Any dangers to including EE IDS files in a mod for the "classic" engine?

[temnix]

When a mod is made using the EE engine but the author would like it to be compatible with "classic" (BG2-era) installations where possible, one of the first problems to come up is that the old engine misses many entries in ACTION.IDS, TRIGGER.IDS and others, and misses some IDS and 2DA files completely. Whether or not those lines and files are going to work in a "classic" installation is a problem for later - to begin with, the tp2 file simply will not install. It is possible to go through all of the missing lines one by one and add them, but it takes a very long time. Is there any danger to just lifting ACTION, TRIGGER and all the other necessary files from EE and shipping them with the mod? I'm not talking about crashes and such from invoking those lines inside an old game, I mean just their presence on the lists. There is no difference between the old and the newer files other than the old files stop at some point and the newer files continue with more lines. Right? Then it won't hurt to override the old versions with extended lists. Right?

[Jarno Mikkola]

1 hour ago, temnix said:

There is no difference between the old and the newer files other than the old files stop at some point and the newer files continue with more lines. Right? Then it won't hurt to override the old versions with extended lists. Right?

Patching a file instead of overwriting it is a better option here, as if you won't, you fuck up all the other mods installed before yours. Or at least are in danger of doing so. This is why the G3BG2Fixpack/Ascension/x-non-weidu/other-fixpack mod was installed first... it's not necessary anymore, but that was the idea before weidu got the patching functions... like:

APPEND ~action.ids~ ~352 SetAreaScript(S:Script*,I:ScriptSlot*ASCRLEV)~ UNLESS ~352~

And you know what, they already did this and used the time the install takes to check and fix the files you will now fuck up, so what's your excuse ? None.

In your game, you have all what you like, but consider the larger consequences to others, when you provide mods to them. Aka, you are welcome to try the shortcut on your non-EE-BG2 install... but don't upload mods that are half unfinished.

PS, there was a war weighed upon this, so don't rehash it, you'll loose.

Edited November 13, 2019 by Jarno Mikkola

[temnix]

I'm not going to overwrite files that already exist, only add files that aren't there. The classic game doesn't have SPLPROT.2DA at all, for example. I have this file and others in a separate folder, from where they will be copied if the game version is not a EE. I don't see what the problem could be then. The new files will bring EE functionality (possibly not working) to the classic game, not take away anything. And EE files are more rich than anything added to the classic game in any update, early or late. Or are there some actions and so on that only exist in the classic games that I should be wary of eliminating? When the mod is installed on a EE setup, these files are not going to be copied, but there are a few actions and triggers appended that not all EE games may have.