Lets share some useful Creation Kit tutorials with each other

[Povuholo]

The Creation Kit can be a tricky thing to learn, so it's nice to be able to follow tutorials. But they can be hard to find, right now the Creation Kit wiki is mostly empty. What tutorials have you used?

 

I've been using the following video tutorials:

 

Seddon4494's tutorials - A lot of instructions for quest, dialogue and companion modding.

NukaMage's tutorials - A large variety of subjects.

Basic Interior Layout - A very long unedited livestream (I recommend playing at 1.25 speed) that shows how to do basic interior design.

 

There's also Bethesda's Creation Kit video tutorial series. While it uses the Skyrim Creation Kit I think a lot of the basics apply to Fallout 4 as well.

[Pokepunch]

This page has quite a few useful tutorials:

http://www.creationkit.com/fallout4/index.php?title=Video_Tutorials

[demonofsarila]

For scripting, the creation kit wiki is a wonderful reference. Also the skyrim part of the creation kit wiki has some very very useful info for FO4 modding (both for scripting and just general explanation of the various fields in the various objects, like http://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=Perk for example).

 

While it extends beyond the CK itself, I just stumbled into http://wiki.nexusmods.com/index.php/Creating_an_armour_for_Fallout_4._Part_1 today. I haven't read it all, but it looks like it's going to be super helpful.

 

Edit: Also the creation kit itself comes with a number of papyrus source files. I studied and read the HC main file in making my vasaki mod.

Edited June 22, 2016 by demonofsarila

[Dr69onS6mur6i]

How bout a request for a tutorial?

 

I'm having an issue with my mod. I was trying to remove the level requirements for the perks, and I'm not sure what I did but some of the perks are screwed up. In game they are listing the max level of the perk, for example the Lone Wanderer perk shows the effect of doing 25% more damage without a companion and requiring level 50. In the CK it has the level listed as 1, number of ranks as 1, and next perk as LoneWanderer01. There are other perks that are acting the same way. I cant see how I screwed it up, and I don't know how to revert the changes back to vanilla without starting all over.

 

So my question is... Is there any way to revert changes in a mod back to vanilla?

[Trosski]

Here is my Tutorial for Bug free editing of preexisting Commonwealth world space cells:

 

1. Open the CK, and Load Fallout4.esm

2. in the Cell View window's world space drop down menu select Commonwealth

3. After the list populates select the cell you wish to edit. *Note: Settlements will often span multiple cells.

4. If you want to remove an object from a settlement, I will use Sanctuary as an example, because it spans multiple cells, then find the central cell(SanctuaryExt) and make the edits you want int that cell(ONLY IN THAT CELL)

You will know if the object you are selecting is in your current cell, because it will move to and highlight that object in the cells object list.

It is best to load the cell, leave it in top down veiw, and zoom out to see the whole cell. I have found that this keeps me from crossing into other cells wit the camera, and I select objects from the list instead of in the render window.

5. Select the item you want to remove. Right click on it and select edit. Check both "Initially disabled" and "Hidden From Local Map", then click "ok".

6. Once all of the edits you want to make are complete in that cell, in the World menu at the top click on "Precombine Geometries for Current Cell".

7. Repeat Steps 4 - 6 for each cell you want to make edits to. It is best to note which cells are loaded when you load that first cell, so that you do not stray from the loaded area.

8. Once all of the cells you wish to edit are complete, Load the first cell you edited... In this example it will be SanctuaryExt.

9. In the Visibility Menu at the top click on "Generate Visibility for Loaded Area" *Note Prcombining geometries for each cell, and generating visibility for the loaded area is what fixes the dreaded Cell reset, Sprinting, and object culling bugs.

10. After Generating visibility ***SAVE YOUR PLUGIN!!!*** I save my plugin after I edit each settlement, and then move a copy of the plugin to a separate folder just in case I screw something up(Which I do... A lot!).

11. After you have made all of the changes you want, save one last time. In the File menu click on "Create Archive", and name the Archives I generally make it "Mod name - Main.ba2" for the main, "Mod name - Textures.ba2", for the textures, and so on.

Then just Upload to Beth.net, or Nexus, or where ever else you would like.

[Povuholo]

For scripting, the creation kit wiki is a wonderful reference. Also the skyrim part of the creation kit wiki has some very very useful info for FO4 modding (both for scripting and just general explanation of the various fields in the various objects, like http://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=Perk for example).

 

While it extends beyond the CK itself, I just stumbled into http://wiki.nexusmods.com/index.php/Creating_an_armour_for_Fallout_4._Part_1 today. I haven't read it all, but it looks like it's going to be super helpful.

 

Edit: Also the creation kit itself comes with a number of papyrus source files. I studied and read the HC main file in making my vasaki mod.

Yeah it looks like the Skyrim CK is similar enough script wise that Fallout 4 modders can use that to learn scripting, as well as some other things.

[BadKappa]

Here is my Tutorial for Bug free editing of preexisting Commonwealth world space cells:

 

1. Open the CK, and Load Fallout4.esm

2. in the Cell View window's world space drop down menu select Commonwealth

3. After the list populates select the cell you wish to edit. *Note: Settlements will often span multiple cells.

4. If you want to remove an object from a settlement, I will use Sanctuary as an example, because it spans multiple cells, then find the central cell(SanctuaryExt) and make the edits you want int that cell(ONLY IN THAT CELL)

You will know if the object you are selecting is in your current cell, because it will move to and highlight that object in the cells object list.

It is best to load the cell, leave it in top down veiw, and zoom out to see the whole cell. I have found that this keeps me from crossing into other cells wit the camera, and I select objects from the list instead of in the render window.

5. Select the item you want to remove. Right click on it and select edit. Check both "Initially disabled" and "Hidden From Local Map", then click "ok".

6. Once all of the edits you want to make are complete in that cell, in the World menu at the top click on "Precombine Geometries for Current Cell".

7. Repeat Steps 4 - 6 for each cell you want to make edits to. It is best to note which cells are loaded when you load that first cell, so that you do not stray from the loaded area.

8. Once all of the cells you wish to edit are complete, Load the first cell you edited... In this example it will be SanctuaryExt.

9. In the Visibility Menu at the top click on "Generate Visibility for Loaded Area" *Note Prcombining geometries for each cell, and generating visibility for the loaded area is what fixes the dreaded Cell reset, Sprinting, and object culling bugs.

10. After Generating visibility ***SAVE YOUR PLUGIN!!!*** I save my plugin after I edit each settlement, and then move a copy of the plugin to a separate folder just in case I screw something up(Which I do... A lot!).

11. After you have made all of the changes you want, save one last time. In the File menu click on "Create Archive", and name the Archives I generally make it "Mod name - Main.ba2" for the main, "Mod name - Textures.ba2", for the textures, and so on.

Then just Upload to Beth.net, or Nexus, or where ever else you would like.

I was told I need to also pack the "vis file" in with my mod, in addition to generating visibility for all adjacent cells. Will uploading to Beth.net do this for me? If not, where do I find it?

[Trosski]

 

I was told I need to also pack the "vis file" in with my mod, in addition to generating visibility for all adjacent cells. Will uploading to Beth.net do this for me? If not, where do I find it?

 

When you create the archive the vis files should be packaged automatically. Those are the .UVD files.

[BadKappa]

 

When you create the archive the vis files should be packaged automatically. Those are the .UVD files.

 

 

Awesome! Last thing --- What exactly does the "precombine geometries" function do? I'm very nervous to click it. I've removed only a few things, and navmeshed where they once were. About to finalize, don't want to break anything.

 

EDIT: Also, Am I safe removing the changes from cells 2+ blocks away? I generated changes in cell -12, 1; but I've got changes in cells as far as -9, 4; and -16, 3. I already archived and made the .BA2, would I be okay in removing those cell changes from my mod in FO4Edit?

Edited June 30, 2016 by BadKappa

[Trosski]

 

Awesome! Last thing --- What exactly does the "precombine geometries" function do? I'm very nervous to click it. I've removed only a few things, and navmeshed where they once were. About to finalize, don't want to break anything.

 

 

 

EDIT: Also, Am I safe removing the changes from cells 2+ blocks away? I generated changes in cell -12, 1; but I've got changes in cells as far as -9, 4; and -16, 3. I already archived and made the .BA2, would I be okay in removing those cell changes from my mod in FO4Edit?

 

1. The precombine geometries works like this.

Say you have a group of rocks in an area. we will call them Rock01, Rock02, and Rock02WitMoss. The way it loaded this in Skyrim was to load each one individually.

The way it does it now in FO4 is with precombine meshes. When you generate precombine meshes it takes those rocks, and creates a new mesh that has that combination of objects combine in it.

The game now only has to load that one mesh instead of each individual rock mesh that was placed in the world. This makes loading faster, and smoother.

 

2. As far as editing an area that includes multiple cells, as long as you stay within the loaded area, then you shouldn't have any issues.

So say you are editing Sanctuary. Check the Loaded at top box in your cell view window. this will move all of the loaded cells to the top of the cell list.

Just keep your edits in that area, the do a precombine gemoetries for each cell, and when you have edited all of the cells, then you Generate visibilities for all loaded cell.

If you want to edit something 1 square outside of the loaded area, then finish the area you are in, then move your loaded area to that new cell. only precombine geometries for current cell once you are finished.

After you have finished precombining geometries do your generate visibility for all cells loaded again.

It doesn't matter if you have overlapping cells, because the visibility generation will just add new visibilities to what you already have in those overlapping cells. It won't overwrite.

 

4. don't be afraid to experiment. Just back up your files in a separate folder before hand. It took me a lot of trail and error to figure this stuff out.

 

Edit: I wouldn't go removing things in FO4Edit. it'll just cause more problems. The only thing you should be removing that way is "Identical to master" records, and doing "undelete and disable".

Anything that is modified when you precombine geometries and generate visibilities is necessary to the game in order to prevent object culling from that distance. That is why when you modify Abernathy Farm for instance, the CK will also show Wicked Shipping as being modified after generating visibility.

 

Edit2: Sorry... Just wanted to add that once you get a certain distance from the edited cell, that is where LOD takes over, and you wouldn't need to update that unless you were removing something crazy like a building, or an overpass that would be obviously visible from a distance.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Trosski