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BG2 Completed Mods => Zyraen's Miscellaneous Mods => Topic started by: Zyraen on April 06, 2005, 09:16:03 AM

Title: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on April 06, 2005, 09:16:03 AM
- Always wanted to play a Solo, but found the non-combat sections too boring?
- Find Solo-ing without a Thief too exasperating at the beginning?
- Want the challenge of a Solo and still enjoy that romance you haven't yet checked out?
- Want to really hit the limits of the Experience bar and see just how high level your main character can go?
- Wishing your party members could just go hide somewhere while you finished the baddies?
- Rerunning Baldur's Gate 2 with your uber Main Character to check out that new NPC but tired of having to babysit all your other party members?
- Irritated with having to spend a good portion of your game time to move the rest of your slow-moving party?

Well then, this Mod is for you! 

*NEW FEATURES* in v2.0

- Now an *AI Script*! No more using ShadowKeeper or CLUAConsole to enable Solo with a Party
- NEVER need to worry about Party Members getting Hurt / Killed
- Hefty Bonuses to Open Locks and Detect Traps so that your party members can help you Detect / Disarm Traps all the way to ToB
- Intelligence Set to 18 for Party Members so they leave Maze quickly once combat is over
- Freedom is Autocast on nearing where a Party Member was Mazed
- No more troublesome CREs or inconsistent time required to Maze Party Members

*PREVIOUS FEATURES* in v1.0

- XP Awarding - get it all for yourself!
- Solo Combat - for the challenge, all party members automatically get Mazed and stay Mazed until the battle is over.
- Improved Haste - For ease of movement along the maps and to keep up with the main character, all other party members have Improved Haste on them at practically all times.
- *DROPPED* Resurrections - Automatically resurrects all and any dead party members after combat.

Hope that you enjoy it, feedback/bugs/typos etc can be emailed to me or posted here to this thread.

** Obsolete Links Removed **
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Silk on April 20, 2005, 10:02:44 AM
Drat!  Don't you just hate posting to the wrong thread?

As I mentioned in the other thread (sigh), I have the mod installed and working, though due to sidetracking I haven't got very far with it.

The only problem I had initially was actually installing it but that got sorted out in PM.

I suspect it's also handy for a quick few levels up, just change the script and go solo for a while, seeing as the Solo mod only works when you choose the Solo script in AI.  I'm not sure about this.  I expect Zyraen will tell me I'm wrong but it was just a random thought.

Bugs?  So far haven't found any, although sometimes party members appear randomly when you stop fighting for a moment while actually in combat and just stand around looking silly.  Shouldn't they stay mazed until all the red-circled baddies go away or get hacked?

As an afterthought, the only other problem I had was with me.  I'm so used to using AI that I initially forgot to attack.  Embarassing.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: BallOfFire on April 20, 2005, 10:03:46 PM
Eh... again considering installing this....  fighting internally... solo...party....solo with party....  ???
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on April 21, 2005, 10:33:59 AM
Solo with a Party allows you to take a Party while Soloing. So no fight is required...
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: BallOfFire on April 21, 2005, 01:10:28 PM
The only reason why I haven't installed this yet is I hate the idea of dragging around NPCs, even with improved haste.  The AI for moving around is just sooo bad.  I feel like I'm babysitting a bunch of toddlers just trying to get them from one place to another.  They always try to take shortcuts and get stuck or run into an ambush or something.  It drives me insane *_*. 
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Silk on April 21, 2005, 04:14:43 PM
BallOfFire:  From what I've seen so far, if the party runs into an ambush, they all vanish and you're stuck with sorting it out yourself - hence solo.  If you don't want the banters or romance/s, then solo on your own.  Simple.

Also, Zyraen, my party moves faster than I do.  What's up there?
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on April 22, 2005, 12:50:40 AM
Yes of course, lol. They move faster because they have the rings and you don't.
You're supposed to get your Haste through fair means, remember? :)
ie Boots of Speed, Haste spell, and the ilk.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Silk on April 22, 2005, 01:10:47 AM
<heads for SK>
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: BallOfFire on April 22, 2005, 02:54:24 AM
I want banters.  I want NPC mods.  I want to solo.  But I don't want to deal with walking around with a full party =(.  Battle isn't what I'm worried about.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Silk on April 22, 2005, 03:20:45 AM
I don't think you can have one without the other, BallOfFire.  The haste cast continuously on the rest of the party means that they're moving fast, they're not lagging in the rear or getting sidetracked.  It works, trust me.

Install it, try it, it's the only way to find out.

I found it fascinating, the banters fire, the LoveTalks fire, your party vanishes the moment danger threatens, leaving you to solo your way through the battles.  It's the best of both worlds.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: jester on April 22, 2005, 08:32:18 AM
Soloing is not only about fights. It is also about bypassing obstacles which would not be a challenge for a decent party, but are deadly for your chosen character.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: BallOfFire on April 22, 2005, 11:12:40 AM
That's almost right in my case.  One of the best parts of soloing is hiding in shadows to scout every area and then backstab before enemies see you.  And if they are too difficult, just run on by.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on April 22, 2005, 11:34:50 AM
There's always Ctrl-J in those situations.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Silk on April 22, 2005, 01:16:52 PM
So why can't you just select your character and move ahead of the party and do those things.  I'm assuming you've played this more than once and know most of the areas you need to do it in.  ::)
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: BallOfFire on April 22, 2005, 02:11:39 PM
It's just so much more convenient to click hide in shadows every time I reach a new area and then running around not worrying about it.  With a party I would have to leave them behind to send my protagonist ahead alone, but if there are no enemies then I have to drag my party along afterwards.  I've played like a hundred times but never beaten ToB cause I always want to start over.

As for control-j, I've never figured out how to work that.  I tried for 20 minutes and only got it to work like twice and i have no idea what I did differently.  Do you hold it and click on the map screen or what?  I had a broken j key so I might have been doing it right and I wouldn't even know.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Xiao on April 22, 2005, 02:13:21 PM
You have to have cheats enabled, to start with.  Pick the character(s) to move, move the mouse pointer to the spot you wish them to be at, hit Ctrl-J, and wait a few seconds.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Silk on April 22, 2005, 02:16:54 PM
(All right, I'm sleep deprived so this might be short and to the point)

BallOfFire:  Either install it and play it or don't - stop whining about it.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: BallOfFire on April 22, 2005, 02:24:50 PM
What on earth.  I'm not whining at all.  I'm merely stating the facts.  I intend to play this, though the things I have mentioned may stop me.  This mod was a great idea that is almost exactly what I've been wanting, and almost decided to learn how to mod in order to make.  I'm very excited about this I just don't know if I want to try it this run-through.

@Xiao, thanks, I'll try again now that I have a j key.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Xiao on April 22, 2005, 02:30:22 PM
@Xiao, thanks, I'll try again now that I have a j key.
One thing to note, if you have "auto-pause when enemy sighted" enabled like I do, is that this will interrupt the "jump".  If you unpause and let it continue, it will proceed - but I'm not sure if the enemies who saw you initially know where you've ended up and will come running, so be careful with that.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: jester on April 22, 2005, 07:15:33 PM
@or don't - stop whining about it.

:) I was just trying to point out what I like most about soloing. The annoying stuff.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on April 22, 2005, 10:59:27 PM
BallofFire -
It's just an AI script so you can just install it, if you don't like it just don't use it. It doesn't affect anything in the game.

Xiao / BallofFire-
Because Solo with a Party is an AI Script, it will interrupt the action of the PC and the NPCs if an enemy is sighted, so it will interrupt a Ctrl-J command (Which takes about 1.5-2.5 secs, I think). Just turn off AI before doing Ctrl-J and it won't do a thing.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: BallOfFire on April 23, 2005, 02:39:14 AM
Alright, I'll at the very least try it out =).  I don't usually mess with AI scripts so I dind't remember what that means until just now.  I actually expect to use it but I'm giving BG a break for the time being.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on September 11, 2005, 10:14:00 PM
Have consolidated this Mod, along with some of other my Mods, into a little collection of Mods that can be found at the

http://www.pocketplane.net/zyraen

The files for the stand-alone versions will be removed from my site :) Thanks!

This thread can still be used to provide feedback on this Mod component.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Fantasy on September 26, 2005, 10:42:04 AM
Heh, I've finally installed this mod as well. :)

I've also noticed that the party members have the habit of reappearing during the fight, and this is actually somewhat of a problem. This is not just because they end of getting attacked, but more because of what happens if they leave again. Perhaps it's just me, but every time they get mazed again, I can't give an order to attack at my PC. Meaning that for a few moments I'm completely defenceless and not attacking...

Now at the moment this isn't a disaster just yet, but once I start using spells and my spells are wasted because I need to send someone back... let's just say that would be annoying. ;) This doesn't happen during the first time they get mazed though (as in at the beginning of the fight).

Wouldn't it be handier if they didn't come out of the maze alone? If that's even possible of course. The freedom spell works quite well, and it would prevent the disruption of the fight... of course it also doesn't help that they don't all get back at the same time, but that their temporary reappearance is (more or less) divided over the fights.  ::) 

Apart from that I really like the mod, and I'm glad I'm not a thief who's trying to sneak past the enemies. After all, the rest wouldn't be able to repeat the same thing and would let go up in smoke when they get near the enemy. ;)

Greetings. :)

BTW: I almost forgot: their intelligence is 'raised' to 7, not 18. :)
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on September 27, 2005, 01:01:54 AM
I will try to arrange it so that they don't EVER reappear - ie the Maze is forever :)
If that fails, I will shift things slightly so that the background BALDUR.BCS script causes the party members to maze, and not your script (ie you) causing the party members to maze, which interrupts your current actions.

In meantime, while you can't stop it from interrupting/wasting your spells etc, to get "moving" again, just issue your PC a different command from the previous and then once your PC moves, issue the previous command you intended.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Fantasy on September 27, 2005, 06:50:04 AM
Sounds like a good idea. :) And, luckily for me, I'm still a fighter at the moment. Of course it might get harder once I dual class to mage... but we'll see about that when we get there. :)
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Kiran on December 02, 2005, 05:27:39 AM
Eeee...I've downloaded it and am desperately trying to make it work...the first time I try only two of my NPC's get the rings and then my PC constantly has Freedom cast on him. Then I get rid of the rings, try again, and all my NPC's get the rings, but then the game crashes...*frustration*. Any idea how to make it work?
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on December 02, 2005, 10:05:08 AM
Try making sure you have 6 party members in your party before running the AI Script.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: ronin on December 02, 2005, 02:30:27 PM
So, in effect its not a true solo, you would first have to fill your party to get it to work correctly?

That was just a question not a statement

ronin
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on December 03, 2005, 08:25:31 AM
Yes. it was a bug from the stand-alone version, then later I put in checks that should have allowed for less than 6 party members. Oddly, it didn't work, so at the end of the day I'm still not very sure what causes it...

Besides, anyone who wants a true Solo should never be using the Mod. Although I did not intentionally program the bug in, I did make the design assumption in my initial construction that if someone wanted to use Solo with a Party, the person would see no harm in taking along a full party and having the party as lively as possible outside of combat.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Fantasy on December 14, 2005, 03:42:19 AM
I will try to arrange it so that they don't EVER reappear - ie the Maze is forever :)
If that fails, I will shift things slightly so that the background BALDUR.BCS script causes the party members to maze, and not your script (ie you) causing the party members to maze, which interrupts your current actions.

In meantime, while you can't stop it from interrupting/wasting your spells etc, to get "moving" again, just issue your PC a different command from the previous and then once your PC moves, issue the previous command you intended.

I don’t mean to nag ( yet ;) ) but don’t forget about this little part, hm? It would really make it a lot easier to fight with a mage then. Because, frankly, loosing spells can be quite a disaster if they are your only defence. :)
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Fantasy on January 01, 2006, 06:36:34 AM
Well, I am thinking of dual classing my kensai to a mage... but with only a few spells at the beginning and this bug... Let’s just say it would me much easier if you could find the time to solve this problem. ;)
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on January 01, 2006, 10:10:11 AM
I'll think of something, once my damaged HDD returns to me with hopefully my data still present.
Meantime, I'll look over my code and see what I can do to reduce the Player1 effects in the Mod.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Ronnie on February 07, 2007, 12:20:36 PM
Good thing I checked here instead of just throwing my arms upward, swearing, and giving up on this mod.  I was having the same problem as that other guy (where the protagonist just continually casts freedom and can't do -anything-), didn't know I needed to have 6 people in the party.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Ronnie on February 07, 2007, 04:16:20 PM
Actually, after quitting and reloading my save, it's back to doing the same thing once combat starts.  Protagonist can't do anything because he autocasts Freedom a few times every round and the other characters can't do anything because they're mazed/freed as many times per round.  Full party of six, any idea what might cause this?
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on February 08, 2007, 11:54:06 AM
This the full version of the mod ? the Latest Version ?
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Ronnie on February 08, 2007, 03:41:10 PM
Yes, it's the latest version, downloaded the same day I posted that.

It's on-and-off, sometimes it does it, sometimes it doesn't.  I remember reading something about it having trouble when you first come to an area, save/reload to fix it (but it's not in the thread summary so I guess it's from long ago, that might only apply to older versions.  From reading this, I guess this used to have an invisible npc that would follow the PC and handle the casting, but it took a while to spawn it or something?  Just a guess as to why that would happen) but that doesn't seem to make a difference.  I don't notice anything specific about times when it works and times when it doesn't.

Also, as a side note...  This isn't really a bad thing but just a note (I don't know how this could be fixed), any time someone would talk during or immediately after a combat...  if there should be an interjection from an NPC that's with you (the reason you would use this mod :P), at the time when the interjection should happen, the NPC is mazed so they can't talk--  it ends the dialog and they 'have nothing to say to you' but they also haven't finished saying whatever they had to say (or setting whatever variables they had to set).  A couple times this happens that I've seen so far:  Rescuing Viconia (Anomen, Aerie, and Jaheira (at least) protest it) and talking to that guy in the Planar Sphere.

A workaround I'm using is to just leave AI scripts off during combat...  turn them on any time sizeable XP is awarded so it gives the XP to the protagonist...  and leave the NPCs at the edge of the zone.  They don't maze out and I have to wait for them to catch up when I have to gather my party before venturing forth, but they still banter so it's okay :)

Zyraen, even with these flaws, this is still a cool mod, thanks fo rmaking it :D
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Zyraen on February 10, 2007, 11:33:29 AM
The script works as long as any NPC has XP considerably above that of the mark :) Doesn't matter how much you have accumulated. However, if the NPC is very much higher than the mark, the extra XP will be simply removed (ie wasted), and only the last 40K or so will be added to the PC's XP. For Details please read the readme.
Title: Re: Solo with a Party! - v2.0 RELEASED
Post by: Guest 6 on May 03, 2012, 12:10:54 PM
Okay, I just fought five of the six golems in de'Arnise Keep, killing them all with my kensai/mage/thief (Shadowkeeper for kensai) with Semi Multi Clerics Mod spells installed/learned/memorized as well. I'm also using the Widescreen Mod, the G3 Fixpack, G3 Tweaks, and aTweaks. What happened was that the mazed Minsc, Jaheira, Yoshimo, Aerie, and Nalia all gained no XP from this fight, while my main character gained her sixth of the (2000*2+8000*3)*1.1=30,800 XP. I don't expect this mod to be updated anymore, but for anyone reading this, if you notice something similar to this happening, you'll have to disable the script (after having enabled it at least once in the past, to get the uber ring and its amazing defensive effects, since monsters/NPCs could still target your banter or banter/support characters, although you ought to try to avoid that, if you really want a solo experience ;p) until you hit 100,000 TOTAL XP with a character, which means that, upon your convenience, you may enable it again, to have the 20,000 XP redistributed (don't wait forever, as it only gives those 20,000 XP chunks up to twice, while it continues to remove 20,000 XP chunks from scripted characters until they go below 100,000 total XP).

I've also had problems with characters mazing out and coming back over and over depending on various possibilities, often related to being outside (but also due to opening the de'Arnise Keep gate, which has NPCs scripted to come in and "help" you by "taking away" some of "your" XP (although I doubt the monsters would appear if you didn't do this) ;p), but restarting BG2 after saving AFTER the "problem causer" and loading that save often fixes this. I didn't test this well at all, and there could be many possible causes, and the ones I suggest may not be correct. In general the mod may be "inconsistent" depending on the overall mod install order or due to the mods you install. I can't give any better information than this, but if you can bear checking tag-along member XP before enabling the script (and then disabling it once it transfers XP) and sending tag-alongs off to where monsters/NPCs will target your main character instead of them (you could set their scripts to "None" so they don't attack enemies), this is still a good mod. May you have fewer problems than I. ;p