What program is used to make mods for fallout 3?

[robertward203]

Hopefully this hasn't been posted before, but what program do modders use to make a completely new item from scratch? lets say i drew a full suit of armour similar to the ones in mass effect 2 and wanted to make it come to life in fallout 3, what steps would i have to follow?

 

Thanks for the legal advice. Maybe it doesn't really look like something from mass effect, i just took some parts

 

I know it's ambitious, but i'll probably make a much more simple version. Out of curiousity, would it also work in Fallout new vegas, since they use the same game engine?

[Vindekarr]

First, welcome to the Nexus.

 

Second, I advice caution for just tossing something into a game that is a clone of something from a copyrighted other universe. Sometimes it's OK, if the game had an SDK in it's own right or had a particularly liberal aproach to it's intellectual property, lie for example, WarHammer, you'd have a fight on your hands, but Relic and Games Workshop look less harshly on this than others. As for Mass Effect, you'd be in very very dangerous territory. This site is kinda popular, and since it's one of the bigger DA mod sites, Bioware undoubtably keeps a loose eye on it, so you mod mass effect gear at your legal peril.

 

Third, it's against site rules to breach copyright. Point blanc. Really fast ticket to "banhammer-down-the-throat-ville". Its an instaban offence last I heard, and rigorously enforced.

 

As for your initial question you'd need a bunch of programs and a rethink of your plans. Like I said, I REALLY advise against trying to make or upload Mass Effect inspired panoply, you'd be asking for trouble, and both Nexus moderators and Bioware'Obsidian take copyright violation extremely seriously. To make a mod, and I hope you dont make me regret saying this, but you'll need some form of texture making software, like Paint.net or The GIMP.

 

You'll also need a NIF making program, like NIF tool's accessories, and a good editor and checkover sweet like Nif Skope, and finaly G.E.C.K. which is the official contruction set for FO3. You assemble the mod in GECK from textures you make in GIMP or Paint.net and the NIFs from some form of NIF software. Then you open the fallout 3 .esm master file in GECK, put your items in game via the menus, and save, mod complete.

 

All that software can be found for free on the internet, I'd recomend THOSE programes because they're safe, reliable, made by reliable people, and easy to use. I've never had any problems with any of em.

 

And for your sake, make it original ok?

[Balagor]

Hello and welcome.

Nif Scope, Gecko and Photoshop will do.

[Vindekarr]

Nah, get The GIMP, Photoshop is awefully expensive compared to freeware...

[TheCalliton]

http://i34.tinypic.com/i704dc.jpg