[LE] Complete beginner needs help with placing clutter

[cumbrianlad]

Hi,

 

I've just had the creation kit for a week or so. I'm ploughing through the novice tutorial 'Lokir's Tomb' and have found my way so far with help from videos etc. The tomb is now 5 rooms and a cave. I've added most of the clutter, static and movable-static items without trouble but a few I can't get my head around.

 

• First of all, some items that I reposition in the creation kit don't show up in testing as having been moved, unless I wait a month in game before going back in to test. This seems to only happen with dummy items and items that can be picked up by the player (dummy items don't show up at all). This is quite tedious. I placed all 4 parts of the ancient Nord armour set around the tomb but decided to move the cuirasse from a shelf in one room and hide it behind a shelf in another room. In testing, the cuirasse was visible in its new location but couldn't be picked up. The prompt to pick it up was back in the original location. Waiting 31 days did not change this. Picking up the invisible cuirass caused the visible one to disappear from the room I'd moved it to. Waiting outside for 31 days for it to respawn and checking again had put everything right. Is there a way to avoid this from happening again? It makes testing a real headache and since I'm learning I like to test often.

 

• Items placed in the cave like ruins pots and broken urns are proving to be the biggest problem. In testing they appear to be hovering well clear of the dirt mounds. In the creation kit they look to be set into the dirt mounds slightly. The slightest tweak down in the z axis causes the dirt mound to become visible inside the pot. Waiting 31 days after a change doesn't make any difference...the darned pots are all still levitating in testing. What am I doing wrong? I dropped some of these items using the havoc button so that they settled and rolled on the ground yet they still appear a good 6 inches above it in game.

These might be simple things but I'm totally stuck. I want to have all this sorted so that I can make a start on the nav mesh.

 

[farce88]

you should test, everytime you change such items, with a new save.

[Di0nysys]

you should test, everytime you change such items, with a new save.

Quickest way to do that is just type CoC yourcellname directly from the main menu.

[NexusComa]

Sounds like you are not editing from a master save point.

 

Remove your mod then go back to a save before you mod was ever added,

get yourself right where you want to be to edit your mod and save ... (this is now your master save point)

 

Now add your mod and never reload another save until your done with your mod.

[cumbrianlad]

Thanks for the replies. I loaded the mod up again in the creation kit after everything seemrd fine and that stupid cuirass had gone from the room and was floating in the void. It's now the only item consistently misbehaving.

 

NexusComa, I don't follow you.

 

Do you mean that I disable the mod in Nexus mod manager or do I take the file out of the skyrim data folder completely?

 

If I follow you I then load a Skyrim save from before the mod was installed but what do you mean by getting myself right where I want to be? The mod is not yet connected to the world, I have to use COC to travel to it in game. Does it matter where in Skyrim I make the new save?

 

The rest of it I think I get. I've been doing bits in the creation kit until I'm getting zonked out with it, taking a breather, playing the game and saving again. I'll have gone into the mod from several different Skyrim save games. I guess that's what you're saying is my problem.

[EdmondNoir]

i agree always test on a new independent save, what i do is i clear out all saves store separately or whatever.. and have a specific save with no mods on it that i load and do all my testing on. like the other guy said when you need to go to a specific cell or place you can just tilda your way in using a commmand. :)

Edited December 10, 2016 by EdmondNoir

[NexusComa]

Leave it in the folder and remove it from the NMM ... load a save before you ever had your mod in the game and move to the spot where your mod will be, then save .... Now you have a master save right next to your mod. Then add your mod back. From now until you're done with the mod you always load from the same save. And you never save while testing your mod. AND, you can't play your game till the mod is done. Unless you remove it from the order and create a new master save when done.

 

This is something you must do when creating a mod ...

Edited December 11, 2016 by NexusComa

[cumbrianlad]

Thanks for your patience NexusComa!

 

Now I'm 100% clear about what I did wrong.

 

It's a shame that this aspect of modding was not mentioned in the creation kit tutorials. It seems to be a pretty fundamental concept for the authors to have omitted, especially since I am using the tutorials for complete beginners who could hardly be expected to know such things. I've dipped in and out of the creation kit over a couple of weeks because at age 50 and with no experience of 3d programs, learning the creation kit can be quite hard work (although it's very rewarding at the same time). It's likely going to take me a few months to be happy with my mod, especially since I've already got ideas about quests and a reward that will be a new unique item...I always was ambitious. I've literally covered a lot of ground in Skyrim over that period with my latest character.

 

To console myself, Ill splash out on Dishonored 2 to vent my frustrations on when I'm struggling to add scripts, get NPC dialogue to work and the rest.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

EdmondNoir, from what you say, I'd be best to disable all mods (except maybe the legendary patch) and start a new character, get to, say, level 10 then make my save where the mod is to go in Skyrim and use that save for testing. I take it that when I test, as long as I disable everything except my mod (and the legendary patch, if it's okay to keep that active) and use that save my testing routine is good. By extending that logic, could that allow me to keep my game going from my other saves by enabling all mods except mine when I play, without detriment to my creation kit work?

 

The reason I ask is that while I can simply not play Skyrim for a few weeks or more, my daughter loves doing the Thieves' Guild quests...she'll be gutted if she loses her hard work!

 

As an aside,I had wondered if one of my mods was causing this strange issue with the cuirass. I noticed that 'placeable statics' was below my mod in the load order...ooh, something that alters the properties of objects...hmm. I've put my mod at the bottom now and I'm interested to see if it makes any difference. I'll still do as you and NexusComa suggest, but it was worth a quick experiment.

[NexusComa]

You can sill play your game ... just not with your mod. If you want to edit the mod again just add it back then go back to the mod's master save for testing.

[NexusComa]

One other thing ... I made a program just for cases like this ... When you have more then one person playing the same game .

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/73590/? It's called SaveSwitch.