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#1 James M

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Posted 05 February 2017 - 08:51 PM

Dear Lava,
Thank-you for the fabulous mods! I love the beautiful and interesting areas, the music, the voicing, the writing and the story lines! That's exactly what I look for in a mod! And they fit into the BG2 world so well!
I love smaller but new and interesting things to do in BG! There are a lot of unused doors and houses in the Slums and Promenade ;-)


I'm playing your mods on BG2 (original), after much deliberation about the EE's.
I've completed Eilistraee's Song, Tales of the Deep Gardens, Tower of Deception, and I Shall Never Forget. I will try The White Queen and Innershade next play through.


Thank-you so much for creating such professional and great content for a spectacular game (BG2 - original).



#2 Lava Del'Vortel

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Posted 06 February 2017 - 01:07 AM

You're welcome :) Well, Tower of Deception isn't mine, I just helped to make it EE compatible, nothing else. Anyway, if you ever decide to give EE another chance, I also wrote some mods that work only on EE. That would be 'Will of the Wisp' - a stronghold for shamans with some small quests + a joinable shaman NPC + some new items.

If you liked my areas, I also provided some for The Sellswords - Kulyok's mod (you may find it at PPG).

 

Cheers



#3 Isewein

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Posted 16 April 2018 - 04:28 AM

Finally having finished my first complete BGT run (has it really been 3 years...? ), I should really pay my dues and leave some feedback at least for those modders who still seem to be around. It's the least they should be able to expect, really. In case anyone else is reading this: I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but really, these mods are so good that you shouldn't feel the need to read a review prior to installing them anyway.

 

The Colours of Infinity are a wonderful series which I would without hesitation add to every install. The good thing about quest mods is that they don't carry the opportunity cost that one has to pay to experience a new NPC under the constraint of a 6-member-party limit. I think enough has been said about the lovingly crafted areas and pleasant quirkiness of these stories, which offer a welcome respite from the prevalent atmosphere of BG2 without appearing too much out of place. (Or at least they justify that by literally being out of place.) I will say though that I had my difficulties comprehending the plots of TotDG and Innershade - maybe I'm not versed in the metaphysical enough, maybe I simply did not pay enough attention. Looking forward to a second playthrough, there! Eilistraee's Song felt slightly unpolished compared to the other mods in terms of area and quest design. The most memorable was definitely White Queen, both for the very nice story twist which I didn't see coming at all and the interaction provided for Viconia. I also really loved the idea of the Scimitars of Death acquired there - I modded them to be usable by Viconia because I figured they would suit her really well; and she continued using them up until ToB! Never understood the logic behind D&D weapon restrictions...

 

I like to imagine that the idea of BGT always was to create a continuous game world rather than a set of modules merely utilising the Infinity Engine. Under this aspect, and thinking about what I liked most about White Queen, I believe these mods could really profit a lot from better integration into the narrative. The stories they tell on their own are superb, but I wish there more tie-ins to the main story of the Bhaalspawn, so to speak. I understand it is nice to have a balance here - not everything in Faerun should revolve around the Prophecy or the Main Character - but I think the extraordinary nature and experiences of Charname should come into play even when encountering the otherworldly. So while playing through these stories, some head canons for possible tie-ins emerged in our heads, and while it might be a moot point considering the likelihood of you returning to work on these old mods again some day, I thought I might as well share them.

 

TotDG works well as it is - a little side quest you stumble into in Athkatla that unfolds into more. Innershade, however - you don't have the slightest reason to go there, really. Personally I just treated it as a village in the Forest of Tethyr the group happens upon after exiting the Underdark, but I think something more than a random map to lead you there would be appreciated. The foreshadowing for Eilistraee's Song in the Underdark was an example I thought done really well, but maybe have the Hunters promise you military support against Irenicus' Drow allies if you successfully complete all their quests? Of course it would be too complicated to have them actually show up, but it could be done 'behind the scenes' simply by acknowledging their support in a tiny line of dialogue somewhere in Suldanesselar.  Something to make it feel as if there was a good reason, from a soul-bereft Bhaalspawn's perspective, to go sidequesting in Chapter VI. As for the White Queen... well, I always thought that the resurrection of the vampirised lover after the Bodhi fight was all too easily achieved. Maybe rumours at the Temple of Oghma regarding this famed undead necromancer (the White Queen) could be a lead enough to go explore the Silent Swamps? Ultimately, it would be a tangent of course, and maybe the Druid could then give the advice to return to the Temple of Amaunator instead, at the end of the quest. Or she could be some ancient, long-lost relative of Nalia's...  :shifty:

 

Even more so, I Shall Never Forget could be served really well by a tie-in. And I think it would be relatively easy to integrate. Depending on your choices, this can be a story of merciful death; the futility of struggling against the inevitable. One of the few times across the games that Charname may embrace their fate - that of murder - in a completely different way than the wanton slaughter that usually follows their path. Imagine what this realisation could mean for a specific sort of Charname: one who for whatever reasons does not believe in struggling against their fate, yet won't descend to Bhaal-level evil either. I've often seen it discussed what a non-evil Charname's portfolio could look like after Ascension. Considering that Bhaal's portfolio originally was "Death" (as opposed to the Dead), it has been suggested this could verge towards euthanasia, or at least a neutral guardianship of sorts. I think the story told in ISNF has huge potential to be a character defining moment, and while most of such of course has to happen in the mind of the player, I think it would be nice to hint at the Taint in the dialogue. Bhaalspawn are born to kill, etc., some dialogue options with Selene's Spirit acknowledging that could already suffice. While leaving Charname the options to (roughly) struggle against this, embrace the Taint as they usually do (if Evil) or well, find a new aspect of it and try to control it towards a purpose.

 

TL;DR: Small independent stories are great and fit the saga well, but it would be great if these mods acknowledged that it is Charname the Bhaalspawn experiencing an unrelated adventure, rather than a blank slate hero.

 

Well, that turned out far more verbose than I intended it to be. Consider it praise for your mods, if nothing else, that they gave me enough food for thought (and that I remember them well enough ~a year after playing them) to come up with these random ideas. Take care and have my thanks! It's people like you who keep this game alive.  :new_thumbs:

 

PS: I completely forgot to mention the Temple of Sune added to Waukeen's promenade. What a perfect addition to the game! Had it not been for the quest item connection, I would have honestly believed it to be original content I had simply forgotten about. A wonderful place to return to, explore some PID, sort out inventory or read in-game books, etc. ... and, unintentionally, it made for the perfect spot to park Rhaella's Isra in between adventures. There should be some crossmod there. ;)


Edited by Isewein, 16 April 2018 - 06:04 AM.


#4 James M

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Posted 03 February 2019 - 07:16 PM

Hello Lava! I've just played The White Queen and Innershade (on BG2). Wow! Same sentiments as said in the original post; these were amazingly good! Loved the very nice and detailed areas, which fit seamlessly into the BG2 world. The White Queen was really well done. with lots of smaller quests. Thanks again.