*Obsolete*(old setting up toolset instructions)

[danielmn]

Got it fixed...just needed to import haks again.

[Brokenbone]

Is the first post accurate in terms of basemod, or out of date?

Wishing to figure out if a guy needs to download many many erfs and integrate themselves, or if someone's already done that, preferably forever ago. Having only DL'd an alleged basemod, and being uncertain what's in it (very noobish with the toolset so far), I can't tell whether I'm missing scads of erf'd content, or what.

[AcadiusLost]

The NWN2 basemod update is definitely a semi-stalled work in progress. It tends to be the first thing that gets bumped when a new tech crisis or major bug gets reported (or a new patch/expansion arises). The latest iteration of it (still missing some of the things a server needs for full functionality) is here:

http://download.alandfaraway.org/downlo ... od_v03.rar

One thing I haven't done, though, is to put blueprints in for every possible custom placeable, placed effect, or item appearance. The number of these in the haks are quite staggering; and many are special-purpose ones that wouldn't be of much use to a builder doing normal interiors, for example. It's a bit inefficient to include copies of all of them, and contributes to module bloat before things are even started. That's why I've left most of the blueprints categorized by vault set or update as erfs for builder download. I can check to see how much space they take up when they're all added, maybe it's not as bad as I've imagined. It would also be pretty straightforward and simple (if tedious) work for someone to put together a few simple "theme pack" erfs; to bring in "Underground/Dungeon/Underdark placeables", "Castle/CityWalls/BCK", "Rural Settlements" etc.

I'm also working on including a switch on the module to allow builders to do basic testing without all the NWNx4/SQL setup that's essential to Live/Beta hosting with persistency. Without it, about the only way you can get into a mod to test areas out is via a DM client.

Glad to see the interest; apologies that things aren't more organized here. The builder attrition we experienced made much documentation and updating of this section a dubious use of time for a while.

[Brokenbone]

So the lack of NWNx and DB stuff is what causes a great big long message about a problem when you open the alleged "basemod", which you can "OK" and get on to fooling around with, right? I'd have taken a screenie of the message, but I think I've seen it in an old Indio thread somewhere too which de-escalated my concern.

...

And roger re: stalled basemod. I had hoped to avoid DL of 20 erfs, but will do that when I've got time.

Maybe I'll just post the resulting unmodified but fully "erf'd" module, we can call the old one "Basemod Lite" and the new one "Basemod Heavy" or something.

EDIT - unless a Basemod Heavy would contain horrible secrets you don't want unauthorized people to see. Which they can see if they can get the erfs anyhow

[AcadiusLost]

The error message you were getting might have been due to skills.2da problems from custom skills testing, or due to a missing spare copy of alfa_acr01.tlk in your toolset install directory (same place Dialog.tlk lives); either can cause such problems, can't say which without seeing more of the error text. (and neither are NWNx4/SQL problems- those are all "Hay why am I being booted from my own module" symptoms).

Think I saw you logged into IRC, so I'll check directly.

[HEEGZ]

THIS THREAD IS NO LONGER CURRENT!

Can a mod please un-sticky this and lock it? I've wasted hours trying to follow the directions only to find out that the info here is incorrect. Please save someone else their time...

[AcadiusLost]

I will revamp these instructions soon, with simplified ones for returning/new builders. Very little of this is actually required to toolset ALFA content. As with NWN1 content, you aren't usually going to have blueprints for every possible placeable, door, item appearance in your module. They're all there in the haks (assuming the haks are associated with the module), and can be browsed through and placed at will if they are called for.

The main problem has been that there are many potential flavors of "basemod". In order for all the scripted/persistency/ACR functions to work properly, NWNx4, a pile of plugins, and a MySQL database connection are all needed, along with a module with many serverside scripts and configuration options. This is the sort of basemod I've been developing, and it's what you would work from to build a server from scratch for hosting as a Beta (and later a Live) server. Since it requires considerable setup beyond just toolset/NWN2, it's not particularly user-friendly for entry-level builders.

Many builders are just looking to make items for their own PCs or for shops. That requires nothing but the ALFA haks, and is quite straightforward even without any kind of plugins. I can (and will) make a items-focused basemod for this that's very simple.

More advanced builders are looking to build areas (exteriors and interiors) using our custom tilesets and placeables. While being more complex than just tooling items (overrides and icons for tiles/terrains, erfs for example blueprints), this still requires none of the complex script resources or NWNx4 plugins / SQL hookup. Areas designed in this way may be imported into hostable ACR-enabled mods, and set up with the right scripts in 15 minutes or less by someone who is familiar with them. Again, we can (and will) make a mod designed for this, with a giant placeable pallete filled with custom placeables.

The overrides are the main complexity for the latter sort of mod, and are due to change significantly in a week or so with the 1.22 patch / SoZ. I will revisit the "area build mod" concept after that transition is made. In the meantime, my focus is (and will continue to be) helping get Baldur's Gate transitioned over to Live, and ALFA transitioned over to SoZ.

[HEEGZ]

As with NWN1 content, you aren't usually going to have blueprints for every possible placeable, door, item appearance in your module. They're all there in the haks (assuming the haks are associated with the module), and can be browsed through and placed at will if they are called for.

Unfortunately I was misinformed about this one. I assumed that the haks contained every placeable and could be browsed through. I was told otherwise, and this may be due to the difference between a blueprint, and an item in the hak. Not quite sure what the difference is now as I'm all confused.

More advanced builders are looking to build areas (exteriors and interiors) using our custom tilesets and placeables. While being more complex than just tooling items (overrides and icons for tiles/terrains, erfs for example blueprints), this still requires none of the complex script resources or NWNx4 plugins / SQL hookup. Areas designed in this way may be imported into hostable ACR-enabled mods, and set up with the right scripts in 15 minutes or less by someone who is familiar with them. Again, we can (and will) make a mod designed for this, with a giant placeable pallete filled with custom placeables.

This is exactly what I need. I won't have the time and energy to learn the scripting system. I am sure I could do it, but there seems to be a large enough need for interiors/exteriors and DM coverage that I'd rather do those.

Thanks for taking the time to reply AL. It's been hard to piece together the big picture, and forming the wrong one after a week of searching was pretty frustrating. Thanks for the clarification. Also I'll be happy to help make an information sticky if you need help doing that. I may be more trouble than it's worth though, heh.

[Aelred]

Unstickifying now

Heegz you probably have figured it all out by now. In simple terms
-the haks have the models and technicaly info but can not be seen in the toolset
-the erfs have the pictures/models you can see in the toolset.

For building you need to associate the mod to the haks and to import the erfs.

[HEEGZ]

Thanks Aelred. I've just finished creating myself a new basemod now, with just the 8 haks and a few erfs AL linked to me. I somehow ended up with a hodge-podge of old and new stuff that might have corrupted BG. This new mod should hold me over until after BG goes live and is on 1.22. After that I hope to get a local copy for myself and put this behind me.