Problem with the toolset, how can I solve?

[Falkner1992]

Okay, I got a few problems with the toolset, not the toolset itself, there's something wrong with my mods when I try to play them.

 

Here are a few problems I've come across when I try to test my modules in-game:

 

The NPCs don't have any items equipped, they appear in their undies (even though I gave them items, and they appear fully-equipped in the toolset itself)

 

Hostile NPCs do not attack me, even though I've set their faction to hostile.

 

I cannot attack anyone, including hostiles, if I try my character will just enter a battle pose and stand there doing nothing.

 

I cannot pick-up items, or open doors or do anything except walking around (sometimes I can open doors, but if I walk really close to them, if I just click them, my PC willl just ignore the command to open them).

 

I feel as though I'm really missing something important here, can anyone tell me what'swrong?

[RichardUther]

Just a few ideas, since this never happened to me.

 

The NPCs don't have any items equipped, they appear in their undies (even though I gave them items, and they appear fully-equipped in the toolset itself)

 

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.

Edited May 18, 2012 by RichardUther

[Tchos]

As Richard there said, NPCs won't wield weapons or wear armour if they don't have the proficiencies for them, even though they will appear with the items in the toolset. I had that problem myself just last week until I figured out what the problem was.

[Falkner1992]

As Richard there said, NPCs won't wield weapons or wear armour if they don't have the proficiencies for them, even though they will appear with the items in the toolset. I had that problem myself just last week until I figured out what the problem was.

 

Okay, I've solved the equipment problem thanks to you, and most of the other problems seem to have to do with the camera angle, if I use the isometric Baldur's-Gateesque camera perspective, everything works fine.

 

The only problem now is that hostile enemies still don't attack me. Any ideas why that is?

[Tchos]

Only to check and see if the area has a walkmesh, as Richard said. You didn't say if you checked that or not. If the area is unreachable due to a walkmesh problem, then you can't attack each other. You create a walkmesh by choosing the option to bake the area.

[RichardUther]

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.

[Falkner1992]

No, the walkmesh. I've just found out that only enemies I have created cannot attack me, default enemies like goblins and orcs attack me just fine. Any idea on what I need to change so that my custom enemies will attack me?

[RichardUther]

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.

[Falkner1992]

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.

 

Very well, I shall copy-paste hostile creatures and change their attributes when I need to to create my custom foes.

 

One more thing, do you know of site or manual I can download to teach me how to work the toolset? I can do basic things, like constructing an area, placing objects and so forth, but I would like a tutorial to teach me how to create dialogue, cutscenes, quests, etc.

[RichardUther]

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)

Edited May 20, 2012 by RichardUther