Banter Packs VERSION 18 A Pocket Plane Group Project for Baldur's Gate 2 http://www.pocketplane.net It's no secret that one of the most popular, enduring elements of Baldur's Gate 2 is the inter-party dialogue, or "banter", that crops up from time to time, making the characters and gameworld seem more alive. While some NPC mods have added significant quantities of banter to the game, by and large those banters have centered on the new NPC to some degree. But there are still plenty of stories to tell and episodes to show between the original "Bioware 17", the NPCs that shipped with the original game. The Banter Packs seek to breathe new life into those old companions with new dialogue sessions. Version 13 adds a Korean translation. With version 15 the mod is compatible with BG2, BGT, BGII:EE, and EET. INSTALLING THE BANTER PACKS 1. Run the BanterPack.exe you downloaded, and accept the default directory. 2. Setup-BanterPack.exe should run automatically. You will be asked about installing various modules. At present, there is a SOA banter pack, an SOA banter accelerator, a TOB banter pack and a TOB banter accelerator. Future modules will include any mod NPC-specific banter add-ons. 3. Load up your game and enjoy the new banters. You do NOT need to start a new game. 4. To uninstall a component, run Setup-BanterPack.exe again and ask to uninstall. NEW BANTERS The new banters may occur at any time, although of course some banters require certain conditions to be met, such as a conversation before a big fight, or a conversation in a particular place. If you start a new game, you will likely see many familiar Bioware banters before you reach the banter pack content--this is normal. Some will involve only NPC conversation, while others will ask for PC input. Especially... JAN'S INVENTIONS We know that Bioware at one point intended Jan to develop gadgets beyond the items he joins the party with, and be able to manufacture more than just the flashers. It never happened, officially. But through the Banter Packs, Jan will gain the ability to create new, bizarre, and occasionally useful devices for his companions. Jan currently makes three items: one is given to the PC, one is given to Valygar, and a third is a new ammo-making capability in his Special Abilities menu. TECHNICAL/COMPATIBILITY NOTES Banter Packs should be compatible with most mods. As usual, install all non-WeiDU mods before the banter packs. Banter Packs employ state weighting to move the new banters a little closer to the beginning of the stack, but because of LOVETALKs and various other potentially conflicting banter possibilities, we tried not to get too cute. FAQ Q: Do I REALLY not have to start a new game? A: Really. Although to get the Imoen/Jaheira banter about Yoshimo, you must have had the mod installed before you visited Spellhold (and have Yoshimo in the party for the fun.) Q: Is there anything special I need to do, like playing my game differently, to see all this new banter? A: A couple of categories of banter are a little different. There are currently three banters that require that Minsc be wielding Lilarcor, and be in the party with (once each) Nalia, Keldorn, and Jaheira. The only other particularly "difficult" banter to see would be Imoen and Edwina, because most players will go through the Edwina quest before rescuing Imoen, or at least before the final showdown in Chapter 6 (EET: Chapter 18). The banter requires that Bodhi be defeated, so it would mean doing things a little differently, but we feel it is worth the effort. Q: Hey! My favorite NPC has fewer banters than my least favorite NPC! What gives? A: We didn't have enough good ideas written in time for this release. Maybe we'll get some new ideas, from our muses or from people like you visiting the forum and speaking their mind. Q: When will Jan make items? A: Jan will announce his new inventions after he reaches certain experience plateaus. For the first item, that is at 500,000 XP. Q: So Jan shot me with this thing and talked about making new ammo. Do I get anything good out of this? A: Yes. Check Jan's Special Abilities (star) icon. He can now make "Swarmer Mates", powerful ammo for his crossbow. Q: Hey, Jan gave Valygar a crossbow but whenever I shoot it, it only hurts my characters! What's the story there? A: Jan told you what it did. Q: Do the banter packs require that I play a romance? A: No. Q: Will there be more than just NPC/NPC banter? A: Yes, there will be some PC/NPC dialogues, as well as expansions of interjection and scenery NPC dialogues. Q: I've read a BG2 fanfic that had a really great dialogue exchange that I think should be in a mod like this. Are you interested? A: Probably. If you know how to reach the author (or you are the author) that makes it much more appealing. NPC/NPC dialogues are much easier to deal with, since a dialogue involving the PC would need to be interactive in the game. Version History: V18 -added install order syntax to .ini and globally unique LABELs to support Project Infinity -typo corrections -weidu updated to v247 V17 -added .ini file with mod info and the GitHub address for download V16 - added Chinese translation by Merzbau. V15 (packed by jastey): -Full BGII:EE compatibility for all language versions (HANDLE_CHARSETS with default language English), -added EET compatibility, -updated Italian translation by Aedan -added Combatcounter checks & STATE_INVALID checks to script blocks -dialogue fixes: changed old syntax of REPLACE to ADD_TRANS_ACTION and put them into separate file (only installed if Fixpack isn't and it's not BGII:EE/EET), -removing of unused files (bantergoose.bcs, --J#JanShu.ITM, --FWLILCOR.CRE), -removed unnecessary backup folder -update to WeiDU 242. V14: Full BG2:EE compatibility V13: Added Korean translation (Tannedbear), updated to Weidu 231, fixed some typos. V12: Added Russian translation (Prowler) V11: Updated Italian translation (Ilot) V10: Updated German translation (Leomar et al) V9: Updated Spanish and French translations (DLAN, d'Oghmatiques) V8: Added three new SOA banters (Nalia/Keldorn, Imoen/Viconia w/no Viconia romance, Anomen/Haer'Dalis before Anomen's Test.) Introduced code from K'aeloree to address objections from BGT players. Thanks, K'aeloree. Clever editorial comment here. V7: Updated French translation, thanks to Galathée Added Italian translation, thanks to Scrooge, Grifis, Jakkus, Sambu (Xeno.Team), Al17, Daniel V6: Added Polish translation, thanks to Damian Staniszewski Added fixed Jan boots, thanks to Andyr Added three new banters (Nalia/Minsc, Edwin/Mazzy in SOA, Cernd/Viconia in TOB) Added a new Sarevok banter and four new Sarevok epilogues. V5: Added German translation, thanks to Caswallon, Dragonheart and Fedegar, and French translation by Matrim Cauthon (Including translation of the Nalia/ Yoshimo game, nice work!) V4: Added a dozen new banters V3: Added a dozen new banters Tried to correct the bug that kept the Swarmer Mates cutscene from functioning in SOA-only installs V2: Moved Boots of Jansenkind to 500,000 XP plateau, put Swarmers in at 750,000. Made Jan actually give the new crossbow to Valygar Added over a dozen new banters Introduced TOB banters and banter accelerator Added highly sought after Cernd banters V1: Initial Release CREDITS Jason Compton Banter Author WeiDU Ninja Kish Moore Banter Author Victoria Joyner (Blue) Banter Author Jesse Meyers (Ghreyfain) Item Creation Mara Robertson (Kirwond) Banter Author Bonnie Rutledge (Bons) Banter Author Bhasbuto Spanish translation Caswallon, Dragonheart and Fedegar German translation Matrim Cauthon, Galathée French translation Damian Staniszewski Polish translation Thanks to Cybersquirt and Andyr for beta testing, and Chris for item tweaking. Thanks to Andyr and Stoplight Red for banter suggestions. Banter Packs were brought to life with WeiDU, Infinity Explorer, and Near Infinity. Audiovisual elements are Copyright © 2003-2008 Banter Packs were not developed, supported, or endorsed by BioWare or Interplay/Black Isle. REDISTRIBUTION NOTE: Banter Packs were created to be freely enjoyed by all Baldur's Gate 2 players. However, this program may not be sold, published, compiled or redistributed in any form without the consent of its authors. LINKS http://www.weidu.org: Home of WeiDU http://www.pocketplane.net: Home of Kelsey, and other fine projects! http://www.idi.ntnu.no/~joh/ni: Home of Near Infinity http://infexp.sourceforge.net: Home of Infinity Explorer