11 replies to this topic

[i30817]

Speaking of which, would it take too much work to do the same to npcs that were dropped from the party?

[Jarno Mikkola]

1. If I imported a BG1 char into BG2 I would get to pick a kit if wanted. Is this the case in BGT? I.e. if I pick a fighter and then transition to Amn, will I be able to pick a Kensai or any other kit or am I stuck as a fighter?

What Fab says is correct in the fact that you can't select the Kit in BGT after the start, but if you have a BG1 save game, you can import that character from it to the BGT and select the kit, of course then you won't have any progression done in the game, but you have the option to start a BG2 game in BGT too.

Speaking of which, would it take too much work to do the same to npcs that were dropped from the party?

I would say yes...
But would it take way too much of a work to do this to an NPC I request specifically, if I drop him at a set location, if I would never want to see their ugly pale skin on this side of the Cloudpeek mountains ?
That might be doable. Alike the "return to tavern" tweaks some mods have... I can't do that, but some one else could, as it requires .baf/bcs commands I have never used... as the character needs to be converted to the BG2 character, and by that I mean it needs to have the BG2 dialogs assigned to the creature, the older creature in BG2 portion needs to be replaced by the new etc.

[Dakk]

Speaking of which, would it take too much work to do the same to npcs that were dropped from the party?

That would indeed be awesome.

[Azazello]

Speaking of which, would it take too much work to do the same to npcs that were dropped from the party?

I would say yes...
But would it take way too much of a work to do this to an NPC I request specifically, if I drop him at a set location, if I would never want to see their ugly pale skin on this side of the Cloudpeek mountains ?
That might be doable. Alike the "return to tavern" tweaks some mods have... I can't do that, but some one else could, as it requires .baf/bcs commands I have never used... as the character needs to be converted to the BG2 character, and by that I mean it needs to have the BG2 dialogs assigned to the creature, the older creature in BG2 portion needs to be replaced by the new etc.

It's not alot of work -- it's already mostly done by BGT Tweaks, Import more NPCs into Shadow of Amn component.

 

It involves

- adjusting and following the same logic/scripting of the component's BAF/BCS for the transition script (sorry, I forget it's name right now), to ensure that NPCs-not-in-the-party keep their (XP, proficiency points, class...even equipment, if you wish).

- adjusting the BG2 Area scripts, where these NPCs will appear in BG2, similar to the same component.

 

I've done it in the past, it worked simply and completely.

 

The reason this isn't already included in the component is...a...design choice...by A64. I even recommended it but he didn't want to include it, at least not during those early days of BGT development, so I had to respect his decision.

 

But nothing stopping us from making our own custom changes.

 

He might even be willing to revisit the idea, especially if we coded up the changes...

 

The only gotcha is to ensure these changes won't interfere with other BG2 NPC mods, e.g. Shar-teel by NeJ.

 

I have the modifications from a previous install, but I can guarantee how quickly I can provide them. If I see alot of interest in this thread for it, it'll motivate me more to get my ass in-gear.

[Dakk]

 

Just so we're talking about the same thing here:

Right now, if I understand correctly the transition works like this:

For BG1 characters that appear in BG2

1. A) I play without Jaheira, and transition without her - she'll appear in BG2 with BG2 default XP and default class/kit.

    B) I play without Jaheira, (but pick her up just before transition) and transition with her - she'll appear in BG2 with end game BG1 XP (a pitiful amount) and class/kit.
 

2. A) I play with Jaheira, (but dump her midgame) and transition without her - she'll appear in BG2 with BG2 default XP and default class/kit.

    B) I play with Jaheira, and transition with her - she'll appear in BG2 with end game BG1 XP and class/kit.

 

For BG1 characters that doesn't appear in BG1

1. a) I play without Shar-Teel, and transition without her - she won't appear in BG2.

    b) I play without Shar-Teel, (but pick her up just before transition) and transition with her - she'll appear in BG2 with end game BG1 XP (a pitiful amount) and class/kit.
 

2. a) I play with Shar-Teel, (but dump her midgame) and transition without her - she won't appear in BG2.

    b) I play with Shar-Teel, and transition with her - she'll appear in BG2 with end game BG1 XP and class/kit.

 

Also, apart from XP and class or kit, neither proficiencies nor stats (from books) carry over on a non-transitioned character.

 

So my pet peeve is with 2A; I'd like the NPC to have the same XP, stats and all in BG2 as when I left him/her in BG1. The current behaviour also means that if I play the game with Viconia and ratchet up say 10M XP on her as well as +1WIS but then switch her out for Jaheira before transition, Viconia would not only have default WIS but actually have less XP (compared to BG1) when I meet her in BG2, right?

 

Is this what you're proposing to change, or have I wildly misunderstood?

Edited by Dakk, 04 March 2013 - 08:57 AM.

[Azazello]

I think you're right. We can confirm the specifics on how BGT & the component works by looking at the scripts; I don't think they've changed much, but let's leave a detailed review til later.

 

For now- Simply, just as you said, and I agree-- the NPCs should carry over whatever stats (and possibly equipment) they gained in BG1 into BG2. And that can be done fairly easily.

 

There are a few exceptions depends on which other mods are installed; e.g. Shar-teel can be gained in BG2 if using TDD (and NeJ?), so scripting should take that into account.

 

I like recruiting the BG1 NPCs in BG2, just to see how they fit into BG2. So I'ld love to see expanded options for their transition.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Wait a minute... does that mean that BG1 NPC's that naturally don't belong in BG2 can be brought with you in the transition? I was under the impression that if the NPC (like Dynaheir for example) wasn't in BG2, then they won't transition over.

Well, that depends on the NPC, Khalid and Dynaheir are dead at the BG2's start dungeon, so they can't be brought over, well there's a mod that brings her too to BG2, but I have no specifics on that mod. But the BGT Tweaks mod adds a lot of the other NPCs to the BG2 game, and they all can be brought as they are in the group. The NPCs are mostly silent, but some are not. And yes, if the BG1_in_BG2 NPC mod was started or at least updated after the BGT-weidu hit say v1.05b, there's a high chance that they will use their BG1 character as is at the transition spot in the BG2, but no, they won't start at the BG2 SoA Dungeon, they will be at their traditional BG2 starting spots, so Edwin will be at the Thief stronghold etc, but his stats and class etc are the same as in the BG1 portion.