First time player: Should I play with Trilogy mod?

[Anezka de Astora]

Hey!
I played BG2 a looong time ago (didn't complete it), and now I bought BG1 EE. Does it have an import save option to BG2EE, or should I play with the Trilogy mod?

Is the Trilogy mod well-adapted? Does it really gives a feel of continuity or does it feel "weird" or "artificial", as it being a mod and not part of the game?

Also, any essential mods? Like, really needed (UI fixes, bugs, etc.), I'm not looking for portraits or decorative things.

Thanks a lot :)

[Messsucher]

BG1 does now have DLC which try to transition your team from BG1 to BG2, storywise. I do not know does that Trilogy mod work with it.

[Nobody]

Bg2ee imports your save just fine from bgee

[Raigavin]

Originally posted by Anezka:

Hey!
I played BG2 a looong time ago (didn't complete it), and now I bought BG1 EE. Does it have an import save option to BG2EE, or should I play with the Trilogy mod

I suggest not to play with the Trilogy mod for the first time in EE, mostly because it will require you to play the game in BG2EE and you won't unlock BGEE achievements while playing the first game in the BG2EE.

[Leeux]

I'm a fan and advocate for the EET mod, by heart... and I normally would always play with it myself... but even then, I wouldn't advise or suggest to use it on a first play-through either.

Most of all, because even if it's very stable and works like a charm, as for all software, it's always the chance of getting stuck on some unforeseen issue that should never happen, but it still happens to you... you know how software is :) I.e. the more layers you add that can fail, the higher the chance of failure... but the most important point here is that you should always want to minimize annoyances and problems on your first playthrough, IMO.

Also, Raigavin above has a very good point that I hadn't even considered myself (I don't care about achievs much, tbh.)

[Anezka de Astora]

Thanks everybody :) I'll skil the EET mod then!

[Damn_Monkey]

I'm a fan of the Unfinished Business mods. Adds a bit extra that was always meant to be in there.

[AlyaBT]

Originally posted by Leeux:

I'm a fan and advocate for the EET mod, by heart... and I normally would always play with it myself... but even then, I wouldn't advise or suggest to use it on a first play-through either.

Most of all, because even if it's very stable and works like a charm, as for all software, it's always the chance of getting stuck on some unforeseen issue that should never happen, but it still happens to you... you know how software is :) I.e. the more layers you add that can fail, the higher the chance of failure... but the most important point here is that you should always want to minimize annoyances and problems on your first playthrough, IMO.

Also, Raigavin above has a very good point that I hadn't even considered myself (I don't care about achievs much, tbh.)

sorry for the dumb question, but how do i know the mod is working? i installed it and can't tell if i did it right

[Leeux]

Originally posted by AlyaBT:

sorry for the dumb question, but how do i know the mod is working? i installed it and can't tell if i did it right

I'd say, if it wasn't working you'd certainly know... Other than that there's not much difference you can tell from the start of BG1.

Most important question is: Have you installed the component EET_End and it ran to completion? If so, then I foresee no issues... that's the critical part of the EET mod.

I would recommend to enable the cheats console (assuming this is not the first time you play the game, as I said in my post! :P) and go around the world checking for stuff before committing to a full playthrough... like, for example, quickly do Nashkel mines and reach the ending (that's why I suggest you to use cheats, so you can do this quickly) and see if all the triggers work properly... all of this with a disposable test character ofc.

And since you are around the world checking, there are some issues that crop up every time the mod is badly installed, like... for example, Imoen having BG2 dialogue in the first BG1 encounter outside candlekeep (or any other companion for that matter... i.e. same happens to Jaheira in Friendly Arm Inn when she delivers her BG2 dialogue.

Other abnormal stuff you could check to see if it is not present, incorrect strings assigned to item names and or descriptions, like for example, a spell having as a description the string corresponding to another part of the game, etc.

That's why I say you'd notice, it's fairly obvious when something gone wrong during install.

I'd say if nothing I mentioned is visible in your game, then you should be good to go!

Happy New Year, and enjoy the best version of the BG games available :P

[Bored and Tired Gamer]

I suggest keeping up with the offical games and EE versions. Playing the offical EE games is allready fun and there is this offical insurance from the original developers themselves.