1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Lightweight Modding

Discussion in 'Icewind Dale (Classic)' started by Ludovik, Feb 11, 2013.

  1. Ludovik Duty-bound

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2013
    Messages:
    19
    Media:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Male
    I asked a similar question re:planescape awhile back and got some good responses so if anyone is willing to indulge me, here's my question: I'm looking to play IWD for the first time. There are literally hundreds of MODS, what I'm looking for is some lightweight mods that fix broken aspects of the game without adding a tonne of items, equipment, characters, etc. I know that modding can change the "whole" game but I'm not looking for that just yet, just a few essential mods. I've browsed through the forums a bit and this list seems to be pretty spot on:

    • One Pixel Productions Animation Fixes for IWD:TotLM
    • The IWD Fixpack
    • One Pixel Productions High-Quality Music
    • Improved BAMs
    • Item Upgrade for IWD
    • Unfinished Business for Icewind Dale (aka IWD UB)
    • Icewind Dale NPCs (aka IWD NPCs)
    • Full Plate & Packing Steel
    • One Pixel Productions (aka 1pp)
    • Icewind Dale Tweak Pack (aka Tweaks)
    • The Widescreen Mod


    The only one I'm unsure about it Auril's Bane (aka AB). I feel like it might implement "too many" changes. Anyhow, if there's anything I'm missing here that you recommend, let me know!


    - Ludovik
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2013
  2. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2003
    Messages:
    6,103
    Media:
    1
    Likes Received:
    241
    Gender:
    Male
    Honestly, scrap most of that list.

    Don't add item mods to IWD because there are already tons of unique and interesting weapons and armor to find. I just finished a run-through that was exquisite, and all I used were:

    • Heart of Winter (not a patch, but you didn't mention it so I didn't want to assume)
    • Official patches
    • Trials of the Luremaster
    • IWD Fixpack
    • IWD Tweakpack
    • Widescreen mod

    ...and that's it. Done. Especially if you're playing for the first time. Don't add a bunch of extra junk, play it pure. Pure with bugfixes.

    The only other thing I would recommend is using Dalekeeper to make minor cosmetic changes (like giving an elven Fighter/Mage an Elf Mage avatar, etc.) if that sort of thing enhances your experience.

    Admittedly, I'm not familiar with the One Pixel's animation fixes, but I never thought the animations were all that broken.
     
  3. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2001
    Messages:
    8,731
    Media:
    88
    Likes Received:
    379
    Gender:
    Male
    I agree with DR. About the only thing from your list you might want to add to his list is Unfinished Business, but I don't think it's all that necessary. Also, I think that adding NPC's first time through sort of changes the game conceptually. It was supposed to be a dungeon crawl of self made characters, which is actually part of the fun. I enjoyed creating the whole party and making sure characters fit and I covered the bases the way I wanted to do it.
     
  4. Blades of Vanatar

    Blades of Vanatar Vanatar will rise again Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2008
    Messages:
    4,147
    Likes Received:
    224
    Gender:
    Male
    The 3 mods DR listed are a must. I like UB as well. Item Upgrade? If it's your first time, not necessary.

    IWD NPCs is a great mod IMO. It limits your party composition but adds character depth. But, I would skip it on your 1st run, save it for a later run.
     
  5. Gafgorkion Gems: 4/31
    Latest gem: Sunstone


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2000
    Messages:
    96
    Likes Received:
    1
    I like the 1pp mod, and its basically the only mod I use besides the widescreen mod.

    The 1pp mod is purely graphic. It doesn't change the gameplay. The 1pp mod restores the old BG1 style graphics and paperdolls instead of using the BG2 style.

    For example, remember how BG1 had more natural looking shields while BG2 had more angular gothic looking shields? The 1pp mod reverts back to the BG1 style shields. Also BG1 had much better looking paperdolls, especially elves, which were redone and looked much uglier in BG2. Also remember when BG1 flaming weapons actually had flames and didn't just glow like they do in BG2?

    Here's a comparison screenshot of BG1 style versus BG2 style.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Ludovik Duty-bound

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2013
    Messages:
    19
    Media:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Male
    What about the individual items in the tweaks? I know it'd be a pain to say "yeh" or "neh" to every individual item in the tweak pack but my impression is for my first playthrough I only want a couple ticked off anyhow. I'm not sure about the rule changes though.
     
  7. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2003
    Messages:
    6,103
    Media:
    1
    Likes Received:
    241
    Gender:
    Male
    The changes are pretty straightforward. Most of the rule-change tweaks are geared toward bringing the goofy 2nd Edition ruleset a little closer to 3rd Edition. If you don't like them, leave them out. They don't change the game drastically. Giving your fighter/druid the ability to use a bow isn't what I would consider game-breaking. The un-nerfed Thac0 and spell progression tables might be pushing it, but again - they're all optional, and they don't break the game. If anything seems off to you, leave it out and enjoy. :)
     
    Ludovik likes this.
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.