Need some help with mod install order.

[depehb]

Hello everyone. I'm looking for help setting up my BG2+TOB installation. I remember having a text file outlining the install order, but I unfortunately I lost it after a format. I've tried searching the forums for a similar thread, but I'm under the impression that the order may vary wildly depending on the mods, and I couldn't find any threads with the exact mods I'm using, these are:

 

All the official patches (is this needed or is it taken care of by other fixpacks?)

BG2 fixpack

BG2 tweak pack (in particular, I like to use bg1 style proficiencies, not sure if this feature is in this mod, but thought I'd mention this because it may severely affect the other item mods)

aTweaks (not sure which feaures to pick here, and I remember this one causing some trouble though)

 

Level 1 npcs

 

Solaufein

Valen

ItemUpgrade

Ascension

Underrepresented Items

 

ToB Ex

 

Rogue Rebalancing

 

Scsii

Sequencer Memory

 

 

I would be very grateful for a suggested order in which I should install them, as well as general information regarding install order - what sort of mods need to be installed before others and what causes conflicts. Seeing as the order may depend on particular components, please ask me if there is anything potentially problematic, and I'll provide a complete list of components. One last quetion: is Tactics totally obsolete with Scsii? I can't remember if stuff like the Ritual, and the lich in the docks, etc. were included in scsii.

 

Thanks

[Jarno Mikkola]

Well, there's the BiG World Project that tries to get all and every mod compatible with each others, and usually their install order is the best and it has it's own fixpack to the larger mods... however if you wish to have specifics, this is how I might install these:

The ToB patch, v26498, no, it's not taqaken care by the BG2 Fixpack, as the fixpack is actually based on to builds specific which need the last official patch, dah.

Tactics

Ascension

ToB Ex

BG2 fixpack

Valen

Solaufein

ItemUpgrade

Underrepresented Items

aTweaks

Rogue Rebalancing

BG2 tweak pack

Scsii

Level 1 npcs

Widescreen mod

Generalized Biffing.

 

Sequencer Memory - ?? Don't honestly know... it might go after the SCSII, but it might botch things...

 

One last quetion: is Tactics totally obsolete with Scsii? Well, I can say that you honestly don't want both, as the Tactics idea of good game is not that of the SCSII's, but you can install both, just know that you'll be facing harder levels, as the mages can have a lot of levels and the fighters will be plenty. The SCSII doesn't add multiple enemies or multiple counts of HitPoints unless the specific component says so in the component name, it just usually makes the available resourses to be able to be used properly like the player can use them, of course some enemies might have more than the player, which is where the difficulty comes from, and there are optional components that make the game even harder.

 

And yes, you might wish to install the two last entries, they make the game better playable as the larger screen size than the 1024x768 in the original game would CtD for bad coding which the Widescreen mod fixes and you can set the resolution to which ever variables you wish, and the Generalized Biifing makes the moded game load and play faster...

 

And yes, the green mods alter things ... and you might wish to check yourself in the install order, their readme's can also say contradictionary things but the spirit of the argument is that if you wish this mods alteration stay in the game, you install it later than the others...

[depehb]

Thank you very much for the fast reply. I'll start setting it up tomorrow. I take it that the ToB patch is the only one I need to get after installing the game? I'm still not sure if I want Spell Revisions or not, I recall there being some stuff I didn't like a long time ago, but I'll have to read up on the changes. If I wanted to get it, where would its place on the list be? Same for Divine Remix - btw, would you recommend it? As for sequencer memory, well I guess it's unnecessary, might as well get a piece of paper. Once again, big thanks for your help!

 

Ps: a couple more I just remembered from SHS - the Spellhold Gauntlet, Longer Road (or Redemption, never tried them, would you recommend either one of them?), One pixel productions, Aurora's Shoes, Refinements (http://www.spellhold.../ie/refinements/) and g3's Full plate and packing steel (never tried this one, but it seems like a good idea, playing scsii on insane with characters without stoneskin is annoying). Where would they fit in?

 

Pps: If I am only interested in stuff like The Ritual and the two additional fighter kits from Tactics, it makes sense to install it after scsii right? Or are these features already present in scsii? And lastly, if I want the component that modifies the proficiency system to be like in bg1 (in tweaks), would it also affect items that come from any mods installed after?

[Jarno Mikkola]

I wouldn't recomend the Divine Remix because althoug it gives you a varied kinds of cleric kits, they are a little too much simplified divine builds, making them very hard to build a party from if you don't wish to put more than 1 divine caster on your group as, well you kinda have to choose from one type of spell majority, and there's no good protection + healing kits.

The Spell Revision is a good mod, it was done way later than the DR and it shows as it make the lesser good spells better while keeps the good spells almost the same, and it's not really compatible with the Divine Remix, and Spell Revision would go with the Green mods.

PS, the SR summons are, upto a point, overpowered, but so are the aTweaks and the SCS's used ones, so...

[depehb]

Alright then. I made an edit to my previous post with some additional questions.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Ps: a couple more I just remembered from SHS - the Spellhold Gauntlet, Longer Road (or Redemption, never tried them, would you recommend either one of them?), One pixel productions, Aurora's Shoes, Refinements (http://www.spellhold.../ie/refinements/) and g3's Full plate and packing steel (never tried this one, but it seems like a good idea, playing scsii on insane with characters without stoneskin is annoying). Where would they fit in?

The longer road is the long version of the redemption if I remember it correctly...

On the install oder, I already pointed you to the BWP(BiG World Project)... and it's fixes. So use them as you guide... and you might as well use the BWS, and you won't have proiblems with install order, but with too many things to deside from on your megamod, make sure to choose to op-out a lots, and you do that with the instruction on the #3.4's picture. Ouh, and read the rest of this topic too.

The Full plate and Packing Steel mod is good if you find out to be loosing a lot of Hitpoints in BG2, but if you play the BGT you will definitelly not wish to use that, and you will find the vampires/other things harder to fight... as the mod makes your armors AC bad while compensating with damage resistances.

 

Pps: If I am only interested in stuff like The Ritual and the two additional fighter kits from Tactics, it makes sense to install it after scsii right? Or are these features already present in scsii?

Well yes, on Tactics. And no, SCSII might make the same fight a lot harder according to the things you install from it, but it won't recreate "The Ritual from Tactics"... that would be idiotic, and kinda a copyright infrigment(as if moding had that).

 

And lastly, if I want the component that modifies the proficiency system to be like in bg1 (in tweaks), would it also affect items that come from any mods installed after?

In this case the best option is to install the tweak "last"/later than any of the items it might modify, including mod included items, as mods can only edit item present in the game during the time they are installed, not items that are added later.