The Aurora Toolset runs primarily on Windows. However some users have success running it through WINE on Linux and OS X.

Note that even with NWNE:EE the toolset is a rather older 32 bit application compared to the updated game itself (which is 64 bit and had several revisions of tooling on it), so some tips for using it:

  • Save often and make use of tools like Nasher to save revisions of modules and the ability to working versions
  • Using F9 to launch the game can sometimes cause issues, so if it does, use noted alternatives
  • Windows 10 and 11 introduce GUI scaling, however the toolset tends to prefer increments of 50% so 100%/150%/200% etc. else icons disappear and other oddities may occur. If you need to use some odd amount you can override it in the EXE properties ("Override high DPI scaling behavior. Scaling performed by: " set to "Application").
  • Even though it is older it does use a compatible renderer that NWN:EE uses thus supports some shaders and the updated amount of model bones etc. however it might not work correctly on the non-primary monitor.

See Toolset User Manual for how to use the features of the toolset including the EE updated features such as script parameter in conversations, opening multiple areas at once and the external script editor options.

Toolset Summary

The Aurora toolset (sometimes called the Aurora toolkit) is included in the Windows version of computer role-playing game Neverwinter Nights, allowing players to create their own adventures and share them with others by using a module (a game made in the toolkit), potentially more advanced than the campaign included with the game. It is a combination of a visual tile-based terrain editor, a script editor, a conversation editor, and an object editor. Players using the toolset have spawned many modules that are available to download. The moniker "Aurora" derives from the game engine of "Neverwinter Nights", the Aurora Engine.

Aside from using the supplied content built into the default game, aspiring game developers can add their own custom content in supported files called "hakpacks" (or "Haks") using third party tools. Creature and object models can be created using modeling software such as 3D Studio Max, and media composers can create their own music files and intro movies with appropriate software, all stored in the Hak file.

The customizable nature of the game has inspired entire communities of independent scripters and content creators to develop additional tools, haks, and expansions that build off of the Aurora toolset. There are also many third-party software programs written by independent developers for "Neverwinter Nights". One program of note is the NWNX2/APS package, which allows persistent storage of game server information. By interfacing with MySQL technology, builders can script persistence of object inventories, states, and variables. This package is of particular usefulness to persistent worlds, which require massive amounts of data manipulation above the capabilities of the scripting language.

Overall, the success and longevity of the Aurora toolset (and by extension, "Neverwinter Nights") lies in the hands of a dedicated and talented community of hobbyists, custom content creators, and independent developers. While BioWare continues to support the toolset and the community as this writing (October 2004), the complexity of creating and writing a good module still creates significant barriers to the average gamer, so much so that Gamespy rated "Neverwinter Nights" as one of the top 25 over-rated games of all time, making the following claim:

Despite the technical learning curve, the Aurora toolset still is a powerful and versatile tool, which makes "Neverwinter Nights" a unique and long-lived role-playing game. As Greg Kasavin from GameSpot writes in his June 24, 2002 review] "Some games are memorable, but years from now, people won't just remember "Neverwinter Nights"--they'll also still be playing."

However the developers never ported the toolset to the Mac OS X and Linux versions of the game. As a result, neveredit and neverscript have been created as open source versions of the tools for those platforms.

Script syntax

NWScript is the scripting language of the Aurora toolset. The language itself is similar to C and Java, which can make NWScript daunting for the novice scripter. However, it allows for the creation of complex behaviors and sweeping changes to the rules inherent to each module. One set of scripts developed shortly after the release of "Neverwinter Nights" is the HCR ("Hardcore Rules"), designed to bring the flavor and difficulty of the game closer to the original "Pen and Paper" form of "Dungeons & Dragons".

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