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[obsolete] Big World Setup (BWS): Mod Manager for Baldur's Gate / Enhanced Edition (Trilogy)

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  • JustLeftJustLeft Member Posts: 76
    edited June 2016
    Is there any mirror site to download mods from? BWS can't finish because several mods can't be downloaded.

    There used to be this http://www.camagna.net/g3mirror/g3_emergency_mirror.html but no longer works.
    Post edited by JustLeft on
  • Xeno426Xeno426 Member Posts: 38
    edited July 2016
    @JustLeft People have been posting mirrors here:
    https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/59969/canr-reach-gibbering3-net/p1

    I've noticed some mods don't provide all options in the GUI for BG1EE. For instance, Divine Remix in BWS doesn't have any options to remove cleric/ranger/paladin/druid kits, and the Kitpack doesn't show any options for changing NPC kits nor does it show any of the new kits (Mystra, Technician, Mindwarden, etc); all it shows are the "Update default [cleric diety] kit?".

    Is there a way I can manually fix this?
    Post edited by Xeno426 on
  • AbelAbel Member Posts: 785
    edited July 2016
    Impressive tool! Not only listing all known mods, also checking for conflicts! You've done a great service to this community and deserve praise! No more manual setups! Instant favorite! Great job!

    Edit: nitpicking but if description for individual components could be displayed in the window that would make mod selection even easier.
    StoneSwordsFreakydoo
  • clw12clw12 Member Posts: 1
    how do i uninstall mods so i can start over? i used this to install mods about a year ago, but haven't had much time to play. i want to start over and use a different load out but i don't know how to uninstall the previous mods i used.
  • GrimLefourbeGrimLefourbe Member Posts: 637
    As EET draws near, is there any update on EET's integration into BWS?
  • MasterChefMasterChef Member Posts: 43
    Not sure if this is the best place to post this, but the installer seems to freeze up for me during the mod-downloading stage at the beginning of the install. The green progress bar just seems to hang. Is anyone else having this issue?
  • thedonkeymanthedonkeyman Member Posts: 5
    Yep, I got the same thing. It's weird - I used it to mod PST on the same day, which worked fine, but BG2EE just stops when downloading. Finishes all the downloads, then just... sits there, with the bar part full.
  • thedonkeymanthedonkeyman Member Posts: 5
    Must be a problem with an individual (or a few) mods - I tried with just the Recommended mods and it all went fine.
  • thedonkeymanthedonkeyman Member Posts: 5
    Solved! It's Ascension. Remove that and it all works fine.
  • ALIENALIEN Member Posts: 1,270
    @thedonkeyman Fixed, please update BWS
  • JonnecyJonnecy Member Posts: 56
    edited August 2016
    I am a bit confused. How do I install EET (not the fixes/tweaks) with this ? Do I have to install it manually prior to using BWS ?

    Edit: do we have an ETA for when EET and its compatible mods are going to get integrated into BWS ?
    Post edited by Jonnecy on
  • DoubledimasDoubledimas Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,286
    edited August 2016
    @Jonnecy That will probably happen when EET hits v1.0. However, reaching that depends on several other factors so it might take a while. See http://gibberlings3.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=28161&page=1
  • Gorion88Gorion88 Member Posts: 10
    edited September 2016
    Hey all, kinda new here, and just wanted to echo what others have said that I am incredibly excited for the possibility of playing all the games as one go via EET.

    Keep up the amazing work. :)
  • killbotviikillbotvii Member Posts: 1
    How come every single mod download fails? Downloads will just sit there and then eventually turn red.
  • EvernexEvernex Member Posts: 5
    Question for everyone here. I used the BWS tool before and it has worked awesome. Recently wanted to try a different selection of mods. So I updated it and now when I run the tool, it is using a batch installer or something and doesn't allow me to select individual components for installation. Is there a way to disable this or select individual components for each mod (for example with some of the tweak mods you could select which tweaks you wanted and which you didn't)? Really hoping for some help here. Thanks.
  • So_LoWSo_LoW Member Posts: 62
    edited September 2016
    @Evernex

    sounds to me like you selected BWP install.bat only from the dropdown menu. Go back in BWS screen and select what you need.

  • amugabaamugaba Member Posts: 3
    Has anyone installed Big Picture using this tool? I never see anyone talking about it on these forums.

    I notice it's split into multiple sections under Big Mods, Tactical Encounters, and Artificial Intelligence. Are any of these parts compatible or worthwhile if I'm installing SCS, Ascension, other quest mods, and various tweaks?
  • amugabaamugaba Member Posts: 3
    Has anyone installed Big Picture using this tool? I never see anyone talking about it on these forums.

    I notice it's split into multiple sections under Big Mods, Tactical Encounters, and Artificial Intelligence. Are any of these parts compatible or worthwhile if I'm installing SCS, Ascension, other quest mods, and various tweaks?
  • VadrielVadriel Member Posts: 20
    Any word on when trilogy mod is going to be officially supported? Been meaning to try another play through for the first time in a few years with SoD installed but have been holding off to see if I can play it as one continuous experience. Thanks
  • DeltharisDeltharis Member Posts: 124
    @Vadriel I would guess that some time after EET has an official release.
  • BarachielBarachiel Member Posts: 82
    Okay, I know this can't install EET or anything like that. But can i use it to safely mod an already EET'ed installation? I applied some of the okayed mods for BGEE, ran EET-Setup, and everything looks good to go. Can i run BWP now, select the BG2EE/EET option and safely do a minimal or recommended install, or am I better off not and modding manually?
  • MirandelMirandel Member Posts: 526
    Barachiel said:

    Okay, I know this can't install EET or anything like that. But can i use it to safely mod an already EET'ed installation? I applied some of the okayed mods for BGEE, ran EET-Setup, and everything looks good to go. Can i run BWP now, select the BG2EE/EET option and safely do a minimal or recommended install, or am I better off not and modding manually?

    I suspect it simply would not allow you to do so. At least when I tried to install some mods on EET with this tool, it refused because "installation is not clean".
  • CanesCanes Member Posts: 29
    Quick question. If a mod gets updated in BWS, how do I get the game files updated as well? Do I have to restore and install everything up from scratch?
  • agb1agb1 Member Posts: 249
    @Canes - BG mods are like layers on a cake. If you want to change the lower layers (mods installed earlier), you have to peel off the upper layers first. It's hard to put the upper layers back on afterwards in exactly the same way (WeiDU tries but often fails). Even uninstalling the last mod in the stack (the bottom line in WeiDU.log) sometimes doesn't work right, leaving left-over partially modified files in your override folder or extra strings in your dialog.tlk. So unless you know how to verify that an uninstall worked correctly and have your own manually backed-up copies of all of the affected files in case it doesn't, I don't recommend ever uninstalling mods from an installation you plan to continue using.

    While you are in the middle of a game, if you run into problems, you can use the Near Infinity tool to manually edit the "final" versions of game resource files to solve any errors. You can compare files between your version and a newer version of a mod to see what changed, and apply those changes by hand, but there isn't a safe automated way to update a mod in-place.
  • CanesCanes Member Posts: 29
    edited November 2016
    But I thought BWS does away with manual mod order and conflicts and compatibility is resolved automatically for you. Isn't that why we have the recommended pre-set?
    So every time I run BWS - Update if needed (that updates mods too), or just re-install the same selection-set with BWS, I have to start a new game?
  • agb1agb1 Member Posts: 249
    BWS does not touch your game folder except when it is doing an installation (you clicked the final "continue" button and it started download checks etc.).

    If you restart BWS in the middle of an installation-in-progress, you are safest using the "without update" version.

    At any other time it is safe to use "update if needed" - what that does is update BWS' internal data files. Updating BWS does not do anything to mods directly.

    BWS' internal data files include:

    - information about each mod, like the description, latest download link, the components, dependencies and conflicts
    - best known install order for compatibility (you do not want the order to change in the middle of an installation-in-prog

    Most of that info has to be updated by hand (by me or ALIEN) and then all of the users get our updates automatically when they next start BWS using "update if needed."

    BWS automates the manual process of downloading and unpacking and installing, and it applies the latest community patches, but it doesn't change the fundamental limitations of WeiDU, the patching system that 99% of mods are built with. WeiDU is the cause of the cake layers analogy and is the reason why uninstalling or reinstalling is risky.
  • CanesCanes Member Posts: 29
    edited November 2016
    Okay, I think I almost understood what you're trying to say overall. So BWS doesn't do any automatic mod order and doesn't resolve conflicts? The Recommended pre-set it's there just because it's theoretically safe to install those mods together, but were't exactly tested -- or something like that?
    And also BWS doesn't update mods per-se, just the links to a newer mod version.

    That still leaves me with my original question unanswered, but now I'm even more confused than before.
    How do I go about updating mods that BWS already installed, remove the whole thing (restore) and start from scratch?
    And then pray to the mod-god that my saves will work. -- something, something.

    If only I knew what WeiDU was.

    Is there any newbie guide or documentation where I can read more on BWS and what it exactly does and doesn't, what's the point of pre-sets (minimum, recommended, tactical, expert etc.) and what does it do about potential conflicts?
    Because everything I've found so far is either extremely outdated or generally expected of the user to know everything about Baldur's Gate modding and be up-to-date with current events and analogies, which is pretty unrealistic
  • CanesCanes Member Posts: 29
    edited November 2016
    Actually, maybe I should ask this first:
    Being a newcomer to Baldur's Gate (having never played the games before, even the originals), can I just download BWS, select the recommended (not minimum or tactical) profile, Install the mods associated with said profile and expect everything to play nice under the latest Enhanced Edition of BG I (and maybe later BG II)? Without having to do anything else like debug, troubleshoot and/or expect crashes and weird behavior because of the mods conflicting with each other?

    Clean (vanilla) Baldur's Gate + Siege of Dragonspear, just download BWS, install all the mods associated with the recommended profile, then play without much fuss.
    Is that a realistic expectation, or did I somewhat misunderstood on the purpose of this utility?

    Thank you and apologies for all the questions.
  • CanesCanes Member Posts: 29
    Awesome explanation, thanks and I understand how BWS works now.
    lolien
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