Infinity Sounds

A mod for Baldur's Gate II

Version 2.0.1

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Introduction

In a nutshell, Infinity Sounds is a mod for Baldur's Gate II which aims to improve many sonic aspects of the game. The mod allows you to, e.g., restore all the classic Baldur's Gate sounds, remedy a lot of audio-related issues, overhaul creature sounds, revive EAX support, and tweak NPC soundsets.

Supported games

The following games are currently supported:

Requirements

For the classic Baldur's Gate II, the following game engine extenders must be installed before Infinity Sounds for several key components to work:

Compatibility

If possible, try to install this mod last before biffing. Infinity Sounds does not add any new game content or change any of the game rules; therefore, it will most likely not benefit from patches introduced by other mods. If other mods require the same, choose the most convenient order for quick uninstallation of components.

If you intend to use Lolfixer, install it before Infinity Sounds.

In any case, avoid installing Infinity Sounds before mods which overwrite, add, or modify: spells, items, or creatures.

Suggested mods

Below is a list of recommended mods which offer audio-related fixes, tweaks, or content restorations. Generally, install any of these mods before Infinity Sounds. Consult the respective mod readme files for the exact installation order.

Installation

Extract the file setup-infinitysounds.exe and the folder infinitysounds from the mod archive into your game directory.

Run setup-infinitysounds.exe and follow the prompts to install the individual components.

To uninstall or change any of the components, simply run the setup again and follow the on-screen instructions.

Project Infinity is recommended for managing mod installations.

Components

Infinity Sounds includes a total of nineteen distinct components. Please read each description carefully before installing.

Restore BG1 Spellcasting Voices

This component replaces the default Latin spell recitation with the sinister and ritualistic incantations from the classic BG1.

All the restored sound files have been cleaned of audible compression artifacts or distortion.

Restore BG1 Spellcasting Sounds

First and foremost, this component restores all the original sounds from BG1 to the appropriate spells. Additionally, it brings more consistency to many spells which use sounds reserved for other spellcasting schools.

Restore BG1 Weapon Sounds

Most of the weapon swings and shots in BG2 sound much different than in the prequel. Flails, spears, bows, and crossbows are prime examples here. This component restores all the combat attack sounds from BG1.

Included are tweaked bow draw and release sounds which match the speed of the combat animations slightly better.

Restore BG1 Armor Sounds

Much in a similar fashion as the above, this component replaces the default combat hit sounds with their BG1 counterparts. The former tend to be a bit more abrupt, while the latter have more emphasized clashes and thumps.

This component also includes the leather squeaks and metal clanks as characters move around in armor. The BG1 variants are slightly less pronounced and more realistic.

Restore BG1 GUI Sounds

For the most part, these are very similar; however, some players may wish to restore the original BG1 sounds for the UI panels and inventory management. The most noticeable difference is that the BG2 inventory variants have an additional rattle.

Restore BG1 PC Soundsets

English only

This component allows you to select the original BG1 soundsets for your custom characters.

Restore Gulp Sound

In BG2, potions lost one of the sound effects. This restores the memorable sound played when a character drinks a potion.

Restore Chunked Death Sound

If you enable gore in the game options, you will see a special death animation when HP go well below zero; however, the related "chunking" sound present in BG1 is missing in the sequel. This component reintroduces the chunked death sound to BG2.

Tweak Sound Channel Volume Levels

These are not to be confused with the volume sliders in the game options. The sound channels are divided into: narration, ambients, actions, swings, missiles, hits, casting, GUI, dialog, characters, monsters, footsteps, and armor movement. The suggested tweaked variant attempts to balance the levels between BG1 and BG2.

Enable Footsteps During Combat

Due to a bug, the game engine always disables footsteps during combat, regardless of the Disable Footsteps During Combat=0 setting available in the configuration files. This is because the key was misspelled in the executable as Disable Foot Steps During Combat. This component adds the misspelled key to the configuration files so that the game can finally recognize it.

Mute Reputation Change Sounds

This component disables the punishing sound which blares out on reputation loss and the fanfare trumpet on reputation gain.

Mute Tooltip Paper Sound

This is for players who would prefer to disable the paper-like sound played when tooltips roll out on the screen.

Restore BG1 Ambient Sounds

This component adds a rooster crow and an additional horse whinny to the appropriate BG1 areas. It also restores an unused main day ambient to the fishing village area, which matches the rural environment a little better.

Restore Environmental Audio

The classic BG2 utilized the now-deprecated DS3D and EAX for hardware-accelerated audio positioning and effects. Thanks to DSOAL, this component revives environmental and positional audio in the classic BG2, without the need for legacy hardware or drivers.

Advanced users may tweak the settings in alsoft.ini located in the main game folder.

Some players experience crashes on game launch with this component installed. Unfortunately, certain combinations of Windows versions and system configuration prevent the use of DSOAL. Please report any issues so that the sources of the crashes can be investigated further.

Restore & Tweak Soundsets

Requires TobEx and TobEx AfterLife

The biggest component of Infinity Sounds attempts to solve many audio-related issues with creatures. Its main goal is to overhaul monster, animal, atmosphere, and NPC soundsets. This includes, e.g., restoring missing sounds and character lines, revamping attack sounds, as well as refining both embedded creature and animation soundsets.

Below are some of the highlights:

  • Completely restored BG1, BG2, and IWD soundsets which previously suffered from animation or filename conflicts.
  • Restored numerous creature sounds: melee, ranged, battle cry, selection, damage, dying, stand, morale, existence, etc.
  • Properly matched attack sound alternatives without "silent attacks" or overlapping sounds.
  • Synchronized attack sounds with attack animation frames.
  • Restored many NPC lines and sounds: morale, battle cry, damage, dying, selection, rare, etc.
  • Addressed a lot of minor soundset inconsistencies.

The game engine fixes provided by TobEx AfterLife for the classic BG2 allow this component to reach its full potential. BGEE and BG2EE (patch version 2.6) still suffer from several game engine bugs which make this component less effective. The bugs have been reported to the developers and, hopefully, will be fixed in the future.

More Existence Sounds

Requires component Restore & Tweak Soundsets

Misspelled in the game as "existance" sounds, these are also known as creature "idle" sounds and are played at random intervals, effectively acting as mobile ambients. While the previous component only restores such sounds to some creatures, this one offers more existence sounds to many additional monsters, animals, and NPCs. The new sounds have been carefully selected from the available audio resources.

Tweak Existence Sound Delay

Requires component Restore & Tweak Soundsets

In BG2, the default interval between existence sounds is much longer than in the prequel, which takes away from the experience. This component sets the delay range to the closest matching the original BG1 behavior. Some creatures will use different values to prevent a cacophony.

Restore NPC Voiceovers

English only

This component restores minor unused voiceovers found in the game files. You will be able to hear them during dialogues with, e.g., Bodhi, Gaelan Bayle, Edwin, Keldorn, Anomen, Sarevok, Rielev, Nyalee, and several more.

Some of the restored audio files have been edited where necessary to match the existing dialogue text.

Additionally, over a hundred unused minor NPC lines and sounds have been restored, complete with subtitles: morale, battle cry, damage, dying, selection, etc. This includes Chief Inspector Brega, Cor Delryn, Dermin Courtierdale, Gaal, Goldander Blackenrock, Guardian Telwyn, Guildmistress Busya, Isaea Roenali, Lathan, Lehtinan, Logan Coprith, Lord Jierdan, Terminsel, and more.

Additional NPC Voiceovers (by Salk)

English only

While examining the dialogue files, Salk discovered that some character lines were clearly intended to be voiced, and hired artists to record the missing voiceovers. The characters in question are: Captain Samand, Countess Santele, and Mateo (all three met during a side quest in Saradush). Salk kindly offered the voiceovers to be part of this mod.

Credits

Infinity Sounds authors

Baldur's Gate creators

Voiceover artists

@alfonsogiansa Captain Samand
@livingsamantha Countess Santele
@slipstreamer Mateo

Special thanks

Tools used

Version history

2.0.1(22 Oct 2023)

2.0(17 Aug 2023)