Found the Himalayas in a cupboard

[Guest Spike M]

So as an old school gamer with years of PnP under my belt and a PC gaming background that goes back a long way. I fancied a spot of gaming nostalgia so a few weeks ago I picked up Baldurs Gate, started to play and wondered what mods might be around. There were a few on Nexus but nothing very inspiring and then I picked up a trail that led to Gibberlings and the epic treasures within, hence the title of the post.

I’d like any advice on whether my plan for my modding approach has all it’s Xvarts in a row.

First up I am using Steam. All my steam games are on a separate SSD. For reference my instal location will be D: steamapps/common/…

Step 1. I make a clean download of the games (BG/BG2/SoD).

Step 2: From the data in the steam directory I make a copy of each of the respective game folders and put it into a new folder for my modded version.

First questions - do I need to copy the game folders into separate folders inside steam or can I put it elsewhere on my D drive? Should I keep the game folders in their separate folders or do I paste them into one?

DLC Merger - I think this is the correct next step. I think I put this into the newly created game folders… (should that be BG1 or BG2?) Then I run it from there.

Project Infinity - Mod manager from the Beamdog Forums to manage the next steps with the following to get me started in my newly minted Forgotten Realms domain.

EET

Tweaks Anthology

NPC kit pack

Finally run the game from the newly modded game files in their new location rather than from Steam.

 

So have I understood the process properly from the guides I have read and laid it out properly here? Thanks for your help in advance you Himalayan Gibberlings.

[subtledoctor]

55 minutes ago, Guest Spike M said:

do I need to copy the game folders into separate folders inside steam or can I put it elsewhere on my D drive?

I’m pretty sure that even on Windows, you can run the game executable from anywhere, which means you can make multiple copies of the game. So I would copy each game folder to another drive, and then either 1) install mods on the duplicate install and keep the Steam copy as a pristine backup; or 2) install mods on the Steam folder and keep the duplicate folder as a pristine backup. 

You run DLCMerger in the BGEE folder, i.e. where SoD is. 

[Spikadelia]

A Quick question on mod order. 

I’ve tried installing these so far but they don’t seem to be implementing the changes to Imoen. Is there a specific order for the following?

Tweaks Anthology

Level 1 NPCs

NPC kit pack 

 

And last of all do I need to run the EET finish up tool after all of these? 

Thanks. 

[jastey]

I'd think it would be

• Level1 NPCs
• NPC Kitpack
• Tweaks Anthology
• EET_End

But please wait for someone to confirm this.

[subtledoctor]

I’d put L1NPCs at the end of that list. 

Mods like those do not affect a character in a game that is already in progress. (Specifically, once you enter the map containing an NPC, that NPC is no longer affected by mods like NPC Kits or L1NPCs.) Start a new game or load an earlier save. 

[jmerry]

And in the case of the original Bioware NPCs, they're in the save even before you visit their maps, from the beginning of the game; loading an earlier save won't help with them.

[subtledoctor]

5 minutes ago, jmerry said:

And in the case of the original Bioware NPCs, they're in the save even before you visit their maps, from the beginning of the game; loading an earlier save won't help with them.

Wait what?? I don’t think that’s the case… but admittedly I’ve never done a test examining this precisely. 

But in any case, re-reading the OP, it’s probably worth stressing that you don’t mod BG games the way you might mod Skyrim or the like. With these games you set up all your mods just so before you enter the game, and then you generally play the game to completion without touching your mods. There are of course exceptions, but this is the best general approach. 

[jmerry]

Right, some testing on that. Because I remember save-editing before a character joined not being so effective...

The Bioware NPCs are in BALDUR.GAM. Once you actually start a game, the CRE is attached to that and becomes part of that file in the save.

Once the character becomes active, if the protagonist is at least level 2, that CRE is replaced by a fresh one based on NPCLEVEL.2DA. Some NPCs may require even higher levels; you probably have to go to the point that there's an actual entry in the 2DA. For example, Shar-Teel's level 2 entry is ****; her first nontrivial entry is Sharte at level 3.

I tested this by starting a fresh tester character in BGEE and messing with the colors of Imoen and Montaron in the save. Very easy to see the replacement that way. And at least in this case, it's not necessarily the first time you visit their area. Orange-cloaked Imoen when I first visited the Lion's Way became pink-cloaked Imoen when I hopped over to High Hedge, leveled to 2, and came back to actually talk to her.

So... there's a copy of the CRE in the save from the moment you start the game, but that's subject to change and will usually be replaced the first time you visit the map containing the character. Or possibly later, up to the point they actually join for the first time.

Edited November 27, 2022 by jmerry