Baldur's Gate The Baldur's Gate Series Thread

[Chippy]

Playing POE for the first time, I feel bored (and furiously disgusted by the idiotic backer NPCs senslessly loitering around every corner) after two hours in, so I decided to replay BG1, the original one not the Beamdog EE disgrace.
I installed the GOG-version made it run without graphical errors by the virtues of dgVoodoo and now I'm pondering about mods...
I thought about installing:

- Unfinished Business (16.4)
- Dark Side of the Sword Coast (1.04)
- Dark Horizons (2.10)
- Grey Clan (1.9)

Would this work or will I be in for a clusterfuck of glitches, errors and gamebreaking bugs with this combination?

edit: and what about that lvl 40 rule set DSotSC comes with? Sounds crazy for BG1, is it recommended?

Hazy memory (citation needed) but I think DSOTSC was retarded. A peak example of modder narcissism. I remember them having enemies that couldn't be interrupted while spell casting (you could enable this when creating spells with modding tools) and stuff like that.

Edit: Having said that, I'm sure we'd all honestly like you to play it. No trolling intended.

 

[HumanTotemPole]

Playing POE for the first time, I feel bored (and furiously disgusted by the idiotic backer NPCs senslessly loitering around every corner) after two hours in, so I decided to replay BG1, the original one not the Beamdog EE disgrace.
I installed the GOG-version made it run without graphical errors by the virtues of dgVoodoo and now I'm pondering about mods...
I thought about installing:

- Unfinished Business (16.4)
- Dark Side of the Sword Coast (1.04)
- Dark Horizons (2.10)
- Grey Clan (1.9)

Would this work or will I be in for a clusterfuck of glitches, errors and gamebreaking bugs with this combination?

edit: and what about that lvl 40 rule set DSotSC comes with? Sounds crazy for BG1, is it recommended?

Hazy memory (citation needed) but I think DSOTSC was retarded. A peak example of modder narcissism. I remember them having enemies that couldn't be interrupted while spell casting (you could enable this when creating spells with modding tools) and stuff like that.

Edit: Having said that, I'm sure we'd all honestly like you to play it. No trolling intended.

Original BG1 DSOTSC is indeed retarded. The EE port is a better option if you're interested.

As for the others: UB is fine, recall TGC being possibly retarded, Dark Horizons is definitely retarded. I think those four are indeed compatible but the DH items alone will break the progression curve by chapter 2 if they're anything like the EE port.

 

[d1r]

Drop Dark Side, and Dark Horizons. Garbage mods. Grey Clan is meh, and unfinished.

Can recommend Jarl's Adventure Pack, and BG1NPC Project.

 

[Cologno]

All mods are garbage.

 

[Melcar]

UB, Fixpack, Tweakpack (only certain QoL options). Avoid everything else. Level1NPCs is alright if this is your nth run.

 

[Cohesion]

All mods are garbage.

Yeah this isn't bethesda. Vanilla with fixes is perfect. Or SCS for tryhards.
I don't understand why people mod mm6-8 with merge mod (seems retarded, but what do I know).
MM4-5 - World of Xeen was an organic experience. Merge feels like typical modder shit. MUH YOU CAN TELEPORT NOW TO MM 6 FROM 8, BUT ALSO WE LEVEL ENEMIES FOR YOU AND THERE ARE OTHER FIXES BECAUSE BALANCE.

 

[Melcar]

Also, do not expand or remove the level cap. It's fun for a while, but it seriously breaks the game. If you want to remove the level cap, you are better off with BGT or tutu and installing stratagems.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

All mods are garbage.

Pretty much. In the years before Steam and Kickstarter, or during the multiyear RPG dry spell we had after Troika died, mods were welcome, regardless of quality.

That's why you had packs that combined every big mod into the game. Even the one that gave Yoshimo a cringe backstory and Mary Sue girlfriend.

When you have nothing else to play, a little something new goes a long way. If you've never been bored enough to download the Imoen romance mod, or read through the text walls someone gave Irenicus in the mod that made him playable, you've never known true boredom.

 

[Elwro]

UB is fine, you can safely install it!

 

[NecroLord]

Stick to mods that fix or properly enhance the game and make it more in line with its original pen and paper variant.
Avoid the mods that add "content"...
It is of atrocious quality.
Fixpack, Tweaks Anthology, aTweaks, PnP Celestials - this is the stuff you want.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Playing POE for the first time, I feel bored (and furiously disgusted by the idiotic backer NPCs senslessly loitering around every corner) after two hours in, so I decided to replay BG1, the original one not the Beamdog EE disgrace.
I installed the GOG-version made it run without graphical errors by the virtues of dgVoodoo and now I'm pondering about mods...
I thought about installing:

- Unfinished Business (16.4)
- Dark Side of the Sword Coast (1.04)
- Dark Horizons (2.10)
- Grey Clan (1.9)

Would this work or will I be in for a clusterfuck of glitches, errors and gamebreaking bugs with this combination?

edit: and what about that lvl 40 rule set DSotSC comes with? Sounds crazy for BG1, is it recommended?

Aren't DSotSC, Dark Horizons, and Grey Clan total conversion mods? I have extensively modified BG1 & BG2, but of those 3 the only one I tried is Dark Side of the Sword Coast. I remember it being glitchy and not enjoyable.

Unfinished Business is perfectly fine and recommended.

 

[Chippy]

Playing POE for the first time, I feel bored (and furiously disgusted by the idiotic backer NPCs senslessly loitering around every corner) after two hours in, so I decided to replay BG1, the original one not the Beamdog EE disgrace.
I installed the GOG-version made it run without graphical errors by the virtues of dgVoodoo and now I'm pondering about mods...
I thought about installing:

- Unfinished Business (16.4)
- Dark Side of the Sword Coast (1.04)
- Dark Horizons (2.10)
- Grey Clan (1.9)

Would this work or will I be in for a clusterfuck of glitches, errors and gamebreaking bugs with this combination?

edit: and what about that lvl 40 rule set DSotSC comes with? Sounds crazy for BG1, is it recommended?

Aren't DSotSC, Dark Horizons, and Grey Clan total conversion mods? I have extensively modified BG1 & BG2, but of those 3 the only one I tried is Dark Side of the Sword Coast. I remember it being glitchy and not enjoyable.

Unfinished Business is perfectly fine and recommended.

I don't know if 'The Grey Clan' was ever finished, but I did play it and the content wasn't that heavy. It just included a quest and battle or two that didn't really justify the potential clash and total destruction of your game 90% from completion. Which is something Ludwig von Eisenthal might want to consider.

I think Lilura did a review of all of these mods?. I (eventually ) found the link on her site here: https://lilura1.blogspot.com/2021/0...eakpack-SCS-Tutu-EasyTutu-BGT-GateKeeper.html

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

I think Lilura did a review of all of these mods?. I (eventually ) found the link on her site here: https://lilura1.blogspot.com/2021/0...eakpack-SCS-Tutu-EasyTutu-BGT-GateKeeper.html

Yeah, they get praised there, found this too, that's what gave me the idea to throw in all these mods. I only played DSotSC many years ago but also remember it to be quite buggy and unbalanced and had some strange as fuck situations (for example I always wondered why the hell there is a elite squad of overpowered elves loitering around on the map where I could hunt ogres in the original?) but have to admit I did like the shiny stuff and fancy gear it adds to the game. Oh well, I guess I'll go with UB and the purest experience. Thanks for your insights @everybody!

 

[Sensuki]

I play original CD version BG1 with mods. I've only ever installed Dark Side of the Sword Coast twice. Once in the early 2000s and another in the early 2010s. I had it installed with Unfinished Business. There are always a few bugs when I play but usually nothing that reloading a recent save can't fix. Have never used the last two mods though.

Others I have installed are BG1Adventure, BG1 Tweaks, BG1 Mini Quests and Encounters, CoMForge, Sirine's Call, BG1FixPack ... (can't remember install order though, I think I googled it)

 

[luj1]

I play original CD version BG1 with mods. I've only ever installed Dark Side of the Sword Coast twice. Once in the early 2000s and another in the early 2010s. I had it installed with Unfinished Business. There are always a few bugs when I play but usually nothing that reloading a recent save can't fix. Have never used the last two mods though.

Others I have installed are BG1Adventure, BG1 Tweaks, BG1 Mini Quests and Encounters, CoMForge, Sirine's Call, BG1FixPack ... (can't remember install order though, I think I googled it)

wasnt aware there was so many of them

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

If anyone ever needs mod installation order, go to my profile About page. I have it extensively detailed. Its a bit dated, but still correct.

 

[Melcar]

Yeah, the original two BGs have a shitload of mods. Most of them bad, but they can be fun. But it can be easy to break the game or just change it so much that the "vanilla experience" will be gone.

Also keep in mind that the originals had several bugs even with the latest official patches, so at the very least the fixpacks should be used. In fact, if you want the closest to a pure experience I would not install anything other than the fixpacks.

 

[NecroLord]

I know there's a really cool (and potentially deadly) battle added by the Rogue Rebalancing mod with some Chosen of Cyric after you kill Bodhi and emerge from her lair in the Athkatla graveyard...

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

I know there's a really cool (and potentially deadly) battle added by the Rogue Rebalancing mod with some Chosen of Cyric after you kill Bodhi and emerge from her lair in the Athkatla graveyard...

IIRC, it's at the Athkatla gates.

It is cool, but it's also pure autism. The modder claims it's all within the rules, but it's easily one of the hardest fights in the game, even with other mods like SCS.

It may also be kind of redundant, since I think I remember that you fight Cyric's chosen in ToB.

 

[Melcar]

A lot of those mod added fights are autistic shit. Or ones that get "improved" by mods.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

The chosen of Cyric fight is at the gates, but you do have the ability to talk your way out of it for lots of XP. I think it triggers after you defeat Bohdi. If you talk your way out of it, then you will fight them as a pocket plane challenge in ToB. They have pretty good loot, though the player should already have better at that point.

The fight is an ambush, the enemy party nearly equal to the player party. If you are playing with SoA level cap, they're probably stronger. It's a battle on par with any ToB Ascension boss. The best difficulty comparison is the fight with the animated statues on Level 1 of Watcher's Keep or Twisted Rune. Maybe slightly less hard than twisted Rune.

 

[NecroLord]

The best difficulty comparison is the fight with the animated statues on Level 1 of Watcher's Keep

How is that fight as difficult as the Chosen of Cyric?
You mean the Scs version?

 

[d1r]

The chosen of Cyric fight is at the gates, but you do have the ability to talk your way out of it for lots of XP. I think it triggers after you defeat Bohdi. If you talk your way out of it, then you will fight them as a pocket plane challenge in ToB. They have pretty good loot, though the player should already have better at that point.

The fight is an ambush, the enemy party nearly equal to the player party. If you are playing with SoA level cap, they're probably stronger. It's a battle on par with any ToB Ascension boss. The best difficulty comparison is the fight with the animated statues on Level 1 of Watcher's Keep or Twisted Rune. Maybe slightly less hard than twisted Rune.

Never liked that part of the mod, since you were forced into the battle as soon as you leave the Graveyard.

 

[NecroLord]

And you get stripped of ALL buffs...
Fuck that.

 

[octavius]

The chosen of Cyric fight is at the gates, but you do have the ability to talk your way out of it for lots of XP. I think it triggers after you defeat Bohdi. If you talk your way out of it, then you will fight them as a pocket plane challenge in ToB. They have pretty good loot, though the player should already have better at that point.

The fight is an ambush, the enemy party nearly equal to the player party. If you are playing with SoA level cap, they're probably stronger. It's a battle on par with any ToB Ascension boss. The best difficulty comparison is the fight with the animated statues on Level 1 of Watcher's Keep or Twisted Rune. Maybe slightly less hard than twisted Rune.

I'd say it significantly harder than any fight in the vanilla game+SCS.
The Twisted Rune is doable after a few tries when you know the best difficulty, the final Ascencion+SCS I gave up on (sub-optimal party), but the Chosen of Cyric was just ridiculous.
At least that was my experience.