Creation Kit questions

[boononnexus]

ok so ive DL the CK, been watching and reading tutorials and am ready to start tooling around, but i dont wanna run the risk of ruining my game.

 

so.

• any good ways to be safe?
• i was thinking of making a copy of my data folder is that a good idea?
• if copy the data will i be able to import the items i make from the backup to the main esm i play off of?

[Mayfly53]

Using the creation kit is quite safe, and most importantly, reversible. All of skyrim's information is saved in Skyrim.esm (and the esm files for the dlc's if you have them). The important property about esm files is you cannot edit them directly. Instead, when you edit them, your changes are saved as plugins called esp's. The esm remains the same, unchanged. When you start Skyrim, the Skyrim.esm is loaded as a base, and then any esp files you have are loaded after, loading the changes and edits they contain. If you do something in the creation kit that ruins your game, remember that it is saved in its own esp file, and thus you can simply delete it to restore your game to its original condition.

 

There is no need to make a copy of your data folder. In fact, I'd recommend you don't, because you're probably using some mods already, and if you ever want to restore from the backup, there will be discrepancies between the mods you are using and the mods you were using when you made the backup. Data folder backups are only really necessary if you're using something like SMCO to optimize your meshes and textures, and you're afraid it might mess something up, or if you're planning on doing a lot of custom meshes and textures.

[boononnexus]

Using the creation kit is quite safe, and most importantly, reversible. All of skyrim's information is saved in Skyrim.esm (and the esm files for the dlc's if you have them). The important property about esm files is you cannot edit them directly. Instead, when you edit them, your changes are saved as plugins called esp's. The esm remains the same, unchanged. When you start Skyrim, the Skyrim.esm is loaded as a base, and then any esp files you have are loaded after, loading the changes and edits they contain. If you do something in the creation kit that ruins your game, remember that it is saved in its own esp file, and thus you can simply delete it to restore your game to its original condition.

 

There is no need to make a copy of your data folder. In fact, I'd recommend you don't, because you're probably using some mods already, and if you ever want to restore from the backup, there will be discrepancies between the mods you are using and the mods you were using when you made the backup. Data folder backups are only really necessary if you're using something like SMCO to optimize your meshes and textures, and you're afraid it might mess something up, or if you're planning on doing a lot of custom meshes and textures.

Sweet! thank you much im gonna get cracking.

[Mayfly53]

Happy modding :)