462 replies to this topic

[melkor_morgoth75]

Thansk A LOT 10th for those. Added to my to do list (it's becoming quite long ...i hope to have the time soon to do a new release, i'd like to add some more features eventually),

cheers!
mm75

[Fouinto]

Hi,

Just a simple message to tell you that BGSpawn is one of my favorite mods !

Thank you

[melkor_morgoth75]

Hi,

Just a simple message to tell you that BGSpawn is one of my favorite mods !

Thank you

Thank you very much, i hope u're enjoing it

Sometimes, nice words are more than welcome and keep u close to the mod community. The aim is always to keep alive this wonderful game and possible give some more fun

I'll be more eager to release something new asap

Cheers!
mm75

Edited by melkor_morgoth75, 11 September 2010 - 03:21 PM.

[Arkenor]

Figured I'd better mention this here too. Some unfortunate interactions between Aurora's Realistic Kobold Commandos and BGSpawn.

http://www.shsforums...ptains-of-doom/

Edited by Arkenor, 12 September 2010 - 04:31 AM.

[10th]

The sewers under Baldur's Gate have the same "problem" as Durlag's Tower and the Werewolf island. No random spawns.

The areas are:
AR7324, AR7325, AR7326

Vanilla spawns are various spiders, slimes and carrion crawlers.

This also applies to AR8600 (Cloakwood Mines). Enemies in vanilla are as far as I remember some guards of the Iron Throne variety, Black Talon Elites and bears.

10th

Edited by 10th, 19 October 2010 - 10:04 AM.

[melkor_morgoth75]

Thanks again 10th ... added to my to-do list. I hope i can work on the mod very soon, but i believe it won't be before Christmas unfortunately ..

mm75

[DrAzTiK]

Hi Melkor,

Does BGSPAWN also affect creatures that interupt party resting? (and probability to be interupt)

ty

[melkor_morgoth75]

Hi Melkor,

Does BGSPAWN also affect creatures that interupt party resting? (and probability to be interupt)

ty

Unfortunately not,

mm75

[melkor_morgoth75]

I'm really looking for something that brings the random spawns closer to the vanilla game's versions. BGT for whatever reason turned them into the most bizarre encounters with animals mixed in with humanoid monsters, or worse, undead and humanoids mixed together. I've tried BGTTweaks version of the Tutu like scaling encounters and found that I get things like one lone wolf or one lone gibberling, which is too easy and not the way vanilla was either.

BGSpawn, on the other hand, is all the way at the opposite extreme, basicly turning the random encounters into Tactics level of difficulty especially if you have SCS/SCS2 installed. While challenging encounters is fine (which is why I have ScS installed), raising the random spawns to this level of difficulty shifts the entire game's balance and flow significantly enough that I find it disruptive to the gameplay experience. It's one thing to have to face tough boss fights and slightly improved general fights like ScS; if you throw in encounters en route to these fights that require constant resting to deal with/recover from Tactics level random encounters on top of it everywhere you travel, it really becomes a very different game.

I'm simply looking for a bug free version of the original game with enhanced boss fights and less stupid ai of ScS and some mods that enhance the original game without putting it on steroids. Is there a chance that you can include an option to make this mod something that makes BGT spawns more sensible without Tactifying them?

BGTutu currently has the closest thing to a sensible balance imo, but alas, I prefer BGT installs, in all ways except this one.

Thanks for your feedback first.

But i'd like to have possibly a more detailed explanation on "what u find so different". When and where u find encounters appearing too much?

Let's try to recap and describe BGTSpawn's aim. Basically i changed all the "original" spawing creatures with a new system. The creatures you face now are somewhat peculiar to the area you travel and even the time "when" u travel could change that behaviour. So u have chances of facing NO spawn now, that was NOT possible in the original game. In the orignal game morevoer u always faced the very same creatures at the very same time and "spawn point", that is really boring and really not challenging (mainly now with so many mods around who add new challenges to the game). So all in all the aim of this mod is to have a more realistic encounters and yes, possible a bit more challenging (apart some areas for my experience the encounters are not so impossible to face and anyway u don't neeed to rest anytime you face them).

That's why i'm asking WHERE you found those encounters so challenging. PLEASE, take into consideration that the farest areas are wilder and so it's "FAIR" you can face now difficul battles. I won't change that. But if u find some "weird" encounters in areas closed to the towns or village, please let me know. I'd really need more detailed feedback here to be of help and see if i can improve something.

Thanks in advance for your feedback,
mm75

Edited by melkor_morgoth75, 26 October 2010 - 05:51 AM.

[10th]

@Ithildur
When you were facing a difficult encounter, did you flee to another area and returned later? If you did that, yes it becomes more difficult, because BGSpawn's creatures won't just go away when you retreat to another area.

If you encounter some ogre mages for example and retreat to another area and then return, those ogre mages will still be there. Moreover if you step near their original spawn point another set of ogre mages could appear.

10th

[Miloch]

Tutu's spawn system actually sets the number of creatures based on what your game's "difficulty" is set at. So if it's "easy" you might get a couple gibberlings; if it's "insane" you might get a whole flotilla of them. Maybe BGSpawn could do the same (if it doesn't already) but it would be a rather insane amount of work (because instead of 1 script block you'll have 5 or whatever).

less stupid ai of ScS

Stupid artificial intelligence? Kind of a contradiction, no? Actually, I think SCS's AI is pretty "smart" but I think I know what you mean. Still, the mod gives you a choice in which components you want to install (if you skip "Smarter Mages" for example, you won't have as much of a problem with hobgoblin wizards handing you your arse, for example).

[10th]

Maybe BGSpawn could do the same (if it doesn't already) but it would be a rather insane amount of work (because instead of 1 script block you'll have 5 or whatever).

Not difficulty level, but number of party members and highest level of the party.

10th

[melkor_morgoth75]

Maybe BGSpawn could do the same (if it doesn't already) but it would be a rather insane amount of work (because instead of 1 script block you'll have 5 or whatever).

Not difficulty level, but number of party members and highest level of the party.

10th

For many areas spawns are also different from Daytime to Nightime,

mm75

[melkor_morgoth75]

While I enjoy the enhanced AI and tougher boss fights of ScS tremendously, I'm not looking for the random encounters while traveling in the wilderness to be as difficult as the main encounters in the game. It's a significant jump from encountering, say a pack of hobgoblin elites and warriors plus ogres in the wild, than a pack of elite orcs with shamans that cast unholy blight using SCS's advanced AI.

That's what i'd like to undertand

The aim of the mod of course is NOT to bring so diffucult encounters. U speak about orc shamans and mage. That means your party should be Level 8+ to be able to have good chances to enconter Orc Mages. You may face an orc mage even at Level 6, but the chances are very little.
That's why i'd like to understand WHERE your party face those mages/clerics and what's the level of your party.

Definitely anyway, this mod can't let u face just some hobgoblin archers when you're at level 8, in my opinion it ruins the "challenge" of the game. At this point I'd suggest to use the BGT option to "erase" all the possible spawns. Also please note that for BGSpawn you can choose the time of "re-spawing" eventually.

I hope i can have more details to be able to understand if i can do something to improve the mod,

thanks for your feedbacks,
mm75

[10th]

@Orc mages

You can encounter them in:
- AR8500, Cloakwood Wyverns
- AR9600, the area with Bassilus
- AR9799, Ulcaster Ruins
- AR3900, Southern Wastelands aka alternative exit from Nashkell Mines

Those orc mages are level 12 in vanilla BG2. SCS II gives them an appropriate spell selection and the scripts to use them.
If you wanted to fix this problem (level 12 random encounter mages), you'd have to make a copy of orc04.cre and reduce its level and also mod its spell memorization.

Ulcaster Ruins is especially dangerous, as you can encounter them at every spawn point. In the vicinity to the entrance to the ruins are four spawn points alone, which could really hurt if everyone of them spawns a high level orc group with one or more orc shamans or orc mages.

@Hobgoblins
Those guys are deadly if you don't have saving throw boosting items, a high level or are of evil alignment. Hobgoblin clerics open up with Unholy Blight, and if there are two of them your whole party could take 20-40 damage. I haven't died to them, but they can really hurt you.

Personally I have nothing against those harder encounters, as I now know how to handle them. Hobgoblins: Focus on the shaman, Orcs: Kill the shaman in melee due to his Physical Mirror, kill the mage with ranged weapons due to his Fire Shield.

10th

Edited by 10th, 28 October 2010 - 10:27 AM.

[melkor_morgoth75]

Thanks for the feedback 10th, but as for now i won't touch Orcs and Hobgoblins. Specially regarding orcs is wanted behaviour as i'd like to have those very FAR areas to have difficult encounters. Eventually u can skip those awaiting night-time ... eheheheheheh, but u'll have nice undead around indeed then

mm75

PS: for those interested i'm working on a new release finally

[Fennek]

PS: for those interested i'm working on a new release finally

Very nice.

And my personal opinion to more or less everything that was said in the last weeks: If one wants an acceptable challenge (not a tough challeng), one should choose 10 days (or more) for respawning (so that one can run away) and not choose the additional wulf-component. That's at least what I do...

But if we want to talk about the encounters: I personally think that it is a bit strange to encounter single bandits, even if they have dogs. If I were a bandit, I wouldn't work all alone... Stupid monsters might do that, but (highly?) intelligent creatures...

It would also be nice to have some new creatures from Infinity Animations included, like the IWD2-worg-riders (who would be quite nice, realistic marauders even close to villages, since they could escape much faster from the Flaming Fist, Amnian Soldiers etc. that many other creatures/human beings)

[melkor_morgoth75]

PS: for those interested i'm working on a new release finally

It would also be nice to have some new creatures from Infinity Animations included, like the IWD2-worg-riders (who would be quite nice, realistic marauders even close to villages, since they could escape much faster from the Flaming Fist, Amnian Soldiers etc. that many other creatures/human beings)

As for now i didn't have time to dig into IA and see how it works. Honestly i'd like to avoid using it, just because people eventually would have to install it as well to be able to play the mod.

Maybe in future...

mm75