@_Crusher Sounds like a good reason for you to get into modding yourself
Yes, if I had the ability to work you have.
2.5 years ago I knew nothing of modding BG and I had no programming knowledge outside of some basic Turing work in highschool. If this is something you are interested in seeing then the best way of seeing it is taking the initiative.
@_Crusher Sounds like a good reason for you to get into modding yourself
Yes, if I had the ability to work you have.
2.5 years ago I knew nothing of modding BG and I had no programming knowledge outside of some basic Turing work in highschool. If this is something you are interested in seeing then the best way of seeing it is taking the initiative.
Thanks for the encouragement, maybe I study about modding it. Anyway I have fun imagining things more than creating.
2.5 years ago I knew nothing of modding BG and I had no programming knowledge outside of some basic Turing work in highschool. If this is something you are interested in seeing then the best way of seeing it is taking the initiative.
@elminster How did you start to mod? Where to begin learning to make something excellent?
2.5 years ago I knew nothing of modding BG and I had no programming knowledge outside of some basic Turing work in highschool. If this is something you are interested in seeing then the best way of seeing it is taking the initiative.
@elminster How did you start to mod? Where to begin learning to make something excellent?
Poked around with it making some shapeshifting changes and other changes. This let me better understand how the files in the game worked and interacted.
I started working on an NPC mod called Yeorg. In order to get various things working for it I ended up learning how to use Weidu.
A question: is compatible only with the EE version of the game?
Yes this mod will only be compatible with the EE version for the game. The reasons for this being
1) The EE's introduce a few new things that this mod will be taking advantage of (stuff that I can't get into until the next BGEE patch/Dragonspear are release). 2) I'm too lazy to figure out what is/is not compatible with any non-EE setup and I'd much rather spend the time I have for modding on adding or fixing content.
A question: is compatible only with the EE version of the game?
Yes this mod will only be compatible with the EE version for the game. The reasons for this being
1) The EE's introduce a few new things that this mod will be taking advantage of (stuff that I can't get into until the next BGEE patch/Dragonspear are release). 2) I'm too lazy to figure out what is/is not compatible with any non-EE setup and I'd much rather spend the time I have for modding on adding or fixing content.
Thank you. Although I prefer the classic non-EE game still will be fun to play.
@_Crusher Sounds like a good reason for you to get into modding yourself
Yes, if I had the ability to work you have.
2.5 years ago I knew nothing of modding BG and I had no programming knowledge outside of some basic Turing work in highschool. If this is something you are interested in seeing then the best way of seeing it is taking the initiative.
@brus@_Crusher Yeah same thing here Had no knowledge of BG modding about 2,5 years ago and now it feels quite easy (and it actually in a way is!). Although somewhat time consuming since I get too many new ideas all the time xD The programming/scripting/coding can, I think, most easily be learned from looking all the scripts in the game and comparing how they actually work in the game (that's how I mostly learned). For new area creation, I seriously recommend Photoshop and 3d modelling (new buildings etc.), such as Blender, 3ds Max, Sketch Up, ArchiCAD (however learning this from scratch could take A LOT of time, I had experience in this from my job)
I myself use both DLTCEP and NearInfinity (I think DLTCEP is more user friendly, but for programming and some other things NearInfinity is better). But that's just my opinion
For starters I would start with this tutorial (of course depending what kind of mod you want to make and if you even want to use DLTCEP, but it does have some basic, but important stuff in it: areas, containers, actors etc.): http://www.simpilot.net/~sc/dltcep/index.htm
Now that the public betas have been released and im more free to discuss opcodes and the like i figured I'd share some details on an aspect of the mod that I've been working on for some time now. It's called Rough World (and it connects to the broader theme of Eve of War - the idea that the world should be more fleshed out and interconnected).
The philosophy behind it is pretty obvious. It basically makes the world you live in a lot less nice. There are various components of Rough World that you can pick and choose what you'd like.
One changes the reputation system. Instead of the older names you get these ones based on your reputation
Savior Hero Adventurer Medler Ruffian Thug Sadist
It has another component that allows extremely low reputation characters to give money to beggers and gain a reputation point for doing so. But that only would apply to people with 1 or 2 reputation and only if they say something nice to the beggar when giving money. This component also gives beggars flies over their head.
There is another component that changes how reputation is treated as far as prices go and another that affects the reputation loss you get for certain crimes (at different levels of reputation).
Another component removes the innocent class from people located far into the wilderness (I define this as being more than one vertical space or more than one horizontal space from a large human settlement (beregost, the Friendly Arm Inn, Baldurs Gate, and Nashkel). Diagonal areas are considered to be wilderness (just because otherwise this wouldn't really affect that many areas). The result of this is if you kill an innocent person out in the wilderness no one has sufficient cause to doubt your existing reputation. Likewise if you help anyone out in the wilderness unless that person is likely to tell others of your deeds (since they travel - like a paladin or bard) you won't get a reputation gain.
The second last component of this cuts off your access to Baldurs Gate in chapter 7. Travelling between the city more than one map won't be possible and you'll have to pay to have yourself smuggled in and out of the city. The flaming Fist will also be patrolling the streets to a degree. As to be expected this will all be reversed after the palace ceremony.
The final component of Rough World scales the encounters you face along the critical path of BGEE. Provided your difficulty is high enough you'll see more of an existing enemy appearing, as well as maybe more advanced enemy (like some Astral Phase Spiders in cloakwood). It won't touch the AI though (trying to keep that true to the traditional AI). It also can end up making resting more difficult in certain areas and allow you to sleep in other areas that are safe (where you previously were blocked from sleeping).
[Spoiler] An example being the cabin in the first area of cloakwood. If you've sided with either of the factions (and by extension killed aldeth or seyinad) you will be able to rest there.[/spoiler]
Everything listed above in this post is either complete or 90% complete.
As part of a post release patch for Eve of War I'm also looking at incorporating ambushes into Rough World. So at some point you might get ambushed if you are holding Sarevoks ring. Likewise really high reputation parties might get ambushed by thugs and other lowlifes. A group of paladins might ambush you if you are too evil. That kind of thing.
This might be beyond the scope of this mod, but it'd be nice to see something along the lines of the old virtue mod (I think that was the name). Basically, 'virtue' was separated from reputation. You could be a serial killer, but have a reputation of 20--and be treated like a saint--as long as (eg) you left no witnesses. But you would lose your paladinhood quickly, and I think your alignment would even shift depending on your deeds.
I'd have to look into the options available. Virtue from what I recall was pretty hacky. It basically renamed another variable (like lore or something) and used that.
I'd have to look into the options available. Virtue from what I recall was pretty hacky. It basically renamed another variable (like lore or something) and used that.
I would think that it would have had to be hacky. Just throwing that out there. The only thing that felt odd was that it seems that with this new option you are offering, a paladin could safely kill an innocent out in the wilderness and, as long as there are no witnesses, not fall. (though, i really don't like the whole 'falling' thing, but that is beside the point)
Well obviously a paladin could always kill an innocent and not fall. That's not exactly new to the system as a whole. Under the existing system you have to get below 6 to fall. So at most we're talking degrees of how many innocent people you can kill before you fall.
As far as virtue goes I'll look into it (and into if there is any way to make paladins fall if they kill innocent people).
Ohh and as it turns out I was mistaken. Virtue doesn't rename lore (it just renames reputation). I'd have to look more into virtue to see how having both systems working in conjunction was accomplished.
Well obviously a paladin could always kill an innocent and not fall. That's not exactly new to the system as a whole. Under the existing system you have to get below 6 to fall. So at most we're talking degrees of how many innocent people you can kill before you fall.
As far as virtue goes I'll look into it (and into if there is any way to make paladins fall if they kill innocent people).
Ohh and as it turns out I was mistaken. Virtue doesn't rename lore (it just renames reputation). I'd have to look more into virtue to see how having both systems working in conjunction was accomplished.
My guess is that they used the reputation system as is for 'virtue' and revamped reputation using scripting. A passers-by seeing a PC commit a crime might, after some delay, increment a global that is set to be checked regarding pricing of goods, etc. Something like that I would guess
Edit:
repmodst.2da would be set to zero across the board
StartStore could trigger different 'stores' based on this global (and the normal triggers) for a given merchant.
This would require copy existing all stores, and creating multiple versions for each 'level' of. Reputation. This global could also be checked in dialogs. It actually could get really intricate with multiple globals/reputations each representing different reputations for different groups. Eg save a shadow thief from Bodhi's vampires, and get a boost with that organization
I don't know if it was asked before(too lazy to look through the 5 pages of discussion), but does this mod require a completely new game start? I think that yes, but, perhaps, if you haven't ventured forth too much(chapter 1 or early 2) it is possible to correctly install your mod and play without any bugs\conflicts?
Seems like i'll have to delay BGEE run to the very release of SoD and your mod.
Your focus on Reputation pinpoints an RP weakness in the game system, methinks. I would like to see encounters which now simply mean Rep+1 for the party [whatever its current Reputation] be changed to encounters worth a certain number of Rep. pts+/- ~ with some encounters weighted substantially more than others.
Then, just as donations required for reputation gain scale up the ladder, so it would take an ever-increasing number of reputation points as the party goes beyond being merely popular. Effectively then, donations would purchase Rep. pts instead of Rep Gain.
Such a system might also make for more credible ruptures within the party when Rep gets too high or low.
It would probably also make loading up in the early game with such goodies as Comp.Bow+1, Full Plate, Large Shield +1, Wand of Sleep and Shortbow+1 substantially more difficult for Neutral Charnames [Neutrality being an important option for players looking to equip Archmage Robes for both Charname and Imoen].
this mod will only be compatible with the EE version for the game. The reasons for this being
1) The EE's introduce a few new things that this mod will be taking advantage of (stuff that I can't get into until the next BGEE patch/Dragonspear are release). 2) I'm too lazy to figure out what is/is not compatible with any non-EE setup and I'd much rather spend the time I have for modding on adding or fixing content.
As author of the mod you are free to do whatever you like.
However, those don't seem very good reasons for not adding compatibility with non-EE setups.
1) there is plenty of mods working also on the original games and still taking advantage of EE-only stuff, both from experienced modders (e.g. The Tweaks Anthology) and new modders (e.g. Might and Guile)
2) adding compatibility with non-EE games is not that hard. So much so that even I can do it By the way, I would be glad to provide advice on this, if you change your mind.
IMO, the extra effort is worthwhile, because it would help you reach a larger audience with your mod. I, for one, would never use a mod unless it works on Tutu and/or vBG2 too.
Anywho haven't provided any update in awhile. Today I was working on the negotiations questline (this is probably about 60% complete at this point). I was also working on a new area that will be accessible in SoD (its actually an entire town). Something for people still tuning in to look forward to.
As the release date nears I figured I'd further point out one of my favourite parts of the mod. I've mentioned it before but I figure I'll show it in action.
A little known fact about BG1 is that in chapter 7 a smuggler appears in the bridge area leading into the city. He offers to take you into the city, for a price of course.
In the end if you pay he literally just walks you across the bridge. I've always found it kind of stupid because 1) Is he really smuggling you if you are walking across the bridge in broad daylight? 2) It serves no purpose because you can just travel into the city anyways.
So because I like to make peoples lives difficult (heh) I came up with a hardcore component for chapter 7. This will do a number of things.
1) When you exit candlekeep at the beginning of chapter 7 your world map will be adjusted. You will be locked out of Baldur's Gate. Until the ceremony is complete (and the dukes are saves) the only way in or out of the city is by dealing with the smuggler (after you talk to him he now gets his name Tomlin displayed, previously he just told you his name but he would always just be called "smuggler").
2) Within the city you will only be able to travel through one area at a time. So for instance when you are in the east area you can only travel to the north east, southeast, central, and bridge areas. If you are in the central area you can only travel to the north, east, south, and west areas (and not directly to the bridge). As you move through the city your world map will adjust to show which areas you can visit from the area you are in (and hide those that you can't). In the example below the bridge is inaccessible to me, as are other portions of the city (I haven't yet explored the northern part of the city so that is why it looks like that).
3) The reason for the above is that the flaming fist are no longer totally stupid. Rather than just having members of the flaming fist standing around in fixed areas the fist are actually now patrolling the city. So the aim of step 2 is to make it more difficult for a player (not impossible since that would involve quite a bit more scripting) to just skip over large areas of the city and avoid having to deal with patrols.
The patrols themselves give preference to some routes over others (and won't cover some areas). If you avoid the main routes through the city then you should be less likely to come across them (though I left the fixed flaming fist members where they are so you may come across those).
I do like the smuggler idea, respectively, the "getting locked" out of Baldurs Gate.
Got a question though, if you talk with the smuggler, will you immediately be teleported to Baldurs Gate or do you still walk with him to the other side of the bridge?
If it's the old way, then you may want to create some Flaming Fist Soldiers at the gate in the middle of Wyrm's Crossing, and let the smuggler cast a mass invisible on your party so that the party is actually hidden and the whole scenario looks way more realistic.
The screen fades into black, you get teleported (well, jumped really) to the other side of the bridge (same map), and then it fades out from black (I may have to tweak the timing for that a bit). The bridge has also been raised (the explanation that is added to the game for this is that Angelo basically orders it to prevent Charname from trying to reenter the city while Sarevok is being granted the title of Grand Duke).
Update: With SoDs release around the corner my goal is to release Eve of War sometime this Saturday or sunday everything that has been done by that point anyways)
Comments
How did you start to mod? Where to begin learning to make something excellent?
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/708477/#Comment_708477
Poked around with it making some shapeshifting changes and other changes. This let me better understand how the files in the game worked and interacted.
I started working on an NPC mod called Yeorg. In order to get various things working for it I ended up learning how to use Weidu.
http://www.weidu.org/~thebigg/README-WeiDU.html
I did that for awhile and then @CrevsDaak posted a very useful kit modding instructions.
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/34119/how-to-making-kit-mods-for-the-ee/p1
I used this and my previous knowledge (as well as some new knowledge I gained about weidu) to make my IWDEE kitpack.
http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1099-a-frosty-journey-the-iwdee-kitpack/
Since then I've been doing QA work for overhaul (as of April, 2015) and been working on this Eve of War mod.
1) The EE's introduce a few new things that this mod will be taking advantage of (stuff that I can't get into until the next BGEE patch/Dragonspear are release).
2) I'm too lazy to figure out what is/is not compatible with any non-EE setup and I'd much rather spend the time I have for modding on adding or fixing content.
Yeah same thing here
The programming/scripting/coding can, I think, most easily be learned from looking all the scripts in the game and comparing how they actually work in the game (that's how I mostly learned). For new area creation, I seriously recommend Photoshop and 3d modelling (new buildings etc.), such as Blender, 3ds Max, Sketch Up, ArchiCAD (however learning this from scratch could take A LOT of time, I had experience in this from my job)
I myself use both DLTCEP and NearInfinity (I think DLTCEP is more user friendly, but for programming and some other things NearInfinity is better). But that's just my opinion
For starters I would start with this tutorial (of course depending what kind of mod you want to make and if you even want to use DLTCEP, but it does have some basic, but important stuff in it: areas, containers, actors etc.):
http://www.simpilot.net/~sc/dltcep/index.htm
Here is some listing of (all) tutorials:
http://www.shsforums.net/topic/36781-comprehensive-ie-modding-tutorial-index/
This is a nice page to find all the triggers, objects, actions etc. what are needed with BG programming:
http://gemrb.org/iesdp/scripting/actions/bgeeactions.htm
But a bit off topic
(though to be honest Eve of War is in a pretty solid state at this point I think. I'm pretty confident about it.)
The philosophy behind it is pretty obvious. It basically makes the world you live in a lot less nice. There are various components of Rough World that you can pick and choose what you'd like.
One changes the reputation system. Instead of the older names you get these ones based on your reputation
Savior
Hero
Adventurer
Medler
Ruffian
Thug
Sadist
It has another component that allows extremely low reputation characters to give money to beggers and gain a reputation point for doing so. But that only would apply to people with 1 or 2 reputation and only if they say something nice to the beggar when giving money. This component also gives beggars flies over their head.
There is another component that changes how reputation is treated as far as prices go and another that affects the reputation loss you get for certain crimes (at different levels of reputation).
Another component removes the innocent class from people located far into the wilderness (I define this as being more than one vertical space or more than one horizontal space from a large human settlement (beregost, the Friendly Arm Inn, Baldurs Gate, and Nashkel). Diagonal areas are considered to be wilderness (just because otherwise this wouldn't really affect that many areas). The result of this is if you kill an innocent person out in the wilderness no one has sufficient cause to doubt your existing reputation. Likewise if you help anyone out in the wilderness unless that person is likely to tell others of your deeds (since they travel - like a paladin or bard) you won't get a reputation gain.
The second last component of this cuts off your access to Baldurs Gate in chapter 7. Travelling between the city more than one map won't be possible and you'll have to pay to have yourself smuggled in and out of the city. The flaming Fist will also be patrolling the streets to a degree. As to be expected this will all be reversed after the palace ceremony.
The final component of Rough World scales the encounters you face along the critical path of BGEE. Provided your difficulty is high enough you'll see more of an existing enemy appearing, as well as maybe more advanced enemy (like some Astral Phase Spiders in cloakwood). It won't touch the AI though (trying to keep that true to the traditional AI). It also can end up making resting more difficult in certain areas and allow you to sleep in other areas that are safe (where you previously were blocked from sleeping).
[Spoiler] An example being the cabin in the first area of cloakwood. If you've sided with either of the factions (and by extension killed aldeth or seyinad) you will be able to rest there.[/spoiler]
Everything listed above in this post is either complete or 90% complete.
As part of a post release patch for Eve of War I'm also looking at incorporating ambushes into Rough World. So at some point you might get ambushed if you are holding Sarevoks ring. Likewise really high reputation parties might get ambushed by thugs and other lowlifes. A group of paladins might ambush you if you are too evil. That kind of thing.
As far as virtue goes I'll look into it (and into if there is any way to make paladins fall if they kill innocent people).
Ohh and as it turns out I was mistaken. Virtue doesn't rename lore (it just renames reputation). I'd have to look more into virtue to see how having both systems working in conjunction was accomplished.
Edit:
repmodst.2da would be set to zero across the board
StartStore could trigger different 'stores' based on this global (and the normal triggers) for a given merchant.
This would require copy existing all stores, and creating multiple versions for each 'level' of. Reputation. This global could also be checked in dialogs. It actually could get really intricate with multiple globals/reputations each representing different reputations for different groups. Eg save a shadow thief from Bodhi's vampires, and get a boost with that organization
Seems like i'll have to delay BGEE run to the very release of SoD and your mod.
Will there also be some NPC reactions towards your decisions or do you plan to keep them quiet like Vanilla BG1?
Then, just as donations required for reputation gain scale up the ladder, so it would take an ever-increasing number of reputation points as the party goes beyond being merely popular. Effectively then, donations would purchase Rep. pts instead of Rep Gain.
Such a system might also make for more credible ruptures within the party when Rep gets too high or low.
It would probably also make loading up in the early game with such goodies as Comp.Bow+1, Full Plate, Large Shield +1, Wand of Sleep and Shortbow+1 substantially more difficult for Neutral Charnames [Neutrality being an important option for players looking to equip Archmage Robes for both Charname and Imoen].
However, those don't seem very good reasons for not adding compatibility with non-EE setups.
1) there is plenty of mods working also on the original games and still taking advantage of EE-only stuff, both from experienced modders (e.g. The Tweaks Anthology) and new modders (e.g. Might and Guile)
2) adding compatibility with non-EE games is not that hard. So much so that even I can do it
By the way, I would be glad to provide advice on this, if you change your mind.
IMO, the extra effort is worthwhile, because it would help you reach a larger audience with your mod. I, for one, would never use a mod unless it works on Tutu and/or vBG2 too.
A little known fact about BG1 is that in chapter 7 a smuggler appears in the bridge area leading into the city. He offers to take you into the city, for a price of course.
In the end if you pay he literally just walks you across the bridge. I've always found it kind of stupid because 1) Is he really smuggling you if you are walking across the bridge in broad daylight? 2) It serves no purpose because you can just travel into the city anyways.
So because I like to make peoples lives difficult (heh) I came up with a hardcore component for chapter 7. This will do a number of things.
1) When you exit candlekeep at the beginning of chapter 7 your world map will be adjusted. You will be locked out of Baldur's Gate. Until the ceremony is complete (and the dukes are saves) the only way in or out of the city is by dealing with the smuggler (after you talk to him he now gets his name Tomlin displayed, previously he just told you his name but he would always just be called "smuggler").
2) Within the city you will only be able to travel through one area at a time. So for instance when you are in the east area you can only travel to the north east, southeast, central, and bridge areas. If you are in the central area you can only travel to the north, east, south, and west areas (and not directly to the bridge). As you move through the city your world map will adjust to show which areas you can visit from the area you are in (and hide those that you can't). In the example below the bridge is inaccessible to me, as are other portions of the city (I haven't yet explored the northern part of the city so that is why it looks like that).
3) The reason for the above is that the flaming fist are no longer totally stupid. Rather than just having members of the flaming fist standing around in fixed areas the fist are actually now patrolling the city. So the aim of step 2 is to make it more difficult for a player (not impossible since that would involve quite a bit more scripting) to just skip over large areas of the city and avoid having to deal with patrols.
The patrols themselves give preference to some routes over others (and won't cover some areas). If you avoid the main routes through the city then you should be less likely to come across them (though I left the fixed flaming fist members where they are so you may come across those).
Got a question though, if you talk with the smuggler, will you immediately be teleported to Baldurs Gate or do you still walk with him to the other side of the bridge?
If it's the old way, then you may want to create some Flaming Fist Soldiers at the gate in the middle of Wyrm's Crossing, and let the smuggler cast a mass invisible on your party so that the party is actually hidden and the whole scenario looks way more realistic.