Renee's Modding Thread Options

[Renee]

Mod-making thread basically, which focuses heavily on quest-making. The first two tutorials (How to make a fetch quest and how to make a kill quest) are very hand-holdy. They are designed for those who are just starting to learn the art of quest-making. Other tutorials get more advanced, as my wacky ideas have pushed their boundaries.

Just click on any of the links below.

Tip: For Oblivion, Always use Ely's Silent Voice when making silent-text dialog. Without this utility, dialog will stay on-screen for just a fraction of a second. Of course, if recording actual voice, this utility is not needed.

For Skyrim, I use Silent Voice Generator, though somebody who records actual voice won't need this utility.

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BEGINNER SECTION

1). How to make a Fetch Quest. Game: TES IV: Oblivion. *Hand-Holdy*

2). How to make a Kill Quest, Map Markers, and X Markers. Game: TES IV: Oblivion. *Hand-Holdy*

3). Making an NPC Vendor / Repair-person. Game: Fallout 3. *Hand-Holdy*

4). Making our character's birthday show in game. Game: TES IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3 & New Vegas, TES V: Skyrim. *Hand-Holdy*

5). Making a book bump a Quest Stage

6). Light Switches and Triggers (Oblivion, Fallout 3/NV, or Skyrim)

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TES II: DAGGERFALL

1). Daggerfall Tutorial (by Boxx Mann)

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TES III: MORROWIND

1). Getting an Xbox controller to work on PC. Game: TES III: Morrowind *Adept*

2). More Dynamic NPCs. Game: TES III: Morrowind. *Easy*

3). (Re)installing Morrowind from Scratch *Advanced*

4). Breton Magic Resistance Tweak, Game: TES III: Morrowind *Easy* (Cheaty!)

5). How to fix "failed snowflake: Meshes\BM_Snow.01.nif" error *Adept*

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TES IV: OBLIVION

1). Construction Set Extended Primer, and some advice (by Turija). Game: TES IV: Oblivion

2). Repairing Bad Hair! Game: TES IV: Oblivion. *Easy*

3). Making a weather-changing item. Game: TES IV: Oblivion. *Easy*

4). Making a home rentable, or salable. Game: TES IV: Oblivion *Adept*

5). Repeatable Bounty Quests. Game: TES IV: Oblivion *Adept*

6). Adding additional Bounty Quest Locations *Adept*

7). Lizard Men! Game: TES IV: Oblivion *Easy*

8). Making an NPC Vendor Game: TES IV: Oblivion *Easy*

9). Repeatable Bounty Quests (Innkeeper involvement) Game: TES IV: Oblivion *Advanced*

10). Horse Rentals. Game: TES IV: Oblivion *Adept*

11). Getting the Take All button to work (by Lena Wolf). Game: TES IV: Oblivion

12). Skooma Dealer Game: TES IV: Oblivion *Adept*

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Fallout 3 and New Vegas

1). How to make a Fetch Quest (with multiple items). Game: Fallout 3 (should also work for Oblivion and New Vegas). *Easy*

2). Faction-changing outfits Game: Fallout 3 *Easy*

3). Making an NPC Follower. Game: Fallout 3 *Adept* (Method 1) *Easy* (Method 2)

4). Adding Songs to Radio Stations Game: Fallout 3 *Adept* (possibly breaks Lore)

5). Gun Tutorial. Game: Fallout 3 *Easy*

6). Making FOMODs through Fallout Mod Manager, Game: Fallout 3 *Adept*

7). Trigger Zones Game: Fallout 3 *Adept*

8). Adding a Jail and enhancing Fallout 3's Crime System. Game: Fallout 3 *Advanced* (heavily lore-breaking!)

9). Patrol AI Package Game: Fallout 3. *Adept*

10). Map Marker Tutorial, Game: Fallout 3 *Easy*

11). Repeatable Enemy Raids, Game: Fallout 3 *Adept*

12). Repeatable Enemy Raids; Additional Locations, Game: Fallout 3 *Adept*

13). Fixing the Sideways Glasses Bug. Game: Fallout 3 and New Vegas *Easy*

14). . CTD while saving after Startup Fix (sort of). Game: Fallout 3 *Easy*

15). Fallout 3 GECK issues with Windows 10

16). Making an NPC Vendor/Repair Person

17). Speech Challenges *Easy*

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TES V: SKYRIM

1). Making an NPC Follower, Game: TES: V Skyrim *Easy*

2). Making an NPC Vendor, Game: TES V Skyrim *Adept*

3a). Making a generic enemy. Game: TES V: Skyrim *Easy*

3b). How to add Generic NPCs via Leveled Lists Game: TES V: Skyrim *Adept*

4). Making a book bump a quest stage, Game TES V Skyrim *Hand-Holdy*

5). Skyrim Quest Tutorial (which gives the PC a horse) WIP at the moment.. do NOT follow this lesson.

6). Respawning Bounty Quests (Randomly given by Riverwood shopkeeper) Game: TES V: Skyrim *Advanced* (if entire lesson is followed. Adept, otherwise).

7). How to fix "missing flowchartx32.dll" errors. Game: TES V: Skyrim. *Advanced*

8). SEQ Files, Game: TES V: Skyrim *Easy*

9). Repeatable Bounty Quests. Game: TES V: Skyrim *Adept*

10). Adding new locations to repeatable bounty quests. Game: TES V: Skyrim. *Adept*

11). Random Console Commands. Game: TES V: Skyrim *Easy*

12). How to use ForceGreet. Game: TES V: Skyrim *Adept*

13). Using the Player-Character's face for an NPC. Game: TES V: Skyrim *Easy*

14). How to add a bounty to the PC via script. Game: TES V: Skyrim *Easy*

15). How to add the PC or NPC into a Faction via script. Game: TES V: Skyrim *Easy*

16). Get a Job! (Skyrim) *Adept*

17). Travelling with an NPC (Skyrim) *Advanced*

18). Traveling with an NPC, Additional Locations *Advanced*

19). Travelling with an NPC, Additional Followers (Skyrim) *Advanced*

20). Dialog Speech Checks, Game: TES V: Skyrim *Adept*

21). Fixing the Gray Face Bug, Game: TES V: Skyrim (lesson by SubRosa) *Easy*

22). Script Fragments. Game: TES V: Skyrim *Adept*

23). Fixing the ;CODE NOT LOADED message. Game: TES V: Skyrim *Advanced*

24). Timer Scripts, Game, TES V: Skyrim *Adept*

25). Making a Book Shelf, Game: TES V: Skyrim. *Adept*

26). Adding an AI Package to an NPC (Aliases also discussed a bit), Game: TES V: Skyrim *Adept*

27). Follower Ring Script Game: TES V: Skyrim *Adept*

28). Installing Skyrim from Scratch *Adept*

29). Removing delinquent scripts from the Creation Kit *Adept*

30). Items which bump Quest Stages (or other factors such as variables) *Easy*

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ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE

1). Setting up a gamepad controller. Game: Elder Scrolls Online *Adept*

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MULTIPLE BETHESDA GAMES, WEBSITES, and UTILITIES SECTION

1). How to transfer games from Xbox to PC Games: any Bethesda game after Morrowind.

2). Nexus Mod Manager Tips *Easy*

3). Manipulating Leveled Lists -- This works for any Bethesda game with Leveled Lists *Easy*

4). Timer Scripts Game: TES IV Oblivion or Fallout 3 *Adept*

5). Fixing the Imgur "Zoinks" error *Easy* (Doesn't always work, though you can try...)

6). Light Switches and Triggers. Games: Oblivion, Fallout 3 & NV, Skyrim *Easy*

7). Disabling Windows 10 Updates for GOOD

8). Graphics card troubleshooting (Windows 8.1)

9). Change an .esp to an .esm (or vice versa)

10). Getting an Xbox controller to work on PC

11). Getting the hair from one mod to work on an NPC from another *Easy*

12). How to fix "Netapi32.dll is missing" errors (Windows 10)

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> Some tutorials are Hand-Holdy and have been marked so, next to the links below. These tutorials include instructions for near-absolute beginners, and have steps which can be skipped by those with more experience. I've included these super-novice lessons because I remember what it was like when I was new, and needed help with some of the most basic concepts! ... Too embarrassed to bother the pros with question after question and so on. Hopefully some beginners can learn a few things here, at the safety of their own desktops. In some cases I've included video links (or written-text links from other sites) which lead to the lessons which I, myself was able to learn from.

>> Easy tutorials are short in length (typically less than an hour) or involve minimal brain-power. I may skip a few things compared to Hand-Holdy (such as how to set up an NPC) because it's assumed the reader already knows them. Any script examples are going to be minimal, and not so difficult.

>>> Adept tutorials are somewhere between Easy and Advanced. More steps are utilized during these, not everything is explained 100%, and/or just a higher level of resources and knowledge are necessary. There's more to keep track of, etc. It's recommended to keep a Notepad or some other Text-based program going for these lessons, or hand-write into an actual notebook.

>>>> Advanced tutorials may skip even more things, because it's assumed the modder already has knowledge of these things. To an extent, some experimentation is involved. New processes are being tried, by me at least, sometimes these processes have nothing to do with what's been used by Bethesda themselves. So be prepared to maybe try additional ideas, tweaks, or methods of your own if things don't work as described.

Continuing Advanced: It's recommended to keep a Notepad or some other Text-based program going for these lessons, or hand-write into an actual notebook. The ideas themselves may not always work correctly (although they do work in my game, otherwise I wouldn't post them). Conflicts may happen with other mods which go into the same territories as what's being worked on, especially overhauls. If another mod in your list makes changes to Megaton's worldspace for instance, my Megaton Jail idea might conflict. These lessons also involve many more steps, resources, utilities, and factors than Easy or Adept lessons. Hours and hours of work and/or tweaks! In some cases (when working with a utility or software issue), rare or esoteric issues may occur with the utilities themselves. Extended moments of testing and/or aggravation may occur!

>>>>> *Expert* tutorials require the very topmost skills and knowledge. So far I haven't got anything I consider difficult enough to go into this category, since I, myself, have never gone this far with quest/script studies. Even after 8 years I'm still learning, and do not consider myself an expert scripter!


For anyone who's new to using a controller for PC, rather than mouse + keyboard, here's the Xpadder Walkthrough page. Xpadder is a site which allows gaming controllers to mimic the key & mouse functions. Xpadder, or similar programs such as Joy to Keys, are absolutely crucial to get the most out of older games such as Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Oblivion, for those who prefer controllers. They can also be used for newer games (Fallout 3/NV or Skyrim) to provide alternate controlling scenarios during times when a game's native D-pad arrangement needs to be shut off.



Bethesda Units. (How distance compares in-game to real-life).

This post has been edited by Renee: May 14 2025, 03:27 PM

[Renee]

Making an NPC Vendor / Repairist. Game: TES IV: Oblivion

I've got a recurring problem in one of my games, which is a lot of merchants tend to lock their doors at night, and then sometimes never reopen them. And if I use the Unlock console command, what I usually find inside is an empty shop, with no shopkeeper(s). This problem has something to do with Open Cities I think. I don't know. And I do not have much desire to delve into the Open / Better Cities conglomeration of mods. Instead, I'm going to make my own merchants. Surprisingly, making a merchant in Oblivion is much easier than it is in later games!

In Bruma's Nord Winds shop (in Renee Gade III's gameworld only), Skjorta shows up for work, but Ofland never does anymore. Perhaps he got pwned. Or perhaps he got sick of being in Bruma. Now he's in Skyrim. I don't know. Since Renee Gade III got kicked out of the Fighters Guild, and since the smith who runs Hammer and Axe also seems to have joined Olfland, nobody can repair RG3's gear in this town.

I know I can just use console commands to find these guys and bring them back, but screw it. My PC game needs new faces. I decided to make a young NPC named Olfland Junior, who takes over his father's shop.


1). OBJECT WINDOW > Actor > NPC
Find a named NPC who is also a merchant. Do all the usual: change ID and Name, bla bla.

2). Class can be MerchTrader, or change it to MerchSmith.

Note: Do NOT toggle Auto Calc Stats or PC Level Mult on. Toggling these will cause the NPC's inventory to go "grey", meaning we can't control what they buy or sell.

3). Since I am editing a named NPC, it's important to remove any AI they've got, so they don't wander off to Skingrad or wherever. Also, put the NPC into any Factions which are appropriate to where they live.

4). Click OK, closing the NPC's panel. Save as a New Form.

5). Reopen the NPC and click on the AI button.

I am going to make this NPC very "light" on AI. Olfland Junior will basically stand in Nord Winds by its forge 24/7. He won't go anywhere, he won't even eat or sleep. But one thing he will do is BE there in Nord Winds, so my character and her friends have somebody to buy, sell, and repair stuff from.

6). Right-click > New into the Editor ID window. Give the AI Package an ID, and put Package Type on Wander.

7). Offers Services should be toggled on. VERY important, and easy to overlook this! Click OK.

8). All the various Buys/Sells toggles can also be turned on or off: Weapons, Armor, Books, etc.

9). Change Barter Gold to whatever you'd like. Oldland Junior is in charge of 1000 gold. Quite a responsibility for his 19 year-old self.

10). If the NPC is to Recharge and/or Repair, toggle these on.

11). Click the Save button.

12a). CELL + RENDER windows
Put the NPC in to the cell where he or she will do business. Olfland Junior goes into Nord Winds, by its forge area.

The job is basically done, assuming you just want the NPC to buy random stuff. That is what the "Offers Services" toggle does: it makes them buy random things. If more specific things are to be sold however, continue to the next step.

13). Move into an area of the cell which is not going to be inhabited by anybody. So...out in the void somewhere. We're going to put a vendor chest out into this void, where nobody can steal stuff from it. Bethesda tends to put vendor chests beneath the shop itself.

14). OBJECT window > WorldObjects > Container
Left-click into the Editor ID window (so you've highlighted one of the containers) and type VEN. This should automatically send you down to the VendorChest area, starting with VendorCFightingChance. Any of these chests can simply be edited, for quickest results.

15). Drag the chest into the Render window, out into the void. Left-click on the chest (so the Reference panel opens). Click on the Ownership tab, and find the NPC vendor in the NPC scroll-bar.

16). Put a Reference ID into the appropriate slot, and toggle Persistent Reference on. Click OK.

17). Reopen the chest, either from the Object window or Render window. Drag salable items from the Object window into this container's main window. Bethesda tends to use their hidden vendor chests to sell unique objects. If you choose to do the same, make sure Respawn stays toggled OFF. Click OK.

Conversely, if the merchant is to sell random things as well as buy them, toggle Respawn on, and drag some Leveled List stuff from the Object > Items window. Specific items (not from lists) can also be dragged over.

18). Find the vendor in the Reference window, and double-left click on him or her. Click on the Merchant Container tab.

19). Use the Cell scroll down to find the cell the vendor chest is in. Then use the Reference scroll-down to find the vendor's unique chest.

20). Click okay, and save. Done and done. Oops, I forgot to make sure the shop's door unlocks and locks.

21). Edit a key, and give it a new ID, save, bla bla.

22). Give the NPC this key. Now go back into the NPC's AI button and find the package which is on while they are offering services. Let's say the shop is to open at 8 am, and stays open for 12 hours. Toggle...

At Package Start: Unlock Doors on.
At Location: Unlock Doors on.
At Package End, Lock Doors can be toggled on.

23). Find the shop's main door, and double left-click on it. Don't go outside though, stay inside and open this door's information. Use the Lock tab to assign the key just made to this door.

24). Click on the door's Ownership tab. If this door is part of an existing building it may be owned either by a single NPC, or a Faction. If it's owned by a single NPC who is no longer around, easy. Just make the door owned by the new person. If it's owned by some faction, the NPC can simply be included into this faction.


click OK, click Save, click OK, and save. NOW we're done.

This post has been edited by Renee: Aug 19 2021, 03:38 PM