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Please help an old idiot

FalkeepFalkeep Member Posts: 41
I have successfully played through BG:EE (well, to where I hit the exp cap, anyway... I finished Candlekeep and am back in BG), and am wanting to start a new game with new characters. I want to install the Romantic Encounters mod before I do. I have never installed a mod before and am, apparently, a complete idiot. I have unpacked the mod and tried to install it. When I do, I get an error message that says:

Please run this program in your Infinity Engine game directory

FATAL ERROR: Failure("Not a game directory")

I have this is the only Baldur's Gate directory I know of on my computer (in Documents, for some reason... that's where it automatically installed itself). The only folders in the directory are:

bpsave
characters
mpsave
potraits
save
ScrnShot

to this list has been added:

bg1re

Anyone who responds to this, please treat me like an idiot who does not understand the modding language, abbreviations, where to find things, what tools are and how to use them, etc. because, apparently I am. I have been unable to solve this myself from reading the forums.

If I can get this figured out, I am also interested in hearing if there are other mods that I should consider... including how to deal with the exp cap so that I can earn points and gain levels, if I earn enough exp, through the rest of the game.

Any help will be appreciated.


P.S. -- If it is any help, I am an old man... almost 60, and did not grow up with computers or learn them in school or anything. I've had PCs since the mid-90s but, still, it is not something that I understand like most of you do. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
dunbarSkatan

Comments

  • PaulaMigratePaulaMigrate Member Posts: 1,201
    The stuff in documents is NOT your game directory but just some configuration files and your saves etc.
    The game itself is elsewhere, depending on where you downloaded it from (Gog, Steam, Beamdog) and may be somewhere in Program Files or Program Files (x86) which is not recommended for modded games anyway due to the potential for O/S related issues. It is a directory containing files named chitin.key and baldur.exe (maybe search for those?).
    If you have the game from steam or gog you need to run a tool called *modmerge* first (just search for it here in this forum).
    Afterwards you extract the mod to the BGEE directory, so you will have a new folder BG1re and a file called setup-bg1re.exe. Start that exe file to install the mod.
    ArtonaPantalion
  • FalkeepFalkeep Member Posts: 41
    Thank you.
  • FalkeepFalkeep Member Posts: 41
    Okay, next part. I found the directory. I have extracted both bg1re and modmerge into it. How do I run modmerge? There is no .exe or application to click on and when I click on one of the files that is there, it ask me what I want to use to open it.
  • ThelsThels Member Posts: 1,416
    @Falkeep: It helps if you give us a little more information:

    What operating system are you on? Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android, etc...
    (It seems like you're on Windows, so let's assume that for now.)

    Where did you buy the game? From Steam, BeamDog, GoG, etc...

    Do you have the Siege of Dragonspear expansion?

    You've said you found the directory it's in? Let's verify that. Do you see a Baldur.exe or a Siege of Dragonspear.exe? Do you see a chitin.key? (Their extentions, which are the ".exe" and ".key" parts, may be hidden.) If you see either Baldur.exe or Siege of Dragonspear.exe, and you see the chitin.key file, you're in the right spot.

    This directory is very likely a subfolder of Program Files. That's not the best place to be modding games. Even if it's not, you risk a future update overwriting your existing game (2.5 is right around the corner). For safety reasons, copy the entire folder that contains the Baldur.exe or Siege of Dragonspear.exe and the chitin.key to another place on your harddrive, like in "C:\Games\" or perhaps "D:\". The best way to do this is to go up one level and copy the entire directory, rather than copying all the files and folders inside the directory.

    Once that's successful, we'll do everything in this copy, and not in the original directory. When 2.5 is released, your original directory will update automatically, removing the mod and potentially breaking your savegame. Your copy however will remain at the current version so you can complete the campaign properly.

    Now, let's determine if you need modmerge or not:
    If you do not have Siege of Dragonspear, you do NOT need modmerge. (Skip the next step.)
    If you got the game from BeamDog, you do NOT need modmerge. (Skip the next step.)
    If you got the game from Steam, and you have Siege of Dragonspear, you DO need modmerge.
    If you got the game from GoG, and you have Siege of Dragonspear, you DO need modmerge.

    This is the modmerge thread:
    https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/50441/modmerge-merge-your-steam-gog-zip-based-dlc-into-something-weidu-nearinfinity-dltcep-can-use/p1
    Be sure to click on the link that says '/releases', and NOT the link that says '/modmerge'. The '/modmerge' link is only interesting to developers. You want the already working version, so use the '/releases' link.
    Grab the v1.1 version for your OS (probably modmerge-win32.zip) and save it on your harddrive. You can save it in the newly copied directory or elsewhere. It's a zipped archive, but if you're on windows, you can just doubleclick it, and then drag out the modmerge.exe into the newly copied directory, so it sits there next to Siege of Dragonspear.exe and chitin.key. Then run it, and be a little patient. It may take a few minutes.

    Now you're ready to apply mods. Most mods come in zip files as well, so like modmerge.exe, you save them somewhere on your harddisk, and then open the zip and extract the files to the same directory, so they sit there next to Baldur.exe or Siege of Dragonspear.exe and chitin.key. They should have a setup-MODNAME.exe file and a MODNAME archive. Just run the setup-MODNAME.exe, and pay close attention to all the questions.

    Last tip: If you like the idea of romances, check out BG1 NPC Project:
    https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/39422/bg1npc-v23-1/p1
    It blows more life into the classic NPCs, and makes 6 of them (3 of each gender) available to be romanced.
    Grond0lefreutGusindaContemplative_Hamster
  • GusindaGusinda Member Posts: 1,915
    edited December 2017
    Hi @Falkeep, welcome to the Forum. Sorry for the wall of text...

    Being of similar age, I understand your predicament and will do my best to keep the description basic. I will make some assumptions so if any are incorrect, please correct me and I can make adjustments where necessary. You are running the latest non-beta release (2.3.67.3) of Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition (BGEE) complete with Siege of Dragonspear (SoD) installed on Windows (Windows 7, 8.x or 10, description wont change...). You have either the Steam or GOG (Good Old Games) version of BGEE. You have the Windows version of BG1 Romantic Encounters v2.4 downloaded.

    Firstly, if you don't have SoD installed, then you wont need to run modmerge so disregard its installation until you have it... Just go to the part about installing the Mod.

    Setting up SoD for modding:
    - Make sure the version of Modmerge you have is the downloaded from here and that you have the version named 'modmerge-win32.zip'
    - I note that you used the term extracted above so it seems that there is some understanding so if I have gone too long winded below, then I am sorry...
    - To get the .exe, you will need to unpack the .zip file. .zip means that the file has been compressed and needs to be uncompressed before you can use it. If you don't have something like WinRAR, WinZip or 7Zip installed, you could use Windows Explorer to unpack this file. I do however recommend that if you are going to continue using mods (and there are much better ones to try), then give either 7Zip (Free) or WinRAR (Trial version available) a go as these will help later on. To unpack, double click on 'modmerge.zip' and it will open up a window showing modmerge.exe. You can drag this file to the installation directory of Baldur's Gate (where the file 'chitin.key' is located).
    - Make sure you read this discussion to understand what modmerge is doing...
    - Run Modmerge and it will make SoD ready for modding. This will leave a couple of files that are redundant in the BGEE folder. If you have a large enough drive, then there is no harm in leaving them there. I use GOG version and can remove them without any problems. If you have Steam version then I am unsure what would happen. Steam may panic and reinstall the game (if someone else can answer this, then please do...).


    Installing Mod(s):
    Mostly, to install the mod, unpack the mod into the installation directory of BGEE which should add a folder and a file. For Romantic Encounters, these are called: Folder 'bg1re', File 'setup-bg1re.exe'. Double click on the file to start the installation process. Most will ask a series of questions as to what to install and install as per your instructions. Most of the mods add the modifiers to another folder called 'override' so that the original file is safe.

    Some mods will be an .exe file to begin with and will unpack into BGEE folder upon running the file, you will still need to run setup-(modname).exe to start the mod installation. Some other mods are copied directly into the override folder but the description should let you know.

    As far as other suggested mods go, you could try and install Tweaks Anthology v4 (or components of) which has 'remove XP cap' as one of its many components. Be sure to read the readme to understand...

    I also run Lefreut's enhanced UI (for BG1EE, SoD, BG2EE and EET) mod, Portraits Portraits Everywhere and components of EEUITweaks Mod Collection. These are mainly to make it fit the style of game that I like to play so you need to look at the mods to find out what you want...

    If this doesn't make sense, then let me know and I will clarify.
    Happy Gaming
    Gus

    Edit: it looks like @Thels and I responded at the same time so I am just reinforcing what was said... I certainly agree with the NPC Project and moving the game from C:Drive. I have the GOG version but any game I install never makes it to the system drive. Even my Steam Games are installed away from C:. Make it easy to backup C: and Windows' security can become a problem when playing around in 'Program Files' folder.
    Post edited by Gusinda on
    StummvonBordwehrGrond0lefreut
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    @Falkeep I closed your other thread. Let me know if you still need help installing mods.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @Falkeep: Don't worry; nobody's going to think differently of you because two game folders look alike. I'm 27 and I've been using computers for more than half of my life, and I did the exact same thing you did.
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