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Hey Tamriel Foundry, we’ve still got quite a while to wait for ESO to launch, so in the meantime I hope to convince you guys to share an incredible RPG gaming experience. Have you ever played Baldur’s Gate? If not, read on… and if you have, did you know that you can experience the entire epic saga in as a unified and comprehensive gaming experience? I’m not talking about BG1: Enhanced Edition, which is a great update to the original game the series, but is ultimately a disjoint experience with a number of weaknesses. My belief, of which I hope to convince you all, is that the “mega modification” Baldur’s Gate Trilogy is a unique gaming journey that any RPG fan should undertake. Need more convincing, here you go:

• For the same price as the BG1: Enhanced Edition ($19.99) you can experience the entire Baldur’s Gate saga with perfect continuity in one single game engine. For the uninitiated, this is the series which consistently tops lists of the best RPGs of all time (with good reason). 
• Play through the story with no separation of games, no importing/exporting characters. Your character’s gear, experience, choices, and companions carry over throughout the entire saga (200+ hours of gaming).
• Experience quests, characters, and areas that the original BioWare developers had always intended to make the final game but were cut during development.
• A litany of bugfixes, combat improvements, and corrections to story discontinuities.

Still reading despite the fact that I’m trying to convince you to play a 15 year old game? One last disclaimer before we get started:

Setting this up is a modding project, which will require about two hours of your time to complete. It’s well worth the investment, though. Complete step-by-step instructions are listed below, it’s not hard, and well worth it!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Baldur’s Gate 1 looks great (for it’s age) in the BG2 engine[/caption]

Setting Up Baldur’s Gate Trilogy

To configure BG Trilogy in it’s full glory follow these step-by-step instructions. It will involve downloading and installing a number of mods, but heed these words and you cannot fail! As a disclaimer, there are a massive universe of mods for Baldur’s Gate (1 and 2), this guide attempts to recommend the only the mods that have substantial impact on gameplay quality while remaining true to the balance, lore, and content vision of the original series.

1. Install Baldur’s Gate I

1. Pick up Baldur’s Gate I ($9.99 on GOG) if you don’t already own it.
2. Do a full CUSTOM installation, including all optional components. Make sure you also have installed the expansion, Tales of the Sword Coast; this comes bundled in most new copies of BG1, including the one linked above. Install the game to a non-default directory; for example C://Games/BG1. Once you have configured BG Trilogy you will no longer need the BG1 installation, so you will be able to remove this once you are done.
3. [Maybe Required] Download and install the most recent official patch version (v.5512) for BG1 + TotSC. This may not be necessary on many installations, the GOG bundle is already patched to this version.
4. [Recommended] Start the game ONCE and create a new character, as the first time it runs the game will set many configuration options to an .ini file which is helpful when installing mods.

2. Install Baldur’s Gate II

1. Pick up Baldur’s Gate II ($9.99 on GOG) if you don’t already own it.
2. Do a full CUSTOM installation, including all optional components. Make sure you also have installed the expansion, Throne of Bhaal; this comes bundled in most new copies of BGII, including the one linked above. Install the game to your preferred final game directory for BG Trilogy; for example C://Games/Baldur’s Gate Trilogy (referred to as your “BGT Directory” henceforth).
3. [Maybe Required] Download and install the most recent official patch version (v.26498) for Throne of Bhaal. DO NOT install the beta patch v.26499, as it has compatibility issues with Trilogy. This may not be necessary on many installations, the GOG bundle is already patched to this version.
4. [Recommended] Start the game ONCE and create a new character, as the first time it runs the game will set many configuration options to an .ini file which is helpful when installing mods.

3. Custom Patches and Bugfixes

Unless otherwise specified all mods and patches should be extracted to your BGT Directory and installed using their included install scripts. Please note, the install order of the below mods is deliberate. Even if you skip some of them, I recommend you add them in the following order.

1. [Recommended] Download the Throne of Bhaal Extender patch. This community created patch fixes a number of potential game breaking issues, and makes many of the D&D mechanics function in a manner more true to their pen & paper counterparts. Unzip the archive directly into your BGT Directory and run “setup-TobEx.exe”. You will be prompted whether or not to install a number of individual components of the mod. I recommend choosing to Install [I] most of these components EXCEPT: 
   1. Concentration checks on damage – While this is a cool addition, it is a major deviation from the core rules of the original series. This has big consequences for the way spellcasting works in BGT, so I recommend bypassing it unless you know you want this feature.
   2. Disable Stoneskin grey color – some people find it annoying, but it is an appropriate graphic for Stoneskin.
   3. Allow all races to Dual Class – gamebreaking.
   4. Allow armor swap mid-combat – potentially gamebreaking.
   5. Disable force inventory pause – normally the game pauses itself when viewing the inventory, I suggest you keep this as default
   6. Remove race-class restrictions – gamebreaking.
2. [Recommended] Download and install Ascension. This excellent mod realizes the vision of the final epic boss encounters in the Baldur’s Gate trilogy by substantially increasing the difficulty and challenge in the last bosses of Throne of Bhaal. This mod was largely created by BioWare designer David Gaider and is universally accepted as providing a more worthy finale to the series. I suggest you Install [I] every component of this mod.
3. [Required] Download and install the BG2 Fixpack. This community created patch corrects a number of bugs, errors, and oversights in the base version of Baldurs Gate 2 that remained unaddressed by the game’s official patches. You should Install [I] every component of this mod.
   1. When prompted about the “Game Text Update”, I recommend the “GTU Light” option. This is more focused on fixing typos and grammar, while the complete GTU adds user created dialogue that some people find to be arbitrary.

4. Install BG Trilogy

1. [Required] Download Baldur’s Gate Trilogy (v.1.18). Unzip the archive directly into your BGT Directory and run “setup-BGT.exe”. This process will take quite some time, so don’t be alarmed. It’s doing A LOT of work. This imports the entire Baldur’s Gate I game into the BG2 engine, while applying a ton of bugfixes, patches, and enhancements.

5. Install Complementary Mods

OK… you’ve done the easy part, and technically you CAN stop here, but if you want to get the best experience possible, we will continue on with installing a number of complementary modifications designed specifically to work with BG Trilogy and provide the best complete experience possible. I’ve never known <i>The Elder Scrolls</i> fans to back down from a modding challenge, so let’s do this thing.

1. [Recommended] Install the BG Trilogy Graphics Overhaul mod. This excellent mod adds new textures and lightmaps vastly improves the visual quality of the game during nighttime.
2. [Recommended] Install the BG1 NPC Project mod. This includes a ton of settings which comprehensively update and improve the party experience during the BG1 portion of Trilogy. When installing, select [Y] yes to every component category. The dialogue will prompt you whether or not to install each of the changes this mod implements. In general, I recommend you Install [I] ALL of the components EXCEPT:
   • Starting NPC locations – you have the option of moving the initial location of several of the game’s NPCs. This can result in the game becoming easier or more difficult depending on when you encounter these companions. I recommend leaving NPCs where they were originally placed.
   • Cloakwood locations – similarly, you have the option of opening several map zones from the beginning of the game which were originally unavailable until Chapter 6 of BG1. Allowing these areas to be open creates a slightly less restrictive gameplay experience, but may introduce some balance issues. I recommend leaving these zones closed as intended by the devs.
3. [Optional] Augment the BG1 NPC Project with it’s accompanying Music Pack. This adds appropriate NPC specific musical themes behind the new dialogue added for NPC companions in cases where dialogue is not voiced.
4. [Optional] Install the BG1 Unfinished Business mod. This overhaul restores a number of quests, characters, and dialogue that were cut from the original release of the game due to time constraints. It was produced with the assistance of former Black Isle employees and remains true to the vision and balance of the game.  I recommend you Install [I] ALL of the components EXCEPT:
   1. Elven Charm and Sleep Immunity – Already fixed by the BG2 Fixpack above
   2. Original Saga Music Playlist Correction – Already fixed by BG2 Fixpack above.
   3. Sarevok’s Diary Corrections – Changed (in a better way) by the BG1 NPC Project above.
5. [Optional] Install the BGSpawn System – This adds a really ingenious map repopulation mechanic that semi-randomly (but intelligently) repopulates game areas with monsters depending on the time of day and the player’s level. I recommend that you include all components EXCEPT:
   1. Vampiric Wolf Lord – This is an extra “world boss” that was not included in the original game, but was developed specifically for this mod. I tend to avoid injecting NEW content into my Baldur’s Gate experience in favor of simply refining and polishing the content which was intended by the developers, but this is entirely optional, if you want it!
6. [Optional] Install the BG2 Banterpack, much like the BG1 NPC Project this mod improves the amount and quality of NPC interactions with party members. I recommend you Install [I] ALL of the components EXCEPT:
   1. Install SOA banter accelerator script – This is already covered by the BG2 Fixpack + BG1 NPC Project. The accelerator for TOB banter should be installed, however, as that expansion uses a different conversation check.
7. [Optional] Install the BG2 Unfinished Business mod. Much like it’s counterpart for BG1 above, this restores content to the Baldur’s Gate 2 portion of the game that was partially developed, but ultimately cut from the original release of the game. I recommend you Install [I] ALL of the components EXCEPT:
   1. Yoshimo and Anomen Portrait Changes – I think the companion portraits that shipped with BG2 were pretty classic, but this is mostly down to personal choice.
   2. Justifier and Feralan Ranger Kits – These were omitted from the original game both because of time constraints but also potential balance issues.
8. [Recommended] Install the Sword Coast Stratagems (v.24) modification. In my opinion this is the best difficulty adjustment modification for Baldur’s Gate Trilogy. A lot of difficulty mods attempt to improve game balance with brute force methods (increased damage, increased hp, etc). In contrast, SCS is a purely AI approach. It gives enemies more tools at their disposal for reacting to the player, and presenting dynamic and unpredictable challenges. I believe it is very well balanced, since it plays by the rules (of D&D) and doesn’t give enemies access to abilities that would otherwise be disallowed. It is subtle, and makes enemies behave in a more challenging fashion. This one takes a while to install, because there are a lot of sub-components. SCS was originally two mods, one for BG1 and a second (SCS2) for BG2. As of version 22 and later, this has been combined into one single mod that is a universal enhancement that applies to all encounters throughout the entirety of BG Trilogy. This mod can take a long time to install, because it modifies thousands of files. I recommend you Install [I] ALL of the components with some exceptions. Exceptions and Special Instructions are listed below:
   1. Spell Tweaks -> Allow individual versions of Spell Immunity to be placed into Contingencies and Spell Triggers – rendered obsolete by TobEx
   2. Item Tweaks -> Remove Shield of Balduran from game – the SoB is sorta overpowered (esp against Beholders), but it is an iconic item and fun to use
   3. Item Tweaks -> Move Cloak of Mirroring – like the SoB, its a pretty overpowered item… but fun to use, and I believe should be allowed
   4. Gameplay Tweaks -> Allow player to choose NPC proficiencies and skills – We’ll be getting this functionality from the next mod instead.
   5. Gameplay Tweaks -> Allow NPC pairs to separate – It’s annoying, but there are very good story reasons why certain companions are inseparable.
   6. Gameplay Tweaks -> Allow Yeslick to use axes – Causes collateral damage to other fighter/cleric NPCs in the game.
   7. Gameplay Tweaks -> Skip Candlekeep Tutorial – There is important story exposition that happens during the tutorial.
   8. Gameplay Tweaks -> Allow Cowled Wizards to detect magic indoors – I like this change from lore reasons, but it can be VERY frustrating… up to you.
   9. Gameplay Tweaks -> Make Watchers’ Keep accessible between SoA and ToB – Being able to access Watcher’s Keep as desired throughout SoA isn’t a bad call. The difficulty of that dungeon tends to balance itself.
   10. Gameplay Tweaks -> Remove unrealistically helpful items from certain areas – For lore-based reason this is a great patch … but it would be too unforgiving to players who do not have prior (meta) knowledge of the game and it’s challenges.
   11. Gameplay Tweaks -> Remove unrealistically convenient ammunition from containers – I have no problem with this, if there can be swords in barrels there can sure as hell be arrows in there too.
   12. Gameplay Tweaks -> Stronghold Access – I recommend against allowing unrestricted stronghold access regardless of class. I think the game plays a bit better with only one (or two) strongholds per character.
   13. AI Enhancements -> Add high-level-abilities (HLAs) to SOA and TOB mages – I recommend this, but you should choose the option “Only selected spellcasters in Throne of Bhaal and Shadows of Amn get HLAs”.
   14. AI Enhancements -> Smarter Mages – Highly recommended, choose option “Mages never cast short-duration spells instantly at start of combat”.
   15. AI Enhancements -> Smarter Priests – Highly recommended, choose option “Priests never cast short-duration spells instantly at start of combat”.
   16. AI Enhancements -> Improved Fiends – This conflicts with the “Improved Demogorgon” fight in the Ascencion mod.
   17. AI Enhancements -> Smarter Genies/Celestials/Dragons – You can improve a number of epic style enemy types by giving them extra hit points. In general, I recommend sticking with the normal HP tables.
   18. AI Enhancements -> Smarter Beholders – Don’t give beholder rays any chance of burning through spell protections; beholder antimagic blocksall spells, including harmful ones, for a round (simulates D&D rules)
   19. AI Enhancements -> Smarter Mind Flayers – Illithids have only original-game resistances; Illithids can see through invisibility
   20. Tactical Challenges – BG1 -> Install everything
   21. Tactical Challenges – BG2 -> Increase difficulty of level-dependent monster groupings – Recommend choosing the option “Significantly increased difficulty”.
   22. Tactical Challenges – BG2 -> Improved De’Arnise Keep – Recommend choosing option – “Enhanced spirit trolls”
   23. Tactical Challenges – BG2 -> Improved Bodhi – Recommend option “Toned-down” version of the original Tactics Improved Bodhi, with SCSII scripting”. Tactics refers to another mod whose version of Bodhi is truly nightmarish. The Tactics + SCS Bodhi would be….not for the faint of heart.
9. [Recommended] Install the BGT Tweak Pack. This changeset fixes a couple of bugs with bridging between Tales of the Sword Coast and Shadows of Amn. I recommend you Install [I] ALL of the components EXCEPT:
   1. Major Locations Explored Upon Visit – Exploration is good!
   2. Happy Patch – Don’t do this, it makes it so NPC companions like you no matter what actions you take.
   3. Altered Spawns – Leave this as default (uninstalled)
   4. More Bandit Scalps – BG1 Unfinished Business already does this, so leave it off.
   5. Hooded unarmoured mages and thieves – Causes bugs (allegedly)
   6. Import more NPCs into Shadow of Amn: ____ – I believe that the decisions regarding which NPC characters continue the journey with you from BG1 into BG2 was one that was deliberate on the part of the Black Isle devs, you can import more companions if you want, but they would be outside the scope of the intended companion set.
   7. Item BG1-ification _______ – These are basically regressions for people who cherish the nostalgia factor of only being able to stack arrows to 20. Recommend leaving these off.
10. [Recommended] Install the BG2 Tweaks pack. Similar to the BGT tweaks from above which adjust a bunch of Baldur’s Gate 1 issues, this handles similar issues that arise in BG2. By this point, most of the changes in this set have been already implemented by another mod. There are a few lingering little issues that we can patch up. I recommend you Install [I] ONLY the following components:
    1. Cosmetic Changes -> Change Viconia’s Skin Color to Dark Blue – Consistent with her portrait avatar.
    2. Cosmetic Changes -> Weapon Animation Tweaks – Makes combat look better.
    3. Cosmetic Changes -> Icon Improvements – Originally, a lot of items used the same inventory icons, this intelligently diversifies a bit.
    4. Cosmetic Changes -> Force All Dialogue to Pause Game – Occasionally a bandit ambush or something can be triggered while you are in dialogue, it’s no fun having your party die while you are stuck in conversation.
    5. Content Changes -> More Interjections – Makes party dialogue occur more reliably.
    6. Content Changes -> Alter HP Triggers for NPC Wounded Dialogues – A lot of NPCs in game have awesome/funny/cool wounded or death dialogue. Unfortunately, the activation of this dialogue is set to such low levels of health, that you usually don’t ever hear it. This bumps up the threshold a bit so that NPCs will yell about their wounds a bit more.
    7. Content Changes -> Exotic Item Pack – Adds some exotic weapon types introduced in BG2 scattered (but rare) in BG1 areas. This let’s your character have a small chance of finding a Katana, for example, before reaching BG2.
    8. Content Changes -> Add Bags of Holding – Adds quivers, scroll cases, and gem bags to various stores in BG1. Just a convenience, nothing game breaking.
    9. Content Changes -> Stores Sell Higher Stacks of Items – A welcome convenience.
    10. Content Changes -> Multiple Strongholds – Choose the option “Keep class restrictions”. This allows multi or dual class characters to get both strongholds, but not strongholds for classes in which they have no levels.
    11. Content Changes -> Bonus Merchants – Adds the bonus merchants from the pre-order and collectors edition versions of BG2.
    12. Content Changes -> Female Edwina – For the LOLs.
    13. Rule Changes -> Change Experience Point Cap – I recommend you choose the option “Remove Experience Point Cap”. Don’t worry, we are going to make sure XP progression is reasonable and balanced, it’s still nice to be ABLE to progress, even if you have to choose to grind for it.
    14. Rule Changes -> Limit Ability of Storekeepers to Identify Items – I recommend this change, using the option “Hybrid of Both Methods”.
    15. Rule Changes -> True Grand Mastery – Corrects an oversight and misinterpretation of the P&P ruleset. This allows pure Fighters who specialize enough to reach grand-mastery in a weapon type to actually get the full scope of benefits that should be awarded for that.
    16. Rule Changes -> Remove Delay for Magical Traps – Makes trap based thieves more viable at high level.
    17. Convenience Tweaks/Cheats -> Higher HP on Level Up – Let’s be honest, everyone always reloads their game anyways when they get a shitty HP roll. Why not just bypass that whole dance. Choose whichever option you prefer.
    18. Convenience Tweaks/Cheats -> Maximum HP for NPCs – Potentially makes the game more difficult. You can make it so every NPC gets maximum hit dice rolls. Choose whichever option you prefer.
    19. Convenience Tweaks/Cheats -> Easy Spell Learning – Much like Higher HP on Level Up, most people reload their game when they really want to learn a spell from a scroll. Technically its a “cheat”, but once again, let’s not lie to ourselves. I recommend just setting 100% spell scribing chance.
    20. Convenience Tweaks/Cheats -> Sensible Entrance Points – Slightly adjusts the entrance points for several maps in order for them to be more logically accurate.
    21. NPC Tweaks -> Adjust Evil joinable NPC reaction rolls – Makes it easier to keep Evil NPCs in an evil aligned party.
    22. NPC Tweaks -> Improved Fate Spirit Summoning – Forces you to have encountered a companion in-game in order to be able to summon them in ToB.
    23. NPC Tweaks -> Consistent Stats ______ – Several NPCs have different stats between BG1 and BG2. I recommend defaulting with the BG2 versions, as usually these characters received a buff.
    24. NPC Tweaks -> Change Korgan to Neutral Evil – More consistent with that character’s story.

 6. Final Steps

If you are still with me at this point, WELL DONE! We are almost there, an epic gaming experience awaits. There are a few more mods that I wanted to put in a separate section at the end because I believe they are pretty much essential to the experience we are trying to create. The above mods are recommended, but technically optional. They fix a lot of things that make the game play a lot better. The mods below are really required in order for you to get the most out of your BG Trilogy experience.

1. [Required] Install One Pixel Productions graphical overhaul. This package adds a lot of spit and polish to the aesthetics of the game. Nothing here changes the way the game plays, but there are some fantastic graphical enhancements in here.
   1. Instructions TODO
2. [Required] Activate the Ding0 Experience Fixer v.26.1 AKA defjam XP filter. One of the biggest downsides of an unmodded BG Trilogy is that the rate of experience progression is simply too high to fit the story that is being told. Importing BG1 into the BG2 engine also awards experience for all kinds of tasks like opening locks, disarming traps, and learning new spells. This mod is essential for re-balancing Trilogy to have a reasonable XP curve. If you recall, we did some things earlier like Remove the Level Cap, and Restore XP Rewards for Locks/Traps/Spells. In order to balance those decisions out, we need to nerf our XP gain a bit. I recommend the following settings:
   
   1. Creature XP Reduction – Reduce to 75%
   2. Locks, Traps and Spells XP Reduction – Reduce to 50%
   3. Quest XP Reduction – Reduce to 75%
3. [Recommended] Setup the Baldur’s Gate Trilogy Music mod. This mod was automatically created in your BGT Directory when you installed BG Trilogy. Now is a good time to set it up. This mod makes sure that the original Baldur’s Gate 1 music plays while the character is adventuring in BG1 areas instead of using the new BG2 score for BG1 zones.
4. [Required] Add improved resolution support with the BGT Widescreen mod. Our last, but certainly not least, mod is a widescreen conversion that upgrades the game client to take advantage of modern monitor dimensions. Install this last, and enter the pixel resolution of your primary monitor when you configure the mod.
5. [Optional] Delete your BG1 directory. The folder to which you installed Baldur’s Gate 1 in the first step is no longer needed. You can uninstall BG1 completely if you want to reclaim that disk space.

7. Enjoy, and Have Fun!

I hope these excessively detailed and intimidating looking instructions prove useful for someone. I will be satisfied if at least one other person is led to experience what is truly one of the most fantastic gaming series of all time. By using these mods you can not only modernize the experience of Baldur’s Gate a bit, but you can make it an even better game than it even was originally (which is a seriously impressive feat). I’ll try to check in on this thread periodically in case any of you run into trouble getting things set up. It can be a bit tricky, so be patient and take things one step at a time. Good luck, and happy gaming!

• This topic was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by  Atropos.