Module resources conerns

I was hoping we might be able to get a rundown on what type of game resources use up module resources, and of those, which are required to be in the main module and which can be shunted into Haks.

I understand some custom content could be shunted out to haks, but will not be, because that would allow others to extract and possibly reverse engineer it... And some things must be in the module itself or they simply won't work.

Would it be possible to get an Aenea-specific detailed summary of what uses resources and where they would need to reside?

This way, despite not being able to assist with coding or scripting, when we players suggest new things, we can apply our understanding of resources to the idea, and possibly design the suggestion with an eye towards being resource-friendly.

Sure.

Here's the basic run down.

First, resource limit really refers to two related things.
a) The total number of files that make up the module (areas, scripts, blueprints, conversations). If you open a module in the toolset, then go to your NWN/modules/temp0 folder, all those files are what's counted.
b) The DM palette resources, blueprints in the Creator palette.

For "a", the limit is around 16,000 files. This can be worked around in part by moving certain files into haks (scripts, blueprints, and conversations). The files contained in haks don't count for this, but can still be part of the running module. The only problem with this comes from the fact that said files can not be edited within the toolset once in the hak (they'd need to be extracted, added back to the module resources so any edits will "take", then moved into the haks again).

There is no risk of others getting such resources, since they'd all be server-side only. It's what I use the cep2_custom.hak for. As long as players have a hak with the same name in their NWN/hak folder, they can play.

I just can't shunt all of these into haks though, since many scripts and even certain blueprints get edited on a regular basis.

The other limitation "b" above, is a problem even with blueprints in haks. If there are more than around 16,000 blueprints (creatures + items + merchants + sounds + doors + placeables + triggers + encounters + waypoints) in the module (either directly or via hak), a DM attempting to log in would immediately crash out and be unable to play. The only way to prevent this one is just to use less blueprints on the live server.

I'm actually working on a way to be able to build faster (in the long run) by doing up a bunch of "static" placeable blueprints (hundreds so far, and I've only scratched the surface of the ones I might use), copying them into the temp0 folder while building, then moving them out before saving changes. Static placeables can't be examined or interacted with in-game, so I don't have to worry about things like descriptions), and the file names all start with the same "stat_" prefix so they'll be easy to filter in and out of the module resources list. In doing so, I'll be emptying out much of the live-game placeables palette, leaving only those I think would be the most use for DMs or ones that can be called by spells or scripts. Placeables are mostly for decoration anyway.

I'm also reducing the number of creature blueprints I add by using the Sparky Spawner system's ability to copy even non-blueprinted creatures from a "holding area" in the module. I can paint down a creature, then edit it in the area to adjust stats, appearance, feats, skills, gear, etc., then the spawner will copy that altered version instead of having to draw on a resource-using blueprint. Especially handy if I want to customize a creature's gear, since a blueprint version would also require that I add any customized gear blueprints to the module (even if it was just something like a different armor color).

Blueprints (of any sort) are only needed to be in the live module for DM-spawning, or encounter/script based spawning. I plan on copying all of the finished static placeable ones into the player build module so anyone making their own home or player-made areas can use them more easily.

As far as which files use how many resources:
1 area = 3 resources (.git, .are, and a 3rd file type (can't remember)
1 script = 2 resources (.nss and .ncs files)
1 blueprint = 1 resource (.utp, .uti, .utc, etc.)
1 conversation (without scripts) = 1 resource (.dlg)

Awesome, thank you

Might this be moved to the FAQ section and perhaps stickied for easier reference?