8 replies to this topic

[Ming-Ming]

Hi there, I made sure to RTFM and check the forums for help first before I posted, but I am confused by something.

I am downloading and installing the needed components to play BP-BGT. I had some trouble with the components the last time I tried this way back last year. I kept having miserable issues and failures (some of which I suspect were OS related), and eventually gave up. I have since switched from Win 98 to Win 2K and finally to Win Xp and have decided to give it another go.

I am taking it slow, and want to be extra careful about following the instructions so I can get this right the first try. I've got a perfectly fresh install, and I am downloading the needed components now. But here's where I have hit a snag.

The BGT-weidu Read Me talks about being made with compatibility with the Big Picture in mind. Most of it has been very clear and helpful in determining what files to look for and download. However there is a part that confuses me in regards to the exactt name of the file to install when it comes to the Big Picture.

If you are installing BP-BGT as part of The Big Picture, then install this modification after installing The Darkest Day-WeiDU (TDD-WeiDU), Shadows over Soubar-WeiDU (SoS-WeiDU), Tortured Souls (TS) 6.0 or above, and Never Ending Journey 2 (NeJ2) 2.1b or above, in that order. If you want to install Big Picture (BP) v170, install BGT-WeiDU before this. Note that BP is not required. Please note that BGT-WeiDU will not work with a non-WeiDU The Darkest Day and/or Shadows over Soubar installation. Also, note the nomenclature used, i.e. BP-BGT-WeiDU, refers to this particular installation of The Big Picture only. The old installation of the Big Picture that involves the non-WeiDU version of The Darkest Day and Shadows over Soubar, with WeiDU versions of Tortured Souls v5.04 and Never Ending Journey v1 only, is referred to as BP-BGT or BP-BGT-NeJ (without the WeiDU suffix).

As you can see here, the implication is that a version of BP named BP v170 exists. There is also the mention made of a BP-BGT-Weidu. However when I check the index at http://iegmc.mirror.intermedia.com.sg/ , I find that there are no folders with those names, and in fact the naming convention for this particular series of components has proven to be the most confusing, particularly since the Read Me's don't actually label which components they refer to in their brief comments.

My next thought was that perhaps I was mis-reading the flow of the naming pattern, and that I needed to download from the BP-BGT folder. However the names of the files here seemed even older and not corresponding with the other possible files elsewhere. HEre's waht I found under the BP-BGT index.

[DIR] Parent Directory -
[ ] BP-BGT-File-Checker0..> 600k
[ ] BP-BGTv311.zip 13.5M
[ ] MK1-MK3_1.13-fixes.rar 2.8M
[ ] lost_files.zip 41k
[ ] patch_snares.zip 1k
[TXT] readme.txt 1k

I then went back carefully re-read the BGT-Weidu Read Me a few more times. At another point, mention is made simply of BP by itself, with no other -suffix added to it.

You can just install bits and pieces. BP-BGT-WeiDU is defined as the installation of TDD-WeiDU, SoS-WeiDU, TS, and NeJ2 (and possibly BP as well). Therefore you can install any part of BP-BGT-WeiDU, for example, TDD-WeiDU, then BGT-WeiDU, then TS, and it will work fine. But please note that this is NOT referred to as a BP-BGT-WeiDU installation by definition.


This made me wonder if I was supposed to find what I needed in the Big Picture folder. However this seemed to be the previous version of the Big Picture that I had failed so miserably with so long ago. The contents all seemed very familiar and very piecemeal. Here's what I saw.

[DIR] Parent Directory -
[ ] BP_s_and_h_Patchv6.zip 705k
[ ] BP_s_and_h_Patchv7.zip 725k
[ ] BPv161G-FULL.zip 58.4M
[ ] BigPicture161G_Manua..> 205k
[TXT] readme.txt 1k

The Read Me in this folder didn't even give names for any files the comments were made on. They just sort of flowed in a "stream of conciousness" manner.

By now I was getting frustrated all over again. It seemed that I was so close, as there has been so much more support and help for the modding projects since the days of Forgotten Wars. I didn't want to give up, so I decided to play it patient and just hold off on downloading any more components until someone here might be able to answer what I needed to know to proceed.

Just for reference, assuming I can get past this little confusion, here is a list of the few additions I plan to install and the order I planned to install them in. Does any of it look out of order or wrong?

BP-BGT (assuming I can get past my confusion)
Dark Side of the Sword Coast -Weidu
Northern Side of the Sword Coast
Edwin Romance (already edited the tp2 files)
Mod Resurrections Mods (All)
The BG1 NPC (BGT version)

I decided not to go too wild with too many mods, and these all seemed to be compatible based on their forum info. Does this all look correct in terms of order and compatibility?


Thanks for your help.

[jiaxian]

If u read my topic regarding BP v170, someone answer that there's no such current version exist yet.

[Ming-Ming]

If u read my topic regarding BP v170, someone answer that there's no such current version exist yet.

Hrmm... I didn't see any topics regarding BP 1v0, but I could look again.

However I just had a moment of clarity. I've been so caught up in trying to find all the little puzzle pieces, and acronyms, that I forgot something and I am slapping my forehead right now.

If I figure this correctly, Big Picture was essentially the compilation of The Darkest Day, Shadows Over Soubar, and Neverending Journeys, with a few extra tweaks thrown in for ease of play. Since TDD and SOS are now Weidu mods, and BGT-Weidu was made to work with pretty much any Weidu Mod, I can get pretty much the same experience now just by using BGT-Weidu and running TDD-Weidu and SOS-Weidu. If I can't use Neverending Journeys, I'll be a little sad, but I can at least play now with what I have. Am I correct?

Wow, I can't believe I overlooked the forest for the trees. :-)

Edited by Ming-Ming, 27 August 2005 - 11:53 PM.

[Sir BillyBob]

BP 1.70 is in a closed beta right now. You can get "close" to it by just installing SoS-Weidu, TDD-Weidu, and TS-Weidu. NeJ is not in BGT-BP, but it works with it. BGT-Weidu was made so you can use it with BP 1.70 once 1.70 is available (soon - a few months maybe). If you want all the new versions, then install -

SoS-Weidu
TDD-Weidu
TS-Weidu
BGT-Weidu
NeJ - version 1.13 only, not the newer NeJ2

This is probably not the right order for installing, it is just a list. You will be missing some parts that are only in BP.

If you install the original BGT-BP, the BP part of the install includes installing the older versions of SoS, TDD, and TS. What you will see in either version is almost the same thing. The Weidu versions just make it easier to install. There aren't any major bug fixes in them that aren't already in BGT-BP.

[Ascension64]

Shall we call BP v170 and above BP-WeiDU for absolute clarity?

[seanas]

Shall we call BP v170 and above BP-WeiDU for absolute clarity?

yes.

and make clear, in the interim, that it hasn't been released yet.

[Ming-Ming]

Thank you so much for the help so far, though I think I ran into a snag and have to uninstall and reinstall before I can go ahead with your advice.

I ran the TDD-weidu V1 exe and that went fine. I then ran the TDD Weidu 1to2 patch, and that seemed to run fine as well. However when I moved to the next step and tried to install SOS Weidu, it gave me a Error Messages and I had to end up qutting the installation at that point. Subsequently, I wonder now if after I uninstall and reinstall BG2/SOA/TOB, when I try the weidu exe's again, if I should or should not use the following patches that are included in their folders.

TDD
----> TDD Weidu 1to2 patch

SOS Weidu V102
----> SOS BGT patch

TSv602 (Weidu)
----> SetupTS.tp2 (What do I do with this?)

NeverEndingJourney-weiduv13i
----> NeJ1v14p

I am debating now whether or not I think I can apply any other weidu mod like Ascension and Edwin Romance (with the altered tp2) if I can successfully install just the above four big mods. Thoughts?

But in any case, the big question is does anyone know are those respective patches above supposed to be applied or not?

BP 1.70 is in a closed beta right now.  You can get "close" to it by just installing SoS-Weidu, TDD-Weidu, and TS-Weidu.  NeJ is not in BGT-BP, but it works with it.  BGT-Weidu was made so you can use it with BP 1.70 once 1.70 is available (soon - a few months maybe).  If you want all the new versions, then install -

SoS-Weidu
TDD-Weidu
TS-Weidu
BGT-Weidu
NeJ - version 1.13 only, not the newer NeJ2

This is probably not the right order for installing, it is just a list.  You will be missing some parts that are only in BP.

If you install the original BGT-BP, the BP part of the install includes installing the older versions of SoS, TDD, and TS.  What you will see in either version is almost the same thing.  The Weidu versions just make it easier to install.  There aren't any major bug fixes in them that aren't already in BGT-BP.

[Ascension64]

I ran the TDD-weidu V1 exe and that went fine.  I then ran the TDD Weidu 1to2 patch, and that seemed to run fine as well.  However when I moved to the next step and tried to install SOS Weidu, it gave me a Error Messages and I had to end up qutting the installation at that point.  Subsequently, I wonder now if after I uninstall and reinstall BG2/SOA/TOB, when I try the weidu exe's again, if I should or should not use the following patches that are included in their folders.

You will need to install SoS before TDD for the time being - quoting the MAGE_ALL/LONG_BOW error.