The big world unpacker based on the packages, that are no longer available. Especially one modder thought, players should not be able to get the mods in a easy way, but they should feel all the pain, and she prompted the host to take down the files.
As a result of this, it is no longer a automated procedure from only two hours, but from two or three days. (See this thread: http://www.shsforums...showtopic=30560 and think yourself about why a few modders make life unnecessary difficult for players.) Because of these troubles I deleted the unpacker. I'm sorry. kovarex is working on another solution for download and unpack the mods. Until he is ready, there will not be any easy way for this process.

Perhaps bigmoshi's SMM Auto-Installer can be extended into a BiG World Auto-Installer... This might make installation even easier than the unpacker.

Ok, you owe me a treat. I spent the whole night on this
http://moddy.forbesn...k.com/index.php

Please note: If you use opera, right-click to view the source after generating the XML. Internet Explorer is okay.

The big world unpacker based on the packages, that are no longer available. Especially one modder thought, players should not be able to get the mods in a easy way, but they should feel all the pain, and she prompted the host to take down the files.
As a result of this, it is no longer a automated procedure from only two hours, but from two or three days. (See this thread: http://www.shsforums...showtopic=30560 and think yourself about why a few modders make life unnecessary difficult for players.) Because of these troubles I deleted the unpacker. I'm sorry. kovarex is working on another solution for download and unpack the mods. Until he is ready, there will not be any easy way for this process.

Perhaps bigmoshi's SMM Auto-Installer can be extended into a BiG World Auto-Installer... This might make installation even easier than the unpacker.

Hmm. Well, I need to create a xml builder for that. But honestly, I'm a lazy reader.. so haven't really read BWP. Out of interest, I'll might do some guesswork tonight and see if I can come up with a generic configuration builder.

Alex,

You need a lot of spankings for not reading before shooting around.

Well, I really want to believe that it isn't vanity, but then why are SConrad and jcompton (there are others) being so rude about all that, what are we to think ?

JCompton said

Discontinue them, please.

- Rude? Don't think so, but he was strict. I think you owe them an apology.

Next for your queries:

1) Read http://www.shsforums...showtopic=30560 - try to see both sides. But I suggest NOT replying to that topic because we have had peace for about 1 week, so don't open such a topic  

2) Check the following so-called "easy" lists for mods.

• http://www.shsforums...showtopic=23549 (links + mirrors at top)
  
• http://www.shsforums...p...916&st=300# (links)
  
• http://www.shsforums...t...ost&id=9814 (links + mirrors at bottom)

3) If you have any constructive energy. Spend it here http://www.shsforums...showtopic=31041

4) Most importantly, in your so-called definition of "vain" -- If a girl is "vain" and pretty, she has the right to go where she wants. You'll go looking for her and still think she deserves to be looked at! Period.

Hope this answers your doubts.

1) Have the mod package packed in 7z packer

Hi Koravex, the system looks great, but doesn't this mean that you are mirroring the mods?

--08:23:23--  http://www.kovarex.com/download/baldur/BP_BGT_Worldmap_v6.6.1.7z
		   => `BP_BGT_Worldmap_v6.6.1.7z'
Resolving www.kovarex.com... 81.2.194.136
Connecting to www.kovarex.com|81.2.194.136|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response...

You may have to consider downloading the mods in raw format from the authorised mirrors.
That's the challenge in the actual installation process.

Anyway, you should really check with the aforementioned modders about this and any other potential issues. Their knowledge of the IE surpasses mine by lengths.

And probably mine too by n x lengths, where n is a random number > 2713.

Ok, thanks for your help & testing

Apparently, he uses the ids in your override directory for this. But the problem was that the same ID was used for two different Actions. For example, which ones should I take? the RES ones?
181 ReallyForceSpellRES(S:RES*,O:Target)
181 ReallyForceSpell(O:Target,I:Spell*Spell)
318 ForceSpellRangeRES(S:RES*,O:Target)
318 ForceSpellRange(O:Target,I:Spell*Spell)

Hmm, I didn't actually notice that those were duplicates of the same action since they do different things in-game.

Anyway, I don't think it really matters for decompiling, but you better double check with devSin, igi and Avenger (my namesake of DLTCEP fame). They usually post in the IESDP forum on G3.

Here are some results I got from testing _gremage.bcs from my override directory.
The decompiled script from NI, Weidu & IE is as shown below:

IF
  Global("prep","LOCALS",0)
  HaveSpell(WIZARD_ANIMATE_DEAD)
  See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself))
  HPPercentGT(Myself,0)
THEN
  RESPONSE #50
	RemoveSpell(WIZARD_ANIMATE_DEAD)
	ReallyForceSpell(Myself,WIZARD_ANIMATE_DEAD)
	DisplayString(Myself,142010) // Come to me, my undead horde!
	Continue()
  RESPONSE #50
	RemoveSpell(WIZARD_ANIMATE_DEAD)
	ReallyForceSpell(Myself,WIZARD_ANIMATE_DEAD)
	DisplayString(Myself,142011) // Lost souls, hear your master's call!
	Continue()
END

Should I change IE to apply the RES version, the param (S:RES*) is missing, unless (S:RES* == I:Spell*Spell) so the decompiled script becomes:

IF
  Global("prep","LOCALS",0)
  HaveSpellRES("")
  See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself))
  HPPercentGT(Myself,0)
THEN
  RESPONSE #50
	RemoveSpellRES("")
	ReallyForceSpellRES("",Myself)
	DisplayString(Myself,142010) // 'Come to me, my undead horde!'
	Continue()
  RESPONSE #50
	RemoveSpellRES("")
	ReallyForceSpellRES("",Myself)
	DisplayString(Myself,142011) // 'Lost souls, hear your master's call!'
	Continue()
END

Since NI, weidu show ReallyForceSpell instead of ReallyForceSpellRES, I'll stick to the original haha

I had been thinking of rewriting a cleaner version of IE in C# to practise some coding. Cos I was thinking if I spent say 3-4mths on this to clean this src up, it might be more worthwhile rewriting the scode with a newer foundation.

Hmm, perhaps that would be the best. BTW, would that still be in line with GPL2?

No that won't even apply, cos its right from scratch. Managed to write some general parsers to read infinityengine files formats this afternoon. After I get all the formats right, then it will be easier to do stuff eg. bookmarking, etc.

I've got to look into this. I suppose the tob commands are on IESDP?

Yes, they are all listed there.

Okay will take a look.

Oh, I didn't realise that these are considered as strrefs as well, I thought they were commands.
Wait, are they supposed to be in the numerical values for cut-pasting? or are they supposed to be in word form?

Both should work equally well, however it's easier on the eyes to have the state names displayed as text.

Fixed that with R5

One more thing, did you get the same problem as reported by Kulyok on the duplications even for items not in the override directory?

Nope, I only get duplicate entries for files which appear both in the override folder and the original biffs. However, I noticed that the file called dialogcpy.tlk remains even after Infinity Explorer is closed. I assume this was not intended?

Actually the way IE was designed had pro & cons, which was to read the dialog.tlk only when necessary. But normally I don't recommend that. I left it the copy there because I didn't want to spend time writing those functions, since you guys will open it up again and create the file again >_<. But as long as there is a working usable copy (esp the dialog & links) to last a couple months until I can hopefully find time to work out a stable new version

Just to create a time-stamp, here's was my email to Dmitry. Hope he replies favorably

To: Dmitry Jemerov <yole@yole.ru>
Subject: Fixes to Infinity Explorer
Sat, 12 Jan 2008 09:41:23 -0800 (PST)

Hi Dmitry!

Thanks for your extremely helpful Infinity Explorer tool. Couple of days ago, I started to made some slight updates to the tool to help out the modding at SpellHoldStudios, and its freely distributed there, and kept the credits to you. Here's the link to the updates, http://www.shsforums...topic=31285&hl=

Do let me know if you have any issues and I'd be glad to work them out with you.

regards,
<real name> aka BigMoshi

No that won't even apply, cos its right from scratch. Managed to write some general parsers to read infinityengine files formats this afternoon. After I get all the formats right, then it will be easier to do stuff eg. bookmarking, etc.

Sounds great! BTW, I'd still contact the original author before doing the recode, if nothing else than out of courtesy. I think he wont mind the recode since he practically disowned Infinity Explorer on the sourceforge page, but you should still try to reach him just to be completely on the safe side.

Yeps, I'll be sure to do that when the time comes, else i'll be poked left, right & center by everyone here There will be especially be some concerns if i wanted to use the same name.

Actually the way IE was designed had pro & cons, which was to read the dialog.tlk only when necessary. But normally I don't recommend that. I left it the copy there because I didn't want to spend time writing those functions, since you guys will open it up again and create the file again >_<. But as long as there is a working usable copy (esp the dialog & links) to last a couple months until I can hopefully find time to work out a stable new version

I'm sure the new version will be well worth the wait.

BTW, if you are looking for hosting or possibly a forum of your own, contact one of the SHS/PPG/G3 administrators. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help.

Thanks! They were really helpful, just that I wanted to work out some concrete plans before committing on a project like this.

Btw, need some help for the item below:

Great! BTW, I've done some more checks and it seems that Infinity Explorer doesn't have support for some of the ToB only scripting commands, for example the ReallyForceSpellRES(S:RES*,O:Target) action. Perhaps you could point it to pull these commands directly from the relevant IDS files (ACTION.IDS, TRIGGER.IDS ...etc.).

Apparently, he uses the ids in your override directory for this. But the problem was that the same ID was used for two different Actions. For example, which ones should I take? the RES ones?
181 ReallyForceSpellRES(S:RES*,O:Target)
181 ReallyForceSpell(O:Target,I:Spell*Spell)
318 ForceSpellRangeRES(S:RES*,O:Target)
318 ForceSpellRange(O:Target,I:Spell*Spell)

Updated overview, credits, & uploaded final fixes! Enjoy!

I recently noticed that the current Infinity Explorer (0.84) doesn't show all item flag columns when viewing CRE files i.e. it only shows the "Identified" column.

Would it be possible to add three new columns for the other known flags (Non-pickpocketable, Stolen and Undroppable)?

Hey Avenger!

I'll take a look at that bit and see if I can do anything without messing it up! Thanks

Yeps, thats possible, but personally I felt it easier to see it altogether while writing my walkthrough, because the files will be in alphabetical order

You could make it a toggleable setting, like Near Infinity does. Check the three "Options -> Show Override Files" settings in NI.

Actually, I was considering that besides the dialog pathing & click-links, IE is seriously quite outdated as compared to the newer editors. Especially seems like even the media and stuff are broken.

I had been thinking of rewriting a cleaner version of IE in C# to practise some coding. Cos I was thinking if I spent say 3-4mths on this to clean this src up, it might be more worthwhile rewriting the scode with a newer foundation. So i'll put this toggle button on hold for new GUI. Got a wishlist?

Done the strref thing. For the itm ref, not done needs quite a bit of rework.

Great! BTW, I've done some more checks and it seems that Infinity Explorer doesn't have support for some of the ToB only scripting commands, for example the ReallyForceSpellRES(S:RES*,O:Target) action. Perhaps you could point it to pull these commands directly from the relevant IDS files (ACTION.IDS, TRIGGER.IDS ...etc.).

I've got to look into this. I suppose the tob commands are on IESDP?

EDIT - I just noticed that the state checks and most other IDS parameters no longer display in text but rather in numerical values. For example:

!StateCheck(Myself,STATE_INVISIBLE)

is now displayed as:

!StateCheck(Myself,16)

Could you restore this to the previous setting? It's a bit harder to keep the overview this way.

Oh, I didn't realise that these are considered as strrefs as well, I thought they were commands.
Wait, are they supposed to be in the numerical values for cut-pasting? or are they supposed to be in word form?

Sorry, I'm really lost on modding syntax. Still learning along the way.

One more thing, did you get the same problem as reported by Kulyok on the duplications even for items not in the override directory?

Oh, cool. DLTCEP has the same general display for dialogue, but lacks the condition detail AFAIK.

Yeps, so at least for me, it made it easier to track for dialog bugs etc

Can someone just give me a quick summary on what advantages this has over DLTCEP and/or NI? I've never really used it, so I don't know. Cheers.

IE's probably a light-weight browser that makes easier for checking dialog paths with clickbased links created in the decompiled scripts, so that you can just click and access the relevant script, making it rather intuitive. Really bad thing is that it doesn't do editing. So generally, I use IE to check for bugs etc, and then use NI to edit the corresponding files.

The main prob was that it didn't display custom dlgs/script/cre/itm from <override> that were not indexed in chitin.key. So a small fix was created to do that.

Here's an example of the dialog tree. If you click on the path, you'll see the corresponding trigger / action (if any) immediately

Okay, will look into the BCS files. What about the those .BS files in &lt;scripts> do? Are they important at all, as in do they actually affect the game? Or do they essentially mean the common "bs" term?

BS files are the AI scripts which you can assign to your partymembers via customize -> script option in the game.

Done BCS, not sure what to do with BS though.

Anything else besides the strrefs that will affect the copy/pasting issue like (1)?

Not sure, I'll check and get back to you.

BTW, would it be possible to group the files which are presently in the override folder in a separate "override" category, just like Near Infinity does? This would also prevent duplication when a single file exists both in the biffs and the override folder.

Yeps, thats possible, but personally I felt it easier to see it altogether while writing my walkthrough, because the files will be in alphabetical order. Even they duplicate, they will show the same info. Its only a couple of lines to remove the dups, but that would really increase loading time. the design wasn't really meant sorting like that. On the other hand, it was designed for efficiency, so things were only loaded when necessary. I was thinking of recoding the prog in c#, that would give me more leeway to do somethings. Still thinking about it.

By the way, I'd like to you a newbie-ish question about IE, since you're the best person to answer it: when I run it, it "locks" my dialog.tlk(so, for example, I can't view it via another program, or install mods at the same time). With Near Infinity, which I use for item/cre editing, though, I noticed that it doesn't do any such thing. So I'm wondering: why is IE doing it, and is it really necessary?

Oh ya, it does. I had that before. I'll have to study a bit more on IE, and see if I can release the file without repercussions based on its current design.

Updated v0.82a:
(a) added itm, cre files
(b) fixed linking errors in v0.81 eg. you couldn't access dialogs from CRE files (sorry, overlooked some libs)

Hope you enjoy it

Hi people, okay so this means it hasn't been done before. Hope it helps.

Btw, in case you are wondering why some dialogs are duplicated, its cos the dialog can be found in both chitin.key & override. But both will show the same dialog from the override file. Maybe I'll clean it up next time.

.. would it be possible to also update it with the new IESDP data so that it can properly read and display effects which are currently marked as unknown? For example, if you open RING95.ITM in Infinity Explorer you'll notice a bunch of "Effect: 0xCE" entries. Using IESDP it's easy to deduce that "Effect: 0xCE" is actually "Effect #206 - Protection from Spell".

Should be possible. Will need to do some reading on the IESDP thing before I can confirm though.

Strongly recommend that you go through whatever bureaucracy is required by Sourceforge to get this in to the official site. No offense to this august institution, but direct forum attachments are a notoriously mercurial thing, and as a zillion people use Infinity Explorer, it would seem to be a good thing to have it on the actual infexp.sourceforge.net site. With Jemerov clearly disowning the thing, I can't imagine it being that difficult to push through...

Actually I just tried to fix the dialog so that you guys would find it easier to see the dialog paths. I'll see if I have time to fix anything else before uploading it into sourceforge.

Infinity Explorer was always my preference to view dialog files for IEngine games, and reading scripts. The original v0.75/v0.80 versions were slightly outmoded as time flew by. Thus, custom dialogs files like BG1NPC "X#**.dlg" that are not indexed in chitin.key don't show up on the list in Infinity Explorer. Hence, slight fixes for these and couple of other issues have been made to update the program, and I understand that it has not been done before.

Infinity Explorer is a simple intuitive brower, so I hope the updated version will be useful for modders by and large.

Download here:  InfExp_0.85.zip   614.68K   6230 downloads

Hopefully won't need to update this pascal version unless there are major issues. Do let me know you encounter any problem.

Fixes for v0.85 (5 Feb 08):

• Item flag columns when viewing CRE files (NoPick, Stolen, NoDrop) - Avenger
  
• Fixed duplicate file resources index
  
• Brighter area maps (Yes! You no longer go blind looking at dark area)
  
• Added custom are/wed/tis files

Fixes till v0.84:

• X,Y locations for area maps - SConrad
  
• shows custom dlg/itm/cre files
  
• fixed linking errors where you couldn't access dialogs from CRE files
  
• workaround fix for file locking of "dialog.tlk" file - Kulyok
  
• general fix for area CTD due to *.ARE file lock - jcompton
  
• shows custom bcs (in default.bif)- Avenger
  
• updated compiler to use strrefs & show the string at the end of line (for copy & pasting) - Avenger
  
• fix for some specific strrefs - Avenger
  
• updated spell effects based on IESDP - Avenger

Commencing work on a c# version to learn more about the specific stuff IE modding. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it and share it with anyone interested to learn more about programming!

Since I'm a visual-type of a person, I'll not leave this without a picture. Here's to illustrate how IE's dialog pathing looks like:


Credits:

• IE v0.75/v0.80 was written by Dmitry Jemerov and his homepage is at http://infexp.sourceforge.net.
  
• Thanks to aVENGER, Kulyok & jcompton + SConrad for identifying issues for fixing!
  
• Thanks to all for taking time to check this awesome program by Dmitry!

Cheers

PS: I sent an email to Dmitry at yole@yole.ru about this. But I'm willing to bet he's probably busy with other commitments. So, if anyone spots him walking down the street, do let him know about this OK! TY

By the way, I'd like to you a newbie-ish question about IE, since you're the best person to answer it: when I run it, it "locks" my dialog.tlk(so, for example, I can't view it via another program, or install mods at the same time). With Near Infinity, which I use for item/cre editing, though, I noticed that it doesn't do any such thing. So I'm wondering: why is IE doing it, and is it really necessary?

Hi again.

Its a design issue. The tlk file is kept locked throughout the entire application, and read only when necessary.
Changing it would break a lot of code. So instead, here's a quick workaround fix that makes a copy to "dialogcpy.tlk" and reads from there. NI will be reading the original "dialog.tlk" that will remain as it is. Pls see 0.82a-release2. Thanks!

Nice work! BTW, I noticed that custom (non chitin.key) AI scripts still can't be opened directly while browsing the CRE files.

That said, the Infinity Explorer script decompiler is kind of outdated. Would it be possible to use WeiDU for decompiling the scripts instead?

Hi Avenger, for custom (non chitin.key) AI scripts are you referring to bcs/bs files? sorry, I'm still trying to get used to the different file formats from IESDP.

Also for the script decompiler, in what sense is it outdated? Do you mean its unable to parse certain scripts? Any egs? I could try to take another look. Thanks!

If you're taking bug reports, you might also look into this one:

- Open InfExp
- Browse the area tree and open an area of your choice (AR0700, let's say for the sake of argument.)
- Start the game
- Move to AR0700
- The game crashes.

Done, its due to some file access issue locking the biff files. Area files with ARE in override didn't seem to have this issue. Made a general fix for that, but let me know if specific exceptions arise. Thanks!

Hi Avenger, for custom (non chitin.key) AI scripts are you referring to bcs/bs files? sorry, I'm still trying to get used to the different file formats from IESDP.

Done. see 0.82-release4.zip

I was referring to custom BCS files. For example, if I open a mod CRE in Infinity Explorer which has a custom (non chitin.key) AI script assigned to it and click on the script link in the AI tab nothing happens.

Also for the script decompiler, in what sense is it outdated? Do you mean its unable to parse certain scripts? Any egs? I could try to take another look. Thanks!

For example, Infinity Explorer decompiles any strings present into scripts directly into textual lines instead of placing them in comments which makes copy/paste from it fairly unreliable. For comparison, try viewing USEITEM.BCS in Infinity Explorer and Near Infinity and notice the difference.

This is from Infinity Explorer:

IF
	HPPercentLT(Myself,50)
	HasItem("potn55",Myself)
THEN
	RESPONSE #100
		DisplayStringHead(Myself,'quaffs a potion')
		UseItem("potn55",Myself)
		Continue()
END

And this is from Near Infinity:

IF
	HPPercentLT(Myself,50)
	HasItem("potn55",Myself) // Potion of Superior Healing
THEN
	RESPONSE #100
		DisplayStringHead(Myself,46150) // quaffs a potion
		UseItem("potn55",Myself) // Potion of Superior Healing
		Continue()
END

Personally, I find the Near Infinity version much more descriptive, and I'd like Infinity Explorer to be able to do this as well, if possible.

Done the strref thing. For the itm ref, not done needs quite a bit of rework.

Hi Avenger, for custom (non chitin.key) AI scripts are you referring to bcs/bs files? sorry, I'm still trying to get used to the different file formats from IESDP.

I was referring to custom BCS files. For example, if I open a mod CRE in Infinity Explorer which has a custom (non chitin.key) AI script assigned to it and click on the script link in the AI tab nothing happens.

Okay, will look into the BCS files. What about the those .BS files in &lt;scripts> do? Are they important at all, as in do they actually affect the game? Or do they essentially mean the common "bs" term?

Also for the script decompiler, in what sense is it outdated? Do you mean its unable to parse certain scripts? Any egs? I could try to take another look. Thanks!

For example, Infinity Explorer decompiles any strings present into scripts directly into textual lines instead of placing them in comments which makes copy/paste from it fairly unreliable. For comparison, try viewing USEITEM.BCS in Infinity Explorer and Near Infinity and notice the difference.

This is from Infinity Explorer:

IF
	HPPercentLT(Myself,50)
	HasItem("potn55",Myself)
THEN
	RESPONSE #100
		DisplayStringHead(Myself,'quaffs a potion')
		UseItem("potn55",Myself)
		Continue()
END

And this is from Near Infinity:

IF
	HPPercentLT(Myself,50)
	HasItem("potn55",Myself) // Potion of Superior Healing
THEN
	RESPONSE #100
		DisplayStringHead(Myself,46150) // quaffs a potion
		UseItem("potn55",Myself) // Potion of Superior Healing
		Continue()
END

Personally, I find the Near Infinity version much more descriptive, and I'd like Infinity Explorer to be able to do this as well, if possible.

Ok, I can see what you mean. There seems to be two things you need:
(1) Maintain the script code format - IE replaced the strref with the actual string
(2) Additional Desc - NI places comments if they detected items in that script line

Anything else besides the strrefs that will affect the copy/pasting issue like (1)?

I'll try to see what IE did for the decompiler, and play around with weidu.

Unfortunately, the latest version I downloaded shows two dialogue files for each and every character(not just mod ones), which is rather inconvenient. So I think I'll stick with the previous one(the first one you posted; 0.81) for the time being.

Oops. was that so? Okay I'll go check it. TY

UPDATE: Hrms. I'm not seeing that though, in fact I haven't changed anything near the dialogs since v0.81. I tried it using 0.84a-r4. Could you grab a few dialogs having this prob? Perhaps then I could identify the prob. Thanks!

Btw, another a simple way to double check is to rename your override-directory to say <XOverride> then run the IE. and see if there are dups. See no dups >_<

Mods I didn't googled out (Could you provide them somehow?):
Vault Item Pack (found only version 5.0)
Black Rose Part I: Market Prices
Domains of Dread
Shadows Of Amn/TOB Item Upgrades (SETUP-ITEMUPGRADE.TP2)
(Experience reduction mod) (SETUP-XPMOD.TP2) (Seems like something similar is in the setup-d0tweak, but I suppose it wont work so perfectly when not installed last, on the other hand setup-d0tweak is after all the big mods, so it should probably change most of the content)
You have SETUP-DESECRATIONOFSOULS.TP2 I have the version with Setup-DOS.Tp2 (also version 2.6) I hope it is the same

I tried to provide the download links in the installation guide over here  http://www.shsforums...showtopic=30695

As for the auto-installer, maybe you can get some more ideas here http://www.shsforums...showtopic=29922. You'll have to circumvent the issue raised by Acension on unauthorized mirroring. Have fun.