Editing buildings

Editing a building that already exists in Avlis

An .erf is a piece, like a house or a creature or what-have you, that can be placed into a module.

The first thing to do is set up a module with the haks in the correct order!

I. Creating a basic module.

1. Open nwtoolset in your NWN folder. (You can also choose the Toolset button when you open basic NWN.)
2. Go to file -> new.
3. Choose next on the first screen.
4. Give the module a title/name. Choose next.
5. Choose the button 'area wizard.'
6. Make an area. This is a placeholder area, so what option you pick for tileset and name do not matter. The module is not valid without an area... hit next when you're done with this screen.
7. You can just leave area size at defaults and choose next.
8. On the Finish screen, choose Finish.
9. Hit next.
10. Hit finish again.

You now have a basic module to work with. The next step is to make it a module that will accept areas with avlis content. So, we're going to let the module know what content and what order we want it in...

II. Making the module good for Avlis.

1. Go to edit -> module properties.
2. Click the 'Custom Content' tab on the little pop up window. So here, you'll see a drop down box list below the white window. That's where you want to start choosing haks. Each time you select one, a button called 'add' will appear to the right of it. Each time you add a hak, it will appear in the white window area.

You want to put the haks in this order in the white window box:

avlis_ext_4
avlis_ext_3
avlis_ext_2
avlis_ext_1
avlis_main1_9a
avlis_main1_9b
copap2da
copapanatomy
copapbaseitem
copapcreature
copapheadhand
copappheno
copapplaceable
copapportrait
copaptexture
avlis_tileset_v1
avlis_tilem1_v1
avlis_tilem2_v1
avlis_tilet1_v1
avlis_tilet2_v1

3. Once you've done all that, you should poke at the drop down box next to the words 'custom tlk file' and choose copaptlk_4_9.tlk.
4. Once you'e done all that, choose OK, and a little pop up screen will appear warning you that you're about to chance the content for the mod. You're okay with this, so pick Yes.
5. If everything was in the right order, you should be able to choose done once it's done checking for conflicts... it might take a while, you're adding a lot of custom content!

Your module is now ready to take in that erf you have.

III. Importing your erf.

1. Go to file -> import.
2. Choose the erf you have.
3. Click OK.

That will get the erf into the module so you can open the area and work with the toolset... which I will explain (or try and find a resource for you) shortly.

IV. Save!!!

A module needs a start location to be valid. So in order to save, we have to make a start point. I recommend this be inside the building you're working with for now, so you can test...

1. Open up your area. You can do this by right clicking the area's name under 'Areas' on the left-hand side of the module and choosing View Area.
2. Waaaayy over on the right hand side near the top there's a little icon that looks like a blue circle with a red arrow. If you hover the mouse over it, you get the following helpful information: "Paint Start Location." Click the icon.
3. In the center of the toolset is the area you've just opened in bird's eye view. Click somewhere in the area you've opened that isn't blackness. Like on the floor. A start location will appear. (This is where your PC will start every time you open this module.)
4. NOW you can finally save! Wooo. Go to File -> Save.

If you need to you can repaint where this start location goes by following steps 1-3 and clicking where you want the new location to be. The old location will disappear when you do.

Really Important Buttons for Toolset

Looks like a basic google search will give you reasonable starting resources... not sure which ones will be of most use, but here is an overview of some really important buttons.

A. Lighting toggle

I highlight these buttons in case all you can see is a vaguely colored fog. These swap between being able to see lighting in the toolset. If you can't see anything, or if all you see is fog, try making sure these are off - click on them so there's no box around each one. (like seen in my image.)

B. Terrain

In NWN things you can see we will break up into two parts - parts of the terrain, which involve basic floor layout and terrain like where there are pits and walls... and objects you place on them. This button gives you your tileset and terrain options. Note that when placing terrain options down, you can use the right-click with many of them to rotate the piece before placing it, and the left click to place them.

Once specific terrain tiles are placed, usually found under features (like 'treasure 1' or 'bedroom', they remain there stubbornly unless you erase them with the terrain eraser tool (for indoor areas) or the default tile for the area (for outdoor areas).

More generic objects, usually found under 'terrain', like a type of floor or something like 'forest' can be overwritten with other pieces... in indoor areas you can often make them go away with the terrain type 'wall.' (If 'wall' doesn't work, try 'eraser.')

Not all pieces in a particular tileset cooperate with each other or can be placed with each other, and if something cannot be placed where you are trying to put it, the outline of the piece will be red.

There are absolutely hotkeys and ways to copy and paste terrain and such available as well, which may be in tutorials.

C. Objects

These are objects which can be moved around with the mouse within the house, like an NPC or a chest. While you're moving them about, you won't be able to click on the terrain.

The ones you're most likely to use, at least as far as housing or changing the look of a place is concerned, are the 'door' options - found with the icon that looks like a door - and the 'placable' options - found with the object that looks like a table. Toggling between Standard and Custom, buttons right below them, will give you different options.

To put these in a scene, pick what you want from the list on the right, click on it, and click where you want it. Doors can only be placed in doorways and will refuse to rotate or budge. Objects can be placed almost anywhere, and can be rotated with those red rotate icons below the bird's eye view of your area.

Very, very simple changes:

To edit the appearance, locked qualities, etc of a piece, you can right click on the object which is already placed into your area, and choose 'properties.'

Appearance Type: This will change the look of the object. Avlis has a lot of custom content hidden here! There are far more options in here than there are in the menus.

To delete an object, you can right click it and choose delete.

To change how high the object is (perhaps you want it on the table?) You can right click on it and alter the Z value...the higher the value the higher the object. I mention this because the moment you click on an object, it will default to sitting on the floor, even if you wanted it up high. It may be easier, however, to click on the object, choose edit->cut, and choose edit-> paste right onto the table.

Troubleshooting:

If your clicking is only selecting terrain instead of objects... you can fix that by clicking on the table icon. (There are a dozen other ways to do this too, but this is my lazy and simple solution.)