Making Mods?

[Erebus]

How on earth do you make mods for BG2?

[ May 05, 2003, 15:33: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

[SimDing0]

I suggest checking out available tutorials, and downloading all of the editing tools you can get your hands on:
http://www.teambg.net/index.php?page=tools
http://www.idi.ntnu.no/~joh/ni/
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~weimer/bgate/

[Erebus]

Thanks!

[jcompton]

Also

http://www.forgottenwars.net/?page=tutorials

[Gaidin-_-]

what about implementation?

I can't figure out how to get a single mod ive found here to work...

[dshadow]

I have the same problem myself. The tutorials all seem to be written by people adept at programming who assume that everyone reading them is just as adept. Duh! If we knew about programming, we wouldn't be needing to read a tutorial!

Are there any tutorials out there that actually explain - in common English, nice and straightforward, no techno-babble or computer jargon thrown in - exactly how you go about writing a mod?

[8people]

Use WeIDU, it's a lot easier and actually works better then TeamBG tools.

there are tutorials for weidu, read the sample NPCs as it is all pretty simple to work out.

Dialogues follow a simple pattern:

IF ~Put your trigger here~ THEN BEGIN ThisDialogue
SAY ~This is the NPC talking.~
IF ~This trigger here~ THEN REPLY ~This is you talking.~ GOTO NextThingNPCSays
IF ~~ THEN REPLY ~This is a second option.~ EXIT
END

Tada.

Implementing MODs is pretty simple as well, with weidu, simply use the weidu program to load it into the game. You need to put everythign together first though.

[SimDing0]

Use WeIDU, it's a lot easier and actually works better then TeamBG tools.

Yes, unfortunately, it won't help you in more complex editing of the following filetypes: ITM, SPL, STO, EFF, CRE, ARE, BAM, MOS, CHU, GAM, PRO, VVC, WMP, and several others. So I'd say you're going to want something other than just WeiDU.

[dshadow]

So is there such a thing as a step-by-step tutorial that tells you exactly what to do? All the ones I've seen seem to assume that whoever is reading them is pretty advanced as a programmer.

[Extremist]

Yes, unfortunately, it won't help you in more complex editing of the following filetypes: ITM, SPL, STO, EFF, CRE, ARE, BAM, MOS, CHU, GAM, PRO, VVC, WMP, and several others. So I'd say you're going to want something other than just WeiDU.

True. Get NearInfinity.
SimDing0

[jcompton]

So is there such a thing as a step-by-step tutorial that tells you exactly what to do? All the ones I've seen seem to assume that whoever is reading them is pretty advanced as a programmer.

Well, it's an extremely complicated subject, and quite frankly if you have absolutely zero understanding of how files work, what a byte is, how basic scripting languages work, and about 18 other prerequisites, it's not our job to teach you, nor would it be terribly effective for us to do so because we're not computer science professors.

It's possible for someone who knows nothing about anything to load up IEEP and make an item that does something. Beyond that, though, you pretty much flat out need to have some basic computing savvy--or be willing to develop some--and a willingness to poke around through the tools and tutorials to figure out what is related to what and why.

I'd say on the whole modders are pretty good at answering questions, ranging from "what does X do?" to "how would I accomplish Y?"

But we tend to react poorly to "I DON'T UNDERSTAND TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IN THE ORDER I WISH TO KNOW IT."

[SimDing0]

True. Get NearInfinity.

I have Near Infinity (obviously...), but I consider it more of a viewing and minor modifications tool than something for serious editing. But yeah, some die-hard users limit themselves just to NI and WeiDU for modding.

[Vedran]

I have downloaded 20+ programs for mod making tho I rarely use more than these four: IEEP, Near Infinity, Infinity Explorer, and WeiDU.

If you want to make mods, start with one thing, such is item editing. There are tutorials at TeamBG that are not so obscure.

[dshadow]

It would probably be a really tedious job for anyone to actually write a good manual on how to create mods but just think of the effect it would have on the BG community: you'd have new mods springing up on a daily basis the same way as you do with NWN (the big difference being that people actually like BG).

[jcompton]

No we wouldn't, because...

A. People would still complain that it wasn't easy enough or wasn't geared to their style of learning.

B. It wouldn't make the modding process any easier. It's hard, time-consuming work because the engine was really never designed to be hacked like this.

[8people]

Once you get into it it's not that bad, it's finding time.

and SimDing0: I do realise weidu can't do everything but also you have to be careful as some other tools cannot be trusted. I use ieep and Character maker

I'll use what's available and get it when I want it. And that is when I need it. There is nothing more annoying than downloading for ages things you discover are worthless.

[corbulo87]

Tell me more of this 'Character Maker' you speak of...

I haven't heard of it before. Maybe it's because I've been living in a hole...

[8people]

Creature Maker/Editor - it's TeamBG it's useful to say the least. It's how I make the people and creatures, and other summonables and Quest characters