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Well so what are those changes? I imagine you were able to remove some code by dropping support, but that's a trivial guess.

Most changes are conceptual since changing the old code is only possible in a limited way, although with Alien's help we cleaned a few things.

Here are a few examples

  • Free selection instead of pre-selection - while valid for classic games this is not adequate for the quick changing EE_Scene. Offering *Recommended* or other selections is very biased and personal and also unfair to users as it gives them a false impression of what to expect. Instead:
  • Compilations - based on user's experience and preferences. You can select one and get all the included mods in one click (you can still fine tune them if you miss one or other mod). However, default mode is free selection with a minor aid for mods with a large number of components and choices - here you get a one-click option to activate a pre-setting.
  • Simplified conflict/dependency handling - it should be more visible that conflicts are warnings but not stoppers, It is easier to acknowledge and ignore them if you know what they are about.
  • Maintenance only needs to take EE into account - This is not visible for the user to a large extend but big difference for maintainers. In old BWS we could have a mod dependency e.g. on 1pp or Tobex and it did not exist for EE for the same mod. Some components worked only for some games. If a mod was updated, those often changed but were not notified to BWS, so many conflicts and dependencies appeared for the wrong game. EE users got warnings only valid for classic etc.
  • Fixpack dependencies are simplified. BWS used BWFixpack, a monster serving different game types with often overlapping mods. Some patch applied for EE but not classic or vice versa. Also BWFixpack was meant to serve both BWS and manual installs or BWP. A nightmare. BWSEE used its own base independent of all those considerations and with less than 10 percent of old heritage.
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So for the layman like me............

 

This tool is best suited (or only suited) for The EE version of the BG series, right?

 

I can choose a compilation provided by other users or a default, use that as a base to start from and then pick and choose other mods to add or remove according to what I want to do, correct?

 

What is the core difference of using this tool vs. BWS? I realize it's got a better future for maintinence and updates, and it looks to be easier for the everyday gamer to install EET in a customizable fashion.

 

It appears to be a customizable form of Mod installation. Honestly if it simplifies the EET Mod process it's a beautiful thing for users like me, since we will have the opportunity to play more, with different mixes of Mods. My biggest problem with BWS was not really understanding the conflict and component conflicts and how they would get addressed (or how I was supposed to address them). I would love to be able to play more and provide compilations and if this helps install EET with more clarity and ease I will try to help. This tool appears to offer users like me, who don't necessarily have the computer or modding skills to manipulate BWS, and have a clear understanding. Thanks Roxanne, I'm excited about trying a new install with a different mix of Mods.

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So for the layman like me............

 

This tool is best suited (or only suited) for The EE version of the BG series, right?

 

I can choose a compilation provided by other users or a default, use that as a base to start from and then pick and choose other mods to add or remove according to what I want to do, correct?

 

What is the core difference of using this tool vs. BWS? I realize it's got a better future for maintinence and updates, and it looks to be easier for the everyday gamer to install EET in a customizable fashion.

 

It appears to be a customizable form of Mod installation. Honestly if it simplifies the EET Mod process it's a beautiful thing for users like me, since we will have the opportunity to play more, with different mixes of Mods. My biggest problem with BWS was not really understanding the conflict and component conflicts and how they would get addressed (or how I was supposed to address them). I would love to be able to play more and provide compilations and if this helps install EET with more clarity and ease I will try to help. This tool appears to offer users like me, who don't necessarily have the computer or modding skills to manipulate BWS, and have a clear understanding. Thanks Roxanne, I'm excited about trying a new install with a different mix of Mods.

This is a valid summary.

 

At this moment, the difference to BWS is marginal because they shared the same base until a few days ago. I bailed out with this tool at the very last minute before the EE part of BWS went down the same way the classic part already did.

 

Understand this as an attempt to rescue what was still usable in late BWS. The possibility to enhance very much in the tool is limited by the software that was used to develop it. The only real way ahead was changes in concept of use and how this could be accomplished by the existing GUI menus and options. You cannot really go deeper into the core of the coding without breaking it.

We tried but had to revert much of it again.

 

This is not the future. It is just an attempt to preserve what still works and can be helpful for players. This is done in the absence of any alternative in the near future. The only other thing would have been a *do nothing*. BWS did not deserve that.

 

(Who knows, maybe some hero now appears to save BWS, would that not be great?)

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This is not the future. It is just an attempt to preserve what still works and can be helpful for players. This is done in the absence of any alternative in the near future. The only other thing would have been a *do nothing*. BWS did not deserve that.

 

(Who knows, maybe some hero now appears to save BWS, would that not be great?)

So is BWS not functioning well enough to handle an EET install right now?

 

Well thanks to everyone who has worked hard to keep this tool alive. I know that without BWS and this new version, gamers like me wouldn't get the opportunity to play many of the Mega Mods, and other mod combinations that are out there because a manual Weidu install just appears like a massively daunting task otherwise.

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This is not the future. It is just an attempt to preserve what still works and can be helpful for players. This is done in the absence of any alternative in the near future. The only other thing would have been a *do nothing*. BWS did not deserve that.

 

(Who knows, maybe some hero now appears to save BWS, would that not be great?)

So is BWS not functioning well enough to handle an EET install right now?

 

Well thanks to everyone who has worked hard to keep this tool alive. I know that without BWS and this new version, gamers like me wouldn't get the opportunity to play many of the Mega Mods, and other mod combinations that are out there because a manual Weidu install just appears like a massively daunting task otherwise.

 

BWS today will probably handle an EET install well enough, depending on your choice of mods. Last time I visited it, it did. Not that much has changed within a week. Like I tried to point out - I was not waiting with the alternative until it would be too late.

In addition Alien has introduced a couple of changes made for the new tool back into BWS to fresh it up, technically.

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  • Fixpack dependencies are simplified. BWS used BWFixpack, a monster serving different game types with often overlapping mods. Some patch applied for EE but not classic or vice versa. Also BWFixpack was meant to serve both BWS and manual installs or BWP. A nightmare. BWSEE used its own base independent of all those considerations and with less than 10 percent of old heritage.

I know in the past you've said you have a personal collection of fixes that you didn't include in BWFixpack for various reasons. It sounds like you're deprecating fixes only needed for the Classic Games. Is there any chance you'll be able to include some of those fixes for EE games that have otherwise only been in your personal collection?

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  • Fixpack dependencies are simplified. BWS used BWFixpack, a monster serving different game types with often overlapping mods. Some patch applied for EE but not classic or vice versa. Also BWFixpack was meant to serve both BWS and manual installs or BWP. A nightmare. BWSEE used its own base independent of all those considerations and with less than 10 percent of old heritage.

I know in the past you've said you have a personal collection of fixes that you didn't include in BWFixpack for various reasons. It sounds like you're deprecating fixes only needed for the Classic Games. Is there any chance you'll be able to include some of those fixes for EE games that have otherwise only been in your personal collection?

 

Where still applicable this has been done. I am still reviewing some remaining mods that I have not used for a long time myself.

In any case, I will not publish upgrade-patches for mods for which the owner has decided not to release them for EE or EET.

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Just popping in to say thank you Roxanne(and others) who have constantly kept BWS and now BWS-EE alive.

 

Playing through BGs without mods is not very interesting nowadays and im not savvy enough to install a huge amount of mods without tools like these, to me there is no playing BGs without these tools.

 

I was thinking of waiting for a playthrough until 2.5 hits, but if i read the notes correctly it contains just mostly bug fixes for BGs.

 

Thanks again!

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Just popping in to say thank you Roxanne(and others) who have constantly kept BWS and now BWS-EE alive.

 

Playing through BGs without mods is not very interesting nowadays and im not savvy enough to install a huge amount of mods without tools like these, to me there is no playing BGs without these tools.

 

I was thinking of waiting for a playthrough until 2.5 hits, but if i read the notes correctly it contains just mostly bug fixes for BGs.

 

Thanks again!

 

I completely agree. Though I am hoping that with the release of the 2.5 patches that K4thos will ride in shortly thereafter with the IWD-in-EET mod!

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If I have mod downloads from a BWS install of EET that I did last month, I should be able to just copy those mod file downloads and move them into the new BWS EE "download" folder where the mod files will be stored when downloaded, right?

 

I believe the tool will check the mods already in the folder and make sure they are up to date, and if not update them to the most recent download. This will save me some time where the BWS EE won't have to spend so much time downloading mods I already have stored elsewhere on my drive. Would I be inviting any type of "buggy" behavior by doing this? I'm thinking if I already have up to date copies of large mods like Sandrah or SCS I won't have a 10 hour install, but trying to make sure I'm not getting into a situation where I introduce bugs.

 

Thanks for the tool, and Thanks for the hand holding, it's appreciated!

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If I have mod downloads from a BWS install of EET that I did last month, I should be able to just copy those mod file downloads and move them into the new BWS EE "download" folder where the mod files will be stored when downloaded, right?

 

I believe the tool will check the mods already in the folder and make sure they are up to date, and if not update them to the most recent download. This will save me some time where the BWS EE won't have to spend so much time downloading mods I already have stored elsewhere on my drive. Would I be inviting any type of "buggy" behavior by doing this? I'm thinking if I already have up to date copies of large mods like Sandrah or SCS I won't have a 10 hour install, but trying to make sure I'm not getting into a situation where I introduce bugs.

 

Thanks for the tool, and Thanks for the hand holding, it's appreciated!

 

 

@Caserius Tendook Yes, you can move mod archives without problems.

Moving the archive to the new location or pointing the tool from the menu where you set all your directories will both work.

Note however that (just like with original BWS) some mods will be always downloaded if the github-master is used, since for those mods the current version cannot be confirmed. This is a nblessing or a curse - how you want to see it - because those are mods that fix issues more frequently and quicker than others on the cost of being very dynamic.

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Where will the compilations be hosted, or will they just be part of the "update" part of the EE Setup tool when you start a new install?

Compilations are in the folder BWS_EE/Compilations that you download with the setup tool.

How to load one is described in picture 5 here

http://gibberlings3.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=29337&do=findComment&comment=259940.

 

A brief description of what each one contains is here http://gibberlings3.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=29337&do=findComment&comment=259941.

At this early stage there are just a few examples I made myself.

The idea is that players who have successfully finished a game may want to share their experience and setup with others, so that this base can grow, In the topic above I made a description of how you can contribute your compilation if you want.

Comilations are just stored as ini files so just a couple of KB each, they come with the download of the tool or you can grab new ones with the update feature.

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