New to Modding - Creating a basic Mod?

[Thayn]

Greetings, all!

 

I had an idea for a Mod that I placed in the Mod Request forum:

 

http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/516757-req-advanced-armors-perk-mod/

 

After a little thought, I decided I would like to make this a learning opportunity rather than a request for a handout.

 

I want to know if someone could point me to a resource, or give some basic guidelines on how to create a very basic mod that:

 

1) Let's me use existing textures and models to create a new item, that looks and works the same, but has different stats and name.

2) Let's me make the creation of these items dependent on a perk.

3) Let's me modify it's creation stats based on the total Smithing skill.

4) Let's me add this mod onto other existing mods, so that it doesn't overwrite any file with something already created.

 

Hopefully, this is a very basic mod that someone could explain to me in cliff notes version how to make it! I do have programming experience, but I have never done a mod for a Bethesda game, so please, be gentle!

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited January 3, 2012 by Thayn

[TimRusk]

Once the creation kit is released this won't be very hard. They will also have tutorials that will guide you through doing this very thing. However, a quick overview of the process, at least according to the previous construction sets, would be as follows.

 

A) start the creation kit and load skyrim.esm

 

1a) locate the Armor tab/list. There will probably be a search/filter that you can use the make your specific armor you want to copy easier to find.

 

1b) Once you locate the armor you want. I'll hypothetically assume Dwarven Armor. You will want to rename the ID to Thayn_DwarvenArrmor, and save. It will ask you if you want to create a new object. Say yes.

 

1c) Now change your new Thayn_DwarvenArmor stats to whatever you want.

 

2a) Search for recipes and create a new personalized(Thayn_) recipe for your new armor.

 

2b) next under perks(assuming this works like new vegas), Find PerkDwarvenSmithing, and like before, rename the ID to Thayn_PerkDwarvenSmithing. Say yes to create new object.

 

2c) One of the settings/properties will likely be a formlist or other object that will contain a list of all the recipes you can craft with that perk. If it is a separate object, again create a new personalized object(Thayn_) like before, and put your new armor recipe in it.

 

3) more complicated, but the simplist way would be to make copies of your Armor with progressively higher stats. Then create new recipes that create the new armors, and then set conditions on the recipes to add new recipes as your skill goes up, and remove old recipes.

 

4) this is accomplished by Personalizing every new entry you make and not changing any default skyrim entries.

[MaxiEX]

i am so excided when the creation kit comes out. When was the date?

[PaladinRider]

By far the most useful feature that any modder can ever utilize, ever, is the search feature on these forums

[TheElderInfinity]

Late January

[Matth85]

By far the most useful feature that any modder can ever utilize, ever, is the search feature on these forums

This, a million times this. It isn't that hard to search, and it really does provide all the necessary information.