What do you need to make a mod for BG2? How easy is the tutorial at PPG to understand for someone who's never modded before? I've read bits of it and still don't understand. :bad:

what kind of mod?

I think you should download a program like dltcp and study some items or creatures and so on so you can gain an understanding of it and maybe download some tutorials

I was toying with making a joinable NPC mod. I read Ghreyfein's tutorial, which made no sense so I read Jonathan Phipps guide to Ghrey's tutorial. Both found here (http://modlist.pocketplane.net/index.php?ax=list&cat_id=118).

Basically, I need someone to translate what the tutorial and modders on PPG say into plain English for non-modders. I half understand what is being said, meaning I see what I'm supposed to do but I don't have a clue how to do it.

AFAIK, I need to d/l Near Infinity and WeiDu.

Creating a joinable NPC mod is kind of a big undertaking; if you've never done any modding before, I'd really advise starting smaller and getting familiar with the engine first. Create a couple of spells or items, learn what the filetypes are and how they work, etc. At the very least, you'll need basic knowledge of how the game's scripting works, since triggers and actions are used by dialog (DLG) files, which you'll have to create to allow your NPC to talk.

Definitely start with items first. You'll probably be making some NPC specific items for him/her anyway, right? So why not start where it's easiest? :)

@Kuemper
http://chosenofmystra.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1908

It depends, but for me spells and items are actually harder than a fully written NPC. With glitches, forgotten flags, and messed abilities, I spent full three days preparing cre files alone.

I don't want to make items. I'm not wanting to create anything hard, just a joinable NPC. No voicing, no banters.

@Kulyok - *That* was an easy-to-understand tutorial! :grin: Much, much better than Ghrey's, which, imo, was akin to asking "How do I put gas in the car?" and getting an answer of the workings of an internal combustion engine. o_O Aces gave links to what I needed and explained what those confusing terms mean.

Oh, you don't want dialog or anything? Well, eh... why not just use a multiplayer session?

Because Kuemp probably wants to make mod npc, not another pc from multiplayer.

But is there much of a difference between an NPC with minimal dialog and an additional PC in a multiplayer session? :confused:

Kuemper, what kind of ideas do you have? I am soo curious! You can trust me to be your test-player, if you ever need one! :)

But is there much of a difference between an NPC with minimal dialog and an additional PC in a multiplayer session? Ah, but an empty NPC can be improved later; even One-Day NPCs get their creators working on improving them after a while. Voicing and banters can be added in later versions, and maybe even a quest or two or even a romance if Kuemper wishes. And for the moment the NPC would still be usable with minimal options for her game or anyone else's (if she releases it). I say go for it and good luck. :thumb:

kuemper, PM olimikrig or me; we've both browsed through most of the mod tutorials in the course of our BoM work, and have probably encountered similar confusions to you. Hopefully, we "n00b" modders would be better placed to translate WeiDU-speak into English for you. :)

Why not share with the rest of BG2 players? I've had the idea for a looooong time, but knew no one to code for me. It was frustration that got me posting here in hopes of some help, which I got. :thumb: If I can manage to get it right and working, I'll build confidence to push for voicing and maybe - make my own portrait! :eek:

If I can succeed with a playable mod NPC with nothing, think of what I could do with actual effort! Instead of keeping the whole backstory of a multiplay PC in my head, I can share with the rest of the class. :lol:

I see 3 mod NPCs in my head - a F/D, an Undead Hunter pally and a F/T. I'm sick of either having to put up with the moderate original NPCs or playing the class myself. Jaheira's great, but - what if you had the choice of another F/D with better fighting stats (str, dex and con) and higher wisdom or charisma? Keldorn is a fine Inquisitor, but - why limit myself to only having 1 pally as an NPC? I've rolled higher stats than his, heck, my *mother* can roll higher stats! ;) And the F/T. I'm sick of T/M who are dualled at a pitiful level that they are useless, and are gone for the first 4 chapters of the game. Jan Jansen is fine for me with his multiclass. Yoshimo, oh yeah, not. :rolleyes:

I see 3 mod NPCs in my head - a F/D, an Undead Hunter pally and a F/T. I'm sick of either having to put up with the moderate original NPCs or playing the class myself. Indeed, though I do love a self-made F/T. :grin:
For the record, I believe there is already an Undead Hunter out there (her name is Sandra and she comes with the "Summon Bhaalspawn" mod linked from PPG's modlist), and aside from Valen, Stivan the Hunter is a CN halfling F/T who was unfortunately unavailable when I started my Little People party.

Yes, I am also interested in making NPC mods, so if you would be so kind, could you post all your stuff here, so I can also veiw it? :) Thanks. :)

i am guessing that the classes etc. are not negotiable, but i am going to try anyway,
what about making the F/D into a R/C? the game really needs that one, and they have a much wider selection of spells, and can be highly capable in melee too!


EDIT: typo's

EDIT#2: more typo's and the mistake fel points out just underneath this post

[ March 12, 2006, 18:54: Message edited by: Balle ]

First, just plain no. A ranger requires a good alignment and a druid requires a neutral one; it just would not work.

Second, there's absolutely no gain for having an R/D over a F/D other than perhaps stealth.

Third, they'd have the exact same selection of spells as an F/D.

Fourth, :idea: umm, did you mean an R/C? :o

ah yes! the ranger druid yea.... love that one, thx fel

:( I did something bad. I made a halforc barbarian, followed the tutorial at CoM and tried to install. Royal wtf. I posted my debug file there and hopefully, someone will be kind enough to tell me what happened.

Oh my, don'T let this fact discourage you, I am sure wise guys here will help you, hold on!

I got a couple of (experienced) modders opinions that my NPC *did* install. So...off to play... :eek: :wail: House o' Irenicus awaits me! Dang, how fast can I get through that? :hmm:

See I told you, you will be succesful eventually!

Can you tell us a little about that half-orc barbarian of yours?

You've been waiting for a whole week and here he is! Gargh is a halforc, CE barbarian you find in the Copper Coronet. He has:

-No voicing!
-No banters!
-No quests!

Here are four screenshots of my first test run with DBG installed. I fell asleep playing the start without DBG. :o :lol:
Gargh is waiting for you (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/lacedkuemper/Baldr000.jpg)
Jaheira is the bravest and talks to Gargh (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/lacedkuemper/Baldr001.jpg)
Gargh's stats (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/lacedkuemper/Baldr002.jpg)
Str 19
Dex 18
Con 19
Int 9
Wis 10
Cha 8
2 Handed Swords **
Halberds **
Long bows **
Gargh's stuff (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/lacedkuemper/Baldr003.jpg)
+2 halberd
+2 long bow
5 potions of extra healing
1 potion storm giant str
helm of charm protection
periapt of life protection (+3 vs. death)
boots
40 +1 arrows
40 +2 arrows
normal arrows

Problems so far:
-he moves very slowly as though heavily encumbered
-his boots are unremoveable
-his normal arrows look weird
-his greeting script is what you'd get via a multiplayer game and not what I wrote it to be

Still, I'm all :banana: :banana: :banana: Sorry the pictures are so tiny, but that's the biggest Photobucket makes 'em.

Right, I'm also making an NPC mod... do I need to make a new game if I want the NPC to show up? And, how do I add banters?


EDIT: Tomorrow, I am going to have plenty of other questions, so stay tuned :p

[ March 19, 2006, 07:22: Message edited by: Saber ]

AFAIK, you need to start a new game. I will help as best I can, but my questions are still unanswered - how to add banters, add quests, get voicing in, etc.

Hmmm... well, I don't need him in my current game, so thats fine... I'll make a new one to test him.


How do I make it so he initiates dialogue? Not the initial joining dialogue, but afterwards?


EDIT: Fixed my NearInfinity Problem.


EDIT: When using NI for portraits, how come it only gives me a few portraits? What about the ones I downloaded from this site? It won't let me put those in... how can I import them?

[ March 19, 2006, 20:11: Message edited by: Saber ]

@saber-

Put them in the override folder, then look for them w/ NI on the folder!

Could I just do it in IE before I convert the CHR file to a CRE file?

EDIT: No


10) Scroll down until you get to Override Script: type in K#John (or whatever your npc's filename is)I can't do that... Kuemp (or anybody), how did you do this part? For me, it is a long list of things, none of which are A#TNO, the file that she wants me to put in there. I can't type it in... should I "edit as string"?

EDIT: ARGH! Where's Fel when you need him?

[ March 19, 2006, 22:17: Message edited by: Saber ]

I have that problem, too. Here's how to put in your dialogue:
**select line, right-click and choose 'edit as string'**Then type in K#John (or NPC's name) and hit the Enter key!!! I always forget to hit Enter, meaning I have to go back and do junk over again. :o

Banters - I haven't gotten than far yet. My third NPC may have them. I'm checking CoM daily and bothering them with questions.

EDIT: ARGH! Where's Fel when you need him? Sorry bud, but I can't help with modding. Well, I could tell you what needs to be in the final product, but I couldn't tell you how to get there.

Thanks Kuemp :)

And for banter, this is what I've found in my brief searches:

http://modlist.pocketplane.net/index.php?ax=list&cat_id=119


http://forums.pocketplane.net/index.php?topic=61.0


EDIT: I am using them, but they don't tell me how to talk to the PC... Any help? My NPC requires some talking to to reveal his past...


And, does anyone know how I can find out the names of specific dialogue, so I can make interjections?

Two more things: For the bio, I didn't find a TNO.BIO file... how do I edit his bio? Will the mod work if I dont?

And: If I install my mod, and play a game that is currently in progress, I know I wont get him in there, but will the game crash whenever I go into the CC?


Also, I am trying to make items, but the explainations tell me that I need DLTCEP, which I can't download, because the site tells me that it doesn't exist...


EDIT: Ah, Kuemp, this is what I was talking about, not the dialogue script:
10) Scroll down until you get to Override Script: type in K#John (or whatever your npc's filename is)
The Override Script can't be typed into...

[ March 20, 2006, 05:55: Message edited by: Saber ]

It'll work with that. And you are way ahead of me for things. I keep finding cursed items in SK, so I have to schlep on back and try to pry it off their bodies.

The only way I know of is to play your game with your NPC mod installed and see what happens. I'm doing that constantly now, but I shudder when I need to make banters. :outta:

I've made a few banters so far... I'm just not sure if they will work. I have put them into my A#TNO.d file, so that I won't have to add in more lines of compiling stuff into my .tp2. Hopefully that will work.

If you want to make some simple banters, The Road to Banter (by Blue) is really nice. She leaves out a few explainations here and there, but with a little fiddling, we can figure it out.

And if you figure out what the banter code for the PC, please let me know :) I have been looking into other mods' folders, and right now, I think it is "Myself," but I'm not sure if you need it to be BMyself, or what.

EDIt: Can somebody who makes NPC mods help us, please?


And kuemp, you're saying that I can Edit the override as a string? I know it is possible, but is that what she wants us to do?

[ March 20, 2006, 18:26: Message edited by: Saber ]

And kuemp, you're saying that I can Edit the override as a string? I know it is possible, but is that what she wants us to do?Well, that's the only way I was able to get my script in the Override Script box. Otherwise, it was Multi.

Alright, I tried to install my mod, but I have a few problems. When installing, WeiDU brings up:

[trigger list near line 39, column 25 of TNO\A#TNO.d] PARSE WARNING at line 39 cloumn 21-21
Near Text: >
[NumTimesTalkedGT] not found in TRIGGER.IDS

[TNO\A#BTNO.d] PARSE ERROR at line 64 column 1-3
Near Text: END
syntax error

[TNO\A#BTNO.d] ERROR at line 64 column 1-3
Near Text: END
Parsing.parse_error
ERROR: parsing [TNO\A#BTNO.d]: Parsing.parse_error
ERROR: compiling [TNO\A#BTNO.d]!
Stopped installation because of error.


Now, can anyone explain to me:
1. Why NumTimesTalkedGT(0) is bad? That is exactly what the tutorial says to do.
2. What is parsing?
3. Why is it screwing me over?
4. The text that is having an error is at the end of an APEND... so I put two ENDs, one in column 64, on in 65. What is wrong with that?


Thanks :bad:

1. Because the command is NumTimesTalkedToGT(0). :)
2. Parsing is the computer working to turn these into actual game files that can be used, IIRC.
3. See #1. It can't understand you, so it can't convert it.
4. I wouldn't know. But often when there's a error in a particular block of code it'll cascade other errors because the code no longer makes any sense with the first erroneous part omitted. Fix the GT command and see what it does then.

Thanks Fel for numbers 1-3... 4 is still occuring though. I'll keep investigating.

Could it be that I have the banters in a different file than the regular dialogue? I told the .tp2 to compile both. The regular dialogue (meeting) is in A#TNO.d and the banter is in A#BTNO.d.

4. It´s hard to say what is the problem, I would have to see entire .d file.

Alrighty, I PMed you the entire A#BTNO.d script...


Does anyone know... how can I control when banter occurs, or at least which banter occurs first? Is it in the order that I write it in the .d file?

at least which banter occurs first? Bioware's banter files use special variables to determine which one occurs first. Sarevok's conversations with the PC, for example, are controlled by the "ExpSarevokB10" global variable. It starts at 0, and when the first banter triggers normally, the very next line of the dialogue sets the variable to 1. The first banter will never happen again because it had a condition of that variable being 0, and the next banter has a condition of that variable being 1. So the second banter requires it to be 1 and then raises it to 2, and the third banter requires it to be 2 and raises it to 3 (at which point none of them will ever happen again). You can do the same thing with a global variable of your own, and can string out as many linear banters as you like.

OK, I installed him, but when I approach him (this is in a new game), he doesn't have a name, and I can't talk to him. Whats wrong? Kuemp, has this happened to you?

And Fel, I meant, does the order in which I have them typed out in the .d file make a difference? Is that what controls which goes first? I know they wont happen again, if I set the globals correctly, I just don't know what order the banters go in.

Can you see his name in editor (NI, DLTCEP,...)? Has he assigned a dialogue?
If yes, is any condition in his dialogue true (IF ~condition~ THEN BEGIN ...)?

Hell's bells, I can't get beyond the .cre file!! :rolleyes: I have to get the .cre *exactly* right the first time, because going back to fix it (like people keep telling me is possible) does not work. :flaming:

Until I can get a perfect .cre, I have nothing other than a new monitor. :smash:

Saber, I'm really, really no help to you anymore. I don't understand how to write any of the code (I copy+paste Aces' n00b's guide) and I can't get the stupid shyte to work. I would say go sign up at PPG or Gibberlings3 and talk to them. Make them talk plain English to you; they can be a bit forgetful translating code to layman's terms. :bad:

:wail: :wail: :wail:

And Fel, I meant, does the order in which I have them typed out in the .d file make a difference? No. For any other dialog file it would, but banter files have the lines picked at random.

Raz, at the top of my dialogue, it is just:
BEGIN A#TNO


Do I need to set a condition? The guide I used to making it had me set up the beginning like this:
BEGIN A#TNO

IF ~NumTimesTalkedTo(0)~ THEN BEGIN Talk1
SAY ~Who are you... and why have you disturbed me?~

IF ~~ THEN REPLY ~I'm <CHARNAME>. I was wondering, why are you here?~ GOTO NoBusiness
IF ~~ THEN REPLY ~Woah, You don't have to be so grouchy, I was just being friendly.~ GOTO TNOAway
IF ~~ THEN REPLY ~I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. I'll be going.~ GOTO EndTalk
END


And what do you mean, does his name show up in an editor? When I use NI, he has a .CRE file, yes, but I don't know what you mean by what you asked.

I mean, when you open your cre in NI, can you see its name on the right side of the screen (where you can see Name, XP, XP Value, ...)?

If there is "NumTimesTalkedTo(0)" in dialogue, he should talk to you at least once.
Is your dialogue file assigned to the creature?

1. No, it says "No Such Index" in the place for the name - how do I edit it? I can't by clicking on it...

2. I have "NumTimesTalkedTo(0)", but he doesn't talk.

3. How do I assign a dialogue to a creature? Both the .d and the .cre are in the same folder, which WeiDU accesses.

In your tp2 should be something like this:

COPY ~Mod/cre/name.cre~ ~override/name.cre~
SAY NAME1 ~NPC's name~ //assign name to cre
SAY NAME2 ~NPC's name~ //assign apparent name to cre
WRITE_ASCII 0x2cc ~A#TNO~ //assign dialogue to cre

Hmm, mine is:
COPY ~TNO\TNO3.cre~ ~override\TNO3.cre~

SAY NAME1 ~TNO~
SAY NAME2 ~TNO~
SAY BIO ~When you ask him about his past, TNO snarles and turns away.~


Then a bunch of things to say as responses to commands, then the COMPILE stuff. What I have is exactly what the guide told me to do? Do I need to add what you told me, or is this fine?


EDIT: And how do I get his name working?
EDIT2: AUGH! I did what you said to do, and it still didn't work. What could be the problem?

[ March 22, 2006, 03:57: Message edited by: Saber ]

Could you send me your tp2 and Debug file?

Edit: And one more question, wasn't your game or IE editor running during installation?

[ March 22, 2006, 16:46: Message edited by: Razfallow ]

No, neither of those were running.

EDITL: GARGH! Its still not working, even with all of the help I've gotten here and CoM!

[ March 23, 2006, 00:16: Message edited by: Saber ]