Recommended Mods for a New player (BG2)

[CamDawg]

why cant descriptions be changed to match the effects in more cases?

This has been covered a couple of times in the thread already. The descriptions received a lot more attention than the underlying files, which is why we generally place a lot more weight in them. There are spells that aren't even consistent with themselves at different levels.

 

Fixpack is spot on IMO. Cam (and most other modders as well...)has done great stuff considering all of the variables and limitations that go with modding. But the vanilla game should be left alone. It plays good enough to be very enjoyable. If you want proof of this, just look at how many of us got hooked oh so many years ago on vanilla SoA. Once you play though the vanilla game, then mod away I say. It just keeps getting better and better after that...

Yeah, I want to back up here for a moment--and seriously, apologies to havuk who asked a simple question and had his thread completely hijacked--and reiterate that the important thing is to have fun. Mods are great, but there's also a reason why there are so many of them: players enjoy different aspects of the game. While I don't generally subscribe to the 'always play unmodded first' school of thought, I can appreciate the sentiment behind it. Install the mods that look interesting (or none at all) and go play.

[minutus]

Balance is always touched when a component is changed, so turning a blind eye for it when changing things (fixes) feels a bit like avoiding something because it complicates things - not because it makes for better fixes. The game also did supposedly go through various phases of active development, playtesting and QA, which resulted in the gameplay we have, and that should arguably have weight when pondering whether to go with a description or by gameplay behavior. I'm fairly sure during development things in the game were often tinkered in relation to what was actually there (in gameplay tests) more so than what was supposed to be there according to description. And AI, even if it's a mess, is important part of it all as well and cannot be neglected even if it's a pain to take into account, but DavidW is already making really good points for this. It's not an easy task to weight these matters though, that's for sure, and I too am generally very pleased with what Fixpack does.

 

A shame with the engine problems in haste and item effects. Definitely makes it more understandeable for me why BoS effects seems odd the way it is. Good points in this discussion, thank you.

[kreso]

seriously, apologies to havuk who asked a simple question and had his thread completely hijacked

This.

Install the mods that look interesting (or none at all) and go play.

And this.

[Ardanis]

1) Fixpack does fix some of the worse bugs, including game-breaking ones, so it is strongly advised to install it.

2) Fixpack has been officially approved by the original game developers, which means they would have included it in the first release if they had the chance.

2) Fixpack has been approved by the EE devs

 

And now, I believe you guys all have missed one more argument in favor of using Fixpack for the first playthrough - exactly because it does notably alter several bits of the gameplay, Boots of Speed easily being the most common, it is better to not get attached to the wonky vanilla behavior and then complain about stupid fixpackers breaking the game. I myself had run into the broken backstab issue myself, and installed the fix from Baldurdash, and I severely disliked it exactly because I had already been used to its haste effect.

[Kulyok]

And now, I believe you guys all have missed one more argument in favor of using Fixpack for the first playthrough - exactly because it does notably alter several bits of the gameplay, Boots of Speed easily being the most common, it is

better to not get attached to the wonky vanilla behavior and then complain about stupid fixpackers breaking the game.

 

Ahem. Deliberately omitted. Keep telling that to the new players, and there'll be no one left in "I remember how it was before, don't use it" camp. (I could bring up an analogy, but tolerant Western people would ban me).

 

I really should try Fixpack's double speed in my next playthrough. Still severely disliking the composite longbow icon, though.

[CamDawg]

2) Fixpack has been officially approved by the original game developers, which means they would have included it in the first release if they had the chance.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. There is absolutely no official endorsement. I had to get everything approved for inclusion in BGEE/BG2EE by the EE devs, which includes some of the original team. In no way do I want anyone, anywhere to think that the Fixpack has any kind of official endorsement, for it most certainly does not. It will be the baseline of BG2EE (and already is for BGEE), yes, but please do not extrapolate from there.

 

(I could bring up an analogy, but tolerant Western people would ban me).

True. We really don't tolerate any kind of dissent at G3.

[Blades of Vanatar]

You just don't notice all of the bugs on playthrough # 1. At elast not new players who are entering the realm of Baldur's Gate at this stage, especially a newbie who probably doesn't know a whole lot about the game or DnD let alone the infinity engine modding community. Nothing was game-breaking per se in the vanilla game. If something was that bad, a lot of players would never re-visit. Why try to complicate things for a newbie?

[cmorgan]

You just don't notice all of the bugs on playthrough # 1. At elast not new players who are entering the realm of Baldur's Gate at this stage, especially a newbie who probably doesn't know a whole lot about the game or DnD let alone the infinity engine modding community. Nothing was game-breaking per se in the vanilla game. If something was that bad, a lot of players would never re-visit. Why try to complicate things for a newbie?

 

Well, because standards are pretty high for modern gamers, at least in my opinion. I didn't touch Morrowind, Oblivion, or Skyrim until there was a modder fixpack - devs just don't have the resources or time (or lack of corporate profit-centered pressure) to actually get things rolling. I wish I had waited for modder packs for several other games - quest-broken first runs on Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3... bleh. And BG2 is a serious time-intensive game, if you are a completionist - I don't want things not to work when I have put in the time playing.

 

So, to OP, I chime in with a recommendation of

 

Run #1 = Game + Patch + Fixpack = great playthrough.

Run #2 = Game + Patch + Fixpack + ToBEX + SCS = great playthrough. No one can actually make every canonical NPC be a major part in the game in the same run, so take a new crowd of the standard characters first!

Run #3 = Go wild. Just add small numbers of mods, and as a personal recommendation, only add a few targeted to your playstyle at a time. The mega-mod crowd has a great Wrye Bash "every mod out there" approach, but even all thier work can't stop the escalating number of things that can go wonky on huge installs.

 

(Example - my current test/play install is a paladin-centered one. So, while there are strong mods for evil/neutral/thief/mage/etc. players out there, I do not have Rougue Rebalancing, Assassinations, Edwin, or Valen. Instead, I have Divine Remix and a small group of "good/neutral good/chaotic good" NPCs installed. I'd set up a different game if I were a mage-based character, with Spell Revisions... well, you get the idea. With a clean backup, or a decent set of cloned original games, each one can be tailored to suit your character for that particular run.)

[Blades of Vanatar]

_{Well, because standards are pretty high for modern gamers, at least in my opinion. I didn't touch Morrowind, Oblivion, or Skyrim until there was a modder fixpack - devs just don't have the resources or time (or lack of corporate profit-centered pressure) to actually get things rolling. I wish I had waited for modder packs for several other games - quest-broken first runs on Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3... bleh. And BG2 is a serious time-intensive game, if you are a completionist - I don't want things not to work when I have put in the time playing.}

 

_{That makes me think you are assuming the requester, the new guy, is automatically a "modern gamer". I think responsders shouldn't assume that. Of course that line of thought would lead me to think that the first response to a request like the OP of this thread should be a question(s) of the type that probe the requester on his gaming preferences. That didn't happen in this thread and I certainly didn't go down that road in my initial response either.}

[InKal]

Hi, I just joined and am pretty new to the whole Baldur's gate series. Ive played DA:O and the Mass Effect series but I wanted to try something old school. I'm wondering what mods are recommended for players just starting to play Baldurs gate 2. I tried looking for recommended mod lists online but they're pretty outdated so I thought I'd try my luck by asking here.

 

Ive already downloaded some of the most popular mods from this site but Im trying to see if I missed some good mods from other modding communities.

 

Also, are NPC mods recommended for those just starting out and if so, which ones?

 

imo, you should try this:

- BG2

- Ascension (without tactical components)

- Fixpack core fixes (why? coz you neeed scs2 AI improvments. why? coz you need all those mages actually cast spells on you instead of poking you with their fists)

- Unfinished Buisness (Kidnapping of Boo by Clifette is imo one of the best BG2 mods ever. Lighthearted, very positive and very funny - strongly recomended!! too bad Cliftete dosn't mod anymore)

just to be safe - don't enter Sea Bounty in Docks District before the quest starts!

and skip "Cat and Mouse" and "Justifier" and "Fereldan" or somthng components

- SCS2 AI improvements and nothing else

- BG2 TweakPack (whatever you want, I recommend: changing avatar while wearing robes, NPC don't fight, NPC whinig but never leave, romances race restrictions removed, multiple strongholds, just whatever you want...)

 

 

thats all

 

 

PS.

LOL Boots of Speed LOL

[Kulyok]

I'm actually testing Cat and Mouse right now, and will check Kidnapping of Boo soon. In a few days they'll be good to go. (So if you're reading this thread in September 2013 or later, please, install UB. Again, not first playthrough material, though).