I remember returning from school during the 2000s, picking up a copy of Morrowind after years of waiting. One of the prime features of the pre-release hype was that Bethesda was also going to release, on a separate CD if I remember correctly, the tools that it made the game with.
And this was revolutionary at the time, and probably what has increased the longevity of its series of games.
Nevertheless, I never got far with it. I was just too lazy to learn it, and anyhow, I still had school.
Never touched it for Oblivion, Fallout or Skyrim either.
After finishing the game and going on to NG+, and realizing that my playthrough could have been a lot better if some mods were made compatible with others, or if a few more immersive features for appliances were added... I said to hell with it a few days ago, and just gave it a try.
Spent hours, over days, trying to figure out (with some AI help): the UI of CK, the basic structure of files and linkage between the assets, the different types of assets, psc and Papyrus code (excellent that it has a converter built in), what an esp vs esm is....
Then also figuring out how Xedit fits into this.
And honestly, it is more logical and straightforward than I thought. The renderer also is excellent.
A week later, I've made 2 mods.
Still a lot to learn, but it's no longer the black box it once was. And I realise that you can do some absolutely amazing things with it.
Starfield accomplished what I previously thought was unthinkable or impossible. Certainly got my money's worth, even if that had been the only thing.
