First and foremost: When modding for TR, we only use vanilla content (Morrowind, Bloodmoon, and Tribunal) for our work. Additionally, you may use anything from TR_Data, the newest version of which can be downloaded from [url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/?q=content/downloads]our Downloads section[/url] (scroll down to "Modder Resources"). (Even if you have TR_Data already, please check if it's up to date!)
If your showcase is a quest or edits dialogue and has potential to be included in the mod, please base it on the .ESP version of TR_Mainland which is more up-to-date than TR_Mainland.ESM, and which can be found here.
EXTERIORS -
For exteriors, see this comprehensive guide:
http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/?p=modding_data/tutorials§ion=251365
Exterior cells should have 200 references minimum, unless otherwise specified. Roads need to be perfectly detailed and shaped (people and beasts of burden walk there), and we're aiming way higher than ol' Bethesda standards of yore. See separate thread HERE: http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=23755 for details on how to showcase as an exterior modder. Most of the things below apply for exterior work as well, don't mix styles that doesn't mix, be careful with bleeding and caspering objects.
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INTERIORS -
The [url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24655]Interior Showcase Guildlines[/url] (http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24655) have been updated (11 Aug 2014). Please use that forum topic when developing an interior showcase.
The Elder Scrolls Advanced Mod Editor (TESAME):
A lot of plug-ins have a small effect on the original game. We call plug-ins that affect/change the original game "dirty". To clean it you can use a program called TESAME. You can find it here: [url]http://mw.modhistory.com/download-37-5289[/url]. Open TESAME, then select your mod. Delete everything from it except TES3, any object you made yourself (such as a note), and any cell you modified. The plug-in should then be clean. Don't forget to save it.
De_p Furniture:
Proper rotation of objects is vital for creating great interiors. That is why it is a requirement for all interior showcases to use de_p furniture. If you look closely, you'll notice that objects such as de_p bookshelves and tables are not flat, and therefore simply placing an object over a de_p surface and 'f'ing it down is not acceptable. Try double clicking the item and adjusting the X, Y, and Z rotation values accordingly, until it rests naturally on the uneven surface. Remember; practice makes perfect.
WARNING: We now have flat versions of de_p furniture in TR_Data; these start with TR_furn_de_p. Don't use them in your showcase! They're fine in actual interiors (particularly when you're putting potions or otherwise fragile stuff on them), but your showcase need to be proof that you can work with the rough models too.
Cookie Cutting:
Cookie Cutting means copying an existing interior (such as a Bethesda one or any interior from TR) or any part of it, and using it as your own. It is not acceptable.
Gridsnap:
Gridsnap is an essential part of constructing interiors from scratch. We want to see if you can use gridsnap well, and if you can make hard-to-gridsnap pieces work properly using it. It's the raster button in your Construction Set. All interiors use it those that have prefabricated shells. Ty to make a nice Velothi tomb or a cave. Try to make it small so we can fix all the errors in a timely fashion. Also make sure that your interior doesn't consist of 4 connected corner pieces only (2x2); that's too small for a showcase.
Floating:
We call objects floating if they aren't resting completely on a surface. This is quite easy to deal with. Just press 'f' and most of the time an item will fall down to the surface. This doesn't work for some lights; you must lower those manually.
Bleeding:
An object is bleeding if a part of it is within another solid object. For example, a chair can be stuck in a floor. To deal with most of these, raise them above the surface and press 'f'. Or just move it out of the other object.
Mixing styles:
In TES III: Morrowind there are two main styles; Dunmer style and Imperial style. These should not be mixed, as Bethesda Softworks did not mix them. To tell them apart, look at their name in the editor. Dunmer objects have 'de' in their name, like furn_de_p_chair. Imperial objects have 'com' in their name, like furn_com_r_table. Some Imperial objects can be used in Dunmer interiors, however, such as bottles and sacks.
Furniture is also divided between rich and poor. These shouldn't be mixed either. You can tell which is rich and which is poor by looking at the color of the wood. The richer the furniture, the darker the wood. You can also read it in the name. In the example above, p = poor, and r = rich. M also means middle class.
Lighting:
Most plug-ins in the showcase still have default light settings. This is seen as incorrect because default light settings like like a spotlight has been put on the interior cell in game. This can be fixed quite easily. Go to World, Interior Cells. Find your cell (if you have it loaded and have been editing it, it should be the first one to pop up) and then darken the 3 settings. The default lights are above 200, while most interiors should be beneath 150. Try to find another interior that is like your own and copy the light settings. Also, be sure to check the "Illegal To Sleep Here" box.
Dependencies:
TR files will have a dependency upon TR_Data.esm. TR_Data.esm requires both Tribunal and Bloodmoon. If you have both expansions, please feel free to download and use TR_Data.esm. It greatly expands the amount of materials and objects available to use in the Construction Set.
Please do not have dependencies upon anything other than Morrowind, Tribunal, Bloodmoon, or TR_Data. Thanks!
Northmarker:
The Northmarker is a static that is used by the game to correctly orient the minimap. Please make sure you include one in your cell, outside of the actual interior walls!
Fitting the Exterior
While magicka does exist in Tamriel, it's important to make sure that if your interior has an exterior shell, it fits! (NOTE: Interior tiles are bigger than exterior tiles; this discrepancy in size is considered OK.) If your exterior has a little square building, don't create a star-shaped interior for that building!
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QUESTS -
TESAME and tes3cmd: Just like Interiors, you want to clean out anything you didn't change. Here are the most common ways a mod can be dirty.
NPCs:
You will ALWAYS have to add dialogue for a quest, even if it's just journal entries (those count as dialogue for the CS). To get to the dialogue window you have to go through an NPC, or click the red balloon icon next to the pencil icon at the top of the window. If you use a pre-existing NPC, this is likely to mark them as "changed" even if you didn't change anything. Also be aware that adding dialogue to an NPC does not constitute changing the NPC.
Dialogue: Like I said, you will ALWAYS add dialogue for a quest. If you add that dialogue to a pre-existing topic, such as greeting 5, it will mark the dialogue entries above and below the added ones as changed even if you haven't changed them. Clean them out.
Dialogue, the hard case: When you duplicate a dialogue line (by right-clicking on it in the dialogue window and selecting "Copy"), you get two dialogue lines saying the same thing. It is important to know that the upper of these lines is the new one you just created, while the lower one is the old line. So you should edit the upper line, and later clean out the lower line (unless you duplicated a line from your own mod, in which case it's all fine and you don't need to clean). If you do it the other way round, you end up overwriting someone else's dialogue! There will be a tutorial about cleaning mods with issues like this eventually, but as for now, a way to *find* such problems is using [url=http://code.google.com/p/mlox/wiki/Tes3cmd]tes3cmd[/url]:
Code: Select all
tes3cmd common "Data Files\Morrowind.esm" "Data Files\[your showcase mod].esp"
tes3cmd common "Data Files\Bloodmoon.esm" "Data Files\[your showcase mod].esp"
tes3cmd common "Data Files\Tribunal.esm" "Data Files\[your showcase mod].esp"
tes3cmd common "Data Files\TR_Data.esm" "Data Files\[your showcase mod].esp"
Cells: The Construction Set likes to create dirty cell references (refs) - usually about three or four of them - which must be cleaned. Sometimes the only cell-change you make is adding one quest NPC along the road. In such a case it can be difficult to tell which cell you changed, because exterior cells often don't have a name listed in TESAME. What you need to do is double-click on the cell reference in TESAME. The program will display details as to what was changed in that cell. If you don't see something you put in there, it's a dirty cell and should be cleaned out.
Dialogue: Dialogue often has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, especially for spelling & grammar, but here are a few things to watch out for:
- Quests should normally use greeting 5 to start, unless you have a good reason to do otherwise. The reason for this is to exclude people who are vampires, mass-murderers, afflicted by Corprus, or otherwise unlikely candidates to be asked for a favor. This rule can be broken in the following cases: The NPC is in immediate peril and doesn't care who saves them; the NPC is offering a quest that is *only* available to vampires, mass murderers, etc.; or 'forcegreetings'. In those cases you should use greeting 1. Explain your logic if you don't follow this guideline; there are times when it is appropriate to break it.
- If you give the player the option to refuse a quest, the quest giver should respect that. It's okay to allow the player to change their mind and ask about it again later, but the NPC should not *ask* for help if the player has already refused.
- Use specific dialogue topics whenever possible. Avoid topics like "problem", "little help", etc. because they are more likely to cause conflicts. For example: If you want help finding your friend, don't say "%PCName, I need some help." Say "%PCName, have you seen my friend Zaphod?"
- In some cases you may notice that one of your dialogue topics doesn't turn blue and add itself to the topic list. There are two major reasons for that:
1. You don't have a response for the current conditions. This is especially common right when you start the quest. If the greeting "%PCName, have you seen my friend Zaphod?" triggers journal entry 10, and your first dialogue response occurs if the journal is >= 10, you will not get a blue Zaphod because the journal updates AFTER the quest giver says the line, so it's still 0 by the time the engine checks the word Zaphod. A fix for this is to add a dialogue response to the "Zaphod" topic that does not require the journal to be >= 10. Even if the response will never appear ingame (because the player doesn't know the topic until the journal becomes 10 -- although don't count on that!), it makes sure that the topic becomes blue at the appropriate time.
2. You have used a topic that is similar to an existing topic. The response "%PCName, please don't tell my husband!" will not give you a blue husband because the engine will parse the topic 'my husband' which exists in the game as released by Bethesda, instead of the topic 'husband.' This is less common, but it happens.
By Haplo
