Skyrim Creation Kit Tutorials - Episode 3: Building A Dungeon

[@firejaw6459]

It’s 2024, I’ve been playing Skyrim since day 1 (on and off), dabbled in playing with mods here and there, but until now, have never thought to learn how mods are made. This video series is fantastic, and I wish I had seen this video 12 years ago, when I had a relatively modern PC. Don’t have one now, or I’d be diving into the creation kit myself this second. Still, very cool to see how the tools work, gives me a whole new appreciation of the mods and I’m sure I’ll give it a try at some point in the future. Cheers!

[@junehanabi1756]

2018 Update Changes: 1. "Blackrain Dungeon" is already properly worded in right table and the duplicate is as usual named with "DUPLICATE001" rather than "COPY0000" appended after the name 2. The items are all named differently but doesn't matter since you'll delete them anyways, once deleted they will immediately delete and not wait around like it did in his 3. The XYZ values for me were already at zero but I'd suggest to check anyways 4. I didn't have to double click it in the cell view but I'd suggest doing that anyways just in case 5. At 19:31 when moving the larger piece upwards 3 or 4 notches, it's easier to just hold down z and while holding z down click and drag with left mouse button upwards until it's at the correct position - this makes it much easier and faster than going into the edit window and messing around with coordinate numbers

[@SterbenWarStorm]

I know that this comment is a bit old, but I do have a question. I can't coc into my room. Is there something that I have to do?

[@yukari_katsuragi]

​@@SterbenWarStormI know that this comment is a bit old, but I am sorry you never got a reply. Hope you figured it out and your life is going well these days.

[@ArctiqZero]

I was kind of scared about using the creation kit at first, but now it looks really easy.

[@lizzzyrd]

you have saved me

[@banatch8887]

It's not to difficult. But they're are some parts about it that are so poorly implemented that it becomes very frustrating.

[@kevinmeli]

Parzivol Films Can you give some examples?

[@banatch8887]

Dr. Taco The entire program (for me at least) is pretty unstable and prone to crashes. But other than that with my now deeper understanding of the program, I see that most parts are implimented fairly well. I redact my previous comment. Happy modding.

[@platzu8061]

Parzivol Films i am a Bit late to the Party. I can’t Start the creation Kit and already tried everything in the last 2 hours any Ideas?

[@EugeneKandinsky]

19:50 - an easier way to do it is to select the object you wanna move, hold down Z and press the Up key. That moves it upwards and saves you the time and trouble.

[@mossflame3584]

Thank you for these tutorials! They are really helpful and easy to follow; it's much better than having to look up this information on the internet and tediously read through it.

[@sirflimflam]

Hey dude, you can easily move the pieces by holding X, Y, or Z to move the pieces around locked to a specific axis. You can also hit E to access the move gizmo, which lets you visually move the object around on specific axis. W opens the rotate gizmo and 2 opens the scale gizmo.

[@TroublesomeCobbler]

Oh, divines bless your kind heart! I couldn't figure out why I could only rotate objects, or how to fix it.

[@GAZArts]

I have to say i came into the creation kit completely clueless, and your tutorials have helped me create a pretty extensive dungeon complex complete with furniture, clutter and other pretty cool things. Thumbs up and a sub!

[@rainstormwander9431]

I'm currently working on my first ever Skyrim dungeon, and this video made the creation process and learning curve super easy. Thanks a bunch for the awesome tutorial.

[@patrickhoward6393]

This is so simple now that there is logic behind every thing and I'm being told how ever thing works together. Thanks a lot!

[@zlymaciek]

What about adding a new dialog sound (wav etc.) to NPC and make a quest? Can you do that in Skyrim Creation Kit?

[@deviantllama6396]

I'm sure that's possible, it'd just require you to be willing to voice act or hire voice actors to actually act. Then it'd be a matter of attaching that specific voice line to things they can say and such.

[@semanimesemzueira587]

or you can buy for ia voice .

[@raysidwell]

Hard to believe only the 3rd tutorial as I have managed to pickup more info than dozens I've otherwise watched. Really enjoying the series and excellent work. FYI - I did experience a lot of trouble with the ceilings. They are difficult to place and move and impossible to delete. I wish you had spent a little time on them. Had to leave a couple lingering which caused problems when installed. the player is placed beneath the last un-deleted (and un-deletable) ceiling object and can't move forward, rather continues to fall back under the piece again and again. But will persevere and continue with this otherwise excellent tutorial. Thanks. UPDATE: was able to return after save, select and delete lingering objects. However, when coc to location in game, it places my char. just outside the dungeon where they continue to fall into blackness. Isn't there a placement or entry marker? UPDATE: For anyone experiencing something similar - If your last object placed extends beyond the constraints of the floor (i.e. rubble piles) then after saving and launch, coc location will place your character outside the floor plan and toss you into oblivion.

[@UndeadTurning]

"We're gonna fill... the... hole..." Like midway you realized what you just said. lol.

[@Awolf842]

You can also select multiple units simultaneously by holding control and clicking the ones you want to select, or you can drag your mouse over the units you want to select. From there you can rotate, duplicate, and move your selected units at the same time. makes creating dungeons a lot easier and quicker.

[@chillercgm7]

Your video's have helped me so much! The creation kit was the scariest thing ever and even after reading Bethesda's official tutorials I was freaked. Now, thanks to you, I can almost call myself a modder! :D

[@123blackinferno]

I complete my dungeon and "homework"! Great tutorial. For those of you experiencing difficulties with attaching a hallway to the staircase the hallway piece is at the very bottom of the menu.

[@Not_Nocte]

I would be lost without these videos... thank you so much dude.

[@valdabad]

Thanks for this tutorial. I appreciate you taking the time to post these videos to help people out, like me. I'm learning a lot and picking up quickly.

[@GrandRiserOfficial]

I love your guide. Thanks a lot. Your guide is easy, complete (step by step) , yet straight to the point and very helpful. I never dare to try to mod a game, especially amazing game like Skyrim, but you taught me and lead me. Thanks!

[@rnmale331]

THANK YOU so much for the tutorials. I play table top and dice games with friends. Now I can make the dungeons 3D for those with poor imaginations. Now a seriously devoted fan of Skyrim and the Creation kit.

[@XxE5sxX]

Additional informations : -hold left mouse button +z to move objects vertically. -when an object is selected, Shift+f centers the camera on the object. -holding Ctrl and left clicking allows you to select many objects that you can duplicate. This can be usefull to make square rooms : just make a quarter, duplicate, rotate and translate this quarter, and it's done! -The 128 value for translation works for dungeons because dungeon pieces size is 128. If you want to make a house or something else, make sure this value corresponds to your pieces sizes. -I also noticed in previous tutorials that the duplicate tool is used to create 'new' weapons. This is not necessary, just choose edit and modify the ID. By clicking [Ok] you'll be asked if you want to create a new form, just say Yes and the changes you made will be applied on a new object with the ID you gave it. -If you are not familiar with properties (for NPC, weapons,..) editing an existing one is a way to get a strong base. Next tutorials are more detailed about this point. Just wanted to set up bases. And good job BestInSlot, I like your tutorials =)

[@twist3dfatman796]

i know this vid is old but would like to say thank for this tutorial series it has help me out a lot when trying to create a nice little dungeon quest mod will post a link when it is finished if anyone is interested

[@js100serch]

Wow your videos have lit the fire I'm ready to mod the shit out of skyrim XD

[@VenomQuill]

+js100serch I know right?!

[@d3athless415]

You make it sound so easy, which is a good thing. learned a lot from your videos, Thanks.

[@JaferSmash]

@ForAdventure The main shape of a room is designed to be | | Sides and _ -- Front so that the floor patterns match up with the walls. In some cases there are 2 sides and 2 fronts in the more organic kits, and several types of mid pieces that all match up.

[@sampletext4548]

Thanks for this tutorial. You say that is boring but for me its so much fun :D

[@izshocker1]

I'm finding your tutorials more help then Bethesda's. Can't wait for your lighting tutorial.

[@Randios187]

You're amazing. Its so helpful to see a few tips and tricks like this to start off beginners. I know these kind of videos helped me immensely when I was doing the torchlight editor! TY for all this :P

[@leeknivek]

An even easier way is using the mouse rather than the arrow keys. Hold Z, Y, or X, then move the mouse up or down to move the respective coordinates. You can rotate on the Z, Y, or X axis, too, by holding the respective button and using the right mouse button to rotate.

[@Goufunaki]

This video has helped me out so much on how to get started messing around with the CK. Thanks so much!

[@Will-cs2hy]

Id you want the shortcut for moving an object up, hold “Z” when you drag it. This also works with the x and y axis too👍

[@Dhfhdfhdhdfhfdhd]

ive been using your skyrim tutorials for fallout 4 and its worked so far since ive been able to put in a person(tutorial 1) and a op gun(tutorial 2)

[@savandinteren]

+ted582 ted583 Oi i thought i was the only one using it for Fallout 4 :) u2

[@MitpesNitram]

For people confused about certain aspects about creating a dungeon, creationkit.com has many tutorials and Bethesda even has tutorials uploaded to KZbin.

[@TheInfamousHoreldo]

You can highlight whole sections and duplicate, and rotate together. So if you don't mind symmetry build a corner or half and duplicate :) You can find things faster in the object menu by clicking an object then typing the first few letters of the one you're looking for. I'll try come back and add other stuff as I learn/remember

[@kazq_930]

You can also move the Y axis holding down z so you dont have to open the edit menu all the time

[@lixerman99]

Thankyou so much for these videos, they have helped me so much as I know nothing about this!

[@GeneralOstrich]

To find certain names/items in list you can always start typing it and you'll find it much faster than scrolling. Also, the leftovers from aaaMarkers will disappear if you klick on another cell and then back again.

[@LinkoofHyrule]

Anyone know why my render window is just black? No items or anything... just.. black..... forever.. EDIT -- I pressed the "Scroll" key and it all the objects popped in, but the black background stays, if that happens to anyone.

[@morganprosser5093]

Same

[@Tin_Can]

Press A in the Render Window to toggle between Lights Off and Lights On, your stuff is pitch black because you haven't placed any lights anywhere, if you then press A, everything will be lit up everywhere for you to see better.

[@papakushi]

just something use full to know if you screw up something on the map do CTRL+Z to undo just like a text editor

[@badshadowstep]

If you want to use a piece up or down in the z direction then you could also hold the z key and click and drag it up or down. just a tip for all the guys who dont know it. You can also do it for the x and y directions.

[@EKlipC]

Thanks alot for doing these lets create. Looking forward to seeing this series grow, big thumbs up.

[@AVADAMS1967]

Best Modding tutorial I've seen - Bravo!

[@miroslavgolan640]

19:45 I don´t know if someone mentioned it, but there is a faster way to adjust the Z axis of the chosen object- just use PageUp and PageDown. Great tutorials, thanks for making them :D!

[@lollipopskulltagger]

There is but one thing I want to add: Some games are designed level wise from a top perspective, such as good old doom, any doom map in the world is made from a top-down view, so it is natural in that engine for that to be X and Y, so the height will be Z (DoomBuilder references actorheight as Zheight). But I still agree with you a hundred percent.

[@SN1P3RW0LF2573Videos]

the easier way to raise and lower pieces is page up/down

[@zZParabellumZz]

Thank you for this information!!!!1

[@xoyondaimeox]

Thats what i was waiting for,really good tutorial appreciate it man!

[@danielparker8042]

when i "coc" to my dungeon i get spawned at some random black nothingness and i have to coc back out to riverwood seriously annoying.. im working on building a Dragonbore refuge underground somewhat like the dark brohood sacutary just a loooott cooler lol pls help i need to check if my doors are operational

[@ZootCaptain]

I know I am not the only one who wants this but please do more tutorials

[@lolzomgz1337]

An easier way to move something up or down only is to hold Z then drag, holding X Y or Z enables movement along that axis only. :)

[@OsorioChris]

look at the tool buttons in the creation kit. there should be a lightbulb, click that to make it bright to help when you are building :)

[@matt82403]

You need the object you want to clip on selected then what you need to do is hold 'Shift' then 'Q' and click the other object you want that object to clip onto. Then just drag into place and it should be all sorted.

[@7950]

I know that in two-dimensional games the X and Y is used. So lets say for example Tetris, there the X is width and Y is height. In all two dimensional games there is no dept and only X and Y axis. Z has always been dept, unless its a game played from above (which makes it mostly two-dimensional) the dept goes forward and not downwards.

[@Garexi]

holding z while selecting something with mouse allowes you to move the item UP and DOWN... also thre is a way to make floors and tunnels tilt so that you can run downwards without staircases i just dont know how i did it but i did it once as a mistake love your videos. subscribed.

[@TrueChaoSclx]

If you have yet to cover it, I highly recommend teaching people how to add in ambushes, such as Draugr crawling out of holes in the walls and that kind of stuff. They are essential, yet quite... difficult to impliment. Sorry if you have covered it, I don't really have the time to watch through every part, haha. Too busy working on my own dungeon, haha.

[@GboxLP]

I love how you do your tutorials :) Think i just found my new inspiration :D +1 sub

[@Greenz00ne]

@18ch88 you can crate a door in the world and make that a refrence to a door in your dungeon ( like all dungeons in skyrim are done )

[@Daemonop1]

To anyone else confused about the editing a mod and overwriting the old file, you just have to set it as the active file when you check it in the File>Data screen right after startup.

[@Blackfate416]

You can use ctrl to select multiple pieces at once and then duplicate or rotate them all at at the same time.

[@TheLordDaem]

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW... *Ahem* I mean, thank you very much! I found the Beth tutorial confusing as they skipped out points in the video, however in this ONE you have covered quite a few things that they seemed to have missed out! Consider me a subscriber and I'm also now working my way through your tutorials :)

[@ScottsGameAsylum]

im planning in doing a video series in making my own instance. but im stuck between making a new one from scratch. or making a dungeon that is already in the game 10x harder. i.e more mobs. more traps etc etc. i have a vision of bringing a dark souls state of mind to skyrim.

[@kastanyevids4173]

Awesome video, I always had issues trying to make everything fit, but now I understand how it works :)

[@aspartame17]

hold "z" key while moving a peice around will force it to move on the z axis only. Realy easy to deal with and faster that going into the edit menu every time ^^.

[@lxjuani]

you can just press the X, Y or Z key when you drag objects to move them about that particular axis :D it's much easier than editing the axis value directly

[@Karmicdouche]

When you select something you can just press Z and it will allow you to easily change the Z axis of the object. This works for X and Y too.

[@soliduswhitetiger2416]

Noticed that some were having trouble with 'coc'ing into a random place and sometimes falling into a black space. I was having the same problem, turns out when you 'coc' into your dungeon/castle/etc. it spawns you on the last tile that you created, therefore the solution is to delete the tile that you're wanting to spawn to and recreate it. That fixed it for me, hope it helps. Edit: My bad, forget all that, worked a few times then became random again. I did find the real solution tho. In the "Object Window" click "Static" in the left pane and scroll down to "COCMarkerHeading" in the right pane (or click "All" and use filter to search for "coc") drag it to where you want to spawn and rotate it to face the way you want when you spawn.

[@jimmerding]

I have a problem with Nordic catacombs clipping properly. I want a simple transition between a large nordic catacomb and nordic catacomb tunnels (small). Theres 1 type of big nordic catacomb (called NorCatHallBg1WayEndCapExSm01) and a small catacomb hallway called "NorCatHallSm1wayExsm01", both have a horizontal strip at the bottom of identical doorways, so should clip together, but no matter what I try, I either get the small hall partially inside, or a foot gap between the two. Please help.

[@Jorhe2011]

Thank you so much for your help, I lost like 3 hours trying to build a ramp in a cave - it was just a disaster.

[@gamesmaster35v2]

Does anyone know what exit hall he was using at around the 16:00 mark. He kept saying "this one" and the lettering was too small to read.

[@alexfreeburg1633]

Norhallsm1wayendexsm01

[@BruchoSindicate]

my dungeon is not complete, but when i get inside in game with coc command i walk a bit and some unknown force slowely starts to move me in random directions, it's like sliding, and i can't control it, can't run out of it. What the hell is that?

[@XRay777]

by holding down z you can adjust your objects along the z axis^^

[@crisppotatoe7660]

7:15 it wouldn't let me drag the wall away it would just rotate one of them so I don't know how to move it or drag it somewhere...

[@crisppotatoe7660]

Ah ok I found the problem, I just pressed NUMPAD 2 and it was fixed.

[@markjason5613]

Watching in 2024. ❤

[@pentadeuce1086]

"Your homework is to make a dungeon level, use your imagination." I can do that!!!!! Especially seeing as how before this homework was mentioned I already went a little wild, and made a large room and a splitting hallway and stuff.

[@CynicalGamingBlogTerry309]

when i type coc [name of dungeon] i fall through a black abyss... i need help. and for everyone who wants a ceiling, you need to find NorRmSmMid01, its a floor with a roof on it

[@priest865]

type tcl into the console. You can fly around the map then

[@CynicalGamingBlogTerry309]

i fixed it now

[@simmy5641]

brainjuice654 how? i have the same problem :x

[@simmy5641]

David Thomas kinda fixed it but i gota remake my dungion now >.

[@Marckx97]

I had the same problem. Deactivate and reactivate your dungeon from the "data files" and restart skyrim. For me it worked, now the teleportation works!

[@clairegranier2428]

This guy deserves more subs.. +1 subscriber

[@KoiKoiiKoiii]

For some reason every time I save it then re open it (either in skyrim or in the editor) the dungeon is gone. The interior/rubble stays, no errors pop up at all.

[@apthayer]

Not sure what keybind I hit, but now when I click on an item (wall or corner) a 3D sphere of 3 lines appears around the item and I can't move any items around the render window. How do I get rid of it and get back to the previous setting?

[@Grumpydrawer]

I've had the same problem aswell. I did manage to finish a dungeon but only after fie tries (this sphere kept coming up).

[@Grumpydrawer]

I found the solution friend. The W button toggles the 3D sphere on and off.

[@apthayer]

Cheers man!

[@Tulanir1]

If you're wondering if the dungeon will become low definition even if you have the HD texture mod, of course it won't, the HD texture mod is made to replace the textures of the game, and since you're not making your completely own models: No, you dont have to do it yourself.

[@madtuts1]

If you want to make your e.g. wall go down or up, it is easier to use Pageup and Pagedown in my opinion.

[@donaldlavey8070]

Hey there! Great tutorial! I modified the Aretino residence, after the assassin recruit quest, I modified the home to look more abandoned and darker. Just as an experiment. I deleted the plugin, game works fine. Looking forward to building my own dungeon.

[@MUSTANGANDBEKRAZY]

You said that holding the Mouse Button moves the cell but it doesn't, I'm pressing on the wheel and it does nothing unless I slip (in which case it alters the zoom)

[@oudeis0]

Will you ever be showing us how to make truly custom items and such, as in meshes and textures? If not could someone please point me in the direction of some videos that do? These video tutorials are much better than beth's wiki btw, nice job!

[@GehennaMaou]

the page up and page down buttons raise and lower pieces in the render window instead of having to go into edit.

[@anthonyweeks7722]

This helped me a lot. One thing I'd like to add in is a shaft with a spiral staircase. I see these a lot in the game but I can't figure out how to add them in. Any chance you could do an advanced dungeon building tutorial?

[@berant00]

@ForAdventure Yeah. If you don't get it right, you'll see that there are gaps in the floor and ceiling. Just look upside down and it should be easy to solve the problem.

[@nniicckk1223]

I don't have any big room mid pieces that line up with the walls. I've tested all of them. the walls all line up but the mid pieces don't. i'm also using the version for special edition.

[@pn133975]

I have a small problem, i cant find the correct floor for my dungeon, the i can see floor *only* so it doesnt have the roof.

[@Squizzely]

Really good ^^ I enjoy these videos and I'm glade your doing these, cause I want to do my a full mod with quests and new NPCs and all that jazz. Please keep this up! ^^

[@toddarnold4877]

when you add mid (flooring) tiles you also are adding ceiling. Just shift rotate your model so you are laying on the floor looking up...VIOLA!

[@caspergarcia804]

So wierd to go back to the good old vids and here the diffirence In his voice xD

[@nelvee]

Thank you for your informative and helpful tutorials. :) You almost make it look easy!

[@nothuman100]

How do i get a mod back into ck after saving it then closing ck?? I deleted alot of proudmist manor, then saved it and checked it worked in skyrim, but when i brought ck back up i couldnt find it. i was planning on adding a forge into the downstairs

[@matt133825]

just incase you havent gotten it yet. right click on you interior cell and go to the interior data tab and you change it at the top where it says "maker storage unit"

[@Larotian]

Thanks, this is my first time trying to mod

[@KingGev1017]

I have been building a dungeon and theres and un deleteable corner I deleted it but its still there and now I cant delete it again so is it bugged or will it not pop up ingame

[@Eecha2000]

Thank you so much! I can't wait to build huge maze-like dungeons!

[@brianhornfeldt1292]

Hey, I was wondering if anyone could help me with my dungeon, all my meshes keep merging when i move them by the mouse so i manually have to enter the coordinates to get them the way that they are in the video. Does anyone have the same issue or know the answer. Thanks.

[@drewwilliams1214]

I'm having the same problem

[@mariaallen7112]

I had that problem, but I just fixed it. You right click in the render window, click render window properties, go to the movement tab, then check snap to grid.

[@l.d.leiter8038]

You can hold down the z key on the keyboard to move things up and down.

[@Wolfirhart]

a question, i want to place items at walls or in shelfs in positions, the ck physic does not allow. for example a upstanding dagger in a shelf. normally it would fall down if placed with the point of the blade downside, but how can i deactivate the physics for this particular item?

[@CowllHatesHumanity]

When ever I load it up in game some assets are missing. I only used Skyrim.esm. It also happens in creation kit