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Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II remain cult classics not only among D&D fans, but cRPG gamers in general. With countless hours of gameplay, captivating stories, colorful characters, and many memorable locations they're one of the most intense and extensive role-playing experiences you can get while sitting in front of your PC. But to say that they didn't age at all might be a bit of a stretch. That's why some people would go a great distance modding and upgrading both those titles to combine them into one, seamless, visually updated game--an enhanced edition, if you will.

We're well aware of a commercial project aiming to achieve that goal. Originally, actually, that was scheduled to release today. That didn't happen, unfortunately, but that does give us a great reason to tell you how to make your own enhanced edition of Baldur's Gate. It's very nearly hassle-free and (especially with the sale going on) it won't cost you much at all. There's one catch, though: you need copies of both Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2 in order to enhance your game. Let's see how! One of our users, GoJays2025, committed his time to write a comprehensive guide on the topic. We know not all of you dare to venture into our forums, so we thought that sharing this guide here, might be a good idea!

So, are you ready to enhance your GOG.com edition of Baldur's Gate saga and play both games as one, seamless adventure with the visually superior BG2 version of the engine and its updated mechanics, and with high-res graphics better suited for your modern wide-screen display? Here's how you do it, according to GoJays2025!

1. Fully install Baldur's Gate: The Original Saga
2. Fully install Baldur's Gate II Complete.
3. Download Baldur's Gate II Fixpack (Download links are on the left side) and extract it to your Baldur's Gate II directory.
4. Run the newly extracted setup-bg2fixpack.exe (if not automatically started).
5. It is safe to select yes for all the optional fixes, but if you want to learn about each in detail, consult the readme file that comes with the fixpack.
6. Download BGT-WeiDU and extract it in your Baldur's Gate II directory.
7. Run the newly extracted Setup-BGT.exe and follow the instructions. You may need to run it in administrative mode in Windows Vista/7.
8. Enter Baldur's Gate I's directory when asked (if not already provided)
9. Wait for BGT-WeiDU to finish installing.
10. OPTIONAL: Download and install Baldur's Gate 1 Unfinished Business as well as BG 2 Unfinished Business. These mods restore things that were previously cut from the released product, so while you don't need them, and they do add new content, they're pretty nice to have, especially if this is not your first time.
11. OPTIONAL: Download and install any user-created material (banter packs, expansion mods, new NPCs, etc.)
12. Go to your Baldur's Gate II directory, then find and run the file Setup-BGTMusic.exe and select 'Hybrid Baldur’s Gate/Shadows of Amn/Throne of Bhaal music'. This makes it possible to hear the original Baldur's Gate music when playing Baldur's Gate I.
13. OPTIONAL: (for more experienced users) Download Baldur's Gate II Tweak Pack (if this link doesn't work, please try the emergency mirror site) and apply it in the same way as the fixpack. Consult the readme file for details of each tweak - too many to list here. If you don't know what a tweak does even after consulting the readme, just skip it.
14. OPTIONAL: Download and install the Bigger Fonts for BGII mod if you plan to play in really high-res and don't want to strain your eyes reading tiny text.
15. Download the widescreen mod and apply it in the same manner as the fixpack. This makes it possible to play the game in high resolutions and in widescreen format.
16. Remove the Baldur's Gate I installation if you wish - it's done its job!

Now you should be able to play the game all the way from Baldur's Gate I to the end of Throne of Bhaal in one continuous game! Enjoy!

Note: If you're on Windows 7 you might want to install the games in a directory other than C:Program Files or C:Program Files (x86) to avoid potential problems. C:Games should work.

The original forum thread, that also includes some other installation options, can be found here:
Baldur's Gate saga essential mods by GoJays2025
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RafaelLopez: Damn you GOG for putting this note at the end of the tutorial! This should come in item 1, oh fuck, here I go install all 5GB+ worth of stuff over again.
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JMich: You could alternatively just modify the permissions for the Program Files (x86)\GOG.com folder to give you full control over it, thus negating all problems that arise from the user limitations. That is what I had done before, and never had any trouble.
don't listen to this guy, it's better to move games outside the programs folder.

what he suggest opens up your computer to any software that wants to harm your computer, there is a reason windows did things the way they did. not all of it makes sense, and some of what they did with windows 8 was stupid, but not everything they do is stupid.
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JMich: You could alternatively just modify the permissions for the Program Files (x86)\GOG.com folder to give you full control over it, thus negating all problems that arise from the user limitations. That is what I had done before, and never had any trouble.
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Layarion: don't listen to this guy, it's better to move games outside the programs folder.

what he suggest opens up your computer to any software that wants to harm your computer, there is a reason windows did things the way they did. not all of it makes sense, and some of what they did with windows 8 was stupid, but not everything they do is stupid.
?? Setting the "Program Files (x86)\GOG.com" folder to allow everyone full control opens up to software that wants to harm the computer? How exactly? Please, do give details.
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Layarion: don't listen to this guy, it's better to move games outside the programs folder.

what he suggest opens up your computer to any software that wants to harm your computer, there is a reason windows did things the way they did. not all of it makes sense, and some of what they did with windows 8 was stupid, but not everything they do is stupid.
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JMich: ?? Setting the "Program Files (x86)\GOG.com" folder to allow everyone full control opens up to software that wants to harm the computer? How exactly? Please, do give details.
it means malicious software can change things in the programs folder without requiring that administrative box to pop up asking you yes or no. so it creates a hole in the security.

being on an administrative account doesn't automatically grant the permissions associated with the account so that malicious software can't just do anything. that's why it's better just to install outside the folder for games like this.

on an unrelated note some of you may wonder why not just run a game in administrative mode vs. compatibility mode for games that don't work right away on their own. compatibility is better not really for a security reason but what happens is games before Vista used two folders. in the new OS those folders are safe guarded because Microsoft never intended for them to be used by games. Granting administrative rights lets these games use those folders and so then they work, but compatibility mode creates copies of those folders for the game to use without giving them access to the real folders. compatibility mode also tells the game that it's the OS you selected, instead of Win 7 or whatever your on.
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JMich: ?? Setting the "Program Files (x86)\GOG.com" folder to allow everyone full control opens up to software that wants to harm the computer? How exactly? Please, do give details.
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Layarion: it means malicious software can change things in the programs folder without requiring that administrative box to pop up asking you yes or no. so it creates a hole in the security.
So how is different for a malicious program having full access to C:\Games\GOG instead of "C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG.com"? The "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft" folder is in both cases still protected, and elevated permissions are required to modify it.

I never said giving full control to Program Files, I said giving full control to a specific subfolder.

Oh, and to run in compatibility mode, elevated privileges are required, so VirtualStore isn't used. So you still have the same security holes (that you ignore because you assume that compatibility mode is at fault).
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Layarion: it means malicious software can change things in the programs folder without requiring that administrative box to pop up asking you yes or no. so it creates a hole in the security.
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JMich: So how is different for a malicious program having full access to C:\Games\GOG instead of "C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG.com"? The "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft" folder is in both cases still protected, and elevated permissions are required to modify it.

I never said giving full control to Program Files, I said giving full control to a specific subfolder.

Oh, and to run in compatibility mode, elevated privileges are required, so VirtualStore isn't used. So you still have the same security holes (that you ignore because you assume that compatibility mode is at fault).
And to think people believe UAC has any impact on a system's security, or that editing file/folder security permissions on a machine not controlled by AD will have positive/negative impact on malicious software gaining a foothold on your machine.

Most infections these days play around with your security policies which are not protected when using an administrator account and in turn can lead to hijacking, trojans, etc.

He obviously does not know what he's talking about and I can safely say that your steps are correct and wouldn't have any ill effect on the person's machine.
I'm trying to download both of the unfinished business mods and #1: the page seems to load like it is located in Antarctica or somewhere else and #2: the .zip files load and load and load and all I get is a broken file.
Anyone else having problems like this? Is there maybe a mirror where I could load these files? I have checked google but so far nothing good showed up.

#edit: solved. at least I think it is. started a download client and it's loading with 200 B/s oO
Post edited July 03, 2013 by ponythulu
The official BG1 EE seem to have been pulled from sale for legal issue - except for the Steam release (you can also get it 75% cheaper until Thursday)
I wonder about EasyTutu, do a google search, for some reason I cannot post links.

EasyTutu seems a lot easier, though it is really English only. Anyone use that instead of the much longer list?
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Sakkraner: The official BG1 EE seem to have been pulled from sale for legal issue - except for the Steam release (you can also get it 75% cheaper until Thursday)
Yes, and I doubt that it would be good buying EE from Steam because it might be pulled off later _if_ they loose the process with (Atari? and the other company).
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kevin.rogovin: I wonder about EasyTutu, do a google search, for some reason I cannot post links.

EasyTutu seems a lot easier, though it is really English only. Anyone use that instead of the much longer list?
There was a time when BGT was buggy and Tutu was better, but BGT is now at the stage when it's superior to EasyTutu, so I'd advise using that.
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Sakkraner: The official BG1 EE seem to have been pulled from sale for legal issue - except for the Steam release (you can also get it 75% cheaper until Thursday)
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ponythulu: Yes, and I doubt that it would be good buying EE from Steam because it might be pulled off later _if_ they loose the process with (Atari? and the other company).
And ? , utimatly if the game is pulled out, those who bought it could always be able to re-download the game. Like on GOG ,when some games were pulled out.

No , the real problem, ultimatly no more patches will come out. Right now the devs can't publish a patch.....

that's a total BS....
Post edited July 04, 2013 by DyNaer
um, Atari is the one selling Baldur's Gate EE on Steam and Atari is the one that requested to the developer to pull it from their website and from the other platforms besides the PC.

The Steam release will not retroactively disappear, but there won't be patches until Atari and the developer sort their legal issues out.
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kevin.rogovin: EasyTutu seems a lot easier, though it is really English only. Anyone use that instead of the much longer list?
Yes I much prefer Easy Tutu to BGT.
Keeping the games separate makes modding simpler for both games & keeps BG1 closer to the original.
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machstem: And to think people believe UAC has any impact on a system's security, or that editing file/folder security permissions on a machine not controlled by AD will have positive/negative impact on malicious software gaining a foothold on your machine.

Most infections these days play around with your security policies which are not protected when using an administrator account and in turn can lead to hijacking, trojans, etc.

He obviously does not know what he's talking about and I can safely say that your steps are correct and wouldn't have any ill effect on the person's machine.
UAC and Run as Administrator are not the same thing. run as admin gives a program the ability to do whatever it wants wherever it wants. UAC only pops up for programs written since windows vista came out for the new system. UAC popping up for compatibility mode is not the same as just right clicking and selecting Run as Admin. UAC and Run as Admin do not approach giving elevated rights in the same manner, and they have different consequences and use different folders.

second, if security really is a concern you wouldn't be on an admin account, you would be on a user account and just elevate whatever when necessary. finally you would install windows 8 because it's RAM and other things are protected in such a way that the same attacks that worked on windows 7 would not work on windows 8. although I hate windows 8

and finally, ok a subfolder isn't so bad.
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Layarion: If security really is a concern you wouldn't be on an admin account, you would be on a user account and just elevate whatever when necessary. finally you would install windows 8 because it's RAM and other things are protected in such a way that the same attacks that worked on windows 7 would not work on windows 8.
1st, using a standard user account is bad (at least on Vista) because almost anything require admin priviliges ("Steam Client Service", "Origin Client Service", GOG that use the new 2.x installers...)

2nd, W8 didn't allow me to install Skyrim and other games (it was on a friend's PC, my PC cannot run W8) because they were rated PEGI 16 or PEGI 18. And I think Metro (the W8 desktop) looks bad on a PC IMO.
Post edited July 06, 2013 by williamjcm