A whisker before the beginning of the grand month of April, this superfluous introduction will promptly introduce you to a eclectic collection of budding modifications created enthusiastically by intriguing members of this antique modding community. Yes, ahem, that didn’t sound as good as I had hoped.

If relationships were numbers...
...then macholy’s Relationship modification version 1.5 will give you such a number. This neat little modification quantifies the relationship between the protagonist and any NPC. Simple, and simple. If only real life relationships could be summarised in just one number, numbers would be the talk of the world (as long as it is not about the Global Financial Crisis)! But until then, check the modification out here.

You know you want a Hackmaster +12
Interpret it any way you want, because that doesn’t stop Konalan’s Tweaks from including the new, mint-condition, straight-out-of-the-factory Hackmaster +12 © 2009 Konalan. Go here to place your order. Who knows, if you PM him, he might offer you a free set of steak knives… for chopping steak, of course.

...and my arxe!
See dwarves with a new sartorial eye with Erephine’s Dwarven female avatars. This One Pixel Productions addition proves just how a set of sexy paperdolls can shed light into the mysteries of the short folk. Check out this cool modification here, and no, the paperdolls are not obstructed by the crenellations at Helm’s Deep.

Lost and found
Yes, it seems that I neglected to announce a very subtly released modification last fortnight. This modification is BGSpawn, a spawn system modification for Baldur’s Gate Trilogy-WeiDU that presents a unique take on randomly spawning creatures in the Sword Coast. If you are looking for some surprises, this modification may well fill you plate. Get it here.

Like a bear awakening from hibernation, Shed returned to the modding scene and yawned! Then, after a cup of tea, he stuck around just long enough to release updates for The Jerry Zinger Show and Yikari!

The Jerry Zinger show allows the PC and his companions to view (and take part in) the live talk show of Jerry Zinger, well known Amnish celebrity! Shows are daily, and executed largely by cutscenes. The mod also features unique technology of adding a movie to the game! The Jerry Zinger Show features a brand new area, the studio, which can be accessed from the Den of Seven Vales. Jerry Zinger is voiced, and great care has gone into writing the juicy material!

The changes are as follows:

2009 - Version 2
* Added German Translation
* Updated Readme
* Moved position of hawker
* Some misspellings fixed
* Fixed a bug with Viconia’s dialogue in Episode 8

Yikari is a Lawful Neutral monk NPC for BGII. In Shadows of Amn, he can be found in the Temple District in Athkatla and may be be summoned by the Throne of Bhaal Fate Spirit. This mod provides good characters a roleplaying reason to get Celestial Fury. Yikari’s quest is to retrieve the sword, and return it to its rightful owner and location. Whether or not the player already has the sword at their first meeting affects Yikari’s equipment, biography, and dialogue, for Yikari has taken a vow of silence until he found has the sword.

Version 1.3 is the latest version, but is only available in English. But if you speak French, Italian or Russian, Version 1.2 is also available. The only change between Version 1.1 and Version 1.2 is the addition of the Italian and Russian languages.

The changes are as follows:

2009 - Version 1.3
* ToB compatible (Fate Spirit, Epilogue)
* Interjects in SoA
* Interjects with Kuroisan, the Acid Kensai (requires Tactics Mod)
* Yikari-only version of Celestial Fury upgradable with Item Upgrade Mod
* Two of Imoen’s banters moved to ToB
* SoA Yikari spawns at level 12 or 14; ToB Yikari is level 14
* Portraits, creature colours changed
* Wisdom reduced to 18
* Anomen’s banters removed
* SoA Yikari spawns at level 12 or 14; ToB Yikari is level 14
* French, Italian and Russian translations removed

2009 - Version 1.2
* Italian Translation Added
* Russian Translation Added

Related links:

• Download Yikari
• Yikari forum
• Yikari readme
• Download Jerry Zinger
• Jerry Zinger forum
• Yikari readme

Boy (or girl)! We’ve got a stack of cool little modifications for your delight this fortnight. I’ll get straight into it.

BIFFing beef and other types
If you are one who looks for improved performance, look no further than the bigg’s Generalized Biffing modification, a WeiDU modification that will compress your game files into .biff archives for better in-game performance. It does come with a big caveat, and it is advised that you read the big, bold, capitalised text before you press any stray buttons. Find it here. Did I say read the big, bold, capitalised text? [insert disclaimer here]

Homemade, not Home Brand
If you are looking something from a domicile, look no further but macholy’s Homemade Teammates Fight Script modification version 2.5. This is a little homebrew script modification and ‘let[s] teammates [be] much more active and intelligent’ - that’s if they don’t fall over their own translations. Note that the Ascension modification is required. Read some more about this modification here.

Remember Jamella? Well she’s here!
The adept item merchant from Pandemonium Fortress has made a home in Baldur’s Gate II with the help of shohy. Hence, we find Jamella’s Diablo 2 Item Store for Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal version 1.1, a modification that adds a store from which you will have to make a very brave (unbreakable) decision. Check this epitomy of skill and craftswomanship here.

Sing a song of sixpence, then abruptly change the tune
If you love medleys, then you may make them a virtual reality with shohy’s Bard Song Switching (Icewind Mode) for Baldur’s Gate II version 1.3. This modification introduces some level-dependent bard songs that you can switch between freely. Even different songs stack, so if your ears are polymodal that you can discern several songs at once, then go here and try this mod out.

Ticking the fixes over
Herein lies Beregost Crash Fixer version 1.7, with the addition of the German translation by WangXu. But beware of the asp that will strike you in the darkness. That’s if an asp even exists.

The hardworking Classic Adventures team have just produced yet another update to the total conversion. In their words:

“This is the full install of Classic Adventures version .49. This update contains all the interior areas of Selgaunt. The areas are not populated yet but it should give you an idea of what our plans are in the future. Don’t expect all areas to stay as they are, we may change things around during the next couple of updates.”

Related links:

• Download v.49
• Website
• Forum

A big fortnight this time around with a multitude of modification updates, so I’ll get snapping.

Make the right shape
No1 worked on a new modification for shapeshifting, audaciously named the Ultimate Shapeshifting and Rebalancing Fix modification. It exhibits an alternative take to Weimer and the Refinements approaches. Read a subject comparison, and try out the modification, here.

Fix-it in French
Another version gets dusted, with Beregost Crash Fixer being updated to 1.6, featuring the French translation by Isaya. If you can’t remember what this does, flick back through the news, or just go here. You can also grab the utility at the same link location.

A tweak is more than a tweak
aVENGER launches version 2.02 of aTweaks featuring French and Italian translations. ‘Nuff said, now click!

More vestibular control for your rogues
A rogue ain’t a rogue if he keeps falling over, so grab the version 4.04 maintenance update to Rogue Rebalancing right here. This update features some new translations, bug fixes, and kooky little changes that you can read about here.

I shall tra-ify your vault until it squirms!
erebusant has mostly certainly has made the Vault modification squirm with possibilities for translations with the version 7 update. If you want to see your favourite language in the modification, then put your multi-lingual skills into action and grab the modification here.