Jump to content

Nox

Members
  • Posts

    30
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Nox

  1. On an unrelated note, last time i checked (2 or 3 weeks ago), Ascension and Wheels of Prophecy had a pretty problematic "Balthazar compatibility issue". Check the Wheels forum for details.
  2. For "BG1 Mini Quests and Encounters", by Jastey, your Google sheet points at a bug with the component "Many Little paws", and you link to a bug report from April 2020. However, looking at the release history of the mod, it appears that Jastey fixed the problem in version 22, released in June 2020. While, i haven't tested this in game, Jastey has released many other patches for her mod, including some that troubleshoot the very same "Many Little Paws" component. Hence, i assume that you simply forgot to remove the warning in your spreadsheet. Considering how hard it has to be to follow everything for every mod, i thought i would drop this comment here, in case it proves helpful.
  3. Yes, you can. I mean, i can do it, too. But that was not my point . The point was: normally speaking, i would rather choose fitting feats after having determined my background, than determine my background after choosing feats in order to somewhat justify the meta choices i made. I am not saying you should do things this way or another. This is my own perspective. And i can understand meta when you play the game for the umpteenth time. Ultimately, you introduce the idea of feats meant for a practical aspect of gameplay. Meant to influence numbers and give more stuff to pick from when building a character. I agree with that. But in my case, i have a hard time dissociating "background feats" and "background story" and believe there is a better way to introduce your idea. This is all.
  4. You seem to have a lot of work ^^. But indeed, once more, i am interested in any project you come up with. Thanks for the answer.
  5. Yes, background reasons. If you read what i wrote again, you should hopefully see that this was indeed my whole point. Background reasons. Yes. Again, maybe that is only me, but i find it much more sensical to have a background that explains how my character is "afraid of spiders" than one that tries to explain how it gets "+1 to all saves". Explaining by a background this "+1 to all saves" ends up most of the time being not roleplaying, but mere metagaming. I have a friend who, even on PC RPGs, first writes his backgrounds, and then rolls his character, including ability scores and class. He rolls his characters 100% depending on the background he wrote, making the rolls extremely unoptimized (fighter with 8 strenght and 18 int? check). Later on, he levels up depending on the kind of life his character has. The end result is that his characters are generally useless in combat, jacks of all trades, masters of none. They can cook and play an instrument, but oftentimes, they can't even hold a sword by the right end. But THIS is roleplay. He writes the background and THEN choses the feats. He doesn't write a background to try and explain why the character has these convenient feats. In my case, i do a mix of both. I never have a character that is too special, except if something requires it (like when i was asked by a NWN2 staff to create a character to take over a faction that lacked a PC leader. Only time ever i played a nonsensical class like "Divine chosen" or whatever). Again, there is nothing wrong with metagaming things if you like it: this is a single player game. And we most likely all have played it so much already that playing it normally simply feels weird. As i said, this was merely my own perspective. My thoughts exactly. This is where my desire to play a fighter dual-classed into Cleric of Mystra stems from. Gorion is a mage after all. It wouldn"'t be weird to have the PC becoming a priest of Mystra or Oghma (because Candlekeep). Actually, i was a tad bit disappointed to not see a dual-class for fighter/priest of Mystra in this mod . But hey, can't have everything.
  6. Feats are an interesting idea to me. And i like that you removed 'utility' feats there, because these, however interesting they otherwise may be, are never chosen. Even by me. There is a power gamer that sleeps in every last one of us :). In NWN2, i would always chose things like 'luck of heroes' because background feats are mere technicalities and do not serve any other purpose, which is unfortunate. Larian solved this in DOS by separating combat abilities from civil abilities, allowing to chose one of both. That was the best way to handle it. But beyond the technical nightmare it would be to implement those, it wouldn't make sense if only the PC had one. For consistency sake, you would need to give one to every recruitable NPC in game, even introduced by mods. If you don't, for me at least, it would become distracting and scream 'this comes from a mod'. This is not the best way to make your character feel special, in my opinion. Which is the reason why i love the Bhaal powers so much. They are rooted in your character's story. Even silly perks you get in Fallout 1 and 2 (like the one you got for shoveling crap) do the job ok. Background feats should come with a background story. A background feat that is not tied to your background story is devoid of meaning and only serves the purpose of powergaming. And in this case, to me, it ends up feeling more like a cheat, and less like a meaningful addition. I always create a backstory and write it in game when i can. In Pillars of Eternity, i even write the diary of my character in the in-game journal. It ends up thick as a book by the end. I would rather have a lore encyclopedia of the FR in a menu for background creation purpose than feats not related to who my character is. Again, this is merely my own perspective. BG lacks roleplay opportunities.
  7. Yes, pure fighters with low wisdom suck at saving against spells. And because they tend to have a high con, they are good at saving against poisons. As usual. If you want good saves against spells, lower your CON and pour points in WIS instead? It is a question of what you deem more important. Or use + saves vs spells / +res items? The most dangerous spells were always AoE CC spells that target the mind, like Terror, Confusion, Domination, Sleep and such. And these saves were always governed by wisdom. I would understand if you pointed out the fact that wizards are at a disadvantage compared to clerics because Intelligence doesn't bolter any saves, as opposed to wisdom. But then again, the strenght of wizards was never in their resilience. If you want a balanced frontline tank, i advise for a multiclassed or dual classed Fighter/Cleric, or fighter/druid. Spells like Armor of Faith, protection against evil, chant or defensive harmony can help. And it is probably more versatile than a pure fighter, which is better at pure DPS, especially if equipped to be hard hitters. I have no idea how it is like to play 'low wisdom typical frontliners' because except for having Minsc in the party, i never tried such a thing. I always try give 14 wis minimum to fighters, if i have a choice in the matter. Well, this is merely my own perspective. I don't mind having flawed characters. This is what makes builds and itemisation fun to me.
  8. This is why i suggested to simply put some gold in a chest and some scrolls in a bookcase. It doesn't need to be perfect. I was about to say that going through a dialogue for this would be uselessly tedious and unimmersive to me. You can buy most spells right out of the Irenicus Dungeon anyway. And it is not like said dungeon required perfect spell selection to be completed, either. Whether people want to learn the spells and rest, use the free spells as scrolls, or simply struggle without using them at all is up the player.
  9. I can't say anything about technicalities when it comes to the IE engine. I can only say one thing as a mod user: the feat system is really cool. At a personal level, if it is about a trade-off, i would rather miss on spells (that you can buy at Ribald's, Hendak's or Galoomp's early on anyway) than miss on the feats. Your feat system is very powerful and extremely fun, and is perfect to differentiate and specialize characters. Which is something that was sorely lacking in BG. This adds replay value. So, if there is no other way to solve this, i vote for maintaining the feats and losing the spells. Put a few of the most important scrolls in Irenicus Dungeon. Or make a pre-selection for those who use Dungeon-be-gone. A bit more gold, too. Allow to rest once for free in the beginning without stating in the log that it is a rest if possible. This is all that is needed really.
  10. This is going to be helpful to determine my choice of mods. Thank you.
  11. First and foremost, this feels like the mod i had been waiting since forever. I always wanted to use Divine Remix (but couldn't). And i had to install many different tweaks in order to emulate part of what this one mod does (with all the compatibility issues that come with it). I can't even start to describe my appreciation for this mod and its author. It already is one of the few "must install" in my list, along with SCS. Regardless, i have a question regarding the component 'Revised ability scores' in relation with strenght augmenting spells and effects. I don't mind having items that set the strenght to one predetermined score (like the belt of hill giant strenght that sets it to 19). I actually like it much better than flats +X to strenght/dexterity enchantments. But in the game, there are plenty of effects and spells that set the strenght score to 'exceptional' strenght. From 18/01 to 18/00. Exceptional strenght is removed from the game with the 'Revised ability scores' component. The readme doesn't state how the mod handles these effects if the component is installed. Are the strenght bonuses converted to the new system? For example, does the spell tweak for 3rd level spell "strenght of one" convert the strenght improvement from 18/76 to something like 19 or 20? Or are all exceptional strenghts set to 18? Or is it handled at all? What about the gauntlets of ogre strenght? Items added by mods? The readme doesn't state anything in this regard, maybe because it is still beta, and so, i am hesitant to use the 'Revised Ability scores' component. Truth is, as things stand, i am not confident at all when it comes to my ability to sucessfully install what i want. And so, i can't simply install things, test, and modify the install afterwards. Actually, it is bad enough that if i manage to install what i want successfully for once, i will likely end up preserving this install for the generations to come... Thanks for considering my question.
  12. Hello. May i enquire about 'P&P Celestials' compatibility with 'Sword Coast Stratagems'? While the readme states 'no known incompatibility', i find it strange that no mention of SCS is made, when the latter has its own "improved fiends and celestials" component and is, by and large, a pretty popular mod.
  13. Safest is probably: Choose one, only install one, skip the component on other mods. Hard to tell how many of these mods check for the presence of how many others during install. ============================= Thanks for the mod. It is great to see new ideas for BG1&2 brought to life in 2023. Regarding this mod, the one thing i really needed is: Because i use pretty much all SoD mods by Jastey, and her Ajantis mod, too, i would like to keep the whole EndlessBG1 experience -for consistency sake- and not overwrite anything with Transitions. Actually, i have probably more than 50% of her mods on my list. That's something. And so, i personally only needed the feature quoted above. May i suggest to @jastey to add this option to BG2 in Endless BG1 if installed on EET? I know it is BG1, but without an Endless BG2 mod, having the component as an option in Endless BG1 would be helpful. And may i suggest to @Lauriel to make simple transition components installable without the whole shebang? And by the way... an Endless BG2 mod would probably be a good thing to make... You end things in Suldanessalar, end up in Hell, and the next thing you know is: war rages, children of Bhaal wreack havoc on the Sword Coast and you end up draged into it just because you were told to talk to some random statue and coincidentally, one of the 5 was there... Wut Bioware? No time to rest. There is a sudden time skip without any foreshadowing of what really is a full blown disaster. What were you doing while the 5 rampaged? No idea, it is too sudden. Probably, some kind of smoother and more progressive transition would help in getting more involved with the dull ToB expansion.
  14. I thank you, too. I couldn't find it. This mod needs to be protected and preserved so that it never disappears into oblivion.
  15. Finally one who says it. I can't even recount how many times i have been thoroughly harrassed by english native speakers merely because i dared commit the sin of suggesting that in my home country, people do not care all that much about english and like to learn more useful (for us) languages, like spanish, or more interesting ones (for us) like russian or japanese. A few times, they even dared say stuff in the lines of "Language is about communicating. You obviously have to learn english. That you seem not to understand that much shows how people in your country really are a**holes". Being taught about "intercultural communication" by such people who only know their mother tongue is more than cringe. All the more so when they are being so casual about it, speaking in an almost jocular way as if you were an idiot who couldn't see what was so obvious for those in the world who are in the know... Without giving a damn about the fact that the whole conversation was me making the efforts to write in their language so that they could feel entiteld to insult me XD. So, i feel the need to note that for once, for the first time ever, i see one who actually makes sense. And i wanted to thank you for that. I marvel every day at how bad a case of OCD i have, that makes me perfect my english forevermore despite everything. ======================================================== I bookmarked this forum page, because it is so useful. Are you chinese? Japanese? You probably are not used to latin letters. One thing is for sure, if using latin letters is as hard for you as it is for me to use hiraganas/katakanas (let alone kanjis), then be proud of yourself, and never apologize to anyone for having poured in more efforts than 90% of those who read you. You owe them (or me) nothing. I really appreciate the reviews and feedback, though, and i may be inspired to write some myself at some point, granted, it is useful to someone, and i finally manage to install my game properly. I suggest Yeslick, Branwen and Alora NPCs. They are versions of BG1 NPCs characters for BG2, like Ajantis or Xan. They seem promising, but obviously, i haven't had the chance to try them yet (still struggling with load orders). But if you liked Ajantis and Xan, maybe these ones may prove to be worth a try, too?
  16. My soul mate. I have been trying to mod Baldur's Gate for years (a decade?) but never managed to get a satisfying install, no matter what tool i used (or if i used any), or how many hundred hours i poured in this. In all honesty, i found it easier to learn the GECK from scratch, to modify scripts, perform manual area/nodes/meshes/UVtextures patching, create my own content mods, tinker with FNVEdit, Audacity, Photoshop, GoldenWave, Nifskope, .bat files, and make 300 mods work together smoothly in New Vegas, than to mod Baldurs Gate. It is the one game i struggled the most to mod in my life. Project Infinity feels obscure to me, too. I mean, the one complex thing with modding BG is the install order. Especially when mods have to be installed by bits depending on what other mods you have. And there is no clear rule to help you understand how you should do it because it is unclear what is contained inside standard BG2 files, and it is unclear how they are modified. You will have no idea what a mod will do exactly and hence, no idea how it will fare once you have this other mod installed. Especially considering that there may be some dirty edits somewhere that you are bound not to expect. It is a lottery. It feels like a lottery. Projet Infinity does not change this. It merely allows to use a convenient interface for doing what i did before with notepad (keeping track of things). So, basically, i you can't mod your game without PI, then using PI won't change your world. PI is good for sparing time. Not to tell you how to do it. And it is not the fault of PI, too. One thing i have learned, though, is that conflicts with Baldur's Gate are to be feared. You know, with New vegas, if a script puts a character somewhere while another mod expects said character to be in its old coordinates, you can simply modify the script, or the quest, or the landscape or whatever and make it work. If one mod modifies an object that has been dirtily removed by another mod, you can simply re-add the object manually from the base game files, and edit it to account for the new mod. There is a learning curve, but one that is manageable. But with Baldur's Gate? It will break and you will have no idea why. I find it extremely frustrating. I tried to open NearInfinity long ago, but it didn't quite dispel the curse. I have only one advice: try to guess when 2 mods may patch the same file. As above poster said: don't install 2 Imoen mods. Even with WeiDU, it is calling for troubles. And so, choose your mods carefully. You can't have 300 of them work together. Or 100. Don't even try. I don't know if it made things worse for me, but i was still using my original version with 5+1 CD for BG1, and 4+1CD for BG2 that i bought 25 years ago. I am attached to my originals, but even installing with the old CDs is a pain, and i ended up buying the EE i really didn't want just earlier. Just because i won't have to suffer with my install nemesis: 1PP. Or to care about language patches. In this case, probably, simpler rhymes with better... PS: If i remember correctly, several mods adds bags of holding. Mystigan was one, but this a feature you will find in many tweaks mods, too.
  17. Surprisingly useful thread. I couldn't find many reviews of mods where people shared their impressions, so this thread happens to be precious to me. Thanks.
  18. Yes, and i'm back ! Just downloaded it. I was right to delay my install back in June 2020 :). Congratz !
  19. Never finished my massive install, but still looking to do it. Actually, i figured it would be too much of a pain to go through the difficult install process more often than necessary. So... Just waiting for this mod to be fleshed out. People will still follow you in 2021. Happy New Year (OOH01 here).
  20. Many thanks for your answer !I can help with English >> French translations, or French >> English ones, but i am most definitely useless when it comes to German, a shame. Well i may end up learning german when i'm done with Japanese and Spanish There is at least one more mod i really want to try. The Balduran's seatower, from this very forum. Maybe, if i manage to get a working BGT install as it is, i will make another one from scratch when both mods are completed Good luck with the translation.
  21. I'm interested in that mod. Actually i have a whole LOT of your mods in my 'To Install' folder But, even if i can make do with english somehow, i don't know a single German word (aside from 'danke'?). And i may start my install pretty soon. I don't know how annoying i am right now, since i don't know how much efforts it would take to add the translated bits to the installation process, but i believe than an incomplete translation is better than nothing. I could install the mod in German, and try to install the translation afterwards. But i am unsure about the feasibility of such a thing, after general biffing is done. I don't believe i could add something in the override? Anyway, thanks for your great work. My future BGT install feels at ease and happy with all these great mods
  22. This b-word... Is it... Balance maybe? I had finally found a readme, which seemed a bit outdated. It answered a few of my questions. The scope is much more ambitious than i thought, and everything i saw seemed interesting AND somewhat balanced/believable. The design view for 'Faiths and Powers' looks to be solid. On the other hand, the modifications are pretty deep and will undoubtedly change the whole feel for divine casters, gameplay-wise, making BG2 a mix of BG2 and something new. Some will love it, some will need to try it to get a feeling of how it plays, and some will look for a more DnD 2-like approach. Still, i believe the mod will be widely successful. These informations you just gave here. I believe you should add them in the readme AND in the Beamdog forums post, at the top. As it is now, this post looks like a version history, with credits. At first, i never imagined this post was the actual frontpage for 'Faiths and Powers'. The compatibility thing (with dead link in the middle, needing the reader to scroll all the way to the bottom to find the actual link) is misleading, since it is actually modder resources for kit implementation. More basic informations about the mod should be presented right away, as in any G3 readme. The Google sheet is NOT self explanatory if you don't already know what this is all about. I don't need to know about Zealots' HP Dices, proficiencies, races, if i don't know what a zealot is to begin with. Even if the details about kits are in the readme, the post should sum-up the basics first and foremost, and warn the reader that the readme is in the far bottom, after the credits part (i missed it complety at least thrice). Non EE players will need to go watch Beamdog forums for informations. They need to know that 'Faiths and Powers' is EE only. I would write this on the very first line, with ginormous, flashing white, sparkling letters, so that even Ray Charles could see it . I say that just so that people who may be interested in your mod have a way to get important informations about it right away, rather than wasting hours to look in every nook and cranny of the net. I believe that would be great for further spreading the word about your mod. Well, that is just a suggestion Thanks for your answers anyway. As i thought, it is not a mod for me, old fashioned BGT (non EE) user. This is a confirmation of what i thought: DR is a much needed mod, even 15 years after it got first published.
  23. Lately, while looking to finally get a large BGT install working (that would be a feat), i started to remember old mods. Azenmod, COM Encounters... The Grey Clan... At this point (2005), Divine Remix appeared. And in the 2010's, came the 'Colours of Infinity' mods, which shared a common ground with Divine Remix: a new, involved, more subtle, committed to balance and quality way to create mods... And now, i just strolled around the never yet published second add-on for BG. As i thought... Modding for BG has changed quite a lot in the last 15 years It's seriously promising. I guess i will make a new install again at some point when this mod is released. I can't really go around the idea of missing on it.
  24. Lately, i have seen more than a few mods stating in their readme and such 'It is meant for EET'. Reason is: the EE gives more tools for modding. One great modder which work i value a lot doesn't develop for BGT anymore (Lava, author of the acclaimed 'Colours of Infinity' series). I am no coder. That's why i said 'DR was meant to be used with BGT'. and not 'DR was developed specifically with BGT in mind'. The end result is that i know for sure DR's design makes it compatible with BGT, and that's a great feature for every player who don't plan on getting their hands on the EE versions. While 'Faith and Powers' is a different story, since i don't quite understand this one. Yes, that's why i felt almost like a scum saying that... I feel the leisure to be frustrated when i never worked to make it work (admittedly, i don't have the qualifications to), while you would obviously feel more frustrated than myself, since you put the hours in it. BG is 22 years old. It's impressive the modding community is still at it. I believe i would voice everyone's feelings by thanking everyone for their involvement.
×
×
  • Create New...