Some questions about the flexibility of available tools Options

[Vaeloran]

Hi!
I hope there's a good soul who will answer 2 things I was wondering about..

1) I see there are many mods for BG 1/2, but - how come there are no "stand alone" games, totally unrelated to the BG 1/2 plots? Do the current tools require you to start your "game" within the original games? So my question is - can you make your own game, with a starting area and other areas completely from scratch? I mean, without Candlekeep, Irenicus' prison or anything else related to those games?
2 subquestions; can you make a 2nd (or 3rd) start game button with the name of your game on it? (You know - I'm talking about the window when you're prompted to select "Shadows of Amn" or "Throne of Bhaal")
What about the world map? Is it possible to make a custom one?

Is this a difficult task?


2) How difficult would it be to make a script that takes away money from the player when he rests - based on the level of his party? (Cumulative level of the party * a certain factor = gold lost on resting)


Thanks in advance.

[Sir-Kill]

all depends on you I guess.
using tilesets are a fairly good way do make an area shadowing can be a hassle tho.

I would suggest one of the 2d editors all 3 can use layers.
open a tile some ground image
start slaping trees, rocks, buildings, water, ect all on different layers that way you can easily change their layout.
once you have a good image flatten it and import it in DLTCEP, create the tis, and move to the area files.

for areas you may also want to try ietme it is a bit easier for beginners, tho some aspects are easier in ietme I find some easier in dltcep