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I want to dedicate 5 years to make NWN as a IE Campaign Mod for BG. Where do I start?

spacejawsspacejaws Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 389
edited April 2017 in General Modding
As the title says. I've wanted to get into modding for so long but never really had the time or motivation for it. My largest dissapointment around Neverwinter Nights is how detatched it feels from Baldur's Gate gameplay and I am interested in dedicating years to learn how to go about adapting the scenario to an IE game and eventually do so.

What are the recomendations on how to learn the modding scene from scratch and whether anybody would actually be interested in the idea.

Is it feasible? Should I begin my mad quest? (Has it already happened?!)
RavenslightStummvonBordwehr

Comments

  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 5,975
    for someone who has never modded before this will be an immensely daunting task

    im still relatively new to the mod scene and I did a complete revamp of IWD/HoW/LotLM and let me tell you: it is NOT easy ( and those games are relatively easy to revamp since there is only 173 areas or so)

    first, you are going to need to know NWN like the back of your hand and be able to play the game in your sleep, if you want it to have the true NWN ( every quest, every encounter, every item so on and so on)

    second, I don't know how well it would translate over to BG since BG used 2nd edition rules, and NWN uses 3rd edition rules, so that would require a lot of tinkering, unless you try and make an IWD2 game use the mod ( because it has a closer rule set to NWN) but I don't know how good the modding tools are for IWD2 though

    so with that being said, if you really want to make this mod ( which if somehow you were to actually complete it, in all honesty it would be amazing) there are some smaller steps you need to take

    start off small, real small

    its so easy to get caught up in something and want to do a big project off the start, but what happens is, that you start to get over whelmed and before you know it, you just give up on it because the task at hand it too much to handle, so start small, like dedicate a day or two on how to make custom items for example, learn how your mod editor works with item properties and such, learn all the menus, learn all the abilities, learn why certain item do certain things and so on, once you get a grasp for that, then make a couple of your own custom items and play test play test play test to make sure you truly grasp the item section, then do the same for creatures, scripts and so on, don't try and do all this at once, one category at a time

    once you start getting a feel for how your mod editor works and how items/creatures/scripts etc work, then you can slowly start going forward, NWN does have some things going for it ( like the fact it's a very linear game so that is helpful) but again, don't start with big projects right away, because it's easy to get overwhelmed fast, slow and steady wins the race

    spacejawsRavenslightGrammarsalad
  • spacejawsspacejaws Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 389
    It will need tweaks as my idea would not be a one to one translation the encounters would have to accomodate a party of at least 4, areas would need to be larger, potentially add a few new party members to allow for diversity.

    My starting point is two fold. Draw out every NWN map in 2D and begin an NPC mod for BG adding each of the NPC's from NWN to try and become accustomed to the modding scene as it seems many people start at the NPC stage. Good thing there's a Half Orc now!

    And yea I preferably would adapt the game system to the 2nd edition rules and trying to think of the many ramifications.

    This is not something I intend to do quickly, but uh maybe before I die? So I went for 5 years :D I eat alot of fried food.

    Thinking the title is Baldurs Gate: Winter Nights so check one is done phew I work faster than I thought.
    sarevok57ineth
  • Contemplative_HamsterContemplative_Hamster Member Posts: 844
    edited April 2017
    This is pretty much like a couch potato sports fan deciding he'll join and win the Tour de France next year. This will not happen. Don't spend even a year, let alone five, singlehandedly undertaking the job of an entire team of programmers -programmers who already know how to code, mind you. You will not finish, not on time, not ever. That's the hard truth.

    Edit: the OP before edits suggested porting the entire game after learning how to code from scratch. My comments above reflect that.
    Post edited by Contemplative_Hamster on
    spacejawsGrammarsalad
  • RavenslightRavenslight Member Posts: 1,609
    Neat idea! But my goodness this sounds like a huge undertaking. I wonder if it might be worth considering taking just one favorite area, or one favorite quest as a first goal for yourself. In reproducing this favorite part of the game you will learn not only what is possible to recreate, but if you enjoy it enough to go further.

    Once you have completed this first goal and released it, you will not only have learned what you need to know about coding the IE games, but give all of us eager mod players a new toy to add to our own games.

    I look forward to enjoying the fruits of your labor. :) Good luck!
    spacejawsGrammarsalad
  • spacejawsspacejaws Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 389
    Oh I know it's a crazy idea and absolutely aim to start small. We are all couch potatoes until we get off the couch :) I'm not unfamiliar with programming I work in a similar field I've just never tried my hand at modding but alwayd wanted to.

    I'll begin with an NPC project, Tomi Undergallows, place with in BG as a recruitable NPC as a Swashbuckler due to lack of classed thiefs. Even if this ended up 5 years down the line with some semi-useable NPC's and a mattering of magical items for Baldur's Gate I'd be at least happy in some regard :)

    I'd start with Spock lookalike Boddyknock if I knew a way to break the system to gove a gnome the sorcerer class.
    sarevok57Ravenslight
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited April 2017
    As someone who has worked on this on and off for the last 2.5 years I have to say that you would need basically a team of people for something to the scale of what you are talking about.

    Bear in mind that as a one man show you are responsible for

    - Converting conversations/text to use the infinity engine.
    - Menu Design
    - Area design/creation
    - Encounter design/creation
    - Scripting
    - Testing, testing, testing
    spacejawsGrammarsalad
  • ArdanisArdanis Member Posts: 1,736
    edited April 2017
    spacejaws said:

    Is it feasible?

    No.
    spacejaws said:

    Should I begin my mad quest?

    Depends on how mad you are...
    spacejaws said:

    (Has it already happened?!)

    No, see the first answer why.
    spacejaws said:

    Draw out every NWN map in 2D

    2D graphics may be harder than they seem. I mean, quite harder. Something I had learned firsthand.
    spacejaws said:

    I'm not unfamiliar with programming I work in a similar field I've just never tried my hand at modding but alwayd wanted to.

    Honestly, you may be better off making your own game then. I mean, it only took 17 years for Cleve Blakemore to complete his Grimoire (or has it yet?..) :|


    Joking aside, no, it really is a hopeless endeavor. Is it physically possible to accomplish? Yes. Is there a semblance of a realistic chance that you'll get it through to the end *and* it will look nice and not be ridden with bugs and glitches *and* there'll be anyone left around to appreciate the effort? Well...
    spacejawselminsterGrammarsalad
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited April 2017
    Honestly if you want to dip your toe into content adding modding Planescape Torment and Icewind Dale are probably the place to do it. There are almost no mods that add content to these games.
    spacejawsGrammarsalad
  • spacejawsspacejaws Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 389
    edited April 2017
    I've actually thought about Icewind Dale as it is a low level game that is very similar semi-linear structure. Im not sure what the modding documentation is like for it. How popular is the NPC scene on Icewind Dale seeing as one of the largest complaints is the lack of recruitable characters.

    I'm sure someone must have tackeld that.

    I uh not to sound like a lazy sod but work on a ship and have not been able to download the suggested programs. I've mostly ever played BG series vanilla, tried a few mods in the past with Dark Side and NPC's for BG2 but was dissapointed in the quality. I've just spent some time making general NWN characters with sort of close attributes tht don't make them OP death machines. I am going to follow the suggestions and start with a magical item, add Undergallows then some quest involving undergallows and that possible enhances said item. Then if I start to get a bit comfortable a quest that where Undergallows takes you to a custom location.

    That's the ultimate goal for the meantime. I like the idea of NWN characters in BG because the games are actually chronologically near each other it could be considered believable whereas less so for Icewind Dale. I wouldn't be opposed to looking at it though and seeing what people have done in the past but I fear I might not be up to scratch with DnD to create original characters. Someone would pull out the rulebooks and school me.

    Also I just want to say thanks for all the feedback in the thread it's honestly really helpful and I'll post anything I do here so you can rip it apart ;)
    Post edited by spacejaws on
    elminster
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