Author Topic: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)  (Read 6839 times)

Offline Martha

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Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« on: October 08, 2010, 04:23:49 PM »
Xan is just adorable, even if he does have interesting ideas about timing... when my character -who is his bonded mate- reached out for him somewhere within the relative safety of Athkatla he brushed her off and told her that it's too dangerous. Instead he wants to flirt while half of the party already died fighting Thaxll'ssillyia...  ;D

But awwww, if that elf didn't give me a new reason to play Baldur's Gate over and over.

Offline Kulyok

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #1 on: October 09, 2010, 12:55:57 PM »
Aww indeed. :) Thank you so much; and I hope you'll enjoy ToB(though if you're playing the bonded path - sorry in advance, and if you want advice - take Valygar along).

And your lyrics are lovely - I'll go and add them to Xan Fan Fiction links at once!

Offline Martha

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #2 on: October 09, 2010, 05:21:37 PM »
Thanks. ;D The original was intended to go beneath my Praising the creators post - and it was simply a four-liner:

"Xanny is the best of all / Xanny is my mate / Xanny stop hitting that wall / You and I, it's fate" - And not by Sandy who actually loves her Xan dearly but sung to Xan by Imoen while she tries to snuggle him and he desperately tries to get away - through the wall behind him if necessary.

Is there a way to comment on your fiction by the way? I loved Home at last -Khalid and Jaheira <3- but it was locked and I didn't find a commenting thread for it.  :-\

Edit: After having to reinstall the game due to an unrelated crash (Master of Thralls froze my game with his gaze) Xan now has a sudden tendency to either attack Anomen or talk to my character as if she assaulted him - it's quite amusing, especially as Anomen hasn't been in the group for a while now and it's his random reaction to attacking any monster. (Is it very wrong to giggle when he attacks the late Anomen who is one of my least favourite characters?) I just wanted to check if it's okay if he does that or if that means I might run into serious trouble later.

Oh and he's a bit trying at times. He keeps telling my other characters they should run before things get too bad and that if I do not cease my evil actions we're deservedly doomed. Now I know he's neutral but I can't help playing heroic characters. I think I'll have to corner some rich guy and murder him in his bedroom soon for fear that he might run off and never return.  :-\ -Yes I know neutral characters tend to be more patient than good or evil ones but somehow I don't feel up to risking it.-
« Last Edit: October 10, 2010, 04:39:22 AM by Martha »

Offline Kulyok

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2010, 06:28:14 AM »
Xan doesn't leave the party for heroic actions, no - he just keeps complaining that there is little point to help doomed people and so forth, so you are safe here.

I'm not fully happy with my old fanfiction, but I'm glad you liked - see, you commented already! :)

If Xan is talking the wrong lines, select him and press K key - that should help. Other than that, if it doesn't help and if you're having reinstall issues(i.e. something in your reinstall can be wrong, read here about doing quick reinstalls: http://forums.pocketplane.net/index.php/topic,17555 ). I hope it's nothing serious, though.

Offline Martha

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2010, 07:04:29 AM »
He certainly likes the word doom. And futile. And hopeless. He's such a cheerful little chap.

Well I was unaware until recently that anyone apart from my loony old self was writing fanfiction about this game so I'm quite glad to see there's others. And I guess we tend to be our own harshest critics. Home at last is exactly what one needs as a remedy to the harshness of the PTB who stole Khalid from us. I wished I could have found it when I played through and realized that there'd be no way whatsoever to bring him back to life throughout the game.

Thanks, but I've already tried the k-select (I read through the glitch thread I found) but it didn't seem to impress him at all. But hey - he seems quite fine in a new game I started, so a new game it is. Master of Thralls - was fine last time I tried killing him (in the old save). Xan seems to think we're doomed but doesn't tell me to back off and leave him alone anymore. Xan also stopped randomly jumping Anomen's corpse when charging into battle. So far so good until the next doooom occurs. I just hope I won't have to run through Irenicus' prison again anytime soon - Jaheira's sorrow is not to be taken lightly. Sandy would be most unhappy if Xan died.

And this time Valygar might actually survive. (I must stop throwing out dead party members and continuing to play unless it's one of my favourites. It's quite wasteful, especially if you play as recklessly as I do and run charging against shadow dragons and demons as soon as you can possibly dare.)

Offline Martha

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2010, 12:08:29 PM »
It's time I edited this entry. (I can't believe I forgot I could simply edit or I wouldn't have double-posted.) I really, really love the bonded part. It tore my heart to pieces but there's been glue to put it back together. Amazing work, it truly is. Now I'm going to see what Xan thinks of un-bonded mage-thieves... maybe he'll like them, too.

How many paths are there? Friendship, flirty friendship, unbonded romance and bonded romance?
« Last Edit: October 16, 2010, 12:11:13 PM by Martha »

NineCoronas2021

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2011, 06:53:41 PM »
Honestly, this is the best NPC mod released. It is better than many of the NPC's that shipped with Baldur's Gate 2. Nothing comes close in quality, believability, or depth and development.

Thank you. :)

Offline Kulyok

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2011, 12:11:22 AM »
Thank you for the kind words! I don't know about better, though - I am playing BG1 in BG2 engine(EasyTutu) with BG1 NPC mod right now, and I'm loving this double mod experience very much. If you haven't tried it yet, I very much recommend it.

Offline parasol

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #8 on: August 25, 2011, 03:54:42 PM »
I just wanted to say thank you so much for making Xan. I had no idea that a romance mod could be so wonderfully executed. Xan is well-written, enthralling, captivating, and everything positive under the sun. I usually go through playthroughs very fast, skipping quests and fireblazing my way to the end of the game. I am taking my time, enjoying how Xan is immersed in the story, and it is truly like reliving my first play of BGII, but even better. Thank you so much, Kulyok. All the devotion and care you had in making Xan truly shows, and deep and interactive the story goes just makes you fall in love with Xan all the more. Thank you thank you thank you! I cannot say it enough :)
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Offline Kulyok

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2011, 12:53:07 AM »
Thank you, and welcome to PPG! You may get more Xan content, if you install Dungeon Crawl and Assassinations(and there's crossmod with such NPCs as Ajantis, Kivan and Angelo at Crossmod Banter Pack at gibberlings3.net, naturally). I like Xan a lot, myself. :)

Offline parasol

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #10 on: August 26, 2011, 09:05:45 AM »
Yay! I can't wait to install these, thank you! Can't get enough Xan. I'm now totally convinced I'm going to replay BGI with the NPC pack just so I can come back to and try the bonded path next time. Sorry, if I slobber all over you with praise, but I can't help myself  ;D Can't thank you enough for this great in game experience.
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kenderess

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2012, 05:11:50 AM »
I want to thank Kulyok and other people who worked on the mod for their mod and to submit my experiences with it.

First, I decided to try this mod based on my experiences with BG1NPC Project and my playthroughs I did with Xan in my BG1 games. I played through both romance paths in the BG1 and also tried the friendship path. They were all solidly done, perhaps not outstanding (I liked Coran's and Dynaheir's romances more), but very enjoyable nevertheless.

I first tried to play with Xan in BG2 with a PC who was a female elf, choosing a 'continuation' romance to simulate the continuity between my previous playthrough and that one. It was, again, solidly done, but I found it difficult to enjoy the game because the romance was too melodramatic and - ah - shoujo-ish, for the lack of better word. Judging from the overwhelmingly positive reviews, I conclude that, perhaps, it is just a matter of the mismatch of my gender and the intended target auditory - I am a young man, and the mod was mostly praised by female auditory. Nothing wrong with it, but romancing Xan greatly grated on my nerves. So, I shelved the game for a year and didn't employ Xan until now.

However, I tried Xan again with the friendship path and the quality thereof just blew my mind. In this aspect, I found the mod to be outstandingly well done.
1) Integration.
First of all, Xan is seamlessly integrated into the game, taking as much spotlight as needed. My opinion is that he escaped both the caveat of stealing a game for himself and the caveat of being just a tag-along extra. He felt in place with the events of the BG2 just as much as, say, Imoen, he mattered, he was an actor (=figure) in the game world and his profession as the defender of the elvendom tied nicely with the quest for stopping Irenicus. The few quests he had were both interesting from a gamist point of view and developed his character and the world around him.
2) Balance
Xan was nicely balanced as an NPC, he had adequate stats and got adequate items. I used him as an fighter-mage, and he was one of the strongest members of the party. I guess he could be useful even in the most tactics-heavy runs of the game without being overpowered.
3) Character
What I really liked was how Kulyok's developed him from the bare-bones character in the original BG1 into the complex, nuanced person. In the BG1NPC Project Xan was interesting, in the BG2 he really starts to shine. His relationship with the PC feels organic and developing over time: he starts in the BG1 as a rather cold and introverted person and progresses to the point where he empathizes with <CHARNAME>'s stife and troubles. The high point of the mod, I think, was Xan's declaration at the end of the SoA that he is ready to die for the Gorion's Ward.
I liked Xan's banters, interjections and PIDs. Some of the PIDs you could initiate were, frankly, amusing. Other NPCs were kept in character, I feel.
4) Voicing
SIsterVigilante's voice sounds a tad strange after the Jeff Bennett's work in the BG1, but over time I acquired a liking to it. It was well done and didn't seem to be out of the professionally done voices of the native BG2 NPCs. In fact, I think that SisterVigilante's work here is better than in his Angelo mod.

All in all, if anybody is reading this forum trying to discern whether to try Xan in a BG2 game, I think he will be a great addition to your party even if you don't intend to try to romance him.

Offline Kulyok

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Re: Praising the creators (of this mod, that is)
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2012, 11:39:59 PM »
Thank you for your review! I think you might enjoy some of other Domi's mods, by the way, since you liked her Dynaheir and Coran - her IWD2 NPC is the first one that comes to mind.

 

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