Store mods: too powerful items?

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In other words, in order to have some of the very powerful items you will need to practically forgo many other lesser item upgrades and to ignore buying the game's regular items just to save money for a long time. It will indirectly weaken your party, which is a compensation for the power of that particular powerful item. For example, collecting 250,000 gp (for making one single item) is no easy task and it requires ignoring many other cool items in the game. (Not to mention the other hard-to-attain ingredients such an item upgrade may require.)

And this is, of course, in addition to the tactical challenges and enhanced battles added to the game by the mod, which make me hesitate to call (even the strongest of) those new items "overpowered".

[ September 28, 2006, 21:55: Message edited by: Sikret ]

 

I would suggest that a trend towards enhancing battles to compensate for powerful items is one I wouldn't regard highly. (Weimer has long advocated the use of Tactics and Item Upgrade together in this sort of balancing act.) While it may result in a "balanced" game, I consider low/medium-power, immersive gameplay superior to over-the-top action. I like your track of forcing players to forgo other upgrades in exchange for yours--my general support for increasing difficulty in terms of limiting player advancement is evident from the DEF JAM mod--but I'd sooner see items toned down than encounters beefed up to match them.

 

The tactical challenges and enhanced battles are not added for the mere purpose of compensating a number of powerful items. The main purpose of adding tactical challenges was to make the game more challenging and to give a fresh atmosphere and flavor to an old game which is repeatedly played for dozens of times by most players.

Compensating the power of those new items is just a secondary (but welcome) side-effect of the tactical content of the mod.

When I said that players would need to forgo many other item upgrades to save money for forging the powerful items, I was not necessarily talking about item upgrades offered by other mods. I was rather primarily talking about other item upgrades of IA.

 

^Because IA is uncompatible with Item Upgrade
and Tactics anyway.

Say, Sikret, I am going off topic a little, but are there components in IA which is compatible with Tactics? What happens if I install IA on top of tactics, will it override it, or something spooky will happen? Just curious!

Ah, and I installed the Four mod, but skipped its second component, as it was saying something about IA and so on...did I do the right thing?

I am soo enthusiastic about the Four's new items and their guardians. I think introducing powerful items via tough battles is the best idea in IE modding-history. At least it is better than just making them sellable via merchants. I can not wait to see!

 

Hi, Silverstar!

1- I have already replied to your question about Tactics and IA in this post, but I will repeat it again here:

Only seven components of Tactics are incompatible with IA. Here is the list of those seven component:
- Improved Torgal
- Smarter Dragons
- Improved Irenicus
- Improved Guarded Compound
- Improved Oasis
- Slightly Smarter Liches
- Improved Twisted Rune

You can install other components of Tactics with IA. Tactics should be installed before IA.

Some components of "Improved Battles" mod are also incompatible with IA. The complete list of incompatible mods with IA is available in the "Installation" text file, which is available in the download package and is also attached to the mod's readme file in the forum. See this topic and open the attached text files for detailed information.

2- Make sure that you have IA v3.0

3- Don't forget Auramaster Druid Kit this time.

4- As for "The Four" mod,
If you plan to install IA v3.0, then you don't need to install the second component of The Four.

 

Coolness, Sikret, the list of tactical challenges are way...longer...than I expected. With this mod, I can enhance all other battles&foes normally untouched by Tactics, and there are just soo many! All components are optional and are asked one by one upon installation, right? Oh this is great news indeed! Thank you!

EDIT:One more question, please. The components about the Spellhold, are they compatible with Improved Asylum mod? Your list does not have that mod, but I feel like I must ask nevertheless...

[ September 29, 2006, 19:39: Message edited by: Silverstar ]

 

The events/tactical challenges/item upgrade components etc... of Improved Anvil are closely related to each other in a degree that it is not possible to divide them into optional components.

The compatibility with Improved Asylum is unknown. If you want to try both Improved Anvil and Improved Asylum (to test their compatibility), you should do it on your own risk (though, I'll be grateful if you also inform me of the result of your test if you do it).

 

Oh this is a bummer. So it is not divided into components, it is all or nothing?

I will try to do my best, but when I will be able to start my new game, I do not know...I am at college right now, and will be able to play BG2 very rarely, once or twice on weekends per month, which sucks.

So you want me to test if IAsylum is compatible with IAnvil? Well, I may try, but when, I do not know. Perhaps, a new version will be available by that time, or some body will check it. (hopefully )

I will really devour your The Four mod greedily though, and I plan to try Auramaster soon enough! (I will play that kit!)

Thanks Sikret, keep up the good work, I am honored to know you from these boards!

 

The honour is mine. Thanks for your kind words, Silverstar!

Auramaster kit mod alters Cernd to an Auramaster, so you can pick any class you like for your main PC and then let Cernd join your party and enjoy playing Auramaster kit without being forced to choose the kit for your main PC.

Yes, I'll appreciate if you test Improved Anvil with Improved Asylum and let me know the result. I guess that they will work fine together, but I'm not sure.

 

Sikret, Improved Anvil and Improved Asylum are compatible. I went through Spellhold today with both mods installed.

... well, at least, most of Improved Asylum is installed. I skipped the Spellhold Lich component of Rastor's mod, since you made some specific notes in your readme that the library will now hold a surprise... kinda. Or something.

Btw, that cat figurine is a delightful idea of yours. Great mod so far. Thanks.

 

Thanks for the feedback, Dendri!

And glad to hear that you are enjoying playing the mod.

 

I was reading this thread, and I started to feel something suspicious. Something is wrong. Then I realise: this is supposed to be my mod. I actually forgot what it contained at all except its title (Volcano Pack), but now that you've described the details, I start remember. It could probably be nominated for the "most overpowered of the overpowered items" title. (I've never played it, and would never play such overpowered mods. I made it 4 years ago because players seem to like such stuff ).

Well, as I've said in the above paragraph, I don't like overpowered stuff. In fact, I don't really like the +4 items available in a Saradush Inn when normally only +3 stuff can be found in places like Durlag's Tower. And anyway, I don't like too powerful stuff if there is too many of it.
However, many players (including you) prefer mods which most players/modders call "overpowered". The reason can be found deeply in a player's motivations. A player plays the game because it's fun. Certain players install mods that balance the game even more than it originally is, others install powerful items with hard battles, another players install "overpowered" stuff... to each his own. But it's a fact that most (if not all) players love playing with Powerful weapons/spells at least for a limited time. Because of the pure fun.

The evidence why so extremely overpowered mods such as Volcano Pack have right to exist, it seems. The feel of power, and thus the best gaming fun! I had thought this mod became "forgotten", and now that I check it has 900+ downloads on SP and you are one of its players. This was surprising.

Though I've to admit that I don't really know the details of other released mods, so I might be wrong when I state that "Volcano Pack" is "extremely overpowered".

 

^Well I am honored to see you here Baronius! You have done quite a good job, I must say. Those unique spell scrolls are kwell as well. Shame sorcerers can not learn them, aye?