Can the PRC Module Updater work with a different directory?

[decoder_plankton]

Hello.  I would like to have one copy of NWN without the PRC and one with it.  I have only recently read that the game works fine by simply making a copy of the NWN directory, but the PRC's .exe and the PRC Module Updater do not seem to have options for choosing a different directory to install/update.  Is it necessary to edit the registry, or is there a command line switch which can be used to choose a different directory to look in?  If registry editing is necessary, could someone please direct me to the instructions for that?  I have already extracted the files from the .rar archive, but I still need to update the campaigns and modules.

[xwarren]

I'll quote fluffy:

The PRC is a set of haks, installing it doesn't actually add it to any modules, just makes them available to add to modules that you want to use it with. To play a module using it, you add it to that module (there is a module updater program that does this without needing to use the toolset).

So if you don't want to use the PRC, you don't need an extra copy of NWN - simply don't install it into modules you want to play without it.

[decoder_plankton]

So if you don't want to use the PRC, you don't need an extra copy of NWN - simply don't install it into modules you want to play without it.

My reason for wanting two copies of NWN is this: I have friends who I play the campaigns with online, but not all of them can run NWN successfully with the PRC content added to the campaign (Windows Vista).  Character creation is also clunkier than some would like.

I, however, would like to try out the PRC content on my own in the campaigns.  I would rather not uninstall the PRC whenever we find the time to play, thus two copies is the ideal solution for me.  I might be able to simply use the PRC Module Updater on my original NWN directory (the one which is detected by it), but I haven't tried multiplayer with the copy, yet.  So, I would like to know if there is a way to use the updater on the campaigns and modules in the copy and if so, how to do that.

[Raza]

You can copy the .nwm files from the original campain to your Modules folder and rename them to .mod. The module updater can find them there, and you can play them from NWN by selecting 'other modules'.

Alternatively, have a clean NWM folder and a PrC NWM folder (put an empty file in there telling you which is which) and just rename the one you're not currently using to something else. The game and updater will read the one named NWM and ignore the other.

[decoder_plankton]

You can copy the .nwm files from the original campain to your Modules folder and rename them to .mod. The module updater can find them there, and you can play them from NWN by selecting 'other modules'.

This might be a solution.  Is it still possible to transition from one chapter to the next, or will this require exporting characters just prior to when they would transition to the next module, exiting and loading?

At runtime, must the file names and extensions be as they were when the Module Updater was used on them?  If not, then could I take the above steps, but then use those files to replace the .nwm files in my second NWN directory?

[Raza]

You can copy the .nwm files from the original campain to your Modules folder and rename them to .mod. The module updater can find them there, and you can play them from NWN by selecting 'other modules'.

This might be a solution.  Is it still possible to transition from one chapter to the next, or will this require exporting characters just prior to when they would transition to the next module, exiting and loading?

When you load the modules as 'other modules'  they will transition you into the official campain ones at mod end, yeah. If you do it like this you'll have to either save characters or modify the modules's dialogue to direct to the correct follow-up module.

Personally, I think keeping two /nwm folders and renaming the one you aren't using is the easier option for this reason. (mind the difference between the nwn and nwm folders: nwn is the full install, while nwm is the place it keeps the original campain's module files. This is the only thing you'll need a copy of to have a second set of OC module files.)

At runtime, must the file names and extensions be as they were when the Module Updater was used on them?  If not, then could I take the above steps, but then use those files to replace the .nwm files in my second NWN directory?

The module updater is something you run once to change the files. It doesn't care what you do with them afterward.

Module files saved as .mod will be recognised by the game when they are in the /modules folder no matter what their names are. The module updated will find them here.

Module files saved as .nwm will be recognised by the game when they are in the /nwm folder with their original names only. The module updater will find them here.

So yes, you could take the files from your second nwn directory, rename them as .mod, place them in /modules, update them to use the prc, change them back to .nwm and place them back into the /nwm folder of any nwn installation.

[fluffyamoeba]

Or create your own shortcut to the module updater and add -n<path to nwn> as an option in the shortcut.