Watcher's Keep Transition issue and some feedback

[Guest rkzhao]

Hi,

The "Make Watchers' Keep accessible between SoA and ToB component" isn't working for me for some reason. I originally had it on a BGT instal and when I finished the SoA portion, I was transported to the forest of Tethir. I tried to reinstall the component but unfortunately it screwed up my game so I had to reinstall everything. So I decided to simply try to component on a clean instal of ToB just to test if it works. From my understanding of the readme, if the component worked, when I start a new ToB game, I should be at Watchers Keep but I'm still just spawning in the forest of Tethir so I don't know what's going on. This is with a clean patched instal of ToB on a windows 7 operating system.

 

Anyways here's some feedback for what I've played of SCS and SCS2 in SoA. Overall I enjoyed the mod. It made encounters that are suppose to be difficult actually difficult and there really isn't a way to cheese the game anymore. I have to say I felt that SCS changed the game more whereas SCS2 kinda still felt like the same game. I really enjoyed the bandit camp with SCS as it made it more like what it should feel like to take on an entire bandit camp. Unfortunately I can't say SCS2 had as much of an impact on me but it did make the game more interesting when I can just toss skeleton warriors at mind flayers or have one character with the shield of balduran take on an entire hive of beholders. SCS2 made individual enemies more interesting to fight but didn't seem to affect larger encounters as much as SCS. This is probably mostly just due to the level design of BG2 vs BG though.

 

I do have one complaint about SCS2 though and that's how all thief characters are hidden. Street thugs like in the slums or the docks start out invisible. So I'd be walking through an area and I hear them attack but it seems to take forever for them to actually come out of the shadows. Earlier on in the game, I'd be walking through an area and suddenly my mage gets backstabbed by 5 thugs and dies. This just seems a bit ridiculous for minor muggers and thugs. Also in mae'var's guild, all the shadow theives around mae'var are automatically hidden even before I'm hostile. This means I can't talk to them and I think one of the other mods I had installed actually had a quest from one of them. Oh and true seeing didn't seem to work when they weren't hostile. I liked SCS and SCS2 because it made the enemies behave more realistically and made for a better role playing experience but this hiding thing kinda took away from that.

[Guest rkzhao]

ok so I was messing around with some of the older versions of SCS2 and it seems the start ToB in watcher's keep component stops working for me after v14. When i instal the component from v13 and start a new game in ToB, i end up at watcher's keep but from v14 or newer, i still start in the forest of Tethir.

 

If I were to instal v19 of SCS2 but v13 of the Watcher's Keep between SoA and ToB component, theoretically would it cause any issues?

[phordicus]

I do have one complaint about SCS2 though and that's how all thief characters are hidden. Street thugs like in the slums or the docks start out invisible.

Most thieves would try to stay to the shadows. I'm fairly sure that the mugger/thug encounters are mostly at night, as well. Also, all thieves are scripted to generate and use invisibility potions. No real way around it.

So I'd be walking through an area and I hear them attack but it seems to take forever for them to actually come out of the shadows.

They're just missing their attacks. It's possible to script them to actually Hide in Shadows -- and therefore be revealed when they attack whether they hit or not -- but SCS2 simply makes them invisible so they won't be revealed until they succeed an attack.

Earlier on in the game, I'd be walking through an area and suddenly my mage gets backstabbed by 5 thugs and dies. This just seems a bit ridiculous for minor muggers and thugs.

Their particular script has them target the juiciest, most vulnerable target. Had your mage been Stoneskinned or Mirror Imaged, they would target your cleric, then your druid/bard/thief/etc. The entire mod is based around causing as much damage as possible even if it doesn't make sense strategically in some instances.

Also in mae'var's guild, all the shadow theives around mae'var are automatically hidden even before I'm hostile. This means I can't talk to them and I think one of the other mods I had installed actually had a quest from one of them. Oh and true seeing didn't seem to work when they weren't hostile.

They have the same script as the muggers that make them go invisible OnCreation. Because they are not hostile yet (blue circle), True Seeing won't work on them.

 

If the quest you're talking about is a separate component, you can re-install that component and it will overwrite SCS2's changes (for the next time).