making nwnx com-accessible

[Baaleos]

Is it possible to make nwnx Com-Accessible.
In that another application can interface and control/issue requests to nwnx?


I'd like to have the ability to execute scripts, in nwn, but triggered by an external event.


eg - TCP Client / Server application setup,
My App could receive communications, and then depending on the communication, they could trigger scripts to run in nwn.

I guess a plugin could do this, but I thought it might be good to do COM Accessible nwnx2.exe - as it would encompass all plugins loaded?

[addicted2rpg]

For a person who has coded in it ("got my hands wet"), I haven't actually done much marshalling in it, or made any com objects. Those are basically like .NET function wrappers to some externalized routine, right?

Anyway, my pathetically bad .NET knowledge aside, what you are talking about sounds a lot like Lanthar's Speech System probably called Talus Speech System. I think it was eventually adapted to cover a lot of networking in general. There may be a more modern successor under another name.

I also think the Linux dudes have gone all the way to hell and back with the linux equivalent (whatever it is) of the Speech System. I've seen some mods out there with some pretty killer network hooks.

edit: For picking up externalized events, make a limbo room (it would only be accessible via the DM client; no entranes or exits). Insde it, create an NPC called "master control" and remove all of his script functions and set him to plot/immortal. Then add a single script under heart beat.

You can use it to dequeue events at the HB timed intervals that are going on in the database. The heartbeat event fires every 6 seconds, I think, so you can use it as a poor man's way to poll for input. You have your external tool or source insert into the database your event information, and the master control NPC reads the record out and deletes it, then performs the necessary task.

[Baaleos]

[addicted2rpg]

Baaleos, I created a "live" on-the-fly packet editor for the NWN client and I've been using it to create test cases for things that Bad People <tm> do; I will then proceed to use the test case data to write an anti-cheat/anti-hack module (under the NWNX plugin platform) for Windows' nwserver.exe. That's the *goal* anyway, I've just been coming along at it really really slowly. A lot of this is because of the challenges I have been facing in interpreting the networking protocol.

It seems that Elven fellow has done some work on it, which he documented here: http://jnwserver.swordcoast.net/index.php?title=Category:Protocol

Anyway, what you can do is revamp my code to run on the nwserver.exe instead of the nwmain.exe, the concept is pretty much the same I think, and if you're clever you might even be able to get a C# equivalent of it going. If you want I can send you the code privatley via a forum PM. I'm keeping it all kind of quiet until I can come up with a final product, so I would appreciate your discretion with it =-).

It is written for Visual Studio 2010 using Win32 C++ for use on a Win-7/Vista compatible system, although I think its backwards compat to XP.

It does a lot of hooking, and I'm using my own hooking routines and injector - its been pretty much a ground-up project; I have chosen to forego Madshi's hooking DLL, but the calling conventions are literally the same so you shouldn't have too much problem in making a C# substitute if you use the DLL.

Anyway, in theory you should be able play around with the packets coming in to your server. For some reason, I feel this has already been done before by someone else already..... I kind of want to say that the VaultSTER dude might of done something like that?

Setting up the runscript environment stack (so things like GetLastUsedBy() will actually return a player) and kicking that off might be something of feat though.