6 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.
 

[TDouglas]

Well, it's been awhile.  I've not posted, but have been busy.

 

First of all, I wasn't originally intending to write a install guide.  The original project (and still the primary objective) is an installation troubleshooting reference.  Thus the reason it's a text file.  It's mostly usable at this point, and can be searched as easily by machine as by man.  The ability to do keyword searches on mod components (and look for issues) is helping more than you know.

 

I've got a lot more work to do on the text file, but have had to suspend it for now.  The issue is that I have yet to be able to get a working installation following the PDF. 

 

There are a LOT of problems with the original PDF folks.  Being a Linux user, I've always done manual installations and thus already knew that.  It was bad enough back in the day, but is damning now.

 

Anyhow, I've decided to post some of what I've learned in the event it helps anyone else that's trying to do a manual install for the original game (and likely the GOG version as well).

 

1)  You're going to have issues with BGT.  The PDF recommends using an earlier version, as the changes the more recent ones implement to the music break a LOT of older mods (starting with Check the Bodies).   More worryingly they also disrupt DLTCEP (which can't find the songlist).  There may be a work around for the DLTCEP issue, but to correct the errors with the rest simply don't install the music until towards the end of your install.

 

2)  You'll need to decide pretty early on if you're going to install either BP or SCS as your AI.  I don't recommend using both ... too many conflicts possible.  BP is better for people who don't have super powerful computers (SCS can take upwards of four hours to just install).  Problems happen if you're looking to install Ascension.  The new version has major issues with BP.  It also breaks a lot of older mods, which either won't install at all because of it or won't install Ascension specific stuff with it.  You can install the original, but if you do you'll also need to install BP's version afterwards to  get other (older) mods to work right.  The older mods won't work with the new Ascension (and basically require BP), so you'll need to make up your mind about that off the bat.

 

3)  Shadows over Soubar (sos) will write nonsense to your setup-gui file on original bg.  This is bad.  To make matters worse, BGT requires a (working) setup-gui.tp2, which at it's point in the install can only be provided by either SOS or The Darkest Day (TDD).  BGT complains about TDD however (WARNING: cannot find block matching [bgt/compat/tdd/replace/rar0300.baf]).  The solution I've found is to install TDD, move the setup-gui.tp2 to tdd/ ,install SOS, delete the (bad) setup-gui.tp2 it places, copy back the protected copy from TDD and proceed with installing BGT.  Things will now work correctly.

 

4)  On the subject of GUI mods, do NOT install BP's GUI additions and do NOT install the same from 1PP.  1PP in particular will destroy your setup-gui.tp2 file (and weidu will accuse you of using msword to edit it).

 

5)  Turnabout will install correctly with the original Ascension IF you've also installed BP's version (won't install otherwise).  Everything else seems to be ok for now.

 

6)  The Paladins of Faerun mod apparently conflicts with the Ding0's tweak component "NPC's & Summons set off traps"  (ERROR: [PF0152.ARE] -> [override/PF0152.ARE] Patching Failed (COPY) (Failure("resource [GNT2004.bcs] not found for 'COPY'"))                D0TWEAK.  One or the other folks.

 

And a million other things I'm not thinking about right now.  The project is ongoing, and will post back later once I've resolved a few more issues

 

 

[skellytz]

The project is ongoing, and will post back later once I've resolved a few more issues

I've merged this with your previous thread and renamed it "[WIP] Revised BWP Guide" in Mega Mod Help. From now on, please use this thread to post updates about your project.