@Khamill I would say in these type of worlds it can. As Kagain says "Only thing better than gold, is more gold"
I can't play vanilla BG anymore as I have grown far to use to the BG Trilogy and playing BG on ToB engine. I run loads of mods, SCS, BGTeaks, BG1NPC and a few other tweak packs. I dont have every option installed from tweak packs, only those I want. I have also modded some things myself. In my game Xan is a fighter/enchanter (Havent changed his stats at all), I modded Totemic druids so they dont start at low levels with a overpowered summon that can solo half the game... yawn. I modded a few other kits to tone them down at lower levels but left them unchanged from BG2 onwards (I hope BGEE does this as well else it will be crap).
My rules when I play -
1) I try to roleplay charname and joinable NPC's as much as possible. For example, Xzar being a necromancer will choose LMD over MM in level 1 slots, and will favour VT over Fireball etc at level 3 spells.
2) I don't fire spells into unseen areas where mobs are unless my character actually knows they are there.
3) I don't reload if I get a bad level up result. Dont understand people who do... variety makes the game fun and often challenging.
4) I always try to keep each party member unique in the weapon they use. I won't have 2 mages both with slings for example, i will have one with darts and another with sling etc.
5) I don't abuse bad AI, though that isn't much of a problem with SCS installed.
6) I don't cheese the game by collecting things and then restarting the game and importing the same guy again...
7) I try to make different party combos everytime I play - with BG1NPC installed it keeps the game fresh and fun. I will power my way to these NPC's if need be. Example getting to BG city asap if I want one of those NPC's before clearing all the zones.
Cant think of anything else. I do tend to spread the tomes out according to where it will benefit the party most. This I suppose goes hand in hand with RPing the party as much as possible. Your charname does not know the future and therefore cannot make decisions based on it. Thats how look at most things. So I will for example give Khalid my Manual of Health (Boosts him to 18) if he is in my party, my charname does not know he will die in BG2, so I cant make a decision on that.
I tend to add silly rules. Not dumping any stat, dualclassing Imoen on level 7 due to lore and not removing NPCs from the group are some of those.
As for cheating, my characters seems to be diviners on the side. Somehow they know what will be useful beforehand and have a distinct knack for finding easter eggs even though they have no reason to go looking. They also prepare for battle in appropriate ways before the enemies have been spotted.
The biggest cheat of all, which I'm perfectly fine with, is having a walkthrough or a previous game to think back on. You, the player, know that you're playing a paladin, so you needn't bother talking to Xzar, Eldoth, etc. You, the player, also know that you'll need a copy of "The Unicorn Run" so you pick one up on the way to Baldur's Gate north quadrant. And who seriously pretends that they don't know about the basilisks hanging around on the eastern edge of the map?
You do know what is coming. You build for it. Therefore, playing the game a second time IS cheating. So you might as well make life easier for yourself and smooth the way a bit. A game is meant to be fun, so have fun your way. Use ExploreArea() to open up that map of Beregost, and Ctrl-J to the south edge of the map. Walking it manually doesn't earn you anything.
The biggest cheat of all, which I'm perfectly fine with, is having a walkthrough or a previous game to think back on. You, the player, know that you're playing a paladin, so you needn't bother talking to Xzar, Eldoth, etc. You, the player, also know that you'll need a copy of "The Unicorn Run" so you pick one up on the way to Baldur's Gate north quadrant. And who seriously pretends that they don't know about the basilisks hanging around on the eastern edge of the map?
You do know what is coming. You build for it. Therefore, playing the game a second time IS cheating. So you might as well make life easier for yourself and smooth the way a bit. A game is meant to be fun, so have fun your way. Use ExploreArea() to open up that map of Beregost, and Ctrl-J to the south edge of the map. Walking it manually doesn't earn you anything.
There is no doubt this is true. I find some of the Tactics type mods to be very helpful in maintaining the challenge level given the foreknowledge. Those would be pretty much impossible on your first run through the game.
I don't consider removing the XP cap cheating, because once BG2er/BG1tutu existed, I felt it was no longer necessary. I've beaten BG1 many times with the cap in place, so it's not like I need the challenge it offers either.
I do use control-j sometimes. Never in active battlefield areas and only in town. The reason is that towns are painfully boring and sometimes the characters take forever to pathfind (or at least they used to take forever).
I do not do multiple playthroughs...mostly because it kinda bores me to kill the same stuff twice with the same character.
I never modify stats, but again I don't care if someone else does. The best character I rolled was a 100 ranger. And he had 18/00 strength....this is not a joke. I re-rolled about 100 hours to do this (over 50 calls with a long distance gf). That character was probably the only good thing to come of that relationship, lol.
I personally don't care about cheats. It's a single player game (at least I've always played it this way), there's no competition, no one to cheat. I really don't consider whatever anyone does cheating, but customization. I've played the vanilla game through various times without any changes but theese days I always have shadowkeeper/gatekeeper handy and several mods installed and there are pretty much always some things I want to change along the way.
That said, there's one thing only that is the fundamental premise of my use of cheats or mods and that's my fun. I know what I have fun with and what not and if there is a rule that I think detracts from my fun and I can change it, it's gone, plain and simple. For me, that means:
- I always have legit stats. I might take some time rolling them (nowhere near as some, though. I've never spent more than half an hour, I think) but I never edit them. I like to make the best out of the resources I'm given. Overcoming challanges and such, it's part of my fun.
- I never cheat in items or money, or experience or anything like that. Same reason here. I'm playing the game partly to get those things. The whole risk/reward thing and the experience of slowly growing and getting better is absolutely central to my fun in this kind of game.
- I always make the game harder by installing mods that increase tactical challanges and such. By now I've got a good enough grasp of the mechanics of the game that I can beat all the vanilla challenges easily. There are tactics that are just better than others and some things you can do that the AI just has no answer to. I don't like to limit myself to suboptimal tactics so as to keep the challenge up. As I've said, I like to make the best use of the resources I'm given, it's part of my fun.
Things I will use cheats for:
- If I like a certain NPC but don't like the class they are given, I'll change that. Xan is almost always a sorcerer in my games, Minsc is a barbarian, Khalid a Fighter/Mage and so on. I had Imoen as a Wild Mage or a Bard in various playthroughs, Mazzy a paladin, Viconia a Fighter/Cleric or a Cleric/Thief. I'll switch that around as it fits my party, never straying to far from the basic concept. I'll also switch basic stats and proficiencies for that, always staying with the sum total, though.
- If I want to play a character that's not legit because of some stupid arbitrary rule, I'll use shadowkeeper to do it anyway. I had a great time with my dwarf berserker/mage, for example.
- I'll sometimes switch proficiencies or sorcerer spells around if I feel the need for it. Also, I always have some mods installed that might be considered cheats because they make some aspects of the game a bit easier. Multi-class grand mastery for example. I've never understood why multi-classed fighters shouldn't be able to achieve grand mastery, it takes them longer, anyway. Again, basic rule here: I consider the rule arbitrary and not fun - it's gone, "game balance" (as if such a thing existed in DnD, anyway) be damned.
-never cheting on stats, only using legit rolls for it. -would feel bad having an e.g. 3-WIS Charname, so i try to make the stats realistic (although Charname is a Bhaalspawn, so his/her stats can be uber vs. NPCs) -i never clone any items (like stealing the rings of Gaxx or Ram and then getting it from the corpses...) -i don't steal stuff and sell it to vendor and steal again etc. -i do attack from outside the Fog of War area sometimes (for tough bosses) -i never teleport for convenience (Ctrl-J) -never used shadowkeeper or any sort of editing soft -i recall a time when i went further in game and did not finish a quest i meant to (only got half-wey through the quest or so). Also lost a key of sort that was required to finish that quest. I know it does not disappear, but had no idea where to look for it (dropped it i guess...), so i cluaConsoled that particular key to finish the quest. That is sort of cheating...
At the end i'm trying to be a legit RPGer
aaah - and i never used shadowkeeper or any sort of editing soft
I usually hack in a few stacks of 9999 arrows\9999 Bullets\9999 Darts, at least for BG1. Constantly returning to Beregost to resupply my archers is a huge chore. Oddly enough I never found it to be a problem in BG2. They just supply you with tons and tons of magic arrows in my experiences. Note, I do the math and drop my gold total accordingly but missiles are so cheap it's never been a problem.
I also usually hack NPC stats for BG1. Never anything more than you could obtain using tomes, except Jaheira because I set her dexterity to it's BG2 value. I want to use the tomes on my guy because he/she will carry over into the next game but I feel like a large number of NPCs were designed with you dropping the tomes on them in mind. It turns Montaron into a BG2-worthy NPC for example. I've played through the BG games so many times, I just want my companions to be less full of suck than a random guy I could roll utilizing the same rolls.
I've been known to rearrange post-level 1 proficiency points (as in I never change what they have default but I will swap the Missile proficiency they give Shar-Teel with bows, or simply throw more ranks into large sword) and I almost always change thieving skills of the later NPCs to something that makes them not complete suck.
...It's a single player game (at least I've always played it this way), there's no competition, no one to cheat. I really don't consider whatever anyone does cheating, but customization...
Yeah, that's the best way to look at it, imho:
Single Player customization.
Via mods I make the game more challenging combat-wise, not easier. If I use some "cheats" to reduce the tedium of certain aspects of the game, that's no big deal.
Re: the whole no-reload philosophy, I admire the conviction of players who no-reload. But I really want to complete the entire game with each character I create. And reloading is a feature of the game.
I've only ever successfully attempted two no-reload games in BG1 (all others ended within the first few hours of playing). Used all the standard mods that balance the game both in favour of the party and the enemy, here are the last two screenshots of each game:
(Viconia, Safana, Edwin, Dynaheir and Minsc) This one was such a joke, I'd fought my way into the bandit camp, losing Minsc and Edwin in the process, managed to slay everyone in sight by running in circles on the map hurling web and fireballs, grab the scrolls necessary to progress the story and Zeela and her posse decides to show up (installed a mod component that makes the bounty hunters spawn randomly). I managed to beat them thanks to Viconia's poison (even though both she and my PC were held). I stopped this little escapade shortly after, no-reloads are just no good for my health.
and then ...
I believe that's Ajantis, Safana, Xan and Quayle there ... yeah, this one didn't end so good.
There are so many ways to abuse the game that playing Dead-is-Dead loses all sense. It would be a more interesting of an idea if the game actually limited resting.
In the couple of tries I had with a no-reload run I never got farther than the Bandit Camp boss battle myself. I might have survived but for the fact that Imoen's wand of Magic Missiles failed to fire to disrupt the mage who casts Horror. It didn't fire due to lag. But nevertheless moments later I watched the hand reach up and disintegrate in the wind.
You only cheat when you use your modified rules in multiplayer. I don't have a problem with people who hack pokemon. I have a problem with people who use hacked pokemon in battles or brag how they 'caught' a hacked pokemon.
I don't use meta knowledge. That is knowledge of monster locations and what spells they will use unless my player character could reasonably deduce that. For the roleplaying and all that...
Im going to be a bit generic as my rules for me apply to all the games I play. Play through once as released then edit and hack away as I see fit. I especially like adding mods and customizing my character to suit my own internal back story for them.
Comments
I can't play vanilla BG anymore as I have grown far to use to the BG Trilogy and playing BG on ToB engine. I run loads of mods, SCS, BGTeaks, BG1NPC and a few other tweak packs. I dont have every option installed from tweak packs, only those I want. I have also modded some things myself. In my game Xan is a fighter/enchanter (Havent changed his stats at all), I modded Totemic druids so they dont start at low levels with a overpowered summon that can solo half the game... yawn. I modded a few other kits to tone them down at lower levels but left them unchanged from BG2 onwards (I hope BGEE does this as well else it will be crap).
My rules when I play -
1) I try to roleplay charname and joinable NPC's as much as possible. For example, Xzar being a necromancer will choose LMD over MM in level 1 slots, and will favour VT over Fireball etc at level 3 spells.
2) I don't fire spells into unseen areas where mobs are unless my character actually knows they are there.
3) I don't reload if I get a bad level up result. Dont understand people who do... variety makes the game fun and often challenging.
4) I always try to keep each party member unique in the weapon they use. I won't have 2 mages both with slings for example, i will have one with darts and another with sling etc.
5) I don't abuse bad AI, though that isn't much of a problem with SCS installed.
6) I don't cheese the game by collecting things and then restarting the game and importing the same guy again...
7) I try to make different party combos everytime I play - with BG1NPC installed it keeps the game fresh and fun. I will power my way to these NPC's if need be. Example getting to BG city asap if I want one of those NPC's before clearing all the zones.
Cant think of anything else. I do tend to spread the tomes out according to where it will benefit the party most. This I suppose goes hand in hand with RPing the party as much as possible. Your charname does not know the future and therefore cannot make decisions based on it. Thats how look at most things. So I will for example give Khalid my Manual of Health (Boosts him to 18) if he is in my party, my charname does not know he will die in BG2, so I cant make a decision on that.
As for cheating, my characters seems to be diviners on the side. Somehow they know what will be useful beforehand and have a distinct knack for finding easter eggs even though they have no reason to go looking. They also prepare for battle in appropriate ways before the enemies have been spotted.
You do know what is coming. You build for it. Therefore, playing the game a second time IS cheating. So you might as well make life easier for yourself and smooth the way a bit. A game is meant to be fun, so have fun your way. Use ExploreArea() to open up that map of Beregost, and Ctrl-J to the south edge of the map. Walking it manually doesn't earn you anything.
I do use control-j sometimes. Never in active battlefield areas and only in town. The reason is that towns are painfully boring and sometimes the characters take forever to pathfind (or at least they used to take forever).
I do not do multiple playthroughs...mostly because it kinda bores me to kill the same stuff twice with the same character.
I never modify stats, but again I don't care if someone else does. The best character I rolled was a 100 ranger. And he had 18/00 strength....this is not a joke. I re-rolled about 100 hours to do this (over 50 calls with a long distance gf). That character was probably the only good thing to come of that relationship, lol.
That said, there's one thing only that is the fundamental premise of my use of cheats or mods and that's my fun. I know what I have fun with and what not and if there is a rule that I think detracts from my fun and I can change it, it's gone, plain and simple. For me, that means:
- I always have legit stats. I might take some time rolling them (nowhere near as some, though. I've never spent more than half an hour, I think) but I never edit them. I like to make the best out of the resources I'm given. Overcoming challanges and such, it's part of my fun.
- I never cheat in items or money, or experience or anything like that. Same reason here. I'm playing the game partly to get those things. The whole risk/reward thing and the experience of slowly growing and getting better is absolutely central to my fun in this kind of game.
- I always make the game harder by installing mods that increase tactical challanges and such. By now I've got a good enough grasp of the mechanics of the game that I can beat all the vanilla challenges easily. There are tactics that are just better than others and some things you can do that the AI just has no answer to. I don't like to limit myself to suboptimal tactics so as to keep the challenge up. As I've said, I like to make the best use of the resources I'm given, it's part of my fun.
Things I will use cheats for:
- If I like a certain NPC but don't like the class they are given, I'll change that. Xan is almost always a sorcerer in my games, Minsc is a barbarian, Khalid a Fighter/Mage and so on. I had Imoen as a Wild Mage or a Bard in various playthroughs, Mazzy a paladin, Viconia a Fighter/Cleric or a Cleric/Thief. I'll switch that around as it fits my party, never straying to far from the basic concept. I'll also switch basic stats and proficiencies for that, always staying with the sum total, though.
- If I want to play a character that's not legit because of some stupid arbitrary rule, I'll use shadowkeeper to do it anyway. I had a great time with my dwarf berserker/mage, for example.
- I'll sometimes switch proficiencies or sorcerer spells around if I feel the need for it. Also, I always have some mods installed that might be considered cheats because they make some aspects of the game a bit easier. Multi-class grand mastery for example. I've never understood why multi-classed fighters shouldn't be able to achieve grand mastery, it takes them longer, anyway. Again, basic rule here: I consider the rule arbitrary and not fun - it's gone, "game balance" (as if such a thing existed in DnD, anyway) be damned.
-never cheting on stats, only using legit rolls for it.
-would feel bad having an e.g. 3-WIS Charname, so i try to make the stats realistic (although Charname is a Bhaalspawn, so his/her stats can be uber vs. NPCs)
-i never clone any items (like stealing the rings of Gaxx or Ram and then getting it from the corpses...)
-i don't steal stuff and sell it to vendor and steal again etc.
-i do attack from outside the Fog of War area sometimes (for tough bosses)
-i never teleport for convenience (Ctrl-J)
-never used shadowkeeper or any sort of editing soft
-i recall a time when i went further in game and did not finish a quest i meant to (only got half-wey through the quest or so). Also lost a key of sort that was required to finish that quest. I know it does not disappear, but had no idea where to look for it (dropped it i guess...), so i cluaConsoled that particular key to finish the quest. That is sort of cheating...
At the end i'm trying to be a legit RPGer
aaah - and i never used shadowkeeper or any sort of editing soft
I also usually hack NPC stats for BG1. Never anything more than you could obtain using tomes, except Jaheira because I set her dexterity to it's BG2 value. I want to use the tomes on my guy because he/she will carry over into the next game but I feel like a large number of NPCs were designed with you dropping the tomes on them in mind. It turns Montaron into a BG2-worthy NPC for example. I've played through the BG games so many times, I just want my companions to be less full of suck than a random guy I could roll utilizing the same rolls.
I've been known to rearrange post-level 1 proficiency points (as in I never change what they have default but I will swap the Missile proficiency they give Shar-Teel with bows, or simply throw more ranks into large sword) and I almost always change thieving skills of the later NPCs to something that makes them not complete suck.
Single Player customization.
Via mods I make the game more challenging combat-wise, not easier. If I use some "cheats" to reduce the tedium of certain aspects of the game, that's no big deal.
Re: the whole no-reload philosophy, I admire the conviction of players who no-reload. But I really want to complete the entire game with each character I create. And reloading is a feature of the game.
(Viconia, Safana, Edwin, Dynaheir and Minsc) This one was such a joke, I'd fought my way into the bandit camp, losing Minsc and Edwin in the process, managed to slay everyone in sight by running in circles on the map hurling web and fireballs, grab the scrolls necessary to progress the story and Zeela and her posse decides to show up (installed a mod component that makes the bounty hunters spawn randomly). I managed to beat them thanks to Viconia's poison (even though both she and my PC were held). I stopped this little escapade shortly after, no-reloads are just no good for my health.
and then ...
I believe that's Ajantis, Safana, Xan and Quayle there ... yeah, this one didn't end so good.