Beginner Modding in Skyrim

[Tigrah2k]

Hi all,

I have several years of experience modding in Morrowind (please no groans), and will be upgrading my hardware/software to a more recent rig in the next few months. The Laptop I'm looking into atm is an AMD A10 quad-core, with built in R6 graphics, 8 gig of system memory, and a full terra of HD. Hopefully that's enough to enjoy both playing and Modding in Skyrim.

 

My questions are as follows.

 

1. What programs would you recommend (on the cheap, or preferably free), for making meshes and for making certain my textures are going to go to the right mesh and show up in game? (a long time ago, I was using NifSkope, Blender 2.49b, and Nif Textures to accomplish all this).

 

2. Is there a way, without Steam or breaking any laws, to get ahold of Skyrim's version of TES:CS?

 

3. Is the scripting language still essentially the same as TES:CS? If not, would anyone recommend a good learner's guide to playing catch-up?

 

4. Who would I need to speak to for permissions to add my original Morrowind Mod to (I think) Skywind? I was working on a long, and in depth city builder for the three great houses, and would love to complete it and get the community's opinion of it (I have no issues with starting the mod completely over again, as I realize that transfering directly is improbable at best).

Edited March 16, 2016 by Tigrah2k

[Lisnpuppy]

I can answer #2 right now--

 

No.

 

Skyrim is a Steam only game, regardless of where you purchase it, it has to be registered through Steam and the CS is only available through that.

 

There is a news article today about Skywind actually you may wish to read. I am sure more news will be available on that front very soon.

[Tigrah2k]

Darn... Oh well, guess I spend out a little cash for a whole lotta Game Designing enjoyment... Worthwhile investiture regardless.

[Xander9009]

Scripting guide: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/70883

 

It's very different from Morrowind's scripting language. It's much, much more powerful, though. Especially if you install SKSE, which you absolutely should.

 

It's a very steep learning curve, so be prepared for that. Once you manage to get past those complicated basics, the rest is a lot easier.

[taerkalith]

I'm not sure you can run skyrim on the graphics card. I would seriously check your GPU is powerful enough for what you want. That's normally the biggest failing of laptops.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+R6 - this may be equivalent to what you're looking at. Severely underpowered

[Tigrah2k]

Yeah... I would prefer a desktop for its modular upgradeability, but atm I'm kind of limited. I'll only have $640 to work with, and the Laptop is about the best I can get. The graphics card will be hard pressed to do what I need for school, but I do look forward to learning more about this game, and its mechanics.

[HeirOfTheSeptims]

Darn... Oh well, guess I spend out a little cash for a whole lotta Game Designing enjoyment... Worthwhile investiture regardless.

The CK is free...

 

1. Nifskope, Blender, Gimp, CK

2. No, but as mentioned above, the CK is free on Steam

3. No, papyrus is very different. The CK wiki has a lot of information on scripting. There are also various Youtube videos that are good for leaning basic CK modding.

4. Obviously you cant just port your mod over, you'll have to rebuild it. Skywind also isn't finished yet (and wont be for awhile) so you'll have to wait before you can make any mods for it. However, once it is finished, i'm sure you can make whatever mods you want for it.

Edited March 16, 2016 by HeirOfTheSeptems

[Lisnpuppy]

 

Darn... Oh well, guess I spend out a little cash for a whole lotta Game Designing enjoyment... Worthwhile investiture regardless.

The CK is free...

 

1. Nifskope, Blender, Gimp, CK

2. No, but as mentioned above, the CK is free on Steam

3. No, papyrus is very different. The CK wiki has a lot of information on scripting. There are also various Youtube videos that are good for leaning basic CK modding.

4. Obviously you cant just port your mod over, you'll have to rebuild it. Skywind also isn't finished yet (and wont be for awhile) so you'll have to wait before you can make any mods for it. However, once it is finished, i'm sure you can make whatever mods you want for it.

 

It is free, Skyrim is not. So I assume he has already purchased Skyrim and will not have to invest that money now. However I am not sure why a question about the legality of a non-Steam version would be asked?

[laiilaiiheii]

If you buy the game in stores you won't have to activate it with steam key,

I had the original ( without the dlc's and it required a key that was inside the game box)

However, you really need legendary and yes, I think it's only available trough steam

Edited March 17, 2016 by laiilaiiheii

[Tigrah2k]

I purchased the Elder Scrolls Anthology a while ago. Definately a worthwhile purchase. All the games (Arena - Skyrim), all the "official" expansions for all the games that had them. I'm glad that I don't need to purchase CK, in addition to paying for Steam... That is a load off. The scripting will be an interesting challenge, but then again, I'm going to school to learn how to do all this for a living, so I guess I'd best get used to scripting in ever newer, more diverse, and (hopefully) more robust languages.

Edited March 18, 2016 by Tigrah2k