[LE] What Do I Need To Learn?

[SevenLZ]

Hello, everyone. I've got an idea for a mod that I'd like to play, but right now, it is a little beyond me to create (though that says more about me than the mod itself). I read through the requests forum, and it seems unlikely that it is the right place to put this request, because it's unlikely to inspire anyone - it's just a silly little thing I want to do for myself. That said, I do need some help understanding my path forward, because the tutorials I see online specifically for creating Skyrim mods don't seem to be concerned with my specific goals (that may also say more about me than the tutorials). So, here's what I'm trying to do:

 

I have an asset that I downloaded from the Unity Store. It's a 3d humanoid character that's rigged and animated. I'd like to play him in Skyrim, and since he comes with a pistol, I'd like to add that to the game as well, so he can use his pistol. I don't really want to use the animations that come with him, the ones that are already in Skyrim for the player character are just fine, so hopefully that makes it simpler.

 

It sounds very simple, and I've seen mods (like "playable tf2 spy") that seem to have accomplished things very much like this, but it has proven to be at least not straightforward. I feel like if I knew what I need to do, it'd be a couple hours of work at most. Problem is, I don't even know what approach is appropriate for this. I have downloaded the Creation Kit and hooked it up to my game, done a basic tutorial on creating a mod which focused on adding a new dungeon, and looked up another tutorial on adding an additional race (which didn't feature anything as extreme as changing how it looks beyond the already available parameters). I do Unity development as a hobby, but rarely dip into the world of creating assets myself, and I'm sensing that some of that workflow will be involved here.

 

Right now I'm thinking that I may need to do something to the mesh and texture data for a new race, though I don't know what, or I may need to do something to the mesh and texture data for a piece of armor, though I don't know whether that's going to have the desired effect. I think adding a gun to the game may prove to be easier, especially once I know enough to change the appearance of the player character in this way, but perhaps you all will know better about that.

 

So my question is essentially "what do I need to learn?" What approach to accomplishing this goal would you recommend, and what technologies, softwares, techniques, and other errata will I need to go learn in order to get there? I'm prepared for a slog, and looking forward to mastering some new skills, so hopefully I am at least emotionally prepared for what's around the corner. I think that once I have a clear idea of a direction, I will be able to work out lots of things for myself. Functioning links to more relevant tutorials than the ones I've been able to find will be massively appreciated, and I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have. Thank you all in advance for your patience and your help.

Edited June 1, 2023 by SevenLZ

[Sphered]

So you have a pre-rigged 3d character model you want to integrate into Skyrim. Very possible but def not something you just "do" easily

 

One approach would be to tailor the current rig to work with human skeleton. This would just require nifskope and a lot of patience playing with nodes. The other would entail 3D model adaptation in 3dsmax. Possibly outfit studio. Point being you have your work cut out for you if you want this