The following is a summary I’ve put together for modifying texture files in NWN2. There are several methods to create new textures for in-game items. For this write-up I’ll be using Photoshop 7.0, the nVidia DDS plugin, and the MDB Cloner program. For brevity I’ll assume that everyone knows enough about Photoshop to follow along, but I’ll be glad to answer any questions.
Items in NWN2 such as shields, cloaks, and armor have minimum of three texture files linked to two model files, as well as an optional glow file. The code block below lists the files for a shield which I modified a while back. The .dds files are for textures, and include the base map, normal map, tint map, and glow map texture files. The .mdb and .UTI files are model related and can be ignored for now. Loading the DDS files in Photoshop will allow you to manipulate textures as shown below.
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\program files (x86)\atari\neverwinter nights 2\data\NWN2_Materials_*.zip
w_she_large82.dds
w_she_large82_n.dds
w_she_large82_t.dds
w_she_large82.mdb
bth_she_large82.UTI
Opening and Saving DDS Files:
Once you have installed the Photoshop plugin you can open DDS files natively. When it asks, load the file using default sizes. One thing that you’ll notice is default game files are relatively low resolution, with most only 512x512 pixel images. If you plan on using a sigil or other image with small details you can increase the image size to 1024x1024 pixels before pasting your logo. The game will read this higher resolution file with no problems.
I keep all my files in the photoshop format until I’m ready to export. That way I can take full use of layers, blending, and so forth. When saving as a DDS, make sure that you check the box for Alpha channels. After you hit save, the plugin will load a selection box. Pick “DXT3 ARGB 8bpp | explicit alpha” from the dropdown box and click save.
Base Map Texture File:
This is the main texture file for items. As you can see, it contains the overall look of the shield. This particular model has a choice of two textures which can be chosen in the toolset. The top-left wooden circle is what will appear on the back of the shield, followed by the hand strap on the top-right. At bottom-left and bottom-right are two separate textures for the shield front. The bottom-left image is what I’ve converted in this tutorial.
Tint Map Texture File:
The tint map allows for a large degree of variability in your item after design. If one wanted to make a shield that was black with red lettering, it could be done entirely within the base map. However, any changes to the coloring would require modifying textures files then uploading the new files to Dasaria. In contrast, the use of a tint file allows for color changes through the toolset.
Unlike the normal map a tint map only has three colors, corresponding to the three primary colors. In the picture above the SB logo is in blue, on a background of green. On the model, this green circle is the inside area of the shield. Outside of this circle is the shield rim, which has been marked in red. If this file is loaded into the toolset you can now tint the shield object with up to three colors. In the first example picture you can see that the sigil lettering was tinted red, the shield itself black, and the rim brown. Since the base map contains no image for the front of the shield, just a grey background, the tint map colors are the main colors which end up in the game.
Normal Map Texture File:
If you examine the final image at the top of this post you will notice that the sigil appears sunken into the shield itself. In reality the model is flat, but the normal map file has been changed to give the appearance of height differences. In the image below, the SB sigil has been pasted into the model’s normal map texture file. An emboss filter was then applied to the sigil, creating the illusion of depth to the lettering. The sunken areas were also textured to give the appearance of chisel marks. Make sure that the design you paste into the normal map is the same color as the background before you apply an emboss filter.
In my experience, the addition of height differences makes small details and intricate lines stand out much better than without. One downside is that it often looks poor on cloth.
Glow Map Texture File:
A rarely used option in NWN2 is the glow map. The file is similar to a tint map, but any color in the image besides black will show up as a glowing light on the model in-game. The Lochwar shields have a faintly glowing red fist which uses this file. In that case, the opacity of the fist was decreased to lower the brightness in-game.
Base map of Lochwar shield
Glow map of red fist for Lochwar shield
MDB Cloner:
There are two options for your starting file. You can either use a model already in NWN2, or you can find a model generated by the community. The shield above came from a community pack called BTH Shields. In either case you will need to change the name of your new texture files so they don’t interfere with existing files on the server. The MDB Cloner program allows you to rename your model and texture files to something which doesn’t conflict with existing files.
For example, say you have modified the texture files from the base game to create the Stormbeard Cloak, using the files below.
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P_HHM_CL_Cloak09.dds
P_HHM_CL_Cloak09_n.dds
P_HHM_CL_Cloak09_t.dds
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\program files (x86)\atari\neverwinter nights 2\data\NWN2_Models.zip\P_HHM_CL_Cloak09.mds
Initial filenames for Cloak Model 08
You can see that the base (diffuse) map, tint map, and normal map all have filenames on them. This cloak model doesn't use the glow map, so it's left blank. The goal is to change the model names to something which doesn't conflict with current Dasaria files. If you load the Dasaria hak files in the toolset you can see that models 1-14, and model 65 are already being used for cloaks. Change the mdb name and all the mesh texture names in the MDB Cloner program to 70 instead of 09. Click "Save Clone at the bottom, and it will create a new MDB file which looks for the texture files with 70.
New filenames for Cloak Model 69
Looking in the folder where you saved your textures, you'll now see the following:
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P_HHM_CL_Cloak09.dds
P_HHM_CL_Cloak09_n.dds
P_HHM_CL_Cloak09_t.dds
P_HHM_CL_Cloak09.mdb
P_HHM_CL_Cloak70.mdb
New cloak model in toolset
Design and Exporting:
Once you have the files renamed, place them in your override directory and start the toolset.
(Don’t forget to empty the override directory before playing online)
For the shield above, you would search for a tag of “bth”. That would find the shield with the file of “bth_she_large82.UTI”. Then follow the list below.
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Change the Classification to “PSC Das Shields”, “PSC Das Armor”, or “PSC Das Cloaks”
Change the tag and resref to the name you want
Select the tint for each of the three colors
Add an item name and description with Dasaria-appropriate lore
Right-click on the item and create a module blueprint
Export the item blueprint to an erf file
Send the erf, DDS, mds, and UTI files to the content submission addressThere are several sites online which feature free textures. One of my favorites is http://www.textureking.com/.
Image of the same shield model with different textures and tints
An alternate version of the SB shield texture
Edited for content on 03/05/11
Edited for content on 03/06/11
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