Um...I've stuffed up, haven't I?

[pancakewizard]

For some reason I remembered Weidu as a tool mainly for dialogue alteration. I've been happily making copies of CRE files I've altered via DLTCEP and piling them up in /override with the intention of packaging them all into a mod via Weidu when I've finished (basically misunderstanding what it's for, I'm sure).

 

Now I have a horrible feeling I was supposed to be doing all the modding via Weidu COPY_EXISTING and scripting.

 

Am I going to have to go through what I've done so far again using the long way (weidu scripting for everything), or am I going to be able to reverse engineer this later and carry on as normal? I suspect the former.

 

The only reason I'm reluctant is because it makes testing a bit of a bitch as far as I can tell. Copying an existing file into override, messing with it via DLTCEP, then loading a game up and using CLUA to test things is really simple. If I'm building everything via Weidu that means a lot of typing out in advance and hoping it all pays off unless I want to do a lot of compiling/decompiling every time right?

 

What am I missing here?

[subtledoctor]

No, you're fine. Do what you're doing first. Get all your .cre, .spl. and .itm files (etc.) set the way you like. But realize, if you've been working in the BGEE override folder, and you transfer them to BG2EE or IWDEE, the string references will all be wrong.

 

SO: don't do any writing at all inside NI or DLTCEP. When you're finished with the technical modifications to the .cre/.itm/.spl files, simply dump them into a folder in your mod folder, and THEN write Weidu code to copy them into the game. As you write COPY commands for each file, pair it with SAY commands to have Weidu assign or create the proper strings when it is installed.

 

Easy-peasy.

[lynx]

Your approach mostly works, but is incompatible with other mods. Results will vary depending on the install order. It's fine for completely new items, creatures etc.

 

you can look at the "ie diff" thread from a few days ago to see how to find out what changes you did.

[critto]

I would advice you to get yourself up to speed with the basics of patching files via WeiDU if you are modifying lots of existing in-game files.

 

I am now facing a task of reverse-engineering a lot of legacy files that were prepared a long time ago via GUI tools and then simply copied into override during installation, and it doesn't look like a particularly fun thing to do.

 

It'll save you a lot of trouble later on if you do things correctly right from the start. That is, if the question of compatibility is important for you and your mod.

 

 

 

If I'm building everything via Weidu that means a lot of typing out in advance and hoping it all pays off unless I want to do a lot of compiling/decompiling every time right?

It depends. If you're making lots of brand new stuff, you're free to work the way you like keeping in mind what subtledoctor said about string references. If you're applying changes to existing files, they are probably not as extensive and can be accomplished with rather straightforward patches like applying correct values at the appropriate offsets and using built-in functions like cre_add_item. With practice, you'll find that this is much easier than messing around in a GUI, especially if the change is small and needs to be tested fast.

[subtledoctor]

Working in the GUI programs is definitely much more tedious... but I think, for mod #1, it's an important step in the learning curve. You have to *see* what your items look like before you can start editing/creating them with patching code.

 

For v2 of mod #1 you can convert the whole thing to Weidu patching. (So, maybe make mod #1 on the small side.). Then for mod #2 you'll know what you're doing from the get-go, and it can be your masterpiece.

 

(Or, if you're like me, you'll keep hacking away and hacking away, and then mod #14 can be your masterpiece.)

[lynx]

btw, dltcep has some basic weidu export functionality, but I have never tried it, nor did it ever seem to get updated.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Working in the GUI programs is definitely much more tedious...

Well to a dozens and dozens of files yeah, it can get dull. But if you do it to a few, you can do amazing stuff without a need to learn really anything new. As the GUI will tell you a lot of the things that are needed.

It's definitely easier place to start. Yes, the weidu can do a lot of stuff but it's a step wall to get up to start with.

[pancakewizard]

Thanks for all the support guys. So currently, my override folder looks like this

 

(No idea where that MOS file is from).

 

subtledoctor, are you saying that I can carry on this way (as long as I'm not using this method to alter the dialogue or scripts), and I can get it to just copy the changes later? All I've done so far is class, stat and inventory changes to companions.

[Jarno Mikkola]

subtledoctor, are you saying that I can carry on this way (as long as I'm not using this method to alter the dialogue or scripts), and I can get it to just copy the changes later? All I've done so far is class, stat and inventory changes to companions.

Well, he meant that if you want to allow other people to install your mod, you can keep those files at first, in your override folder, then when you wish to make a mod out of them, you can copy them to the mod folders subfolder (say: pancakewizardsfirstmod/files), make an easy installer for the files(in the sub-folder) via as a .tp2 file(which is just a renamed "new text document.txt" as a "setup-pancakewizardsfirstmod.tp2"):

BACKUP ~pancakewizardsfirstmod/backup~
AUTHOR ~You~
VERSION ~v0.1~

BEGIN ~your first component name~

COPY ~pancakewizardsfirstmod/files~ ~override~

And finally the installer file is just any of the other mods setup-modname.exe files, just renamed so the "modname" is the "pancakewizardsfirstmod" or what ever you end up calling it.

Then you get the fun job of learning how to make the changes via a patches to make it fully compatible without overwriting other changes in weidu and then you can make your own game ... --- well.

[pancakewizard]

Got it, thanks!