LE Tips you would give to a new modder

[littleork]

Hey fellow modders

 

 

I started modding back in april and I have yet to really finish a big mods because of mistakes,VA,learning etc.

 

 

There will always be some new people that will give a shot at modding and my questions is: What would be your tips to them so they start good?

 

From my own experiences,mine would be:

 

1-Don't be afraid to use the creation kit quests to figure out things by yourself when nobody can answer your questions.

 

2-Take your time, don't rush through a release, test your mod good so you don't have to stress much over bugs.

 

3-Don't try to please everybody, it is impossible ( I tried for long to do this, almost made me quit modding)

 

 

 

What would be yours?

[demidekidasu]

My biggest piece of advice, aside from your own examples above, applies more when scripting. If you can't get it working properly and start to lose hope/get annoyed, save your work and switch it off. You will be surprised that there is a good chance you will think of something whilst away from the machine :)

 

Also, make backups. Regularly. The CK loves eating your mod's esp files. I make a new folder for every session and back up each time I test something in-game (never overwrite older backups). I've experienced the heartbreak far too many times...

 

Try to keep all your files organised as well (says the man whose entire desktop is covered in half-baked, WIP mods lol)

[Grimoa]

Because of my love-hate relationship with the request section I'd love to tell people that

 

noone was born a modder. Give it a try, you can do it, it's not that hard!

You can't break Skyrim.esm with the CK. All changes will go to an esp, if you screwed up big time just delete that. (*)

You cannot break your game by putting edited files into the data folder. Delete those to go back to normal.

There are tons of tutorials. Google is your friend. Give it a try. When you get stuck, come to Nexus and ask for help.

 

(*)thinking about it: Can I set Skyrim.esm to be the active file? o.0

 

Tipps for people who already started are about the same you already said.

Save often.

Breaks can be very inspiring. (Surprising how many good ideas I had in the bathroom *g*)

Don't be afraid to mess with vanilla stuff to see how it works.

Look for mods that do similar things and dissect them.

Read tutorials. Read them twice. Thrice. (I for one can't follow a tutorial from beginning to end at the first try.)

 

Good luck!

[demidekidasu]

(*)thinking about it: Can I set Skyrim.esm to be the active file? o.0

 

No, I have actually tried this before haha.

[JanusForbeare]

noone was born a modder. Give it a try, you can do it, it's not that hard!

 

This. This. A thousand times, this.

 

It drives me up the frakking wall when I see someone make a request, and end it with, "I'd do it myself, but I'm bad at modding/scared of the CK/don't have the skills/don't have the time/a member of a religion that believes modding is a sin." I mean, come on! LEARN! I have no sympathy for lazy people who choose to be ignorant. We all started at the bottom and worked our way up; they can, too.

 

*takes a deep breath*

 

But I digress. I'd tell new modders:

 

A) Mazeltov! Today, you are a man. Good on you for producing new content.

 

B) Preparation is key. I have 100+ pages of (dialogue) scripts, to-do lists, update strategies, upcoming changelogs, quest synopses, etc. and they have been a huge help in staying focused and making efficient use of my resources.

 

C) Set the CK to autosave as often as possible, and make a point of doing a manual save whenever you complete a significant step, regardless of whether or not your modding session is over. You never know when a crash may occur.

 

D) Play to your strengths. If you're a good writer, make a mod that makes extensive use of dialogue and books. If you're a 3DSMax (or Blender, or Maya, or whatever) whiz, focus on creating new objects. If you're a programmer in real-life, start mucking around with Papyrus (it's not hard - I have no programming background, and picked it up in a couple of weeks). That's not to say that you can't stretch your wings, but none of us are masters of every aspect of modding. Start with what you find easiest, and you'll gradually pick up the other skills as your mod expands.

 

E) If you're going to ask for people to join your project - and there's nothing wrong with that - you'd be well advised to either have released other mods in the past, or to have a certain amount of work done already. People aren't going to dedicate their time and effort to what may well turn out to be pipe-dreams. And even if you do find experienced, talented partners, expect that you'll still have to do 90% of the work yourself.

 

F) Unless you're very patient and/or experienced in the field, avoid animations (modifying them, that is) like the plague. Beth didn't make this aspect of modding easy on us this time around, and even veteran modders have a hell of time dealing with them (I don't claim to be one, but I've read enough posts from people like Fore to know this for a fact).

Edited November 16, 2012 by JanusForbeare

[Grimoa]

Oh yeah one more:

Don't start with a total conversion right away. Start with a small project (that may eventually be part of something greater). It's easier to learn in small steps and it will reward you with success along the way so you stay motivated! :thumbsup:

[Natterforme]

Hmmm. Lets see. Most of my interests involve weapons and armor so Blender and Nifskope are in continual use.

 

-You can generalize or specialize but whatever you do, start small. It can be a simple as a retexture of a spoon( my first personal mod) or removing a pauldron from a piece of armor. Make test mods just to learn new skills which will be useful in later projects.

-Dont be afraid to ask questions on the forums. The majority of modders are amiable enough and there are usually more than enough individuals willing to answer basic questions. The ones that are not are not worth talking to to begin with.

-Dont expect your first mod to be a hit.

-Modding takes time and there is a learning curve. My first couple of mods took a month or more. I had to learn how to use the CK and I had to learn the other programs. As you progress you will get faster. I now have several dozen WIPs and any one of them could be ready within a week if I focused on only one.

-When working on a mod, be sure to take time off of it and come back to it later once in a while. It helps you to digest what you are working on and come back to it with a fresh view.

-Have confidence in your own ability to learn! It seperates those who get stuff done and those who dont.

-Like the others have stated: Stay away from total conversions. They dont happen over night and they should never be your first mod.

-Make mods for yourself! If you like it you can share it with the rest of us. If you dont even like your mods then they can not hope to do well.

 

Hope this helps!^^

 

-Natterforme

[demidekidasu]

-Make mods for yourself!

 

This is a good one. I have a special esp I made called "Custom Changes" which includes random things such as increased vendor gold, essential dogs and various other stuff. Doing this sort of thing is good in terms of CK experience! More than that, you learn what kind of mods/changes are worth the effort. And, of course, if you discover how to do something awesome, share it! :D

[Grimoa]

Wow. There's some real quality in this thread. We should compile it into a list and move it to the Mod Talk or maybe Mod Troubleshooting. (It won't be read in the Requests anyway...) People who can read this here already have a Skyrim mod with >1000 downloads. Or is that unique downloads? Can't remember. Maybe the tipps should reach new modders earlier.

We can wait a bit longer of course for more people to share awesome tipps! :)

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Tipps for aspiring mod authors

by littleork, demidekidasu, Grimoa, JanusForbeare and Natterforme

 

 

>> General modding

Don't try to please everybody, it is impossible! (I tried for long to do this, almost made me quit modding.)

 

Take your time, don't rush through a release, test your mod good so you don't have to stress much over bugs.

 

Save often. Keep backups on an external drive.

 

 

> Start small

Dont expect your first mod to be a hit.

 

You can generalize or specialize but whatever you do, start small. It can be a simple as a retexture of a spoon( my first personal mod) or removing a pauldron from a piece of armor. Make test mods just to learn new skills which will be useful in later projects.

 

Don't start with a total conversion right away. Start with a small project (that may eventually be part of something greater). It's easier to learn in small steps and it will reward you with success along the way so you stay motivated!

 

Like the others have stated: Stay away from total conversions. They dont happen over night and they should never be your first mod.

 

 

> Take breaks

When working on a mod, be sure to take time off of it and come back to it later once in a while. It helps you to digest what you are working on and come back to it with a fresh view.

 

Breaks can be very inspiring. (Surprising how many good ideas I had in the bathroom *g*)

 

 

> Prepare, think of what you want to do

Try to keep all your files organised as well (says the man whose entire desktop is covered in half-baked, WIP mods lol)

 

Preparation is key. I have 100+ pages of (dialogue) scripts, to-do lists, update strategies, upcoming changelogs, quest synopses, etc. and they have been a huge help in staying focused and making efficient use of my resources.

 

Play to your strengths. If you're a good writer, make a mod that makes extensive use of dialogue and books. If you're a 3DSMax (or Blender, or Maya, or whatever) whiz, focus on creating new objects. If you're a programmer in real-life, start mucking around with Papyrus (it's not hard - I have no programming background, and picked it up in a couple of weeks). That's not to say that you can't stretch your wings, but none of us are masters of every aspect of modding. Start with what you find easiest, and you'll gradually pick up the other skills as your mod expands.

 

 

> how to learn

Have confidence in your own ability to learn! It seperates those who get stuff done and those who dont.

 

Modding takes time and there is a learning curve. My first couple of mods took a month or more. I had to learn how to use the CK and I had to learn the other programs. As you progress you will get faster. I now have several dozen WIPs and any one of them could be ready within a week if I focused on only one.

 

Don't be afraid to mess with vanilla stuff to see how it works.

 

Look for mods that do similar things and dissect them.

 

Read tutorials. Read them twice. Thrice. (I for one can't follow a tutorial from beginning to end at the first try.)

 

In the Mod Talk are pinned topics with tutorials.

 

 

> ask for help

Dont be afraid to ask questions on the forums. The majority of modders are amiable enough and there are usually more than enough individuals willing to answer basic questions. The ones that are not are not worth talking to to begin with.

 

If you're going to ask for people to join your project - and there's nothing wrong with that - you'd be well advised to either have released other mods in the past, or to have a certain amount of work done already. People aren't going to dedicate their time and effort to what may well turn out to be pipe-dreams. And even if you do find experienced, talented partners, expect that you'll still have to do 90% of the work yourself.

 

 

> Motivation is key!

Make mods for yourself! If you like it you can share it with the rest of us. If you dont even like your mods then they can not hope to do well.

 

 

>> CK

Set the CK to autosave as often as possible, and make a point of doing a manual save whenever you complete a significant step, regardless of whether or not your modding session is over. You never know when a crash may occur.

 

Also, make backups. Regularly. The CK loves eating your mod's esp files. I make a new folder for every session and back up each time I test something in-game (never overwrite older backups). I've experienced the heartbreak far too many times...

 

Don't be afraid to use the creation kit quests to figure out things by yourself when nobody can answer your questions.

 

 

>> Scripting

If you can't get it working properly and start to lose hope/get annoyed, save your work and switch it off. You will be surprised that there is a good chance you will think of something whilst away from the machine

 

 

>> Animations

Unless you're very patient and/or experienced in the field, avoid animations (modifying them, that is) like the plague. Beth didn't make this aspect of modding easy on us this time around, and even veteran modders have a hell of time dealing with them (I don't claim to be one, but I've read enough posts from people like Fore to know this for a fact).

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2012 by Grimoa

[JanusForbeare]

Looking good so far! I like the way you've categorized it. I have one more to add:

 

-The CK wiki is your friend. Among its useful features are lists of the events, functions and conditions available to you in the CK. You can also get them sorted by script type.