Slowdown?

[Strontium Dog]

First of all, is it possible for a soundset to create a slowdown in BG2? (if it's too long, for example?). Also, what's the maximum recommended length of a soundset in seconds, generally speaking. It's just that my current soundset has 2 or 3 sounds which are something like 10 seconds in length or so.

[Jarno Mikkola]

First of all, is it possible for a soundset to create a slowdown in BG2? (if it's too long, for example?). Also, what's the maximum recommended length of a soundset in seconds, generally speaking. It's just that my current soundset has 2 or 3 sounds which are something like 10 seconds in length or so.

Well, if the sound files aren't biffed from the override folder, they can cause slowdown, as the files are in a wrong format for the game to read them...

[Strontium Dog]

First of all, is it possible for a soundset to create a slowdown in BG2? (if it's too long, for example?). Also, what's the maximum recommended length of a soundset in seconds, generally speaking. It's just that my current soundset has 2 or 3 sounds which are something like 10 seconds in length or so.

Well, if the sound files aren't biffed from the override folder, they can cause slowdown, as the files are in a wrong format for the game to read them...

 

How exactly, does one "biff them from the override folder, though"? I presume that you are referring only to the player's need to "biff", and that the modder doesn't have to do any special compressing or whatever to the wav files(other than putting the wav files into a WINRAR folder) before offering them for downloading purposes?

 

I've never had lag-effect before after simply using a soundset that's different from the ones offered in the vanilla game. Plus, this game hasn't even been patched yet, as I have yet to try for a megamod-install. This may be a vista-issue or just a temporary thing, or an "auto-pause" issue.

[Jarno Mikkola]

How exactly, does one "biff them from the override folder, though"? I presume that you are referring only to the player's need to "biff", and that the modder doesn't have to do any special compressing or whatever to the wav files(other than putting the wav files into a WINRAR folder) before offering them for downloading purposes?

Quite much so...

 

Well, to get a players out of slowdown troubles, I made a list:

0) Always patch, and use the full install on the game, start a new game and exit after the game has auto-saves itself(so you have to make a char or choose a pre-made one), before you do any moding, and you might as well make a safe backup from the important files: Data and Override folders, baldur.exe, BGMain.exe, dialog.tlk and CHITIN.key .

1. Put the ambient sounds off from the BGConfic.exe, as some of the areas might have no ambient sounds and so the game tries to start them many time continuously, and so looses processing power.

2. Don't mess with the game configurations so the speed adjustment percentages stay on "normal" ratings even if you have very high end machine, as the game has own it's internal fps counter, it sometimes tries to correct the fps on it's own by lowering graphs etc. Also the games frame rate should be set to about 30, as that's the default.

3. I wouldn't recommend to install any of the speaking item mods, as they run their scripts and fire their comments everywhere, and that's bad for the fps(frames/second count).

4. Delete the old files from the Cache folder time to time.

5. Inventory management(no stacks that have more than about 200 items, in a bag, arrows etc.), -might help.

6. Trying to avoid too many effects on a character(about 20 is fine, 200 is too many, and 20 000 is way way too many...)

7. De-fragmenting your hard drive might also help... as you don't have to go find the data in the pieces. (hmm, there is a joke in there, hih)

8. Install the mods in correct order, and make sure you started from a clean install, so there is no leftovers from old mods, by deleting the old mod files, the data and override folders(don't go and overwrite them), helpful links for for Tutu and BGT(the .pdf files) -based Megamods.

9. It might be a good idea to biff your override folder, but do that knowing that you generally can't change the game much after. Or use the End_biff from here.

Now, as a moder, you could assume the player knows all that, but that's not true, usually. The ambient sound problem is the most likely candidate for all the problems anyone will ever encounter... so have you turned them down/out? If not, it's the reason why you have slowdown, I am sure.

[Strontium Dog]

Cheers, thanks for the info. It's been absolutely ages since I last played the Baldur's Gate Trilogy so I'd forgotten about the ambient-sounds issue. I now recall some stuff about turning off ambient sounds for some areas of Baldurs' Gate Tutu(around Nashkel). Never had a problem with (unmodded)Chateau Irenicus, before, though.