Difference between revisions of "Bethsoft Tutorial Layout"

Several videos are available at [http://www.youtube.com/user/BethesdaGameStudios The Bethesda Game Studios YouTube page].  Everything you need to know will be taught without them, and you may remain on this site.  However; you may find them useful, particularly if you're struggling with any concepts that are better illustrated visually.   

The first thing we need to do is create a new [[Interior_Cells|interior cell]].  The best way to make a new cell is to duplicate an existing one.  To do this make sure the "[[Cell_View_Window]]" has "Interiors" selected in it's "[[:Category:World_Spaces|World Space]]" drop down box.  Now find "Vault108a" in the list of cells.

To duplicate this cell right click on it and select "Duplicate Cell"

Image:Duplicating_A_Cell02.jpg|Duplicating Vault108a w/right-click menu

<blockquote>When duplicating a cell it is best to pick one that has the same theme and kit as the cell you'd like to make.  This is helpful because when you duplicate a cell its Ambient Light, Fog, and [[ImageSpace]] settings all get duplicated too.</blockquote>

Notice that the newly duplicated cell has been made below the original, and has an EditorID of '''"Vault108aCOPY0000"'''  Now lets change the EditorID.

To change the EditorID either select the Cell and hit "F2", or click the ''already highlighted'' Cell one more time. This will allow you to rename the EditorID.  Change it to Vault74a.

Image:New_Name.jpg|Cell w/Correct naming

In order to do this we will need to right click on the Vault74a cell, and select "Edit".  This dialog can also be found from the main toolbar via ''World>Cells''.

After you select "Edit" the "Cell" Properties window will come up.  Click on the "Interior Data" tab then change the "Vault 108 - Entrance" to "Vault 74".  Hit "OK".

Before we can begin using our new cell, we need to remove the unwanted contents of the cell we've duplicated it from.  With your new "'''Vault74a"''' cell loaded, click on the top-most column in the Object List, then press "Shift+End", or scroll down and "shift-click" on the bottom object. This will select all of the Objects in the list.  Press "Del" to delete all of the objects, or right click on one of the highlighted objects and click "Delete".  A message box will pop up; confirm your deletion by press "Yes".

<blockquote>It's possible to have a cell highlighted in the Cell View window while another cell is loaded in the Render window.  To make certain you don't accidentally delete objects from the wrong cell unintentionally, verify that "'''Vault74a'''" appears in the text bar at the top of the Render Window</blockquote>

You will notice that everything was deleted except for the [[:Category:NavMesh|navmesh]].  There is a special way to get rid of the [[:Category:NavMesh|navmesh]] in a cell.  With Vault 74 loaded navigate to ''Navmesh>Remove Cell Navmeshes'' from the main toolbar.  You should notice the [[:Category:NavMesh|navmesh]] object in the Objects List no longer appears, leaving the list completely empty.

The first thing we want to do in our newly created cell is to drop in some Kit pieces.  We will be using the Ruined Vault kit pieces for this tutorial.  Lets drop in a couple of kit pieces and learn how to work with them.  The kit pieces we will be using for this are the Vault Ruined Hall Small pieces.  To find these pieces just navigate the "Object Window" tree to ''"World Objects>Static>Dungeons>VaultRuined>HallSmall"'' Or just follow the picture.

Image:Object_Window.jpg|The Object Window w/Ruined Vault Small Hallways

Before we drop in some pieces lets learn about one of the most important buttons in the editor.

This is the '''"Snap to Grid"''' button:[[Image:Snap_To_Grid.jpg]] This button toggles grid snapping on and off.  This makes sure that when you move an object around the cell it snaps at unit intervals of 256, 128, 64, or whatever else you specify.  We will leave Grid Snapping on for the remainder of this tutorial. You will need to change your snap settings from time to time, depending on what pieces you are using.  The Hotkey for this button is "'''Q'''".  Take a moment now to ensure the button is depressed and snapping is active.

We will set the grid settings now. Click Mouse 2 or (RMB) on the render window which will bring up options. Then click Render Window Properties. The next step is to click the Movement tab. For most of this tutorial a 256 grid snap should be fine.  There may be times when you need to drop the grid snap down to make certain pieces fit.  You can also change your Snap to Angle setting now, if it is not already set to 45.

Another critical tool is the '''"Snap to Angle"''' [[Image:Snap_To_Angle.jpg]] button.  This button toggles rotational snapping. This makes sure that when you rotate an object it snaps to degrees of 15, 45, or whatever you set it to. Again, make sure this is on for the rest of this tutorial.  You can leave this setting at 45 now and for the remainder of the tutorial series.  The Hotkey for this button is "Ctrl-Q".  The "Render Window" must be selected.

The importance of good snapping etiquette cannot be overstated.  Sloppy placement, especially at these early stages, can result in myriad problems such as overlapping polygon surfaces and gaps in level geometry.  These problems can be especially frustrating to debug and fix, so focus on a clean layout now and save yourself the headache later.

<blockquote>To use almost any Hot Key in the G.E.C.K. you must first make sure the "Render Window" is selected.  Do this by either clicking the top of the "Render Window" or clicking inside of it once with your mouse.  This includes the "Ctrl-S" Save hotkey.</blockquote>