Dragon Age Toolset Wiki - User contributions [en]

Creating a custom placeable from a model tutorial

2010-07-17T10:17:39Z

DerGreif: /* Extract model files */ clarification of how to extract with datool

This tutorial describes how to create a custom [[Placeable]] based on a [[Model]] that is already active in your toolset. This process should work with any model, whether custom or packaged with the game. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the Toolset.

__TOC__

==Set-up your [[2DA]] file==

The [[Placeables.xls]] file contains the placeable_types xls sheet that you will need to edit. The [[2DA]] page describes the process of creating the 2da file that you will need.

The columns you need to edit (or at least check) in the spreadsheet are ID, Label (something meaningful to you - does not have to be unique), ModelName (the name of your MMH file), OcclusionFactor (optional), StateController, and baseType (values are listed on the first tab in the excel file).

Check the [[2DA ranges in use]] page to make sure you are not using row IDs in your 2da file that will conflict with the core game or other popular modules.

The StateController field is very important because it determines the type of action that can be used with your placeable in game. For example, Informational objects can be examined, but cannot launch dialog. Puzzle items can launch a dialog. Think about what you want your placeable to do and choose the StateController to match it.

Create your [[GDA]] file using Excel Processor and put it in Dragon Age/packages/core/override. See [[compiling 2DAs]] for details on how.

Tip: Excel Processor will generate a GDA file for every tab (xls sheet) within the 2da/m2da. You do not need all of these. Only keep the one that you edited (in this case it would be placeable_types) and place that one in the override folder.

==Extract model files==

Use DATool by Adinos ([[http://social.bioware.com/project/41/]]) to extract the DDS, [[MAO]], PHY, [[MMH]], and [[MSH]] files for the model you want to make into a placeable. To do this with the DATool click File --> Save all. Put them some place easy to access so you can work on them.

== Change the names of your MAO, MMH, and PHY files ==

Change the names of your MAO, MMH, and PHY files so that they start with plc_ instead of prp_. The new name must have the same number of characters as the old name.

== Edit your MAO file ==

Open the MAO file using a text editor like Notepad.

*In <MaterialObject Name="filename"> change filename to the new name of the MAO file.
*In <Material Name="static.mat"> replace static.mat with Prop.mat.
*Delete the line that starts with <Texture Name="mml_tLightmap
*Delete the line that starts with <SoundType Name=
*Add a line that says <Texture Name="mml_tTintMask" ResName="Default_White.dds"></Texture>
*Save and close the MAO file.

== Edit your MMH and PHY files ==

Launch the Toolset.

Open the new MMH file. Change MMH_NAME to match your new MMH file name. Save and close the MMH file.

Open your new PHY file.

*Change MMH_NAME to the name of your new MMH file.
*Change MMH_NODE_COLLISION_OBJ_TYPE from 2 to 1.
*Change MMH_SHAPE_COLLISION_MASK_PLACEABLES from 0 to 1. (This is the field that tells the toolset and the game to use your object as a placeable, making it clickable.)
*Change MMH_SHAPE_COLLISION_MASK_STATIC_GEOMETRY from 1 to 0. (This field tells the toolset and the game that your object is a prop and is not clickable.)
*Save and close the PHY file.

Close your toolset.

== Put files in override folder ==

Put your new MAO, MMH, and PHY files in Dragon Age/Packages/Core/Override.

== Create your custom placeable ==

You can now create a new placeable in the toolset using your model. The process of creating a new placeable is described in the [[Placeable tutorial]] page.
[[Category:Tutorials]]

Area tutorial

2010-07-08T00:18:39Z

DerGreif: /* Area transitions via doors */

{{Infobox area}}
== Creating the area ==

Once you have created a new module (see [[creating a module]]), the first thing you will likely want to do is create one or more areas where your adventure is going to be set. There are several ways to reach the "new area" command; you can right-click on the resource palette window, or select "new" from the file menu.

[[Image:New resource.png|thumb|center|New resource menu]]

<br clear="all" />

Areas are represented with the [[Image:IconArea.png]] icon. When you select it you'll be presented with a "Create New Resource" window:

[[Image:Create new resource.png|center|]]

{{sidebox|
* Resref names should be useful to the designer
* Set the "area layout" property to assign terrain to an area
* "Resource Name" and "Tag" are only seen by developers
* "Name" may be seen by players
}}

Most of the fields are already filled in with good defaults for the module you're working with. You'll need to supply a "ResRef Name", which is the name by which the resource will be known internally to the toolset. (This is the "Name" field on the "Create New Resource" dialog box.) You'll probably want to use a name that will remind you, the module designer, of the purpose or important features of the area. Changing a resource's name is difficult to do later. We're going to call the first area of the tutorial "hut_exterior".

After creating the area you'll be presented with a completely blank area editor. There will be no environment or objects of any kind. To specify what environment you'll be placing objects into, open the object inspector and select the "Area Layout" property. There will be an ellipsis button ([[Image:ellipsis.png]]) in the property's data field that will bring up a resource selection window where you can select an environment to use for this area. The environment we wish to select is in the area layout file "ost101d.arl". Once we select it, the area layout appears in the main area window.

The resource's internal resource name is hut_exterior but the player will not see this when he's playing the game. To give the area a name meaningful to the player we'll set the "Name" field to "Deep in the Swamp". All of the other defaults are fine for now, we will leave them as is.

[[Image:Area tutorial 1.png|thumb|600px|center]]

== Area Basics ==
{{sidebox|
* See [[3D control]] for camera and movement controls
* You can double-click on an object in the area's object list to zoom in to it.
}}

Moving the view around inside the area layout can be somewhat non-intuitive and frustrating at first. The toolset has a number of different control schemes it can be set to; see [[3D control]] for a summary of the various options. By default, you can:

* zoom in and out by using the mouse wheel
* rotate the camera around the target it's focused on by holding the middle button down or by holding down the Ctrl key and the right mouse button while moving the mouse
* translate the camera by holding down the Ctrl key and the left mouse button while moving the mouse

To see where you are a bit better, it is helpful to deactivate real lighting or turn on full brightness. Above the area viewer, the sun-like button should be toggled so that it isn't highlighted; see [[Area]] for a more complete summary of various options within the Area Editor.

Sometimes the Area Editor may show your level as a wireframe when you create it. You can switch from a wireframe view to a normal view by going to the View menu and choosing View/Environment/Render Mode/Normal.

Before we move along to placing a starting location, it is important to touch upon Pathfinding points. All BioWare areas include walkmesh or pathfinding information. To view pathfinding information for your area, goto View, then Environment, and then toggle Pathfinding Points on. The green dots represent areas where characters can walk. Note, in this map, the area that is walkable is quite small compared to the entire area. When placing your starting location, you should ensure it is in a walkable portion of the area.

== Setting the start point ==

{{sidebox|
* Create a waypoint to mark where the player starts the game
}}

This is going to be the starting area for the adventure, so we're going to want to define a spot within the area where the player will first appear. This is done by setting a [[waypoint]]. Waypoints are very simple objects that mark locations in an area that other objects in the game can refer to; they are not normally visible to the player. To create a waypoint, right-click somewhere in the area and select "Insert Waypoint" from the resulting menu. A waypoint will appear at the location of your mouse pointer and follow it around along the area's floor; move it to the approximate place you want to have the player appear and left-click to place it. By default the waypoint is named "Waypoint".

The waypoint will be automatically selected, indicated by a yellow wireframe box surrounding it. You'll also see the waypoint listed in the area's object list, to the left of the display window. If you lose track of the waypoint later a good way to find it again is to right-click on the waypoint in the list and select "Zoom to Object" in the resulting menu or double click on its tag to center the object in the display window. The waypoint's properties will be shown in the object inspector. We want to change the waypoint's name to something more informative, in this case to "start". More importantly for the game itself, though, we'll also want to change the waypoint's tag to "start" (it defaults to blank). An object's tag is how scripts and other resources will refer to the waypoint. Since this particular waypoint is never going to be visible to the player it's likely that the waypoint's name will never be seen at all.

The player will also start out facing in the same direction that the waypoint is facing (indicated by the arrow-shaped base of the waypoint object). If we don't want the player to start out facing in the default direction, we'll want to rotate the waypoint to point in a new direction. To rotate an object, use the toolbar to switch from standard selection mode ([[Image:Standard selection mode.png]]) to 3-axis rotation mode ([[Image:3 axis rotation mode.png]]).
When you select the waypoint in this mode you'll see a set of circles around the waypoint's base with various orientations; clicking and holding the mouse button on one of them will allow you to rotate the waypoint around its center.

[[Image:Waypoint rotation.png|center]]

Now that we have an area and a waypoint to start at, we can now tell the module that this is where the player is to appear. Reopen the "Manage Modules" window (available via a command under the File menu), select your module, and click the "Properties" button. This opens the module's properties. For the "Starting Area" property, click on the ellipsis button ([[Image:ellipsis.png]]) and select the starting area from the areas available in the module; since we've only put one area in so far "hut_exterior" will be the only available option. Once the area has been selected we can then select the starting waypoint from the waypoints currently placed in the area. Note that the list will show waypoint tags rather than names. Again, we've only put in one so this will be easy. You can also set the player to appear at the origin of the map (coordinates 0,0,0), but this is generally a poor choice and available only as a default in case there are no waypoints defined yet.

== Area transitions via doors ==

Adventures almost always have more than one area in them, so we'll create a second area to demonstrate travel between the two. The area "hut_interior" will use area layout ost102d, which is a cosy little room that represents the interior of the small hut present in the hut_exterior area.

{{sidebox|
* [[Door]]s are special placeables
* Doors can attach to "hooks" pre-built into the area layout
* Area transition doors use a different "appearance" than within-area doors
}}

Next we will need to create some doors. We'll create a default door placeable using the "New Placable" command, reached in a similar way as the "New Area" command explained earlier (placeables will be covered in the [[Placeable tutorial]], but the core game resources will come with a variety of default doors usable in many situations like this) and place it in the area near the empty doorframe built into the hut's exterior. For an area transition, use one of the "Area Transition" appearances for the door. To place the door, click on it in the palette; the mouse cursor will turn into a crosshair; then click in the area viewer near the doorframe.

As a side note, if you accidentally use one of the standard door appearances it won't work as an area transition: the door will simply swing open when clicked on instead. Each standard door appearance has a matching area transition door appearance in the resource database so this can be an easy mistake to make, but it's also easily correctable - just go back to the door's placeable resource and swap in the correct appearance, and all copies of that door in use throughout your game will be updated. The "Area Transition" doors are at the top under the Appearance list, e.g. "Area Transition, Ferelden Small" as apposed to "Door, Ferelden, Small".

You may notice that when the door you placed in the area is selected a small blue sphere will appear at one edge in addition to the yellow wireframe bounding box. This is the door's "hook". Area layouts come with hidden "hooks" pre-installed to place doors on, and doors have matching hooks of their own. If you click on the blue sphere it will turn red, and all of the compatible door hooks built into the area's layout will appear. The following image illustrates this:

[[Image:Door with door hook selected.png|400px|center|thumb|Drag the red sphere near to the blue sphere to automatically position the door]]

To hook a door up with its frame, simply click and drag the door's hook to a location very close to the matching frame hook. You don't need to get the positioning exact; if the two hooks are close enough together when you release the mouse button they'll automatically snap together. The door will be positioned and reoriented to fit correctly into the frame. Make sure you're still in the 'Standard Selection' mode ([[Image:IconStandardSelection.png]]) for the snap to occur, if you're in the more advanced 3 Axis Movement tool, the snap will not happen.

Note that door hooks are only there to make it easy to get exact matches on frames and walls that need a snug fit, to ensure that Artists and Designers don't have to spend a lot of time putting it in place. Doors will function just as well off of hooks as on them.

{{sidebox|
* Area transition effect is defined in the door's "Variables" property
}}

Next, we'll tell the game engine that the door is an area transition door and that when the player clicks on it he will be transported to another area of the game. This is done by setting two of the door's [[variable]]s. Select the door (either in the area's object palette or directly in the main display window) and right-click on it, selecting "properties" from the resulting menu. This will open the door's properties in the Object Inspector window. Select the "Variables" property and click on the ellipsis ([[Image:ellipsis.png]]) button. This will open up the variable browser for that particular instance of the door object.

There are two key variables in this list that we'll need to set:

*PLC_AT_DEST_AREA_TAG - tag of the destination area
*PLC_AT_DEST_TAG - tag of the destination waypoint within the destination area. This is a waypoint that you must add. It is NOT added automatically when you create the door.

Once we've set these the door will become an area transition door, and when the player interacts with it they'll be transported to the target area.

The destination area is "hut_interior". We'll create a waypoint just inside the hut's interior door, tagged "hut_door_interior", to serve as the place where the player appears.

Here is how the exterior door's variables should look:

[[Image:Area tutorial door variables.png|frame|center|Area transition door's variables]]

And here is the interior door, with the destination waypoint:

[[Image:Area tutorial interior door.png|frame|center|Interior door with destination waypoint]]

The interior door is set up in the same manner, with a destination area of "hut_exterior" and a matching destination waypoint of "hut_door_exterior".

{{sidebox|
* Use invisible area transition "doors" when the transition is already built into the area layout art
}}

If you want to create an area transition that doesn't look like a door, or is otherwise already represented by the level art, you can use an invisible 'door' instead. Therefore you have to create an invisible Placeable first. For details how to create a Placeable see the [[Placeable tutorial]]. The first defining point of a Placeable is the "Appearance". Appearances for these invisible placeables are named "Area Transition, Invisible". Chose one of them to your liking. If you want your area transition to show a meaningful name, you have this to add during the creation of the placeable under "Name". After you have created the placeable you can place it as you wish. Here is the yellow show box around the placeables important, because you will not see it otherwise. Now set its variables the same way as was done for the visible door.

[[Image:Area Transition, Invisible.png|frame|center|Invisible area transition]]

The player won't see this 'door' in the game, but when he moves the mouse pointer over it it will change to signify that an area transition lies there and it can be right-clicked to be activated just like a visible door.

== Area transitions via triggers ==

{{sidebox|
* Triggers use variables with a different prefix for setting their area transition effect
}}

Finally, you can also create an area transition that triggers automatically when the player walks into a predefined area. This is done using [[trigger]]s. ([[Image:IconTrigger.png]]) You'll first have to create a trigger resource, much like how you had to create a placeable door earlier, but trigger resources are much simpler and for area transitions you won't need to change any of the defaults. Create a default trigger with "New -> Trigger" (either by right-clicking the resource palette or from the File menu) and give it an informative name such as "trigger_area_transition".

Go back to your area map, select the trigger from the resource palette, and then click on the map to define the corner points of the area the trigger will occupy. Double-click the last vertex to complete the polygon. A trigger can have any number of vertices, and vertices can be moved, added, or deleted after the trigger is created so don't worry if you don't get it exactly right. Note that the blue plane the trigger uses to show the enclosed area will pass through the ground and may not be entirely visible in the toolset, but it extends infinitely upward so the trigger will still take effect if the player enters its boundaries.

To set the trigger's destination, you'll find a familiar pair of variables in the trigger's default variable table:

*TRIGGER_AT_DEST_AREA_TAG - tag of the destination area
*TRIGGER_AT_DEST_TAG - tag of the destination waypoint within the destination area

(Note the prefix "TRIGGER" instead of "PLC")

Below is an example where we've placed both a trigger and an invisible door across a pathway. Note that this is redundant, only one or the other is really needed. For most purposes a placeable area transition is probably best. (''It is worth noting that placeable area transitions prompt a popup asking the player if they want to transition when bumped, but not when clicked upon - effectively acting as either a door or a trigger.'') The waypoint shown is the arrival spot for the player when coming in from the other side; note how it's placed outside the trigger area, allowing the player to immediately back up and retreat through the area transition if he chooses.

[[Image:Area Transition, invisible with trigger.png|center]]

== Grouping Placeables ==

{{sidebox|
* Two or more placeables can be grouped together using Associations.
}}

Often the placeables within an area are related. For example, a firepit placeable probably has an associated sound emitter. The toolset needs to be told that these two objects are related.

# Create a new Placeable and change its "Appearance" to "Firepit (Dialog)", then place it in your area. Remember that if you can't see the new placable, make sure you have the correct module open.
# Next, click on the musical note icon in the Palette for "Sounds".
# In the folder tree, go to global_amb_fade > 3D_placeables > 3d_emitter and select the amb_ext_smfire1_lp and place the emitter in your area.
# Right-click on the firepit to bring up the menu and choose "Add Associated object." The cursor changes to a cross-hair.
# Click on the sound emitter placeable.

Now when you drag the firepit placeable around the area, the sound emitter will automatically follow. Use the "Managed Links" menu item if you want to remove an association. Note that associations are uni-directional; you can still move the sound emitter without moving the firepit. Examples of other useful associations: a table and all of the items on top of the table, a table surrounded by chairs, etc.

== Sound ==

Sounds are placed using the Area Editor. For more details see [[Sound]].

[[Category:Areas]]
[[Category:Tutorials]]

Area tutorial

2010-07-08T00:17:10Z

DerGreif: /* Area transitions via doors */ added information how to createan invisible area transition door and how to name the area transition.

{{Infobox area}}
== Creating the area ==

Once you have created a new module (see [[creating a module]]), the first thing you will likely want to do is create one or more areas where your adventure is going to be set. There are several ways to reach the "new area" command; you can right-click on the resource palette window, or select "new" from the file menu.

[[Image:New resource.png|thumb|center|New resource menu]]

<br clear="all" />

Areas are represented with the [[Image:IconArea.png]] icon. When you select it you'll be presented with a "Create New Resource" window:

[[Image:Create new resource.png|center|]]

{{sidebox|
* Resref names should be useful to the designer
* Set the "area layout" property to assign terrain to an area
* "Resource Name" and "Tag" are only seen by developers
* "Name" may be seen by players
}}

Most of the fields are already filled in with good defaults for the module you're working with. You'll need to supply a "ResRef Name", which is the name by which the resource will be known internally to the toolset. (This is the "Name" field on the "Create New Resource" dialog box.) You'll probably want to use a name that will remind you, the module designer, of the purpose or important features of the area. Changing a resource's name is difficult to do later. We're going to call the first area of the tutorial "hut_exterior".

After creating the area you'll be presented with a completely blank area editor. There will be no environment or objects of any kind. To specify what environment you'll be placing objects into, open the object inspector and select the "Area Layout" property. There will be an ellipsis button ([[Image:ellipsis.png]]) in the property's data field that will bring up a resource selection window where you can select an environment to use for this area. The environment we wish to select is in the area layout file "ost101d.arl". Once we select it, the area layout appears in the main area window.

The resource's internal resource name is hut_exterior but the player will not see this when he's playing the game. To give the area a name meaningful to the player we'll set the "Name" field to "Deep in the Swamp". All of the other defaults are fine for now, we will leave them as is.

[[Image:Area tutorial 1.png|thumb|600px|center]]

== Area Basics ==
{{sidebox|
* See [[3D control]] for camera and movement controls
* You can double-click on an object in the area's object list to zoom in to it.
}}

Moving the view around inside the area layout can be somewhat non-intuitive and frustrating at first. The toolset has a number of different control schemes it can be set to; see [[3D control]] for a summary of the various options. By default, you can:

* zoom in and out by using the mouse wheel
* rotate the camera around the target it's focused on by holding the middle button down or by holding down the Ctrl key and the right mouse button while moving the mouse
* translate the camera by holding down the Ctrl key and the left mouse button while moving the mouse

To see where you are a bit better, it is helpful to deactivate real lighting or turn on full brightness. Above the area viewer, the sun-like button should be toggled so that it isn't highlighted; see [[Area]] for a more complete summary of various options within the Area Editor.

Sometimes the Area Editor may show your level as a wireframe when you create it. You can switch from a wireframe view to a normal view by going to the View menu and choosing View/Environment/Render Mode/Normal.

Before we move along to placing a starting location, it is important to touch upon Pathfinding points. All BioWare areas include walkmesh or pathfinding information. To view pathfinding information for your area, goto View, then Environment, and then toggle Pathfinding Points on. The green dots represent areas where characters can walk. Note, in this map, the area that is walkable is quite small compared to the entire area. When placing your starting location, you should ensure it is in a walkable portion of the area.

== Setting the start point ==

{{sidebox|
* Create a waypoint to mark where the player starts the game
}}

This is going to be the starting area for the adventure, so we're going to want to define a spot within the area where the player will first appear. This is done by setting a [[waypoint]]. Waypoints are very simple objects that mark locations in an area that other objects in the game can refer to; they are not normally visible to the player. To create a waypoint, right-click somewhere in the area and select "Insert Waypoint" from the resulting menu. A waypoint will appear at the location of your mouse pointer and follow it around along the area's floor; move it to the approximate place you want to have the player appear and left-click to place it. By default the waypoint is named "Waypoint".

The waypoint will be automatically selected, indicated by a yellow wireframe box surrounding it. You'll also see the waypoint listed in the area's object list, to the left of the display window. If you lose track of the waypoint later a good way to find it again is to right-click on the waypoint in the list and select "Zoom to Object" in the resulting menu or double click on its tag to center the object in the display window. The waypoint's properties will be shown in the object inspector. We want to change the waypoint's name to something more informative, in this case to "start". More importantly for the game itself, though, we'll also want to change the waypoint's tag to "start" (it defaults to blank). An object's tag is how scripts and other resources will refer to the waypoint. Since this particular waypoint is never going to be visible to the player it's likely that the waypoint's name will never be seen at all.

The player will also start out facing in the same direction that the waypoint is facing (indicated by the arrow-shaped base of the waypoint object). If we don't want the player to start out facing in the default direction, we'll want to rotate the waypoint to point in a new direction. To rotate an object, use the toolbar to switch from standard selection mode ([[Image:Standard selection mode.png]]) to 3-axis rotation mode ([[Image:3 axis rotation mode.png]]).
When you select the waypoint in this mode you'll see a set of circles around the waypoint's base with various orientations; clicking and holding the mouse button on one of them will allow you to rotate the waypoint around its center.

[[Image:Waypoint rotation.png|center]]

Now that we have an area and a waypoint to start at, we can now tell the module that this is where the player is to appear. Reopen the "Manage Modules" window (available via a command under the File menu), select your module, and click the "Properties" button. This opens the module's properties. For the "Starting Area" property, click on the ellipsis button ([[Image:ellipsis.png]]) and select the starting area from the areas available in the module; since we've only put one area in so far "hut_exterior" will be the only available option. Once the area has been selected we can then select the starting waypoint from the waypoints currently placed in the area. Note that the list will show waypoint tags rather than names. Again, we've only put in one so this will be easy. You can also set the player to appear at the origin of the map (coordinates 0,0,0), but this is generally a poor choice and available only as a default in case there are no waypoints defined yet.

== Area transitions via doors ==

Adventures almost always have more than one area in them, so we'll create a second area to demonstrate travel between the two. The area "hut_interior" will use area layout ost102d, which is a cosy little room that represents the interior of the small hut present in the hut_exterior area.

{{sidebox|
* [[Door]]s are special placeables
* Doors can attach to "hooks" pre-built into the area layout
* Area transition doors use a different "appearance" than within-area doors
}}

Next we will need to create some doors. We'll create a default door placeable using the "New Placable" command, reached in a similar way as the "New Area" command explained earlier (placeables will be covered in the [[Placeable tutorial]], but the core game resources will come with a variety of default doors usable in many situations like this) and place it in the area near the empty doorframe built into the hut's exterior. For an area transition, use one of the "Area Transition" appearances for the door. To place the door, click on it in the palette; the mouse cursor will turn into a crosshair; then click in the area viewer near the doorframe.

As a side note, if you accidentally use one of the standard door appearances it won't work as an area transition: the door will simply swing open when clicked on instead. Each standard door appearance has a matching area transition door appearance in the resource database so this can be an easy mistake to make, but it's also easily correctable - just go back to the door's placeable resource and swap in the correct appearance, and all copies of that door in use throughout your game will be updated. The "Area Transition" doors are at the top under the Appearance list, e.g. "Area Transition, Ferelden Small" as apposed to "Door, Ferelden, Small".

You may notice that when the door you placed in the area is selected a small blue sphere will appear at one edge in addition to the yellow wireframe bounding box. This is the door's "hook". Area layouts come with hidden "hooks" pre-installed to place doors on, and doors have matching hooks of their own. If you click on the blue sphere it will turn red, and all of the compatible door hooks built into the area's layout will appear. The following image illustrates this:

[[Image:Door with door hook selected.png|400px|center|thumb|Drag the red sphere near to the blue sphere to automatically position the door]]

To hook a door up with its frame, simply click and drag the door's hook to a location very close to the matching frame hook. You don't need to get the positioning exact; if the two hooks are close enough together when you release the mouse button they'll automatically snap together. The door will be positioned and reoriented to fit correctly into the frame. Make sure you're still in the 'Standard Selection' mode ([[Image:IconStandardSelection.png]]) for the snap to occur, if you're in the more advanced 3 Axis Movement tool, the snap will not happen.

Note that door hooks are only there to make it easy to get exact matches on frames and walls that need a snug fit, to ensure that Artists and Designers don't have to spend a lot of time putting it in place. Doors will function just as well off of hooks as on them.

{{sidebox|
* Area transition effect is defined in the door's "Variables" property
}}

Next, we'll tell the game engine that the door is an area transition door and that when the player clicks on it he will be transported to another area of the game. This is done by setting two of the door's [[variable]]s. Select the door (either in the area's object palette or directly in the main display window) and right-click on it, selecting "properties" from the resulting menu. This will open the door's properties in the Object Inspector window. Select the "Variables" property and click on the ellipsis ([[Image:ellipsis.png]]) button. This will open up the variable browser for that particular instance of the door object.

There are two key variables in this list that we'll need to set:

*PLC_AT_DEST_AREA_TAG - tag of the destination area
*PLC_AT_DEST_TAG - tag of the destination waypoint within the destination area. This is a waypoint that you must add. It is NOT added automatically when you create the door.

Once we've set these the door will become an area transition door, and when the player interacts with it they'll be transported to the target area.

The destination area is "hut_interior". We'll create a waypoint just inside the hut's interior door, tagged "hut_door_interior", to serve as the place where the player appears.

Here is how the exterior door's variables should look:

[[Image:Area tutorial door variables.png|frame|center|Area transition door's variables]]

And here is the interior door, with the destination waypoint:

[[Image:Area tutorial interior door.png|frame|center|Interior door with destination waypoint]]

The interior door is set up in the same manner, with a destination area of "hut_exterior" and a matching destination waypoint of "hut_door_exterior".

{{sidebox|
* Use invisible area transition "doors" when the transition is already built into the area layout art
}}

If you want to create an area transition that doesn't look like a door, or is otherwise already represented by the level art, you can use an invisible 'door' instead. Therefore you have to create an invisible Placeable first. For details how to create a Placeable see the [[Placeable tutorial]]. The forst defining point of a PLaceable is the "Appearance". Appearances for these invisible placeables are named "Area Transition, Invisible". Chose one of them to your liking. If you want your area transition to show a meaningful name, you have this to add now during the creation of the Placeable under "Name". After you have created the Placeable you can place as you wish. Here is the yellow show box around the ülaceables important, because you will not see it otherwise. Now set its variables the same way as was done for the visible door.

[[Image:Area Transition, Invisible.png|frame|center|Invisible area transition]]

The player won't see this 'door' in the game, but when he moves the mouse pointer over it it will change to signify that an area transition lies there and it can be right-clicked to be activated just like a visible door.

== Area transitions via triggers ==

{{sidebox|
* Triggers use variables with a different prefix for setting their area transition effect
}}

Finally, you can also create an area transition that triggers automatically when the player walks into a predefined area. This is done using [[trigger]]s. ([[Image:IconTrigger.png]]) You'll first have to create a trigger resource, much like how you had to create a placeable door earlier, but trigger resources are much simpler and for area transitions you won't need to change any of the defaults. Create a default trigger with "New -> Trigger" (either by right-clicking the resource palette or from the File menu) and give it an informative name such as "trigger_area_transition".

Go back to your area map, select the trigger from the resource palette, and then click on the map to define the corner points of the area the trigger will occupy. Double-click the last vertex to complete the polygon. A trigger can have any number of vertices, and vertices can be moved, added, or deleted after the trigger is created so don't worry if you don't get it exactly right. Note that the blue plane the trigger uses to show the enclosed area will pass through the ground and may not be entirely visible in the toolset, but it extends infinitely upward so the trigger will still take effect if the player enters its boundaries.

To set the trigger's destination, you'll find a familiar pair of variables in the trigger's default variable table:

*TRIGGER_AT_DEST_AREA_TAG - tag of the destination area
*TRIGGER_AT_DEST_TAG - tag of the destination waypoint within the destination area

(Note the prefix "TRIGGER" instead of "PLC")

Below is an example where we've placed both a trigger and an invisible door across a pathway. Note that this is redundant, only one or the other is really needed. For most purposes a placeable area transition is probably best. (''It is worth noting that placeable area transitions prompt a popup asking the player if they want to transition when bumped, but not when clicked upon - effectively acting as either a door or a trigger.'') The waypoint shown is the arrival spot for the player when coming in from the other side; note how it's placed outside the trigger area, allowing the player to immediately back up and retreat through the area transition if he chooses.

[[Image:Area Transition, invisible with trigger.png|center]]

== Grouping Placeables ==

{{sidebox|
* Two or more placeables can be grouped together using Associations.
}}

Often the placeables within an area are related. For example, a firepit placeable probably has an associated sound emitter. The toolset needs to be told that these two objects are related.

# Create a new Placeable and change its "Appearance" to "Firepit (Dialog)", then place it in your area. Remember that if you can't see the new placable, make sure you have the correct module open.
# Next, click on the musical note icon in the Palette for "Sounds".
# In the folder tree, go to global_amb_fade > 3D_placeables > 3d_emitter and select the amb_ext_smfire1_lp and place the emitter in your area.
# Right-click on the firepit to bring up the menu and choose "Add Associated object." The cursor changes to a cross-hair.
# Click on the sound emitter placeable.

Now when you drag the firepit placeable around the area, the sound emitter will automatically follow. Use the "Managed Links" menu item if you want to remove an association. Note that associations are uni-directional; you can still move the sound emitter without moving the firepit. Examples of other useful associations: a table and all of the items on top of the table, a table surrounded by chairs, etc.

== Sound ==

Sounds are placed using the Area Editor. For more details see [[Sound]].

[[Category:Areas]]
[[Category:Tutorials]]

Creature

2010-07-04T14:10:56Z

DerGreif: /* Properties */

{| style="float:right;"
|-
| {{Resource palette}}
|-
| {{Infobox creature}}
|}

== Autobalance ==

Autobalance dictates the difficulty of the creature by scaling the creature's abilities to the Adventure Level that is required for the creature. The designer chooses a category and the game engine will then balance the creature appropriately. A 10th-level gimp will be more powerful than a 1st-level gimp but will still be relatively interesting for a 10th-level adventurer to fight (whereas fighting the 1st level creature with a 10th-level character would be boring).

Note: If you choose Do_Not_Autobalance, the creature will come into the world exactly as implemented in the creature editor (i.e., without spells and such because the package system does nothing for them, see below). "{{undocumented}} ''where can i choose Do_Not_Autobalance value?? in the air???''"

== Packages ==

Package dictates the creature's theme and affects the creature's difficulty by customizing its repertoire of capabilities.

The packages are used to dictate what kind of spell/talent lists you want your creatures to have. You do not explicitly give spells or talents to creatures; the system decides which ones are appropriate for it to have based on difficulty settings (Difficulty) and the Package. While Packages are not intended to influence the difficulty of a creature (that is what Autobalance, above, is responsible for) different spell lists will be more or less powerful depending on the situation. A healing package, while useful in a group, would make for a weaker one-on-one opponent than a bloodmage package. Generally you choose the Package to fit the theme of the creature.

If you do not select a package type, you can set abilities explicitly by using the "Skills", "Spells" and "Talents" fields. These fields are only available when a package has not been set.

== Appearance ==

To add new appearance types to the game you'll need to edit some [[2DA]]s generated from the [[APR_base.xls]] file.

See also: [[Morph]]s

=== Codex Description ===

The creature's description under the ''Creatures'' section of the codex is linked to its appearance. The columns ''CodexPlot'' and ''CodexFlag'' determine the entry update when the creature is killed, the codex [[plot]] flag being updated in the ''creature_core.nss'' script.

Refer to the [[plot]] entries under _Codex/Creatures in the toolset for examples. When creating plots, keep this this bug in mind [[Bug:_Duplicating_a_plot_duplicates_the_uneditable_GUID]]. Otherwise your custom entries will inexplicably fail to work.

== Inventory ==

Each item in a creature's [[inventory]] can have the following properties set:

*Slot - Sets whether the creature has equipped the item. "Not equipped" leaves the item in the general inventory, "Main" puts the item into the creature's main hand, and "off-hand" puts the item into the creature's off hand.
*Set - Items that are part of a set are meant to be given as a group. !!This is handled in the giving/taking script?!!
*StackSize - how many copies of this item are present in a stack
*Droppable - a checkbox that indicates whether the item is dropped when the creature is killed
*Stealable - a checkbox that indicates whether the item can be stolen from the creature

For automatically-generated treasure, see the [[treasure system]].

== Perception ==

Values are:
*PerceptRngLng
*PerceptRngMed
*PerceptRngShrt
*PerceptRngMonster
*PerceptRngPlayer
*PerceptRngCrowd
*PerceptRngLargeCreature
*PerceptRngDefault

== "Plot" markers ==

Icons can be shown floating over the heads of certain creatures to draw the player's attention to them and indicate that they've got some sort of plot importance. To toggle the "plot" icon, use the script function

<code>
WR_TogglePlotIcon(object oCreature, int nActive);
</code>

in the "[[wrappers_h]]" include file.

== Variables ==

{{Variable table start}}
{{Variable table row| AI_* | || See [[AI]] }}
{{Variable table row| AMBIENT_* | || see [[Ambient behaviour]] }}
{{Variable table row| BASE_GROUP | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| CLIMAX_ARMY_ID|int|0|used to mark which army this creature belongs to. Used in the climax to limit the level of the army member}}
{{Variable table row| COMBAT_LAST_WEAPON | int |0| 0 is offhand, 1 is main hand }}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_COUNTER_1 to 3 | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_DAMAGED_THE_HERO|int|0|Used for the Tactician achievement. We want to know if the creature ever damaged the Hero.}}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_DO_ONCE_A and B | int || }}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_HAS_TIMER_ATTACK|int|0|A flag for the threat system to know if this is the first time a creature needs to move so the command can be disabled to re-evalute threat if needed}}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_LYRIUM_USE | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_REWARD_FLAGS | int |0| 1 if the creature should never receive XP (e.g. a non-party member who fights for the good guys in a battle) }}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_RULES_FLAG0 | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_SPAWN_COND | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_SPAWN_DEAD | int |0| When set to 1 the creature is spawned in a dead state. If it's set to 2, the creature is spawned feigning death, but can get up and fight the character with the help of UT_CombatStart() or UT_TeamGoesHostile() (set such creatures to be part of a non-hostile group, otherwise the feigning won't be very effective and the player can walk over and kill them while they lie there snarling ineffectually) }}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_SPAWN_HEALTH_MOD | float |0| What proportion of the creature's health it starts out with (0 to 1) }}
{{Variable table row| CREATURE_SPAWNED | int |0|1 if the creature fired the spawn event before. 0 if the creature never fired the spawn event before. }}
{{Variable table row| DEBUG_TRACKING_POS | float |0| }}
{{Variable table row| DEBUG_TRACKING_POS_Y | float |0| }}
{{Variable table row| FLAG_STOLEN_FROM | int |0| If the creature has already been stolen from. Setting this to 1 will make a creature unable to be stolen from. See [[Treasure system]].}}
{{Variable table row| FOLLOWER_SCALED | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| GO_HOSTILE_ON_PERCEIVE_PC | int |0| If the creature perceives the PC group - change from neutral, go hostile and attack}}
{{Variable table row| IS_SUMMONED_CREATURE | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| LOOKAT_DISABLED|int|0|Set to 1 to disable lookat when creature is spawned}}
{{Variable table row| MIN_LEVEL|int|0|min level to scale the creature, regardless of any other scaling rules. 0 means no min.}}
{{Variable table row| PHYSICS_DISABLED | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| ROAM_DISTANCE| float|0|This should usually be 0 unless you are having trouble with creatures chasing the PC for long distances.}}
{{Variable table row| RUBBER_HOME_ENABLED | int |1| When true, the "rubberband home" system will cause the creature to return to its home location in various circumstances. }}
{{Variable table row| RUBBER_HOME_LOCATION_FACING| float|0|}}
{{Variable table row| RUBBER_HOME_LOCATION_X, Y and Z | float || Defaults to the location that the creature is initially placed on the level. The home location is updated after any QuickMove or LocalJump command. }}
{{Variable table row| SHOUTS_ACTIVE | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| SHOUTS_DELAY | float |3| }}
{{Variable table row| SHOUTS_DIALOG_OVERRIDE | resource |NONE| }}
{{Variable table row| SOUND_SET_FLAGS_0 to 2 | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| SPAWN_HOSTILE_LYING_ON_GROUND | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| STAT_CRIT | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| STAT_DMG | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| STAT_HIT | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| STAT_MISS | int |0| }}
{{Variable table row| SURR_DIALOG_OVERRIDE | resource || }}
{{Variable table row| SURR_INIT_CONVERSATION | int |0| If this is true, creature will initiate conversation with the player upon surrendering. Automatically set to false after the conversation initiates. }}
{{Variable table row| SURR_PLOT_FLAG | int |0| Flag within SURR_PLOT_NAME that is set to true when the creature surrenders. }}
{{Variable table row| SURR_PLOT_NAME | string |none| Plot whose flag defined in SURR_PLOT_FLAG. If blank, no flag will be set. }}
{{Variable table row| SURR_SURRENDER_ENABLED | int |0| Allows the creature to surrender instead of fighting to the death. 0 disables surrendering, 1 enables surrendering. This variable will be set to 2 while the creature is actually in the act of surrendering. }}
{{Variable table row| TS_OVERRIDE_* | || see [[Treasure system]] }}
{{Variable table row| TS_TREASURE_GENERATED | int || Set this to -1 if you don't want creatures to drop any loot based on the TS (Treasure System) .2DA tables. At -1, nothing should appear on the corpse unless you put it there. Not sure what other values do. }}
{{Variable table end}}

== Properties ==

{{inspector start}}
{{inspector section|General}}
{{inspector row|Character| One or more creatures can be mapped to a single [[character]] resource. This resource determines which [[FaceFX]] appearance is used when editing the creature's facial performance.}}
{{inspector row|Class| }}
{{inspector row|Comments| General information about this creature.}}
{{inspector row|Conversation| the default conversation resource for this creature.}}
{{inspector row|Copper| The amount of money the creature is carrying. The game will display money as "gold", "silver" and "copper" values based on the value entered here.}}
{{inspector row| Description| Description of the creature as seen in the game}}
{{inspector row| DescriptionRequiresReTranslation| A flag used during game development for keeping track of [[localization]] work}}
{{inspector row|Gender|can be male, female, or neutral}}
{{inspector row|Group| The creature's group as specified in groups.2da. Each group can be either hostile or non-hostile towards each other. See [[creature group]]s for more detail.}}
{{inspector row|Interactive| if set to true, the creature can be clicked on. If set to false, the creature can not be clicked on.}}
{{inspector row|Inventory| Determines what the creature is carrying. Items are taken from the item palette. See the [[Inventory]] section for more detail.}}
{{inspector row|Name| Name of the creature as seen in the game}}
{{inspector row|NameRequiresReTranslation| A flag used during game development for keeping track of [[localization]] work }}
{{inspector row|PerceptionRange| determines how far the creature can detect things in the world around it.}}
{{inspector row|Plot Giver| Puts a glowing exclaimation mark over the creature's head to attract the player's attention. }}
{{inspector row|Race| Certain races have bonuses to various attributes, restrictions on classes, and so forth, as defined in various 2das. race/race.2da contains a list of available races.}}
{{inspector row|Resource Name| A unique string identifier the toolset and the game both use to refer to this resource. }}
{{inspector row|Tag| A non-unique string identifier used mostly by scripts and other resources to refer to this resource.}}
{{inspector row|Team| A numeric tag. All creatures with the same team number belong to the same team, which is often used in scripting plot-related events.}}
{{inspector row|Variable 2da| Allows selection of a variable table. Only the values in the table can be set and retrieved by scripting. }}
{{inspector row|Variables| Displays the table selected in the variable 2da field. Allows initial values to be defined. }}

{{inspector section| Abilities}}
{{inspector row|Skills| Selecting this property opens a skill selection list where you can add any number of pre-defined skill levels to the creature.}}
{{inspector row|Spells| Similar to the Skills property, but for spells. }}
{{inspector row|Talents| Similar to the Skills and Spells properties, but for talents. }}

{{inspector section|AI}}
{{inspector row|Script| The script that controls this creature's behavior. Defaults to creature_core.}}

{{inspector section|Appearance}}
{{inspector row|Appearance| Base appearance type for the creature. Can be a full body, or a base body in which other parts can be added (hair, head, and eyes)}}
{{inspector row|Art Fidelity| This field is primarily used by art leads to determine which characters need additional work.}}
{{inspector row|Beard| }}
{{inspector row|Body Tint| }}
{{inspector row|Body Tint Mask| }}
{{inspector row|Eye Color| }}
{{inspector row|Eyes| Available for some appearance types, allows selecting different eye models }}
{{inspector row|Hair| Available for some appearance types, allows selecting different eye models}}
{{inspector row|Hair Color| }}
{{inspector row|Head| Available for some appearance tupes, allows selecting different head models }}
{{inspector row|Head Morph| Specifies the head morph to use for this creature. See [[morph]]. }}
{{inspector row|Head Tint| }}
{{inspector row|Head Tint Mask| }}
{{inspector row|Skin Color| }}

{{inspector section|Package/Scaling}}
{{inspector row|General Package Type| }}
{{inspector row|Max Level| The maximum level of the creature in the selected Class. NOTE: "The min and max [level] fields are unusable currently. You will need to either make an areas.xls extension for your area (and specify the level range that you want) or set the MIN_LEVEL local variable on the creatures to something appropriate." - Craig Graff, Bioware. [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/74/index/430178 link]}}
{{inspector row|Min Level| The minimum level of the creature in the selected Class. }}
{{inspector row|Package| Used for AI and the scaling system. A package will also pick the default stat values for a creature (attributes and resistances) }}
{{inspector row|Package AI| The name of the selected AI Package 2DA that contains the tactics table. }}
{{inspector row|Rank| A general difficulty level used by the autoscaling system }}
{{inspector row|Treasure Category| Determines what kinds of treasure is generated by the treasure generation system when the creature is killed.}}

{{inspector section|Special}}
{{inspector row|Creature type| Combatant/Non-Combatant }}
{{inspector row|Immortal| if true, the creature can not get below 1hp and die.}}
{{inspector row|No Permanent Death| e.g., party members ('dead' party members get up again after combat unless the whole party is wiped out). }}
{{inspector row|Plot| If true, the creature cannot be damaged or affected by any hostile effect.
}}
{{inspector end}}

[[Category:Creatures]]