NWN2 TUTORIALS

NWN2 TOOLSET HOWTO - CREATING A MODULE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What is a Module?
  
• Loading a Module
  
• Areas, Conversations, and Scripts
  
• Making Your First Area
  
• Placing a Start Location
  
• Exploring Your Module
  
• Conclusion

  WHAT IS A MODULE?

  Modules (.mod files) contain all the elements of a complete Neverwinter Nights 2 adventure. A module with one area is the most basic playable adventure, with a typical short adventure being a module of several areas and events. A truly epic adventure (such as the official NWN2 campaign) links several modules together.
  To create a new module, simply open the toolset. When it first loads it should look like the screen below. A new, empty module is now ready to be made.

  LOADING A MODULE

  Should you wish to continue working on an existing module, you can open your saved module through the Dropdown Menu: File  Open.
  This Open function brings up a window where you can browse your computer for the module. The default directory is the Modules directory in your Neverwinter Nights 2 game folder. Files with a .mod extension are valid module files.

  AREAS, CONVERSATIONS, AND SCRIPTS

  The three main components of a module are Areas, Conversations, and Scripts.
  
  Areas are the playable levels of the module. A playable module needs at least one area, and multiple areas can be packaged into one module. Areas contain a walkable region populated with creatures, placeables (the NWN2 term for stationary objects), and a host of other gameplay objects. An area could be a tavern, a cave, a forest of goblins, a farm, or whatever your imagination would like. It�s important to note that an entire area loads all at once and moving between areas requires a load. If an area is too large, loading it may take forever and the area might run more slowly during play. Conversely, many small areas mean frequent trips to the loading screen. For your first areas, you should err on the side of making them small.

  Areas can either be exterior or interior � it is not possible to have an area flagged as both, though you can have an exterior area (a town) that contains several doors in to interior areas (the shops and houses of the town). Conversations are interactions that are created with the Dialogue Editor. They contain the text and special conditions of a speech, debate, staredown, or any other talking event in the adventure. Conversations are used whenever you�d like to give players a means for talking to someone.

  At its heart, a conversation is any sort of branching menu, so a conversation doesn�t necessarily have to be two people talking � if you want a player to encounter a panel with three switches, a conversation with three responses is an effective way to present the player with the situation.

  Conversations are extremely powerful tools and are covered in later HowTos. For now, just remember that conversations are saved in a module, so any conversation can be used across all areas packaged into one module.

  Scripts are text files containing lines of code (written in the game�s C-based programming language) that choreograph special actions and events above and beyond the game�s regular set of actions. A troll placed in a cave knows how to attack adventurers without you giving it any pointers or instructions. If you want the troll to always run away from dwarves, or if you�d like reinforcements to appear when it dies, scripts can let you make those things happen.

  With scripting, nearly any sort of custom event, behavior, or cut scene can be crafted by a dedicated designer. However, scripting is a pretty advanced topic so for now just know that custom scripts are saved as part of a module, and can thus be used across all areas packaged into one module.

  MAKING YOUR FIRST AREA

  A module needs at least one area to be playable. To create your first area, use the Dropdown Menus and select File  New  Area.
  Once you�ve selected to create a new area from the dropdown menu, the New Area Wizard window appears. Enter a name for your area as the area�s tag (in the above example, the new area will be the area outside of Pitney Lannon�s house so the name �Lannon House Exterior� is used).
  
  Tags are used by the toolset and game to identify many different types of things, from areas to creatures to items. Tags do not need to be unique.

  Next, select type of area you wish to make (to continue the above example, this will be Pitney�s property, not the inside of his house, so we�ll choose exterior). Press �Next� when you�ve entered the area tag and selected the desired area type. These cannot be changed once the area is created.

  Now the New Area Wizard asks for your desired area size. You can either select a pre-defined square sized from Tiny (about the size of a small home or garden) to Giant (a sprawling city or expansive forest) or you can create a rectangle of varying length and width by adjusting the sliders. Press the �Finish� button when you have the desired size. We�ll keep it simple for this example and stick with a small area.
  
  Once you�ve selected the area size, you�ve made a new area! You will see a blank area in your toolset!

  PLACING A START LOCATION

  With an area in play, all you need is a start location and your module will be playable (albeit slightly lacking in epic content). The start location lets the game know where to place the player characters when they enter the module. Multiple areas can be included in a module, the Start Location can be in any one of those areas (not necessarily the first one you made). There can only be one Start Location per module, so if one is already present in any area, placing a new Start Location erases the old one.

  To place a start location, click on the �Set Start Location� text on the action bar running across the top of the screen. It�s next to a red circle with an arrow in it, so it should stand out from the other buttons. Once you�ve clicked it, you can now click anywhere in the terrain to place the Start Location. When placed, it appears as a red compass.

  EXPLORING YOUR MODULE

  While it may not look like much, an area with a start location is all you need to have a playable adventure. If you�d like to explore the area you�ve made, you�ll need to save your module and then load the game and play your module as if it were any other adventure.

  To save your module, simply save from the Dropdown Menu: File  Save As. Alternately, Ctrl+S also saves. Give your module a name and click �Save� and you�re ready to go! Start by launching your Neverwinter Nights 2 client.

  Select a �New Game� followed by �New Module.� Look at the list of modules and you should see yours. Select it from the list and press �Start Module.� Select a character (or make one if you wish) and you�re ready to walk around your level!

  Hey� that blank exterior sure looks familiar� As you build your module, you can give your adventure a practice test by placing the start location near an area of interest, saving your game, playing the module in the game, and seeing what happens!

  One thing to keep in mind if you are going to test out your level in the game: save games include module information. So if you save your game while playing your module, changing the module won�t have an effect on your save game. To get a sense of the latest changes to your module, you should fire it up as a new module instead of loading a save game.

  CONCLUSION

  That concludes the basic info on getting your module started. You�re well on your way to creating your own single-session adventures or epic sagas. Now that you�ve completed this HowTo, you should know:
  
  • How to create a new module (it�s as simple as opening the toolset).
    
  • The general purposes of areas, conversations, and scripts.
    
  • How to create a new area.
    
  • How to place a Start Location.
    
  • How to save your module and test it out in the game.