that otherwise should not be cohabiting a world with the BG that was released by the developers. The only one worth mentioning at the outset is Call of the Sirines because it is much smaller-scale and adds an otherwise reasonable amount of XP and treasure without detracting from the main game experience. (Of course, this is only my opinion.)
  
  There will be plenty more mods that others will consider more worthy of recommending than I do below- or simply think should be added as essentials (and I may end up doing so later by editing this post) but for now I'm just going to limit myself to listing mods I consider most essential. Mind you that the mods I list are not mentioned in proper mod install order (which will vary somewhat anyway between Tutu and BGT, mind you), but rather from the most popular and well-tested to more obscure but worth a mention. The ones I'll list are also among the more stable.
  
  Preliminarily though I'll provide these links to the main BG mod download sites (or rather Infinity Engine sites) where these and many more mods can be found and downloaded- as well as the mods' forums be found and perused:
  The Gibberlings Three
  Spellhold Studios (look for the "Infinity Engine Mods" tab on the left side)
  The Pocket Plane Group (also a list along the left side and some down the center, but this page is best)
  WieDU Mods (from Weimar)
  Team BG list (large list that also includes mods from the above lists)
  
  Le Mods:
  
  Sword Coast Strategems I & II
  These mods by DavidW (aka "the SCS folks") are the best one I know given how well they address issues of creature AI in the game and provide related options for the game. Vanilla BG has some serious "cheese" regarding combat given that creatures will simply stand there stupidly while you kill the creature next to them simply because they don't see you. These mods make the fights more challenging, but not by adding extra magic items or superpowers to everything- such as a lot of quest mods do or the mod Tactics, but by simply making foes react more realistically to combat situations- which is in turn more challenging. The mods have many extra component options: several battles can be made more tactically challenging, and there are a number of other smaller components useful in this mod worth looking at, but everything is very easy to tailor to your own preferences. SCS I is for BG1, SCS II is for BG2, though both are used if employing BGT.
  
  Widescreen (This has obviously been made obsolete by BGEE)
  The screen size of Vanilla BG is very small. Your party in BG can see in an oval shape around it, but that oval exceeds the boundaries of the original screen size, so you can easily miss things. With a wider screen base you can utilize the benefits of your own widescreen and better resolution, able to see the entirety of the visibility oval. The original screen is also more square than a widescreen, so you won't be able to fill the screen without flattening the images, but you can expand the vertical borders to the max and have a significant improvement that way.
  
  One Pixel Productions
  There are a number of different mods involved in this project, but essentially you're able to get an improved appearance to both your moving game avatar and the static "doll" in your inventory screen. The BG dwarf and gnome female appearance is in vanilla BG the same as the male, but there is one mod in the bunch that creates a female dwarf/ gnome. Just beware that not all of those mods get installed together at the same time in a mod order- or at least the recommendations vary. There are a couple other avatar changers like Moinesse's Avatars which do work, but as I mentioned, it's best to limit yourself to one mod for each type of change, even if you could actually combine such mods without issue.
  
  BG1 NPC Project
  The NPCs in BG1 aren't given the same amount of dialogue as those in BG2 by the original game designers. This mod does a very professional-looking job at providing interesting (or amusing) dialogues that emerge during gameplay both between the NPCs and your character and between one NPC and another- even between an NPC you recruit to your party and either another NPC you recuit or simply another NPC you meet up with- even an NPC enemy about to go hostile on you. The interactions could come as a result of an event that transpires, a change that occurs (like Reputation improvement), or an area the party enters. There is also a nice musical mod to accompany this one that plays specific tracks for each normal recruitable BG NPC, overlapping any normal BG music going on when you're speaking with them. Another component allows you to initiate the dialogue yourself if you're not content to let it occur by prompting..
  
  BG2 Tweakpack (also known as BG2 Tweaks) and aTweaks
  The range of different components in these two well known mods is too great to detail here. They're essentially general mods to tweak or add to various aspects of the game- items, stores, map notes, game mechanics, area-related content, etc. The mods enable a wide variety of very specific game tweaking, ranging between outright cheats and cosmetic changes. Like a quest mod these two- especially the BG2 Tweakpack- affect many different game aspects and should be used with particular attention to the content of other mods. There are other tweak mods- plenty- some of which have been displaced by these two directly- but these are the most prominent (besides the ones mentioned earlier specifically for Tutu and BGT.)
  
  Rogue Rebalancing
  This mod has different components that add extra class kits for thieves and bards, provides a new system for thief pickpocketing failures that replaces mortal combat with a reputation loss if you're caught, applies PnP DnD (paper and pencil Dungeons and Dragons) rules to thief skills, etc.
  
  Item Randomizer
  When you know exactly where every major magic item is going to be, you end up playing differently than when you truly were discovering the game as you went along. This mod relocates a lot of the key magic items on a random basis to and from stores, enemy NPCs, easter egg spots, etc., so you'll have to search everywhere anew to find the magic items you'd otherwise grown accustomed to obtaining in the same encounter every time. You also have the option of randomly losing any number of those magic items or found scrolls from the game, not knowing until the end if they'd ever show up.
  
  Spell Revisions
  This mostly just shakes up the whole spell system, providing better game balance and more reasonable spell limits and uses. It does have a hotfix as of 3/2011.
  
  Gavin NPC (for BG1... I haven't tested the Gavin BG2 yet, but it's by the same modder, so it should be good, and if you're going to have him in BG1, you may as well include him in BG2)
  I've had enough fun with this mod that I want to recommend it. It's a well-done extra NPC for BG1 which can also be introduced into BG2. There is plenty of dialogue, some questing involved, and even a romance option (though I haven't explored that one). It's probably one of the better NPC mods that you can use with both BGT and Tutu that's been around a while.
  
  Hard Times for Tutu and BGT
  Plenty of mods exist to make the BG experience more challenging. This one does so by nerfing or removing items that are typically overpowered in the early BG1 areas, relocating the early-on, easy-to-encounter items instead randomly to bosses, making the prices of the early stores much more difficult to afford, and increasing the items that can shatter due to the iron shortage to include armor and shields. It's supposed to reflect the economic crisis in the area and does indeed keep you struggling financially, but more than anything it simply removes the ability to use items (or at least BG-native items) to powergame through the story.
  
  Item Revisions
  This is one of those mods that is best installed by putting one component in one part of the install order and others in another part of the install order. The main component goes fairly early on- everything else much later. In fact, you can simply leave out the main component altogether while still using everything else or visa versa, but for sure the main component affects game items in its own particular way, so it is probably best to use it without other item changer mods. The main component does a large overhaul of general BG1 & 2 items, tweaking for game balance and character, while the rest of the components have interesting options like allowing spellcasting in armor with penalties or chance of failure. This mod also has a hotfix as of 3/2011.
  
  Level1NPCs
  If you like the NPCs but find their attribute points poorly distributed or would rather make, say, Jaheira a druid rather than fighter/druid, this mod makes it possible before you even meet the NPC in the game. There is also a component that enables you to open weapons proficiencies to all classes. BG's proficiency system is a very arbitrary, heavy-handed attempt at maintaining game balance between the classes- forcing clerics to not wield swords, preventing thieves from using longbows, etc.- and this is a chance to open that up. Note that as of 3/2011 this mod has a number of bugs, so the proficiency system doesn't work entirely well, and NPCs cannot be given all classes even though the option is there. Nevertheless smaller changes do work, and it is a popular mod.
  
  Ashes of Embers
  There are a few components that constitute this mod, but the main one that the mod is used for is one that opens up proficiency options for all classes as the component in Level1NPCs. It does it in a different way (which I msyelf can't explain) and may be less bugged than Level1NPCs' version as well.
  
  Unfinished Business for BG1
  My experience with BG2 is too limited to say anything about UB for BG2, but this mod does add a number of quests both amusing and interesting to the BG1 world, particularly the earliest chapters, ostensibly modeled on content that was originally designed for the game anyway by the developers but left out in the release. It tends to shovel a lot of extra XP into one's coffer, however, so be forewarned.
  
  Generalized Biffing
  I'm not certain that this is doing my game much good, but it has had proven results with others, and it's a good idea regardless. Essentially it just enables your game to function more smoothly by compressing sections that otherwise get pored over constantly in-game, potentially causing game slow-down. There is also an option to use it on your entire game, but since the mod was created by thebigg, and the install recommendation for a partial compression is also made by thebigg, I figured I'd do the partial.
  
  TutuGUI
  Although it's got "Tutu" in the title, it works for either Tutu or BGT. If you use either Tutu or BGT you'll end up having the same game screen appearance and format as BG2- i.e., the brown window surrounds with the snaking vine-like decor. I prefer the original gray stone look, and this mod lets you retain it while using Tutu or BGT. There are other mods that create different GUI appearances, but TutuGUI is specifically for retaining the semblance of BG1.
  

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• Bhryaen Member Posts: 2,874

  August 2012 edited August 2012

  Building and Using a Batcher
  
  I've attempted previously to offer modding suggestions that make the reinstall process easier. There is another one which suttree introduced me to as well that requires a bit of preliminary work but which can help immensely toward simplification and time-reduction during the install process: batching. There is a webpage by ronin that explains the process here, but I found that there is more to the process than mentioned there, so I'd rather do my own explaining.
  
  Every time you start a new round of modding BG from scratch, you have to go through each mod install one by one. This means you end up seeing command prompt after command prompt, selecting between the same components that you already did in an earlier install, and it gets tedious and time-consuming, especially when you're going to select almost the same components every time anyway. The batcher enables you to open a single command prompt only and- ostensibly anyway- click start and simply watch the process be done for you. All the mods on the batcher's list will be installed automatically. It doesn't increase the speed of installs, but it shortens the time significantly because you no longer have to keep clicking "setup-[mod name].exe"'s and sorting through components one by one. For me this is a dramatic improvement since it reduces the process to a mere wait on an automated process rather than a lot of bother with reading through and selecting components.
  
  To create a batcher file you simply create a regular .txt file (from Notepad, EditPad, etc.) and then replace the ".txt" suffix with ".bat". You'll be prompted with a warning about changing extensions, but just click ok. You can name the file anything, but since it tends to be used in conjunction with the WeiDU.log, I find naming it "WeiDU Batcher" puts the file where I can find and work with it most easily. (The "W" tends to put it right at the bottom of the folder next to WeiDU.) Keep in mind that a .bat file starts the install process when you double click it, so avoid doing so until you're actually ready to run it. In order to get into the .bat for editting you instead need to right-click it and scroll down the menu to "edit."
  
  The ronin .bat has an elaborate initial section but it's all for show. All you need to include in the .bat initially is, first, a title line (which is actually also optional) that gets ignored by the install function by using "rem" at the start of the line; and, secondly, a "pause." The pause creates a prompt at the installation command prompt that asks "Hit any key to continue" or some such. Having one is important because you may end up double-clicking the .bat by accident after all and starting the .bat installation run before you want to- or in a location you didn't want. The preliminary pause gives you the chance to abort the process before it starts the actual installation.
  
  The next section of a .bat is simply a list of every mod you're going to use in the order of installation, mentioning after every mod exactly which components you want it to install, separating each component number by a space. To populate the list you will need to consult the WeiDU.log you created when you made your first install. Thus you can't really populate a .bat file until you've already gone through the "setup-[mod name].exe" installs one by one at least once. Actually you could look off of the WeiDU.logs of others who have posted them since many mod component entries in those logs include a title and/or description that can identify the one you're looking for. Allegedly you could also look into the .tp2 file in case the modder included component numbers there somewhere, but I haven't been able to verify that, and the process may be even more time-consuming that way. The easiest process for me has been simply to install by the usual laborious method all the mod components I'll ever want once in order to generate the WeiDU.log list that ennumerates each component. Then I just use the populated WeiDU.log to obtain the component numbers found there.
  
  To demonstrate, here is an example of a WeiDU.log after installing components of the mods Rogue Rebalancing, aTweaks, and some One Pixel Productions mods:
  
  
  // Log of Currently Installed WeiDU Mods
  // The top of the file is the 'oldest' mod
  // ~TP2_File~ #language_number #component_number // [Subcomponent Name -> ] Component Name [ : Version]
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #0 // Proper dual-wielding implementation for Thieves and Bards: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #1 // Thief kit revisions: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #2 // Thief High Level Ability revisions: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #3 // Proper racial adjustments for thieving skills: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #4 // Bard kit revisions: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #5 // Bard High Level Ability revisions: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #6 // Proper spell progression for Bards: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #7 // Additional equipment for Thieves and Bards: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #8 // Upgradeable Equipment: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #9 // Revised Thievery -> Use PnP thievery potions and prevent their effects from stacking: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #11 // Chosen of Cyric encounter: v4.40
  ~RR/SETUP-RR.TP2~ #0 #12 // Shadow Thief Improvements: v4.40
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #100 // Restore innate infravision to Half-Orc characters: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #101 // Prevent skeletal undead from being affected by Illithids' Devour Brain attack: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #115 // Allow Mages to scribe memorized spells onto scrolls -> Scrolls can be scribed everywhere: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #120 // Restore innate disease immunity to Paladins: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #125 // Rangers' Animal Empathy improves with experience: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #200 // Allow Breach to take down Stoneskin effects applied by items: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #201 // Instant casting for warrior innates: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #202 // Revised Bhaalpowers -> Enhance the Bhaalpowers and standardize their casting time: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #212 // Make alignment detection spells more accurate: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #218 // Regain Bhaalpowers in ToB: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #262 // Altered XP rewards from locks, traps and scrolls -> No XP rewards from locks, traps and scrolls: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #301 // Change the appearance of Valygar's armor: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #302 // Change the appearance of the Robe of Vecna: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #303 // Give Shambling Mounds their proper soundset: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #304 // Give Mariliths their Icewind Dale soundset: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #310 // Distinctive creature coloring: v3.30
  ~ATWEAKS/SETUP-ATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #600 // Expanded temple services: v3.30
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #0 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female elves w. leather armour [EFB2]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #1 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female elves w. chain mail [EFB3]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #2 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female elven cleric w. plate armour [EFC4]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #3 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female elven fighter w. plate armour [EFF4]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #4 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female human unarmoured [HFB1]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #5 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female human w. leather armour [HFB2]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #6 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female human w. chain mail [HFB3]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #7 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female human cleric w. plate mail [HFC4]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #8 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female human fighter w. plate mail [HFF4]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #9 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female human unarmoured mage [HFW1]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #10 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * female human mage w. light robe [HFW2]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #11 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * fixed halfling progression [IFB1, IFB2, IFB3]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #12 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * fix frame error on cleric plate [IFC4]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #13 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * dwarves w. chain mail [DMB3]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #14 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * male elves w. chain mail [EMB3]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #15 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * male human w. leather armour [HMB2]
  ~1PP_AVATARS/SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.TP2~ #0 #16 // 1PP: Avatar fixes * male human w. chain mail [HMB3]
  ~1PP_FEMALE_DWARVES/SETUP-1PP_FEMALE_DWARVES.TP2~ #0 #0 // Separate Avatars for Female Dwarves -> Separate Avatars for Female Dwarves - Baldur's Gate II
  ~1PP_THIEVES_GALORE/SETUP-1PP_THIEVES_GALORE.TP2~ #0 #1 // 1ppv3: Unique Thief Avatars (patch) -> BGII - Unique Thief Avatars (patch)
  ~1PP_THIEVES_GALORE/SETUP-1PP_THIEVES_GALORE.TP2~ #0 #2 // 1ppv3: Unique Thief Avatars (content)
  ~1PP_THIEVES_GALORE/SETUP-1PP_THIEVES_GALORE.TP2~ #0 #3 // 1ppv3: Improved Improved Galactygon's Avatar Switching
  
  
  
  This is a lot of information, but it breaks down a lot more easily into .bat format. You'll need to know how the "SETUP-[mod name designation]" is written because you'll be transferring that addressing exactly to the .bat in order to direct the .bat properly to the given mods. In this example you'd need to know that "RR" is what Rogue Rebalancing uses, "ATWEAKS" is for aTweaks, and "1PP_[whatever]" for all the different One Pixel Productions mods...
  
  The first "#" number that appears after the .tp2 designation refers to the language you choose during the command prompt install- and in this case 0 = English. Unfortunately there is no universal numbering system between mods other than- it would seem- the 0 for English. One mod might designate #1 for Polish while another makes Swahili #1 and instead designates Polish as #2, so it will depend on the mod, but regardless that information is still transferrable to the .bat.
  
  The second "#" number is the component number, and after that you see the name and sometimes description of the component so you can identify them properly, though that is there superfluously and does not go into constructing a .bat format.
  
  And that's all the information you'll need. The .bat text to auto-install all of the above-mentioned mod components of that WeiDU.log becomes:
  
  
  
  
  
  pause
  SETUP-RR.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12
  SETUP-ATWEAKS.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 100 101 115 120 125 200 201 202 218 212 301 302 303 304 310 600
  SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
  SETUP-1PP_FEMALE_DWARVES.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 0
  SETUP-1PP_THIEVES_GALORE.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 1 2 3
  
  
  
  And that's it. To install it after deciding to do a re-install, all you need to do is create and save the .bat as described above, copy-paste the .bat in a separate folder (I have a "Batching" folder) or even the "Mod Collection" folder, save the WeiDU.log elsewhere also (for which I have yet another folder called "WeiDU Logs") so that you'll have it for future reference regarding component information, do the complete deletion and copy-pasting again for the main game folder (and "Mod Collection" folder), place the .bat in the fully-restored and mod-packed game folder (where it will be able to find the "setup-[mod name].exe" for each mod listed as well as the dialog.tlk of the game for those .exe's to be able to function), double-click the .bat to get it going, and this time hit any key to start the install.
  
  But what if you want to remove something from your chosen mods? If from my .bat example you later decide that you'd rather not, say, make alignment detection spells more accurate, you can go back to your old WeiDU.log and search through to find that it was an aTweaks component: #212. In your .bat you simply delete the "212" after the aTweaks section, save it as such, and voila, no more accuracy in alignment detection the next time you use that .bat for an install.
  
  Another issue that arises is that you might have left out components in your original install that you now want in your .bat list- or a modder may even include a new component in a newly released version of their mod (as DavidW just did with SCS I). In that case, of course, those components won't show up in your WeiDU.log, so you won't know the component number to insert into your .bat. For this situation I use a sort of cheat by creating (alas) yet another folder called "BG2 Experimentation" into which I copy-paste another BG2 clone. Then I install into that unused BG2 whatever single mod I want to test, skipping all other components. The WeiDU.log for the "Mod Experimentation" folder will now show the information I need for that new component and I can just go to the relevant section of the .bat- in this case the SCS I section- and add that one number.
  
  If after investigation I found that I'd left out a component of aTweaks that I'd wanted after all, for instance, and it turned out to be component #305 (perhaps finding it from my initial comprehensive WeiDU.log), I would then just edit the .bat to have a "305" after the "304." It's not necessary to put the components in order, mind you, but it's best to stay on the safe side since, again, components like mods installed in the wrong order have a tendency to overwrite essential content and can produce bugginess and crashes. This is not always the case, but there is often a specific coding or function reason why a modder will present their material in the order that they do.
  
  Speaking of component order, it is also possible to construct the .bat to install single components from a mod to be installed at different times during the process. If , for instance, you want to install the aTweaks' change of the appearance of Vecna's Robe and Valygar's armor after all the One Pixel Productions installations, the .bat would instead look like this, simply moving components #301 and 302 ahead to the end:
  
  
  
  
  
  pause
  SETUP-RR.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12
  SETUP-ATWEAKS.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 100 101 115 120 125 200 201 202 218 212 303 304 310 600
  SETUP-1PP_AVATARS.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
  SETUP-1PP_FEMALE_DWARVES.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 0
  SETUP-1PP_THIEVES_GALORE.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 1 2 3
  SETUP-ATWEAKS.EXE --language 0 --skip-at-view --force-install-list 301 302
  
  
  
  Generally you'll install all a mod's components in one go, but there are a few mods that are better installed with one or more of the components coming before other mods, and one or more coming after the same other mods. Item Revisions was one example mentioned earlier, but there are a couple more I've also experimented with differently through a .bat order change.
  
  Again, it's a bother to alter a .bat, but it's a lot less bother than working through every single mod's command prompt and components in your install over and over each time you reinstall the game with new modding, especially if you only wanted a single new mod or component anyway.
  
  Now, as to be expected, there is a complication. The line "--skip-at-view" is intended to tell the mod installer to skip the automatic opening of the mod's readme before installation of the mod. In most cases it works, but for a number of mods, especially a slew of older mods that add new NPCs to the game, the opening of the readme isn't an option and will come at the end of the installation of the mod anyway. The ones that force open their readme with a web link simply create a nuisance by force-opening a new browser tab or window, and you then have to close it, but at least they don't halt the .bat's installation when they do it. But the mods that open their readme in .txt document format do halt the .bat's installation, and you have to close that readme document in order for the .bat to resume the installation. I've not determined any way to bypass that bother, but fortunately those mods aren't the majority, and really it's only a minor nuisance.
  
  Other mods will halt the .bat's progress for other reasons, typically by prompting you for something that cannot be pre-coded into the .bat (at least as far as I can determine with my skimpy experience in the matter). Examples of this would be (but not limited to) the prompt that BGT gives for you to identify in what directory your BG1 game folder is, the selection of timers for delays between dialogue interjections by NPCs in BG1NPCProject and Gavin BG1 NPC, the poor component delivery and NPC attribute assignment in Level1NPCs, the designation of specific screen dimensions in Widescreen, and needlessly for all prompts in Generalized Biffing. In all those cases the .bat installation will indeed halt, and you will have to key in the proper response(s) every installation in order to get the .bat going again at that juncture.
  
  I simply think of how intensive each installation was having to key in every single component- and how I can now go make popcorn or even post on the Bioware Forum while I'm waiting for the bulk of the install to get to the next brief prompt. Instead of one long, involved delay where I pore through each choice I made, wrangling over numerous ones all over again, instead I have a less involved delay waiting for a readme close here or a command prompt selection there, and it all comes together in the proper order and as I'd wanted it automatically every time.
  
  
  Post script
  Just as a disclaimer, everything I've detailed above has been from my experience using a 3 yr old IBM clone PC with Windows Vista. Your system may have all sorts of different experiences with it. You may also know ways around the issues I've experienced.

  1
• Dazzu Member Posts: 950

  August 2012

  When all is said and done, why can't Beamdog just release a program that DOESN'T require 5 posts worth of reading to even think of getting started for the average Joe.
  
  Not to rag on you, I'm not I swear.

  0
• Bhryaen Member Posts: 2,874

  August 2012

  @Dazzu
  That's not from Beamdog. That's from me... and unfortunately I can't seem to keep myself from being wordy... If you want the bare-bones approach, just stick to the first post, but note that a lot of it will be incongruous with modding BGEE. Still, it gives a decent sense.

  0
• Dazzu Member Posts: 950

  August 2012

  I never said it was from them. I was going on a slightly off topic tirade. I apologize for that.

  0