RichardUther

Man, I haven't read your last update, but I just watched the OM video and there are not enough 'bad words' in the English language to add to the amount of awesome I'm thinking right now. Just brilliant, brilliant stuff. As for the lighthouse model. Seeing your mod in action gave me a better idea of how the whole thing looks, so I think I'll go from scratch, rather than using Chaos' one as a base model. If you want something in particular (like for instance, having a space within the top for you to place a SFX for the beacon) let me know. I can also get two versions of the tower so you don't need to have a high poly count model in the OM. I repeat, this is something I would do for my own project anyways, and fortunatelly I have access to some pretty cool tools (at least during weekdays) so I can do a classic version of whatever and then add the steampunk weirdness for my own thing. Of course, if you asked me to do something completely unrelated like a Pikachu creature, I'd probably send you a private message insulting you, your family and your grandchildrend too, just in case my outrage isn't clear. But a lighthouse? I'm game for that!. Just let me know if you need something specific, that way I can keep the idea in my head in order to make it useful for the community in general rather than just for myself

It doesn't look too complicated to adapt. The one thing I wouldn't know how to do are the crystals on the top because I haven't done something like that yet. But hey, I'm all for learning something new, so I'll give it a go. I will try and contact Chaos first, since I don't know if he'd be alright with me butchering his model. But even if he says no, I can always do soemething from scratch. To be honest, I don't like the way towers look, so this is something that I would've start doing eventually anyways. As a last note: Remember that I mentioned before that I draw inspiration from Thief and Planescape, so chances are that my texture will look rather dark and creepy. But since I know you are familiar with retexturing models, it'll probably be a piece of cake for you to adapt the texture to whatever looks right for your own module.

I like what I'm reading Tchos. I particularly like the "you can screw with any NPC" aspect. I really, REALLY wanted to have such an option for Nordock 2, but after lenghty talks with my team and not being able to come up with a system for it, we decided to leave things as they are. Mind you, the reason why we made this choice is because Nordock is a PW. If it was a single player campaign and you, as a player, screwed up a quest by killing a NPC I'd simply add a message stating "You just killed a main character, dumbass! Good luck with that!" But in a multiplayer environment you need to think that one person's choices can ruin the enjoyment of others, so the way you approach the design has to be completely different. Still, I'm glad that you're adding the option and I'm pretty sure I'll try to go on a killing spree once you launch it. You probably figured this out already, but the campaign folder is pretty much just a fancy type of Override. In this case it's obviously a must, but I personally reccomend only adding the stuff that you will use through all the modules. This is pretty much a personal choice, but I found a few issues with scripts placed in the campaign folder rather than in the module itself. (The Legends Spawn plugin comes to mind. It wouldn't compile the On_area_enter script correctly if it was on the campaign) And one last thing, remember that I'm currently working on placeables and stuff like that, so if you want something in particular let me know. If it's something I could also use I'll just give it a higher priority for my own project, but I'll gladly send you over the file for your own hak.

The problem is that I only have 3dsMax 9 in this computer. It's all my fault, if I thought of all this back on thursday I could have 3dsMax 8 installed by now, and NWN1. But Friday was a holliday down here, and the person who has both of things went out of town for the long weekend, so I'll have to wait until Monday. Oh well, lets just hope that Hellfire or someone more versed on the subject decides to read this and say "it can be done, it's just that nobody had the patience to do it" or "It can't be done" so I don't spend Monday night chasing windmills.

I'm understanding the same thing, so unless we both can't read, it would be awesome news. The next question is a bit more complicated: I don't hate the PC animations in NWN2, but there are a few I'm not particularly fond of (I.E: the walking animation) The ones in Hordes of the Underdark were pretty awesome though, so, if importing animations in the game is possible: Wouldn't it be possible to import those animations and replace the default ones in NWN2? Or would I need to go through every single mesh, follow the steps above for each one, etc? In this case I think logic dictates de latter, which would explain why nobody went for it before, especially after all the complaints about PC animations when the game came out.

I was doing some new placeables, but I couldn't keep my mind from thinking about a certain creature. So I started modeling it. I've done animations before, but not for NWN2, so I've read everything there is to read about the subject, and I think I got the basics, but I still have a doubt: I can't access the RWS forums because of an issue with my isp, so I can't go and re-read their tutorial about importing NWN1 models, so hopefully someone around here will be able to help me out. I do remember that it's mentioned that you can't use the animations, and that's where my memory gets fuzzy: Is it just a matter of exporting the model, then tweak skeletons and what not in order to work? Or are they really unusable in NWN2? In which case I'm wondering: Why? is it Granny related, in the sense that they would look funky when imported into the game? Or something I can't figure out because I'm new to the system? I have some more questions, but no point in making them if the answer is: You can't use them at all. Thanks in advance for any replies, guys

Grinning Fool's creation wizard should work for that too? I've been writting dialogs since forever, but never went into NPCs appeareances-- unless I really wanted them, in which case I used the basic system from the toolset.

Well, here's the one from Obsidian themselves. This is pretty much the one we all read to start using the blasted toolset back in 2006 (pre-launch toolset, bugs all over the place, no plugins, The HORROR! I'm sure I have actual physical scars by now) Toolset Documentation It says that the same tutorial is in the game folder, but if I remember correctly, someone mentioned that this is only true for the boxed version of the game. If you do a search on that same site you'll find a few more written by users. Another good one to look at would be: Don't Panic: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The NWN2 Toolset As always, the best way to learn is asking around. Like I mentioned, some of us in the community have been working with the toolset for years. I'm certain that there are a few people in the community who know more about the toolset than the guys at Obsidian themselves. One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post: If you search around in the vault (the website I linked in this post) you'll also find several plugins that will let you create creatures in easier ways than what I described. I didn't mentioned it before because there are several, and I can't reccomend a particular one because I don't use them (they add a lot of features that clutter my screen too much for my personal taste, but you should take a look at them because most designers love them)

Yes! :thumbsup: The problem is that your creature blueprints don't have the correct scripts attached to them. There's basically two ways to fix this, but lets go with the simple one: Find the default creature you want (i.e. a goblin) right click on it and choose copy blueprint, then module. You'll notice that you'll have an exact copy (same name, same attributes) in your list now. In fact, you'll have it on the 'root' directory and in bold letters, which should make it easy to access. You can edit that blueprint as if you were starting it from scratch. Get a simple goblin to wield a +5 sword, chain mail, etc. The main difference is that it will have the scripts already attached to it, so it will attack you and so on. Do what you want with the creature, then just drag and drop. It should work. I can give you more detailed help if you need. But it depends on what you're trying to pull off here. For a basic custom creature that just attacks the player, that's about it.

Yeah, it all points out to the walkmesh being an issue here. It would explain why you can't open certain doors, and why the enemies can't attack you (or vice-versa) In case you're new to the toolset: -Load up your area. -Go to File and from the drop down menu choose "Bake current area" -Save your module and see if it's fixed. If that didn't work, you'll need to "fix" the walkmesh. The process is very similar for interiors and exteriors, but since you didn't mention your character walking through the floor, I'll assume your area is an interior. Follow these steps: -Load the area in the toolset again -On the main screen, look for the buttons that read "Surface Mesh" and "Baked". Activate both. Now you'll see the walkmesh outlined in yellow with a green mesh showing where characters can walk. It should look really clean. I do mean REALLY clean. This is also used for pathfinding, so if it's messy, it would explain why your character has problems reaching doors and so on. So to clean up the mess: -Look for broken paths within the mesh. Most placeables cut the walkmesh by default, which not only creates problems, it also adds to the size of the file itself. Look for any placeable you will not have the player interact with. (rocks, pillars, furniture, etc) Right click on them, from the drop down menu choose "convert" and then "Placeables into environment objects" -Bake the area again and see if that fixed the issue. You will notice that you'll be able to walk through the placeables you just converted and things like that, but don't worry. I'll explain how to fix that if the walkmesh is indeed the problem.

Yeah, I'm already using the RWS cliffs. I just wanted a little more variety. My question was about fair use, but as always I started ranting. I already have a few new rocks modeled, and the textures are coming along nicely so far. As soon as I have something worth showing I'll post screenies.

Just a few ideas, since this never happened to me. Make sure that if the items have class or level restictions the NPCs have the propper attributes in their character sheet. As for the rest: Did you bake the area?, if you did, make sure that the walkmesh isn't a mess, turn unusable placeables into enviromental objects and re-bake. Also, make sure you don't have anything in your override folders and try the game again, maybe there's some scripts in there that are messing the AI. That's pretty much all I can think of right now, but I just woke up, so my brain is still a bit fuzzy.

The similar mesh thingie is my issue. Let me give you an example here: http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/7497/tesrock1.jpg http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/4208/tesrock2.jpg Now, those are just rocks (wich NWN2 lacks, REALLY lacks) So, basically, if I take pictures of rocks, cliffs and other generic landmarks, and based my models in them, they wouldn't be too different in the end. Just to clarify here, I'm not whining because "how dare Bethesda not let me use their stuff!". It's more like "Why would I spend time modeling something in Blender and then doing the textures in photoshop, if I can save time by using something that looks just as good or better, and it happens that it has been already done" In a nutshell: Saving time. If it was allowed I could have gone the export/import way and get something for the community in a few days. Since it's not allowed, I'll have to do them from scratch, which I would say it'd take me a week. BUT, I'll probably be distracted during that week. If it's not that I have to write jokes about Kim Kardashian or writting a movie review, it will be something else. I repeat: I'm not whining here, and I don't really care about the Nexus standards for publishing, because even if it was allowed to use stuff without consent I wouldn't do it. (And that's not an insult, I'm just saying that I'm on the same page regarding this issue)

That's pretty much what I thought, or at least what I thought was logical. The reason I asked is because there are several mods in the vault that have been available for years and seem to be using assets from other companies (I'm not taking Infinity engine or anything Atari related in account here, I mean Oblivion, Lineage and some others) With that in mind, I figure that it's not that they used the original assets, but rather made original content that kinda looks like the ones in other games. So I reckon that if I model a placeable from scratch, that looks "skyrim-ish" but isn't taken from the game should be fair game, right? As for using content from other mods, we only used assets that are allowed and the authors will get credit if we ever launch the damn thing. I'm extremely respectful of the work of others, which is why I asked this question. Believe it or not, it's about rocks and rubble. I just think that some rocks and rubble from Skyrim would look awesome in some of my areas. If my idea would've been to do a Whiterun remake using the original models, then I'd certainly be a complete moron. In any case, thanks for the responses, guys. I guess I'll just have to put a little more effort in the project.

I'm posting this here because it's related to a NWN2 mod, but it's more of a general question. If there is a forum in the Nexus that is more suitable I apologise in advance, I'm one of the guys who just came from the Bioware forums and I'm still finding my way around here. In any case, long story short: I worked on a PW until 6 months ago, when we decided to cancel it for the time being, and I moved on to play and mod Skyrim. Last week we decided to resurrect our project, so I'm back into Electron. The thing is, most of my areas still have placeholders for things that I was supposed to model myself, but kept postponing the job. Now, while playing around in the Skyrim toolset, I noticed that there're several assets that would suit me perfectly, and save me a lot of time in front of Blender, Photoshop, etc. The question is: Does anyone know what the legal boundaries are for such a thing? Can I get them into NWN2 as they are without any issues? Is it only ok if I modify them drastically? Or is it just a big no-no? It's probably a stupid question, since I've seen mods that use assets from other games, but I rather sound stupid now than being completely stupid and go through over a hundred areas worth of placeables twice.