hi i have played toee a bit and i love it, but im a programmer and i like to make things. So, do you need more tools? maybe utilities to edit does text files describing weapons and things? or is that already available?
Thanks for the offer. We unpack the dat files with Zane's ToEExtract: http://www.co8.org/files/tools/toeeextract.rar protos.tab and other .tab files are edited with Phalzyr's ToEE Proto Editor. I'm using v2.4.1 currently: http://www.kasec.org/toee/ProtoEd2-4-1.zip .mes and .txt files can be edited with Notepad. .py files are edited with Python software. .dlg files can be edited with Notepad or with an Arcanum dlgedit program So generally there is not a pressing need for a text file editor at present. But if you want to make a more powerful one with added functions, I'm all for it. Currently, I would like to see some work done on maps and how they are accessed. Is it possible to write a tool that enables modders to put interactable objects on a map. This would include NPCs, items, chests, barrels, info popups, etc... I suppose a few of these might be managed through Python scripting, but it would be better if these could be put straightaway on any given map. Failing that, it would be nice to have some general guidelines and code for scripting on the above issues. EDIT: Oh and welcome to the forums I forget my manners sometimes when I'm in a haste. P/S - we really need to have more new people posting, giving ideas and modding... i hate talking with myself...
texteditor i was thinking a tool that opened the txt files and presented the items. For example, if a .mes file describes weapons, a tool could open this text file almost like it was a database and present each weapon in some way..and let the user edit it or create a new one..but i suppose that could be as easy in a normal text editor im just looking for something to do
All items (including weapons) are coded in protos.tab Download Phalzyr's editor and you will be able to open protos.tab in a "database" or table format. It is easy to use and so far we have had no major complaints with it. You can also create new items by inserting new lines in protos.tab. Do have a look at it and give us your opinions on what can be further improved. Like I've mentioned, I'm more keen to have people help on figuring out maps and with Python scripting for maps and also for spells.
maps what do you so far know about maps?how is it stored etc.. if we know how it is made we can make an editor..
I'm not sure if I can clarify everything as I was not one of the modders who worked on them previously. However as far as I know, quite a bit of info appears to kept in the Temple of Elemental Evil/modules/ToEE/maps folder. Most of the files there are reasonably small but opening them up with an regular editor reveals nothing obvious (at least to me). Some have surmised that data for each map is kept there but I'm not how it all works. Still I'm keen to have someone look at it and puzzle it out. Perhaps someone with good hex edit skills would be able to figure it out faster. In the Temple of Elemental Evil/modules/ToEE/rules folder, there is a MapList.mes with a list of the available maps in the game. I would like to see this correlated with the files mentioned above We can edit MapList.mes to unfog maps in game (put Flag: UNFOGGED).
:blushes: thanks . I have noticed one issue with the version of my editor you are using. though very minor when I get the spanish.lng file I'm going to release a .3 version including the spanish.lng file and that fix (it was selecting a row when clickicking on first non-fixed column, it should of only idd this on fixed columns...). version .2 was only adding multi language support, though I never got back the german.lng file from the person who asked me to make my tool this way(or a report that the was a slight bug with selecting a dif language AFTER opening a file in another dir...Fixed in .3). ANYWAY, I can't really think of anything myself that could make modding easier, well from our side at least. With little to no map modding ability TOEE isn't really a modding program of choice. I'm actually surprised to come back and see this much activity. Now NWN is really modder freindly though it graphic choice is the downside, areas look quite repeatetive... I gave up on morrowwind's modding due to the 3D area creation eviroment, had to work too hard to get an area together...though when doen it'd look much better than NWN of course...
I do believe it possible to insert creatures through scripts. The question is when and how should these scripts be triggered. Making a tome uses a spawn creature command (which spawns an invisible creature as a placeholder for the tome) when the tome is used so that is a start. There is also a "destroy creature" command when we want to get rid of it. In the same way, we could probably make a genie lamp and have a genie appear when the lamp is "used". Graphics would be a problem though but maybe we could reuse some models and see how it works out. I'm more interested in having creatures spawn at a certain area when traversed... Perhaps if we could get someone to see how tutorial popups work when entering a new area for the first time, we could recode that popup to include a spawn creature function. Of course ultimately we want to insert new interactable objects and creatures directly to the map in question. Perhaps if we figure out how all those map files (with gibberish titles) in Temple of Elemental Evil/modules/ToEE/maps folder work, we'd be able to make some progress here.
What I have noticed sofar, with the maps, is each file is a code string. That when acceced by toee, triggers a frame in the .exe it self. What I have been tring is to make the .exe, or code strings, fallow a difrent path. A path that I can change, one inwitch I can implement new maps, new data, or new npc's. Sofar...besides this mega migrane, I have made a file that seems to work...most of the time. Only Problem............Its about 978.65MB Zipped! Once I can make it transportable(like under 15mb) I will upload it. For anyone wondering I had to totaly rewrite the E-Z Mod maker to work here. I am taking a little breake from TOEE, for about 4-5 weeks. So I can work on Sacred, and Savage.
