I think I tried to install infinity engine editor one time and when I ran it I ended up having to reinstall Windows...

Anyway, I just want to know what utilities are available and what they are capable of. Is there anything that allows complete level design? Changing monsters AI, stats, equipment, known spells, and animations? I'm talking TC modding here like replacing the cutaways with custom ones, replacing all NPCs, merchants, and extras with customs, replacing certain spells, weapons,armor, etc. and so on. Any ideas? I have a really, really cool story idea that will be set in its own world and totally independent of the BG story, but want to use the Baldur's Gate engine and interface.

Check this link. This is the home of the most modding tools you'll need. Make sure to download some script editor, WinBiff, IEEP, Infinity Talker.
You will also need WeiDU dialog compiler. Shadowkeeper is esential for character viewing. NearInfinity (file viewer) is pretty good, but Infinity Explorer (from TeamBG) is better in some areas.
Other tools will come by time. You'll not need all of them immediately.
And, man, do step by step. ;) Making complete conversion is too early if you are new at this.

I really like Near Infinity.
pretty powerful and easy to use.
A great program to start on.

also, www.teambg.com have lots of mods and tutorials and stuff to help with your modding needs.

Thanks. I should be able to handle this with a little practice. Back when I used to mod StarCraft I went from having no idea what I was doint to being ablt to add whole races and entirely new abilities and actions, so it is basicly just about how much time one is willing to spend...and I'm willing to spend a lot of time...

Infinity Explorer is not a TeamBG tool, it was developed by Dmitry Jemerov, and can be downloaded from http://infexp.sourceforge.net

In this, you are correct. Adding items, creatures, and quests to the game in EXISTING areas should provide a good challenge for a good while. Near Infinity and WeiDU provide you with basically everything you need to accomplish this.

Adding totally new areas or revamping the game as a "TC" is NOT for beginners.

[ 10-17-2002, 01:39 AM: Message edited by: jcompton ]

Of course it is not a TeamBG tool. But it is a tool that can be sownloaded from TeamBG website.
See, I have links for those programs I've listed, only IE has not one. So I said it can be found at TeamBG - first link in my post.

NI is very powerful, but its GUI is not as good as that of IE, and I find it too confusing sometimes. Find options in both programs are bad. NI can only search for creatures, items, spells, stores, and IE only for strings in dialogs or scripts.

No, it can't. TeamBG happens to have a link to the InfExp site. That's all. You said "from TeamBG." It is not.

No. NI has a very powerful string search function, as a matter of fact.

What about making changes to existing map areas, or stealing one of the areas from BG1 and importing it into BG2? What would you score the difficulty of that to be?

What about making changes to existing map areas, or stealing one of the areas from BG1 and importing it into BG2? What would you score the difficulty of that to be?</font>[/QUOTE]I can't give you a totally accurate assessment since I don't actually do it.

As I understand it, taking an area out of BG2 and repurposing it is not too terribly bad. You can use Near Infinity to define an ARE file, or work in IETME from TeamBG, and linking it to another area via a portal or a teleportation scroll/script works. This is how Weimer's Ritual was created: he took an area graphic that already existed in the data files and made it into a totally new location, reachable only through a special dialogue at Watcher's Keep.

Creating a new area with tilesets can also be done with IETME. I can't rate the difficulty there.

Adding new areas to the worldmap is presently rather tricky and nasty, BUT, some people smarter than I are very very close to figuring out how to make it easy. That bit of research can be found here: (click here) and if you are interested in area editing, I STRONGLY urge you to get in on this. They're soooooooo close to cracking it.