xiaoleiwen Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 (edited) I would like to create this thread as inspired by Cahir's one:https://www.gibberlings3.net/forums/topic/31281-cahirs-eet-epic-run-mod-order-help-request/ This is my second "manual" installation of MOD playthrough. As this is highly likely will be my second playthrough almost immediately after the first 2021 playthrough (expected to be completed in March), I will try to include more MOD or sth that will add more flavours to the original content, without adding too muchuntil I can't finish them. The purposes of this thread are mainly for asking questions for compatibility and choice suggestion during my planning stage (as I know only little for MODs), and seek help for load order "checking" (once decided what I want to install). I will install the game separately (no plan for EET at the moment). My charname*: True Neutral Female Half Elf Fighter / Druid (role play as slight Neutral Evil, such as how Jaheira is "neutral Good" and Faldorn is "neutral evil") Evil teamBG1: Verr'sza +Edwin + White +Sharteel + Vienxay SOD: Verrsza +Edwin +Sharteel +Vienxay + ViconiaBG2: Verrsza +Hidden NPC from Verrsza +Edwin +Minyae + Vienxay MOD that I definitely want to play this time: BG1: (finalized) Spoiler 1. VERR’SZA (BG1EE)https://downloads.weaselmods.net/download/verrsza-bg1ee/ 2. BG1 NPC Projecthttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/npcs/bg1npc/ 3.Sword Coast Stratagemshttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/tweaks/scs/ 4.The Tweaks Anthologyhttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/tweaks/tweaks/ 5. Artaport 4.0https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/51904/mod-artaport-3-1 6. Dragonspear UI++ (v2.42)https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/50357/mod-dragonspear-ui-v2-42-now-compatible-with-bg2-ee/p1 7. EET_Tweaks v1.12 (to reduce xp)https://www.gibberlings3.net/forums/topic/30243-eet_tweaks-v112-released/ 8. BG1 Unfinished Business v16.0https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/38254/bg1-unfinished-business-v16-0/p1 9. Baldur's Gate Romantic Encounters (teen version)https://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/npcs/bg-romantic-encounters/ 10. Baldur's Gate Mini Quests & Encountershttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/quests/bgqe/ 11.Ascalon's Questpack updates to v2.05 (Kerzenburgforum)https://www.gibberlings3.net/forums/topic/30068-ascalons-questpack-updates-to-v205-kerzenburgforum/ 12. Balduran's Seatowerhttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/quests/baldurans-seatower/ 13. Vienxay, a Elven Shadowmage NPC for BG:EE + SoD and EEThttps://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/74701/v1-62-vienxay-a-elven-shadowmage-npc-for-bg-ee-sod-and-eet/p1 14. Northern Tales of the Sword Coasthttps://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/66572/northern-tales-of-the-sword-coast-ntotsc-for-bg-ee-and-bgt-and-eet-download/p1 15. Endless BG1https://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/other/endlessbg1/ 16. The Stone of Askavar for Totsc, Tutu, BGT and BG:EEhttps://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/42168/mod-the-stone-of-askavar-for-totsc-tutu-bgt-and-bg-ee/p1 17. White NPC https://downloads.weaselmods.net/download/white-npc/ 18. The Lure of the Sirines Call https://github.com/Pocket-Plane-Group/Lure_Of_Sirines_Call/releases 19. Item Randomiserhttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/items/item_rand/ 20. Shades of the Sword Coast https://downloads.weaselmods.net/download/shades-of-the-sword-coast/ BG2: (finalized) Spoiler 1. VERR’SZA (BG2EE)https://downloads.weaselmods.net/download/verrsza-bg2ee/ 2. The Beaurin Legacyhttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/npcs/beaurin/ 3.Sword Coast Stratagemshttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/tweaks/scs/ 4.The Tweaks Anthologyhttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/tweaks/tweaks/ 5. Artaport 4.0https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/51904/mod-artaport-3-1 6. Dragonspear UI++ (v2.42)https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/50357/mod-dragonspear-ui-v2-42-now-compatible-with-bg2-ee/p1 7. EET_Tweaks v1.12 (to reduce xp)https://www.gibberlings3.net/forums/topic/30243-eet_tweaks-v112-released/ 8. Unfinished Businesshttps://github.com/Pocket-Plane-Group/UnfinishedBusiness/releases 9. Assassinationshttps://github.com/Pocket-Plane-Group/Assassinations/releases 10. SOUTHERN EDGEhttps://downloads.weaselmods.net/download/southern-edge/ 11. OOZE’S LOUNGEhttps://downloads.weaselmods.net/download/oozes-lounge/ 12. EILISTRAEE’S SONGhttps://downloads.weaselmods.net/download/eilistraees-song/ 13. TANGLED OAK ISLEhttps://downloads.weaselmods.net/download/tangled-oak-isle/ 14. Crossmod Banter Packhttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/npcs/crossmod/ 15. Baldur's Gate II Romantic Encountershttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/npcs/romantic-encounters/ 16. Almateria's Restoration Project 8.4http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1053-almaterias-restoration-project/ 17.Ascalon's Questpack updates to v2.05 (Kerzenburgforum)https://www.gibberlings3.net/forums/topic/30068-ascalons-questpack-updates-to-v205-kerzenburgforum/ 18.Skitia's NPCs For BG2:EE and EEThttps://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/78071/v1-00-skitias-npcs-for-bg2-ee-and-eet/p1 19. Back to Brynnlawhttps://www.pocketplane.net/back-to-brynnlaw/ 20. The Sellswordshttps://www.pocketplane.net/the-sellswords/ 21. THE WHITE QUEENhttps://downloads.weaselmods.net/download/the-white-queen/ 22. I SHALL NEVER FORGEThttps://downloads.weaselmods.net/download/i-shall-never-forget/ 23. Ascensionhttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/quests/ascension/ 24. Fishing for Trouble 3.2.7http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1084-fishing-for-trouble/ 19. Item Randomiserhttps://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/items/item_rand/ 20. Reunion https://www.pocketplane.net/reunion/ MOD that I want to play but still hesitating:BG1: Spoiler Shar-Teel NPC mod (SoD)https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/62941/work-in-progress-shar-teel-npc-mod-sod/p1 - I'm afraid she does not have many interjections or reaction to the quests - work in progress status, unsure about the stability Enhanced Edition: Cosmetic Enhancements - v1.0.1https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/80271/mod-enhanced-edition-cosmetic-enhancements-v1-0-1-released#latest - not sure if I should use this, as I totally have no idea for its category (install order) using PI. Installed in a fresh game and really like the changes. The clouds are so beautiful. BG2: Spoiler Enhanced Edition: Cosmetic Enhancements - v1.0.1https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/80271/mod-enhanced-edition-cosmetic-enhancements-v1-0-1-released#latest - not sure if I should use this, as I totally have no idea for its category (install order) using PI. Installed in a fresh game and really like the changes. The clouds are so beautiful. MOD that I want to play initially but decided to leave for another playthrough: Spoiler 1. BG1 NPC for SOA: - I have a look at Shar-Teels talks, and the writing style indeed different from BG1 NPC one (different authors). Hence, it will be better to play this MOD in the future. 2. Tales of Aneghhttp://www.shsforums.net/topic/42996-tales-of-anegh/ - Looks cool addition to TOB but not sure I can tolerate the translation. Read something saying it's like google translate.. 3. Questpackhttps://www.pocketplane.net/quest-pack/ - Looks great to have alternative solution, but I think it will make my MOD npc interject less, so I will leave it for future playthrough when I use more vanilla npc. BG1EE+SOD Load order draft: (kindly advise me) Spoiler 0. DLC Merger UI: 1. Dragonspear UI++ v2.41 Quests: 2. BG1 Unfinished Business v16.3 - Install all components 3. The Stone of Askavar V2.2 - Default Version 4. Northen Tales of the Sword Coast 4.2.0 - Install all components 5. Baldur's Gate Mini Quests & Encounters V23 - Install all components 6. Ascalon's Questpack V3.0 7. Balduran's Seatower 8. Endless BG1 6.1 - Install all components 9. Baldur's Gate Romantic Encounters 6.0 - Teen version and skip components with warnings 10. Lure_Of_Sirines_Call V16 11. Shades of the Sword Coast NPC: 12. The BG1NPC Project V25 13. White 2.11 14. SharTeel NPC v1.4 15. Verrsza 5.3 16. Vienxay 1.62 Item: 17. Item Randomiser V7 - Mode 2: Randomise with WeiDU. No items are lost Spells:18. Enhanced Edition: Cosmetic Enhancements - v1.0.1 - Enhanced IWD-style audio-visual effects for spells - Enhanced animations for several creature types - Cosmetically enhances existing items within Baldur's Gate:EE, Siege of DragonSpear, Baldur's Gate 2:EE, and Icewind Dale:EE Tweak: 19. The Tweaks Anthology - Several components - to install Icewind Dale Casting Graphics 20. EET_Tweaks v1.12 - xp for killing creatures 75% - xp for quests 75% AI: 21. SCS - All AI components- Include arcane spells from Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition (BGEE, BG2EE, EET) - Include divine spells from Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition (BGEE, BG2EE, EET) 22. Portrait: Artaport 4.0 BG2 Load order (drafting...) - Questions: BG1: 1) Has anyone played Shar-Teel SOD before? Does she have interjections with quests or talks related to story? BG2: 1) Is there any MOD NPCs that I want to bring here will conflict with Bodhi's route in Chapter 3? 3) SCS has a component that move WK to between SOA and TOB. I love this idea, however, just want to confirm, does it affect anything that will be carried forward from SOA to TOB? For example, a lot of MOD npc will start new talks / romance contents in TOB. Do these talk start in WK if I use this component? Both: 1) Looking for suggestion for MOD with good looking area (not copy paste from original BG area) and good quests. To exclude: - The Grey Clan (tried in 2020, good quests) - Dark Side of the Sword Coast (I remember I didn't like it last year) 2) Is there any quests MODs with interjections from vanilla npc (Edwin, Imoen etc) - I love how vanilla npcs interject in Xan's quest in my current game. 3) Any suggestion for MOD that improve role-playing of evil character? Edited June 25, 2022 by xiaoleiwen Quote Link to comment
xiaoleiwen Posted February 25, 2021 Author Share Posted February 25, 2021 I will use here / open another thread for something similar to this thread, after completing this playthrough: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/81506/reviews-for-my-2021-modded-playthrough-bg1-sod-bg2#latest Quote Link to comment
jastey Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 2 hours ago, marcnivar said: 3) Is there any quests MODs with interjections from vanilla npc (Edwin, Imoen etc) Not sure whether this isyour question, but the Balduran's Seatower mod adds interjections in its quests for some NPCs, Edwin also at some onstances and Imoen even more. Oh, and that mod also fulfills the requested critria of good looking new areas. And good quests, of course. I'm not biased at all or anything. 2 hours ago, marcnivar said: 2) Is there any MOD that can delay the transition to TOB after Hell (SOA)? I think Transitions does that (new mod here at G3). It's not compatible with Tamoko (in EET) either, though, as it also delays the trasition to SoD. Compatibility (of sorts) with Endless BG1 is given. I don't know whether the transition to ToB could be installed as a single component, in that case that would be no problem. 2 hours ago, marcnivar said: 1) If romantic encounter mod changes a dialogue with certain npc, is it possible that it will prevent the interjection from a MOD npc ? I don't understand the question: interjections from mod NPCs are added by the mod NPCs which are usually installed later than the RE mods, so interjections included in the RE mods can't overwrite them. (?) Quote Link to comment
xiaoleiwen Posted February 25, 2021 Author Share Posted February 25, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, jastey said: I don't understand the question: interjections from mod NPCs are added by the mod NPCs which are usually installed later than the RE mods, so interjections included in the RE mods can't overwrite them. (?) Sorry perhaps my bad English...I asked this because I thought romantic encounter may change the vanilla dialogues, so if that is the case, maybe it will prevent the interjection, because I thought interjection is triggered by vanilla dialogues. 1 hour ago, jastey said: Not sure whether this isyour question, but the Balduran's Seatower mod adds interjections in its quests for some NPCs, Edwin also at some onstances and Imoen even more. Oh, and that mod also fulfills the requested critria of good looking new areas. And good quests, of course. I'm not biased at all or anything. I know this MOD, I saw the art somewhere before and I remember how impressed I was that time, how can I forget this. 1 hour ago, jastey said: I think Transitions does that (new mod here at G3). It's not compatible with Tamoko (in EET) either, though, as it also delays the trasition to SoD. Compatibility (of sorts) with Endless BG1 is given. I don't know whether the transition to ToB could be installed as a single component, in that case that would be no problem. I will install it into a fresh game and see how does it work once I have the SOA end game save file from current game Thanks for the suggestion Edited February 25, 2021 by marcnivar Quote Link to comment
Chitown Willie Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 Hi marcnivar, Some random thoughts: I would recommend "Rogue Rebalancing" and "Song & Silence" for thief/bard refinements; it's always included in all my builds. I really like the Amazon kit for Sharteel (part of Turambar Mod); adds a lot of flavor and seems to fit her perfectly. Similarly, I like the Priest of Tempus kit for Branwen (again, part of Turambar); adds ability-based progression (i.e., new abilities at 3rd/4th/10th levels). You may want to revisit "Dark Side of Sword Coast" & "Northern Tales"; latest versions (4.1 & 4.2, respectively) were released on 12/13/20. "Ascalon's Questpack" is now at v3.0. If you're going to play an evil Fighter/Thief, why not simply recruit Montaron? That frees you up to choose something different. If you want to backstab mages, simply tone down the SCS difficulty; in other words, "Mages (advance casting of spells before battle) > TACTICAL". Then enemy mages will not automatically come buffed with Mirror Image. IMHO, beserkers & barbarians are slightly overpowered in BG1. Many of the typical challenges (e.g., sirines, shamans w/ Rigid Thinking) are cakewalks with Enrage; just some food for thought with White. You don't have a dedicated utility thief (i.e., thief focused on Find Traps/Open Locks), and as a multiclass, you will progress more slowly - Again food for thought. Quote Link to comment
xiaoleiwen Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 On 2/25/2021 at 11:54 PM, Chitown Willie said: Hi marcnivar, Some random thoughts: I would recommend "Rogue Rebalancing" and "Song & Silence" for thief/bard refinements; it's always included in all my builds. I really like the Amazon kit for Sharteel (part of Turambar Mod); adds a lot of flavor and seems to fit her perfectly. Similarly, I like the Priest of Tempus kit for Branwen (again, part of Turambar); adds ability-based progression (i.e., new abilities at 3rd/4th/10th levels). You may want to revisit "Dark Side of Sword Coast" & "Northern Tales"; latest versions (4.1 & 4.2, respectively) were released on 12/13/20. "Ascalon's Questpack" is now at v3.0. If you're going to play an evil Fighter/Thief, why not simply recruit Montaron? That frees you up to choose something different. If you want to backstab mages, simply tone down the SCS difficulty; in other words, "Mages (advance casting of spells before battle) > TACTICAL". Then enemy mages will not automatically come buffed with Mirror Image. IMHO, beserkers & barbarians are slightly overpowered in BG1. Many of the typical challenges (e.g., sirines, shamans w/ Rigid Thinking) are cakewalks with Enrage; just some food for thought with White. You don't have a dedicated utility thief (i.e., thief focused on Find Traps/Open Locks), and as a multiclass, you will progress more slowly - Again food for thought. Thanks for the suggestion, I still prefer the vanilla thief rules / kits at the moment. "Dark Side of Sword Coast" & "Northern Tales"- I played them early last year and I remember these MODs reuse several vanilla areas. I would prevent this type of MOD at the moment. Role-playing as a fighter / thief is quite different from just having a companion with this class...I will start up with more utility focus, and eventually more points into backstabbing build. Quote Link to comment
jastey Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 7 hours ago, marcnivar said: "Dark Side of Sword Coast" & "Northern Tales"- I played them early last year and I remember these MODs reuse several vanilla areas. I'm not trying to change your mind, but just to be nitpicky: NTotSC has custom areas even though some are quite obviously edited original areas. DSotSC reuses original areas. It's one of the first big mods and from a time where 56k modems where super fast internet connections, and it enabled a great dungeon quest while keeping the file size low. Quote Link to comment
xiaoleiwen Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 2 hours ago, jastey said: I'm not trying to change your mind, but just to be nitpicky: NTotSC has custom areas even though some are quite obviously edited original areas. DSotSC reuses original areas. It's one of the first big mods and from a time where 56k modems where super fast internet connections, and it enabled a great dungeon quest while keeping the file size low. Ya I read this somewhere before, and I fully understand this. I heard dsotsc since I was very young. Just mentioning what I’m trying to avoid now, because I’m someone prefers not to run through same / too similar dungeons in a single playthrough, its more for immersion reason. As I played them before, generally I won’t replay something twice unless there are different experiences in another run, like having different interjections from npc, such as those in bg2 vanilla quests. It just personal preference to keep the experience fresh for a game that I will play numerous times. There are definitely good things from these older mods, for example, I may not think their stories are extremely interesting, but I still remember I was quite surprise with the writing that time. Just like bg1 npc mod, I was quite surprise the writing of these mods can be very close to the level of original bg1. I think I could have mixed up my impression for these two mod. I remember there are custom areas, probably from ntotsc, but the areas that I remember the most now are those vanilla dungeons that are very big and quite a number to explore (should be the quest for duergars or sth). Quote Link to comment
jastey Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 5 hours ago, marcnivar said: It just personal preference to keep the experience fresh for a game that I will play numerous times. Totally understandable! The dungeon crawl you remember is DSotSC, but I'm only giving additional info. Not attempting to make you install a mod you might not enjoy (again). Quote Link to comment
InKal Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 to be honest: - don't install Dark Side of the Sword Coast, it is a buggy mess that can even crash your game. - I don't like Dragonspear UI++ inventory screen. The idea is good but executiion very bad imo and it also slows your game. just my opinion. - you should install Ascension and prioritise it I mean if a mod is incompatible uninstall that mod. but I don't think that there is such mod. - imo Song and Silence is kinda obsolete if you have Rogue Rebalancing installed which you should btw. and there are two new mods I would recommend: Lava's Shades of the Sword Coast and Skitia NPC for BG2EE. Quote Link to comment
jastey Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 34 minutes ago, InKal said: and Skitia NPC for BG2EE. Which also exist for BG:EE. Quote Link to comment
xiaoleiwen Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 7 hours ago, InKal said: to be honest: - don't install Dark Side of the Sword Coast, it is a buggy mess that can even crash your game. - I don't like Dragonspear UI++ inventory screen. The idea is good but executiion very bad imo and it also slows your game. just my opinion. - you should install Ascension and prioritise it I mean if a mod is incompatible uninstall that mod. but I don't think that there is such mod. - imo Song and Silence is kinda obsolete if you have Rogue Rebalancing installed which you should btw. and there are two new mods I would recommend: Lava's Shades of the Sword Coast and Skitia NPC for BG2EE. I like Dragonspear UI very much, spent around 200 hours in current game with this UI, I think I prefer the inventory screen than the original. The thing that I really like: - inventory (can see items from everyone) - dialogue (a "frame" for the portrait - supported a bigger portrait) - no side bar (screen looks wider) Lava's Shade of the Sword Coast- I plan to play it in the future, as I see he is still updating new contents for this MOD. Skitia NPC- I wanted to keep her MOD for future game when I take all of them in a same party (for banters). However, perhaps I can consider including this in my current playthrough... This mod has a evil female mage which looks like a good idea to include in my current game...If she can be used as an utility thief in BG1, perhaps I should reconsider my charname class.. Quote Link to comment
xiaoleiwen Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 @jastey Hi Jastey, I think I saw you (or someone else if I have mistaken) mentioned that the BG1NPC mod is designed in a way that to make all npcs have similar amount of content, and that is the reason why it could be difficult to add EE npc into this MOD, something like that. As someone who considers npc interactions with vanilla main / side quests as something most important for every new playthrough (need motivation to replay same thing), I found a file `For Modders: Interjections by NPC` under readme which looks like the total number of all interjections written for the npcs, and I noticed that some have really a lot (like Garrick has110+ interjections), but some only a few (like Kagain just has 4)... So I would like to confirm, is it really because some like Kagain, Xzar etc have very few interactions, or is it because they have more interactions in the other ways (maybe they have more location trigger or quest-trigger NPC initiated talk)? I would also like to ask, do the npcs who join later in game (those in baldur's gate) have interactions outside of baldur's gate? I know there is MOD to move them to locations that can join earlier, but if they do not interact with earlier quests, perhaps I won't use the change location MOD. Quote Link to comment
jastey Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 If you looked at the file with listed interjection points then you know where the NPCs interject. All I could do is look it up myself for you. I know that I gave Ajantis lots of interjections in Beregost/Nashkel although some players might only pick him up when travelling north to Baldur's Gate. The interjections and overall contents for NPCs depends on what the writers came up with, and also (in the case of Imoen) how long they stayed with the team. Giving NPCs the same amount of content was the goal and the overall call of this mod. It's the reason why the friendship mods for Garrick, Xan, Coran, and Ajantis are not included since the other NPCs would have much less dialogues. The reason that the EE NPCs are not considered is simply because the mod was done - and closed content wise - long before the EE games came along. Quote Link to comment
xiaoleiwen Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 7 hours ago, jastey said: If you looked at the file with listed interjection points then you know where the NPCs interject. All I could do is look it up myself for you. I know that I gave Ajantis lots of interjections in Beregost/Nashkel although some players might only pick him up when travelling north to Baldur's Gate. The interjections and overall contents for NPCs depends on what the writers came up with, and also (in the case of Imoen) how long they stayed with the team. Giving NPCs the same amount of content was the goal and the overall call of this mod. It's the reason why the friendship mods for Garrick, Xan, Coran, and Ajantis are not included since the other NPCs would have much less dialogues. The reason that the EE NPCs are not considered is simply because the mod was done - and closed content wise - long before the EE games came along. Thanks for explaining, so I think I can use that file to roughly know who has more interjections and where they may have it. As some of the evil npcs have only few interjections, perhaps I should take someone else with neutral alignment but fit an evil team..(like Faldorn..) Quote Link to comment
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