Weimer Mod Upgrades

[Cerek the Barbaric]

I've just installed BGII and ToB on a different PC and FINALLY managed to get the Weimer Mods I wanted installed properly also (ran into various glitches with installing the game and mods both on my first couple of tries). Apparantly, there have been some upgrades to the Mods since I originally downloaded them (around this time last year, IIRC).

I installed Tactics, Ease-of-Use, and Item Upgrade Mods. Then I began a new game. I'm just getting started in Chateau Irenicus, but I've already noticed some definite changes.

First of all, I noticed that EVERY door I open is now "magically stuck open" and apparantly can NOT be closed again. There also seems to be NO TRAPS! I noticed the "No locks and traps" component in Ease-of-Use. To be honost, I'm not thrilled with that particular change. Detecting traps is one of the MAIN reasons to bring a thief along in your party. It is an intergral part of the game, IMHO.

I also do NOT like the idea of being unable to close doors behind me. I routinely do this in Chateau Irenicus when I want to rest and regain spells (although the random thief and his war dogs would just appear inside the room anyway), but I also used this tactic extensively to defeat Improved Ilyich and his crew. I'm sure I can find a way to beat him eventually, but there is nothing wrong with being able to run away from an enemy in order to lure him into an ambush - AND to separate the party members so that I don't have to face the entire group at one time.

I'm also having to adjust to the Attacking Duergars that have apparantly replaced the Random Thief. They are much tougher and seem to generate much more quickly.

Does anybody know how to "turn off" the component that leaves doors "magically stuck open"?

Oh, and do items from Arundor's Abode cause any problems with the Weimer Mods??

I had never had any trouble before, but I have one game that FREEZES every single time I encounter the Random City Party that comes out after dark for the first time. I have made it through that battle sequence ONE TIME without the game freezing on me. Everything was working fine beforehand, then I gave my PC a couple of items from Arundor's in exchange for a couple of items from Illyich that didn't fit her character or personality. I had not encountered the Random Party before that, but I also had NO PROBLEM with the game freezing before adding those items.

Any suggestions or advice?

[shamrock_uk]

That sounds like part of the Improved Ilyich addition in the Tactics Mod. You would need to uninstall that to close them. Making doors stick open is a standard Weimer method to avoid the "cloudkill, close door" tactics because apparently it's nearly impossible to get the AI to open doors properly. But yes, I wish there was a different way because I find it most annoying too. From memory, you'll encounter similar in the De'Arnise keep with Improved TorGal as well.

[Cerek the Barbaric]

I agree that the Cloudkill/Close door Tactic is cheesy...but I normally only use that against Umber Hulks or the like, so I think that is a fair use (since they aren't necessarily smart enough to open the doors to begin with.

I agree that luring an enemy into a room or corridor and then closing the door behind him/her to prevent their party members from following is also cheesy, but it simulates that you shut the door and threw the bolt, locking them out.

Ok, it's still cheesy, but Illyich and Crew are also way overpowered for the PC that early in the game, so I see nothing wrong with using every advantage I can come up with.

[LennonCook]

From the Ease-of-Use readme:

No Traps or Locks All floor traps that can be disarmed are removed from the game. All door and container traps are removed from the game. All locked doors and containers have their lockpick difficulty set to 0 (they can be bashed open by anyone in one blow). All hidden doors have their detect difficulty set to 0 (anyone will detect them by standing around long enough). "Special" traps like the wand traps in Chateau Irenicus or the Monster Summoning Thing in the Guarded Compound remain.

The Tactics readme doesn't mention the doors staying open in Chateau Irenicus in the component description (a good reason to bug Weimer), but it DOES mention it in the version history:

Release 17: * Doors on CI Level 1 stick open once opened.

You should read the readmes before installing the mod. Had you done this, as almost everywhere with links to mods advises you to do, you would have realised that you don't want the No Traps or Locks component of Ease-of-Use, you would have avoided installing that component, and you would have saved yourself some frustration.
As a general rule, you should try to figure out what each component of a mod means to you as a player before you install it -- not after.

[Leslie]

Those Duergar guys are not so tough - they have one weakness; when the warriors attack someone, they don't switch targets unless you somehow disappear. I usually have Imoen with Stoneskin running around while Minsc and Jaheira kick their running butt.

Mages are annoying and the best way to defeat them is to have someone with high HiS and MS attack them with bow and then HiS as soon as they start casting a spell, so that their spell is cancelled. It takes some time though.

[ 05-23-2004, 10:36 AM: Message edited by: Leslie ]

[Assassin]

How can you HiS properly if they can see you (IIRC, you can't HiS if enemies are in sight).

[Xen]

What he meant was that when a Mage spots you, you start running around a cornet to HiS. Then a spell will not affect you.

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Thanks for all the advice. I figured out last night that I can run from the duergar and the fighter will chase me while the mage stays in the same spot. So I lure the fighter away, kill him, then wait around for the mage's pre-cast spells to wear off.

One other thing I want to do with Shadowkeeper is to make Jester/Assassin. I'm basically trying to recreate The Joker from Batman comics. The Jester is the perfect class for most of his antics, but there is no denying that the Joker is also inherently evil. And since one of his favorite ways to kill people is by poisoning them, it seems natural to add the Assassin abilities to his character.

I've never tried to us SK to create a class that is normally not allowed. How would I go about doing that?

[Lord]

Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric: I've never tried to us SK to create a class that is normally not allowed. How would I go about doing that?

You can't do that with SK. You'd have to make a completely different class (with Near Infinity I think, or something else).

[Hank Parsons]

Very surprised no one mentioned this fact (at least not that I noticed):

You can uninstall any componant of Ease-Of-Use or Tactics, very easily. At any time, you can run the installer or setup program again, and choose which componants to turn on, or off. It's nothing to worry about. If you have something you don't like, turn that componant off.

If you don't like "No Traps", turn it off. I wouldn't like that either. I have a few componants of Ease-Of-Use, but certainly not that one. I think the game is too easy already.

About TACTICS. Why did you install it? The point of Tactics is to remove cheesy methods, and increase difficulty. It is to challenge you, and make you use more realistic battle tactics, instead of simple game-defeating methods like closing doors. I would not install Tactics and then complain that it's hard, since that is the point -- if you installed it, you should WANT harder battles.

The idea behind TACTICS componant for Chateau Irenicus is this: to make you use EVERY available "tactic" and item available to you on the level. You have to be very smart, stealthy, and efficient. You MUST go around the level collecting all the crucial, best-available equipment, and suiting up your character. You cannot just waltz around half-naked with one weapon you found in the first room. You must purposefully collect the best possible items, rest and memorize the best possible spells, and use the best Tactics to win this. People say it is "too hard for a new party" but it's not if you use the right methods. Even if you don't want Minsc, Jahera, and Imoen -- you should probably recruit them and ask for their help to pass this map.

Doors stick open? Good, they should -- at least to simulate the enemy opening doors you closed. You close the door and bolt the lock you say? Well Tactics says there isn't a lock on those doors (and why would there be a lock on a door INSIDE Irenicus' torture chambers?). Maybe the enemy stuck his foot in the door before you could shut it -- use your imagination. Umberhulks cannot open doors you say? Then how did the Umberhulks get into the room, they were born there?

Not trying to be sarcastic, just saying, this is the POINT of Tactics. It is intended to be this way, and if you read the READ ME, it forewarns you sufficiently.

Now just wait until you meet Improved Firkragg.

[ 05-23-2004, 07:25 PM: Message edited by: Hank Parsons ]