LE Blacksmith Unique Weapons

[DrStupid87]

Hi all.

 

So I'm a complete sucker for any game that offers customisation in some form. Being able to create something that suits your tastes exactly is a feature that a lot of games lack. Not just in the sense of creating something that has its own magic (Firesword, Icesword etc) but something that actually physically resembles something you like. Remember all of the massive penis creatures from Spore? I myself made a Vortiguant creature that had an Apache Helicopter style spaceship. Just because.

 

Skyrim, I think, is ripe for something like this.

Here's my idea:

 

At a blacksmith workbench (Custom object for this mod idea), the player can create a blueprint of a weapon that always replaces the vanilla version (So a custom iron sword would replace the vanilla ironsword when crafting at a forge/anvil). When making a blueprint, the order of making a blueprint would follow:

 

Sword Pommel -> Sword Handle -> Sword Hilt -> Sword Lower Blade -> Sword Middle Blade -> Sword Upper Blade -> Sword Material

 

In each of those categories, the player would be able to choose a part from all of the vanilla weapons (the handle for a steel sword with the pommel of a daedric sword). Once all parts are selected, it also swaps the texture to suit the material the player chose. So an iron style blade but with a daedric texture (along with the stats for an actual ebony sword).

 

I can imagine something like this taking a massive amount of effort, but I was working on a related prototype in Flash some time ago. Have a look.

 

If you clicked that link, you may have seen that each weapon part was designed to snap into a particular place. I see no reason that something similar could be achieved in Skyrim.

 

So! Any thoughts?

[ghosu]

Tbh. i don't think it's worth the effort...enourmous amount of work, thousands of different versions, would take forever.

[DrStupid87]

Tbh. i don't think it's worth the effort...enourmous amount of work, thousands of different versions, would take forever.

 

I thought as much. Still, that level of customisation must hold some appeal.

[Dudeman325]

Maybe if there was a way to do it dynamically, but I don't think there's a way to build an object from multiple parts like that in-game. The only way I would know how to do it would be to assemble every possible configuration manually with the CK + nifskope(?), which, like ghosu said, is simply a ridiculous amount of man hours for the average hobbyist modder.

[DrStupid87]

Maybe if there was a way to do it dynamically, but I don't think there's a way to build an object from multiple parts like that in-game. The only way I would know how to do it would be to assemble every possible configuration manually with the CK + nifskope(?), which, like ghosu said, is simply a ridiculous amount of man hours for the average hobbyist modder.

 

Fair point. I'm relatively new to modding Skyrim and not too familiar with the constraints of the CK/game engine. From what I did in that linked project, the separate parts are thrown in from respective arrays and when the user is done, writes the new weapon to a class template that then gets stored in another array so it can be called back later.

 

For all it's uses, CK is certainly unintuitive.

[Dudeman325]

For all it's uses, CK is certainly unintuitive.

 

As much as I agree with that, you have to keep in mind that the CK was built so that a large game world can be constructed by people without lots of technical skills in a relatively short amount of time (just a few years). Its definitely going to have limitations, but its drop down menus and drag-and-drop utilities make a lot of things a whole lot easier.

[Strokend]

Well, take a look at the different races you can play as.

 

Everything, no matter WHAT it is, uses the "Anonymous" model. A human without ears or hair, in other words. Different races slap different things on, sure, but you can't change what's already there.

 

This Mr. Potato works because the file for the entity is coded to load all these things together, as part of the core engine. A sword is coded in the core engine to exist as two objects: The sword, and a bone hidden inside the grip. At most, you could have your person hold one of the pieces of the weapon (or give the illusion of him doing so; he's actually holding the bone).

 

It may be worth looking into how the bow works, though. After all, you've got not only the bow mesh, but an arrow generated out of the quiver. If that additional mesh can be generated, perhaps extra meshes could be pulled onto the handle. Yes, the handle, because, again, that's where the grip is.

 

If this does get done, keep in mind, the handle will continue to be the most important part of the sword, being the part that actually has a bone in it.