Creation Kit Tips Options

[SubRosa]

I thought I would copy the gist of some CK related conversations here, where other folks can easily find it all.

We were talking about interiors, and Grits linked to This Page on TES Alliance about creating interiors. It not only describes creating Navmeshes, but also shows how to turn havok off on misc items, so they don't go flying all over the place.

My own quick and basic Navmeshing guide is here:

CODE

www.creationkit.com/Bethesda_Tutorial_Navmesh

Select the cell you want to work on in the Cell View double click to bring it up in the Render Window.

Make sure nothing is selected in the Render Window (Press D to deselect all objects).

Open the Navmesh Toolbar Ctrl + E (On main toolbar between speech balloon and T).

Go to the main menu bar -> Navmesh -> Generation -> Recast-Based Generation.

The navmesh triangles are created. Now manually edit to add, remove, and move the triangles.

T toggles Triangle Selection On/Off
V toggles Vertex Selection On/Off
G toggles Edge Selection On/Off
R will delete a selected triangle/vertex.
Right Click to create a new vertex
Right Click + CTRL to select three vertexes, press A, and it creates a new triangle.

Once finished check to make sure there are no disconnected triangles. Press W (eye with shapes above and below) to see only the navmesh triangles.

Check for errors. Press CTRL + F, (red triangular flag icon). This brings up the Select Triangle window. Click on Check Navmesh.

Now automatically detect cover. Main toolbar -> Navmesh -> Find Cover

Finalize the Navmesh. (Red check mark in navmesh toolbar) A triangle near the door will turn green. This is necessary for NPCs to enter or leave.

Finally, to add priority paths for NPCs to take through the Navmesh, do the following:

CODE

Hold ctrl and left click the triangles along your preferred path to highlight them, and then tap the P key to set them as preferred. They should turn Yellow.

[mALX]

I followed your instructions on the Navmesh - you are right on it being easier to just set the vertex triangles down first - like playing pythagorus, really fun! (but then, I'm an (or was an) accountant and find my fun in strange ways and places, ROFL

I am loving the pathing, really fun!


A few irritations I found - #1 is when editing a mesh, you can't open two at once or one hides down on the bar - and is nearly impossible to pull back up. (and you can't save till you can get it)

#2 - really unbelievably slow opening meshes for edit on the CK.


PS: And by the way, thanks for setting this up here!




This post has been edited by mALX: Oct 7 2014, 04:02 PM

[SubRosa]

Press the W key to make things invisible when you can't find a triangle that's lost under the floor or something else. That makes things so much easier.

[mALX]

Press the W key to make things invisible when you can't find a triangle that's lost under the floor or something else. That makes things so much easier.

I just read this an hour too late, lol. What I did was control-Z the last two moves; and from then on when the node had to go on a rug (for example) - I placed it on the floor nearby and just moved it to the place it needed to be on the rug, lol.

I loved the path-gridding with the Navmesh so much better than the old node way - probably the ONLY thing I like better so far in the CK, though!

Let's hear it for geometry, lol.

[Grits]

I was using a tip to rotate books 90 degrees on the X axis in the reference window when placing them upright on shelves, and that does make it super easy. Except I’m using a mod for unique book covers that makes many titles legible on the spine. All of the books were upside down!

Luckily the fix was just as easy (rotate to 270).

Since I’m a modding newb I don’t know that Y is supposed to be Y, so I think of it as the middle since it’s kind of in the middle of the keyboard. Then C is Y because it’s right next to Z and X.

[SubRosa]

I had the exact same problem with the book covers when I made Persephemom's Winterhold House. That was so annoying to have to go back and spin every book around again.

[mALX]

In the Oblivion CS, I used to multiply/divide everything and type it in the X,Y,Z axis slots rather than hand move anything - especially on the laptop. It helped me avoid the "snap-to-grid" problems I seem to have too.

So far in Skyrim I've only found doing that with the Z axis useful - don't know what the difference is, there shouldn't be any.

[Grits]

When you are making interactive bookshelves, use a test save that is outside the cell that contains the new bookcase so that you can enter the bookshelf cell to see your changes.

When modding a Hearthfire house you have to hide the items you don’t want so that you can see to place your stuff. Select the items in the Render Window and tap the 1 key twice to hide. I had read this tip before but somehow it didn’t sink in until now.

If there is a way to hide multiple items in the Render Window by selecting them in the Cell View I would love to hear it!

[mALX]

When you are making interactive bookshelves, use a test save that is outside the cell that contains the new bookcase so that you can enter the bookshelf cell to see your changes.

When modding a Hearthfire house you have to hide the items you don’t want so that you can see to place your stuff. Select the items in the Render Window and tap the 1 key twice to hide. I had read this tip before but somehow it didn’t sink in until now.

If there is a way to hide multiple items in the Render Window by selecting them in the Cell View I would love to hear it!

I've also seen that tip written before and didn't get it/understand how it worked, I guess. I've never used it, the only thing I've ever hidden so far is the markers, lol.

[Grits]

If your weapon plaques display upside-down, try knocking them a degree off angle so they’re not a perfect 90 or whatever degrees. Really.


Does anyone know a fix for bookshelves not counting properly when you select a book to read and then take it off the shelf rather than taking it from the whole opened menu? Even my vanilla shelves get screwed up when I do that.

[mALX]

If your weapon plaques display upside-down, try knocking them a degree off angle so they’re not a perfect 90 or whatever degrees. Really.


Does anyone know a fix for bookshelves not counting properly when you select a book to read and then take it off the shelf rather than taking it from the whole opened menu? Even my vanilla shelves get screwed up when I do that.

I'm auto-fill challenged. I made the mistake of copy/pasting my auto-hanging stuff from one of the vanilla Player houses, still cleaning up the mess from that.