DLC Merger question

[HotaruPL]

In which folder do I put DLC Merger. The one for BG1 EE or BG 2 EE. Also, I appear to be quite stupid, but do I use user-defined DLC or all available, because I don't quite see the difference between them. I don't use Siege of Dragonspear, by the way

[subtledoctor]

6 minutes ago, HotaruPL said:

I don't use Siege of Dragonspear, by the way

Then I think you don't need DLCMerger at all?

(But I'm not the expert in this...)

[HotaruPL]

Just now, subtledoctor said:

Then I think you don't need DLCMerger at all?

(But I'm not the expert in this...)

I do not know. It's my first go with EE so I do not know  Can I have mods without it?

[jmerry]

The test of whether you need DLCMerger::

Look at your game files, either at the main level that also has chitin.key or a "dlc" subfolder. Does the file "sod-dlc.zip" exist? If it does, you need DLCMerger to install mods that change anything SoD changes (including the list of game text strings, so that includes anything that adds strings). If it doesn't, you don't need it at all.

That file only exists on BGEE with SoD, and only in some distributions; it depends on where you bought the game from.

(Tweaks Anthology has a check for this file; if it's present, an attempted install of Tweaks will fail with an error message telling you to use DLCMerger. I've shamelessly copied that check for my own mods.)

Edited November 21, 2022 by jmerry

[subtledoctor]

1 minute ago, HotaruPL said:

I do not know. It's my first go with EE so I do not know  Can I have mods without it?

So, I glanced at your other thread and I don't have a completely clear sense of what you are attempting. I will say:

• If you just want to play BG1 and BG2, you can play BGEE (which is basically like a pre-assembled very stable Tutu install) and BG2EE. In this case you would of course have to install mods on each game separately (just like playing Tutu and BG2). NPCs will not follow you from one game to the next and if Charname has a mod-added kit, it may get messed up with you import the character to BG2EE (which can be quickly fixed in NI or EEKeeper). In this case you don't need DLCMerger.
• DLCMerger is only needed if you are including SoD in your BGEE game, and you have a version of SoD that operates like a DLC add-on for BGEE. Basically, it is only needed if you got BGEE from Steam or GOG - if you have SoD from Beamdog, then it comes already merged and you don't need DLCMerger.
• If you want to play a BGT-style game, where all content is available in a single modded game and you and companions carry straight through to the later campaigns without any exporting/importing, then you need EET. At least one of the mods you mentioned in the other thread, Cowled Menace, requires EET AFAIK. EET is basically  the new version of BGT - it is a Weidu mod that imports all the BG1 content into the BG2EE game.
• EET requires SoD. I know you said you don't want to play SoD, so be aware of this requirement. (Of course there's  nothing stopping you form using a mod to skip the SoD content inside your EET game.)

Therefore, if you want to play EET, you have to have SoD, and if you got BGEE from Steam or GOG, then you'll need to get SoD from the same place and merge it with DLCMerger. My understanding of the steps involved is:

1. Install BGEE
2. Install SoD
3. Install DLCMerger
4. Install any pre-EET mods onto the merged BGEE (there are only a few... UBBG1, Sirene, Drake, Tenya)
5. Install BG2EE
6. Install EET on BG2EE*
7. Install a UI overhaul on BG2EE if desired*
8. Install a ton of other mods on BG2EE
9. Install EET_End
10. Install any post-EET-End mods (this includes SCS and everything that would normally be installed after SCS)

* I'm not sure of the order for step 6 and step 7, they might be reversed. I don't use UI overhauls so someone else can tell you that.

[Graion Dilach]

EET comes first, then the UI overhaul.

[Jarno Mikkola]

8 minutes ago, Graion Dilach said:

EET comes first, then the UI overhaul.

Doesn't this depend on the exact wants of the user, and so the install order differs... as the User Interface can be wanted to be different in yours and in their games.

Also usually the BGEE and SoD come as a package in a one install, so there's no 1-2, just 1, and 5 can be skipped as that can also be installed way before 1.
And 3 needs to be installed on the BGEE + SoD game. Reply to the original user about this:

7 hours ago, subtledoctor said:

1. Install SoD
2. Install DLCMerger
3. Install any pre-EET mods onto the merged BGEE (there are only a few... UBBG1, Sirene, Drake, Tenya)
4. Install BG2EE
5. Install EET on BG2EE*

Edited November 22, 2022 by Jarno Mikkola