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cgrab

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Not entirely sure if this is the right forum, but seems a reasonable place to start...

 

I'm just now getting ready to play BG2 for the first time and stumbled upon

the modding community. The sheer number of customizations (and acronyms :-)

is a bit overwhelming. So here are some basic questions:

 

1) Should a first time player go through the game unaltered?

2) If not, which mods are more nescessary/recommended to install?

3) What incompatabilites do I need to watch out for between different mods?

4) Do people generally install a whole batch of mods or do them one at a time?

5) Is there a good way to back out mod changes?

6) What game files should be backed up before mods are installed?

 

Basic questions I expect. But haven't yet found a FAQ that addresses them.

So, what do people suggest?

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i'll take a shot at answering some of those questions...

 

1) Should a first time player go through the game unaltered?

yes.

2) If not, which mods are more nescessary/recommended to install?

see answer to 1. if, notwithstanding this, you wish to install mods, i'd be installing only those mods that fix/enhance existing characters and storylines - and not very many of these. mods of this ilk that spring to mind include the Imoen Romance, Unfinished Business, Oversight and Ease of Use and/or G3 Tweaks.

 

links to all these mods can be found at http://modlist.pocketplane.net/ (more specifically, for BGII mods: http://modlist.pocketplane.net/index.php?ax=list&cat_id=4 ).

3) What incompatabilites do I need to watch out for between different mods?

you could write theses on this topic. the simplest answers are a: read lots, especially forums for each of the mods you install; and b: ask questions (although the answer might well be a: read lots, especially forums).

 

on the other hand, the question could be read as 'what sort of mods are compatible?' there are various packaging and installing formats for BGII mods. the most up-to-date, and the most, umm, adaptable, are WeiDU mods (which have the form mod folder, Setup-mod.exe and Setup-mod.tp2). all WeiDU mods are compatible with all other WeiDU mods for installation purposes - they might change the same file in different manners, and so be incompatible to *play*, but they can all be installed together.

 

other mod formats (.iap, .tbg, good old fashioned copy-n-paste installs) are frequently not compatible with other formats, or even themselves. until you've played through modded games a few times, i'd be recommending you stick with WeiDU mods.

4) Do people generally install a whole batch of mods or do them one at a time?

err... i don't quite understand. if you mean 'on any given BGII game, do you install a small or large number of mods', the answer, for me, is 'lots'. if, on the other hand, you mean 'do you install a large number of new mods for the first time in one game, or only add a few new mods to any game', the answer is 'only a few'. so my next install of BGII is likely to be very similar to my current install, plus or minus a small number of mods (if that makes any sense).

5) Is there a good way to back out mod changes?

all WeiDU mods can be safely uninstalled and reinstalled - it is one of the strengths of the format. other mod formats can, to various degrees, also be undone. but if yr following what i said in answer to (3), you won't be installing other formats anyway...

6) What game files should be backed up before mods are installed?

before you start, if you backup the chitin.key and the dialog.tlk files, and the entire override folder before you start installing mods, then should something go horribly wrong all you'll need to do is replace these three things (two files and a folder) and you'll have a clean, functioning BGII installation.

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Not entirely sure if this is the right forum, but seems a reasonable place to start...

 

I'm just now getting ready to play BG2 for the first time and stumbled upon

the modding community.  The sheer number of customizations (and acronyms :-)

is a bit overwhelming.  So here are some basic questions:

 

1) Should a first time player go through the game unaltered?

2) If not, which mods are more nescessary/recommended to install?

3) What incompatabilites do I need to watch out for between different mods?

4) Do people generally install a whole batch of mods or do them one at a time?

5) Is there a good way to back out mod changes?

6) What game files should be backed up before mods are installed?

 

Basic questions I expect.  But haven't yet found a FAQ that addresses them.

So, what do people suggest?

I will give it my best shot, but different people will tell differently:

 

1) Should a first time player go through the game unaltered?

 

With BGII my answer will be - yes ('no' for BGI), unless there is a specific modification you really, really liked. Mainly, in my case it would be a new NPC that I feel the original cast lacks.

 

2) If not, which mods are more nescessary/recommended to install?

 

Baldurash fixes are considered good and Ascension. I played without both of them (and never played Ascension, up to date) so - there is no such a fan made mod, that is necessary, I think.

 

Recommended? I, personally (and as such absolutely unrelated to the rest of the audience) will play with Kelsey (one of the oldest and pretty much bug free mods) which adds a sorceror to the batch of NPC.

 

3) What incompatabilites do I need to watch out for between different mods?

 

You need to watch out for one particular tag: WeiDU mod or non-WeiDU mod. WeiDU mods are stackable in any way you want them pretty much. To play with non-WeiDU mods, BP (Big Picture) compatibility mod is recommended - and they would have a huge installation instructions thinggy on their forums.

 

4) Do people generally install a whole batch of mods or do them one at a time?

 

I only have 3 mods installed on my BGII - Kelsey, Valygar Romance and Kivan. However, there are many people who install mods by the dozen. I think they mostly use BP or go for all WeiDU they can gather.

 

5) Is there a good way to back out mod changes?

 

In WeiDU mods - yes. Non-WEIdu could be trickier.

 

6) What game files should be backed up before mods are installed?

 

Back up for sure your Override folder, Dialogue.tlk and Chitin.key

 

Good luck, and I hope you'd get more opinions and recommendations :blush: Whatever you will decide, you are in for a treat.

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Hello,

 

1) Should a first time player go through the game unaltered?

I recommend it. After you've played the game Bioware made, you'll be in a better position to know which mods might interest you, and you'll be able to compare the quality of mods to the work Bioware did.

 

2) If not, which mods are more nescessary/recommended to install?

None are necessary. However, aside from the latest official patch and the Baldurdash fixpack (not a mod but a bunch of bugfixes), the one mod I could suggest as possibly "belonging" in the game is the Unfinished Business mod, which attemps to finish game plots that Bioware discontinued prior to shipping.

 

3) What incompatabilites do I need to watch out for between different mods?

Non-WeiDU-based mods, official patches and the Baldurdash Fixpack must be installed before WeiDU-based mods. Various modding communities have lists of mods and compatibility issues. Do some searching around and you'll get more information than you need.

 

4) Do people generally install a whole batch of mods or do them one at a time?

Most seem to install several mods at one time. I recommend one at a time until you know what a certain mod does, but most give in to instant gratification, and the consequent bug reports suffer for it. (Bug caused by Mod A incorrectly reported as being caused by Mod B, or maybe Mod C, but user doesn't really have a clue. Oops.)

 

5) Is there a good way to back out mod changes?

WeiDU-based mods will uninstall themselves, provided you uninstall them in the reverse order that you installed them. So if you install Mod A, then Mod B, then Mod C, to uninstall you'd remove Mod C, then Mod B, then Mod A. Still, nothing's perfect, so the steps in concern #6 should be noted before installing ANY mod.

 

6) What game files should be backed up before mods are installed?

Back up CHITIN.KEY and DIALOG.TLK (and DIALOGF.TLK if it exists) in your main game folder, and preferrably your entire Override folder. Put them in a safe place. That way if a mod or mods hammer your game, you can fix things by deleting the contents of the Override folder and copying the backed-up files back into the game folder. CHITIN.KEY and DIALOG.TLK go back into the main game folder, and the override files go into the Override folder. Note that saved game files may or may not contain mod-specific data and so might not work or load once you uninstall mods.

 

Check the various forums for stickies (conversation threads that are stuck to the top of the forum's first page); most will have FAQs or information lists of one sort or another. Google and other search engines are helpful too.

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I just posted this at PPG, and it's kinda relevant, so...

 

Mods Recommended for the First Time Player

  • Baldurdash
  • Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix
  • G3 Tweaks (selected components)
  • Oversight (selected components)
  • Ascension
  • gMinion
  • eSeries
  • Improved Horn of Valhalla
  • NiGHTMARE's NPC Beautification Pack

Mods Recommended for Game Veterans

  • Baldurdash
  • Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix
  • Oversight
  • Dungeon Be Gone
  • Ascension
  • Revised Hell Trials
  • gMinion
  • eSeries
  • Improved Horn of Valhalla
  • Cleric Remix
  • G3 Tweaks
  • NiGHTMARE's NPC Beautification Pack
  • NPC Kit
  • PnP Celestials
  • Expanded Thief Stronghold
  • Quest Pack
  • Kelsey
  • Virtue
  • Ding0's Tweak Pack
  • Ashes of Embers
  • Unfinished Business
  • Banter Packs
  • Flirt Packs
  • Ease of Use (selected components)

You can find all of these mods linked via the IE Modlist: http://modlist.pocketplane.net

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To these fine answers, I'd only add: DON'T FORGET TO INSTALL THE OFFICIAL PATCH TO YOUR GAME BEFORE INSTALLING ANY MODS!

 

As for NPCs, yes Kelsey is a good one as it gives female PCs an alternative to Anomen. And he's the only one I can recommend since he's the only one I've installed. *runs and hides before Domi catches me*

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Unlike most of these folks who either have said "no mods" or "no content-adding mods" for first time players, I really don't see a reason not to install a few good content-focused mods the first time through. With the possible exception of stumbling into an all-mod NPC party, there's really not too much risk of "drowning out" Bioware's content. However, to play it safe so that one or two choices that don't tickle your fancy don't ruin the whole game, yes, don't go nuts and install dozens of mods.

 

"How do I know a good content mod from a poor content mod?" you ask? Well, that IS the question, isn't it?

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To these fine answers, I'd only add:  DON'T FORGET TO INSTALL THE OFFICIAL PATCH TO YOUR GAME BEFORE INSTALLING ANY MODS!

 

As for NPCs, yes Kelsey is a good one as it gives female PCs an alternative to Anomen.  And he's the only one I can recommend since he's the only one I've installed. *runs and hides before Domi catches me*

Why? I like Kelsey myself. And I agree that it is not a good idea to use betas with the first game through. The add-ons to pre-existing NPCs imo are anyway geared toward people who already grew attached to their original version, and want 'more'. So I'd actually disagree with Seanas on recommending Imoen's romance and equally would disqualify Valygar's, Nalia's, Edwin's and Solaufein for the first time player.

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