a directory of Mega-Installation Guides

For comments and discussion of this topic, go to http://www.shsforums...showtopic=30924

Background
The "Mega-modification" has grown progressively over the years, and several members have tried to write the Mother of All Installation Guides to help players join the gaming fun.

Trouble is, as soon as one guide gained popularity, a new mindset to mega-modification was created thus requiring a new guide.

Even so, all the guides are extremely useful if for no other reason than historical background information -- for example, if you wish to play with older versions of certain mods -- thus the reason for this directory.

This directory lists information about various mega-modification processes, and indicates which guides are best for the different levels of players' experience with both playing Baldur's Gate and installing custom mods.

Always use the guide that most closely matches your comfort level of gaming.

The terms "Mega-Mod", "Mega-Install", "Mega-WeiDU Install", "Mega-modification", "BP-BGT-Weidu", "BGT-BP", "BP-mods" -- all refer to the same process, and will be used inter-changeably:

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A mega-modification install is the installation of any combination of mods that includes at least TWO (2) of Baldur's Gate Trilogy, The Darkest Day, Shadows Over Soubar, Tortured Souls (BP version), Check the Bodies, and Region of Terror, Never Ending Journey, and The Big Picture. As long as your installation contains any two of these mods, it can be referred to as a mega-modification installation regardless of what and how many other mods you have, or intend, to install.

Required reading for players of all levels

Beginner: if you have never installed or played at least one Mega-Mod (even if you have played with a collection of "non"-MegaInstall mods)

EasyTutu by Macready:
Although not technically a "MegaInstall", EasyTutu is one of the most extensively-supported installation processes, with many players and helpers found at several BG-related forums...
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EasyTutu...aims for an easy, professional installation, a stable game play experience, and a complete realization of the enhanced capabilities of the Baldur's Gate 2 engine.

Some of the benefits of EasyTutu:

* EasyTutu installs a stable, mature, extensively tested version of Tutu using a professional quality InstallShield-based setup program. All of the complexities of the Tutu install process are handled for you automatically.
* EasyTutu performs a very clean installation, without leaving behind the hundreds of setup-related files found after a traditional Tutu installation.
* EasyTutu includes a large number of features, bug fixes and add-ons over and above those included with traditional Tutu and Tutufix. Furthermore, EasyTutu exploits the enhanced capabilities of the Baldur's Gate 2 engine (e.g., the organized game journal) much more comprehensively.
* All prerequisites for a stable Tutu installation are enforced at install-time. This makes unexplained game crashes down the road much less likely.
* Your installations of Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 are untouched by the EasyTutu installer. You can still play both of them with EasyTutu installed, and if any Tutu-related problems occur, your original installations are unaffected. Please note that a new installation option ("space saver") is now available which requires less disk space, but which consumes your Baldur's Gate installation during the EasyTutu setup process.

Note that EasyTutu focuses exclusively on gaming within the BG1 world, even though it uses the BG2 engine for gameplay. Once you have finished your Tutu (BG1) game, you can import your character into a BG2 game. See FAQ for more details.

Several important links:
- EasyTutu FAQ
- Tutu Mod Compatibility and Order of Install
- EasyTutu official forum and subforums: EasyTutu uses the BG1Tutu forums for support. Feel free to Read/Search/Post in these forums.

Intermediate: if you have installed and played at least one Mega-Mod

BiG World Project (BWP) by Leonardo Watson with many other contributors:
The most ambitious project to-date, a highly detailed guide to installing as many custom mods as possible, yet with the goal of developing the most stable platform for gaming.
Several important links:
- BWP main thread (on SHS): submit general questions.
- BWP Mod Results: discussions on installation order.
- BWP Improvements: lists and discusses fixes/improvements discovered after each release of a current BWP guide.
- BWP FAQ: To-Be-Determined.
The Standard MegaMod (SMM) Auto-Installation by bigmoshi:
NOTE: Support of SMM by its creator is currently on-hold due to Real Life commitments.
If you are interested in providing such support, please make your intentions known within the SMM threads.
The goal of the SMM package is to help players avoid having to do any testing or bugfixing in order to get a MegaInstall up and running. Includes an auto-download & auto-installation process, a walk-thru of the package, and other numerous documentation.

bigmoshi said:
...It is hoped that such a standard fuss-free installation...will help most mod-newbies just looking for a good time.

Working together with SMM, the Infinity Engine Mod List & Installer (IEMI) allows for the creation of a customized install list (via a XML file) that is used within SMM.

Note that both SMM and IEMI are still under (beta) development.