12 replies to this topic

[VIIIofSwords]

I've recently gotten the option of taking a long weekend for myself (roughly 4 days), which I only get to do about...twice a year. I've been toying with a possible home-made NPC mod in my head, but I can't code to save my life outside of some basic functions on a specialized derivative of Python. I'm not talking about making anything complex or overly long. Probably just a banter per Bioware NPC, a couple of interjections, and a portrait.

Is it possible to get a basic grasp of WeiDU (and make a working-but-bare-bones NPC mod) on one's own within a 4-day timespan, barring real life interference?

[theacefes]

Yes.

[Azkyroth]

Should be, yeah.

[Tassadar88]

Make sure you make good use of the tutorials here for the start.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Is it possible to get a basic grasp of WeiDU (and make a working-but-bare-bones NPC mod) on one's own within a 4-day timespan, barring real life interference?

Yes, there are quite few one day NPCs, and quite much source material and handy help if needed. But remember, all your n00biness belongs to us.

The best way of doing the this(at first), is copy/paste-and-modify some other mod that works!!!! to avoid the basic bugs of not knowing what the H#¤%& you are doing, for testing purposes.
And keep in mind, you might get stuck into the project, so remember that the one day mod shall take years to complete!!

[Kulyok]

Just download a NPC mod(Gareth or Tiax from One-Day NPC Section) sound nice, rename their dialogue files and insert your dialogue lines instead of theirs. You also need to replace a .cre file - a tutorial should help you with that(or you can just find a close enough .cre among all NPC mods available).

I'd say "clean" Weidu learning(i.e. you read all the tutorials, ask questions in Modding Q&A and create your own mod from scratch) takes considerably longer than that - a few weeks, if you're quick.

[Azkyroth]

Just download a NPC mod(Gareth or Tiax from One-Day NPC Section) sound nice, rename their dialogue files and insert your dialogue lines instead of theirs. You also need to replace a .cre file - a tutorial should help you with that(or you can just find a close enough .cre among all NPC mods available).

I'd say "clean" Weidu learning(i.e. you read all the tutorials, ask questions in Modding Q&A and create your own mod from scratch) takes considerably longer than that - a few weeks, if you're quick.

I don't know, if I'd been able to concentrate and wasn't embroiled in such an ungodly ambitious mod I could probably have gotten something decent put together in an uninterrupted 4-day weekend. Of course, I do have some coding experience...

PS: I'm personally a bit disconcerted by the duplication suggestions, frankly.

Edited by Azkyroth, 31 October 2007 - 12:15 AM.

[Rabain]

The duplication suggestion is the best option for those strong on writing but lacking the necessary experience or time for learning weidu coding.

Also inserting your own dialog into existing code will teach you what you are doing so that as you grow and wish to try more you will have some idea of how things work.

Consider duplication the same as having a template for prospective modders. It would encourage production...yes there might be a lot of dross produced but weighing dross against prospective modders walking away from IE modding due to weidu complexity, I know which I'd prefer.

My suggestion would be to download Tiax, it's probably more up to date coding wise than Gareth and has the basics of everything you need. Plus it's organised well in both tp2 and folder structure.

[Azkyroth]

Eh, perhaps you're right.

Though this kind of suggestion, when handed to a coding newbie without the explicit instruction to change the variables as well as the dialogue lines and such, could potentially wind up being the equivalent of a fizzing red stick with "ACME" written on the side. O.o

Edited by Azkyroth, 31 October 2007 - 01:19 AM.

[VIIIofSwords]

Thanks for all the advice.

Right now, I think duplication might be my best option. If only because it'll be easier for me to wrap my head around the necessary syntax and such. 4 days ought to be enough. I mean, it's not like WeiDU code is anything remotely similar in complexity to C++ or FoxPro.

I'd say "clean" Weidu learning(i.e. you read all the tutorials, ask questions in Modding Q&A and create your own mod from scratch) takes considerably longer than that - a few weeks, if you're quick.

I'll probably get around to that after December. I ought to have a bit more free time by then to work on something I wouldn't mind having my name attached to on the Net. I actually made copies of practically every NPC tutorial I could find and intend to go through them by tonight.

[Kulyok]

Good luck.

[Gort]

I've recently gotten the option of taking a long weekend for myself (roughly 4 days), which I only get to do about...twice a year. I've been toying with a possible home-made NPC mod in my head, but I can't code to save my life outside of some basic functions on a specialized derivative of Python. I'm not talking about making anything complex or overly long. Probably just a banter per Bioware NPC, a couple of interjections, and a portrait.

Is it possible to get a basic grasp of WeiDU (and make a working-but-bare-bones NPC mod) on one's own within a 4-day timespan, barring real life interference?

weidu itself won't take much time if you have any experience with any programming. More time will be spent learning IE features. With proper knowledge, and prepared content, coding an NPC with 1 banter per a bioware NPC, a couple interjections would take about 2 hours, I think. But beware, modding is addictive=).
(Though I'd not spent my only weekend in a half of a year to create so simple NPC. I'd use existing ones=)).

[berelinde]

Believe me, by the time you've spent four solid days working with the same mod, you'll begin to have some understanding of how it works. Nonetheless, I have two pieces of advice to offer.

Use Tiax as a model. The coding is modern, so you'll be in a position to benefit from the example of streamlined code.

When you see something you don't understand, ask. There are plenty of people who are more than happy to explain the whys and wherefors. Even if you elect to do a straight duplication for the initial effort, you can still benefit from the explanations later, over a more leisurely time period.

To begin, let me offer an explanation for a few coding questions that will almost surely come up. They have to do with shorthand notations. The actual weidu commands they represent will not make much sense now, but they will when you actually download Tiax, open it up, and start to work with it.

You will see a variety of mathmatical symbols in the code. Mostly, this is shorthand for longer alphabetic weidu commands.

When you see something like
++ ~Whatever you say.~ + t2.19
the first "+" means "IF", the second "+" means "THEN REPLY", and the third "+" means GOTO.

When you see a single "=", it means that when the player hits "continue" at the bottom of the dialogue window, the window will clear and the new line will appear.

When you see a double "==", it means you're looking at CHAIN structure, and that the first "=" acts as the multisay in the example above, where the dialogue window is ceared and new text appears, and the second "=" means that the speaker will change.

Now carry on.