Difference between revisions of "A beginner's guide, lesson 1 - The Construction Set Primer"

 

 

I suppose we should begin with the obvious question, what is a mod? A mod is an additional piece of programming that alters or modifies some aspect of the original game. Bethesda have made this process easier. They clearly recognize that games like TES thrive and gain extra longevity by encouraging mods. To aid this they have provided the interface software called the '''Construction Set'''.

'''You will need to [[The Elder Scrolls Construction Set|download a copy]] of this before we can start.'''

<pre>Design note. Now that you know what to look for, make a note of any locations in the game that  

you think are cool. You can then look them up later to see how they did that.</pre>

In most of these lessons we will concern ourselves with just three file types. Don’t worry the CS writes all the files for you.

the Elder Scrolls ''master'' file, or [[ESM file|.esm]]. For all these early files this is going to be the Oblivion master file (''oblivion.esm'' – located in the game's '''Data''' folder). The CS knows where it is.  The vast majority of user-created mods can be written using the ''oblivion.esm'' master file.

It also needs the name of the Elder Scrolls PLUG-IN that you are writing (this is your mod file). These are designated as [[ESP file|.esp]] files. The first time you set out to create a mod, you will not provide the CS with the name of an '''.esp''' file. If you don’t give it a name it will write a new one, prompting you to choose a name for the file the first time you save it.  Any future changes you wish to make to the same mod would require you to choose this '''.esp''', making it your [[Active File|active file]].  Making a file your [[Active File|active file]] simply means that when you choose to '''Save''' your work, the CS will automatically overwrite that file with any changes you have made.

Finally it will need information about any objects you add to the world. These are image files  

called [[Nif|.nif's]], or NetImmerse File format. The game already knows about thousands of these objects, and we can use this library of image files to populate our world with stuff. For a beginning modder, the '''.nif''' files that are already contained in the CS will provide plenty of material to work with.  For now, you should simply be aware of their existence.  Later in the series we can look at changing and adding our own [[Nif|.nif]] files.

unchecked - we don’t want to mess up their hard work. Select '''Done''', and a dialog warning box may pop  

In this first tutorial you should only select the ''oblivion.esm'' file and click '''Done'''. At the warning,  

The [[Object Window|object window]] contains a list of all the [[Object|objects]] in the game. These are sorted into  

categories, depending on the object's function. '''World Objects/Static/Armor''', for example, contains objects  

that provide combat protection in the game. We will cover each group as and when we use them. The objects can be edited and customized but we will stick to the standard objects for now.  

 

If you click on the first '''cell''' in the list, the Abandoned Mine, you should see a list of [[Object|objects]]

on the right hand side. These are all the elements contained in the Abandoned Mine cell, ie. all the pots, chests, [[NPC|NPC's]], and rooms that make up the space you explore in this dungeon.

 

The [[Render Window|render window]] is your view into the world you are creating or changing. When you click again on the Wawnetinn Tavern cell the picture should appear in the '''render window'''. It is likely to be a small block in the lower left of the window.

[[Object|Objects]] are dropped into the world by dragging them from the [[Object Window|object window]] into the '''render window'''.  

Now select the Wawnet object. A multi-coloured box will appear around the little block. The box  

<pre>Double click on the block and a dialog box will open, giving information about the block. Check  

that the name of the object is <name>. If it is not, close the dialog box, deselect and try  

again. In the central area is some information about the object's position. This lists the  

object's x, y, and z coordinates, and some info about rotation. These should all read 0,0,0.  

This is the default position. If, in the course of the tutorial, you drag the building  

out of the way by mistake, don’t panic. Select it, open the dialog, and reset it to 0,0,0.   

Note, however, that this will flag the object as having been edited, with a * next to the  

object's name.</pre>

<pre>The A key allows you to toggle Bright Light on and off. It's a very useful thing while working  

with Interior cells in the Construction Set and has no influence on the light in game.</pre>

<pre>Zoom out a bit and press T. The render changes to a nice top down view. Again you can zoom  

in and out. T will move the camera to give you a top down view of the selected object. It may,  

however, be blocked by objects which are above it.</pre>

Turn your focus to the bar. It is good practice in using the camera. Now select an object on the bar. Any will do. We can now look at the cell content list on the right of the [[Cell View Window|cell view window]]. Scroll down and you should find the object highlighted. Right clicking on it brings up a menu. Select delete. The object disappears. You can reverse this by selecting '''Edit''' > [[Undo|Undo]] from the CS's menu bar at the top of the window.

To delete an object you can also select it and press ''Delete'' on your keyboard.

As a final part of this lesson, let’s add some [[Object|objects]] of our own.

<pre>Objects with names that begin with MQ are quest based items and are best avoided.</pre>

<pre>Handy hint: when decorating an empty room try to work from the floor up. Start with carpets,  

then furniture that stands on the floor. Then objects which stand on the furniture. This way the  

F key can be really powerful.</pre>

The final part of this first lesson involves rotating objects. Select an object that will clearly show that rotation has occurred. A mug with a handle will do. You rotate using the right hand mouse button (usually referred as Right Mouse Button, RMB). But here is the thing: rotation occurs only in the z axis. This is the most common type of rotation and is the easiest to perform.

To restore the inn to all its former glory, simple deactivate your mod.

  Centre Wheel Scroll – Zoom

  Centre Wheel Hold – Move

  Shift + LMB - Rotate

  LMB (with nothing selected) select multi-objects

  S - "Scale": drag mouse to edit size

  A - Toggle Bright Light