Tutorials WITHOUT "youtoob"

[IsharaMeradin]

That 'ritual' is also noted in the Creation Kit's own initial tutorial

Once loading is complete, the very first thing to do is create a "plugin", which is the mod file where your work will be saved. To do this, simply navigate to "File>Save" from the main toolbar. Since you have no active plugin (.esp) file specified, the Creation Kit will prompt you to create a new one. For this series of tutorials, save a file called testquest.esp.

 

However I personally don't follow that as whenever you press save for the first time without having opened another esp as active the CK will prompt you for a name. So I go ahead and do my work and then save. The really important thing is to make sure that you don't have the wrong mod mistakenly set as active, else you'll screw that mod up.

 

At any rate it won't hurt anything to make an initial save if the mod you intend to make is going to need an esp file. Some mods like texture and script mods don't necessarily need an esp. In the cases of textures and scripts CK is primarily used to track down which files need to be extracted from the various Skyrim BSA files. Saving an esp for those cases is pointless as it won't be needed.

 

the only way to screw up the game files is if the mod utilizes loose files and they don't all get removed when the mod is uninstalled. Those leftover loose files would get priority over the game files. This is why installing with a mod manager such as NMM is very important as it can backup and restore what was there prior to installing a particular mod. Manual installing and uninstalling is just asking for trouble.

[dragonslayer2k12]

The video tutorials I have seen are based on searching for something and then finding a video from the search results thinking it has something to do with my search but when I get to the video it has nothing to do with my search at all. Also for some reason many video makers have horrible accents I can barely understand them and really can't stand listening to their voices! The creation kit wiki is kind of vague and confusing it needs to be remade with modders in mind because that is what the creation kit is for, modders so they need to fix it to be more clear and concise. They tend to jump ahead a lot and go straight to making rooms and dungeons and houses without explaining how to do some basic stuff and why the ck does certain things like mess up custom outfits with npc and why do armors get cloned when you just add a duplicate or altered version of something say shoes or gloves or cuirass, save and then come back and under armor you expand it and there is two versions of the item you altered one with the correct naming like for example FineClothes01 and a clone like fineclothes01. Why would it need to clone that whole item when you only duplicated the gloves and named them something different or changed the model files to be different models? Both items have the exact same info in them too so what is the point of that? But you won't find that discussed at the ck wiki and from what I can tell anywhere else either.

 

It would be a great help around here to see step by step how to make a new or altered weapon, armor, clothing, jewelry, npc, item, and explain why this why that etc.for each involved part of the ck.

 

Also quest altering tutorials with detailed explanations but I think most people don't know enough to do this simply because the ck is so complicated and the game is so buggy. Maybe the basics could be done but the complicated stuff like quest and routines with solutions for bugs and what causes them would be very difficult. Probably beth don't want to spend time explaining that stuff. We get too much info we could make our own games and ignore TESonline next year lol.

[Allannaa]

The really important thing is to make sure that you don't have the wrong mod mistakenly set as active, else you'll screw that mod up.

 

Oh, my gosh, ain't it the truth!

 

 

 

Here's a website link to the Start-up tutorial I posted here.

 

Here's a link to another tutorial, related to texture-templates (the first clump of stuff listed in the OP)

 

 

As I promised earlier, I'll collect the links into the OP via editting as time goes by.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Allannaa

[dragonslayer2k12]

For the last month I have been making my first mod, it is mostly texture modding and changing the looks of certain things but at first I had a difficult time with it because working with textures is hard to do but if I had that texture template tool then it might have been easier! As long as the template is exactly the same as the default templates from the game for any file loaded into nifskope then this method would be a great help to anyone doing texture mods. Some armor textures like ebony (no my mod is not for ebony) are extremely dark and hard to work with for first time modders but this method would fix that kind of problem thanks for posting it.

[IsharaMeradin]

A note on that texture template thing. I stumbled across doing that myself last night on a little project for myself. (editing one armor piece to make clipping parts invisible with another armor piece). When I extracted the template if I chose clamp it wouldn't be lined up properly. If I chose wrap everything was in the proper place, easy to tell when you make a test mark and check in game to see where it shows up at. So in some cases its best not to be hard set specific about certain settings but make notes that experimenting with certain values may allow it to work when otherwise it wasn't.

[Allannaa]

A note on that texture template thing. I stumbled across doing that myself last night on a little project for myself. (editing one armor piece to make clipping parts invisible with another armor piece). When I extracted the template if I chose clamp it wouldn't be lined up properly. If I chose wrap everything was in the proper place, easy to tell when you make a test mark and check in game to see where it shows up at. So in some cases its best not to be hard set specific about certain settings but make notes that experimenting with certain values may allow it to work when otherwise it wasn't.

 

Actually, Ishara, that's a very good point and I should have realised that myself. I'll edit the tutorial accordingly, and thank you for pointing that out!

[Georgiegril]

I have no idea why a few people are treating you with such impoliteness! I think it is nice to have a list of non-video tutorials. Although I use videos at times, I find written instructions much easier to reference while I am in the process of working, and a list of available resources would be a nice thing to have. Right now I rely on the CK wiki, which is good but there are many areas it doesn't cover. I also imagine there are those who read English better than they can understand it spoken, and that such a resource could be useful in that situation. Obviously those who prefer videos simply need not trouble themselves with it.

 

As for your starter tut, your directions are hardly excessive, certainly not some needless magical ritual. This procedure is suggested all over the place, including in the CK wiki and by BestInSlot in his videos. It is good advice, and worth repeating. Those who chose not to follow it are of course free to do so (or do not so, as yoda might say). :rolleyes:

 

Thanks for taking the initiative to create a useful resource. I hope you will not let yourself become discouraged.

[Allannaa]

Here's one I found, by Goujosamma, on Texturing

 

I'll add that on the OP tomorrow.

 

As far as my instructions on, "Save your plugin before you do anything else", that's advice that was given to me wayyyy back when, for Ob modding. I got into the habit of it, and I still believe it's a good habit for most people, which is why I say to do that. Now, there *are* some people out there who don't make the same kind of silly goofs I do, and wouldn't even consider saving the plugin until it's totally done.

 

It's all a matter of preference, in the long run. Besides, once you've learned to do something, you figure out your own workflow and habits anyway. I just believe in covering all the bases, just in case!

Edited August 12, 2012 by Allannaa

[gsmanners]

Uh huh. My problem with your tutorial wasn't the advice you're giving. It's the way you go about it. You instruct people in vague terms, selecting all the esm files and plugins. That isn't good advice. You need to keep your instructions concise and to the point, and please make note of the purpose of each step. That will help a lot.

[IsharaMeradin]

Here is something that I had looked all over to find and figure out how to do. So I'll put all the steps in one place (this post) then you can adapt it into your growing tutorial thing.


How to make an esp plugin that is dependent upon another esp plugin.
Since the Creation Kit requires a plugin to be an esm (or master) in order to have other plugins use or replace its data, there are some necessary steps to take to fool the Creation Kit into believing that an esp is an esm file.

Step 1:
Download and install Wrye Bash -- as of this writing (Aug. 12 2012) it is necessary to install both standalone & phython versions as well as the game location version should you wish compatibility with the newest release of BOSS. Note the Wrye Bash installer will handle all the installation options, you merely have to select them in the dialog window.
Skyrim version

Step 2:
Wyre Bash should have been properly set up during install to recognize the skyrim game directories. Select the mods tab and all your installed plugins should be listed including those which are not active. Those with a check mark are active those without are not.

Step 3:
Find the plugin you want to be a temporary master. Right click on it and choose the option called Esmify Self. A warning box will pop up explaining that this feature is for advanced modders, please read it. I'd advise not to check the box that says to not show that warning again, but really it is up to you.

Step 4:
Now that the plugin is an esm you can go open the Creation Kit, but before you do LEAVE WYRE BASH OPEN! If you close Wyre Bash while an esp plugin is changed to a master it will get moved out of load order and placed at the top when you reopen Wyre Bash. Best just to leave it open so you don't need to worry about reordering the plugins later.

Step 5:
Before you can open the Creation Kit you have to also tell it to allow more than one master file. If you try to open skyrim.esm & the new masterfied esp plugin, the Creation Kit will get upset at you and tell you that you can't do that. So locate in your skyrim directory the file SkyrimEditor.ini. Open this file with a text editor, notepad will do just nicely. Scroll down till you find the entry:
bAllowMultipleMasterLoads <--- this line needs to be added to the [General] section.
by default this value is set to 0, change it to 1.
While here you may want to go ahead and change
bAllowMultipleEditors <--- this line is present by default
from 0 to 1. This is useful if you are working on one mod and want to see how another mod did something without closing your current work.

Step 6:
Save the SkyrimEditor.ini file and load up the Creation Kit. Now you can select the modified esp and it will be treated as a master, allowing you to make small changes to some records and keep the rest of the data intact for the other mod.

Step 7:
Do whatever mod work you were going to do, then save your finished product and exit Creation Kit.

Step 8:
Before testing things out in game, return to Wrye Bash and right click on the plugin you had esmified and select the option to Espify Self. This returns the file to esp plugin status. Now you can exit Wrye Bash.

Step 9:
Using whatever mod manager you prefer, ensure that your new esp is set to load AFTER the required esp. Start Skyrim and test out your mod.

Step 10:
if you have to do further work repeat the process tho steps 1, 5 & 6 only need be done once. (unless for some reason you need to reinstall the programs then you'll have to do those again)


Why would anyone want to do this you ask
it is because of as I like to call it "the nature of the plugins" meaning that when two or more plugins modify the same editor ids the last one installed gets its data and the other is left out in the cold. By making one the master or parent, the other can incorporate its' data into the first, thus allowing both the ability to function as planned. Here is an example: One plugin renames arrows to sort them. Another plugin modifies the damage, value and other aspects of the stock arrows. Whichever one of the two was placed last, gets its data. By making one a master and using its data as the base then the two plugins will work together so long as the one that was built upon is loaded first.




******************
yeah I'm not good at making tutorials, but like I said I thought it would be helpful to have all that info in one place. Feel free to expand upon and make it read better.

 

Recommended INI edits - copy/paste as necessary

 

 

[General]
bAllowMultipleEditors=1
bAllowMultipleMasterLoads=1


[Archive]
SResourceArchiveList2=Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Update.bsa, Dawnguard.bsa, Hearthfires.bsa, Dragonborn.bsa 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2013 by IsharaMeradin