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[FaerzressSparkles]

Hello Bioware Forum People,

 

I noticed that someone is working on a nice Drow Tileset conversion, so I had this thought.

 

I run a private PW and we have a large Underdark setting. My character from NWN used to love using whips for fun, and he misses them in NWN2. I have done a few creature conversions from NWN to NWN2, but it has been awhile (years) since I did those conversions.

 

I would really like to convert the whip for NWN2 use, as my character is just dying to whip some Mind Flayers and everyone else in Toril into shape. I extracted the model today and was going to try to mess around with it in Blender.

 

My question to you experienced modders out there is, do you think this can this be done?

 

I am expecting that I could use the weapon model and it's animations (NWN models have attached animations... if I remember correctly?), but as for lining it up with a character, a new animation may be necessary or I could try using whatever matches up closely.

[-Semper-]

you can't animate weapons in nwn2. also the animations in vfx files are constantly looped so that also ain't an option. if you want to re-create whips in nwn2 they will be stiff models while being swung. imo it's best to left them out.

[4760]

I just discovered what could be done with .vfx and .sef files, so I'm not sure, but couldn't a whip be simulated with a trailing effect?

[FaerzressSparkles]

you can't animate weapons in nwn2. also the animations in vfx files are constantly looped so that also ain't an option. if you want to re-create whips in nwn2 they will be stiff models while being swung. imo it's best to left them out.

 

How are flails done in NWN2? They seem to be animated by some means, I just tested one to see if I remembered correctly.

[-Semper-]

that's a very good question. guess it's hardcoded into the engine - at least i can't find a file where the animation of the flail is referenced. the .gr2 files are within an unprocessed folder. btw there are also whip animations burried, and even modelled and rigged. there's also a whip as a base item which doesn't appear ingame.

perhaps someone else knows how this part of the engine works.

[FaerzressSparkles]

that's a very good question. guess it's hardcoded into the engine - at least i can't find a file where the animation of the flail is referenced. the .gr2 files are within an unprocessed folder. btw there are also whip animations burried, and even modelled and rigged. there's also a whip as a base item which doesn't appear ingame.

perhaps someone else knows how this part of the engine works.

Are you referring to the Balor Whip? I saw that long ago I think. It appears as a question mark in the toolset, but supposedly works in-game. I never tried it in-game, only viewed it being equipped in the toolset.

[-Semper-]

hmkay, i have to take everything back. technically it's possible to animate a weapon. as a test i deleted the unprocessed folder and the flail was stiff as a stick. dunno why they named it unprocessed but the engine uses those animations. bad news is that this won't help you much because you would have to redo all the pc animations if you want to create a whip. without an animation importer it's nearly impossible to attach the animations together.

 

btw the balor whip was never finished. it will appear in-game but besides the idle animation there are no other ones. well, there are, but the whip was not animated.

[Rolo Kipp]

<sniffing...>

 

Considering how much larger the devilwhip anims are than the flails or sling... that's a lot of not animating...

 

<...around>

[rjshae]

So... perhaps this is a dumb question, but what about tails? Those can be changed for a creature, so presumably they have their own animations and bones, then just work through an attachment point?

[Dann-J]

Weapons can be animated in NWN2, as proved by the flail and the balor whip.

 

I've attempted to create whips by applying the balor whip model as a VFX to an invisible weapon model. It wasn't very successful. There seems to be a skeleton conflict between the animated whip model and the playable races. The whip only seems to work properly for balors.

 

The whip base item and attack sound already work in the game, although you'd have to script the disarming property as a tag-based OnHit script. I imagine it'd be similar to Kaldor's flind bar script. All we'd need is someone who understands how the animated weapon models work, which seems to be similar to how the animated placeable models work (two models, one of which references the other somehow).

[FaerzressSparkles]

Weapons can be animated in NWN2, as proved by the flail and the balor whip.

 

I've attempted to create whips by applying the balor whip model as a VFX to an invisible weapon model. It wasn't very successful. There seems to be a skeleton conflict between the animated whip model and the playable races. The whip only seems to work properly for balors.

 

The whip base item and attack sound already work in the game, although you'd have to script the disarming property as a tag-based OnHit script. I imagine it'd be similar to Kaldor's flind bar script. All we'd need is someone who understands how the animated weapon models work, which seems to be similar to how the animated placeable models work (two models, one of which references the other somehow).

Animated placeables... so you think it works similar to how things like the "floating on water" props work? This is interesting. Lets keep brainstorming, because whips are nearly ten years overdue in Neverwinter Nights 2! *Whip, crack, snap!*

[Jezla]

If the CC gurus can figure out whips (and perhaps, spiked chains?), I'd be extremely happy!

[Dann-J]

Animated placeables... so you think it works similar to how things like the "floating on water" props work? This is interesting. Lets keep brainstorming, because whips are nearly ten years overdue in Neverwinter Nights 2! *Whip, crack, snap!*

 

From what I can tell, animated placeables have a static model that references the animated one (or sometimes multiple animated models, as with the circling gull placeable), with the static version being the 'handle' that allows the game engine to animate non-creature models. The flail and whip models appear to be similar to that.

[kamal_]

hmkay, i have to take everything back. technically it's possible to animate a weapon. as a test i deleted the unprocessed folder and the flail was stiff as a stick. dunno why they named it unprocessed but the engine uses those animations. bad news is that this won't help you much because you would have to redo all the pc animations if you want to create a whip. without an animation importer it's nearly impossible to attach the animations together.

 

btw the balor whip was never finished. it will appear in-game but besides the idle animation there are no other ones. well, there are, but the whip was not animated.

Looking at the folder where the flail animations are, there are a bunch of animations for the sling as well. Presumably it's also animated, maybe just less noticeably so.

[Dann-J]

Yes - I thought the sling might be animated as well. I could be wrong, but it seems to just swing back and forth as a single rigid piece. Unlike the flail, where the head and chain animate in a more complex way.

[kevL]

note: i got a guy right now with a +2 flail, and notice that in the Inventory's 3d window, the flail sort of swings back and forth ...

sort of, because as it swings down from one side it gets *almost* to vertical (straight down dangle) then goes back up again the way it came


not sure if anybody cares to touch that up, it's pretty surreal,

 

[hm, just gave it a 1d4 Fire bonus, passing it to another character & back ... now it stays wrapped against its handle and doesn't dangle at all, ah well]

[4760]

Well, it's more like a lightsaber than a whip, but I got it displaying as a weapon for the PC:

 

 

 

 

But this was the easy part! Now, let's see if this can be animated. But later, time to go to bed now!

[Happycrow]

The flail has an extra model that seems to show the swinging state. I have NO idea how it works, but I wonder if creative cloning might shed light on it.