Need help getting started

[Drivenbydiamond]

Okay, so I want to start work on some mods. I have a few ideas, but I thought I would try something that seems simple, like a flag. Problem is, I have no idea where to start. I looked at some of the tutorials, but it quite frankly it seems like a daunting and confusing task. I would really love it if someone could at least point me in the right direction on where to start. I can probably find my way from there.

[PoliteRaider]

Modding is a whole lot of fun, so I definitely recommend getting into it. However it can certainly be a daunting and confusing task at the beginning, especially since it's hard to find the resources to learn without knowing the right names to search for.

 

So "modding" as a general term can include lots of specific skills. Some people choose to specialize in one and then either create mods themselves that rely heavily upon that skill or work as part of a team with people who cover the other skills. Other people choose to learn general knowledge in all the different skills, or at least a large enough number to work on many sorts of projects. Neither method is really better or worse, it's purely what you'd rather do yourself.

 

In no particular order the main modding skills are:

 

3d Art: A 3d artist will design meshes, which is the 3 dimensional shape of an object that exists within the game world. In Fallout 4 these files are stored in the .nif format which can be viewed and edited with the program Nifskope. However it's important to note that Nifskope is still in its alpha release and not all functions are ready to work with Fallout 4 yet. You can find a good tutorial on 3d art for Fallout 4 in this

by Brainpoof.

 

Animation: Animations add movement to 3d art and are often considered part of the 3d art skill-set. Fallout 4 however currently has no available tools to create custom animations and based on experience with previous Bethesda releases it's not expected to be included in the Creation Kit. A community tool is being created for Fallout 4 animation, however it is not yet complete and ready to use. Skyrim's tools cannot be used as they are designed for the 32 bit Havok system, whereas Fallout 4 uses the 64 bit Havok System.

 

2d Art: A 2d artist creates textures, which are the surface patterns on a 3d object. This may be done by the 3d artist but is different enough to sometimes be considered a different skill. This is known as texturing, or if you're replacing an existing texture then it is known as retexturing. The 3d object or Mesh contains instructions of how to unfold itself into a 2 dimensional structure (known as a UV wrap or unwrap) so that it can be designed in a program like Photoshop or GIMP. For Fallout 4 these textures are stored in .dds files, which both Photoshop and GIMP require a special plug-in to read. You can find a good tutorial on retexturing Fallout 4 in this

.

 

Scripting: Fallout 4 uses a programming language known as Papyrus for governing any sort of complicated behaviour inside the game. It's often used for quest management, complex objects, NPC behaviour and similar. Unfortunately the programming language isn't fully complete since Bethesda could frequently implement some of the functions within the actual game code itself and so the Script Extender program was created to increase the options available. This is known as the F4SE for Fallout 4, but was known as the SKSE for Skyrim. While many things can be done simply with Papyrus, which usually can be edited through the Creation Kit, your options are expanded a lot through the additional options of the Script Extender. You can find a lot of information on Papyrus on the Creation kit Wiki, Papyrus page.

 

Modding: I'm sorry, if there's a general name to this skill I'm not familiar with it. However I'm referring here to the skills used to actually put any of these changes into the game itself. This involves using either the Creation Kit, which Bethesda intends on providing soon or a community program called either FO4Edit or since it can be used with a lot of other games the generic name xEdit. There are good tutorials on this for Skyrim from both Elianora (

) or Darkfox (Darkfox's modding videos). Working with Fallout 4 may involve some changes to these processes, figuring these out is a bit of an ongoing process and you may have to figure some of this out yourself.

 

Environment Design: The knowledge of how to create an aesthetic, thematic or emotionally impactful piece of scenery in game.

 

Level Design: The knowledge of how to create challenging environments and gameplay situations which appropriately engage the player within the experience of the game.

 

Sound Design: Editing audio files to create a sound asset in the game. In Fallout 4 the most common audio formats are the generic .wav which most programs can easily work with or Bethesda's common format .xwm files. For dialogue there are also .fuz files which are a package that contains both a .xwm audio file and a special .lip animation file which includes the movements of the character's mouth.

 

Writing: Use of the english language and narrative skills to design impactful scenes, frequently in modding this is focused on dialogue or in environmental writing such as computer logs or holotapes.

 

Voice Acting: Dramatically reading lines to present a character's voice and a large part of their emotional state.

 

Project Management and Coordination: An extremely difficult skill-set in working with multiple people to bring their talents together in a productive and timely fashion.

 

These are some of the main skills involved in modding (Apologies to anyone whose field of specialty I've missed out there, purely my own ignorance). Learning to mod will involve gaining talent in one or more of these areas.

 

For working on a flag you're probably going to want to focus on some retexturing first as that would be the main starting spot in that sort of project. You can see my link to a tutorial above that will most likely work as a good starting location.

Edited April 2, 2016 by PoliteRaider

[Drivenbydiamond]

Modding is a whole lot of fun, so I definitely recommend getting into it. However it can certainly be a daunting and confusing task at the beginning, especially since it's hard to find the resources to learn without knowing the right names to search for.

 

So "modding" as a general term can include lots of specific skills. Some people choose to specialize in one and then either create mods themselves that rely heavily upon that skill or work as part of a team with people who cover the other skills. Other people choose to learn general knowledge in all the different skills, or at least a large enough number to work on many sorts of projects. Neither method is really better or worse, it's purely what you'd rather do yourself.

 

For working on a flag you're probably going to want to focus on some retexturing first as that would be the main starting spot in that sort of project. You can see my link to a tutorial above that will most likely work as a good starting location.

 

Thank you so much! One question about the video though. Since the updates, will I still have to add /TEXTURES to my fallout4.ini or will it work if I already have my Fallout4custom.ini set up to use mods?

[PoliteRaider]

Good question. You're right, that information is out of date with this update. Just use the current technique.

[femshepping]

Were you thinking of retexturing a flag or making an entire new mesh? I can give you some texture pointers if that's what you're wanting to do :)