Disliking for SoD

[Guest Morgoth]

 I bought SoD and I played it only once - I dislike it vehemently. But there is one thing that I like about it - some of the side quests. Has anyone actually given a thought about moving some of the side quests to BG2?  it would be a cool homage to some of the good content inside SoD itself (provided that you got the original SoD,)

So basically:
1) you skip the main quest of the SOD expansion,
2) you get some good side quests in BG2 - SoA, if you've bought the SOD expansion.

Cheers

[Thacobell]

Even ignoring the legal issues with making SoD content available to players without buying SoD, that seems to break the whole modders code with the whole, "taking somebody else's work for your own project without permission". 

Also, SoD's good ya'll.

[jastey]

It could be realized by a mod that makes EET a better playing experience: making the areas accessible in BGII and clearing them from references to the actual SoD campaign and therefor making the side quests available after SoD is finished so one doesn't have to go dungeon-digging while fighting of a rampaging crusade but could finish them afterwards. For skipping SoD, there is already mods available that could be added to serve the purpose.

@Thacobell the OP stated clearly that it would only be for people who own the SoD campaign, i.e. playing EET.

[Thacobell]

I swear the "provided you already own SoD" wasn't there when op posted. But, my memory has played tricks on me before. 

[Guest Morgoth]

Well, I'm a guest and as such I cannot edit my post  - so the statement about SOD being owned was already there.

Anyway, for Jastey, I dislike EET and I find it cheesy to go back to original places.

> I was more referring to the fact that SoD content could be applied to SoA map to make it more meaningful. How? By making it so that you can go through these places when you have to reach far places. 

E.g: when you have to go to Windspear hills, you first stop into Coast way Crossing. You would have to reach the corner of the map and click to actually reach Windspear.

Basically, make the side quest areas of SoD a pit stop to reach outer regions of SoA, such as trademeet, windspear, umar hills, rather than charname being able to reach these places without any issue (unless you think the  "you have been waylaid by enemies and must defend yourself" encounter is an issue).

> In fact I was thinking about asking you, Jastey, to make these side quest areas available in BG1, without having to go through SoD with your endless bg1 mod. That would be really really cool.

[jastey]

4 minutes ago, Guest Morgoth said:

In fact I was thinking about asking you, Jastey, to make these side quest areas available in BG1, without having to go through SoD

I won't make such a tweak, I am sorry. I don't think it's feasible. As it stands, you could start SoD, skip the Korlasz' crypt via my tweakpack or completely via Transitions, go into the Coast Way Crossing area and make the dwarven dig site and all other side quests, have a small chat with Caelar, move camps until the big coalition camp, make all side quests, and skip all the rest via Transitions.

5 minutes ago, Guest Morgoth said:

I was more referring to the fact that SoD content could be applied to SoA map to make it more meaningful. How? By making it so that you can go through these places when you have to reach far places. 

E.g: when you have to go to Windspear hills, you first stop into Coast way Crossing. You would have to reach the corner of the map and click to actually reach Windspear.

I don't think that makes sense from the geographical point of view. Unless you pretend the areas to be some completely other region.

[Thacobell]

"Well, I'm a guest and as such I cannot edit my post  - so the statement about SOD being owned was already there."

My memory it was, then. Curse you memory!

[Guest Morgoth]

33 minutes ago, jastey said:

I don't think that makes sense from the geographical point of view. Unless you pretend the areas to be some completely other region.

This is a statement I would have agreed with a bit of time ago. I've lost all the interest into "canon" from the moment that all Baldur's gate games were made not canonical.

I'm not fixated anymore into areas and "extreme" lore-friendlyness because nothing that happens inside Baldur's gate (including SoD) is canon or lore-compliant.

You could put every area of SoD inside BG and I would not be remotely concerned about it being lore-unfriendly, because there is no point into trying to adhere as strictly as possible to lore, when you consider that everything that happens in these games is not linked to lore anymore. Our charname simply does not exist. Could be an alternative reality - would an alternative reality care about areas mentioned in the "canonical" lore being in other places?

But these thoughts are now part of the fact that as a player, given the fact that what we do in these games doesn't matter, my purpose has shifted from Lore-friendly to "serviceable" or "could be happening" stuff. Of course you wouldn't put a dragon demilich inside the center of Akthlaka right when you get out of Irenicus dungeon, but putting new areas in SoA map, even if they do not match where they are supposed to be, doesn't feel that wrong anymore to me.

But hey, everyone has a different opinion on these matters - and I think that the place I mentioned was not the best place I could mention.
 

[Thacobell]

The games still have their own internal lore though. 

[jastey]

20 minutes ago, Guest Morgoth said:

my purpose has shifted from Lore-friendly to "serviceable" or "could be happening" stuff

Hmm, I am not too far away from that in some (all? - Not Ajantis BG1! I only used canon lore in his lovetalks) of my mods. But for some reason, straying too far from the Faerun map would thow me off. Maybe not while playing it the first time, but definitely once I'd find out it doesn't match.

[Axatax]

I liked SoD.  I think the timing of the release might have been unfortunate.  Everything now is interpreted through some type of political lens.

 

[Thacobell]

8 hours ago, Axatax said:

I liked SoD.  I think the timing of the release might have been unfortunate.  Everything now is interpreted through some type of political lens.

 

What isn't these days? its politics or nostalgia all the way down.

[Ardanis]

On 11/2/2021 at 6:11 PM, jastey said:

As it stands, you could start SoD, skip the Korlasz' crypt via my tweakpack or completely via Transitions, go into the Coast Way Crossing area and make the dwarven dig site and all other side quests, have a small chat with Caelar, move camps until the big coalition camp, make all side quests, and skip all the rest via Transitions.

Or just add SetPrivateProfileString('Script','QAMODE','1') line to baldur.lua, then select Player1, press B key and jump chapters as you wish

You can also toggle the debug menu on by setting global via console, but I forgot its name.

Edited November 5, 2021 by Ardanis

[jastey]

15 hours ago, Ardanis said:

add SetPrivateProfileString('Script','QAMODE','1') line to baldur.lua, then select Player1, press B key and jump chapters as you wish

Game story progression via this "cheat" / QA feature doesn't work for me once I reach Coastway Crossing, at least not if I cheated there. There is no option in the dialogue available. Just for info. But yes, that feature is very much appreciated and I use it a lot for testing purposes.

 

15 hours ago, Ardanis said:

You can also toggle the debug menu on by setting global via console, but I forgot its name.

C:SetGlobal("BD_QAMODE","global",1)

[InKal]

SoD is pretty good Icewind Dale expansion.