mod testing [Mod release] Valen EE - A rewritting of Valen NPC mod for Enhanced Edition

[jastey]

If, of course, we differ with regard to IP in modding where you say it should be possible to just take a mod and change it and release the changes publicly, then this is a principle discussion we won't solve anytime soon. For updating an abandoned mod, CamDawg posted a neat list. I'd add and stress the following:

-always announce your updated mod version in the mod's official forum first. If there is no official forum, do it at the common places (the most active and common sites like G3 or BeamDog's).

-be ready to take down your mod version if asked by responsible people. That could be the author surfacing, or admins from the site it is hosted on.

 

To look at the Valen update in this thread: The OP did three mistakes with regard to the "update dos and don'ts" ethics which was the reason for me to raise the topic like I did on the first page.

1. We believe that Weimer is reachable like DavidW pointed out because he was so in the past.

2. If that is not the case, then here is Valen's mod forum. I do not see a post from Hellmouse about his updated mod version there, but that would have been the first place to go with this.

3. Changes (not engine updates, not bugfixes) were added to the mod directly, and without consent from people responsible.

In short: Weimer's mods are not at all "abandoned".

And more general: even if they were, it doesn't justify to just change and tweak the content to your personal gusto. I can only repeat that I do not understand this mentality. It's like, dunno, taking a painting from Rembrandt and just start editing it because Rembrandt is dead and perception of how people should be drawn and presented in paintings changed. (Take the example with a grain of salt, I know it's a bad one.)

 

That said, Northern Tales of the Sword Coast would be a mod that was updated as a community effort and might serve as an example of what you might have in mind. NTotSC was said to give utterly overpowered loot, be buggy as hell, and only to be played with a walkthrough not to get stuck with the quests.

Long story short:

- @K4thos added compatibility to EET and implemented nerf addons into the main mod that were established in the community. Nowadays, we would add them as additional components.

-I then not only fixed bugs but also edited the content in the following manner:

• I added journal entries so players would know what was the next quest step.
• I added "filler" reply options that would prevent the dialogues to die or players to end in a dead end if talking to the wrong person first etc.
• I added consistent quest possibilities. For example: if someone could be saved by using a scroll of spell x, I added detection of spell x cast from the spell book. If some light source y opened a dark passageway, I added detection of other light sources available in the game or other mods, etc.
• I made the mod resources independent on DSotSC and BGII resources. (If those are present, they will be used, of course, but they no longer have to be.)
• I added compatibility of the mod for BG:EE.
• I made the mod more modular, so it wasn't an "all in one" package any more. The mod consist of several quests, larger and smaller, plus tactical changes etc. Now people have a better choice which content they want. Main reason was compatibility though, because NTotSC adds content that is also covered by bg1ub or Jarl's Adventure Pack.
• EDIT: I opened up the quests and areas where appropriate, i.e. removed restrictions to find them that seemed to be part of the "you can get stuck easily" problem.
• I also added nerfs to some fights. I first changed it in the main mod package directly, which was a mistake. I reversed this and made the nerfs an optional component.
• This goes without saying: I added a detailed changelog of what I changed.

- Since then, more tactical components were added that spice up or nerf the encounters, accordingly.

EDIT: That said, what I did not do to the mod: I did not rewrite dialogues or quests I think are silly or not-so-well thought-through. I did not add content where I thought it's lacking, for example more information to better integrate and understand some smaller quests. etc.