tes 4 construction set

[jon572735144]

so i have never moded but i really want to start. so i downloaded the tes 4 constrution set but when i try to open any esp file it tells me that its to high of a esp version for the constrution set to open. how do i get around this and also what other tools should i look into geting to start moding? :thanks:

[Vagrant0]

so i have never moded but i really want to start. so i downloaded the tes 4 constrution set but when i try to open any esp file it tells me that its to high of a esp version for the constrution set to open. how do i get around this and also what other tools should i look into geting to start moding? :thanks:

There are 2 versions of the CS, you have the earlier one. You should download the newer one from the official website, and probably patch your game if you havn't yet.

[bben46]

You need the latest patch AND the latest CS for most mods.

 

If you got your game through a download such as D2D, You have to go to them for any patches. The ones at the official site will not work because of the D2D copy protection. Programs like OBSE will probably not work because of the D2D copy protection. If you have a pirate version, sorry about your luck. Don't be so cheap, buy the game.

 

If you have the Game of the Year version, you don't need a patch.

 

To find what version you have, look in the lower left corner on the loading screen. If it shows v1.2.0416 you already have the latest patch.

 

You only need to install the latest patch, v1.2.0416, all of the stuff from earlier patches are included.

 

If you have Shivering Isles, DO NOT use the Oblivion patch, ONLY use the latest Shivering Isles patch. All of the oblivion stuff is included. There is only one English version SI patch for both US & UK versions.

 

If you DO NOT have Shivering Isles, use only the latest Oblivion patch for the language version on your original install disk.

 

Be sure to get your patch from the official Bethesda site where they have FREE patches for every language version, There are 2 English versions, UK & US be sure to get the one that matches your disk.

 

Bethesda site: http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_patches.htm

 

Then you need the newer version of the CS, the one labeled v1.2.404

here: http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_utilities.htm

[jon572735144]

You need the latest patch AND the latest CS for most mods.

 

If you got your game through a download such as D2D, You have to go to them for any patches. The ones at the official site will not work because of the D2D copy protection. Programs like OBSE will probably not work because of the D2D copy protection. If you have a pirate version, sorry about your luck. Don't be so cheap, buy the game.

 

If you have the Game of the Year version, you don't need a patch.

 

To find what version you have, look in the lower left corner on the loading screen. If it shows v1.2.0416 you already have the latest patch.

 

You only need to install the latest patch, v1.2.0416, all of the stuff from earlier patches are included.

 

If you have Shivering Isles, DO NOT use the Oblivion patch, ONLY use the latest Shivering Isles patch. All of the oblivion stuff is included. There is only one English version SI patch for both US & UK versions.

 

If you DO NOT have Shivering Isles, use only the latest Oblivion patch for the language version on your original install disk.

 

Be sure to get your patch from the official Bethesda site where they have FREE patches for every language version, There are 2 English versions, UK & US be sure to get the one that matches your disk.

 

Bethesda site: http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_patches.htm

 

Then you need the newer version of the CS, the one labeled v1.2.404

here: http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_utilities.htm

 

 

i do have the game of the year virsion thank you for your help maybe now i can start my moding

[jon572735144]

so now i have the new virsion of the construction set to start moding with. is there anything else i should look into geting for moding like if i wanted to make my own textures or anything like that? or is the constuction set all i need?

[bben46]

Learn how to use the CS first. It is not easy and will take a little while. Then when you know how to make a little mod and place it into the game where you want, look into the programs for making models like Gimp, nifscope, blender and many others. You will still need the CS to get your models into the game though.

 

Here is a good tutorial on the CS: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Main_Page

 

We are looking forward to seeing your mods on Tesnexus

[jon572735144]

Learn how to use the CS first. It is not easy and will take a little while. Then when you know how to make a little mod and place it into the game where you want, look into the programs for making models like Gimp, nifscope, blender and many others. You will still need the CS to get your models into the game though.

 

Here is a good tutorial on the CS: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Main_Page

 

We are looking forward to seeing your mods on Tesnexus

 

LOL THANKS i hope to be able to put up some good mods sometime in the future i have been playing around with the CS but i fear my ambitions far outway my talent at the moment. so maybe ill start off with somthing easy like a weapon mod or somthing along those lines and in a few years maybe ill put out somthing worthy of being called a great mod. untill then ill be hard at work learning and honing my moding skills

[Darknight66]

Just starting out and i dont know how to download the CS on to my computer from the official site

[Lanceor]

ESIV: Oblivion School - takes you right from the basics like installing the CS all the way to semi-advanced stuff like scripting and AI.

[theuseless]

First off I would like to thank both moderators Vagrant0 and bben46 for helping so many newer modders. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be able to mod today (I would have given up). Enough boot licking.

 

Texture work is easy. Learn how to make a simple mod first. I would just learn how to add an item to the game, save it.

 

Once you know how to make a new mod, you can move on to what you want to accomplish. You can make a new mod in a number of ways. It isn't important what content you make. In fact it is better to know how to make an empty one, then add a simple item to a cell for testing purposes. This should be the only item in the cell, the only thing changed in the mod. A mod is a modification, a change by definition.

 

Once you know how to make a simple change (mod from here out), you can learn how to add a simple item to the cs. This is done easily by downloading a mod (like one of MEO's resources, listed below). If you install the contents of the folders in the zip file into the correct directories in the Oblivion folder, you can import a new mesh into the cs. If you are using a simple static object (in the 'Static' area of the Object Window). This is done in one of two ways. You can take an existing object and change where the mesh points to, or you can simply open the folder with the containing folder over the window with the cs running (in this sentence, the window is referring to the Windows® running time window that the program runs in). Once you have the window with the mesh(es) open, you can simply drag the files to the Objecs which will create the proper folder structure automatically. There are tutorials on this and I am on a friends' comp using a linux setup. Sorry for no pics.

 

Ok. Phew. So once you know these fairly basic tasks (making an essentially blank esp file and adding a new object), you can proceed to the next step. Making your texture. If you are already familiar with image editing programs, great. If not you will need to read some tutorials on Photoshop or Gimp. I use both. Gimp is free and extremely powerful, Photoshop is easy and quick to work with for simple things, while having some powerful tools not available to Gimp. Gimp has a great Color to Alpha effect on the dds plugin that I love.

 

Once you are comfortable with a program, you need to learn about NifSkope. There are good tuts on the wiki about basic tretexture procedure. Once you can locate the texture, open it (from the bsa file or as a dds file). Now you can mess with the texture as you wish. Just know that the dds files have _n for normal map. Without a normal map you will have a stupid texture. You can keep the original normal map or make your own with the tools in the dds plugin for you graphics program.

 

You can work on your image at any scale and save in any format, but when you go to make your own dds file for use in the game, you must cut or resize it to dimensions divisible by 8 (512x512, 256x1024, etc). Once this is done use ddsconverter to make the new dds file. It is far easier than saving within the graphics program. Just note that the top layer is the only layer processed, so flatten the image or save as jpg/gif.

 

Now you have your dds file. Remember how you got it? Now click on the purple gear and find your new file, preferably in the folder your old dds was in. You should see the change in NifSkope and be able to save it. A thing to note is that NifSkope uses texture properties. If you want a flat or matt finish, use apply Modulate. If you want shiny like metal, use apply Highligh 2. They both require different normal map types. You want a nice, rich normal map with lots of blue, some yellow and pink for Modulate. For Highlight, you want a near transparent normal map. Normal maps are set automatically by the game, not in NifSkope. It won't show up as much in there. Making stuff glow is hard to do well. Save your work to the desired folder.

 

Now you import the file to the cs with the click and drag technique (which requires manual installation of values) or you can add it by double clicking the mesh in the Objects if it is already there. Just make sure to make it have a new Editor ID. Place the object into the game now. If it doesn't show, you need to learn to import an object into the cs. If your game crashes or the CS crashes, you need to try with a different mesh. This is usually caused by a corrupted nif, either by saving or how it was released.

 

Yay, now you have made a simple texture change. This is just a crash course of stuff to google and tutorials to learn, but at least you know what to look for now. I will provide some links below including one of a disk I released with an interesting texture on it. It would be a good one to alter as a first. It also has a cool texture effect, displaying a unique inormal map/highlight map reaction. You can use it as a simple way to see the changes quickly. Or you can delete the disk I added and it is a blank esp, ready for use as you please.

 

Gimp

Dds Plugin for Gimp

developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop

DdsConverter

BSAcommander (for those pesky bsa files lol. If you want to alter something in the game)

Texture Replacer (only for doing large projects)

MEO's Carpets (my personal favorite, we all need more carpet textures. Modders' Resource)

Malachite Tileable Texture (my texture file with a sample disk only)

 

Ok, it is late and I'm not going to fix the links now, I will get back to this in the morning.

Edited November 5, 2011 by theuseless