Introduction


This mod installs a collection of portraits by Phaere designed to replace those currently found in Baldur's Gate II. Rastor modified them to work with the Infinity Engine and packaged them up with Phaere's blessing.







Note: This mod was first released at RPGDungeon.net. As this site is no more available since many years, it was time to save it from disappearance. It is now hosted at Spellhold Studios with Rastor authorization.


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Compatibility


Phaere's NPC Portraits for BG2 is designed to work on the following Infinity Engine games:

  • Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition (BG2:EE).
  • The original Baldur's Gate II (BG2, or just SoA) with or without the Throne of Bhaal (ToB) expansion. Make sure you have Throne of Bhaal patched to version 26498. Check the ReadMe files related to your patch in your game folder and the BioWare website if necessary.
  • The conversion projects based on ToB, Baldur's Gate Trilogy (BGT) and Enhanced Edition Trilogy (EET).



This is a WeiDU mod, and therefore should be compatible with all WeiDU mods. However, we cannot test every single one. If you encounter any bugs, please report them on the forum!

This mod is not compatible with other mods that change NPC portraits. Phaere's NPC Portraits will function properly with those mods but any new NPC portraits that were added by any other mods will not be seen in-game.

Although it is not required for the the Phaere's NPC Portraits for BG2 mod to function properly, classical game players are strongly recommended to download and install the latest version of the BG2 Fixpack before proceeding with the installation of this mod.


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Installation


Notes

If you've previously installed the mod, remove it before extracting the new version. To do this, run  setup-phaere_ports.exe , un-install all previously installed components and delete the phaere_ports folder.

When installing or un-installing, do not close the DOS window by clicking on the X button! Instead, press the Enter key whenever instructed to do so.

Disable any antivirus or other memory-resident software before installing this or any other mod. Some (particularly avast and Norton!) have a tendency to report false positives with mod activity, resulting in failed installs.

You can extract files from the archive using 7zip, WinRAR, ZipGenius or another file compression utility that handles .zip files.




Enhanced Editions Note

The Enhanced Editions are actively supported games. Please note that every patch update will wipe your current mod setup! If in the middle of a modded game you might want to delay the patch update (if possible) as even after reinstalling the mods, you might not be able to continue with your old savegames. Alternatively, copy the whole game's folder into a new one that can be modded and will stay untouched by game patches. It is important that you install the mod to the language version you are playing the game in. Otherwise, the dialogues of the mod will not show but give error messages.




Windows

Extract the contents of the mod to the folder of the game you wish to modify (the folder which contains the "CHITIN.KEY" file). On successful extraction, there should be a phaere_ports folder and a setup-phaere_ports.exe file in your game folder. To install, simply double-click  setup-phaere_ports.exe  and follow the instructions on screen.

Run  setup-phaere_ports.exe  in your game folder to reinstall, un-install or otherwise change components.




Mac OS X

Phaere's NPC Portraits for BG2 for Mac OS X distributed in the same compressed archive and includes a WeiDU installer.

First, extract the files from the archive into your game directory. On successful extraction, there should be a phaere_ports folder, setup-phaere_ports and setup-phaere_ports.command files in your game folder. To install, double-click  setup-phaere_ports.command  and follow the instructions on screen.

You can run  setup-phaere_ports.command  in your game folder to reinstall, un-install or otherwise the components settings.




Linux

Extract the contents of the mod to the folder of the game you wish to modify.

Download the latest Linux version of WeiDU and copy WeiDU and WeInstall to /usr/bin. Then open a terminal and cd to your game installation directory.

Optional: run 'tolower' and answer 'Y' to both queries. You can avoid running the second option (linux.ini) if you've already ran it once in the same directory. To save time, the archive is already tolowered, so there's no need to run the first option (lowercasing file names) either, if you've extracted only this mod since the last time you lowercased file names. If unsure, running tolower and choosing both options is the safe bet.

Run  WeInstall setup-phaere_ports  in your game folder to install the mod. Then run  wine BGMain.exe  and start playing.




Note for Complete Un-installation

In addition to the methods above for removing individual components, you can completely un-install the mod using  setup-phaere_ports --uninstall  at the command line to remove all components without wading through prompts.


Phaere's NPC Portraits for BG2 > InstallationBACK TO TOP

Components


The installer includes the following components. The number of each is the component DESIGNATED number which gives it a fixed install position, lets other components and mods detect it and allows automated installers to specify component choices.




0. Minsc Portrait



1. Aerie Portrait



2. Imoen Portrait



3. Edwin Portrait



4. Viconia Portrait



5. Haer'Dalis Portrait



6. Sarevok Portrait (ToB only)



7. Jaheira Portrait



8. Bodhi Portrait (original game only)



9. Mazzy Portrait

Phaere's NPC Portraits for BG2 > ComponentsBACK TO TOP

Credits


Author: Phaere
WeiDU coding: Rastor




Programs/tools used in creation:



Copyrights

Phaere's NPC Portraits for BG2 is not developed, supported, or endorsed by BioWare™ or Interplay/BlackIsle, Overhaul, Beamdog or the Wizards of the Coast. It was developed by Phaere and Rastor, based on material from the game Baldur's Gate II and its expansion.

All mod content is ©Phaere and Rastor.

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal © TSR, Inc. The BioWare Infinity Engine is © BioWare Corp. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners.

This mod was created to be freely enjoyed by all Baldur's Gate II players, and its content is free of rights. However, it should not be sold, published, compiled or redistributed in any form without the consent of the author.


The modding community for the Infinity Engine has been going strong for more than 10 years now, and is the culmination of thousands of unpaid modding hours by fellow fans of the game. Modders produce their best work and players get the best, well-supported mods when we all work together.

There are two big ways to upset this harmony. One is to claim someone else's work as your own. The second is to host and redistribute a mod without permission from the author(s).

Be kind to your fellow players and modders. Don't do either.


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Version History


Version 5.0 (12 April 2020)
  • Added phaere_ports.ini metadata file to support AL|EN's "Project Infinity".
  • Replaced `AUTHOR` keyword with `SUPPORT`.
  • Added `VERSION` flag.
  • Replaced `AT_INTERACTIVE_EXIT` deprecated command with `README`.
  • Added missing `REQUIRE_PREDICATE` process to avoid installing the mod in inaccurate games.
  • Added components DESIGNATED numbers and "phaere_ports_%npc-names%" `LABELS`.
  • Modernized and speed up installation process:
    • Externalized tp2 code into gw_install_portraits.tpa library for more comfortable readability and maintenance.
    • Renamed portraits sub-folders and script names to fit the new installation function.
    • Due to its portrait size (38 x 60), "Bodhi Portrait component" can now only be installed in original games.
  • Added native BG2:EE and EET compatibilities.
  • Replaced old-school `DECOMPILE_BCS_TO_BAF` plus `COMPILE_BAF_TO_BCS` process with more accurate `DECOMPILE_AND_PATCH` command.
  • Added "Continue()" to the script blocks that are patched via `EXTEND_TOP`.
  • Fixed a bug with .2da files patching: viconnd1 and viconnd2 (was replacing "NVICONIL" portrait instead of "NVICONL").
  • Fixed two bugs with .bcs files patching: aerie (was applying "r#aeport" spell instead of "r#pparie"), was patching sarev25a file instead of sarev25.
  • Resized portraits for original games to their right sizes (medium = 110 x 170 - small = 30 x 60).
  • Cleaned up old ids entries patch replaced with more recent BG2 Fixpack one.
  • Added French translation (Gwendolyne).
  • Wrote a new phaere_ports-readme-english.html readme file and moved it into new "readme" folder.
  • Removed useless files and backup folder.
  • Reorganized mod architecture tree: created "lang" and "portraits" folders to sort files according to their types.
  • Lower cased files.
  • Included Linux and Mac Os X versions in the same package (thanks AL|EN's Infinity Auto Packager tool!).
  • Upgraded WeiDU installer to v246.
  • Uploaded mod to official Spellhold Studios GitHub mirror account.

Version 4.0
  • Streamlined some tp2 code.
  • Mac OS X now supported.
  • Cleaned up BG2 folder.
  • SoA-only installation now supported.
  • The portrait changes are now retroactive.
  • Installer is faster now.
  • Upgraded WeiDU installer to v183.

Version 3.0
  • Added portraits for Bodhi and Mazzy.
  • Another attempt at fixing the bugs with Aerie's portrait.
  • Upgraded WeiDU installer to v168.

Version 2.0
  • Added portraits for Sarevok and Jaheira.
  • Aerie in ogre form no longer has a portrait.

Version 1.0
  • Initial release.

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