[TW1][djinni] conversation does not work and other probs

[OneRing]

[TW1][djinni] conversation does not work and other probs

Hello together,

I am new here and just started to sort out the djinni editor. I want to make my own adventure and worked through some stuff in the djinni wiki. I have an area, an npc, which finally spawns. I found out how to set the starting abilities and equipment for the player character. I added some stuff and finally found a way to include the kaer morhen valley location into the module after long searching the net and some trial and error with djinni. But I still have a couple of serious problems and some questions mor out of curiosity and to avoid unnecessary trials and errors.

1. I cannot get the conversation I created to start in the game. It is a quest conversation, for the most part consisting of quest nodes and some accompanying nodes as per the djinni wiki example, although it is somewhat more complex. If I click on the npc to start the conversation the screen tries to change for a second or to (kind of dims) and then goes back to normal, but no conversation shows up. That really sucks, because these conversations will be elemental. Any ideas? I added a screenshot of the djinni window.

2. There is really no tutorial on the creation of items in the wiki. I figured I would have to create a new item template, which I then could use to put the new item into the inventory of a placeable ... but no, the new item template is nowhere found to be implemented in the placeable inventory dialogue.
2.1 On a slightly related note - how can I have a placeable only a small amount of orens, like say 3. The standard issue in the djinni allows only 50 and 100 orens to be placed.
2.2 On another realted note, I have read the tutorial of Corylea on how to create quest items. First of all: thanks for that! It is greatly appreciated (although I still have to try it out! This tut seems to imply that there are only 20 quest items possible, is this true or did I infer that erronously? Could I use the same method to create "normal" items?

3. I created a placeable with an inventory, where I explicitly put the flag for "Take only" on "false" so I could place something in the chest. But it does not work. I have a similar chest with the same flag on "true" where it does not work (as it should, but no difference really). What am I doing wrong? Should I add a store template? But what about such placeables like the altar in the swamp where you could put an offering?

4. And finally (for the time being): Is it possible to create a cutscene, where the player character is not involved (is not seen) up to and including a conversation? Is it possible that this cutscene is not playing on the start location of the player character but somewhere differently? To be more specific: The module shall start with a movie (cutscene) which will not involve the player character and will not take place at the start location of the player. Is that possible?

Edit: 5. Is there anywhere a list of the inventory icons used by the game to look them up?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Corylea.723]

I am new here and just started to sort out the djinni editor.

Hi, One Ring. Welcome!

Wow, that's a lot of questions. I'm not feeling that well today, so I'll just answer a few of these, then do some more later.

1. I cannot get the conversation I created to start in the game. It is a quest conversation, for the most part consisting of quest nodes and some accompanying nodes as per the djinni wiki example, although it is somewhat more complex. If I click on the npc to start the conversation the screen tries to change for a second or to (kind of dims) and then goes back to normal, but no conversation shows up. That really sucks, because these conversations will be elemental. Any ideas? I added a screenshot of the djinni window.

Three notes about this:

1. How did you assign the conversation to the NPC? If you're using an NPC that's spawned using a spawnset, then you put the name of the conversation in the "Conversation" field of the character template, like this:

If you're using an NPC that's spawned using an NPC Story file, then you put the conversation in the "Dialog" field for the right phase, like this:

2. Although using quest conversations must work, because CDPR used a LOT of them during the main game, modders have found them to be very, very glitchy when making adventures. Most modders find that managing quests works much better with journal entries than with quest conversations. You can have a quest phase update and complete during a conversation -- just as you would by making it a quest conversation -- by calling a script during the right conversational line and using a Character or Hidden journal entry.

3. In the conversation you showed us, you consistently use "quiet" when you mean "quite."

2. There is really no tutorial on the creation of items in the wiki. I figured I would have to create a new item template, which I then could use to put the new item into the inventory of a placeable ... but no, the new item template is nowhere found to be implemented in the placeable inventory dialogue.

In order for items to be available to put in the inventory of a placeable, the item must be located in the The Witcher Enhanced Edition\Data\Templates\Items folder. Just copy your item template to that folder, and it should become available. (Well, it should become available once you exit Djinni and restart it again, since Djinni only reads the items that are present when it starts up.)

2.1 On a slightly related note - how can I have a placeable only a small amount of orens, like say 3. The standard issue in the djinni allows only 50 and 100 orens to be placed.

There are some item templates that give 2 orens. Unbiff the templates00.bif file, scroll down to the items, and you should find a whole bunch of oren templates -- I think they're some of the it_other items.

2.2 On another realted note, I have read the tutorial of Corylea on how to create quest items. First of all: thanks for that! It is greatly appreciated (although I still have to try it out!

You're welcome! I'm glad someone is getting some use out of it.

This tut seems to imply that there are only 20 quest items possible, is this true or did I infer that erronously?

You mean 20 NEW items, using item numbers from where CDPR's leave off until we run out of numbers? I think that might be true, if you use it_quest for your quest items. But you can set any item to be a quest item, really, so running out of numbers isn't that big a deal.

Could I use the same method to create "normal" items?

Certainly. Of course, many aspects will be different. The tag will be "it_other" or "it_potion" or whatever it is that you're making, and "Plot" and "Quest" will be set to "false," and stuff like that. But I'm sure you can figure it out.


More later.


P. S. -- I'm moving this to the Modder's Workshop sub-section, since that's where topics about how to mod -- as opposed to topics announcing finished mods -- are supposed to go.

 

[OneRing]

Hi, One Ring. Welcome!

Wow, that's a lot of questions. I'm not feeling that well today, so I'll just answer a few of these, then do some more later.

First of all thank you for this quick reply and the warm welcome! Sorry to hear you feel not well. I hope nothing serious?

Three notes about this:

1. How did you assign the conversation to the NPC? If you're using an NPC that's spawned using a spawnset, then you put the name of the conversation in the "Conversation" field of the character template, like this:

If you're using an NPC that's spawned using an NPC Story file, then you put the conversation in the "Dialog" field for the right phase, like this:

It was the latter way - I just followed the djinni tutorial and I did it all the way like your picture showed. Just weird.

2. Although using quest conversations must work, because CDPR used a LOT of them during the main game, modders have found them to be very, very glitchy when making adventures. Most modders find that managing quests works much better with journal entries than with quest conversations. You can have a quest phase update and complete during a conversation -- just as you would by making it a quest conversation -- by calling a script during the right conversational line and using a Character or Hidden journal entry.

Okay, then I will try that and use only normal dialogue entries. Might be even better that way because of the strange limitations of quest conversations - as far as I can see they cannot use the "required flag" - I just cannot fathom why?

3. In the conversation you showed us, you consistently use "quiet" when you mean "quite."

Thanks for pointing that out. English is not my native language and I tend to some terrible and ashaming mistakes. Someone will have to proofread my dialogues some day...

In order for items to be available to put in the inventory of a placeable, the item must be located in the The Witcher Enhanced Edition\Data\Templates\Items folder. Just copy your item template to that folder, and it should become available. (Well, it should become available once you exit Djinni and restart it again, since Djinni only reads the items that are present when it starts up.)

There are some item templates that give 2 orens. Unbiff the templates00.bif file, scroll down to the items, and you should find a whole bunch of oren templates -- I think they're some of the it_other items.

Will try that, thanks again!

You're welcome! I'm glad someone is getting some use out of it.

I just finished trying that out and got my first quest item up and running! Yes! Thank you again. Your tutorial should be on the djinni wiki, really!

You mean 20 NEW items, using item numbers from where CDPR's leave off until we run out of numbers? I think that might be true, if you use it_quest for your quest items. But you can set any item to be a quest item, really, so running out of numbers isn't that big a deal.

Ah, I thought that I would have been limited to using the it_quest_### nomenclature. good to know I can exceed that level. And then there are of course the original quest items to use.

Again, thank you soooo much for these gread advices! That will renew my motivation to go forth, all in all a good day today.

Get well soon!

 

[Corylea.723]

Okay, then I will try that and use only normal dialogue entries. Might be even better that way because of the strange limitations of quest conversations - as far as I can see they cannot use the "required flag" - I just cannot fathom why?

Yep, you can't use the REQUIRED flag in quest conversations, and since I use the REQUIRED flag a LOT -- and since quest conversations are a bit glitchy, anyway -- it's easier to just use journal entries to advance the quest. You can use Hidden entries if you don't want the player to see an entry.

I just finished trying that out and got my first quest item up and running! Yes! Thank you again.

You're welcome. I'm glad you got it working.

Your tutorial should be on the djinni wiki, really!

At the time I wrote it, the Djinni Wiki was broken and wasn't editable. But that was long ago, and you're right; I should add that to the Wiki.

Ah, I thought that I would have been limited to using the it_quest_### nomenclature. good to know I can exceed that level.

You can't use higher numbers -- the appearance box simply won't accept them. BUT, you can use some other nomenclature for your quest item, and it will be in the quest inventory as long as you call it a quest item. Where things get difficult is in getting the quest item to show the appropriate picture in the inventory if you need more than 20 items.

And then there are of course the original quest items to use.

Yep.

Again, thank you soooo much for these gread advices! That will renew my motivation to go forth, all in all a good day today.

You're very welcome. Good luck with your adventure!

Get well soon!

Thanks. I wasn't well enough to be here at all yesterday, but I feel some better today.

I was going to answer the rest of your original questions in this post, but the stupid forum software won't let me have that many quoted blocks of text in a single post , so I'll answer the rest of your questions in another post.

 

[Corylea.723]

And now on to the rest of your original questions!

3. I created a placeable with an inventory, where I explicitly put the flag for "Take only" on "false" so I could place something in the chest. But it does not work. I have a similar chest with the same flag on "true" where it does not work (as it should, but no difference really). What am I doing wrong? Should I add a store template? But what about such placeables like the altar in the swamp where you could put an offering?

I haven't tried to do this; I'll have to check into it and get back to you. Do you want Geralt to just be able to keep stuff there, or do you want a gameplay event, like when you put the candles in the Eternal Fire shrines in Chapter 1?

4. And finally (for the time being): Is it possible to create a cutscene, where the player character is not involved (is not seen) up to and including a conversation?

Yep. You can put anybody you want in a cutscene; Geralt doesn't have to appear in it, and indeed, there are a few cutscenes in the main game where he does not appear.

Is it possible that this cutscene is not playing on the start location of the player character but somewhere differently? To be more specific: The module shall start with a movie (cutscene) which will not involve the player character and will not take place at the start location of the player. Is that possible?

The cutscenes will only run properly if they happen in the area where the player character is. There are two ways around that:

1. Call for a black screen, start the player in the area where you want the cutscene to run, call for a black screen as soon as the cutscene is over, then teleport the player to the area where you want them to be. The drawback to this is that the player will see the loading screens of the area where the cutscene is taking place and the area you're teleporting them to after the cutscene is over, rather than just the area where you're starting them. But if you make custom loading screens for those areas, at least they'll have something new and interesting to look at.

2. Make a mini-module with the area where you want the cutscene to run and record the cutscene. Edit the footage in the movie editing software of your choice, then use RAD Tools to turn that movie into a bink movie. Add this movie to your real module and run it by adding it to a placeholder cutscene in the movie line; you can look at cs_triss1_sex.cut for an example of how this is done. The drawback to this method is that the bink movies usually have fairly low resolution, unless you have a really good computer and much better movie-editing software than I had access to.

If you want to run a cutscene that plays in more than one area, the only way to run it without a bunch of breaks and loading screens is to make a bink movie. If you just want a single-area cutscene that runs in an area that the player isn't in, then teleporting the player around is probably a better bet.

Edit: 5. Is there anywhere a list of the inventory icons used by the game to look them up?

I unbiffed the textures00 file and copied all of the DDS files whose names started with "iit" to another file in order to look at them. You need DDS Viewer to be able to see DDS files in Windows Explorer. You'll also want WTV, to be able to see how many mipmaps dds files have and which format they're saved under, if you plan to do any editing of texture files.


Making new adventures for The Witcher is the most fun I've ever had with my clothes on ; I hope that you'll enjoy it, too. Good luck with your adventure!

 

[Corylea.723]

I've investigated how to make a placeable a storage, and here's what you need to do:

You can make a chest or something a storage for the player, but you can't also stock it with items in the usual way, because "Has Inventory" must be set to "false." It can be the kind of chest that has stuff in it, or it can be a storage, but it can't be both.

To make a chest a storage, you need to do several things:

1. Make a store and remember the tag.

2. In the placeable that you want to make a storage container, put "w_h_open_storage" in the Action box (in the Attributes group).

3. Set Useable and Useable when empty to True.

4. Set Has Inventory and Take Only to False.

5. Put the tag of the store you created in the Store box.

6. Put "sg_storageuse" in the Scripts On Used box (in the Scripts group).

Since the window for a placeable is so long, I've had to make two separate screenshots:

 

[OneRing]

Thank you for all the extensive advice even including pictures! Thank you! I ope I can make something out of it. For the time being, I fight with the skybox. I had it working but then I do not know what happened, but all of sudden I got only a black sky, although I followed your tutorial on this to the letter. We'll see if I can figure out what went wrong/changened.

All the best wishes!

 

[Corylea.723]

Thank you for all the extensive advice even including pictures! Thank you!

You're welcome!

For the time being, I fight with the skybox. I had it working but then I do not know what happened, but all of sudden I got only a black sky, although I followed your tutorial on this to the letter. We'll see if I can figure out what went wrong/changened.

Is the skybox still there? In my experience, if you click on an object to delete it, Djinni often selects whatever you've clicked on AND the skybox, so it's easy to delete the skybox by accident.

Also, the sky often looks black in Djinni even when the skybox is perfectly fine in the game. You can test the game by running it from within Djinni but I only ever test the game by exiting Djinni and running the game for real, because the results aren't always the same!

 

[OneRing]

Is the skybox still there? In my experience, if you click on an object to delete it, Djinni often selects whatever you've clicked on AND the skybox, so it's easy to delete the skybox by accident.

Also, the sky often looks black in Djinni even when the skybox is perfectly fine in the game. You can test the game by running it from within Djinni but I only ever test the game by exiting Djinni and running the game for real, because the results aren't always the same!

Thanks again for the quick reply!

The skybox is still there. I double and triple checked it. I tested the game also in Djinni as well as in the actual game. Both showed a black sky but the correct lighting, eg there were the correct shadows. Then I used the same skybox the developers used for their village and had the same properties set. But still to no avail. I can select the skybox and delete it, but that would only let the correct lighting disappear. I am at a real loss here. It seems as omehow the textures are missing. But where would I find them? And why would they be missing? I cannot fathom what the problem is. Maybe I should just import the skybox from the village module of chapter 4 or of another adventure which uses that.

These hickups always disturb what could be a smooth working process. But thanks to you and a whole lot of others it is already so much easier for us newcomers to develop our own adventures due to the great advice and tutorials out there. For the time being I concentrate on decorating. My workflow is sometimes erratic. When an idea comes up I like to follow it through right away. As I said, for the time being I am working on decorating the area, creating all the transition points and on nps after another. They are the biggest workload, considering all the dialogue. And then of course I have to get behind the quest system. But it seems not that difficult.

I am also thinking of a little bit retexturing. I wonder if it is possible to just replicate a model with different textures, so that I could use the original model and the one with the new textures at the same time. But that might not work without a 3d program I think. Oh well ... we'll see what I can do with ressources at hand.

Best wishes!

 

[Corylea.723]

Thanks again for the quick reply!

You're welcome! Thanks for your nice manners in thanking me when I help you; not everyone is so polite.

The skybox is still there. I double and triple checked it. I tested the game also in Djinni as well as in the actual game. Both showed a black sky but the correct lighting, eg there were the correct shadows. Then I used the same skybox the developers used for their village and had the same properties set. But still to no avail. I can select the skybox and delete it, but that would only let the correct lighting disappear. I am at a real loss here. It seems as omehow the textures are missing. But where would I find them? And why would they be missing? I cannot fathom what the problem is. Maybe I should just import the skybox from the village module of chapter 4 or of another adventure which uses that.

That IS weird. I didn't have to import or add any textures to make my skyboxes work, so unless you've accidentally deleted one of the bif files in your Data directory, I don't think that's the problem.

I tell you what. Upload your module somewhere (zip it first, please!), send me the URL, and I'll download it and look at it for you. You can send me the URL via PM if you don't want it generally available.

My workflow is sometimes erratic. When an idea comes up I like to follow it through right away.

I understand completely!

I am also thinking of a little bit retexturing. I wonder if it is possible to just replicate a model with different textures, so that I could use the original model and the one with the new textures at the same time. But that might not work without a 3d program I think. Oh well ... we'll see what I can do with ressources at hand.

I've done this many times in my adventures, and I don't have a 3D program. Was it a creature or a placeable you wanted to retexture?

I recolored a huge number of things in the first of my "Medical Problems" adventures, and you should feel free to open up MP1 in Djinni and see how everything is done. (That's how I learned a lot of stuff, actually -- by opening up "The Price of Neutrality" in Djinni and looking at how it all works. I highly recommend that.)

To make a new placeable, I opened the model file in Notepad++ (NOT the Notepad program that comes with Windows) and changed the parts with the file name to read that name +1, like ob_haybed05 or something, then saved the altered model file under that new name. Next, I edited the textures and saved them under the new name, too. See here for more on making retextures that will work with TW1.

If you want to retexture a creature, that's even easier, because you don't have to alter the model files at all. All you have to do is add a line to the appearance.2da that specifies the new creature. Just copy and paste the line for the model, then change the c and g numbers. So, if you were making a new version of Alvin, you'd copy the cr_alvin1_c1g1 line, then change the first box to read cr_alvin1_c2g2, and put "2" in the head and body boxes. If it's something that already has a lot of colors, then just increment by 1, so instead of cr_aunt1_c4g4, it'd be cr_aunt1_c5g5. "C" is for body and "g" is for head, so if you want the same head but a new dress, you can use cr_aunt1_c5g4. The number that's before the underscore specifies the model, so you wouldn't change cr_aunt1_c4g4 to cr_aunt2_c4g4, because there's no aunt2 model; you're reusing the aunt1 model and just recoloring her.

You seem pretty smart and quick to catch on, so I'm giving the relatively short version of these things. Feel free to ask for clarification if anything doesn't make sense.

 

[OneRing]

You're welcome! Thanks for your nice manners in thanking me when I help you; not everyone is so polite.

Really? For me it is a mater of course. On no forum I have ever met someone responding so quickly, kind and with such detailed elaboration! And, of course, thanks again!

That IS weird. I didn't have to import or add any textures to make my skyboxes work, so unless you've accidentally deleted one of the bif files in your Data directory, I don't think that's the problem.

I found my mistake - finally. I had missed the time frame of my test time (of all things!) in the period settings. Now it is working. Just one hour of incorrect (that is no) fog settings... I am so stupid.

I tell you what. Upload your module somewhere (zip it first, please!), send me the URL, and I'll download it and look at it for you. You can send me the URL via PM if you don't want it generally available.

Thanks for the offer! I might come back to this if I have another unsolvable problem at hand.

I've done this many times in my adventures, and I don't have a 3D program. Was it a creature or a placeable you wanted to retexture?

I recolored a huge number of things in the first of my "Medical Problems" adventures, and you should feel free to open up MP1 in Djinni and see how everything is done. (That's how I learned a lot of stuff, actually -- by opening up "The Price of Neutrality" in Djinni and looking at how it all works. I highly recommend that.)

To make a new placeable, I opened the model file in Notepad++ (NOT the Notepad program that comes with Windows) and changed the parts with the file name to read that name +1, like ob_haybed05 or something, then saved the altered model file under that new name. Next, I edited the textures and saved them under the new name, too. See here for more on making retextures that will work with TW1.

If you want to retexture a creature, that's even easier, because you don't have to alter the model files at all. All you have to do is add a line to the appearance.2da that specifies the new creature. Just copy and paste the line for the model, then change the c and g numbers. So, if you were making a new version of Alvin, you'd copy the cr_alvin1_c1g1 line, then change the first box to read cr_alvin1_c2g2, and put "2" in the head and body boxes. If it's something that already has a lot of colors, then just increment by 1, so instead of cr_aunt1_c4g4, it'd be cr_aunt1_c5g5. "C" is for body and "g" is for head, so if you want the same head but a new dress, you can use cr_aunt1_c5g4. The number that's before the underscore specifies the model, so you wouldn't change cr_aunt1_c4g4 to cr_aunt2_c4g4, because there's no aunt2 model; you're reusing the aunt1 model and just recoloring her.

You seem pretty smart and quick to catch on, so I'm giving the relatively short version of these things. Feel free to ask for clarification if anything doesn't make sense.

Thanks again for the advice and the nice compliment. It is a great relieve to know that adding additional retextured characters is so easy. Although I am not very good at retexturing/graphics/etc, I want to get one or two knights with different coats of arm. Hopefully this will work out.

I also got the storage chest working by following your great tutorial - and it might interest you that I even could stock it with items! I just added the items I wanted there in the storage template. And it works now. So great! Thanks again. I would never have figured that chest storage out by myself.

Eidt: And another question has come to my mind: Is it possible to convert items to placeables? Some of the items have nice models which would be great for decorating but I do not want the player to pick them up.

 

[Corylea.723]

I found my mistake - finally. I had missed the time frame of my test time (of all things!) in the period settings. Now it is working. Just one hour of incorrect (that is no) fog settings... I am so stupid.

Ah, glad it was something so easy! Don't worry; everyone makes mistakes. If this is the ONLY stupid mistake you make while making an adventure, you'll be a certified genius.

It is a great relieve to know that adding additional retextured characters is so easy. Although I am not very good at retexturing/graphics/etc, I want to get one or two knights with different coats of arm. Hopefully this will work out.

Yep, I did it for MP2, so I know it can be done. Remember to change the numbers in the head and body boxes in the appearance.2da in addition to changing the name, and remember to copy the _n.dds file and rename that, too.

I also got the storage chest working by following your great tutorial - and it might interest you that I even could stock it with items! I just added the items I wanted there in the storage template. And it works now. So great! Thanks again.

You're welcome! I'm glad everything worked out well.

I would never have figured that chest storage out by myself.

You could have, actually. To figure it out, I copied the swamp file from Chapter 3 from the The Witcher Enhanced Edition\Data\modules\!Final directory to the place where adventure files go. Then I renamed the copy from marshland_3.mod to marshland_3.adv. Then I opened up marshland_3.adv in Djinni and looked at it. I looked for the Vodanyoi altar in Chapter 3 that Geralt can put stuff in, then pulled up the box for that object and looked at it. That's how I got the strings to put in the Action and Script On Use boxes and how I found out what settings it needed for all the other boxes. Then I made a mini-module -- a single area with just a skybox, for light, and a couple of chests, and gave each chest some different settings. Then I ran the mini-module as a game and looked at which chests Geralt could store stuff in and which he couldn't.

Looking at what CDPR has done, then making a mini-module for concentrated testing is my entire secret. I pass it along to you.

"The Price of Neutrality" is an adventure that was made by CDPR, and it's a good one to look at because it's small enough to open the whole thing at once in Djinni, whereas the main game has pieces scattered all over. But they didn't do everything in "The Price of Neutrality" that it's possible to do, so sometimes looking at pieces of the main game is necessary.

You can also look at the more advanced fan-made modules and see how they did the things they did. I have items turned into placeables, creatures turned into placeables, and all kinds of new stuff in MP1 and MP2, the Ifrit guys have done some good work in their adventures, and Fantasta has done some good stuff in his. Feel free to tear that stuff apart in Djinni and see exactly how everything is done.

Eidt: And another question has come to my mind: Is it possible to convert items to placeables? Some of the items have nice models which would be great for decorating but I do not want the player to pick them up.

Yes, you can turn any item that has both model and textures into a placeable. I turned a mushroom into a placeable in MP1 and a bunch of swords and shields into placeables in MP2. Just specify the model in the placeable template, and voila -- a placeable. You might have to add the model and texture of the item to your module; test it without and see if it appears, and if it doesn't, then add those to your module.

 

[OneRing]

You could have, actually. To figure it out, [...]

Looking at what CDPR has done, then making a mini-module for concentrated testing is my entire secret. I pass it along to you.

But without you telling me that, I would never have considered doing it. You are so helpful. I already took an in depth look into the village area, primarily to get the skybox working, but also to see how other things were done.

Yes, you can turn any item that has both model and textures into a placeable. I turned a mushroom into a placeable in MP1 and a bunch of swords and shields into placeables in MP2. Just specify the model in the placeable template, and voila -- a placeable. You might have to add the model and texture of the item to your module; test it without and see if it appears, and if it doesn't, then add those to your module.

Had to try it out immediately and it worked perfectly well! Thanks again a lot!

Today I was working on quest implementation and conversations, and the system with the hidden entries works really well. But I think I know now what I did wrong earlier with the quest conversations. One has to somehow connect it with a quest (something like that). Anyway I like the increased freedom I have with the "required flag" attribute in dialog conversations, so I will stick with this simple system.

On a tangent I want to create my own potion for use in a particular quest. That should need a special (unique) ingredient (which will nonetheless be available more than once). I already discovered the related alchemical 2da files, but I cannot find the nameref or namestringref they in turn refer to (whatever file type they are, they seem not to be 2da files). If you have any idea or helpful tips I will appreciate them as always! Now I am looking at the unbiffed scripts to see what I can do with the potion.

And so much work to do ... I think it will take at least a year to finish everything I want to.

 

[Corylea.723]

I already took an in depth look into the village area, primarily to get the skybox working, but also to see how other things were done.

Ah, you have good instincts! That'll help a lot in the year to come.

But I think I know now what I did wrong earlier with the quest conversations. One has to somehow connect it with a quest (something like that).

Yes, of course you do. But that's already described in the Djinni Wiki, so I thought you'd done it already.

On a tangent I want to create my own potion for use in a particular quest. That should need a special (unique) ingredient (which will nonetheless be available more than once). I already discovered the related alchemical 2da files, but I cannot find the nameref or namestringref they in turn refer to (whatever file type they are, they seem not to be 2da files). If you have any idea or helpful tips I will appreciate them as always! Now I am looking at the unbiffed scripts to see what I can do with the potion.

I haven't made a new potion, so I haven't investigated how to do that. But Fantasta has, in his adventure "Entrapped." In my last reply to you, I suggested that you might want to look at my adventures and Ifrit's and Fantasta's as examples. Well, now we see why. If I wanted to make a new potion, one of the first things I'd do is open up "Entrapped" in Djinni and see how Fantasta did it. I could do that for you, but I think you'd get a lot more out of doing it yourself.

And so much work to do ... I think it will take at least a year to finish everything I want to.

I hear you! Yes, that's about how long it takes. It took me about a year to make "Medical Problems 1" and another year to make MP2. But the joy of creation is one of the best highs there is, so it's all worth it.

 

[OneRing]

I haven't made a new potion, so I haven't investigated how to do that. But Fantasta has, in his adventure "Entrapped." In my last reply to you, I suggested that you might want to look at my adventures and Ifrit's and Fantasta's as examples. Well, now we see why. If I wanted to make a new potion, one of the first things I'd do is open up "Entrapped" in Djinni and see how Fantasta did it. I could do that for you, but I think you'd get a lot more out of doing it yourself.

Ok, I dissected "Entrapped" for its new potion and found what Fantasta was doing there. The problem is: I seem unable to recreate that.

The system works like this: In the item template an nss script is called "on used". this in turn calls an ability with AddAbility. This ability is defined in a lua script (either test_abl or potion_abl). In the definition of the ability two nss scripts are called (potion_XX_start and potion__XX_end). These nss scripts use the command RunClientLua which calls another lua script which holds the actual ability (for example EnableAdvancedNightVision), one enables, the other disables the ability.

My problems:
1. Fantasta uses (as the potion scripts by CDPR do) a lua script to define the ability the potion grants. I tried to modify the lua script Fantasta use (test_abl) the same way he did but it did not work. Then I tried to modify the lua script CDPR used (potion_abl) but it did not work either. I also get always an error if I save a modified lua script file (although it does save correctly):

Script compilation error: 'luac.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command,operable program or batch file.

2. I then tried to modify one of the CDPR potion nss scripts. That did not work either because Djinni could not comile these scripts. The funning thing is, Djinni cannot compile the original scripts by CDPR either. The reason: Djinni somehow does not find the inc_alchemy which indeed I could not find either in my data, script or unbif folder. But this file is included in any original CDPR potion script. If you leave it out, then Djinni cannot compile the scripts because it does not know the command AddLowToxicity which is again part and parcel of the original potion scripts (to maintain the albedo effect). I bet that this command is defined in the missing inc_alchemy. What a mess!

3. Now there might be a workaround to some of these problems. I could just have the potion script call the effective ability right away with RunClientLua. But then how does the program know when and how to stop the ability again. With the AddAbility command I can give a timeframe in minutes how long the ability should last. Besides that there are some other benefits if you use the normal ability defintion method. Although I cannot use it because neither the lua scripts nor the original potion scripts are modifiable for me as they seemed to be for Fantasta (although I might add that Fantasta also did not use inc_alchemy in his scripts and added toxicity by another method which would not take the albedo effect in consideration, so he seemed to have had problems on this front, too).

In short: If Fantasta can tell me how he managed to get the modified lua scripts working, I will be able to add my own potion. As long as that does not work, I might use another original potion script instead, but that would be just a really, really bad workaround.

I also encountered a whole bunch of other weird djinni bugs (or am I just to stupid to use the program properly?).

1. If I wanted to change colours in the period settings of an area (for fog and all that) I only can look at the top colour if I open another module. If I click on the middle colour it turns into the top colour so I am unable to identify the exact colour used there.

2. The program seems also unable to save the settings of the middle field in my own module correctly and shows after opening only black.

3. The already mentioned compilation errors with inc_alchemy and the luac.exe. My search on the inc_alchemy bit actually showed some other user here had a similar problem with the inc_musician (or something like that), but nobody seemed to have had a solution for that either.

4. I created my own unique ingredient. That worked really well first. I saw thingredient in the inventory. And the ingredient would show up in the formula. And I could mix the potion. Then suddenly - without me changing really anything the ingredient shows no longer up in the formula, even though I have it and I can mix the potion with it. Actually everything is still working besides the fact that the ingredient shows up as "Missing ingredient".

Today was rather frustrating. After hard work I could mix my own potion, get my own formula and my own unique ingredient - then everything failed and even part of the success was deminished for unknown reasons.

Oh well. I will leave the potion for now and work on some other stuff. Maybe you or some of the other modders here have encountered similar problems and know a solution - maybe even Fantasta might have an idea how to get the potion to work.

Again every advice is appreciated. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Corylea.723]

1. Fantasta uses (as the potion scripts by CDPR do) a lua script to define the ability the potion grants. I tried to modify the lua script Fantasta use (test_abl) the same way he did but it did not work. Then I tried to modify the lua script CDPR used (potion_abl) but it did not work either. I also get always an error if I save a modified lua script file (although it does save correctly):

I think you need to download a Lua compiler.

2. I then tried to modify one of the CDPR potion nss scripts. That did not work either because Djinni could not comile these scripts. The funning thing is, Djinni cannot compile the original scripts by CDPR either. The reason: Djinni somehow does not find the inc_alchemy which indeed I could not find either in my data, script or unbif folder. But this file is included in any original CDPR potion script. If you leave it out, then Djinni cannot compile the scripts because it does not know the command AddLowToxicity which is again part and parcel of the original potion scripts (to maintain the albedo effect). I bet that this command is defined in the missing inc_alchemy. What a mess!

That IS a mess. I don't know how Fantasta worked around it; you could try sending him a PM and asking him.

3. Now there might be a workaround to some of these problems. I could just have the potion script call the effective ability right away with RunClientLua. But then how does the program know when and how to stop the ability again. With the AddAbility command I can give a timeframe in minutes how long the ability should last. Besides that there are some other benefits if you use the normal ability defintion method. Although I cannot use it because neither the lua scripts nor the original potion scripts are modifiable for me as they seemed to be for Fantasta (although I might add that Fantasta also did not use inc_alchemy in his scripts and added toxicity by another method which would not take the albedo effect in consideration, so he seemed to have had problems on this front, too).

I think if you get yourself a Lua compiler, you'll be able to do what Fantasta did.

I also encountered a whole bunch of other weird djinni bugs (or am I just to stupid to use the program properly?).

Nope, you're definitely not stupid. All users make errors, of course -- I made plenty when I was making my adventures -- but Djinni does some things that are just STRANGE.

I'm sorry you've had such a frustrating day! I tell myself that Djinni teaches creative thinking. Often when using Djinni, the obvious way to do something doesn't work, and the second-most-obvious thing doesn't work ... so then you have to come up with something unique and interesting.

 

[fantasta]

One Ring, I'll have to have a look at "Entrapped" to recreate the whole process of adding a new potion because I did the scripting more than 3 years ago. Luckily I installed The Witcher three days ago, otherwise I couldn't answer your questions. As far as I remember, adding a new potion was one of the most difficult things while I was making my adventure. The other difficult thing was adding storage to placeables, it took me days (weeks?) to come up with a solution, and I can see that Cory did it in a couple of hours
I hope I'll post some answers soon

 

[OneRing]

I think you need to download a Lua compiler.

OK, I will look for one.

Nope, you're definitely not stupid. All users make errors, of course -- I made plenty when I was making my adventures -- but Djinni does some things that are just STRANGE.

I'm sorry you've had such a frustrating day! I tell myself that Djinni teaches creative thinking. Often when using Djinni, the obvious way to do something doesn't work, and the second-most-obvious thing doesn't work ... so then you have to come up with something unique and interesting.

Thanks again for the encouragement!

One Ring, I'll have to have a look at "Entrapped" to recreate the whole process of adding a new potion because I did the scripting more than 3 years ago. Luckily I installed The Witcher three days ago, otherwise I couldn't answer your questions. As far as I remember, adding a new potion was one of the most difficult things while I was making my adventure. The other difficult thing was adding storage to placeables, it took me days (weeks?) to come up with a solution, and I can see that Cory did it in a couple of hours
I hope I'll post some answers soon

Oh thank you! That is so kind of you! I tried to send you a pm today, but somehow I could'nt. Thanks again! I greatly appreciate it!.

 

[fantasta]

First things which I noticed:
1."Script compilation error: 'luac.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command,operable program or batch file."
This error means nothing. Just save your script and just go on to other things. You don't need to compile your lua scripts. Are you sure that your script contains errors? To make sure that a lua script is to be blamed just run Tools- Reload Lua Scripts and check the aurora log. If there are any Lua errors they will show up in blue font, in rare cases your editor may crash.
2. There are two new potions used in Entrapped. One is the modified De Vries Extract - you can't create it while meditating, but you can get it as a quest item. The item is called "The Potion of True Vision", its template is called mpw_it_6thsense, and you can't learn the recipe for the potion in-game. The potion which is entirely brand new is the Wildcat potion. The name of the template is "it_potion_050". The adventure contains almost all the necessary things such as journal entries, 2da entries and scripts that you need to create new Wildcat potions from scratch in-game (though you can't usually walk around picking herbs in "Entrapped" due to the acid rain The things which are missing are: .tlk file (in-game descriptions of the potion while using it and the descriptions while mixing it) plus there are no albedo, rubedo, nigredo versions of the potion. To get all the missing things you would have to download The Wildcat Potion Mod version 1.01 from ModDB: Wildcat Potion 1.01 and check the contents of the mod. I think you already added scripts wchich are necessary for the recipe for the potion (the player can know the recipe from the very beginning or by buying and reading a scroll - check e.g. the script "mwp_rec_pot_050").
3. What is your potion supposed to do?

 

[OneRing]

First things which I noticed:
1."Script compilation error: 'luac.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command,operable program or batch file."
This error means nothing. Just save your script and just go on to other things. You don't need to compile your lua scripts. Are you sure that your script contains errors? To make sure that a lua script is to be blamed just run Tools- Reload Lua Scripts and check the aurora log. If there are any Lua errors they will show up in blue font, in rare cases your editor may crash.

Thanks for clarifying this. I did not notice any other errors.

2. There are two new potions used in Entrapped. One is the modified De Vries Extract - you can't create it while meditating, but you can get it as a quest item. The item is called "The Potion of True Vision", its template is called mpw_it_6thsense, and you can't learn the recipe for the potion in-game. The potion which is entirely brand new is the Wildcat potion. The name of the template is "it_potion_050". The adventure contains almost all the necessary things such as journal entries, 2da entries and scripts that you need to create new Wildcat potions from scratch in-game (though you can't usually walk around picking herbs in "Entrapped" due to the acid rain The things which are missing are: .tlk file (in-game descriptions of the potion while using it and the descriptions while mixing it) plus there are no albedo, rubedo, nigredo versions of the potion. To get all the missing things you would have to download The Wildcat Potion Mod version 1.01 from ModDB: Wildcat Potion 1.01 and check the contents of the mod. I think you already added scripts wchich are necessary for the recipe for the potion (the player can know the recipe from the very beginning or by buying and reading a scroll - check e.g. the script "mwp_rec_pot_050").

I found both new potions and wanted to follow the blueprint I thought I discovered there. But it did not work out. I even found out how to edit the .tlk file. But I still could not get the potion to work and thought I might have missed something.

What I did:

I defined an ability in the test_abl lua script like you did. I called said ability via an nss script with AddAbility. But it did not work, although the nss script was called and run - I could verify that, because it printed something special on the screen.

What I mostly could get to work is the potion making process. I modified the 2da files for the recipe and the ingredients. And I took note at your journal entry script for the recipe, which worked out perfectly.

3. What is your potion supposed to do?

The potion is more or less a quest potion. I wnted to use the De Vries extract effect, but more for the visual effect than an in game effect. And I wanted the potion just to give an ability (which must have no ingame effect at all) for a certain amount of time, just so that I can check said ability via the HasAbility command by another script. It would be nice if it was accompanied by a visual effect like the De Vries extract potion. In theory I could just take the De Vries extract potion script for my potion (which I already tried -> it worked) and use it as it is written and rewrite the effect description in the .tlk file and be done with it. But since you managed to come up with a new potion and I might want to add a real potion with a real ability which has a gameplay effect I wanted to try to implement that one properly.

What I don't get is why for God's sake the ability is not working which I defined in the test_abl. Since the potion script (which calls the ability) is working, which I already confirmed. Sigh :'(

Here is the part I added to the lua script test_abl:

DefAbility({Name = "potion_110", Icon = "ice_potion_025", AbilityName = "2430", AbilityDescription = "2431", StartingAction = "potion025_start", EndingAction = "potion025_end", Positive = true})

The potion025_start and potion_025end scripts are just the regular potion nss scripts of the original game. You used the original potion004 scripts for the super regenartion potion and you made some new ones for the 6th sense potion, but I could not get it to work with either the original scripts nor new ones modeled on your 6th sense potion scripts. I actually need only the EnableAdvancedNightVision command.

Here is the potion script, which is put into the "on used" field of the item template:

void main()
{
	object oPC=GetFirstPC();
	int nToxic=GetCurrentToxicity(oPC);
	SetCurrentToxicity(nToxic+30,oPC);
	AddAbility("potion_100",oPC,60,FALSE);
	RunClientLua("g_pGuiMan:ShowOneLiner(2430,-640,512,'OrientBottom',1,1,1,.5,'gui_huge',1.5,2,2,true,1280)");
}

It is more or less identical to your super regeneration potion script. The last line of the script works perfectly well, ie shows the name of the potion I invented at the bottom of the screen.

So I really don't know what is going wrong there. The only thing I can imagine is that the lua script is somehow not working.

But I might have missed an important file to add or change.

Thanks already for all your help and advice!