XavierL's Interior Showcase

[XavierL]

Hello, all - I've been lurking on this site for quite a while now, and I figured that now would be a good time to stop wasting my time getting Skyrim to work on a single-core computer and lend a hand to the greatest, most dedicated modding team out there.

I attempted to follow the tutorials and guides to the "t" when making this showcase, although try as I might, I couldn't get a door marker in there - the CS wouldn't let me. It said there weren't any references to that particular static, and whenever I dragged one into the cell or copied a preexisting marker in from somewhere else, it didn't show up on the reference table. Any suggestions on troubleshooting this issue would be much appreciated.

Until then, just hit the console and COC to "MisterXShowcase" if you plan on testing it in-game or something.

EDIT: In my haste, I forgot to include a brief description of what the interior actually adds, although that may have been because it isn't horribly extraordinary - just Hlaalu with DE_P furnishing. There's an imperial planter in there used to add some atmospheric effect with ingredient containers, though - if anybody knows of a better alternative, suggestions would be much appreciated.

[roerich]

Greetings amd welcome to the forums!

For the door markers to properly appear, you need to have two doors linked to each other.

[XavierL]

^ Words cannot express how hard I facepalmed upon realizing that. Thanks for the input.

The new file adds a poorly implemented Hlaalu house smack in the middle of the smoothest part of Balmora I could find - I was never the greatest at Exterior Modding. There's an NPC right in the path of the place, and he'll probably be trying to walk through it. Also, since my attempts to find a smooth landing ground ended up modifying several different parts of the same city, TESAME couldn't discern which cell exactly I had modified - it was just a bunch of "Balmoras," so I question how clean this is compared to the last one I put up.

In any case, I think one of the most imperative points here is the addition of doormarkers - nothing else in the interior at large has changed, since I'm waiting for more feedback on that matter.

[roerich]

No problem. Actually, you don't need to link doors or create exteriors for your interior showcase, but it's good to know how to do it as some interior claims take up several linked cells.

I'll have a look at your showcase when I get the chance!

[roerich]

No problem. Actually, you don't need to link doors or create exteriors for your interior showcase, but it's good to know how to do it as some interior claims take up several linked cells.

I'll have a look at your showcase when I get the chance!

[XavierL]

Alrighty, thank you very much - I look forward to the critique of you and others.

If my responses seem delayed over the work week, rest assured that I'm probably at my job filing papers.

[Bero]

Welcome to TR, here is my quick look:
sc_paper plain is floating,
everithing on furn_de_ex_table_02 is floating,
furn_com_tapestry_05 wtf?
furn_de_overhang_07 - I like the ide but you cant do it since the third end is floating...
BookSkill_Alteration3 is bleeding,
furn_de_p_shelf_02 wtf?
CharGen_crate_01_misc01 is bleeding,
furn_de_p_bookshelf_01 - lots of floaters,
misc_de_fishing_pole - it should touch the wall.

Nice start but you need to get rid of style mixing (de/com), floaters (item is not touching ground), bleeders (look at BookSkill_Alteration3) and that skooma. You need to have a reason to put special items in your int, skooma is very expensive and if used it should be hidden properly.
Also it is not that important now but in future your int should fit exterior.

[XavierL]

Righto - I've tried my hand at amending those issues. I'm glad you liked the overhang idea, but I figured it was doomed from the start when it kept rotating all weird. I was definitely asking myself "WTF" when I saw that Shelf_02, though. Must've been something from back when I was building the cell that I forgot to take out. In any case, it's been entirely deleted so that the closet in front of it can be moved back as was intended. I messed around with the crate that was bleeding a bit, but I'm thinking it'll have to be deleted or moved somewhere else.

I would've waited for more input before posting a file under normal circumstances, but this is the first I've heard since yesterday, and I'm quite excited.

[Bero]

I can see improvement but there is more to do.
sc_paper plain - still floats
de_p_closet_02_gei now bleeds into wall
BookSkill_Alteration3 - still bleeds
furn_de_p_bookshelf_01 - object are still wrong (some floats and some bleeds, you need to rotate them properly)
furn_de_tapestry_01 - bleeds in to ground (just a little)
in_hlaalu_room_center_01 - wrong center (use one with no pillar)
misc_uni_pillow_01 - pillows are soft so they can bleed into bed a little
ingred_bread_01 - wrong
urn_01_food - bleed into wall

Also think about the person that lives here, what he does and so on. And make that house for him. For instance those books are wrong because there are too many skillbooks. N'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis! is necromancers book an so on.

[XavierL]

In the interest of avoiding the same mistakes, I've completely remade the interior based on the provided suggestions.

The entrance should be around the same place as before (Balmora -3 -2, I think.) The cell name is XShowcase2, and the ESP is dependent on the base game (Morrowind + Expansions) and TR_Data.

[Jule]

First of all, let me remind you that you do not need to create exteriors for your interior showcase. Just create the interior cell.
Now for the review: northmarker set, fits exterior, lighting settings alright, gridsnap used, some style mixing (see below), file dirty (when you load it in TESAME, the only thing you need to leave is your interior cell and any new object you created yourself; clean out everything else), illegaltosleep checked.

- common_pants_07 floating
- common_belt_04 has to be raised by just 0.01 points because it flickers
- misc_de_cloth_01 slightly floating & slightly bleeding into bench
- light_de_lamp_04 slightly floating
- furn_de_tapestry_10 (by the door) bleeding into beam (not just the hanger, but the fabric itself) --- not an isolated case, check your tapestries
- misc_de_bowl_white_01 has a pointy bottom and needs to be handled with care (which means you need to bleed it into the surface)
- no silverware in poor interiors
- light_de_candle_03_64 needs to be adjusted, so does misc_de_goblet_04
- furn_de_cushion_round_05 bleeding badly

The interior has a nice feel to it, I really like it. It is a bit under-detailed, though. We usually aim for 100+ references for an interior of this size. Please fix these errors and cleanse your file of anything that is not interior-related.

[XavierL]

I went ahead and tried fixing the listed errors, although a part of me deeply fears that I've done something stupid like reverse the floaters into bleeders and vice/versa. >_>

[Jule]

Your file is still dirty. You need to clean common_belt_04, in_hlaalu_door, crate_02_food and bk_SaryonisSermons using TESAME. I stated this already: the only thing left in the list in TESAME after cleaning the file should be the cell XShowcase2.

- misc_com_wood_fork is indeed bleeding slightly
- misc_de_goblet_04 is floating on one end
- common_pants_07 still floating
- you haven't fixed the belt

The list is getting shorter every time, isn't it? Just make sure to fix these errors (and maybe throw in some more clutter, about 10 references or so, because your interior is still a bit undercluttered).

[XavierL]

My vision is terrible, so I might end up posting screenshots or asking about additional camera controls if the rotational adjustments I made don't help.

Sorry about the file filthiness - I tried deleting the object references in TESAME a while ago when I was working on the first interior, but it ended up deleting the actual object in the CS. Hopefully that won't be the case this time around - let me know if anything's wrong (Like a missing door or something stupid like that) and I'll post up the backup file and scorn myself for incompetence. >_<

[Jule]

It's clean now, but what strikes me as odd is that you never managed to get the belt and the pants right. Some pieces of clothing use to float if 'F-ed' just once; the pants are just one of many items that behave that way. You need to 'F' them twice, this way they'll be properly placed. I already mentioned how you should fix the belt; double click it, change the unit on the Z-axis from 1.00 to 0.01, then raise it, just once, by 0.01 and exit by clicking cancel, never save after altering values in the object window. That's it, it'll stop flickering then. Everything else seems to be just fine now, except for the misc_de_goblet_04 on the table, which is now properly rotated but needs to be 'F'-ed once to sit on the table properly. Also, what I haven't seen before are the two lanterns upstairs that float above their ropes; they need to be lowered. Also the book about Arkay that you added doesn't really belong in a Dunmeri house.

Another piece of advice: when checking whether or not something rests properly, zoom all the way in. I keep my camera zoom on 0.1, which makes it slower to zoom, but this way you can rotate all around the object to see if it's placed just right.

And now that you've gone through your second interior three times, I don't know what to do. The mistakes you made are minor, but it seems to me that you need some more practice. However, I'll ask you first: do you feel like making a new showcase from scratch?

[XavierL]

That's how you change the rotational value on the belt? I thought I had to make minute adjustments on the larger number on the left until it worked. Now I feel like an idiot. <_<

Well, I don't see the harm in starting over from scratch. This whole thing is a learning experience, and the only direction I can go is up. It just might take me a while to get everything set up in the CS the way I want it to.

So, see you guys in a couple of weeks or more I guess.

[Jule]

Don't worry, you should have some experience by now, so I bet your next showcase will be ready in no time.

[XavierL]

I've gone and made another thingy, although I ended up re-using some of the concepts from my previous interior as an excuse to shove in more temple books.

Those camera adjustments were a huge help, although I can't help but feel paranoid that my vision got the best of me and everything's ended up floating. : X

[Jule]

First of all, I'd like to ask you: what exterior do you think this interior fits? I couldn't really tell, that's why I'm asking.
Now for the more important part: Don't rush it. I see you're eager to join the project, but you keep making small mistakes in your showcase because you do it in haste. This one is still underdetailed, undercluttered and your clutter lacks a bit of variation (see, for example, the pitchers on the bookshelf; also, the bookshelf is mostly empty). Check all of your papers (sc_paper plain), many of them are floating. Simply one 'F' won't do the trick with paper; you have to 'F' it twice until it bleeds, then raise it by 0.01 units until it bleeds no more. Most of these floaters wouldn't be visible ingame because they are positioned lower than the player; however, there are those that would be plainly visible because they are placed at the same height as the PC's eyes.
If you zoom in very closely, you'll see that urn_01_food, chest_small_01_empty and misc_de_pot_blue_01 are all slightly floating. The urn just needs to be lowered (same goes for the drum on the bookshelf upstairs), and perhaps even the pot, but the chest also needs some (very slight) adjustment to its rotation. Misc_shears_01 are not resting on the bookshelf properly and neither does the fork on the table upstairs, nor the misc_de_foldedcloth on the bookshelf upstairs. Com_sack_02 needs to be bled into the floor a bit because it has a pointy bottom and it's a sack. Crate_02_food bleeding into the wall.
Word of advice: throw in some more clutter (especially on that bookshelves) and a few tapestries. Also, maybe you should add some values for fog in your light settings.

[XavierL]

I sincerely hope I was correct in assuming that furn_De_p_Shelf_02 or whatever it's called is one of the only flat De_p surfaces, or I may have more floaters than I bargained for. >_<

I was trying to fit it with Ex_Hlaalu_b14, although I was using the base mesh under the statics panel, and the lack of building usage context may have led me to do something stupid like make unnecessary interior adjustments or reverse the door positions.

Also, while I was double clicking stuff in the render window to access rotation adjustments, I accidentally saved some stuff after changing the rotation settings, which I know I'm not supposed to do. Hopefully everything turned out okay after TESAME deleted stuff. : X

[Jule]

Now this is waaaay better. No major errors except for the few tapestries floating around aimlessly, with their posts floating in mid-air, and the smaller rug floating above the other small rug because it's resting on a bigger, "higher" rug. My advice: lose that rug, rotate those tapestries and you're good for a promotion.

[XavierL]

I went out on a limb and assumed you were referring to the blue rug hanging off the edge with no discernible purpose, and the two tapestries on the top floor and the one on the bottom that needed to be rotated on the Z-axis due to being backwards.

I couldn't find any other tapestries that matched the error, but those three are marginally fixed.

Also, I had to gridsnap one of the top floor room cubes back in to place due to CS weirdness, so I hope that didn't do anything stupid.

[Jule]

Neat

Recommended for promotion

[Thrignar Fraxix]

Sorry about the wait, I just got back from vacation 18 hours ago.

Member Promoted for Interiors

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