Monte Carlo

Went for the Weaponmaster w/ Falchion. Sick melee death carnage-o-matic. Spirit-Eating bad-roleplay aside on my behalf aside, it was fun!

A the moment... G3 Fixpack SCSII A few bits of WW's Tactics WW's Item Upgrade Improved Oasis Rogue re-balancing / aPack 1PP BG1 avatar / graphics BG1 restoration Tower of Deception Ascension / Redemption Questpack Assassinations Widescreen Mod (v 2.2) Will add a few more, but not many.

Hey, here's Blucher's original, which I much prefer: LINK

In the beginning there was Blucher's level one NPCs mod, which you cimply dumped in the override folder and voila! Then some clever-clogs came up with this, which is quite good: LINK to G3 LVL 1 NPC Mod

:: Sigh :: Setting specific D&D was a 2E development, really. OD&D, and later 1E AD&D were meant to be generic fantasy settings with Greyhawk as this default, vanilla place hanging around in the background. I wish I still had my original World of Greyhawk campaign setting for 1E AD&D, just so we could compare it with (say) the 3E Forgotten Realms splat-book (which is a great product, but everything, including I suspect Thayvian pasta sauce recipes and different types of socks worn on the Sword Coast is in there). The original Greyhawk was in an old-style cardboard module cover. You got a big colourful map and a slim book which gave you about a paragraph on each area. You were encouraged to make the rest up. Every module gave you a rough Greyhawkian location if you were using it, no biggie if you weren't. Gary Gygax wrote long, rambling essays on campaign building in the DMG. The whole 2E business model, which foresaw the collapse of TSR, revolved around splatbooks and campaign settings and has been stuck there ever since, and now includes the inevitable rule amendments, complete with (yes) more splatbooks. The only setting-specific games I've ever played that really felt like the rules were segued nicely into the setting were RuneQuest and Traveller. D&D, for me, has always worked best, and in the spirit of the original game, in a home-brewed campaign setting. Cheers MC

Hi, thanks for helping me with the uninstall issue with BG2. I'm currently doing a completely fresh BG2 + ToB install for the second time only on this rig, after this I will apply the final official Bio patch. And after that... well it will be the widescreen mod probably. I've taken a look at my old mod installations and some of them are, well, old. Baldurdash, for example, which has probably moved on. Weimer's Tactics, which I think has also moved on. What I'm seeking to do is put together a balance of mods to make the vanilla game more challenging / different (and try out some stuff I've not tried before) while aiming for optimal stability (i.e. for some reason a mod I used last time caused Saemon Havarian never make the Brynlaww RV, thus I missed the Sahuaguin city). So, any ideas, suggestions and particularly mod installation order gratefully accepted. Not wildly interested in NPC mods unless you think they are either (a) really really good or (b) are for a thief. I now use that ancient mod that allows you to alter the core NPC's base class (so I now always have Jaheira as Rngr / Cleric and Imoen as either a single-classed thief or a sorcerer). Again, thanks in advance, I know this forum is the one place I can always come to on the web and get decent feedback on stuff like this and it is appreciated. Cheers MC

Thanks to everyone, esp. Morgoth. Went medieval on the directory then used CCleaner as suggested. A very easy-to-use tool, fixed the problem easily, plus it removed some of the dreck left behind (for some reason) by Crysis is the registry. See y'all on my new BG2 thread where I will be bugging you for more advice. Cheers MC

How do I delete it manually from the registry?

That didn't work, unfortunately.

Brutal works for me. How do I do that? Ditto removal via config.

So how about doing some pro bono then?

Ha ha ha. So, technical games industry person, what do I do?

^ Yeah, I thought I'd put Disc One back in to see what would happen - it won't let me play, reinstall or uninstall. Hmmm. I suspect this might involve something I've heard of but never done: Going into the Registry... (cue dramatic Balalika music)

I posted this on the tech forum first but no replies, apologies for posting here. I am unable to play any BG2 so you can imagine the sense of urgency. I tried to uninstall BG2 / ToB from my PC. ToB uninstalled fine, but it didn't automatically roll on to uninstall BG2: SOA. Now when I try to do so I get the following message: Error extracting support files: Error loading type library / DLL What I am trying to do is completely remove BG2 to do a fresh, clean install with a load of new mods. Am installing from the old 4-disc set as opposed to the one disc DVD (I've got it somewhere I think). Any help greatly appreciated, many thanks in advance. Cheers MC

I tried to uninstall BG2 / ToB from my PC. ToB uninstalled fine, but it didn't automatically roll on to uninstall BG2: SOA. Now when I try to do so I get the following message: Error extracting support files: Error loading type library / DLL What I am trying to do is completely remove BG2 to do a fresh, clean install with a load of new mods. Am installing from the old 4-disc set as opposed to the one disc DVD (I've got it somewhere I think). Any help greatly appreciated, many thanks in advance. Cheers MC

This November we will be celebrating 20th anniversary of the toppling of the Berlin Wall (yes, I have a photo of a much slimmer early twenty-something Monte clambering through a large hole under the watchful eye of a stoic East German border policeman). OK, Kremlinologists might argue about the precise time the whole Communist experiment in Eastern Europe and beyond finally crumbled, but for most of us this is the bit we remember. It is of totemic significance. The events in China are ripples from the collapse of the Soviet Empire. As is Al Q'aeda. So is Iran. China is thrilling and terrifying in equal measure. Cheers MC

That's me. Although I actually liked Fallout 3. Then again, I'm not a fan of the original Fallouts so it probably explains why. As for the original question, just download a load of NWN2 mods, the Conan ones are good fun.

I also found that area frustrating, but not impossible. Then again, I will invariably have my main character take the Dodge / Mobility / Spring Attack feat route, so I can move about without incurring AOOs.

I don't. In fact, if one of their songs comes on the radio I find myself switching it off. One of the most overrated bands of all time.

I will make a pure ranger and see how he does in the spirit barrow. By far the most twinkie, impossible-to-beat melee monster so far has been: Fighter 10 Rog 3 Weapon Master 5 (Falchion) Obviously, I intend to go with monkey Grip for dual-wield silliness, but even now with all the enhanced critical feats he is slaying everything silly enough to confront him. The +2d6 sneak attack plus weapon master feats = insane melee damage. The high-ish intelligence required (I went with 14), plus the rogue levels and able learner feat have given me a formidable array of skills for a more or less pure fighter character, very good bluff / intimidate. Give him the plate armour you find in the ruins and he's an effective tank, better than the war-priest I created I suspect. OTOH, the pure ranger Grom suggests will get a powerful animal companion and spells, plus good skills. Will do a try-out this weekend before making a decision. Cheers MC

Still playing MotB with a number of character builds and not really knowing which one to go with. Am V rusty at D&D, I need a slam-dunk character.

Indeed, I am English, not even remotely half-baked and I enjoy a gin and tonic occasionally (actually several times a week). OTOH, whisky is Scottish and Irish (Bushmills, distilled in Northern Ireland, is technically British). Nothing against my Celtic and Gaelic brethren but I have never got on with those, for me it's no competition with bourbon - an American confection. Of all the bourbons I've tried (for example, the language-filter mangling Fighting C0ck is particularly good; Maker's Mark is sublime) none have the durable and satisfying consistency as J.D. Gaming is symbiotic (well, to me anyway) with alcohol and pizza. Budwieser (OK, it's not really beer), EA and Domino's make sense, for example. You may now continue back on-topic, whatever it was. Cheers MC

Is there any chance Obsidian Entertainment could merge with Jack Daniels? Two of my favourite companies in perfect harmony and all that.

linkie to Megan W and The Bamboos, enjoy!

Am also currently listening to Megan Washington and Florence & the Machine. Megan's cover of King of the Rodeo with The Bamboos is particularly good. Am also falling asleep (in a good way) to 10,000 Maniacs. It's all a bit mellow, though, have been re-aligning the karmic grid with Motorhead (No Sleep 'til Hammersmith) and The Foo Fighters. Last track on my Mp3 player was You Got Me by 90's Britpop combo Sleeper, who I still listen to a lot. Cheers MC