My very own personal installation order thread.

[Sierrareign]

Hello Pocket Plane Group!

I was checking out the Installation Order thread that went for pages and a moderator suggested to someone to maybe start their own thread... so I hope it is ok I did.

I got some advice from BioWare's new site and wanted to run it past the experts now XD

Briefly a bit about myself : I am trying to set myself up for some BG II goodness. I have played through the Irenicus dungeon, but that is all. I have to say I have gotten excited about this game. Along with The collection edition, I even bought an old copy of SoA that came with the printed manual. It is a behemoth and I have read it all. Twice. Ok, ok, not the spells.

I do understand that there a ton of mods out there and many of them quite good. I did my best to research a starting set based on comments, recommendations, and personal inclination. I also did what I could to learn about install order by scouring threads, different sites, readme’s etc. However, in the end would appreciate if some savvy veterans could give this list the once over.

Here is my list with some notes attached as to why I put what where ( I marked mods I know to be WeiDu mods with a W. That probably seems unnecessary to you but might explain partially my thinking, uneducated as it is.)

Game Discs SoA and ToB
Official Patch - 26498
W Ascension (I Read on one site a number of people agreeing that while The Fixpack almost always comes next, Ascension is the exception.)
W G3 BG II Fixpack
W Item Upgrade (I had this after Unfinished Business but was counseled to move it here.)
Kelsey
NPC Flirt Pack
Banter Pack (Upon suggestions from others to use it as a reference, I noticed that Big World has it early… yet before Unfinished Business. Also, a note I read said to put all non-WeiDu mods before Banter Packs, which I did.)
W Unfinished Business
W Turnabout
W The Longer Road (Had Redemption here but Longer Road was recommended instead.)
W Quest Pack (Note in the readme said to place it after Kelsey and also after NPC Flirt Packs.)
W G3 Anniversary
W G3 Oversight
W G3 BGII Tweak Pack (Note said to place it last.)

In the end I did not have a definitive reason for every placement. I am just looking to hear comments on whether this is a viable install order. I do understand some of the reasoning involved for example in placing Kelsey before Quest Pack to allow his dialog to work properly. But truly I am a neophyte otherwise. Let me know how I did!

If you have any suggestions on a revised order I am all ears. Long alert half-elven ears.

A couple of other things, I do understand I will have to start a new game, and also, in that thread I mentioned at the beginning of this post someone said The Longer Road and Turnabout are not compatible. Is that correct?

Oh, and I might place the Widescreen Mod second to last or just after Quest Pack. Does it matter much?



Thanks for any input in advance,
And Happy Holidays!

-Sierrareign

[Mike1072]

If you've never played the game before, I'd recommend going easy on the mods.  The game is great by itself - a lot of mod content aspires to be as good as the original.  Mods allow you to expand and customize your experience, which means if you enjoy the game, you can replay it later and still encounter a lot of new content.  Note that some mod components and descriptions will spoil parts of the vanilla game if you haven't played it already.  I'd strictly avoid the Tweak Pack on your first playthrough, since installing it requires you already have an opinion about the game mechanics it modifies.

Installing SoA + ToB + ToB patch v26498 is necessary.  It's probably better to install Fixpack than not, and Widescreen's fine if you need it.

[Sierrareign]

Thanks for the input Mike1072,

 I might take your advice. I was trying to go light on the mods truthfully for several of the reasons you mentioned. I know there are tons of good or even great ones out there.

 Even if I do go easy, I would like to include Turnabout and am wondering if I need Ascension to do that?

 I am still interested in input from any and all though on my hypothetical mod install order for that day down the road when I want to load them all up.

 

-Sierrareign