Okay so I'll start off by stating a few things:

• I did the tutorial "Lokir's Tomb" so I know, at the very least, the noob basics of the program.


• I also know how to move around the program and some names of the windows inside the program.


• The "mod" i want to do is a big one, I know, but it's the one I want to do so starting small isn't going to be what Im looking for.

Now that that is out of the way here are my questions:

• When building directly into an exterior cell how do I go about saving it? I know how to save a non-ext cell easily I just don't understand whether or not it's a different process with exterior cells, specifically tamriel ext.


• When i save it will it be a separate mod that I have to turn on for myself? That is to say if i were to save it and then immediately load up skyrim will I have permanently affected my Tamriel exterior or do I have to first "activate " the edited cell (mod).


• Is there a way to "load" more than the few cells it shows at a time? I'm having trouble 'seeing' my area (it spans maybe 3 cells) in all its glory with every object loaded at once.

I'm trying to build a town and I found a perfect location with a landscape already carved out suitable for a township. Just need to make sure I'm not first screwing myself over when I start working on the mod when I try to play my character.


To clarify on my 2nd question; Last time I tried to edit an exterior cell in Tamriel I created the great Riverwood Apocalypse of 2013. I had to reinstall skyrim completely because Riverwood no longer existed. When I load the main file in the editor I click "Skyrim" then set it as active. Is this not the correct way to handle it?

1) Saving is just like anything in the CS--as soon as you make a change, that is 'recorded' by the .esp, and it is "locked-in" when you click the 'Save' Icon. That's one thing you should be careful of with editing exteriors--some places have a lot of trigger boxes, or fog, and it's easy to accidentally move them; if you do, even moving them back will be recorded and saved to your .esp.

2) Every Mod made through the CK is a separate .esp, and does not alter the core Skyrim game. Any changes made by an .esp are undone by deactivating/deleting it. The big issue here is that some thing will persist within a save game. For example, if you make a Mod that moves a door, and then play Skyrim, the position of the door will be saved, and so even uninstalling the Mod won't 'fix' that in the play through. Starting a new game will return you to the default .esm state.

I can't recall because I've not used the Vanilla Loader for ages, but I think Mods auto-enable. Either way, you should be able to check the 'Data Files' menu from the Launcher Screen

Tip : Always remember to set your .esp as 'Active' when updating a Mod you're working on, otherwise you'll over-write the changes.

Addendum : I don't know how you made 'Skyrim.esm' the active file... By default it's a .esp, and so you shouldn't be able to directly edit it under normal circumstances...

3) I think it's a 5x5 Grid you get by default, isn't it? You can increase that via the CK's INI, but in my experience that can cause 'issues' because it makes the CK load more. Someone else might have better tips there, though

When i open creation kit then click th "Folder icon" which is the 'open' function to open my mod it lists all the plugin/master files. I then double click skyrim.esm and it puts an x in the box and i click okay. That is what i did for the lokir tomb guide. So am I doing something wrong there? If not when I do make my mod and save it will I then click the skyrim.esm AND the mod i made and make sure they both have an X in the box next to their filenames.

I'd add a screenshot but I don't know how in this post editor.

No, that's correct; that just means it's loaded, not active, though

When a Mod is loaded, you can view it's content and use it. For .esms, this means that it's a 'master' of the .esp. So, for most Mods, you want Skyrim.esm and maybe Update.esm loaded (with an 'x' next to them).

'Active' means the Mod you are actually working on. When you first start making a Mod, it's automatically 'active'. There's a button labelled 'Set As Active'--you use that to set a specific, already-made Mod as 'active' so you can carry on editing it

Example: So i set skyrim.esm active. I go to the cell I want, and I erase half of the objects. I then save it as "random.(extension)". If i then go to load into the skyrim game and go to that cell will half the objects be missing? If so I can just deactivate the mod in the data list and it will return back to normal yea?

Yes, as long as you do not save after visiting the Cell

(However, don't delete things, just move them below the ground, or make them 'disabled', otherwise it might cause issues )

Once you've done the "save as" thing once, you have an esp to resume work on. Double-clicking that will have the CK load it (and everything it depends on) and you'll be able to use save, rather than save as, to re-save it. Your new esp is typically at the bottom of the list.

You'll also want to learn to use TES5Edit, as it's the easiest way to delete mistakes from your edit sessions. Even if you don't make any mistakes, you'll soon discover that the CK can make them for you! Then you don't have to worry about deleting things you shouldn't, as there's a standard function for undelete and disable that cures that problem.

Okay so in this area I have chosen theres like 50 million trees. I do not want the trees there. You're telling me just highlighting them and deleting them is bad? How should I go about "hiding" them without taxing the player's computer. If theres 50 million trees underground it still has to render them no?

Two ways--

1) Double click on every tree. When you do, you'll get a box with various info like it's X/Y/Z position. At the bottom you'll see check-boxes. One of them should say 'Starts Disabled'-- you can check that box, then click 'OK' to make them all disabled initially.

2) Delete them all, then use TES5Edit to fix it. That is what Ghastley is talking about above. As long as you remember to use TES5Edit to clean things up, you can delete pretty-much whatever you want.

Roughly, you'd...

1) Download TES5Edit from TESNexus

2) load your plug-in in TES5Edit

3) Right-click your Plug-in

4) Select 'apply filter for cleaning'

5) Wait... Wait... Wait

6) right-click your plug-in

7) Select 'Undelete and Disable References'

8) Exit and save.

Personally, I'd recommend way 1), so you know exactly what you're altering, since in cluttered areas it can be easy to make mistakes. I also find it easier to move everything below ground so I have a clear workspace--in theory you could do both.

Items underground are occluded from view and not rendered. There are also ways to control what renders in-game using occlusion planes, room bounds and such like.

@Ghastley,

Are you sure about the underground thing? Just curious cos I have never heard that before...

(The other part is an excellent point, however I'd not thought about that )

I can't point you to anywhere it's explicitly stated, but it gets used a lot by the vanilla game. Hidden chests like merchants' inventories are always placed below ground for that reason, and it's why TESxEdit does it as part of the undelete process.

That was the same in Oblivion (TESIV) and it may have been true in Morrowind as well, but I didn't make mods for that.

Fair enough

Not knowing about TesXEdit, I'd always assumed it was just a "The PC shouldn't be here" thing either way, I can't see how it'd harm... (Maybe if I get a chance, I'll try and check this out tomorrow... Maybe place a tonne of objects underground, and see if there's a change in FPS; your logic' make sense, of course.)