crushilista: I really would like to get into a game like this, but the UI is so old that it throws me off. Even the mod for Baldur's Gate 1 that makes it look 2 doesn't do much for me. Is there any mods that modernize the UI to be more accessible? I have the same issue with Planescape Torment and Icewind Dale.
Hickory: I suspect you're a console gamer. If that's the case, no advice here will satisfy you. None.
That...isn't really a very helpful response. Nor is it necessarily accurate: I don't and never have owned a console, but I had trouble when I first played, so much so that I abandoned the game several times before finally getting started. Incidentally, OP, it's well worth getting over any issues you have with the ui.
I suspect that your problem stems from not understanding the rules system the games use, rather than the ui (which is reasonably intuitive once you understand the rules). If you don't know what "THAC0" is, or how preparing spells works, then I'd suggest you scan through
this guide, and read any bits you don't know the answer to. It's quite long, but a lot of it is charts which are useful to reference, but you certainly don't need to remember.
If you ARE having trouble with the ui, then I've made a screenshot of the BG2 UI which shows what the buttons do which you can reference (attached). Most of the buttons are pretty obvious in use, but to be sure I've explained all of them. (The screenshot beneath the numbers isn't mine, incidentally: credit goes to Mobygames.com for that one).
1-8: Different tabs for the game. Clicking on these buttons will show you various screens for the game, much like in modern games. Journal, inventory, etc. Most won't auto-pause the game, so do pause before entering them if you're in the middle of a fight (using space).
1: Main view. If you're on a different screen, this will return you to the main one where you can see all the characters in the world, interact, fight, etc. Scroll with mouse at the side of the screen or arrow keys, etc. Most of the stuff at the bottom only appears on the main screen.
2: Map. Click on this to move where the the main view is showing. Compass in the top right shows the map of the larger world. Fairly self explanatory.
3: Journal. Essentially your quest log. You can edit and add entries if you click on them, and can scroll between chapters.
4: Inventory. Guess what you can do here. Items with a red background can't be used by the character holding them, ones with a blue background have a magic power you haven't identified yet (and are therefore valuable if you ID them). Right clicking will give you a description of an item, so you can read about its powers. It'll also let you identify unknown items. Double click to split a stack, drop an item on another character to give it to them.
5: Character sheets. Contains biographies for your characters, information on their xp, levels, and other statistics, and the level up button. Also contains some more advanced options for customising their AIs and suchlike.
6: Priest spells. If you're a cleric, druid, or (later) ranger or paladin, go here to prepare your spells. Click on the spell on the left to add it to the spells you're preparing, click on it on the right to remove it.
7: Mage spells. Same thing for if you're a mage, bard or sorcerer.
8: Options. Save, load, etc.
9: Rest. Kind of an important one, this'll let you try to rest, which will restore your spells and heal you a bit, but may result in you being attacked.
10: Characters. Click on them here or in the world to select them. How much of their portrait is red shows how injured they are (of course); hovering over the portrait will give an exact value. Drag them up and down to change their positions in the party.
11: Pause/play. Important in battles to think about your orders: consider also turning on some of the autopause options in the options menu.
12-21: Character actions. What buttons are available will depend on what abilities your class has. When you select multiple people this is replaced by some buttons allowing you to choose what formation your characters should move in by default.
12: Talk. No need to click this normally, but you you want to talk to someone who's attacking you, then click this button first.
13-14: Weapons. These are equipped from the inventory screen., and then you can quickly switch to them here by clicking on the weapon you want to use. If you don't equip a weapon in one of the slots, it'll switch to unarmed attacks instead. You can also attack friendly creatures or bash locks by clicking on a weapon, then on them.
15: Find traps. Thieves only. Look around for traps: if one shows up, it's highlighted as a box. In the screenshot, one's just been detected in the middle of the screen.
16: Thief skills. Thieves only. Disable traps, pick locks, or pick pockets, depending on what you click on after selecting this.
17: Hide in shadows. Thieves only (again). Self explanatory: Try to avoid detection. Ends if you attack, though you can get a damage multiplier on the attack..
18: Spellcasting. Casters only (obviously). Click this, then select the spell you want to cast.
19: Items. If there are items you're wearing which you can activate, they'll appear when you click this button.
20: Quick item slots. Quick access to the items you put in these from the inventory screen. Just a player convenience, if you're using the BG2 ui. You can also get quick spell buttons, which are similar. Right click on them to set a spell, and then you don't need to go through the spellcasting button to use that spell.
21: Special abilities. Some characters have special abilities they can use (and your own character will gain some as you go through the game). If you see this button isn't greyed out, click it to see what special powers the character has.
22: A couple of advanced options, don't worry about them until you feel ready.
I went into quite a bit of detail here. Don't feel you need to memorise all this. I wanted to be thorough, so you and other people can come and check if there's some subtlety they don't understand.
