[LE] Skyrim Modding: Beginner - Required Softwares/Tools

[MMB1994]

I am looking to get into Skyrim modding.

With that being said, I have been having a difficult time determining what kinds of softwares/tools are needed for modding Skyrim.

 

What version of 3DS Max is required?

 

What version of Nifskope is required?

 

How is collision created?

How are physics created?

Are they made with Havok Content Tools? If so, what version?

 

I understand that Special Edition is more stable/the go to for modern Skyrim modding.

--Is the preferred method for Skyrim modding to create mods as Oldrim mods, then convert them to Special Edition?

---If so, what are the pros/cons?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

If there are articles/forums that give an overview of required softwares/tools, that would be appreciated.

[Sphered]

The only tool needed to make mods is the Creation Kit

 

These others you mention ofc only apply when the content you wish to make is related to 3D modeling. As for Nifskope I believe the latest one was 2Dev8, but whatever reason that one might have been pulled back or something since its less easy to find. Dev7 works great but I keep older ones around since rarely there is something that can be viewed or imported/exported in those that cant be in the newer ones

 

Skyrim nifs were based on either Max 2010/2011, dont recall which. Back when, that version was the goto, and may still be in certain niches. I get by fine with 2018 version. You will want to look into Nif plugins for the version of 3DSMax you were to settle on. Its also likely the best tool for collisions. Physics is more complicated and a ghetto description is its calculated exploiting of collisions and havok to make things more realistic. Often used for hair, skimpy, and sexual mods

 

Guides are scattered around if you scour the net, and I suspect LoversLab has a good amount of discussion. Might be worth seeking a Discord or other community related to that stuff

[maxarturo]

As said above.

"I understand that Special Edition is more stable/the go to for modern Skyrim modding."

No, they both are the same game and whatever you need to do in SLE CK you'll do in SSE CK.

Skyrim Special Edition is in no ways superior to the original Skyrim, on the contrary, exept from being and been render on a 64bit engine, the game itself and its CK version required a lot of work from the day they were released to the day the the game and its CK version were able to be a playable and moddable game, and even now it still has some serous issues.

If you want to create a complex and stable mod, then you create it in the original game and its modding editor and then you convert it, if you are aiming for simple things then it dosen't really matters.

As for stable, both games suffer from the same exact flaws that makes them unstable at the same level, since the actual issues were never addressed by Bethesda and they remain still there until today.

There are only some minor difference which are mostly file types added to SSE, for example: in SSE are supported both DDS and BC7.

** Which the SSE BC7 format is actually the SLE uncompressed DDS ARGB 8.8.8.8 format.

Decide what you want to create or what kind of modder you want to be and then ask what you need to get started, don't aim to learn everything at once and from the beginning because you will get nowhere, plus you will need to invest A LOT of time / years to get there.

Edited September 2, 2022 by maxarturo

[greyday01]

If you use Skyrim LE to create an esp for your mod it is trivial to convert it to a SE esp. Going the other direction is difficult at the best, maybe impossible. Scripts are the same in both versions and don't need converting. Textures and meshes can be converted in either direction with Cathedral Assets Optimizer. If you want people who use either version of Skyrim to be able to use your mod I would create it in LE and then after it is finished make a SE version for those who use that version. It's a bit of a nuisance if you update your mod to update both versions but not that bad.

 

Nifskope I have found very useful and Gimp for textures. Both are free. Photoshop can be used if you want to use that for textures instead if you want to spend the money or have a student discount. I have found Gimp useable for the simple things I use it for. Nifskope can add very simple collisions for things like a crate or other basic static shapes.

 

I would start with the LE creation kit, Nifskope and Gimp. That's enough to learn at first. You can do a lot with Nifskope, change the textures used in a mesh, combine different meshes to make a new one, remove bits of a mesh you don't want, change a moveable object to a static.

[MMB1994]

Thank you all for the replies.

In regards to what to what types of mods I am wanting to make, I am interesting in making custom weapons/armors and to providing collisions/physics for said weapons/armors.

Hopefully this can help with providing answers in regards to the specifics of types of softwares/tools.

[greyday01]

Then Blender or 3DMax, Chunkmerge, Nifskope, Gimp or Photoshop, and the Creation Kit.