Bonus Merchants and the Macintosh

Butterfingers · 12-26-2002, 04:18 PM

I can't get them to work.

When I download the files, they show up as Simple Text documents. So, I cracked them open with Res Edit and Res Sorcerer and changed them to BG2 DATA documents. Only problem is, the game still will not recognize them. So, I checked out what in my system is using what, and, the two bonus merchant files were in use by another application. Retried, after a few restarts, etc, re-edited the files, etc, nothing working. The game refuses to see them as valid files, no bonus merchants show up where they should be, and, I still can't get them to stay as BG2 DATA files. For the life of me I can't get any info as to what those two files are in use by.

Anybody Mac side gotten them to work yet? Am I missing something obvious?

I have beaten the game three times now with out super cheesy items and I really want to see what certain things, like the Robe of Venca and Dakkon Zerth's blade is like.

On a side note, my BG2 ini file keeps turning into a simple text document and it makes the game screw up some times... Getting irritating

andrewas · 12-26-2002, 05:03 PM

Call the files ARxxxx.BCS like they came out of the .zip. Make sure their in the override folder under BG2. Let the game handle the rest, MacOS dosent know or care about what type of files they are, any more than M$ Windows does.

And when you say the file is changing to Simple Text - is the filename changing, or just what MacOS labels it as? The former is serious and fatal, the latter is irrelevant but irritating. In both cases I would look and see if theres any option to correct this behaviour, but Ive never heard of this happening under MacOS. Not that Im any sort of Mac expert.

Butterfingers · 12-26-2002, 05:10 PM

It shows as a simple text document. BG2 wont even recognize it. I had to edit the file type to even get it to show up as a BG2 file type. Otherwise, it shows up as text only.

Tried leaving it as a plain text document, looked for merchants, tried editing the file type, no such luck. It's just not working.

andrewas · 12-26-2002, 06:02 PM

BG2 hunts for the files by path and name - if its in ~/override and has the right filename, BG2 should find it. It is a fairly common error with the merchants to extract them to ~/override/override which wont work for obvious reasons. Dosent sound like what your are describing though.

The other behaviours your describing dont sound like the behaviour of any rational OS, so Im thinking something on your system is broken in some way.

Also - whe you say file type, do you mean the three character extension of the file is changing? If so, its bad. .ini should stay .ini at all times, every OS ive used uses .ini files to some degree.

If you have some kind of text mode command terminal available, use it to verify file names. GUIs pull all kinds of "user-friendly" tricks, text mode never lies.

Butterfingers · 12-28-2002, 06:42 PM

The file type stays the same. It is still a BCS file or whatever, but, the resource fork changes the data file to txt files. When the ini file changes to a Simpletext file, which happens some times while I am actually playing the game, I get a total system meltdown and BG2 just cuts off, then the Finder bombs, then I get a fatal freeze. When I restart, the ini file has changed from a Baldur's Gate document to a Simple Text file.

It is driving me crazy!

rhapsody407 · 12-28-2002, 07:00 PM

what OS are you playing this under, i suspect OSX, but i've had similar problems with Myth: TFL under classic...

Butterfingers · 12-28-2002, 09:47 PM

OS9.

I suspect it might have something to do with the Mac's built in file translation feature, but, I aint sure. Some times being user friendly can be a pain in the hind end.

andrewas · 12-29-2002, 01:22 PM

SO it changes the file type *while something else has it open* ?

Thats not user freindly, thats automated vandalism. Try turning off this file translation thingy.

Ill try and get on a mac at work when I go back, see if I can find out more about this, but the graphics dept are protective of the damn things.

12-26-2002, 05:03 PM	#2
andrewas Harper Join Date: October 2, 2001 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 42 Posts: 4,774	Call the files ARxxxx.BCS like they came out of the .zip. Make sure their in the override folder under BG2. Let the game handle the rest, MacOS dosent know or care about what type of files they are, any more than M$ Windows does. And when you say the file is changing to Simple Text - is the filename changing, or just what MacOS labels it as? The former is serious and fatal, the latter is irrelevant but irritating. In both cases I would look and see if theres any option to correct this behaviour, but Ive never heard of this happening under MacOS. Not that Im any sort of Mac expert. __________________ [img]\"http://www.sighost.us/members/Zvijer/andrewas.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

12-26-2002, 06:02 PM	#4
andrewas Harper Join Date: October 2, 2001 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 42 Posts: 4,774	BG2 hunts for the files by path and name - if its in ~/override and has the right filename, BG2 should find it. It is a fairly common error with the merchants to extract them to ~/override/override which wont work for obvious reasons. Dosent sound like what your are describing though. The other behaviours your describing dont sound like the behaviour of any rational OS, so Im thinking something on your system is broken in some way. Also - whe you say file type, do you mean the three character extension of the file is changing? If so, its bad. .ini should stay .ini at all times, every OS ive used uses .ini files to some degree. If you have some kind of text mode command terminal available, use it to verify file names. GUIs pull all kinds of "user-friendly" tricks, text mode never lies. __________________ [img]\"http://www.sighost.us/members/Zvijer/andrewas.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

12-29-2002, 01:22 PM	#8
andrewas Harper Join Date: October 2, 2001 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 42 Posts: 4,774	SO it changes the file type while something else has it open ? Thats not user freindly, thats automated vandalism. Try turning off this file translation thingy. Ill try and get on a mac at work when I go back, see if I can find out more about this, but the graphics dept are protective of the damn things. __________________ [img]\"http://www.sighost.us/members/Zvijer/andrewas.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
bonus merchants	Aunora Moonvale	Baldurs Gate II: Shadows of Amn & Throne of Bhaal	7	04-06-2003 07:20 AM
Where are the bonus merchants?	Luvian	Baldurs Gate II: Shadows of Amn & Throne of Bhaal	2	03-05-2002 08:27 PM
Bonus Merchants	Dundee Slaytern	Baldurs Gate II: Shadows of Amn & Throne of Bhaal	9	08-21-2001 09:55 PM
Bonus Merchants and ToB	hazard	Baldurs Gate II: Shadows of Amn & Throne of Bhaal	2	07-14-2001 05:23 PM
bonus cd merchants	tiger	Baldurs Gate II Archives	4	11-09-2000 03:22 AM

12-26-2002, 04:18 PM	#1
Butterfingers Drizzt Do'Urden Join Date: November 30, 2002 Location: Five Flagons Inn Posts: 633	I can't get them to work. When I download the files, they show up as Simple Text documents. So, I cracked them open with Res Edit and Res Sorcerer and changed them to BG2 DATA documents. Only problem is, the game still will not recognize them. So, I checked out what in my system is using what, and, the two bonus merchant files were in use by another application. Retried, after a few restarts, etc, re-edited the files, etc, nothing working. The game refuses to see them as valid files, no bonus merchants show up where they should be, and, I still can't get them to stay as BG2 DATA files. For the life of me I can't get any info as to what those two files are in use by. Anybody Mac side gotten them to work yet? Am I missing something obvious? I have beaten the game three times now with out super cheesy items and I really want to see what certain things, like the Robe of Venca and Dakkon Zerth's blade is like. On a side note, my BG2 ini file keeps turning into a simple text document and it makes the game screw up some times... Getting irritating

12-26-2002, 05:10 PM	#3
Butterfingers Drizzt Do'Urden Join Date: November 30, 2002 Location: Five Flagons Inn Posts: 633	It shows as a simple text document. BG2 wont even recognize it. I had to edit the file type to even get it to show up as a BG2 file type. Otherwise, it shows up as text only. Tried leaving it as a plain text document, looked for merchants, tried editing the file type, no such luck. It's just not working.

12-28-2002, 06:42 PM	#5
Butterfingers Drizzt Do'Urden Join Date: November 30, 2002 Location: Five Flagons Inn Posts: 633	The file type stays the same. It is still a BCS file or whatever, but, the resource fork changes the data file to txt files. When the ini file changes to a Simpletext file, which happens some times while I am actually playing the game, I get a total system meltdown and BG2 just cuts off, then the Finder bombs, then I get a fatal freeze. When I restart, the ini file has changed from a Baldur's Gate document to a Simple Text file. It is driving me crazy!

12-28-2002, 07:00 PM	#6
rhapsody407 Manshoon Join Date: December 22, 2002 Location: massachusettes Age: 37 Posts: 186	what OS are you playing this under, i suspect OSX, but i've had similar problems with Myth: TFL under classic...

12-28-2002, 09:47 PM	#7
Butterfingers Drizzt Do'Urden Join Date: November 30, 2002 Location: Five Flagons Inn Posts: 633	OS9. I suspect it might have something to do with the Mac's built in file translation feature, but, I aint sure. Some times being user friendly can be a pain in the hind end.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)