Avlis:EE Steam

How to Transition to Steam

Avlis has migrated from NWN to Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition. Steam is one of the options for purchasing NWN:EE in order to play on Avlis:EE.

What Is Steam?

A digital marketplace for games and other media. It is one of the platforms you can use to buy, install, and automatically patch Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition in order to play Avlis.

How Do I Install Steam?

1. Go to https://store.steampowered.com/ and select Install Steam at the top right of the screen.
2. Select Install Steam for your platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) though it should automatically detect which operating system you are on the corresponding page: https://store.steampowered.com/about/
3. Run SteamSetup.exe and progress through the various installation prompts.
4. Click Finish at the end of the installation prompts and Steam will automatically open up by default with the open checkbox checked.
5. When Steam first opens you are given the option to create an account or login with an existing one.
6. If you do not have a Steam account, select Create New Account and progress through the account creation prompts.
7. Once you have an account, login with the credentials you set up. Note that these login credentials are for Steam, so you can access the game Neverwinter Nights. This is not your login for Avlis.
8. After logging in, you can proceed through the process of purchasing Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition.

How Do I Buy Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition From Steam?

1. Install the Steam Client (see above for steps)
2. Proceed to the Store tab in the Steam client.
3. In the search box type Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition. After a second, search results will pop up below the input text box.
4. Select the first option that just says “Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition”.
5. Select Add To Cart then select Purchase For Myself.
6. Proceed through the purchase prompts, either supplying PayPal account information, credit card information, etc.
7. Once you have purchased the game you can install it.

How Do I Install Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition?

1. Install (see above sections) and login to the Steam client.
2. Steam will potentially give you an option to install the game upon completion of your purchase. Follow the onscreen prompts if you wish to install immediately.
3. To install the game outside of the game purchase flow, proceed to the Library tab in the Steam client.
4. Scroll down, as needed, through your library of games/media until you find Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition.
5. Select the Install button then progress through the installation prompts.
6. The game will download via the Steam client and once it completes the Install button will change to a Play button.
7. After install, you must RUN the game once for the folders to get created (see Where Are Steam Game Files Located?)
8. At this point, you may be prompted to enter your NNW:EE CD key. Visit the Steam Support portal for instructions on how to locate it.

Where Are The Application Executables (exe files)?

The location will be dependent on your Steam install location and operating system.

We recommend that you do not make any changes to this folder.

However, if you must know:

The path will be something like this:

Windows:

• YOUR_STEAM_INSTALL_LOCATION\steamapps\common\Neverwinter Nights\bin\win32

MacOS:

• YOUR_STEAM_INSTALL_LOCATION\steamapps\common\Neverwinter Nights\bin\macos

Linux:

• YOUR_STEAM_INSTALL_LOCATION\steamapps\common\Neverwinter Nights\bin\linux-x86

Where Are Steam Game Files Located?

The usual place for various files (local vault, portraits, haks, etc.) reside in:

• C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\Documents\Neverwinter Nights

NOTE1: You must run NWN:EE once before the folders are created. THEN you can do things like move CD Keys, portraits, etc.

NOTE2: In some cases, the files may reside in your OneDrive folder. C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\OneDrive\Documents\Neverwinter Nights Please see HERE for important information if you want your NWN folder to be somewhere else.

CD Key Transfer

1. Copy your CD keys from your old NWN v. 1.69 installation to the NWN:EE installation (see How do I transfer, below).
2. ONLY THEN connect to NWN:EE multiplayer.
3. You will be prompted to create a NWN:EE player name. Enter your non-EE player name (what used to be known as Gamespy ID or GSID), that you use on Avlis.

Both your player name and your CD keys need to match our pre-EE records, in order to allow access to your Avlis PCs (Player Characters).

How do I transfer from GOG NWN Diamond Edition?

❗❗❗Important Info❗❗❗
⚠️ Do NOT open the nwncdkey.ini and copy the keys. Copy only the FILE itself, not the contents.
⚠️ Follow the steps below and you should have two files: nwncdkey.ini and NWN:EE cdkey.ini

Steps:
1. Find the file nwncdkey.ini in your Diamond Edition install folder from GOG.
This should be something similar to YOUR_GOG_INSTALL_LOCATION\GOG Galaxy\Games\NWN Diamond
2. Install Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition then go to the game file location.
This should be C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\Documents\Neverwinter Nights by default.
3. Copy the nwncdkey.ini file from your Diamond Edition folder to your Enhanced Edition game files folder.
🛈 You will see the NWN:EE cdkey.ini file there as well. Leave it alone.

This is to ensure that the username you enter in Multiplayer mode is reserved for your keys.
The username you use will be the same as Diamond Edition.

How do I transfer from an older Neverwinter Nights game (e.g., original Bioware disk collection)

You will need to find the file nwncdkey.ini file in your install location for older Neverwinter Nights and copy it, as above. Note that your install location will be different.

For example (if NWN was installed on the C drive): C:\NeverwinterNights\NWN\nwncdkey.ini needs to be moved to C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\Documents\Neverwinter Nights

I have my old CD keys but I do not have NWN v. 1.69 installed. What do I do?

Steps:
1. Create a plain text file and save it as nwncdkey.ini
2. Type [CDKEY] on top.
3. Enter each of your CD keys on a new line (i.e. Key1 for original campaign, Key2 for SoU expansion, Key3 for HotU expansion. Diamond edition has only one CD key)

Example:

^{[CDKEY]
Key1=AAAAA-BBBBB-CCCCC-DDDDD-EEEEE-FFFFF-GGGGG-HHHHHH
Key2=KKKKK-LLLLL-MMMMM-NNNNN-OOOOO-PPPPP-QQQQQ-RRRRRR
Key3=SSSSS-TTTTT-UUUUU-VVVVV-WWWWW-XXXXX-YYYYY-ZZZZZ}

What is the role of CD keys on Avlis EE and Avlis 1.69?

Technical details ahead:

cdkey.ini

Your EE key is just that. It's kept in a file in your Documents\Neverwinter Nights directory (assuming you're on Windows). It is called cdkey.ini. Everything related to EE and Beamdog for authentication etc. is tied to your EE CD key. At that point it depends on the persistent world and how they are set up for player vaults. You should only need the EE key for most of any EE world you are joining. If you change your EE key or get a new one there's a chance that you won't see your existing characters. Bottom line for EE: you have a cdkey.ini, you're good there.

nwncdkey.ini

This is relevant to Avlis. Everything for the 1.69 (non-EE) version of Avlis is based on your login name because it uses actual password authentication. So it does not matter which old CD keys you use to log into the current 1.69 version of Avlis. As long as you know your login name and the right password you were using, you'll always see your existing characters. The database records a short form of your CD key every time you login. If you forget your password, there are ways we can reset it and send you through the login setup process again.

EE does not use password authentication. If you want to migrate your existing characters over, then the CD keys you use become a little more important. As outlined in "How do I transfer", you need to make a copy of your old CD key file (nwncdkey.ini). That copy goes in the same EE folder that the EE key file is located. So in the end you'll have cdkey.ini and nwncdkey.ini.

When you log into Avlis EE the first time, it checks your EE key from cdkey.ini, makes an entry if there is none, then checks your old key from the nwncdkey.ini file. A mapping file ties your login name and CD key. If those all match, then it copies your old characters over to the new EE vault and you're good to go.

Worst case scenario that some players with a pile of keys on record may run into, is getting a "Player Name in Use" message the first time they try EE. This will be expected with some players that have multiple keys recorded. It's nothing to worry about as the Avlis server administrator can sort it out for you (PM avliswebadmin). It may take a little effort as the fix for these involve some mapping changes on the back end and then a restart of the Avlis servers to reread the files.

How Do I Run NWN:EE From Steam?

Normally, you can:

1. Log into the Steam client then select the *Library* tab.
2. Select Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition then select *Play*.
3. A menu popup will display three options:

• Play Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition. If you are simply playing on Avlis, select this option.
• Dungeon Master Client
• Launch Aurora Toolset

Note: If you choose to create a Desktop shortcut on install and launch the game through that, it will always launch as a player.