Tutorials WITHOUT "youtoob"

[IsharaMeradin]

Kia ora

 

@ IsharaMeradin

 

have you seen this set of tutorials by Nightasy or did you specialy want to stay with blender?

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/NightasyTutorials/videos?sort=dd&flow=list&view=0&page=2

One, that's video and I don't like video tutorials.

Two, I'm forced to use Blender as I'm not going to buy a program to do something I might dabble at.

[KiwiHawkNZ]

Kia ora

 

@ IsharaMeradin

 

have you seen this set of tutorials by Nightasy or did you specialy want to stay with blender?

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/NightasyTutorials/videos?sort=dd&flow=list&view=0&page=2

One, that's video and I don't like video tutorials.

Two, I'm forced to use Blender as I'm not going to buy a program to do something I might dabble at.

 

 

Student copy is free,. he has the links on his first tutorial but no problem thought you might be interested, if no no matter

[IsharaMeradin]

Kia ora

 

@ IsharaMeradin

 

have you seen this set of tutorials by Nightasy or did you specialy want to stay with blender?

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/NightasyTutorials/videos?sort=dd&flow=list&view=0&page=2

One, that's video and I don't like video tutorials.

Two, I'm forced to use Blender as I'm not going to buy a program to do something I might dabble at.

 

Student copy is free,. he has the links on his first tutorial but no problem thought you might be interested, if no no matter

I know the student copy is free. But I'm far from being a student. There is no way I could legally obtain the free copy.

[Allannaa]

I want to see a tutorial on how to use Blender specifically for Skyrim.

 

Most tutorials take you thru the importing and exporting but don't actually walk you thru an example of editing. They only say that there are "plenty of generic blender tutorials" out there. The few that link to a 'highly recommended' tutorial, link to a tutorial that has been updated and no longer describes the version of Blender that is supposed to be used.

 

I just want someone to take me thru getting the mesh properly into Blender, do some basic safe edits to it, as an example take an armor from UNP and put it onto CBBE. then export it out.

 

I seem to have a 50/50 shot as is with the current tutorials as to whether or not I can even get a nif to import into Blender.

 

Blender is something I really loathe, and every professional CGI artist I know, does too. Have you tried GMax? It's a freebie of 3ds from what I can tell.

 

 

Sticky would be nice. It gets tiring looking for how too's

I've no idea how to get a mod to sticky this, and frankly, I'm not sure they would anyway. I can see them saying it's not needed since there are so many out there, etc. But I can try to ask, and I know the moderators here are usually pretty helpful people.

 

 

 

But that tutorial does prove my earlier point, once a script is made then you can have a tutorial that tells others how to use it.

 

Which tutorial? Because in all honesty I think *that* may be what a lot of folks are looking for -- Not "how to script" but "how to use existing scripts to do your stuff with". I'm still working on Sjogga's real "How To", though, because I actually want to learn this. But I can't help thinking the "how to use existing" type thing might be a good one to link in here. Is that one you wrote, or found, or just an idea?

[Allannaa]

And there we go with a pin -- Thank you, DrGrimm, you are awesome!!

[IsharaMeradin]

 

But that tutorial does prove my earlier point, once a script is made then you can have a tutorial that tells others how to use it.

 

Which tutorial? Because in all honesty I think *that* may be what a lot of folks are looking for -- Not "how to script" but "how to use existing scripts to do your stuff with". I'm still working on Sjogga's real "How To", though, because I actually want to learn this. But I can't help thinking the "how to use existing" type thing might be a good one to link in here. Is that one you wrote, or found, or just an idea?

The one linked by Sjogga in the post before the post you quoted from me, plus I quoted his post.... so you had two chances to see it

[Allannaa]

oh gawd. I think I need coffee... or... or something. Thanks, Ishara, no clue how I managed to miss it -- TWICE -- as you say!

[NKato]

I'm looking for a tutorial that actually gives me the information I need on the following:

 

1. Creating a custom race using custom meshes.

2. Creating a custom race that uses tails.

 

If anyone can PM me the links to anything pertaining to the above, I would appreciate it greatly.

[Allannaa]

I'm looking for a tutorial that actually gives me the information I need on the following:

 

1. Creating a custom race using custom meshes.

2. Creating a custom race that uses tails.

 

If anyone can PM me the links to anything pertaining to the above, I would appreciate it greatly.

 

Hey don't just PM them, post them here!

 

As for your specific request, NKato, I will put on my Miss Marple hat today and see what I can find for you. I won't post a link to anything I haven't tried out and vetted to be sure it's suitable for "Modding for Dummies".... After all, a tute we can't understand won't help any of us!

 

Note -- and before anyone tells NKato to "go read the bethesda tutorial" ... Don't. It does not tell you how to do what he asked. All it tells you how to do is turn a Redguard into a different coloured Redguard, it doesn't actually tell you how to create a TRULY new race.

Edited October 16, 2012 by Allannaa

[Allannaa]

Earlier today I got a PM from someone who was frustrated with modding in general. The person asked good questions and raised good points, both in his PM to me and in another thread that he'd linked in his message, so I thought I'd address them here.

 

One -- NO, you cannot mod using only the Creation Kit, in spite of what some tutorials imply (or some videos seem to show). You must have, as a bare minimum, the following things:

 

1. Some way of extracting BSA files, such as BSABrowser
   You need this to open up the files of Skyrim, because Bethesda Compressed Archive Files are a lot like "zipped" files. They're compressed, and have to be opened up so you can use them.
   
2. Some sort of modelling program, if you plan to make items yourself, such as Poser, Blender, GMax, or the like. It doesn't matter what format the program uses, so long as it can be converted to a NIF file at some point.
   All items in Skyrim are NIF, which stands for NetImmerse File. You can create OBJ or 3DS files, but you must, at some point, convert them to NIF format.
   
3. Some sort of art program, if you plan to texture or retexture items, such as Photoshop or Gimp, AND the DDS plug-in that goes with your program. DDS files are Direct Draw Surface files, and they provide the "look" of your item. Normal maps, which are the "bumps and depth" of your item, are n_.DDS files. These give a visible "texture" to cloth, or wood, or a rock, and so on.
   
4. Nifskope, which is a program that will allow you to make your unique items usable by the Creation Kit, and obviously, usable by Skyrim.
   
5. You may also want a program such as NexusModManager, which will make it a bit easier to load and test your mod, and to load all the mods you use.
   

 

Two -- YES, some modders, from beginner level on up to veteran level, will appear to be "secretive" about their processes. That's just the way it is. Sometimes, they don't remember the workflow for a given process. Sometimes they're worried someone may steal their work. (It does happen.) Sometimes they just feel that they've done a lot of work to make something special, and they don't want someone else to do anything similar, because then their work isn't as special. Sometimes, the things they do as they work are so automatic that they don't realise someone else may not be able to follow the process, or figure out what to do.

 

This doesn't mean you can't ask a given modder to explain what s/he did, and it doesn't mean all modders are big fat meanies. You can also always ask in a forum somehwere, or you can use this site's search feature to look for topics related to your question.

 

Modders aren't superhuman gods or something. They're just ordinary human beings, having fun doing something they enjoy. Not all modders like to write tutorials; some people find it impossible to put down on paper what they've done, and some people just don't find it any fun to write a tutorial, particularly if they have to do so in a language that isn't their native birth language.

 

Three -- A lot of people think they can just jump right into modding, because after all, they jumped right into the game, didn't they? But this isn't the case with modding, and it actually wasn't the case with the game. You had to learn where your computer's Power On switch was, didn't you? You had to learn how to download or install a game, didn't you? You had to learn what keyboard, mouse, or controller buttons did things in the game, didn't you?

 

You did. But the thing is, you've been turning on your computer, installing programs, and typing or playing games for so long, that you don't think about doing any of those things. You just do them.

 

Well, modding is the same way. You have to learn the steps. You have to learn how to use the programs involved in modding. You even have to learn a little bit about scripting, with Skyrim, and while I'll be the first to admit that scripting was a *very* hard thing for me to figure out, I do understand that knowing the basics did make things much easier, and using well-written tutorials (such as Sjogga's, which you will find in this thread) goes a long way to understanding the basics. You don't have to have a degree in computer science to understand and be able to use a very few basic things.

 

But you *must* learn the basic processes of mod-making, before you can make a mod. A given tute or vid may make it appear simple, and in fact, it is fairly simple -- IF you have learned to use the tools you need.

 

Four -- YES, some people don't mind one bit if you mod their mod, so to speak, provided you ask them, and provided you credit them if you release the mod to the community. They're pleased and proud that you liked their stuff enough to want to build on it. But by the same token, some people don't want you to release a mod built on theirs, because they feel possessive of their work.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with either viewpoint. But you DO have to respect the wishes of the person who wrote the mod you are changing. If they don't want you to release something based on their work, then don't do it. It won't be worth the hassle, the forum flames, and in some cases, the legal action.

 

Five -- Sometimes a given modder will be more than happy to do something for you, such as provide a mesh, a texture, a code snippet, or even a script. If someone does take the time to help you in this way, be sure you thank them; after all, they did do some work for you. And, there's no harm in asking the person how they did whatever it was. Maybe their answer will help you learn to do something similar.

 

Six -- If you choose to write a tutorial yourself, remember, not everyone will know what you know. Assume your reader knows *nothing* other than the basic facts that Skyrim exists and can be modded. Explain things, with screenshots if needed, in a way that someone who just downloaded the above programs can understand. There's no such thing as too much "hand holding" in a tutorial. You can always add a note to the effect of "If you already know how to do this, skip to the next step." but don't ever assume your reader knows everything, or even anything.

 

Along with this, don't get too upset when you read a tutorial that seems to state the obvious, or that teaches a different method than the one you use. Read through it anyway, and take away from it what you can use; discard the bits you can't use or don't need. If you're using a tutorial and run across something in it that doesn't work, or that you don't understand, re-read it, and try it again. If you're still not getting anywhere, ask the author, politely, to explain. If you can't reach the author, then again -- you can use this site's forums to ask questions. Chances are at some point, someone will flame you for asking "such a dumb question", but the fact is, no question is dumb. If you didn't want to know, you wouldn't ask, right?

 

To sum up, yes, modding is a lot of fun. But it's also a lot of work sometimes, and it takes preparation, patience, and a willingness to learn, which in turn means it takes time to read available tutorials, and look for tutorials you can understand and use.

 

Enjoy!