[Tool] Big World Setup (BWS): Mod Manager for Baldur's Gate / Enhanced Edition (Trilogy) for Windows

Don't send PM to this account because they will be ignored!

Because this amazing project: Enhanced Edition Trilogy ( BG1:EE + SoD + BG2:EE + IWD1:EE + first part of IWD2 ), we need to rise awareness of this community about this tool and encourage people to provide feedback.

Information:

Project page: https://bitbucket.org/BigWorldSetup/bigworldsetup/overview
Discussion: http://www.shsforums.net/topic/56670-big-world-setup-an-attempt-to-update-the-program/
Changelog: https://bitbucket.org/BigWorldSetup/bigworldsetup/commits/all
Mod Request Template: http://www.shsforums.net/topic/58006-big-world-setup-mod-request-template/

Features:

- downloading mods (please see remarks!)
- easy mod installation for BGT and EET
- correct install order of mods/components (BiG World Project)
- handle mod and components conflicts
- easy backup creation/restoring
- ability to add you own mods

Supported games:

- Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (standalone game)
- Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition (standalone game)
- Enhanced Edition Trilogy ( BG1:EE + SoD + BG2:EE + IWD1:EE + partial IWD2-in-EET )
(IWD1:EE + partial IWD2-in-EET not yet created!)
- Baldur's Gate 2 (standalone game) / Baldur’s Gate Trilogy ( BG1 + BG2 )
- Icewind Dale / Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
- Icewind Dale II / Icewind Dale II: Enhanced Edition
- Planescape: Torment
- Classic Adventures

Supported mods:

- almost all of them

Installation:

Forbidden folders for you game installation, don't install you games here:
C:\<anything>... | C:\Program Files\... | C:\Program Files (x86)\... | C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\...
Allowed folders for you game installation:
C:\Users\<YouUserName>\Games | D:\Games | Other non-OSdrive locations
Warning for non-EE games (BG2/BGT/IWD/IWD2/PST, skip for Enhanced Edition): If you just moved you game folders, use this tool: IEGL to fix paths inside *.ini

Prerequisites:
- reinstall you games/prepare clean version of the games
- apply lastest patches ( Classic BG1/BG2 from GoG has already lastes patch )
- run each game at least once (especially after you moved non-EE games directory) and create a save game
- quit Steam/GoG launchers, exit games, close game/file editors
- create backups of each game
- disable you antivirus
- disable User Account Control: Windows 7 / Windows 8 / Windows 10

0. Download Big World Setup zip archive and extract it anywhere but not inside game directory:

1. Execute "Start BiG World Setup - Update If Needed.vbs"

2. Select GUI Language. It has nothing to do with game/mods language!

3. Choose you game:

4. Provide paths for you game:

5. Select default language for all mods:

6. Choose compilation: for the first usage of the tool use "Recommended" compilation:

7. Read "Installation F.A.Q." and then you can choose mods and components:


[i] - button will open mod homepage/forum
Gray - forced mod, can't be un-selected
Green - recommended mod, based on the community
Blue - stable mod, it should install without errors/bugs
Orange - tactical mod, it increase difficulty or adds difficult fights
Red - expert mod, it can cause problems/it can overwrite files, read description
Yellow background - mod with warring, please read description
Gray background - mod must be downloaded manually to BiG World Downloads folder

8. If the mods have conflicts, you will have to solve them:
a) some mods needs another mods/componets

b) some mods cannot be installed together, choose one of them

9. Test download of the mods. Test locally present mods:
Download missing mods (don't extract) which require manual download and put them into to BiG World Downloads.

10. Start installation.

Remarks - please read!

Before you start to complain, you must acknowledge that due to nature of Baldur’s Gate mods,
community and rules especially about providing working hosting for mods and fixing mod bugs,
Big Word Setup itself is not capable to fix/improve some aspects of automated mod installation.
Despite our best efforts, you will face some minor problems.
It often depends of how many mods you trying to install.
Big World Setup is an overlay for Big World Project which itself is an overlay for mods.
Overlay for overlay for another overlay.

- BWS cannot fix mod bugs: there is Big World Fixpack, all mod fixes should be added to it
- BWS cannot change installation order: BWS use Big World Project from Leonardo Watson
- BWS cannot host mods: there will be always mods which fails to download, please ask author to provide proper link

You cannot distribute you mod via forum attachments. If you don't have you own hosting site, the best option is to use GitHub.com or please provide download links which:
- do not require chapta after several downloads (http://prntscr.com/6pk42t)
- do not advertise some adware/crapware/downloader etc
- do not expire after 30 or more days without download (every popular hosting site like speeedyshare, mediafire has such terms)
- do not require user interaction to be downloaded ( mediafire.com,googledrive.com has JavaScript download link generator that require user click)
- do not depend on the filename (dropbox.com/s/q72jpl132fj53lv/ModName-v1.zip?dl=1)
- do not depend on the file version if you enable SEO: mods.sitename.com/modnamev7 -> mods.sitename.com/modnamev7_1/
- it will not change when uploading/updated the same file
- it can be used by wget to check file size: wget.exe url --spider --no-check-certificate