If you're new to Bethesda modding, the Creation Kit is the official software development kit (SDK) which allows community authors to create and share mods. There are equivalent Creation Kits for Skyrim, Skyrim Special Edition and Fallout 4. It is the evolution of the Construction Set used in Oblivion and Morrowind or the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (G.E.C.K.) used in Fallout 3 and New Vegas.
The tool is a stripped-down version of the editor that Bethesda's developers use to create the game and DLCs. It allows modders to create and edit almost all existing game objects including quests, items, locations and more. It's an incredibly powerful tool!
Right now, there is no public documentation for Starfield, but if you want to understand some basic concepts of how the editor works, you can check out the official Skyrim and Fallout 4 wiki here.
Download the Creation Kit for Starfield on SteamWe're super excited to see the mods you create using the official tools.
You can expect a more comprehensive list of new features on the CK wiki but here are a few highlights:
- Unique vs Instanced Content - Content is now organised into unique and instanced content depending on how it is intended to be used. Unique content is for static locations (e.g. a specific interior on a single planet), whereas instanced content is generated at runtime and can be re-used around the galaxy (e.g. the Starborn Temples are re-used on various planets).
- Planet Content Manager (PCM) - A new system similar to (but not replacing) Story Manager in previous games. This controls the procedural content in planets and space cells.
- Galaxy View - A new data management tool for managing different stellar bodies, including stars, planets, moons, asteroid belts, star stations, and generic orbitals.
- Worldspace overlays - Instead of creating the terrain for an entire planet, you will create mini-worldspaces which are then stitched into the procedural terrain on the surface of one or more planets.
- Particle Editor - Create particle-based effects using emitters in the Creation Engine.
- Easier Navmesh - Creating navmesh is now as easy as dropping down a marker in your interior (manual navmeshing is still possible).
- Render Window Layers - Managing large interiors or exteriors is easier than ever with assignable layers to show/hide different content.
- PackIns (PI) - These replace Static Collections and allow a group of objects to act as a single object in the Render Window.
- And many great improvements to usability and stability compared to Fallout 4 and Skyrim's CKs!
As a bonus, Bethesda has also included integrations for commonly used tools including VSCode for Papyrus scripting and 3DSMax for 3D assets.How does the Creation Kit affect the modding community?
The Creation Kit gives mod authors the tools they need to create more complicated mods and is far more user-friendly than the current process of using SF1Edit to manipulate game data in a more manual way. On that topic, SF1Edit will need to be updated to support the most recent changes - the developers of the tool are very much aware of this so please wait patiently by tracking their mod page rather than badgering them in the comments.
The latest update for the Starfield game (version 1.12.30.0) enables mod loading by default. This means that Plugins.txt Enabler and Starfield Script Extender (or an ASI loader) are no longer required to play with mods. Simply install the mods with your favourite mod manager (or manually drop them into the Data folder) and start the game.
We're working on an update to Vortex to bring our support for Starfield up to date with the latest version of the game.
New plugin typesThe latest version of Starfield includes a major shift in how plugins are shared which has some important implications for how load ordering works in the game. The Creation Kit provides options to export your completed plugin in three different formats:
- Full Master - This is what all mods containing ESMs have been using up to now. A full master takes up one of the 253 slots in the plugin load order (excluding the base game and DLCs).
- Medium Master - This is a new plugin type for Starfield. Medium masters are ESM plugins combined into the 254th (FD) load order slot and can consist of ~65,535 new records each. You can load 256 medium masters at once. These are suitable for mods that add new locations, planets, etc.
- Small Master - This is the same as the "Light" masters in Skyrim and Fallout 4, these plugins are combined into the 255th (FE) load order slot. These ESM files can hold 4,095 new records and you can load 4,096 small masters at once. These are suitable for mods that add new items, ships, weapons, or small interiors.
All this added up means you can have ~4,605 (253 + 256 + 4096) plugins in your load order which should be more than enough for even the most ambitious mod list! This isn't even factoring in asset replacers that don't use plugins either.
Unfortunately, it's not all good news. With these new features come a new set of problems. We covered some of the issues with plugin load order in November and the addition of a medium master only amplifies some of the issues discussed in that post.
If you are sharing a mod, you should think ahead and pick a master type that suits the long-term goal of the mod. This is because changing the master type in an update will break any patches or other mods which use your plugin as a master.
We've asked Bethesda if there will be any "guard rails" to protect users from using plugins in their load order which may result in broken game data. They have provided this statement on the issue.
Changing the flag on an existing creation [plugin] isn't supported.If a mod gets too big for the file type it’s flagged as, and the author wants to change it, they may want to save it as a distinct version. This will make it more clear to users that they can’t swap out without potential disruption. Same as an ESL being replaced by an ESP, or an ESP replaced by an ESM [in Skyrim SE or Fallout 4].
To help users find the content they are looking for, we've also added tags for Full, Medium and Small master files to Starfield. Mod authors are also now prompted to select these tags as part of the upload process. ESP files vs ESM files
It's long been a hot-button issue in the community around the appropriate use of ESP and ESM files within Bethesda's RPGs. You'll find that a very high number of mods from Morrowind to Fallout 4 use ".esp" plugin files and it's only more recently the use of master ".esm" files has been adopted more widely.
The Creation Kit enforces a clear distinction between the two for Starfield. All mods being shared with the community should be using ESM format plugins. ESPs are intended to be "work in progress" files for use with Creation Kit. While this has been technically true for previous titles, there are some additional drawbacks in using ESPs with Starfield in that it currently causes bugs in normal gameplay to load ESPs.
If you're wondering how to export files from the Creation Kit to upload on Nexus Mods, here's a handy guide on the Starfield forums.
That about covers it for the new Starfield CK. Which mods are you most excited to see? Will you be returning to Starfield for the Shattered Space DLC?
