How to modify an existing house mod?

[OneIntervention]

Hi Nexus Forums,

I'm pretty new here and I've never modded before but I currently have mod fever, and my Skyrim folder is 20x the vanilla size!

 

I have a slight problem with most player houses added in by the amazing modding community here. Sometimes they don't suit some of my needs, and I feel like I want to mess around with the existing mods for myself.

 

For instance, I'm a sucker for tastefully designed armories and auto sorting chest systems. Both, on absence, are dealbreakers. So it's happened a lot where I see a house which is perfect - but doesn't have an auto sorting chest system, or a perfect house that just needs an extra few mannequins tacked in. Things like that.

 

My #1 priority is injecting an auto sorting chest system in a house - Case in point, the amazing Deus Mons http://www.skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/11803/ Has everything I need, except an auto sorting chest system. How can I make this happen? I have very basic knowledge of the Creation Kit, as I'm fairly adept with the Hammer source mapmaker. I know about cells and yadda yadda. To me it seems like naming the chests that I want named storage to take place in and papyrus up some scripts (no knowledge of papyrus), but I have no clue.

 

I speculate I can just open the cell where the modded house is and mess with it, but as far as the auto storage system goes, I've no idea.

 

Thanks to all you helpful souls!

 

 

[gsmanners]

I've been down that road before, but in retrospect I think it's a lot easier and less time-consuming to just do everything yourself from scratch.

[Georgiegril]

I agree with GS ti a point-- creating your own means you know exactly what you have, how it works, etc.
However, I started modding by taking apart other people's mods and figuring out how they worked, sort of like taking apart a computer or a bicycle....

I also find that there are some house mods I love except this or that thing.

I would recommend that if you decide to do this, rename the mod you are altering something new so you don't get it confused with the original.
Open both the mod you are modifying and it's master files (skyrim.esm, maybe update.esm, whatever) but don't select any as the active file.
When you are in the CK, save and rename..(and at that point always select your revised mod as the active file)
I suggest you make frequent backup saves to a separate backup saves to a folder outside of the Data folder.
When you are testing it, make sure you don't have both the original and the altered mod active in your plugins list, or you may have crashes or strange behavior.

Likewise, I think you can tear apart mods with the sorting thing you want, just to figure out how it works.

I want to be clear, though, any changes you make would have to be absolutely and only for your private use, not shared in anyway, or you would probably end up breaking Nexus rules and getting banned. I am NOT advocating taking a mod, making a few changes, then releasing it as an original mod. Only a personal change for personal use.

You might actually talk to the mod author about what you are looking for--you may not have to do anything, they may be happy to help.
Also, they may encourage you to make the changes and then show them the altered version. That's actually how I ended up with Cavern Isles-- the original author had a problem, I solved it for him and he ended up letting me take over the mod.

Cheers!

[OneIntervention]

I've been down that road before, but in retrospect I think it's a lot easier and less time-consuming to just do everything yourself from scratch.

After having played around helplessly in the CK and watching a few videos, I doubt I'm making any quality house mod anytime soon. Easier and less time consuming? Doubt it, but thanks for your input!

 

 

 

I agree with GS ti a point-- creating your own means you know exactly what you have, how it works, etc.

However, I started modding by taking apart other people's mods and figuring out how they worked, sort of like taking apart a computer or a bicycle....

 

I also find that there are some house mods I love except this or that thing.

 

I would recommend that if you decide to do this, rename the mod you are altering something new so you don't get it confused with the original.

Open both the mod you are modifying and it's master files (skyrim.esm, maybe update.esm, whatever) but don't select any as the active file.

When you are in the CK, save and rename..(and at that point always select your revised mod as the active file)

I suggest you make frequent backup saves to a separate backup saves to a folder outside of the Data folder.

When you are testing it, make sure you don't have both the original and the altered mod active in your plugins list, or you may have crashes or strange behavior.

 

Likewise, I think you can tear apart mods with the sorting thing you want, just to figure out how it works.

 

I want to be clear, though, any changes you make would have to be absolutely and only for your private use, not shared in anyway, or you would probably end up breaking Nexus rules and getting banned. I am NOT advocating taking a mod, making a few changes, then releasing it as an original mod. Only a personal change for personal use.

 

You might actually talk to the mod author about what you are looking for--you may not have to do anything, they may be happy to help.

Also, they may encourage you to make the changes and then show them the altered version. That's actually how I ended up with Cavern Isles-- the original author had a problem, I solved it for him and he ended up letting me take over the mod.

 

Cheers!

 

I might also take apart a few cells and see what's the dealio in them to figure it out for myself.

Thanks for the tips in making sure my fiddling goes smoothly!

No idea what "opening" or a .esm is but watching a few tutorials should help with that.

 

Yep I'm not going to be re-releasing any mod, personal change for personal use.

The idea of contacting the author him/herself is actually great. Once I pinpoint one house and exactly what I need in it, I'll consider doing that.

 

Thanks to the both of you! Really put a light at the end of the tunnel here. Anyone else?

[gsmanners]

Don't say I didn't warn you. I'm totally serious.

[OneIntervention]

Don't say I didn't warn you. I'm totally serious.

About custom building my own home from scratch? Yeah, if I had some modding experience it would be a lot faster and easier, but I've never used the CK.

Then again, what Georgie said about taking apart various houses to see how they work could give me the experience I need to make a decent house for myself, from scratch.

The dream of my house mod being reviewed by BroDual is incredibly luring... I might get into house modding if I enjoy this experience, who knows?