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I've updated the downloads page with the correct version of the alpha and have moved the forum back to in progress so people can, you know, actually see it.

Woo!

That's weird that it got deleted. Maybe it happened during the HD fail/restore.

Anyway, thank goodness for cloud storage and the fact that I threw this stuff on my One Drive back in the day. I'll reupload to G3 at some point (or if someone else wants to, feel free) but in the meantime here's the link.

Also, for some reason I have Banana backed up in 4 different places on the cloud storage as well as Skooter the NPC, my old NPC tutorial site, and my completely unnecessary NPC builder that I made with Adobe AIR.

Looking into it. Thanks for being patient.

I hear ya. I'm not completely opposed to letting someone else adopt the mod but I would probably be a little picky about who that person would be simply because I spent too many hours on it to let it turn more crappy than it already is.

Wow, long time without updates.

Real life stuff: I got a new job and moved and stuff and I'm working on a couple projects on the side. I decided that instead of locking up Shadow Hand forevarr, I would just release the semi-working alpha for anyone to explore and test. I don't know if I'll ever get back to work on it because honestly, it's a HUGE project for two people, and there are a lot of things in the plot that I would love to change.

Anyway, there is a download link and a fun guide as well. The idea of the project was to give BG a nice kickstart and a chance to explore the Sword Coast again. Mods could definitely be made for this if someone wanted to.

Hope you enjoy it and feel free to give feedback; just remember it may never be implemented.

Well, it's not so much a coder that I need....but I'll make an announcement soon enough on the matter. I appreciate the offer but you may want to hold back on your offer until I make things a little more clear. I'm not even sure what is going to happen to be honest.

Yeah I'm doing some redesign for my website (which is going slowly but I'll have more time in a few weeks hopefully) but I'll try and fix those links at some point.

As for the mod...honestly with work and finishing up university and a commercial game, modding just hasn't been on my list lately. I'll probably do some kind of informal announcement (well, like this maybe) but I think I'd rather see if there is a writer/coder person out there who would want to take over.

It's still in testing and I haven't had much time to dedicate to it to be honest as I've been busy with finishing up uni and doing an internship.

Right you'll have to CTRL-J out of there.

Also, please refer to this http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showtopic=19355 for any already known bugs or things that just aren't finished yet.

Yep, know what you mean. Thanks for bringing that up - I'll definitely be changing that.

You did know that there is a random chance that one gets a random encounter? ... somewhere between the Baldur's Gate Bridge and the Friendly Arms Inn, there was 6 archers, and my thief died. Reloaded and didn't meat them again.

I found the Gorions letter addressed to me in the Candlekeeps area(k#2612), so

apparently I am the Bhaalspawn and her son

.

Also found the Bastard Sword in Taemon's Smith(sp?) in Beregost, the Ring of Wizardry in Friendly Arm Inns map, outside the outer wall. And the Ankheg Plate Mail in Naskel.

Yes, [broken record] the items portion of the mod has not been addressed yet [/broken record].

Anyway, wow, alpha?

Does it mean that it has all the necessary dialogues and scripties and other stuffies and thingies?

Well, the total conversion is 4 chapters...so it's shorter than the actual game was, but still pretty long for a mod.

The main quest for the 4 chapters is pretty much done along with most of the characters involved in it along w/ their scripts, dialogues, and some of the stuffies.

The part I'm working on now other than the testing are the cutscenes to transition through parts of the quest better, the 6 joinable NPCs (which are created and can join and leave and have something resembling a personality), and of course, the smaller subquests and encounters, though there are a couple already.

We still have a way to go though, it's nice to have help weeding out the bugs in the foundation so that we can focus on the secondary materials.

Testing in progress, yay! We've actually been able to find some wonderful bugs already - which is good because if we start fixing them early, it'll be better for us in the long run.

Still working on the chapter screens - I haven't decided what I'm going to use for all of them yet.

Yeah I think I mentioned in one of the stickies what was and wasn't done so if you come across something that doesn't make sense, check the sticky to make sure it *shouldn't* be there.

I knew about the chicken one already - but I am working on getting it to recognize the quest is finished. Thanks.

Eh? I'm totally confused by both posts.

Wow...80,000 weeks without updates...sorry about that.

Private alpha testing in progress. If you want to be a tester just let me know.

Currently I'm working on the chapter screens but I've been able to set up the credits so that the mod "ends" at a certain point (along with NPC epilogues and stuff).

Added more songs to the mod but for some reason some of the songs aren't playing when they should. I'll have to study the songlist file some more.

Please report bugs here. When reporting a bug make sure you:

- Are specific about where and when the bug occurred.

- State variables if you know what they are.

Please make sure you followed the installation instructions too. I'll throw cyber vegetables at you if you tell me that Shadow Hand broke your BG NPC Project install...or something similar.

GUIDE

(WARNING: Spoilers)

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Prologue:

- Jalin will speak to you. There are two quests you can do in Ulgoth's Beard before you leave.

- The rabid chicken one is having minor issues but is interesting regardless.

- In the next area, feel free to walk around. The rogues will find you.

- I bet you can't guess who the lady in Baldur's Gate is.

Chapter 1:

- Kifor is my favorite character. Go do what he says.

- You'll have to stay a few nights at the inn to see Sammi. In the completed version, Baldur's Gate will have more to do so it will be all right that Sammi is only there at night.

- Listen to the lady that talks a lot. It's semi important that you hear what she has to say.

- The Friendly Arm has a lovely NPC you can pick up.

- Get to Beregost. You'll need to find Jalin's friend. He'll be in one of the houses - try the northwest.

- I'm working on getting more innkeepers.

- There's an NPC in the Jovial Juggler.

Chapter 2:

- Go to Candlekeep. You'll actually be able to grab 2 NPCs on the way.

- Jen will talk about a favor she needs. This isn't coded right now so there is no favor quest yet.

- After you find the letter from that lady, you'll need to CTRL J to get out of the inner walls of Candlekeep. Sorry about that - it'll get fixed.

- Go to Ulcaster School. You can get another NPC here. The secret base is a little hard to find but I'm sure you can do it.

Chapter 3:

- Uh oh! Choices to be made. Have fun with this one.

- You'll need to find two important people. They're not too difficult to find. We plan to have a lot of subquests you can do on the side in this chapter. If you have any suggestions for subquests feel free to tell us.

- There are supposed to be guards from the opposing side that show up when you find these people or they will have their own guards. These aren't implemented yet so just pretend for now.

- Report back to the people that matter.

Chapter 4:

- There will be some dialogue here but nothing really happens. A battle or two is supposed to take place at the very end where you will face the opposing side.

END

NPCs:

For now the NPCs are simply joinable and have loving intro dialogues. I have some dialogue written and coded but not implemented yet. I'm still debating on who I want romanceable for sure and how I'm going to put that into the mod in terms of timing and location.

Items:

We plan on having some new items but they're not there yet.

Subquests:

There are only a couple but obviously we plan for more of those too.

Music:

Some of it is in the game and working. Some of it isn't in there yet and some of it is in the game but not working for some reason.

GUI:

Like it? Cool. Hate it? Uninstall it or give us some assistance since we aren't artists.

INSTALLATION

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1) Extract the contents of the zips to your EasyTuTu directory.

2) Run the setup-shadow_hand executable. Install the Shadow Hand Groundwork and the Shadow Hand Total Conversion.

3) Run the setup-SH_GUI executable. There will only be one component so just install that. If you hate it you can always uninstall it.

4) Run BG TuTu like you would normally.

DOWNLOAD

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Below are the download links for the current build of BG Shadow Hand and its components.

Summary: This is a total conversion that provides our vision of a sequel to BG:ToB. It takes place in the Sword Coast 30 years after the events in Throne of Bhaal. Components of the mod will include: a GUI redesign/recolor add-on and a complete original soundtrack that will replace the game's music.

Requirements:

- A clean EasyTuTu installation. This means that you must have BG1 w/TotSC & BG2:ToB - all full installations. Obviously as this is a total conversion, it will not be compatible with most mods.

Notes: This is an alpha and there may and probably will be bugs/typos/terrible coding/whatever.

1) Baldur's Gate: Shadow Hand Total Conversion | Download Link version: Alpha 14 apprx. 80MB

Included:

- Conversion groundwork

- Main Quest playable through Chapter 4 up to the part before the final battles.

- All six NPCs are created and joinable

- A couple minor subquests in Ulgoth's Beard

- Parts of new soundtrack implemented

Still Needs to be Done/Refined:

- NPC content

- Background NPCs

- Get the hell out of Candlekeep

- Cutscenes

- Things you can actually fight with other than rabid chickens

- Final Battles

- Implementation of soundtrack

- Items/Subquests/Encounters

- Alternate portraits?

- Whatever Mike says he has to do still

- Shadow Hand GUI 

Included:

- GUI Recoloring/Redesign

Still Needs to be Done/Refined:

- Recoloring for individual buttons

UPDATE: ALPHA RELEASED FOR PUBLIC TESTING

I've decided to release this alpha to the public as it's not getting finished anytime soon and I think it's it's unfair to just let it sit in dust or give only a couple testers access.

The notes below are guidelines for people who want to do actual testing on the mod to make it better. Please note that while you still can do that if you want, the feedback you give may never be implemented.

Shadow Hand is and will be a large mod. There is no getting around that.

It's still in progress but a great deal has been done already. As one of its testers, you've volunteered to help find and possibly work out typos, bugs, and stuff in general that doesn't make any sense at all. If you've come here to get an early viewing of the mod, you may be disappointed. There is still *a lot* that needs to be done. If you've come here with an open mind with the intention of helping, however, I think you will be at least partially entertained. We've tried to bring something fresh to the modding scene and I hope we've accomplished (or have started to accomplish) that.

I'm going to ask a couple things of testers and I hope I'm not being too demanding. I'm rather proud of the work that Mike and I have put into this so please:

- Understand that this is an *alpha*. Stuff may not work, be unfinished, or just missing!

- Follow the installation instructions and the accompanying guide.

- Give us feedback! We want the mod to be really good and we appreciate any and all constructive input.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy what is done so far.

No significant progress lately except for some minor work on the NPCs. My schoolwork load has increased a lot and I've resumed my own writing that I was taking a break from. I have a break coming up next week for Thanksgiving so that should give me some extra time.

aw sad panda

Aw, don't be sad. With more in house testing, we can definitely offer some kind of guarantee that it will be more enjoyable than if we do premature releases.