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What build would you advise to hook a new player to BG?


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#1 Creepin

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Posted 24 September 2015 - 06:50 AM

So, I know a person who, while being semi-decent CRPGer (Morrowind, Gothic, Divinity), haven't played Infinity Engine games yet. Naturally I went on about how great and mighty BG is, but when asked "ok, what exactly should I play?" I've got somewhat stuck, and would like to hear your advice.

The options, as I see it, are:
1. Vanilla BG1
2. TuTu
3. BGT
4. BG1EE

 

Below is what I reckon so far, for the sake of discussion, but the main reason of this post is to ask what would you choose as a platform for a new player to get acquainted with BG, and why?

Spoiler


Edited by Creepin, 24 September 2015 - 07:16 AM.

The Old Gold - v0.2 WIP (mod for BGT/BWP/BWS)


#2 Roxanne

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Posted 24 September 2015 - 08:05 AM

So, I know a person who, while being semi-decent CRPGer (Morrowind, Gothic, Divinity), haven't played Infinity Engine games yet. Naturally I went on about how great and mighty BG is, but when asked "ok, what exactly should I play?" I've got somewhat stuck, and would like to hear your advice.

The options, as I see it, are:
1. Vanilla BG1
2. TuTu
3. BGT
4. BG1EE

 

Below is what I reckon so far, for the sake of discussion, but the main reason of this post is to ask what would you choose as a platform for a new player to get acquainted with BG, and why?

Spoiler

The thing that hooked me to the game was the lively interaction of characters and the sheer endless possibilities to explore the Sword Coast (long before I ever set a foot into Amn). For me this experience happened when I did my first lean installation of BGT with the essential BG1 mods in it.

So for me both vanilla BG1 and BGEE (this is more for those who know the game already and want a modernised outfit) are excluded here.

I cannot say a word about Tutu, I never saw a reason to explore it.

That leaves BGT - it has the BG2 engine which is fine, it allows you to add mods according to your liking (for me, it is the mods that keep the game alive for such a long time). I would concentrate on a BGT standard installation (as defined by BWP) with the BG1 megamods, BG1NPC, UB and some selected NPC mods, leave out any tactical/spell/item tweak etc mods. Leave out most of the BG2/ToB stuff to avoid installation errors and reduce size and installation time, If you really like the game after the BG1 part you can anytime go for a larger installation afterwards.


The Sandrah Saga

another piece of *buggy, cheesy, unbalanced junk*

 


#3 The Imp

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Posted 24 September 2015 - 09:06 AM

but IIRC widescreen mod don't support vanilla, and I’m not sure whether BG2Fixpack supports it as well. If it doesn’t,
The Widescreen mod actually does support the vanilla BG1 if you have the Tales of the Sword Coast addition and use the latest patch and the international DX8 patched bgmain2.exe to run the game, I can link to that later ... in most parts. You need to keep the screen size at 1280x800 max if you wish to have an interface that doesn't have black in it, and install TWM + GUI mod after the Widescreen mod.
The BG2 Fixpack is only for BG2, and to the eventual BGT-weidu games, as you need to install it before the BGT. And the BGT has a variaty of BG1Fixpacks rolled inside itself, in variable ways, as the mod had dozens and dozens of updates along the years.

Yep, Jarno Mikkola. my Mega Mod FAQ. Use of the BWS, and how to use it(scroll down that post a bit). 
OK, desert dweller, welcome to the sanity, you are free to search for the limit, it's out there, we drew it in the sand. Ouh, actually it was still snow then.. but anyways.


#4 Creepin

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Posted 25 September 2015 - 03:17 AM

Roxanne, you are great example of a new player hooked to BG in the right way, so I’ll take your approach, especially seeing as I was biased towards same option myself. I’ll keep additional content minimal though, throwing in only UB, because it’s a restoration, and Bg1NPC, because it rocks! And may be Finch, just because :)

 

The Imp, thanks for the great explanation and links – I won’t use vanilla for a new player, but I sure will use your data assembling vanilla for my own play next time!


The Old Gold - v0.2 WIP (mod for BGT/BWP/BWS)


#5 Roxanne

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Posted 25 September 2015 - 03:42 AM

Roxanne, you are great example of a new player hooked to BG in the right way, so I’ll take your approach, especially seeing as I was biased towards same option myself. I’ll keep additional content minimal though, throwing in only UB, because it’s a restoration, and Bg1NPC, because it rocks! And may be Finch, just because :)

I think this is the best choice - you can go through the original thread without too much deviation by the large mods but still have the extra grain of salt from BG1NPC banters/romances/small quests. Finch is also  a good choice in that context, Have fun.

The Imp, thanks for the great explanation and links – I won’t use vanilla for a new player, but I sure will use your data assembling vanilla for my own play next time!

The Sandrah Saga

another piece of *buggy, cheesy, unbalanced junk*

 


#6 The Imp

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Posted 25 September 2015 - 04:06 AM

I won’t use vanilla for a new player, but I sure will use your data assembling vanilla for my own play next time!

Yeah, the original game isn't the exact ease of use example I would give either, as it's far out of date, kind of.

Here's just a DX8 fix link, which is just the bgmain2.exe packaged in an auto extraction .exe, so if you have the very original BG1 game with 5CD's + the expansion CD, you need the TotSC patch installed before that too, the 3CD/DVD version releases already have that in them.

 

By the by, you actually have one more option, it's the eventual EET release, which is the BG1EE in version v1.4 + BG:SotD + BG2EE in version 1.4 combination... of course the Siege of the Dragonspear, not the v1.4 of the other EE games are not available yet, but you have the option toi use the EET base that uses the BG1EE v1.3+ BG2EE v1.3 as one game. The EET is not officially released due to the Siege of the Dragonspear not being released yet. But it will come eventually and so will the EET.

Of course you might have to take in the consideration the facts of what games you and your friend have and I'll leave this at that.


Edited by The Imp, 25 September 2015 - 04:34 AM.

Yep, Jarno Mikkola. my Mega Mod FAQ. Use of the BWS, and how to use it(scroll down that post a bit). 
OK, desert dweller, welcome to the sanity, you are free to search for the limit, it's out there, we drew it in the sand. Ouh, actually it was still snow then.. but anyways.