SSE Porting oldrim weapon mods to SSE for a first time modder

[Keradiin36]

Hello to anyone who sees this o/

 

I basically wish to port some weapon mods (they are basic weapon mods, small content, they have no quests or landscapes applied to them, though I do think they have levelled list files) from skyrim to skyrim special edition, for my own use, not to be publicly provided.

 

so of course I need to know how to do this, so I'm asking if anyone could advise or provide resource links, However please bare in mind I have never everâ made or even ported a mod before, this is my very first attempt, also I only just recently got a pc that can connect to the internet, so anything that is classed as basic pc knowledge that applies to this scenario would also need to be provided, as well as being tailored to someone who really is at the bottom of the ladder, which Is why I feel it necessary to be in correspondence with real people as opposed to just looking up guides etc. online that could be tailored to someone with a higher base knowledge.

 

as far as tools I have which I'm pretty sure I will need ; creation kit, it was for an fo4 purpose so I don't know if there is a separate version for SSE, the SSE edit tool, but ive only used this to clean ITMs and UDIs.

 

If you read this and are willing to help and advise, these following two things are what I want to clarify and get advice, resources on:

 

1. since this is other peoples work from skyrim provided freely as a mod to the public, I am aware that porting/converting another persons mod for public â distribution requires consent, I am not to sure about if its purely for myself, Id assume that I wouldn't need consent because I'm still using the mod as intended by the MA, but assuming is a bad thing to do, this is also why I'm willing to learn and do it myself as it would be purely for me at first, as opposed to requesting someone else do it.

 

so this needs to be clarified first for my sake, obviously IF the above assumption is correct, I am well aware that to provide as a mod for public I would need to acquire consent, and link them on the page.

 

2. the relevant advise and guidance, resource links tailored to someone who really needs to be taught from the ground up.

 

 

I'm also happy to say which weapon mods I'm planning to port, and why if someone is interested, but that would go off track from this post if I included it here.

 

sorry for the wall of text and thank you to anyone who can and is willing to advise.

 

Keradiin36

[sakora]

Tools I Use:

 

NifOptimizer

BAE

CK Skyrim SE

SSEdit

LOOT

 

1) Some mods do request that you contact the MA prior to making changes to their mod, keep that in mind!

 

2) There are scattered sources all round, the majority of what I have learned was from trial and error, learning how to use and utilize each program (Nifskope, CK) - Start small and work your way up.

 

Oldrim mods can be challenging to port. I always check the mods recent "POSTS" to see if anyone has converted it, some will say if they have ran into trouble (example: Sadistic magician - the OLDRIM texture files are greyscale in gimp, or only 8bit in photoshop - converting to RGB / 16bit fixes the issue)

• If your files contains a .bsa file you will need to use the BAE extractor for the files.
• Once your files are extracted, use the NifOptimizer on the file to convert the .nif files. I check each .nif file I am converting because they sometimes go haywire and require fixing.
  (Hard to advise on fixes unless able to see what the issue is)
• After checking the .nifs - Archive (make a .zip) of the files (Texture/Mesh/Scrtip etc including the .esp file)
• Manually install via NMM (click the big green + and Add from File) -> Install

 

General Rule of thumb, any converted .esp from Oldrim should be opened in CK SE and saved to update the form number.

• If the converted mod contains NPC's there are extra steps that need to be taken - for further details on that feel free to send me a PM

 

Retexture mods - or mods that only edit files in the TEXTURE folder do not require conversion!!! - There are a number of "weapon" mods that really are just retextures of skyrim meshes.

 

I hope this helps you out a little bit, it can be very very very very very hard to get help. If you have questions feel free to PM me and I'll do my best :)

[Algabar]

In addition to Sakora:

After installing for the first time in SE: Open the mod's esp file in the Special Edition Creation Kit and just resave it. This will "convert" the esp to SE's format. If you want to be safe, also check the mod for errors with SSE-Edit:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/164/

 

As for the permissions: You can do whatever you want with a mod, as long as it's for your personal use only. The instant you want to upload or otherwise share the conversion, you need explicit permission by the original author.

[Keradiin36]

thanks for the replies, and if I did intend at some point to in anyway share or upload my conversions, id always touch base for permission anyway

 

this conversion should be easy, in comparison to many other mods out there, not that itll be easy in its own regard, from looking at the files theres literally only textures and meshes, nifs which'll need to be updated, and DDS files (that's an archived file format similar to B2As right? so id need to open them up using BAE or Archive2?)

 

and just to put it out there, its basically a conversion of the "monster hunter weapon pack" by Syncing as I noticed theres a lack of what id like to call "dragon killing" weapons, basically very large swords that to me personally, immersion wise, look like they can actually both attack with the required weight to damage an (to me anyway) extremely tough carapace, and have the strong durability to withstand the "aftershock"

 

its purely for my own immersion, and just to add, this isn't meant to bash the weapon mods already available, I have a lot downloaded and love them, its just for my views on how a dragons carapace is, they don't really fit the bill.

 

but anyway thanks for the replies and advice :)

[sakora]

In addition to Sakora:

After installing for the first time in SE: Open the mod's esp file in the Special Edition Creation Kit and just resave it. This will "convert" the esp to SE's format. If you want to be safe, also check the mod for errors with SSE-Edit:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/164/

 

As for the permissions: You can do whatever you want with a mod, as long as it's for your personal use only. The instant you want to upload or otherwise share the conversion, you need explicit permission by the original author.

 

yes I covered the updating form number in my general rule of thumb, I am also not sure if you can just update it in SSEdit (I haven't tried that) And I haven't always updated an .esp to the current form number (haven't really ran into issues with those mods) But I imagine it would be a good idea to.

 

If you're releasing a conversion (permissions permitting) you will certainly want to make sure you've updated form numbers!

[sakora]

thanks for the replies, and if I did intend at some point to in anyway share or upload my conversions, id always touch base for permission anyway

 

this conversion should be easy, in comparison to many other mods out there, not that itll be easy in its own regard, from looking at the files theres literally only textures and meshes, nifs which'll need to be updated, and DDS files (that's an archived file format similar to B2As right? so id need to open them up using BAE or Archive2?)

 

and just to put it out there, its basically a conversion of the "monster hunter weapon pack" by Syncing as I noticed theres a lack of what id like to call "dragon killing" weapons, basically very large swords that to me personally, immersion wise, look like they can actually both attack with the required weight to damage an (to me anyway) extremely tough carapace, and have the strong durability to withstand the "aftershock"

 

its purely for my own immersion, and just to add, this isn't meant to bash the weapon mods already available, I have a lot downloaded and love them, its just for my views on how a dragons carapace is, they don't really fit the bill.

 

but anyway thanks for the replies and advice :smile:

 

Once you get used to using Nifskope you might be able to manipulate meshes to make them longer etc ;) the rest is set mostly through CK. Always make a copy of the mesh you want to tweak!