8 replies to this topic

[Lollorian]

I dunno why but when I checked the Data folder, I conspicuously seem to be missing the BG1ARE.bif. It seems to have been present when the install was going on (since the SoA-ToB selection screen mentions that you could play BGI and TotSC, which gets added by BP177 by checking for BG1ARE.bif)

But the file seems to be missing now. And its contents (the are's themselves) have been transferred to one of the many TB####.bifs by the Generalized Biffing mod.

Seeing that the file is used by a large number of mods to check for the presence of BGT, I wonder what does this. Can some mod "unbiff" BG1ARE.bif and then when GenBiff comes along, the contents get rebiffed??

Almost forgot ... My WeiDU.log

Cheers,
Lol

Edited by Lollorian, 26 September 2009 - 12:11 AM.

[Miloch]

Seeing that the file is used by a large number of mods to check for the presence of BGT, I wonder what does this. Can some mod "unbiff" BG1ARE.bif and then when GenBiff comes along, the contents get rebiffed??

I dunno. I wouldn't think so, but might want to ask in the Generalised Biffing forum or thread.

Checking for a particular bif is a rather poor way of checking platform-dependency though. I use a specific file (ar7200.are usually, though a smaller one might be better in retrospect - the smaller the file, the quicker it loads in the check, in theory anyway). None of that would be necessary if GAME_IS recognised BGT properly (maybe it does now, but not last I heard). Though GAME_IS probably does something very similar, but I digress. Where is Darpaek so he can be properly confused by this "WeiDU-speak"?

[Lollorian]

Umm ... Is there a way to find out what happens to it?? I did a string search of all the .DEBUGs and the only references to BG1ARE.bif find the file in the Data\ folder (after searching for it in the CDX folders )

A similar search of all the .tp2's gave me a (rather small) list of mods that check for BG1ARE.bif for BGT:

• Imoen Romance
  
• Mur'Neth
  
• PocketPlane BanterPack
  
• BaldurDash-WeiDU
  
• BGTNeJ
  
• Secret of BoneHill
  
• Check the Bodies
  
• Check the Bodies Chores
  
• Lost items
  
• Shadows of Soubar
  
• The Darkest Day
  
• The Grey Clan: Episode 1
  
• Tortured Souls-BP
  
• BG1NPC Portrait Pack
  
• BW Herbs
  
• Drizzt Saga
  
• Expanded Thief's Stronghold
  
• IEPBanters
  
• TxtMusic
  
• Unique Artifacts
  
• Viconia Friendship
  
• Wild Mage Additions

Cheers,
Lol

Edited by Lollorian, 26 September 2009 - 04:34 AM.

[Mike1072]

Checking for a particular bif is a rather poor way of checking platform-dependency though. I use a specific file (ar7200.are usually, though a smaller one might be better in retrospect - the smaller the file, the quicker it loads in the check, in theory anyway). None of that would be necessary if GAME_IS recognised BGT properly (maybe it does now, but not last I heard). Though GAME_IS probably does something very similar, but I digress. Where is Darpaek so he can be properly confused by this "WeiDU-speak"?

GAME_IS does recognise BGT at this time, and yeah, that's my preferred way of detecting the game environment, too. GAME_IS ~bgt~ will detect a BGT install, as will GAME_IS ~tob~, so if for some reason you wanted something to only be applied on standard BG2 and not BGT, you'd need to combine GAME_IS ~soa tob~ with NOT GAME_IS ~bgt~.

Edited by Mike1072, 26 September 2009 - 11:46 AM.

[Miloch]

Umm ... Is there a way to find out what happens to it??

Dunno, maybe you deleted it by mistake? In theory, you could recopy it from your CDs but who knows what that'd do if someone for some odd reason rebiffed it under a different name.

[Lollorian]

I'm pretty sure I didn't delete it

And you mention copying it from the CDs?? There ain't no BG1ARE.bif in me CDs!!! But, like I said, the .are's are already rebiffed into the TB###.bif's so, I'm not actually missing anything

Cheers,
Lol

[Hoppy]

If you want to try to find out what the BIFF was named to now you can try to open a signature BGT/BG1 area in Near Infinity like AR0015 which is Candlekeep. The CHITIN key, if modified correctly will tell you the location of the file (as in what BIF file in the data falder or if it is in the override folder). The location of where the file is displayed at the bottom of the interface in NI.

The use of the new BIF would be a good reason why mods cannot be added after that BIFFING because the new installation won't find the file(s) needed.

Edited by Hoppy, 26 September 2009 - 10:27 PM.

[Lollorian]

Well, I have a rough theory of what happened, in the back of my head

Afaik, modding any .are file requires them to be present in the override right?? Now, what if there's some mod that mods ALL the BGI are's?? So, in theory, all the .are's should now be in the BGII override ...

Now, GenBiff comes along and rebiffs all the .are's into one of them TB##.bif's ... Well, that explains why my .are's are preserved but it still doesn't explain why the original BG1ARE.bif got deleted

Does some mod check whether a bif's files are all present in the override/another bif and delete the redundant bif??

Cheers,
Lol

[Hoppy]

Does some mod check whether a bif's files are all present in the override/another bif and delete the redundant bif??
Cheers,
Lol

I am not sure as I have not installed a lot of things you do. I am also not savvy with the_Bigg's Generalized BiFFing but from my experience with two other tools I have used, they just take the area/item/creatures/Wav/rules in the override and Biff them into new files like xxare.BIF, xxWAV.BIF and so on. I don't think every BG1 area file would be in the override from a heavy mod installation unless Unique Artifacts or something changes every single area known to man and woman. Seeing is believing I guess so I could be assuming things I shouldn't.

I would think that you would still have some areas in the BG1ARE.BIF but a BIF tool might not check for current BIF files in the data folder but instead make it's own new ones from the files in the override. This is why updating the CHITIN key is necessary and TDD, CTB, Soubar,RoT, BGT, DS/NT and Bonehill all do their own biffing routine and update the .key file.

Don't you guys use some sort of mass delete cleanup program in the BWP nowadays? I would look into the last two things you have done like the Gen. biffing and the cleanup thing (if still used).

Good luck Lol as this sounds very strange to me.