TES CS UI for Newbeez

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TES CS UI

e First Steps

All of this information can be found in various places throughout the net, but this is a quick collection of the very basics that anyone can use to get started with the TESCS.

Before you start making changes or creating plugins, it’s a good idea to copy your Oblivion.ini file. The INI and other important files get stuck in My Documents > My Games, whether you want them to or not. Copy this file and paste it into a “Backup” folder somewhere. If you use a custom UI, copy this INI also. Do this before you ever touch the shortcut for the TESCS.

Almost everything you want to do, can be done through the TESCS. However, modelling and re-texturing do require you to have appropriate programs such as Photoshop, Paint, Blender, and NifSkope.

Open TESCS. Click File > Data and then double-click Oblivion.esm to select it. Then click OK to select it for the session.

  • If you have already started your plug-in, you will double-click that, set it as Active, and then click OK. Each time you have to edit something, copy your plug in into a “Backup” folder of some sort before you open the TESCS.

When you load with no active file, the CS will prompt you to create a new one the first time you save.

  • Always set the plugin you are making changes to as the active file.

The first time in a session that you save, you will “Save As” with a new name (add numbers to it if you like to keep it straight in your mind.)

When you load your existing ESP to make further edits, you must ACTIVATE it, not just put an X beside the file. The ACTIVE ESP is the one the TESCS will save edits into.



Object Window

This is where you select:

  • Actors (NPCs, Creatures)
  • Items (Ammo, Apparatus, Armor, Books, Clothing, Ingredients, Keys, Leveled Items, Misc. Items, SigilStones, SoulGems, and Weapons)
  • Magic (Enchantments, LeveledSpells, Potions, Spells)
  • Miscellaneous (AnimatedObjects, Combat Style, EffectShader, LandTexture, LoadScreen, Sounds, SubSpace, WaterTypes)
  • World Objects (Activators, Containers, Doors, Flora, Furniture, Grass, Lights, Static objects, Trees)
  • MapMarker, Door Marker, and NorthMarker are in World Objects > Static
  • Furniture markers are in World > Static > Furniture

Doors and their markers can be rotated.

Don’t rotate North Markers.

The “Find” Function in the Edit dropdown can be a little complicated. Instead, use Find Text.

These are the items you will highlight and mouse-drag into your render window.



Cell View Window

Interiors are for the insides of houses, caves, mines, and so forth. All cities have “child worlds”. Don’t put exteriors or exits in those “child worlds”. Instead, look under Tamriel and find the cell you want to use there.

  • To find your cell in the TESCS:

In-game, open the console with the ~ key. Type TDT, hit Enter, then type SDT 0 and hit Enter. This makes your screen display your cell location (among other things) within the game. When you find your perfect plot of land, note the cell coordinates, and then you can find that cell in the TESCS.

Problems have been reported with these cells, so just don’t use them

  • Tamriel -47, -7
  • Tamriel 20, -17
  • Tamriel 20, -18
  • Tamriel 3,3
  • Tamriel 4,4


To duplicate an existing inside cell:

  • Click Interiors in the dropdown.
  • Select any cell and then Right-Click. Choose DUPLICATE CELL.
  • Once you have the duplicated cell, highlight it and hit F2. Rename the cell with a name you will remember, such as 1MyNewCave or MyCoolHouse.
  • In the Cell View, Objects window, click one object and then hit Shift + End to select all items, and delete them, so that you can start with a clean cell. If you do this, you will also need to turn on PathGridEditing (it’s the little button with dots and yellow lines) and eliminate the paths of things you deleted. You will also need to add lights and music before you finish your cell.

To make a new cell:

  • Click World on the toolbar and select Cells
  • Change the Worldspace to Interiors.
  • Right-click the list of cells and click New.
  • Name the cell, as above, with something you’ll remember.
  • Remember to add lights and music before you finish your cell.

To use an existing exterior cell:

  • Click Tamriel in the dropdown. DO NOT click any child world whatsoever. You must use only Tamriel cells for your outsides.
  • Examine the cell in the Render window. If it looks right, then hit F2 and rename the cell to something you will be able to find easily, such as “1MyHouseOutside”. All this does is rename the cell so you can find it easily to work in it. It doesn’t move it or change any of the items in it.
  • If there is one of the random Oblivion Gates in that cell, you may want to deactivate the door from inside and outside, and then shrink and cover up the gate and associated spikey blades, with rocks. Don’t delete the Gate because that can cause game crashes. And, don’t eliminate too many Gates, because after all, what fun is that?

In the Cell View, Objects side of the window, you can double-click an item to select it in the render window and manipulate it there. You can also right-click an object and select Edit.



Render Window

  • Ctrl D in the render window will duplicate the highlighted/selected object
  • Left-click-Z to move an object up or down
  • Right-click-X, Y, or Z to rotate an object
  • Shift + Move mouse (No click) turns the scene, relative to the object you’ve got selected
  • Space + Mouse move (No click) shifts the scene, relative to the object you’ve got selected
  • Mouse Scroll zooms the scene, relative to the object you’ve got selected

Push F to make something “Fall”. The selected item will drop to rest on the closest surface. You may have to do this more than once to get an item off a table and under it, for instance.

Don’t rotate caves, buildings, or rooms, only “stuff” like clutter, creatures, and objects. If you drag a piece of dungeon, cave, castle, or whatever into your scene and it isn’t oriented the way you want, delete it and try the next similarly named item in the list until you find the piece of architecture that faces the way you need it to face.



Scripting Window

  • Ctrl + C will copy text from anywhere
  • Ctrl + V or Ctrl + P will allow a paste from another source
  • Ctrl + G = Go to line
  • Ctrl + Z = undo (familiar to Photoshop users, I’m sure)
  • Ctrl + Shift + Z to re-do
  • Ctrl + I = tab
  • Ctrl + R or L or E to align right, left, or centre



Making Things and Creatures

You can use existing objects to create new ones with the TESCS.

  • Highlight the object or creature that you want to use as a base.
  • Click EDIT and then change the object or creature. Be sure you change EVERYTHING that you think you will want done. The tabs are self-explanatory.
  • Be sure you change the ID to something you can recognise, as above. For instance, you might change CreatureBoar to “MyPiggy”.
  • In the next line, the NAME spot, type in the name you want players to see; for instance “Porky”.
  • Click OK
  • You will get a pop up that asks Create New Object?, lists off the old ID code and the new one you made, and says “Create form?” Yes or No.
  • CLICK YES. If you click “No”, then you will not create a new creature or object. Instead you will change EVERY creature or object in the game, instead of making your own new unique one. Again CLICK YES!
  • You can click Character, and in the dropdown, Factions and drag a faction to your creature or NPC
  • You can drag items, potions, and so on from the Object Window into the Inventory of your creature or NPC; to delete things you don’t want her to have, just highlight and hit the Delete key.
  • You can drag spells into the Spells of your creature or NPC, or remove as above.
  • Be careful messing with factions. If you’re not sure what a particular faction does or means, look it up before you decide to change it, add it, or delete it.
  • You can change the model or appearance of your creature, NPC, or Object by loading the appropriate texture into that area of the window.
  • If you’ve made a new container, you can drag the loot items that you want it to have, in the same fashion.
  • To delete items you don’t want the container to have, just highlight them and hit the Delete key.
  • You can also select the basic heading in the left side of the Object Window, and make a “New” object or creature.
  • For instance, select World Objects > Static. Then in the Editor ID side of the window, right click any line and click NEW, and go from there.
  • Remember, if you are making or changing something to be uniquely yours, you MUST click Yes in the “Create New Object” pop up, to avoid altering every instance of the item or creature in all of Oblivion.
  • If you are creating or altering a creature, you can examine the creature’s “Class” by going to the toolbar Character, and clicking Class in the dropdown
  • OFFSET/PC LEVEL OFFSET is used to make the NPC or creature adjust itself to the level of the player. For instance, you don’t want a level 20 player to fight a level 80 monster, or by the same token, a level 2 monster. Choosing the offset option will lock the NPC or creature’s stats, however, so that it can in fact stay consistent with the player.
  • The “Essential” checkbox is for special NPCs or creatures. Usually this is script-controlled. It means the NPC or creature can’t actually be killed but only knocked out. You may have noticed this sort of thing early on in MainQuest, as regards Jauffre and Martin.
  • The “Respawn” checkbox is for things you want to respawn if they’re killed. If you do NOT want them to respawn (For instance, you have to kill them to get ownership of your House, but you don’t want them around forever) then make sure this box is NOT checked. An example of this is the Benirus Mansion in Anvil. Once you’ve killed the ghosts inhabiting your house, they don’t come back -- nor would you want them to do so.



Making a spell

Open TESCS.

Load Oblivion.esm

Open Magic > Spell

Right-click and choose New

Enter the ID Enter the game-name Leave “Type” as “Spell”

Right click in the effects list and select New. Choose what the spell will do. Set the range, the Area of Effect, the Duration in seconds, and the Magnitude. Click OK. To add custom effects, write the script for them, and then select that scriptname in the dropdown.



To Make Your Own Spell Script

Open TESCS.

Load Oblivion.esm

Open Magic > Spell

Right-click and choose New

Enter the ID Enter the game-name Leave “Type” as “Spell”

Right click in the effects list and select New. Choose what the spell will do. In this case choose Script Effect Click the "three dots" button to open the Script Edit window

OR

Open the Script Editor (Gameplay > Edit Scripts) Choose Script > New from the dropdown

Set Script Type to Magic Effect Write or copy/paste (Ctrl + A to copy, and Ctrl + P to paste) your spell script

Script commands that are recognised by spells are:

ScriptEffectStart

ScriptEffectUpdate

ScriptEffectFinish

Extra information in a script must be offset by ; so that the extra stuff doesn’t interfere with your script.

Click Save

Now, add your effect to your spell.

  • Open the spell list in the Object Window (Magic > Spell)
  • Right click in the list and choose New
  • Fill in an ID that you will remember. Don’t use an ID that starts with a number.
  • Give the spell a Name
  • Make sure the Type is set to Spell
  • Right click in the effects list and choose New
  • Choose Script Effect as Effect
  • Select the script you saved earlier in the Script box near the bottom of the window
  • Click OK to close the effect window and then to close the spell window


This should get almost anyone started with using the TES CS, and once you're started, it's like peanuts -- You can't stop! Good luck and have fun.

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