BGII Creature creation info, please

[ericp07]

Short version: delete the program "Setup-Kelsey".

Long version: (sorry, I tried writing this but it quickly turned into a morass. I'll just list the events that caused it.)

1) Install-mod was written to convert Windows-only mods, not install Mac mods.

2) Weidu-mac v.203 has a broken auto-update feature.

3) You downloaded OSX-Kelsey with weidu-mac v.203.

 

There are new versions of all of these that fix the problem.

 

I see. I was unaware of that bit about Install-mod. I use it to install all mods, but maybe that's not necessary, and maybe that explains some of the errors that come up during the installation of some mods.

 

I'll check PPG for an updated release of Kelsey.

 

Thanks,

Eric

[ericp07]

Well, I deleted Setup-Kelsey and Setup-KelseyTOB, then ran Install-mod again to try to install Beast of Malar. Got fatal parsing errors, and a message that said dialog.tlk could not be found

 

Then, I copied all items (the MAB folder, the .command file, and the .tp2 file) into the BGII directory, and tried running the .tp2 from the command line, instead of using Install-mod. Same failures.

 

Just to check with a different mod, I ran Install-mod to try to install shae`lina (this worked before), but I got a line that showed the name of that mod, and "pid" with a number.

 

Something is clearly very wrong with WeiDU, and at this point I can't install any mods at all. How can I solve this problem?

 

Thanks,

Eric

[ericp07]

Both the Beast of Malar and shae`lina Hawkwind mods still fail to install when I try to install them, but I don't know how to fix them...

 

I found some errors in file paths in the shaelina mod's .tp2, and corrected them. Again, tried to install using Install-mod.sh, and again got a line that said "pid" and a number, with the cursor just blinking away at the end of the line.

 

I copied the contents of the shaelina folder to the BGII directory, then entered "./weidu-mac Setup-shaelina.tp2" from the command line. Here's what happened:

 

Install Component [shae`lina Hawkwind]?

nstall, or [N]ot Install or [Q]uit? i

 

Installing [shae`lina Hawkwind]

Copying and patching 1 file ...

Compiling 1 dialogue file ...

[./DATA/DEFAULT.BIF] 5847739 bytes, 444 files, 0 tilesets

Processing 1 dialogues/scripts ...

Adding EP#SHAE to internal list of available DLGs

Adding EP#SHAEP to internal list of available DLGs

[EP#SHAEP.DLG] saved 2 states, 4 trans, 2 strig, 0 ttrig, 3 actions

[EP#SHAE.DLG] saved 5 states, 11 trans, 1 strig, 2 ttrig, 3 actions

Compiling 1 dialogue file ...

 

[shaelina/dialogues/EP#shaeB.d] PARSE ERROR at line 13 column 7-11

Near Text: Minsc

syntax error

 

[shaelina/dialogues/EP#shaeB.d] ERROR at line 13 column 7-11

Near Text: Minsc

Parsing.Parse_error

ERROR: parsing [shaelina/dialogues/EP#shaeB.d]: Parsing.Parse_error

ERROR: compiling [shaelina/dialogues/EP#shaeB.d]!

Stopping installation because of error.

 

The line on which the error happened (line 13) in EP#shaeB.d reads:

 

~Minsc, how are you?~

 

It's part of a CHAIN for dialog between shae`lina and Minsc. I created the file following an on-line tutorial, so I'm surprised to see an error there.

 

Is anyone willing and able to help me solve this problem? Looks like a bit of progress with the install process, but still some choking is happening. It appears the fault lies not in Weidu, but in some of my files.

 

Thanks,

Eric

[Icendoan]

Could you post the TP2 as I am lazy.

 

AFAIK, in the documentation, there is no way of making it undroppable. What you could do is make one undroppable using NI or DLTCEP, then use the ADD_CRE_ITEM command.

 

Just checking (I want the person who originally wrote the tabs feature to be given the Nobel prize...) Aha, here we go;

 ACTION_IF FILE_EXISTS_IN_GAME ~EP#MABC.cre~ THEN BEGIN

COPY_EXISTING ~EP#MABC~ ~override/EP#MABC.cre~
 ADD_CRE_ITEM ~ring31.itm~ #0 #0 #0 ~unstealable~ ~undroppable~ ~RRING LRING~ //simply by adding another clause-thingy (i'm new to modding :) ) we can make it both unstealable and undroppable 
END
END

I would like the acknowledgement

[devSin]

flags are a single field -- you'd want "unstealable&undroppable" (blame japh for that bit of ugliness)

 

in general, it's not necessary to worry about "unstealable" if you have "undroppable"

 

line that said "pid" and a number, with the cursor just blinking away at the end of the line -> upgrade to WeiDU 204; this doesn't occur when you run weidu-mac because WeiDU only tries to update Setup-* executables when it's run named Setup- (e.g., if you rename weidu-mac to Setup-ericp07, it'll try to auto-update all other WeiDU executables with versions less than its own)

[ericp07]

Now, I've made sure that I have WeiDU 204. I ran the installer, just to be on the safe side, and told it to update all mods to 204. It showed me the list of installed mods, and only two were at v203, so I told the updater to do them. Good so far, except it failed to install Zyraen's miscellany mod, stating that it couldn't find CHITIN.KEY in my BGII directory. That's funny, I have Chitin.key right there. Is this an issue of case-sensitivity? Doing a Get Info on the file reveals that it can be opened with the BGII game app, as it should be, so I don't see the problem.

 

I went ahead and tried using Install-mod.sh to install my Beast of Malar mod, and got the same error about CHITIN.KEY.

 

I'm sure that, if I restore the pristine version of this file, I'll have to also restore all other critical files, then reinstall every mod, one by one. I hope to avoid that, if possible

 

Any additional guidance will be most welcome! This really has me stumped.

 

Thanks,

Eric

[devSin]

Nothing to do with case. Unfortunately, I don't have experience with the Install-mod script (and really, you shouldn't ever have to use it for most modern mods) nor with Loriel's installer (although it wouldn't be causing your issues).

 

Make sure Setup-whatever is in the BG2 - SoA directory (not in a subfolder), and just try running cd /BG2\ \-\ SoA and then ./Setup-whatever

 

Now that bigg wants to maintain all the versions, I may egg him to remove the .command installer (the archive is already too large with the sox and tispack crap and already too different than the other archives).

[ericp07]

Nothing to do with case. Unfortunately, I don't have experience with the Install-mod script (and really, you shouldn't ever have to use it for most modern mods) nor with Loriel's installer (although it wouldn't be causing your issues).

 

Make sure Setup-whatever is in the BG2 - SoA directory (not in a subfolder), and just try running cd /BG2\ \-\ SoA and then ./Setup-whatever

 

Now that bigg wants to maintain all the versions, I may egg him to remove the .command installer (the archive is already too large with the sox and tispack crap and already too different than the other archives).

 

Bad habit on my part to always go to Install-mod, I'll admit. Its purpose is to install mods that were originally written for Windows (and include a .exe file). In the case of such a mod, a Mac OS X user must copy weidu-mac to the mod's extracted folder (after placing that folder in the BGII directory), rename it with the .command suffix, and then run Install-mod, dragging and dropping the mod's folder onto the Terminal window so the installer can do its work.

 

Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of the idea that this shouldn't be necessary with mods that are written for (or ported to) OS X. So, based on what you said above, I'm guessing that installing a "for OS X" mod involves first dropping the files that are inside the mod's folder into my BGII directory, and going from there. I'll give that a try with the two mods I'm working on first.

 

As for the .command file itself, the reason I've always gotten failures in the Terminal when double-clicking that kind of file might be that I was doing so with all the files still inside the mod folder, and not at the BGII directory level.

 

My concern now is that, if I have to place all those files in the BGII directory to install mods, that directory's gonna end up with LOTs more files in it than it has now. As it is, I see a great many aliases in there, as well as .tp2 files, from each mod I've installed.

 

Now to test this correct install procedure, and see what happens.

 

Thanks,

Eric

[ericp07]

Still no joy, even with WeiDU 204, as every attempt to install any mod now results in an error that claims Chitin.key could not be found. The file is indeed in my BGII directory, so I don't get this at all. How can I solve this one?

 

Thanks,

Eric

[ericp07]

Sorry for getting side-tracked in this thread with the install issues. I've broken that discussion out to its own thread, so I can keep this one on-topic

 

- E

[ericp07]

Progress on Beast_of_Malar mod:

 

Beast of Malar is shaping up nicely! After successfully installing the mod (yay!), I went back into NI, and found how to set the flag for the creature's rings to be undroppable. When the creature is slain, it no longer shows a lootable ring on the corpse

 

I saw that I'd changed the Override Script, and that's why the creature wouldn't do anything after I created it in-game via CLUAConsole, so I changed that back to WTASIGHT, and now it attacks as it should.

 

Something I find odd is that, in the running text during battle, the creature's name displays, but no action is described, whereas the characters' actions are all described as normal (attacking, how much damage, etc.). How do I correct this, so that the text shows that the creature is attacking, who it attacks, and how much damage it does? This will show me whether or not the creature is using both claw and bite attacks.

 

I still need to learn how to set a timer, so that the creature will first appear as the hunting panther, then change to the claw slayer after about five seconds of real time.

 

I use the panther, colored black, as the animation. I'd dearly like to have a customized version of this, so that the beast's claws, face, and shoulders have a blood-spattered appearance, as that's the creature's proper appearance in all forms. I realize that this is a daunting task, and well beyond my current experience, so it can wait...unless someone else would be willing to do it for credit

 

Nice to have positive things to report here!

 

Happy modding,

Eric