Baldur's Gate Mods & Suggestions
December 10, 2009 7:36 PM Subscribe
Baldur's Gate: I just purchased the compilation set on DVD, which includes both games and both expansions. Before I get started, what mods (if any) do you suggest installing? Any online guides in particular worth checking out? (Not looking for cheats or walkthroughs, though.) And any general advice for a first-time player? (I'm a pretty casual gamer.) Thanks!
SHIT! Got that backwards. It lets you use the BG2 engine to play BG1.
posted by Decimask at 8:05 PM on December 10, 2009
posted by Decimask at 8:05 PM on December 10, 2009
Wow. Your situation is similar to the person who is just beginning to read War and Peace, or King Lear, or Twilight... surely one to be envied.
Keep in mind that the first Baldur's Gate, while excellent, is much more a classic D&D dungeon crawl and lacks the richness and depth that makes Baldur's Gate II the Best Game Ever. Do not fret about leaving off Baldur's Gate I for II if at any point you feel at all listless.
Some BGII tips:
1) It really doesn't matter what character class you pick, but if it at all appeals to you, you should be a sorcerer or a cleric (which nicely compliment most NPC party combinations).
2) Don't advance past Act II until you are truly ready to give up all the delicious side quests you have accumulated. Doing everything in Act II will mean your party will be unstoppable, level 16 or so, badasses.
3) Remember: you kill golems with pure magic damage (not fire or ice but pure magic damage, like from magic missles and skull traps).
4) There are dark, fell things which will utterly destroy your entire party. Save often.
5) Tactics really do count. If you are utterly destroyed, there is a good chance you can find a way to not only avoid destruction, but to avoid using even a single potion too.
posted by flavor at 8:11 PM on December 10, 2009
Keep in mind that the first Baldur's Gate, while excellent, is much more a classic D&D dungeon crawl and lacks the richness and depth that makes Baldur's Gate II the Best Game Ever. Do not fret about leaving off Baldur's Gate I for II if at any point you feel at all listless.
Some BGII tips:
1) It really doesn't matter what character class you pick, but if it at all appeals to you, you should be a sorcerer or a cleric (which nicely compliment most NPC party combinations).
2) Don't advance past Act II until you are truly ready to give up all the delicious side quests you have accumulated. Doing everything in Act II will mean your party will be unstoppable, level 16 or so, badasses.
3) Remember: you kill golems with pure magic damage (not fire or ice but pure magic damage, like from magic missles and skull traps).
4) There are dark, fell things which will utterly destroy your entire party. Save often.
5) Tactics really do count. If you are utterly destroyed, there is a good chance you can find a way to not only avoid destruction, but to avoid using even a single potion too.
posted by flavor at 8:11 PM on December 10, 2009
Response by poster: Thanks for all the tips so far, everyone. I just installed Tutu and will give that a shot. I think I'll also install that fixpack for BG2 in the thread unmake linked - is there something comparable for BG1?
And flavor, that made me smile - that's how I feel about people who haven't yet seen The Wire. :) I appreciate the advice. I think I will start with BG1, but definitely move on if it feels right.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 8:15 PM on December 10, 2009
And flavor, that made me smile - that's how I feel about people who haven't yet seen The Wire. :) I appreciate the advice. I think I will start with BG1, but definitely move on if it feels right.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 8:15 PM on December 10, 2009
Also, Widescreen Mod. Note that the font size doesn't scale up, so don't try to play it at 1920 x whatever unless you have supervision.
Originally saw this a year ago on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
Also, some skimming indicates the other one I was thinking of is Baldur's Gate Trilogy, and the TuTu is better.
posted by Decimask at 8:15 PM on December 10, 2009
Originally saw this a year ago on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
Also, some skimming indicates the other one I was thinking of is Baldur's Gate Trilogy, and the TuTu is better.
posted by Decimask at 8:15 PM on December 10, 2009
Last for tonight, be very wary of any item packs or other "improvements" to the game until you've played it a bit. Balance is not the forté of indie developpers for BG--some of that stuff can seriously suck the challenge out of the game.
Also, chuckleworthy that I linked to the exact stuff the Ars Technica thread links to.
posted by Decimask at 8:20 PM on December 10, 2009
Also, chuckleworthy that I linked to the exact stuff the Ars Technica thread links to.
posted by Decimask at 8:20 PM on December 10, 2009
Well, good luck with the next month of your life, since you're going to be playing BG2.
posted by elder18 at 8:24 PM on December 10, 2009
posted by elder18 at 8:24 PM on December 10, 2009
Amusingly, I just did this (albeit with the discs I bought back when they were still in the stores, newly released). My personal readme file for setting up the ultimate BG experience, using the Baldur's Gate Trilogy mod -- a mod which seamlessly ties BG1, the Sword Coast expansion, and BG2 into a single game -- is as follows:
1. Install Baldur's Gate 1, doing a Custom install and selecting everything.
2. Install the BG1 expansion pack
3. Install the BG1 "bg114315.exe" patch
4. Install the "BG1DX8English.exe" patch
5. Install Baldur's Gate 2, doing a full installation, onto the same drive (but in a different directory) from BG1
6. Install the BG2 expansion pack
7. Install the BG2 "26498" patch
8. Unpack the Baldur's Gate Trilogy RAR file into the BG2 install directory, then run "Setup-BGT" and follow the prompts
9. Install the Widescreen mod into the BG2 directory
10. Run Setup-BGTMusic.exe and select the Hybrid option
11. Run Setup-GUI.exe and select an approprite GUI option, based on preference
12. Install the DEFJAM experience mod, and select 50% for all options and "Not Install" for the spell XP option
13. Optionally, install the BG1 NPC mod
posted by ellF at 8:32 PM on December 10, 2009 [5 favorites]
1. Install Baldur's Gate 1, doing a Custom install and selecting everything.
2. Install the BG1 expansion pack
3. Install the BG1 "bg114315.exe" patch
4. Install the "BG1DX8English.exe" patch
5. Install Baldur's Gate 2, doing a full installation, onto the same drive (but in a different directory) from BG1
6. Install the BG2 expansion pack
7. Install the BG2 "26498" patch
8. Unpack the Baldur's Gate Trilogy RAR file into the BG2 install directory, then run "Setup-BGT" and follow the prompts
9. Install the Widescreen mod into the BG2 directory
10. Run Setup-BGTMusic.exe and select the Hybrid option
11. Run Setup-GUI.exe and select an approprite GUI option, based on preference
12. Install the DEFJAM experience mod, and select 50% for all options and "Not Install" for the spell XP option
13. Optionally, install the BG1 NPC mod
posted by ellF at 8:32 PM on December 10, 2009 [5 favorites]
I can second Decimask's comment about being wary of mods while you are a beginning player. It is true, some of the awesome mods that you will see praised are completely unbalanced. Some of the NPCs especially are way better than they have any right to be.
Just make sure the game versions on your disk are up to date. The final builds are quite polished and the games in general are hardly lacking with respect to content.
posted by flavor at 8:34 PM on December 10, 2009
Just make sure the game versions on your disk are up to date. The final builds are quite polished and the games in general are hardly lacking with respect to content.
posted by flavor at 8:34 PM on December 10, 2009
Does anybody have a feeling for how well these games would run an a recent vintage iMac under VMware Fusion? I've always meant to get around to BG and this compilation DVD seems like a good way to do that...
posted by genehack at 6:32 AM on December 11, 2009
posted by genehack at 6:32 AM on December 11, 2009
My roommate installed a mod that allowed an extra bag of holding and fifty arrows in a quiver. I think this is a pretty modest hack that just makes life easier.
Have fun with it.
If I played it again this month, I'd be a monk traveling with a small evil party. In fact, I'm tempted.
posted by mearls at 7:01 AM on December 11, 2009
Have fun with it.
If I played it again this month, I'd be a monk traveling with a small evil party. In fact, I'm tempted.
posted by mearls at 7:01 AM on December 11, 2009
The last encounter in BG1 is very difficult, beware.
posted by Vindaloo at 10:19 AM on December 11, 2009
posted by Vindaloo at 10:19 AM on December 11, 2009
genehack, BG I runs great on a MacBook via CrossOver Games. I imagine that VMWare Fusion would be equally good if not better. I haven't tried BG II yet.
posted by siskin at 10:21 AM on December 11, 2009
posted by siskin at 10:21 AM on December 11, 2009
Multiplayer.
The Baldur's Gate games are some of the too-rare few whose attitude toward multiplayer is "you should be able to play through this same fantastic storyline with friends" rather than "let's make a similar game where instead of unveiling an interesting story you just repeatedly kill each other and respawn".
You'll need multiple copies of the game, but spending an extra $20 per person to play through Baldur's Gate with friends is worth it. You'll also need multiple computers and monitors, but spending an extra $500 per person to play Baldur's Gate with friends is worth it. ;-)
Don't create multiple (or at least not more than 2) Player Characters, though, just let the other players control various NPCs. That way you won't miss out on all the excellent dialogue in BG2.
posted by roystgnr at 10:26 AM on December 11, 2009
The Baldur's Gate games are some of the too-rare few whose attitude toward multiplayer is "you should be able to play through this same fantastic storyline with friends" rather than "let's make a similar game where instead of unveiling an interesting story you just repeatedly kill each other and respawn".
You'll need multiple copies of the game, but spending an extra $20 per person to play through Baldur's Gate with friends is worth it. You'll also need multiple computers and monitors, but spending an extra $500 per person to play Baldur's Gate with friends is worth it. ;-)
Don't create multiple (or at least not more than 2) Player Characters, though, just let the other players control various NPCs. That way you won't miss out on all the excellent dialogue in BG2.
posted by roystgnr at 10:26 AM on December 11, 2009
Myself and a few friends fell prey to what we call Baldur's Gate Potion Syndrome, which is basically a thought process by which you amass an enormous stash of rare/powerful potions and never use them because "surely there's a difficult encounter that I'll need all of them for!" You won't. Keep a tiny stash for obvious boss fights, use the rest up quickly and enjoy the extra bag space.
Oh, and summoning scrolls come in really handy for zerging bosses.
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:43 PM on December 11, 2009
Oh, and summoning scrolls come in really handy for zerging bosses.
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:43 PM on December 11, 2009
I hope you're happy. I'm reinstalling BG2 now. Maybe I'll actually get around to finishing it this time.
I'll have to grab my PS:T discs over the holidays when I visit my parents...
posted by Decimask at 6:39 PM on December 12, 2009
I'll have to grab my PS:T discs over the holidays when I visit my parents...
posted by Decimask at 6:39 PM on December 12, 2009
This thread: Tutu Mod Compatibility and Order of Install - The Gibberlings Three Forums
and this one: Go for the eyes Boo, GO FOR THE EYES!! RrraaaAAGHGHH!!! (Baldur's Gate Turns 10)
From Gibberlings3 and Ars Technica respectively may be handy. The second is a list of one guy's favourite mods for BGTuTu
posted by Decimask at 7:18 PM on December 12, 2009
and this one: Go for the eyes Boo, GO FOR THE EYES!! RrraaaAAGHGHH!!! (Baldur's Gate Turns 10)
From Gibberlings3 and Ars Technica respectively may be handy. The second is a list of one guy's favourite mods for BGTuTu
posted by Decimask at 7:18 PM on December 12, 2009
looks to be the most up-to-date list for install order for TuTu from the thread above.
posted by Decimask at 8:04 PM on December 12, 2009
posted by Decimask at 8:04 PM on December 12, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
Hopefully someone will be able to fill in the details.
posted by Decimask at 8:05 PM on December 10, 2009