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Is this possible?


nugz

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I have been interested in game design for a while now, and am looking for a good starting point just to get my feet wet.

 

Most mods I have seen have been simple armor mods, or something along those lines, but set on top of the original Oblivion game world. I am looking to build a separate world, with a separate quest line, etc.

 

My question is, am I in the right place here? Is the TES a good set to get started with? I dont mind working with what Oblivion already has as far as textures and structures, but will I be able to use them as I like wherever and however I like, and create a whole new game with the tools TES provides?

 

Some things I read make me feel like the TES Construction set is mostly for just modding the current game, and not for creating a new one. Any advice here?

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With the CS, you can only modify the current game. Although you could modify it alot, by say, changing races and dialouge, or adding guns (which isn't easy). However, you couldn't get out of that rpg-style gameplay as far as i know.

 

But if you want to create a whole new game, you had better start learning c++! :rolleyes:

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  chjoco15 said:
With the CS, you can only modify the current game. Although you could modify it alot, by say, changing races and dialouge, or adding guns (which isn't easy). However, you couldn't get out of that rpg-style gameplay as far as i know.

 

But if you want to create a whole new game, you had better start learning c++! :rolleyes:

With all due respect, you don't know what you're talking about.

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  chjoco15 said:
With the CS, you can only modify the current game. Although you could modify it alot, by say, changing races and dialouge, or adding guns (which isn't easy). However, you couldn't get out of that rpg-style gameplay as far as i know.

 

But if you want to create a whole new game, you had better start learning c++! :rolleyes:

 

Then what, exactly is (or was) Project Serpent? I was under the impression that it was an entirely new world, with new items, people, and monsters, completely unrelated to anything from Oblivion- you didn't even need Oblivion.esm to play it. Yes, the fundamental gameplay wasn't changed (mostly), but that's beside the point, really- this is just a starting point.

 

And as BluseShiftSolo said, as long as you know what you're getting yourself into, you'll be fine. But remember: it is a lot of work. You won't be able to do it on your own, if you want to make anything even remotely big- you'll need to get a team together to help.

 

Good luck :)

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  nugz said:
I have been interested in game design for a while now, and am looking for a good starting point just to get my feet wet.

A TC (total conversion) isn't getting your feet wet... It's jumping in head first with a 2 ton weight strapped to your ankles. Most people who start TC's and don't have a very good understanding of the CS, the oblivion environment, will fail regardless of how good their idea seems to be, or how many similarly unskilled people they can gather. Even TCs with skilled people fail because of all the work involved to even have a few minutes of playable game. Even knowing as much as I do about Oblivion, I wouldn't start on a TC just because I know I wouldn't have the time to spend making it. Even if you have capable people helping you, you'll still need to spend dozens of hours a month just keeping track of who's doing what, and coordinating everything. Even small mods can take weeks to months depending on how much scripting and technical planning are needed to make the mod work.

 

If you're new to Oblivion modding, you're really best off starting small and working up from there. As overused as they are, house mods do provide a good learning experience for newer modders, especially if they involve any NPCs or scripting. You might want to start off there, then work your way up through dungeons, small worldspaces, and then large worldspaces before even thinking about touching that TC.

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The CS isn't designed to change oblivion any less than delete it and start over. The CS is pretty much a world building program that uses the oblivion game engine. Depending on how much you want to change oblivion in you're TC it may or may not work for you. If you want to delete all worlds, landscape, armors, weapons, NPC and everything from the game and start fresh, you can.

It is my understanding that the following can be done with the CS

-Add/Remove and change landscape

-Add/Remove and change Interior and exterior cells

-Add/Remove and change world spaces

-Add/Remove and change Items (things that appear in the inventory)

-Add/Remove and change Statics (table, chair, rock)

-Add/Remove and change Races, classes, birth signs

-Add/Remove and change Quests, dialogue and scripting

 

If you want to build a new WORLD, then the CS is your program. If you want to make a new GAME, then it isn't. Of course, you can edit a lot of the games engines in the CS such as how fast running will train your athletics skill, but changing the game to have new skills and such can't be done in the CS.

 

 

All that aside, you shouldn't be making a TC. If you want to get some experience make: A house that has a quest too obtain, a residing NPC who gives you the quest with dialogue, give the NPC a schedule, and make a new suit of armor to go with it. That's a little bit of everything.

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Thanks Sypron. I will take this into account.

 

Of course I wouldnt start by jumping in head first. I have completed several tutorials and was definitely planning on starting small just to learn the toolset.

 

Making another Oblivion isnt exactly what I had planned, and it seems that is all the CS lets you do.

 

Thank you to everyone for your input. While I have decided not to use the CS for my original purpose, using the CS to mod Oblivion still interests me, so maybe I have found a new hobby by mistake!

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  nugz said:
Thanks Sypron. I will take this into account.

 

Of course I wouldnt start by jumping in head first. I have completed several tutorials and was definitely planning on starting small just to learn the toolset.

 

Making another Oblivion isnt exactly what I had planned, and it seems that is all the CS lets you do.

 

Thank you to everyone for your input. While I have decided not to use the CS for my original purpose, using the CS to mod Oblivion still interests me, so maybe I have found a new hobby by mistake!

Morrowind may also be worth a look. While in some respects it isn't as capable as Oblivion (primarily graphics and scripted spells), for the most part it's more flexible.

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