13/07/2002	(This readme is best viewed with the Word Wrap setting on).

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Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - BATTLE OF HELM'S DEEP (unofficial) mod.
version 1.0.0
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An UNOFFICIAL mod for Baldur's Gate 2.

*** This unofficial mod is not supported in any way by Interplay Entertainment, Bioware Corp. or Black Isle Studios. ***

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Created by:  			Elhoe
Email:  			epic@elhoe.fsworld.co.uk
Webpage:			http://www.elhoe.fsworld.co.uk/LOTR_BOHD/LOTR_index.html
For my earlier BG2-SOA mod:	"EPIC ENDEAVOURS"	 goto http://www.teambg.net/epic/
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About the mod:
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**************** VERY IMPORTANT ****************

1) This is a stand-alone mod and is NOT compatible with other mods.
2) You will need a hefty PC to avoid slowdown.
3) This mod can only be played in SINGLE PLAYER mode, it is not possible to play Multiplayer.
4) Once this mod is installed you will not be able to start a normal Shadows of Amn game until this mod has been removed as the start has been overridden.

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This mini-mod is an interpretation of the Battle of Helm's Deep. Although the portraits and sound clips are from the recent Lord of the Rings movie, it is more closely based on the Lord of the Rings cartoon made by Ralph Bakshi.

This mod will attempt to recreate the Battle of Helm's Deep which is part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy written by J.R.R. Tolkien. The mod will see you controlling the Rohirrim in order to repel the advancing Orc army and to hold them off until reinforcements arrive.

Please note this is MY INTERPRETATION of the battle and as such the events may not follow precisely as described by Tolkien in "The Two Towers". 

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Installation:
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*** WARNING! - This is SLIGHTLY tricky so ONLY PROCEED if you understand the following: ***

If you have Baldur's Gate 2 - Shadows Of Amn installed:
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**************** VERY IMPORTANT ****************

Please BACKUP the following before proceeding (you will lose your current game if you do not):

	a) OVERRIDE folder, 
	b) BGMAIN.exe file, 
	c) DIALOG.tlk file 
	d) CHITIN.key file 

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This mod will require approximately 40MB of free Hard Disk space.

All you have to do is REPLACE your current BG2 OVERRIDE folder, DIALOG.tlk file and the CHITIN.key file with the ones that can be found in the newly unzipped "mod - BOHD" folder. 

*** Remember to make a copy of the BG2 originals before you do this or you will have to reinstall the whole game when you stop playing the BOHD mod!!! ***

*** You must manually replace the BG2 OVERRIDE folder with the BOHD OVERRIDE folder, DO NOT add the files from one to the other! ***

(See the bottom of this text file, if you have The BG2 expansion: Throne of Bhaal installed).

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To Uninstall this Mod:
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Manually delete the BOHD mod's OVERRIDE folder, DIALOG.tlk file and the CHITIN.key file and move the BG2 backups back into the installation folder to revert back to your previous version. You can then manually delete the "mod - BOHD" folder. Your previous game should now be playable.

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Starting the Mod:
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Step 1) Start BG2
Step 2) Select "Single Player".
Step 3) Select "New Game".
Step 4) Create a new character - import a SOA character. (There is no need to create a whole new character from scratch as it will be replaced and lost when you start the mod).
Step 5) When you start the new game the screen will appear to go dark for a couple of seconds and you will then appear in the new Helm's Deep area.

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Some important points:
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1) Sometimes one part of the wall may not collapse properly, especially when there is someone standing on it or nearby.
2) If any one of the party dies then the game is over. You must keep all of them alive.
3) If you have BG2 - Throne of Bhaal installed, do not import a TOB character when starting a new game as this will crash the game. Make sure you import a character from SOA as you will be using the SOA .exe file.
4) If you are using ModSwitcher please make sure you set the Baldur's Gate 2 installation path under "Options" before you store and apply anything.

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Thanks:
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Editors used:
- for Areas - IETME 2.1 by TheoTeamBG, NEAR INFINITY v1.19.3 by Jon Olav Hauglid.
- for viewing Areas and scripts - INFINITY EXPLORER 0.75 by Dmitry Jemerov.
- for Creatures and Characters - SHADOWKEEPER 2.1.4 by Aaron O'Neil.
- for Editing and Creating Items - IEEP 1.0.9 Build 39 by TL.
- for Editing and Creating Scripts & Strings - NEAR INFINITY v1.19.3 by Jon Olav Hauglid.
- for extracting sounds and music - ACM2WAV (with NEAR INFINITY).
- for changing the opening screen - MOSUtil v1.0.0.1 by Gafware 2000.
- paint program (for creating and editing bitmaps) - Paint Shop Pro 4.10 & 7.02 by JASC Software.
- for dialog - IDU 1.0.4a by Paul Victorey.
- for extracting and creating Bifs.  - WINBIFF v1.2.1 by TheoTeamBG.
- for notes and drafting dialog, item descriptions etc - NOTEPAD and TextPad 4.4.0 by Helios Software Solutions.

Also:
- Uses a modified version of Mary Magus/Fall-from-Grace's magic jar script to replace Player1 with my chosen characters.
- TeamBG (www.teambg.com) and Ken Baker for getting me started into BG2 modding.
- Tėlcar and others for stat suggestions for the PCs.

A big thank you to:
- Andrew "Bruges" Bridges for his Mod Switcher v1.00.

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Installation - If you have Baldur's Gate 2 - Throne of Bhaal installed: 
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If you have the Throne of Bhaal expansion installed you will need to use the BGMain.exe for SOA to play this mod. The BGMain.exe for SOA can be found on the Baldur's Gate 2 - Shadows Of Amn CD1 in the "Extra" folder.

Copy the BGMain.exe from CD1 to your Baldur's Gate 2 installation folder. This will REPLACE the TOB version of the BGMain.exe so please remember to make the BACKUP beforehand!

Then follow the installation instructions as if you now have Baldur's Gate 2 - Shadows of Amn installed (see above).

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To Uninstall this Mod - If you have Baldur's Gate 2 - Throne of Bhaal installed: 
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Follow the above steps for uninstalling the mod and remember to replace the SOA BGMain.exe with the TOB version of BGMain.exe (which you should have a backup copy, if you have followed the instructions). This will revert your game back to TOB.

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Installation - using ModSwitcher:
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The ModSwitcher tool can be used for installation of this mod. If you decide to use the ModSwitcher first store your current game using "Store Current Mod" and then use "Import Mod" to import the BOHD mod.

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All "Lord of the Rings" text quoted is copyrighted by J. R. R. Tolkien.

All pictures, photos, and posters are copyrighted by their respective owners. 

BALDUR'S GATE II: SHADOWS OF AMN, BALDUR'S GATE II: THRONE OF BHAAL: © 2000, 2001 Bioware Corp. All Rights Reserved. 

Certain materials relating to the media covered within this mod may be the copyright property of their respective studios production companies / publishing companies.

This is a completely unofficial mod, and has no connection with the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien, whose rights are fully acknowledged. Names of characters, items and events from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are trademarks and service marks of Tolkien Enterprises, whose rights are also fully acknowledged.

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Disclaimer:
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You use these files at your own risk. Do not hold me responsible if this mod somehow damages your computer .  

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Visit the following site to make your games more fun:
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http://www.teambg.com/  (game customizing programs/editors)