Open Creation Kit Project

[DykkenTomb]

Hey everyone,

 

I just came across this little gem of a project that has been started by the Beyond Skyrim: Bruma Team... I'm very interested to see what this does. I mean this could be the new way to do things. They're from what it looks like making a new open source tool for Skyrim's creation kit. This could open mod making wide open for Skyrim and Skyrim SE. If an open creation kit tool is added. It'd be easier to implement scripts and other code along with maybe fixing bugs in engine. It would maybe allow for better animations to be added directly instead of having to find loop holes and process to go around. Now don't get me wrong this project is going to take a lot of time, but if you're interested please check out the link below.

 

Open Creation Kit Project

 

Anyway, I'm definitely going to be looking into this project. This might be a game changer this community needs instead of having to rely on outside sources. 

 

 

[Mertz]

I'm also curious to see how this turns out once they get a working prototype.  I'll have mad respect if they can pull it off.

 

Mator is also working on something similar,

 

[vinfamy]

I'm gonna sound cynical here, but they're not making an open source version of the Creation Engine, they're making an open source version of the Creation Kit. The former could indeed be a game-changer, the latter is a bizarre attempt to reinvent the wheel in my opinion. I mean Bethesda's CK is annoying to work with and crashes a lot but it does work - combined with xEdit you're fine. The most complicated work is done via scripting anyway so what does the CK have to do with that.

 

Looks more like a sneaky way to get around the "Bethesda has the rights to every content you make with the CK" EULA of the CK (btw, rights != ownership) so that they can sell Beyond Skyrim without going through the Creation Club. Which is fair enough if that's the case

 

Either that or I'm being too cynical, they're probably just annoyed by how often the CK crashes and want something more stable. But either way, don't expect an open source CK to suddenly revolutionize anything.

[RitualClarity]

I'm gonna sound cynical here, but they're not making an open source version of the Creation Engine, they're making an open source version of the Creation Kit. The former could indeed be a game-changer, the latter is a bizarre attempt to reinvent the wheel in my opinion. I mean Bethesda's CK is annoying to work with and crashes a lot but it does work - combined with xEdit you're fine. The most complicated work is done via scripting anyway so what does the CK have to do with that.

 

Looks more like a sneaky way to get around the "Bethesda has the rights to every content you make with the CK" EULA of the CK (btw, rights != ownership) so that they can sell Beyond Skyrim without going through the Creation Club. Which is fair enough if that's the case

 

Either that or I'm being too cynical, they're probably just annoyed by how often the CK crashes and want something more stable. But either way, don't expect an open source CK to suddenly revolutionize anything.

 

Well if the CK don't crash and it works very well that would be a revolution in itself lol

 

On the subject, they probably have someone capable of doing this and are annoyed with the process presented by the current CK. If they build it they know what it is doing and how to get things done "there way" which in itself isn't a bad thing. Being Open Source would allow others to take that and develop it further. Perhaps in the future people wouldn't need the CK and can use the Open Source tool. Having options is always a great thing in my opinion provided it does work.

 

Being Open source means that xedit and many of the other open source tools and such might be able to be implemented into the system making it more convenient to work with which is a plus as well.

 

Time will tell of course. However, coming from those individuals at least it isn't some pipe dream and likely they have some serious work towards getting it off the ground.

 

[vinfamy]

 

Well if the CK don't crash and it works very well that would be a revolution in itself lol

 

That's the thing. It's a big if. Bethesda isn't a team of idiots that can be outdone by everyone who can code . And as much as we all appreciate the amount of work that goes in Bruma, if we step back for a bit, as much as their ambition is admirable, the Beyond Skyrim team are exactly the people that are going to under-estimate how much work and expertise it takes to even replicate let alone better what Bethesda did (back in 2012 when Beyond Skyrim was started, I remember they had way more ambitious targets for mid 2017 than just a half completed city that had game-breaking bugs on its release).

 

It's easy and even popular to make fun of Bethesda for buggy games and crashy tools and think you can do better - it's a trap that a lot of modders fall into, ending up wasting a lot of time without any results except hopefully a better appreciation of what Bethesda does. 

[DykkenTomb]

I'm more interested in the fact if the tool is open source it might be able to allow people to add in their own animations directly without the use of FNIS this would give Fore a huge break instead of constantly having to rely on him to update his tool for mods like Sexlab. Don't get me wrong.. I see where they might fall short, but the same with your attempt with Sexlab Vinfamy. It'll be interesting to see how they go about this process. It's already on github and we can watch the progress in real time as they work towards creating the tool. 

[RitualClarity]

 

 

Well if the CK don't crash and it works very well that would be a revolution in itself lol

 

That's the thing. It's a big if. Bethesda isn't a team of idiots that can be outdone by everyone who can code . And as much as we all appreciate the amount of work that goes in Bruma, if we step back for a bit, as much as their ambition is admirable, the Beyond Skyrim team are exactly the people that are going to under-estimate how much work and expertise it takes to even replicate let alone better what Bethesda did (back in 2012 when Beyond Skyrim was started, I remember they had way more ambitious targets for mid 2017 than just a half completed city that had game-breaking bugs on its release).

 

It's easy and even popular to make fun of Bethesda for buggy games and crashy tools and think you can do better - it's a trap that a lot of modders fall into, ending up wasting a lot of time without any results except hopefully a better appreciation of what Bethesda does. 

 

 

You are correct of course however with the first sentence, I would like to add that those with a passion, willingness and time can exceed those that don't. Most employees work, code and get the job done in the most efficient means possible. Can they do better. I think so, in fact I think they can do loads better than they currently are in all aspects of the game from scripting to engine. However, they are limited to time and resources to get a job done and then to move on. Those that are outside of this restriction and have adequate skill and experience can do better and IMO would do better.

 

People like to bash the employees skill level, I however,like to bash the company. The employees are likely ,(perhaps very likely) innocent cogs in the wheel that is Bethesda and just have to get the task done in the allotted time and move on. It is the company that is setting the standards and their standards are lower than they should be IMO and likely many other customers opinions.

 

They have shown that they can do wonderful innovations and interesting story lines in the past, they just have too much on their plate and they don't give the time needed to reach the level of excellence that their customers want, just the level of quality that their customers will accept (and that level is dropping as the customers flock to the next new game.. (MEA is one such example) Only when the entire community screams at the top of their lungs does Bethesda listen (Steam Paid mods, MEA etc)  All that does is have the company re-approach the subject differently and at a very different time. (paid mods for example and the new "Creators" project)

 

Yes, the project mentioned by the OP is a massive one. Not because it is a hard task, in fact it would be trivial to fix and update the CK for those experienced in coding for the most part. There might be some issues and such but the difficulty comes in the fact that there is no info on what was done. They have to reverse engineer the program, That is MASSIVELY difficult and extremely time consuming. Also require a much higher level of skill in programing and a specialty in this field to even begin. So, yes, I have my doubts that this will be done in the near future if at all. However, even though they have had a long road to bring us Burma (and still working on it last I checked) they did bring it. This shows a level of commitment that is rare in the modding community, so I wouldn't write them off as I would other smaller groups or individuals.

 

Personal Opinion.

I believe that this project is a nice one but their efforts from those individuals that are working on the CK project might be better used to expand the actual scripting (Script Extender) of the game first. It is my opinion but I think that will add more benefit to the overall community then an Open Source CK. However, I don't use CK much if at all so my experiences are limited on this fact and I might indeed be miss informed.

 

P.S. Sorry for the wall of text