Arcane University: Implementation

< Arcane University

AU Disciplines

3D Art

Animation

Concept Art

Implementation

Level Design

Music Composition

Project Management

Sound Effects

Voice Acting

Writing

Implementation is the stage where all resources come together, get married, and finally get polished until the game is "ready enough" for shipment. It is the most important and diverse task for Skyrim modding.

If you have never touched the Creation Kit before, you should begin with the Creation Kit Wiki's Getting Started page. After that, a good entry to implementation is the official Bethesda Quest tutorial. It touches on many aspects of implementation, like quests, scenes, actors, packages and more. However, it is an entry. Going through the tutorial will make you acquainted with the Creation Kit and its systems, and it can serve as a springboard to dive into more complex tasks. Additionally, the Creation Kit Wiki provides many more tutorials that you can take advantage of (CK Wiki Tutorials/Community Tutorials/Video Tutorials).

Expectation

Some things you may be doing as an implementer are:

• Creating complex quests, sometimes with branching paths
• Working with the Story manager to create radiant quests
• Creating scenes, where NPCs talk with each other
• Creating NPC packages or schedules
• Creating magic effects or perks
• Working with more complex NIFs

Fundamental to many of these are the following:

• Being comfortable working with the Papyrus scripting engine
• Being able to troubleshoot when something does not work as intended.
• As part of the former, reading through documentation such as the Creation Kit wiki or other sources.

It should be noted that, in order to be an implementer, you do not need to be able to do all the aforementioned tasks. Some implementers can have more focused areas, such as creating quests or working with NIFs.

Implementation Lesson Plan

Implementation Departments

Quests

Nifs

Mechanics

Quests/Dialogue

• Quest Implementation - Basic (Creation Kit Wiki)
• Implementation Scribe Assignment
• To be continued...

Extra resources:

• Quest Implementation - Intermediate (Creation Kit Wiki)
• Dialogue Tips & Tricks (To come)
• Voice Line Implementation
• Random Encounters (To come)
• World Interactions
• Seq Guide

3D/NIF Implementation

• Static/Havok Objects (To come)
• Animated Objects (doors, gates, containers, etc.)
• Animated Textures
• Destructible Objects (external link)
• Grasses
• Tree Animations
• Weapons
• Armors (To come)
• Creatures (Vanilla Skeleton)
• Creatures (Custom Skeleton)
• Adding bones to skeletons (3DS Max)
• Decals (To come)
• LOD Model Creation

Game Mechanics

• Weathers (To come)
• Implementing a Custom Creature Race (Youtube)
• Custom Creature Sound Effects (External Link)
• Magic Effects & Spells (To come)
• Perks (To come)
• Setting Up an NPC (To come)
• NPC Packages (To come—CK Wiki's "Quest Implementation - Intermediate" introduces this for now)
• Procedures

Misc. Other Tutorials

• Getting Started with the Creation Kit (Creation Kit Wiki)
• Bethesda Scripting Tutorial Series (Creation Kit Wiki)
• Papyrus for Beginners (External Link)
• Dynamic Book Entries
• Scripting Best Practices
• Custom Map Marker Implementation
• Compatible Implementation of Hard Coded Music Types
• World space synchronization
• Cross Province Travel
• XEdit Tutorial
• Overhead Maps with Skyrim Ingame Editor

Merging esps

• Masterfile Merging with MergePlugins
• AU:Masterfile Merging with Perforce

Test Claims

Test Claims used by the Arcane University to give students access to authentic Beyond Skyrim and Third-Party project claims.

Test claims are, primarily, an exercise. If a student completes the claim and it is of a very high quality, the claim in question may become part of the project. Teachers are allowed and encouraged to use these claims as final exams for students.

1. Any claim can be taken by anyone, at any time by asking the corresponding teacher.
2. The claims are used as an exercise. Should a student complete it especially well and with required quality, then the asset may be used for the corresponding project and the student gets the chance to be accepted as a developer.
3. Teachers can use claims as "entrance exams" for a project, when the specific project has given consent.
4. All claims should be finished within 1 month. They can be dropped at any time with no penalty, and there is no penalty for failing to complete the claim within the given period. The claim can be approached again at a later date if desired.
5. If you find yourself hitting a wall with the claim, ask a teacher! Other students may also have useful information. And there is no shame in following #4 and dropping it to move on to something else. The brain needs distance to make sense of the issues it finds.

The AU's Implementation Test Claims can be found here: Implementation Test Claims Trello Board.

Progression System

For those wishing to learn quest implementation, there is a planned series of practice assignments allowing students to progress to the ranks of Arcane Scribe, Arcane Mystic and Arcane Praxographicalist. Currently, only the Implementation Scribe Assignment is available.