14 replies to this topic

[neostalker]

So, I've been a fan of the IE games since Baldur's Gate.
After playing the games again after many years, with mods, I figured I too would like to make some mods. Mostly I would like to add new quests, dialogues and NPC's.
I've heard that with WeiDU it has become easier to mod the IE games.

I have no prior experience from modding, and only know a bit C++ from some courses I took 2 years ago.
Tell me, do I lack too much experience to mod IE, and if not where should I start?

Thanks

[Jarno Mikkola]

Tell me, do I lack too much experience to mod IE, and if not where should I start?

No, I don't even have that, and I can mod few things... The starting point is always the tutorials. If you want to do NPCs, this is the one I used. This might help also with dialogs. And quests are just dialogs that use variables etc.

WeiDU just installs the mods so you don't need to change the games own dialog etc. files with every time and with every mod by hand.

[neostalker]

Tell me, do I lack too much experience to mod IE, and if not where should I start?

No, I don't even have that, and I can mod few things... The starting point is always the tutorials. If you want to do NPCs, this is the one I used. This might help also with dialogs. And quests are just dialogs that use variables etc.

WeiDU just installs the mods so you don't need to change the games own dialog etc. files with every time and with every mod by hand.

Thanks for your answer, those tutorials seem to cover most of it.

So WeiDU doesn't make making mods easier, but rather prevents hard-to-reverse conflicts by not changing the actual game files?
But I've read that all WeiDU-mods are compatible with each other, but maybe I read wrong and there is still a risk for conflict, just that it's easier to fix?

[vilkacis]

You can still have conflicts if multiple mods attempt to change the same creature, area, spell, or other random resource. The more you change or remove from the original game, the more likely it is that it will cause conflicts. If you were to make a mod that, say, removes Ribald and replaces him with something else, that would obviously mess up any mod that relies on Ribald's presence (as well as the Knights of Solamnia quest from the unmodded game).

Things like NPC, item or store mods generally just add to the game, and thus tend to be compatible with mostly everything.

Edited by vilkacis, 25 November 2008 - 06:43 AM.

[GeN1e]

Mostly I would like to add new quests, dialogues and NPC's.

While you don't really need a lot of 'technical' experience (and if you do then often live assistance may be found on boards), it's a 'design' type that you may be needing. If you want to add one or more big quest (at least as big as stronghold ones) and a couple of NPCs, with all of that fitting well into the game and not looking too TDDish, then it may take a good time to think it all up and write it all down. My point is, if you have little experience designing new content then don't try to make a large mod right from the start. Instead it would be better to make something small first, then expand it into a larger project.

Edited by GeN1e, 25 November 2008 - 10:20 AM.

[Icendoan]

Make a small item upgrade type mod, and perhaps a new shop, and learn to implement that and keep building up.

Icen

[neostalker]

Yeah, it's something like that I have in mind for first project, something small.
But I had rather thought of something like a dialogue that has some consequences.

Question: Is it hard to design entirely new areas? Is there any toolset for that or do you have to draw each building by hand?

Edited by neostalker, 11 December 2008 - 03:47 PM.

[Icendoan]

Well, there are various tools used for building the Area maps, yes, you have 3 per area, but generally, it is regarded as one of the harder things to do in modding.

Try starting small and making some item BAMs and so on.

Icen

[Irbis]

Try starting small and making some item BAMs and so on.

translation: go get PhotoShop, BAMWorkshop or/and ImageConverter


generaly i would advice you to specialise. yea i know that in modding comunity are well known "one-man-armies" but they are like that becuz of the "need" not personal choice. IE modding have many diffrent aspects and if you would become "good" in even one of them things are geting much easer. teamplay and modteams are the keys. thanks to teamwork the amount of time needed to create a mod shrinks and becomes less stressful. this way one person can take care of the codding when the other creates graphics for the mod, when somebody else writes dialogies.

oh and STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM OLD TUTS!!! the way they are writen made me stay away from modding for last 8 years because how scary and complex they've sounds!
oh and i would advice you to look up for a ""tutor" instead of "tutorial". theres lots of very helpful modders around here. just be nice and polite, and dont expect that after a while you'll make ToB v.2 =)

Edited by Irbis, 11 December 2008 - 04:34 PM.

[neostalker]

Okay. I have no problem with the idea of concentrating on one specific area.

Actually, I don't have an artistic vein at all when it comes to graphic design, was just curious. I'm mostly good at writing (not code), and making up stuff that could happen in a certain scenario. That's also what interests me most. Dialogues, interactions, choices and consequences. Not how powerful your sword is or anything like that.

[GeN1e]

Actually, I don't have an artistic vein at all when it comes to graphic design, was just curious.

Then I strongly advise against making an area with new graphics. Not to mention you'll get to deal with encoding your graphics (and that's a pain in itself for a large map). Cuv have mentioned 'a year' when I asked how much it may take to create a new area.

[Kaeloree]

Actually, area creation isn't all that difficult in itself--it's creating the graphics for an area that's the hard part. A new area can be put in game within a day or two if you have the graphics prepared.

[Irbis]

Neostalker, just get PhotoShop 6.0 or 7.0.
no one expect from oyu to create new Monalisea or something. but tweaking existing images isnt that hard to learn. if you aim to create a whole NEW graphics... well, thats high caliber for mer O.o but the whole IE based games provides you with all the part-elements you need, all kinds of doors, floors, chests, misc and so. i am a PhotoShop newbie but i can create something like this:
the only thing ive "borrowed" from IE was that guy. on the other hand ive made this using IWD2 hand, pieace of dragon breath from around the web and my pre-made frame+BG

[GeN1e]

He's your responsibility then, guys

Still, I'd go with already existing graphics, maybe a few tweaks at most.

[neostalker]

He's your responsibility then, guys

Still, I'd go with already existing graphics, maybe a few tweaks at most.

That's what I'm going to do actually.
I will focus on dialogue, character interaction and quests.

But it's good to know all this if I want to implement some graphics in the far future. I was merely curious though.

Edited by neostalker, 12 December 2008 - 03:15 AM.