ANyone here ever make custom content for Neverwinter Nights?

[AFGNCAAP]

Hello.

I'm interested in creating a few new PC races (different sorts of elves & dwarves, a winged race, etc.), as well as some new weapons (like the sunblade), for Neverwinter Nights. I have the Custom Content v3.0 .pdf, as well as a couple of programs & whatnot. However, I'm still somewhat lost when it comes to how you create these items.

I have NWN all the way up to HotU,and the most recent version of the Community Expansion Project .haks. I've tried to find some of the CEP files to look at & see if I could work my way backwards on how the stuff was made, but to no avail.

Modeling isn't really a concern for the stuff I'm trying to make--in fact, all that I want to do is use existing models for some of the new races & items. Basically, I want to change some of the more hard-set info (stat mods & beginnign feats for some races, weapon damages, crits, & apperances for some items).

I'd appreciate any help/info/advice that you could provide.

 

[LightPhoenix]

You might do better asking on the Custom Content forums at Bioware's site, it's quite active and everyone is really quick to help.

Races are one of the few parts of NWN that are pretty difficult to create, since much is hard-coded. There are a couple of ways though.

There's a utility put out by a group called CODI called Character Creator. It will read custom entries in the races.2da file, and when run will create a non-standard race character. It's a bit of a kludge, and involves using an outside program to create your character, but it also requires the least scripting, only requiring 2da file changes.

The other way that comes to mind is to write a script and put it in the module's OnEnter event, that detects what's put in the sub-race category and then attaches an "armor", actually a creature hide, to the player's creature hide equipment slot, not normally accessable by the player. Using the dynamic item properties in HotU you could assign all sorts of things to it.

I'm not sure off hand if there's a way to assign something to the wing node of a PC... for example, for use for the Avariel. You could assign a visual effect, and convert one of the wing models. Also, I think DLA did their dynamic quivers by replacing the neck node of the PC when you equip a bow or arrows... I'm not sure how they did that though. You'd have to look into that.

The Sunblade wouldn't be all too tricky, though parts would be. Specifically the usage as a bastard sword/short sword. You'd probably have to decide on it being one or the other. I personally would choose Short Sword and then import a bastard sword animation (you could use one of Bioware's) as a short sword. Then just make the weapon in the toolset... everything else is pretty easy to script, if it can't be simply added to the item as a property.