Better Romance 2.5.0 — Baldur's Gate 3

[Crusaderknight20]

This mod has been remade and revamped for the current Patch
Even Better Romance — Baldur's Gate 3

► Old Mod (Patch 6 Compatible)

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DON'T USE THIS UNLESS ON PATCH 6 OR LOWER

► WATCH OUT WATCH OUT ONLY USE ON PATCH 6 OR LOWER *****

► ARE YOU SURE?

► REALLY REALLY SURE?

► LIKE... REEEEEAAAALLLLY SURE???

► OK U BETTER KNOW WHAT U ARE DOING

Hello everyone,

I've collaborated with @orinEsque and @dantrag28 on developing a mod to disable romances. I want to give a quick update, as the mod I uploaded earlier was a beta version. However, I am pleased to announce that I was able to consolidate the mod into a single package. So, the good news is that I was able to make all the romances gender-restricted. In other words, if you're female, neither Karlach nor Laezel will ever pursue you romantically. As for males, Wyll will never invite you to a dance. Gale's weave scene was originally intended to be platonic, and it has been included as such. Any dialogue for flirting or engaging in romance with him will not appear if you are playing as a male, it will only appear if you are playing as a female.

I have also included an option to completely disable romance for all genders. This is included in the zip file and is named 'NoRomCelibateFile'.

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Files	Type	Version	Description
NoRomVanilla	Main	2.5	Restricts Romance interactions by Gender. Romance is still active
NoRomCelibate	Main	2.5	Disables Romance Entirely
NoRomPlatonicLingo	ㅤOptionalㅤ	2.5	Changes Dialogue to be more platonic for Male Friendships; Compatible with NoAlphabets. Use this instead of NoAlphabetsLingo
NoRomPlatonicVoice	ㅤOptionalㅤ	2.5	Changes Narrator/Character voice lines to be more platonic for Male Friendships. Compatible with NoAlphabets, enable this alongside NoAlphabetsVoice
ㅤ	ㅤ	ㅤ	ㅤ
NoRomance-ForSpecificCharacters	Main	1.0	This zip file contains different paks that disable romance for specific characters. You would have to extract it, and from there you can activate the mod that disables the romance for that specific character. Use this as a standalone mod. Do not use NoRomVanilla with it. However, you can safely use NoRomPlatonicLingo and voice with it.
NoRomVanillaFemstarion	Main	1.0	Restricts Romance interactions by Gender & compatible with the Femstarion mod
ㅤ	ㅤ	ㅤ	ㅤ
Translations	ㅤ	ㅤ	ㅤ
NoRomLing-German	ㅤOptionalㅤ	1.0	Changes Dialogue to be more platonic for Male Friendships in German @Reichspepe
NoRomLing-French v2.5	ㅤOptionalㅤ	2.5	Modifie les dialogues pour être plus platonique dans les amitiés masculines - Changements de NoAlphabets inclus - VF @Tipfy

Instructions:
Download only one Main file and add whatever optional files you'd like.

To implement these mods, use the Mod Manager. When you add the mods, they will first appear in the override section, which is located at the bottom. Simply right-click on the desired file, choose 'allow in load order,' then save (Ctrl+S) and export (Ctrl+E) the order to the mod file.

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I took a couple of screenshots of before and after images, but please keep in mind that in these screenshots, I'm playing as the Dark Urge, so some dialogue might appear more insane :

Before


After


Before:


After:


Before:


After:

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I'm considering creating another optional mod, but it will take some time. If you're interested in restricting romances based on class or race, in addition to gender, please let me know.

Again big thank you to @dantrag28, @orinEsque
Thank you to @Tipfy for the french translation.
Thank you to @Reichspepe for the German translation

---

[True_Way]

I love this site and all you talented modders making my game better, whiter and cleaner from every kind of woke filth. Thank you very much!

[gunbino]

Thanks for this mod. It's the final piece of the puzzle for me. Any idea how update-proof it is since you're editing binary files?

[Crusaderknight20]

Thanks for this mod. It's the final piece of the puzzle for me. Any idea how update-proof it is since you're editing binary files?

You're welcome!
Regarding your question about updates, they don't affect these files unless new content is added, which would be in a completely different scene file. In that case, I would just need to edit this file, and it doesn't take me long to do so. Like I said, just send me a screenshot of any line of dialogue, and I'll make those changes.

[SoLong]

Thank you very much for your efforts. It was, admittedly getting tiresome to deal with some of the blatant horniness of the cast.

Lae'zel is the most blatant there. No weird frog woman, I don't consider you attractive.

[Breathe]

If I ever decide to play this game I have some great mods lined up. Much respect for you guys and the work you're doing.

[A Chinese opium den]

You work like lightning man, this is fantastic.

[GOW LIKE A BOSS]

The Weave scene was my first moment of "wtf?" in BG3. Soon after, I started realizing that every man - including ones like Gale who, per his own story, is clearly straight - are secretly gay and pick up on signals I never send to hit on me.

Honestly, it severely decreased my enjoyment of the game. Nothing like non-loreful wokeness to ruin a fantasy game.

Thank you for helping to save this game. Next time I boot up BG3, this mod will be part of my game forevermore.

[WingDingWahoo]

The Weave scene was my first moment of "wtf?" in BG3. Soon after, I started realizing that every man - including ones like Gale who, per his own story, is clearly straight - are secretly gay and pick up on signals I never send to hit on me.

Honestly, it severely decreased my enjoyment of the game. Nothing like non-loreful wokeness to ruin a fantasy game.

Thank you for helping to save this game. Next time I boot up BG3, this mod will be part of my game forevermore.

The fact that even just trying to be a nice party member/leader would somehow result in every guy wanting to jump my bones was so jarring.


Thanks for these mods that improve the game exponentially.

[Homoshrexual]

Awesome, thank you for the mod! Tired of batting away all the gross foids that want my ****.

[BannedForBeingSane]

Hello - new user here.

@Crusaderknight20 , I would like a small clarification. If this NoMaleRomance mod is supposedly preventing guy-on-guy flirting, I don't get the part where you say

" For example, in the NoMaleRom version, we have reworked the narrator's lines to convey a platonic narrative. Players should carefully avoid choosing romance lines in certain scenes, like Gale's weave scene, which we have intentionally kept non-romantic"

So does this mean that there guy-on-guy flirt lines available for my Tav to say? And if I choose said lines, a romance with Male Tav / Gale will trigger? And if it does, exactly how is the mod preventing NoMaleRomance?

[RK-9]

If you ever figure out a way to add NEW dialogue choices, you could probably just make one mod file instead of two for males and females.

Simply duplicate dialogue options and add tags to the end, similar to how some dialogue options have the [BALDURIAN] tag. Add tags '[FLIRT]' and '[FRIENDSHIP]'

For example, when a certain someone is sad that he can't see his own reflection in the mirror...
1. "I see a handsome face [FRIENDSHIP]"
2. "I see a handsome face [FLIRT]"

In cases where the dialogue cannot be duplicated because it wouldn't make much sense, simply include the [FLIRT] tag to the ones that lead to romance, so at least we know which ones do what.

Only the dialogue options with [FLIRT] would allow the progression of romance.

Additionally, this approach would mean you could romantically target only specific people. If you have a "males only" and "females" only mod, the issue still arises where ALL of the one gender wants you. While some people might like that, others would prefer a more monogamistic approach.

As I am writing this, I'm starting to realize just how difficult that might be to sift through all those dialogue options.... So maybe this is a pipe-dream.

[Nobere]

Thank you for this, I found the romance options distracting and was annoyed they sometimes triggered when I was just trying to be "nice".
Alternate name suggestion for the mod, Horndog Begone!

JK, thank you again.

[0utlaw]

This is amazing, I literally just asked for something like this on steam forums and they suspended me. I didn't mention anything about genders or whom was romancing whom... I just wanted to be able to disable it. We've got timebombs in our heads, literal devils trying to make deals with you, lets keep it in our pants guys at least until something isn't trying to kill us in our sleep.

[Crusaderknight20]

Hello - new user here.

@Crusaderknight20 , I would like a small clarification. If this NoMaleRomance mod is supposedly preventing guy-on-guy flirting, I don't get the part where you say

" For example, in the NoMaleRom version, we have reworked the narrator's lines to convey a platonic narrative. Players should carefully avoid choosing romance lines in certain scenes, like Gale's weave scene, which we have intentionally kept non-romantic"

So does this mean that there guy-on-guy flirt lines available for my Tav to say? And if I choose said lines, a romance with Male Tav / Gale will trigger? And if it does, exactly how is the mod preventing NoMaleRomance?

Hello, I'm currently working on fine-tuning it. I will change those lines to something else, but please note that Gale's reaction will remain the same. I have more freedom to change the narrator's dialogue. Another thing to consider is that Gale has the picnic scene, which can be interpreted as either platonic or romantic.

There are two versions of the scene labeled as 'Romantic' and 'Standard.' In comparison, Wyll's dance scene explicitly includes the word 'Romantic.' The only aspect that, in my opinion, is not platonic is the way they're sitting on the grass.

I will take everyone's feedback into account and make any necessary changes to the dialogue. However, for now, the available version still contains those lines, and if you select two of those lines, you will activate the romance flag. My next update will deactivate those flags.

[Crusaderknight20]

This is amazing, I literally just asked for something like this on steam forums and they suspended me. I didn't mention anything about genders or whom was romancing whom... I just wanted to be able to disable it. We've got timebombs in our heads, literal devils trying to make deals with you, lets keep it in our pants guys at least until something isn't trying to kill us in our sleep.

Yes, it's the way they programmed and wrote it, unfortunately. Like you, I initially believed that approval had two categories: 'friendship' and 'romance.' However, being "inclusive" often means catering to a specific group rather than considering everyone. I didn't even comment on steam, since I saw how they were treating the same like-minded questions.

[BannedForBeingSane]

Hello - new user here.

@Crusaderknight20 , I would like a small clarification. If this NoMaleRomance mod is supposedly preventing guy-on-guy flirting, I don't get the part where you say

" For example, in the NoMaleRom version, we have reworked the narrator's lines to convey a platonic narrative. Players should carefully avoid choosing romance lines in certain scenes, like Gale's weave scene, which we have intentionally kept non-romantic"

So does this mean that there guy-on-guy flirt lines available for my Tav to say? And if I choose said lines, a romance with Male Tav / Gale will trigger? And if it does, exactly how is the mod preventing NoMaleRomance?

Hello, I'm currently working on fine-tuning it. I will change those lines to something else, but please note that Gale's reaction will remain the same. I have more freedom to change the narrator's dialogue. Another thing to consider is that Gale has the picnic scene, which can be interpreted as either platonic or romantic.

There are two versions of the scene labeled as 'Romantic' and 'Standard.' In comparison, Wyll's dance scene explicitly includes the word 'Romantic.' The only aspect that, in my opinion, is not platonic is the way they're sitting on the grass.

I will take everyone's feedback into account and make any necessary changes to the dialogue. However, for now, the available version still contains those lines, and if you select two of those lines, you will activate the romance flag. My next update will deactivate those flags.

It's your mod, it's your rules.

As a mere suggestion, (not in any way telling you how to do your mod) as a mere suggestion ... wouldn't it be better to simply 'take out' lines which lead to bro-bro romance? Or is that simply not feasible?

For example, if Tav has three lines

A) Meh.
B) Nice house.
C) Let's ****. -> flirt dialog which leads to sex scene

Wouldn't it be better to just take out option C?

[Crusaderknight20]

Hello - new user here.

@Crusaderknight20 , I would like a small clarification. If this NoMaleRomance mod is supposedly preventing guy-on-guy flirting, I don't get the part where you say

" For example, in the NoMaleRom version, we have reworked the narrator's lines to convey a platonic narrative. Players should carefully avoid choosing romance lines in certain scenes, like Gale's weave scene, which we have intentionally kept non-romantic"

So does this mean that there guy-on-guy flirt lines available for my Tav to say? And if I choose said lines, a romance with Male Tav / Gale will trigger? And if it does, exactly how is the mod preventing NoMaleRomance?

Hello, I'm currently working on fine-tuning it. I will change those lines to something else, but please note that Gale's reaction will remain the same. I have more freedom to change the narrator's dialogue. Another thing to consider is that Gale has the picnic scene, which can be interpreted as either platonic or romantic.

There are two versions of the scene labeled as 'Romantic' and 'Standard.' In comparison, Wyll's dance scene explicitly includes the word 'Romantic.' The only aspect that, in my opinion, is not platonic is the way they're sitting on the grass.

I will take everyone's feedback into account and make any necessary changes to the dialogue. However, for now, the available version still contains those lines, and if you select two of those lines, you will activate the romance flag. My next update will deactivate those flags.

It's your mod, it's your rules.

As a mere suggestion, (not in any way telling you how to do your mod) as a mere suggestion ... wouldn't it be better to simply 'take out' lines which lead to bro-bro romance? Or is that simply not feasible?

For example, if Tav has three lines

A) Meh.
B) Nice house.
C) Let's ****. -> flirt dialog which leads to sex scene

Wouldn't it be better to just take out option C?

I'll test how that appears in the game. If it works, then I will remove it and I welcome suggestions, so don't hesitate to ask.

[GOW LIKE A BOSS]

Hello - new user here.

@Crusaderknight20 , I would like a small clarification. If this NoMaleRomance mod is supposedly preventing guy-on-guy flirting, I don't get the part where you say

" For example, in the NoMaleRom version, we have reworked the narrator's lines to convey a platonic narrative. Players should carefully avoid choosing romance lines in certain scenes, like Gale's weave scene, which we have intentionally kept non-romantic"

So does this mean that there guy-on-guy flirt lines available for my Tav to say? And if I choose said lines, a romance with Male Tav / Gale will trigger? And if it does, exactly how is the mod preventing NoMaleRomance?

Hello, I'm currently working on fine-tuning it. I will change those lines to something else, but please note that Gale's reaction will remain the same. I have more freedom to change the narrator's dialogue. Another thing to consider is that Gale has the picnic scene, which can be interpreted as either platonic or romantic.

There are two versions of the scene labeled as 'Romantic' and 'Standard.' In comparison, Wyll's dance scene explicitly includes the word 'Romantic.' The only aspect that, in my opinion, is not platonic is the way they're sitting on the grass.

I will take everyone's feedback into account and make any necessary changes to the dialogue. However, for now, the available version still contains those lines, and if you select two of those lines, you will activate the romance flag. My next update will deactivate those flags.

Just wanted to say thank you for your work on this mod. I like Gale, and was enjoying the friendship my character was making with him then suddenly everything got weird and uncomfortable (for me and my character lol). The only mods I found before this board were ones that disabled friendship progression too, and I didn't want to have to block all friendship in order to also block romance. Thank you for your work on separating the two so male platonic friendships can be a thing in this game.

[Crusaderknight20]

Hello - new user here.

@Crusaderknight20 , I would like a small clarification. If this NoMaleRomance mod is supposedly preventing guy-on-guy flirting, I don't get the part where you say

" For example, in the NoMaleRom version, we have reworked the narrator's lines to convey a platonic narrative. Players should carefully avoid choosing romance lines in certain scenes, like Gale's weave scene, which we have intentionally kept non-romantic"

So does this mean that there guy-on-guy flirt lines available for my Tav to say? And if I choose said lines, a romance with Male Tav / Gale will trigger? And if it does, exactly how is the mod preventing NoMaleRomance?

Hello, I'm currently working on fine-tuning it. I will change those lines to something else, but please note that Gale's reaction will remain the same. I have more freedom to change the narrator's dialogue. Another thing to consider is that Gale has the picnic scene, which can be interpreted as either platonic or romantic.

There are two versions of the scene labeled as 'Romantic' and 'Standard.' In comparison, Wyll's dance scene explicitly includes the word 'Romantic.' The only aspect that, in my opinion, is not platonic is the way they're sitting on the grass.

I will take everyone's feedback into account and make any necessary changes to the dialogue. However, for now, the available version still contains those lines, and if you select two of those lines, you will activate the romance flag. My next update will deactivate those flags.

Just wanted to say thank you for your work on this mod. I like Gale, and was enjoying the friendship my character was making with him then suddenly everything got weird and uncomfortable (for me and my character lol). The only mods I found before this board were ones that disabled friendship progression too, and I didn't want to have to block all friendship in order to also block romance. Thank you for your work on separating the two so male platonic friendships can be a thing in this game.

You're welcome. I was able to find a way to avoid editing them in binary. This means I could remove the romantic lines for male characters. I'll be posting the next update soon.

[Crusaderknight20]

If you ever figure out a way to add NEW dialogue choices, you could probably just make one mod file instead of two for males and females.

Simply duplicate dialogue options and add tags to the end, similar to how some dialogue options have the [BALDURIAN] tag. Add tags '[FLIRT]' and '[FRIENDSHIP]'

For example, when a certain someone is sad that he can't see his own reflection in the mirror...
1. "I see a handsome face [FRIENDSHIP]"
2. "I see a handsome face [FLIRT]"

In cases where the dialogue cannot be duplicated because it wouldn't make much sense, simply include the [FLIRT] tag to the ones that lead to romance, so at least we know which ones do what.

Only the dialogue options with [FLIRT] would allow the progression of romance.

Additionally, this approach would mean you could romantically target only specific people. If you have a "males only" and "females" only mod, the issue still arises where ALL of the one gender wants you. While some people might like that, others would prefer a more monogamistic approach.

As I am writing this, I'm starting to realize just how difficult that might be to sift through all those dialogue options.... So maybe this is a pipe-dream.

As of today, I have successfully removed the lines. I will see if adding new lines is possible. Essentially, for male characters, those flirt options won't even appear. Unfortunately, my attempt to implement a tag option alongside the approval option didn’t work out. I will continue to experiment with this. However, I still need two separate mods because I have also changed the narrator's lines in specific scenes. Originally, these scenes were suggestive of intimacy when they were meant to be platonic. I recommend the approval tweaks mod, as it helps to slow down the characters' approval, ensuring they won't jump on you.

[GOW LIKE A BOSS]

If you ever figure out a way to add NEW dialogue choices, you could probably just make one mod file instead of two for males and females.

Simply duplicate dialogue options and add tags to the end, similar to how some dialogue options have the [BALDURIAN] tag. Add tags '[FLIRT]' and '[FRIENDSHIP]'

For example, when a certain someone is sad that he can't see his own reflection in the mirror...
1. "I see a handsome face [FRIENDSHIP]"
2. "I see a handsome face [FLIRT]"

In cases where the dialogue cannot be duplicated because it wouldn't make much sense, simply include the [FLIRT] tag to the ones that lead to romance, so at least we know which ones do what.

Only the dialogue options with [FLIRT] would allow the progression of romance.

Additionally, this approach would mean you could romantically target only specific people. If you have a "males only" and "females" only mod, the issue still arises where ALL of the one gender wants you. While some people might like that, others would prefer a more monogamistic approach.

As I am writing this, I'm starting to realize just how difficult that might be to sift through all those dialogue options.... So maybe this is a pipe-dream.

As of today, I have successfully removed the lines. I will see if adding new lines is possible. Essentially, for male characters, those flirt options won't even appear. Unfortunately, my attempt to implement a tag option alongside the approval option didn’t work out. I will continue to experiment with this. However, I still need two separate mods because I have also changed the narrator's lines in specific scenes. Originally, these scenes were suggestive of intimacy when they were meant to be platonic. I recommend the approval tweaks mod, as it helps to slow down the characters' approval, ensuring they won't jump on you.

Can you link to which mod you're referring to on approval tweaks?

Or is this the one you're talking about (that I have linked below). Do that mod and yours have to be in a specific load order?

https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/ ... escription

[Crusaderknight20]

If you ever figure out a way to add NEW dialogue choices, you could probably just make one mod file instead of two for males and females.

Simply duplicate dialogue options and add tags to the end, similar to how some dialogue options have the [BALDURIAN] tag. Add tags '[FLIRT]' and '[FRIENDSHIP]'

For example, when a certain someone is sad that he can't see his own reflection in the mirror...
1. "I see a handsome face [FRIENDSHIP]"
2. "I see a handsome face [FLIRT]"

In cases where the dialogue cannot be duplicated because it wouldn't make much sense, simply include the [FLIRT] tag to the ones that lead to romance, so at least we know which ones do what.

Only the dialogue options with [FLIRT] would allow the progression of romance.

Additionally, this approach would mean you could romantically target only specific people. If you have a "males only" and "females" only mod, the issue still arises where ALL of the one gender wants you. While some people might like that, others would prefer a more monogamistic approach.

As I am writing this, I'm starting to realize just how difficult that might be to sift through all those dialogue options.... So maybe this is a pipe-dream.

As of today, I have successfully removed the lines. I will see if adding new lines is possible. Essentially, for male characters, those flirt options won't even appear. Unfortunately, my attempt to implement a tag option alongside the approval option didn’t work out. I will continue to experiment with this. However, I still need two separate mods because I have also changed the narrator's lines in specific scenes. Originally, these scenes were suggestive of intimacy when they were meant to be platonic. I recommend the approval tweaks mod, as it helps to slow down the characters' approval, ensuring they won't jump on you.

Can you link to which mod you're referring to on approval tweaks?

Or is this the one you're talking about (that I have linked below). Do that mod and yours have to be in a specific load order?

https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/ ... escription

Yes that's the one!
Here are some preview screenshots of the new update.

[GOW LIKE A BOSS]

As of today, I have successfully removed the lines. I will see if adding new lines is possible. Essentially, for male characters, those flirt options won't even appear. Unfortunately, my attempt to implement a tag option alongside the approval option didn’t work out. I will continue to experiment with this. However, I still need two separate mods because I have also changed the narrator's lines in specific scenes. Originally, these scenes were suggestive of intimacy when they were meant to be platonic. I recommend the approval tweaks mod, as it helps to slow down the characters' approval, ensuring they won't jump on you.

Can you link to which mod you're referring to on approval tweaks?

Or is this the one you're talking about (that I have linked below). Do that mod and yours have to be in a specific load order?

https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/ ... escription

Yes that's the one!
Here are some preview screenshots of the new update.

Those options look far superior. I wish I could remember exactly what the lines were before for contrast. You wouldn't happen to have a "before" screenshot would you?

Also, which version of that mod do you recommend? A (Natural) or B (Fickle) as far as fitting in with what you're doing? Or are both versions equally good in your opinion?

[Tipfy]

what the lines were before for contrast

I don't have the exact quote, but simply replace camaraderie and friendship with intimacy.

[GOW LIKE A BOSS]

what the lines were before for contrast

I don't have the exact quote, but simply replace camaraderie and friendship with intimacy.

Yeah that sounds right. <shudders>

[PixiGreen]

You, guys, are incredible here! You literally re-made the game the way it was supposed to be. Do hope this site will never go down, no matter what!
Thank you!

[BannedForBeingSane]

As of today, I have successfully removed the lines. I will see if adding new lines is possible. Essentially, for male characters, those flirt options won't even appear. Unfortunately, my attempt to implement a tag option alongside the approval option didn’t work out. I will continue to experiment with this. However, I still need two separate mods because I have also changed the narrator's lines in specific scenes. Originally, these scenes were suggestive of intimacy when they were meant to be platonic. I recommend the approval tweaks mod, as it helps to slow down the characters' approval, ensuring they won't jump on you.

Awesome! I honestly think this is the best way and removes a LOT of hassle. There's no need to jump around hoops and whatnots to change the effect of a flirt line when the best solution would be to just take out all Tav-to-male NPC dialogue options which would result in flirt (or flat out ARE flirt). This ensures that dialogue between those characters stays platonic.

The second problem (which you've more or less already addressed) is removing/editing dialogue which flat out BEGINS with the NPC HIMSELF flirting with you. Those are going to be the trickiest and are possibly the ones like Laezel's who flat out begins with 'I want to **** with you' once dialog starts because her approval meter has met its quota.

[Ty6]

Thanks for this. I was just playing my male half-orc paladin with a romanced lazel, when halsin decides he wants to F*** me out of nowhere, despite me never having said anything romantic to him. Serisouly, what were the devs thinking?

[Crusaderknight20]

Hello everyone,

I'm excited to announce that I will be uploading a new update today. To give you a brief overview, I've managed to consolidate the update into a single PAK file. In addition, I'll be providing a separate linguistic file and a voice file, which will include more varied lines. For those of you who are already using the previous version of the mod, don't worry. I'll make sure to provide a version compatible with the new changes, so you won't need to start your playthrough from scratch. However, for convenience, I will also upload a single, standalone mod file. Please refer to the initial post for detailed changes and to view screenshots of the upcoming modifications.