9 réponses à ce sujet

[Rexiselic]

I have been trying to figure out how to use the toolset by reading tutorials and relevant informaion (mostly found http://social.biowar...wiki/datoolset/) but so far I have failed to wrap my head around even the basics.

I have no idea what to do beyond making a module, not even sure I am certain what a module is, or how to open the offical single player campaign to tinker around with and learn how it was made.

The world editor from warcraft 3 is the only thing which is similar that I have experience with, but it is not on the same level as this.

Could anyone give me some advice to help out a newbie or direct me to a tutorial for dummies or something?

In the long run, what I would like to do is make a campaign based in Orzammar and a machinima which I am guessing will involve using cutscenes.

So, ahead of time, thanks for any and all help!

[Rexiselic]

Okay, I think I have discovered my problem. I keep reading overviews which, while informative, just aren't really managing to find their way into my thick skull. I need tutorials that are step by step instructons on how to do things.

Do such things exist? Or am I looking for something that is not there?

And if they don't, then where did all of you wonderful people learn how to use the toolset? Did you just start tinkering with it on a trial and error basis?

That was how I learned to use the world editor, but it was tweleve hours before I figured out how to use triggers properly and even then it was another few hundred hours before I successfully made a single senario with (mostly) working triggers and cutscenes.

I think, for now, I should set aside my wild dreams of creating anything that resembles "cool" and merely try to figure out how I can even view things and... do the simplest of things! I still can't figure out how to create terrain and areas or anything let alone dream of placing characters in them.

Maybe I am thinking in the wrong terms? I don't know. I am so confused.

[errant_knight]

I think you're probably starting too big. Start with making items and getting them into the game without any errors or weirdness, then maybe try something like adding an enemy creature to an existing location, making a level and area for later use, or adding a cutscene. There are a lot of good tutorials for these things at the DA builder wiki, but it will be a lot easier to figure out your errors and learn from them if you keep it simple at first. Once you've worked out the kinks in the pieces, you can put them together for a larger whole.

[Obadiah]

I used the YouTube videos when I was trying to figure out the DA toolset. Here's one set I just found (can't remember if this is the one I used):
http://www.youtube.c.../18/DKJ7F14n8o8

You can probably just look for Dragon Age Tutorial in the YouTube search and find some others as well.

Modifié par Obadiah, 21 avril 2011 - 04:32 .

[BloodsongVengeance]

heyas;

did you go to the tutorials page on the wiki?
http://social.biowar...x.php/Tutorials

once you read through the overviews, start with the area tutorial, and work your way through the list. it is very basic and not 'war and peace,' but you will go through the steps of 'creating stuff' in the toolset.

that's how i started out, anyway.

machinima is fairly easy, all you have to do is work in the cutscene editor. making an entire game/module/campaign/story is more involved. definitely! its.... well, its like making the game. ;D


here's some tips for beginners... that i can recall.

a module is like a workspace for stuff you are doing. NOTE: you can create as many modules as you want, but you can't delete them. so make ONE module for tutorials/testing/scratch space, so you don't clutter up your module list with tons of similar junk. (well, you can if you want, but that's my advice.)

you can't edit stuff in the single player game directly in the single player game. you can switch to that module (under manage modules) but anything you try to open will say editing not allowed in a big red bar across the top, or whatever. if you want to just LOOK at something, right click it and select 'open local copy.' that will just be a yellow bar and say changes are all going to be lost after you close it. but at least it will let you tinker with stuff.

creating a LEVEL is different from creating an AREA. the level is actually the complicated, from scratch, low-level, terrain/rooms/walls and lighting build. that has its own editor. an area, on the other hand, is simply made from a level. you can use the levels from the main game, but you have to download them from here:
http://social.biowar...m/project/1331/

the wiki also has a handy list of which of those things are what. so, for example, say you wanted to make a machinima of oghren walking down the streets of orzammar. you'd just create a new area (in your own module), load the orzammar level from that list, and you'd have your stage.

you can also snag oghren from the SP campaign by just duplicating him over to your own module. check my signature links, a couple of my tutorials explain how that works. (maybe i'll make it a tutorial on its own....) most basic critters will already be available in the palette for you. like monsters and animals and such.

[Rexiselic]

Awesome, thank you guys.

Now I must spend some time reading, watching videos, and trying to figure things out.

P.S

I think you're probably starting too big.

Nah, I have big plans for the future, but figuring out the basics is exactly what I am focusing on at the moment.

[Ottemis]

Yes.. the level editor lets you create a level, either outdoor or indoor, from scratch.
The level editor is intended to build up terrain, all static items and their lighting.
This is done to reduce loadtime. So anything that can't 'move'.
Think non-interacteable props, walls, buildings, doors that won't open, chests that aren't interactable, but also the VFX. So the flame animation belonging to a candle, falling tree-leaves, smoke from chimneys and so on.

Aside from that you build up level lighting and character lighting in the level editor, you also build pathfinding (the walkable path) and logicly you build collision to make sure that all works without risk of walking through walls etc.
For outdoor levels you also set wind-direction and sunlight/moonlight and you select a skybox.
I'm sure i'm missing stuff but it should give you the general idea i reckon.
Once you have a level completed you can open it in the area editor.

The area editor starts with a level you select, in which you can then add everything that's interactive. Area-transitions, doors that simply open and close, creatures, npc's etc etc. You also add waypoints for travel and startpoints.
After you export an area you can tell your module that that area is the 'startingarea' for your module and specify a startpoint. When you then export the module, you can test it out ingame.

Personally I'd go look for some tutorials on those editors first and getting your module to load ingame. It's helped me tons to find my way around the toolset.

For help placing models look up the model reference pages that are floating around the wiki (some links below).
They'll help as the naming of the models is quite vague and as you can't preview anything bar from placing them all, its a good thing to have on hand. Next to that DATool is nice to download as it'll let you browse through the models aswell. There are also some lists floating around that categorize the names of models under certain headers, which makes it easier to find certain stuff aswell.

I know this all sounds quite vague still, but when you start looking at some level-creation tutorials and area tutorials, it should fall into place.

Some usefull links:
Level_Editor_Tutorial
Vegetation_list
Model_list
Area_tutorial
Area_layouts

Video tutorials:
http://www.youtube.c.../18/M_4SgkiYUsw
http://www.fileplanet.com/208121/200000/fileinfo/SilentCid's-Video-Tutorial-Version-2-Part-1

Modifié par Ottemis, 22 avril 2011 - 01:07 .

[Rexiselic]

Okay, so I am beginning to get the hang of some VERY simple things.

However, one issue I am having is with camera control. I'm following the instructions of a demonstration video and in it he seems to be controlling the view with his mouse.

Unforunately, when I attempted to mimic this, nothing happened. I have found that the only way I can move the camera is with the numpad. I am able to track, yaw, and pitch the camera using the numbers on the numpad other than 5.

Again, unforunately, 5 reorients the camera and moving the camera is very slow. I accidentally press 5 constantly.

Does anyone know how I can set the camera to respond from mouse control or to increase the sensitivity of camera movement?

[Yara C.]

You have toggled on '3-Axis-Movement' in the toolbar and can control the camera movement only with the numpad? Interesting.
Under menu 'Tools' - 'Options' you can check the mouse control style which should be afaik by default NWN Toolset. In the section 'camera' you can adjust other parameters, i.e. zoom speed.
But I have no real idea how to activate the numpad for the camera control or deactivate as well.

BTW here is a cutscene social group list

Modifié par Yara Cousland, 22 avril 2011 - 03:02 .

[Obadiah]

I think in the level editor, you have to press the mouse wheel (like a button) and Alt to get the rotation.