Editing A beginner's guide, lesson 2 - Creating a room
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then publish the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''TES IV: Oblivion Modding for Beginners''' | |||
'''A. BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES''' | |||
'''Lesson Two: Creating a room''' | |||
This is the second in a proposed series of Tutorial Lessons aimed at teaching how to mod ''TES IV: Oblivion'' aimed at beginners. It will build up into a Complete Modding Course. Don't worry there | This is the second in a proposed series of Tutorial Lessons aimed at teaching how to mod ''TES IV: Oblivion'' aimed at beginners. It will build up into a Complete Modding Course. Don't worry there | ||
are no exams, though there is some homework. It is not intended to aid the transfer of modders | are no exams, though there is some homework. It is not intended to aid the transfer of modders | ||
Line 175: | Line 178: | ||
===Unlocking the Basement | ===Unlocking the Basement=== | ||
First select the '''Owner''' tab. In the '''Faction''' drop down list select '''NONE'''. Now the door belongs to no one and we can open it without triggering any alarms. Now go to the '''Lock''' tab, and in the top left corner uncheck the '''Locked''' tick box. The door is now unlocked. Great! However, if we go into the cellar, we are entering a ''room'' that belongs to someone else, and we are '''trespassing'''. Let’s change that. | First select the '''Owner''' tab. In the '''Faction''' drop down list select '''NONE'''. Now the door belongs to no one and we can open it without triggering any alarms. Now go to the '''Lock''' tab, and in the top left corner uncheck the '''Locked''' tick box. The door is now unlocked. Great! However, if we go into the cellar, we are entering a ''room'' that belongs to someone else, and we are '''trespassing'''. Let’s change that. | ||
Look for the cell on the '''LHS''' of the [[Cell View Window]] that refers to the cellar. It is called ''ChorrolTheOakandCrosierCellar'', and is right above the tavern in the list. Right-click on it, select '''Edit''', and a dialog box pops up. This has three tabs. '''Common Data''', '''Lighting''', and '''Interior Data'''. Select '''Interior Data'''. In the '''Ownership''' drag down box, select '''NONE'''. | |||
Now save your mod. Call it something useful like ''Test02''. Now before we go look in the game, just have a quick look at the [[:Category:Objects|objects]] inside the cellar. You'll notice that some of the objects listed under '''Containers''' are still owned by an NPC. These are locked chests. If you feel you deserve a treat for all your efforts so far, you could go ahead and change these to ''no ownership'' and ''unlocked''. It's a cheat. You’re getting something for nothing. If this bothers you, don't do it. If you ''do'' choose to modify these containers, remember to save your mod again. | |||
Line 192: | Line 195: | ||
===Creating a New Basement=== | ===Creating a New Basement=== | ||
Firstly, we will need | Firstly, we will need a cell to work in. We create this by copying an existing cell. We could copy any cell but since we are altering the cellar it makes sense to copy that. | ||
A new cell appears called ChorroltheOakandcrosierCellarCopy001. We change this by left-clicking on the name and waiting a few seconds. Change it if you like. The game has no rules about the name you give a cell as long as it is unique. Call it ChorroltheOakandcrosierCellarAlternative if you want. This will make it easier to find later. | |||
Now before we get creative, lets get destructive. Begin deleting the objects in the cell until you are left with just three | |||
ChorrolDoorMiddleAnim03 - type Door | ChorrolDoorMiddleAnim03 - type Door | ||
TheOakandcrosierCellar - type Static | TheOakandcrosierCellar - type Static | ||
Line 204: | Line 207: | ||
The first two are pretty essential objects. They are the cellar master file which defines a room, and the door portal to get in and out of that space. | The first two are pretty essential objects. They are the cellar master file which defines a room, and the door portal to get in and out of that space. | ||
The | The NORTHMARKER is an aesthetic object. It does not show up in the game but does play an important role in the immersion into the game. | ||
When we fast travelled to Chorrol, we were facing North with the door behind us. The Entrance to the tavern was roughly to the North West. When we enter the Tavern and teleported in with our back to the door we still face North West. | |||
Ok, | The door to the cellar faces Nearly West. The game needs some info to link these three spaces and decide which way we are facing. When you drop objects into the render window the game assumes that North is towards to the top of the screen. Without the Northmarker this room would be arranged so the cellar door faced west, when we really want it facing east. The Northmarker saves you having to rotate the room and to keep the same footprint as the room above. None of this is essential. This cellar could face in any direction, be twice the size of Chorrol or contain an entire Oblivion world. The game will not notice or care, but you, and anyone who uses your mod, will. | ||
Ok, go ahead and delete these objects. You could leave the door and the Northmarker since we will be putting them back later but since this is a practice drill we should do everything from scratch. | |||
Line 217: | Line 222: | ||
Save it. (In fact, you should save within the CS on a regular basis. Not necessarily after every tiny change, but certainly after you perform major functions like positioning a room, | Save it. (In fact, you should save within the CS on a regular basis. Not necessarily after every tiny change, but certainly after you perform major functions like positioning a room, Furnishing it etc. This is not only to avoid dirty mods but because, although the platform is fairly stable, it is not rock solid. So save, save and save again.) | ||
==The Object Window Lists== | |||
The first thing we need is a room to work in. | |||
The templates or artwork for these are located in the Object Window with its huge lists. The Lists are organised into five big categories: | |||
* Actors - All those NPCs you can interact with. | |||
* Items - All the objects you can carry in your inventory. | |||
* Magic - All those objects which have a magical effect. | |||
* Miscellaneous - Objects used externally and animations. | |||
* World Objects - All the objects you see in the world that you can't put in your inventory. | |||
The World Objects category is where the buildings are kept. | |||
The | The World Objects list is also sub-divided into 9 branching categories. We will look at each as and when we need them, although most are fairly self explanatory. | ||
What we want | What we want are the static objects/ Architecture List. Select this. | ||
A very long list appears. These are all the possible rooms, walls and corridors already made for us to use. You could use any of them for this; it's a question of design rather than a technical issue. However, we want to look at basements and cellar spaces to be consistent. | A very long list appears. These are all the possible rooms, walls and corridors already made for us to use. You could use any of them for this; it's a question of design rather than a technical issue. However, we want to look at basements and cellar spaces to be consistent. | ||
Where are they? | Where are they? | ||
Use the ''Find text'' option to find all the Static objects containing the word basement. You will find 49 of them. There is only one thing to do when building your own mod and that is to try them all. | |||
Here's a little shortcut to save you time later in your Modding career: | |||
Start the CS up again and select only the oblivion.esm. | |||
Make a copy of a Cell, empty it, and rename it TestBasementArch or something equally catchy. Drag and drop all the basement objects into this render window and spread them out so you can look at them. You can then save the mod as say ''libraryofstockitems''. Now every time you want to look at some basements, you can mod this mod and refer to this library. This Library mimics many of the TEST cells already provided by the CS. At first it is a pain. Now I find myself loading up the library mod every time. | |||
For this lesson we want a basement with a door facing the stairs, so it fits in with the basic architecture of the inn. I suggest you use the BravilFightersGuildBasement01 object. Drag it into the window. It is, of course, up to you which you use. | |||
You can start dropping objects in now if you like but why not make our life easier later. Open up the object reference box, and look at the x, y and z co-ordinates. They are pretty random. Lets set this to 0,0,0. (You may have to press C to find the object again.) | |||
Once again the CS has an odd default setting for the lighting of object. It sets the light at zero. We can use the '''A''' key to set an artificially bright light while we edit. To change the lighting in the cell we need to use the right-click/edit on the cell in the cell view window. | |||
The Lighting is controlled by a set of clickable boxes. Again, you can set values how you like. Most underground spaces in the game are set at a value of 30. Make them a bit brighter if you like. For that totally realistic effect, you could leave them at 0 and add light objects in the render window. This however, uses a lot of processor power, and will cripple low spec users. Let’s set them at 50. It's a practical compromise between dark and functional. Press '''A''' to switch off the artificial lights to see the effects. | |||
Use the camera keys to look at the architecture of your new basement. If you are using the suggested piece, you will notice two archways with nothing beyond them. This is because this piece is part of a set which allows you to extend further. The piece we will use for this is BravilFightersGuildBasement02. | |||
We need to position this so that it lines up neatly with the archways in the game. However, once again the designers have been a bit helpful here. If we use the 0,0,0 reference trick we have just tried, the piece slots into position automatically. This doesn't work for all objects but it is a nice shortcut when using pieces that are designed to slot together. At the very least it brings the pieces together so they are easier to drag into position. | |||
We now have a building. | |||
Let's add in the door. | |||
In the world objects, select doors, locate the ChorrolDoorMiddleAnim03 and drop it into the window. Use the object placement techniques we learned in Lesson 1 to put the door in position at the top of the stairs. it's not a perfect fit, but if we put it in front of the rectangular door space it will do the job fine. | |||
Before we link it to the Tavern lets just look at the NorthMarker. | |||
Now I have had a real problem adding NorthMakers to the window, but I have found a fix around. Try dragging and dropping first. Sometimes it works - sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't here’s what to do. From the Static list, drag in a Night Mother Statue Base in to the window. It’s the object just above the Northmarker. Now use search and replace to replace it with the NorthMarker. Position the NorthMarker just outside the door and adjust its' Z angle to 270 so it faces left in the render window view. Now go to top view and shift it about 5 degrees. This ties in with the marker in the original cellar cell. You can move between the two to confirm the set up. | |||
The next task is to link the door from your room to the tavern, First we are going to disable the existing link. This is because the CS has already allocated a link to that door and will not let us use it. It’s a useful safety feature. | |||
Load up the original tavern cell, and locate the cellar door. Open the cellar doors reference window. Now select teleport. Uncheck the teleport check. We have broken the link. Close the box and open it again. Tick the box and you will be greeted, assuming no other mods are loaded with the CELL and REFERENCE information about the Abandoned mine. | |||
Click on the drop down menu to the right of the Cell information and scroll down to find | |||
ChorroltheOakandcrosierCellarAlternative | |||
Now do the same to the reference box. Here we are offered only one option which is the ChorrolDoorMiddleAnim03 we have added. If we had added other doors, we would have been offered other options. That’s the link done. The CS takes care of the other side of the door (in the cellar) for us. | |||
Close the dialog box. We have now linked our cellar to the tavern. But we still have a really important job to do - which is to set our teleport markers. The CS has a curious but practical default setting. It establishes the marker inside the door itself. If we used it as is we would materialise in the middle of the cellar door and that is never fun. We should be able to see the marker inside the tavern. It behaves just like every other object. We can drag it, rotate it, and use the '''F''' key to make it fall. Reposition it so that the pink pyramid faces away from the door and you have a good clearance, avoiding collision with objects in the tavern. | |||
Now do the same for the cellar. Save your mod. Go test it, return to the CS and reactivate it (or just save and minimise the CS). | |||
Now add | Now let’s add some extra touches. First right-click and choose edit on the ChorroltheOakandcrosierCellarAlternative. In the Interior Data section, select the NPC owner and scroll down till you find player. You now own the cellar. | ||
==== | ==Decoration== | ||
I don’t intend to tell you how to decorate your space. Instead I am going to offer tips and pointers. | I don’t intend to tell you how to decorate your space. Instead I am going to offer tips and pointers. | ||
Chairs and Beds | |||
Be careful when placing chairs and beds as each comes in two flavors. The first can be found under World Object/Static/Furniture. These chairs and beds are set decoration and you cannot lie on them to sleep or sit on them. The second type is listed under World objects/Furniture. These are interactive. You can tell the difference because the usable items come with two blue wire frame models attached which show the starting and finishing position of a character as the in-game animation runs. (Beds - NPCs only). Again position these to avoid collision detection. | |||
Containers | |||
Take huge care when customising any object. This is how you can safely change an object without making that change universal. Drag and drop a container like a chest into your room and position it where you want it. | Take huge care when customising any object. This is how you can safely change an object without making that change universal. Drag and drop a container like a chest into your room and position it where you want it. | ||
You can now add or delete items | Save the mod. This is a backup in case you make a mistake. Now select edit base. Now look at the ID at the top of the box. Change it to something meaningful and unique. It can be anything as long as it is unique. The CS will challenge you if you don’t do this. I prefer to name my custom objects by adding my initials and a short code about which mod I’m using then the name. So if I was about to change the barrel called BarrelMiddleClutterSame03 in a mod for a building called Verona House, I might call it: | ||
TDVERHBarrelMiddleClutterSame03. | |||
You can now add or delete items, you can decide to respawn or level. | |||
Now save it. | |||
A very scary looking dialog box appears. Again, the first time I saw this I panicked and clicked No. This is a very bad thing to do. | |||
The box for the above operation | The box will read for the above operation | ||
Old Id: BarrelMiddleClutterSame03 | Old Id: BarrelMiddleClutterSame03 | ||
Line 321: | Line 355: | ||
Yes/No | Yes/No | ||
What this is saying is that you have changed the name of the Master file relating to the middle class barrel. Should I change | What this is saying is that you have changed the name of the Master file relating to the middle class barrel. Should I change all middle class barrels or make a new form? You want a new form, so click '''Yes'''. | ||
This is important so I will say it again. To change the base of an object, change its id and then save and say '''YES'''. This will avoid the Dirty Mod syndrome from occurring. | |||
Bookcases | |||
Just a quick tip here. Position one book, on top of the bookshelf using the techniques we discussed last lesson. Now hit '''F''' repeatedly. Wait a few seconds between taps and eventually the book will fall through the bookcase top onto the shelf. If you plan to add a lot of books, try this. Lift the first book so it hovers in the air. Use '''CTRL - D''' to duplicate it and move it along so it is in the correct position next to the first book. You now have two hovering books. Leave them for now. Use Search and replace to change books to get a variety. The reason we let the books hover? Well, some books are larger than others. This method will stop these bigger books colliding with the shelf. Once the shelf is full, you can go along and make each book fall. Job done! | |||
Lights | |||
There are three types of lighting effects provided. One type is those which look like practical lights but don’t work. You will find these under statics. | |||
The other two are listed under World Objects/Lights. The second type of light looks like a light emitting object (eg candle, chandelier, etc) and works. The other is simply an ambient light with no physical form. I have found that the practical working lights offer the best atmosphere but at an increased processor cost. Try to mix these up to get a smooth running mod. | |||
Test | |||
Don’t forget to test your mod in-game and pay attention to any warnings regarding scripting or questing conflicts in the CS. | Don’t forget to test your mod in-game and pay attention to any warnings regarding scripting or questing conflicts in the CS. | ||
Finally | |||
==A few tips for your mods== | ==A few tips for your mods== | ||
Line 353: | Line 401: | ||
In [[A beginner's guide, lesson 3 - The external world|Lesson 3 | In [[A beginner's guide, lesson 3 - The external world|Lesson 3]] we step out into the world and start looking at exteriors and landscaping. | ||