Using Near Infinity to make items

extremeragnarok

Ages ago, I did extensive modding for Baldur's Gate II using the old Team BG tools. Never released them, just made them for personal use. Lost them when my old computer crashed. I don't want to really get back into modding, but there are some of my old items I'd like to remake. However, I can't get DLTCEP or any other old program to work. I've tried using Near Infinity to make an item, but I can't seem to figure it out. Any tips?

PaulaMigrate

Easiest way to make an item in Near Infinity is to find an item that approximately comes close to what you have in mind, use the *make copy of* option to create a new item with your custom name. Afterwards you can easily modify all the fields you want to have different. It is pretty simple unless you are ambitious to also create a new bam picture for your item instead of using some existing ones.
If you want your item to have special effects/abilities and you do not want to start from scratch, NI allows you to copy stuff from other items you find suitable to your own as well.
If you want to keep your item locally, this is about it. Otherwise you export your new item to keep it save and (maybe) create yourself a mini-mod, weidu based, to import your item selection into any new game you may want to install some day.

extremeragnarok

Thanks. I've been able to get started making those items. However, when I edit the name and description for them (let's take Gorion's Ring of Protection for example), 10 other items now have the name and description. I tried making a second item, and everything changed to the new name and description. SO in the process of making new items I corrupted the Dialog.tlk file. Is there a way to make the names and descriptions not have and references to Dialog.tlk strings? The old programs I used saved them to the .itm file without making any kind of changes to the .tlk.

PaulaMigrate

This is what my last sentences were about. ("If you want to keep your item locally, this is about it. Otherwise you export your new item to keep it save and (maybe) create yourself a mini-mod, weidu based, to import your item selection into any new game you may want to install some day. ") You would use weidu to add the new items with the new names and texts to the game. You use NI just to create the itm file.

Example for a tp2 entry
COPY ~Chloe/Items/SLNOTECR.itm~ ~override/SLNOTECR.itm~
SAY NAME1 ~text~
SAY NAME2 ~text~
SAY UNIDENTIFIED_DESC ~text~
SAY DESC ~text~

Avoid dealing with dialog.tlk directly in NI. It is possible but not recommended.
What you have done is probably to modify existing strings via NI. Now every component that used the string will have your modified text. What you want to do is to create new strings that your new items use. Above weidu procedure is the save way to do it. The other way is to actually create new strings in NI, note down their reference numbers and update the fields in your item file with the new numbers (this however means you directly manipulate dialog.tlk).

extremeragnarok

Again, thanks. I figured out what I did wrong. I repaired most of the damage I did to dialog.tlk. I did try just making new strings and referencing them for the names and descriptions, but none of them seemed to work in the game. I'm thinking on going the Weidu route, however, I can't get the friggin' thing to work. Still looking for either a front-end or a decent guide for it.

PaulaMigrate

Fast track:

- You create a folder in your BG directory, e.g MyItemMod. In this folder a subdirectory Itm.
- You export your item, say FirstItm.itm to MyItemMod/itm
- You create a text file in your folder and name it MyItemMod.tp2 (make sure it has ending tp2 not txt or whatever.)
- In the text file put a header like this
BACKUP ~MyItemMod/backup~
AUTHOR ~extremeragnarok~

VERSION ~0.1~

BEGIN ~My new items for BG~

//Now put in the stuff you want to add to the game

COPY ~MyItemMod/itm/FirstItm.itm~ ~override~
SAY NAME1 ~MyNewItem~
SAY NAME2 ~MyNewItem~
SAY UNIDENTIFIED_DESC ~something new~ //You need this only if your item needs identification in game
SAY DESC ~A useful new item created by extremeragnarok~

you can add more items, more cretures dialogues or whatever.

You can add a new mod component with BEGIN ~A second mod component~
Look here at what weidu can do http://www.weidu.org/~thebigg/README-WeiDU.html#hevea_default444

- Now look if you have a Weidu.exe or a setup-Modxxxx.exe already in your game directory.
- Make a copy of it and name it setup-MyItemMod.exe
- If you now start your setup.exe you should get a mod install window asking you if you want to install *My new items for BG*
- Afterwards you should have a new item with the name/description in your game

Sounds like a little bit of effort at first, but once you have this running, you can go ahead an simply keep adding stuff to your mini-mod.

extremeragnarok

Ok, I followed your instructions to the letter, but for some reason the exe won't work. "Cannot find setup-TRIP.tp2." I put setup-TRIP.tp2 in the TRIP directory, like other mods do with their respective files, but it's still not working. What simple thing am I overlooking?

PaulaMigrate

extremeragnarok said:

Ok, I followed your instructions to the letter, but for some reason the exe won't work. "Cannot find setup-TRIP.tp2." I put setup-TRIP.tp2 in the TRIP directory, like other mods do with their respective files, but it's still not working. What simple thing am I overlooking?

Your trip folder with the tp2 inside is on the same level as the exe in the main directory of BG?

Maybe you can post what is in your tp2 here?

Further things to check:
- you successfully installed other mods in this game already?
- your tp2 does not have any hidden extension from the program you used to create it (e.g. TRIP.tp2.txt)?
- try to put the tp2 in the main folder where the exe is as well.

PaulaMigrate

MAybe your problem is same as this
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/65208/weidu-wont-compile-anything#latest

extremeragnarok

Seems to be. What's throwing me off is that other mods install just fine, like BG2 Tweaks.

PaulaMigrate

extremeragnarok said:

Seems to be. What's throwing me off is that other mods install just fine, like BG2 Tweaks.

Maybe not. It appears that Weidu works on your setup and you can install other mods. So, presumely the error is in your own mod
- your tp2 does not have any hidden extension from the program you used to create it (e.g. TRIP.tp2.txt)?
- try to put the tp2 in the main folder where the exe is as well.

If nothing helps, you may put your files in a zip or rar folder like the mods do and post it here. Four eyes may see more than two.

PaulaMigrate

One very very small thing
"Cannot find setup-TRIP.tp2." Do you notice the dot after tp2? is there a typo in the name of your setup?
setup-TRIP.exe

extremeragnarok

Wow. It was the extension. I unchecked "Hide extensions for known file types."But now I'm dealing with a permission issue. Think I'm gonna have to do something as drastic as moving the game directory out of Program Files(x86)?

PaulaMigrate

It may help, Programs or x86 are no place for the game if you want to mod it.

Aasim

Try downloading this. I made this about a year ago, it's a "phantom" mod which you need to finish up yourself, but can be used for stuff like adding items created with NI to your game with proper descriptions. Most of the things you need to know are written in .tp2 file, components/items.tpa, and languages/english files and folders.

extremeragnarok

For some reason it's working now. I just got home from work and tried launching it again. This time it it had the re-install option. Did that, and it worked. No idea why now. Thanks.