Difference between revisions of "A beginner's guide, lesson 2 - Creating a room"
A beginner's guide, lesson 2 - Creating a room (edit)
Revision as of 18:03, 15 January 2008
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====Creating the New Room==== | ====Creating the New Room==== | ||
The first thing we need is a physical room to work in. The templates or artwork for these are located in the [[Object Window]]. The lists on the '''LHS''' 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 World Objects | 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 is the '''World Objects''' >> '''Static Objects''' >> '''Architecture''' list. Select this. | |||
What we want | |||
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?''' | ||
You could 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. | |||
<hr /> | |||
'''Here's a little shortcut to save you time later in your modding career:''' | |||
<blockquote> | |||
Start the CS up again and select only the oblivion.esm.<br /> | |||
<br /> | |||
Make a copy of a [[:Category:Cells|cell]], empty it out, 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 load 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. | |||
</blockquote> | |||
<hr /> | |||
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 your life a little easier for later? Open up the ''BravilFightersGuildBasement01'' '''reference box''', and look at the x, y and z co-ordinates. They are pretty random. Lets set this to 0,0,0. Note that you may need to press '''C''' to re-centre the room in the [[Render Window]] after making this change. | |||
Once again the CS has an odd default setting for the lighting of objects. It sets the light at zero. We can use the '''A''' key to set an artificially bright light while we edit. To change the in-game lighting in the cell, we need to right-click on the cell in the [[Cell View Window]], and choose '''Edit'''. | |||
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 manually add light objects in the [[Render Window]]. This however, uses a lot of processor power, and will cripple low spec users. For our basement, let's set the lights 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's 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 '''World Objects''', select '''Doors''', locate the ''ChorrolDoorMiddleAnim03'' and drop it into the window. Use the object placement techniques we learned in [[A beginner's guide, lesson 1 - The Construction Set Primer|Lesson One]] 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 ''Northmarkers'' to the [[Render Window]], but I have found a workaround. Try dragging and dropping from the [[Object Window]] first. Sometimes it works - sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't here’s what to do. From the '''Static''' list, drag a ''Night Mother Statue Base'' in to the [[Render 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 | Load up the original tavern cell, and locate the cellar door. Open the cellar door's 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. | |||
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. | 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 add a teleoport marker to the cellar. Save your mod. Go test it, making sure the door works in both directions. | |||
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. | |||
====Decorating the New Room==== | ====Decorating the New Room==== | ||