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[ShadowTek]

(Note by William Imm: This guide is a WIP. I'm going to work on this guide as much as I can, but I may not get much done because of homework and my addiction to DND Online Games.)

Big World Project (BWP) Manual Installation 101 (for newbs and up)
Version 1.1

Created by: ShadowTek
Ownership: Spellhold Studios, ShadowTek, William Imm
Credits: Jarno Mikkola (and his FAQ for the Megamods), mr fantastic, dabus, Lollorian, -Hurricane-, and all the members that added contributions.

A How-To guide for using the Big World Project to make a mega mod installation.

Note: Tactical mods tend to make the game harder, from somewhat to insanely, and Expert mods - it's recommended to not bother with them (exceptions: W_GUI and NEJ). The second post will have a guide on editing the BiG World Install.bat.

(Add. Note from William Imm: I probably will modify this guide to support installing Tactical mods - and maybe select Expert mods as well)

This means you will be able to install hundreds of mods, including most of the biggest and most popular mods ever created for BGI & BGII.

Intro
The BiG World Setup (BWS) is looking rather complete right now, however, sometimes, it dosen't quite work. The fallback in this case is to do a manual BiG World Project (BWP) installation, but that can be somewhat tricky without guidance. The purpose of this guide is to detail how to do a manual installation of the BWP.

This guide is for people who don't know how to do a mega-modification installation, used the BWS before and need help, or just want help on a good mod list, in which case, skip to the next post.

This guide is my attempt to help people that have no experience in installing the BWP megamod, or just as a refresher on how to manually install the thing.

This guide is meant and only meant for the Big World Project (BWP).
Note: Don't worry, I'll show you all the stuff you will need.

If you don't know what BWP is (or are confused about all the different megamod installs):

Spoiler

The Different Installs:

There have been so many mega-mod installations for Baldur's Gate that it has became quite confusing which is which. Here's a quick rundown:

1. BWP: Big World Project - The only thing we will be detailing how to use in this guide. It's a set of batch files, created by Leonardo Watson, that allow for installation of a customized mega-mod.

2. BWS: Big World Setup - This is a automated setup program for the BiG World Project. Currently, Dabus maintains it. I (William Imm) have worked on a Java conversion, but I gave up on it due to time and distraction.

3. BP: Big Picture - Was a mega-mod unification, but now it's a small package that includes a AI system, components of Weimer's Tactics mod, and it's own version of the classic mod Ascension.

4. Tutu: Like Baldur's Gate Trilogy (BGT), Tutu is a mod that allows you to play BG1 using the BG2 engine. Unlike BGT, Tutu does not transistion into BG2 automatically (you still have to transfer your old saves), and for modding purpourses, counts as a seperate game. It is, effectivly, a total conversion. This guide is not about that, however, if you want to look into Tutu, here is where you get said mod in a easier-to-install form.

I will post EXACTLY all the steps you have to take.. in simple speech, so you know exactly what to do to make a successful BWP install.

Note: I am restating myself, however, the guide is intended for people who want to have a refresher on how to do a manual installation.

This guide is mainly for people who have Baldur's Gate 1 (plus Tales expansion) + Baldur's Gate 2 (with Throne of Bhaal). You can do this without a copy of Baldur's Gate 1, but you will not be able to install Baldur's Gate Trilogy and anything relating to BG1. Just so you know, and knowing is half the battle.

*Note: Please make sure you follow everything below. If you are confused about something, please post about it.

**Note: This install guide is for installations on Windows only. Macintosh and Linux installations will come later.

IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE make sure that you read the FAQ for the Megamods all the way through before you install anything. Trust me, it will save you a lot of frustration.

Preperation:

1.Windows 7 and Windows Vista users need to disable User Account Control (UAC) before installing Baldur's Gate - Jarno Mikkola's FAQ for the Megamods has a great guide on how to disable that, as well as the Program Compatibility Assistant. READ THE EFFING FAQ - I am not reposting how to do this here, and do not make any angry comments like "rah rah, I don't know how to disable UAC and the PCA thing and I've never kissed a girl".

2. Defrag the hard drive. While this isn't totally necessary, it can speed up your installation, so it's a good thing to do in this case.

3. Make sure you have enough room to actually do this. ShadowTek's installation was around 19GB, but a good size would be 40-50GB+. This is just in case you install everything that looks intresting. (or under the sun)

For people who don't have BG2 at all:

If you don't have a copy of Baldur's Gate 2 without Throne of Bhaal, or if you don't have a copy of Baldur's Gate with Tales of the Sword Coast, my personal advice? Get the digitally distributed game at GOG.com. Both BG1 and BG2 cost 10 USD each, if you don't have them, buy both for $20. If you don't have that amount of money, the important game is Baldur's Gate 2.

Installation
Let the insanity begin! Leonardo Watson in the BiG World Install.bat, when you are ready to install.

Step One:
Install the games:

a) Make a directory to install Baldur's Gate in on your drive. Eg: D:\iegames, D:\BWP.
*Note: Do not install into the Program Files directory, especially[[i]/i] on Windows 7 due to it's safety feature that keeps WeiDU from working when installed into that directory.

(if you are using the GOG.com versions of BG1, just install it into the newly created directory and skip steps b and c)

b) Install BG1 to the newly created directory. Use a custom install and select everything. Disregard the warning that you don't have enough disk space - you have more than enough.
*Note: At this point, do not patch the game yet.

c) Install Tales of the Sword Coast, then install patch 5512. For TotSC, do a custom install and select everything.
*Note: The patch can be found at Bio's site, archived, or at Sorcerer's Place.
Add. note: You do not need to use the DirectX8 patch (aka 5521). Do not patch if you are using The Original Saga version.

(skip d and e if using GOG.com version of BG2)
d) Install BG2 to the newly made directory. The name does not matter - only one mod (Ashes of Embers, if you are wondering) requires you to install to BGII - SoA. Do a full installation of BG2.
*Note: Don't patch the game at this point.

e) Install Throne of Bhaal, then patch with 26498. Do a full ToB installation.
*Note: Again, you can get the patch at Bio's site, archived, or Sorcerer's Place
IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not use the 26499 patch!!!! This is a BETA patch and probally will screw up your installation if you apply it! And even if you think the issue is important to fix, it's been properly fixed in the BG2 Fixpack. So, DO NOT USE THE 26499 PATCH!! Or I may snap and call you names.

General notes on installation (non-GOG):
[*] If the BG1 installer does not start up for whatever reason, try stopping some known problematic services that block the old Installshield installer from running. In my experience, it turned out to be the Realtek DASH client that came with my network card drivers.
[*] After you finish the installation, you will have to sit through a promotinal movie, mostly likely promoting Decent (on BG1) or Icewind Dale (TotSC, BG2). If you don't want to sit through all that, open Task Manager and end the process named "Win95 Interplay Movie Player", or a similarly named process.

Step Two:
Launch all three games to complete setup, and backup the games.

After installing each game, launch each of them, configure settings, and play them for a little bit.

For BG1:

Launch the game, either make or import a character (you are not using that one in the future), and when you get control, hit "q" to quicksave, then exit the game.

For BG2:

Launch and configure the game, select Shadows of Amn at the title screen, either make or import a character (I would import, you are not using the charcater in the future), sit through cutscene, answer Imoen (for the puropurses of this test, it doesn't matter what you say) then, when it autosaves, exit to the main screen.

Select Throne of Bhaal this time, and repeat the character making or importing. The game will autosave, now, you can exit.

After all this,
MAKE A BACKUP!!!
Don't ignore the step, or you will be be sick of installing the game before you know it.

The only files you really need to backup are:

[*]dialog.tlk
[*]chitin.key
[*]baldur.ini
[*]bgmain.exe
[*]The entire overide folder

You can also backup the data folder as well, and I would do so for BG2 if I were installing a big megamod. Zip/tar/RAR/7z/whatever those files, and place them somewhere safe. Do for both games too, to be extra safe. If something goes wrong, just delete the override and data (if you made a backup of that) folders, and extract your backup.

Before installation, delete the "temp", "tempsave", "cache", "save", and "mpsave" folders in both games to clear clutter. They are not needed before installation.

Step Three:
Getting the needed files:

For the BiG World Project, you need some prerequisite files before installation:

Mandatory files:

a) BiG World Installpack

b) BiG World Borkpack

c) BiG World Fixpack

d) BiG World Textpack (optional for English, useful for other languages) - English, Spanish, German, Russian

e) WeiDU

f) BG2 Fixpack

g) Restored Textscreen Music (TxtMusic) - Language packs for English, French, German, Spanish (Only needed if you are doing a BGT Installation, if not, don't download)

h) Baldur's Gate Trilogy - Requires a copy of BG1 with Tales of the Sword Coast to be installed beforehand.

Step Four:
Get the mods of your choice.

Go visit the offical linklist and pick mods that you want. Be sure to read the description of mods, and their homepages - it can help your decision making.

Unless the mod you are picking is W_GUI, do not bother with expert mods, unless you know what you are doing. Tactical mods, however, may not be recommended for new players of the game.

The Comprehensive Extraction Guide!!!

Firstly, this guide requires either the freely available 7-zip (www.7-zip.org) or WinRAR. If you don't have either, get 7-zip, as it's completely free.
(Note: I have never used Winrar before, so someone who does can help contribute working WinRAR instructions. This guide assumes you are using 7-zip)

1. Download all mods to a folder of your choice.
2. Make 3 folders in the folder you used to store the mods - weirdlypacked, infinityanimations, and nsis.
3. Move approiate mods to one of the subfolders. Here's what goes in what:

weirdlypacked: Anything that does not extract cleanly into the BG2 folder. Examples: BoM Item Pack, Check the Bodies, Grimuar, Planar Sphere, PoF Kitpack, Realm of the Bhaalspawn, Stuff of the Magi. These need to be extracted seperatly.
infinityanimations: Content for Infinity Animations: Examples: Any archive that starts with IA_, Belhifet_and_Marilith, Moinesse_edits_IAised, NWN_Misc, Shadows_harpy_frostgiant. These need to be extrated seperatily, into <BG2 Installation Dir>/infintyanimations/content or in the case of IA_BG2_Restores, <BG2 Installation Dir>/infinityanimations/restores. To do this, right click the archives, select 7-zip/Extract Files..., then for Path mode:, select No Pathnames. Select the desired directory and extract away.
nsis: Any NSIS (Nullsoft Something Installer Something) exes. Examples: practically anything from Pocket Plane (exceptions: Banter Packs and Allison), anything from RPG Dungon, and exe files that have the PPG logo, a llama on a computer, or the NSIS logo as icons. These need to be handled seperatly.

4. Extract everything else. Select the first file, then scroll down, hold shift, and click the last file. Right click on the archives, then 7-zip/Extract Files.... On the dialog that pops up, select the BG2 directory, then extract away.

Again, if anyone has WinRAR instuctions, please post.

Step Five:
Now, the actual installation:

a) Run the BiG World Install.bat in the Baldur's Gate 2 directory.

b) After a few prompts, the installer will ask you if you want to do a BGT installation. If you have BG1 installed, and want to use BGT with this game, hit B. Otherwise, hit O, and all mods pertaining to BGT will be skipped. The installer may ask you for your BG1 directory - if it does, enter it.

C) The installer will now ask you a series of questions. Most of these should be self explanatory. You may get prompted for your resolution if you install Widescreen - if it does do that, enter your monitor resolution (if you don't know it, check Windows properties). After some screens, the installer will check over your mods, and eventually, you'll be ready to install.

D) If you are following this guide correctly, you should be ready. Hit enter. This will take a while, as it will go through and install all your mods in order. This can take from 2-6 hours est., depending on system speficications and the amount of mods that you've chosen. Go and do whatever you want - watch the game, make a sandwhich, have lunch, whatever. Sometimes, you need to push the setup along by hitting the enter key. Annonying, but it happens. When it's done, you should have a full mega-mod installation rearing to go.

Step Six:
Sometimes, you will have slowdown issues. Make sure you do this before running the game.

a) In the BG2 settings, under Graphics ->2D & 3D Options, make sure "Disable Vertex Padding" is checked. This will boost your perfomance a lot.

b) In the Graphics options slider, either leave them as they are, or increase to the max. I'd run the game at max settings (because it's a 2000-era game, it won't dent your system too much) and with 3D on, but that's just me. As a fallback, reset all graphics sliders, and turn off 3D acceleartion.

c) Lastly, please use Generalized Biffing if you don't have it. I'm going to get to the point and state that you must use this if you are a BWP user, as your game will be unplaybly slow without it. It takes a while to set it up, sure, but it's worth it.



Finally, YOU'RE DONE!!!!!



Troubleshooting
There is always a possibility of errors with a megamod install..

[i]Make sure you read all the info in this section before posting a issue.

Reporting Errors or problems:
Report issues as follows.. this info is taken from Jarno Mikkola's FAQ for mega-mods.. All credit for the info below is Jarno Mikkola's

Spoiler

16. Help to properly form a good thread to log and reports errors in once own megamod.
As the title say, if you run into a problem, error or Crash to Desktop -type bugs, it's usually a good thought to put such a report to a public forum...
And here a few good thumb rules to go by;

1) Post in your own topic, you can link to other posts that have same kind of problems, especially if you have other problems as well.
2) Post on the appropriate forum, usually you'd better use the Mega Mod forum, especially if you use one or more of the big mods(BGT, SoS, TDD) with other mods.
3) Post your .txt, .err, .log -file contents, do not attach them, so open the files with Notepad and copy paste the text to the post, nobody is interested loading the files thousands times, well at least I am not. Unless attaching the only good way to do so, and then put them into a .zip archive. I wouldn't use the other archive file tools because the Windows today comes with an .zip unpacker, but the others need to be loaded up and configured, and the space save using the others should be minimal, in file sizes less than 30 MB's that you can upload.
4) In order for the post to be readable, post the file contents in spoiler tags if they are more than ten lines long and the post becomes more than about 100 lines long just because of the files content, ie; put it in these:

Spoiler

text content of the file goes here

What to do in case of crashes:
If you haven't done it yet, enable logging. This might have already been done by the BW Install automatically.
You can do this by opening baldur.ini with any text editor (such as notepad; better not to use Word or other sophisticated programs); just below [Program Options], add the following line:
Logging On=1
And try to reproduce the crash.

If you can't reproduce the crash, please leave logging enabled, post as much information as you can, and post your baldur.err as soon as a crash occurs again (hoping it won't happen again...).
And if the crash is caused by an assertion error, the modified game itself tells you nothing of real relevance, as the game uses temporary files to actually work(.cpp), you should have the ToBEx's extra logging enabled to make it easier to identify the cause.

Reporting the CtD; Post your baldur.err, and some description of what you were doing when the error occurred;
If you were loading an area, if the crash occurred just after it was loaded, or before, and how much of the loading bar had already been displayed.

Disclaimer

*Part One: I did not make any mods in this install.. DO NOT POST any issues you are having with individual mods.. post those problems in the respective mod forums here.. only post errors here if you feel it reflects the BWP install instructions above!!

**Part Two: Keep in mind this guide is for ALL "R" and "S" mods.. if you added ANY "T" or "E" mods.. THIS guide does NOT cover those mods.. and if you added any of those mods.. you need to ask in there mod forum here.

***Part Three: In otherwords.. Only post errors on actual installation issues you have following this guide.. That means the actual install processes.. not individual mods.. as that is not the problem of the install processes, but the mod or a conflict with another mod.. you can still post here on that.. and I'll try and help, but thats not a issue with the install.

Full Disclaimer: (Sorry, The leagal info, JIC)

You try this guide at your own risk! Neither Spellhold Studios or ShadowTek or any of the contributors are responsible for any problems you may encounter.. this guide is presented "As Is" and we are not responsible for any problems or errors as a result of this guide.. you use at your own risk.

Edited by ShadowTek, 19 November 2012 - 03:07 PM.

[ShadowTek]

1. Common Problems
1. Missing files in your Baldur's Gate\Override folder (See First Post)
2. Adding Mods that come in a self extracting exe file (See First Post)

2. Incompatible mods
1. Imoen Romance and Imoen Friendship, but BWP will tell you this and ask which you want to install. BTW remember that Imoen is your half sister lol..

3. Specific Mods with special installs
1. Infinity Animations - see first post on how to install this mod. Its complicated, follow the directions in first post above.
2. Widescreen mod - See first post on how to install this mod.. DO NOT install this mod on your own.. follow the directions in first post to let BWP do it..

4. Reporting Issues with your install
Report issues as follows.. this info is taken from Jarno Mikkola's FAQ for mega-mods.. All credit for the info below is Jarno Mikkola's

Spoiler

16. Help to properly form a good thread to log and reports errors in once own megamod.
As the title say, if you run into a problem, error or Crash to Desktop -type bugs, it's usually a good thought to put such a report to a public forum...
And here a few good thumb rules to go by;

1) Post in your own topic, you can link to other posts that have same kind of problems, especially if you have other problems as well.
2) Post on the appropriate forum, usually you'd better use the Mega Mod forum, especially if you use one or more of the big mods(BGT, SoS, TDD) with other mods.
3) Post your .txt, .err, .log -file contents, do not attach them, so open the files with Notepad and copy paste the text to the post, nobody is interested loading the files thousands times, well at least I am not. Unless attaching the only good way to do so, and then put them into a .zip archive. I wouldn't use the other archive file tools because the Windows today comes with an .zip unpacker, but the others need to be loaded up and configured, and the space save using the others should be minimal, in file sizes less than 30 MB's that you can upload.
4) In order for the post to be readable, post the file contents in spoiler tags if they are more than ten lines long and the post becomes more than about 100 lines long just because of the files content, ie; put it in these:

Spoiler

text content of the file goes here

What to do in case of crashes:
If you haven't done it yet, enable logging. This might have already been done by the BW Install automatically.
You can do this by opening baldur.ini with any text editor (such as notepad; better not to use Word or other sophisticated programs); just below [Program Options], add the following line:
Logging On=1
And try to reproduce the crash.

If you can't reproduce the crash, please leave logging enabled, post as much information as you can, and post your baldur.err as soon as a crash occurs again (hoping it won't happen again...).
And if the crash is caused by an assertion error, the modified game itself tells you nothing of real relevance, as the game uses temporary files to actually work(.cpp), you should have the ToBEx's extra logging enabled to make it easier to identify the cause.

Reporting the CtD; Post your baldur.err, and some description of what you were doing when the error occurred;
If you were loading an area, if the crash occurred just after it was loaded, or before, and how much of the loading bar had already been displayed.

5. Changelog
V 1.0.04 Added explanations of different megamod installs to help new players understand the difference in all of them. Added a few cosmetic changes.

V 1.0.03 Fixed a link that was to actual download to goto page download is located at..Added general link to Restored Textscreen Music (TxtMusic) as I added it, but acidently deleted it.. A new post here reminded me, and that theres two parts..

V 1.0.02 Added new note on mods that come in a exe. Added disclaimer info.

V 1.0.00 Out of beta full guide done

Edited by ShadowTek, 10 January 2012 - 09:31 PM.

[ShadowTek]

Mods Of Note:

Note: Heres a list of mods that add new animation, or make graphical changes, or add new functions or new animations:

1. Baldur's Gate Trilogy - This mod alows you to play BGI in the BG ToB engine
2. Throne of Bhaal Extender This mod adds new functions to BGT games
3. All Infinity Animations Mods This mod adds new animations to the game.
4. Widescreen Mod This mod allows you to play BGT in widescreen mod
5. Generalized Biffing This mod will speed up your game allot

Edited by ShadowTek, 30 December 2011 - 12:00 PM.

[mr fantastic]

Excellent idea ShadowTek with that guide. A lot of new users will find this very helpful and I think many people will help you with that guide. Maybe with time, when it takes proper shape and people and gurus are happy with it, it might get pinned.

Good work

[ShadowTek]

If you are viewing this thread before Ive removed the *Under Construction* tags on the three above posts, its still under construction.. however if you see some error above please let me know as I want this to be as accurate as possible for new players.

Thanks for any input..


EDIT: we crossed msgs mr fantastic, thanks, see above if you have any suggestions.. Im still working on it though.. Thanks for the kind words!

Edited by ShadowTek, 28 December 2011 - 11:11 PM.

[Fouinto]

Hi,

GREAT !

I read it fast and didn't see any thing very bad (I may have missed something). However, I have to tell you that things are a bit more complex (I know, you wrote it is under construction), see the FAQ for more :

a) Create a directory in X (X is your c or d or whatever drive you want to use) called BWP
*Note: NOT in your program folder, literally in the default drive like C:\BWP (replace C with the drive letter you want to install in)
[...]
d) Install BG2 in the BWP directory
*Note: Do not install any patches, ToB will fix that when you install it

The BGII subdirectory must be "BGII - SoA" or "BGII - SvA" (at least during BWP installation)

ONLY PICK MODS WITH A GREY "S" OR A GREEN "R"

Do not pick any mods that have a "T" or a "E" UNLESS you are a moder that knows how to modify the game.. If thats the case.. this install guide is not for you, as this is for newbies.

I only agree with you if you are new to BGI and BGII games !
Why don't pick "T" ones ? If you are a new to modding but are at ease with BGI or BGII you should take Tactics mods.

BTW, you should really read the FAQ because there are a lots of advice about all sort of problems you can encounter (such as BGI patch you link is the English one, UAC problem...).

I have to tell you this : I REALLY think your first shot is a good one !

Thank you.

Edited by Fouinto, 29 December 2011 - 02:27 AM.

[Lollorian]

I vote for sticky (and possibly a bidirectional link between this and Jarno's FAQ )

PS: I believe you might wanna remove the mods'/tools' version numbers from all the posts The BWP stuff is badass for updating rather whimsically And also, would be awesome if you link to the modpages rather than the mods themselves (like for WeiDU and the Missing files you linked ) who knows when they get updated and peeps start panicking cause the link don't work

PS2: If this does make sticky, maybe the comments should go into a separate thread like "Comments on Megamod Install 101" or something An admin can get these posts moved into that!

[mr fantastic]

Yes, like Fouinto mentioned the BG2 directory must be "BGII - SoA".

As this is guide for new users I think you should mention the extraction of the actual downloaded mods, to "BGII - SoA", and that most of them don't have to be extracted one by one, but mass extracted link

Once again refer yourself to Jarno's FAQ as well, there is a lot info there

Edited by mr fantastic, 29 December 2011 - 08:41 AM.

[WildMage]

Cool stuff!
Way back it would helped poor sods like me to get started!


Kudos for all help!

[mr fantastic]

Oh, and another thing:

I would replace RoT and TS with the Never Ending Journey mods, Big Picture, and Widescreen. RoT adds long, ardious, cutscenes that cannot be skipped, and a Drizzt that has inhuman dextierity which you can't kick out, so it's a waste of megs. TS, just full of bad fan fic and absolutly ridicilous battles.

As for the mods I say that are must haves, Never Ending Journey adds quite a lot of fun to the game (even through it's marked as expert, it's still a must have), Big Picture adds Ascention to the game, one of the best mods, and Widescreen allows the graphics to look nice on modern monitors.

I think you're missing the point in your last 2 replies of why is ShadowTek writing down this guide.(and maybe confusing him a bit )This is meant to be for new users ans user friendly, as simple as it can be. You can not include Expert mods because they will cause problems, and as the title says this is guide for newbies. I think of this guide and will support it as a something for people that want to explore world of BG in a new way but are not familiar with modding, using mods at all. I think that's the whole point of this guide. In last couple of weeks there was loads of new people here posting dozens of new topics with similar content. Let them be introduced to BWP in a painless manner...I wish I had a guide like this when I first joined 2 years ago, I wouldn't probably post 40 topics in the first place in the beginning

Cheers

[ShadowTek]

Hi, thanks for all the feedback!

1. I removed version numbers (Good point)
2. I mentioned the exact directorys for BG1 and 2 in all cases above(Good thinking, I forgot to do that, thanks!)

Also thats a good idea to link to the page rather then the mod, I think most of the links do that, but I'll change all of them to link to the page. I'll update the posts with the rest of your suggestions. Thanks for the help
I'll start updating the posts

UPDATE:
I changed all links to point to the link page rather then the mod download, also for the official patches, I linked to the page with all versions so people can pick english, international, or the one that pertains to there game.

I will add the UAC problem and will link to the FAQ as well.. (And I'll carefully read it to update the above posts)

Edited by ShadowTek, 29 December 2011 - 12:40 PM.

[VxKhamulxV]

Great Idea Tek! This woulda helped us a ton a couple weeks ago

Oh, if anyone is wanting to install the infinity animations (Since it's recommended on the Mods site) You might throw in that you can just use winrar to extract everything. Just make sure you drag/drop all of the files from the creatures folders from other IA mods into the content folder of infinity-animations.

For example, "infinityanimations-b5" is the base folder. You extract it, and you get your infinityanimations-setup and your infinityanimationsfile. Extracting every other IA archive (EXCEPT IA_bg2_restores and D2 bear werebear) gives you a bunch of folders with creatures. All you do is empty every one of those creature files' contents into the infinity/animations/contents folder. The exception as I said is the IA_bg_restores collection; you put those in the restore file of infinityanimations....and thats it . The Diablo 2 Bear/Werebear can be installed just like any other mod.

Edit: Another edit, you beat me too it xD
Also +vote for sticky!

Edited by VxKhamulxV, 29 December 2011 - 12:03 PM.

[VxKhamulxV]

You may also want to make note of this (As this caught me, and you too I think the first time around) That some of the mods don't come in your basic format..they're .exe's.

Like you said in the other post, just put them in a new folder on your desktop and run the installer for that location. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EXTRACT/INSTALL THESE .EXE MODS IN YOUR BGII - SOA FOLDER! A lot of them will automatically launch weidu and attempt to install themselves. Which is a nono, you want the BiG World Install.bat to install them, because it knows the correct order.

So put it in a new folder on say your desktop, put the .exe in there, and run it. You'll get the cmd screen "error: Dialogue.tk not found" when 'installing' the .exe mod to a new folder (I personally called mine the 'Test Chamber' ) Which is fine, just press enter to close the .cmd screen, and delete the *modname*.debug file (Because you didn't 'technically' install it, it's a good thing..let the BWP.install do it)
Then just drag/drop the modname-setup and modname.folder and any associated .tp2 files into the BGII - SoA Directory .

Edited by VxKhamulxV, 29 December 2011 - 12:03 PM.

[ShadowTek]

Thanks again for all the input!!

Great Idea Tek! This woulda helped us a ton a couple weeks ago

Oh, if anyone is wanting to install the infinity animations (Since it's recommended on the Mods site) You might throw in that you can just use winrar to extract everything. Just make sure you drag/drop all of the files from the creatures folders from other IA mods into the content folder of infinity-animations.

For example, "infinityanimations-b5" is the base folder. You extract it, and you get your infinityanimations-setup and your infinityanimationsfile. Extracting every other IA archive (EXCEPT IA_bg2_restores and D2 bear werebear) gives you a bunch of folders with creatures. All you do is empty every one of those creature files' contents into the infinity/animations/contents folder. The exception as I said is the IA_bg_restores collection; you put those in the restore file of infinityanimations....and thats it . The Diablo 2 Bear/Werebear can be installed just like any other mod.

Edit: Another edit, you beat me too it xD
Also +vote for sticky!

Hi, Yes I added all of that to the first page

You may also want to make note of this (As this caught me, and you too I think the first time around) That some of the mods don't come in your basic format..they're .exe's.

Like you said in the other post, just put them in a new folder on your desktop and run the installer for that location. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EXTRACT/INSTALL THESE .EXE MODS IN YOUR BGII - SOA FOLDER! A lot of them will automatically launch weidu and attempt to install themselves. Which is a nono, you want the BiG World Install.bat to install them, because it knows the correct order.

So put it in a new folder on say your desktop, put the .exe in there, and run it. You'll get the cmd screen "error: Dialogue.tk not found" when 'installing' the .exe mod to a new folder (I personally called mine the 'Test Chamber' ) Which is fine, just press enter to close the .cmd screen, and delete the *modname*.debug file (Because you didn't 'technically' install it, it's a good thing..let the BWP.install do it)
Then just drag/drop the modname-setup and modname.folder and any associated .tp2 files into the BGII - SoA Directory .

Yes I did mention that with a few files in first post (The BG fixpack and widescreen mod) But you are right, I need to be clear about the mods that come in a exe file, thanks, I will update the install guide

EDIT: Added to install page!

For him, I will give him 3 clear suggestions:

1. Add a miniguide for the GOG versions of BG and BG2.
2. Remove RoT and TS from must-have list.
3. Add BP to must-have list (for Ascension)

Hi thanks, I cant post on GOG versions as I dont have it, but mabey if someone does have that version, they can post the differences (As I simply dont know what they are)

RoT and TS are added because I listed all the Big BG2 Mods that are listed in that link, and there all "R" or "S" and all add a ton of content.

Add BP to must-have list (for Ascension)

I agree that its a great mod and you may be right about adding it!! but it is listed as "T" and to be honest, I don't know how to make a install with "T" tactical mods.. or how that would change the install directions.. I personally only know how to install "R" and "S" mods. Im still a newbie at all of this.

Oh, and one more thing: Imoen Friendship >>>>>>> Imoen Romance (romance is just creepy bad fanfic)

I was just posting that you cant use them both

Thanks for the Input!!

Edited by ShadowTek, 29 December 2011 - 01:04 PM.

[dabus]

I'd suggest you let those guys play the mods they like to.

If you want to discuss what should be this and that, open a thread, do some polls whatever, ask Leonardo.
I doubt that he'd change the PDF or someone would edit the linklist since someone said it should be that way in some thread since he does not check the forums frequently and thoroughly.

If you want to avoid editing the batch ("noob-friendly"), you should leave out mods from tactics and expert (e.g. NeJ2). Also, if I remember that challenge that ascension edits at the Throne of Bhaal correctly, I'd say it's not made for "noobs" or occasional players.

I also like to state that Leonardo reacts to emails that describe "problems/mistakes" and so I'd suggest you ask him about a change concerning the GOG-problem.

He also added a line with %GOG% %IFN% %BG1%readme_patch.txt" GOTO :BG1CHCK2, so GOG would be ok if that files exists. I don't know if it does and if a missing one means that it's not patched, but if this is not working, you might want to give him a list of files (dir /B /S "E:\BiG World Project\Baldur's Gate" > list.txt) in the BG1-folder to find a way to detect a GOG-BG1-Version that is patched.
That way you would not need that hint any more, noobs would be happy and the batch would still detect if patching is done or not. If someone has an unpatched install and could check if a new file is added to the override-folder (in all languages of that patch), you could also get rid of the readme-check.

[ShadowTek]

I'd suggest you let those guys play the mods they like to.

If you want to discuss what should be this and that, open a thread, do some polls whatever, ask Leonardo.
I doubt that he'd change the PDF or someone would edit the linklist since someone said it should be that way in some thread since he does not check the forums frequently and thoroughly.

If you want to avoid editing the batch ("noob-friendly"), you should leave out mods from tactics and expert (e.g. NeJ2). Also, if I remember that challenge that ascension edits at the Throne of Bhaal correctly, I'd say it's not made for "noobs" or occasional players.

I also like to state that Leonardo reacts to emails that describe "problems/mistakes" and so I'd suggest you ask him about a change concerning the GOG-problem.

He also added a line with %GOG% %IFN% %BG1%readme_patch.txt" GOTO :BG1CHCK2, so GOG would be ok if that files exists. I don't know if it does and if a missing one means that it's not patched, but if this is not working, you might want to give him a list of files (dir /B /S "E:\BiG World Project\Baldur's Gate" > list.txt) in the BG1-folder to find a way to detect a GOG-BG1-Version that is patched.
That way you would not need that hint any more, noobs would be happy and the batch would still detect if patching is done or not. If someone has an unpatched install and could check if a new file is added to the override-folder (in all languages of that patch), you could also get rid of the readme-check.

Hi, thanks! Yes I left out all "T" and "E" mods.. its only for "S" and "R" mods (as I don't know how to install T or E mods)

Do you mean the Mods list I made? I can delete that page if you want, as you may be right, it may not be fair to everyone or to modders if I post specific mods. They may think there required or something. Mabey I could remove actual game mods from that list and change it to mods that improve graphics and add new functions? (Like IA, Widescreen, ToBex?)

As for GOG..err.. Im not qualified to post on it.. I don't even know what GoG is?

EDIT: I revised the mod list to mods of note rather then Must have mods, I changed the list to show just mods that actually change the game look or add functionality, but I can remove that as well if you guys think I should.

Edited by ShadowTek, 29 December 2011 - 01:39 PM.