Hey guys, I just installed a Baldurs Gate 1 and 2, and right now I'm modding both with some mods like Fix Pack's and Widescreen mods.

So I stumbled upon a mod which every modding guide recommends Baldurs Gate Trilogy, after reading for awhile I realized that what the mod does is make Baldurs Gate 1 engine into Baldurs Gate 2, so I created this thread to ask you guys 2 questions:

1)I never played any of the Baldurs Gate games before, and since I will do it now, i'm wondering is this mod worth having ?

2) Also, since the mod changes BG1 engine into 2, what is basically the difference between the first game's engine and second game's engine ? What does BG 2 engine have different from BG 1 ? I'm asking this basically because I need to know will I install BGT or play BG1 with Vanilla engine.

Thanks.

Absolutely, the mod is worth having, but... do yourself a favour, and don't install it until after you have played BG1 at least once as vanilla. See below. The difference is huge, but not just because of the engine. BGT and TuTu bring along everything that's possible in BG2 into BG1, including all items, class abilities, class kits, etc. Basically, if you can find it in BG2, then it's in BGT. It also brings certain advantages like being able to highlight interactive objest with the TAB key, slightly improved path finding, and support for more screen resolutions -- be VERY wary of installing the widescreen mod, since your save games will become incompatible if you change resolution mid-game.

Be absolutely clear on one thing: when you play BG1 as BGT you will NOT be playing BG1. You will be playing BG1+ That said, you should do yourself the biggest favour and play the game at least once in vanilla, because you can never, ever get back that first impression or experience.

Okay, last question

After I complete the BG1, will something happen to my saves or mods be it for BG1 or BG2 when I install BGT ?

BGT seamlessly carries over into BG2 at the end of BG1, with an inserted story plot for continuity. Your character, Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Viconia, Edwin will all be carried over with the exact same stats as they had in your BG1 playthrough. Remember that you are playing in the BG2 engine; this is what makes this possible. Just make sure that you have the three of the following in your inventory BEFORE you defeat Sarevok, as these will get carried over (one from each list):

1.
Golden Pantaloons

2. Choose one of these (only one will carry):
Helm of Balduran (best)
or
Claw of Kazgaroth
or
Horn of Kazgaroth
or
Koveras' Ring of Protection +1


3. Choose one of these (only one will carry):
Chain Mail +3 (best)
or
Mail of the Dead
or
Fallorain's Plate
or
Protector of the Second

There is one problem with playing BG1 this way: you have to deal with the proficiency system used in BG2. Whereas in the original proficiency categories were few in number and broad in scope, BG2 has a greater number of possible proficiencies which are all very restrictive; in 1, "large swords" covers long swords, two handed swords, scimitars, and bastard swords, "blunt weapons" covered clubs, quarterstaves, maces, and "spears" also included halberds, etc., while 2 made it so that each weapon had its own proficiency. Furthermore, BG2 also introduced weapon fighting style proficiencies.

Now, so far, this doesn't seem too bad; so long as the player chooses how to allocate their proficiency points effectively, even if it does result in a few headaches and makes your character a lot less versatile. The problem is that a lot of the joinable PCs have had their proficiencies readjusted to try to fit into this new format, and the results are... mixed. Vanilla Khalid has ++ in Large Swords, + in Bows and + in Axes, and vanilla Jaheira has ++ in Blunt Weapons and ++ in missile weapons; I can't remember what they did to Jaheira, but Khalid in BGT has ++ in Two Weapon Fighting and... ++ in Bastard swords. Bastard swords are the rarest and overall least powerful swords in BG1, and he is practically stuck with them, as trying to use a regular Long Sword gives him a penalty (unless it is enchanted, but even then the enchantment has to overcome the penalty before it starts making a difference). He has no long range capability at all anymore, not even the + in Axes that would allow him to use throwing axes effective. From a balance point of view, it's kind of a mess; then again, BGT does feature improved pathfinding (which in vanilla BG is a little bit "special" from time to time), so it's not like it's an entirely bad idea.

Okay, but will mods be conflicted with BGT since I have everything installed right now ?

That depends: mods must be made BGT compatible. It is up to you to read the instructions, and only download and install BGT compatible mods.

You can't install BGT into a modded BG2 installation, you would have to do a clean install.

I would definitely play BG1 with the BG2 engine, but consider using Easy TuTu instead of BGT.
TuTu only covers the BG1 game & so you can retain the BG1 weapon proficiency system (with BG2 Tweaks)
and avoid what Jonesy89 was talking about.

Yes you can. It is not advisable in most case, but you can: some mods like 'Turnabout', 'Ascension' and the BG2 Fixpack SHOULD be installed before BGT. It is BG1 that requires a clean install for BGT.

Easily solved, fortunately: the BG2 Tweak Pack (another mod which the OP's modding guides recommend) has a tweak to use BG1 weapon proficiencies. I can verify that it does work with BGT, since I used it myself not too long ago. For the reasons Jonesy stated, I HIGHLY recommend using it if you play in the BG2 engine (or when playing BG2 full stop).

It also bears mentioning that Hickory's Golden Pantaloons (I never thought I'd say that...) aren't an item which is necessary to carry over: they're part of a well hidden easter egg throughout the games which, if you manage to complete all of it (which more or less requires out of character knowledge), will give you a powerful item towards the end of the game. If you have them, then put them in your OWN character's inventory (same for the other items, I believe it only carries over if you're carry them), but if not, then don't worry.

Hickory also mentioned that "Your character, Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Viconia, Edwin will all be carried over with the exact same stats as they had in your BG1 playthrough." Unless BGT does it automatically without telling me, I think that that's only the case if you install the tweak pack, and the appropriate tweak (another I highly recommend, and a significant part of the reason why I - who haven't played BG1 vanilla much, admittedly - suggest using BGT). Incidentally, don't take that list as a "good" party to have: Edwin and Viconia are evil and...will likely come to blows with the other three quite rapidly. Also, Jaheira and Minsc come with other NPCs who they will always accompany, bar exploits. BG2 assumes you played BG1 with those characters: Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Minsc and Dynaheir, so for maximum continuity you might want to do that for your first playthrough.

I would recommend Tutu instead of BGT for a BG1++ experience, but honestly it's a personal preference and I know many folks prefer BGT over Tutu.

As much as I dislike the crappy pathfinding and slow movement of base BG1, I really do think it's best to play it once in its original state. The changes to the proficiency system that Jonesy89 discussed cannot be understated. (The thief skill system changed, too, but that's less of a problem as long as you put EVERYTHING into locks and traps.) Because BG1 wasn't designed for a BG2-style proficiency system, it can be substantially more difficult to find appropriate weapons to use, especially on your first playthrough. If you take a proficiency in rarer styles like Bastard Swords, Scimitars, or Katanas, you can get really screwed if you don't know where the good loot (or even a good weapon shop) can be located. In some cases, there ISN'T any good loot for that proficiency until after you finish BG1 entirely! There's a mod for using the old proficiency system with Tutu, but I'm pretty sure it makes it difficult to import your Tutu save into BG2.

After you've played it once and gotten the original experience (and you know where stuff can be found) there's little reason to go back to base BG1, but that first playthrough is critical. Personally though, I think BG2 is a superior game in every way, so alternatively you could just skip BG1 completely and come back to it afterwards...

blabla:

Please try and ignore Hickory like the rest of us do, he tries to make everything more complicated than it is.

If you installed the widescreen mod in BG1 or BG2, you will need to do a clean install before using TuTu or BGT.
Just uninstalling the mods is not good enough.

Hahaha! So you speak for everybody else now, do you? Yeah, my advice was really very complicated, wasn't it? I really don't know where you're coming from with a comment like that, but it makes you look a fool. *snicker*


No, it's part of the core BGT. It's kind of the whole point of it, being a seamless trilogy. From the readme:

"Continuity from Baldur's Gate into Shadows of Amn: BGT-WeiDU uses a dynamic system to transfer players from the end of Baldur's Gate to Shadows of Amn. A cover story is used, in which the player talks to Belt after Sarevok is defeated, and NPCs are conditionally imported into Shadows of Amn depending on what fate you led them to experience in Baldur?s Gate."