4 replies to this topic

[Falagar]

Personally I don't know the complications that would arise, and if the Authors would go with the idea. I see some benefits from this if both projects were to be combined into one giant adventure:

 

1) Consistent characters (no need for duplicates of the same character)

2) Keep consistent weapons & armor from Drizzt Saga to RoT.

3) Chance to eliminate old bugs (hopefully new bugs won't appear).

4) Chance to eliminate any lingering conflicts with scripts, items, creatures, etc.

5) New Banter (for consistency purposes)

 

Possibly other benefits I'm not seeing? Also the combined mods will need a new name...

 

Also making Drizzt Saga & RoT as being optional components if you just wanted to play the BG1 Quest line or just the BG2 Quest line, but doing so would require a small story change.

 

So this idea good or bad? Honestly I don't know the real inner workings of how these mods are made, and what it would take to do something like this, and if it even is practical.

Edited by Falagar, 21 March 2017 - 10:16 PM.

[Roxanne]

Personally I don't know the complications that would arise, and if the Authors would go with the idea. I see some benefits from this if both projects were to be combined into one giant adventure:

 

1) Consistent characters (no need for duplicates of the same character)

2) Keep consistent weapons & armor from Drizzt Saga to RoT.

3) Chance to eliminate old bugs (hopefully new bugs won't appear).

4) Chance to eliminate any lingering conflicts with scripts, items, creatures, etc.

5) New Banter (for consistency purposes)

 

Possibly other benefits I'm not seeing? Also the combined mods will need a new name...

 

Also making Drizzt Saga & RoT as being optional components if you just wanted to play the BG1 Quest line or just the BG2 Quest line, but doing so would require a small story change.

 

So this idea good or bad? Honestly I don't know the real inner workings of how these mods are made, and what it would take to do something like this, and if it even is practical.

Anything is possible given enough dedication, skill, time etc. Question is whether the gain would justify the effort.

Some considerations:

- a combined mod only makes sense for combined games (BGT or EET) as Drizzt Saga is BG1 contents and RoT is BG2

- Even in BGT and EET the current versions need to be installed into the basic original games BEFORE you merge the games (primarily due to the coding used in Drizzt Saga)

- no idea if the original authors are still around anyway

- there are no real conflicts between the two mods that require solution

 

A minimalistic approach without touching the core contents of the mods appears to be more feasible

- align portraits, stats, appearance, weapons of the two mods

- provide some *glue* contents that ties Drizzt's appearance in BG2 with the (optional) cases whether you did the earlier part or not. (contained in a separate mod independent of both and only useable in BGT/EET)

- thus make Drizzt appear to be a continuos character while technically keep the mods separated.

 

The feasibility of the later approach is already proven (it is contained in the Sandrah mod). Somebody could easily provide such a mod as a separate install option (Note - mods like The One Drizzt or similar that are around are not useable and create more bugs than help).

 

PS - when doing such a thing, do not forget the other Drizzt's (at Fisherman's Lake fighting gnolls and after Underdark to side with you against Bodhi).

Edited by Roxanne, 22 March 2017 - 12:18 AM.

[The Imp]

- Even in BGT and EET the current versions need to be installed into the basic original games BEFORE you merge the games (primarily due to the coding used in Drizzt Saga)

Well, not in the case of the BGT-weidu cause it is installed directly on top of the BG2 from unmodified BG1 and the further BG1 mods are installed on top of the BG2, not on BG1.
The EET is different, but you can make the Drizzt Saga so that it can be installed into the EET, if you like to do so. As then you skip the EETs incorporation of the BG1EE mods to the BG2EE... but the add/edited files are in the BG2 game.

Edited by The Imp, 22 March 2017 - 02:14 AM.

[K4thos]

- Even in BGT and EET the current versions need to be installed into the basic original games BEFORE you merge the games (primarily due to the coding used in Drizzt Saga)

Well, not in the case of the BGT-weidu cause it is installed directly on top of the BG2 from unmodified BG1 and the further BG1 mods are installed on top of the BG2, not on BG1.
The EET is different, but you can make the Drizzt Saga so that it can be installed into the EET, if you like to do so. As then you skip the EETs incorporation of the BG1EE mods to the BG2EE... but the add/edited files are in the BG2 game.

this is correct. The mods installation on BG:EE previous to installing EET is done as an effort shortcut since this way mod doesn't need any changes at all to work correctly (since it is treated as vanilla content so resource re-naming is done automatically if needed during installation). BG:EE mods can receive native EET support the same way as BGT, if author wishes to do so. I can provide required EET related changes if someone will merge both mods into one installed on BG2 (the mod already uses cpmvars so it would be a matter of minutes in this case).

 

As for the topic at hand there is a mod that already handles Drizzt to be consistent among those 2 mods in BGT installation: http://www.shsforums...ne-drizzt-v141/

no EET version since it hasn't been updated to work with EE games at all (missing HANDLE_CHARSETS). I can update it if there is interest although from what Roxanne mentioned she already does something like this in her mod, so there may be conflicts with Sandrah Saga.

Edited by K4thos, 25 March 2017 - 09:46 PM.

[Roxanne]

although from what Roxanne mentioned she already does something like this in her mod, so there may be conflicts with Sandrah Saga.

- I do nothing like this, what Sandrah does is to fill the different appearances of Drizzt with some additional content to make these events seem like part of a story (for this Drizzt leaves you after the events of Drizzt Saga and later he and his companions become victims of Jarlaxle&Co, so he needs your help again).

- The One Drizzt Mod on the other hand tries to unite them into one joinable continuos NPC, but I never got it to work in BGT and it does not look to be compliant with EET (+SoD) continuous NPC approach. The mod would require some adaptation to the additional SoD transitions and more.

- Those are two different approaches (one allows Drizzt to be a constant party member, the other minimizes his presence - on his companion's - while retaining the quests). They are alternatives and do not conflict. In BGT you could even install both and decide in game how you wanted it to play out.

Edited by Roxanne, 26 March 2017 - 01:51 AM.