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World Building 101


Introduction
== World Building 101 ==
 
 
'''Introduction'''


Ok first a little bit on why I am writing this document for those who may or may not be interested.  I've been modding various games now for about 8-9 years.  Starting back with Q2 and HL, then finally moving into RPGs when Morrowind and NWN came out.  One of my biggest pet peeves about the various modding communities (and this isn't anything against any of their members just the way things pan out) is no one ever really bothers to do a full walkthrough from beginning to end on world creation, even those that are doing heavy TCs that you would think could capture a few screen shots here and there.  Now that being said I am just as guilty as any of them for doing that and I decided with Oblivion to do something a little different.  I am currently working on a total conversion mod, as it is, for a game world that I've been running in my RM PnP games for about the past 10 years.  So I figured what I would do would simply take screenshots as I went and figured things out to share them with others who may be interested in doing their own.  And if your not I'm always looking for help, doing a TC as one person is alot harder than most would think, so just drop a message to Tashan on the official Oblivion forums if interested.
Ok first a little bit on why I am writing this document for those who may or may not be interested.  I've been modding various games now for about 8-9 years.  Starting back with Q2 and HL, then finally moving into RPGs when Morrowind and NWN came out.  One of my biggest pet peeves about the various modding communities (and this isn't anything against any of their members just the way things pan out) is no one ever really bothers to do a full walkthrough from beginning to end on world creation, even those that are doing heavy TCs that you would think could capture a few screen shots here and there.  Now that being said I am just as guilty as any of them for doing that and I decided with Oblivion to do something a little different.  I am currently working on a total conversion mod, as it is, for a game world that I've been running in my RM PnP games for about the past 10 years.  So I figured what I would do would simply take screenshots as I went and figured things out to share them with others who may be interested in doing their own.  And if your not I'm always looking for help, doing a TC as one person is alot harder than most would think, so just drop a message to Tashan on the official Oblivion forums if interested.


Now for a wee bit of a note on how I do things.  I NEVER just use the tools provided.  I'm a 31 year old married man, I have a wife, kids, house, and responsibilities.  Thus I tend to look for the shortest way to the best results in my hobbies.  That doesn't mean I try to cut corners, just that if I can find an easy or automated way to do something I will spend tons of time trying to find it before relenting and doing like most everyone else.  That said we are giong to be needing a few extra tools outside of the TESCS which I will list in the interim.  By the way, I also tend to be a bit unprofessional in the way I write.  I figure your here to learn, I'm here to share, might as well make it as enjoyable as possible, while keeping it short and hopefully preventing it from getting too dry.  Now on to the meat of why you came here.
Now for a wee bit of a note on how I do things.  I never just use the tools provided.  I'm a 31 year old married man, I have a wife, kids, house, and responsibilities.  Thus I tend to look for the shortest way to the best results in my hobbies.  That doesn't mean I try to cut corners, just that if I can find an easy or automated way to do something I will spend tons of time trying to find it before relenting and doing like most everyone else.  That said we are giong to be needing a few extra tools outside of the TESCS which I will list in the interim.  By the way, I also tend to be a bit unprofessional in the way I write.  I figure your here to learn, I'm here to share, might as well make it as enjoyable as possible, while keeping it short and hopefully preventing it from getting too dry.  Now on to the meat of why you came here.


What we will be covering:
'''What we will be covering:'''


This is going to be the first part in a series of tutorials.  I have no interest of sitting at a computer for hours on end until I get everything done and release it at once, and I figure you, the reader, would get quite bored with it anyways.  So I am going to ATTEMPT to break these tutorials up into logical progressions.  Between their being made and published I encourage you to take the time and experiment with things, if you find something you think others might benefit from then by all means message me with it and I'll try it out and see if it can't be put into a future article.
This is going to be the first part in a series of tutorials.  I have no interest of sitting at a computer for hours on end until I get everything done and release it at once, and I figure you, the reader, would get quite bored with it anyways.  So I am going to attempt to break these tutorials up into logical progressions.  Between their being made and published I encourage you to take the time and experiment with things, if you find something you think others might benefit from then by all means message me with it and I'll try it out and see if it can't be put into a future article.


For today's article we are going to be discussing the creation of landmass within the gameworld of Oblivion.  This is going to be an area completely seperate from Cyrodill and I will also include the scripts and instruction necessary for you to put a new start within the gameworld and bypass the usual tutorial which comes from starting a new character.  Note we WILL be using Oblivion.esm.  There are others  who are FAR more skilled than I am at converting an ESP to an ESM and vice-versa; however, I find it nice having a source which has every tool, quest, npc, spell, etc. already contained within it so we can pick and choose what we want instead of spending hours trying to hack out a blank esm/esp that has everything one might need in it.  Also I have noticed zero slow downs from using an esp alongside the standard esm for new world creation.
For today's article we are going to be discussing the creation of landmass within the gameworld of Oblivion.  This is going to be an area completely seperate from Cyrodill and I will also include the scripts and instruction necessary for you to put a new start within the gameworld and bypass the usual tutorial which comes from starting a new character.  Note we will be using Oblivion.esm.  There are others  who are FAR more skilled than I am at converting an ESP to an ESM and vice-versa; however, I find it nice having a source which has every tool, quest, npc, spell, etc. already contained within it so we can pick and choose what we want instead of spending hours trying to hack out a blank esm/esp that has everything one might need in it.  Also I have noticed zero slow downs from using an esp alongside the standard esm for new world creation.


By the time you finish with this article you should have a completely new world/continent within your game.  It will not be textured with anything more the the default textures, and you will not have regions, trees, rocks, or grass yet but you will have the start to your world and future tutorials will be covering those aspects.
By the time you finish with this article you should have a completely new world/continent within your game.  It will not be textured with anything more the the default textures, and you will not have regions, trees, rocks, or grass yet but you will have the start to your world and future tutorials will be covering those aspects.


What we will need:
'''What we will need:'''


   Ok this is where things get a little annoying.  For this tutorial you are going to need four items which are as follows:
   Ok this is where things get a little annoying.  For this tutorial you are going to need four items which are as follows:


1. TESIV:Oblivion
1. '''TESIV:Oblivion'''


2. TESCS
2. '''TESCS'''


3. A graphics editing program. I use Photoshop, and this tutorial will be from that perspective.  There are other apps but I will not be covering them here nor do I use them myself so you are on your own figuring those out.  They MUST be able to save and open 16bit greyscale images in order to work.
3. '''A graphics editing program'''. I use Photoshop, and this tutorial will be from that perspective.  There are other apps but I will not be covering them here nor do I use them myself so you are on your own figuring those out.  They MUST be able to save and open 16bit greyscale images in order to work.


4. A handy utility called Fractal World Explorer.  You can get this as part of a purchase of Fractal Mapper from [link here] or you can get a trial version which will do everything we need it to do by downloading the trial version of AstroSynthesis which is available off of the same site.  I HIGHLY suggest buying the full version of Fractal Mapper as it is a handy tool to have when doing fantasy worlds and modding in this kind of environment.  Plus if something blows up while you work in FWE, without the save function you are pretty much out of luck.
4. A handy utility called '''Fractal World Explorer'''.  You can get this as part of a purchase of Fractal Mapper from [http://www.nbos.com nbos] or you can get a trial version which will do everything we need it to do by downloading the trial version of AstroSynthesis which is available off of the same site.  I HIGHLY suggest buying the full version of Fractal Mapper as it is a handy tool to have when doing fantasy worlds and modding in this kind of environment.  Plus if something blows up while you work in FWE, without the save function you are pretty much out of luck.


I also suggest reading the following prior to doing these tutorials.  They cover alot of basic use of the TESCS and the premise behind my fractal land mass generation which we will be using.  I take for granted that you are already familier with the basics so if you aren't you may be lost.
I also suggest reading the following prior to doing these tutorials.  They cover alot of basic use of the TESCS and the premise behind my fractal land mass generation which we will be using.  I take for granted that you are already familier with the basics so if you aren't you may be lost.


http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Category:A_beginner%27s_guide
[http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Category:A_beginner%27s_guide A Beginner's Guide to TESCS]
http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Fractal_terrain
 
[http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Fractal_terrain Generating Fractal Heightmaps]
 
 
== Part 1: In the Beginning ==


Part 1: In the Beginning


   Ok first thing is first.  Before we can hope right into the TESCS and start building our grand new world we first need to create the land.  This is where the lazy man comes out in me.  You should have your copy of Fractal World Explorer already.  So open it up and let's get generating.
   Ok first thing is first.  Before we can hope right into the TESCS and start building our grand new world we first need to create the land.  This is where the lazy man comes out in me.  You should have your copy of Fractal World Explorer already.  So open it up and let's get generating.
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