16 replies to this topic

[Hobomaniac]

I'm puzzled about the Widescreen mod.

Yes. Like everybody I think.

 

In the bible it says (page 281) :

 

 

In theory it may be useful to install the Widescreen mod after Generalized Biffing because you could uninstall the
widescreen mod again easily if you don't like it. However - this does not work. For some reasons the game will freeze.
Maybe an incompatibility arises with other .exe-patches that were installed before - I don't know. For the moment the
install order Thieves Galore - Widescreen - Generalized Biffing is the only working one.

 

Ok.

And I noticed on this forum, that people use to follow this rule. It's word of the Bible after all.

But...

 

I did the test.

I installed a megamod with nearly 300 mods (see post here) without the Widescreen mod. And then I applied it....over the Generlized Biffing.....and it seems to work like a charm.

I got no errors during the install.

I mean....I don't have any freezes or lockups. (I played for an hour or so)

 

What do you think?

Is it safe to do it this way?

Edited by Hobomaniac, 19 July 2016 - 10:03 AM.

[micbaldur]

It's safe both ways but if you don't plan to re-install Widescreen mod better to install it before Generalized Biffing. Over all it doesn't matter much.

[Hobomaniac]

I even installed Bigger Fonts for BG2 here

It seems OK too.

 

When you install Widescreen before the biffing, it takes a loooong time to reinstall (when you wanna change resolution). On some computers, it can take 2 hours. (on mine it's 30mn so it's ok)

 

Having The Widescreen mod AFTER Gen biffing makes it less painful to change the resolution. It takes only a few seconds.

 

Maybe it works with my modlist, but there may be other configurations incompatible with this method.

[The Imp]

Well you can install the widescreen mod after the Gen_Biff yeah. BUT, yes, there's always that word.
In BG1, doing so will, after starting a game will crash the game every time you are or enter a smaller than the expected area the screen holds in the save... aka, as the game has a fairly many of those areas that are smaller than 1080i monitor can show, you are likely going to have one of them in your save. WHICH WILL ALWAYS CRASH YOUR GAME. And a .pdf that doesn't say that in some way with fewer words is not going to be good. As you can't fix the saves if your procedure ends up creating them.
I haven't run into this in BG2, cause the install is made little differently cause the engine allows it to be... but it's in PST, IWD and BG1, so it's still better be in there for that reason alone.
Also it should be noted that the Generalized Biffing was a replacement for the END_BIFF ... which was not able to uninstall in a weidu-chain uninstall procedure. Which would cheese your game anyways. So go ahead, and make tests that take 1000 installs of all the areas and then come back with an answer on how to do this better. We don't have the time to solve the possible freak out the game might just do for fun.

Also, the files the Widescreen mod changes are those that the Generalized Biffing makes into a .bif... so to exclude it would make a president. Next will be making kings, overlords, prime ministers, exits from Enemy Unknown and pokemon WENT.
Now, there's a reason why the mods are installed in the order that they are set in... you can install the Item Revision last too... but it's generally not recommended to be the last mod either.

It should be very easy to op-out the Widescreen mod from the mod compilation and use manual install after the BWP/S.

Edited by The Imp, 19 July 2016 - 11:14 AM.

[Hobomaniac]

Well you can install the widescreen mod after the Gen_Biff yeah. BUT, yes, there's always that word.
In BG1, doing so will, after starting a game will crash the game every time you are or enter a smaller than the expected area the screen holds in the save... aka, as the game has a fairly many of those areas that are smaller than 1080i monitor can show, you are likely going to have one of them in your save. WHICH WILL ALWAYS CRASH YOUR GAME. And a .pdf that doesn't say that in some way with fewer words is not going to be good. As you can't fix the saves if your procedure ends up creating them.
I haven't run into this in BG2, cause the install is made little differently cause the engine allows it to be... but it's in PST, IWD and BG1, so it's still better be in there for that reason alone.
Also it should be noted that the Generalized Biffing was a replacement for the END_BIFF ... which was not able to uninstall in a weidu-chain uninstall procedure. Which would cheese your game anyways. So go ahead, and make tests that take 1000 installs of all the areas and then come back with an answer on how to do this better. We don't have the time to solve the possible freak out the game might just do for fun.

 

Thank you for that detailed explanation.

 

I started a new game, with a new save. that's why I haven't had any problems.

 

So if I install in the correct order (WS-->GEN BIFF) wil it be safe to change the resolution later? (I didn't get that point)

Edited by Hobomaniac, 19 July 2016 - 11:22 AM.

[The Imp]

A few above post edits later...

So if I install in the correct order (WS-->GEN BIFF) wil it be safe to change the resolution later?

I wouldn't recommend trying it. Unless you are willing to throw away the whole progress to find out that yeah, if fails because of this, or the thousands up on thousands of other reasons. But in that case you can install the Widescreen mod last too. See the last line of the edited post.

From all I have head from the bigg, aka the Widescreen mods coder, it should be safe to un-and-re-install the Widescreen mod with different screen resolutions during play-sessions of the BG2 game... but I wouldn't put my hand as a collateral for that to be the absolute truth.

Edited by The Imp, 19 July 2016 - 11:26 AM.

[Hobomaniac]

Also, the files the Widescreen mod changes are those that the Generalized Biffing makes into a .bif... so to exclude it would make a president. Next will be making kings, overlords, prime ministers, exits from Enemy Unknown and pokemon WENT.
Now, there's a reason why the mods are installed in the order that they are set in... you can install the Item Revision last too... but it's generally not recommended to be the last mod either.

It should be very easy to op-out the Widescreen mod from the mod compilation and use manual install after the BWP/S.

 

Interesting.

 

And what do you think about Bigger Font??

Is it safe?

[The Imp]

Safe... -I'll create a sentence I can but my hand on as a collateral- ... well if you can install it to a regular BG2 game without it causing errors, it's likely to ... but basically yes. You are encouraged to experiment... if you wish. But the BiG World .pdf, the BWS tool etc. should not be the test subject, but the product of them.

[Hobomaniac]

I'll test it.

Report any bugs.

And maybe one day, it will be part of BWP.

That will be my little contribution

 

I consider BIIGER FONTS as being essential. I have good eyes. Im not 70 years old. But the writings are so small in 1920x1080. It's almost unbereable when you play for hours (I know I know I shouldn't play that long)

Edited by Hobomaniac, 19 July 2016 - 11:55 AM.

[subtledoctor]

Why would you need to change your resolution?

[Hobomaniac]

I acquired a larger screen.

And my old one is almost dead.

I need to switch to 1920x1080

[subtledoctor]

Alright but my point is, that's a fairly exceptional event. People are talking about installing Widescreen after Biffing as if you are going to constantly change your resolution.

I'd place money on people reinstalling BG+mods far more often than changing their display hardware. In which case, as a general rule, most people will be better off installing Widescreen before Biffing.

[Hobomaniac]

Switching resolution in a videogame may be an "exceptional event". But not for me. I do it fairly often.

[The Imp]

Switching resolution in a videogame may be an "exceptional event". But not for me. I do it fairly often.

Yeah. And how many times have you changed the Windows background size ?
I bet you do it 24 times a day, going from 3x2 to 7680x4320 just based on the feels.

[Hobomaniac]

Switching resolution in a videogame may be an "exceptional event". But not for me. I do it fairly often.

Yeah. And how many times have you changed the Windows background size ?
I bet you do it 24 times a day, going from 3x2 to 7680x4320 just based on the feels.

 

Not 24 times a day but more often than you changing your pants

[The Imp]

Then you don't install it as part of a project that's clearly made for people that try to run a program one time and get a perfect game, out of the choices they make during the running of that program.
And why do you change it that much ? For example, you are aware that you can make the one install be in multiple computers by just copying the game folder, from one computer to another, then edit make a specific Widescreen mod install there that fits to that specific computer, and then play there, exit the game, go to the game folder where your saves will be, copy those to a USB stick, and with them, go back to the original computer and install the Widescreen mod there with completely different settings(this works in BG2 and PST -as long as you set the larger resolution as the max resolution in when it's asked in PST- and play the other computers saves there until you copy the saves to the stick again and proceed to the next computer. There's no need to install the Widescreen mod a time more than the amount of computers you are hiving in it in.

[Hobomaniac]

Ok it's not a big deal.

I regret I have asked.

You know what? I just love BWP. I come here once a few years to build a megamod and play it.

Last time I was there, I just had a blast building my setup. And I played the game for 2 years. And it was terrific.

But as I said in another topic, I lost my hard drive. And my megamod as well.

 

I just love the work that has been done here. I'm aware of it. And have no ill intentions at all.

Sometimes, my expression is misunderstood. But it's just that. My bizarre expression.

I'm not a Half-Orc. or whatever. I'm more...a little curious gnome. Tinkering and asking too many questions....with a good side alignement, of course.

 

Coming back to the Widescreen subject, it happens right now I have an old display monitor 10 years old. I play 800x600 on it.

I know soon I'll have a new screen. And new hardware by the way. And a new house...anyway, that's another story.

When? I don't know. I just wanted to know if I could switch resolution later. That's why I made the test.

That's all.

Nothing more. I would be sad to trigger a 3rd world war.

Imagine the death and the sorrow. Nuclear winter and radiation everywhere. Humans feeding on humans to survive...heh

I'm not that kind of gnome

Edited by Hobomaniac, 23 July 2016 - 12:58 PM.