NPC Creation In The GECK

[MadMax08]

hey all, i have a question regarding the creation of NPCs in New Vegas. Right now, I'm currently working on a machinima and I need to create a few different NPCs to use in a scene near the end of one of my episodes. Just...how do I go about doing that? I'm not trying to give them patrols, I just need to create them and set them up somewhere so I can film the angles I need? How do I add clothes, weapons, items, etc? And where do I design the face? keeping in mind it's not for gameplay purposes, but i still need them to show up in-game so they can be filmed with FRAPs.

 

the bethesda tutorial only shows how to add hostile NPCs into the environment, and I'm not looking to add HOSTILE characters, hence why I made this topic.

 

I ask all of this because I have relatively little experience using the GECK, but would like to know this basic skill so I can eventually do it on my own. Any help is vastly appreciated.

Edited December 28, 2010 by MadMax08

[WastelandAssassin]

i can't believe i actually get the chance to help you out here :biggrin:

 

well, creating an NPC isn't too hard, especially if you just need a simple NPC, without a new AI or such

 

so, open up your GECK

in the Object Window, go Actors -> NPC -> the race of the NPC that you want to make -> the gender you want the NPC to be

in the list, you can just right click and choose New

 

of course, start with the ID and name, just to make it easier for you to find later

now, if you want to add items to the NPC, go to the Inventory tab, and just drag and drop the items that you want the NPC to have

as for making the face, use the Face, Face Advanced, and Head Parts tabs

the Face Advanced is like the FaceGen you get in the game, while Face has several useful functions you can use, and Head Parts has the hairs and eyes selection

also, Face has the hair color function, so you can change the hair color in the Face tab

 

as for placing the NPC in the game, i have never done this, but maybe just drag and drop into the cell that you want, but i'm just guessing here

 

hope this helps you

and best of luck with episode 3

and like i said on Youtube, have a very happy new year :thumbsup:

[MadMax08]

i was wondering if the person who posted on the video was from the Beth forums or here, guess that answers that question haha.

 

And thank you for the help. the Beth tutorial is so useless because it's assuming you're following the guide for making the dungeon lol. If the drag and drop method into the cell works, then that'll be good.

[WastelandAssassin]

yeah, i thought it was good to mention that it was me on Youtube

 

and i really hope that this really works well, and will help you get the NPCs that you want

 

good luck again :)

[kartman314]

The guide from Bethesda for the GECK is a bit specific, but you can certainly apply the method of defining a patrol pattern.

 

Other than that the only advice I can offer is just experiment with it, since thats all I ever end up doing. :P

[MadMax08]

The guide from Bethesda for the GECK is a bit specific, but you can certainly apply the method of defining a patrol pattern.

 

Other than that the only advice I can offer is just experiment with it, since thats all I ever end up doing. :P

 

there was also a good tutorial on Youtube made by the one and only Drakortha, who created The DC Chronicles, so I also have that to look at.

 

Another thing...I read in a different topic in this forum about someone having problems saving stuff into the game. So my other question is this...once I've created the NPCs and placed them in the game, do I just save the ESM with the characters in it? Or is there a different way of going about this to make sure they are there?

[WastelandAssassin]

save the ESM??

are you saving on the main New Vegas ESM file?? not sure if this is possible, but even if it is, you should never do this

make sure that you are saving on a new plugin

 

after you save, if everything was done right, the characters should be there

though for some reason, when i have added items to cells, i had to add the items, save, then add them again, and only then the items were there

so you might have to add the NPCs again, if they aren't there

luckily, the NPCs are still saved, so all you need to do is add them to the cell (sparing you the creating of the face and all)

[MadMax08]

okay, i figured the ESM wasnt involved, but I had to be sure. so i create a new plugin, something like "Machinima NPCs" or something of that nature, then save? Edited December 28, 2010 by MadMax08

[WastelandAssassin]

the name really doesn't matter (it's just for you)

but yeah, that should work

 

and if you are new to the GECK, then i should also point out one more thing

if you want to change this plugin that you have created (or any other plugin, for that matter), then you need to set it as active, when choose which plugins to load

just click on it, and then click on the Set as Active File, and it's status should now be Active

this is in case you really need to add the NPCs again to the cells

[MadMax08]

the name really doesn't matter (it's just for you)

but yeah, that should work

 

and if you are new to the GECK, then i should also point out one more thing

if you want to change this plugin that you have created (or any other plugin, for that matter), then you need to set it as active, when choose which plugins to load

just click on it, and then click on the Set as Active File, and it's status should now be Active

this is in case you really need to add the NPCs again to the cells

 

alright, good to know. one last question...say i want to use an armor from a mod for the NPCs, would i have to set both plugins as active to make sure the NPCs were added in, or just the one with the NPCs?

Edited December 28, 2010 by MadMax08