Main Page

2009-11-01T02:21:39Z

Kbct:

__NOTOC__
<big>'''Welcome to the Dragon Age Toolset documentation wiki!'''</big>

The documentation for the toolset is still being worked on so some of the material here may be incomplete or somewhat out-of-date. The contents of this site will eventually be refined and released to the general public; if you wish to contribute toward that (either by adding your own material or by highlighting holes) you are most welcome and your efforts will be incorporated into the finished product. If you see something that needs improvement you can mark it by adding "<nowiki>{{undocumented}}</nowiki>" at the trouble spot.

*For general comments, discussion, suggestions, and questions, click the "[[talk:Main Page|Discussion]]" link at the top of the page.
*For assistance with installing or running the game, or for issues regarding BioWare-published content, see the [http://help.dragonage.com/ Dragon Age help site].

In the meantime the contents of this wiki are covered by non-disclosure agreements, so please don't spread it around beyond this site and the designated private fora.

{| width="100%"
|-
| valign="top" height="100%" |


{| style="margin:0; background:#f5fffa; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em; width:100%; height:100%"
|-
| valign="top"|
<h2 style="margin:0; background:#cef2e0; font-size:150%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"> Getting started with the toolset </h2>

<h3 style="text-align:center;">[[Installing the toolset]]</h3>
*[[Creating an account]] - how to create an account for this wiki and social.bioware.com
*[[Known issues]] with the current version of the toolset
<h3 style="text-align:center;">[[Overview of the toolset]]</h3>
*[[Comparisons with other toolkits]] - for users who are familiar with other similar toolkits (eg, the Neverwinter Nights tookit) and would like a brief overview of how the Dragon Age toolkit compares.
*[[Shortcuts]] - Assorted toolset shortcuts.
*[[Common Problems]] - Little things that most people will need to know but that are not necessarily obvious.

If you run into a problem that the documentation doesn't cover and that you can't fix, contact toolsetsupport@bioware.com

<h2 style="margin:0; background:#cef2e0; font-size:150%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"> Tutorials and how-tos </h2>

<h3 style="text-align:center;">[[Creating a module]]</h3>
The initial structure for the game, see subsequent sections for details on how to fill it out.
*[[How-tos]] - short step-by-step guides for accomplishing specific tasks
*'''[[Tutorials]]''' - lengthier documents that are intended to teach the basics of an entire topic area. Some tutorials build on material from previous ones so you may wish to read them sequentially if you're unfamiliar with any of the basics.
**[[Area tutorial]]
**[[Placeable tutorial]]
**[[Item tutorial]]
**[[Creature tutorial]]
**[[Conversation tutorial]]
**[[Scripting tutorial]]
**[[Cutscene tutorial]]
**[[Map tutorial]] (also introduces 2DA editing)
**[[VFX Tutorial]]

<h3 style="text-align:center;">[[Exporting and running a module]]</h3> How to actually run the adventure you've created.

<h2 style="margin:0; background:#cef2e0; font-size:150%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"> Editing this wiki </h2>

*The [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents Wiki User's Guide] has information on how to edit this wiki.
* [[GeSHI highlighting]] is installed, including "nwscript" and "dascript" tags!
|}

| valign="top" height="100%"|


{| style="margin:0; background:#f5faff; border:1px solid #a3b0bf; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em; width:100%; height:100%"
|-
|
<h2 style="margin:0; background:#cedff2; font-size:150%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"> Resources </h2>

The Dragon Age toolset has two main classes of resource; designer resources that are stored in a [[database]] and art resources that are stored as files in your filesystem.

<h3 style="text-align:center;">[[Resource list]]</h3>
* The [[resource palette]] details the main interface for selecting designer resources for editing.

*[[Creating new resources]]
*[[Deleting resources]]
*[[Modifying resources]]

*[[String editor]] - A tool that allows quick and easy access to all text that might be presented to the player in the game.

<h3 style="text-align:center;">[[Builder to builder]]</h3>
The mechanisms used by the toolset that allow packages of game resources to be shared between multiple collaborating builders. This is not intended for builder to player packaging, a separate system will be added to the toolset for this at a later time.

<h2 style="margin:0; background:#cedff2; font-size:150%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"> Scripting and 2DAs </h2>

<h3 style="text-align:center;">[[Script]]ing</h3>
*[[Event (dascript type)|Event]]s - Dragon Age has an event-driven scripting model, with event objects being passed to scripts containing different parameters depending on the event's type.
*[[Effect]]s
*[[Ability|Abilities]]
*[[Rules|Game Rules]]
*[[Custom AI]]s
*[[Script error]]s

*[[Treasure system]]

<h3 style="text-align:center;">[[2DA]] files</h3>
2-Dimensional Arrays contain much of the raw data used by the game. They are generated from Microsoft Excel files. If you want to add new basic creature types, new treasure types, and so forth, you'll need to create new 2DA files.

<h2 style="margin:0; background:#cedff2; font-size:150%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"> Art tools </h2>

Art resources are files saved separately from the database. They need to be processed by the toolset (posted to local) to be visible to the designer tools and usable in-game.

*'''[[Level editor]]''' (note that this is distinct from the [[Area]] editor)
*'''[[Morph]]s''' are generated with the face-morphing tool.
*[[FMOD]] generates sounds.
*[[FaceFX]] handles facial expressions and lip-synching.
*[[Animation blend tree editor]]
*[[Material editor]]
*[[VFX editor]]
**[[VFX list]] lists visual effects in Dragon Age's library.
|}

|-
| colspan="2" |

{| style="margin:0; background: rgb(250, 245, 255); border:1px solid rgb(175, 163, 191); text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em; width:100%"
|-
|
<h2 style="margin:0; background: rgb(221, 206, 242); font-size:150%; font-weight:bold; border: 1px solid rgb(175, 163, 191); text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"> Technical information </h2>

The material in this section is about technical features underlying the toolset, not normally important for routine usage.

*[[File types]] - currently just a list of file format extensions.

*[[Database]] - database schema and other related information.
** [[Database migration]] - instructions for how to update your database when updating your toolset
** [[Database backup and restore]] - How to back up or restore the EUTS database
** [[Database sharing]] - How to share a database between two or more developers

*[[Console]] - a window for entering console commands. Caution, some of these are intended to work with an installed copy of the Dragon Age game and will crash the toolset when used in its current state.

*[[Release notes]]

<h2 style="margin:0; background: rgb(221, 206, 242); font-size:150%; font-weight:bold; border: 1px solid rgb(175, 163, 191); text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"> Third party tools </h2>

*[[Web Application]] - A sample web application that allows you to search and view scripts, search and view conversations, and translate strings. By Adam Miller.

|}
|}
[[users:kbct:Todo]]

Dragon Age Toolset Wiki - User contributions [en]

Main Page