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]

Installing Morrowind from Scratch

Recently I had some problems with Morrowind, and had to install from scratch, all the way back to the discs. At first I tried to circumvent this process, which (long story short) did not work. Here's the story.

I happen to have a backup folder with all the vanilla files intact, so I copy-pasted this, but the same problems persisted. So with no other choice, I decided to go all the way back to the beginning. Started all over, installing from the Anthology discs. But as I did so, I ran into a slew of problems. For some reason the buttons on my Xbox controller were not working properly. Or rather, they weren't registering properly. I'd go to jump, and nothing happened. Ready weapon? Same thing, unless I pressed the button over and over. Finally, the Mod Config menu was missing.

But I was also able to fix all of this, and here's how.

Firstly, do NOT get rid of your old Morrowind folder. Keep this around, at least for a while, even if you think there's nothing useful in there.

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1a). Rename the old Morrowind folder. For instance, I changed my folder's name from Modded Morrowind to "aModded Morrowind". This is important. If the folder is not renamed, later on when we're trying to reinstall the game it'll keep trying to uninstall from the old folder first. It's doing this so it can reinstall into this folder, which I already know will cause probs. This is what I described toward the end of the paragraph above.

1b). Make a new folder, outside of Program Files (x86). Name it whatever you want. I named this folder Modded Morrowind.

And this is why it's important to keep the old folder, at least for now. Sometimes it's useful to see how folder paths were structured, especially when comparing the old folder to the new one. It's also good to see what's stored in there, for whatever reason. Basically, that old folder becomes a point of reference.


2). Right-click > Install Morrowind from the disc. Follow all the prompts listed by the install wizard as usual. Install the game into your new folder.

Note that my copy of Morrowind is from the Anthology disc set, which included a separate disc for the Construction Set. We won't need to install this disc; the regular Morrowind disc already installs this for us, assuming you've also got the Anthology set. I think this separate CS disc is for those who wish to install only the Construction Set on some other computer.

3a). Remove the Morrowind disc and insert the Tribunal disc. Install, following all prompts. Do the same for the Bloodmoon disc, and don't forget to remove this disc and put the regular Morrowind disc into the tray before trying to start the game!

3b). Cut/paste the Saves folder from the old Morrowind folder to the new one. This is for those gamers who wish to continue a game which is already extant, of course.

>> HOWEVER, if this save included any bad stuff (mods which caused probs in the past, for instance) maybe it's better not to use it. In my case I had a brand-new character, whose game only included Tribunal and Bloodmoon so far. I hadn't added anything else yet, since I was trying to keep her game "pure" for the time being.

That's the vanilla game. At this point, I booted up the save I made from before and tried moving my gal around and stuff, but the same problems listed above were still there. Animations were jerky, especially if I tried to rotate the camera. Several buttons were still not working, unless I tapped them repeatedly.

I was pretty pissed off of course, even the vanilla game is broken??? But being stubborn, I decided to forge ahead with more installs anyway.


Next comes what I like to call the "Big Three" utilities. These are tools which are necessary for a lot of mods, and I installed each one from their original archive files (rather than copy-pasting from the old Morrowind folder).

4). I have Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) for Morrowind, because it's light and easy to use. Some folks use Wrye Mash, which is more comprehensive for those who have larger lists of mods, especially if they're beginning to conflict one another. Some folks won't need a manager at all, usually those with barely any additions. I prefer to have one though. Since I only have maybe 20 plug-ins plus a few random non-.esp additions, all I need is NMM.

NMM can be installed anywhere, it's one of those programs which automatically finds whatever games you've got. I prefer to throw its files straight into my Modded Morrowind folder, for convenience. Made a shortcut to desktop, as well.

5). Next comes Morrowind Code Patch 2.4, and again, I installed this straight into my Morrowind folder, and then made its executable file to a desktop shortcut. MCP fixes a lot of bugs and also includes a LOT of toggles we can click on or off. A lot of mods depend on MCP for its script extender functions. But it's all those dozens of toggles which can be really fun, not just for functionality, but also for roleplaying options.

For instance, for some characters who aren't thieves, I like going onto MCP's Game Mechanics page, toggling Hidden Traps and Hidden Locks on. This adds immersion. Now, my non-thief characters won't automatically know if some door is locked, or if there's a trap on that chest.

> Make sure to press Apply Chosen Patches at the bottom of the MCP page when done toggling stuff.

6). The last of the Big Three is MGE XE, Morrowind Graphics Extender XE. Again, I put this into the Morrowind folder, and sent a shortcut to desktop. This improves graphics in all kinds of ways. We can change resolution for instance, beyond the limited choices the vanilla game gives us. We can use the FPS Limiter to curtail the engine from throwing massive framerates around. I've got this set at 60, which improves overall performance since my Nvida isn't wasting frames.

I also like using its Menu UI Scaling feature. Since my TV is roughly 5 or 6 feet from where I sit while gaming, I jacked this from 1.00 to 1.55. Now I can read the game's menus without my glasses! 👓 Keep in mind that making menus larger can cause other problems. Some stuff can get pushed offscreen for instance, such as the confirmation we need tdo click for Starsigns when rolling a new character.

7). Actually, here's another utility, although not every mod uses it: Morrowind Script Extender. Copy/paste its files into the main Morrowind folder. Activate MWSE-Update.exe while it is in this folder. This ensures the Configuration menu and all sorts of other functions / modifications shall work.


---- By now I tried starting up my game again and got the "snowflake" error message, which is listed in the tutorial above this one. If you aren't seeing this error skip to step 10.

To fix this I removed the MW disc, inserted Tribunal, and copy/pasted all the files on this disc into my Modded Morrowind folder. Did the same thing with the Bloodmoon disc.

2024 Edit: Also, when reinstaling Morrowind onto a brand-new hard drive (my old one went kaput) I got a series of error messages later when trying to run Morrowind, or either of its main auxiliary programs: MCP and MGE. An example is "The code execution cannot proceed because MSVCR100.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program MAY fix this problem."

No. Do not bother doing a full reinstall. In general, some info is just false.

In general, it's a better idea to do some research. I usually type the actual error message into Google or Bing, or some other search engine, word for word. MOST of the time solutions can be found. At Reddit, or some official Microsoft site, or wherever. Reddit came to the rescue for me in this case.

8). Remove Bloodmoon and put Morrowind back in the tray. I went back into the game, and voila... everything was working as it should. Why were the animations jerky? I don't know. Why were the buttons I assigned for Jump, Ready Weapon, Ready Magic, Next Weapon, Next Magic, and Use not working instantly? Not a clue. Why did I not have a Mod Config menu? You got me, pretty sure getting MCP added from its original archive fixed this, though.

So that's it: the vanilla game + its two expansions + the three main utility tools and the script extender.

9). I found it best to also install most mods from scratch, straight from their archives. I did this rather than copy/pasting my old Data Files folder. This way, I knew everything that's going into my game, and was able to take notes on what goes where, and what does what.

This is also a great chance to eliminate any dead weight. There's usually some stuff which got added at some point in the past which is no longer used. Did not work, or has stopped working. During the passionate moments of gaming I tend to forget about these sort of add-ins.


10). Finally, there might be a few things in the old Morrowind folder which can't be taken out of an archive. Here's a few examples: My Screenshots folder, Readmes folder (which I've organized diligently so everything is in its proper place, rather than scattered all over the MW folder), and also Morrowind Additions.esp, my homemade overhaul mod with hundreds of changes. It's a good idea to keep the old folder around, at least for awhile, deleting whatever's not useful anymore while cut-pasting all the stuff that is.

🍷👑

This post has been edited by Renee: Aug 8 2024, 04:50 PM