Aug. 22, 2011: Big Hak Update

In addition to working on module updates and shuffling my kids around to school and various birthday parties (and my oldest turning 8 on 8/14), I'm working on putting together a big hak file update.

This newest update will:
1) add a new file to the content list: aeneahak_q.hak
2) move most of the content from the current aeneahak_updates.hak file to the new hak
3) add the files for the new weapon visual effects to the new hak
4) add 4 brand new tilesets to the new hak for me to build and update things with:
- - - Desert (Aenea) -
- - - - a huge retextured and combined desert and city tileset (Calithia will be getting a makeover soon)
- - - Rocky Mountains 2 -
- - - - a newer, better mountainous tileset (for building new areas and updating a few)
- - - Forest, Wild -
- - - - _six's awesome Wild Woods tileset retextured with some greener plant life (for updating many forest areas)
- - - Forest, Crystal -
- - - - retextured version of Wild Woods (for livening up the Crystal Forest in the Sylvan Realm)
5) add new creatures and placeables (selections drawn from Project Q, with is otherwise incompatible with our haks)
6) update module and 2da files from CEP 2.3 to CEP 2.4
7) include a fix for halfling hoods and some other adjustments to customizing VFX (tentative, depending on hak size and work time)

I'm done with numbers 1 to 4. Number 5, mining the Q haks, shouldn't take long (extract all the models and textures, get rid of the ones I don't want (or already have), do some model renaming for compatibility, update appearance.2da and placeables.2da, then add the results to the hak).

Number 7 is up in the air for the moment. I'll have to see how much time it will take, since there are other pressing fixes to be made...and the visual effects are not huge files...they could go into an updates hak a while later (or even a little patch/update to the hak file they're currently in).

I wanted to get this done and out this weekend, but kids' school work & birthday party taxi service, and that whole "family time" thing have been interfering.

Edited to add in updates for CEP 2.4.

The desert and Calinthia update sounds very promising. Pls consider having some places within the city to rest; indoors and out.

Many thanks!

No worries on the RL interference, . Looking forward to some older areas getting a makeover

Change is good!

that is awesome!

Sweet, looking forward to it!

Lots of progress on my end so far.

Only things left to do before I upload the whole thing:
- update 2da files for CEP 2.4 (I might as well do it now)
- whip up some loadscreens for the new tilesets (just for Aenea)
- compress the new hak and upload it to:
- - the Vault page
- - WorldGate

I'll be updating the module tomorrow sometime with the new hak files.

They are available now via World Gate and (because the Vault is having file transfer problems) here.

Because some content has been moved from the _updates hak to the new _q hak, you may find that some content is "missing" if you install the new files and log in before the live module is updated.

And yes, if you download the new PLAYERPACK package (either starter or patch version), you'll also need to grab the updated aeneahak_updates.hak file (because I've already made changes since uploading the big collections).

Immediate changes on tap for Monday's module update:
- Crystal Forest areas rebuilt with updated appearances
- Paladin summoned mount appearance changes based on paladin level
- Appearance changes to summoned mount if also a Blackguard
- Some bug fixes (already mentioned in bug reports section)
- and more...I just don't remember all I've been doing over the past week or two to the module itself.

Oh, and you'll want to go get version 2.4 of the CEP if you don't already have it.

Paladin mount appearance changes!! Ooh, that could be neat, unfortunately ol' Ray is all topped out, so he'll have to catch others to see em all

Working on fixing the four "missing" files from WorldGate. I figured out which ones they are, now I'm just trying to trick the program into re-uploading them (2 so far, 2 to go).

Sounds awesome..
5hr d/l of CEP 2.4
2hr d/l of Aenea Playerpack
2hr d/l of new weapon vfx stuff
update of Aenea files and backups
4hr transfer of files to usb flash (and then on to wifey's laptop)

manual update of *my* Aenea Player Build Module


Oh and maybe some sleep... yeah some sleep would be real gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

ve: face hits keyboard



EDIT :: Is there a way to view the new weapon vfx in the toolset ?

WorldGate now updated with the last of the stubborn missing files. I'll be updating the server with the new files and updated module in about 45 minutes (9 AM Arizona time).

RustyDios wrote:...2hr d/l of new weapon vfx stuff...
...Is there a way to view the new weapon vfx in the toolset ?

The new weapon vfx models are included in the PLAYERPACK collections. Unless you're talking about getting NWNCX, in which case I could see it being an extra download time if you're not on a high-speed connection.

There is not a way to see the new visuals in the toolset. The modification that allows them to be added in-game is to the player client only. If you get NWNCX installed though, you can go to the Vault entry and download the demo module+hak and use the in-game testing browser (pick up a weapon from the ground, wield it in main hand, enter a number (0-58, from the list) in the chatbar).

RustyDios wrote:manual update of *my* Aenea Player Build Module

I've got an updated version of that ready to go, too. Just need to get it uploaded to the Vault.

I seem to have neglected to mention that you need CEP 2.4 now!

If you don't have time to download the entire CEP 2.4, you can get by for now by using NWN/utils/nwhak.exe to make two empty (dummy) hak files just so you can log in. One called "cep2_core7.hak" and one called "cep2_top_v24.hak". You'll miss out on newer CEP content (a few missing models right now), but should be able to log in and play.

UPDATED FILES

Direct link to the downloads page. Now contains links to get CEP 2.4 and for a set of CEP 2.4 "Dummy Haks" (which should trick the server into thinking you have the new version until you finish downloading the 900+ MB of the real thing).

The Amethyst Dragon wrote:If you get NWNCX installed...

About that, ... I've been looking on the Vault for about 20 mins after reading this post, and have yet to find a mention of NWNCX, except for your submission of the weapon vfxs ... any chance you can set down a link so we know where to obtain this magical piece of goodness?

Eric of Atrophy wrote:

The Amethyst Dragon wrote:If you get NWNCX installed...

About that, ... I've been looking on the Vault for about 20 mins after reading this post, and have yet to find a mention of NWNCX, except for your submission of the weapon vfxs ... any chance you can set down a link so we know where to obtain this magical piece of goodness?

Here's the info. Sorry about that. It was included with the VFX submission, but I neglected to put the info here.

- NWNCX (Neverwinter Nights Client Extender) version 0.2 or later:
- - Players need the following files:
- - - http://data.virusman.ru/nwn/nwncx/nwncx-0.2.rar
- - - http://data.virusman.ru/nwn/nwncx/nwncx_tweaks-0.1.rar
- - - Visual C 2010 redistributable (available for free from Microsoft's website)
- - - - if unable to install, place this DLL in NWN folder:
- - - - http://data.virusman.ru/nwn/nwncx/msvcr100.rar
- - For the "patch" option with this, players need to start with an unmodified nwmain.exe file (NWNCX includes camera angle modification)

Thanks, boss! I'll give it a DL and see what we see ...

The Amethyst Dragon wrote:

Eric of Atrophy wrote:

The Amethyst Dragon wrote:If you get NWNCX installed...

About that, ... I've been looking on the Vault for about 20 mins after reading this post, and have yet to find a mention of NWNCX, except for your submission of the weapon vfxs ... any chance you can set down a link so we know where to obtain this magical piece of goodness?

Here's the info. Sorry about that. It was included with the VFX submission, but I neglected to put the info here.

- NWNCX (Neverwinter Nights Client Extender) version 0.2 or later:
- - Players need the following files:
- - - http://data.virusman.ru/nwn/nwncx/nwncx-0.2.rar
- - - http://data.virusman.ru/nwn/nwncx/nwncx_tweaks-0.1.rar
- - - Visual C 2010 redistributable (available for free from Microsoft's website)
- - - - if unable to install, place this DLL in NWN folder:
- - - - http://data.virusman.ru/nwn/nwncx/msvcr100.rar
- - For the "patch" option with this, players need to start with an unmodified nwmain.exe file (NWNCX includes camera angle modification)

Can this info be added to the FAQ section, as well as the athenaeum? Also to the downloads page of the main website.... and in relation to some player questions asked recently... perhaps the housing info could be expanded to include an FAQ on the website, as well as a stickied thread on these forums?

Yup. And yup. And yup.