Help with custom clutter for first time modder

[reality001]

Hello, thanks for clicking on my question.

 

I've been blown away by the quality of the mods on Nexus, so thought I'd have a go myself. I've completed my overly elaborate palace and I'm now ready to put down the clutter and interiors.

 

After looking around the extensive resource materiel on the matter, I'm still a little uncertain on a few items...

 

1, I'd like to use some of the superb custom textures in the Mods Resource section. What steps do I need to follow to pick a suitable mesh and duplicate it?

2, I'd like to use static meshes as much as possible to stop things flying around the place, what do I need to consider in terms of size and shape when picking a static mesh that I could duplicate?

3, How can I ensure that the various custom files I intend to use in my plug-in would be available to others if I decide to upload it? Is this where TESV snip comes in to play?

 

4, Bonus question... How do I create a custom Smelter in order to get rid of the smoke and the pile of charcoal on the floor? The smoke comes through the floor of the armoury above and the charcoal would be better off as a smaller pile to meet the action animation and statics of charcoal sacks on a wheelbarrow.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice, helpful links or sympathy.

James

[dfac364]

im not sure what your talking about with 1 or 2 so ive got nothing there but as for 3 when you upload a mod you typically compress everything into a zip file into the zip file you will want to place the .esm file wich is the saved file from the creation kit and can be found under Skyrim/data in addition if you are using custom objects for your mod which i think you are im not sure, you will need to include a folder titled "textures" which at a minimum must contain the .dds and _n.dds files for the texture, and another folder titled "meshes" containing the completed .nif files, furthermore if you use scripts make sure you include those in a script file similar to the textures and meshes folders, finally a lot of modders also include a readme file in the compressed folder.

 

For number 4 you would need to find and open the .nif file for the smelter using a 3d moddeling program sucha as blender and from there you could change the coal pile although it may cause some texturing issues so it might be best to avoid that, as for the smoke i dont know its probably an animation you might be able to delete it in nifscope but im not sure, hope this helps

[reality001]

Thanks Dfac364,

 

To clarify questions 1 and 2... Nearly all of the customer items have both textures and meshes included, although some are just textures that you need to duplicate an existing mesh, get a new form ID and use that as a basis for your item. You can also use static meshes to hold the object in place like you would a chair or bench, I'm just not 100% sure on the steps I'd need to take for either.

 

Thanks very much for Q3 & 4. I'll keep a running tally on what I add to the data folder and have to have a look at nifscope for Q4 .

 

Best regards

James

[reality001]

I've figured out 1&2, so thought I'd share the wisdom..

 

To change moveable items into statics I downloaded the BSA Browser by Fawzib Rojas on http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/1395 and used it to open the file file Skyrim Meshes.bsa

 

I found the meshes for the moveable items, (silver tableware in my case) and extracted the .nif files to the Skyrim data folder to sit amongst all the other .nif files that you can download as a modders resource.

 

From there, I followed the instructions on creating a new item explained by Insanity Sorrow on TES Alliance http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/topic/5460-skyrim-workshop-using-modders-resources/

 

And I now have my nicely laid table that no amount of follower fail or accidental discharges of shouts will upset.

[acidzebra]

I've figured out 1&2, so thought I'd share the wisdom..

 

And I now have my nicely laid table that no amount of follower fail or accidental discharges of shouts will upset.

 

Nice & thanks for the tips, although I admit I kind of like using Kyne's Peace shouts to make everything fly. Especially when all the NPCs are just sitting there like nothing happened.

[icecreamassassin]

The other thing you can do about the smelter is to use the crucible model in "modders resource" on the nexus (I think it's in that resource pack) and just edit the smelter, make a new id and change the model. Only problem is that the animation if shoveling still remains and when I add the no PC animation tag the thing won't even function; just zooms like normal halts then backs out. I'm trying to get that working myself :)

[IsharaMeradin]

The other thing you can do about the smelter is to use the crucible model in "modders resource" on the nexus (I think it's in that resource pack) and just edit the smelter, make a new id and change the model. Only problem is that the animation if shoveling still remains and when I add the no PC animation tag the thing won't even function; just zooms like normal halts then backs out. I'm trying to get that working myself :smile:

Gotta love the necro...

Anyway, the animation is tied to a specific keyword. Not sure what it is off the top of my head for the smelter but the animations for the crafting stations are usually along the lines of isAlchemy, isEnchanting, etc.. So look for the keyword starting with 'is' and remove it.

[icecreamassassin]

yeah I've done all that, tried every combination of removal, I'm sure that the reference is just now screwed up because even with the same tags as the base smelter it now won't even function.... gotta love that buggy CK