Thoughts on SWTOR 4.0 and 4 Years of Playing the SWTOR MMO

Load screen for SWTOR 4.0 Knights of the Fallen Empire

It has been just over 4 years since November 2011 when I began playing the beta release of the MMO Star Wars the Old Republic. Bioware has been actively updating the game and recently released version 4.0 Knights of the Fallen Empire which extends gameplay to level 65.  Players can continue using their current characters and begin the new content when they get to about level 60 or they can shortcut right to level 60 by creating a new character that begins at level 60. A level 60 character begun in that way starts with some 60 level unmodifiable gear that is fortunately legacy equipment and so can also be used by other characters of that player on that server as long as they are in the same legacy (why wouldn't they be?) and are level 60.

Sith Lord Siskin'lar contemplates the Universe

Siskin'lar Faces Challenges with Two New Friends?

Along with the new content which basically is designed for solo players to continue with an epic conquest or defense of the galaxy storyline (unfortunately the same storyline for every class, not unique class stories as there are for levels 1-60) there were also many changes made that affect all SWTOR players, primarily in an effort to further simplify the game and lessen the need for playing in groups. Not all of these changes have been welcomed by long time players and PvP players are especially disappointed, thus continuing the decline in the number of active PvP players.

The most significant changes made in 4.0 affect the unique class attributes and the companions. In my earlier blog posts on this I described the class system. In short each class had a key attribute that was most important to them for both offense and defense, so it was important to select gear for your character and his/her companions that matched the key attribute for their class: for Consulars and Inquisitors that attribute was called Willpower; for Knights and Warriors the attribute was Strength; for Smugglers and Agents the attribute was Cunning; and for Troopers and Bounty Hunters the attribute was Aim. Many objects in the game were designed around these key attributes, with drops, crafted items, special items like the datacrons, and vendor items all being affected by them. With 4.0 all four attributes were replaced with a single common key attribute named "Mastery". Because all the release did is change all references to Willpower, Strength, Cunning, and Aim to Mastery there are many duplicated vendor and crafted items in the game now and some rewards also make little sense. Honestly I'm not sure why this was done other than to make it simpler for new players at the cost of removing a lot of uniqueness and player choices (like, for example, a choice of spending limited credits on a Willpower based item for my Consular or an Aim based item for his companion; or the choice of whether to use limited craft resources to craft items for one attribute or another.)

The new Combat Support Droid in a Heroic mission

The second big change was to allow solo players to play most heroic missions, which typically required a group of players before.  Now a combat support droid will be available to assist your player in the heroics and there are also shortcuts on each planet to get right to the heroics. This seems to be an aid for people who enjoy farming heroics for credits and gear. There are still missions I have found though that mandate multiple players to participate, so this change does not affect all missions, but certainly most of them.

The third big change was to alter companions so that their statistics are all the same and are no longer affected by the gear that they have equipped. All companions can now be shifted among the standard Healer, Damage (DPS), and Tank play styles and so players no longer need to accommodate the proscribed play style of the companions they have. While this does allow some new choices for play style for the player character, (some really bad ones since the player class abilities remain designed for certain play styles) it removes most differences between companions.  The companions still have their own  unique storylines appearances, but otherwise they are completely replaceable. Because the statistics of gear is no longer significant for companions you can equip them in anything their class allows them to wear and you do not have to be concerned that the gear is better or worse for statistics. This opens the door to more variety for companion appearance because good looking items with low statistics that were typically just sold to vendors can now be used on companions instead with no adverse affect.

Jedi Landrus Wields the Force

This actually seems like a good thing and a Bioware developer stated that more variety was something they wanted to encourage with this change.  However, oddly enough, the new group of companions that are introduced as part of the 60+ KotFE storyline are exempt from all of this variety because you cannot change their appearance at all. They look exactly the same for everyone and the only item you can equip for them is their primary weapon. This seems like a very odd decision to make considering what they did to the class-based pre-level 60 companions.

The last big change I will talk about is the level synchronization that is now done on every pre-level 60 planet.  This means that players that are higher level than a planet is designed for will find themselves significantly reduced in hit points and damage capability when they are visiting. This prevents high level characters from going back to low level planets and wiping everything out, which is a good thing, but also means that if you are going back to a planet to do a mission you have to deal with local creatures fighting you again rather than ignoring you because of your high level, and this is a time waster and nets you almost nothing because their drops will be items that are too low for you to care about and worth little. It would have been better I think if they had made this leveling restricted to only when a player is not on a speeder. That way you could travel the planet quickly without being interrupted by local creatures unless you wanted to dismount and fight them for some reason.

Golfing in the Fallen Empire

Fore!

I continue to enjoy the game and believe that even as a subscriber it has been entertaining enough to be well worth my investment as a subscriber.  However I do think that the changes they have been making, other than reducing group requirements, have not really been a good match for my interests.

Cruising Aldaraan

Imperial Agent Dakton Taking Names

Imperial Agent Dakton in an alternate costume

Below are several of my over 40 characters, representing all 8 classes and several of the playable races.

-------------

If you found this article useful and you choose to begin playing SWTOR or are already playing but have not yet indicated that you were referred by someone, then you can show your appreciation by using my personal referral link.  This will give both you and me in-game rewards as documented at the Friends of Star Wars site here.  

-------------

Jedi Consular Sage

Jedi Knight

Republic Trooper

Sith Warrior

Smuggler

Jedi Consular Shadow

Jedi Consular Sage

Sith Warrior

Sith Inquisitor Sorcerer

Smuggler

Imperial Agent

Jedi Knight

Bounty Hunter

Sith Inquisitor Sorcerer

Republic Trooper

Sith Inquisitor Assassin

Sith Inquisitor Sorcerer

Jedi Knight

Sith Inquisitor Sorcerer

Installing NWN2 Complete from GOG into a Wineskin Wrapper

Installing NWN2 Complete from GOG.com in a Wineskin

Playing the Windows version of Neverwinter Nights 2 on a Mac without the use of Boot Camp or a Windows OS installed can be done through the use of a Wineskin.  A search on Google will result in several Wineskins that have been created for NWN2 as well as my own created in 2012. In 2012 I installed NWN2 Platinum from DVDs into the Wineskin.   Nowadays though it is far more likely that anyone purchasing NWN2 will purchase NWN2 Complete from GOG which includes the NWN2 expansions and is fully patched which simplifies installation significantly.

These are the instructions for creating your own NWN2 Wineskin and installing NWN2 Complete from GOG into it using the current version of Wineskin Winery.  If you do not want to use my wrapper then you will need to download Wineskin Winery so you can create your own. Either way you will need to purchase and download NWN2 Complete from GOG.com.  This will be enough to run NWN2 the game, but unfortunately the NWN2 Toolset will not be able to be used because it remains incompatible with Wine (the underlying technology used in a Wineskin).

If you do not want to bother with Wineskin Winery you can download the Wineskin I created for NWN2 from Google Drive and unzip it and skip Step 1 entirely.  The file is 265 MB zipped and does not include NWN2.

Note: The current version is from August 2016 and uses engine WS9Wine 1.9.15. If you are using the 2015 version (which used engine WS9Wine 1.7.55) and are having crashes when opening the console then you may want to upgrade to the 2016 version.

Step 1: Configuring a new Wineskin wrapper for NWN2

First create a new wrapper using Wineskin Winery. I used Wrapper version Wineskin 2.6.2 and Engine version WS9Wine 1.9.15.

When creating the new wrapper you may be prompted to install mono and gecko. You can if you want but I do not believe they are required for NWN2. Unfortunately installing mono afterward is problematic if you choose not to install it now.

After the creation of the wrapper has completed you can find the wrapper in the Finder and then double-click it to open it.

Click the Advanced button to see the Advanced options.

Go to the Go to the Options tab and uncheck the option "Map User Mac OS X folders in wrapper".  Leaving this left checked would result in the NWN2 campaigns installed in the wrapper being ignored in favor of whatever you have in your Mac OS X Documents folder. Also check the "Option key works as Alt" option so that the Alt key will work properly.

Then go to the Tools panel and click the Winetricks button.  Winetricks allows you to install whatever Windows packages and libraries into the wrapper that may be required for the application being used.

Using Winetricks search for and install:

directx9 (you will be told by Winetricks that you can and should use other versions such as d3dx9_36, but for NWN2 I found that the others do not work, so install directx9)

dotnet20

vcrun2005

Close the Wineskin.

This step should not take more than 15 minutes or so. The Wineskin wrapper created should be about 670 MB.  You can also just download and unzip my wrapper and skip step 1 entirely.

Step 2: Installing NWN2 Complete into the wrapper

Put the wrapper that you created in Step 1 above or downloaded and unzipped from my site in the location that you want the application to be.  Bear in mind that the Wineskin wrapper will contain files that change as you play, so it will not remain static.  Also it will be over 13 GB in size initially and probably grow with usage.

Double-click the Wineskin wrapper you created in step 1 or downloaded from my site. Click the Install Software button.  Click the "Choose Setup Executable" button and navigate to the setup...exe that you downloaded from GOG.com (mine is setup_nwn2_complete_2.2.0.10.exe) and click the Choose button to begin the installation of NWN2 into the wrapper.

In the Neverwinter Nights 2 Complete Setup dialog click the "Options" button in the lower left corner. Uncheck "Create desktop icon" and check "Check file integrity before installation". Check the checkbox at the bottom for accepting the EULA (if you want to see it first just click the Install button without first checking the EULA acceptance) and then click the Install button.

The install will first verify that the GOG files you downloaded are not corrupted. If they are then it will fail and you will have to download them from GOG again before retrying this step.

This step will take a while depending on the speed of your computer and hard drive. On my 2010 Mac mini it took about 30 minutes for the installation to complete.

The step completes with a Runtime error which can be ignored.  Then exit the install by clicking the Ext button. Wineskin will then prompt you to specify the startup executable for the wrapper. In the pulldown select /GOG Games/NWN2 Complete/NWN2Launcher.exe and then quit the Wineskin wrapper.  (From then on when you double click the wrapper it will launch NWN2, so if you want to change the wrapper configuration you will need to right click on the wrapper and select Show Package Contents and then double-click the Wineskin.app icon.)

Because the NWN2 Complete package comes fully patched there is no need to update or patch the software after installation.  It will be on the last version of Windows NWN2 which was 1.23.

Double click the wrapper icon to play the NWN2 original campaign, Mask of the Betrayer, Storm of Zehir, or Mysteries of Westgate.

NWN2 Mac LAN Multi-player Instructions

Playing Neverwinter Nights 2 with friends over a network was never easy, but as the game has aged it has been getting harder, and for Macintosh users nearly impossible. Both the Bioware account registration/authentication feature and the GameSpy functionality no longer work due to Bioware being hacked in 2012 and GameSpy dropping NWN2.

Some community solutions have been developed for Windows users, but there are no community solutions for Mac users. For Windows users the Client Extension by Skywing (<http://www.nynaeve.net/Skywing/nwn2/cliext/ClientExtension_Latest.zip>) is a Windows executable NWN2 pre-launcher that replaces the broken GameSpy functionality so that servers can be accessed over the internet, allowing access to Persistent World servers.

This document describes what is needed for Macintosh users on a local area network (LAN) to play NWN2 multi-player with one another. For Mac users there are two versions of the game available, the Aspyr DVD version and the non-DVD version that was temporarily sold in the Apple Store. Theoretically it shouldn’t matter which version is used for either the hosting server or client, but these instructions were developed and tested in two configurations: (1) 2 Macs running the App Store version on Mac OS X 10.9 and (2) one Mac running the DVD version on Mac OS X 10.6 and another Mac running the Apps Store version on Mac OS X 10.9. Other configurations may have different results.

Note that it is also possible to have a Mac on the LAN playing the Windows version of NWN2 using Bootcamp (or a Windows machine playing the Windows version) and participate in a multi-player game with a Mac that is using the Mac version.

Requirements and Preparation

The first requirement is that each machine playing NWN2 on the LAN must have NWN2 installed and patched to 1.23 (the Aspyr Mac patch for the DVD version of NWN2 can be downloaded from mac.Softpedia.com here; the Apple Store version was fully patched) and its own unique CD-keys listed in the Key1=, Key2=, and Key3= settings in the appropriate nwncdkey.ini file.
For DVD version users that file is:
Users/[username]/Documents/Aspyr/Neverwinter Nights 2/nwncdkey.ini
For users of the Apple Store non-DVD version that file is:
Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Neverwinter Nights 2/nwncdkey.ini

The second requirement is that the servers need to be able to communicate with one another.  This requires adjusting the settings of the Apple Mac OS X firewall on each machine. This can be done through the System Preferences Security & Privacy control panel (on Mac OS X 10.6 this is called the Security panel). If you are using a version of Mac OS X that allows you to add an application to the firewall allow list in the advanced firewall settings (10.6 and later allow this, I'm not sure about earlier versions), then adding the Neverwinter Nights 2 application to that list should be sufficient and you can keep the firewall on. If you do choose to turn the firewall off then I suggest you turn the firewall back on when you are done playing.

The third requirement is that any campaigns or modules that are going to be played must be installed on each computer that will be playing.

Originally when playing online each computer was supposed to have a unique account registered with Bioware. Bioware no longer allows accounts to be registered however, but for LAN use all that is required is that each computer use a uniquely named account. The accounts do not actually have to be registered with Bioware and are not in any way related to the character you play. If you are going to use a computer multiple times, then you should probably use the same account for it each time. That has been my practice although I do not know if that consistency is a requirement or benefit.

The deprecated GameSpy functionality allowed hosted games to be advertised on the GameSpy servers so they could be found by browsing. The Client Extension replaces that functionality for Windows users but is Windows only. Fortunately for playing on a LAN this functionality is not required. Just in case the Direct Connect option will be required (it hasn’t been for me) you should make a note of the IP address of each computer that will be playing. Here are two methods to get the IP address:

1. System Preferences Network control panel should show IP address
2. Use the Terminal utility and type the command “ping hostname” without the quotes and replacing hostname with the name of your machine, which is the part before the colon on the Terminal command line. The ping command will show the IP address in parentheses on the first line. Press control-C to exit the ping command.

Starting (or loading) the game on the host server

The machine you are going to host the game on will be doing the most work, so for best performance it should be the Mac with the fastest CPU and most memory. (Check this using the Apple menu About This Mac option). If you are planning to play the NWN2 OC or MotB then this would be the primary player’s (“shard-bearer”) computer.

On the host machine start NWN2. At the initial menu select the MULTIPLAYER option. This should take you to the Bioware Community Login screen.

On the Bioware Community Login screen enter the Bioware account and password you will use on this machine and if this is your personal computer check the Remember Password option. If you do not have a registered Bioware account then just fabricate an account name and password because the create account name feature stopped working in 2012. Click Sign In. This should eventually take you to another menu although it may take several seconds and you may have to click through an authentication failed error message. (Reminder, each computer participating must use its own unique account.) If you do not check the Remember Password setting, then either pick a very easy to remember password or write it down someplace.

Select NEW GAME (if you are resuming a game you would select the LOAD GAME option). This should take you to the Server Info screen.

On the Server Info screen first UNCHECK the Post Game To Internet option and then click NEXT. (You can also change other options if you like, such as allowing illegal characters.)

At this point the screens are essentially the same as they would be for playing a single-player game allowing you to start a game with a new or existing character. Select NEW CAMPAIGN to start a campaign or NEW MODULE to start a module. (In this case I am starting a campaign). This will take you to the Select Campaign screen.

On the Select Campaign screen select the campaign you wish to play and click START GAME.

As the game is starting you will briefly see a Connection Status screen that will display your IP address. After that you will be able to create or select a character.

Joining the game with a client

Note: These steps can be repeated for multiple clients.

Start NWN2. At the initial menu select the MULTIPLAYER option. This should take you to the Bioware Community Login screen.

On the Bioware Community Login screen enter the Bioware account and password you will use on this machine. If you do not have a registered Bioware account then just fabricate an account name because the create account name feature stopped working in 2012. Click Sign In. This should eventually take you to another menu although it may take several seconds and you may have to click through an authentication failed error message. (Reminder, each computer participating must use its own unique account.)

Select JOIN LAN GAME. This should take you to the LAN Browser screen.

On the LAN Browser screen, after a few seconds, your host server should appear. Click on the host server line to highlight it and then click the CONNECT button. If the host server is not listed then make sure that the firewall settings on both machines are either set to allow connections with the Neverwinter Night 2 application or the firewalls are turned off. (Alternatively you can cancel and try the Direct Connect option which will require the IP address of the host server, but this is not something I have needed to do as long as the firewall settings are correct.)

You will then be able to create or select a character to play the game.

Enjoy playing NWN2.

NWN2 MotB Makeover SoZ Edition

NWN2 MotB Makeover SoZ Edition (v20150325 and v20250731)
- by Brendan Bellina "Kaldor Silverwand"

Difference between v20150325 and v20250731):

v20250731 is an update for compatibility with NWN2 EE on Linux. The NWN2 EE distribution renamed almost all files in NWN2 from mixed case to all lowercase. Because the files in v20150325 of the Makeover are in mixed case installation on a Linux NWN2 EE system would result in duplicate files rather than file replacement and that would result in features not working. v20250731 has all of the files in all lowercase so that this will not happen.  If you are using Windows and already have v20150325 installed then there is no advantage to installing v20250731.   

The NWN2 MotB Makeover SoZ Edition is a collection of scripts, items, modules, and UI modifications that can be applied to the NWN2 Mask of the Betrayer Campaign in order to enable features of SoZ when playing MotB. This requires the NWN2 OC, MoTB expansion, and the SoZ expansion.

Because of the complexity of the installation it is required that you backup your MotB campaign folder before installation. This will allow you to uninstall the Makeover by restoring from the backup. If you do not have a backup then you will have to reinstall the OC, MotB, and SoZ.

Because of the significant changes to the game behavior introduced with the Makeover it will not be completely compatible with other game modifications that alter the standard module scripts or the UI.

------------------
Compatibility with Kaedrin's PrC Pack:
Kaedrin's PrC Pack disables some of the Makeover features:
- the automatic pausing of Spirit Energy consumption when idle
- the Item Level restrictions
- the Resting restrictions
------------------

This collection is specifically designed for use when playing the NWN2 MotB expansion. If properly installed it will not affect the OC, SoZ, or 3rd party modules and campaigns.

The author, Brendan Bellina (aka Kaldor Silverwand in the NWN2 forums and NWN2 Vault), is not in any way responsible for any use of the components in this collection. This collection is provided for free and without warranty. Grateful missives may be directed to bbellina@alumni.nd.edu.

The Makeover can be applied either before beginning or after beginning the Neverwinter Nights 2 MotB campaign. If applied after already beginning a campaign then the recipe books and Campaigner's Guide will not be available (these are not required anyway) and spawned NPC's in already loaded modules will not be able to be spoken to except by the main PC. Also depending on where you are in the campaign some optional plot paths and optional items may not be available.

To get the most from the Makeover and avoid bugs it is recommended that you start a new game using the Makeover, but it is not mandatory that you do so.

Download the MotB Makeover SoZ Edition here

There are several optional areas added to MotB by the Makeover. The walkthrough can be used to make sure the player accesses these areas.  In addition biglos9d has posted a series of "Let's Replay NWN2: MotB" YouTube videos in which he uses the Makeover and intentionally plays through the optional areas described in the walkthrough.  The best episodes to watch for this are episode #s 1, 30, 31, 32, 33, 33A, 34, 35, and 36.

Features:

Many features can be customized by editing two 2da files included with the Makeover with a text editor such as Notepad (on Windows) or TextEdit (on Macintosh). There is no longer a need to use the Toolset to customize the features. See section "Customizing the Makeover Features" below to learn how to customize the features.

Additions to Player Menu:
Options to open the Party Editor and the Player Chat are available in the Player Menu.

(The default player menu is condensed. If you prefer a slightly larger menu then navigate to the C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1\UI folder (on Mac the Campaigns folder will be in the Applications/Neverwinter Nights 2 folder - if NWN2 was installed from CD - or in Neverwinter Nights 2.app/Contents - if installed from the Mac App Store) and rename playermenu_popup.xml to playermenu_popup-small.xml, and rename playermenu_popup-large.xml to playermenu_popup.xml.)

Party Creation:
SoZ Party Creation is enabled. This allows up to 6 player created party members (one of which is the main PC) in addition to the standard OC companions. Party Members are created via the Party Editor option in the Player Menu. The Party Editor option can be accessed at any time. This is comparable to the guestbooks used in SoZ. (Note that player-created characters will be excluded from the Dreamscape except in the final battle areas).

Player-created party members will start at level 1 unless you have leveled them up elsewhere. Vordan's Hero Creator is a useful training module for creating, leveling up, and outfitting characters that can be imported with the party editor. The recommended minimum level for MotB is level 18.

(The number of party members allowed can be altered by altering the Campaign properties using the toolset Campaign plug-in. Unfortunately this cannot be altered except by using the NWN2 Toolset.)

Enhancement of the initial provisioning:
When the campaign begins the initial player will be provided the recipe books and a few coins of life.

Multi-classing Companions:
Companions can be multi-classed when leveling up.

For multi-classing purposes Gann's favored class is Barbarian. Other non-human companions either have no selectable favored class, or their initial class is their favored class.

Maximum number of companions:
The party limit of 5 has been increased to 8 to allow full use of the companions. (The optional OC companions that may join during Act II do not count against this limit.)

NPC Conversation enhancement:
All NPC's that have the standard spawn script (most of them) can be conversed with by any member of the party rather than just the main PC. Because most conversations are designed to be with the main PC only there may be bugs introduced by using party members for important conversations.

Because the final areas in the game are very Spirit Eater centric, in those areas only the main PC can speak to NPCs.

Death and Bleeding System:
When the game is played on Normal or higher difficulty mode the SoZ Death system will be applied to the party members. In addition an XP penalty will be applied to characters when they are killed. Party members will remain dead when killed and will be valid targets for resurrection. Because the campaign requires companions to be alive often during transitions and conversations unexpected behavior may occur if a companion is dead at such a time. Death will cause a permanent experience point loss to the character. The Coins of Life used in the SoZ will be available to be used to resurrect dead characters.

Playing in Easy mode will cause the death system to behave as it does in the unmodified OC except that there will be an XP penalty applied when dying. This XP penalty will not be enough to cause de-leveling.

Rest System:
The rest system implemented causes the party to rest for 8 hours. When the game is played on Normal or higher difficulty mode resting is restricted to once in an 8 hour period and restricted to natural areas. There is a context menu option to allow a single character to meditate, regaining health and spells instantly.

Item Level Restriction:
Equippable enchanted weapons and armor can be restricted to use based on the level of enchantment and the level of the person attempting to equip the item. A person must have 2 levels of experience more than the level of enchantment. This is not a feature of SoZ but was added in the Makeover to attempt to keep game balance.

Rechargeable staves, wands, and rods:
Standard staves, wands, and rods can be recharged by making them the target of arcane spells. This is not a feature available in SoZ. Nothing forces you to use this feature, but if you want to make it impossible to use then do not copy the folder Rechargeable Mage Items into the campaign folder.

Enhanced SoZ Crafting and Enchanting:
All items that can be crafted in SoZ can also be crafted in MotB using the existing workbenches in MotB. Items that require trade resources in SoZ to craft will require an equivalent wood or ingots. Recipes are automatically placed in the Recipe Books, as in SoZ, however the recipe books are no longer cursed and can be given to any party member to carry. Also, unlike SoZ, recipes do not need to be in a recipe book in order to be used. Recipes and components will be randomly available in standard MotB stores. The recipes and components are added to the store inventory only the first time a store is opened. Each store has a 66% chance of having recipes and components. Items are normally limited to 3 enchantments unless the caster is an epic caster (> 20 levels) in which case 4 enchantments can be applied. Several item properties no longer count against the number of enchantments, including: light, visual effects, racial/class/alignment restrictions, and penalizing properties (curses). Masterwork items (identified by tag ending in _mast) are no longer penalized by having one fewer enchantment allowed. The inherent properties of items based on their material type will no longer count against the number of enchantments on the item (this is based on the standard tag names and is not guaranteed to work with non-standard items).

Some merchants are guaranteed to have SoZ items:
- Feodorra and Magda will have low level recipes and common crafting components
- Katya and Shelvedar will have healing items, medium level recipes, and common crafting components
- Azim will have healing items, medium level recipes, and rare crafting components
- Omaga will have healing items, high level recipes and rare crafting components

A number of additional items that were intended to be craftable in SoZ but were not due to bugs and/or missing recipes or items can also be crafted. These include:
- Acid Bomb
- Fire Bomb
- Bracers of Armor +4
- Gauntlets of Dexterity +2
- Adamantine Breastplate
- Poison Bolts
- Darksteel Darts
- Darksteel Shuriken
- Darksteel Throwing Axes
- Cold Iron Halberd
- Darksteel Halberd

Fixed crafted items include:
- Adamantine arrows (added magical +2 damage)
- Adamantine bolts (added magical +2 damage)

All SoZ Enchantments are available. Only enchantments that are available in the OC are available in the Makeover.

Companion Conversations updated so that you can take their gear even when they are not currently in the party.

Nasher's Items are supported in the game in case they are imported from the OC Makeover

Spirit energy is not lost if standing idly (this will prevent it from being lost while using inventory or leveling up or waiting until dawn/dusk). Spirit energy is still lost when resting. Spirit energy can be regained by consuming Spirit Essences.

During Ice Troll combat challenge the player-created party members other than the main PC will be frozen.

Because the OC Makeover allowed Shandra Jerro to accompany the Knight Captain to the final KOS confrontation, conversations in the MotB Makeover about the OC companions include references to Shandra.

-----------------------

Customizing the Makeover Features:

The behavior of the rest system, death system, and Item Level Restriction system can be customized by editing the 2da file "C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1\NWN2 MotB Makeover SoZ Edition\mo_nx1_options.2da". (On Mac the Campaigns folder will be in the Applications/Neverwinter Nights 2 folder - if NWN2 was installed from CD - or in Neverwinter Nights 2.app/Contents - if installed from the Mac App Store).

The behavior of the crafting system can be customized by editing the 2da file "C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1\NWN2 MotB Makeover SoZ Edition\SoZCraftingPlus\SoZCraftingPlus_options.2da". (On Mac the Campaigns folder will be in the Applications/Neverwinter Nights 2 folder - if NWN2 was installed from CD - or in Neverwinter Nights 2.app/Contents - if installed from the Mac App Store).

Each of these files can be edited using a standard text editor such as Windows Notepad (just start Notepad and drag the file to edit into the open Notepad window) or Mac OS X TextEdit (just drag the file to edit onto the TextEdit application icon in the Applications folder or Dock). These files are read when when a module is loaded, so it is recommended that you save your game before editing them and then reload your saved game after editing them. A 2da file is simply a spreadsheet-like text file containing rows and columns. Each row has an integer identifier, starting with value 0, and several columns of data. The columns are delimited by spaces. While they can be edited using the toolset, the author does not recommend that.

In each file the columns are:
- Row ID (For NWN2 2da's the ID column has no column header)
- LABEL - this is the name of the feature. These must not be edited.
- ENABLED - This indicates whether a feature is enabled ("1") or not ("0") or enablement is not relevant ("****").
- VALUE - An integer value that is relevant to the feature. If no value is relevant then the column will contain "****".
- DESCRIPTION - A complete explanation of the feature, its allowed range of values, and its effect on game play.

The rows in the default mo_nx1_options.2da file are:

LABEL ENABLED VALUE DESCRIPTION
0 GAMEDIFF 0 0 "GAMEDIFF adjustment: 1 for knockout death and no death penalty and no rest restrictions; 2 for knockout death and no rest restrictions)"
1 MIN_HR_BETWEEN_REST 1 8 "Minimum number of hours required between resting (ignored in very easy or easy Game Difficulty Mode or when GAMEDIFF = 1 or 2)"
2 NATURAL_RESTING_ONLY 1 **** "Restrict resting to natural areas (ignored in very easy or easy Game Difficulty Mode or when GAMEDIFF = 1 or 2)"
3 KNOCKOUT_DEATH 0 **** "Use knockout death system (automatic when Game Difficulty Mode is set to very easy or easy or when GAMEDIFF = 1 or 2)"
4 XP_DEATHPENALTY 1 **** "Apply an xp death penalty when a party member dies (ignored in very easy or easy Game Difficulty Mode or when GAMEDIFF = 1)"
5 ILR_NWN 0 **** "Enforce Item Level Restriction for all equipped items based on NWN value table (which is based on item cost)"
6 ILR_NWN_ADJ **** 0 "Integer adjustment (positive or negative) to item value when using ILR_NWN"
7 ILR_NWN_DIV **** 0 "Divide the required level by this integer when using ILR_NWN (0 is treated as 1)"
8 ILR_ENHBONUS 1 **** "Use Item Level Restriction on Enhanced Weapons where minimum level required to use is Weapon Enhancement Bonus plus 2"
9 ILR_ENHBONUS_MULT2 0 **** "Require 2*Enh Bonus levels rather than 2+Enh Bonus levels when using ILR_ENHBONUS"
10 ILR_ACBONUS 1 **** "Use Item Level Restriction on Enhanced Armor where minimum level required to wear is Armor AC Bonus plus 2
11 ILR_ACBONUS_MULT2 0 **** "Require 2*AC Bonus rather than 2+AC Bonus when using ILR_ACBONUS"

The most common user requests have been to disable the SoZ death/dying system, disable the XP death penalty, disable the rest restrictions, and disable the Item Level Restriction feature. By default these features are all enabled. The rows in the 2da file allow control over each of these settings.

GAMEDIFF (row 0) if enabled (ENABLED set to 1) and set to value 1 will replace the SoZ Death/Dying sysem with the Knockout system used by the unmodified campaign, eliminate the XP death penalty, and remove the rest restrictions. If enabled (ENABLED set to 1) and set to value 2 it will use the Knockout system and remove the rest restrictions but leave in place the XP death penalty. If ENABLED is 0 then any value is ignored.

MIN_HR_BETWEEN_REST (row 1) and NATURAL_RESTING_ONLY (row 2) allow specific control over the rest system. If you wish to only disable the rest restrictions then change the value in the enabled column of these rows to 0. These rows are ignored if GAMEDIFF is enabled and set to value 1 or 2.

KNOCKOUT_DEATH (row 3) and XP_DEATHPENALTY (row 4) allow specific control over the death system. To use the OC death system enable KNOCKOUT_DEATH (ignored if GAMEDIFF is enabled and set to value 1 or 2). To disable the XP Death Penalty set the ENABLED column of the XP_DEATHPENALTY row to 0 (ignored if GAMEDIFF is enabled and set to value 1).

The remaining rows (5-11) affect the Item Level Restriction feature. If ILR_NWN (row 5) is enabled then ILR_NWN_ADJ (row 6) and ILR_NWN_DIV (row 7) can optionally have values, otherwise they are ignored. To completely disable Item Level Restriction set the ENABLED column to 0 for ILR_NWN (row 5), ILR_ENHBONUS (row 8), and ILR_ACBONUS (row 10).

The rows in the default SoZCraftingPlus_options.2da file are:

LABEL ENABLED VALUE DESCRIPTION
0 CONVERT_GOODS 1 **** "Convert SoZ goods requirements to standard goods"
1 CONVERT_RARERES 1 **** "Convert SoZ rare resource requirements to standard resources"
2 ENCH_ALLOW_SATCHEL 0 **** "Allow satchel to be used for enchanting in place of mage bench"
3 CFT_ALLOW_SATCHEL 0 **** "Allow satchel to be used for crafting in place of mage bench"
4 CFT_ALLOW_MORTAR 0 **** "Allow Mortar and Pestle to be used for crafting in place of alchemist bench"
5 CFT_ALLOW_HAMMER 0 **** "Allow smith hammer to be used for crafting in place of craftsman/smith bench"
6 XP_CRAFT_PCT 0 10 "Reduce crafter's xp by specified percentage of gold cost when crafting"
7 XP_ENCH_PCT 0 25 "Reduce enchanter's xp by specified percentage of gold cost when enchanting"
8 DESTROY_RECIPES 0 **** "Allow the possibility of recipes being destroyed when used"
9 DESTROY_RECIPE_MIN **** 1 "Integer minimum percentage risk (0-99) of a recipe being destroyed when DESTROY_RECIPES enabled"
10 DESTROY_RECIPE_MULT **** 0 "Integer multiplier used in calculating risk of a recipe being destroyed. Higher numbers increase risk."

With these default settings:
- Soz recipes that require SoZ specific goods or rare resources will require appropriate bars and planks;
- mobile enchanting/crafting using the satchel, mortar and pestle, and smithhammer is not allowed;
- crafting/enchanting will not consume xp from the crafter/enchanter;
- and there is no possibility that a recipe will be consumed by its use.

-----------------------

Story alterations and MotB bug fixes:

Callous references to the deaths of OC companions made by the gargoyles in the Shadow Theater have been removed.

The Inarus conversation has been altered to correct the bugs that allowed the creation of multiple elementals and ghouls and repeated influence gains with Okku. Also an alignment shift toward evil has been added if the player consumes a spirit or soul.

Inarus will now participate with the other masters in the Red Wizard showdown if not already dealt with. His keyring and robes can be recovered from his corpse.

Lamentations of the Dead acquire bug fixed.

Tome of Rebirth acquire bug fixed (corrected campaign script name)

The Dream Weapon longsword bug is fixed and the Dream Weapon enhanced to work with all party members and be able to be transformed to the additional forms: Bastard Sword, Club, Falchion, Handaxe, Katana, Kukri, Light Crossbow, Morningstar, Rapier, Scythe, Short Sword, Spear, and Warhammer.

The size and appearance of Okku can be changed to make him more manageable as a companion. To alter his size or appearance speak with him.

An alternate method of recovering Ammon Jerro's soul has been implemented that does not require trading souls. This is intended for good characters and may not be available if the SE has been consuming everyone in sight.

An alternate method of opening the door to the astral plane is provided that does not require the fusing of souls.

Removed options to destroy the scribes until Ammon Jerro has been recovered. This was needed to allow the alternate recovery of AJ's soul.

It is now possible for evil characters to gain the Eternal Rest feat via the Myrkul's Priest conversation. (suggested by puiwaihin)

Added appropriate locations of broken ring and broken scythe. These were missing in MotB but their descriptions indicated the areas in which they should be found.

Ammon Jerro now functions as a full companion and will level up accordingly. Other optional companions are also available.

The students in the academy no longer say things that indicate class is continuing if their instructors are absent. (They will stay seated though. They are a very well disciplined group.)

Some of the weapons used by special enemies will now be dropped. (They could use them against you, so it only seems fair that you should be able to use them as well.)

-----------------------

Known limitations:

There is no Overland Map

There is no SoZ party conversation, although you may use any party member to speak to NPC's.

Party members should not be dropped when transitions occur, but just in case save often.

Companions may pop back to life or stand when dead if they are involved in cutscenes. This may also affect player created characters. Save often.

Before changing to or from easy game difficulty, save the game. Reload after changing the difficulty setting.

The ending slides still assume you are playing a male human.

-----------------------

Installation Instructions:

SPECIAL NOTES FOR STEAM USERS:

In order to follow the installation instructions for Steam, references below to "C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Night 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1\" and its subfolders would on Steam be folder "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\neverwinter nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1\" and its subfolders.

For NWN2 EE on Steam the folder would be "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\NWN2 Enhanced Edition\campaigns\neverwinter nights 2 campaign_x1" and its subfolders.  

The Modules folder for Steam is "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\neverwinter nights 2\Modules".

For NWN2 EE on Steam the folder would be "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\NWN2 Enhanced Edition\modules".

  
(The author thanks BlakOrkz for providing the information for the Steam install.)

SPECIAL NOTES FOR MACINTOSH USERS:

In order to follow the installation instructions on a Macintosh, references to folders and files depend on whether you installed NWN2 from CD or by purchasing it from the Mac App Store. The Campaigns folder will be in the Applications/Neverwinter Nights 2 folder - if NWN2 was installed from CD - or in Neverwinter Nights 2.app/Contents - if installed from the Mac App Store.

Similarly the Modules folder is in the Applications/Neverwinter Nights 2 folder - if NWN2 was installed from CD - or in Neverwinter Nights 2.app/Contents - if installed from the Mac App Store.

Because the NWN2 Toolset is not available on the Macintosh it is strongly recommended that you make a backup of the campaign folder before installing any files into it. The simplest way to do this is right-click on "Applications/Neverwinter Nights 2/Data/Campaigns/Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1/" and select the option "Compress Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1". This will create a zip file that can be used to restore the original campaign folder if you want to later uninstall the Makeover. (If you installed from the Mac App Store you will have to copy the Neverwinter Night2 Campaign folder to another location before compressing it.)

SPECIAL NOTE FOR ALL USERS OF THE MAKEOVER:

WARNING: This installation will update the NWN2 MotB campaign folder (Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1\). (It will also add two new modules to the modules folder, but that shouldn't be a cause of alarm). It is strongly recommended that you patch to current before installing the Makeover. It is also very strongly recommended that you make a backup of your NWN2 MotB campaign folder before proceeding with the installation. The best way to do this is to zip it. If you make an uncompressed copy of the campaign folder you must move the copy out of the Campaigns folder.

WARNING: If you do not have a back up of the campaign folder, then uninstalling the Makeover will require reinstallation of NWN2.

If you have installed the MotB SE Autopause in your override folder then you must uninstall it. It is not compatible with the Makeover and its functionality is built into the Makeover, so the override is not needed and will interfere if in the override folder.

Remove any customizations you have made, if any, to your "C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Night 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1\" folder.

If you have previously modified your NWN2 MotB campaign file using the Campaign Editor plug-in (added haks for example) and do not want it overlaid then manually apply the following changes to the Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1 using the toolset Campaign Editor plug-in rather than copying over the Campaign.cam file:
- Set PartyCreation option to true
- Set PartyCreationSize to 6
- Set PartyMemberDying option to true
- Set AllowUnrestrictedLevelUp to true

Note: These instructions assume you have installed the NWN2 MotB campaign in the default locations for Windows XP. If not then you may need to adjust the target folder locations below.

It is very strongly recommended that you make a backup of your NWN2 MotB campaign folder before proceeding with the installation. The best way to do this is to zip it. If you make an uncompressed copy of the campaign folder you must move the copy out of the Campaigns folder.

Open the folder "\NWN2 MotB Makeover\Put content in Campaign folder"
Copy all items in this folder into the folder "C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1"

Open the folder "\NWN2 MotB Makeover\Put content in campaign UI folder"
Copy all items in this folder into the folder "C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign_X1\UI"

Open the folder "\NWN2 MotB Makeover\Put content in Modules folder"
Copy all items in this folder into the folder "C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2\Modules"

For compatibility it is recommended that you remove all content from your Override folder while using the Makeover. Any mods that remain in your override folder will override the Makeover and may interfere with its features.

-----------------------

Uninstall Instructions:

The only way to uninstall the Makeover is to restore your MotB campaign folder from a backup made prior to installing the Makeover. Otherwise you will need to reinstall NWN2.

You can also remove the two new X1_Makeover modules from the modules folder, but there isn't really a need as they will not interfere with anything.

------------------

Patch History:

Note: The following patches are only required for version 20110129 of the Makeover. Version 20150325 is a full release that includes version 20110129 with all patches applied.

All patches are for version 20110129 only and must be applied in the order they were released.

-----------------
Patch 2011-02-10 updates the crafting system

-----------------
Patch 2011-02-13 corrects a game-breaking bug in the Slumbering Coven Dreamscape

-----------------
Patch 2011-05-29 corrects a bug in the crafting system that blocked the crafting of items that have no spell requirements.

-----------------
Patch 2011-11-06 corrects the blueprints for crafted poison arrows and mild poison arrows.

-----------------
Patch 2012-04-13 - This patch allows crafting to be done by Warlocks who have the Imbue Item feat and a high enough UMD; changes the calculation of spell caster level when enchanting to use class levels and the Practiced Spellcaster feat; adds scythe recipes to the medium level recipes, and adds meditate, drop unequipped inventory, and character visibility options to the player context menu.

-----------------
Patch 2012-10-12 - Further enhancements to the crafting system:
No longer allows enchanting unidentified items

When specifying in a recipe that a bench is required a greater variety of text can be used as follows:
- Requirement for a mage bench can be indicated by nx2_mage_bench, PLC_MR_MWBench, PLC_MC_CBENCH03, magical_bench, magical, or any string with "mage_bench" in it.
- Requirement for an alchemy bench can be indicated by nx2_alch_bench, PLC_MR_AWBench, PLC_MC_CBENCH01, alchemy_bench, alchemy, or any string with "alch_bench" in it.
- Requirement for a smith bench can be indicated by nx2_smith_bench, PLC_MR_WWBench, PLC_MC_CBENCH02, PLC_MC_WBENCH01, workbench, blacksmith, or any string with "smith_bench" in it.
Note that this does not change the requirement that the actual placeable have a standard bench tag.

Credit to Marc Allard and The Complete Craftsman mod by ChainsawXIV for requesting and inspiring the following enhancements regarding enchantments:
- The CheckEnchantmentNumber function no longer counts Light, Visual effects, use limitation, inherent material bonuses, and penalizing properties against the maximum enchantment allowed number.
- Enchantments that do not count against the number of enchantments (light, VFX, use limitation, penalizing properties) can be applied even if an item has the maximum number of properties already.
- An item being a masterwork item no longer counts against the maximum enchantment allowed number. (masterwork items are determined by tag ending in _mast)
- Epic casters (> 20 levels) can now add 4 enhancements to an item rather than only 3. (The level check is against the crafter, not all party members.)

Special thanks to Marc Allard for significant help testing these modifications.

-----------------
Patch 2012-11-07

Changes Spirit Essences to be consumable to regain Spirit Eater points. Volatile Spirit Essence is worth 5 points. Brilliant Spirit Essence is worth 40 points. Pristine Spirit Essence is worth 100 points.

Update to the Makeover Guide to include information about consuming Spirit Essences

Restore the standard ability to consume/destroy the Death God's Vault scribes in the Chief Scribe conversation (b07_chief_scribe.DLG), but only after Ammon Jerro has been restored

Minor fixes to Makeover conversations for Neeshka (remove incorrect reference to Candlekeep, and remove term "macho", other minor corrections), Casavir (reword a line), and Startear (typo correction)

-----------------

NWN2 OC Makeover SoZ Edition

NWN2 OC Makeover SoZ Edition (v20131228 and v20250731)
- by Brendan Bellina "Kaldor Silverwand"

Difference between v20131228 and v20250731):

v20250731 is an update for compatibility with NWN2 EE on Linux. The NWN2 EE distribution renamed almost all files in NWN2 from mixed case to all lowercase. Because the files in v20131228 of the Makeover are in mixed case installation on a Linux NWN2 EE system would result in duplicate files rather than file replacement and that would result in features not working. v20250731 has all of the files in all lowercase so that this will not happen.  If you are using Windows and already have v20131228 installed then there is no advantage to installing v20250731. 

The NWN2 OC Makeover SoZ Edition is a collection of scripts, items, and UI modification that can be applied to the NWN2 Official Campaign in order to enable features of SoZ when playing the OC. This requires the NWN2 OC, MoTB expansion, and the SoZ expansion.

This collection is specifically designed for use with the NWN2 OC.

The author, Brendan Bellina (aka Kaldor Silverwand in the NWN2 forums and NWN2 Vault), is not in any way responsible for any use of the components in this collection. This collection is provided for free and without warranty. Grateful missives may be directed to bbellina@alumni.nd.edu.

The Makeover can be applied either before beginning or after beginning the Neverwinter Nights 2 campaign. If applied after already beginning a campaign then the recipe books and Campaigner's Guide wlll not be available (these are not required anyway) and NPC's in already loaded modules will not be able to be spoken to except by the main PC.

Download the OC Makeover SoZ Edition here

biglos9d posted a play through of NWN2 using the OC Makeover on YouTube. The Makeover wasn't installed until episode 7 of the play through.

Features:

Many features involving death, resting, and crafting can be customized by editing two 2da files included with the Makeover with a text editor such as Notepad (on Windows) or TextEdit (on Macintosh). There is no longer a need to use the Toolset to customize the features. See section "Customizing the Makeover Features" below to learn how to customize the features.

Additions to Player Menu:
Options to open the Party Editor and the Player Chat are available in the Player Menu.

(The default player menu is condensed. If you prefer a slightly larger menu then navigate to the C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign\UI folder and rename playermenu_popup.xml to playermenu_popup-small.xml, and rename playermenu_popup-large.xml to playermenu_popup.xml.)

Party Creation:
SoZ Party Creation is enabled. This allows up to 6 player created party members (one of which is the main PC) in addition to the standard OC companions. Party Members are created via the Party Editor option in the Player Menu. The Party Editor option can be accessed at any time. This is comparable to the guestbooks used in SoZ.

(The number of party members allowed can be altered by altering the Campaign properties using the toolset Campaign plug-in. Unfortunately this cannot be altered except by using the NWN2 Toolset.)

Enhancement of the initial provisioning chest:
There is a chest for provisioning in the initial room at the start of Act I. The chest has been enhanced to include the recipe books, a Campaigners Guide that explains features of the Makeover, a few coins of life, and recognizes the player classes introduced in MoTB and SoZ. The chest will provide equipment when opened by the main PC and any created party members.

Multi-classing Companions:
Companions in the OC can be multi-classed when leveling up. It is not recommended that you do this with Khelgar since he has special issues in the OC.

NPC Conversation enhancement:
All NPC's that have the standard spawn script (most of them) can be conversed with by any member of the party rather than just the main PC. Because most conversations in the OC are designed to be with the main PC only there may be bugs introduced by using party members for important conversations.

Death and Bleeding System:
When the game is played on Normal or higher difficulty mode the SoZ Death system will be applied to the party members. In addition an XP penalty will be applied to characters when they are killed. Party members will remain dead when killed and will be valid targets for resurrection. One exception to this is Amie who because of her special role in the OC cannot be resurrected once killed. Because the OC requires companions to be alive often during transitions and conversations unexpected behavior may occur if an OC companion is dead at such a time. Death will cause a permanent experience point loss to the character. The Coins of Life used in the SoZ will be available to be used to resurrect dead characters.

Playing in Easy mode will cause the death system to behave as it does in the unmodified OC except that there will be an XP penalty applied when dying. This XP penalty will not be enough to cause de-leveling.

Rest System:
The rest system implemented causes the party to rest for 8 hours. When the game is played on Normal or higher difficulty mode resting is restricted to once in an 8 hour period and restricted to natural areas. The Makeover does not implement the rest and wandering monster system used by MotB or SoZ. (Note: Resting is allowed in the final area of the game even though it is a manmade area.) The context menu provides a Meditate option that can be used to force rest a single character at any time.

Item Level Restriction:
Equippable enchanted weapons and armor can be restricted to use based on the level of enchantment and the level of the person attempting to equip the item. A person must have 2 levels of experience more than the level of enchantment. This is not a feature of SoZ but was added in the Makeover to attempt to keep the OC in balance.

Rechargeable staves, wands, and rods:
Standard staves, wands, and rods can be recharged by making them the target of arcane spells. This is not a feature available in SoZ. Nothing forces you to use this feature, but if you want to make it impossible to use then do not copy the folder Rechargeable Mage Items into the campaign folder.

Enhanced SoZ Crafting and Enchanting:
All items that can be crafted in SoZ can also be crafted in the OC using the existing workbenches in the OC. Items that require trade resources in SoZ to craft will require an equivalent wood or ingots found in the OC. Recipes are automatically placed in the Recipe Books, as in SoZ, however the recipe books are no longer cursed and can be given to any party member to carry. Also, unlike SoZ, recipes do not need to be in a recipe book in order to be used. Recipes and components will be randomly available in standard OC stores. The recipes and components are added to the store inventory only the first time a store is opened. Each store has a 66% chance of having recipes and components. There is no guarantee that all recipes and components will be available, but with the high number of stores in the OC it is likely that all recipes will be available somewhere. Items are normally limited to 3 enchantments unless the caster is an epic caster (> 20 levels) in which case 4 enchantments can be applied. Several item properties no longer count against the number of enchantments, including: light, visual effects, racial/class/alignment restrictions, and penalizing properties (curses). Masterwork items (identified by tag ending in _mast) are no longer penalized by having one fewer enchantment allowed. The inherent properties of items based on their material type will no longer count against the number of enchantments on the item (this is based on the standard tag names and is not guaranteed to work with non-standard items).

When enchanting the spell caster level is calculated using the class levels and the Practiced Spellcaster feat.

Warlocks can craft using the Imbue Item feat when minimum UMD is met.

A few stores are guaranteed to have SoZ items:
- Branson's Shop in Highcliff will have low level recipes and common crafting components
- Simmy in Old Owl Well will have healing items, medium level recipes, and common crafting components
- Nya in Port Llast will have healing items, medium level recipes, and rare crafting components
- Mage's store in Blacklake will have healing items, high level recipes and rare crafting components

A number of additional items that were intended to be craftable in SoZ but were not due to bugs and/or missing recipes or items can also be crafted. These include:
- Acid Bomb
- Fire Bomb
- Bracers of Armor +4
- Gauntlets of Dexterity +2
- Adamantine Breastplate
- Poison Bolts
- Darksteel Darts
- Darksteel Shuriken
- Darksteel Throwing Axes
- Cold Iron Halberd
- Darksteel Halberd
- Adamantine Scythe
- Cold Iron Scythe
- Darksteel Scythe
- Mithral Scythe
- Silver Scythe

Fixed crafted items include:
- Adamantine arrows (added magical +2 damage)
- Adamantine bolts (added magical +2 damage)
- Poison arrows
- Mild poison arrows

All SoZ Enchantments are available. Only enchantments that are available in the OC are available in the Makeover.

Clock/time display in the Player Menu:
The sun/moon clock is displayed in the Player Menu.

Companion Conversations updated so that you can take their gear even when they are not currently in the party.

-----------------------

Customizing the Makeover Features:

The behavior of the rest system, death system, and Item Level Restriction system can be customized by editing the 2da file "C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign\NWN2 OC Makeover SoZ Edition\mo_oc_options.2da".

The behavior of the crafting system can be customized by editing the 2da file "C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign\NWN2 OC Makeover SoZ Edition\SoZCraftingPlus\SoZCraftingPlus_options.2da".

Each of these files can be edited using a standard text editor such as Windows Notepad (just start Notepad and drag the file to edit into the open Notepad window) or Mac OS X TextEdit (just drag the file to edit onto the TextEdit application icon in the Applications folder or Dock). These files are read when when a module is loaded, so it is recommended that you save your game before editing them and then reload your saved game after editing them. A 2da file is simply a spreadsheet-like text file containing rows and columns. Each row has an integer identifier, starting with value 0, and several columns of data. The columns are delimited by spaces. While they can be edited using the toolset, the author does not recommend that.

In each file the columns are:
- Row ID (For NWN2 2da's the ID column has no column header)
- LABEL - this is the name of the feature. These must not be edited.
- ENABLED - This indicates whether a feature is enabled ("1") or not ("0") or enablement is not relevant ("****").
- VALUE - An integer value that is relevant to the feature. If no value is relevant then the column will contain "****".
- DESCRIPTION - A complete explanation of the feature, its allowed range of values, and its effect on game play.

The rows in the default mo_oc_options.2da file are:

    LABEL                 ENABLED  VALUE  DESCRIPTION
0   GAMEDIFF              0        0      "GAMEDIFF adjustment: 1 for knockout death and no death penalty and no rest restrictions; 2 for knockout death and no rest restrictions)"
1   MIN_HR_BETWEEN_REST   1        8      "Minimum number of hours required between resting (ignored in very easy or easy Game Difficulty Mode or when GAMEDIFF = 1 or 2)"
2   NATURAL_RESTING_ONLY  1        ****   "Restrict resting to natural areas (ignored in very easy or easy Game Difficulty Mode or when GAMEDIFF = 1 or 2)"
3   KNOCKOUT_DEATH        0        ****   "Use knockout death system (automatic when Game Difficulty Mode is set to very easy or easy or when GAMEDIFF = 1 or 2)"
4   XP_DEATHPENALTY       1        ****   "Apply an xp death penalty when a party member dies (ignored in very easy or easy Game Difficulty Mode or when GAMEDIFF = 1)"
5   ILR_NWN               0        ****   "Enforce Item Level Restriction for all equipped items based on NWN value table (which is based on item cost)"
6   ILR_NWN_ADJ           ****     0      "Integer adjustment (positive or negative) to item value when using ILR_NWN"
7   ILR_NWN_DIV           ****     0      "Divide the required level by this integer when using ILR_NWN (0 is treated as 1)"
8   ILR_ENHBONUS          1        ****   "Use Item Level Restriction on Enhanced Weapons where minimum level required to use is Weapon Enhancement Bonus plus 2"
9   ILR_ENHBONUS_MULT2    0        ****   "Require 2*Enh Bonus levels rather than 2+Enh Bonus levels when using ILR_ENHBONUS"
10  ILR_ACBONUS           1        ****   "Use Item Level Restriction on Enhanced Armor where minimum level required to wear is Armor AC Bonus plus 2
11  ILR_ACBONUS_MULT2     0        ****   "Require 2*AC Bonus rather than 2+AC Bonus when using ILR_ACBONUS"

The most common user requests have been to disable the SoZ death/dying system, disable the XP death penalty, disable the rest restrictions, and disable the Item Level Restriction feature. By default these features are all enabled. The rows in the 2da file allow control over each of these settings.

GAMEDIFF (row 0) if enabled (ENABLED set to 1) and set to value 1 will replace the SoZ Death/Dying sysem with the Knockout system used by the unmodified OC, eliminate the XP death penalty, and remove the rest restrictions. If enabled (ENABLED set to 1) and set to value 2 it will use the Knockout system and remove the rest restrictions but leave in place the XP death penalty. If ENABLED is 0 then any value is ignored.

MIN_HR_BETWEEN_REST (row 1) and NATURAL_RESTING_ONLY (row 2) allow specific control over the rest system. If you wish to only disable the rest restrictions then change the value in the enabled column of these rows to 0. These rows are ignored if GAMEDIFF is enabled and set to value 1 or 2.

KNOCKOUT_DEATH (row 3) and XP_DEATHPENALTY (row 4) allow specific control over the death system. To use the OC death system enable KNOCKOUT_DEATH (ignored if GAMEDIFF is enabled and set to value 1 or 2). To disable the XP Death Penalty set the ENABLED column of the XP_DEATHPENALTY row to 0 (ignored if GAMEDIFF is enabled and set to value 1).

The remaining rows (5-11) affect the Item Level Restriction feature. If ILR_NWN (row 5) is enabled then ILR_NWN_ADJ (row 6) and ILR_NWN_DIV (row 7) can optionally have values, otherwise they are ignored. To completely disable Item Level Restriction set the ENABLED column to 0 for ILR_NWN (row 5), ILR_ENHBONUS (row 8), and ILR_ACBONUS (row 10).

The rows in the default SoZCraftingPlus_options.2da file are:

        LABEL                ENABLED  VALUE  DESCRIPTION
0       CONVERT_GOODS        1        ****   "Convert SoZ goods requirements to standard goods"
1       CONVERT_RARERES      1        ****   "Convert SoZ rare resource requirements to standard resources"
2       ENCH_ALLOW_SATCHEL   0        ****   "Allow satchel to be used for enchanting in place of mage bench"
3       CFT_ALLOW_SATCHEL    0        ****   "Allow satchel to be used for crafting in place of mage bench"
4       CFT_ALLOW_MORTAR     0        ****   "Allow Mortar and Pestle to be used for crafting in place of alchemist bench"
5       CFT_ALLOW_HAMMER     0        ****   "Allow smith hammer to be used for crafting in place of craftsman/smith bench"
6       XP_CRAFT_PCT         0        10     "Reduce crafter's xp by specified percentage of gold cost when crafting"
7       XP_ENCH_PCT          0        25     "Reduce enchanter's xp by specified percentage of gold cost when enchanting"
8       DESTROY_RECIPES      0        ****   "Allow the possibility of recipes being destroyed when used"
9       DESTROY_RECIPE_MIN   ****     1      "Integer minimum percentage risk (0-99) of a recipe being destroyed when DESTROY_RECIPES enabled"
10      DESTROY_RECIPE_MULT  ****     0      "Integer multiplier used in calculating risk of a recipe being destroyed. Higher numbers increase risk."

With these default settings:
- Soz recipes that require SoZ specific goods or rare resources will require appropriate bars and planks;
- mobile enchanting/crafting using the satchel, mortar and pestle, and smithhammer is not allowed;
- crafting/enchanting will not consume xp from the crafter/enchanter;
- and there is no possibility that a recipe will be consumed by its use.

-----------------------

Story alterations:

Ribsmasher can become a temporary henchman in several areas of Act II (Riverguard Keep, Temple of Seasons, the Gem Mines, and Shadow West Harbor).

Option to restore Shandra to life following her sacrifice in the Haven.

All four of Nasher's items may be found in the game, instead of just the boots (found in Highcliff) and ring (which can be purchased from Nya in Port Llast), and as indicated in their descriptions when all four are equipped additional enhancements are applied (both the cloak and gloves may be obtained in Act III: the cloak is in the dragon hoard and the gloves are given by as a reward by Kana for successfully trouncing the bugbears).

Rooms can be rented at the Alliance Arms Inn in Port Llast and the Moonstone Mask in Neverwinter.

-----------------------

Known limitations:

There is no Overland Map

There is no SoZ party conversation, although you may use any party member to speak to NPC's.

Party members should not be dropped when transitions occur, but just in case save often.

When new party companions are introduced to (or forced into) the party you may need to export player-created party members in order to add the companions to the party and then reimport the player-created companions. Exporting and importing player created party members can be done using the Party Editor.

Companions may pop back to life or stand when dead if they are involved in cutscenes. This may also affect player created characters. Save often.

You cannot resurrect Amie. Don't waste a coin of life on her. She's dead, Jim.  If you want to play a campaign with Amie try the author's Harvest of Chaos: King's Festival campaign. The MotB Makeover SoZ Edition also allows the possibility of altering Amie's fate and playing her as a party companion.

Before changing to or from easy game difficulty, save the game. Reload after changing the difficulty setting.

-----------------------

SPECIAL NOTE FOR PREVIOUS USERS OF THE MAKEOVER:

If you have already installed a version of the Makeover prior to v20101126 then prior to installing v20101126 or later versions you should navigate to the folder "C:\Program Files\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns\Neverwinter Nights 2 Campaign\UI" and delete the folder "Multiclass companions". Starting with v20101126 it is no longer needed with the Makeover.

-----------------------

Special thanks to Marc Allard for significant help testing the crafting modifications.

-----------------