Hmm... I had known of this, but always thought it added a lot more than just the essentials. Looking at it again, apparently it does offer a minimalistic installation that only includes BGT, the fixpack, and the music fix. Not sure if it includes the widescreen mod though.

I'll download it and take a look, and maybe I'll add it to the original post as an alternative way to do this.

Would you recommend the banter packs for BGI and BGII?

This is not what i would call essential mods, actually, you pretty well summarized them in your first post. BWP is more for people whom like me have played 12+ times the game, not recommended for first time players. I would not like them to miss the original experience.

Also let me make some advertisement for the other topic, about where to find mods to complete your "essentials mods".

Yeah I won't be including that then. It'll just make the guide too confusing. Those sites in your thread are quite good for mods for people who already have played the game once or twice, especially Spellhold Studios and Gibberlings 3. Some cool stuff in there.

That's still using the BG trilogy. I'll see if I can dig up a Tutu guide...

EDIT:

Ah well, for a "vanilla" BG 1 in the BG2 engine, install this:

http://usoutpost31.com/easytutu/

Then this:

http://mods.pocketplane.net/bg1tutu/Tutufix_v18.rar

Then this:

http://mods.pocketplane.net/bg1tutu/TutuGUIv18_plain.rar

I believe you can also use the Infinity Engine widescreen patch if you want, but I haven't tried that myself.

I'm one who encourages people to experience the vanilla game before moving onto new stuff. When you finish the game and read up on the various mods, you'll have a much better idea of what they're adding and whether you would want them in your second or third playthrough. That way not only will you be able to filter out the stuff that really interests you, but you'll also have something new to look forward to when you replay it.

Does anyone know if it's possible to use BGT with GemRB on Linux?

When installing the BG1 Unfinished Business stuff...do I extract it to BG1 directory or BG2? I've already installed the Trilogy stuff, though not the tweaks. I tried installing it from the BG2 directory and it installed but now I'm wondering if that might have been wrong.

Put that in the BG2 directory. Once you finish installing BGT you can actually safely uninstall BG1 if you'd like to.
Fair enough. It's actually not easy saying what the 'best' version would be, since everyone likes different flavours. If you're doing that though, the Unfinished Business mods, the banter pack, the NPC IEP mod, the Quest Pack are recommended.

I actually played both these games when they were first released, back when I was much younger. So I have experienced the vanilla versions, and I agree with you, that people should experience the vanila first. I've also been playing BG1 since GOG released it.

I was just asking if you recommended any, just to make sure I wouldn't skewer my install again. Haha.

I honestly haven't used many game-altering mods in my playthroughs (the banter pack for example), so I can't say for myself if I'd recommend them. However, based on the numerous reports on the internet I'd say it's worth a shot if you would like to try something new this time round.

Banter pack for BG1 does bring them more to life and I would recommend it, though I do feel some of the Imoen bits seem a bit forced, though that's most likely due to my preconceptions of the character (amazing how so very little can cause you to create a whole persona without realising it).

6"s Kitpack Mod
(At Pocketplane Group)

Just started using 6's kitpack mod. It essentially balances the classes in the game by creating 1 class for each of the class types. 1 for bard, thief, druid, ranger, fighter and paladin. There are currently none for cleric. The way it balances is by creating classes with disadvantages and advantages. For example i am trying a sniper class. It is under the thief subclass. Its basically a ranged combat thief class that plays like the archer mixed with rogue so all the advantages of the archer mixed with the advantages of the thief (detect illusion, set traps, detect traps, lockpicking, etc.) Thats just one of the classes you get in the pack. Besides ranged classes there are 2 or 3 defensive using shield classes so if you've played diablo 2's paladin with smite, then you know what i am talking about. Not a bad mod all in all.

I can't install BGT-WeiDU. I keep getting a fatal error: unable to find Dialog.TLK in dialog.tlk.