Dragon Age Toolset Wiki - User contributions [en]

Bug: Simple walkmesh causing Engine DLL Crash

2010-03-24T05:34:51Z

BioSpirit: Created page with '*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0 *'''Status:''' Open == Description == Engine DLL will crash when moving an object from a palette window into the scene. The problem has been tra...'

*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0
*'''Status:''' Open

== Description ==
Engine DLL will crash when moving an object from a palette window into the scene. The problem has been traced down to a walkable mesh. Simple flat surface seems to be more problematic than a more complex surface. So far, I haven't been able to find any specific reason for the crash. Adding some extra polygons to bend-down the edges of the walkmesh seems to improve the situation. I have included all nessecary files needed to reproduce the CTD in here [http://users.kymp.net/p501474a/Crashed.zip Model Files] And the log files. This is the key entry that's printed in the logs: '''47596 Assert Unable to create NxActor .\PhysicsActor.cpp(244)'''

== Workarounds ==
Add more polygons into the walkmesh and bend them in a different directions.

[[Category:Toolset bugs]]

3rd party extensions

2010-03-18T16:37:02Z

BioSpirit:

List 3rd party extensions and applications here!

== Third party applications ==

=== Models ===

* [http://social.bioware.com/project/218/ Tazpn's command line tools] - This packages includes an command line application for converting Dragon Age models from the native format to something that can be manipulated or used a reference for non-derivative works.
* [http://social.bioware.com/project/1060/ GUI for tazpn's Command Line Tools] - This is an easy-to-use program to convert Dragon Age Models utilizing tazpn's Command Line Tools & the Dragon Age Toolset Command Line Tools.
*[http://social.bioware.com/project/41/ DATool: DA model manipulator] - This is a tool for viewing, retexturing and resizing DA models. DATool allows you to easily browse the available DA models and make certain modifications to them.
*[http://social.bioware.com/project/563/ DA:O Toolset Model Exporter] - Project to create a 3DSMax exporter script. Current Version: 0.9.5
*[http://social.bioware.com/project/899/ Blender Import-Export Script] - A set of tools to import-export meshes and extract resources from erf or rim files, all working into Blender.
*[http://social.bioware.com/project/2246/ LightWave import-export plugin] - a plugin for [http://www.newtek.com/lightwave/ NewTek LightWave 3D]. Currently allows to import .msh files into LightWave and export 3d data from Modeler module to .msh.xml format.
*[http://social.bioware.com/project/2312/ Blender-DragonAge Model Converter] - Create and Manipulate level models and props. Feature keywords: Walk mesh, Collision mesh, Lightmapped models...
*[http://social.bioware.com/project/1511/ Lightmap Post Processor] - Remove black artifacts from lightmaps.

=== Game data ===

*[http://social.bioware.com/project/755/ GDApp] - GDApp is a simple editor that natively creates or modifies Dragon Age: Origins GD2A spreadsheet files (*.gda), without the need of Excel files.

Prefixes in use

2010-03-08T12:34:13Z

BioSpirit:

Potential conflict between add-ins can be reduced by using a unique prefix for resource names (and a similar suffix for M2DA tables). See also [[2DA ranges in use]].

We don't know for sure which prefixes Bioware may need to use in future, but we can reduce conflict between community offerings by registering our intentions here.

Please insert new entries in alphabetical order.

WARNING - no doubt Bioware has already allocated additional prefixes for DLC and future releases, so registering here does not guarantee that your prefix is unique.

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Prefix
! Used by
|-
| APL
| BIOWARE
|-
| BDC
| BIOWARE
|-
| BDN
| BIOWARE
|-
| BEC
| BIOWARE
|-
| BED
| BIOWARE
|-
| BHM
| BIOWARE
|-
| BHN
| BIOWARE
|-
| CAM
| BIOWARE
|-
| CID
| CID-78 project(s) (unreleased)
|-
| CIR
| BIOWARE
|-
| COC
| [http://social.bioware.com/project/178/ Crown of Creation]
|-
| DAW
| Dragon Age Workshop - [http://www.dragon-age-workshop.de/ Dragon Age Workshop]
|-
| DEN
| BIOWARE
|-
| EPI
| BIOWARE
|-
| FFG
| Feline Fuelled Games - [http://www.felinefuelledgames.de/ Feline Fuelled Games]
|-
| FTG
| [http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=73 UI Mod and future projects].
|-
| GEN
| BIOWARE
|-
| HUS
| [http://social.bioware.com/project/1647/ Hilltop Under Siege]
|-
| LOT
| BIOWARE
|-
| NEZ
| All of [http://social.bioware.com/profile/20696#bw_projects nezroy's projects].
|-
| NTB
| BIOWARE
|-
| ORZ
| BIOWARE
|-
| PRE
| BIOWARE
|-
| TRE
| TreDawn
|-
| RAN
| BIOWARE
|-
| URN
| BIOWARE
|-
| VWK
| Magic - [http://social.bioware.com/project/1429/ Void Walker]
|}

3D controls

2010-02-25T21:32:18Z

BioSpirit:

The camera can be controled with a number of different control schemes; select the one you're most intuitively familiar with.

== Toolbar ==

The following toolbar appears in several different editors where the movement of objects and cameras in three dimensions is possible. Buttons 1-4 control how the selected object can be moved, and buttons 5 and 6 control how the camera moves relative to the selected object.

[[Image:Camera and movement toolbar labeled.png]]

*[[Image:IconStandardSelection.png]] Standard selection - Keyboard shortcut "r". If the "Allow Movement in Standard Mode" option is off, only options can be edited while in standard mode. If the option is on, then objects can be moved in standard mode in a manner similar to in 3 axis movement mode.
*[[Image:Icon3AxisMovement.png]] Axis movement - Keyboard shortcut "q". When an object is selected the 3-axis movement control is displayed on top of the object. By click-dragging an axis the object will move only on that axis. The corners of the 3-axis control can also be dragged — this will move the object on 2 axes at the same time.
*[[Image:Icon3AxisRotation.png]] 3 Axis rotation - Keyboard shortcut "e". This will display the 3-axis rotation control. The circles displayed represent the yaw, pitch and roll. By click-dragging along these circles the object will rotate in the desired direction.
*[[Image:IconLocalCoordinates.png]] Local coordinates - Keyboard shortcut "t". When local coordinates are active the movement and rotation commands will use the selected object's reference frame. For example, you could move the object "forward" along one axis and it will move in the direction that it's pointing in.
*[[Image:IconObjectStyle.png]] Set camera to object style - camera rotates around the selected object
*[[Image:IconCameraStyle.png]] Set camera to camera style - camera rotates "in place"

== Mouse Control ==

There are three options available for mouse controls, and the method of mouse control can be set differently for the Area editor and the Cutscene editor. To switch between them open the Options window (from the Tools menu). There will be options for mouse control style in the Cutscene Editor portion, the Area editor portion, and the Material Editor portion.

The VfX editor currently only uses the 3DSMax style.

=== Windows standard ===

{|
|-
| ALT + Left-click (hold) || slide horizontally & vertically
|-
| ALT + Right-click (hold) || increase/decrease pitch & rotation
|-
| Mousewheel up/down || zoom in/out
|}

=== NWN-Style ===

{|
|-
| CTRL + Left-click (hold) || slide horizontally & vertically
|-
| CTRL + Right-click (hold) || increase/decrease pitch & rotation
|-
| Middle-click (hold) || increase/decrease pitch & rotation
|-
| Mousewheel up/down || zoom in/out
|}

=== 3DSMax Style ===

{|
|-
| Middle-click (hold) || slide horizontally & vertically
|-
| CTRL + Middle-click (hold) || slide horizontally & vertically (quick)
|-
| ALT + Middle-click (hold) || increase/decrease pitch & rotation
|-
| Mousewheel up/down || zoom in/out
|}

=== Additional notes ===

In a level editor camara movement speed in flycam mode can be controlled by holding down a left CTRL and using a mouse wheel.
== Number Pad Controls ==

These keyboard controls are the same regardless of which mouse control method is used.

{|
|-
! Key !! Effect
|-
| 1 || decrease pitch
|-
| 2 || move forward
|-
| 3 || increase pitch
|-
| 4 || roll counter-clockwise
|-
| 5 || reorient to default view
|-
| 6 || roll clockwise
|-
| 7 || rotate left
|-
| 8 || move backward
|-
| 9 || rotate right
|-
| + || zoom in
|-
| - || zoom out
|}

== Moving objects ==

Moving objects (creatures, placeables, etc.) that have been placed within an area is done in both the area editor and the cutscene editor. By using keyboard modifiers objects can be rotated on each axis. The exact method differs between NWN-style and 3DSMax-style mouse control methods.

{|
|+ '''NWN-Style'''
|-
| Left-click (hold) || Moves object on x/y axis ||
|-
| ALT Left-click (hold) || Moves object on z axis (up/down) ||
|-
| SHIFT Right-click (hold) || Changes yaw (turns left/right) ||
|-
| SHIFT-CTRL Right-click (hold) || Changes pitch ||
|-
| SHIFT-ALT Right-click (hold) || Changes roll ||
|}

{|
|+ '''3DSMax Style'''
|-
| Left-click (hold) || Moves object on x/y axis ||
|-
| SHIFT Left-click (hold) || Moves object on z axis (up/down) ||
|-
| ALT Left-click (hold) || Changes yaw (turns left/right) ||
|-
| ALT-CTRL Left-click (hold) || Changes pitch ||
|-
| ALT-SHIFT Left-click (hold) || Changes roll ||
|}

== Changing control schemes ==

Camera control schemes are defined for each editor in the file [[DefaultSettings.xml]], which is located in the Dragon Age\Toolset directory.

For example, the level editor's camera controls can be found within the tags

<pre>
<LevelEditorRenderWnd>
...
</LevelEditorRenderWnd>
</pre>

You can also find the schemes for the generic "Windows", "3DSMax" and "NWN" styles within the tags:

<Windows>
<WindowsCamera>
<Threedsmax>
<ThreedsmaxCamera>
<NWN>
<NWNCamera>

Look for the <CameraToolSet> tag within these tags. They will contain tags for some of the following camera movement functions:

*MoveCamera
*ZoomCamera
*RotateObjectsPitchUp
*RotateObjectsRollRight
*RotateCameraOrbOrFly
*RotateCameraOrbOrFly_2
*RotateObjectsYawLeft
*RotateObjectsYawLeft_2
*RotateObjectsYawLeft_3
*MoveCameraAround
*MoveCameraFly
*RollCamera
*RotateCameraFly

These tags will have a "Chord" attribute that indicates what combination of mouse button and keypress causes the camera to respond in that tag's designated way. For example:

<pre>
<RotateCameraOrbOrFly Function="RotateCameraOrbOrFly" Chord="RMB+Ctrl"/>
</pre>

Causes the camera to enter "RotateCameraOrbOrFly" mode when the right mouse button and the control key are held down.

There is also the optional attribute "IgnoreChord".

[[Category:Interface]]

Level editor

2010-02-25T21:27:59Z

BioSpirit:

{| style="float:right;"
|-
| {{resource palette}}
|-
| {{Infobox level editor}}
|}
The level editor is used to generate the level layouts (also called Area layouts) that are the basis for creating [[area]]s. A level layout is a non-interactive [[Art Resources|resource]]; the objects placed within it serve only to provide the physical structure and appearance of the area. If you need the player to interact with objects within an area you'll need to use interactive [[placeable]]s instead.

Note that unlike the [[Area]] editor, only two modes of camera control are currently supported: "flycam" mode ([[Image:IconFlycamStyle.png]] button in the toolbar) and 3DS Max mode ([[Image:Icon3DSMaxStyle.png]] button). NWN style is not currently supported. (Use a combination of the mouse wheel + Ctrl or/and Alt (dependant on camera mode) to control the camera. In either mode Numpad 5 will reset the camera.)

Area layouts are an [[Art Resources|Art Resource]].

You can download the source files for the levels in the main campaign from here: [http://social.bioware.com/project/1331/#files].

== Terminology ==

*Sector: A sector is a square of geometry and is currently exported to the game as a “Chunk”. For all intents and purposes, we can consider a sector and a chunk to cover the same area. The different term is kept to distinguish between source (sector) and output (chunk). Sectors are always square.
*Chunk: A Chunk is the game-side basic building blocks of Terrain based levels. Each Chunk is self-contained, has its own levels of Detail (LOD), RIMs, model lists, tree lists, etc. It is what is streamed in and out during gameplay.
*Base Resolution: This is the starting resolution of each cell, and can be specified in the wizard.
*Cell: A cell is the basic building block of the terrain geometry. Each cell starts off at the base resolution as a square and is made up of 2 polygons.
*Blend Mask: The blend mask is the mask that is used to paint textures on the terrain. It is a blend16 algorithm, where it blends the highest 4 texture values (out of a possible 16) on each texel to come up with a texture mapped terrain.
*Texture Palette: The texture palette is essentially a list of textures, one after the other. When an artist wants to use a texture to paint on the terrain he/she would add a texture to this palette.
*Blend Texel: These are the building blocks that make up the blend Mask. Each texel is comprised of 4 sets values and each value set is essentially a percentage of how much of that texture on the palette shows up, and a mapping of where it maps onto the mask.
*Tessellation: Tessellation is the breaking up of a cell into more resolution of polygons. For each tessellation level it breaks up each polygon into 4 equal parts.

== Camera controls ==

=== Movement speed ===

In a level editor, camera movement speed in "flycam" mode can be increased and decreased by holding down a left CTRL and using a mouse wheel.

== Interior and exterior levels ==

There are two basic types of levels; interior and exterior. Many features of these two level types are the same and level editor documentation will generally be applicable to both types unless specifically noted. Their key difference is that exterior levels have a terrain mesh (the "ground") and interior levels don't. Note however that there's no reason why you couldn't use one level type to "fake" the other - for example you could create a an entirely underground cave using an "exterior" level with the terrain mesh as the cave's floor.

== Toolbar ==

[[Image:Level editor toolbar labeled.png]]

See sections below for detailed information on level editor specific toolbar buttons.

=== Terrain mesh ===

The [[terrain mesh]] is a deformable surface used in exterior levels to provide a "ground". This toolbar contains the tools that deals with the terrain mesh:

[[Image:Level editor toolbar terrain editing.png]]

Each of these buttons brings up a "brush" that's used for various tasks. See [[Terrain mesh]] for details.

=== Other tools ===
* Chunk boundary visualization - The chunk visualization tool is a button that will highlight where all the chunk/sector boundaries are, allowing the artist to plan the level accordingly. As you can see, it also highlights the models that fall into a colored chunk so that you can see which chunk these will fall into on export.
* Highlight impassible terrain - The game imposes limits on the slope of a walkable surface. Toggling this viewport button will display red highlights on the terrain wherever this limit is exceeded.
* Fade Cutaway Toggle - Cutoff, or 2 meter cutoff as it is called, is where we cut off the tops of models in interiors when we go into tactical camera mode, or overhead camera. This way we can still see the players. The cutoff tool allows the artists to visually see from the editor what will get removed when going into the tactical camera.
* Fade Punchthrough Toggle - Punch through is a system that allows the artists to put a flag on a model to say that it will get “punch through”. What this means is that when the game user is in tactical (overhead) camera mode, any model that is between the main character and the camera will get a punch through mask applied to it. This tool allows the artists to see in the editor what will get punched through in the game.
* Visualize Collision Objects - Turning on the visualize collision toggle will display all collision shapes in green/red wireframes. The green-red tinting is provided to make it easier to distinguish multiple objects from one another.
* Continuous Refresh Toggle - When the continuous refresh toggle is activated, the viewport will constantly redraw whenever it has free CPU time. This is useful for visualizing VFX and another animated models.

== Lighting ==

There are many different types of [[lighting]] and light combinations that can be placed in the editor.

There are also many tools used to create lighting and generate lighting and even visualize lighting in the editor. The goal with the editor is to give the artist the same experience as he/she would see in the game. This will help them to be able to create the levels and tweak lighting quickly without having to stop to see it in-game.

Lights for the game are split into two categories based on what they affect: levels and characters. Character lights will affect the player, NPCs, and creatures. The level lights will affect static geometry and designer placeables.

See [[Lighting]] for more detail.

== Models ==

[[Model]]s are used to create any other objects that may be used as part of the level art - walls, floors, ceilings, non-interactive furnishings, visual effects, etc. ([[Image:IconModelPlacement.png]])

:''See Article: [[Model Placement|Model Placement]]

Trees and Vegetation is added using the "scatter object" mode ([[Image:IconScatterObject.png]]).

:''See Article: [[Vegetation|Vegetation Placement]]

===Animations===

Some models have animations associated with them which may be set through the DefaultAnimation field of the Object Properties. For example, if you want a windmill or water wheel to turn you need to set that animation in the level editor. The animations for those two models are:

Windmill - wind

Waterwheel - turn

== Room visibility and connectivity==

Interior based levels have explicit connections between rooms, unlike exteriors where there is an implicit connection between two neighboring chunks. For this reason the connectivity must be set up by the artists. This should be done through planning and iteration as it will affect the streaming and performance of the level in the game.

If you select a room, you will see that that room appears highlighted in red. The Room Properties window can be brought up by pressing the Room Properties button. This behavior can be disabled by unchecking the Highlight visible rooms checkbox. All of the rooms that are visible to this room show up in green. You will see the list of these rooms show up in the Visible Rooms list in the picture above.

The ideal way to generate this visibility information is to press the button called “Generate Visibility Graph”. This will take a little bit of time, so sit back after you press it and be patient. What it does is take a render of each room in the level and generate a list of all rooms that can be seen from it.

NOTE: You must have generated pathfinding data for the level before you generate the visibility info, as it uses the pathing points in this process.

Of course this can be tweaked manually afterwards using the add and remove buttons. However if you ever press the Generate button again it will wipe out all manual changes.

The visibility system is used for streaming as well as the fog of war system, and determining what rooms are visible to the player depending on his/her current room. There is one other factor however to this, the connectivity system, which is detailed next.

The Room Connectivity System is necessary because there are things that can block visibility from one room to another. For instance if I’m looking up a hallway and I can see 3 rooms in the distance, but then I close the door in front of me, the game needs a way to know that those rooms are now invisible. This is where this system comes in.

The room connectivity system can be visualized by the other checkbox under the Connected Rooms list in the Rooms properties window.

Notice that the rooms connected to the current room show up in brown. This is a reminder that you are looking at connectivity and not visibility. As you can see only the rooms that are DIRECTLY connected to the selected room should be in this list. This has to built up manually, by clicking add and then clicking on the rooms that are connected to it. The add button in this case is more of a node, click it, then click the rooms you want to add, then you have to click it again to turn it off. This was done to make adding all the rooms faster.

== Black boxes ==

When creating an indoor layout you'll need to manually insert "black box" objects on the outer sides of the layout's walls. This allows the player to see through the walls when the camera is outside them, and obscures any parts of models that protrude out where the player shouldn't be able to see them.

== Trees, grass, and shrubberies ==

Trees, grass and shrubberies are handled somewhat differently from other models. They are created using a program called SpeedTree that includes information allowing them to respond to the wind. To place trees on a level, you first need to add that tree type's tree controller:

[[Image:Level editor insert tree controller.png]]

Once this is done you can use the scatter object tool ([[Image:IconScatterObject.png]]) to place specific examples of the vegetation you've added controllers for.

See [[Vegetation]] for a gallery of the vegetation types included with the core resources.

===Scatter Object Tool ===
The scatter object system allows the artist to place down both trees (and grass) and instanced models. An example of an instanced model would be some rocks scattered around on the ground. Objects that are scattered across the terrain level will be placed randomly inside the brush, and will also randomly fluctuate in size and orientation as well.

The Scatter object tool allows the artist to paint scatter object on the terrain. These scatter objects cannot be selected individually, but can only be added or removed with this tool. Left clicking adds scatter objects within the brush, right clicking removes them.

*Fill Rate: This is the rate at which the objects are scattered inside the brush.
*Radius: This is the radius of the brush that adds/removes scatter objects.

When the artist is painting scatter objects, he/she gets a palette, or Scatter Object Selection, from which to select which scatter object to paint. Currently there are 2 tabs, one for trees and the other for instanced models.

The artist can add items to this list by right clicking on the Terrain World and selecting Insert, and then choosing either new Tree Scatter Object or new Model Scatter object. In each case the artist will be able to browse a list of available resources.

*Ignore Density Setting: This allows the artist to ignore the density setting and paint scatter objects in much the same way as one would use a can of spraypaint.
*Maximum Density: This allows the artist to specify the maximum density of scatter objects in the brush radius, and the brush will only paint up to this maximum.
*Maximum Scale: This caps the maximum scale of the scatter objects, 1 being the same size as the original.
*Minimum Scale: This caps the minimum scale of the scatter objects, 1 being the same size as the original.
*Number of Painted Object: Lists the current number of this type of object that has been painted in the level (un-editable).
*Orient On Terrain Surface: When this is set to true, the objects will orient themselves according to the orientation of the terrain on which they are placed. For instance if you put a rock on the side of a hill, it will still appear “flat” to the ground. NOTE: Currently this does not work for trees or grass, they will always be complete vertical.

== Water tools ==

See [[Water]] for detailed documentation on placing water in the level editor.

== Wind ==

Each level can have one active wind object in it. The location of the wind object doesn't matter. The wind object defines how wind behaves on this level, which is used for such things as flapping banners and swaying trees.

To insert a wind object, right click on the terrain, and choose Insert > New Wind Object.

[[Image:Level editor wind object.png|center|]]

For other weather effects, see [[Weather]].

== Pathfinding ==

Pathfinding is generated by clicking the toolbar button [[Image:IconGeneratePathfinding.png]]. The pathfinding process lays down a grid of points that are marked "accessable" if they can be reached from a pathfinding start spot via passable terrain. This is essentially a flood-fill algorithm.

In the case of exterior areas, you must select an [[exportable area]] before it will generate it, the error message will reflect this.

To see the existing pathfinding grid, click on the [[Image:IconDisplayPathfinding.png]] toolbar button or select "Pathfinding nodes" under the "View" menu.

"Passable" or "impassable" depends on a variety of factors such as the slope of the land, obstructions, or water depth. Accessibility Start points are represented by a blue ring with a red arrow. Note that these are different from [[waypoint]]s, and are only used by the level editor for pathfinding purposes.

[[Image:Level editor pathfinding start spot.png|thumb|center|300px]]

Models will often contain collision volumes that will automatically make the places they're located impassible. Likewise, you can set a certain depth of water as being impassible and pathfinding will take this into account.

In order to get pathfinding to work, you must generate your starting point AFTER you create the exportable area, and use the name that is automatically generated for the starting point. DO NOT change the name of the starting point otherwise pathfinding will fail.

=== Terrain Collision ===

You will need to block off terrain using the Terrain Block tools [[File:terrainBlockButtons.png]]. The first button toggles the display of the terrain blocks, the second button enables you to place terrain blocks, and the third snaps existing blocks to terrain verticies. Left-clicking will start a new block, with additional left-clicks chaining the blocks together. Right-clicking will end the current chain. In addition, right-clicking on an existing block will delete it.

An example of a terrain block chain showing the path finding

[[File:terrainBlockExample.png|thumb|center|600px]]

== Hotkeys ==

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"
|-
! Key || Function
|-
| R || Standard Selection
|-
| Q || 3D Axis Manipulator
|-
| E || Rotation Manipulator
|-
| T || Local Coordinates (Toggle)
|-
! Key || Camera Functions
|-
| W || Camera Forward / In
|-
| S || Camera Back / Out
|-
| A || Camera Pan Left
|-
| D || Camera Pan Right
|-
! Key || Brush Size
|-
| - || Decrease Brush Radius
|-
| = || Increase Brush Radius
|-
! Key || Editing
|-
| Ctrl-X || Cut Selected Object(s)
|-
| Ctrl-C || Copy Selected Object(s)
|-
| Ctrl-V || Paste Selected Object(s)
|-
| Ctrl-Z || Undo last action
|-
| Ctrl-Y || Redo last action
|-
| Ctrl-A || Select All
|-
! Key || General
|-
| Ctrl-S || Save Map
|-
| Ctrl-O || Open Map
|-
| F5 || Refresh Screen
|-
| Del || Delete Selected Object
|-
| 5 (Numpad) || Camera Reset/Home (Looks at bottom right corner of map)
|-
| Ctrl-H || Hide Selected Object(s)
|-
| Ctrl-/ (Numpad) || UnHides Selected Object(s)
|-
| Ctrl-* || UnHides all hidden objects
|-
| Ctrl-\ || Invert Selection
|}

== Tips ==
Groups are your friend.

Selecting a group will select all models inside that group folder.
This allows you to move several objects at the same time as well as apply other settings to that entire group.

This also makes placing several grouped objects like torches with flame and lights very quick and easy.
For example, Setting several candles with flame effects would take a lot of time to place each candle stick individually, and then placing the flame effect exactly on top of the candle for each. By using group folders you only need to set this up once. To place more candles simply select the group folder, Ctrl+C to copy, select its parent group, or other place you want to put the next candle and Ctrl+V to past the new group. Then simply drag it to where you want it.

[[File:Tip_1.jpg|thumb|center|600px]]

In addition, the Selection Lock and Visible properties of objects can be useful when trying to manipulate objects when larger objects obscure or get in the way of the desired selection. This is especially handy with water meshes.

[[Category:Level layouts]]

== Manage exports==

The "Manage Exports" window is accessible from the Tools -> Exports -> Do All Export Operations menu option. It brings up a window where you can select from all steps in the level-exporting process:

[[File:Manage exports.png|center|]]

Level editor

2010-02-25T21:23:28Z

BioSpirit:

{| style="float:right;"
|-
| {{resource palette}}
|-
| {{Infobox level editor}}
|}
The level editor is used to generate the level layouts (also called Area layouts) that are the basis for creating [[area]]s. A level layout is a non-interactive [[Art Resources|resource]]; the objects placed within it serve only to provide the physical structure and appearance of the area. If you need the player to interact with objects within an area you'll need to use interactive [[placeable]]s instead.

Note that unlike the [[Area]] editor, only two modes of camera control are currently supported: "flycam" mode ([[Image:IconFlycamStyle.png]] button in the toolbar) and 3DS Max mode ([[Image:Icon3DSMaxStyle.png]] button). NWN style is not currently supported. (Use a combination of the mouse wheel + Ctrl or/and Alt (dependant on camera mode) to control the camera. In either mode Numpad 5 will reset the camera.)

Area layouts are an [[Art Resources|Art Resource]].

You can download the source files for the levels in the main campaign from here: [http://social.bioware.com/project/1331/#files].

== Terminology ==

*Sector: A sector is a square of geometry and is currently exported to the game as a “Chunk”. For all intents and purposes, we can consider a sector and a chunk to cover the same area. The different term is kept to distinguish between source (sector) and output (chunk). Sectors are always square.
*Chunk: A Chunk is the game-side basic building blocks of Terrain based levels. Each Chunk is self-contained, has its own levels of Detail (LOD), RIMs, model lists, tree lists, etc. It is what is streamed in and out during gameplay.
*Base Resolution: This is the starting resolution of each cell, and can be specified in the wizard.
*Cell: A cell is the basic building block of the terrain geometry. Each cell starts off at the base resolution as a square and is made up of 2 polygons.
*Blend Mask: The blend mask is the mask that is used to paint textures on the terrain. It is a blend16 algorithm, where it blends the highest 4 texture values (out of a possible 16) on each texel to come up with a texture mapped terrain.
*Texture Palette: The texture palette is essentially a list of textures, one after the other. When an artist wants to use a texture to paint on the terrain he/she would add a texture to this palette.
*Blend Texel: These are the building blocks that make up the blend Mask. Each texel is comprised of 4 sets values and each value set is essentially a percentage of how much of that texture on the palette shows up, and a mapping of where it maps onto the mask.
*Tessellation: Tessellation is the breaking up of a cell into more resolution of polygons. For each tessellation level it breaks up each polygon into 4 equal parts.

== Camera movement speed ==

In a level editor, camera movement speed in "flycam" mode can be increased and decreased by holding down a left CTRL and using a mouse wheel.

== Interior and exterior levels ==

There are two basic types of levels; interior and exterior. Many features of these two level types are the same and level editor documentation will generally be applicable to both types unless specifically noted. Their key difference is that exterior levels have a terrain mesh (the "ground") and interior levels don't. Note however that there's no reason why you couldn't use one level type to "fake" the other - for example you could create a an entirely underground cave using an "exterior" level with the terrain mesh as the cave's floor.

== Toolbar ==

[[Image:Level editor toolbar labeled.png]]

See sections below for detailed information on level editor specific toolbar buttons.

=== Terrain mesh ===

The [[terrain mesh]] is a deformable surface used in exterior levels to provide a "ground". This toolbar contains the tools that deals with the terrain mesh:

[[Image:Level editor toolbar terrain editing.png]]

Each of these buttons brings up a "brush" that's used for various tasks. See [[Terrain mesh]] for details.

=== Other tools ===
* Chunk boundary visualization - The chunk visualization tool is a button that will highlight where all the chunk/sector boundaries are, allowing the artist to plan the level accordingly. As you can see, it also highlights the models that fall into a colored chunk so that you can see which chunk these will fall into on export.
* Highlight impassible terrain - The game imposes limits on the slope of a walkable surface. Toggling this viewport button will display red highlights on the terrain wherever this limit is exceeded.
* Fade Cutaway Toggle - Cutoff, or 2 meter cutoff as it is called, is where we cut off the tops of models in interiors when we go into tactical camera mode, or overhead camera. This way we can still see the players. The cutoff tool allows the artists to visually see from the editor what will get removed when going into the tactical camera.
* Fade Punchthrough Toggle - Punch through is a system that allows the artists to put a flag on a model to say that it will get “punch through”. What this means is that when the game user is in tactical (overhead) camera mode, any model that is between the main character and the camera will get a punch through mask applied to it. This tool allows the artists to see in the editor what will get punched through in the game.
* Visualize Collision Objects - Turning on the visualize collision toggle will display all collision shapes in green/red wireframes. The green-red tinting is provided to make it easier to distinguish multiple objects from one another.
* Continuous Refresh Toggle - When the continuous refresh toggle is activated, the viewport will constantly redraw whenever it has free CPU time. This is useful for visualizing VFX and another animated models.

== Lighting ==

There are many different types of [[lighting]] and light combinations that can be placed in the editor.

There are also many tools used to create lighting and generate lighting and even visualize lighting in the editor. The goal with the editor is to give the artist the same experience as he/she would see in the game. This will help them to be able to create the levels and tweak lighting quickly without having to stop to see it in-game.

Lights for the game are split into two categories based on what they affect: levels and characters. Character lights will affect the player, NPCs, and creatures. The level lights will affect static geometry and designer placeables.

See [[Lighting]] for more detail.

== Models ==

[[Model]]s are used to create any other objects that may be used as part of the level art - walls, floors, ceilings, non-interactive furnishings, visual effects, etc. ([[Image:IconModelPlacement.png]])

:''See Article: [[Model Placement|Model Placement]]

Trees and Vegetation is added using the "scatter object" mode ([[Image:IconScatterObject.png]]).

:''See Article: [[Vegetation|Vegetation Placement]]

===Animations===

Some models have animations associated with them which may be set through the DefaultAnimation field of the Object Properties. For example, if you want a windmill or water wheel to turn you need to set that animation in the level editor. The animations for those two models are:

Windmill - wind

Waterwheel - turn

== Room visibility and connectivity==

Interior based levels have explicit connections between rooms, unlike exteriors where there is an implicit connection between two neighboring chunks. For this reason the connectivity must be set up by the artists. This should be done through planning and iteration as it will affect the streaming and performance of the level in the game.

If you select a room, you will see that that room appears highlighted in red. The Room Properties window can be brought up by pressing the Room Properties button. This behavior can be disabled by unchecking the Highlight visible rooms checkbox. All of the rooms that are visible to this room show up in green. You will see the list of these rooms show up in the Visible Rooms list in the picture above.

The ideal way to generate this visibility information is to press the button called “Generate Visibility Graph”. This will take a little bit of time, so sit back after you press it and be patient. What it does is take a render of each room in the level and generate a list of all rooms that can be seen from it.

NOTE: You must have generated pathfinding data for the level before you generate the visibility info, as it uses the pathing points in this process.

Of course this can be tweaked manually afterwards using the add and remove buttons. However if you ever press the Generate button again it will wipe out all manual changes.

The visibility system is used for streaming as well as the fog of war system, and determining what rooms are visible to the player depending on his/her current room. There is one other factor however to this, the connectivity system, which is detailed next.

The Room Connectivity System is necessary because there are things that can block visibility from one room to another. For instance if I’m looking up a hallway and I can see 3 rooms in the distance, but then I close the door in front of me, the game needs a way to know that those rooms are now invisible. This is where this system comes in.

The room connectivity system can be visualized by the other checkbox under the Connected Rooms list in the Rooms properties window.

Notice that the rooms connected to the current room show up in brown. This is a reminder that you are looking at connectivity and not visibility. As you can see only the rooms that are DIRECTLY connected to the selected room should be in this list. This has to built up manually, by clicking add and then clicking on the rooms that are connected to it. The add button in this case is more of a node, click it, then click the rooms you want to add, then you have to click it again to turn it off. This was done to make adding all the rooms faster.

== Black boxes ==

When creating an indoor layout you'll need to manually insert "black box" objects on the outer sides of the layout's walls. This allows the player to see through the walls when the camera is outside them, and obscures any parts of models that protrude out where the player shouldn't be able to see them.

== Trees, grass, and shrubberies ==

Trees, grass and shrubberies are handled somewhat differently from other models. They are created using a program called SpeedTree that includes information allowing them to respond to the wind. To place trees on a level, you first need to add that tree type's tree controller:

[[Image:Level editor insert tree controller.png]]

Once this is done you can use the scatter object tool ([[Image:IconScatterObject.png]]) to place specific examples of the vegetation you've added controllers for.

See [[Vegetation]] for a gallery of the vegetation types included with the core resources.

===Scatter Object Tool ===
The scatter object system allows the artist to place down both trees (and grass) and instanced models. An example of an instanced model would be some rocks scattered around on the ground. Objects that are scattered across the terrain level will be placed randomly inside the brush, and will also randomly fluctuate in size and orientation as well.

The Scatter object tool allows the artist to paint scatter object on the terrain. These scatter objects cannot be selected individually, but can only be added or removed with this tool. Left clicking adds scatter objects within the brush, right clicking removes them.

*Fill Rate: This is the rate at which the objects are scattered inside the brush.
*Radius: This is the radius of the brush that adds/removes scatter objects.

When the artist is painting scatter objects, he/she gets a palette, or Scatter Object Selection, from which to select which scatter object to paint. Currently there are 2 tabs, one for trees and the other for instanced models.

The artist can add items to this list by right clicking on the Terrain World and selecting Insert, and then choosing either new Tree Scatter Object or new Model Scatter object. In each case the artist will be able to browse a list of available resources.

*Ignore Density Setting: This allows the artist to ignore the density setting and paint scatter objects in much the same way as one would use a can of spraypaint.
*Maximum Density: This allows the artist to specify the maximum density of scatter objects in the brush radius, and the brush will only paint up to this maximum.
*Maximum Scale: This caps the maximum scale of the scatter objects, 1 being the same size as the original.
*Minimum Scale: This caps the minimum scale of the scatter objects, 1 being the same size as the original.
*Number of Painted Object: Lists the current number of this type of object that has been painted in the level (un-editable).
*Orient On Terrain Surface: When this is set to true, the objects will orient themselves according to the orientation of the terrain on which they are placed. For instance if you put a rock on the side of a hill, it will still appear “flat” to the ground. NOTE: Currently this does not work for trees or grass, they will always be complete vertical.

== Water tools ==

See [[Water]] for detailed documentation on placing water in the level editor.

== Wind ==

Each level can have one active wind object in it. The location of the wind object doesn't matter. The wind object defines how wind behaves on this level, which is used for such things as flapping banners and swaying trees.

To insert a wind object, right click on the terrain, and choose Insert > New Wind Object.

[[Image:Level editor wind object.png|center|]]

For other weather effects, see [[Weather]].

== Pathfinding ==

Pathfinding is generated by clicking the toolbar button [[Image:IconGeneratePathfinding.png]]. The pathfinding process lays down a grid of points that are marked "accessable" if they can be reached from a pathfinding start spot via passable terrain. This is essentially a flood-fill algorithm.

In the case of exterior areas, you must select an [[exportable area]] before it will generate it, the error message will reflect this.

To see the existing pathfinding grid, click on the [[Image:IconDisplayPathfinding.png]] toolbar button or select "Pathfinding nodes" under the "View" menu.

"Passable" or "impassable" depends on a variety of factors such as the slope of the land, obstructions, or water depth. Accessibility Start points are represented by a blue ring with a red arrow. Note that these are different from [[waypoint]]s, and are only used by the level editor for pathfinding purposes.

[[Image:Level editor pathfinding start spot.png|thumb|center|300px]]

Models will often contain collision volumes that will automatically make the places they're located impassible. Likewise, you can set a certain depth of water as being impassible and pathfinding will take this into account.

In order to get pathfinding to work, you must generate your starting point AFTER you create the exportable area, and use the name that is automatically generated for the starting point. DO NOT change the name of the starting point otherwise pathfinding will fail.

=== Terrain Collision ===

You will need to block off terrain using the Terrain Block tools [[File:terrainBlockButtons.png]]. The first button toggles the display of the terrain blocks, the second button enables you to place terrain blocks, and the third snaps existing blocks to terrain verticies. Left-clicking will start a new block, with additional left-clicks chaining the blocks together. Right-clicking will end the current chain. In addition, right-clicking on an existing block will delete it.

An example of a terrain block chain showing the path finding

[[File:terrainBlockExample.png|thumb|center|600px]]

== Hotkeys ==

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"
|-
! Key || Function
|-
| R || Standard Selection
|-
| Q || 3D Axis Manipulator
|-
| E || Rotation Manipulator
|-
| T || Local Coordinates (Toggle)
|-
! Key || Camera Functions
|-
| W || Camera Forward / In
|-
| S || Camera Back / Out
|-
| A || Camera Pan Left
|-
| D || Camera Pan Right
|-
! Key || Brush Size
|-
| - || Decrease Brush Radius
|-
| = || Increase Brush Radius
|-
! Key || Editing
|-
| Ctrl-X || Cut Selected Object(s)
|-
| Ctrl-C || Copy Selected Object(s)
|-
| Ctrl-V || Paste Selected Object(s)
|-
| Ctrl-Z || Undo last action
|-
| Ctrl-Y || Redo last action
|-
| Ctrl-A || Select All
|-
! Key || General
|-
| Ctrl-S || Save Map
|-
| Ctrl-O || Open Map
|-
| F5 || Refresh Screen
|-
| Del || Delete Selected Object
|-
| 5 (Numpad) || Camera Reset/Home (Looks at bottom right corner of map)
|-
| Ctrl-H || Hide Selected Object(s)
|-
| Ctrl-/ (Numpad) || UnHides Selected Object(s)
|-
| Ctrl-* || UnHides all hidden objects
|-
| Ctrl-\ || Invert Selection
|}

== Tips ==
Groups are your friend.

Selecting a group will select all models inside that group folder.
This allows you to move several objects at the same time as well as apply other settings to that entire group.

This also makes placing several grouped objects like torches with flame and lights very quick and easy.
For example, Setting several candles with flame effects would take a lot of time to place each candle stick individually, and then placing the flame effect exactly on top of the candle for each. By using group folders you only need to set this up once. To place more candles simply select the group folder, Ctrl+C to copy, select its parent group, or other place you want to put the next candle and Ctrl+V to past the new group. Then simply drag it to where you want it.

[[File:Tip_1.jpg|thumb|center|600px]]

In addition, the Selection Lock and Visible properties of objects can be useful when trying to manipulate objects when larger objects obscure or get in the way of the desired selection. This is especially handy with water meshes.

[[Category:Level layouts]]

== Manage exports==

The "Manage Exports" window is accessible from the Tools -> Exports -> Do All Export Operations menu option. It brings up a window where you can select from all steps in the level-exporting process:

[[File:Manage exports.png|center|]]

Bug: Custom Placeables appear/disapear randomly

2010-02-24T15:24:38Z

BioSpirit:

*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0
*'''Status:''' Open

== Description ==
Custom Placeables appear/disappear randomly from the game between area exports from the Toolset. Sometimes when opening an area in the toolset an error message is printed in the log "''E: 16:31:34 - Could not get the name for the appearance: Resource "keystone.utp", Tag "keystone".''". Usually restarting the Toolset will make the error to go away but it's usual that a placeable doesn't appear in the game evenif there were no errors during export. Sometimes everything is working perfectly fine. Also the same error is sometimes displayed for Creatures using a custom appearance.

The problem will only appear with custom placeables/appearances those are brought to the toolset using the 2DA "system" like ''placeable_types_myplaceables.GDA'' or ''APR_myappearances.GDA''. I would presume that the Toolset somehow fails to collect and combine all these GDAs.

If the Toolset manage to export everything properly, I don't recall seeing anything to disappear from the game when restarting or reloading a saved game. I am aware of that some modifications doesn't appear in the game unless restart the module from a "clean table". But that's not the problem here.

== Workarounds ==
Restarting the Toolset before exporting anything will reduce the frequency of the problem and improves a chance of successful export.

[[Category:Toolset bugs]]

Bug: Custom Placeables appear/disapear randomly

2010-02-24T15:21:04Z

BioSpirit: Created page with '*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0 *'''Status:''' Open == Description == Custom Placeables appear/disappear randomly from the game between area exports from the Toolset. Sometimes...'

2DA ranges in use

2010-02-17T15:50:39Z

BioSpirit:

This page is meant to enumerate row ID ranges that are used by the main game and by various popular addins, to avoid accidental overlap. Note that there's no need for 2DA row IDs to be sequential, so you can use very large row ID numbers to reduce the chances of collision.

Version 1.0 of the toolset had a bug in ExcelProcessor that caused problems with high row ID numbers, but this has been fixed in subsequent releases. See [[Bug: ExcelProcessor doesn't handle row IDs above 8.3 million correctly|the bug report]].

As of now there is a bug that prevents ID's above 255 to be used for some M2DA's. Most certainly it is ''"only"'' [[ItemVariations.xls]] related. See [[Bug: High M2DA ID ranges might work in the toolset, but not in game|Bug report]].

== ABI_base ==

According to the [[ABI_base]] page under the ''tooltipstrref'' column, anything over 500000 is considered a debuff. This would limit the range a fair amount.

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 200262'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680050
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|}

----

== ANIM_base ==

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| 65000 - 65002
| BioSpirit's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1647/ Hilltop Under Siege]
|}

----

== APR_base ==

Note that there is a bug involving this 2DA: [[Bug: APR base maximum M2DA row ID is 65535 in the toolset]]

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 90'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 65000 - 65001
| BioSpirit's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1647/ Hilltop Under Siege]
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|}

----

== BITM_base and ItemStats_ ==

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| 30000 - 30500
| Ambaryerno - [http://social.bioware.com/project/415/ Arms and Armor]
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|}

----

== crafting_recipe_types ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 7'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680010
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|}

----

== crafting_recipes ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 91'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680999
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|}

----

== guitypes ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 5680000 - 5680010
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|}

----

== itemprps ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 10022'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680050
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|-
| 536873321 - 536873322
| Elys' [http://social.bioware.com/project/522/ Mysterious Gifts]
|}

----

== itemsets ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 30'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680500
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|}

----

== M2DA_base ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 1016, 2000 - 2010, 10011 - 10142, ...? '''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680050
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|-
| 6000000 - 6000050
| TreDawn - [http://social.bioware.com/project/1750/ Nesiara Companion]
|-
| 7000000 - 7000050
| FtG - [http://social.bioware.com/project/1688/ UI Mod]
|-
| 7777770 - 7777799
| Magic - [http://social.bioware.com/project/1429/ Void Walker] (M2DA prefix: VWK)
|-
| 9000000 - 9000050
| Ambaryerno - [http://social.bioware.com/project/415/ Arms and Armor]
|-
| 1140150041 - 1140150091
| DLAN_Immortality - [http://social.bioware.com/project/789/ Ser Gilmore NPC]
|}

----

== materialrules ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 536873321 - 536873323
| Elys' [http://social.bioware.com/project/522/ Mysterious Gifts]
|}

----

== materialtypes ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 88'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680199
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|-
| 536873321 - 536873340
| Elys' [http://social.bioware.com/project/522/ Mysterious Gifts]
|}

----

== PRCSCR ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 10100000
| Camp [http://social.bioware.com/project/463/ storage chest]
|-
| 10100100
| Eshme's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1929/ Sleeping Tent]
|-
| 5680000 - 5680010
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|-
| 6000000 - 6000050
| TreDawn - [http://social.bioware.com/project/1750/ Nesiara Companion]
|-
| 1140150041 - 1140150091
| DLAN_Immortality - [http://social.bioware.com/project/789/ Ser Gilmore NPC]
|}

----

== placeable_types ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 43060-43061
| Eshme's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1929/ Sleeping Tent] (Greater 65535 is showing bugs so this is until it is fixed)
|-
| 43062-43065
| BioSpirit's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1647/ Hilltop Under Siege]
|-
| 2696549 - 2696700
| PavelNovotny - [http://social.bioware.com/project/517/ Gay Bars of Ferelden] (NOTE: I'm using the 6000-6200 range until Bioware fixes the bug which prevents m2da ID ranges above 900000 from showing up in game.)
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|}

----

== tint_override ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| 500 - 520
| PavelNovotny - [http://social.bioware.com/project/517/ Gay Bars of Ferelden]
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|}

----

== vfx_base ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 5680000 - 5680010
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|-
| 5680011 - 5680019
| BioSpirit's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1647/ Hilltop Under Siege]
|}

[[Category:2DAs]]

Bug: APR base causing a CTD

2010-02-17T15:42:33Z

BioSpirit:

*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0
*'''Status:''' Open

== Description ==
Some attempts to add new content or modify existing content are causing a CTD in the game. Everything is working fine in the Toolset. This has nothing to do with the line ID limitations.
* Convert APR_base.xls to APR_base.GDA and place it into ''../Dragon Age/packages/code/override/toolsetexport/'' and you got a CTD while loading any module. (even the main campaign).
* Create APR_xxx.GDA that is containing a new line to be merged with the core APR_base. Place it into ''../Dragon Age/AddIns/YourModule/module/override/toosetexport/'' You got a CTD while the game is trying to use the new appearance. Even if your appearance is just a copy from the "Human" appearance.

== Workarounds ==
This problem doesn't seem to occur when making simple changes to APR_base in the AddIns folder (e.g. just altering the codex references without adding appearances).

Keep things simple enough so that you don't need to amend this file too much.

[[Category:Toolset bugs]]

== Discussion ==
Are you using OpenOffice? I had the exact same issue with APR_ (worked in the toolset, crashed in the game) until I opened up the GDA it was creating and noticed that the FLOAT32 values were truncated. Using Google Docs instead allowed me to compile a GDA that worked fine. I updated the 2DA page with this info, but I have no idea why OpenOffice causes these problems. --[[User:FollowTheGourd|FollowTheGourd]] 14:27, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
<hr />
Yes, I was using OpenOffice. This seems to be OpenOffice related problem then. After editing the APR_base with GDApp it started to work as it should. Thanks.<br />
Yet still, it would be good idea to identify the reason for the CTD. That could improve stability of the DA:O

Bug: APR base causing a CTD

2010-02-17T15:37:55Z

BioSpirit:

*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0
*'''Status:''' ?

== Description ==
Some attempts to add new content or modify existing content are causing a CTD in the game. Everything is working fine in the Toolset. This has nothing to do with the line ID limitations.
* Convert APR_base.xls to APR_base.GDA and place it into ''../Dragon Age/packages/code/override/toolsetexport/'' and you got a CTD while loading any module. (even the main campaign).
* Create APR_xxx.GDA that is containing a new line to be merged with the core APR_base. Place it into ''../Dragon Age/AddIns/YourModule/module/override/toosetexport/'' You got a CTD while the game is trying to use the new appearance. Even if your appearance is just a copy from the "Human" appearance.

== Workarounds ==
This problem doesn't seem to occur when making simple changes to APR_base in the AddIns folder (e.g. just altering the codex references without adding appearances).

Keep things simple enough so that you don't need to amend this file too much.

[[Category:Toolset bugs]]

== Discussion ==
Are you using OpenOffice? I had the exact same issue with APR_ (worked in the toolset, crashed in the game) until I opened up the GDA it was creating and noticed that the FLOAT32 values were truncated. Using Google Docs instead allowed me to compile a GDA that worked fine. I updated the 2DA page with this info, but I have no idea why OpenOffice causes these problems. --[[User:FollowTheGourd|FollowTheGourd]] 14:27, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
<hr />
Yes, I was using OpenOffice. This seems to be OpenOffice related problem then. After editing the APR_base with GDApp it started to work as it should. Thanks.

Bug: APR base causing a CTD

2010-02-17T13:58:16Z

BioSpirit: Created page with '*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0 *'''Status:''' Open == Description == Any attempt to add new content or modify existing content is causing a CTD in the game. Everything is wor...'

*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0
*'''Status:''' Open

== Description ==
Any attempt to add new content or modify existing content is causing a CTD in the game. Everything is working fine in the Toolset. This has nothing to do with the line ID limitations.
* Convert APR_base.xls to APR_base.GDA and place it into ''../Dragon Age/packages/code/override/toolsetexport/'' and you got a CTD while loading any module. (even the main campaign).
* Create APR_xxx.GDA that is containing a new line to be merged with the core APR_base. Place it into ''../Dragon Age/AddIns/YourModule/module/override/toosetexport/'' You got a CTD while the game is trying to use the new appearance. Even if your appearance is just a copy from the "Human" appearance.

== Workarounds ==
Keep things simple enough so that you don't need to touch this file.

[[Category:Toolset bugs]]

2DA ranges in use

2010-02-16T20:11:04Z

BioSpirit:

This page is meant to enumerate row ID ranges that are used by the main game and by various popular addins, to avoid accidental overlap. Note that there's no need for 2DA row IDs to be sequential, so you can use very large row ID numbers to reduce the chances of collision.

Version 1.0 of the toolset had a bug in ExcelProcessor that caused problems with high row ID numbers, but this has been fixed in subsequent releases. See [[Bug: ExcelProcessor doesn't handle row IDs above 8.3 million correctly|the bug report]].

As of now there is a bug that prevents ID's above 255 to be used for some M2DA's. Most certainly it is ''"only"'' [[ItemVariations.xls]] related. See [[Bug: High M2DA ID ranges might work in the toolset, but not in game|Bug report]].

== ABI_base ==

According to the [[ABI_base]] page under the ''tooltipstrref'' column, anything over 500000 is considered a debuff. This would limit the range a fair amount.

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 200262'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680050
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|}

----

== ANIM_base ==

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| 65000 - 65002
| BioSpirit's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1647/ Hilltop Under Siege]
|}

----

== APR_base ==

Note that there is a bug involving this 2DA: [[Bug: APR base maximum M2DA row ID is 65535 in the toolset]]

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 90'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|}

----

== BITM_base and ItemStats_ ==

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| 30000 - 30500
| Ambaryerno - [http://social.bioware.com/project/415/ Arms and Armor]
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|}

----

== crafting_recipe_types ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 7'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680010
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|}

----

== crafting_recipes ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 91'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680999
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|}

----

== guitypes ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 5680000 - 5680010
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|}

----

== itemprps ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 10022'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680050
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|-
| 536873321 - 536873322
| Elys' [http://social.bioware.com/project/522/ Mysterious Gifts]
|}

----

== itemsets ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 30'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680500
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|}

----

== M2DA_base ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 1016, 2000 - 2010, 10011 - 10142, ...? '''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680050
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|-
| 6000000 - 6000050
| TreDawn - [http://social.bioware.com/project/1750/ Nesiara Companion]
|-
| 7000000 - 7000050
| FtG - [http://social.bioware.com/project/1688/ UI Mod]
|-
| 7777770 - 7777799
| Magic - [http://social.bioware.com/project/1429/ Void Walker] (M2DA prefix: VWK)
|-
| 9000000 - 9000050
| Ambaryerno - [http://social.bioware.com/project/415/ Arms and Armor]
|-
| 1140150041 - 1140150091
| DLAN_Immortality - [http://social.bioware.com/project/789/ Ser Gilmore NPC]
|}

----

== materialrules ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 536873321 - 536873323
| Elys' [http://social.bioware.com/project/522/ Mysterious Gifts]
|}

----

== materialtypes ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 88'''
| '''Bioware - Main campaign'''
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 5680000 - 5680199
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|-
| 536873321 - 536873340
| Elys' [http://social.bioware.com/project/522/ Mysterious Gifts]
|}

----

== PRCSCR ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|-
| 10100000
| Camp [http://social.bioware.com/project/463/ storage chest]
|-
| 10100100
| Eshme's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1929/ Sleeping Tent]
|-
| 5680000 - 5680010
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|-
| 6000000 - 6000050
| TreDawn - [http://social.bioware.com/project/1750/ Nesiara Companion]
|-
| 1140150041 - 1140150091
| DLAN_Immortality - [http://social.bioware.com/project/789/ Ser Gilmore NPC]
|}

----

== placeable_types ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 43060-43061
| Eshme's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1929/ Sleeping Tent] (Greater 65535 is showing bugs so this is until it is fixed)
|-
| 43062-43065
| BioSpirit's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1647/ Hilltop Under Siege]
|-
| 2696549 - 2696700
| PavelNovotny - [http://social.bioware.com/project/517/ Gay Bars of Ferelden] (NOTE: I'm using the 6000-6200 range until Bioware fixes the bug which prevents m2da ID ranges above 900000 from showing up in game.)
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|}

----

== tint_override ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| 500 - 520
| PavelNovotny - [http://social.bioware.com/project/517/ Gay Bars of Ferelden]
|-
| 30000000-40000000
| MCC's Senderfall: The Last Bastion (To author: unreasonable range, please correct)
|}

----

== vfx_base ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Range
! Used by
|-
| '''0 - 1000000'''
| '''Bioware - reserved'''
|-
| 5680000 - 5680010
| Phaenan's [http://social.bioware.com/project/672/ The Winter Forge]
|-
| 5680011 - 5680019
| BioSpirit's [http://social.bioware.com/project/1647/ Hilltop Under Siege]
|}

[[Category:2DAs]]

Bug: Some animations in ANIM base won't fire

2010-01-22T21:29:51Z

BioSpirit: Created page with '*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0 *'''Status:''' Open == Description == Some animations listed in ANIM_base.xls won't play. This is caused by a use of capital letters in animatio...'

*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0
*'''Status:''' Open

== Description ==
Some animations listed in ANIM_base.xls won't play. This is caused by a use of capital letters in animation names in humanoid.acb. It seems to be case sensitive environment and all letters should be in lower-case. These names are located in a light blue boxies.

== Workarounds ==
Can be fixed by editing humanoid.acb

[[Category:Toolset bugs]]

File:Hole in a terrain mesh.jpg

2010-01-20T12:40:22Z

BioSpirit: There appears to be holes in a terrain mesh. Showing up in the Toolset and in the Game the same way.

There appears to be holes in a terrain mesh. Showing up in the Toolset and in the Game the same way.

Bug: SpeedTree rendering distance

2010-01-15T17:36:48Z

BioSpirit: Created page with '*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0 *'''Status:''' Open == Description == SpeedTree rendering distance selector box, in a toolbar, is blank by default. You can select different dis...'

*'''Version found:''' 1.0.1008.0
*'''Status:''' Open

== Description ==
SpeedTree rendering distance selector box, in a toolbar, is blank by default. You can select different distance settings into the selector but the actual rendering distance is 20m despite of what ever reads in the selector box. In my case the SpeedTrees were working fine over a month before something went wrong.

== Workarounds ==
Nothing so far. Uninstalling and reinstalling the toolset and the database do not fix the problem. Haven't tried to format the harddrive yet.

== Possible causes==
Corrupted configuration setting that's not replaced during reinstallation.

[[Category:Toolset bugs]]