38 replies to this topic

[tomkaz]

Hi All:

 

OOPS!  Using Windows 7 on an iMAC.  Accidentally deleted some Windows 7 files and crashed Windows.  Then discovered the new Bootcamp files contained an error which prevents Windows 7 from installing.  Got the fix from the Internet.  Now reinstalling Windows 7.  Wasted eight hours with the problem in the Applessd.sys file.  Expect it will take about 3 days to reinstall all the files I had in Windows 7.

 

However, I will use BWS to install my mega-mod game when Windows is back.

 

Tom

[agb1]

Ouch. Good luck with your reinstall.

[tomkaz]

Hi All:

 

This is for those with Apple computers (as I just spent seven hours with Apple Care getting Windows 7 installed).  I just found out that Apple has instructions on how to load a variety of Windows systems on to their computers using Boot Camp.  You can load any version from Windows XP SP2 to Windows 8.1.  You need to search Apple for the document that contains the instructions.  Sorry I do not know the URL as Apple loaded it on to my computer for me.  I just cannot locate it now.

 

You need the proper version of Boot Camp, a valid copy of Windows, and a USB 2 flash drive with only one partition (usually those with up to 8 GB qualify).  Load the Boot Camp files to the flash drive.  Then with the flash drive installed in your computer, use the Boot Camp program to install Windows.  Copying the files to the flash drive and installing Windows both took about an hour each.

 

For Baldur' Gate games, I recommend using Windows 7 Professional 64 bit.  For Windows 78, use Boot Camp v5.1.5640.

 

Tom

Edited by tomkaz, 29 November 2015 - 06:10 AM.

[tomkaz]

Hi All:

 

Computer is fixed.  BG games installed.  Using BWS to install mega-mod game.

 

Here is my log of my first BWS attempt:

 

BWS Installation

 

1)  Google was not happy with me downloading this file because Google said it was not frequently downloaded.

 

2)  Downloaded version:  BiGWorldSetup-bigworldsetup-32384ea17797.zip

 

3)  Computer setup: 

Game: C:\Black Isle\BGT Game\Baldur's Gate\

C:\Black Isle\BGT Game\BGII - SoA\

Mods: C:\Black Isle\BGT Files\

BWS: C:\Black Isle\BWS\

 

4) a)  All BG, TotSC, BGII - SoA, and TOB patches installed.

b)  BG Missing files added to Overide folder.

c)  Baldur.ini edited.

d)  7-Zip backups of Baldur's Gate and BGII - SoA  made before using BWS.

e)  Anti-Virus turned off.

f)   UAC turned off.

g)  Compatibility Assitant turned off.  

 

5)  Do not know how to open README.me file.  Perhaps it will open later.

 

6)  Ran BiG World Setup.vbs

a)  Page 1 set up  English language.

b)  Had no idea which game to setup.  It was obvious not to use Classic

    Adventures, Icewind Dale, Planescape, Baldur's Gate Enhanced Editions.

    I picked Baldur's Gate 2 / Baldur's Gate Trilogy (BWP) Customization.

 

7)   Directories:

Baldur's Gate: C:\Black Isle\BGT Game\Baldur's Gate\

Baldur's Gate II: C:\Black Isle\BGT Game\BGII - SoA\

Downloads: C:\Black Isle\BGT Files\

 

 Customization:

Translations: EN

Preselection of Mods: BWS "Tactical"

 

9)  Backup made.  Backup was created successfully.

 

10)  Test made.  Now I am lost.  It shows a lot of mods are missing, but I know many are there.

 

 

Who gets the missing files?

I want to edit some *.TP2 files.  This will change the file size.  Will BWS work with these edited files?

 

At a lost on how to proceed.

 

Attached is the BWS report on the files I have for the game.  If I have files that are a later version, how do I tell BWS it is OK to use them?

 

Thanks for any advice and help:

 

Tom  BWS Report of Files.txt   38.23K   335 downloads

[The Imp]

Use:

Baldur's Gate Trilogy (BWP) Customization.

.. or you might be old, so I'll point the most important part:Customization.

The BWS doesn't like customized .tp2 files, that's why the files are missing, they use digital file size signatures, you should either make your own mods out of the edited .tp2 files and not install the non custom versions, and then after the BWS has installed the regular mods, install yours .. or just use the regular components and get used to them.

Edited by The Imp, 03 December 2015 - 08:53 AM.

[agb1]

You can configure BWS to pause after "extraction" and then place your modified TP2 files at that time. Then unpause BWS to handle the installation for you.

[tomkaz]

Hi The Imp:

 

Not might be, I am OLD!  I would not be surprised if I were the oldest one here.  I have already retired from two jobs.  But I still love playing Baldur's Gate.  Being retired, gives me lots of time to play.  I also appreciate the help I get from all you younger members.

 

My first computer was an Apple ][+.  48K Ram, Apple DOS, no hard drives only 51/4 floppies.  But lots of fun.

 

Oh well back to trying to install my mega-mod game.

[tomkaz]

Hi All:

 

Success!  The game is loaded.  Most of BWS worked well.  It took about 8 hours to complete including getting all the mods downloaded.  There also were a few pauses for my input, but nothing significant.

 

There are a few areas where it could be more linear, but all in all it was a very good experience.  There could be a few more additional instructions on the pages, but if you look at the choices, you can reason out the options.  If you make a poor choice, you can usually go back and fix it.

 

I do need to dump this game and start all over.  No problem with BWS.  I just forgot to delete Masterwork items.  I hate that component.  I saved my edits, so I think I should be able to recover that page and remove Masterwork items easily.

 

Thanks for all the information about BWS and all the help with getting familiar with it.

 

Tom

[agb1]

Glad it worked for you, Tom!  Do you have any specific suggestions for improvement?  If you remember which mods paused for your input, we can program BWS to give those answers automatically next time.

[tomkaz]

Hi agb1:

 

For Jarl's BGT Adventure Pack, the name is RED, but the check boxes are BLUE.  So, is this an expert mod?  Is this a stable mod? Or, is it both a stable, expert mod?

 

When the mod name is YELLOW, what does that mean?

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Tom

[agb1]

If the mod name is red, it is an expert mod. The mod's description should explain what the known problems are. Jarl's mods overwrite items and replace original creatures, so it hides changes from other mods, making it very incompatible.

If the mod's name is yellow, it is a tactical mod. We are debating if this is a useful classification or not. The idea of it is: a tactical mod's primary purpose is to add difficult (tactical) encounters. So if you see a yellow mod, it is a caution that it might make your game much more difficult.

[tomkaz]

Hi All:

 

I did my second install.  One error cause by me pressing the wrong key at the right time.  In some places, like where you fix conflicts, I could not find a way to go back.  Would like to see an "Are you sure you want to do this?" option. Now I will try to do a fresh install as I need to change my resolution.  27" screen with high resolution means you get very small creatures.

 

One major problem.  I was asked if I wanted to do something with the mod files I was not using.  I chose to MOVE them.  Well I cannot find the folder that contains the moved mod files.  I lost about 260 files that I would like to get back.  Will someone please tell me where they are.

 

Thanks fo any help,

 

Tom

[tomkaz]

Hi All:

 

I found my missing files.  They are in c:\Black Isle\BWS\BigWorldSetup-bigworldsetup-32384ea17797\Big World Setup\Config\Global

 

The problem is they are all *.ini files.  How do I get them back to their original format?

 

Tom

[agb1]

The ini files are used by BWS to find the files and present them in the tool.

The actual files you 'm'oved went to a folder called BiG World Downloads-YYMMDD.

[tomkaz]

Hi agb1:

 

The good news is that the game is loading and without any errors.  With the help of BWS, I was able to get all the mods I needed.  It took me two hours to set the files and components I wanted in the game using BWS.  It took BWS about three hours to use that information to make the game. Not bad as I used  241 mods in my mega mod game.

 

Now the bad news is that I checked all the folders.  No mod files in any folder.  I do have a folder named "BiG World Downloads" without the date.  It was empty.  I never found a folder named BiG World Downloads-YYMMDD in my game section.  All the BWS folders and files are in a folder named C:/Black Isle/BWS/.  I moved the BigWorldSetup-bigworldsetup-0d73fc4d29f1.zip file to that folder and extracted all the files there.  I will search my computer again when the load finishes.

 

Tom

Edited by tomkaz, 06 December 2015 - 04:08 PM.

[agb1]

To be clear, YYMMDD is the date when you moved the files. If it is missing then something went wrong in BWS and you will have to download the mods again. I am thinking that maybe we should remove that feature anyway -- you can always manually clean out old versions of mods from your download folder, you do not need BWS to do it for you.

[The Imp]

Downloads: C:\Black Isle\BGT Files\

 

All the BWS folders and files are in a folder named C:/Black Isle/BWS/.  I moved the BigWorldSetup-bigworldsetup-0d73fc4d29f1.zip file to that folder and extracted all the files there.  I will search my computer again when the load finishes.

Maybe it's in C:\Black Isle\BGT Files\BWS\BiG World Downloads-151205\

[tomkaz]

Hi The Imp and agb1:

 

Well this should be my last post for awhile.  Why?  Well all is working now.  I got all the mods I wanted.  One was difficult for me to find, but BWS gave me the URL and the download worked.  The installation worked.  Took about 5 hours from the time I opened BWS to the time I could start the game.  BWS gave lots of information about mod and component conflicts which really helped make a "working" game.   That information was also in BWP, but it was much easier to have BWS show me the conflicts than for me to read the information and decide what was best for my game.

 

I have played a bit last night.  I noticed that the game plays better than my previous BWP installs.  Missing colorful parts, non-game, are back.  That makes the game more entertaining.

 

Thanks again for all your help.  I could not have done this alone.

 

Tom

Edited by tomkaz, 07 December 2015 - 05:59 AM.

[Lollorian]

Nice! Do report stuff you find along the way