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]

Setting up a gamepad controller Game: Elder Scrolls Online

This is for those gamers who prefer gamepad controllers, like myself. I am going to teach how to do some rather basic things, such as change what each button does, how to invert X and Y axises, and so on. Figuring this stuff out is a cinch in many other games. ESO on the other hand requires some background knowledge.

In some games (like Skyrim or Fallout 3) getting a controller to work is as easy as going into the menu, then toggling a button on. Elder Scrolls Online is trickier, and more difficult to figure out. But overall, the experience is more rewarding because there are SO MANY options we can configure for ESO.

So this assumes that you've got a mouse and keyboard, but also a controller which is specifically made for PC gaming. This controller can apparently be Xbox or Playstation styled, or it can be something which is more customized. I myself only use Xbox-style controllers, and Microsoft models at that, but I also use mouse & keys for some tasks.

Required: Elder Scrolls Online Plus. Buying this upgrade will open up some new areas of the menus. ESO+ is therefore necessary for the rest of these steps to work properly.


1). Get into the game, so that you are not in its opening menu, you are in the actual game. This way, everything can get tested in real-time.

2). Controller should be on. Now, press the Esc key on the keyboard. Press Settings. And press Gameplay. About three-quarters down the menu page is the GAMEPAD section. Turn this on.

Once the gamepad is on, notice the menu changes to one which is more 'consolized.'

Another feature: there are now TWO main menus which can be pulled up -- one can be gotten from the keyboard, the other from the controller itself. These are the sort of menus that allow us to change options, look for Help, and so on. Though these two menu sets might seem like they're the same at first, they actually have quite a lot of differences between them.

Now. If you are like me, you'll want the option to switch the X/Y Axis, which affects the "look around" feature normally assigned to the right mushroom stick. Normally, if the right stick is pushed forward (away from the player), the character looks upward. If the stick is pushed back (toward the player), the character looks down. For those who want to invert this, go to step 3. If not, go to step 4.

3). Press the Start button on the controller. Use the left mushroom stick to scroll down to OPTIONS. Select Camera, and INVERT Y is the very top option.


4). Zenimax gives us a total of three templates, each featuring a different set button assignments. But if you'd like to make your OWN button assignments, here is how to do that.

Press the ESC key. Again, this key works in a similar way as the START key on a controller, except ESC opens up different options.

5). Select CONTROLS. This opens up a menu with four columns, which Zenimax calls Binds.

The First Bind deals with the keyboard itself. All the selections in this column deal with keyboard and mouse assignments.

The Second Bind deals with a lot of the in-game button assignments which get used during gameplay moments, such as pulling levers, choosing to accept another player into your party, and so on. For the most part I do not mess with the Second Bind at all.

The Third Bind handles the bulk of controller button assignments, most of which correspond to keyboard and mouse buttons / functions. This is the Bind which most changes can get made which affect the actual sandbox gameplay, outside of menu surfing. Attack, Jump, Sheathe/Unsheathe Weapon, and so on.

The Fourth Bind never gets used, at least in my game. I assume it's there for some sort of unknown function.

So, since the keyboard stuff should already be set up, I am going to show how to assign stuff to the controller.

Tip: Use the mouse-wheel to scroll the Binds menu up and down, it just works more efficiently than the controller does. In general, Mouse + Keys should be used at all times, except when actually choosing which buttons, bumpers, toggles, and analog sticks are going to correspond to keyboard / mouse buttons.


6). Start with the very top, which deals with Movement. By default, Move Forward is already set as "Left Stick Up," which is how most gamers prefer it to be set. Suppose you want to change this though? Doing so is easy as using the mouse to left-click on this selection, and then moving the left stick (or right stick, for southpaws) in the direction you'd prefer. In the BINDINGS window, it then shows whatever key, or button, or bumper, or trigger, has been selected.

Frequently, you may notice that some function has already been assigned to a button, bumper, trigger, or stick. If this is true, you'll be erasing this function if you choose to Accept, and the menu will ask to confirm if you really want to make this choice, or not.

7). Use the mouse to left-click on Bind.

From here, literally just scroll down the entire page, selecting whatever feature (such as Jump) with whatever button, trigger, stick (etc.) is preferred.

Elder Scrolls Online allows us to select "While Held" commands, too. So for instance, I've got my game set so that if I hold my right analog stick down (instead of briefly pressing it) this will cause the HUD to vanish. If I press this stick briefly, this is what changes from First to Third Person.

We can even sometimes select a combination of buttons. For instance, I just clicked on Autorun, pressed & held the B button, and then pressed the right bumper. Binded this selection. So now my character will run automatically (and keep running) if I press B + RB back in game mode.

8). When done making assignments, always press ESC on the keyboard. This will lock these assignments in.


Troubleshooting: For me, the Bind menu has a tendency to not register certain buttons. For instance, I'd try to set A for Attack, but the selection onscreen would merely flash very quickly, without the key getting set. To fix this, I used Xpadder. Made a New profile, but did not set any buttons, bumpers, triggers, or sticks at all. Selected Save As, and then named the profile Blank. Literally, the Xpadder has not had anything changed, and everything is blank. This, for some reason, worked for me.

This post has been edited by Renee: Mar 8 2024, 06:18 PM