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Miscellany, Inc. => Mod Discussion and Announcements => Topic started by: icelus on October 25, 2004, 06:18:16 PM

Title: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: icelus on October 25, 2004, 06:18:16 PM
What mods would you recommend as "must-haves" to the average game newbie?  to someone who's played the game, but not tried any mods before?  For now I think it best to stick to BG2.

I'll start it off.

Mods Recommended for the First Time Player

Mods Recommended for Game Veterans

To be honest, I'm not too terribly big on NPC mods, but I do recommend the following if you're looking to install a new NPC:

Recommended NPC Mods
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Caedwyr on October 25, 2004, 09:31:41 PM
Regarding Improved Oasis, please make sure its v2, not v1.

I always end up throwing in hlidskalif's BagBonus mod.  Combined with the G3 Tweak pack bottomless bags component, it eliminates the need for the Stackable weapons/items component of Ease of Use.

Another veteran mod I love to use is aVENGER's Rogue Rebalancing (actually the whole aPack).

I almost always include a couple of the Ease of Use components ( Shut Up "You Must Gather Your Party Before Venturing Forth", Turn Off The Hideous Cloak-of-Mirroring and Spell-Trap Animation, Imoen ToB Dialogue Fix,  Female Edwina, Romance: Bug Fixes, True Grand Mastery) and Tactics components (Improved Golems).


I tend to avoid non-weidu mods like the plague, since I really don't want to be bothered with the installation and incompatiblity issues that seem to be inherant with such mods.  I've also had far too many game ending bugs when trying out some of these mods, and the quality of the mods tend to be highly variable.  Not really worth wasting my time with, when I'm going to be disappointed with the material a significant portion of the time, and I can't separate out what I like and don't like (GO WEIDU MODS!!)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: hlidskialf on October 25, 2004, 10:07:14 PM
I use a few staples:
-Baldurdash
-BP-BGT (Usually I don't play the extra quests, but I really like the scripting/fixes/fixed detectable spells, etc...)
-Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix
-Revised Hell Trials
-eSeries (BP Version)
-Improved Horn of Valhalla
-Cleric Remix
-G3 Tweaks
-PnP Celestials
-Quest Pack
-Virtue
-Ding0's Tweak Pack
-Ashes of Embers (Definately a must-install)
-Unfinished Business
-Banter Packs
-Flirt Packs
-Ease of Use (selected components)
-Improved Oasis
-FR_ROV
-Immy Romance
-Ajoc's Minimod
-MunchMod
-ItemValue Tweaks
-PlanarSphereMod

As well, I have several custom packages of my own I install with things I've concocted/salvaged over the years. I don't like messing much with my installation once it's set up, so I'll install most of the above, then just play through with whatever current character class is. I might not touch on many of the extra quest content and such, but I like it being there just in case. (Sometimes when you RP a good game, it doesn't go in the direction you started out on!) So I'll start with the above tweakings, then add in any NPCs, or questmods, etc... that later catch the eye. While this list might not be a "must have" for recommendation, the method might be. Keep a stable core of mods, then add the latest versions of new mods at the end. That way if bugfixed versions get released, you don't bury it under 20+ mods.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Echon on October 26, 2004, 04:00:04 AM
Quest Pack
Ding0 Tweak Pack
Oversight
Unfinished Business
Banter Packs

The list would probably be a lot bigger if I had installed all the mods I wanted to try and actually tried all the mods I installed the last time I played.

-Echon
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on October 26, 2004, 05:59:58 AM
Infamous for being probably the fussiest player around, I've often been accused of never being positive about any mod by people on the receiving end of my criticism. Therefore, without further ado, I present:

Ding0's List of Ownage Mods

You can't really go wrong with anything on this list. Some things, like Virtue, may not be for every player, but above all else, this is quality assurance. My key criteria for mods is that they blend perfectly with the game, and are worthy of being included alongside professional content.
Bear in mind that I've played practically every mod around for varying periods of time, so omissions generally don't stem from me not having tried something out. I've also tried to include some brief explanation next to each mod.

Oh, and forget first-time players. Everything here's professional enough to be included the first time around.

So, here we go:

- BG2 Fixpack (Bugfixes are, I would presume, a good thing. And as far as fixing bugs goes, nothing else compares--the G3 Fixpack greatly supersedes Baldurdash.)
- One Pixel Productions Graphics Alterations (Non-WeiDU, so ensure this is installed first. Ports BG1 graphical content to BG2, so looks rather good.)
- Restored BG1 Casting Sounds (Well I think those BG1 sounds are way better...)
- Detectable & Scriptable Spells (Needed for many other mods. Not a mod in itself.)
- eSeries (Even if you don't use party AI much, what's the harm in having it at your disposal. These are the best AI scripts around.)
- gMinion (And why not have the same advantages for summons' AI as well?)
- Ascension (Makes the endgame more bearable.)
- Kelsey (One of two NPC mods that manage to match Bioware quality. However much you want to argue that voicing doesn't matter, this remains the only one to achieve professional quality of writing, technical implementation, and so on.)
- Keto (The other NPC mod that matches Bioware quality. She's very dialogue heavy, and an interesting character. Sadly no ToB content yet, which means I wouldn't install her just yet.)
- Banter Packs (Banter is a Good Thing, so we want more of it. Especially when it's well-written.)
- Flirt Packs (Many people cry OMG PORN SAVE THE EYES OF OUR CHILDREN at the mention of this. Give it a break. There's already adult material in the game, so introducing some new material to the romances does no harm. Combined with Kelsey, this also means that all romance NPCs flirt, which is, of course, good for consistency.)
- Quest Pack (I guess I should refrain from commenting on my own work. Note that I never make anything I wouldn't play with. Quests are nice, right?)
- Unfinished Business (I don't care about restoring Bioware material. As I often say: "[screw] developer intent". However, it's a well-made quest pack, along with a few other nice things, so what are you waiting for?)
- Ashes of Embers (Selected components only. The new cleric kits don't fit in amazingly with the rest of the game, seeing as they were made for a TC.)
- Refinements (I advise selected components only. Personally, I'm not excited by the HLA revisions. However, it's all professionaly made, so personal choice probably decides which components here get installed.)
- Ding0 Tweak Pack (As above, I refrain from commenting on my own stuff.)
- Ease of Use (Please, please don't just select to install [A]ll the components. There are only about 3 good ones. Things like the Edwina Portrait are nice.)
- Improved Horns of Valhalla (Makes them useful without being overpowered. Yay.)
- G3 Tweak Pack (Most stuff here is worth installing. Read carefully, however, as with Ease of Use.)
- Oversight (Some of this counts as a bugfix. Other components may be less desirable, so read carefully.)
- Item Value Tweaks (This little-known gem improves game balance and realism by altering the values of items to be more sensible.)
- Virtue (If you like roleplaying, this is THE mod to give you feedback, gauge your actions, and so on. If you want to play a chaotic evil character but gain all the good quest rewards, look elsewhere.)

Everything listed here may be found on the PPG modlist at http://modlist.pocketplane.net/

Go. Play. :)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Xenageo on October 26, 2004, 06:23:06 AM
My current (and favorite) build.

BGII:ToB
-latest patch

Baldurdash
-BG2ThroneOfBhaalFixPack112.exe

Ease of Use
- Infinite Weapon, Potion stacking and Ring/Amulet Stacking (SoA)
- Infinite Weapon and Potion stacking (ToB)
- Shut up “You must gather your party”
- Wear magic armor and magic rings (etc).
- XP Cap Remover
- Allow Multi-Player Created NPCs to "Wait Here" when kicked out
- Turn off the Hideous Cloak-of-Mirroring and Spell-Trap Animation
- Unlimited Bag of Holding
- Bonus Merchants (Baldurdash)
- No Drow Avatars On Party In Underdark
- Imoen ToB dialog fix
- Romance Bug Fixes

G3Tweaks v6
- World Map Fixes

Banter Pack v5
- Additional Banters (SoA)
- Additional Banters (ToB)

Kelsey SoA v2.1
- Kelsey SoA

Kelsey ToB v2
- Kelsey ToB

NPCFlirt
- All Components

Ascension v1.417
- All Components

Tactics
- The Ritual
- Improved Bodhi
- Improved Irenicus
- Improved Guarded Compound
- Improved Twisted Rune
- Improved Sahuagin City
- "Kuroisan", the Acid Kensai
- Kensai Ryu's Improved Crypt King
- Gebhard Blucher's Improved Demon Knights
- Kensai Ryu's Random Wilderness Encounters
- Improved Undead
- Slightly Smarter Mages and Liches
- Slightly Tougher Demons
- Tougher Druid Grove

Unfinished Business v13
- The kidnapping of Boo
- Kalah and What He Was Promised
- Gorje Hilldark and the Extended Illthium Quest
- The Pai'Na/Spider's Bane Quest
- Restored Crooked Crane Inn
- Restored Encounters
- Artemis Entreri in Bodhi's Lair
- Corrected "Xzar's Creations"
- Gorf the Squisher Fix
- Item Restorations
- Corrected BAMs and Scripts
- Restored Minor Dialogues
- ToB Minor Restorations

Quest Pack v1
- Additional Shadow Thieves Content
- Alternative Harper/Xzar Plot
- Extended Reynald Sequence
- Money Lending and Debt Problems
- Miscellaneous Encounters


I'd also plan to install Keto, when she's released.

Oversight, Virtue and Cleric Remix are mods I think will rule, but still haven't got around to trying.

I'm also amazed that so many people like the one pixel productions stuff. <3 the bg2 avatars.


And, for BG1:

BG1: Complete install
Latest official patch

BG2: Full install
Latest official patch

Tutuv4
- tutuv4

Tutufixpackv5
- all components

G3tututweaks
- add bags of holding to bg1
- bottomless bags of holding
- reveal city maps when entering area
- add map notes
- remove bg1 exp cap
- silence you must gather your party
- wear magic rings and armour
- exotic item back

Indira
- all components

Mur'neth
- all components

I'm really torn over BG1NPC. Some of the NPC's are really well written, absolutely great. Some I don't like at all.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Quitch on October 27, 2004, 07:32:16 AM
@SimDing0

You seem to have my taste in mods (though I'd install every NPC just to get their greeting dialogue, if nothing else), but I wonder if you wouldn't mind which components from those "select component" mods you use?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on October 27, 2004, 08:08:30 AM
Okay, sure. Here's a breakdown of the components I'd use where I wouldn't install the entire mod.

Ashes of Embers
Refinements
Ease of Use
G3 Tweak Pack
Oversight


Also note that on the whole, I steer clear of new kits. Partly because I don't like them, and partly because most of the ones I've seen aren't amazing. Cleric Remix looks very promising, and when that's finished I'll be using that; however, even in the widely acclaimed Unfinished Business, the Feralan kit doesn't really make any sense as a player option.
Incidentally, if there's anything I'm not using that you'd strongly recommend, I'd be most interested to take another look at it.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Caedwyr on October 27, 2004, 11:08:19 AM
For the G3 Tweak pack, I always install the Avatar Morphing Script, the make +x/+y weapons consistent, and the Viconia Skin Colour Change, in addition to the ones you've already listed above.  Mostly for a bit more freedom in how my PC looks, and to make Viconia's avatar appear as it should.


For Refinements, I typically install some of the HLA changes, but not all.  I like the uniqueness that they give, but I dislike the current changes in some cases (mage and sorcerer mostly).
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: TGM on October 28, 2004, 03:56:53 PM
Lets see my selection (on a ToB game):

- official ToB patch;
- Baldurdash fixpack;
- Ascension with all of the improved battles;
- aPACK;
- Oversight: Tougher Sendai, Alignment/Class corrections;
- G3 Tweak Pack: worldmap and weapon animation tewaks, Arcane spellcasting in armor;
- Ease of Use: Imoen ToB dialogue fix, Female Edwina;
- Revised Hell Trials;
- Improved Horn of Valhalla;
- Unfinished Business;
- Valen;
- Silver Star (if it gets finished);
- Tactics: won't list them all, only selected components;
- Quest Pack: again, selected components;
- Improved Oasis 2;
- Freedom's Reign and Reign of Virtue (heavily rebalanced before use!);
- Virtue;
- The Longer Road (first time trial..);
- Refinements: HLA System, Monk Robes, Shapeshifting fix, SwashImoen.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on October 28, 2004, 04:21:21 PM
I'm fairly curious as to what Quest Pack components you WOULDN'T recommend. Any details?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: fallen demon on October 30, 2004, 05:29:17 PM
Quote from: SimDing0™
Note that I never make anything I wouldn't play with
Really, I seemed to notice improved drow innates missing from your list.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on October 30, 2004, 05:30:22 PM
There's a subtle reason for that, involving it being incorporated into the next version of my Tweak Pack, which I haven't got around to releasing. :)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: fallen demon on October 30, 2004, 05:44:25 PM
oh, ok then.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Dark Raven on November 01, 2004, 09:24:13 PM
Even though posts like this can be disappointing but what the hell. Here are mine.

Dark Ritual of course.
Chloe
Kelsey
UB
Yasraena (Just installed)

waiting, waiting.............
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Kish on December 23, 2004, 10:58:54 PM
Recommended for a first-time player:
Baldurdash (fixes).
Ascension (all components).
Oversight (all components).
The flirt packs.
The banter packs.
Unfinished Business.
The Holy Symbol Fix component of Ding0's Tweak Pack.

Recommended for a player who has already completed the game:
Baldurdash (fixes).
Ascension (all components).
Oversight (all components).
The flirt packs.
The banter packs.
Unfinished Business.
The Holy Symbol Fix component of Ding0's Tweak Pack.
Kelsey.
The anti-paladin kit component of the Tactics mod (if playing evil).
The Valen mod (if playing evil).
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on December 24, 2004, 05:52:54 AM
I see. And can I get some feedback on the Quest Pack components you didn't like? (I'm actually not being silly this time. I don't wanna release another version and STILL have people saying "selected components" without explanation.)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on December 24, 2004, 06:06:55 AM
Okay. And yeh, I just realised I needed to add Keto to my list. NPC Strongholds will end up there too, I'd imagine.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Andyr on December 24, 2004, 01:20:56 PM
I'd recommend certain components of the G3 Tweak Pack for a first-time player; in addition to those mods suggested by Kish. :)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: D on May 14, 2005, 11:53:26 AM
Where can I found the Improved Horn of Valhalla?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: icelus on May 14, 2005, 11:58:05 AM
Where can I found the Improved Horn of Valhalla?

http://www.cirerrek.addr.com/

For future reference, all mods can be found via the Modlist: http://modlist.pocketplane.net  :)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: The_Swordalizer on May 19, 2005, 07:58:40 AM
It seems that most of the recommended mods don't add "game content" (new quests, area's etc.) but rather add "party content" (NPC's, banter, kits etc.). Strangely, I found playing the game through again with a different party had a kind of "been there, done that" feel to it. The fun for me was seeing how the quests panned out.

Why do people tend not to recommend quest mods? Bugginess or just the fact its harder to ensure a uniform level of quality across a quest-based mod?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on May 19, 2005, 08:14:17 AM
Why do people tend not to recommend quest mods? Bugginess or just the fact its harder to ensure a uniform level of quality across a quest-based mod?
For whatever reason, the majority of quest mods have been pretty horrible. I don't think it's necessarily harder to achieve the quality in quest content, but as a hugely unfair generalization, I think a number of quest developers are interested in quantity over quality, with as many overpowered items, half-developed quests and so on as possible, while NPC developers are more focussed on story and writing, which tends to produce a more positive result.
Quest Pack, hosted right here, is my attempt at producing a good standard of quest content, and while the initial release was rushed and fell victim to the bugginess you mention, I'm hearing good things from testers about the beta of version 2.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Xiao on May 19, 2005, 08:23:17 AM
Scanning the list, I don't see any overwhelming tendency towards NPCs/banter/etc. over new quests and the like.  There's also the problem of mods like the Quest Pack and Unfinished Business being released as one mod but actually offering a ton of quest content in each; this makes quests look underrepresented.

NPCs often come with new quests of their own to complete, so you can check out their quest options by including them.  Plus I typically see romanceable NPCs as being "quests" themselves. :)

It seems like there are enough conflicts between quest mods that you might want to watch what you have installed at the same time.  I know I've seen warnings about incompatibilities in mod readme files, and check out the UB forum for a post from someone whose Minsc quest isn't working, probably because of another quest mod that installed new NPCs into the same spot that his quest required them.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: The_Swordalizer on May 19, 2005, 08:49:11 AM
@ Ding0: I d/l quest pack, but haven't installed yet after hearing reports of bugginess... is v2 close? :D

@ Xiao: I suppose looking again some posters did recommend a fair few quest packs. Still, the overriding impression I got reading the lists was that people wanted more variation in their party than in the quests they were doing...
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Borsook on May 31, 2005, 12:47:59 PM
What's Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix? where to find it and what's wrong with bg2 graphics?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Wounded_Lion on June 02, 2005, 12:36:53 PM
I think that people tend to shy away from quest mods because they are generally lacking in quality.

For example, the Pai' Na / Spider's Bane quest of Unfinished Business makes the quest longer (you have to retrieve the broken Spider's Bane from the sewer workers) but fails to add any in-depth role playing or desirable reward (say, the sword itself) to the encounter.

The Illithium quest makes the quest much longer (you have to find the duergar's brother in the Temple) but fails to add any in-depth role playing or desirable reward (say, 400 pounds of illithium, which would be enough to complete both the statue and the Mace of Disruption).

To be honest, aside from its restored items and script/descriptions fixes, I don't think it's worth installing.  Sadly, the same goes for most quest mods (although I have not yet tried Sim's Quest pack).

a Wounded Lion
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on June 02, 2005, 04:27:01 PM
To be honest, aside from its restored items and script/descriptions fixes, I don't think it's worth installing. Sadly, the same goes for most quest mods (although I have not yet tried Sim's Quest pack).
Don't bother with the current version. The next one, I hope, may allay your fears, although no way am I putting powerful items in as motivation to do every quest. I consider roleplaying reasons alone sufficient in most cases.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: CamDawg on June 02, 2005, 05:11:58 PM
What's Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix? where to find it and what's wrong with bg2 graphics?

Many of the BG graphics simply looked better--paperdolls, item BAMs, etc. One Pixel Productions (http://forums.spellholdstudios.net/index.php?showforum=159) restores a lot of BG graphics in place of the BG2 ones.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Borsook on June 02, 2005, 05:23:28 PM
What's Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix? where to find it and what's wrong with bg2 graphics?

Many of the BG graphics simply looked better--paperdolls, item BAMs, etc. One Pixel Productions (http://forums.spellholdstudios.net/index.php?showforum=159) restores a lot of BG graphics in place of the BG2 ones.
Oh, I'm familiar with One Pixel Productions, calling them graphic fix got me confused, thought Lightspeed realesed something else... OPP is very good but it's hardly a "fix". Anyway thanx for clearing it out for me.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Drew on June 02, 2005, 07:06:19 PM
Don't bother with the current version. The next one, I hope, may allay your fears, although no way am I putting powerful items in as motivation to do every quest. I consider roleplaying reasons alone sufficient in most cases.
Not to put words in your mouth, Sim, but does this mean that v2 is just around the corner?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Ghreyfain on June 02, 2005, 07:13:33 PM
There's really no such thing as "Just Around The Corner" in IE modding terms.  Unless you're talking about a Sillara mod, in which case they all are.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: jcompton on June 02, 2005, 09:47:53 PM
I split the UB/illithium discussion out to http://forums.pocketplane.net/index.php?topic=19378.0 . Carry on recommending mods in this thread.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Wounded_Lion on June 03, 2005, 10:51:19 AM
Regarding kit mods, I would recommend the Warrior Kit Pack from BlackWyrmLair.  Most the kits are interesting and useful.  Just thought I'd mention it because I don't recall seeing it on anyone's list.

a Wounded Lion
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Bursk on July 10, 2005, 11:18:12 AM
Can anyone give me some advice and info on the 'Revised Hell Trials' mod?

I haven't yet played BGII through beyond Chapter 2 (I'm going to be leaving for Spellhold soon), so I've tried not to read too much about the mod at the http://adahn.gmxhome.de/ website.

Firstly, I'd like to know if the unmodified hell trials are so bad that they need improving.  Secondly, are there any negatives to the mod?  Do people think along the lines of, 'Yeah, it's a good mod but I'd like to change this part...' i.e. is there any reason not to use the mod?

I noticed this part from the mod readme 'Obviously, it is generally easier to become evil than good, and the chance for an evil character to "ascend" is lower than for a good character.'  What does it mean by "ascend"?  Is it talking about you having the chance to become a god at the end of the game?  If so, how difficult is it for an evil player to ascend when the mod is installed?  I wouldn't want to rolepay an evil PC who wants to ascend (note that I have no idea how one does this, not having yet got that far in the game) but then finds that this mod has made it really difficult to do so.

Opinions are very welcome.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: the bigg on July 10, 2005, 01:40:56 PM
Overall, it wasn't that bad, however there are some coding troubles due to WeiDU advancements, so it's better to avoid that (unless you wished to fix the bugs on yourself)

In the readme, ascend = become good, not God  :)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: the man with the plan on July 10, 2005, 02:14:15 PM
I've never had any problems with improved hell trials, and I've had it installed every time I've played, except the first. Then again, I might just be lucky.

I'd reccomend it though, definitely. If you've ever played neutral up to this point, you will have hated the hell trials. Now you can make sensible choices. Also, good characters  now have more than one option, unlike before. None of the rewards are overpowered, nothing stands out from the original game. Download it today.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Bursk on July 10, 2005, 03:20:07 PM
Overall, it wasn't that bad, however there are some coding troubles due to WeiDU advancements, so it's better to avoid that (unless you wished to fix the bugs on yourself)

In the readme, ascend = become good, not God  :)

Cheers, bigg, although I don't understand how a good character can ascend i.e. become good, since they are already good.  ???

Oh, and thank you, the man with the plan.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: the man with the plan on July 10, 2005, 03:27:29 PM
Essentially, the original game let you change alignment. It was very limited though- if you played a good/neutral character, you had to follow a single path, or turn evil. That was it- no choices really. The improved version lets alignments go up or down. The reference to ascending is saying that it's easier to become evil that to become good. You gain a solid chance of keeping your alignment though, with more leeway.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Bursk on July 10, 2005, 03:40:01 PM
Essentially, the original game let you change alignment. It was very limited though- if you played a good/neutral character, you had to follow a single path, or turn evil. That was it- no choices really. The improved version lets alignments go up or down. The reference to ascending is saying that it's easier to become evil that to become good. You gain a solid chance of keeping your alignment though, with more leeway.

Wow!  That sounds like an excellent improvement.

I'm a little concerned by the bigg saying, '...there are some coding troubles due to WeiDU advancements, so it's better to avoid that'.  I assume by 'that' he means the mod?  I think he's also making sport of me wrt to fixing the bugs myself, since I've asked him far too many questions for him to think I'm anything other than a modding n00b.  I'm sure there are many others here who will also testify to my constant stream of novice questions :)

Everyone's been great, though.  What a nice bunch of people.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: clock sendak on August 13, 2005, 09:05:10 AM
are all these written in the proper installation order?

are any of them, if installed in this order, gonna screw everything up?

cheers

GUNNERS!
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Antignition on August 17, 2005, 02:56:33 PM
I sure hope Ding0's list can be installed in the order it's listed, just finished BG1 Tutu and im taking his advice word-for-word here.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: fcm on August 19, 2005, 06:07:21 PM
I sure hope Ding0's list can be installed in the order it's listed, just finished BG1 Tutu and im taking his advice word-for-word here.

Installation Orders (http://forums.pocketplane.net/index.php/topic,17556.0.html)

I always install G3 tweakpack 2nd to last, then Virtue . . . But I don't use half as many mods as most people.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Antignition on August 20, 2005, 07:25:40 PM
Well, I guess Ding0's listing was close enough to that.  One thing I did have to uninstall was the Alter HP Triggers dialogues, Minsc's actions kept getting interrupted because he was trying to say his "We must rest soon dialogue" which he would say every time i force talked to him.

-I'm a bit more paranoid because of that, after all, the more mods you're using the worse the chances are some major (or annoynig minor) bug'll bite you in the ass.  Overall though, I've enjoyed the mods that have shown themselves so far.  I love how the Quest Pack is so well written, I can't tell what quests are from the Quest Pack and what is the restored Bioware content in Unfinished business without checking the readme's for each.

One thing i don't think im ever going to use is the eSeries script thing.  I mean, I can't keep tabs on all my characters all the time (sometimes when i have the AI off i realize minsc was just standing there doing nothing after he killed the first guy i assigned to him), so in that case the scripts come in handy, but the more complicated stuff, like spells and abilities, i prefer to manually do ALL the time.  I find that the scripts Spellcaster Attack/Defend work well for my Melee's and Ranged works well for my lesser mages (though Xan in BGTuTu made me have to rethink my entire mage strategy, the moonblade was just so much better than a sling), eseries is too complicated and i don't want my spells being casted through AI.


I am VERY happy I went with Ding0's list there though, for anyone who's pet peeve is stuff that is out of character/game context, play it safe with that list.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: fcm on August 20, 2005, 07:56:11 PM
I'm a massive control freak, so I don't use any scripts save for Thief Adventurer -- then I just set my autopause to "target destroyed" and "weapon unusable." I get really annoyed when my NPCs run off screen to chase someone I just casted horror on so that they would leave the battlefield a bit, or when they pick their own targets over mine. I despise the last part especially.

The HP Trigger dialouge caused the same problem for me. Some other mod I had installed was causing conflicts with the Quest Pack mod, so I have almost no components of that installed, either. It is very well written, isn't it? :)

But I'm playing Tutu now, so . . . yeah.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Salk on August 23, 2005, 12:10:33 AM
These following are the Mods I will be installing, in chronological order, once they will all become available (or compatible) with TuTu.
With a "*" I mark the Mods that are presently under development or compatible only in the future:

- G3's BG 1 Fixpack (Idobek) *

- G3's BG 2 Fixpack (Camdawg) *

- BG TuTu V6 *
     - 3D Acceleration&Blue Water
     - Keep two of the rare NPCs sounds
     - No optional kits
     - Core Bugfixes
     - Organised Journal Entries
     - Restored BG1 Load Screens
     - BG2 Ammo Stacks
     - Totemic Druid Spirits Summons are Balanced
     - BG1 Summoning Spells
     - No Walking Speeds
     - Hooded Unarmored Avatars and Hooded Bards
     - BG2 Style World Map
     - NO Remove Spells that weren't in BG2
     - Journal Entry Titles

- TuTu Gui

- Map Notes

- Virtue for TuTu *

- aVenger's Rogue Rebalancing
  - Thieves Rebalancing
  - Bards Rebalancing

- SP Collection
  - Archer of Sylvanus Kit
  - Wushi Ninja Kit

- The Vault 4.01 (raised the cost of one item from 12.000 to 36.000)

- The Gray Clan Episode I

- Herbs&Potions

- Slime Quest

- The Gray Clan Episode II *

- Secret of Bonehill

- Sirine's Call

- The Fields of the Dead *

- One Pixel Production's Paperdolls

- TuTu Tweaks
     - Breakable Nonmagical Armor, Helms, and Shields
     - Avatar Morphing Script
     - Weapon Animation Tweaks
     - Icewind Dale Casting Graphics
     - Shut Up "You Must Gather Your Party ..."
     - Commoners Use Drab Colors
     - Icon Improvements
     - Change Avatar When Wearing Robes or Leather Armor
     - Exotic Items Pack
     - Add Map Notes
     - Force All Dialogue to Pause
     - Sellable Staffs, Clubs, and Slings
     - Wear Magical Armor AND Magic Rings
     - Multi-Class Grand Mastery
     - True Grand Mastery
     - Un-Nerfed THAC0 Table, Saving Throws, Grand-Mastery, and Arcane, Divine Spell Progression
     - Shapeshifter Rebalancing
     - PnP Spell Progression Tables
     - Give Edwin his BG2 Stats
     - Give Jaheira her BG2 Stats
     - Change Jaheira to Neutral Good Alignment
     - Give Minsc his BG2 Stats
     - Give Viconia her BG2 Stats

- Ding0's Experience Fixer
     - Creature XP Reduction to 50%
     - Locks, Traps and Spells XP Reduction to 75%
     - No No XP for learning Spells
     - Quest XP Reduction to 75%
     - No SoA Starting XP Reduction
     - No ToB Starting XP Reduction
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Antignition on August 23, 2005, 03:16:30 PM
I wasn't thrilled with the mods that came out for BG1.  Some components of the G3 tweak pack were good and BGTutu was awesome (i like how it was less buggy/no badly written fillers like BGT seemed to have).  The NPC mods were ok, but since i had the BG1 NPC Project i wanted to see the added banters for my favorite characters so i didn't take Murneth, Finch, or Indira along.  The siren's call was fun, it was a small quest that expanded on the original issue with Sil, the siren chick. 

-I would have installed the OPP setup, i forgot about it till i moved forward to BGII and it makes the paperdolls look so much better.

When V6 of BGTutu comes out, FotD (compatible with BGTutu), and that Virtue thing comes out i'll probably go back just to play it with FotD, heard good things about that.

As far as Secret of Bonehill and The Grey Clan went, I like Sir Billybob but i just didn't enjoy either of them.  Secret of Bonehill was weird, I wound up doing some quests to solve the murder the first time i went there, which didn't make sense, and I just thought most of the stuff was way to overpowered.  TGC seemed to unbalance some stuff too, and i stopped when i saw the throng of bandits inside the Friendly Arm Inn, just seemed to jumbled together.  They're not terrible, I am just really damn picky and i like things to blend pratically seamlessly with the game, which is much better done in BGII than BG.

In a list form--In order on my weidU log (minus the ones i didn't like)

-BGTutu v4  (I hear v6 is in beta)
-TutuFixpack (not needed in v6)--Just Core Fixes
-TutuSounds
-Siren's Call
-BG1 NPC Project (everything went pretty well, I liked the non-joinable NPC portraits for the most part)
-TutuFixpack -Components other than the fixpack
-G3 Tweak Pack



Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Borsook on August 23, 2005, 03:51:17 PM
You mean tutu v4. V5 was a very short lived beta.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Antignition on August 23, 2005, 04:52:18 PM
I do, thanks, and i'll fix that.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Berserthief on November 06, 2005, 03:14:51 PM
Hi all,

I will not present a long list of all my installed mods. I will just mention the mods which I recommend most:

1- Ease of use (minus "no traps no locks" component)
2- Spell 50
3- Dungeon be gone
4- Dark ritual (selected components)
5- Ruad
6- a-pack mod
7- Deeper shadows of amn (selected components)
8- Munchmod
9- Item upgrade
10- Desecration of Souls
11- Rolles Safyer

Note: Planar sphere mod is also a superb mod with an outstanding story. Try it with a mage PC (not a sorcerer one). It's best to install it with as few other mods as possible. To avoid bugs I recommend to have Jaheira in the party (even though she is not one of my favourite NPCs). I also recommend not to start planar sphere's main quest before chapter 6. It's also best not to forgo the city of caverns.

Cheers
Berserthief
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: icelus on November 06, 2005, 03:40:24 PM
Note: Planar sphere mod is also a superb mod with an outstanding story.

Isn't that the mod where you fight Ao?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on November 06, 2005, 03:43:18 PM
No, you fight the guy who killed Ao.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: icelus on November 06, 2005, 03:50:07 PM
Oh.  I'd like to meet the guy who kills God!
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: jester on November 06, 2005, 03:59:16 PM
I had the impression that he killed everybody but Ao, but then again I only played through it once. Everything except Methusalix is fun and makes the sphere more useful. I guess you could skip the main quest by avoiding some trigger I have of course forgotten by now. :/

I am not entirely sure this post passed any usefullness threshold, but I am still kinda new at this.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Berserthief on November 06, 2005, 04:34:50 PM
Hi Icelus, Jester (and all),

Icelus,
Quote
Oh.  I'd like to meet the guy who kills God!

He is strong enough to kill "overgods" (let alone gods). Lady of pain (an overgod) was his first and main victim. I didn't (and don't) write more details because it would be a spoiler for those who have not played it yet. The mod has a very attractive story.

Jester,
Quote
I had the impression that he killed everybody but Ao...

Me too! As far as I remember, Ao was practically defeated but not permanently destroyed.

Quote
I guess you could skip the main quest by avoiding some trigger I have of course forgotten by now. :/

Quite true! It's easy to skip the main quest: Just do not initiate dialogue with Teos. As long as you do not initiate conversation with him, he will not give you the quest to retrieve the artefact. In fact, I recommend to postpone the main quest long enough to have a very powerful party. The main quest is not an easy one for standard groups.

Cheers
Berserthief
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: icelus on November 06, 2005, 04:57:26 PM
He is strong enough to kill "overgods" (let alone gods). Lady of pain (an overgod) was his first and main victim. I didn't (and don't) write more details because it would be a spoiler for those who have not played it yet. The mod has a very attractive story.

Sorry, I was being facetious.  Any mod that allows the player or contains a character who defeats a god in such a manner is not attractive to me.  Sorry.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Berserthief on November 06, 2005, 05:14:11 PM
Hi Icelus,

Sorry, I was being facetious.  Any mod that allows the player or contains a character who defeats a god in such a manner is not attractive to me.  Sorry.

I understand. The attractiveness (or lack thereof) of such a story is a matter of taste after all.

But gods are not invincible (this much is not a matter of taste). They have been defeated by non-gods so many times in available mythological literature too. Moreover, the story of the mod offers adequate explanation of whence such an immense power has come to that character's possession.

Cheers
Berserthief
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: NiGHTMARE on November 06, 2005, 05:20:26 PM
But the thing is, an overgod is even more powerful than a regular god than a regular god is to a mortal.  If you're to stick to what the creators of D&D intended, a non-overgod wouldn't stand a chance against the overgod - the latter could wipe his opponent out of existence in less than a heartbeat, if he so chose.  I also personally like to think that an overgod is inextricably linked with his world, so if something bad happened to Ao it'd have much repercussions on the Forgotten Realms; if he somehow were killed, FR would most likely be destroyed.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Captain Knuckles on November 21, 2005, 03:35:21 PM
Why does no one recommend...


TDD
TS
BP
CTB
SOS
NEJ2

- the big mods?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: icelus on November 21, 2005, 03:37:23 PM
Battle wounds and emotional scars.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Ghreyfain on November 21, 2005, 06:30:21 PM
Because not many people like them.  Other than the people who do.  And they don't seem to get around much, instead convening at the TDD/TS/BP/CTB/SOS/NEJ2/etc. forum.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Azazello on November 21, 2005, 08:29:13 PM
Why does no one recommend...


TDD
TS
BP
CTB
SOS
NEJ2

- the big mods?

BGT > BG1NPC > TDD > NeJ > TS-SOS > DSotSC-NTotSC > SoBH (http://forums.spellholdstudios.net/index.php?showtopic=9383&st=27#)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: ronin on November 22, 2005, 01:26:49 AM
Because not many people like them. 

Where did you make that up at?  Come to you in a dream?  There are tons of people over at SHS in the forums for those mods.  King Diamond has put alot of time and effort into updating and weiduizing TDD, SOS and CtB and by the final release in a bit they will be 99% bug free.  King Diamond has also worked closely with Vlad to make a BP compatible version of TS.  The new BP v1.7 is still in testing phases but is comming along real nice.  Vlad has also just released a updated version of TS and an updated version of NeJ and is working now on NeJv3.

ronin
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on November 22, 2005, 01:52:26 AM
They're still enormously horrible.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: ronin on November 22, 2005, 02:23:27 AM
They're still enormously horrible.

Nice reply, good that you put alot of facts with your statement so that everyone would know why.  The original versions of the mods were, as you put it, enormously horrible, but since King Diamond has started working on them they are now very playable.  He, King Diamond, worked out and removed more bugs than I can post here and also is working to make them more "mod friendly" with other mods.

ronin
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Borsook on November 22, 2005, 02:27:19 AM
Because not many people like them. 

Where did you make that up at?  Come to you in a dream?  There are tons of people over at SHS in the forums for those mods.

ronin
True but here at PPG majority of members dislike them.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Borsook on November 22, 2005, 02:29:59 AM
They're still enormously horrible.

Nice reply, good that you put alot of facts with your statement so that everyone would know why.  The original versions of the mods were, as you put it, enormously horrible, but since King Diamond has started working on them they are now very playable.  He, King Diamond, worked out and removed more bugs than I can post here and also is working to make them more "mod friendly" with other mods.

ronin
KD is doing one hell of a job, trouble is much of the mentioned dislike was not because of the bugs inlvolved but simply... well you know, a movie may be done very well from technical point of view and still do not appeal to you...
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Grim Squeaker on November 22, 2005, 02:30:18 AM
I think most people dislike them because of they feel the content is not-so-amazing, the bugs and because of the install method (non-WeiDU).  The latter two are being fixed recently, however to my knowledge not much of the content is.  I could be wrong though.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on November 22, 2005, 07:15:53 AM
Right, yes. The crucial consideration here is that something can be completely bug-free, yet STILL be depressingly horrible. You want a bit of justification? Well, trawling through endless recycled areas tempered with the occasional bad dialogue to fulfill an inane plot in TDD made me very sad, and the chores and cutscenes at the beginning of CtB were closer to psychological warfare than gameplay. Sure, BP has its good qualities (I'm very appreciative of the crowd's work on the Detectable Spells system, for example, and I used to love developing AI with Horred), but ultimately I find myself wishing for talented modders to spend time producing quality material rather than hardwiring something else into a compilation the components of which I regrettably find rather naff.

NiGHTMARE may now tell me I smell if he wishes.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Borsook on November 22, 2005, 07:23:04 AM
NiGHTMARE may now tell me I smell if he wishes.
Everyone smells. Well exept the guy from Suskin's book.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Ashara on November 22, 2005, 10:35:34 AM
BGT > BG1NPC > TDD > NeJ > TS-SOS > DSotSC-NTotSC > SoBH

Well, allow me just to express bewilderment at the comparison of BGT vs BG1NPC. I had never played BGT, but my feeling is that it is rather comparable to TUTU, rather than to BG1NPC. In fact, earlier versions of BG1NPC adapeted by Sir BB will work with BGT.

I don't know about other mods, but I won't recommend TS (and I worked on TS) because coding-wise as far as I know (and Vlad may have rectified it) it has never been converted to WeiDU properly, just cosmetically, and writing wise - because it was a 2002 mod so the amount of content for the NPCs is nowhere near the present day soaring standard. The story also does not utilize the behind the scene lore on Yoshimo, and is AU at every aspect of it. It is also not being further developped with Vlad switching to NEJ and me abandoning it altogether, and thus there is no hope of it being upgraded/redone/improved etc. 
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: NiGHTMARE on November 22, 2005, 11:02:43 AM
Well, allow me just to express bewilderment at the comparison of BGT vs BG1NPC. I had never played BGT, but my feeling is that it is rather comparable to TUTU, rather than to BG1NPC. In fact, earlier versions of BG1NPC adapeted by Sir BB will work with BGT.

I think rather than meaning BGT is better than BG1NPC, both are better than TDD, etc, Azazello meant BGT-BG1NPC-TDD-etc and just used a misleading symbol.

Oh and Sim, I'm sure you smell just fine/nice/wonderful (delete as ego and guy-praising-another-guy tolerance deams appropriate).
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Azazello on November 26, 2005, 03:59:14 PM
Ashara is right, can't compare apples-to-oranges, BGT vs. BG1NPC. Besides, we know which would win!  :D

I posted elsewhere that Tortured Souls needs a much deeper story, and to remove the cheese from the pit fight. Much potential there; if fixed would be my favorite quest mod.

I'll adjust my review to

BG1NPC > TDD > NeJ-SOS > DSotSC-NTotSC-TS > SoBH
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Ashara on November 28, 2005, 09:17:24 AM
Quote
I posted elsewhere that Tortured Souls needs a much deeper story, and to remove the cheese from the pit fight. Much potential there; if fixed would be my favorite quest mod.

I want to state that I have no objections to anyone rewriting the whole thing, adding to it, augmenting it - whatever - and recoding it in proper WeiDU format. I dunno how Vlad feels about it, but I, I don't mind at all.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Dark Raven on November 28, 2005, 06:39:07 PM
Big mods break games.  :D
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Ghreyfain on November 28, 2005, 07:50:58 PM
No they don't.  Mods that break games break games.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Azazello on November 29, 2005, 12:49:46 AM
No they don't.  Mods that break games break games.
(http://chosenofmystra.net/forums/images/smiles/thumbsup.gif) (http://chosenofmystra.net/forums/images/smiles/thumbsup.gif)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: ronin on December 02, 2005, 07:06:02 AM
What mods would you recommend as "must-haves" to the average game newbie?  to someone who's played the game, but not tried any mods before?  For now I think it best to stick to BG2.

I'll start it off.


Mods Recommended for Game Veterans
  • Baldurdash
  • Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix (One Pixel Productions)
  • Oversight
  • Dungeon Be Gone
  • Ascension
  • Turnabout
  • gMinion
  • eSeries
  • Improved Horn of Valhalla
  • Divine Remix
  • Song & Silence
  • G3 Tweaks
  • NiGHTMARE's NPC Beautification Pack
  • NPC Kit
  • PnP Celestials
  • Expanded Thief Stronghold
  • Quest Pack
  • Virtue
  • Ding0's Tweak Pack
  • Zyrean's Miscellany
  • Ashes of Embers
  • Unfinished Business
  • Banter Packs
  • Flirt Packs
  • Ease of Use (selected components)
  • Refinements (selected components)
  • The bigg Tweaks (selected components)
  • Every Mod and Dog
  • A Mod for the Orderly
  • Teleport Spell


What order would you recommend installing these in?  And from the ones with selected components, which components would you suggest/recommend.

Thanks in advance.

ronin
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: icelus on December 02, 2005, 08:38:47 PM
What order would you recommend installing these in? And from the ones with selected components, which components would you suggest/recommend.

Thanks in advance.

ronin

This list should work fairly well in regard to install order.  I'm too lazy to list all of the tweak components.  So many.  Just so many...

Mods Recommended for Game Veterans
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on December 02, 2005, 11:01:09 PM
Ice, did you unsticky this intentionally?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: ronin on December 03, 2005, 03:33:58 AM
What order would you recommend installing these in? And from the ones with selected components, which components would you suggest/recommend.

Thanks in advance.

ronin

This list should work fairly well in regard to install order.  I'm too lazy to list all of the tweak components.  So many.  Just so many...

Mods Recommended for Game Veterans
  • Baldurdash
  • Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix (One Pixel Productions)
  • Oversight
  • Ascension
  • Turnabout
  • Dungeon Be Gone
  • gMinion
  • eSeries
  • Improved Horn of Valhalla
  • NiGHTMARE's NPC Beautification Pack
  • NPC Kit
  • PnP Celestials
  • Expanded Thief Stronghold
  • Quest Pack
  • Ding0's Tweak Pack
  • Ashes of Embers
  • Unfinished Business
  • Banter Packs
  • Flirt Packs
  • Ease of Use (selected components)
  • Refinements (selected components)
  • The bigg Tweaks (selected components)
  • Every Mod and Dog
  • A Mod for the Orderly
  • Teleport Spell
  • Divine Remix
  • Song & Silence
  • G3 Tweaks
  • Virtue

Thank you, thats what I wanted to know.  The selected components I can figure out myself.

ronin
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: the bigg on December 03, 2005, 07:07:39 AM
Teleport spell should be moved before Refinements (if it has a scroll item).
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: icelus on December 03, 2005, 11:06:33 AM
Ice, did you unsticky this intentionally?
No, I haven't touched the stickiness, actually.  It needs to be stickied.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Muerte on December 08, 2005, 09:34:32 AM
Are those big mods any good? Are they worth the wait to download?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Ghreyfain on December 08, 2005, 12:37:58 PM
Go ahead and try them.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Drew on December 08, 2005, 05:17:09 PM
I think you'll have a better gaming experience with the smaller mods.  The bugs are getting removed from the big ones, but they aren't working a lot on the content, which is just not as good as what I think you'll find with the smaller mods.  Unless you have a high speed modem, a wouldn't waste my time downloading the big ones.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Bex on December 08, 2005, 07:36:31 PM
Well, I'm trying a bunch of different things right now, probably foolishly, as I never learn. Anyone who's interested in my take on the interplay between 30-some-odd mods can read about it at my usual online home of Planet Baldur's Gate:

http://www.forumplanet.com/planetbaldursgate/topic.asp?fid=1882&tid=1794596&p=1
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SixOfSpades on February 14, 2006, 02:44:21 PM
Mods Recommended for Game Veterans

~ snip ~

I'm too lazy to list all of the tweak components.  So many.  Just so many...

Too many to list things like Kelsey, Tactics [selected components] and Rogue Rebalancing [selected components]?  ???
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: ybee on February 28, 2006, 02:07:01 AM
No one's mentioned the solaufein mod... I enjoyed it very much
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: gaheir on February 28, 2006, 07:00:39 PM
I'd like to add a couple suggestions from a player, non- modder perspective.  I think that many of the very good NPC mods have been left off the above lists.  In addition to Keto (I wish she had TOB content) and Kelsey, I would recommend Fade, Saerelith and Lord Mirabo's Imoen romance.  None are overpowered characters and all add quite a bit of fun and interaction to the game.  All three of these modules, in my opinion, fit very well with the game, if not seemlessly.   Fade and Saerelith include extensive voicing, and Imoen's adds quite a musical collection.  All are interesting characters.
Unfortunately, as with many NPC mods, TOB content would be welcome. 
I am curious about the lack of recommendations regarding NPC mods.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on February 28, 2006, 07:07:22 PM
I am curious about the lack of recommendations regarding NPC mods.
Kelsey and Keto are currently the only NPC mods I consider seamless enough and of a sufficiently high standard of writing to be worth recommending, although I have yet to examine Kulyok's Xan. I believe this is a widely echoed sentiment.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Blackguard on March 27, 2006, 05:28:05 PM
What order would you recommend installing these in? And from the ones with selected components, which components would you suggest/recommend.

Thanks in advance.

ronin

This list should work fairly well in regard to install order.  I'm too lazy to list all of the tweak components.  So many.  Just so many...

Mods Recommended for Game Veterans
  • Baldurdash
  • Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix (One Pixel Productions)
  • Oversight
  • Ascension
  • Turnabout
  • Dungeon Be Gone
  • gMinion
  • eSeries
  • Improved Horn of Valhalla
  • NiGHTMARE's NPC Beautification Pack
  • NPC Kit
  • PnP Celestials
  • Expanded Thief Stronghold
  • Quest Pack
  • Ding0's Tweak Pack
  • Ashes of Embers
  • Unfinished Business
  • Banter Packs
  • Flirt Packs
  • Ease of Use (selected components)
  • Refinements (selected components)
  • The bigg Tweaks (selected components)
  • Every Mod and Dog
  • A Mod for the Orderly
  • Teleport Spell
  • Divine Remix
  • Song & Silence
  • G3 Tweaks
  • Virtue

okay where would you advise to put these mods on your list:

Solaufein Mod
Valen mod
Kensley mod
Keto mod

Phaere's portraits
Item value tweaks

Sorcerer' Place Collection mod
Weimer Underepresented items
Tactics
Weimer Item Upgrade
Redemption
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: guest on March 30, 2006, 06:28:39 PM
Imoen Romance mod is all I need, other than fixpacks. :)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Captain Spider on May 06, 2006, 12:49:37 PM

This is the most important of all questions in this thriving community....
I posted a thought over at SHS... link below... with ideas about how to choose what to and what not to install...





http://forums.spellholdstudios.net/index.php?showtopic=20254
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: icelus on May 06, 2006, 02:09:42 PM
I'd recommend just starting a new thread about it here.  :)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Tyrus on June 03, 2006, 03:40:18 AM
Currently installed/recommended (all components installed except where details given in brackets):

Baldurdash
Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix
Oversight (improved Sendai, alignment correction, class tweaks/fixes, improved continuity)
Ascension
Unfinished Business
Quest Pack
Ease of Use (romance fix, bonus merchants, Imoen ToB dialogue fix, female Edwina)
Flirt Pack
Banter Pack
Slightly Improved Ilyich

The last mod I'd particularly recommend - it makes the starting dungeon less boring/easy, without resorting to the inanity of Improved Ilyich from Tactics.

Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Solarium on June 07, 2006, 09:03:55 PM
Got a question for ya Icelus   :)

So far I have these installed these in the following order:

1 Baldurdash
2 Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix
3 G3 Tweaks (selected components)
4 Oversight (selected components)
5 Ascension
6 gMinion
7 eSeries
8 Improved Horn of Valhalla
9 NiGHTMARE's NPC Beautification Pack
10 A Mod for the Orderly
------------------------------------------------------------
11 Ease-of-Use
12 Item Upgrade (with Cespenar Audio)
13 Tactics

If I decide to uninstall G3 Tweaks and install it again (to make it the latest installed, as recommended by you), will that conflict with any of the previous installations, will I have to uninstall everything and redo everything in the above order?

Also, will any of the additions (#11-13) conflict with the ones you recommended (0-10)?
Will any of the ones from 0-10 even conflict with themselves? During the installation I thought I saw some components that were really similar among different mods, such as improved NPC's and such, will they conflict?

I would be greatly appreciated for any help. Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: TormentedDragon on July 19, 2006, 01:10:05 PM
Almost every mod that I would recommend has been recommended... meaning those mods that deal with bugfixes, convenience tweaks, the questpacks, etc.

Now, for the NPC mods, I do not believe that you should take anyone's word for it on whether or not a mod is "worth it." The reason? People have extremely differing tastes. I see that both Kelsey and Keto are very well-loved here. I have played Kelsey, I have not played Keto. Now, I agree, Kelsey is an excellent mod, with extensive dialogue, a compelling character, and works seamlessly with the game. I refuse to play it with the voices on, because I, personally, find the voice-acting jarring and, for me, accomplishes the oppsite of immersion. That's my own, personal taste.

On the other hand, you'll find that there are equally as many people who simply adore Saerileth, or Fade, or Chloe, or the Immy Romance, etc. etc. When dealing with NPCs, it really boils down to what you, yourself, enjoy.

So, for NPC mods, here is my own, most humble suggestion: take a gander at whatever summary of content the modmakers have provided you with, and based off of that, decide if you think you'll enjoy the NPC. If you don't have a lot of spare time and you don't find them particularly compelling, don't bother. Otherwise, go ahead and try it out. Who knows? You may end up liking Solaufein better than Kelsey, Saerileth better than anybody else, Yasraena over all. Just because someone says they don't consider it worth the time, that doesn't mean it won't be.

Also note that people's ideas of what "seamless" means tends to vary wildly.


A note (and warning) on Ascension: this mod makes the final sequence in ToB much more interesting and involved. But be warned, it is also very, very, difficult. I've heard from a number of people that they will not play Ascension simply because the final battle IS so very difficult. If you dislke having to plan extensively before a battle... this is probably not for you. Not everybody can be a powergamer.

EDIT: if you're going to take Ascension, I strongly, strongly recommend you install Turnabout as well. In my mind, the two go hand-in-hand and should never be separated.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Eplebit on July 20, 2006, 08:13:50 PM
I've more or less used icelus's list, except that I used the G3 fix pack instaed of Baldurash, but I've run into a few problems regarding monsters that can't be killed. This has happened two times. The first one was in the start dungeon, where some guy could not die, althought he wouldn't exactly do anything either (can't remember his name).. I tought this might be supposed to be this way though, so I just went on. However, I've encountered a more fatal bug. One of the trolls in Nalia's keep just won't die. It is after I've opened the drawbridge. I kill the monsters in the courtyard, and then go into the first floor, there's a troll there that just won't die. It goes down to "Near death", but then nothing more happens. He won't get unconceus, and it doesn't matter how many times I hit him, even with acid or fire.

Now, this problem can possible also be overcome if I load an older save game, but I'm not certain that I would like continuing the game with this potentially pretty fatal bug. Have anyone encountered a similar problem and/or know what could cause it and how to fix it? Any help would be appriciated.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: berelinde on July 20, 2006, 09:08:01 PM
The mods one loves are, quite simply, the mods one loves.

I would not play without some mods.  These are:
Baldurdash
Assorted components from various fixpacks/tweakpacks
AoE
UB
!!!BG1NPC!!!!!!
Selected components from EoU (inventory managing, DBG, happy party)
Item Upgrades
Flirtpacks
Banterpacks

As far as NPC mods, no one can make recommendations for you. I've installed mods I thought I'd like, only to find that I didn't. I have installed mods I thought would be iffy at best only to find that I loved them. All I can say is give it a chance. The worst that will happen is that you will have to reinstall everything.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: berelinde on July 20, 2006, 09:09:29 PM
I forgot Moinesse's Avatars over at G3. That one is limited (all it does is change your avatars), but it's pretty.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: TormentedDragon on July 21, 2006, 08:44:54 PM
Indeed, they are very pretty. I likes the long-haired avatars, and the non-bearded male human mage.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Discord on September 03, 2006, 10:39:06 PM
Weird though it may sound(if you haven't played the mod), I thought the Edwin Romance was remarkably well put together and enjoyable. Going in I thought it was either going to be a really unappealing romance, (for a really unappealing character), or it was just going to abandon Edwin's character completely in the effort of creating an eligible bachelor. But the more I played, the more I liked it. It's utterly hillarious through most of it, and quite sweet at other times, but it still feels like Edwin you're romancing, not just some fake Edwin-esque heartthrob.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: berelinde on September 03, 2006, 10:52:18 PM
OK. You've got me curious. I'll try it.

Edwin was always one of those blokes I never got around to recruiting, since I usually had a full party by then, and, as I've never played a thief, I've never needed to do that quest.

But Edwin is oddly complelling, if nothing else, as the butt of everyone else's jokes. I'll give it a go.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Riviera on September 28, 2006, 01:43:48 AM
So many.

General
- Ascension (Necessary)
- BG2 Fixpacks (Necessary)
- BG2 Tweaks (So great. It's so nice to have so many tweaks in one mod)
- Divine Remix (I really like what they do, and all the kits)
- Dungeon-Be-Gone (Pure love. Jasper is a god.)
- Zyrean's Miscellany (I really like how Zyr worked everything out in it.)
- Unfinished Business (More quests are good.)
- Ding0's Quest Pack (See above.)
- Baldur's Gate Trilogy (Necessary. Always. I haven't played a game without it since the first time I played BG2, and I wouldn't go back.)

NPC-Related
- NPC Kit Pack (Some of these just seem so obvious.)
- NPC Tweak Pack (Again, some of this feels like it should have been in it before.)
- Banter Pack (More talking = good.)
- NPC Flirt Pack (Really brings the romances to life.)
- BG1 NPC Project (I love it so much. I'm such a fangirl of this one.)

NPC Mods
- Kelsey (Obligated. He's well written, well voiced.)
- Keto (Again, very fun and I really like her voicing.)
- Xan (What would I do without my gloomy enchanter? Excellant job. I liked his new voice too!)
- Kivan (Another necessity. His is an amazingly done mod. No question.)
- Tashia (Very well written, plus the riddles were a very nice little bonus.)
- Solaufein (Wish his flirt pack would be released soon!  :'( )
- Nathaniel (He's just adorable.)
- Saerileth (Well written, amazing voice, love the quests and areas..)
- Tsujatha (All-around well done. I'm a fan of Sillara and Nethrin's work.)
- Yasraena (A bit over-powered, but I really liked her nonetheless.)

What can I say, I'm one of those that mods their game so much it's not even funny.

I've been lucky in that I've never had any game-breaking bugs though. Yet.  ;D
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Bursk on September 28, 2006, 01:35:25 PM
I think I read something a while back about Edwin Romance being incompatible with Sim's Quest Pack.  I don't know if that's still the case.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Riviera on September 28, 2006, 02:12:19 PM
I think I read something a while back about Edwin Romance being incompatible with Sim's Quest Pack.  I don't know if that's still the case.

I think the issue is just with the component that gives you an alternate way to deal with the shadow thieves. If you follow the path opened with the component, Edwin ends up dead (without joining your group). At least I think that's how it works out. So.. no romance opportunity.  ;D
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: berelinde on September 28, 2006, 02:49:53 PM
I think I read something a while back about Edwin Romance being incompatible with Sim's Quest Pack.  I don't know if that's still the case.

I think the issue is just with the component that gives you an alternate way to deal with the shadow thieves. If you follow the path opened with the component, Edwin ends up dead (without joining your group). At least I think that's how it works out. So.. no romance opportunity.  ;D

Yeah, I'd call that incompatible. But I generally only run with one modded NPC at a time, unless they're covered by Crossmod Banterpack, and always do a fresh installation every time I run with different NPCs. So if I were running Edwin, I could just skip that component of Quest Pack.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: SimDing0™ on September 28, 2006, 06:06:17 PM
While I don't know the exact nature of the issue, I don't see how Edwin potentially ending up dead (which he is no more likely to with Quest Pack than without, since the betrayal path also allows him to join you) is an incompatibility by any stretch of the imagination. The option to kill him has always been there--you could do so while wiping out Mae'Var's guild in vanilla BG2. If opportunities which render certain NPCs inaccessible qualify as incompatibility then BG2 itself is an absolute disaster.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: berelinde on September 28, 2006, 06:11:01 PM
Also a valid point.

OK, I've got it sorted. If I want an Edwin romance, I should avoid killing him no matter what's installed.

Probably more flip than it needed to be, but I'm in a weird mood.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: elotrocoso on October 07, 2006, 11:28:44 AM
Here s a question, i m a BG newbie(but i ve played both the games at least once), and i wanted to play both the games with the maximum number of quests avaliable(without crashes that is), and with some decent items, NPCs, spells, packs, tweaks, etc, but the priority being quest(quality over quantity ofcourse) and game depth(most of the prblem comes from not knowing about compatibility issues, since i would probably install all quests, NPCs, items and packs avaliable if i was sure it wouldn't crash), what would you recommend? i m specially unable to chose between Tutu, BGT or UB(or to leave it as is), since i dont know them all that well. are DSotSC and NSotSC really worth it over Tutu? i ve heard some say they are extremely buggy, but this could have probably been corrected by now. By the way, i was also wondering if there is a patch that will remove the xp cap while balancing the game, or if it can only be done by a hex editor.

Any opinions?

Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Riviera on October 07, 2006, 09:06:50 PM
Here s a question, i m a BG newbie(but i ve played both the games at least once), and i wanted to play both the games with the maximum number of quests avaliable(without crashes that is), and with some decent items, NPCs, spells, packs, tweaks, etc, but the priority being quest(quality over quantity ofcourse) and game depth(most of the prblem comes from not knowing about compatibility issues, since i would probably install all quests, NPCs, items and packs avaliable if i was sure it wouldn't crash), what would you recommend? i m specially unable to chose between Tutu, BGT or UB(or to leave it as is), since i dont know them all that well. are DSotSC and NSotSC really worth it over Tutu? i ve heard some say they are extremely buggy, but this could have probably been corrected by now. By the way, i was also wondering if there is a patch that will remove the xp cap while balancing the game, or if it can only be done by a hex editor.

Any opinions?



It doesn't have to be either/or with BGT/Tutu and UB. If you are talking about the version for BG2, it's worked perfectly fine for my BGT installs. You can do a BP (Big Picture) install with BGT and put both DSotSC and NSotSC in with it, although I've never tried it.

I'm a huge fan of BGT, never tried Tutu myself, but I really like how BGT works. The fact that you can play it all at once in one all-inclusive experience as opposed to playing BG then importing the characters into BG2, works so well for me.

As far as quests go, the two I *always* install are quest pack and UB. I've never touched the mega mods, although I've been tempted to try DSotSC, NSotSC, and Sirine's Call.

There are a lot of good NPC mods. Saerileth adds a lot of new ground to the game, plus a bit extra to the main plot (not much). Xan and Kivan both have mods that add them into BG2, and are my top two as far as mods go. The NPC project for the BG1 gang is also an amazing piece of work. BG2 fixpack and BG2 tweaks are staples. Ascension is a must.

Since you've said you like quests a lot.. give the G3 anniversary mod a shot. It's quite funny.  ;D

There are many more NPCs I could mention, but it all depends on what personalities you like best.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: elotrocoso on October 08, 2006, 12:00:28 AM
concerning the BGT, isnt the previous BG1 character at the beginning of BG2 a bit too overleveled, or is thi issue addressed as well? and what about xp caps, dont you reach max leves too early?

another thing, whats up with the iron modder's mods, is there a compatibility list somewhere?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Riviera on October 09, 2006, 02:30:04 AM
concerning the BGT, isnt the previous BG1 character at the beginning of BG2 a bit too overleveled, or is thi issue addressed as well? and what about xp caps, dont you reach max leves too early?

another thing, whats up with the iron modder's mods, is there a compatibility list somewhere?

I've never run the iron modder's mods, I couldn't say how those work. ^_^;

They used to have an issue with the XP you get in BG1, but I've never had a problem with it. Heck, I remove the XP caps with mods, and I still don't usually have any of my characters higher then 8ish (which, if I remember correctly, is around the starting levels you have if you start a BG2 game fresh off anyway).

It takes a decent amount of time to hit the caps, even if you do things like buy lots of copies of the same scroll and have someone relearn it a lot to boost levels.  If you do try it and find yourself gaining more XP than you would like (or are just the type of person who likes challenges), you can always give a look at the Defjam XP setter. You can put it at a lower percent, than remove it when your party transitions to BG2.

As I said, I've never had a problem with the XP, but everyone is different.  :)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: arawn on October 31, 2006, 12:01:20 PM
On Icelus list Baldurdash comes after the patches. With the advent of the BG2fixpack should Baldurdash be discontinued?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Gorilym on October 31, 2006, 12:03:33 PM
On Icelus list Baldurdash comes after the patches. With the advent of the BG2fixpack should Baldurdash be discontinued?

In a word, yes. :)

The list hasn't been changed in almost a year, perhaps it's due for an update?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Beetle on November 01, 2006, 11:53:55 AM
There probably won't be anything new on this list (and I hope Riviera forgives me for stealing her categories):

BG1
Tutu (because of the next mods)
BG1 NPC (I can't play regular BG without it anymore)
Finch: who can say no to a wide-eyed librarian?

General BG2
Baldurdash (I need to upgrade to the fixpack)
Dungeon-Be-Gone
NPC Banter Pack
NPC Flirt Pack

NPC Mods
Kelsey: the gold standard for seamlessness, a neat character and a nice story too
Keto: she would be the new gold standard if there was TOB content (that's not a dig - I know you folks are busy)
Saerileth: a nicely done paladin - religious without being a caricature
Imoen Romance: I can't resist Immy, and I can just ignore the evil and "joke" responses
Fade: funny, touching, tons of content and she's still not quite finished - can't wait for TOB
Yasraena: I agree she's a bit overpowered, but that comes in handy when I don't want to play a fighter - my current party has a Cleric/Mage PC, Kelsey and Imoen, and Yasraena is keeping all the baddies off our backs almost by herself (Boo and his sidekick help some, too)



Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Antignition on November 09, 2006, 04:03:00 AM
I would also be interested in seeing if there are any recent mods SimDing0 and Icelus would consider adding to their respective lists.

I usually play Baldur's Gate about once every year (usually the whole saga), and coming back here I don't really know what's worth picking up and what isn't.  I've followed Ding0's list to the letter and been more than happy with the results, so an update would save me a lot of research and trial-and-error.


The only new mod *on* PPG right now that I would look at is Xan, but I'm very sceptical about NPC mods (so far Kelsey is the only one I put on, i'd use Keto but I hate bards and she has no ToB content).  So with the progress of PPG seeming to slow down, I've been looking over at Gibberlings3 (only other modding area that is prominent on mine/Ding0's list) and saw a lot of new stuff that i'd consider. 

Since i'm not even sure Ice or Ding0 are around anymore though, to everyone else:

Anyone have any strong feelings on:

-Divine Remix
-Xan (as said above)
-Kivan and Deheriana Companions for BG2 (only other NPC mod that I will even consider as well)
-NPC Kitpack
-NPC Tweak
-BG1 NPC Project
-Sword Coast Stratagems
-Song and Silence
-Sword and Fist


Even I can tell from the small bit of lurking around I did that the BG2 Fixpack is rendering Baldurdash and G3Tweak obselete, thats pretty much the only thing i'm certain with right now.


EDIT:  I would also like to know from Icelus and Ding0 if they would recommend any mods at all from Spellholdstudios (with the exception of 1PP), Chosen of Mystra, or Blackwyrm Lair, the ones i've gone out of my way to look at aren't as...seamless...as i'd like.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: CamDawg on November 09, 2006, 07:21:01 AM
G3 Tweaks is obsolete (along with Tutu Tweaks and Ease of Use), but from BG2 Tweaks and not the Fixpack. ;)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: GeN1e on November 18, 2006, 05:31:57 PM
Bugfixes:
BG2 Fixpack (since it was released recently it's hard to make a list of musthaves right now)

My "must have" list:
Ascension (all)
D0Questpack (all)
D0Tweak (Goodberries; backstabbing)
Tactics (Bodhi; Ritual; Demons; Golems; Twisted Rune; Guarded compound; Copper Coronet; Crypt King)
Battles (Chromatic Demon)
Unfinished Business (Boo; Kalah; Suna Seni; Pai'Na; Xzar's creations; Gorje Hilldark; Sarevok remorse - not with Tortured Souls)

This list is also "must have" but I feel that these mods aren't perfect in terms of balance (thus I've shamelessly corrected them). Still, they are good:
Oversight (Sendai)
Refinements (HLAs; Armors and Shields; Lesser robes)
Tactics (Undead; Mages; Mind flayers; Dragons; Beholders; Vampires; Trolls)

Universal mods:
DEF JAM (or XPmod?)
StorePrices (I know that self promotion is bad and such, but...)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: yarpen on March 09, 2007, 10:55:26 AM
I can now say that my Paladins of Faerun Kitpack mod is now useable ;)
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Discord on March 13, 2007, 01:48:20 AM
You know what turned out to be a really good mod that I wasn't expecting to be? The Edwin Romance. Now this might just be my quirky taste, but I found it utterly hillarious while retaining that sweetness that makes a romance emotional. I thought the idea of that irritating, egotistical wizard romancing ANYONE was a terrible idea at first, but once Id actually got into it I really enjoyed it. It didn't even seem to be that out of character for Edwin, either. It didn't feel like, as some mods do, the mod writer was imposing his will on the character, ignoring the game's previous characterization - instead it just felt like you were getting to know aspects of the character not previously explored. But it didn't take itself to seriously - it was extremely funny all the way through.

So yeah, that's my reccomendation. Its worth a shot - see if it suits your taste.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Bursk on March 14, 2007, 08:19:40 AM
You know what turned out to be a really good mod that I wasn't expecting to be? The Edwin Romance. Now this might just be my quirky taste, but I found it utterly hillarious while retaining that sweetness that makes a romance emotional. I thought the idea of that irritating, egotistical wizard romancing ANYONE was a terrible idea at first, but once Id actually got into it I really enjoyed it. It didn't even seem to be that out of character for Edwin, either. It didn't feel like, as some mods do, the mod writer was imposing his will on the character, ignoring the game's previous characterization - instead it just felt like you were getting to know aspects of the character not previously explored. But it didn't take itself to seriously - it was extremely funny all the way through.

So yeah, that's my reccomendation. Its worth a shot - see if it suits your taste.

There is apparently a rather difficult encounter in the Edwin Romance mod (link contains teh spoilers!):

http://forums.spellholdstudios.net/index.php?showtopic=21743&st=0

FYI.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Discord on March 14, 2007, 02:28:17 PM
You know what turned out to be a really good mod that I wasn't expecting to be? The Edwin Romance. Now this might just be my quirky taste, but I found it utterly hillarious while retaining that sweetness that makes a romance emotional. I thought the idea of that irritating, egotistical wizard romancing ANYONE was a terrible idea at first, but once Id actually got into it I really enjoyed it. It didn't even seem to be that out of character for Edwin, either. It didn't feel like, as some mods do, the mod writer was imposing his will on the character, ignoring the game's previous characterization - instead it just felt like you were getting to know aspects of the character not previously explored. But it didn't take itself to seriously - it was extremely funny all the way through.

So yeah, that's my reccomendation. Its worth a shot - see if it suits your taste.

There is apparently a rather difficult encounter in the Edwin Romance mod (link contains teh spoilers!):

http://forums.spellholdstudios.net/index.php?showtopic=21743&st=0

FYI.

Yeah, that battle was ridiculous. I must admit I used CTRL-Y like a coward...
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Toverkol on June 24, 2007, 12:08:10 PM
Hmm, reading trough the whole thread i miss one tweak./mod thingy i've enjoyed a lot:
King Dutka's Thief

This small thingy gives you a l and l5 spell of a summoned thief that will diasarm traps for you, I enjoyed it a lot, especially in my solo games, but also any case where you might not have/want a thief in your party. It is properly scripted for the BG2 game, and as it says not for BG1 and ToB, however, i have been trying it in BG1 under the Tutu environment, and even there it disarms a trap every now and then, which might save your game (like in the candlekeep cats), or at least give you less headaches in resting and recasting mirror image for each trap you already died of.

Furthermore my usual install includes Baldurdash and its gametext update, several D0Ttweak and G3 tweaks.
 
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: The Arcanamach on September 08, 2007, 09:59:40 PM
Quote
Mods Recommended for Game Veterans

Baldurdash
Lightspeed's BG2 Graphics Fix (One Pixel Productions)
Oversight
Ascension
Turnabout
Dungeon Be Gone
gMinion
eSeries
Improved Horn of Valhalla
NiGHTMARE's NPC Beautification Pack
NPC Kit
PnP Celestials
Expanded Thief Stronghold
Quest Pack
Ding0's Tweak Pack
Ashes of Embers
Unfinished Business
Banter Packs
Flirt Packs
Ease of Use (selected components)
Refinements (selected components)
The bigg Tweaks (selected components)
Every Mod and Dog
A Mod for the Orderly
Teleport Spell
Divine Remix
Song & Silence
G3 Tweaks
Virtue


Okay...Where would be the best place for these mods...keep in mind Im only going to use about half of what is in this quote.  Thanks!

Crossmod Banter Pack
Item Upgrade
Tactics
Under Represented Items
The Longer Road
Redemption
Various NPCs (with Solaufein first of course)

There are other quest-related mods I want to try but Im not sure about putting them all together in a single install.  They include...

CoM Encounters, Dark Ritual, and Desecration of Souls (from CoM)
Dungeon Crawl (from here)
Shards of Ice (from G3)
Tower of Deception (from BWL)
Ajoc's Minimod, Planar Spere Mod and its Return Mod (from 3D)

Thanks again for any help provided.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: PrincessSuzie on October 30, 2007, 10:33:40 PM
I recommend following:

Quest Pack
UB
NPC flirt pack
Kelsey
Xan
Tsujatha
Yasraena

Currently playing BTL... and it seems to be pretty good so far! :D
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Cal Jones on July 08, 2008, 01:47:35 PM
I'm also relatively new to mods but having taken the plunge, I'm hooked.

The ones I have tried:

Ascension (I am not one for really nasty battles but Ascension adds some additional roleplay elements which I find essential now that I've played it). I generally install Tougher Illasera, Tougher Gromnir and Tougher Yaga-Shura, and leave the rest. I didn't enjoy Tougher Demogorgon.

Angelo NPC (because I dislike Anomen) - my review is here (http://www.sorcerers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=46438)

Edwin Romance (also because I dislike Anomen - a woman needs more choice!)

Romantic Encounters (just don't install the Edwin component if you have the Edwin romance installed)

Unfinished Business (haven't tried all of it, but the parts I've tried were good)

Assassinations (THE mod if you want to kill people instead of, or as well as, helping orphans and finding lost gongs)

Iylos NPC (a non-romanceable male monk for ToB only. He's an interesting character, and he kicks arse. So if you ever want to try an SoA only NPC, you can replace them with this guy once you reach ToB. Sorted. You can download him from Spellhold Studios).

There are still many more I intend to try - trying Turnabout for the first time on my current game, once I reach that far. I'm very wary of bugs, but most of my mods have behaved very well so far. I think the key is not to install too many at once, and do a clean install between each playthrough.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: medic2000 on May 08, 2009, 12:49:00 PM
Hey its time to resurrect the title! What is your favorite mods?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Azazello on May 12, 2009, 01:04:02 AM
Hey its time to resurrect the title! What is your favorite mods?
You first.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Da_venom on May 30, 2009, 10:01:58 PM
icelus list should be updated really..
^^
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Grimwald on July 20, 2009, 02:00:34 PM
I agree that it would be good if Icelus gave us a revised list of his recommended mods. However, since he has stated a dislike for NPC mods, here are the two that I have enjoyed the most Saerileth and Fade. I think that Saerileth in particular is very well written and has enjoyable quests in it that add to the plot.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: nmodd on September 23, 2009, 02:53:45 PM
I'm not sure what my favrite is, but it's surprising there's no mod to fix all the 'NPC appears busy' bugs yet. Also, what's up with my game window suddenly moving to a corner after installing some mods? The latest one I installed that caused that was the Aurora Boots and Stuff mod.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: jcompton on September 23, 2009, 03:47:22 PM
I'm not sure what my favrite is, but it's surprising there's no mod to fix all the 'NPC appears busy' bugs yet.

The Bioware patch fixes that. It should always, always, always, always always always be installed before any mods.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: nmodd on September 23, 2009, 11:15:15 PM
Did that. Still appears.
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: nmodd on September 23, 2009, 11:48:24 PM
Wait, is it the patch made obsolete by TOB or something else entirely?
Title: Re: What are your recommended mods?
Post by: Miloch on September 24, 2009, 12:33:39 AM
Wait, is it the patch made obsolete by TOB or something else entirely?
You need the ToB patch (http://www.bioware.com/games/throne_bhaal/support/patches/) if you've got ToB - the SoA patch does nothing. See the 4th bullet point on the fix list there.