Episode 108: The Scroll - Enhanced Compatibility!

This months blog is going to be a little different. For a start, it comes with news of a milestone update, as I have finally been able to bring The Scroll up to date and make it compatible with NWN2, the Enhanced Edition. This latest update is still undergoing some testing, but from what I have experienced so far, I believe I have a working campaign, which can only continue to improve as long as Aspyr continue to patch the software. For more news on this and other development, read on...

NWN2 Enhanced Compatible

I am keen to underline the fact that The Scroll Campaign has been made compatible with the Enhanced Edition, as I did not want to suggest that support for the Original edition has been abandoned. Indeed, I currently still build as if for the 32-bit Original edition, using the Original toolset, to ensure backward compatibility with the original game. However, over the last month, I have also been working through the differences that now allow the campaign to also work if being played on the 64-bit Enhanced Edition. 

After amalgamating all the important files (especially the XML differences), I believe I now have a setup that addresses all the differences between the two editions. There were a number of pre-game files that needed setting up, including the fontfamily.xml and especially the stylesheet.xml, along with ensuring any missing textures were added where required. (There were 25 at the latest count.) There were also some XML code changes that meant I had to revise how I "hid" certain XML panes, but I eventually found solutions for all these differences. Furthermore, as the EE appeared to no longer use the Custom UI folder, I changed to using the Override folder instead for pre-game, and some other files.

At the end of the update, I was left with only two real differences between the two editions with respect to gameplay mechanics:-

1)  Turn-based Combat Auto-Pause System: Due to what I believe to be a bug in the EE, a game can be momentarily unpaused by a player hovering over one of their character portraits or an on-screen creature, but only if the game had been paused by scripting (rather than a player using the space bar). To fix this, I had to write a system that ensured the system remained paused until a player now uses a button on the TB Combat system to unpause the round again. This only affects the EE version of the campaign, and I believe only a SP game. i.e. The space bar can still be used by the Original game and appears to work in a MP game in either edition if I recall correctly. I have reported this "bug" to Aspyr and hope they may address this, although at the moment, latest testing has not shown any other issues coming to light with it.

2) Map Pins Info Within The Area Map: The EE has removed some old code from NWN2 that was once used by NWN1 and had not been taken out of the Original NWN2. I had made use of this old code to allow Map Pins to update between area loads, but which now the EE cannot do. As a workaround, I have made it so the smaller temporary Map Pins (upon first setting) at least remain for the EE on an area reload, whereas they are still updated to proper Map Pins for the Original game. Strictly speaking, if a player labels their pins carefully, this minor difference should not impact their game too badly anyway. Again, I have reported this "issue", but as we are talking about the removal of "old" code, I suspect this difference will remain.

New File Distribution & Setup

As I mention above, the EE no longer refers to the Custom UI folder. However, I believe most players (if not all) recognise how to employ files to an override folder instead, which is what I have switched to using moving forward. From my perspective, this file location makes no difference, and, if anything, makes for some simplifying of the file distribution. Now, instead of there being a custom UI folder to place in the NWN2 folders, there will be an override folder instead. This new supplementary folder will be included in the download folder in the same way the same way the Custom UI was before.

To highlight this latest big change for the campaign, I will also be removing all previous information regarding the patches made since v1.28 (from 3rd March 2025), and the download page will now post patches from v1.44, which is this latest release marking The Scroll being EE compatible.

Latest MP Testing

As you will know if you have read my last month's blog, The Scroll Campaign has been undergoing some desperately needed MP testing. For the first time in a long while, I have been able to set my wife up with a two computer system where she can play the game as if two players were each controlling their own characters in-game. At this point in time, the testing is within the Original 32-bit version of the game only, but I hope EE 64-bit testing will come at some point, from either herself or another tester.

The latest results have proven this to be an extremely worthwhile endeavour, as we have already uncovered a number of discrete bugs that required squashing. Even after addressing a few last month, a number of other issues have also been dealt with this month, discovered by this two-client approach. In particular, another gold transfer bug was discovered, as well as a client grouping issue and a client enter and leaving areas with henchmen.

New Inventory & Store GUIs

There is also a significant GUI change regarding the inventory and shop displays that I need to mention. While working with the campaign to bring EE compatibility, I happened to spot a memory leak with how the inventory and store item information panels worked. In short, the system I was using, while actually working fine for these two GUIs would, however, cause a memory leak when the examine GUI was used outside of my two GUIs. Thankfully, I believe the new system that replaces this "all-in-one" style of GUI works very well in its stead. Now, items within an inventory or store work in a similar way, in that left clicking an item (or hovering over an equipped item) will immediately open and update information about the item within an independent examine GUI instead. Thereafter, simply left-clicking or hovering over equipped items will update this now open examine GUI. As long as the player recognises this opened examine GUI is open to give item information, then they simply leave it open until it automatically closes when the inventory is also closed. 

Illustrating New Item Examination For Inventory & Stores

Campaign Latest

Clearly, updating the campaign to make it compatible with NWN2:EE took up a large chunk of my time for the last month. However, I do not think I have been slack when it comes to adding more material for the next module, Predestinated Days as well.

Between the EE update, the MP fixes and general improving code throughout, I have also been chipping away at the second module, and one area in particular where I have nearly finished the area design, including the puzzles and encounters that go with it. Maybe I have not done as much as I had hoped by now, I think I have a reasonable excuse this time around. Now, rather than risk giving away spoilers, I will just leave you with a couple of screenshots.

As soon as I have finished checking the final updates for v1.44, I will update the download page. Be sure to read through the changes in file distribution to ensure correct (new) installation method.

An Encounter!

 

A Mysterious Cavern!