Newbie help needed

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hey guys/gals i just purchased bg2/t.o.b. in reading post i was wondering..should i download patches or hacks before i start playing? im not real computer savy but if i need to download something to make the game better i will give it a try. thanks for your help. also should i download tob immediatly or wait until i complete s.o.a thanks again.

[ February 06, 2007, 19:16: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

 

You should load ToB right away and then you should patch that installation. As for mods and such I would wait for your first run through to try them. As for DL the patch it is easy, just click on the link and it installs for you with a few clicks of the mouse.

 

oh o.k. thanks. anything else i should know?

 

keep the hope alive!

it's a great game, i wish i could play it through for the first time again though, what great times i had..

i'm sure you will enjoy!

and if you find the time, please report on your discoveries!

 

BGII SoA/ToB is a great game. A lot of us keep going back to it. And we feel a twinge of envy when we hear someone is playing it for the first time.

Install ToB and patch and play the best cRPG written.

 

thanks so much for your help/comments. i cant wait. i ordered it online and it will be here tommorrow. any tips on a main charecter or party? also when i download a patch, is that it? does it know where to go or what to do? sorry for the dumb question but ive never used one or even know what they do. thanks again.

 

it should, its a very smart patch

 

Tips:

1) Read the manual, it is full of errors but it helps nevertheless.

2) Stay away from walkthroughs, it will only make you feel bad to read how many possible advantadges you left out by playing sensible and spoil your game. The game is beatable without always doing the most beneficial thing. Don't bother if you miss a few XP or gold pieces because of choosing a suboptimal dialogue option, it won't matter on the long run.
Ask in the forum if you get stuck.

Save often and use several save games, don't hesitate to reload if a party member dies and you don't have a cleric to resurrect him, you'll have to reload often since some encounters are unfair.


3) Don't create a character with 15 in all stats, max out the important stats for your class (dex and con are very important for all classes) and lower the rest.
You can beat the game with any class you like, some are easier and some are harder.
But it doesn't matter that much, the PC is only one of 6 party members.
It's easier if you try to maintain a good reputation and only keep non-evil party members on the long run.

 

As mentioned before, load Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal -- then the Throne of Bhaal patch. You might want to install the Baldurdash Fix Pack. It takes care of a lot of bugs which were never addressed in the last patch.

You can find the fix pack here.

 

Well it would be wiser to grab BG2 Fixpack wich fixes the mistakes Baldurdash made, and loads of bugs on top of that

 

The usual advice: BG2 Fixpack contains some fixes missed by BD, and lots of tweaks/arbitrary changes, so I recommend Baldurdash. On the other hand, if you prefer cool tweaks, you will love BG2 Fixpack.

 

Couldn't resist, eh?

I invite players to examine the documentation available for both the BG2 Fixpack and Baldurdash and make up their own minds. The Fixpack documentation is complete and thorough; in addition, every fix (and the reasoning behind it) is openly available on the Fixpack forums and we invite questions, comments, and feedback. And yes, we act on feedback, as has been demonstrated repeatedly.

 

I fail to understand the attitude you show each time I tell my opinion. When someone says he prefers another mod to mine, I don't consider it as a malicious act. I've just told my opinion, and offered my arguments. As you, Shaitan and everyone else does when they recommend a mod. You know it very well that I don't want to harm your mod, I've always had my arguments:

* The Fixpack hasn't been played for years. Just because it was tested for some time, we can't be sure it doesn't contain more serious problems any more. E.g. its previous version corrupted a spell which is correctly fixed by Baldurdash. We can't be sure that BG2 fixpack won't add new problems to the game.
* The documentation of the Fixpack introduces certain bugs as facts, yet many of them aren't obvious bugs, just results of highly subjective judgements. That is, the manual is not unbiased, because the "new" fixes it lists are based on things that may not be actual bugs. Hence I wouldn't spend hours to read it, but that's me.
* I believe Baldurdash, despite its flaws, is still very reliable, a more conscious, balanced choice than Fixpack. It corrects the most important bugs, and doesn't try to "identify" new and new things that can be "fixed" in some arbitrary way.

This is why my (and probably others) vote goes for Baldurdash, a classical, well-tested fixpack with long history.

But, as you've said, everyone can judge it on his or her own.

 

o.k. so now im confused. what if i play without downloading anything else? if i do download, should i download both S.O.A and T.O.B. ? thanks again for all your input and help.

 

You should do the following:

1. Install SoA.
2. Install ToB.

3. Get ToB English patch:
It's available here. It's the second entry: "Throne of Bhaal Official Patches 8MB". In the right, click the "English" link, and the download can be started.

4. Install ToB patch by running the file you have just downloaded in Step 3.

5. Get the Baldurdash-WeiDU Fix Pack from here
Click the file so the installer will be run. It will ask for the path of your game install. It will most likely be: CProgram Files\Black Isle\BGII - SoA but make sure you give the good path.
(Instead of what I linked above, you can also use the non-weidu Baldurdash linked by T2Bruno. Or BG2 Fixpack linked by Shaitan, though as I said it modifies your original game too much and may cause problems IMO.)

6. Play!

[ February 07, 2007, 00:22: Message edited by: Baronius ]

 

Baldurdash has bugs, including errors in spells. Unlike Fixpack, they'll never be fixed.

Again, so does Baldurdash. BD's completely random changes to Azuredge are an excellent example, or try the new quest it adds as a fix.

This is a valid, non-inflammatory, and thought-out opinion on the matter. If you'd use criticism like this instead of taking random swipes at Fixpack ("if you like tweaks, you'll love Fixpack!") or me personally, we could actually make this constructive and I wouldn't have to keep copying-and-pasting replies.

For a fun read, I suggest anyone interested take a gander through Extremist's docs for his SoA Fixpack. While it's certainly incomplete, he's more than willing to point out everywhere he's spotted that Baldurdash has done something arbitrarily or flat-out wrong.

 

Recommending your Fixpack to players who also like tweaks is obviously implicated by my points you've quoted... not a random swipe.

But I don't think this thread is for discussing fixpacks. I tried to stay between the limits of offering a good Fixpack choice to p0cketaces.

 

@p0cketaces:

Follow the first 4 steps in Baronius instruction and play.

Don't bother with Baldurdash or Fixpack until you know the game better. You will encounter some bugs, but nothing gamebreaking or too irritating.

Enjoy yourself and let the modders, who has already forgotten about you, have their own little flamewar in your post for countless pages.

 

You're right, of course, I need to stop being provoked into these threads. Apologies all around.

 

p0cketaces: I can second Ironhawk's words. Although step 5 is just a few clicks, don't install any fixpack if you don't want. You will still enjoy the game a LOT.