cowking

The component "Party's items are taken from them in Spellhold" doesn't work 100% correctly in multiplayer, as the non-magical items inside the asylum bag of holding can't be removed. As soon as you close the bag, every item added by scsii respawns inside of it. Works if I transfer the save into single player, but is somehow bugged in multiplayer. Also "Improved fight with Irenicus in Spellhold" in multiplayer makes it so that only the bhaalspawn player retains control of his character during this fight (when the clones spawn). Other players turn hostile (uncontrollable), and their clones are neutral/party friendly, but cannot be controlled. This can be avoided by having the bhaalspawn player control all characters when the clones spawn, and then give character control back to other players. Any idea what could be causing the bag of holding bug (and how to get rid of it?).

Joluv appeared after completing five flagons, so I guess I was right.

Checked the save game variables. DMWWBONUSMERCHANT=3 WMSPAWNDEIDRE=2 WMSPAWNJOLUV=2 After checking Copper Coronet's .bcs in Near Infinity, and raising DMWWBONUSMERCHANT to 4 in a test save, Joluv spawned and Deidre did not. Could it be that one of the stronghold quests failed to increment DMWWBONUSMERCHANT properly? We did have the unfortunate mishap of Valen & Brus presenting their offers right when we brough Lavok outside the Planar Sphere (with Lavok's dialogue in between). If so, I hope having DMWWBONUSMERCHANT at a value one lower than it's supposed to be won't cause any future problems (since completing another stronghold would raise it to 4). Or would I need to alter it to it's proper value? Or maybe I'm completely off (I'm not an IE modder).

In the readme for SCSII, the component delaying the bonus merchants reads... In our current multiplayer game, neither merchant has appeared in Chapter 2 even though we've completed Trademeet/Druid Grove (druid stronghold) - Docks District (thief stronghold) - De'Arnise Hold (fighter stronghold) and Planar Sphere (mage stronghold). I'm just wondering if the component is somehow broken in v21, or if the readme just has it worded incorrectly (do you have to be in chapter six anyway in regards to four strongholds completed?). Could the 'strongholds available for all classes' components be interfering with the delayal component (we've accepted both thief and mage strongholds)? Not really a gamebreaking issue (everything else working perfectly), just wondering if I can count on them appearing at some point (mostly for sensate amulet / scarlet ninja-to). WeiDU log below (both have identical installs). Can upload a save if needed.

Well, it doesn't necessarily HAVE to be you. All that is required is one IE-able modder who has the technical knowledge to put such a guide together with step-by-step instructions (for installing all the various hotfixes), with download links, yadi yada. But, if you ARE on the verge of releasing SCSII v20, then I guess doing a comprehensive guide now is a bit too late. But make haste! Or I will have to play something else in the meanwhile. I cannot bear the thought of starting a new game knowing there are bugs present I could possibly fix. Nevertheless, the Ascension/G3 Fixpack Slayer change bug won't be fixed in SCSII v20 (I presume?), so a professional hotfix (ala wisp) posted here would be fantastic.

Your question: does SCSII enhance Ascension, or override it? Doesn't that answer itself? Well, I apologize, but my brain went into lockdown awhile ago when trying to find out the various bugs and their fixes for Ascension, G3 Fixpack, SCSII, and all three of them combined. But the thing that led me to make this thread, was the following quote from SCSII readme. "By default, Ascension enemies use their own scripts instead of SCS II scripts, although a number of components change this." Since the readme quote I bolded leads me to believe SCSII Improved Fiends only alters Ascension Demogorgon's SCRIPTS, does installing Ascension's Tougher Demogorgon before SCSII Improved Fiends change the stats/special abilities/lackeys of Demogorgon? Is the Demogorgon battle identical if... Option A.) No Ascension Demogorgon installed, SCSII Improved Fiends installed Option B.) Ascension Demogorgon installed, SCSII Improved Fiends installed Are option A.) and B.) 100% identical? Right now, it sounds like SCSII Improved Fiends component only overrides the Ascension Demogorgon scripts, and who knows what Ascension has done besides scripts. Also, is the video link to-be-found in the link I posted in the OP the proper SCSII Improved Fiends version of Demogorgon (or is it broken by some other mod as the writer suspected)?

Excellent. Even I can handle that. That's two down. However, the point still remains. Someone really should make an IE-intolerant install guide for the whole process (and STICKY IT). Naturally, every player wants hotfixes, since they, well... fix stuff. Nobody wants bugs they could prevent to begin with. When a new version of SCSII is released (eventually, in the far-off future), the sticky could be updated. Even if I manage to get answers to all the questions I posed above, all the information will still be highly fragmented, and this thread will eventually slip into oblivion, and the next person wanting to install Ascension/G3 Fixpack/SCSII, will run into the same problems all over again. A less computer "savvy" person than I, would probably be unable to install your hotfix without reinstalling SCSII on those instructions alone, because one has to manually open the SCSII auto-extracting archive with winrar, extract, place your fix in place, and then manually move the SCSII folder and setup to BG2 folder. Hence, a guide is required. A step-by-step, simian-proof, up-to-date (which means hotfixes), linky-dinky guide where all required information is consolidated in one post, in one place, in ABC manner.

It was a bit different subject, hence the different thread. It doesn't really have much to do with this, it's more like a simple question related to SCSII & Ascension. And this thread is exactly about this very subject. By making a fool-proof installation guide for these three mods and their hotfixes (combined in the same install), it eliminates future "Help me, I'm stuck!" posts, since from what I've seen, most SCSII/Ascension "Help me, I'm stuck!" posts are caused by the end-user (like me) not having simple/enough information to install everything I've mentioned in this thread properly, which leads to bugs, which leads to "Help me, I'm stuck!" threads. Most end-users won't even know there are hotfixes available that resolve/prevent their bugs. It's taken me hours upon hours to google this stuff up. Every IE modding site should have a "Ascension/G3 Fixpack/SCSII install tutorial" sticky with giant letters... in every section, considering how widely used Ascension and SCSII are. The information available to install all these three mods (and their hotfixes) properly is not nearly enough sufficient considering their status. The information that IS available, is split between G3, Spellhold, Pocketplane and Bioware forums, under several different sections. It's a total mess. Normally, a generic install guide would do (official patch, followed by non-weidu mods, followed by G3 Fixpack etc..), but clearly, such is not the case here.

As it stands, installing Ascension with G3 Fixpack AND SCSII seems to be a completely bug ridden *bleep*f***. I'm positively amazed no-one has made a stickied, step-by-step, bulletproof, simpleton installation guide that covers & combines these three mods, because the end-user (like me) is completely overwhelmed with this setup. I'm absolutely positive the amount of debugging related to any part of this three-mod installation would decrease dramatically if such a thread existed, where the end-user could follow simple steps to install a bug free Ascension/G3 Fixpack/SCSII installation. So here is my official request, for someone who knows the what, to make such a thread. It doesn't matter if the installation guide uses BP-Ascension or Weidu-Ascension, as long as all three mods work together with all currently circulating bug-fixes included. This means all hotfixes for SCSII included. To elaborate my point, here is what I've found relating to Ascension, G3 Fixpack, and SCSII in unison. It's absolutely *bleeP' to assume a person with no in-depth IE modding knowledge can make such an installation on his own, with this much conflicting information, and user-made hotfixes floating around. 1.) Person has to manually install ToBEx (as of this writing, version 0021) before installing SCSII, to fix many ToBEx bugs present in the redistributable ToBEx (v19) that comes along with SCSII v19. Installing v21 of ToBEx manually also makes the "Make individual versions of Spell Immunity available" component of SCSII obsolete, as v21 of ToBEx has functioning contigency/trigger spell detection for Spell Immunity*. * To make contigency spell detection to work, you have to remove the entry SPWI510 from CONTINGX.2da (with Near Infinity for example) to enable the spell (or the child spells) to be viewed in a contingency/sequencer menu. LINK. 2.) If using Weidu-Ascension, followed by G3 Fixpack, Slayer improvements are broken. End-user fix here. Some players still report continued damage even after shifting to human form. Wisp also suggested something I do not understand, under section A6. Can this modification be applied by the end-user, to make Ascension and G3 Fixpack install over each other without overriding the Slayer? 3.) I don't even remember where I read it (because all this information is spread over xx amounts of IE modding sites, which certainly makes things easier for people like me), but Weidu-Ascension restored ToB bhaalspawn powers are broken (namely: the last passive bonuses do not work). Workaround - don't install restored ToB bhaalspawn powers from Ascension, instead, install them from Unfinished Business (which has functioning ones). 4.) 2 pages of bugs present in SCSII fixed by -agris-, here. However, your typical user (like me) doesn't even have a clue how to install these. 5.) 3 hotfixes for SCSII here, from polytope. Is it somehow possible to install these fixes before installing SCSII in the first place? 6.) Another SCSII/Ascension hotfix from polytope, here. I have no clue if this has already been fixed in the PB/something fixpack/Ascension XXX version. I also don't have a clue how to install this fixed script. See where I'm going here? I don't even know if it's required, considering he states this afterwards. Even though I have no idea what it means, I presume it's somehow relevant. 7.) A whole load of mumbo-jumbo here. At this point, my brain imploded, and I began writing this thread instead. I don't even know where to begin with the PB-Ascension, how it works with SCSII, and what bug fixes are already in it (afaik there's also some kind of PB-fixpack whatever...). So please, for the love of god, make a centralized, step-by-step, stickied, simian-proof, download links included, install guide for these three mods, with all their hotfixes included. It's absurd to think a run-of-the-mill BG2 player will have the knowledge and expertise to construct the proper, bug-free install out of all this information, which is mostly modders talking to modders, excluding a rather large percentage of the BG2 player base. By constructing such a step-by-step thread, you also save time in the future, trying to solve a bug for player XXXXX, who comes posting here how thing X is broken, trying to find the culprit from his 5^10 Weidu log.

From the SCSII readme: ----- I will most certainly install the SCSII Improved Fiends component, does this mean that... A.) I can install Ascension Tougher Demogorgon, and the SCSII Improved Fiends simply enhances the Ascension Demogorgon AI, meaning I should install both for maximum challenge? B.) SCSII Improved Fiends completely overrides the Ascension Tougher Demogorgon component, in which case, I would be better off not installing it (Ascension version) in the first place? <- (since if I have to pick one or the other, I would pick the SCSII version) I don't want to run into anything like THIS.

Planetars ARE better summons than Devas (even in vanilla ToB). Deva: Planetar: + Planetars have a better spell selection.

Anyway, it's actually not necessary to make a version of widescreen for 26499, I figured out how to fix the loading time problem. Reinstall the game with the beta patch, load/save your game to fix the save game from the issue. Reinstall with 26498, and continue playing with the fixed save.

I figured out how to fix the loading time problem. Reinstall the game with the beta patch, load/save your game to fix the save game from the issue. Reinstall with 26498, and continue playing with the fixed save.

I'm an unfortunate victim of the bug that increases your loading times to unbearable as you progress through the game, the TOB 26499 beta patch solves this issue, however, widescreen mod doesn't work for it. Would it be possible for you (thebigg) to make a version of widescreen mod that works with the beta 26499 executable? How hard could it be... right?

The beta patch solved my problem after a full re-install, however, widescreen mod doesn't work for it (since the bg.exe is different). I think thebigg won't be making widescreen for 26499, does anyone know if it's possible to somehow manually fix your game in the same way 26499 does it? How does 26499 actually fix the loading time bug, what causes it? It'd be a great shame to throw away 150 something hours of playing at this point :/