28 réponses à ce sujet

[Ginkasa]

First off, I want to apologize in advance.  I'm sure many of the following queries have been asked and/or discussed before on countless occasions and I'm sure many of this forum's verterans may be tired of discussing it.  Be assured that I have read through many topics relating to my questions on this and other message boards as well.  Many of my prior questions have been answered, but some of the solutions still evade me and some additional questions have been raised.

As the topic title eludes to, I've been a BioWare fan since KotOR 7 years ago and have played every BW console game since then.  My view is that most BW games are "spiritually" of the same series, just using different licenses for their stories and the occasional "unique" game mechanic.  As such, Baldur's Gate, as the origin of this "series" has been of interest to me and I have wanted to play it pretty much since I first heard the "pause" system in KotOR was based off of BG's system.

Finally, 7 years later I bought the 4 in 1 collection of BG and started to play it.  I was prepared for a regression in game mechanics and, of course, graphics.  No problem.  I am having difficulty, though, because the character creation is so open.  I can do anything with this guy.  Unfortunately, I tend to have issues with systems like these (at least the first time I play them).  I never feel confident my decisions are correct and am always scared I'll get 20 or 30 hours in (maybe more!) only to find I made some fatal flaw down the line that is unfixable basically ruining my game.  As such, I've started over three times so far and am contemplating a fourth.

Basically what I'm looking for is a recommended character build for the MC that will make my playthrough of BG et. al. relatively painless.  I play these games less for strategy and more for character interaction and development, story, and the feeling that I'm a guy in the a medieval fantasy setting.  If I'm a supremely powerful guy who can walk through most situations with not too much of a sweat...  well, that's okay by me, although I know some players look down on "over-powering" your character.

So, what would be some good recommendations?  I've heard a Fighter/Mage dual-class is ridiculous later on, but how exactly would I go about doing that?

Also, on an unrelated note...

While going through my recent playthroughs of the first couple of hours of BG I learned about the "EasyTutu" mod.  At first I didn't pay much attention (I wanted to play the game BW developed, not some fan version), but I later learned it would fix some of the frustrations I was having with some of BG's unrefined gameplay.  So, I downloaded it and have used it for my latest playthrough.  All is well...  I worry, however, about the Beregost bug.  I've read all about how to avoid it and about the "fix."  Just the possibility of wasted hours, though, gnaws at the back of my mind. 

While researching the bug and exactly how to avoid it I found out about "BGT" and how it not only also allows one to play BG in BGII's engine, but has also deleted the Beregost bug.  I'm thinking about switching, but I had some questions and I haven't been able to find any answers:

1) Are there any real downside of BGT vs. Tutu or are they about the same in terms of performance and functionality?
2) Since Tutu apparently doesn't actually touch BG and BGII's installs could I be able to install BGT alongside Tutu and compare them or do they somehow cancel each other out?
3) If the mods do, indeed, cause issues together would I have to just uninstall Tutu or would I have to completely re-install BG, etc. as well?

Any assistance regarding any of my questions would be greatly appreciated.  I'll buy a cake as payment.

[Marty Silverblade]

Regarding character creation, you can play pretty much anything you like. Dual classing can be a bit tricky depending on the classes you use and how familiar you are with the game. Tell us what sort of character you like to play and we can give good recommendations. Also, do you prefer a good or evil team (I recommend not using an evil team for the first playthrough), and do you plan to import your character into BG2?



1) Can't remember what the differences are but I prefer Tutu. From what I can tell, more of the community prefers Tutu, but I may be wrong.

2) It's probably possible. I haven't heard of anyone do it so I can't say if there will be problems. I'd say you're better off finding a comparison of the two and seeing which you prefer from that rather than bothering to install both.

3) If BGT does not touch the BG and BG2 files like Tutu, they should be fine if something bad happens.

[Flamedance]

1 The main difference between BGT and Tutu is continuity. In BGT you don't have to export your character to SoA, the game does it for you (including a cutscene). More importantly, any changes made to npc's  will be saved. ie: if you keep Imoen as a pure thief in BG1, she'll be a singleclass thief in BG2 too. Same for most other npc's: make Viconia a cleric/mage and she'll be a cleric/mage in BG2.
I'm not entirely sure, but iirc, it's easier to add mods to a BGT install. Other than that, the differences are rather minor. If (lack of) continuity doesn't bother you, Tutu will serve you just as well. Both Tutu and BGT are excellent.

2 See  www.gibberlings3.net/mit/ for a multi-install tool. Not entirely sure if it will work for a Tutu/BGT install too, though. You might want to check the G3 forums or ask them

3 You can make a backup of a clean install first

Modifié par Flamedance, 17 septembre 2010 - 07:59 .

[Ginkasa]

Woops.  Double post.

Modifié par Ginkasa, 17 septembre 2010 - 08:14 .

[Ginkasa]

I wasn't expecting replies so quickly.  Huh.

Anyway, I'm looking for my character to be either a lawful or chaotic good fighter.  I was generally concerned at my "abilities" allocation.  I understand you don't really gain stat points as you level up, right?  Its just health and skills, yeah?  So, should I spend everything I have on my initial creation roll into the "core" stats of my character or should I still keep some in Int and/or Will?  And how much should I put into charisma?  Are potential rewards worth spending points on it?

[Flamedance]

wisdom is useful for clerics and druids (and to some extent to sorcerors/mages, but almost completely pointless to other classes. I wouldn't set inelligence too low, since you'll have to go toe to toe with opponents that drain your intelligence when they hit you. If you get to zero intelligence, you die. Set it to at least 9 (more is better, but more than 12 is overkill).

Other than that you want maxed out constitution, at minimum 18/54 strength and good dexterity (preferably maxed). Charisma is useful for shopping (high charisma gets you better prices in shops) and may get you better quest rewards in a few cases. Baldurs Gate is a combat game, so stats that improve your martial prowess have priority. You can pour any left over points into charisma, if you want. Don't bother with wisdom.

[Shadow_Leech07]

Ginkasa wrote...

I wasn't expecting replies so quickly.  Huh.

Anyway, I'm looking for my character to be either a lawful or chaotic good fighter.  I was generally concerned at my "abilities" allocation.  I understand you don't really gain stat points as you level up, right?  Its just health and skills, yeah?  So, should I spend everything I have on my initial creation roll into the "core" stats of my character or should I still keep some in Int and/or Will?  And how much should I put into charisma?  Are potential rewards worth spending points on it?

You don't need to be perfect when creating your character. You have party members to back you up. As a fighter, I would choose lawful good, as charisma+reputation lowers the cost of items in shops. I don't know if you really wish to bump up charisma however. I would try to max strength, dexterity, and constitution for a fighter. I'll try not to spoil anything but you [b]can[/] get certain items which can most certainly help you in certain skill points, but I would not recommend it, as there are other items which you can get which will be more beneficial later. I will not go furthur in this though. For the other stats, try to keep them at least 10 or 9. Below 10 you will receive penalties. But again this is if you are really into creating the 'perfect' character, which IMO you don't really need to for the first run. Hope that helps.

[Humanoid_Taifun]

Actually it's a bit more difficult to add mods to BGT, since they have to work for both games.

I think the main reasons why BGTutu is so popular is that a) you tend to get a bit less XP in it (though the difference is probably not as big as many believe) and because in the past most BG1 mods were developed with Tutu in mind, making them incompatible with BGT (which was developed later). But that's changed now.

The best character for a beginner is a dwarfen fighter (berserker) with maximum points in con, dex, strength, 11 intelligence and the rest in charisma. Intelligence is important against a specific kind of opponent, charisma can be raised through several means, wisdom is not interesting.

[Flamedance]

Humanoid_Taifun wrote...

Actually it's a bit more difficult to add mods to BGT, since they have to work for both games.

Ah, ok, i thought it was the other way around. I stand corrected.

[Rzepik2]

Humanoid_Taifun wrote...
The best character for a beginner is a dwarfen fighter (berserker) with maximum points in con, dex, strength, 11 intelligence and the rest in charisma. Intelligence is important against a specific kind of opponent, charisma can be raised through several means, wisdom is not interesting.

Just remember that ugly races can't have romance subplot in BG2.

I would recommend half-elf fighter/thief, fighter/cleric, fighter/druid. Easy and interesting to play.

[Humanoid_Taifun]

Go with Ranger/Cleric instead of Fighter/Cleric or Fighter/Druid. No need to miss out on Iron Skins or Righteous Magic.

Modifié par Humanoid_Taifun, 17 septembre 2010 - 12:45 .

[Chebby]

Multiclasses will most likely be your weapon of choice. At level 21, your thac0 does not increase in the vanilla game, so the only thing you're going to get as a fighter or a rogue is a small amount of hitpoints and/or thieving points. It's for this reason that I recommend some form of caster; the spells are perhaps the most interesting part of the game. Fighter/mage is extraordinary, but it can be cheesy if you know what you're doing.

Also, you might want to consider installing tweakpacks from G3 after installing official patches and the G3 fixpacks. They have packs for SOA and TuTu/BGT. I am, however, a lazy man and I'd recommend not installing *everything* in those packs, but I'm not about to go through the list. It essentially changes a lot so that you can, for instance, ensure that all NPCs have maximum HP rolls when they join, as well as making the same true for all non-recruitable NPCs and enemies. There's also the option to make all level-ups achieve their maximum potential hit-points on difficulties above normal.

Also bear in mind that these games will differ substantially from more recent Bioware games; those games seem to have been designed to be completed by just about anyone and offer no real panic situations. The BG series is manageable, but the expansion packs offer specific dungeons and bosses that will cause you stress unless you're:

a) Overpowered

Well geared and buffed

c) Smart

d) All of the above

But I suggest you revel in this. It put a massive sense of danger and anticipation into these encounters, all of which are optional. Also, take note that a lot of vital information the player could use isn't apparant; there is no bestiary or examinations of monsters, so there will be times that you'll be stumped as to why you can't damage a certain enemy, or why certain enemies instantly kill/charm the majority of the party. Sadly, that's just the way it is. I don't believe you'll become massively familiar with the world that makes the game so immersive, but just take as much as you can in.

[Morbidest]

Rzepik2 wrote...

Just remember that ugly races can't have romance subplot in BG2.

I would recommend half-elf fighter/thief, fighter/cleric, fighter/druid. Easy and interesting to play.

If you care to, you could add the Nalia romance mod, since she will romance a dwarf. It's a pretty low maintence mod, but unfortunately doesn't carry over into ToB. But you do get to kill someone who definitely deserves killing

[Humanoid_Taifun]

Or you could just use cheats the jump-start the romance.

[Son of Imoen]

One question of you that was not previously answered I will answer now:

When installiing BGTutu you will have noticed you get a different folder for your tutu install (default is C:\\\\ProgramFiles\\\\BaldusGateTutu, if I remember well). It leaves your BG1 and BG2 folders untouched.

When installing BGT, the setup.exe will make your BG2 folder into a BGT install, leaving you by default without a clean BG2 install. But you can easily copy (not cut, copy) the whole BG2 folder to another location of choice to have a clean backup.

Some things that are good to know when working with multiple installs:
baldur.exe lets the game start from the folder the game was originally installed in (that location will be stored somewhere in you registry when you install BG2), the same is true for starting from the game disc.
The file BG2main however, will start the game from the current folder, whether it's an original install or just a copy.

If you open baldur.ini with notepad or another text editor, you will notice on top of the list of settings you get to see, that it point's your computer to the folder you originally installed BG2 in. Despite of this, BG2main.exe will always start in the folder it's in, despite of where baldur.ini or the registry points. Good to know if you want to have parallel campaigns. (I'm such a 'let's start a new campaign-junkie, I got twelve installs - spacesaving tip: an exact copy of a campaign doesn't need the big data and bg2data folders, you can leave those in the original - I guess the multi-install does al this things that I do hand-made, having learned from experience) .

Very imporant to know if you run on Vista or Windows7: DON'T install Baldur's Gate into the Program Files folder or Vista/Win7 will have a mind of it's own on where to place your BG-data and you won't succeed in installing BGT.

Very important to know if you want BG2Fixpack in a BGT install: unlike the other mods you might choose, BG2Fixpack must be applied to your BG2 install before applying the BGTsetup to your install (or you won't be able to get past the first map because of having the wrong worldmap).

Modifié par Son of Imoen, 18 septembre 2010 - 09:57 .

[Humanoid_Taifun]

Son of Imoen wrote...
Very important to know if you want BG2Tweaks in a BGT install: unlike the other mods you might choose, BG2Tweaks must be applied to your BG2 install before applying the BGTsetup to your install (or you won't be able to get past the first map because of having the wrong worldmap).

You mean the G3 Fixpack.
The G3 Tweaks still goes as one of your last mods (and several of it's components can only be installed if BGT is already in place)

[Son of Imoen]

Thanks for correcting me. I meant BG2Fixpack of course. Good thing about this new forum, older posts can be edited still.. Just fixed my post. Thanks again.

[Ginkasa]

So, I'm going through it again with the thought that this should be my character. This time, however, I have run into the dreaded Beregost Bug. I've been keeping multiple saves for this purpose, so its not a huge deal, but I still wanted to be able to "fix" the corrupted save, if possible. So, I downloaded the "crash fixer" and followed the instructions, but I am completely unable to find where my games are saving. I tried within the Baldur's Gate folder, but the only save in there was the "Mission Pack" save. I looked all over the BGTutu folder, but I could find any saves in there. I thought maybe the games were technically "BG2" saves (since its in BG2's engine), but I saw nothing.



Obviously I wasn't able to fix my save, so I just reverted to my last save 10 minutes prior. Not much of a loss at all. However, I'd like to be able to fix it if this happens again at more inopportune time. Anyone have any ideas on where EasyTutu saves would be kept?

[Marty Silverblade]

In your TuTu folder there should be a folder called 'save'.

[Ginkasa]

There wasn't, though. There was a "tempsave," but there's nothing in there (well, no saves) and no other likely folders. I did look through all of them just to see, but nothing.

[Humanoid_Taifun]

Did you perchance do the mistake of installing Baldur's Gate on a modern windows version (Vista/7) in the Program Files folder?

[jaxsbudgie]

Ginkasa wrote...

There wasn't, though. There was a "tempsave," but there's nothing in there (well, no saves) and no other likely folders. I did look through all of them just to see, but nothing.

Click on Compatibility Files at the top, your save folder should be there.

[Ginkasa]

Humanoid_Taifun wrote...

Did you perchance do the mistake of installing Baldur's Gate on a modern windows version (Vista/7) in the Program Files folder?

Er...  Yes...

[CoM Solaufein]

Big mistake. Never install any games in the Program Files of Win7, its nothing but a headache. Just make a folder on the C: drive called games and install all your games there.

[Ginkasa]

Particular reason why? Not doubting you; just curious.