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<big>'''Welcome to the Dragon Age Toolset documentation wiki!'''</big>
 
<big>'''Welcome to the Dragon Age Toolset documentation wiki!'''</big>
  
The documentation for the toolset is still being worked on so some of the material here may be incomplete or somewhat out-of-date. The contents of this site will eventually be refined and released to the general public; if you wish to contribute toward that (either by adding your own material or by highlighting holes) you are most welcome and your efforts will be incorporated into the finished product. If you see something that needs improvement you can mark it by adding "<nowiki>{{undocumented}}</nowiki>" at the trouble spot.
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If you are a registered owner of Dragon Age: Origins, you can [http://social.bioware.com/toolset.php#downloads download the Dragon Age Toolset] and modify the game or create brand new content.
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The documentation for the toolset is still being worked on so some of the material here may be incomplete or somewhat out-of-date. If you wish to contribute (either by adding your own material or by highlighting holes) you are most welcome to jump right in and edit. If you see something that needs improvement but you're not sure how (or you just don't have the time) you can mark it by adding "<nowiki>{{undocumented}}</nowiki>" at the trouble spot.
  
 
*For general comments, discussion, suggestions, and questions, click the "[[talk:Main Page|Discussion]]" link at the top of the page.
 
*For general comments, discussion, suggestions, and questions, click the "[[talk:Main Page|Discussion]]" link at the top of the page.
 
*For assistance with installing or running the game, or for issues regarding BioWare-published content, see the [http://help.dragonage.com/ Dragon Age help site].
 
*For assistance with installing or running the game, or for issues regarding BioWare-published content, see the [http://help.dragonage.com/ Dragon Age help site].
 
In the meantime the contents of this wiki are covered by non-disclosure agreements, so please don't spread it around beyond this site and the designated private fora.
 
  
 
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Revision as of 23:44, 6 November 2009

Welcome to the Dragon Age Toolset documentation wiki!

If you are a registered owner of Dragon Age: Origins, you can download the Dragon Age Toolset and modify the game or create brand new content.

The documentation for the toolset is still being worked on so some of the material here may be incomplete or somewhat out-of-date. If you wish to contribute (either by adding your own material or by highlighting holes) you are most welcome to jump right in and edit. If you see something that needs improvement but you're not sure how (or you just don't have the time) you can mark it by adding "{{undocumented}}" at the trouble spot.

  • For general comments, discussion, suggestions, and questions, click the "Discussion" link at the top of the page.
  • For assistance with installing or running the game, or for issues regarding BioWare-published content, see the Dragon Age help site.

Getting started with the toolset

Installing the toolset

Overview of the toolset

  • Comparisons with other toolkits - for users who are familiar with other similar toolkits (eg, the Neverwinter Nights tookit) and would like a brief overview of how the Dragon Age toolkit compares.
  • Shortcuts - Assorted toolset shortcuts.
  • Common Problems - Little things that most people will need to know but that are not necessarily obvious.

If you run into a problem that the documentation doesn't cover and that you can't fix, contact toolsetsupport@bioware.com

Tutorials and how-tos

Creating a module

The initial structure for the game, see subsequent sections for details on how to fill it out.

Exporting and running a module

How to actually run the adventure you've created.

Editing this wiki

Resources

The Dragon Age toolset has two main classes of resource; designer resources that are stored in a database and art resources that are stored as files in your filesystem.

Resource list

  • The resource palette details the main interface for selecting designer resources for editing.
  • String editor - A tool that allows quick and easy access to all text that might be presented to the player in the game.

Builder to builder

The mechanisms used by the toolset that allow packages of game resources to be shared between multiple collaborating builders. This is not intended for builder to player packaging, a separate system will be added to the toolset for this at a later time.

Scripting and 2DAs

Scripting

2DA files

2-Dimensional Arrays contain much of the raw data used by the game. They are generated from Microsoft Excel files. If you want to add new basic creature types, new treasure types, and so forth, you'll need to create new 2DA files.

Art tools

Art resources are files saved separately from the database. They need to be processed by the toolset (posted to local) to be visible to the designer tools and usable in-game.

Technical information

The material in this section is about technical features underlying the toolset, not normally important for routine usage.

  • File types - currently just a list of file format extensions.
  • Console - a window for entering console commands. Caution, some of these are intended to work with an installed copy of the Dragon Age game and will crash the toolset when used in its current state.

Third party tools

  • Web Application - A sample web application that allows you to search and view scripts, search and view conversations, and translate strings. By Adam Miller.