4 replies to this topic

[TDouglas]

Still plugging away at the revised BWP install guide.

 

Have hit an area that's more public opinion than anything, so thought I'd ask.

 

The mod in question is  BIG PICTURE v181_4611.  This mod installs it's own version of two other mods, namely Tactics and Ascension.  

 

I'm guessing this mods version of Tactics would be preferred, as it's more recent (and Leonardo cites it as "improved" in the PDF).  That's up for debate tho

 

Ascension is another story.  I'm guessing the new version would be preferred,not the least reason being that mods like Longer Road look for it in the log, and won't install if you only have the BP version. 

 

Since both Tactics and Ascension are installed later in the process, I'm guessing they're either going to (A) overwrite these components or (B) conflict with them in some ungodly way.  Possibly © both

 

For now I'm basically leaving component installation suggestions as they were in the PDF, but this could be confusing to new players.

 

Would appreciate any feedback on this issue

 

Oh, and one more thing.  The PDF is constantly mentioning compatibility issues with the mod TOB-Hacks.  I vaguely remember it, but can't find it anywhere.  Does anyone still use this?  Safe to remove references to it?

Edited by TDouglas, 08 February 2025 - 04:10 PM.

[eyre]

The PDF is constantly mentioning compatibility issues with the mod TOB-Hacks.  I vaguely remember it, but can't find it anywhere.

The TOB Hacks thread is here, and it is still available for download, though my guess is that the vast majority of players use TobEx instead.

[TDouglas]

Was thinking TobEx was it's replacement, but damned if I could remember for certain.  Thank you!

 

Think I'm going to remove references to it.  Don't think anyone would still be looking for it, and even TobEx is mostly deprecated these days (too many conflicts).

 

Any thoughts on the other issues?

[eyre]

... even TobEx is mostly deprecated these days (too many conflicts).

Interesting.  I'm curious as to the context in which TobEx is deprecated.  Perhaps because it is (essentially) subsumed by TobEx Afterlife? Or are you referring to something else?

 

 

Any thoughts on the other issues?

Not really.  I've installed both Ascension and Tactics in the past, but that was ages ago, and generally speaking I very much prefer BG1 content over BG2 (ToB in particular feels like such a slog).  Hopefully someone else will chime in and provide some guidance.

[TDouglas]

As for TobEX being mostly deprecated, yeah Afterlife replaces most of it, but consider some of the reported problems with TobEx.  This is from the install guide:

 

Blindness As Spell Description_____________________________________________[]     [spell revisions] =N                                                                   
Disable Stoneskin Grey Colour_____________________________________________[]     [tob-hacks] =N          [spell revisions] =N    [scs] =N                           
No Spell Interruption On Zero Damage_____________________________________[]                                                                                            
Use Caster Level On Mirror Image__________________________________________[]     [tob-hacks] =N          [spell revisions] =N    [scs] =N                             
 Allow All Races to Dual Class______________________________________________[]     [cdtweaks] =N                                                                          
 Allow Equipping Armor in Combat__________________________________________[]                                                                                            
 Disable Experience Boost__________________________________________________[]                                                                                            
 Disable Force Inventory Pause_____________________________________________[]     [Yasraena] =N           Also causes problems with inventory management                 
 Disable Silence On Charm_________________________________________________[]     [tob-hacks] =N          [scs] =N                                                       
 Level One Proficiency Restrictions_________________________________________[]       

 Remain Hidden On Pickpocket Success____________________________________[]     [tob-hacks] =N                                                                         
Drop Inventory on Frozen Death____________________________________________[]     [p5tweaks] =N

 

This list is not complete.  Other options are redone by other mods as well, but weren't listed in the PDF page.  One of the many things I have to keep an eye out for.

 

The component " Allow All Races to Dual Class" has a similar component in cdtweaks, so I added that warning myself.  The rest are all issues reported in the PDF.  Since these things have been corrected by Afterlife anyways, I'm recommending only the "TobEx - Core" component be installed with afterlife thereafter.  The problems are still listed in case someone doesn't want to install Afterlife for some reason.

 

I haven't had luck getting the new version of Ascension to install yet, but that could easily be because I'm working on this manual.  I have to install all these mods to check that the component options are correct (and collect debug information), which makes my game install folder a nightmare.  Lots of room for conflict here.