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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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HiPhish: There aren't any, but you can simply use a cheat to create one. Just throw some gold away if you don't want it to feel like cheating.
Love that logic. :D
tweak pack deal with most of BGT problems.

For example change stats for BG1 characters to be same as in BG2 also it change avatars to those from BG2.
It add Katana and other weapons into merchants inventory.

I used Tutu but currently BGT is the easiest and the best way to play BG saga. Simply coherent game play through whole saga. Imoen in BG2 won't be mage if you don't want that.

Also i strongly propose for anyone banter pack for BG1. It is mayor mod work which will give most of NPC and companions banters which BG2 was known for.


Also both version can live together. We know that most of mods won't be compatible with new enchanced edition and we know that there will be some exclusive content to EE edition + working Multiplayer.
Post edited September 18, 2012 by Perkel
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TheEnigmaticT: ...why would it make you uneasy? We have games. They're on sale. This is not an unusual thing for us. :P
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Gazoinks: WHAT IS THIS MADNESS. NO ONE TOLD ME THERE WOULD BE SALES. I DEMAND FOR IT TO END IMMEDIATELY.
I strongly agree - go for holidays GOG Team!! You have so many good games that I want to buy and PLAY and FINISH, that it makes me want to quit my job and spend the rest of my life on playing them continuously!! Oh life is tough.....
Gojay, GOG team, I don't think I've ever actually spoken to you by e-mail or messageboard or in person, but let it be known... You've just been added to the christmas card list for life.
great.. thanks GOG
So.... which .exe do I use after all this is done to start with BG1?
I'm wondering, if one follows this list (been thinking about it but putting it off due to EE) and compare it to upcoming EE. What's the difference aside from the new adventure EE brings and I guess mac/linux/android support? It says on the BG page about 400 fixes but I assume this Unfinished Business and Tweak Package fixes a lot of things too. For the record, those adventures aren't high on my priority nor is updated multiplayer and multi-platform support, widescreen and bug fixes are.

I forgot about source code improvement: "The original source code has been cleaned up and improved, sped up, and now has support for modern platforms."

I thought BG worked perfectly fine (with fixes) on Windows 7 and modern hardware or?

EDIT: I can't find any information on recommendation on the Tweak Pack for BG2, there's like 40 changes and a few of the have more than two choices...
Post edited September 19, 2012 by Nirth
Off the top of my head:

*Updates the engine to use BG2's ruleset & classes (Wild Mage, for example)
*Compiles fixes made by the community, and the developers fix more.
*Ensures compatibility with modern systems
*Makes the game less hard-coded, so modders can do more with the engine.
*Adds an optional dungeon and extra characters.
*Can be played on the iOS.
*Increased resolution.
*Multiplayer now works much better.
*General improvement of the code.
*Doesn't require the work of manually collecting fixpacks for installation, or BGTutu.

For me, it is a buy because it makes playing BG1 easier. I don't like installing fix-packs and trying to remember the correct order that they have to be done in order to work right.
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adb421: So.... which .exe do I use after all this is done to start with BG1?
There should be only one game .exe (baldur.exe), which launches Baldur's Gate 2. From the in-game menu click on Baldur's Gate, then when you start a new game you will be placed at the beginning of the first game.
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Nirth: I thought BG worked perfectly fine (with fixes) on Windows 7 and modern hardware or?
This is correct. Even on my disc version I can play it perfectly fine on my Win7 64bit running at 1080 resolution.

As for the tweaks... well most of them are up to your own preferences, and are intended for people who have experience in D&D games to customize a little more to their liking. Many of the tweaks are also easy enough to figure out from the readme file. If you're unsure of what an option does even after reading the readme then it's probably a good idea to leave it as is.
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Sabin_Stargem: For me, it is a buy because it makes playing BG1 easier. I don't like installing fix-packs and trying to remember the correct order that they have to be done in order to work right.
It's certainly annoying but they're professionally done but I still miss a recommendation order in the Tweak Pack as well as a FAQ that includes common errors/issues but I think one of them had that.

The problem is I'm planning to play BG1 and BG2 as a marathon when I finally have time, energy and have everything technically working which makes the Trilogy fix a good match but if BG2 EE was on the horizon I would wait, maybe I should do that anyway.
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Nirth: I thought BG worked perfectly fine (with fixes) on Windows 7 and modern hardware or?
I'm not aware of any widespread critical problems, but on newer NVidia Geforce hardware, all the infinity engine RPGs (Baldur's Gates, Icewind Dales, Planescape: Torment...) seem to have at least the "blocky/jagged fog of war" visual glitch. Apparently ATI/AMD are free of this. See this picture for the glitch (I googled for it, it looks the same to me):

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Christofonopolus/Untitled.png

There seem to be many possible fixes that may fix it. For me (in ASUS G75, GeForce GTX 670M) it worked that I went into the IWD ingame graphics options and set it to use 16bit colors, and enabled some of the "software blt" options (there were three such options, I didn't experiment that much which matter to me, so I enabled all three). After that the fog of war looks correct also on G75. I'm not sure if there is some visual degradation compared not to having set those options, but it still looks fine to me.

But overall, I consider the Infinity engine games pretty future-proof, not causing lots of headaches to owners of newer hardware, unlike many other older PC games.

EDIT: Also, I'm unsure if these third-party enhancement packs actually fix that problem too???

EDIT2: Read this:

http://blog.yimingliu.com/2008/04/16/baldurs-gate-1-graphics-glitch-and-disabling-nvidia-hardware-acceleration/
Post edited September 19, 2012 by timppu
With any luck, BG2:EE would have the option to combine with BG:EE to form a single game. We can already do this with the Baldur's Gate Trilogy mod, but having a official and clean way to do that would be sweet. :)
I think there is the general missconception that I am against this sale. Err... Why should I? That would be stooooooooopid! I even gave in to that sale (I usually don't, even less with games which I do still have with working disks, but you never know). Make a sale 5 Times per Day all week running for all I (and my wallet) care :D .

Its just my impression that with a few simple to install mods you are even better off with the original Versions that with the "new" EE version (At least on PC). And I do not think that I'm wrong with the assumption that whatever sponsoring partys are involved with the BG EE would rather see the classic not available anymore. The only question that remains: Do they have the power to do so?
There's an error in the order of things:

The widescreen mod should always be installed last.
Post edited September 19, 2012 by DubConqueror
Oh, I love the not-so-subtle dissing of the BGEE in this article :P Two thumbs up GOG.com!

I prefer BGTutu myself, but great guide nonetheless and much appreciated by those not as experienced using mods, I'm sure :)