Quick nooby CK question

[Cailan33]

hi! after...about 9 years when i was active in the CK better never really finished a mod, i want to start again BUT i not only lost all tutorials i followed (any recommendations for starters?) but also the biggest reason i never released a mod back then was: THE SAVING. i never figured out how to properly save a CK project and work on it a few days later without like having different files/duplicating stuff.

 

can somebody kind tell me how to save a creation kit creation properly and to load it that you can work on the exact same file again? literally had nightmares cause of this cause the most i tried to mod like NPCs, Packages, maybe a village or dungeon - i always pressured me to do it in a few hours since i was so scared that i can't work on it properly the next few days anymore...

 

maybe or definitely i am missing something.

 

kind regards

 

Cailan

[Hanaisse]

In general, the process would go like this;

 

Open CK. Select the first icon in toolbar - looks like a file folder - Load Master/Plugin Files.

A "Data" window will open. If you're just starting a project, double click on Skyrim.esm so there is an X in the box next to it and click "Ok". You can also double click on any of the DLC's if you want to use assets from them (they will become Masters of your mod). Wait for all the data to load, then start creating your mod.

At any point click on the 2nd icon in the toolbar - looks like a floppy disk - Save Plugin. It'll open Explorer and prompt for a file name. Type in the name of your mod only and click "Save". The .esp will be appended to the file name and saved in your Data folder so you can either activate it to play or reload it to continue working on it.

To reload your mod, open CK, open the Data window (first icon) again. Now double click on your mod and *important* at the bottom of the window click on Set as Active File. Click "Ok" and wait for all the data to load. "Set as Active File" tells the CK that it is already a plugin and anytime you save from this point on you won't be prompted for a new file name. Reloading your mod will automatically load any Masters to it so you won't need to double click everything, just yours.

 

As for tutorials, I'd highly recommend bookmarking the CK Wiki. Everything you ever needed to know about the CK and it also has a host of tutorial links. Bethesda even has a beginner tutorial you can follow to get you familiar with the CK.