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will BGEE make modding for the first part of the series more popular?

Son_of_ImoenSon_of_Imoen Member Posts: 1,806
edited July 2012 in General Modding
One thing that has allways had me wondering, being a great fan of Tutu (not the bishop, yeah, the bishop too, but also the mod thats makes you play BG1 in the BG2 engine), is how little content mod there is:

1. (my most important point): there's many good quality NPC-mods to choose from for BG2. For BG1, there's only 2 high-quality mod-NPC's that you can pick for your game: Finch and Gavin.

2. there's little fan-made quests for Tutu. The only things I found so far to have decent quality, is the 4 mini-quests added by the Iron Modder competition around the theme 'A rain of tears' and the Sirine's Call mini-quest. I found Secret of Bonehill to be unbalancing, the Drizzt Saga is unbalancing too, the Stone of Askavar badly written, my hopes are for the Grey Clan Episode 1 now, I'm about to try it out, once my characters are experienced enough to deal with it. Compared with BG2 extra content, it's few. Sure, there's Dark Horizons, a very big mod, but it adds such a lot of overpowered items in the early part of the game, it completely breaks it.

Why is there so little interest in BG1 (or Tutu, or BGT part 1) modding. And will it be justified to hope for a revival of modding for the first part of the game, now that a much better out-of-the-box BG1 engine will get available, with inspiring new content as a bonus?

mch202Cuv
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Comments

  • PaladinPaladin Member Posts: 335
    I agree that there are less mods out there for BG than BG:2. At this point, we can only really hope that modders will flock back to this title. From what I understand, the enhanced edition should clean things up to make modding easier. Optimistically, I'll say yes.
  • WardWard Member Posts: 1,305
    edited July 2012
    I found The Secret of Bone Hill very unclean. There are entire maps crammed with copy-pasted area graphics and then other areas that are grass half the way, not to mention bugs.

    I really did try to enjoy it but it just needs a lot of work to feel 'done'. I hope it continues to be made.

    Unfortunately most quest mods need the World Map, and I hate the World Map mod. I like the regular Tutu/Vanilla map.

    Overall I'd say there's not a lot of BG1 content and what IS available could use some work.

    In relation to Sirine's Call, fantastic mod. The only problem is that the areas they used for the lighthouse buildings are ripped from IWD and very poor quality. Not good to look at.
  • mch202mch202 Member Posts: 1,455
    HUGE Agree on that one!

    While people always point out that there are mods for free so why bother with bg:ee, they forget that there aren't alot of mods for to BG1, least to say new ones. the last of the quest related mod is from 2009 - over 3 years ago - and maybe Dsotsc which its last update is from 2010, and its not a new mod anyway.

    I hope we will see more new and quality mods specifically for BG1.
    WardNWN_babaYagagereyGodKaiserHell
  • WardWard Member Posts: 1,305
    @mch202

    NTotSC and DSotSC don't even work on EasyTutu! That's the other problem, what little mods there are for BG1, half of them need BGT.

    I'll be happy when BG:EE destroys the EasyTutu/BGT conflicts and everything is made to work with ONE.
    mch202
  • cmorgancmorgan Member Posts: 707
    Short answer -


    yes.
    WardAvenger_teambgGodKaiserHellMoira
  • WispWisp Member Posts: 1,102
    @Ward
    More likely, what will happen is that we will have THREE.
    lansounet
  • ZafiroZafiro Member Posts: 436
    @Ward, please don't say you "hate" the Worldmap mod, thats just wrong.
  • NWN_babaYagaNWN_babaYaga Member Posts: 732
    edited July 2012
    I hope there will be more mods in terms of new visible content. I give a f*** about romances and want to adventure rather then marry a NPC. I remember my P&P sessions were only about exploration, loot and tactical fights...
    mch202
  • lansounetlansounet Member Posts: 1,182
    @Ward If you don't like re-used areas then don't even try DS/NTotSC. And nothing will destroy BGT/Tutu, many people will keep playing them rather that EE stuff (especially BGT until there is a BGT:EE if that happens). And what's wrong about the worldmap map?
    Ward
  • Son_of_ImoenSon_of_Imoen Member Posts: 1,806
    cmorgan said:

    Short answer -


    yes.

    A positive answer from someone who's so much involved in the modding community is surely a good sign!

    Are there any ideas already brewing in the modding community you could give a long answer about, or is it too early yet?

  • jcomptonjcompton Member Posts: 157
    Modding tends to follow supply (is this game moddable?) and demand (are people playing this game and demanding more content?)

    BGEE would seem to expand both supply (by being easier to mod than BG1--but read on) and demand (by rekindling interest in BG1.)

    Caveat: We have no idea whether, or how, iOS and Android versions would be moddable. Compiling WeiDU for those platforms would appear to be "doable, with a moderate amount of effort," and I'm sure the kinds of people who have worked on multi-mod installers would work on solving the interface problem for those devices. However, "here is an independent program whose sole purpose is to modify another program on your device!" is exactly the sort of thing Apple does *not* allow people to do, as a rule. So if the BGEE market is totally dominated by iOS downloads... we'll see what happens, I guess.
    Moira
  • DazzuDazzu Member Posts: 950
    How dare nobody mention Murneth and Indira when talking BG1/Tutu NPCs. While nobody can hold a Candle(keep) to Finch, they come close and ahead of most BG2 mods and well ahead of them if they're graded on a curve.
  • lansounetlansounet Member Posts: 1,182
    I love Finch, hopefully they un-hardcode the identification stuff so she can have custom glasses without touching the regular glasses of identification. Indira I've met her several times hanging with her kobolds buddies but never took her as I usually play a fighter/mage so she's redundant ;p And Murneth Ghaunadaur kit seemed a bit OP at first glance so he never stayed in party more than a few minutes but I'm sure they're good to!
  • DazzuDazzu Member Posts: 950
    The thing about Murneth in this mode as that Ghaunadite could instead of being a kit, could hopefully with modding in EE be his actual race instead. That'd probably help balance him out.
  • Son_of_ImoenSon_of_Imoen Member Posts: 1,806
    I liked Indira, but she had no banter with other npc's. Might be a bug, but a bug causing an npc not to banter, gives the npc's name-mention place away to Finch, with whom I've never had bugs. Plus the soundset had some really loud squeaky microphone sounds. Hope those things can be fixed, I liked her as a character.
  • WardWard Member Posts: 1,305
    edited July 2012
    lansounet said:

    @Ward If you don't like re-used areas then don't even try DS/NTotSC.

    It'd be a big ask to create entirely new areas. I thought it was very clever to take the individual pieces of tilesets they wanted and putting them into a fresh map. Whatever they did to extract those files in Near Infinity into an edible image, I wish I knew.

    But the only downside is, copy-pasting existing graphics to make these new areas makes it feel wrong. The landscapes are hand drawn and so they look natural, but when you take bits out of context from their surroundings it doesn't feel right anymore and you can see the differences then.

    Well I don't know what's possible because I don't know how to make new maps, but there are a number of ways I can think of to make these pieces of landscape they borrow feel more natural in the setting. It depends on the limitations of whatever file format these images are in though. I can't unlock them in the first place.
    lansounet said:

    @Ward And nothing will destroy BGT/Tutu, many people will keep playing them rather that EE stuff (especially BGT until there is a BGT:EE if that happens).

    That's a good point man. What I meant was BGT/Tutu won't have to be a choice for me anymore (assuming BG:EE isn't too horrible. :P). Even if BG:EE superceeds BGT/Tutu in everyway, they will still be useful as I'm sure a lot of mods won't make it over to BG:EE.
    lansounet said:

    @Ward And what's wrong about the worldmap map?

    Again, it's a clever concept. But I just find the whole thing unnecessary and difficult. Not only is the image compressed in order to justify it's size (you can visibly see the artifacts in game), but you would never use a world map for such an area.

    A world map is just overkill, you can't focus on the actual game area because there's too much around. Your ability to scroll the map and enjoy the work the creator did is limited due to the clunky scrolling movement (not the fault of creator).

    I just think that these new areas should of been added to the existing map, or that it should have been expanded a little.

  • WispWisp Member Posts: 1,102
    @Ward
    It would be possible to put out a HD edition of the map. It would just be a lot of work producing MOS files for 7 languages, with two map sizes for each language.
  • ArdanisArdanis Member Posts: 1,736
    cmorgan said:


    I can say for sure that I have always wanted a human female paladin friend for my male PC to travel with; a childhood friend, someone more grounded in law and order than Imoen... who would give me a story sense of just how far from normal a Bhaalspawn's choices take < PRO_HIMHER > . So, I can say for sure that I will be messing about trying to create one.

    Two months ago I began a BGT playthrough and found there was no romance option whatsoever for BG1 part, short of BG1NPC mod. And the fact there was no BG1+BG2 NPC mod, short of Gavin. So I told myself, if you want something done, you have to do it yourself.
    And so I have found it very amusing that BGEE will ship Neera, essentially rendering my idea pointless. Though one can never know.
    lansounet said:

    And nothing will destroy BGT/Tutu, many people will keep playing them rather that EE stuff (especially BGT until there is a BGT:EE if that happens).

    BGEE at least will finally destroy the Tutu, which is always a good thing. Agreed about BGT though.
  • bifflechipsbifflechips Member Posts: 2
    With the release of this game coming up, and my interest in the BG series coming again, I would be very interested in seeing how easy it is to mod the game. I had always wanted to write up and mod an NPC mod, but the amount of work involved in things I didn't understand years before always held me back. I've already been pondering on NPCs people might want to see.
  • PaheejPaheej Member Posts: 126
    @bifflechips
    I feel that the amount of documentation at Pocket Plane Group is incredible and can get you started on a mod easily. If writing is your strongpoint you should maybe go around and see if you could get a coder/scripter to work with you to implement it.
  • cmorgancmorgan Member Posts: 707
    PPG, SHS, and G3 all have folks willing to help - and plenty of tutorials. It can be lots of fun...
  • NWN_babaYagaNWN_babaYaga Member Posts: 732
    The hardest or most time consuming part to me is the visible custom content. W/o a real 3d integration which is what we modelers learned since yumyumyum some guys may just say " no thanks". Realy depends on how dedicated someone is.
  • lansounetlansounet Member Posts: 1,182
    Ardanis said:

    BGEE at least will finally destroy the Tutu, which is always a good thing. Agreed about BGT though.

    Well yeh it will replace it in the long run. It's just that some people may want to stick to their old versions; because their favourite mod has been abandoned for a while and not one was available to update them, or other reasons~
    I put Finch and Gavin up there in my list of mods I would like to play in EE

    Eventually we will see a BGT:EE (I already hear screams of horror at that thought)
  • lansounetlansounet Member Posts: 1,182
    I'm so used to BG1NPC and BGQE that they slipped my mind... Of course they are up there as well. And UB and many others...
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    @cmorgan
    What do the Dorner dialog fixes and extensions do what BG:EE does not?
    Great to hear about the BG1 NPC Project not being ignored when EE comes out, it's such a great mod. Mandatory on any playthrough of BG1 I do.
  • cmorgancmorgan Member Posts: 707
    @Drugar- Baldurdash has Kevin Dorner's text fixes, changes, additions, and overhaul. I don't know the full extent, but it is in the same status as a mod; some folks love it and some folks don't. Macready built EasyTutu on a Baldurdashed install; I am not sure but I think Ascension64's BGT was built on a clean one, if you want to see the difference. Otherwise, you can always add it to your BG game and then install Tutu v4.
    Drugar
  • CamDawgCamDawg Member, Developer Posts: 3,438
    Drugar said:

    @cmorgan
    What do the Dorner dialog fixes and extensions do what BG:EE does not?
    Great to hear about the BG1 NPC Project not being ignored when EE comes out, it's such a great mod. Mandatory on any playthrough of BG1 I do.

    Amongst some good changes, the BG1 Baldurdash game text update also adds some less than good changes in the form of hints to find the diamond in the tree outside of Candlekeep and the Ring of Wizardry at FAI.
  • KerozevokKerozevok Member Posts: 695
    Revival of modding ? Most of the players will buy BGEE, because it's "difficult" to install the mods (BGT/TobEx/1PP/Widescreen..), it is not for create them.

    The code of BGEE is more clean ? And ? Which will be the difference for create a quest mod ?... None. Create a quest mod for BG is no more difficult than create a quest mod for NWN/TES.

    The difference is that with NWN/TES when you finish your mod, you just need click on the "save" button for export it. For the BG, you need to know the weidu langage for export it.

    Since the begin, the problem of modding for the IE games is to find a easy way to export the mods and the problem will still the same with BGEE.
    Grieg
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