Disable Startup Movies

[devSin]

Note that this is heavily platform- and installation-dependent (I keep all my movies in a single ./movies directory, so it would fail, and this won't work at all for Mac BG/TotSC since the movies are handled differently).

 

Crotchety old modder or no, there's a difference between "I don't like this component and won't be installing it" and "I like this component but can't install it."

[Azazello]

I don't believe Azazello claims to be a modder

I don't. Never pretended to be one, probably never will be one.

 

Why all the hate on this component?

 

Hello people, who could live without the tweak: Weimer's Shut Up "You Must Gather Your Party ...". No revolution. Not televised. Same diff.

 

To get the component to work, just tell the user to ensure their ini and folder structure is intact. My setup is definitely not standard, but most players' are.

[Miloch]

Note that this is heavily platform- and installation-dependent (I keep all my movies in a single ./movies directory, so it would fail, and this won't work at all for Mac BG/TotSC since the movies are handled differently).

Ok, well that was almost constructive feedback. Or would be, if you can offer some insight as to how exactly the movies are handled on Mac (or better yet, the Mac-compatible code ).

 

And yeah, if you've messed with your install in non-standard ways, this won't work, and I'm not sure if it's a good idea to try to make it work unless WeiDU can do so without fubaring things.

[CamDawg]

Wait, what? You're expecting a post from devSin that doesn't involve a game of 20 questions?

[icelus]

I'm all for it. Those blasted movies always drove me nuts. It's not the clicking that annoys me--it's the loading time.

[Chev]

I plan on installing this on future installs, and will test on BGT then and let you know. Will this be added to the Tweak Pack or only as a standalone mod?

[Miloch]

I guess the Tweaks inclusion is up to CamDawg, but it'll make it in some mod or other. If you want to test it in the meantime, see the original post for download links. Not much to it - just extract and install as usual. Fire up a game and let me know if all the startup movies are gone (it's possible for BGT I didn't get all of them as I had to do some special inclusions for Tutu as well).

[Miloch]

Wait, what? You're expecting a post from devSin that doesn't involve a game of 20 questions?

Actually, I didn't expect a response at all. So I guess I got what I expected.

 

Anyway, Mac compatibility added and tested, thanks to Eirik and no thanks to devSin. Now, users of both OSes can hate on this component. Error checking slightly enhanced, primitive readme added, download links in original post. Ready for inclusion in Tweaks v6, which I expect will be released forthwith .

[devSin]

I had a reply typed, but I couldn't think of any licentious wording for Cam's reply, so it never got posted.

 

Note that the BIFFs in BG/TotSC for Mac are fakes (they're already empty). The Mac version has separate Cinepack-encoded .MOV files for each movie that the game uses instead, with a hardcoded lookup table (IIRC) to fetch and play the correct movie when MVEs are referenced. I don't know what would happen if you replaced these files with fakes. The Mac version of TotSC has a special setting to skip all movies at once, so it only requires a single mouse click or key press to skip all the introductory movies anyway.

 

MVE handling works in BG2 and IWD, so it should be the same as the PC version.

[Miloch]

Well, Eirik tested it on Mac EasyTutu and said it worked. Meaning, I would think, it disabled both the BG2 and BG1 movie resources, since I had to make a small change for Mac Tutu also. Unfortunately though, Mac Tutu destroys the BG1 install, so if anyone wants to test it on BG1 Mac, be my guest.

[devSin]

Mac BG/TotSC movies wouldn't work in EasyTutu anyway.

[Guest Guest]

I'm all for it. Those blasted movies always drove me nuts. It's not the clicking that annoys me--it's the loading time.

Bleedin' hell, yes! I've used MixMod v5 for ages now (comparatively speaking) and I can't live without it. I had forgot the annoyance of click-click-click (often with a few extra clicks because I did it too fast and the movie started anyway) until I had to do a massive reinstall, which brought back horrible repressed memories of how things "used to be".

 

Whether it makes TweakPack or not, I'll use some form of this anti-bother system for the rest of my adventures. Free beer for Miloch!

[SimDing0]

Is downloading, correctly unpacking, and installing the mod significantly easier than just removing the BIFs?

[Miloch]

Ah... another hater. Excellent.

 

I don't know... why don't you time it both ways?

 

I'm pretty sure the uninstall will be quicker at least, if for some perverse reason you decide you want to see the startup movies again.

[devSin]

I want to install this mod because dragging the movies back into the movies folder after I had dragged them out takes so long!