afatasssatonmyaunt Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) I'll be buying a PC soon, so I will (might) be modding close to now, until then, I'm stuck on my 360. It's well known that a save can be changed on the 360 by importing it. I'm wondering if spell tomes add a certain variation of an effect when read, or adds a spell with the certain effects. Why I'm asking is the Dead Thrall spell is terribly under powered, and I'd like to fix this. I don't know if it's possible to add on a modified version of the spell on the save game, because I don't know if the spell "Dead Thrall" is a certain spell, or just a named set of effects to permanently resurrect a NPC. Catch my drift? Better put: I'm wondering if I can add a spell to a save game with already existing effects, but it's not an in-game spell. Also, what should I know to mod? I'm not much of an artist, but I'm well-read when it comes to programming and scripting. Any resources for starting out? Oh, and hello, I hope to be a good addition to this community :) EDIT: Forgot to mention the thing in the second "paragraph"EDIT 2: Forgot to introduce myself. Must. Not. Be. Introverted. Edited January 23, 2012 by afatasssatonmyaunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWolf Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Not sure if this falls under the mantle of console modding or not. You're not likely to get support since modding consoles is a ban here unless that doesn't apply to save games. Even then I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to do what you want. Get a PC if you want to mod the game in a stable and meaningful fashion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnie Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 The answer to the question is: No, you can not modify any base spell functions in a save game file. Spell changes need to be overrides (esp files) that change the original functionality. All you will see in your save game file is that you have x spell added to your spell book, none of the spell base data is saved there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afatasssatonmyaunt Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) Not sure if this falls under the mantle of console modding or not. You're not likely to get support since modding consoles is a ban here unless that doesn't apply to save games. Even then I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to do what you want. Get a PC if you want to mod the game in a stable and meaningful fashion. Not actually modding my console, just wanting to "mod" saves. The answer to the question is: No, you can not modify any base spell functions in a save game file. Spell changes need to be overrides (esp files) that change the original functionality. All you will see in your save game file is that you have x spell added to your spell book, none of the spell base data is saved there. Alright, thanks for clarifying. Also, any resources for starting to mod on the PC? EDIT: Accidentally a word Edited January 23, 2012 by afatasssatonmyaunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MofoMojo Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) The answer to the question is: No, you can not modify any base spell functions in a save game file. Spell changes need to be overrides (esp files) that change the original functionality. All you will see in your save game file is that you have x spell added to your spell book, none of the spell base data is saved there. I don't think this is an entirely accurate statement. I have noticed there are certain things about spells that are saved off into save files, specifically around adding effects to the spell. I haven't honestly spent much time investigating since it never piqued my interest but I have/had noticed that adding MGEF effects to spells often required loading the save, removing the spell, and adding it back in before they took affect. It's very wonky though, so in the end, I agree on principle and it's likely a moot point... but... there are things hardcoded into the save file. -MM Edited January 23, 2012 by MofoMojo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWolf Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Not actually modding my console, just wanting to "mod" saves.Yes, wasn't sure what site policy was on modding the saves, though. :tongue: They're pretty stringent, but apologies regardless for not being more helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MofoMojo Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Alright, thanks for clarifying. Also, any resources for starting to mod on the PC? Essentially this forum, the Bethsoft forums, and the TES 5 Mod wiki right now, which has limited information. You're basic tools will be SkyEdit, TESVsnip, and Nifscope depending on what you want to do. -MM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnie Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 The answer to the question is: No, you can not modify any base spell functions in a save game file. Spell changes need to be overrides (esp files) that change the original functionality. All you will see in your save game file is that you have x spell added to your spell book, none of the spell base data is saved there. I don't think this is an entirely accurate statement. I have noticed there are certain things about spells that are saved off into save files, specifically around adding effects to the spell. I haven't honestly spent much time investigating since it never piqued my interest but I have/had noticed that adding MGEF effects to spells often required loading the save, removing the spell, and adding it back in before they took affect. It's very wonky though, so in the end, I agree on principle and it's likely a moot point... but... there are things hardcoded into the save file. -MMThere are some variables that get cooked into the save file, but without the supporting underlying game data, they are useless and possibly could cause crashes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MofoMojo Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 The answer to the question is: No, you can not modify any base spell functions in a save game file. Spell changes need to be overrides (esp files) that change the original functionality. All you will see in your save game file is that you have x spell added to your spell book, none of the spell base data is saved there. I don't think this is an entirely accurate statement. I have noticed there are certain things about spells that are saved off into save files, specifically around adding effects to the spell. I haven't honestly spent much time investigating since it never piqued my interest but I have/had noticed that adding MGEF effects to spells often required loading the save, removing the spell, and adding it back in before they took affect. It's very wonky though, so in the end, I agree on principle and it's likely a moot point... but... there are things hardcoded into the save file. -MMThere are some variables that get cooked into the save file, but without the supporting underlying game data, they are useless and possibly could cause crashes. lol... I definitely like the word "Cooked" over "Hardcoded". :) Touche'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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