Download both of these applications and place them somewhere convenient.
First you need to run TlkEdit2.exe. Once it has started, click File->New->tlk.
This will create a new .tlk file. Now you can start entering in your load hints in the right hand panel of the main part of the window. To do this, use the following steps:
1) Double click on the textbox below "String". This will make this textbox larger and allow you to enter in the text for a single load hint.
2) When you are finished, click on the empty white space that has appeared beneath your current entry in order to finish entering text.
3) Double click the new entry in order to open it up and enter in a new load hint.
4) Continue to create new entries (one for each separate load hint) until you have created all the load hints you desire.
Save this tlk file with a name relevant to your mod. Then copy it to your My Documents/Neverwinter Nights 2/tlk directory. (Or simply save it there to start with)
Now you need to open up one of the 2DA files that ships with either the OC or MotB - 2DA.zip or 2DA_X1.zip, respectively. These can be found in your Program Files/Neverwinter Nights 2/Data directory. While it is useful to have the entire content of these files unzipped to a directory, all we really need is the nwn2_tips.2da file - so take a copy of this file (don't mess with the original), and open it up in your favourite text editor.
The first thing we need to do is to reduce the size of the file. If you look at the 2DA file, it should look something like this:
Note there will be a LOT more entries than I've listed here.
Look at TlkEdit2 and look at the number of the last string you've created. Now, add ONE to this number, and that is how many lines you will need in the 2da. This is because in the tlk, numbering starts from 0 and in the 2da, numbering starts from 1. If you've managed to create MORE load hints than there are existing entries, you can simply copy existing lines and increase the numbering to add new lines. However, if you are in that situation, don't do that right now, but read ahead and potentially save yourself a bit of time.
In order to reference our the load hints that are in our custom .tlk file, we need to modify the 2DA file to tell it to look in OUR .tlk file rather than the default tlk file that ships with the game. Fortunately, this is a relatively simple process. Looking at the headings and the fields in the 2DA, we can see that we need to edit the fifth field - which is a number containing a reference to the string we want to display. Simply put, this number tells the game which piece of text to display as a load hint. All we need to do is to work out what number to put down.
In order to do this, switch back into TlkEdit2. If you go to the View Menu and select "Display User StrRef" (or hit Ctrl-U), you'll notice that the numbers in the left hand panel of the main window change from 0, 1, 2 and so on to 16777216, 16777217, 16778218, and so on. These numbers are the ones you need to enter in the string column for the associated load hint.
So if we go back to our 2DA and starting changing things, it should look something like the following:
Just continue down modifying all the strings down until you've reached the end of the load hints you have.
Alternatively, to save you the hassle of modifying the 2da yourself, simply download the nwn2_tips.2da that I've attached to this tutorial and use that. It has lines for a total of 50 load hints, so you can delete (or add) lines as necessary.
Once the 2da is succesfully created, you can incorporate it into a hak pak for your module's release, or simply use it from your override folder while developing. However, you still need to tell the module that it needs to use the tlk file you made earlier. In order to do this, go into the toolset, open up your module's properties, and type in the full name of the tlk file (including the .tlk extension) in the Custom TLK field under the properties window.
When you need to convert it to a hak, run NWN2Packer, create a new hak file, then import the nwn2_tips.2da file into the hak (along with another other 2das you might have modified or any other custom content you're including in your module). Remember to save the .hak file once you are finished, and ensure that you set your module to use that hak file inside the toolset - again go to module properties in order to include it. This opens up a dialog box as opposed to simply letting you type in the name of the hak file, and you'll need to click the ADD button on the bottom of the dialog box in order to be able to select your hak file.
With that, you should have custom load hints in your mod! Enjoy!
For even more information on load hints, check out Jaesun's excellent tutorials - Part 1 and Part 2 for load hints.
Thanks to:
karlhunt & WhoIsEvilTurnip - who posted on the forums with brief information on how to do this.
Jaesun - for convincing me to write this short tutorial
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Posted by Games for Learning at 2010-07-09 19:49:17 Voted 10.00 on 07/09/10
Great info and references... the tutorials from Jaesun were even better for a total NOOB like me.
Thanks! _________________________ Teaching is about having students create their own understanding of the world. Grade One Module Report: Word Doc
Posted by Apep at 2009-08-16 20:41:04 Voted 9.50 on 08/16/09
Also, I'm disappointed at the small number of votes this has received considering how useful it is, vote people! _________________________ AP Magical Miscellanea Package (v1.5, over 750 items): Link
Posted by Apep at 2009-08-16 20:40:17 Voted 9.50 on 08/16/09
This is definitely a must have for PW builders. Custom load hints are a necessity on servers that utilise custom lore in my opinion and this guide is simple and to the point, letting builders add that extra, important touch to their PW. Well done! _________________________ AP Magical Miscellanea Package (v1.5, over 750 items): Link
Posted by Nihlar at 2008-12-17 23:33:27 Voted 9.75 on 12/17/08
Very useful! As Elrahc said. A PDF would give you a 10.0! Let me know if you need help to create one. _________________________ 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
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If you download it, vote for it!
Posted by Elrahc at 2008-10-24 11:25:55 Voted 9.75 on 10/24/08
I'm withholding .25 points - make it a pdf and I'll raise it. ;) Other than that, thanks!!!
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