Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity Original Sin - Mods How & Where will I start making a small Adventure?

Reading through topics about game Mod(s), the DOS Engine Toolkit, etc ... questions and musings rushing through my head !!

First of all not a question I ask myself,
but a word of admiration for everyone's courage who is bussy with modding game(s) or making there own story with the DOS Engine Toolkit !!

Now some questions and musings .... (this list is probably not complete)

1) I've downloaded the 4 docs that Larian Studios have share on the Divinity : Original Sin site , namely : Dialogs, Scripting Guidelines, Useful Osisris Systems & Creating Combat .
2) Reading the "Scripting Guidelines" I must honestly say I'm not that suprized there is much to it to make at least 1 quest !! There're so many things you must think about, otherwise your quest will be a mess/fiasco !!
3) And then I wonder this:
can I, as a real noob (as regards to game modding!), make my own Mod ? And by "Mod" I mean : a small little adventure on it's own with at least a few quests, 1 or 2 heroes to play with, some crafting in it, a 25 lots of NPC's with their own inventories, dialog (options), with a 10 lots of different kind of enemies to beat, with some secrets and/or puzzles to solve, etc etc ... !!
4) Thinking of point 3 :
I really start wondering HOW to start making my own working/playable Mod !! I really want to know WHERE TO BEGIN ?
5) Also wondering if I need some KNOWLEDGE of scripting language(s) ?
6) As I tried to think of all this I believe my very first steps are:
a) I print and read all 4 documents and make some notes or mark things I don't understand ...
b) After that I think the best thing is to make a PLAN and an overview plan of my total adventure so I've all in mind and on a CLEAR PLAN, like doing MINDMAPPING !
c) If I can "finish" this ... (many hours of mindmapping work etc!) the whole thing of making my Mod just start ...

7) But then I wonder what will be my NEXT STEP ???
Open the DOS Engine Toolkit and start making the world I've in mind and THEN start making the Quests, the Dialogs, the Combat, etc ... or better do it in ANOTHER order ??

To make a long story short:
I really wish to know if I, as a noob, CAN make my own Mod, knowing I'm not afraid to learn via "try & error" ! But also knowing I do not know any scripting languages like C++, etc ...
I know Larian Studios have maked their OWN Engine :
does this mean that they have designed their own scripting language ???


So many questions ...
Many question marks
Above my head !

Making a mod is tough. It's a lot of work and things go wrong that you never expected to have a problem with. It has to be something you really want to be doing or it quickly goes from "fun" to "work".

The way I usually start is I sit down and I make the first quarter of the map. Just where the player is going to start and the surrounding area. I'll populate it with some NPCs or monsters, and just piece things together.

After that I make my first part of my main quest. That way I can build the map around what I need the quest to be. From then on I continue with a mix if mapping and questing and scripting. I kind of do it all at once.

Scripting is a big part of Divinity modding. Every action you want to have happen in your game requires you to script it. It' a very basic scripting language - definitely easier than (though sort of based on) C++.

The thing you'll need be able to think about are IF -> THEN logic, an INTEGER vs a STRING vs a CHARACTER vs a TRIGGER. Those are the big parts that once you get a grasp on, the rest comes pretty fast.

Of course you'll be able to make a mod, but the question is, will you be willing to learn how?

Of course you'll be able to make a mod, but the question is, will you be willing to learn how?

Yes, I'm willing to learn how, even with "try & error" (like I said).


The "scripts" (for making quests, dialogs, combat, etc) you mentioned ... is it all WITH the "DOS Engine Toolkit" I can make ?

Yes, you can definitely make a module. All the info you need is here. This is my advice to you...

#1. Decide whether you want to make a custom module or an extension of the main module.
This is a really important step because The Larian video tutorials assume that you are working within the main module. If you want to make a custom module, then you have to unpack the main module folder with lstools and paste 2 key files into your custom module for the Larian tutorials to work (see #2). I made a custom module because I wanted my own unrelated mod. I have no idea what modding the main mod is like. But it is very possible to make a custom module with no scripting experience, but getting it set up will be frustrating at first.

#2. If you're making a custom game, unpack the main files using LSTools.
Thread here: http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=63830&Number=558625#Post558625
Watch Burgee's video tutorial here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_PpeyUeWE0)

#3. Watch the Larian tutorials.
Here is the link: (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE13woN-fNgu6IuHZguk-VJE6xWCHh9bJ). These tutorials are great! They teach you how to create a map and decorate it. You may encounter difficulties once you reach the video about scripting if you are creating a custom module and haven't unpacked the main folder yet (see #2).

#4. If you're making a custom module, read through my forum posts.
Here is my history: http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=userposts&id=37024&view=posts&page=3
I've basically asked every noob question about scripting and the toolset already so you don't have to ! I might eventually try to compile these basic foundation scripts into one document, but for now you have to sift through them. I requested scripts for how to make enemies hostile, how to make global dialog work, how to teleport the characters in dialog, etc. There are enough scripts here to make a full module. It might not be fancy, but it will work!

#5. Read through Burgee's posts.
History here: http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=userposts&id=37380&view=posts&page=1. He writes a few tutorials, posts some scripts, and answers a bunch of questions.

#6. Post on the modding forums for any other help you need.

Extra Resources:
Burgee's other videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdcbStkw_tk9rASRXoS9K-Q
Making a Custom Mod: - Roguelike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UExcQhpALQ
Divinity WIKI - not updated: http://www.divinityengine.net/index.php?title=Main_Page

I have used a lot of game editors in my time, starting with the Unlimited Adventures program based on the Gold Box D&D games, and frankly from what I can see I have come to a conclusion.

If the devs wanted the DOS editor to be widely used and see lots of mods (aka adventures either in the main official story or stand alone adventures), then they have failed. This is not a tool for the majority of possible users out there. Simply looking at what has to be done to create a custom adventure tells me that. I realize that some raving fanbois who have advanced technical skills will rant that anyone can do it if they want to, but the real goal of an editor like this is to bring about a stream of new player made content that keeps the game alive in the market and brings in fresh customers. Most people will look at the editor and back off, which is why there are so few mod projects available after six months on the market. As a comparison, the NWN1 editor, which was only marginally user friendly, gave the community the tools that resulted in a massive wave of content in the first six months after NWN was released.

Right off the bat I see suggest two improvements:

1) Automate the creation of custom modules

2) Add editor wizards for guiding the new user through complex tasks.

If the editor package is left in it's current state then there will not be enough content to keep people playing the game in the long term.

I am starting the process of learning the editor and will be able to produce some new content for the game, but I have experience going back over 20 years in deciphering cryptic editiing tools. Most people lack that kind of experience.

I agree that those two suggestions would certainly make the editor easier to use, but Joran is asking for advice on how to build a module, not starting a discussion on how the toolset could be improved. There's already many discussions about that and most of them are pretty disheartening. I've read most recent posts and can tell you that at least half of us modding right now are not programmers. Programming is very new to me, but I've almost finished my module.

Now, what kind of module can you expect to create as a newbie? Something akin to a classic RPG would not be hard to do. Building areas, scripting dialog, and creating combat is fairly simple actually.

Many thanks JecklynHyde & Libertine for the help and opinions

I've the Kickstarter Box and play via Steam, but I can't find the "Divinity Engine" !

I've looked yesterday into my Steam account and I believe (but not sure!) I must download this Divinity Engine via "Tools",
is that correct ?

And another question I've :
with the Kickstarter Box I bought I've the opportunity to make/create my own Summon (or just "name" my Summon"?) ... but how I can start this all working, ... I don't know ...

Yes, that is exactly how you download the engine: Steam > Library > Tools > TheDivinityEngine. An icon for the Engine should appear on your desktop.

I don't know about the kickstarter summon.

When you create a profile in the game, use the kickstarter code listed in the Vault (can be used multiple times, if you want to use different profiles to keep different playthrough separate, etc). In a game started in that profile you should have a summon spell in the 'special' category of your skill window, along with Staff of Magus. You should have gotten an email about choosing a summon before release.

O, damm, I'm afraid I've missed that ! In the time of the realease of D:OS I was very busy with other things than gaming ...

I really hope I can still do this all via the Vault ?
Like Design a Summon, Name a Pet, Name the Undead, Kickstarter Potion (what exactly is this potion ?), etc ...

I'm pretty sure input for that has all been deactivated in the Vault. It couldn't hurt to try emailing kickstarter@larian.com, though.

There was a problem implementing the kickstarter potion, so the effect was just added as soon as you create a profile using the kickstarter code. You'll have the code, even if it is just the basic golden grail and Zandalor's trunks that all kickstarter backers got.

Oo no .. so indeed I'm tooo late :'( !
I've emailed Larian Studios, thanks for the tip Raze

I hope that will help because I've filled in the Kickstarter code at the time I bought a new pc (that was after the email I got from Larian Studios about the rewards!) and then I could install D:OS, not earlier !
And I didn't know the TIME to accept the KS Rewards was limited !

I missed (almost) all things I believe ... also the Golden Grail and the Zandalor's Trunks ...

Logging in the "Vault" I read :

Does not accept input
Input for this reward is now closed.

This cannot be !!!