noob wants to be a modder

[dslxksanta]

hey all, after looking and downloading and playign with all the mods i have found at various sights, and after asking a few people, i have found that few wish to discuss teaching a noob to become a modder, i would love to either aprentice myself or learn how to make mods myself, i have no idea where to begin, i dont speak computer lingo, but i have a pretty good imagination and have several ideas for mods. not to make a profit but to enjoy the games even more. can someone teach me how to make mods? and if possible teach me how to combine mods? for example, if two files are incompatible because they use different body meshes or textures and those textrues conflict, perhaps with permission from the authors revamp them to mesh with one another? im very dedicated to this idea and would love to learn all i can.

[gregathit]

hey all' date=' after looking and downloading and playign with all the mods i have found at various sights, and after asking a few people, i have found that few wish to discuss teaching a noob to become a modder, i would love to either aprentice myself or learn how to make mods myself, i have no idea where to begin, i dont speak computer lingo, but i have a pretty good imagination and have several ideas for mods. not to make a profit but to enjoy the games even more. can someone teach me how to make mods? and if possible teach me how to combine mods? for example, if two files are incompatible because they use different body meshes or textures and those textrues conflict, perhaps with permission from the authors revamp them to mesh with one another? im very dedicated to this idea and would love to learn all i can.

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Well, there not sure that there are any apprentice type deals here but if you are wanting to expand your knowledge then the best way is to read up on some tutorials and then dive it. Trial and error is a bit sloppy but it seems to be the best way to learn modding anyway.

 

Tutorials:

Intro to modded oblivion: http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/intro

Oblivion Mods Faq: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/index.php/Oblivion_Mods_FAQ

How to install mods for oblivion: http://korana.elricm.com/OblivionModInstallation.htm

Lovers Lab tutorial section: http://www.loverslab.com/Forum-Tutorials-Guides--33

 

You didn't specify which game you are wanting to learn how to mod so I gave you oblivion ones. Most of the content/concepts you will pick up from those tutorials will apply for any Bethesda game.

[Firedoom]

Oblivion is a pretty good stepping stone, especially since there are probably a lot of good examples of mods to draw ideas from and learn from.

 

Fallout 3 modding can be accomplished with most of the same tools as you would use for Oblivion.

 

For those two games I used their respective tool kits plus Blender, Nifskope and GIMP. There may be some other tools I'm forgetting, but otherwise those pretty much cover all the bases.

 

I've never modded for Fallout NV.

 

Skyrim is a whole new ball park. It looks the same, it smells the same, but it is NOT the same. The learning curve is somewhat steeper because most of the tools are not up to date. Also, being a pretty new game, there are not quite as many examples of mods that you can draw experience from, and even so, many of them have their own quirky little snags due to the limitations of the tools they were made with. But don't let any of that stop you if Skyrim is what you really want to mod. The game could certainly use as many dedicated pioneers as it can get!

 

In the end, the best way to learn, for me, was to do it. Not that I'm a master or anything.

 

Search for tutorials on the subjects you are interested in and dig through them for what you need. Trust your feelings. If you feel you should concentrate on learning how to work with the 3d models, then do that. If you think you should take an all around approach and learn a little of everything, then do it! Be willing to switch direction or ask questions sometimes when you get stuck. Take a break and play the game once in awhile (I have real trouble following this advice in particular sometimes).

 

 

[dslxksanta]

thank you both very much for the starting points. at least that will get my head in the library and maybe a toe in the door. i figured i would start simply with like a weapon or an article of clothing then work my way up to characters, buildings and dungeons. and i was thinking for oblivion mods and then skyrim...once i have a decent enough graphics card that is...as it is even the lowest settings on skyrim cause massive lag when i play. so that is my christmas present to myself. but thank youboth for the starting points. i had been looking and reading up on the idea, and for some reason tesnexus hasnt given me any replies yet. but as soon as i have a few mods made im gonna post them here after testing them myself.