Sergio - ex SHS member

Mod is not dead, but production is, well, halted. I was given a couple of tips by AWizarddidit (I sent him the draft of the first part), but I'm currently stuck unable to both play and write due to RL.

If I will have some time back, any time soon, I would rather spend it playing the new released mods - then focusing on the draft I still have in my pc. 

It will be a long while before it happens... Hopefully one day.. 

Just for reference, these are more or less complete: : 

- You should be able to evacuate whole Saradush city by proposing the cleric in the temple; the evacuation would not be for free. You will tell the cleric that they have to pay, and pay a lot. That is If you are feeling kind. If you aren't kind, there will be a darker option available, and it will involve the entity itself. 

- before the mod was gated behind you being evil. Now the entity will react to your alignment:   

- A series of evil artifacts gifted by the entity (right now it gives you his blessing). --> still thinking if it's right to remove the blessings; as for the artifacts I got them in mind already.  --> - There will be a newer fate for Draconis. He won't enjoy what you are planning to do with him.

Very proud for you and this release. I'm really looking forward to playing it.

On 3/7/2024 at 7:03 PM, AWizardDidIt said:

Hey I just wanna say I got linked this directly after having sorta thrown myself into self exile from modding and it really made my day.

I really poured my heart into this mod over the course of a few months, but after release I had this sort of extreme imposter syndrome kind of feeling like it was bad, my coding was amateurish, I was overwhelmed by my inability to do certain things, and I got so caught in my own head about not being able to update everything or wanting to go back and trash and redo so much of it that I sort of ran away from modding. 

But yeah, these comments really help. Uh, so if you see this, thank you?

Maybe I'll try and go back and find the bugs people reported and fix it. And probably just add an extra option for the mirror quest, that one's a bit narrow as implemented for the 'good' option. I unfortunately just don't have a ton of time for modding lately. But we'll see.

Don't miss the second part of the review though : 

I've saved the archive I had published with indications of the bugs. You can find it here: https://easyupload.io/37gufx

Welcome back by the way!!

@SkyeI'm just looking forward to seeing more for Ayden. One day, maybe, he will have a bg2 appearance, and I will be here to try it.

I am back on this. Been a really long while, and I'm constantly editing the text, by adding new options and actually providing a way to offer a good path to the mod. Still cooking.

It is lore-friendly. 

But...

There is a but... you may not agree with which entity I've added, due to his story and direct connection with Bhaal. I simply provide my own "point of view" on what could have happened to him after Bhaal's death.

Some players could easily say that the mod is not lore-friendly, because with Bhaal's death, the entity is a goner. I don't agree - and that's why I wrote the mod.

 

Work halted for now. I wish to do a full playthrough with some mods, and see what I could add. 

Mod diary #2.

Sent the draft to the coder. The mod will be in a 0.1 version soon.

This is what the mod currently offers:
+ Find a new powerful entity waiting in a plane
+ See if you can get his help.
+ Do what he asks, or not. If you do, you will get blessings.
+ The ending of Throne of Bhaal will change, because the entity will be with you, if you actually allied with it. 

//////////////////
 

There would be so much that I wish to add - I will state some examples for the evil paths I'm thinking about adding:

- You should be able to evacuate whole Saradush city by proposing the cleric in the temple; the evacuation would not be for free. You will tell the cleric that they have to pay, and pay a lot. That is If you are feeling kind.

If you aren't kind, there will be a darker option available, and it will involve the entity itself. 

- The vampires in Saradush should be evacuated as well. I dislike the fact that you can't ally with them. You will be able to make a proposal to them, and that proposal involves their help against the enemy that is beyond the walls.
 
- The entity's butler will ask you to go drain a druid grove with a gem he will be giving you. There will be a few surprises there. You can decide to eat the gem for yourself (gaining a few perks) or letting the entity eat it. I would advise you to be greedy.

- The areas I've got now are generic areas; I will have to think about these.

- A special dialogue if you left Balthazar alive and he meets the entity in person. He won't be pleased, I assure you.

- A series of evil artifacts gifted by the entity (right now it gives you his blessing).

- The oasis fight will simply end in you transforming into the slayer and beheading the General. It won't be a good sight for the army. In fact, you will first announce it, then do it. The army will flee, but some will be left in awe because they have just sighted a miracle happening. And you will get your first followers.

- Thinking about adding a good path to the mod? There is a hook already available in reality, but I'm not sure it's strong enough.

- There will be a newer fate for Draconis. He won't enjoy what you are planning to do with him.

These are only few of the ideas. Of course, they are all aimed for Evil charnames. 0.1 has to get out, otherwise it will take years to get released.

 

Mod Diary #1

First week of work done on the mod. I’m currently writing the first “npc” you encounter while playing the mod. I noticed it’s hard to write dialogues! For this reason, I’ve started to appreciate more all the effort put into the quests mods around.

I’m starting to think that the new “areas” should be accessed by Charname alone, because writing for each party member their reaction takes very long AND I’m not even sure my written reactions are on point for each character.

As for the story, a lot of help is being offered in other boards for general coherence.

Gorgon’s eye --> This review refers to the old Gorgon Eye, before TotalMilk90 remade it. I post it simply and only for historical purpose. 

The mod adds a thief guild in Beregost.

The writing is not bad; there are a lot of quests available:
- pickpocketing stuff
- delivering illegal goods
- blackmail;
- investigating.

On top of that, there is also a bounty hunter npc, giving you bounties that you can claim. For each one, you can decide to do the right thing or claim the bounty, no matter how evil the request is.

The dialogue with man with blue hairs is quirky and well done. I liked it.
 

 Thanks for the mod.

I am writing a quest mod intended for evil Charnames in ToB.

When I talk about being evil, I’m referring about unleashing a true evil entity in the realm, and that playing good in this mod will probably punish you. Good charnames will probably earn an exercise in frustration during this mod. And if you are not frustrated, you will find another enemy near Amelyssan ready to spill your guts. While being evil will make the same enemy appear as ally near Amelyssan.

The issue is that I lack the skills to make it happen. While I like trying to write and come up with meaningful dialogues and reasons, I think I lack the skills to do the many jobs at once that are required to make the mod happen. These are:

- new areas
- coding
- adding triggers when you click stuff
- adding meaningful enemies (I’m referring about making worthwhile encounters) and good items.

The mod will have a few quests.


There will also be a new dialogue each time you are finishing a Bhaalspawn. Luckily for me, what I will have to do mostly is simply “deep” dialogues for <charname> and the entity, and some other dialogues for the many npcs you will find during the whole ordeal.

Anyone interested enough in lending a hand?

On 10/7/2023 at 4:51 PM, Skye said:

1) Yeah, warlocks actually get spear and mace proficiency by default. We figured if warlocks get to use them, all thieves might as well. They fall in the simple weapon category in 3E anyway. They don't get to use wands by default but, as mentioned, we consider that to be part of the standard rogue package, so that's why the component exists. But yeah, they're both optional. I don't really find myself using the wands much with thief characters but YMMV, obviously.

8 ) I'll admit, we did hide that more than we probably should have. When selecting where you want to shadow walk, you have to ask Ayden to take you "somewhere special". After that, he'll transport you to the Refuge. It should at least be hinted at how to get there in the readme. The reasoning was that everyone would be curious enough to see where that option leads. Then again, the refuge used to be a very small island with a chest on it and now it's a full-blown stronghold area. He should probably take you there on his own if you don't ask him for a while. I'll open an issue for that.

10) It's an interesting idea. I'll pass that along.

@SkyeI've been playing your mod another bit. Some more thoughts (note that these are my thoughts and as such they are subjective):

The dreadful tales – try it. I won’t reinstall it. (19/11/2023)

This is the mod I like the most by Lava.

On my eyes, it shows the growth of him as a mod author: areas are cool and interlinked without feeling “overabundant”, the dialogue is not bad, the story is not bad either.

But even with these good qualities, the mod shows what I think it’s the limit in every Lava’s mod – talking, moving around, is just a way to experience the content without having an impact. If you are going to play the mod 2 times, the content will always be the same, because the mod is pretty linear and the choices available for you do not have any meaningful impact.

Every mod I’ve played ends always on you killing the bad guy that is too desperate to be reasoned with or too keen in his evil way – I wouldn’t mind, if there were some real options available for the player.

In this case, there is a way to end the affliction of the land, but what if I didn’t want to end it and actually make it worse? What if I wanted to study what the girl did or have my Charname acquire something more useful than the simple thought of having done a good action?  

Also, the re-use of some ideas feel redundant (for example, the kids following you and getting a useless power reminds me of the dream npc in another mod that can’t be enslaved) or the blacksmith not remembering his past and you having to talk with him).

I mean, I enjoyed the mod, but it’s not like I would say “reinstall it”. It’s Lava’s best mod, but it’s still not something I would reinstall in my every playthrough, because it simply shows the limit I always find hard to bear when I wish to replay something.

Thanks for the mod.

On 10/7/2023 at 4:51 PM, Skye said:

cut

Thanks for your answer. Hope to see more from you.

Extra expanded enhanced encounters -> not a bad mod. Try it. Doubt I will reinstall.

You can find the mod here: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/73749/extra-expanded-enhanced-encounters-module-download/p1

This mod add new encounters. Some are well written, but of course, it’s all subjective.

I will just write about what I didn’t enjoy.

- The gnoll fortress component is cool, but after facing so many gnolls, it is sad not to find a stash or something valuable. Sadly enough, I doubt that gnoll would stash gold coins or jewels inside their own fortress. So I doubt this can be “fixed”.

- The Undercity Magma Bulwark Encounter kinda took me out of the game, because they are skeletons and they all have “human” names. That way, they feel more of an ester-egg added by a mod.

Thanks to you both. I was curious to use the mod if this was to be released: 

but it seems the guy has cancelled it as he did with other stuff he planned to make in the past. 

 

How is this mod? Anyone using it?  Any particular issue I should be aware of ?

On 9/15/2023 at 3:51 PM, Skye said:

Hey, Sergio. Thank you so much for trying out the Ayden Project. We've put a lot of work into it over the years and it's always nice to get some feedback.

One of the members relayed your review to Ken and he wrote up a reply for you. In the future, if it's not too much trouble, please tag me in the message or post things in the mod thread, so that we get a notification. We would have completely missed this otherwise.

  Hide contents

I'll address your points here and, if you want, we can talk about it some more.

1) I've spent a lot of time considering which class to base my Warlock kit on in the beginning. Bard and thief were the prime candidates and they both had their pros and cons. I eventually settled on thief because I felt it made more sense and required less effort at the time. That said, I have been considering making another version of it with the bard class as a base instead.

As far as the two features are concerned, I felt that all thieves should be able to use wands, so I added that as an option. This stems more from my love of 3E than anything else, where rogues more commonly use wands and scrolls with skills. I also wanted this to be optional for anyone who felt that this would make thief classes too strong.

As for the spears, I just think it's a very underused weapon group and, as the simplest of weapons, thieves shouldn't have any issues using them. I figured I would try to steer more people to using them by providing this option for all thieves. I added maces because I also added light mace weapons that are useable by thieves.

I didn't add either of these options to Ayden specifically, because I don't think he needs the ability to use either. He's plenty strong as it is.

Neither of these components are necessary for the mod to function and are completely skippable. They simply exist because I thought they were cool.

2) I can add a CHA-based option to threaten the halfling. That sounds pretty good.

3) Originally, he just ran away, so you could never find him again to extort your money back. Since the end result of the quest is a pretty good reward (either Ayden or just the bag of holding), I didn't expect anyone to care. It's something I can consider adding though.

4) Ayden can discern Charname's divine nature, hence he will allude to it in conversations, even prior to the the PC finding out what they are. It might be a good idea to make these more subtle though. I will go through the dialogue and see if I can't make the references less overt.

5) I think that piece of dialogue is in response to you freeing the petrified woman in the basilisk garden. I'll look into that. The triggers might be wrong for that.

6) Ayden's stats get pretty crazy if you let him consume all the cursed items, but they don't really affect much overall. They enable him to be a front-line character in late game, if you really wanted him to, but they only have very minor effect on him otherwise. It's all the other abilities he gets from curse eating that make him a powerhouse.

7) I've used it everywhere and haven't encountered any issues. That's not to say there's no potential for issues by teleporting around the game, but I've yet to receive a single report of it breaking anything. Make of that what you will.

8 ) Did you ever initiate dialogue with him directly? It's not something he shares with you on his own. You have to actually talk to him by yourself.

9) I agree. Standard companions are mostly quiet in BG1, but that would be boring. I'll note in the README that he's chatty and that one should talk to him directly from time to time to get the most out of him.

10) That sounds like a lot of fun. Feel free to share your ideas with me. I didn't give much thought to using Ayden if the player decides not to recruit him.

We've already opened up several issues in our project tracker and the changes are due to be included in v2.7. Some of the bigger changes (like having Ayden stick around if you reject him at the beginning) probably won't make it into that one though.

First of all, thanks for the extensive reply.

1) I didn't realize you are able to skip these components. But I have to add that the reference on these components to the warlock class seems to imply they are supposed to be installed to have the optimal warlock experience (This component will change the configuration so that all thieves and thief kits can gain (at least) 1 point in spear or mace proficiency, like warlock; This simple component will enable the use of wands for all thief kits (including warlocks) if they meet the ability requirements).

2-3-4-5) Nice, thank you. 

6) I guess.

8 ) Yes, I did explore all dialogue options. I'm wondering, what's the specific dialogue option I should be receiving?

10) I had my notes somewhere (can't find them right now), but basically:
- if Ayden doesn't join you, he could become an item dealer (you choose when he will make his offer, it could even be when you first meet him)
- the items he deals are the one you've already made a recipe for, but the recipes are not unlocked when he makes you the proposal; he is still too weak.
- By providing him cursed items he unlocks more recipes.
- No searching around for the "common items" you've put in the shops; I don't know if they are respawnable (doubt it), but I would rather pay more and let Ayden find these "items" himself, if these items are added by the mod just for the recipes. 
- Ayden could become an alternative to Thalantyr Item upgrades; some recipes there make sense, while others don't. 
 

Planning to use this mod because it sounds really cool. Question - do the things highlighted by Graion happen when you are in a megamod setting, or I can be reasonably sure that if I got a slim mod order I can dodge these issues?
 

Graion's comment on reddit about this mod (see here:

It's implementation isn't foulproof though, breaks scenarios where the monsters are counted, and can conflict not just with other mods but any scripts involving the characters you're changing because of your creature switches. Which you decided to blame on other mods and then ad hominem when I found that inappropriate as a response.

Argent77 mods. --> I will review them all together

I have to make a statement before expressing my ideas about Argent77’s mods. Most of them are amazing and always in my install. Thanks Argent77!!

Convenient Enhanced Edition NPCs for BG:EE, SoD and BG2:EE --> will install always. This is a great mod. I use the no-equipment-from EE.

/////////////////////////////////

Hidden gameplay options --> This is a cool mod that I always install, but I dislike the order of the components proposed when you install it. I install only the following three components, that I think can be used by any player (and they are thus the more popular), while the others are more “technical”:
Enable debug mode
Limit ranger/cleric spells
Improved cheat menu
If these three components were to be put first, the mod would be perfect.

///////////////////////////////

Golem construction for spellcasters  --> this is a cool mod, but I don’t like the way it’s executed. As such, I’m undecided if I will be reinstalling it again. These are my impressions on BG:EE:

1) It would be cooler if it was the player agency that activates the mod, rather than the mod being activated from minute 0. What I mean is that you wouldn’t be finding bones or body parts, until you do a certain thing (wouldn’t finding the manual be a good moment?). Having bodies cluttered with different items is not as elegant as it should be, especially when I’m playing with a CG ranger. Why is my charname so fixated on these?

2) I would add that rather than finding all these items, especially when they are so “common”, an item that just siphons these parts without player input would be way cooler than having the player loot so much stuff and having to click so many buttons.

3) Not only that: knowing that I installed the mod, having all these body parts available and not taking them (I leave these items on the ground) makes regret starts sinking in, because I have never played the mod before, and as such, I don’t know how many of these items I need (and I would like to avoid taking a look at the spoiler manual).
 

////////////////////////

Magic store of vergadain --> cool mod, try it. I will always toss a coin if I have to reinstall it.

 This is a cool mod, but:

- I dislike the limited amount of times you can use it daily (3). You should be able to tweak that.

- it can unbalance the game really fast, because you have temples’ services in the wilderness.
Rather than considering it a limit of the mod (https://www.gibberlings3.net/forums/topic/32357-magic-store-of-vergadain-visit-any-store-anywhere-and-anytime/page/2/#comment-323645) I think a good idea would be an optional component that makes building of the artifact and the single parts way more expensive. I would gladly pay 15k to build the “whole” artifact, due to the services that it offers.

Ayden’s project (finished 27/06/2023)

Hello, I’ve played Ayden Project. I will share my thoughts in bullet points.

1) I’m taking a look at two components:

Wands for Thieves: Enable the use of wands for all thief kits (including warlock). (Any)

Thief Proficiencies: Enable mace and spear proficiency for all thief kits. (Any)

Why haven’t you put the warlock class under the bard kit for Ayden, so Ayden can use wand?

And for the thief proficiency, wouldn’t it be easier if you just put these two points from the start on Ayden, rather than touching the kits? Or alternatively, add a weapon that can morph into a mace or a spear that can be used just by Ayden and that becomes stronger with him.

Having a npc mod actually changing the way a class works leaves me a bit conflicted. I could install them safely because I don’t use mods that touch classes or kits (for now).

Spoilers incoming, so I would avoid reading them if you wish to try the npc.

Thanks for the mod!!

Thalantyr item upgrade --> really undecided about this mod.

First of all, even if the mod is named “item upgrade”, the mod adds all the containers of BG2 to Thalantyr.

Second, the mod adds a dialogue with a double space, the following: Can you  make magic items or alter them? (The _ points to the unnecessary double space)

Third, the mod adds, as you can imagine, the possibility to upgrade items you find during your journey. This is a concept that I like really much, but personally, I find the execution very lacking, because improving these items most of the time feels unearned, due to the recipe being extremely easy to satisfy while getting unmatched power from these items.

I will offer some examples. Obviously, there will be spoilers.

So, after all of this, why am I undecided? Because I feel that the only recipe I would be using is probably the one for the Balduran's cloak. All the rest have an impact on the balance that takes me out of the game.

There is something odd going on with the post I've linked above.

When I edited it, the new text belonging to the edit I've made seems to have lodged inside the above part of the post, while it was supposed to be outside, so my edit is not out of the spoiler, like I would like it to be.

I would bet there are some oddities going on with the spoiler commands.

Edit: Fixed it, by removing the following word:
<charname>

You can close this topic.

Sequel of the review above, given that there are some issues with spoilers that make half of my review not appear.

Black hearts (finished 26/06/2023) --> according to me, this is currently the best quest mod available for BG1. Install and play it. I even think that it could be a stable additions in my install all the times I will be playing BG.
 

You can find informations about the mod here: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/82484/released-black-hearts-bg1/p1

Given that the post above highlights what the mod adds, I will simply write my thoughts.

 - If you told me this mod was a mini-dlc, I would have fallen for it. In my eyes, the mod matches a mini-dlc in quality and it is masterfully executed.

 - Illasera is a captivating character and you enjoy talking with her; so much that I kinda loathed when the mod ended. I wanted more.

- The dialogues added by the mod are meaningful, provide enough choices for any character, and when the party members chime in to banter, their banters are on point. Well done on Imoen, especially.

- The quests given by Illasera are funny and provide RP choices. The RP choices do not punish you for going evil. That’s a fresh breath of air for me, considering that I play only evil <charnames>.

 - The new sceneries are well done. Did you make them @AWizardDidIt?

 - I liked the surprise you left with the

. The dialogue there was good too.

 - You won’t believe it, but I liked that you respected the player’s agency. I will give you an example. Other mods (such as Assassination) do not respect player agency by forcing the player to read everything the modders themselves have written. In this one, in the end fight, you can simply click the first dialogue option, and the “bad” guy won’t speak or tell your motives. You go straight to business. That’s a bold choice. I enjoyed it a lot.

Some things to report (I played this mod in BG:EE)

1) I had some difficulties in the quest concerning the mirror. I didn’t expect that the “solution” was supposed to be provided with dialogue. I used Tiax and he has nothing to say for what is happening. I know it’s probably hard to write for him. Anyway, either get Branwen or Ajantis to proceed.
Also, a cleric <charname> should be able to do the exorcism himself.

2) It’s not easy to find the “northern gorge”; you’ve decided to make the way out only in the middle of Farmlands, and by doing so, I had some difficulties finding it. I was able to by using CTRL+4 after clicking “explore” in the map.
 

3) I met a bug inside the new sewer area. When you meet the girl mage and his second in command, she flees because she tells you that another area is currently under attack.
The issue is that when you enter the area (see 00:02 in the video I will be publishing a bit below), there is only 1 Cherise and Malachi, but they get duplicated instantly. And after finishing the first talk with Cherise, you get a second talk, that you are supposed to see only when you’ve finished the quest mod (in the Sanctum area).

Video here: https://streamable.com/68l8w6
Savegame here (the archive also contains the video): https://easyupload.io/bp35vb 

4) Second thing to report is inside the Sanctum area: the sanctum portal has an issue with a graphical line (the archive above has everything)

5) Read the following images.

Heavy spoilers concerning Dark Tidings, so don't read if you haven't played the mod. 

As for the gem

Been a while since I was in these shores. I've played a bit Baldur's gate during SHS down, but it seems that SHS after all these months is probably gone, even if I hope otherwise. I've got a few reviews, and before they become too old, I thought it was time to release them. Consider that I will be copying them into my topic in SHS, if SHS ever comes back.

First mod I will review: Dark Tidings (you can find it here: 

Dark Tidings. Version played: 1.0.  - Play this mod. I didn’t regret playing it; see if you enjoy it.
 

[Story – obviously, spoilers]

So, the good:
- The sceneries and landscapes are pretty good. Acifer is really talented. Whenever I see stuff from him or Gorion I have to take a look.
- The dialogues are not bad; there is choices when you answer to people. The English used is understandable and I didn’t notice any incomprehensible statement.
- The story is crystal clear; you know what to do from beginning to the end.

My gripes with the mod: