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Archpaladin Zousha
2013-05-16, 07:53 PM
I've been playing Neverwinter Nights: Diamond Edition purchased from GoodOldGames.com, and while I've mostly been pleased, something has been bugging me.

Initially I had a problem of the game crashing on booting, but I've found that tapping the spacebar after starting the game a few times to skip the intro cutscenes solves that problem.

But the in-game cutscenes don't seem to work. I get the audio, but the visuals ain't there. I've been told that to fix this I modify the NWNini.exe file and change SafeMovies to equal 1. The only problem is, I can't FIND the NWNini.exe file even with a seach. I don't know if it's because I purchased the game online instead of buying and using a CD/DVD-ROM, or because my computer runs on Windows 8 or what.

Anybody run into this issue that can give me some advice? It's a minor annoyance, I'll admit, but I'd like to fix the game as best I can. Thanks for the help!

Should I post a DXDiag Report?
Douglas
2013-05-16, 08:01 PM
I would guess that either you're searching for the wrong file or the game is installed to somewhere in Program Files and you're running into the extra protection put on that folder in versions of Windows from Vista and later.
Archpaladin Zousha
2013-05-16, 08:03 PM
So how do I find it?
VexingFool
2013-05-17, 01:02 AM
Try searching for NWN.ini not NWNini.exe.
KillingAScarab
2013-05-17, 01:17 AM
Try searching for NWN.ini not NWNini.exe.This. Also, if you're on Windows and you haven't done so already, you can change the way Explorer displays filenames, so that the file extensions (everything after the last period, if there are multiple) will be displayed. You can then just look at your actual NeverwinterNights\NWN\nwn.ini, rather than running a search for it.

Once you open the .ini file in, say, Notepad so you can edit it, you may need to add that variable. My copy of nwn.ini doesn't have SafeMovies listed, despite being installed on XP with the last patch BioWare put out. Check the instructions for which section (in []'s) of the .ini it should be included under.
Archpaladin Zousha
2013-05-17, 11:22 AM
Try searching for NWN.ini not NWNini.exe.

It worked. Kind of. The only two files that showed up were for Neverwinter Nights 2.
Siosilvar
2013-05-17, 12:32 PM
Wherever you installed it, it's in the main folder right there.

If it's not, then something weird is going on, and you'll need to make one. Here's mine from a near-fresh install (also GOG version if it makes a difference), "SafeMovie=1" included:


[Alias]
HD0=.\
CD0=.\
OVERRIDE=.\override
TEMP=.\temp
MODULES=.\modules
LOGS=.\logs
LOCALVAULT=.\localvault
DMVAULT=.\dmvault
SERVERVAULT=.\servervault
TEMPCLIENT=.\tempclient
SAVES=.\saves
CURRENTGAME=.\currentgame
HAK=.\hak
PATCH=.\patch
NWMFiles=.\nwm
AMBIENT=.\ambient
MOVIES=.\movies
MUSIC=.\music
[Sound Options]
Music Volume=0.75
Voice Volume=0.75
SoundFX Volume=0.75
DisableSound=0
3D Provider=
[Display Options]
Width=1600
Height=900
BitsPerPixels=32
RefreshRate=60
TexturePack=3
SafeMovie=1
FullScreen=1
UseLargeFont=0
[Config]
FirstRun=0
Connection=0
NWLoaderDisplayTime=3
[Video Options]
VideoQualitySetting=3
Enable HardwareMouse=1
NumDynamicLights=8
AntiAliasing Mode=0
Enable VSync=0
ShinyWater=0
NumShadowCastingLights=3
EnableVisualEffectsHigh=1
Enable Truform=0
Enable AnisotropicFiltering=0
CreatureWindSetting=2
EnableGrass=1
EnableFastGrass=0
Grass Far Render Distance=900.0
EnableSkyboxes=2
EnableEnvironmentShadows=1
Enable TextureAnimations=1
Enable CreatureEnvironmentMapping=1
Gamma=1.000000
CreatureShadowDetail=2

Change the graphics settings in-game once it gets running.
Archpaladin Zousha
2013-05-17, 01:07 PM
I found a pair of BIN files, is that what I'm looking for?
KillingAScarab
2013-05-17, 02:58 PM
I found a pair of BIN files, is that what I'm looking for?I don't even have .bin files, just a .dll for Bink video. Those may have been added by GOG, I suppose. I see some forum posts about them being used for setup (http://www.gog.com/forum/neverwinter_nights_series/setup_files_corruptedyet_again). I would imagine they're found in a different folder than the NWN folder found within the NeverwinterNights folder.

I'm not sure why you wouldn't have an .ini file, when Siosilvar has one. I can confirm that Siosilvar's .ini looks genuine, mine only differs in a few areas like the CD0 alias and the Width and Height under Display Options (may want to change that ahead of time if you don't have a widescreen-style monitor). I would say try just making a new file within the NWN folder and naming it nwn.ini before anything else. If it says there's already a file by that name, you were just overlooking it. If it doesn't, go ahead and edit it in Notepad to copy and paste Siosilvar's text.
Archpaladin Zousha
2013-05-18, 12:15 AM
Okay, I found what appear to be some relevant files in that they're notepad. They're setup files of some sort, and they're BIN. I looked up NWN in files instead of NWN.ini. Problem is, the first one just looks like gibberish, and the second file's apparently too big for Notepad to open.

Here's an example:

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Closet_Skeleton
2013-05-18, 06:47 AM
But the in-game cutscenes don't seem to work. I get the audio, but the visuals ain't there.

In-game cutscenes? In what Neverwinter Nights?

Don't remember any myself.
KillingAScarab
2013-05-18, 11:10 AM
Zousha, the file you are seeking to edit so you can make this change is named "nwn.ini" and is not a .bin file.

If you have not done so already, please look for yourself in the folder the game is installed in, rather than rely upon searches. I suspect if the file does not appear during searches, it is because the search you are attempting simply does not index the file and thus, it would not appear in those searches, rather than it does not exist.


In-game cutscenes? In what Neverwinter Nights?

Don't remember any myself.They are movies which play between chapters and tell you what happens. Narration with zooming or pan-and-scan over images, and the occasional fade in or fade out of other images. They were not done in the style of, "when you walk to point X on the map, you will see a cutscene."
Archpaladin Zousha
2013-05-18, 11:40 AM
How do I find the folder it's installed in?
Closet_Skeleton
2013-05-18, 08:17 PM
They are movies which play between chapters and tell you what happens. Narration with zooming or pan-and-scan over images, and the occasional fade in or fade out of other images. They were not done in the style of, "when you walk to point X on the map, you will see a cutscene."

Oh yeah, those. Right.

They must have been dull because I remember nothing about them apart from possibly the fact that they weren't in colour.
KillingAScarab
2013-05-18, 09:24 PM
How do I find the folder it's installed in?Up until now, I have been assuming you are using some version of Windows as your operating system. If this is incorrect, please tell me now. That said, I will continue with that assumption for this post.

The way you are probably starting the game is to click on a shortcut to run the game. Whether this is on the Start menu or on the Desktop, you can still examine the properties of that shortcut in order to find what file it is actually running, and where it is located.

1.) Find the shortcut you normally use to start the game.
2.) Right-click on the shortcut. This should open a context menu.
2. a.) One of the choices on that context menu should be named, "Properties." Click on that to open the properties dialog box.
3.) On this Properties dialog box there should be a text field which is labeled "Target:" on the left-hand side and in the box should be a string of the names of folders. Something like "C:\Program Files\GOG.com\NeverwinterNights\NWN\nwn.exe" perhaps. You could try to then open My Computer, then open your C drive, then the Program Files folder, then the GOG.com folder, and so on until you are in the folder where that executable is.
3 a.) However, there's also a handy button on this properties sheet you can press to do the above automatically. It should be toward the bottom and labeled "Find Target..." on Windows XP, while I believe it was renamed to "Open File Location" in Vista or Windows 7. That should be the folder where your game is installed and that should be where nwn.ini is found.

If you do not have Explorer set to display file extensions, you might see at least two files which are named "nwn," but have different icons. This is one of the reasons I always recommend displaying file extensions (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/show-or-hide-file-name-extensions), so you know exactly which file to click on. If you somehow are lacking nwn.ini entirely, you will need to create it on your own, as was mentioned in prior posts. I doubt that will be the case.


Oh yeah, those. Right.

They must have been dull because I remember nothing about them apart from possibly the fact that they weren't in colour.Not colorless, but generally monochrome - shades of a single color such as beige or green.

You can actually use something like the K-Lite Codec Pack (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-Lite_Codec_Pack) and Media Player Classic to watch the movies apart from the game. I just tried dragging a .bik file from the movies folder into Media Player Classic and found it works. You are better off not asking me what settings you need to repeat my success, because I have no idea. Also, I had forgotten, the expansion packs had videos with significantly more animation. Shadows of Undrentide had the kobolds lying in wait outside of Drogan's house, Hordes of the Underdark had people moving around Waterdeep and Undermountain.
Archpaladin Zousha
2013-05-18, 11:21 PM
I use Windows 8, which has some wonky touch-screen-based thing that I barely know how to use to find these sorts of things.
Ailurus
2013-05-19, 04:44 AM
I use Windows 8, which has some wonky touch-screen-based thing that I barely know how to use to find these sorts of things.

So then click on the desktop, then follow KillingAScarab's directions. Or, if you launch it from the Metro screen, right click on it there and there should still be something along the lines of "open file location." Or, if neither of those work, just open Windows Explorer and navigate to where you found the .bin file manually. Win8 is no different than Win7 under the hood.
Archpaladin Zousha
2013-05-19, 11:25 AM
Okay, I followed your instructions, found the file, set SafeMovies to 1 and it worked! At least for starting fresh. Which is cool, I only got through the Prelude anyway. Now I'm off to play the game in earnest! Thank you guys, and especially you, KillingAScarab, for your detailed and tech-savvy approach! :smallsmile: