Boards o' Magick

Feeling Old

Aldeth the Foppish Idiot — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:51:22 GMT

As the title suggests. Not in the typical sense of the phrase though. Usually when people say they feel old it's because of seeing a child grow up, or walking into a beer store and seeing you need to be born by 1992 to purchase alcohol and realizing that people who were born the year you graduated high school are now old enough to drink - stuff like that.

But this is different. In the past few months I've started to increasingly feel physically old. Stiff when I get out of bed in the morning. Taking much longer to recover from physical activity. Having to really push myself to finish workouts that were not difficult just a couple of years ago. Oh, and my favorite - you go to bed feeling fine and you wake up the next morning and some random body part hurts. How the hell to you injure yourself while sleeping?

I read in the sports news yesterday that NFL QB David Garrard was retiring after a recent knee injury. He says he was on the deck of his pool with his kids, and just turned on it funny, and needed surgery afterwards. His direct quote: "I was home, resting by the pool, and I turned to see my son, and by just pivoting around, I aggravated it." And I feel for the guy because the exact same thing happened to me last year, although it wasn't by a pool. I also didn't need surgery afterwards, but I did have to go through a few months of physical therapy to get it back to where it was.

Evidently crap like this starts happening in your late 30s. And it apparently doesn't matter if you're a Joe Nobody like me, or a professional athlete. It also sucks balls. One thing I guess I'm happy about is I had my kid when I was 33. He turns six this summer, and so naturally I'll turn 39 this year - in about a week to be exact. I'm glad I had him when I did because I don't have the energy level now that I had then.

Slight tangent - I think there is a misconception among people who don't have kids that the hardest point in rearing a child is the early years. The general thinking is that the older the child gets, the more independent he becomes, and it's easier. That's bullcrap. Perhaps it's true in the very early stages of parenthood like when the child is waking up in the middle of the night - that's really hard. But generally speaking I haven't found things getting any easier as my kid gets older. The most dreaded phrase to hear is "Dad, I can do it myself." Yeah. He thinks he knows how to properly brush his teeth. He thinks he can pour his own glass of milk. He thinks he can get all the shampoo out of his hair in the shower. He thinks he knows how to cook his own hotdog in the microwave. All of these activities invariably involve a larger amount of work for Dad than if you had just done it yourself form the start. /end tangent

But the larger point is I'm only 39 and I already feel like I'm starting to fall apart. I knew this was an eventuality but I certainly didn't expect it to start before 40. Hell I didn't really expect it to start until after 50. At this rate of decline I'll be long dead by then.

[Portraits] [BGEE][WeiDU] "Faces!" by Irbis & Jalily

irbis — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:18:56 GMT

Faces! at first was just a part of bigger Mod Pack. Now it is standalone due to amount of work it requaired and how cool it is :D What it does? It adds almost 500 character portraits (just like the PC or some NPCs), basicly - giving them a face. The mod covers all the NPCs which had a name or felt importand. All across the original BG, its expansion, new BGEE content and BGEE Black Pit module. The inpact on the game is bigger then you can think of. Suddenly... you start to care about all those NPCs, their lifes, problems. Suddenly it stopes to be so easy to gank one of them for his/her gear. Its hard to explain, really. You have to try it yourself. I (Irbis) i did the idea, the CRE files modification and portraits assigning, but it is all thanks to Jalily that the mod is in WeiDU format. Still, there are two versions of the mod for people who (for some reason) dislike the WeiDU or just dont know how make it to work. At first, i wanted to add about 50 Faces, TOP. I dont know how exaclty i ended up with 482 of them. There goes almost 3 weeks of my life hah! :D value the time ive spent. And have fun!

WEIDU VERSION
1. Unzip it directly into your 00766 folder so that the setup-Faces_BGEE.bat file is on the same level as Baldur.exe.
2. Run the .bat file to install it.
3. Start a new game and enjoy!

NON WEIDU VERSION
1. Unzip the content of "FACES" directly into your Override folder, Overwrite files if nessesary.
2. Start a new game and enjoy!

http://catsbasket.weebly.com/mod-faces.html
IMPORTANT! the Download links are covered with Adf.ly, to not get yourself missleaded remember the following:
1. You click the link
2. Adf.ly link pops up
3. You have to wait from 3 to 5 sec.
4. Then, in the upper right corner of the screen will a "Skip Ad" button appear.
5. You click that button and its the end of the Ads and you are moved to the actual download

1. How long it took to make this?
Well, about 2 week+. And thats working 6h/day

2. Will this mod work with X?
The mod is designed and programed for BGEE only. That means - no original BG1 or its expansions, no BGT or BGTuTu

3. Nice work dude but theres already a mod that does that.
Yes and no. The mod you are speaking of is not compatible with BGEE. And is actualy quite a rare find on the web. This one has full BGEE support, covers more NPCs (almost 500 of them) and the ones that comes with BGEE like Dorn and the NPCs from Black Pit module.

4. Ive found a bug!/it doesnt work!/I have some opinions to share
Feel free to do just that here http://forum.baldursgate.com/discuss...rbis-jalily/p1.
There both me and Jalily can provide you with support and solutions.

5. Can i reupload your mod elsewhere?
Please dont. At least - not without my permission.
You can contact me on baldursgate.com forums on via Contact Form over catsbasket.weebly.com

This mod is hosted by me and should be downloaded from http://catsbasket.weebly.com/
Be sure to always download it from the source to avoid Viruses and harmful programs. Otherwise, dont blame me for the risk you take.
As of Adf.ly aliases: Ever heard of Minecraft? The Minecraft modding scene is enormous! Its actualy so big that many modders can make a living from it! (or buy an extra beer once in while). The Adf.ly are used 99% of the times there and no one ever complained. I mean, look at it.
Sure the guy didnt actualy MADE the game. But he/she put alot of work into her/his mod.
If i can reward the modder (without technicaly paying a broken penny!) by going thru short advertisment before i reach the actual download... i see no harm in following this form. Thats about from 3 to 5 sec extra waiting time. Which i myself gone thru many, many times. For that guy to have an extra beer (still - after like 2000 downloads lol!). I think its fair.

Support modders and creative people in general.
Also thanks to all my supports. This Mod wouldnt come to existance with you :) Cheers!

PS: Sorry for double posting the thread in BG:EE2 section. My eyes played tricks on me. My mistake ^^

TBGCoM: Level 40/High Level Abilities Mod Update

Ancalagon — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:21:14 GMT

The Level 40/High Level Abilities mod for Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition has been updated. I included the new kits in this version.

This mod enables you to reach level 40 cap in the game and the ability to use High Level Abilities as found in Baldur's Gate 2 Throne of Bhaal.

More information can be found here http://www.baldursga...hp?topic=7796.0

iPad: is there a way to create my whole party?

Klorox — Sun, 19 May 2013 05:58:42 GMT

I remember on the PC, you could make a multiplayer game, then move the save file into the single player folder and you'd be good to go.

Is there a way to do this on the iPad version of this game, or am I stuck in multiplayer mode if I want to create my entire party?

TIA

The Case for Unicameralism

Arctic Daishi — Sun, 19 May 2013 04:39:06 GMT

Let me start out by saying that I am a strong supporter of bicameralism in principle, and that obviously the people of each state should decide for themselves whether they should be unicameral, bicameral, tricameral, etc. I am not proposing abolishing the federal United States Senate in anyway. Also, for the purpose of this poll and discussion, "upper house" shall refer to either house being abolished; for instance, Nebraska abolished their legislature's lower house, but kept their state's upper house.

What I am wondering is what purpose bicameralism serves in most U.S. states, as it is currently set up? I'm not sure about other states, but it appears to me that the Missouri Senate is not much different than the Missouri House of Representatives, other than the fact that the Missouri Senate has fewer members and said members represent slightly larger constituencies. Personally I have been contemplating the idea of abolishing my state's upper house and increasing the size of my state's lower house, to give local communities more representation and bridging the gap between representatives and their constituents. A potential downside of abolishing one of the houses is that it will be easier for bills to be passed, thus eliminating a check on government's power.

An alternative to abolishing such upper houses would be to reform them. For instance, instead of representing larger constituencies, a state's upper house could represent experts from various industries and fields? Or perhaps the upper house could be comprised of professors from various colleges and universities within the state? Or perhaps the upper house could be comprised of farmers, thus giving the legislature a lean towards rural and agrarian interests and eliminating the urban bias that many state legislatures have?

Multiplayer Issues.

FeDuS — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:23:46 GMT

Hi everyone!

I have some issues when playing BGII SOA in multiplayer...
there are 3 of us (wich leaves 2PJ each one), we are connected via Hamachi.
All the set up is great, and works like a charm (If you need a hand with it, just tell me I'll be glad to help). The probles is that when my brther is hosting I can see my two CHAR, and my brother's CHARs... but not my friend CHARs.
I cannot give him anything, it's like the other 2 Chars (controlled by my friend) where controlled by mi brother.... I dunno if i made it clear so here we go again

People playing BGII online
My Brother (A)
My Friend (B)
Myself (c)

While A is hosting, he can see B and C chars.
But B cannot see C chars and C cannot see B chars.
In the net menu for B, C chars appear to be controlled by A and in the net menu for C, B chars appear to be controlled by A.
(the net menu is the computers icon on the left)

its kinda riddle.

I know that the chars limit is 6, so it should be ok that every one of us can control 2 chars, what i don't get is why C can intercat with A chars but not with B chars (and so for B)...

Any Ideas?

Thanks in advance!

Pre-Thief - Dark Camelot Footage

RPGWatch — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:20:20 GMT

Rock Paper Shotgun has an article that shows the original concept behind the Thief series. The former Looking Glass Video Director Josh Randall unearthed a VHS of his unseen work, and uploaded it on Youtube

Thief was previously an RPG set in Camelot, built in the Stargate Engine. You would've played as Mordred, fighting a despotic Arthur. Merlin was a psychopath and the knights hired muscle. Not ridiculous enough? Your goal was to unearth the truth about the Holy Grail.

Bloodlust Shadowhunter - A New ARPG Adventure with Vampires

RPGWatch — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:20:20 GMT

Bloodlust Shadowhunter is a Single-Player RPG from WRF Studios. The game is also on Steam Greenlight looking for approval. The developers have a demo on the main site to try. Give the game a look, and give your opinion in the comment section.

There is also a video of the demo from Cramgaming.

Raphael Sbarge - AKA Kaidan Alenko Talks Mass Effect 4

RPGWatch — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:20:20 GMT

Puresophistry has an audio interview with Raphael Sbarge better known as the voice of Kaidan Alenko.

It wasn't until Mass Effect 3 when Bioware offered same sex romances options for players that a measure of equality was reached. Sbarge goes into detail as to why this was important not only for the game, but for the industry in general. (Starts at 31:20)

"I was thrilled when they introduced the Homosexual romance options in Mass Effect 3 just because obviously there was a huge audience. I spoke to the developers about it, they said they provided so many different choices we were proud of, to be really honest it was just another piece of extra content that didn't make the final cut in the other games.

What's amazing about the game for people is that you can cross gender! You can play through in any capacity you want, imaginatively for any of us that's a huge factor in the experience. All of the opportunities and complexities are fascinating, and that's what games allow to go down the rabbit hole and explore it.

As far as relationships, the writing is so wonderful. Dealing with issues of rank, emotionality and a sense of separation in Mass Effect 2. As I understand it, more women began play video games as a results of Mass Effect, I think because of these romance elements."

Finally Raphael does make comment on the ending of Mass Effect 3, how he believes fans received it and what lies ahead for Mass Effect 4. (Will he playing Kaidan's Great Great Grandfather?(Starts at 18:10)

"It was done, and people flipped out. What was so interesting about that is Bioware responded, they took it really soulfully to heart and really addressed it. Speaking to the fans and created that other additional content to play through other areas of the game.

Even though on the one hand it was incredibly sad not just for the fans but the people who spent a decade working on this game, but there is something in the fact it's over. That makes it very precious in a way. It almost makes it more special and remarkable, that folks were part of Mass Effect. That elite club of millions.

That's not to say that there isn't sadness but it's being felt by gamers and developers but they said publicly there will be Mass Effect 4."

Question about the Swashbuckler bonus to hit & dmg

Klorox — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:44:41 GMT

The manual says they get +1 to hit and damage every 5 levels.

I have three questions:

1) does this apply to non-thief weapons (if the character dual classes)?

2) is it applied at levels 1, 5, 10, ect. Or is it applied at 1, 6, 11, ect.?

3) does the AC bonus apply in non-thief armors?
TIA