These scripts upgrade the AI of several summoned creatures to make better use of their abilities.
The files in the override folder are the summoned creature scripts. Copy these to your Baldurs Gate 2\override folder.
Just delete the files.
Several important summoned creatures have had their AI considerably improved. These creatures will now attempt to use all their abilities where appropriate, with some thought put into target selection regarding resistances and immunities, and will alternate between spellcasting and attacking for maximum efficiency. The enhancements apply only to creatures controlled by the party; these scripts do not make enemies smarter.
All of the enhanced creatures will greet their master when summoned by saying: I serve only <PRO_LADYLORD> <CHARNAME>! (filling in the variables, of course), with the exception of the elemental princes, who retain their own lines.
The scripts are extremely careful with spells that have been deemed "unsafe", such as Fireball, Globe of Blades or Dispel Magic. Unsafe spells will only automatically be cast when there is no risk of collateral damage. Manually order your creatures to cast these spells if you wish to use them.
Several creatures have the same set of spells. This is the Ogre Mage list, and some of the other creatures likely ended up with this list due to sloppy copy/pasting by the game's developers. These spells are nevertheless put to good use. The list includes:
The planetars are excellent fighters and spellcasters. They have a long list of spells, but because they are so fearsome in melee (average 84 damage against AC 0) they will forego many of these spells in favor of simply cutting their opponents to ribbons. They will cast the following spells:
Dispel Magic, Earthquake, Globe of Blades and Firestorm were deemed too risky for scripted use. Chaos and Flame Strike were ignored because they pale in comparison to the planetar's hack and slash damage output. Cure Disease, Raise Dead, Remove Curse and Restoration cannot be scripted. Unholy Word is useless since enemies are almost never Good aligned. Detect Invisibility is pointless since planetars can see invisible creatures anyway and have True Sight to dispel illusions.
The devas are good fighters and spellcasters, though not as awesome as the planetars. Their script has the following features:
Globe of Blades was deemed too risky. Cure Disease and Remove Curse cannot be scripted (and hardly matter anyway.) A bug in their spell list prevents them from casting their Chaos spell (which would have been decent) and their third Globe of Blades spell.
Chan now uses his Whirlwind, which appears to be a sort of Ring of the Ram thing.
Zaaman Rul now uses his superfast Flame Strike.
The efreeti is a decent fighter and has several useful spells, even though it is only a low-level spellcaster. It has the Ogre Mage list described above, and on top of that a Flame Strike and a Flame Arrow. Ghost Armor is not scripted since it would not improve the efreeti's AC anyway.
The Nishruu has the Ogre Mage spell list, which it uses to good effect even though its primary purpose is soaking up enemy spells. It now casts Ghost Armor right after being summoned, a quick spell that greatly improves the nishruu's AC.
The hakeashar (from Summon Hakeashar) also uses this script. However, since the hakeashar is only a minimal upgrade from the nishruu and there are stupidly powerful spells available at its level, it is a waste of a spell slot.
This lady is rather frail in combat (despite her startling 7 attacks per round), but has an impressive array of spells:
The nymph will try to stay out of trouble as long as she still has relevant spells to cast, but will chip in with the occasional punch if she's next to something that isn't immune to her unenchanted fists.
Note that the nymph instantly casts Barkskin on herself when she sees an enemy. This is not a new feature, and it does not interfere with her other spellcasting.
Kitthix will now fire its Web Tangle at vulnerable enemies, and will teleport around slightly more intelligently.
Cerebus' original script was quite flawed, redundantly casting Mirror Images three times in a row before attacking. This old dog has been taught several new tricks:
I was rather involved in the Infinity Engine scripting scene a decade ago, writing Beholder AI for laughs and eventually working on the semi-official Ascension mod and the (never finished) Return to Windspear mod, after which I made the mistake of moving over to the (then still promising) Neverwinter Nights series.
I installed the following content:
None of the included files overwrite any existing files in that setup. If you already have one or more of these files because you installed another mod, I'd suggest not overwriting any existing files. Some mods (particularly Spell Revisions and aTweaks, I am told) are likely to conflict with the summoned creature AI.
The override folder contains the summoned creature AI scripts:
The files in the script compiler\source folder contain all the source code, in case you're interested. It has been extensively commented.
I might well be the last person to have written a script, but I wasn't the first. You may or may not like these other scripts better:
Unfortunately, the gMinion download link is broken... but I believe that my minions are slightly smarter anyway (the ones I wrote scripts for, at least.)
When it is obvious that there is a fight ahead, simply summon some sturdy minions, send in your army and sit back. I finished many big fights without actually showing up myself. You can cast Wizard Eye or Farsight if you wish to view the spectacle, but often that isn't even needed unless you include clones.
A Nishruu or the Skeleton Warrior you get from Animate Dead once you're level 15 can clear out a room on its own if it doesn't run into Death Spell. Both of these are practically immune to magic and unenchanted weapons.
I consider these summon spells worth memorizing, in order of awesomeness: