38 replies to this topic

[tomkaz]

Hi All:

 

For the past 6 months I was away consulting for a radiochemistry lab so I did not get any time to play my mega mod game. When I got back last week, I tried to get it going again but had too many crashes which I attribute to Windows 7.  So I decided to start a new mega mod game using the information in BiG World Project v15.5.

 

I found most of the mods I want.  However, there were a few I could not find and would like help getting those mods.  Here is the list:

 

1)  astScriptPatcher v1.1

2)  Baldur's Gate Trilogy - Music

3)  BG1 Mini Quests and Encounters v11

4)  Animus v1.1

5)  Item Revisions v3 Beta 1.16

6)  Houyi v2.0

7)  Ding0's Quest Pack v3.1

 Victor's Improvements Pack v2.0

9)  IWDification v3 Beta

10)  Ding0's Tweak Pack v22

11)  BP-BGT Worldmap v10.2b3

 

I have older versions of many of these.  However, since BWP lists these, I would like to use the latest hoping they have fewer problems.

 

Any help in locating these mods is greatly appreciated.

 

Tom

[agb1]

Tom, do you know about Big World Setup? It is a tool that automatically downloads and installs whatever mods you want, including these.

https://bitbucket.or.../get/master.zip

Edited by agb1, 24 November 2015 - 05:59 PM.

[agb1]

Even if you don't use BWS for your install, you can have it print all the download links for you.

More info here (section 3 of the FAQ):

http://www.shsforums...r-the-megamods/

Edited by agb1, 24 November 2015 - 06:04 PM.

[agb1]

If you do use BWS, you can avoid re-downloading the mods you already have by putting them in the BigWorldSetup/BigWorldDownloads folder after you unpack the zip linked above.

[tomkaz]

Thanks agb1.

 

I tried BWS a long time ago and was not comfortable with it.  I know BWP and I can edit the files to get what I like.  So I have stuck with it.  Us old folks do not like change very much.

 

But I will try it again.  I will follow your advice.  At least I will use it to get the mods.

 

Tom

[agb1]

Good luck!  Please let me know if you need any help.  I also would appreciate your suggestions on how BWS can be improved so you would be more comfortable with it.

[tomkaz]

Hi agb1:

 

Thanks for the comments.  I need to play with BWS a few more times to see all that it can do.

 

I tried using BWS.  I do not think it meets my needs.  I planned to use about 250 mods in my game.  BWS downloaded about 70 mods.   I did not know how to use BWS to get the remaining mods downloaded.

 

With my mega mod game, I do a lot of editing to the mods to remove components I do not like.  I also edit a few tp2 files to remove more components.  I terminated BWS after the downloads were finished so I do not know if I can edit with BWS.

 

I will read more about BWS, but right now it looks like BWP will better suit my needs.

 

However, BWS was useful.  I got one mod I did not have and I found four mods which were newer versions of the ones I had.

 

Thanks again,

 

Tom

[agb1]

Do you have a list of the 250 mods?  I am curious which ones are missing from BWS.

 

With BWS, you can choose which components you want from each mod.  You can also pause after all downloads, and pause after extraction, and pause before any mod you want (just right-click the mod on the "choose mods and components" selection window).  For example, you can pause and then replace tp2 files or make other changes before starting or continuing the automated installation process.

[The Imp]

I tried using BWS.  I do not think it meets my needs.  I planned to use about 250 mods in my game.  BWS downloaded about 70 mods.   I did not know how to use BWS to get the remaining mods downloaded.

You have to get used to the interface... you probably selected the wrong form of the install. This is from the begining, so you probably have to restore the backup the tool made. And this is from a bit ago, but it should be quite correct.

 

Select the English language, then it allows you to select the game form in the next page, you should take the BiG World Project (full customization), or something close to that.

Then in the next page or so, it allows you to select a game composition, just select one, as it then allows you to select the full customization right next to the composition selection selection box.

This should open up the individual mod selection window, that you probably have been searching for.

After you have selected all the mods you wish, it will go to the mod conflict screen and so forth, to downloads and finally to installs etc.

Edited by The Imp, 26 November 2015 - 04:17 AM.

[tomkaz]

Thank you agb1 and The Imp. I will keep on trying to get familiar with BWS.

 

In the mean time, I found some other mods.  I did some more searching using Yahoo.  I was using Google, but I never have trusted Google as I believe they only show you sights that pay.  I have narrowed my list to the following: 

 

1)  Baldur's Gate Trilogy - Music

2)  Animus v1.1

3)  Item Revisions v3 Beta 1.16

4)  Houyi v2.0

5)  Victor's Improvements Pack v2.0

6)  IWDification v3 Beta

7)  BP-BGT Worldmap v10.2b3

 

Tom

 

 

 

[The Imp]

1)  Baldur's Gate Trilogy - Music

I think I told you already that this is in the BGT-weidu's folders, and it's in the game folder after you install the BGT-weidu's only component. Just like the setup-GUI.exe will be there...

The IWDification is here.

[tomkaz]

Hi agb1 and The Imp:

 

To the Imp.  At my age, you forget a lot.  I should have remembered that about the "MUSIC".  Perhaps it would be beneficial for Leonardo to put a comment about the mods that are inside other mods and the mods that are in BiG World Fixpack.  Thanks for the URL for IWDification.  I knew I saw it somewhere, but my searches did not find it.

 

To agb1.  I have attached a list of the mods I plan to use for my next mega-mod game.  The file is File List.doc .  (This program would not let me attach File List.wpd which I prefer.) My estimate is that about ten of those mods will not end up in my game.  I will base my final choices on comments in BiG World Project v15.5 and in the Readme files in the mods.

Attached Files

•  File List.doc   47K   540 downloads

[agb1]

Tom

 

We have taken the comments from BWP 15.5 and used them in BWS to create rules about which components should be installed first and which components should not be installed with other components (conflicts).

 

BWS has links for all of the mods in your file list, I believe.  Also, some of the mods on your list have conflicts with other mods on your list, or have known problems that could break your game.  We call mods with known problems "expert" mods in BWS and color their names in red so you can recognize them.  Sometimes the problems are not the fault of the mod alone, but the way that the mod is written causes it to break other mods.  So until those mods are updated, we do not recommend using them.  Some mods on your list that we consider expert:  Zyraen's Miscellaneous Mods, Semi-Multi-Clerics, Big Picture (yes, even with the latest version, unfortunately).

 

I encourage you to try using BWS to select your mods, following the instructions that Imp provided above.  BWS will warn you about the conflicts and the mods that have known problems.  If you want to try expert mods (like Big Picture), you can do that too, just expect to have problems.  If you report your problems here on the forum, we will try to help.

[tomkaz]

Hi agb1:

 

I have not given up on BWS.  I believe I will need to use it a few more times until I get the direction that each option takes me.  I have better luck with help files, instructions, details, etc. that are very specific in the result of the action.

 

I will search out BWS instructions to find out how to use the program.  I will reread the BWP instructions and BWP appendix to find more conflicts that can spoil the game.  I will add my successes and failures to this post.  My guess it will take me a week or so to get a full understanding of BWS.

 

Sometimes I miss the obvious.  For example: There are icons on the right side of the page in BWP.  There must be an explanation of there meaning, but I still have not found those explanations.  I am sure they are warnings of problems.

 

I have several computers, two which have Windows 7 Professional.  I may try BWS on one and BWP on the other.  My main objective is to get as many of the mods on my list installed with little or no problems.  My first try with BWS downloaded ~70 mods.  Many of the BWS downloads were NPC mods which you may have noticed from my list I do not include in my mega mod game.  I suggest BWS provide a list of all the mods it can download.  I assume BWS has this feature but I did not notice it.  Also it would be good to give it a list and have BWS only download those files to save time.  I also assume this is in BWS, but I also missed that feature.  So off I go searching.

 

Tom

 

Tom

[agb1]

Tom

When you start BWS for the first time, it asks you what type of game you want to modify (example: BGT, BG1, BG2. The next time you start BWS, it skips that question because it remembers your previous answer. But in the lower left corner you will see a "Back" button. Go back and make sure that in the menu your game type is BGT. Then go to the next screen (bottom right corner button).

You should now see in the upper left part of the screen some text boxes with paths to your BG1 and BG2 game folders. Below that you should see a selection menu and a button to "choose mods and components." Scroll the menu to "BWS Recommended" and click that button.

You should now see a new window with a list of themes like "General" and "Corrections" and "BG2 Rules and Tweaks and Spells". If you click on the square icon next to any of these themes, BWS will show a list of mods that fit that theme. Then you can click the square icon next to a particular mod to see the components of the mod. Now you can click on the square checkbox for each component to enable or disable it.

When you are satisfied with your selections, you can use the menu at the top of the window to export your selections to a file so you can get them back easily in the future. BWS will automatically remember your most recent selection if you close and reopen the program, but it is a good idea to export your selections to a file because if you pick a different pre-selection from the menu on the main screen (where you were before, with the path to BG folder), it will forget all of your manual selections.

Once you are satisfied, click the next button on the lower right to save your choices and go back to the main screen again. BWS will check if any of the mods or components you selected are in conflict with others or are missing dependencies, and if yes, you will be shown a list of problems and asked what you want to do. You can right-click on each of the problematic components to choose a solution (for example, "remove this component").

Finally, you are back at the main screen and BWS knows what mods and components you want to install. Now click "next" again on the bottom right, to proceed to the installation settings page.

On the installation settings page, you can tell BWS what to do at each step of the automated process: download, extract, install. The questions that BWS is asking here are: do you want to pause after each step, and what do you want BWS to do if there are problems?

Now you can click "next" again to start the automated process (beginning with the first step, download all selected mods).

[agb1]

@Imp maybe my written tutorial above and the video link can be added to the FAQ?

[The Imp]

@Imp maybe my written tutorial above and the video link can be added to the FAQ?

Unfortunately that won't happen. Hah, I would if I could, but the old account I had is no longer in my control, and even if it were, I couldn't edit the posts. See the thread is locked. I have had a plans to remake the whole thread, and remaster it, but it needs a lot of work. I won't promise a thing... but the EET is coming out in a "couple of years" and then perhaps.

 

Here's a bit shorter tutorial on the use of the BWS.

[tomkaz]

Hi ALIEN, agb1, and The IMP.

 

Great tutorials.  Now BWS looks a lot easier than I thought it was.  So I will set the games up and try to load a mega-mod game.

 

My planned layout is:

 

C://Black Isle/ Baldur's Gate

                    / BGII - SoA

                    / Mod Files 

 

Questions:

 

Does the latest version of BWS have all the mods that are in BiG World Project v15.5?

 

If a mod I already have is a newer version than the version in BWS, will I have a problem?

 

In the above scheme, to which folder do I download and run BWS?

 

Thanks for all the help:

 

Tom

[agb1]

Does the latest version of BWS have all the mods that are in BiG World Project v15.5?

Yes, BWS should have all of the BWP mods.

 

If a mod I already have is a newer version than the version in BWS, will I have a problem?

BWS looks for existing copies (of the mods you selected) in the "BiG World Downloads" folder before going out to get them from the Internet.  BWS has an expected file size for each mod, and if it doesn't match, it will ask you to confirm it.  If you want to use a newer version than what BWS knows about, you have three options:

 

1) Set BWS to "download-pause" (so it pauses after all downloads but before doing any extractions) and then replace the downloaded mod archives (zip, 7z, etc) with the newer one you want to use

2) Set BWS to "extract-pause" (so it pauses after extracting the mods but before running the setup-???.exe installers) and unpack the newer versions you want to use manually, overwriting the setup-???.exe and mod folder

3) Tell us about the newer mod and ask us to update BWS for you!

 

BWS should be pretty up-to-date.  When we don't use the latest version, it is sometimes because there is a problem with the latest version.  Just ask.

 

In the above scheme, to which folder do I download and run BWS?

You can put BWS anywhere.  It doesn't matter.  When you run it, it will ask you where you installed the game.

 

BWS is being updated regularly, so it's a good idea to download the latest copy of BWS when you start a new installation.  https://bitbucket.or.../get/master.zip

 

In the BWS package, there are sub-folders called BiG World Setup and BiG World Downloads.  By default any mods that BWS downloads go to that BiG World Downloads folder.  On the main screen where you set the paths to your game folders, just below that you can also set the path to the download folder.  I move the BiG World Downloads folder outside of the BWS package so I can keep the same path when I download new versions of BWS.

[The Imp]

BWS looks for existing copies (of the mods you selected) in the "BiG World Downloads" folder before going out to get them from the Internet.

Actually the folder name doesn't need to be that exact, so tomkaz can set the "Mod Files" to be the folders actual name. So his setup is almost done. Just by running and selecting the correct folders.