Modding Idea

[Rinobi]

Okay, I have an idea for a Mod(or modder's resource). I was going to do this myself, but I honestly don't have the time to tackle it right now.

::See the small wall of text below for details::

 

There are a lot of good armor, clothing, and weapon mods for skyrim, so I intended to create a mod that gave a number of these new sets to NPCs all over Skyrim as default outfits. They could be added to existing and/or custom NPCs.

This isn't just something I just thought would be good, it is something that I intended(or intend) to do myself. After doing this for a few armor sets I had an idea for a better mod. What if I upload an ESP that contained various custom weapons, armors, and clothing from different mod authors ready to be added to Skyrim. All the downloader would have to do is open the ESP in CK for an organized list of modded items. I understand permissions being a problem here, but if I didn't actually use any part of the original author's mods, I should be able to get around it(I think...).

 

Below are the instructions I wrote out for myself for this project. It requires some basic modding knowledge and a lot of free time to follow.

 

1. Create one large resource .rar file that contains all the necessary mesh and texture files. Just download the original files from the nexus site, and extract them all into a custom data folder. Adjust folder structure only where necessary(Otherwise this won't work for other users), and delete esp files. It would be a good idea to create a text document that tells you the folder structure of each individual armor/clothing/weapon, include screenshots for convenience. Compress all of this into a rar file(This part may take awhile) so that it can be installed with NMM or other modding utilities. Update your resources by adding new files to your custom data folder(adjusting if necessary),. update the your text document (Or whatever) with new file paths/names and screenshots. It would also be a good idea to include the original armor stats, material, etc.. You really need to figure out an easy method for doing this, create templates for yourself. The more time you spend on this, the less effort it will take to update later. DO NOT GET LAZY HERE.

 

2. Start up creation kit(ugh...). Before doing anything, I suggest figuring out unique and organized ID names. Something that's easy to find among all the data in creation kit and informative enough so that you know exactly what it is. [underscore][Author's Name][Armor/Clothes/Weapon][Material][Original Author's name][Armor name][Equip Type]. Seems like a lot, but it will sort into categories nicely and be easier to find later.

In the Object Window, navigate to Items>ArmorAddon. You can duplicate existing armor or start from scratch. Starting here should help prevent any accidental changes to existing armor and clothing. With your resource file installed, you should see the folder structures for the armor/clothing mods you've added when you're selecting Biped Models. Decide which armor/clothing you want via screenshots, and find them easily using the text document of folder structures you created. Remember to use the same method when typing ID names each time. <You could stop here, if you really wanted… Using the original mod author's stats or your own, create the individual pieces of armor/clothes/weapons. Remember to ID and name appropriately! Save this ESP, the only time you'll make changes to it directly is when you need to add more items.

 

3. This is where your own personal tastes come in. Do whatever you want with the new items; add them to the game in any way that you wish. By completing the first two steps, you've allowed anyone and everyone to skip to this third step. Unless I've missed something, you will not have to release the Resource file you created for people to make use of this. Make use of all the great weapon/armor/clothing mods with just a quick download of the original mod author's file, and this ESP.

 

The instructions aren't very detailed because I already know how to do this, just something I wrote to jog my memory.

 

Now assuming you kept the original folder structures intact, all the downloader would have to do is have the armor/clothing/weapon mod installed to use this esp. It theory, it should work as long as the item they're aiming for is included in the resource and esp. Basically, people will be able to add their favorite items to their skyrim in anyway that they want, easily.

 

I would like a few opinions on this.

Is doing such a thing worthwhile?

Any reason's this wouldn't work?

Anyone else willing to attempt this?

Has it been done already?