Author available - Jarno, dabus, ALIEN, or anyone who knows the architecture of the tool used to guide the installation, please contact me

The two weidu.logs I have seen on this seem to show the installer forcing several components successfully, then trying to install everything a second time. It also seems to be choking on REQUIRE_COMPONENT ~setup-aranw.tp2~ ~0~ @30017

Straight installation (manual) shows no errors, but it is done through setup-mymod.exe rather than command line calls; if this requires a trivial change in the order or a setup of a component to deal with BWP, I'm game. There is already a "default" installation that lets players skip all the choices. Not sure why someone would want to skip the choices, but hey, it is their game.

OK, step one is done - see the beta release notes here:

http://gibberlings3....=27387&p=236489

Custom debugging logs integrated and tested against everything I could do to it minus the command line installs, updating to allow EET to use the files (untested on EET) and everything set up.

I will try for some of that "divided by component number user input" sorting for you tomorrow. Right now, I can help out by saying that the mod should just need three lines if running without varied choice; the debug-by-components breakdown is

aranw_0_debugger.log // main component

aranw_1234_debugger.log // 1 of 4 FORCED_SUBCOMPONENTs for sounds

aranw_56789_debugger.log // 1 of 5 FORCED_SUBCOMPONENTs for .cre, hidden from the user/installer by ACTION_READLN and ACTION_MATCH to player choice

aranw_opt10_debugger.log // optional portraits component, only needs to be installed if players want to choose instead of sticking with the default set.

AH!!!

I understand -

No worries. I have farmed the entire project's set of macros to /lib/ and set it up in the ALWAYS section, test installed (and rechecked by going through and changing the subcomponents).

ALWAYS
    INCLUDE ~aranw/lib/regexp.tph~ /* extra regexp vars */
    INCLUDE ~aranw/lib/aranw_macros.tph~ /* define all macros */
    /* .ids patching to make sure everything is in place */
    INCLUDE ~aranw/lib/ids_patching.tph~ /* checks for expected .ids resources */
    ACTION_IF GAME_IS ~bg2ee~ BEGIN    
    /* HANDLE_CHARSETS */
    /* BG2:EE tra conversion courtesy of weidu and iconv */
        ACTION_DEFINE_ARRAY c-aranreload BEGIN setup c-aranw END
        LAF HANDLE_CHARSETS
            INT_VAR
            infer_charset = 1
            STR_VAR
                tra_path = EVAL ~%MOD_FOLDER%/tra~
                reload_array = c-aranreload
        END
    END
    OUTER_SPRINT tra_version ~c-aranw~
END
LANGUAGE    ~English~
            ~english~
            ~aranw\tra\english\c-aranw.tra~
            ~aranw\tra\english\setup.tra~ /* Contains text strings displayed during the installation: TP2, Components, etc., encoded for _win32 (cp1252), _osx (utf-8 no BOM), or _unix (utf-8 no BOM) */

How are you dealing with all the

/* Setting up timered interactions with player choice before compiling .d and .baf */
OUTER_FOR( aran_timer_choice = 0 ; ~%aran_timer_choice%~ STRING_COMPARE_REGEXP ~^[12]$~ ; )BEGIN
    PRINT @30042
    ACTION_READLN aran_timer_choice
END // of O_F
ACTION_IF ("aran_timer_choice" = 1) THEN BEGIN
    /*  patching files with player choice: set talk timers */
        OUTER_SET ARAN_FTT = 3600
        OUTER_SET ARAN_LTT = 3600
        OUTER_SET ARAN_FLIRT = 3600
        PRINT @30043
        OUTER_SET choseninitialrom = 2400
        PRINT @30044
        OUTER_SET choseninitialflirt = 1200
        PRINT @30045
        PRINT @30046
END
ACTION_IF ("aran_timer_choice" = 2) THEN BEGIN
    PRINT @30047
    PRINT @30048
    OUTER_SPRINT ~friendshiptimer~ ~placeholder_value~
    OUTER_WHILE (!(IS_AN_INT ~friendshiptimer~) OR (~friendshiptimer~ > 0x6) OR (~friendshiptimer~ < 0x1)) BEGIN
etc. etc.

?  The list of responses needs to be fed by component?

I will go take a look and modify that list by component.

EDIT:

I suspect we can then detect a mod installed this way buy what is (and isn't) in the DEBUG. If individual components are installed this way, the MYMOD.DEBUG will only show the last installed materials for that component. So I need to add these checks and PRINT to the debug in the ALWAYS as well:

WeiDU says that this game has BGII:EE content.

The version of Aran Whitehand being installed is:
Beta_4 29.6.2015

Weidu variables on this install:

Language = english
Architecture = x86
Operating System = win32
User Directory = C:\Users\NAMEREDACTED\Documents/Baldur's Gate II - Enhanced Edition
Save Game Single Player Directory = C:\Users\NAMEREDACTED\Documents/Baldur's Gate II - Enhanced Edition/save
Save Game Multi Player Directory = C:\Users\NAMEREDACTED\Documents/Baldur's Gate II - Enhanced Edition/mpsave
Running .exe = D:\BeamDog\00783\setup-aranw.exe
Mod name (as seen by WeiDU) = ARANW/SETUP-ARANW.TP2
Installation type is: 1 ( 1 = install is being done interactively (IE you launched setup-mymod.exe and you’re installing mymod), or 0 = the install is being done non-interactively (IE you launched setup-mymod.exe and now weidu is reinstalling othermod due to the domino uninstall and reinstall).
 

And now I also need to see if any mod out there has found a way of reading READLN and ACTION_READLN responses into a custom .DEBUG, as the user-input responses and explination of timer settings, etc. are overwritten on the .DEBUG when the second command line call is made. Hmmm.... got to think about that one.

HAH! FOUND IT!

Thank the gods for CamDawg and the G3_Debugging_Suite...

I can leverage APPEND, PATCH_PRINT, and INNER_ACTION to create a custom .log file that is untouched by changes to other components, but is still removed when the mod is uninstalled. Tested a structure for BG2EE and it works swimmingly. (that means very well).

Now all I have to do is remember why/how to get constructs like this to use .tra references...

or not. The debugging can be in English and not .tra'd. Probably better for me that way anyways.

Someone HAS to have done this before... I will need to go look at SCS, igi's iiItem, and the like - and probably Miloch's stuff again.

Sure thing - an easy fix, on the surface of it. I can do a quick INCLUDE and throw those out to a .tpa. It will be done in about 12 hours from this post and integrated on GitHub.

Except... I don't understand why anyone would install the main component, then stop the installation, then install a second component - won't the REQUIRE_PREDICATE calls, and weidu's "temporary uninstall rollback" come into play, thus messing heavily with things? I know we specifically set up marker files in BG1NPC to *stop* cherry-picking individual components, or worse, placing them out of order (a pid component put before a dialog component).

Does someone have a cut-down script or a way I can test the behavior of AranW installed this way?

Or in this case I could skip the whole component thing and use READLN with only one master component. But I want to understand what the tool is doing separating components, and why, please.

@The Imp, glad to see you, man!

re:

@cmorgan: Can you extend the English version of the setup.tra file from this:

- sure thing. I can do that after each round of changes, if it helps - or do you need the version number to be static for the tool?

Regardless, I will make the change now to update.

re: beta status, well that is a tough one!

On the one hand, as a modder, I can always use the bug reports to fix the mod up - and big installs cast a wider net looking for "unintended consequences".  I am the culprit for the darned mod being in "unreleased but fully working beta", when what I should have done about a year ago was realize it was ready for a v1 release.

But if the mega-install tool  were my own project, I would say something like "test your own damned mod, cmorgan; we have a hard enough time dealing with the garbage the NON-beta mods throw at us randomly, let alone ones that are regularly adding content! I need to eat/play/sleep SOMETIME!!"

@Bill Bisco - oh, I understand - so an uninterrupted flow needs the answers to the questions to be provided and inserted. No worries. Sequence for components:

(not sure about language choice options, but there is only english - currently, it should just install without asking a language option)

ASKED | RESPONSE

Display Readme | N   // no point in displaying a readme if you are doing an unattended install

Install | i                     // put the mod in place; it will find SoA, ToB, Bg2EE, and run HANDLE_CHARSET for bg2ee utf8 conversion

Set talk timer | 1        // regular talk times, skips all sorts of customization questions

Install audio | 2         // only soundset and music available at this time

Music choices | 1      // guitar soundset

Aran config | 1          // default soldier, skips all sorts of customization questions

Install portrait | N       // default .cre has portrait in place already, so this component is optional

GitHub has the latest changes, and the order of components is static. As a BG2:EE install, there are no known dependencies; as a BG2:SoA or BG2:ToB install, it assumes the G3 BG2 Fixpack is installed (but looks for the things the mod directly accesses and sets them up if it needs them).

The only thing that may be trouble on huge installs is the creation of the inn where you can pick up Aran. That is set up with code that dynamically searches for AR0700's "Abandon06" info point and changes it into a travel region. It has been tested against Dorn (bg2:ee new entrance at the top ) and Kivan (spawned as if he were entering from the same basic point) with both working fine. If a mod that comes after Aran completely removes or renames "Abandon06" or old-skool overwrites/replaces AR0700, then folks will have no access to recruit him and they just wasted a bunch of time installing a relatively huge dialog-centered mod. It won't cause problems for the install, but it will add thousands of unused, unaccessible dialog states and transitions to the game.

Note: for full troubleshooting, I have tucked a ton of information into the .DEBUG file for the mod, including what the user answered, and what it means for the install. This includes architecture, weidu vars, the chosen timings, etc., etc. if that is useful to anyone looking for identification of trouble spots.

Aaaand someone please let me know what "EET" is? I have been away from modding for a year, which translates to about 3 full tech cycles these days...

Cooool - I'd better go see if there is more to be done to be compatible with this.

OK, all fixes integrated, including Roxanne's finding of some problems with the final solar talk - all credit for the update goes to Argent77. The official v7 of Tyris Flare is now up in the regular downloads section at G3 for Windows, OSX., and linux. Since IE Newsfeed is still messed up, here is the link for the official stuff:

G3's Tyris Flare NPC , by Grim Squeaker, has been updated by Argent77, and is now available for your BG2:SoA, BG2:ToB, BGT, and BG2:EE games. Meet Tyris Flare, a red-haired amazon who can kick ass and hurl fire! Sound familiar? That's because she used be in Golden Axe! But now she's lost in the Umar Hills and looking for the love of a good (or bad) Bhaalspawn. This latest version of Tyris has a couple of miscellaneous fixes, updates WeiDU, and is now available for Linux and for install on BG2:EE thanks to Argent77. Enjoy.

• Learn more about the mod
• View the Readme
• Visit the Forum

I tested it on Windows 10 using BG2:EE. No worries. Cool stuff.

This is what happens when you are an old man - You are Tower of Deception, right? Good mod!

Check those puppies carefully, Lollorian, before going on - I remember there being some serious overwriting of resources. Pretty much TCs. The newest versions may have solved some of that. I suggest dropping the NeJ biffing mod completely - that was designed for a time when Generalized Biffing did not exist, and you don't want a mod trying to compress into .bif in the middle of a mega install...

EDIT:\ 

I am having memory problems - I just made Vlad into the wrong dude - my apologies - between this and swapping Safana with Shar-Teel this morning, i am having a red letter day - going to stop pontificating and go back to my own stuff and mess that up instead

*  "conceptual" incompatibility is a real thing, so a good use of even tools like this is to pick and choose smaller groups of mods that work to form a cohesive game rather than trying for everything all at once.

and

* on both "technical" and "conceptual" compatibility, the modder is the one who should be making the choice. It is their content that they are letting other folks use.

We have different approaches on that last one - I say "if it was created solely by me take it and use it how you want because the fun was in creating it", and he is specifically asking that in order for someone to use his mod, he would like "payment" in the form of direct feedback.

I say that is modder choice. So for whatever reasons he cites, I say don't include it as a "standard" mod. People who get the mod from him can add it as an expert mod if they have gotten a copy from him. For the same reason, I really hope you folks don't include Improved Anvil Lite - that is an unauthorized use of someone else's work.

I think there is a solution, though it is bound to make Lollorian's life hell - have an incompatability check that warns a user that they can't install both the "Currently Available" NeJ2 (the most stable and technically compatible old version) and the "private reserve" one. Then just support the one that you choose, Lollorian.

Hey - I am very supportive of what you folks are doing, because I think you are having fun and opening up content to new folks. You are certainly providing feedback and bug reports to modders, which is awesome - you are adding language support - the list of things that are positive with this are HUGE.

But just so you know - modders in general incredibly wary about efforts like this. Lol had to basically rebuild Ninde's ending to tie in with TDD. In the old days, doing that to someone else's work without permission of the respective authors would result in a serious flame war - and get you perma-kicked off of SHS, G3, and PPG to boot. "You don't mess with someone else's work - only with BioWare™ stuff" is the Big Iron Curtain in the i.e. community - and the new BeamDog forums codified that into this next generation of modding here : https://forums.beamd...opyright#latest . The person who decides what is and isn't "messing with their work" is... the modder who created it. Not the folks using it - the person who wrote it.

So when folks are working and a modder asks for specific handling of their material, it really is good form to stick to what they want. All a user has to do is ask, and provide feedback. Sounds like a very cheap return for over a decade of someone else's sweat, frustration, and hard work. 

Edit: another good thing that has come out of all of this BWP/Mega./Multi/BWS/MonsterMash stuff is a much larger set of known mods that do dthe same thing. So if Vlad does that "Keldorn Third Path" thing, we will have Saerileth, Berelinde's Paladin third path, the standard ones, and another Keldorn pathway. Sounds like fun to me, but I think Lollorian may have just lost half of his hair!

Testing branch of Crossmod was integrated a few days ago - the new "most updated" link is currently

https://github.com/c...leases/tag/v14a

My suggestion is to change the installer to versioned releases rather than GitHub "newest, then - because the info is still up there, and the mod has not changed that much - ESPECIALLY the TESTING BRANCH!!!!!

That branch exist because it is not a release.

Sorry for your troubles, Chevalier (and hey there, by the way ) - in this case, I can't really help much, because when a testing branch is integrated, S.O.P. is to prune it and establish a new testing branch.

Side note - I'd be interested in finding out what part of the installer calls for the link and sets it up. If there is a checksum, it should be possible to remove it and integrate the mod by renaming it.

tl; dr - Definitely not trolling - apt analysis. Direct parallel - Shep vs <CHARNAME>. They even have the same plot-mandtory "game over on player1 death" - a pretty universal BioWare concept, and one of the few things that give players some sense of actual consequence for actions.

the "too long" part -

ME[1,2,3], DAO, etc. have one basic premise that the player is at the center of the game. In ME[1,2,3] a regular combat can only end in a reload by a player death; your "team" can die in combat and then be up and ok, but if Shep/FemShep dies, reload is prompted. There, like in BG, is patently silly to have Player1 replaced by an in-game NPC. For BG, they are not the Bhaalspawn... in game terms, in plot term, and in story terms, Player1 survivies to fulfill destiny, or the game is pointless - "Jaheria has a hidden secret - she is actually Neo/Shephard/Bhallspawn, and the game up until this point is really a trick!" [The Dallas TV show syndrome - recast an entire season as a dream so that the plot can actually continue after the writers have written themselves into an untenable situation]. The only way it makes sense is if the player1 situation can be reolved at the end of combat with ressurection - but even then, the whole point is that the essence of Bhaal is *released by killing a bhaalspawn*. So no matter how you justify it, you can't have player1 die in BG/SoA/ToB.

BUT in ME[1,2 and to an extremely limited extent 3] if a quest requires a "joinable" NPC or a plot "non-joinable" NPC death, the game consequences are carried through with a clone of the bit-player's plot, a new quest giver, and a slight tweak to the existing sub-plot. This means that the overall gist of the game is relatively immune from Plaer Choice™. It means that the player is re-cast from the lead in an interactive movie, to a script director in an interactive movie. The actor's choices have consequences for the way the story plays out, but the same basic "scenery" elements ae brought to play for each and every actor in places where player choice matters long-term; "forced choice points" that are needed to advance the story remain in play even if the player does something like wipe out a plot-needed character.

SO, the crux of the matter is why change the story elements that were put into place in the first place. We modders have answered that question -  because the ruleset is not a satisfactory replication of 2E rules; because there are bugs that were never addressed; because there is a subplot or experience that will enhance the regular story; because the modder in question feels the self-empowering need to insert their demi-god MarySue/Stu and have a story where Harry Potter is a bit-player foil to Ron or Hermione rather than Harry; because the game world needs more scenery and differnt ways of interaction; even simply "because we can". But from a storytelling standpoint, the story can only be warped and changed in specific ways before it is not the story, but a completely new one. We are not talking about just massive hi-jacking of plot like Saerileth and Chloe, where the Goddesses are the real players and "player1" is basically along for the ride left to marvel in the wonder that is a 15 year old etra-planar Paladin - we are talking about changing an *imperative to plot development* element, because we can.

So, if you completely rewrite the story plot points removing Khalid's death, you now have a completely different movie for Jaheira, and any other mod that expects that event to occur (which is any story mod out there - unless it is a fixpack or ruleset or item mod, it expects that point). Ditto Imoen's involvement. Doable? Probably - with enough time and effort, you could even rewrite BG to have a completely different cast of characters, and an altered storyline that has no Bhaalspawn plot at all. You could even use the basic engine and set up a completely different game - AND WE HAVE!! "Total Conversions" like Classic Adventures!

Is that a bad thing, that we technically can completely change the experience and plot and redirect atention from individual NPC story development in favor of a "Jaheria dies and is replaced by her Twin Sister Aheiraj, but she is clobbered so a random blue cloaked NPC named Heiraja steps in..."? Well, for some players, it is completely ridiculous, and they would never play a mod that warped the core experience of the game that way. (By the way, that same statement has been used about the Fixpack, BGT, and even adding NPC mods to an install). For other players, it would be the best thing since Betty White (she came along before Sliced Bread, so the old catchphrase needs updating).

In this day and age of http://www.goodreads...ritten-classics "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", and the lack of a large and engaged modder base, it is hard to say no to any idea in concept. So if a modder really wants to rewrite the game this way, it is their time and energy, and the reward will be the time and energy spent and the addition to their own game. After all, ME is still a playable popular game, even though they "cheat" by dumping individual NPC development and backstory and importance by creating

{ J aheria | A heiraj |  H eiraja | E irajah | I rajahe | R ajahei | A jaheir  - creeeeepyyyyy! } 

For me, I'd rather play with well-developed new NPCs, or new quests that relate to the main plot. But I am not you. I think it is tough put a value judgement on these things any more.

It is FR. Someone comes along and raises the dead. Tazok, anyone? Keeping Yoshimo mod? Smiling Imp's Joinable BG1 NPC's in BG2? Lots of the mod-added NPCs are built around the unchangeable plot points by necessity as well as by choice. But players are very used to the inconsitencies.

The reason to not deal with this is because you have to entirely rewrite BG2 if you try to keep internal consistency between the games reflecting each possible ending that a player could generate. The most obvious one is Imoen. Some players execute her almost immediately in BG1. So... rewrite BG2... without Imoen. And break internal consistency with all of the NPC and romance mods out there, because if there are two absolutes in BG2, it is that Player1 will survive until the end (game over on Player1 death causes reload to complete the story) and Imoen is a permanent part of the BG2 plot.

I'm not saying that Vlad's idea isn't a good one, a logical one - I am saying there is a reason why most folks accept the plot holes, because this is a fantasy that requires a structural plotline.

And from a functional standpoint, the two most commonly reported player activities are 1. multi-romancing and 2. walking Khalid (or any member of a pair) into a building while the rest of the party waits outside, dropping him, and going outside, so that the regular "pairs are inseparable" triggers fail, so that they get the party slot opened and still keep the one member of the pair they want.

Consider this - the real answer to the bhaalspawn saga is simple. Mellisan searches out each bhaalspawn, hires the Shadow Masks or another assassin's guild, sits back, and wins. Of course, the entore game would have ended in the first cutscene of BG... with the added image of a knife being stuck in the Armored Figure's back and him falling off the tower, too. We probably are better off creating more opportunities to allow players to justify the plot holes than try to fix them.

Well, to each their own choice Perhaps I should restate -

"for the past 10+ years, modders have worked with and added to BG, SoA, and ToB assuming that 1. parties are 6 (5+PC), Imoen is mandatory for BG2 plotline, The Game Ends When PC Dies, Many Players Divide NPC Pairs, Sarevok Is A Bad Guy, and Khalid and Dynaheir are toast at the beginning of BG2 - so they have written their plots, banters, side commentaries, extensions, quests, and all content related materials with that in mind. If you are creating these new things, you are expecting other mods to look silly while yours makes sense". For most things, modders can adjust pretty easily - 10 NPCs in a party, or stuff like that - extensions of existing content. Other stuff, like things that expect Jaheira to be a widow in BG2, mean comprehensive rewrites of both canonical and mod-added content, and ... heh.

Again, I am not saying "don't do this" - I am saying that if you want to erase all the crazy plot holes, it is like chasing your tail. An endless loop.

Your tail to chase, of course - and it can be a lot of fun doing things like creating "Continuous Jaheria" or fixing and making a better "Continuous Imoen", making the game keep going after Player1 has dies (that *really* screws with mod-added NPC's, as there is no DV check for the Player1D stuff - unles the trick is to basically min-hp Player1 and keep him/her technically "alive" while showing him as dead. I wonder what happens when a PID is triggered by a shell-scripted NPC as Player1? Hmmm.... that sounds like a fun thing to test out...)

Also, let me know if you both want this moved to Crossmod. I am probably moving most of my stuff into that work, as it is getting tougher to deal with multiple mods. (Any way of coding it so we don't have multiples of the same banter would be cool - if the globals set are the same, it means only one of them will play, so from a user standpoint there is no problem with one being installed by a legacy version and a second identical one being installed by Crossmod.. But from an "add a bunch of extra blocks to search through" load-the-engine point of view, less is more.)

I guess the attachment has srrved its purpose... Download while you can

I'll take down the attachmentwhen i get home

Thanks, Lol!

@Bill - private trading is something folks can do. Mod authors don't necessarily like it, but it happens (and folks like LoneRouge, Lolorrian, and I tend to collect what we can find) but the person you need to talk to about having it posted up it is the author, Almateria. She can put it up here in misc mods any time she wants

Most folks don't seem to mind. She does. So until she says yes, well...

...the ruckus does some publicity for the older mod.

P.S. - I want crossmod with Bannana. Or perhaps my ironmodder 10 entry.

Errr... much though we want to help deal with "lost mods", and way cool, Lollorian, that you keep a good vault of past versions, and everyone is trying to help,

THIS IS NOT A LOST MOD. THIS IS A PURPOSEFULLY "LOST" MOD

IT HAS AN ACTIVE AUTHOR AND MAINTAINER WHO DOES NOT WANT OLDER VERSIONS THIS MOD PUSHED OUT TO USERS.

PLEASE remove Thank you, Lollorian, for removing the posted file and respecting the modder's wishes to have folks upgrade not post this mod publically here at SHS!

I know that sometimes folks do "private distribution" of requested mods for individuals via email - some of the way older mods who have a decade of non-use, early Iron Modder entries and other mods that have no actual site presence, etc... so there is absolutely no reason to publicly post an older version of a mod that has an active author or maintainer without contacting them first.

A much kinder/better solution would be to attach a modified BiG World file for the user that allows the mod to be upgraded, rather than pushing depreciated versions.

[staff answer]

OK, cool, Lollorian - I have edited my post. My apologies for any confusion about updating. Thanks for understanding

Almateria, message rec'd loud and clear - your mod, your choice, your call. Official Translation = ALMATERIA SAYS NO.

Logging everything fixed up and moving on back to modding.

[/staff answer]

[personal answer]

For the record, Almateria, I think you should go ahead and load it up in the Misc Mods section without a bit of shame or remorse; Caveat emptor, et alii. It is very, very hard to erase a mod from circulation once it is posted *anywhere* online.

If you really want to try to make it disappear, you may need to contact Leonardo Watson and Lollorian and other Mega folks and ask them to remove any reference to it in the installers and any documentation they have.

[/personal answer]

Heh.

This at first glance looks like the vanilla .dlg - I will go recheck. But for some reason  

IF ~Global("HistoryTalk","GLOBAL",0)~ THEN REPLY #62788 /* ~Fair enough.  But how did you get here in the first place?~ */ DO ~SetGlobal("HistoryTalk","GLOBAL",1)
~ GOTO 5

is either not setting the global, or not registering the global in the next pass through the state. Modders put several blocks between a global set inside a dialog and referencing that global in the same dialog for that reason - and usually avoid the problem by either using EXTERN to another file or just not referencing the global inside the same dialog.

I... don't know offhand what would cause a global like this not to eventually set and register...

...unless the .bat is picking up the original file and not the interjected-into file in override.

I have a whole forum as a "blogging the code" exploration here: http://gibberlings3....p?showforum=159 but it turns out I should probably put up some kind of index if it is going to be useful other than through standard googling for specific issues. There are also tons of specific topic tutorials here, at www.gibberlings3.net, and at pocketplane.net.

Branwen (Kulyok's, not Wounded Lion's) is coded with comments in the code that explain what is going on. Several other mods use the same kind of detailed commenting, but hers gives simple clear comments aimed at beginning modders; not all of them do. Mine tend to be overly wordy; aVENGER_RR's Rogue Rebalancing has very detailed commenting, but not expanded on - basically labels what is changing, not necessarily why/what. Jastey's has comments that can help, but they tend to be in German

Numbers are way less important than you are weighting. Keto has no real romance track, and I think less than the number of friend talks you are talking about, and she is incredibly memorable. If you have a story arc for your romance that makes sense, that will give you a sense of how many talks you want to write. Chances are, "less is more, then expand" will be more helpful to you. (Most mod NPCs have significantly more talks and ith much more content than either the Canonical BioWare™ or BeamDog™ characters).

Example (plot points) :

Lady Chatterly and PC Romance Track

[INITIAL INTEREST] 1. you are interesting.

[DEVELOPMENT]    2. I wonder why you are interesting... you are not my usual type.

                                3. Hey, do you find me interesting?

                                4. Why do you find me interesting?

[CHOICE TO COMMIT TO ROMANCE] 5. Who else do you find interesting, and can I chop them up into little pieces and feed them to the fishes?

{beak point if npc is not interested in multiromance or pc says no then exit plot}

[DEVELOPMENT]     6. So, we are together. What do you think of things?

                                 7. I think I love you.

[RESOLUTION]         8. I am going to rock your world now.

[CODA]                     9. That was fun. I am glad we are together.

Some folks write the story, then try to turn it into a mod - others see a series of conversations (either sequential or non-sequential) with a goal of exploring either the NPC's or PC's backstory - but the closest kind of writing that I have found is basically a big "choose your own adventure" book, where the story has plot points like a screenplay, but at the end of the scene the reader is asked to do somehthing that sends them to a different series of plot points.

I run down the basics of The Great Vampire Caper in http://gibberlings3....showtopic=17039 . But to tell you the truth, the best way to really learn what is going on is to look at how several (not 1 - you want 5 or 6) mods handle it, starting with NI or DLCTEP and the Anomen or Jaheira files.