Portraits Portraits Everywhere RELOADED (updated Sept 14, 2024)

[Holden]

So I started out changing a portrait here, a portrait there, and it gradually turned into an obsession.  That obsession led me to replace almost all of the portraits in PPE (all NPC portraits and all random portraits).  

This is the result of literally hundreds of hours of work, most of which was spent making sure the portraits were as lore-friendly as possible.  Generally speaking, I went for a theme of "fantasy realism", and avoided any portraits that were too goofy, anime, actual photos, or easily-identifiable with another IP (Diablo, WoW, etc.).  I also did not replace the portraits for joinable NPCs, as I figure most people would want to custom those themselves.  

There are a bunch of portraits in PPE for Icewind Dale, which I did NOT update.  I will be doing that separately once I play those games.  You might notice there are some portraits named in lowercase; these are all IWD portraits, although there are some which are in uppercase as well.  

I made this for my own personal use, so I will not be submitting it for upload anywhere, but I am happy to share it.  PM me and I'll send you a link to my Dropbox.  

**UPDATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2024**

I have made some updates to the Portraits folder based on some observations made during testing runs.  Unfortunately, my latest install was buggy so I could only test so much.  Please let me know if there are any portraits that appear erroneous.

I have also now completed portraits for most of the major questpacks out there (at least the ones I use).  As of this update, I've added Rogue Rebalancing to the mix (portraits for the Chosen of Cyric Encounter).

Previously, in order to install the quest portraits, the .cre files would have to be manually updated.  Now thanks to ptifab's generous contributions, we now have a functioning Weidu which will allow you to install them all automatically!  Simply install all the quest mods first, and then install the quest portraits mod and run the Weidu ("Setup-ppe_reloaded").  The Weidu will automatically update all the relevant .cre files in your override folder with the correct portraits.  

I have made efforts to ensure that those quest packs that already have portraits are left untouched--please post here or PM me if I've copied over something inadvertently.  To the mod authors, if you have any issues with me adding portraits for your mods, then notify me and I'll remove them immediately.

Quest mods updated with portraits include the following:

- BG1 and BG2 Unfinished Business
- Shades of the Sword Coast
- Hidden Adventures
- Ascalon's Quest Pack
- PPG Quest Pack
- Most of Lava and Acifer's mods (Call of the Lost Goddess, Bloody Stings of Barovia, White Queen, etc.)
- Many major NPC mods
- Many, many more

*HOW TO INSTALL*

The PPE RELOADED zip file contains three components:

1.  Main portraits folder ("Portraits")
2.  Randomized portraits folder ("RandomPortraits")
3.  Quest Portraits zip file ("PPE RELOADED QUESTPACK")

For updating the portraits in PPE, simply unzip the original PPE mod into your install folder in the usual way.  Then open the PPE folder and copy/paste the"Portraits" and "RandomPortraits" folders and overwrite all files when prompted.  Then run the Weidu and install PPE in the usual way.

For the quest portraits, unzip "PPE RELOADED QUESTPACK" into your installation folder and run the Weidu.  Make sure all your quest mods are installed first.  I would recommend installing both the main portrait pack and the quest portrait pack after EET_End if you are running an EET installation.  That way you can more easily update the portraits when future updates are released.  The Weidu won't error if you're missing any quest mods--it will simply skip anything it can't find.

Many, many thanks to ptifab for reaching out and creating the Weidu installer, which is really a godsend.  Thanks also for putting up with all my incessant questions during testing.

Again, please PM me for the link as I will not upload this pack anywhere.  In line with that, please do NOT distribute this pack or post it anywhere.  

Enjoy!

Edited September 14 by Holden

[shaneselva]

[Isewein]

Sounds interesting. Did you include AI portraits or use mostly real art?

[Holden]

Basically, whatever I could find that would fit the bill.  

[medic2000]

Okay now trying the mod.

1-) Why changed Khalid? He has a different portrait between dialogue window and character sheet and now he is an Arab warrior. I know he is from Calimshan but original portrait and newer one is very very different.

2-) Old Tarnesh is better I think. Your version is much more ruthless young warrior type which seems very powerful. But in my opinion he is a not-so-powerful old man trying to grab easy money.

3-) Personal choice again - Sarevok and Elminster better at originals. Though both versions are good.

4-) Nessie is great. Original is very bad. Your version should be cannon.

5-) Joia is better in original imo because she looks like a poor person only having one ring as in her quest while in Reloaded she has to much gold on her and looks like rich.

5-) Generic portraits ike Commoners are much better in Reloded. Because in original mod they are copied from games like Diablo and it is tarnishing the atmosphere.

First impressions, overall it is a very noble effort to make an alternative version.

This should be released either inside the main mod as an alternative or as a separate one.

Comparison screenshots would be great. Original vs Reloaded.

Edited August 3 by medic2000

[Holden]

I had actually meant to keep the original Khalid as I wanted to keep original NPC portraits.  I use the updated one for my own use as I never liked the original.  It's from the Baldur's Gate artworks that came out a few years back.  I use a few of them in my own runs.

The rest I'll take a look at when I get home.  I appreciate the feedback as I've been trying to make the portraits lore accurate by actually researching each character but I've definitely missed a few so the tips are helpful!

If I do enough updates I'll release a new version.  

*edit*

Just checked, and I'm pretty sure my Elminster's still the original?  Also, I can't seem to locate Neesha's portrait.  Joia I definitely agree with you (she's a blonde!) and I'll replace that one in an update later.  Any more, let me know and thanks!

Edited August 2 by Holden

[medic2000]

1-)Sorry, her name is Nessie. She is inside Friendly Arm Inn

Here is the Nessie from original PPE mod which is completely out of place:

NESSIE-ORIGINAL-PPE.bmp 

And your version is great:

NESSIE.bmp

 

2-)Whelp is great!

 

3-)Landrin -> I think your version is very good, the original one may fit her better because she has a harsh voice and saying a hammer can solve any problem And maybe she is old.

https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Landrin

Depending on her reaction, Landrin will offer the quest in either higher or lower friendly terms to the party, highlighting more or less lucrative goals of the quest:

Reaction seven or lower

“

Hey, you. I'm old and my feet are tired. If you could run back to Beregost and bring me a wine bottle from my cellar, I'll give you 75 gold pieces. It's the house right to the west of the Jovial Juggler Inn. If you step on a spider or two while there I'll up the reward, though I'll need proof. Bring my husband's old boots too, if you please.

”

Edited August 3 by medic2000

[medic2000]

All in all this mod is awesome and rectifies the issues found in the original mod. You should release it as soon as possible and this should supersede the original mod.

[Holden]

Thanks!  I am not stopping here haha.  My next thing is to update portraits to all the portrait-less major quest characters for various quest mods I've installed.  I'll be sharing the updated cre files when I'm done...which is at "some point" in the not too distant future.  

The quest mods I'm updating include the following:

-  All Lava's major quest mods

- Shades of the Sword Coast

- Mini Quests and Encounters

- Unfinished Business

- Several major NPC mod quests (Aura, Adrian, Vienxay, Solaufein, etc.)

I would love to release these officially, but given the ownership issues involved, I'd rather keep it very low key and just share through PM.  In the meantime, if there are any issues with what I've released (duplicate portraits, lore issues, etc.) please post them here.  I've already made several minor updates to my latest release and will formally update eventually.  Thanks!

[shaneselva]

[Holden]

Bumping this as the mod has been updated.

[shaneselva]

Thank you so much for your hard work on this and for making the game feel more alive. I've sent you a PM for the updated link and am looking forward to starting a new run with it! 

[alaisFcZ]

Great! the lava mods with portraits will be wonderful! 

 

I sent you a message  @Holden

[Holden]

I've sent the link to a bunch of you already.  Please let me know if you run into any erroneous portraits in your runs, or any characters (with dialog) that are still missing portraits.  

I also forgot to mention that there is a "Miscellanous" folder in the quest portraits folder.  That contains a few extra portraits that I found were missing in my runs, and I would recommend updating those before you start your run.  Again, I haven't been able to test much because my install is bugged, so I'm sure there are many errors/omissions still to be addressed.  

One last thing, while you can update portraits mid-game I've found that the .cre files don't actually update unless you start a new game.  If anyone has a workaround for this, it would be most appreciated.  

Enjoy!

[cdx]

Thank you for the link!

I wanted to play around a bit with applying a consistent BG1 style with Stable Diffusion. I thought about trying to automate the conversion but then realised the mod doesn't work on my original BG2 install and my enthusiasm waned.

If you have an image that could look good, but doesn't fit the style, this may be able to make it work.

Here's what I got, using SD1.5 and BG1 style LORA, the pngs being the new ones:

Spoiler

I like that it changes recognizable images and ones with very different style like arumaid/bdquila/helmbyr/jerresid/limhaid to match BG1 style and keep immersion up. The non-humans don't work very well, the model I used makes them more human-like. I also tried adjusting Noober but couldn't make it work, that face is just too special :).