SCC Companion Tutorial

Version: 2.0

Date: 03/18/09

Category: NPC/Companions

Author: wogz187

*Use Ctrl+F to locate a specific subject*

Links

Preface

Introduction: Who are we going to make?

Part One: Folder Structure

Part Two: Texture Sets

Part Three: Custom Equipment

Part Four: Classes, Factions and Packages oh-my!

Part Five: The NPC

Part Six: References

Part Seven: The Good Stuff!

Object Effects

Merchant Container

Repair

Medic

SCC Call-Sign

Basic Quest

Part Eight: Into the Nexus

Other Information and Links

Special thanks to: ZableBlaze, LHammonds, Jaysus, Ar13, Loxy and everyone else who helped make this guide possible!

Links

Garden of Eden Creation Kit GECK

GECK Main-Page

Fallout 3 Nexus

My Fallout 3 Nexus Page

Ultimate Load Order

Please become familiar with the character Sasha Ashe if you haven't already. At some point I HIGHLY suggest you open her in the GECK and take a look at how she works.

Preface

Although this document is designed to create a custom companion from scratch, it'll also teach you volumes about doing just about everything in the GECK. Topics covered range from setting up Custom Outfits to Basic Quest creation and Scripts.

All of this information is compiled from my own knowledge and that which I've gained from other tutorials. Links will be provided to those other documents for further reading.

My previous Tutorial based on the character Awon Archer allowed you to edit an existing NPC. I now feel this was a less than perfect way of learning so this time we'll be starting from scratch. Anything you learned in that tutorial will be repeated here.

I suggest, if you haven't already downloaded my Sasha Ashe Character, that you do so now as an example of the things we will do here.

Literally everything I've learned about the GECK is within this document and it's arranged in the most logical, concise format I can muster.

We'll even cover what's involved with uploading a companion to Nexus and I'll provide you with all the resources to do so.

Introduction: Who are we going to make?

When designing a custom NPC it's crucial to first envision what type of character you'd like to create. Please take a few minutes to brain-storm and type some ideas into a Note Pad document. Save that Document on your desktop so we can use it later for easy copying and pasting.

A good character should seem organic and purposeful. With my character Sasha Ashe I wanted to give her a real personality with little emphasis on background. In this way I hope that people will be able to easily create their own story with her. There's a little bit of backstory in the movies on her download page and you can get the sense that she's reluctant to talk about her past but most of this is left to the imagination. What you choose to do with your character is totally up to you but I suggest a minimalist attitude until you've figured out the basics.

As for Sasha, she wasn't created for Fallout 3. I've used the character for several different projects and she relies heavily on an archetype. I have pages upon pages of text and concept art for Sasha so when it came time to create a Fallout 3 Companion Character I was already ahead of the game.

Without a word you can get a sense that Sasha is a dancer, a weapons expert and a fiercly independent young woman. But she's got a softer, more sensitive side buried somewhere just below her tough exterior. Profound, eh?

If you don't have a spare year or two to spend on character development I suggest you at least choose an archetype. Think like; I want my character to be similar to Catwoman, Blade, Mr. Bean, Naruto, Sarah Connor, Tank-Girl, ect. And design the character with that theme in mind.

The whole concept is very similar to creating your PC character and if you enjoyed that process you'll be awestruck by how amazing this can be.

I've caught a bit of flak about Sasha and the other companion characters relying on Sharing and Caring Companions for their Team-Mate function. Rest assured I could create a non-SCC companion if the universe was about to tip in on itself. Luckily (so far as WE know) it's not. SCC will save you lot's of time in setting up your character and if you absolutely MUST make your companion independent of this awesome piece of software, I'll put links at the bottom that show you how to do just that. You can follow this whole guide, use your companion with SCC for testing and still add the Unique Team-Mate functions later. No harm no foul.

Part One: Folder Structure

Before we begin creating the custom companion we should organize the folders that will be uploaded with them. These folders will contain outfits, weapons, sounds, icons, ect.

You'll find a few custom textures included with the download that you can use for the purpose of this tutorial but if you've made your own textures now would be a good time to use them.

Bundled with the download you'll find: A female outfit (DPAT BDU), A male outfit (DPAT BDU), A helmet and an Icon Texture.

You are welcome to upload the outfits with your Character but not as a an independent armor mod. If you'd like to create a new DPAT armor just send me a message and I'll get ya the base texture.

Let's not waste anymore time. We'll get started with the Texture folder which will stand as an example. We won't be including Meshes and Sounds in this tutorial but you may want to later. Don't worry, by that time you'll be fit to do so.

1) Extract the folder ‘Your Character’s Name’ to: Fallout 3/Data/Textures. Rename it appropriately.

That's Part One complete. We're on a roll!

Part Two: Texture Sets

Now we'll get into the GECK and cause some real trouble! For the purpose of this tutorial you should follow all the steps below no matter what sex you've selected for your character.

1) Launch the GECK. Click File --> Data and check the Fallout 3.esm file then click OK. Wait for several moments while the Data loads.

2) Navigate to Miscellaneous --> Texture Set, Highlight Texture set.

3) Right-Click in the list and choose 'New'.

4) Enter a name for your Texture Set in the first field. I suggest 00[EN]bduTS, where [EN] stands for your character's initials WITHOUT the brackets. We'll be using this same naming system over and over again so it's best to be consistent from the start. Please decide now how you'll do it. I suggest you use the examples provided throughout the document.

5) Highlight 'Diffuse' and click 'Edit'. Navigate to the folder we created before in the directory Fallout 3/Data/Textures and choose the file 'DPAToutfitm.dds'. Click 'Open' and you'll see the texture appear for preview.

6) Highlight 'Normal/Gloss' and repeat the above step except this time choose the file 'DPAToutfitm_n.dds'

7) With both textures assigned you may click 'OK' at the bottom and you'll see your new Texture Set appear in the list.

At this point we've created a texture set for the male outfit. Next we'll need to create a texture set for the female outfit. Again, right-click and choose 'New' then title your Texture Set 00[EN]bduTSfemale repeat the same steps above but this time choose the files 'DPAToutfitf.dds' and 'DPAToutfitf_n.dds'.

Finally we'll Create the Helmet Texture Set. Repeat the above steps and ID the Texture Set '00[EN]HelmTS'. We only need to make one of these since both sexes use the same helmet.

Now when we look at the Texture Set window we should see the Three we created.

00[EN]bduTS

00[EN]bduTSfemale

00[EN]HelmTS

Part Three: Custom Equipment

Now we can apply those Texture Sets to the appropriate armor. In this case the 'Vault Security outfit'.

1) In the Object View Window navigate to Items --> Armor and locate the Vault Security suit. Double-Click the entry to open it.

2) Change the ID to something like '00[EN]BDU' and change the NAME to [your character's name] Battle Dress Uniform.

3) Click 'OK' and when prompted to create a new Form ID choose 'Yes'.

4) You'll now see the armor added to the list. Double-Click it again and we'll finish editing.

5) Click 'Edit' under Male Biped Model. In the new window you'll see 'Model File Name' we don't need to click edit in this case because we're going to use the vanilla mesh. Under the field 'Alternate Textures' you'll see a bunch of entries. Likely it'll say: Arms, Meat Cap, Pipboy on, Pipboy off, Upper Body, ect. We need to edit each of the fields which DO NOT say MEAT. Double click a field to edit and choose the Texture Set we created in Part Two '00[EN]bduTS'. Once you've changed that for each of the fields you'll see the new armor in the preview window. Click 'OK' when you've finished.

7) Repeat the process to change the 'World Model' there should only be ONE field to change. Don't change the icon unless you have another file already to put in it's place.

6) Repeat the above steps for the 'Female Biped Model'.

7) You may edit the other stats, I suggest you set the Value to Zero and the Weight to Zero, this is because the Player may want to remove the outfit and we don't want to burden them with the Companion's weight or sell the outfit for crack, I mean caps. When you're happy with the new item click 'OK'.

8) Now we need to apply the Texture Set to the Helmet. Locate 'ArmorCombatHelmet' in the Object Window and Double-click it. You'll notice there is nothing filled out on the female side, this is because the two sexes share the same helmet (and this also saves us some time).

9) Create a new ID and Name for the helmet '00[EN]HELMET'/(your character's Name) Helmet and click 'OK' and 'Yes' to a new form. Double-Click the Helmet again to change the STATS and Texture Set, don't forget the World Model.

10) Anytime you edit something for the head, like glasses, helmets, hair (anything with an .egm file associated with the mesh) you MUST click 'Character' in the menu bar --> Update FaceGen Model Availability.

Alright so that takes care of the Custom Armor but what about a Weapon?

11) Navigate in the Object window to Items --> Weapons. Use the 'Filter' field to search for '10mm'. Double-Click 'Weap10mmPistolSilenced'. Change the ID to 00[EN]Pistol and the name to (your character's name) Pistol. Click 'OK' and 'Yes' to a new Form.

12) (clear the text '10mm' from the Filter field) Locate your new pistol in the list and double-click to edit. Tick 'Automatic' and change the 'Rate of Fire' to 10.0000 and perhaps the Clip Rounds to 21.

So cool!

Part Four: Classes, Factions and Packages oh-my!

So far we've created a New armor outfit that we can apply to our character and a kick-ass weapon for them to wield. There are several other things to do before we actually create the NPC. Hold tight it's all worth it in the long run.

Next we'll create a custom Class for our companion.

1) In the menu bar choose Character --> Class. Right-Click below Editor ID and choose 'New'. Enter an ID such as 00[EN]Class and choose 'OK'. Now you can fill out the fields as you see fit. For the purpose of this tutorial please DO NOT tick services.

Now we can add an AI package.

2) In the menu bar choose Character --> Packages. Right-Click within the list and choose 'New'.

Enter an ID like '00[EN]PackageDEF'. For Package Type choose 'Sandbox' and leave Combat Style as default. Leave Wander Location as 'Near editor location' and set the Radius as 2048. On the FLAGS tab be sure to check 'Offer services' Click 'OK' when you've finished.

To set up a more complicated routine you can see Sasha Ashe as an example. Open her in the GECK and view her packages. [do that after you complete this tutorial].

Next up is a Faction, also located under Character in the menu-bar. You may or may not need a custom faction for your character. If you DO need a custom Faction you'll likely end up using a couple Vanilla Factions, too. We'll discuss this further in a bit. For now we'll just create a good default.

3) In the Faction window right-click below Editor ID and choose 'New'. Fill in the ID as 00[EN]Faction and choose 'OK'. Now fill in the Name, tick 'hidden from PC' [depending on the scope of your mod you can add several faction ranks and titles]. Click 'Ok' when you're done.

Let's make a custom effect for our NPC!

4) In the Object window navigate to Game Effects --> Actor Effect. In the list Right-Click and choose 'New'. Fill in the ID as '00[EN]EFF'. Name the Effect something like (your character's name) Effect. Leave all the boxes un-ticked but Right-click below 'Effect Name' and choose 'New'. Drop the 'Effect' menu down and choose: DemoCrippleBeGoneEffect. Leave the other fields blank. Click 'OK'. Click 'OK' again in the Effect Item window and you'll see the effect added to the list.

This effect should prevent your Character from ever getting crippled. There are several other effects you can add here. Many are safe to use together.

Part Five: The NPC

I'd say it's about damned time we create the actual NPC, eh?

1) In the Object Window navigate to Actors --> NPC. Right-Click in the list to create 'New'.

2) Create an ID for your character like 00[EN]Companion. Fill in a name, check Essential (you'll want this for play-testing but can offer optional downloads). Set up your Race, Sex, Height [1.05 is quite tall, .96 is quite short]. Choose an appropriate voice for your character and select the Class we created before from the drop down list. I suggest your alignment is Neutral or higher for compatibility. Disposition base can remain 35. Leave Death Item and Combat Style un-changed.

3) Click on the 'Stats' Tab. Tick PC Level Mult so your companion will Level-Up with the Player character. Set the base health to 100 or higher (or else the companion may be too weak).

4) Click the Factions Tab. Depending on where your companion will live/act in the world you may want more or less factions. If, for example, they live in Megaton you should give them the MegatonResident Faction. For now include the custom faction we created before. To do this Right-Click the field and choose new, then locate the appropriate faction and Double-click. In this case we only need to select the faction we created before and we'll fill others in later if necessary.

5) Click the AI Data Tab. Choose a level of agreession (I suggest Aggressive as a good default). Select a Mood which reflects your character's personality. Confidence should be set to Brave or even Fool-hardy to prevent Companions fleeing in combat. Energy and responsibility can be left unchanged or edited to fit the character. Please Tick all the services tabs except Recharge and Training.

6) Click the AI Packages Tab. Right-Click under EditorID and select 'New'. Locate the Package we created earlier and Double-click to apply.

7) Click the Inventory Tab. Leave the NPC window open but go back to the Object View window and navigate to Items --> Armor. Highlight the Armor we made earlier and ctrl+click the Helmet so both are highlighted. Drag these items into your NPC's Inventory. Again in the Object window click Items --> Weapons. Locate the Auto-Pistol we created and drag it into your character's Inventory.

You can try adding several other things to the inventory, too. As an example we'll give your NPC a few stimpacks and Caps.

8) In the Object window Navigate to Game Effects --> Ingestible and click the Plus-sign. Click 'Clutter' and then navigate to 'Stimpack'. Drag the item into your character's Inventory. Highlight the Item Stimpack in the inventory and in the options below choose 'Count'. Change that field to the number of Stimpack you'd like the Companion to have.

9) Once again in the Object Window navigate to Items --> Misc Item. Locate 'Caps001' in the list and drag it into your NPC's Inventory. Again, choose 'Count' and define how many Caps to give the Character.

Now we can use the Actor Effect we created before.

10) Click on the Actor Effect Tab. Leave the drop-down menus but Right-click under Actor Effect and choose 'New'. Locate the Effect we created before and Double-Click it.

11) Skip to the Face Tab. Spend a moment setting up the basic options but keep in mind that some of the changes we make later will effect what happens here. Hair color is the most important thing to set up here and now.

12) Skip to the 'Head Parts' Tab. This is where you can choose hair and any additional pieces like 'beards' for a male NPC. After you've selected a piece if you care to change it just be sure to click 'Head' beside 'Preview' after the change to update the preview image.

To add custom hairs (like those in Hair Pack) you can copy the associated Meshes and Textures into appropriate folders and then set up a new Hair in the Object window Actor --> Head Parts list. Be sure to 'Update FaceGen Model Availability' after you've set up the Hair. You can also use one of the Hairs offered in my Hair-trade' mod - - which means you use a Vanilla hair on your Companion which can be swapped out by the above mod. Use the screen-shots included with Hair Trade to help you make a decision.

I can't tell you what's beautiful, or cool, or even fun. I can advise that what most people percieve as beauty is average. So, technically, with all sliders levelled your character should be perfect. That's not quite true in practice though. If you spent anytime setting up your character's face in game, then you should be able to figure this next screen out.

13) Click on the Face Advanced Tab.

Under CONTROL TYPE you can choose Geometry/Texture -and- Symmetry/Asymmetry.

Geometry edits the shape of the face. Texture edits the color/tone/features

You should edit both of those AT LEAST.

Symmetry/Asymmetry:

Real people don't have even symmetry, which is why those fields exist. Here you can make a nose crooked, or a mold a smile into a sly grin.

When you're satisfied that the character looks the way you'd like, click 'OK'.

Part Six: References

If you've made it this far without Saving PLEASE do that now! I suggest you title the .esp file (your character's name).

Now we need to choose where in the world you'd like to add your character. For the purpose of this tutorial we're going to add the character to 'The Muddy Rudder Bar' in Rivet-City.

1) In the Cell View window scroll down to locate 'RCLowerDeck'. Click on it to highlight and then in the right-side window Double-click 'TrinnieRef' NPC. This is only to bring the camera into the proper position quickly, we won't otherwise be touching Trinnie.

2) Now we can see the Muddy Rudder bar in the Render Window. In the Object Window Navigate to your NPC and Drag them into the Render Window. Once the view updates and you can see your character hit the 'F' key to drop them to the floor. You can Double-click to edit the NPC but I suggest you locate them in the Right-Side Pane of the Cell View window and Right-Click --> Edit. Do that now.

3) With your NPC REF properties open fill in the field 'Reference Editor' ID as: [EN]CompanionRef. Do NOT use the numbers like we have been up to this point. Click 'OK'.

Save.

I found out the hard way that numbers in that field cause issues later on.

Now we've got our companion completed and we could go find 'em, recruit 'em using SCC and have a blast!

But there are several other neat options we can add to our companions. This next part is the real Meat of the tutorial. These are all the little tiny bits of information I had to fiend around in forums and obscure tutorials to find. I'm gonna roll-it-up real tight here for you so you don't have to suffer the torment I did.

Here we'll learn how to make a Merchant container, Repair/Heal options, SCC Call-Signs and basic Quest/Dialogue creation.

Thank Gaia!

Part Seven: The Good Stuff!

Here we'll set up the Merchant Container so that our Companion can offer the same equipment our NPC has to the Player. In this case we will actually create new items that are slightly different than the ones in our Companion's Inventory. This way we have more versatility later on. Foresight will save us effort.

Object Effects

1) In the Object window navigate to: Game Effects --> Object Effects. Right-Click in the list and create 'New'. You'll notice this is much like the Actor Effect we set up before. This time we'll be adding it to the Armor. Fill in the ID as: '00[EN]retailBDUeff' and Name it 'RetailBDUeff'. Leave the boxes un-ticked, Right-Click in the pane to 'Add New'.

2) Select the Effect: Increase Agility from the Effect drop-down menu. Add a Magnitude of 2. Click 'OK'. You'll see the effect pop-up in the pane. Right-Click and add another. This time select the Effect: Increase Damage Resistance and give it a Magnitude of 10. Click 'OK'.

If you'd like to add a couple more Effects now would be a great time to do it.

Click 'OK' on your Effect when you've finished.

3) Repeat the above steps to create an Effect for the Helmet. ID: 00[EN]retailHelmEff

4) In the Object window navigate to: Items --> Armor and Double-Click the armor we made before '00[EN]BDU'. Change the ID to '00[EN]retailBDU' and change the Name to BDU XE. Under 'Object Effect' choose the Effect we just created for the BDU. Change the price (your NPC's armor shouldn't have a price) to something appropriate since this will be bought by the Player. Make any other modifications you'll feel are appropriate. Click 'OK' when you're finished and 'Yes' to new ID.

5) Repeat the above steps on the Helmet we created before. Be sure to add the Object Effect and Change the ID: '00[EN]retailHelm' and Name: Helmet XE

6) Repeat the same steps on the weapon we created. Navigate to: Items --> Weapons in the Object Window and Double-Click the Weapon. Change the ID to '00[EN]retailSMG'and Name: SMG XE

You can add an Object Effect to the Weapon, too but it's not something we'll do here.

Now we've got Six Unique Items in the Items group. Four in Armor and Two in Weapons. One of each for the NPC and One of each for the Player.

Have you Saved lately? Please do so now.

Merchant Container

7) In the Object window Navigate to: World Objects --> Container. In the Filter field type 'Moira' and Double-Click the item 'VendorChestBuriedMoiraBrown'. Change the ID to 00[EN]MerchContainer and name it appropriately. Click 'OK' and 'Yes' to a new Form ID. Remove 'Moira' from the Filter Field and locate our new container near the top of the list. Double-Click to edit. With the Container properties open navigate in the Object View Window to Items --> Armor. Drag the two RETAIL pieces into the Container. Remember to set a count for each of them. (you're welcome to leave the count at 1 if that is what you'd like).

8) Navigate to Items --> Weapons and Drag the RETAIL Auto-Pistol into the Container, too. Add a Count you're comfortable with.

9) Navigate to Items --> Misc Item and select any other random thing you'd like for the NPC Merchant inventory. Notice Moira had a couple things in there already so overlap isn't advised. Either delete what she had in there and start from scratch or add items at a whim. When you are happy with your Merchant Container Click 'OK'.

10) In the Menu Bar Click: World --> Cell. Right Click and create 'New'. ID: 00[EN]Storage. On the 'Interior Data' Tab fill in a Name, and select your NPC as the 'Owner NPC'. Click 'OK'.

11) In the Cell View Window Locate your new cell in the Left-Pane and Double-Click it. With the Cell Loaded (it should be an empty void) drag your Container from the Object window into the Cell-View.

12) Now you'll see that the Container is the only thing in the Cell. Double-Click it or Right-Click in the Right-Pane and choose Edit to modify the properties. Do that now.

13) Change the Editor ID Reference to: 00[EN]MerchREF and tick the box 'Persistant Reference'. Under the 'Ownership' tab select your NPC. Click 'OK' when you're finished.

14) Navigate to the Muddy Rudder Bar Cell 'RCLowerDeck'. Highlight it and locate your NPC in the Right-Pane. Right-click and choose 'Edit'. Under the Tab 'Merchant Container' find your container ID and select it. Click 'OK' when you've finished.

Save.

Alright!

We've got the Merchant Container set-up! Now anytime you want to edit the contents all you have to do is EDIT the base container in the Object menu.

Super-easy!

Repair

Let's make our Companion even more useful by creating Medic/Repair options for them. These will be Dialogue Text that the Player clicks on to receive the required services.

To create these things we will make quests for our NPC.

We'll make the Repair Option First. Ultimately the usefulness of your companion's Repair services will be based on their stats. So if you didn't set up the Custom Class to favor 'Repair'. You may want to go do that now.

1) In the Menu Bar select Character --> Class. Locate the custom Class and ensure you've selected 'Repair' as one of the Tag options. You don't have to do this but without it you're companion won't be able to repair very well. The other option is to have fixed stats, that is the NPC doesn't level-up with the Player but instead has unchangeable stats defined by you. That method is less dynamic by nature.

Allowing the NPC to level-up with Player means they can develop together without the NPC being too powerful and unbalancing.

Confident we've sorted through that issue let's move on.

2) In the Object Window navigate to: Actor Data --> Quests. Right-Click in the list and click 'New'. Title the Quest 00[EN]repQUEST and give it a name. Set the Priority to 25. Tick 'Start Game Enabled' and click 'OK'. You'll see the new Quest added to the list.

3) Double-Click the Quest to edit. Click on the 'Topics' Tab. In the left-Pane Right-Click beneath EditorID to create 'New'. Right-Click again in the pop-up box and create a topic ID: '00[EN]repTOPIC'. Click 'OK'.

4) Highlight the Topic and tick 'Top-Level' on the Right Side of the window. Right-Click in the blank field below the word 'Info' and create 'New'.

5) In the top field type the Text Dialogue for your NPC's response. In this case we can use: "Sure. Hand it over." Click 'OK'. You'll see that text appear in 'Response Text'. Now in the field 'Prompt' (which was grey before) you can add the Player Text. We can use: "Will you try to fix my equipment?"

6) Under Conditions Right-click in the field and choose 'New'. The first option which comes up is: GetIsID, which is what we want. Click the Function Info box and select your NPC. The automatic value of == 1 is also what we want. Click 'OK'.

Now your NPC will offer Repair Services at all times. If you plan on setting up a complex Routine you should add the following condition, too.

7) Right-Click below the first condition and create 'New'. Select Function Name: GetOfferServicesNow, Funtion info: NONE, == 1

This will ensure your NPC only offers Repair during the timeframe you set-up in the routine. [Using AI Packages]

8) To actually OFFER the services paste this simple script into the 'Result Script [End]

showRepairMenu

9) Click 'Compile Scripts'. Select your NPC from the 'Speaker' Drop down menu and then click 'OK'.

We've successfully added this Quest Topic to your NPC and they will offer Repair Services within the parameters you define.

Medic

We can do this several ways but I suggest we offer a choice of Medical services to the Player and learn something new about Quest Topics.

1) In the Object window navigate to: Actor Data --> Quests. Right-Click in the list and create 'New'. Enter the Quest Name: 00[EN]MedQuest and the ID: 00[EN]MedicQUEST -Notice the subtle diffrence. Choose 'Priority' of 50, Tick 'Start Game Enabled' and click 'OK'.

2) Now you can see the new Quest added to the list. Double-Click to Edit.

3) Click on the Topics tab. Right-Click in the left-pane and create 'New'. Title the new topic: 00[EN]MedTOPIC -click 'OK'. Be sure to click 'Top-Level' on the Right side and set the 'Speaker' to your NPC.

4) Right-Click under 'Info' and create 'New'. Fill in the Response Text for the first option: "Let me take a look at that." Click 'OK'.

5) Now you can fill in the Prompt with something like: "Will you help me with this wound?"

6) Under Conditions Right-Click and create 'New'. Use the default options again but select your NPC under Funtion Info.

7) Right-Click in the Left Pane again to create a new Topic. Title it: 00[EN]FREEMedTOPIC -click 'OK'. Highlight the new topic and add the response text: "Alright, whatever you say. . ." click 'OK'. Add the Prompt: "Just throw a bandage on it, we gotta keep moving!" When you update the screen (by clicking any of the fields) the GECK will try to check your spelling. We made all our errors [sic] so 'Ignore all'. Make sure you set the Speaker but don't make this Topic 'Top-Level'.

Add the following Script to the Result Script [End]

Player.RestoreAV health 75

Click 'Compile Scripts'.

Now we've created a simple Heal Skill for our NPC accessed through dialogue. This service is free to the Player. Let's add another one that costs some caps.

Still within the 00[EN]MedQuest Topic tab:

8) Right-Click in the Left Pane again to create another new Topic. Title it: 00[EN]PAYMedTOPIC -click 'OK'. Set everything up the same as the last one except use the Response Text: "Yeah we'll get ya healed right up!" and the Prompt: "Do whatever it takes I don't care about the Caps. [100] Caps". Make sure you DO NOT tick 'Top-Level'.

Add the following Script to the Result Script [End]

Player.RestoreAV health 500

Player.RemoveItem caps001 100

Click 'Compile Scripts'. If you want to change the amount of caps do so in both relevant fields.

9) Go back to the first Topic we created for this Quest 00[EN]MedTOPIC and on the left side where it says 'Choices' Right-Click and choose one of the other topics, then do the same thing for the last one. This way the choices for: 00[EN]MedTOPIC will be:

00[EN]FREEMedTOPIC

and

00[EN]PayMedTOPIC

Click 'OK' on the Quest.

That's it! we've added a Quest with a branching dialogue which the Player can use to heal on the fly.

SCC Call-Sign

This will allow the Player to 'Summon' your companion at their side. We will add another Quest which will deliver an Item to the Player Inventory, which when clicked spawns the NPC at the Player's position. You don't have to call it a Call-Sign. You can call it whatever you'd like.

The first step will be to create a custom Script.

1) In the Object View window Navigate to: Miscellaneous --> Scripts. Right-Click the list and choose 'New'. Enter the following script into the window which pops-up:

scn (your character's name)SummonSCRIPT

begin OnEquip

[EN]CompanionRef.MoveTo player, 128, 0, 0

end

Here's an example of how it'll look:

scn SashaSummonSCRIPT

begin OnEquip

PartnerSashaRef.MoveTo player, 128, 0, 0

end

Click Save and Close. You'll see the Script added to the list. This is the point where it's crucial we didn't use Numbers in our NPC's Reference ID.

2) In the Object View Window Navigate to: Items --> Armor. Right-Click the list and create 'New'. Make the ID: 00[EN]Callsign and Name it appropriately.

Example: I made the Name of Sasha's Call-Sign 'Sierra Alpha 01' because that is her call sign. This is what the Player will click on to summon the NPC.

3) Adjust the properties so the Call-Sign is weightless, valueless and a Quest Item. The latter will prevent the Player from dropping the Item.

4) Don't choose any Biped model or World model and select the equip-type as 'Head-Wear'. Tick 'Earrings' this will ensure that the Player doesn't un-equip anything important to summon the NPC. Also it will ensure that no actual Model is displayed on the Player.

For the icon navigate to the Icon texture we placed in your Character's Texture folder at the very beginning.

item_holotap.dds

5) In the Object Script drop-down-menu select the Script we created. Click 'OK'.

That completes the process of creating the Call-Sign but now we need a method with which to deliver it to the player. We can achieve this with another Quest.

6) In the Object View window Navigate to: Actor Data --> Quests. Right-Click in the list and create 'New'. Title the ID: 00[EN]CallsignQuest and Name it: 00[EN]CSquest. Tick 'Start Game Enabled' and set the priority to 50. Click 'OK' and you'll see the Quest added to the list. Double-Click to edit.

7) Click on the Topics Tab and right-click to create 'New'. Right-Click again in the pop-up and Create 'New'. Title the Topic: 00[EN]CallsignTOPIC -click 'OK'.

8) Set your NPC as the Speaker, Tick 'Top-Level'. In the Response Context Right-Click to create 'New' and enter the text: "My call-sign is [your NPC's Call-sign], here lemme write it down for ya." Click 'OK'.

Be sure to add the Condition: GetIsID: NPC:00[EN]companion == 1

9) Enter the Prompt: "What's your Call-sign?". Tick the box that says 'Say Once' and add the following Script to the Result Script [End]:

if player.getitemcount 00[en]callsign < 1

player.additem 00[en]callsign 1

endif

evp

Click Compile Script and 'OK'.

Now the first time we talk to the NPC it will have the text dialogue to offer the call-sign. After the Player has received the Call-sign that dialogue will disappear. From that point all the Player has to do is click the item in their inventory and the NPC will appear.

Saved lately?

Basic Quest

We've already done this a few times now but let's make one more just to ensure it's nailed right down. This quest will add a gift to the Player the first time they speak to the NPC about themselves. We'll make the gift our NPC's Custom Weapon.

1) In the Object View window navigate to: Actor Data --> Quests. Right-Click in the list and create 'New'.

2) Create an ID: 00[EN]GiftQUEST and a name 00[EN]GFTquest. Set Priority to 50 and tick 'Start Game Enabled'. Click 'OK'. You'll see the Quest added to the list, Double-Click to edit.

3) Click the Topics tab. Right-Click to add a Topic and Right-Click again to create 'New'. Set the Topic ID: 00[EN]giftTOPIC -click 'OK'.

4) Set up a Response Text: "That's good for you. Here take this pistol, perhaps it'll come in handy."

5) Set up a prompt: "I'm gonna make a difference in this world!"

6) Create the Condition: GetIsID: NPC:00[EN]companion == 1

7) Tick 'Top-Level' and 'Say Once'.

8) Add the following Script to the Result Script [End]:

Player.additem 00[EN]retailPistol 1

9) Click 'Compile Scripts' and 'OK'.

Now the first time the Player talks to the NPC about that topic it will add the Pistol to the Player inventory and remove this topic from the NPC's dialogue options.

Save!

Holy-Shit we did it!

Part Eight: Into the Nexus

Let's talk about packaging your Companion for the web. We created a folder for the textures with your Character's name as the folder title. If you choose to include Meshes and Sounds it's a good idea to set it up the same way. That way there are only a couple folders for the Player to delete should they choose to uninstall.

I suggest looking around Nexus for stuff to include with your companion. Just make sure that you've got permission before using their equipment. Sometimes the ReadMe file will tell you that it's alright to use but you MUST ALWAYS give credit.

As I said before you can use the custom armor we created with your companion but NOT as an independent Armor Mod.

I've included a sample ReadMe file you can include with the download. Carefully edit it to ensure you covered all the relevant fields. You can use 'find and replace' to quickly edit the names. See the ReadMe for more info.

Please place all your Texture/Meshes folders in a Data folder alongside the .esp file and leave the ReadMe and any screenshots OUTSIDE of the Data Folder in your Archive.

Always include a ReadMe.

Always upload lots of Pictures.

It's good practice to title the archive with your character's name and version number.

I've included a JPEG file you can use to create a banner image like the rest of the SCC companions have on the main-page. You can use MS Paint or any image program to do this. Just take a screenshot, crop it to fit the included JPEG and add some text. See the included document 'Syntax' for a list of codes that'll help you construct a proper Download Page.

Send a message to ZableBlaze or myself with the Banner/URL syntax and we'll make sure it gets posted.

Please follow the insturctions in the Syntax document for more information.