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I've been searching around but couldn't pin point any.
Are there any good tutorials on how to create custom plots for SS2? Preferably video format.
Do we need to use creation kit or can we create them within the game?
I have the modders toolkit but couldn't figure out a way to benefit from it.
I'm not planning to create a mod at first step, if I can avoid it. I merely wanna design my own, so I'm ok if they stay in my savegame.
And it looks like the process needs way more time investment than I anticipated, I guess I'll stick to playing the game for now.
If I dive into this I'd be studying CK and modeling for months...Which is also fun, but not much fun as playing the game...
List of guides and tutorials for creating SS2 addon content.
wiki.simsettlements2.com
Yes, you need to design plots in the CK. Yes, there is a learning curve. Once you get a grasp of the workflow, its not much different than building in workshop mode with Super Place Everywhere v10000.0
If you want to do something beyond what the base plots do, you would get into custom territory and scripting.
List of guides and tutorials for creating SS2 addon content.
wiki.simsettlements2.com
Yes, you need to design plots in the CK. Yes, there is a learning curve. Once you get a grasp of the workflow, its not much different than building in workshop mode with Super Place Everywhere v10000.0
If you want to do something beyond what the base plots do, you would get into custom territory and scripting.
List of guides and tutorials for creating SS2 addon content.
wiki.simsettlements2.com
Yes, you need to design plots in the CK. Yes, there is a learning curve. Once you get a grasp of the workflow, its not much different than building in workshop mode with Super Place Everywhere v10000.0
If you want to do something beyond what the base plots do, you would get into custom territory and scripting.
Hey thank you so much for the link. I've been searching the wiki pages for "custom plot" never occurred to me that they were also considered as "add-ons" and I downloaded almost every plot add-on from nexus =D 80% say "add-on" in their name... LOL
The richness in detail of the documentation is admirable.
Main two reasons I wanted to create my own are;
1- There's always some stuff bothering me or against my taste in other people's add-ons.
For example, there's only a single add-on (to my knowledge) which is dedicated to Vault building... and that mod doesn't utilize the multi-person per plot functionality.
Or you know, since there are only 3 levels for upgrade, I'm nearly always underwhelmed by the 3rd levels of plots almost in every mod...
For example, if I were to create my own plots, I would make sure that the 3rd level would always use clean and fixed versions of the furniture and objects.
Also there are many plots that have no correlation between levels, what so ever... Every level takes 180 degree turn, both in setup and design and messes up all the surrounding builts and themes...
I don't mean to be unfaithful but Kingath's plots are especially like this... Perhaps he wanted the players to always adjust and change the surroundings as well... but it becomes a torture especially when you micromanage every single object and minor pathways.
I even move plot objects as well according to my taste and needs.... as long as they're not grouped together, which brings me to my second reason;
2- I lately started getting performance issues, in places like Vault 88, those nasty graphic glitches (object ghosting) has increased drastically.
So I was hoping to decrease it, by creating my own plots (and perhaps models) and grouping/baking multiple objects. I have no idea if the engine handles them more easily. I assume grouping would have no performance effect on rendering but, perhaps baking multiple objects into a singular one, would decrease unseen triangles and decrease read times for models etc.
If my second reason is somewhat valid, I truly would give this thing a try, if it would benefit my performance... Otherwise, I think I'm better off building everything in workshop, using OCD and place everywhere. I'd progress much more rather than investing time to grasp the learning curve of CK.
Sorry I poured my heart out a bit and it's been a bit long for reading. Thank you.
Every addon maker designs to their own preferences. They can change concepts at each level if they want or they can try and tell a story between then.
I do scaver style very well. Other can make great raider themed plots.
There are ways to blacklist unwanted plots from being built. If you find one you don't like you do have the option to never have it built.
There have been many calls for cleaner themed plots. If you release the addon you make I am sure many people will install and love it.
Part of the problem there is there aren't that many "clean" assets in the base game. Which mans if you want truly clean stuff you have to make your own materials. Not everyone is comfortable doing this.
KG has been quoted as saying he likes the classic FO4 look. That's why none of his plots are super clean.
Additionally he describes his reasoning for designing the plot levels the way they are in the creation tutorial.
Level 1 is just scraping by. Imagine a studio appt rented by somebody on minimum wage.
Level 2 is on stable footing. Consider a one bedroom rental for a low level manager.
Level 3 is living large. Here you have a boomer during a mid life crisis spending all their excess wealth on improving their way of living.
If you dislike having to move plots as they level up then there are consul commands to force a plot to level if you want to see what it looks like at each level so you can make sure it is positioned in the right place. The plot growth between levels is also the reason why the city plans are designed with the level 3 version in mind and then leveled down.
As for the grouped items, there are performance reasons for doing this. It is easier for older machines to deal with grouped objects than individual ones, reducing load and render times. Additionally the clutter features require grouped items to work properly.
For plots that you like the concept of but not the decorations it IS possible to create your own skins for already existing plots thereby keeping the concept but changing the ascetic to whatever you like.
As someone who is creating his own addon right now, let me say that I disagree with you. It's ok, we can have different opinions. But the opinion that every 3rd level should always be X is, to me, quite ridiculous. I think every plot evolution is telling a story.
Now, before I go any firther, full disclosure, I'm a storyteller and a writer first of all. It's actually what my addon is going to be mostly about, writing (newspapers). But even when designing a plot we are, at elast in my way of designing, telling the story arc of a place and the people who are using that space.
So if you have pre-determined that every plot will follow the exact same pattern, you are, in effect, locking yourself into one story being repeated over and over again. I personally don't think this is a great way to design a good addon overall. Not that it's bad, it's actually probably better than just doing randomly whatever. Its just that you block potentially looking at plots in a different way or telling a different story if your insistence is always that a plot should be dirty and incomplete at level 1, clean and complete at level 3 and in the middle at level 2.
Also keep in mind that the cleaner you make something, the more it will look like it's not seeing use. We had a discussion regarding this with Whisper a few days ago with his institute inspired content. It was true for his white color but it's true for a plot design too. When a place is lived in, the signs you see are that objects are being used and not always placed where they should, things don't always align properly (like things on shelves) because people move things around looking for specific things etc. But I'm getting off track one more time.
Ok before I start rambling about random things, let me just makesure my point is clear. I do not mean to say that your addon would be bad or uninteresting if you did it exactly the way you thought about it. I'm saying that it would be a bit better if you opened yourself to a more malleable approach, one that would start with questions instead of starting with answers. One that ask itself "what do the people using this space want/can achieve by level 3 (their own ultimate goal), what would be the space that would make them see this as their ultimate goal and how would they go about getting there?" Maybe your plots will still all end up with the cleanest desk/chair/bookshelf/etc every time and maybe a dirty and used set of appliances will tell some stories better.
Every addon maker designs to their own preferences. They can change concepts at each level if they want or they can try and tell a story between then.
I do scaver style very well. Other can make great raider themed plots.
There are ways to blacklist unwanted plots from being built. If you find one you don't like you do have the option to never have it built.
There have been many calls for cleaner themed plots. If you release the addon you make I am sure many people will install and love it.
Part of the problem there is there aren't that many "clean" assets in the base game. Which mans if you want truly clean stuff you have to make your own materials. Not everyone is comfortable doing this.
KG has been quoted as saying he likes the classic FO4 look. That's why none of his plots are super clean.
Additionally he describes his reasoning for designing the plot levels the way they are in the creation tutorial.
Level 1 is just scraping by. Imagine a studio appt rented by somebody on minimum wage.
Level 2 is on stable footing. Consider a one bedroom rental for a low level manager.
Level 3 is living large. Here you have a boomer during a mid life crisis spending all their excess wealth on improving their way of living.
If you dislike having to move plots as they level up then there are consul commands to force a plot to level if you want to see what it looks like at each level so you can make sure it is positioned in the right place. The plot growth between levels is also the reason why the city plans are designed with the level 3 version in mind and then leveled down.
As for the grouped items, there are performance reasons for doing this. It is easier for older machines to deal with grouped objects than individual ones, reducing load and render times. Additionally the clutter features require grouped items to work properly.
For plots that you like the concept of but not the decorations it IS possible to create your own skins for already existing plots thereby keeping the concept but changing the ascetic to whatever you like.
Blacklisting is a bit harsh. I never did that for any of the plots. I believe every creation has it's place. However I never allow a building to go random or never use city plans. I always choose the plot myself.
In my workshop I believe I do have enough clean assets. Just the pre-war versions of furniture are enough sometimes. I'll get into this further in detail down below.
I do unfortunately use console sometimes, to see the higher levels of the plots and plan accordingly or just build from there. I say unfortunately cause it takes the fun and the surprise element out a bit.
Good to know that whole thing can be performance friendly.
When you say skin, I assume color textures for certain assets like walls, planks etc right? Or are there any thematic skins as well (I never seen one) where you can swap old furniture with prewar, or change the decoration depending on faction etc? Can it be done and saved as a theme?
If so I could benefit from that and just swap a few furniture from my favorite plots...
As someone who is creating his own addon right now, let me say that I disagree with you. It's ok, we can have different opinions. But the opinion that every 3rd level should always be X is, to me, quite ridiculous. I think every plot evolution is telling a story.
Now, before I go any firther, full disclosure, I'm a storyteller and a writer first of all. It's actually what my addon is going to be mostly about, writing (newspapers). But even when designing a plot we are, at elast in my way of designing, telling the story arc of a place and the people who are using that space.
So if you have pre-determined that every plot will follow the exact same pattern, you are, in effect, locking yourself into one story being repeated over and over again. I personally don't think this is a great way to design a good addon overall. Not that it's bad, it's actually probably better than just doing randomly whatever. Its just that you block potentially looking at plots in a different way or telling a different story if your insistence is always that a plot should be dirty and incomplete at level 1, clean and complete at level 3 and in the middle at level 2.
Also keep in mind that the cleaner you make something, the more it will look like it's not seeing use. We had a discussion regarding this with Whisper a few days ago with his institute inspired content. It was true for his white color but it's true for a plot design too. When a place is lived in, the signs you see are that objects are being used and not always placed where they should, things don't always align properly (like things on shelves) because people move things around looking for specific things etc. But I'm getting off track one more time.
Ok before I start rambling about random things, let me just makesure my point is clear. I do not mean to say that your addon would be bad or uninteresting if you did it exactly the way you thought about it. I'm saying that it would be a bit better if you opened yourself to a more malleable approach, one that would start with questions instead of starting with answers. One that ask itself "what do the people using this space want/can achieve by level 3 (their own ultimate goal), what would be the space that would make them see this as their ultimate goal and how would they go about getting there?" Maybe your plots will still all end up with the cleanest desk/chair/bookshelf/etc every time and maybe a dirty and used set of appliances will tell some stories better.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. Of course there has to be a story behind everything, not only add-ons. That's in fact why I love fallout so much... Not only the literal stories you find in terminals and notes, but in scenery, decoration and setup as well... The Fallout universe is especially suitable for storytelling because it's like a snapshot at the very moment of bombs falling. Like skeleton couples on benches or beds... Blodstains on the floor underneath huge cinder pipes in Vaults... A molded birthday cake on the table... All those empty beer bottles and cigarettes laying around etc... You know what I'm talking about.
I also like the classic look and feel of F4, as Freddrick quoted from Kingath. Although sometimes it feels a bit forcefully exagerated. Because I also believe that the post war population wouldn't have changed that much from wishing to stay clean, have fresh water, wear proper clothes and sit on, not so shaky furniture.
Except raiders and such of course... Those are just filth themselves.
So when I imagine "re-building" The Commonwealth as Preston puts it, I imagine people would fix things where they settle (hence all the hammering in the Sanctuary), would sew and wash their clothes, would cut glass and replace the broken windows and ovens etc...
I'm not saying that a scavenger themed plot, which only consists of a metal shack, should go all the way up to the Institute style cleanless in level 3.... I'm just saying that people would at least clean the countertops where they prepare food, even if it's a cooked radroach.
So for example I imagine, a distorted and broken fridge door, skewed shelves and counter-tops without doors, from a kitchen setup in a level one plot, would be "fixed"/"repaired" and cleaned on a level 3 upgrade.
On the other hand, I also welcome plots where it's always dirty, even filthy and broken and such... I use those kinds of plots for my gatherers and scavengers or my provisioners and caravaneers, where they are always on the move and perhaps don't pay much detail in where they spend the night nor care.
But when I build in the vault, or trying to create a haven for specific NPC's whom have established a character already, I(we) don't seem to have much options as SS2 plotwise...
That's all. And as you say "It's ok, we can have different opinions"...
When you say skin, I assume color textures for certain assets like walls, planks etc right? Or are there any thematic skins as well (I never seen one) where you can swap old furniture with prewar, or change the decoration depending on faction etc? Can it be done and saved as a theme?
What's being talked about is building skins. For all intents and purposes, they are the same as a building plan except they only modify the spawned objects. The building plan still governs things like the building class, resources and number of occupants. It can be as simple as re-coloring a building, to replacing all spawned objects to something else. They would be a good way to take existing building plans and swap out "dirty" furniture for clean like you are talking about. SS2 Wiki: Building Skins
Skins can do A TON. This is the most underused tool in the toolkit. In SS1, I made RobotsSmell do an information kiosk that would have skins to change the plot into a bunch of different "tourism kiosks" with a few change of posters, items on the main desk and furniture (plants). It CAN be as simple as c change of color but it can do SO MUCH MORE.
I'm not saying that a scavenger themed plot, which only consists of a metal shack, should go all the way up to the Institute style cleanless in level 3.... I'm just saying that people would at least clean the countertops where they prepare food, even if it's a cooked radroach.
So for example I imagine, a distorted and broken fridge door, skewed shelves and counter-tops without doors, from a kitchen setup in a level one plot, would be "fixed"/"repaired" and cleaned on a level 3 upgrade.
As I said, an entirely decent story to tell. This is a kitchen that people want to get cleaned, that they want to get in a pristine condition. It start from a complete kitchen that can be renovated which is a perfectly logical first stage to start from to get to your finished vision. I relly cant complain about it, I am literally doing pretty much this exact thing with my coffee shop. It's a mostly complete space that gets a bit cleaner (and a bit busier with more tables for customers) between levels. My dirty cappucino machine I get on level 2 gets cleaned for level 3 etc.
But as an example, it also could be a small kitchen that starts without anything, no counter, a mere simple cooking element and maybe some chairs for people to sit. And as levels go up it gets more and more furniture (counters, tables, chairs etc). In a case like this the story isn't about how clean it gets but about how complete the kitchen gets. Then the style might be very clean but it could also be using unclean counters. In that case, the story of the plot is a lot more like "they did their best with the content they could find" rather than "they had access to the best counters, chairs and tables, all in pristine condition" which, in my book, lessen the sense of accomplishment. But again, I'm pushing a bit with my own storyteller reflexes. I'm only sharing options, I have no fear that yourplots will be good, you already seem to have a good mind about the whole thing.
But when I build in the vault, or trying to create a haven for specific NPC's whom have established a character already, I(we) don't seem to have much options as SS2 plotwise...
Yeah, at the end of the day a lot more addon makers seem to prefer the look of the base game. And I have seen more than one person request cleaner content, you are far from the only person who think it would be needed so I have no fear that your addon will get some action too. And I promise I will be one of them.
Feel free to ask questions. Oh and ask to get your invite to the discord for addon makers. It's the best place to ask for help regarding plot making.
Because I also believe that the post war population wouldn't have changed that much from wishing to stay clean, have fresh water, wear proper clothes and sit on, not so shaky furniture.
Except raiders and such of course... Those are just filth themselves.
So when I imagine "re-building" The Commonwealth as Preston puts it, I imagine people would fix things where they settle (hence all the hammering in the Sanctuary), would sew and wash their clothes, would cut glass and replace the broken windows and ovens etc...
I feel similar, especially because people like Jake would be major catalysts for restoring things towards pre-war. Overall I started off with SS2 plot designs, a bit more towards scrappy but now doing a bit more of cleaner/restored look.
When you say skin, I assume color textures for certain assets like walls, planks etc right? Or are there any thematic skins as well (I never seen one) where you can swap old furniture with prewar, or change the decoration depending on faction etc? Can it be done and saved as a theme?
If so I could benefit from that and just swap a few furniture from my favorite plots...
Here's an example from mine. I prefer clean look while most players prefer classic scrappy so this plot has both, via plot skins. Availability of clean assets are limited, so this skin requires Neon Flats CC & uses things dynamically from some mods.
Blacklisting is a bit harsh. I never did that for any of the plots. I believe every creation has it's place. However I never allow a building to go random or never use city plans. I always choose the plot myself.
It's an option to be able to exclude specific plots, without foregoing the addon pack entirely. I generally don't use it personally unless a plot causes crashing, although if the addon pack author is on Discord I'll try reporting it to them. On SS2 so far haven't ran into that, or at least not where it didn't get quickly fixed soon afterwards.
Yeah, at the end of the day a lot more addon makers seem to prefer the look of the base game. And I have seen more than one person request cleaner content, you are far from the only person who think it would be needed so I have no fear that your addon will get some action too. And I promise I will be one of them.
I really want pristine plots as well, though what I'd want would need largely or entirely custom made assets which take a lot longer.
So I'm pretty much doing things in phases. First was doing lore friendly and trying to have them be easily realizable, to cover classes like caravan/communications/advanced power/5 industrial types, the third phase would be heavily custom plots, and second being somewhere in between. Current is "second phase", where there's some amount of custom work.
Skins can do A TON. This is the most underused tool in the toolkit. In SS1, I made RobotsSmell do an information kiosk that would have skins to change the plot into a bunch of different "tourism kiosks" with a few change of posters, items on the main desk and furniture (plants). It CAN be as simple as c change of color but it can do SO MUCH MORE.
But as an example, it also could be a small kitchen that starts without anything, no counter, a mere simple cooking element and maybe some chairs for people to sit. And as levels go up it gets more and more furniture (counters, tables, chairs etc). In a case like this the story isn't about how clean it gets but about how complete the kitchen gets. Then the style might be very clean but it could also be using unclean counters. In that case, the story of the plot is a lot more like "they did their best with the content they could find" rather than "they had access to the best counters, chairs and tables, all in pristine condition" which, in my book, lessen the sense of accomplishment. But again, I'm pushing a bit with my own storyteller reflexes.
Yeah I totally agree. It all depends where the Settlement is. If it's, say, a settlement out in the wild, skirts of the commonwealth, middle of nowhere... Then it totally makes sence... But say, if it's the vault 88, even if we don't see tham laying around, I'm sure most of those big containers have plenty of unpacked furniture, delivered by train, etc. Besides all the building materials...
I feel similar, especially because people like Jake would be major catalysts for restoring things towards pre-war. Overall I started off with SS2 plot designs, a bit more towards scrappy but now doing a bit more of cleaner/restored look.
Here's an example from mine. I prefer clean look while most players prefer classic scrappy so this plot has both, via plot skins. Availability of clean assets are limited, so this skin requires Neon Flats CC & uses things dynamically from some mods.
It's an option to be able to exclude specific plots, without foregoing the addon pack entirely. I generally don't use it personally unless a plot causes crashing, although if the addon pack author is on Discord I'll try reporting it to them. On SS2 so far haven't ran into that, or at least not where it didn't get quickly fixed soon afterwards.
I really want pristine plots as well, though what I'd want would need largely or entirely custom made assets which take a lot longer.
So I'm pretty much doing things in phases. First was doing lore friendly and trying to have them be easily realizable, to cover classes like caravan/communications/advanced power/5 industrial types, the third phase would be heavily custom plots, and second being somewhere in between. Current is "second phase", where there's some amount of custom work.
I'm gonna be totally honest; I had my eye on this add-on for quite some time now.
First the 700Mb size with HUGE detailed buildings (which I love) scared me a bit (loading times & performance) for a long time, then I apologize to say this and please take it as a constructive criticism but, some of the plots, like the 3x3 agricultural with 2 trees on top of a diner, then a roman style plot, next to a ruined building etc... Threw me off a bit... Thinking that the style and the theme of the mod was scattered around a bit...
But when you say now, that the plot(s) have skins and not just recolourings but whole replacements... I decided to revisit the mod page...
And seeing on the description that VaultLand is implemented..
Also noticing the curved and stackable foundations... (still scared by the amount of foundations cluttering my WS menu. 270 is a lot, but still...)
I'm very excited about it and downloading it right now!
Is that the only plot with skins or are there more and do all the skins are CC dependent?
If you're not the uploader and fftfan is a different person, please tell them to update the mod page a bit.
Let me tell you; if you (or fftfan) had already stated these in the description tab, I'd have already downloaded it.
I know the mod already has 37,478 total unique downloads and is the 4th most downloaded mod under SS2 category, but what would be fantastic that I could further suggest/wish from you and if you want to enlarge your audience even more is; that you (or fftfan) to supply more detailed info about the mod...
Like which plots have which skins... Perhaps put up images of every and each plot, with in-game plot names as the screenshot names etc...
I know that the page have already most of the screenshots up like this... But some are missing detail and I suspect the images don't do justice nowhere near to the total amount of plots that are included in the mod. 53 in total but 20 pics only It's also stated that there's "an interior settlement"?!?! WHERE?
I see that people in "posts" tab, are already requesting more detailed info about each plot and I'm not the only one.
Anyways, personally it's those kinds of details in mod pages, are what attracts me to add-ons at first sight and it is SO useful to see each plot separately and with their name in the images.
Especially if one wants to decide what to build and previews are missing or are not so representative of the plot in game. Some people go even further and post each level of each plot!
But nonetheless, with your post and explanation here, I realize that so much more work and thoughts have already gone into creating superstructures than I originally anticipated.
So thank you for creating such an add-on.
Now I'm off to launching F4 and taking a look at those...
I can confirm that Superstructures is VersusXV's mod.
Yes their mod has a LOT of content. And sometimes its not for everybody.
I personally end up using their 1x1 caravan plot quite a bit and plenty of their stuff is in my build list.
As you mentioned, some of the plots don't make sense in the wasteland (at least my version of it) and that's fine. Other can love them and use them constantly. Its not my job, or anyone else's, to tell other people how to play or what to create. (Its just my job to tell people to create it themselves)
For the foundations, they are in their own menu section in the workshop. You will only see them if you access them.
As for the info that is on the mod description. These can be as detailed or as sparse at the author wants. If the author doesn't want to write a novel giving a full description of each plot and what skins are available they don't have to. Most just give the name of the plot under its category and size, not even a brief description.
As far as I know I am one of the few (if not the only one) that HAS marked some of my plots as to having skins because I have certain plots that have special skins designed to give the plot a structure suitable for external use. This use of the skin tool allows me to design plots for interior usage than can then be used outside as well.
When you release your mod you are free to provide as much detailed information as you like.
For some of us, part of the fun of the game is discovering the details of the different plots and what options they have.
I am glad you are enjoying FO4 and SS2 and hope you continue to discover all the little things KG, the SS2 team and the other mod authors have added.
List of guides and tutorials for creating SS2 addon content.
wiki.simsettlements2.com
Yes, you need to design plots in the CK. Yes, there is a learning curve. Once you get a grasp of the workflow, its not much different than building in workshop mode with Super Place Everywhere v10000.0
If you want to do something beyond what the base plots do, you would get into custom territory and scripting.
Thank you for the link. I just took up making mods for FO4 and SS2 has some interesting features to play with. Previously I made things for Morrowind, FO3 and FNV. Some of the latter still lives as a part of a large team mod I worked on. It's a relief to see the plethora of assets in the base game + DLC because I model in Blender and if nothing's changed it's a PITA to bring a mesh from it into the game.
Brothers, I have a question, so in a plot, sometimes things are able to be interacted with and some are not (like a bed could sometimes be interacted with but other plots beds you cannot, and I remember there is one defense plot you can grab some ammo in it), so how are we going to determine that then?
Brothers, I have a question, so in a plot, sometimes things are able to be interacted with and some are not (like a bed could sometimes be interacted with but other plots beds you cannot, and I remember there is one defense plot you can grab some ammo in it), so how are we going to determine that then?
It depends on what kind of item the author adds to the plot.
If the author adds a static item then it is not intractable (for most things that are normally intractable that have been made static there is a kgsim prefix added for easy sorting.)
If they add a non static item (in the case you mentioned a container) then it is possible for the player to interact with them depending on the type of item.
It's also stated that there's "an interior settlement"?!?! WHERE? 
)
