Icewind Dale I & Icewind Dale II Mod Thread

[J_C]

To my biggest suprise we don't have a dedicated mod thread for the IWD series. I almost love these games as much as the BG ones, because while less focused on story, they are good dungeon crawlers, with great atmosphere. So we should discuss the modding possibilities of these games, they have quite a lot, just like any IE games.

For starters, if anyone wants to share, which mods do you use for them?

 

[valcik]

I've tried NPC mod for IWD in my last playthrough. It adds few recruitable NPCs with party banters and stuff.

 

[octavius]

The most significant mods for IWD are probably these:

Unfinished Business: Rather small mod and not nearly as comprehensive as its BG counterparts.

Auril's Bane: the only mod I know of that adds areas, monsters and items. It's good and I recommend it, especially for replays, but it does have some unbalanced stuff.

Icewind Dale NPCs: much too feminine and juvenile writing for my taste, and too modern dialogue (when party members use the expression "word" it's beyond cringeworthy) and the voice acting is mostly weak (but then voice acting is where you really can tell the difference between amateurs and pros). Not nearly as good as the BG 1 NPC Project, but that was a joint effort of the Gibberlings 3 community and based on existing characters, while the IWD one was a one woman effort.
For IWD 2 there's also an NPC mod made by another female modder. Haven't tried it, but based on screenshots it looks worth trying.

 

[Xeon]

I just followed these threads: IWD1 - IWD2 [1] & [2] installed what I thought would be best. pcamagna is one of the IE old modders and one of the BGEE devs.

IWD1:
- The IWD Fixpack
- One Pixel Productions High-Quality Music
- Unfinished Business for Icewind Dale
- One Pixel Productions
- Icewind Dale Tweak Pack
- The Widescreen Mod

IWD2:
- Ammo Belts and Bottomless Bags

 

[Baron Dupek]

Kinda pity that fun game doesn't have much mods. Would appreciate additional adventures,

 

[Abelian]

Speaking of One Pixel Productions, the 1PP Animation Fixes pack is worth checking out. It restores the BG1 character sprites, combat stances, and attack sounds. The Heart of Winter expansion changed IWD1 so that it uses the BG2 character sprites.

 

[Minttunator]

Here's what I use - nothing interesting, just the basics:

IWD: Unfinished Business and the Fixpack.
IWD2: Tweak Pack (the one that adds unlimited ammo stacks, etc.) and Widescreen Interfaces.
Both: Widescreen mod (I play at 1280*800 on a 24" 1920*1200 monitor to avoid eyestrain).

The IWD2 widescreen interface mod deserves further mention, as it's probably not as well known.
When you play IWD2 on a widescreen resolution, the GUI is stuck to the left side of the screen, thus:

...but the mod fixes it to look much better:

It was made by some French bro on the Gibberlings forums:
http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showtopic=24452

 

[roshan]

Whoa I never knew about the widescreen interface mod! Anyway, for IWD2, I highly suggest the Tactics and Light of Selune mods. Those two combined make for a really good experience with the game.

There is also a newly released fixpack, it's worth keeping an eye on as new stuff is still being added:

http://www.shsforums.net/topic/57384-almaterias-iwd2-fixpack/

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Aurils Bane is full of overpowered items, really overpowered items. It's almost like a Westley Weimer mod. Do not recommend.

What I can recommend is the IWD2 tactics mod, you can download it at Sorcerers Place.
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/IWD2/index_mods.php

Pros:
- beefed up battles, without resorting to cheese and/or cheating on behalf of the enemies
- you can play the hardest difficulty without resorting to idiotic builds that can achieve the "ultimate AC" or without just using the same tactic the entire time, i.e. summoning monsters and send them in then nuke with Malison+Wail etc. Normally enemies have such a high attack bonus that your only defense are illusion spells (stoneskin with a 10 DR does fuck all considering the incoming amount of damage) with the exception of retarded multiclass builds that can achieve a high enough AC, usually only on 1 or 2 characters because it also requires certain pieces of equipment. With this mod everybody gets a natural AC bonus on the highest difficulty level, so you can play more normally. You still have to optimize AC carefully though, but at least you won't be hit every single time except on a 1
- fairly nice improvements to AI, e.g. battle of Kuldahar, the archdruid is no longer immortal, first I thought that might be a problem because now you have to keep him alive but it turned out he acts quite competent

Cons:
there were 2 things that annoyed me, 1) the priestesses in the ice temple would literally spam dispell magic all the fucking time and 2) the yuan ti priestesses in the dragon eye would do the same, except those spammed flesh to stone too. Jeez a dozen priestesses spamming dispell and flesh to stone.

 

[octavius]

Aurils Bane is full of overpowered items, really overpowered items. It's almost like a Westley Weimer mod. Do not recommend.

Which overpowered items? It's been a long while since I played it, but I remember the armour, sold by some Drow merchant, that regenerates HP. But that's not worse than the Bard song that regenerates HP.
What others were there?
Personally I wouldn't recommend it if playing IWD for the firsy time, but it adds enough quality content that I recommend it if replaying the game.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

I didn't memorize the list of items. I do remember though, that I saw the inventories of the merchants and decided to not buy anything because most of it was just too good, too cheap etc. Not only armor but also potions.

 

[octavius]

I've tried NPC mod for IWD in my last playthrough. It adds few recruitable NPCs with party banters and stuff.

What did you think of it?

 

[solomonhume]

Here is a collection of Icewind dale 2 mods http://www.weidu.org/iwd2.html#iwd2-ease
Here is the document of the most important one http://www.weidu.org/iwd2-ease/README-IWD2-Ease.txt

Any thoughts?

 

[roshan]

solomonhume IWD2 ease of use is deprecated by the tweak pack. And it contains lots of cheesy elements. IWD2 bonus merchant is really buggy and most of the items have stats unchanged from ADND 2nd edition, so the items make no sense within the 3E ruleset, give bonuses that break the game, and on top of that several of them are bugged. Undead Targos is shit. So just ignore that page completely.

For IWD2, the only mods I would recommend installing are IWD2 Tactics, Light of Selune, Widescreen Mod, IWD2 widescreen interface, IWD2 tweaks and Almateria's fixpack (not in order).

 

[solomonhume]

solomonhume IWD2 ease of use is deprecated by the tweak pack. And it contains lots of cheesy elements. IWD2 bonus merchant is really buggy and most of the items have stats unchanged from ADND 2nd edition, so the items make no sense within the 3E ruleset, give bonuses that break the game, and on top of that several of them are bugged. Undead Targos is shit. So just ignore that page completely.

For IWD2, the only mods I would recommend installing are IWD2 Tactics, Light of Selune, Widescreen Mod, IWD2 widescreen interface, IWD2 tweaks and Almateria's fixpack (not in order).

Thanks. Some parts of the ease of use is indeed very cheesy. I decided to only use the bugfix and druid spell improvement, so that druid can be on par with a sorcerer or a cleric.

 

[Karwelas]

There is mod called 'World of BG' that add shitload of content to games (BGs and IWDs ) and connect them into one game. Sad thing, it is potato mod and games are requested to be potato to work.

 

[Sizzle]

I know that the IWD II NPC aren't exactly popular here (to say the least :D ), but what's the opinion on the IWD I NPC mod, did anyone play it?

 

[octavius]

I know that the IWD II NPC aren't exactly popular here (to say the least :D ), but what's the opinion on the IWD I NPC mod, did anyone play it?

As I said earlier in this short thread:

Icewind Dale NPCs: much too feminine and juvenile writing for my taste, and too modern dialogue (when party members use the expression "word" it's beyond cringeworthy) and the voice acting is mostly weak (but then voice acting is where you really can tell the difference between amateurs and pros). Not nearly as good as the BG 1 NPC Project, but that was a joint effort of the Gibberlings 3 community and based on existing characters, while the IWD one was a one woman effort.

 

[Lagi]

Here is a collection of Icewind dale 2 mods http://www.weidu.org/iwd2.html#iwd2-ease
Here is the document of the most important one http://www.weidu.org/iwd2-ease/README-IWD2-Ease.txt

Any thoughts?

those are only opinions base on personal experience, not doc description. So no "it seems to me". I play two normal games with some of those hacks, and didnt finish any (first because of "ironmode" attitude, second because of boredom).

additional credibility

My brother use this mod for 2 full Heart of Fury games and at least one normal. He is a hardcore IWD2 player; play Heart of Fury with fresh characters (kill first goblin with spells and benny hill) and with random HP per level.

Bugfixes

unnoticeable influence
​

Infinite Stacking

useful, help a lot to organize inventory mess
​

Non-Combat War Chant of the Sith

I have a bard and even use this song, didnt encounter anything annoying - so good change, to install
​

Improved Holy Avenger & Two-Handed Greatsword Holy Avenger

My brother said its a good change​

No-Fists for Iron Body, Deep Gnome Starting XP, Improved Moonblades, Improved Monk Fists

dunno
​

Collector's Edition Bonus Items

I meet Nym, but didnt buy his unique item so dunno
​

No Alignment Class Restrictions

Bro was happy because he can make some previously unavailable hero (evil palladin IIRC).
​

Magic Weapon Finesse

dunno
​

Always Get Some XP Per Kill

no game impact, game is still broken with Overleveled heros in late game
​

Some Heart of Fury Items in Normal Mode

Bro: fuck up game, esp. for HoF. Avoid.
​

Stronger Bastard Swords

dunno. Was afraid it will spoil items so I didnt install it.
​

All Items Identified

i like item identification in shops or with hero skills/spells. I like carring unknown items. IMO avoid.
​

Non-Linear Teleporting

Press "T" and fast travel. I hate wasting my life on backtracking. For me must install.
​

Armor and Shields Provide Damage Resistance

(step a side "realism") In late game everyone hit you. It make heavy armor and shield usefull. no worry, it will not make you invulnerable. Heavy armored character last longer (dress with it mage who is out of spell or thief), spells damage are more significant. Longer normal hits exchange=> longer combat, less save/load need, for me its big +. I love it, install mod for this change. Bro: "ok, but game is easier so i dont play with it".
​

Include Forgotten Armor and Shields

game breaking shit. Didnt fit and cheese. Avoid.
​

Additional Druid Spells

dont experience nothing annoying - good change, to install
bro like more spells - approve
​

Alternate Shapeshifting

You transform into giants, dragons, monsters bugs instead nature themed wolfs and bears. Dont give a fuck about balance cause its singleplayer game, and new transformation are out of place. Still I find transformating into wolf or bear useful when my druid run out of spells. Dont use.
​

Skip Battle Square

cheese for "I wanna all candy but didnt want grind" fags. dont use.
​

Randomize Tresure

Crap. few items were interesting, but in general it break game.​

 

[Gord]

I've been playing IWD TotL on-and-off for some time now (actually I probably started that playthrough ~3 years ago, but I tend to get bored and distracted from IWD eventually) and recently switched from my small laptop to my desktop pc for playing.
Installed the widescreen mod, but the interface looks a bit ugly due to tiling.
It's no big issue, but I wondered whether there's an UI mod for IWD? I searched around a bit, but didn't find anything.

 

[GreyViper]

There is mod called 'World of BG' that add shitload of content to games (BGs and IWDs ) and connect them into one game. Sad thing, it is potato mod and games are requested to be potato to work.

You mean Vlads mod Never Ending Journey? Its for BG2 since you visit Icewind Dale as bhaal spawn. But I have to give him credit where its due,NEJ was fun, also his determination not to go along with EE hype.

They are thieves and f**g plagiators selling buggy mods. I really detest what they do, and I'll put a block in NeJ3 so people won't be able to install it over begee. NeJ3 for now introduces 3-4 times more content than begee, and note it's absolutely free and free of bugs, at least until part 4.

And I don't have such a big team. In other words, begee and its team really sucks.

NeJ2 has never been buggy if installed properly. IWD content is only in part 1 and it's much more than IWD content if you played. Who is not reusing areas and graphics??? My mistake posting here. Waste of time.



"Thieves" in a sense of thieving gamers' money. It's a moto of any modder: For Gamers By Gamers! At least it started by Ken and everybody were inspired at that time. BGEE team has twisted the true spirit of modding by convincing people that they should pay for a "new game". That's the problem. It's obviously trickery. It's not a new game but merely a mod, like many other mods around. Someone say "new engine"! But again it's not a new engine. Again people are tricked with that. Even there is some modifications on the programming level in order to port to Android, for the end-user it's still the very same engine.



K4thos, I don't know what you mean EE engine and where the differences lie. It's another kind of tricks and brain-washing. If you're looking for different interface - no problems, I can do that (in fact it is in NeJ). You're looking for new features, 3d rules, anything - all is possible. SimDing made a strip back in 2002-2003, if I'm not mistaken.



EE is not a new game, it's not a new engine, it's just a brain-washing and trickery to pull your money. And the new content introduced is minimal, even for a solid mod. Just be honest with yourself if you understand all this. So what are you talking about? Maybe you have shares there? If not, where all this support come from? Better invest in reviving Dragonlance.

 

[Baron Dupek]

There is mod called 'World of BG' that add shitload of content to games (BGs and IWDs ) and connect them into one game. Sad thing, it is potato mod and games are requested to be potato to work.

You mean Vlads mod Never Ending Journey? Its for BG2 since you visit Icewind Dale as bhaal spawn. But I have to give him credit where its due,NEJ was fun, also his determination not to go along with EE hype.
.

You're talking about something else. Check Failure...

And I totally the World of Baldur's Gate project. It's so fkn big it's insane. Sure it have bad economy (you can tweak that).

 

[Karwelas]

There is mod called 'World of BG' that add shitload of content to games (BGs and IWDs ) and connect them into one game. Sad thing, it is potato mod and games are requested to be potato to work.

You mean Vlads mod Never Ending Journey? Its for BG2 since you visit Icewind Dale as bhaal spawn. But I have to give him credit where its due,NEJ was fun, also his determination not to go along with EE hype.
.

You're talking about something else. Check Failure...

And I totally the World of Baldur's Gate project. It's so fkn big it's insane. Sure it have bad economy (you can tweak that).

Yeah, it is different thing. And yes, it is fucking big, enough to take more then 150 hours. And economy need a bit of work.

 

[Anthedon]

Are there any font mods for IWDI? The standard one is pretty grainy, even at 1024x768.

 

[Dr Skeleton]

How is Light of Selune? New and IWD1 items sound good (itemization in IWD2 is pretty weak) but I don't want overpowered stuff just because.
I want to play IWD2 with tactics again, but this time with a larger, less optimised party, and I don't want to reload every 2 minutes either, so LoS seems good. Does Tactics work properly with Light of Selune?