Difference between revisions of "User:Infinithil"

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Have a nice day!
 
Have a nice day!
  
Finished additions:
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Last finished: [[Toolkit Extra - Advanced Possibilities]]
[[Toolkit_Chapter_05_Randomized_Clutter]]
 
[[Toolkit_Chapter_05.5_Helping_the_Player]]
 
[[Toolkit_Chapter_06_Settler_Navigation]]
 
 
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Workshop area
 
Workshop area
 
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[[Toolkit_Chapter_07_Releasing_your_Mod]]
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[[Toolkit Extra - Custom Flag Tutorial]]
 
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All of my guides will highlight things that are specific to your experience level: <span style="color:#006400">'''Green for beginners'''</span>, and <span style="color:#FF0000">'''Red for seasoned modders'''</span>. So if you’re new, you aren’t meant to understand the red messages, and if you’re a vet - you can probably skip the green.''
 
All of my guides will highlight things that are specific to your experience level: <span style="color:#006400">'''Green for beginners'''</span>, and <span style="color:#FF0000">'''Red for seasoned modders'''</span>. So if you’re new, you aren’t meant to understand the red messages, and if you’re a vet - you can probably skip the green.''
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''If you’ve never built a mod or used the Creation Kit before, it’s recommended that you go through the Sim Settlements Builder’s Toolkit. Even if you aren’t interested in creating buildings for Sim Settlements, it teaches you the basics of the Creation Kit and shows you how to package and upload a mod.''
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This tutorial will go over adding custom flags to the Sim Settlements system. It does not cover photo-editing techniques, only the steps needed to convert an image into a custom flag for use with Sim Settlements.
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<span style="color:#000080">If you already have a mod with custom flags, and you’d like to integrate them without making Sim Settlements a dependent mod, please contact me and I’d be happy to show you the steps required.</span>
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==Programs Needed==
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'''[http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ Gimp] or Photoshop'''
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'''[http://registry.gimp.org/node/70 Gimp DDS Plugin] or [https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-texture-works-plugin Intel TextureWorks Plugin]'''
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'''[http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/3635/ Material Editor]''' by Ousnius
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'''Creation Kit''' (or XEdit, though this tutorial will only show the steps in the Creation Kit)
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'''Sim Settlements 2.0.8 +''' (make sure you have the mod installed as it includes scripts you’ll need)
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Used in this tutorial are several files:
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Flag_Material_Template.BGSM - which tells the game which texture files to use.<br/>Flag_Diffuse_Template_d.dds - which is the art texture file.
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And two optional files, that you most likely won’t need unless you’re a 3d artist. Most people will just want to use the game’s default files for these.<br/>
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Flag_Diffuse_Template_n.dds - which is the normal map <br/>Flag_Diffuse_Template_s.dds - which is the specular map
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Download the [https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/22808 full Builder's Toolkit] to get the files.
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==Setting Up Your Files/Directories==
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# Go into your Fallout 4/Data folder, this is usually found under C:/Program Files(x86)/Steam/steamapps/common. This is where your game files exist.
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# If you don’t have a folder called Textures, create it. Then inside of that, create a new folder for your mod. Copy Flag_Diffuse_Template_d.dds to this folder, now rename it something for the first flag you want to create, for consistency sake, make sure it ends in “_d” like the current name.<br/>So if you decide to name it MyFlag, name it MyFlag_d instead. The d stands for diffuse, and represents what most people would consider the texture.
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# If you don’t have a folder called Materials, create it. Then inside of that, create a new folder for your mod. Copy Flag_Material_Template.BGSM to this folder, now rename it something similar to the texture name you used above for the first flag you want to create.
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# Open the .BGSM file you just renamed in the [http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/3635/ Material Editor] program.<br/>[[File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image01.jpg]]
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# Go to the Material tab, then click on the grey box to the far right next to the Diffuse Texture row, and navigate to the DDS file you copied in step 2. Now save the material and exit this program.
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<span style="color:#FF0000">If you are going to be creating custom normal and specular maps, you would link those files here.</span>
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==Making Your Custom Flag Art==
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Open the DDS file you copied into your directory in Gimp or Photoshop.<br/>[[File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image02.jpg]]<br/>The flag art is made up of two images that look mostly identical, and for the most part you would fine using the same image on top and bottom. Though they are used slightly differently.
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When the Martial Plot is manned, and flag is up in the air, only the top half of the texture is used on both sides of the flag. When the Martial Plot is not manned, and the flag is down, it uses both halves of the texture.
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You’ll be fine copy pasting the top half to the bottom as it’s hard to tell the difference when the flag is down anyway. If you’re a perfectionist, you have the option to do each side separately.<br/>[[File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image03.jpg|left|Bottom half of the texture]][[File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image04.jpg|right|Top half of the texture]]<br/>
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The erased parts of the texture file are what will show up as holes in the flag.<br/>
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# Once you have your flag designed the way you want, do the following to save the file correctly:
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## Gimp: Choose File -> Export As, in the window that pops up, select the file you are editing, then press Export. A second window will come up with DDS settings.
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### Set Compression to BC3 /DXT5
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### Change Mipmaps to Generate mimmaps
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### Press OK.
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## Photoshop: Choose File -> Save As, in the Save As Type dropdown, select Intel Textureworks, click Save. A second window with come up with DDS settings.
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### Change Texture Type to Color + Alpha
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### Set Compression to BC3 8bpp (Linear)
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### Set Mip Maps to Auto Generate.
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### Press OK.
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==Configuring Your Flag==
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This portion uses the Creation Kit, it will be written as if you’ve never used it before, but you may want to go through a basics tutorial, such as the one included in the Sim Settlement’s [[Toolkit|Builder’s Toolkit]].
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# Open the Creation Kit.
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# Click on File->Data and check in SimSettlements.ESM, then press OK.
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# Once the files are loaded, select the Object Window, and type '''kgsim*flag''' in the Filter box. This will show all of the different Sim Settlements objects related to flags.
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# Find the object with the name '''kgSIM_FlagDown_USA''', right-click it and choose '''Duplicate and Rename''', in the pop-up, type in kgSIM_ in the Search box, and enter your own prefix in the Replace box - it can be whatever you want. You’ll use this prefix to identify all of your custom objects.<br/>[[File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image05.jpg]]
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# Press OK.
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# Now repeat step 4 for '''kgSIM_FlagWavingUSA01''', '''kgSIM_FlagWallUSA''', and '''kgSIM_DynamicFlag_Template'''.
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# In the Object Window, replace the Filter field with the prefix you used for your three objects.
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# Double-click '''yourPrefix_FlagDown_USA'''.
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## In the ID field, erase '''USA''' and give the flag a name.
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## Click on the Edit button near the center of the window. This will bring up the model selection screen.
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## Use the Material Swap dropdown menu to select '''Custom Material Swap'''.
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## In the large white section with the headings “Original Material”, “Replacement Material”, and “Remap Index”, double-click the white area under Replacement Material next to “clothflag01alpha.bgsm”.
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## Navigate to materials folder you created at the beginning of this guide and select your .BGSM file, and press OK.
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## Press OK again, and when prompted to Create a New form select No. You’ll then be prompted to Rename, answer Yes.
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# Repeat step 8 for '''yourPrefix_FlagWavingUSA01''' and '''yourPrefix_FlagWallUSA'''. The Wall version will be the exact same steps, and the only difference for the Waving version is that screen will look slightly different, so the Edit button won’t be in the exact same position.
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# Double-click '''yourPrefix_DynamicFlag_Template'''. This is going be your '''Dynamic Flag Record'''.<br/>[[File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image06.jpg]]
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## In the ID field, erase '''Template''' and replace it with your flag name.
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## In the Name field, erase '''Dynamic Flag''' and replace it with what you want the player to see when choosing your flag from the list.
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## Select the '''SimSettlements:DynamicFlag''' script and click the Properties button.
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## Double-click FlagDown.
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### Select '''Static''' from the Form Type dropdown (there may be a slight delay before the Creation Kit response).
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### Check in the Filter box and type in your prefix.
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### Select your flag down model from the Pick Object dropdown.
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## Double-click FlagWall.
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### Select '''Static''' from the Form Type dropdown (there may be a slight delay before the Creation Kit response).
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### Check in the Filter box and type in your prefix.
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### Select your flag wall model from the Pick Object dropdown.
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## Double-click FlagUp.
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### Select MoveableStatic from the Form Type dropdown.
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### Check in the Filter box, your prefix should be there already (type it in if not).
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### Select your flag model from the Pick Object dropdown.
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## Press OK to exit the properties screen.
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## Press OK to exit the MiscItem screen, when prompted to Create a new form, select No. Then press Yes when asked to rename.
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==Adding Your Flag to Sim Settlements==
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<span style="color:#FF0000">If you already have an add-on pack, you can use your existing Quest during this setup.</span>
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Now that you have a flag configured, you’re going to tell Sim Settlements about it.
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'''You’re only going to do this section once, after which, you’ll only need to add additional flags to the form list you’ll configure in this section.'''
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In the Object Window, expand the Character category, then select Quest. Set the Filter to “kgsim_addon”. You’re looking for a quest called kgSIM_AddonTemplate - right-click this and choose Duplicate. Now open the newly created kgSIM_AddonTemplateCOPY0000.
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# On the Quest Data tab, change the ID to something unique <span style="color:#006400">(as always, remember to start with your prefix!)</span>.
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# Press OK. If it asks you to Create a new form, answer No, then answer Yes to renaming.
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# Next we’re going to prepare a FormList for holding your Flag(s).
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## In the Object Window, expand the Miscellaneous category and click FormList. Then in the right-side of the Object Window, right-click and select New.
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## Enter a unique id <span style="color:#006400">(remember to start with your prefix)</span>, for example: '''yourPrefix_FlagList'''
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## Press OK.
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# While you’re still in the FormLists category, change the Filter in the Object Window to your prefix and double-click the FormList you just created and drag it off to the side.
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# In the Object Window, expand the Items category, select MiscItem.
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# Drag your Dynamic Flag Record into the main part of the formlist. It should look like this:<br/>[[File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image07.jpg]]
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# Press OK.
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# Next, in the Object Window, expand the Characters category, then click on Quest, and filter for your prefix to find the quest you made. Double-click it to open it up.
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# On the scripts tab, select SimSettlements:AddOnScript and click Properties.
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# Double-click on '''SIMParent''' and select kgSIM_SIMSettlementParent from the drop down menu.
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# Double-click the MyClutter section, it will be in blue and have a horizontal line next to it. This will expand the MyClutter properties.
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# Double-click MyMartialFlags.
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# Check in filter and enter your prefix.
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# Select your flag list from the Pick Object drop down.
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# Press OK to close the properties window.
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# Press OK again to close the quest.
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# Now click File->Save to save your plugin. Name it anything you like.
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==You’re done!==
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Your flag will now be selectable from the flag menu on the City Planner’s Desk!
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To add additional flags, just repeat the Configuring Your Flag section and add your additional Dynamic Flag Records to your flag formlist you created. No need to do configure additional quests.
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If this is your first Addon for Sim Settlements, know that there can be a short delay after starting up your game before it registers completely with Sim Settlements, so don’t be alarmed if your flag isn’t there in the first 10 seconds.
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[[Category:Toolkit]]
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----
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[[Toolkit Extra - FO4Edit - Working Faster]]
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----
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''This tutorial assumes you know basic navigation and keyboard shortcuts to navigate the Creation Kit. If not, [[Toolkit_Chapter_00_Creation_Kit_101|please go back]] and check out the <span style="color:#006400">'''Creation Kit 101'''</span> primer.
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All of my guides will highlight things that are specific to your experience level: <span style="color:#006400">'''Green for beginners'''</span>, and <span style="color:#FF0000">'''Red for seasoned modders'''</span>. So if you’re new, you aren’t meant to understand the red messages, and if you’re a vet - you can probably skip the green.''
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==Preamble==
 
==Preamble==
  
<span style="color:#FF0000">While this tutorial is directed at new mod authors, if you are a vet, you should skip to the section titled '''Coming Up With Standards To Help the Player-base'''. There is a small template you can use with your description so that players can make sure they have the minimum version of Sim Settlements that your Add-On pack requires, as well as outlines which features of SIM Settlements it supports.</span>
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This guide assumes you’ve been through the numbered tutorials and understand how Building Plans work. It may use some shorthand that you’d only be familiar with if you’ve successfully created a building for Sim Settlements.
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Always be sure that you backup your esp file before applying a script in XEdit. While the software will offer to backup your mod file before committing the changes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. XEdit is mostly agnostic to the specifics of Fallout 4 mods and can create entries that the game doesn’t support, so you should always test your mod after editing it with XEdit scripts. (FO4Edit is the Fallout 4 version of XEdit that you’ll need for this. XEdit is the collective name for all of the variations of this software that work for different games. For example, TES5Edit is the Skyrim version.)
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<span style="color:#000080">IMPORTANT:</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Never include any of the Sim Settlements scripts or other files with your mod, as long as the player has Sim Settlements installed, it will detect them. Doing so will make it impossible for players using your Add-On pack from ever receiving updates to those files. Since Sim Settlements is an ESM, every file you include will overwrite those in Sim Settlements.</span>
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==Programs Needed==
  
The moment is finally here, you’ve spent hours dealing with kinggath’s crazy tutorial series, you’ve made some buildings, or VIP stories and are ready to '''share your work with the community!'''
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*Creation Kit
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*FO4Edit 3.2 or Greater
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*Any Free Text editing software (ex. Notepad)
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*Any Free Spreadsheet software (ex. Google Sheets or OpenOffice)
  
First things first - consider the limitations of modding Fallout 4. If you’re unaware, due to the way mods are handled in code, there is a limit of 255 mods for any individual player. So releasing a single building plan in your mod, may not be appealing to some players.
 
  
You are more than '''welcome to release just a tiny bit of content at a time!''' Though I want to give you some ideas to help encourage users to make use of your add-on pack:
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==Importing Stage Data To Your Add-on==
  
You '''might want to wait until you have a few more buildings/stories''' complete. '''Or you could clearly explain in your description that you plan on adding more content in the future''', maybe mention that you’re looking for feedback before you put in more time on the project.
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Two of the more time-consuming fields to fill out for your Building Plan, are the StageModels and the StageItemSpawns. With the scripts included in the Builder’s Toolkit, the process is greatly simplified.
  
'''Or consider teaming up''' with other budding mod authors you meet in the Discord channel to combine your content together to make a super add-on pack (if you decide to go this route, myself and other experienced authors can help you merge your esp files together!).
 
  
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Start by creating your actual building - essentially do all of the staging work of creating your SCOLs and static records for your building levels and construction stages, and laying out all of the objects you’d normally put in
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the StageItemSpawns field. A best practice to make this easier is to create a Layer for each level of your building (you’ll understand why shortly).
  
And of course, I will gladly promote your add-on pack on the description page of Sim Settlements! Just send me a link after you’ve released it with a screenshot you’d like me to use in promoting it!
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If you’re using scripted objects that do things OnInit or OnLoad, you have to consider a few extra things.
  
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The below Export process is much simpler if you use the actual objects you want to appear, rather than static placeholders inside the staging cell (which is something you might see that I’ve done in a lot of my builds).
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Doing so will leave active objects that might trigger things happening when the player is playing, even if they haven’t built your building plan.
  
With all that said, let’s get started!
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As an easy way to combat this, you can actually continue to use the placeholder objects in your staging cell, and then edit the exported records to reference your actual objects by their Editor ID.
 
==Coming Up With Standards To Help the Player-base==
 
  
Based on the number of requests I’ve received for the Builder’s Toolkit, I think there’s a chance we see a lot of different Add-on packs - '''which is awesome!''' I dream of being able to play this mod one day and never seeing the same building twice after I’ve built up all of my settlements. Obviously, '''I can’t do that alone''' - so I’m incredibly excited that so many of you guys are interested in adding your own flare!
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After you’ve done all this, create your Building Plan object like you would for any other building - just don’t fill out the StageModels or StageItemSpawns fields. We’re going to do that with FO4Edit.
  
Sim Settlements is going to continue to gain features over the foreseeable future. Some of these will add major new possibilities to what you as an Add-On builder can do to the system. Since these upgrades will '''change some of the scripts involved''', you’re going to have to require that not only does the player '''update your mod, but also to the appropriate version of Sim Settlements.'''
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You’ll want to find the XEdit scripts (.pas files) from the Builder’s Toolkit and copy them to the Edit Scripts
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directory where FO4Edit is installed.
  
On top of version concerns, you also have a '''lot of options''' over how complete your buildings are. You can absolutely release a building pack where all you’ve done is the base models and haven’t added construction stages as they will still look awesome inside of player settlements - but you should warn the users about what features you’re not supporting.
 
  
To help make it easy for Sim Settlement users to know what to expect from your Add-On pack, I’ve included a little template you can add somewhere in your description to help players know what they are getting!
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==StageItemSpawns Export/Import Process==
  
So if you decided to skip the navigation step, I won’t start receiving as many bug reports that navigation stopped working because the player will have clearly seen the template in your description.
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To start, you’ll need to export the position/rotation/scale data of your StageItemSpawns. This is best done in 3 stages so that you can easily keep track of which goes on which stage.
  
If you don’t like the design of the template, feel free to create your own - I just wanted to provide a starting point.
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1. Select the objects for your Level 1 building, then choose File -> Export -> Ref Placements for Selection.
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a. You’ll be prompted to create a file, name it something that makes sense to you, and then repeat the process for your the items of each of your other levels.
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2. Now that you have the exported data for each group of items, you need to combine them together in a spreadsheet and fill in the missing data fields.
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a. You’re going to need to be sure to follow a template for the spreadsheet you’re making. The first row should be a header row and not hold any of your item data, if you’d like to label that top row, the data will go in this order:
  
The template can be found inside of the Builder’s Toolkit in a folder called “Add-on Pack Description Template”.
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Editor ID, posX, posY, posZ, RotX, RotY, Rotz, Scale, sSpawnName, iStageNum, iStageEnd, iType, ActorValue, iValidActorValue
  
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To make this simpler, I’ve created a file you can paste your data into on a google drive, simply save it to your own drive and edit that copy: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OIgadz52gQLF3jh5by9XyFh9qttDiImIw0ZyVn9jSoc/e dit#gid=0
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b. Now that you have your spreadsheet started, open one of your exported documents you created in Step 1. Copy everything but the header row from one of your exported documents, click on the first field in the first empty row of your spreadsheet and paste.
  
==The Nexus: Where it All Began==
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The software should detect the formatting, and automatically place each piece of data in its own field. You may notice that the EditorID fields don’t quite match the in game version. In order to support multiple objects of the same form, a 3 digit suffix is added to the end. You can leave these on if you like, as the XEdit script will strip them automatically.
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c. Fill in the iStageNum and sSpawnName fields at minimum.
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d. Fill in any additional fields you’d like to use. If you’re filling in the ActorValue field, be sure to enter the Editor ID of the ActorValue object you used.
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e. At this point, you may alter any of the data manually, such as pointing your placeholders to your actual editor ids.
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f. Repeat these steps for each of your level files of stage items, be sure to use the correct iStageNum for each.
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3. Once your spreadsheet is finished, save it as a .CSV file (comma separated values) - you’re going to end up having to type the exact path to it, so best to store it somewhere simple. I like to create a folder in my C:\ drive called Imports, that way my path will just be C:\Imports\filename.csv
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4. Close the Creation Kit and make sure your CSV file isn’t open in any software.
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5. Make a backup of your esp file in case something goes wrong (it shouldn’t but, not worth the risk anyway).
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6. Open your esp in FO4Edit.
  
Sim Settlements, and my Fallout 4 modding love, wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for nexusmods.com. The site has created such a great community, and wonderful tools for mod authors to manage their mods. So we’re going to start there.
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Wait for it to finish loading, it is substantially faster than the Creation Kit. When it’s done, you should see a message similar to this in the lower left corner:
  
In fact, I’d recommend you always release on nexusmods.com first, to make sure you fix all the bugs (bugs for add-on packs will probably be little things like placement issues or navigation problems). The Bethesda.net user base is far larger, and will overwhelm you with bug reports if you aren’t prepared.
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7. On the left side of the screen, you will see all of your mod’s parent files as well as your mod. Expand your esp by clicking the plus sign next to it.
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8. Next expand Misc. Item and find your Building Plan in the list (if you click the word EditorID near the top of the screen, it will sort all of the entries alphabetically).
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9. Warning: This step is destructive, it will erase the previous entries of your StageItemSpawns property before inserting your spreadsheet data. Right-click on your building plan and choose Apply Script.
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10. In the window that pops up, find kgSIM_ImportStageItemSpawns in the list (if you don’t see this, close the box, then copy the .pas files from the XEdit Scripts folder of the Builder’s Toolkit into the Edit Scripts directory where FO4Edit is installed).
  
I will probably make another tutorial for uploading to Bethesda.net in the future, but the process is very simple, so existing Youtube tutorials may be enough.
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11. Press OK.
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12. After a second or two, you will be prompted to enter the file path. Type the exact path on your local computer to the spreadsheet you created and press OK.
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13. As the script runs you should see messages on the right hand side confirming each line of your document was imported.
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14. If you receive any errors, fix your spreadsheet, and try running the script again.
  
'''If for some reason you don’t have a nexusmods.com account, go set one up!'''
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==StageModels Import Process==
  
First thing we need to do is create you a mod page! Don’t worry, it won’t be public until you decide to publish it.
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The StageModels process is much simpler as you can just type up the data needed instead of combining documents.
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1. Create a new text file or spreadsheet, which ever is easier for you. If you used a naming scheme, it should go fairly quickly as you can just copy/paste the name and change the ending for each stage.
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a. If a text file, type the Editor ID of each of your StageModels, separated by a comma and NO spaces. (Editor ID is the unique ID you gave your Static, for example the Tato Mud Farm’s first stage model Editor ID is: kgSIM_Farm01_SA_L1_Final)
 
   
 
   
#Log into nexusmods/com/fallout4, mouseover Files and choose Add a file[[File:Toolkit Chapter 07 Releasing Your Mod image01.jpg]]
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b. If a spreadsheet, type the Editor ID of each of your StageModels in a cell across a single row.
#This will take you to a Wizard for adding new files. Start by filling out the first page. If you’re not sure about an entry, it’s probably safe to leave it as the default. You can edit this stuff in the future with the Edit Attributes button on your mod page.
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2. Save the file as a .CSV file. If you’re using Notepad, just type in .csv at the end of your filename, it won’t be an option in the dropdown menu.
#*When you get to the Long Description, if you switch to BBCode (link in the upper-right corner) and then paste the contents of the “Optional Header For Your Nexus Description.txt” in the Builder’s Toolkit, when you click BBCode again, you will have a logo and a list of building types and features that you can fill in the answers for![[File:Toolkit Chapter 07 Releasing Your Mod image02.jpg]]Obviously you can add whatever you like after this, or use something entirely different - but this should help you finish quickly while also informing the players what you’re proving them!
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3. Close the Creation Kit and make sure your CSV file isn’t open in any software.
#Continue filling out whatever screens you’d like in the wizard, such as adding images or videos to sample some of the new stuff you’re adding (don’t share too much or you’ll take away I’ll the excitement of upgrades!).
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4. Make a backup of your esp file in case something goes wrong (it shouldn’t but, not worth the risk anyway).
#*When you get to the requirements screen, check in any DLC that you used content from, and be sure to find Sim Settlements under Files or Mods Available on this Site (see image below)[[File:Toolkit Chapter 07 Releasing Your Mod image03.jpg]]
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5. Open your esp in FO4Edit.
#When you get to the files section, skip it. We’ll do that last.
 
#When you’ve finished everything but the files, click on the View File Page So Far to preview your work.
 
  
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Wait for it to finish loading, it is substantially faster than the Creation Kit. When it’s done, you should see a message similar to this in the lower left corner:
  
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6. On the left side of the screen, you will see all of your mod’s parent files as well as your mod. Expand your esp by clicking the plus sign next to it.
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7. Next expand Misc. Item and find your Building Plan in the list (if you click the word EditorID near the top of the screen, it will sort all of the entries alphabetically).
 +
8. Warning: This step is destructive, it will erase the previous entries of your StageModels property before inserting your spreadsheet data. Right-click on your building plan and choose Apply Script.
 +
9. In the window that pops up, find kgSIM_ImportStageModels in the list (if you don’t see this, close the box, then copy the .pas files from the XEdit Scripts folder of the Builder’s Toolkit into the Edit Scripts directory where FO4Edit is installed).
  
Alright, almost there. We just need to upload your files. First there are a few steps to do to package them for players to download so that they work with Nexus Mod Manager nicely.
+
10. Press OK.
 +
11. After a second or two, you will be prompted to enter the file path. Type the exact path on your local computer to the spreadsheet you created and press OK.
 +
12. As the script runs you should see messages on the right hand side confirming each of your building stage models was imported.
 +
13. If you receive any errors, fix your spreadsheet, and try running the script again.
  
#Let’s package up your files.
 
##We’re going to use a file included with the Creation Kit, instead of the Creation Kit itself. The Creation Kit is notorious for including files it shouldn’t that could break other mods - the most likely one it would break in this case would be Sim Settlements (wouldn’t that be embarassing…)
 
##Go to your Fallout 4/Tools directory, find the Archive2 directory and open it up, then open the program Archive2.exe. (this might be another one worth pinning to your taskbar or adding a shortcut to somewhere else, as you’ll use it every time you want to make an update to your mod!)[[File:Toolkit Chapter 07 Releasing Your Mod image04.jpg]]
 
##Click on the Archive menu and choose Add Folder, now navigate to the folder you’ve been saving your models to. It should be under Fallout 4/Data/Meshes. Click your folder (but don’t open it) and press the Select Folder button. All of your models should be added to the screen![[File:Toolkit Chapter 07 Releasing Your Mod image05.jpg]]''If you added any other custom files to your mod such as sounds, or script fragments you will add them here as well. Do NOT add textures to this archive, textures are stored separately. Since custom textures are not discuss in this tutorial series, I’m not going to go over creating those archives, feel free to ask for an assist if you decided to add some!''
 
##Finally press File->Save As and navigate to the Fallout 4/Data folder. Your archive should be named:<br/>Yourespname - Main<br/>Where yourespname is the file name of your mod without the .esp, and there should be a single space before and after the dash.
 
##In the future, when you want to make updates to your mod, or changes to your models, before uploading the changes, you’ll want to come back and repeat these steps, except that you can first open your existing archive with Archive2. You can then just add your entire meshes folder again, and the program is smart enough to just update the ones you changed.
 
#Next we’re going to create the package that you’ll upload to nexusmods.com
 
##Go to your Fallout 4/Data directory, and grab a copy of your esp and ba2 files.
 
##Set yourself up a folder on your hard drive to work in, I’ll refer to it as your Packaging Directory and paste your two mod files inside of that folder.
 
##Next, create a folder called “fomod”.
 
##Inside the Sim Settlements Builder’s Toolkit is a folder called “FOMOD Template”, inside is a file called info.xml, copy it your newly created fomod directory.
 
##Open your copy of info.xml with an editor such as Notepad++.[[File:Toolkit Chapter 07 Releasing Your Mod image06.jpg]]
 
##Change “Your Mod Name” to whatever you want to call it (use Sim Settlements in the name to help people find it!) Examples, bigjohn’s Sim Settlements Building Pack or mustangsally’s Sim Settlements Story Pack.
 
##Change “yournexususername” to your nexusmods.com username
 
##The version can remain 1.0 for now, but if you decide to update your mod, you should come back here and change this number so that the user can see in Nexus Mod Manager that they have the version that matches the website.
 
##In the Website section, replace “YOUR MOD NUMBER HERE” with the number assigned to your mod, which you can see in your browser url of the mod page we created in the previous steps, it will look like:<br/>http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/XXXXX<br/>Where the Xs are your mod number.
 
##In the description, replace the Xs with the version of Sim Settlements you had installed when you last worked on your mod file. This is the earliest version of features you used. That way if I release new features you take advantage of, you can be sure you at least warned your users they need to update Sim Settlements as well as your mod!
 
##After the Sim Settlements link you can add whatever you want to the description. I tend to just put a very simple explanation of what my mod is, and let the main nexus mod page do the talking.
 
##Save the xml file.
 
##Go to your Packaging Directory, select the fomod folder, your mod file, and your archive file, right-click on one and find the 7zip menu and choose Add to archive (continued on next page)[[File:Toolkit Chapter 07 Releasing Your Mod image07.jpg]]
 
##Enter a name for your archive at the top and Press OK.[[File:Toolkit Chapter 07 Releasing Your Mod image08.jpg]]
 
#Now go to your mod page, and click Files on the right hand side, this will take you to the File Management section.[[File:Toolkit Chapter 07 Releasing Your Mod image09.jpg]]
 
#Click the “upload form” button, to be taken to the file details page:[[File:Toolkit Chapter 07 Releasing Your Mod image10.jpg]]
 
#Enter what you’d like people to call your mod (including Sim Settlements AddOn Pack as part of the name will probably be helpful so people know what it is right away!) Examples: Papajulio’s Addon Pack for Sim Settlements, or Raider Home AddOn Pack for Sim Settlements.
 
#Enter something like Main File as the small description (This is a small description of the file itself - you’ll see a lot of mod authors will use this to denote optional files).
 
#Click Select a file to upload… and upload the archive you created.
 
#Type in the exact same version number you have in your info.xml file. (this is how players will confirm they are on your latest version).
 
#Check in the “This is the latest version…” and “Set the new file as the main NMM file”.
 
#When the file finishes uploading a Submit button will appear at the bottom of the screen. Click this to save your work.
 
#Click View File to go to your mod’s page.
 
#'''And finally the moment you’ve been waiting for…. Click Publish.'''
 
  
 +
After you’ve finished importing data for any building plans you’re working with. Close FO4Edit and it will prompt you to save the changes. (If you don’t want to save, simply uncheck the boxes next to the plugins.)
  
You are now officially a mod author! Welcome to the club!
+
Load the Creation Kit and confirm everything is setup correctly.
  
Don’t forget to send me a link so I can promote your Addon Pack!
 
  
[[Category:Toolkit]]
+
==You’re Done!==
 +
 
 +
You can now speed past the most difficult stages of setting up the building plan! You can even hold onto your spreadsheets for quickly editing things in the future. Once you get really comfortable with it - you’ll even be able to add completely new entries to the spreadsheet and into your add-on without ever entering the Creation Kit.

Latest revision as of 17:06, 12 February 2018

Greetings, you people!

My name is Infinithil, I am from Germany and work as a civil servant.

In my free time, I work on my first addon pack for SimSettlements and help around the SimSettlements Wiki.

Have a nice day!

Last finished: Toolkit Extra - Advanced Possibilities


Workshop area


Toolkit Extra - Custom Flag Tutorial


All of my guides will highlight things that are specific to your experience level: Green for beginners, and Red for seasoned modders. So if you’re new, you aren’t meant to understand the red messages, and if you’re a vet - you can probably skip the green.

If you’ve never built a mod or used the Creation Kit before, it’s recommended that you go through the Sim Settlements Builder’s Toolkit. Even if you aren’t interested in creating buildings for Sim Settlements, it teaches you the basics of the Creation Kit and shows you how to package and upload a mod.


This tutorial will go over adding custom flags to the Sim Settlements system. It does not cover photo-editing techniques, only the steps needed to convert an image into a custom flag for use with Sim Settlements.

If you already have a mod with custom flags, and you’d like to integrate them without making Sim Settlements a dependent mod, please contact me and I’d be happy to show you the steps required.


Programs Needed

Gimp or Photoshop

Gimp DDS Plugin or Intel TextureWorks Plugin

Material Editor by Ousnius

Creation Kit (or XEdit, though this tutorial will only show the steps in the Creation Kit)

Sim Settlements 2.0.8 + (make sure you have the mod installed as it includes scripts you’ll need)


Used in this tutorial are several files:

Flag_Material_Template.BGSM - which tells the game which texture files to use.
Flag_Diffuse_Template_d.dds - which is the art texture file.

And two optional files, that you most likely won’t need unless you’re a 3d artist. Most people will just want to use the game’s default files for these.
Flag_Diffuse_Template_n.dds - which is the normal map
Flag_Diffuse_Template_s.dds - which is the specular map

Download the full Builder's Toolkit to get the files.


Setting Up Your Files/Directories

  1. Go into your Fallout 4/Data folder, this is usually found under C:/Program Files(x86)/Steam/steamapps/common. This is where your game files exist.
  2. If you don’t have a folder called Textures, create it. Then inside of that, create a new folder for your mod. Copy Flag_Diffuse_Template_d.dds to this folder, now rename it something for the first flag you want to create, for consistency sake, make sure it ends in “_d” like the current name.
    So if you decide to name it MyFlag, name it MyFlag_d instead. The d stands for diffuse, and represents what most people would consider the texture.
  3. If you don’t have a folder called Materials, create it. Then inside of that, create a new folder for your mod. Copy Flag_Material_Template.BGSM to this folder, now rename it something similar to the texture name you used above for the first flag you want to create.
  4. Open the .BGSM file you just renamed in the Material Editor program.
    File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image01.jpg
  5. Go to the Material tab, then click on the grey box to the far right next to the Diffuse Texture row, and navigate to the DDS file you copied in step 2. Now save the material and exit this program.

If you are going to be creating custom normal and specular maps, you would link those files here.


Making Your Custom Flag Art

Open the DDS file you copied into your directory in Gimp or Photoshop.
File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image02.jpg
The flag art is made up of two images that look mostly identical, and for the most part you would fine using the same image on top and bottom. Though they are used slightly differently.

When the Martial Plot is manned, and flag is up in the air, only the top half of the texture is used on both sides of the flag. When the Martial Plot is not manned, and the flag is down, it uses both halves of the texture.

You’ll be fine copy pasting the top half to the bottom as it’s hard to tell the difference when the flag is down anyway. If you’re a perfectionist, you have the option to do each side separately.

The erased parts of the texture file are what will show up as holes in the flag.

  1. Once you have your flag designed the way you want, do the following to save the file correctly:
    1. Gimp: Choose File -> Export As, in the window that pops up, select the file you are editing, then press Export. A second window will come up with DDS settings.
      1. Set Compression to BC3 /DXT5
      2. Change Mipmaps to Generate mimmaps
      3. Press OK.
    2. Photoshop: Choose File -> Save As, in the Save As Type dropdown, select Intel Textureworks, click Save. A second window with come up with DDS settings.
      1. Change Texture Type to Color + Alpha
      2. Set Compression to BC3 8bpp (Linear)
      3. Set Mip Maps to Auto Generate.
      4. Press OK.

Configuring Your Flag

This portion uses the Creation Kit, it will be written as if you’ve never used it before, but you may want to go through a basics tutorial, such as the one included in the Sim Settlement’s Builder’s Toolkit.

  1. Open the Creation Kit.
  2. Click on File->Data and check in SimSettlements.ESM, then press OK.
  3. Once the files are loaded, select the Object Window, and type kgsim*flag in the Filter box. This will show all of the different Sim Settlements objects related to flags.
  4. Find the object with the name kgSIM_FlagDown_USA, right-click it and choose Duplicate and Rename, in the pop-up, type in kgSIM_ in the Search box, and enter your own prefix in the Replace box - it can be whatever you want. You’ll use this prefix to identify all of your custom objects.
    File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image05.jpg
  5. Press OK.
  6. Now repeat step 4 for kgSIM_FlagWavingUSA01, kgSIM_FlagWallUSA, and kgSIM_DynamicFlag_Template.
  7. In the Object Window, replace the Filter field with the prefix you used for your three objects.
  8. Double-click yourPrefix_FlagDown_USA.
    1. In the ID field, erase USA and give the flag a name.
    2. Click on the Edit button near the center of the window. This will bring up the model selection screen.
    3. Use the Material Swap dropdown menu to select Custom Material Swap.
    4. In the large white section with the headings “Original Material”, “Replacement Material”, and “Remap Index”, double-click the white area under Replacement Material next to “clothflag01alpha.bgsm”.
    5. Navigate to materials folder you created at the beginning of this guide and select your .BGSM file, and press OK.
    6. Press OK again, and when prompted to Create a New form select No. You’ll then be prompted to Rename, answer Yes.
  9. Repeat step 8 for yourPrefix_FlagWavingUSA01 and yourPrefix_FlagWallUSA. The Wall version will be the exact same steps, and the only difference for the Waving version is that screen will look slightly different, so the Edit button won’t be in the exact same position.
  10. Double-click yourPrefix_DynamicFlag_Template. This is going be your Dynamic Flag Record.
    File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image06.jpg
    1. In the ID field, erase Template and replace it with your flag name.
    2. In the Name field, erase Dynamic Flag and replace it with what you want the player to see when choosing your flag from the list.
    3. Select the SimSettlements:DynamicFlag script and click the Properties button.
    4. Double-click FlagDown.
      1. Select Static from the Form Type dropdown (there may be a slight delay before the Creation Kit response).
      2. Check in the Filter box and type in your prefix.
      3. Select your flag down model from the Pick Object dropdown.
    5. Double-click FlagWall.
      1. Select Static from the Form Type dropdown (there may be a slight delay before the Creation Kit response).
      2. Check in the Filter box and type in your prefix.
      3. Select your flag wall model from the Pick Object dropdown.
    6. Double-click FlagUp.
      1. Select MoveableStatic from the Form Type dropdown.
      2. Check in the Filter box, your prefix should be there already (type it in if not).
      3. Select your flag model from the Pick Object dropdown.
    7. Press OK to exit the properties screen.
    8. Press OK to exit the MiscItem screen, when prompted to Create a new form, select No. Then press Yes when asked to rename.

Adding Your Flag to Sim Settlements

If you already have an add-on pack, you can use your existing Quest during this setup.

Now that you have a flag configured, you’re going to tell Sim Settlements about it.

You’re only going to do this section once, after which, you’ll only need to add additional flags to the form list you’ll configure in this section.

In the Object Window, expand the Character category, then select Quest. Set the Filter to “kgsim_addon”. You’re looking for a quest called kgSIM_AddonTemplate - right-click this and choose Duplicate. Now open the newly created kgSIM_AddonTemplateCOPY0000.

  1. On the Quest Data tab, change the ID to something unique (as always, remember to start with your prefix!).
  2. Press OK. If it asks you to Create a new form, answer No, then answer Yes to renaming.
  3. Next we’re going to prepare a FormList for holding your Flag(s).
    1. In the Object Window, expand the Miscellaneous category and click FormList. Then in the right-side of the Object Window, right-click and select New.
    2. Enter a unique id (remember to start with your prefix), for example: yourPrefix_FlagList
    3. Press OK.
  4. While you’re still in the FormLists category, change the Filter in the Object Window to your prefix and double-click the FormList you just created and drag it off to the side.
  5. In the Object Window, expand the Items category, select MiscItem.
  6. Drag your Dynamic Flag Record into the main part of the formlist. It should look like this:
    File:Toolkit Extra Custom Flag Tutorial image07.jpg
  7. Press OK.
  8. Next, in the Object Window, expand the Characters category, then click on Quest, and filter for your prefix to find the quest you made. Double-click it to open it up.
  9. On the scripts tab, select SimSettlements:AddOnScript and click Properties.
  10. Double-click on SIMParent and select kgSIM_SIMSettlementParent from the drop down menu.
  11. Double-click the MyClutter section, it will be in blue and have a horizontal line next to it. This will expand the MyClutter properties.
  12. Double-click MyMartialFlags.
  13. Check in filter and enter your prefix.
  14. Select your flag list from the Pick Object drop down.
  15. Press OK to close the properties window.
  16. Press OK again to close the quest.
  17. Now click File->Save to save your plugin. Name it anything you like.


You’re done!

Your flag will now be selectable from the flag menu on the City Planner’s Desk!

To add additional flags, just repeat the Configuring Your Flag section and add your additional Dynamic Flag Records to your flag formlist you created. No need to do configure additional quests.

If this is your first Addon for Sim Settlements, know that there can be a short delay after starting up your game before it registers completely with Sim Settlements, so don’t be alarmed if your flag isn’t there in the first 10 seconds.


Toolkit Extra - FO4Edit - Working Faster


This tutorial assumes you know basic navigation and keyboard shortcuts to navigate the Creation Kit. If not, please go back and check out the Creation Kit 101 primer.

All of my guides will highlight things that are specific to your experience level: Green for beginners, and Red for seasoned modders. So if you’re new, you aren’t meant to understand the red messages, and if you’re a vet - you can probably skip the green.


Preamble

This guide assumes you’ve been through the numbered tutorials and understand how Building Plans work. It may use some shorthand that you’d only be familiar with if you’ve successfully created a building for Sim Settlements.

Always be sure that you backup your esp file before applying a script in XEdit. While the software will offer to backup your mod file before committing the changes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. XEdit is mostly agnostic to the specifics of Fallout 4 mods and can create entries that the game doesn’t support, so you should always test your mod after editing it with XEdit scripts. (FO4Edit is the Fallout 4 version of XEdit that you’ll need for this. XEdit is the collective name for all of the variations of this software that work for different games. For example, TES5Edit is the Skyrim version.)


Programs Needed

  • Creation Kit
  • FO4Edit 3.2 or Greater
  • Any Free Text editing software (ex. Notepad)
  • Any Free Spreadsheet software (ex. Google Sheets or OpenOffice)


Importing Stage Data To Your Add-on

Two of the more time-consuming fields to fill out for your Building Plan, are the StageModels and the StageItemSpawns. With the scripts included in the Builder’s Toolkit, the process is greatly simplified.


Start by creating your actual building - essentially do all of the staging work of creating your SCOLs and static records for your building levels and construction stages, and laying out all of the objects you’d normally put in

the StageItemSpawns field. A best practice to make this easier is to create a Layer for each level of your building (you’ll understand why shortly).

If you’re using scripted objects that do things OnInit or OnLoad, you have to consider a few extra things.

The below Export process is much simpler if you use the actual objects you want to appear, rather than static placeholders inside the staging cell (which is something you might see that I’ve done in a lot of my builds). Doing so will leave active objects that might trigger things happening when the player is playing, even if they haven’t built your building plan.

As an easy way to combat this, you can actually continue to use the placeholder objects in your staging cell, and then edit the exported records to reference your actual objects by their Editor ID.

After you’ve done all this, create your Building Plan object like you would for any other building - just don’t fill out the StageModels or StageItemSpawns fields. We’re going to do that with FO4Edit.

You’ll want to find the XEdit scripts (.pas files) from the Builder’s Toolkit and copy them to the Edit Scripts directory where FO4Edit is installed.


StageItemSpawns Export/Import Process

To start, you’ll need to export the position/rotation/scale data of your StageItemSpawns. This is best done in 3 stages so that you can easily keep track of which goes on which stage.

1. Select the objects for your Level 1 building, then choose File -> Export -> Ref Placements for Selection. a. You’ll be prompted to create a file, name it something that makes sense to you, and then repeat the process for your the items of each of your other levels. 2. Now that you have the exported data for each group of items, you need to combine them together in a spreadsheet and fill in the missing data fields. a. You’re going to need to be sure to follow a template for the spreadsheet you’re making. The first row should be a header row and not hold any of your item data, if you’d like to label that top row, the data will go in this order:

Editor ID, posX, posY, posZ, RotX, RotY, Rotz, Scale, sSpawnName, iStageNum, iStageEnd, iType, ActorValue, iValidActorValue

To make this simpler, I’ve created a file you can paste your data into on a google drive, simply save it to your own drive and edit that copy: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OIgadz52gQLF3jh5by9XyFh9qttDiImIw0ZyVn9jSoc/e dit#gid=0 b. Now that you have your spreadsheet started, open one of your exported documents you created in Step 1. Copy everything but the header row from one of your exported documents, click on the first field in the first empty row of your spreadsheet and paste.

The software should detect the formatting, and automatically place each piece of data in its own field. You may notice that the EditorID fields don’t quite match the in game version. In order to support multiple objects of the same form, a 3 digit suffix is added to the end. You can leave these on if you like, as the XEdit script will strip them automatically.

c. Fill in the iStageNum and sSpawnName fields at minimum. d. Fill in any additional fields you’d like to use. If you’re filling in the ActorValue field, be sure to enter the Editor ID of the ActorValue object you used. e. At this point, you may alter any of the data manually, such as pointing your placeholders to your actual editor ids. f. Repeat these steps for each of your level files of stage items, be sure to use the correct iStageNum for each. 3. Once your spreadsheet is finished, save it as a .CSV file (comma separated values) - you’re going to end up having to type the exact path to it, so best to store it somewhere simple. I like to create a folder in my C:\ drive called Imports, that way my path will just be C:\Imports\filename.csv 4. Close the Creation Kit and make sure your CSV file isn’t open in any software. 5. Make a backup of your esp file in case something goes wrong (it shouldn’t but, not worth the risk anyway). 6. Open your esp in FO4Edit.

Wait for it to finish loading, it is substantially faster than the Creation Kit. When it’s done, you should see a message similar to this in the lower left corner:

7. On the left side of the screen, you will see all of your mod’s parent files as well as your mod. Expand your esp by clicking the plus sign next to it. 8. Next expand Misc. Item and find your Building Plan in the list (if you click the word EditorID near the top of the screen, it will sort all of the entries alphabetically). 9. Warning: This step is destructive, it will erase the previous entries of your StageItemSpawns property before inserting your spreadsheet data. Right-click on your building plan and choose Apply Script. 10. In the window that pops up, find kgSIM_ImportStageItemSpawns in the list (if you don’t see this, close the box, then copy the .pas files from the XEdit Scripts folder of the Builder’s Toolkit into the Edit Scripts directory where FO4Edit is installed).

11. Press OK. 12. After a second or two, you will be prompted to enter the file path. Type the exact path on your local computer to the spreadsheet you created and press OK. 13. As the script runs you should see messages on the right hand side confirming each line of your document was imported. 14. If you receive any errors, fix your spreadsheet, and try running the script again.

StageModels Import Process

The StageModels process is much simpler as you can just type up the data needed instead of combining documents.

1. Create a new text file or spreadsheet, which ever is easier for you. If you used a naming scheme, it should go fairly quickly as you can just copy/paste the name and change the ending for each stage. a. If a text file, type the Editor ID of each of your StageModels, separated by a comma and NO spaces. (Editor ID is the unique ID you gave your Static, for example the Tato Mud Farm’s first stage model Editor ID is: kgSIM_Farm01_SA_L1_Final)

b. If a spreadsheet, type the Editor ID of each of your StageModels in a cell across a single row. 2. Save the file as a .CSV file. If you’re using Notepad, just type in .csv at the end of your filename, it won’t be an option in the dropdown menu. 3. Close the Creation Kit and make sure your CSV file isn’t open in any software. 4. Make a backup of your esp file in case something goes wrong (it shouldn’t but, not worth the risk anyway). 5. Open your esp in FO4Edit.

Wait for it to finish loading, it is substantially faster than the Creation Kit. When it’s done, you should see a message similar to this in the lower left corner:

6. On the left side of the screen, you will see all of your mod’s parent files as well as your mod. Expand your esp by clicking the plus sign next to it. 7. Next expand Misc. Item and find your Building Plan in the list (if you click the word EditorID near the top of the screen, it will sort all of the entries alphabetically). 8. Warning: This step is destructive, it will erase the previous entries of your StageModels property before inserting your spreadsheet data. Right-click on your building plan and choose Apply Script. 9. In the window that pops up, find kgSIM_ImportStageModels in the list (if you don’t see this, close the box, then copy the .pas files from the XEdit Scripts folder of the Builder’s Toolkit into the Edit Scripts directory where FO4Edit is installed).

10. Press OK. 11. After a second or two, you will be prompted to enter the file path. Type the exact path on your local computer to the spreadsheet you created and press OK. 12. As the script runs you should see messages on the right hand side confirming each of your building stage models was imported. 13. If you receive any errors, fix your spreadsheet, and try running the script again.


After you’ve finished importing data for any building plans you’re working with. Close FO4Edit and it will prompt you to save the changes. (If you don’t want to save, simply uncheck the boxes next to the plugins.)

Load the Creation Kit and confirm everything is setup correctly.


You’re Done!

You can now speed past the most difficult stages of setting up the building plan! You can even hold onto your spreadsheets for quickly editing things in the future. Once you get really comfortable with it - you’ll even be able to add completely new entries to the spreadsheet and into your add-on without ever entering the Creation Kit.