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Are Custom Items Possible? If so, How?

TheLynx01TheLynx01 Member Posts: 8
in BG:EE Mods
Heya,

I'm a guy whose got a decent amount of experience messing around with numbers in the 2DA files and I'm halfway decent with modding, especially after discovering Near Infinity. But my brothers and I wanted to do a 3 character adventure with each other, just with a few interesting RP bits and pieces.

One Idea we came up with was for me to make them each a custom 'Heirloom' item important to their character, full text description, and several various buffs when worn/equipped.

I know Near Infinity lets you mess with container contents so I figure that's my way of placing the items if created, but the key question remains... How do I create them?

Is this a function of Near Infinity? Does it require a ton of legwork? Or should I consider trying to figure out how to replace an existing item instead of creating new ones?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Comments

  • WarChiefZekeWarChiefZeke Member Posts: 2,651
    Yes, making items is certainly possible. I typically use the DLTCEP tool myself, and would recommend it for beginners as it has more descriptive text to guide you on your way. I tried it in Near Infinity as I was crafting my first NPC mod, but found it a headache for that particular function compared to DLTCEP. Your mileage may vary.

  • OlvynChuruOlvynChuru Member Posts: 3,075
    edited October 2017
    While it is possible to create an item from scratch in NearInfinity, it is much easier to copy an existing item. Right-click an item file in NearInfinity and choose to make a copy of it. It is better if you copy the item that's the most similar to the item you want to create. Then you modify the new item until it has the abilities you want.

    If you want to give your item a new name and description, go into Dialog.tlk (click Edit and select "Dialog.tlk" or "String table"). Click "Add" to add a new string. Put whatever text you want into the text box. Be sure to switch on the flag "Has text" for the string or else it won't be displayed in-game. Make a string this way for the item's name and a string for the item's description. Set the name of the item to the number of the string that has the name, and do the same with the description.

    I can clarify if something I said here wasn't too clear.
  • TheLynx01TheLynx01 Member Posts: 8
    edited October 2017
    Speaking of the Dialog.tlk, When I'm tooling around in Near Infinity, I get a huge slew of 'Error reading Dialog.tlk file' errors (usually 4 in a row before it shows the item).

    It also then usually shows in the item's description, the General Name, and the Identified Name the word 'Error'.

    Am I doing something wrong?

    EDIT: I figured it out. Made a copy of Dialog.tlk and put in where the Near Infinity Jar file was, and it stopped complaining. (Now I'll just have to play hot potato with my Dialog file)
  • argent77argent77 Member Posts: 3,433
    edited October 2017
    It sounds like you're using an ancient version of Near Infinity which doesn't support the Enhanced Editions yet. You can find the download link to the most recent version in this topic.
  • TheLynx01TheLynx01 Member Posts: 8
    argent77 said:

    It sounds like you're using an ancient version of Near Infinity which doesn't support the Enhanced Editions yet. You can find the download link to the most recent version in this topic.

    Well that makes my life a bit easier. It's a much cleaner presentation too. Thanks for the heads up.
  • TheLynx01TheLynx01 Member Posts: 8
    I now have a completely different issue. While the newer Near Infinity appears to be superior in every way, when I try to edit the DIalog.tlk by adding new StrRef's, it tells me the Dialog file is in a Write Protected Archive, and asks if I want to export it. (I also see no way to undo this Write Protection)

    Exporting seems to do nothing, and I don't see a way for me to tell it to access one of my other Dialog files that I have sequestered in the folders where I do my modding.

    I also saw a 'Release Dialog.tlk lock' in the Game tab, but this also appears to do nothing.

    I feel like it's an obvious answer that I'm overlooking, and I can't seem to find anything on the forum similar to this. So how do I get past this hurdle?
  • argent77argent77 Member Posts: 3,433
    Are you trying to modify a BG1EE+SoD game purchased from GOG or Steam? In that case you have to run modmerge first to merge the SoD archive with the main game.
  • TheLynx01TheLynx01 Member Posts: 8
    As this is for a Multiplayer Session, will I have to instruct my fellow players in how this process works as well? Or does this allow me to install my changes with a clean install (and I just need to use modmerge on my own experiments)?

    I'm mod capable, but the other players are barely literate as far as competency is concerned, so I'd have to write them a basic ReadMe set of instructions, if I need them to do it.
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