Sunjammer's Visual Effects Browser 23 Dec 2008
v1.01
Sunjammer's Visual Effects Browser is an evolution of its NWN1 predecessor (Sunjammer's VFX Browser) but has been completely rewritten to take advantages of new functionality and to overcome new challenges.
The Browser enables users to view any AOE or VFX effects in game and allows them to filter these effects by type (for example, to view all Beam effects) or by any user-defined keyword (for example, to view all Acid effects). The Browser again offers potential future-proofing and will automatically include additions to the vfx_persistent.2da and visualeffects.2da files. This means that provided the data is reliable you won't have to wait for an update when Mask of the Betrayer is released: you can start browsing all the new effects immediately. It will also automatically pick up resources from the Override directory and could be adapted to work with a campaign folder or a hak pack.
Please note that despite my best efforts and a lot of validation checks it has not been possible to eliminate all invalid or incomplete effects from the NWN1/NWN2 hybrid data. Faced with this situation I thought it better to leave in a few invalid/incomplete effects in, and hope OEI fixes the data in a future patch, than to hard code exceptions that might subsequently require the Browser to be updated. Beam effects are an example of this issue as all of the NWN1 silent versions appear to be valid but do not actually display anything.
Updates
Version 1.01 the Visual Effects Browser can now display all the core SEF files (i.e. those found in the NWN_VFX_* zip files). Users can browse these effects using a portion of the file name, by package (NWN2, NX1, NX2) or using a portion of the category (the sub-directory structure used to organise the files).
Unfortunately as this feature currently relies on a custom 2DA file it will not automatically update itself. I hope to release a standalone application in due course that will allow users to create and maintain their own version of the 2DA file, however in the meantime I'll update and upload a new version of the 2DA file any time new SEF files are added.
Getting Started
Download Sunjammers_Visual_Effects_Browser_v1.01.zip and unzip it into the My Documents\Neverwinter Nights 2\Modules\ directory. Start NWN2; open Sunjammer's Visual Effects Browser and click on the Browser Menu button or placeable to start searching for your favourite effects.
Further Information
There are some brief but, hopefully, informative notes in the header section of the browser_inc script. Even if you are not a scripter it's worth taking a peek at them if you need a little extra guidance.
Alternatively you have any questions, suggestions or constructive comments in the meantime please let me know here, on the NWN2 Forums, or via my website.
Posted by Nihlar at 2009-09-22 12:19:33 Voted 7.00 on 09/22/09
Not really a module but I've really had much use of this testing out different vfx's. So Very Good, Deserves a Look
Thank you for sharing it with us _________________________ ZORK - Rediscovering the Great Underground Empire
a re-make of the classic ZORK I, for Neverwinter Nights 2 Amraphael's House of Curious Things
My NWN2-blog
_________________________
If you download it, vote for it!
No new effects in NWN2 v1.22.1587 so no changes to the SEF 2da file. _________________________ Sunjammer
Code Monkey
Posted by Robin of Spiritwood at 2008-10-06 20:40:55 Voted 10.00 on 10/06/08
Works perfectly, needs no explanation, microscopic download, and very very useful. Couldn't be better.
Posted by Melirinda at 2008-05-19 12:41:36 Voted 10.00 on 05/19/08
Almost every time I need to do something in my mod, I run into how incomplete and unprepared to give user the needed tools the Toolset really is. And I thank the modding gods that I took my time before starting to mod because the tools like that were provided by the community. WHat can I say? The must have. I have a habit of coming back with the bugs, so consider yourself warned :) _________________________ Joinable NPCs in IWD2. I'm *not* kidding!
Posted by E.C.Patterson at 2008-04-10 12:38:37 Voted 8.25 on 07/08/07
My thought? Fantastic idea! I would love to be able to preview all the other SEFs. It would be great to include SEFs from leading community VFX packages as well.
If you need a helping hand in the process (putting lists of SEFs together, beta testing etc.), don't hesitate to PM me. _________________________ E.C.Patterson Gaming Parents Studios
The philosophy behind the Visual Effect Browser (and it's NWN1 counterpart) was that by avoiding hard coding you'd never need to wait for the Browser to be updated after a patch or expansion before being able to browse the new effects. This approach had the added bonus that the Browser could (without any additional scripting) also handle expansion via the override directory or a hak pak.
This worked well in NWN1 unfortunately since OEI don't declare all of their visual effects as effects in the 2das and given the sheer volume of bad data in the 2das it might be time for a slight change.
My current thinking is to create an additional custom 2da that can be downloaded from this page independently of the Browser. This data file that would provide a reference to all the relevant effects files in NWN2, MotB and any new expansions. I would then add a new mode to the Browser that would allow people to browse the effects in that data file. The data file would have to be updated manually but I could also provide instructions and a small utility to enable people to do that for themselves.
If anyone has any thoughts on this feel free to post here or contact me directly. _________________________ Sunjammer
Code Monkey
Posted by Mersozz at 2007-09-15 22:35:30 Voted 9.75 on 09/15/07
Terrific utility....allowed me to find just the right effects to use. Thanks for saving me a ton of work.
Posted by Jau at 2007-09-04 20:39:43 Voted 9.00 on 09/04/07
This is excellent Sunjammer!! A Must have for any builder.
Posted by E.C.Patterson at 2007-08-05 18:58:18 Voted 8.25 on 07/08/07
Hi Sunjammer. Sorry, took me a while to come back.
What I mean are VFX sets like the various light, glow, spell and cone VFXs etc. Maybe you could offer to play VFX by such sets. Those that don't fit a category could fall under Miscellaneous. This would make it possible say to browse without having to see all the VFX_DUR_SPELL* VFXs that have these icons and are thus unuseable for other purposes.
Hope this clears things ups. Thanks again for this very useful app. _________________________ E.C.Patterson Gaming Parents Studios
Some great ideas in there ciViLiZed (thanks for the feedback) however I'm not sure I understand what you meant by subtype in the first suggestion. Could you provide an example? _________________________ Sunjammer
Code Monkey
Posted by E.C.Patterson at 2007-07-08 19:36:12 Voted 8.25 on 07/08/07
Very useful for builders who want to preview VFXs. Thanks for making and sharing.
Here are a few suggestions for later versions:
-Provide break down by subtypes option for some VFX sets where possible. Some lists are just too long to cycle through.
-Add option for automatic cycling, with different delay options. Clicking next gets a little annoying.
-Add random cycling option (with no repeats). For when we�re just looking for a cool effect and are ready to settle for the first one to come along.
-Move Previous and Next closer to one another so we don�t wait that extra sec and a half for the PC to move to the other location.
-If possible, it would be nice to have those creature properties special appearance VFXs in there. If they are already there, sorry: I haven�t gone through all VFXs in the viewer yet.
Posted by Akkei at 2007-07-07 06:20:16 Voted 8.00 on 07/07/07
Very useful utility mod. Recommended to any builder.
Posted by Sir_Elric at 2007-05-27 08:37:27 Voted 10.00 on 05/27/07
Very nice. _________________________ City of Melnibone
ausnwn.dyndns.org:5121
Posted by Ryam_BaCo at 2007-05-18 10:57:17 Voted 7.00 on 05/18/07
thanks for sharing sunjammer! found 3 to 4 nice effects for "a corpse, a vote"! :)
a few little suggestions: would be nice if it could be possible to let the module put some of your favorite effects in some kind of log file. and... when browsing through the effects and launching the effect-conversation everything gets reseted even if i leave the conversation without doing anything. _________________________ A Bet, A Corpse A Corpse, A Vote
10 - A Masterpiece, Genuinely Groundbreaking 9 - Outstanding, a Must Have 8 - Excellent, Recommended to Anyone 7 - Very Good, Deserves a Look 6 - Good, Qualified Recommendation 5 - Fair, Solid yet Unremarkable 4 - Some Merit, Requires Improvements 3 - Poor Execution, Potential Unrealized 2 - Very Little Appeal 1 - Not Recommended to Anyone
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