Skywind Creatures
Skywind Creature Naming Convention
1_[Heading]_[Subheading]_[Group]_[Creature/Subset][Tier]_[Extra Info]
(Note: NPCs, like vampires and dreamers, do not use the "1" prefix.)
Heading and Subheading: Identifies how the NPC is meant to be used. Headings include:
Enc ("Encounter"): A fixed-level NPC that can be placed in the world. No subheading.
Ambush: A variant of an encounter NPC that has the proper packages and scripts for an ambush. The subheading should indicate the type of ambush:
Standard: This covers almost all cases where the NPC uses furniture. Almost all varieties of ambushes (Dwemer ports, bonewalker alcoves, ancestral ghost pits) use the same code & packages, so no distinction like that is made here.
GroundFX: This is a special version of the Standard ambush that will play effect shaders on the NPC as they "wake up". Typically this is only use for creatures climbing out of the ground. (Think Ash Spawn from the Dragonborn DLC.)
Runner: This is a Skywind-specific type of ambush, where an NPC will run to a specific location when a player passes through a trigger box. See Default NPC Behavior for more information.
Lvl ("Leveled"): A leveled creature that can be placed in the world. Typically no subheading. Leveled ambushes will appear as 1_Lvl_Ambush_[Ambush Subheading]_.
<Quest Name>: Quest-specific creatures should have the name of their pertinent quest as their heading. In this case, the subheading should be [Region Abbreviation][Location]. For instance the special slaughterfish "Old Blue Fin" has its ID start with 1_fbmwHROldBlueFin_WGAldVelothi_.
Dun ("Dungeon"): A variant of a creature that is meant for a specific dungeon, encounter, or other use case. (And isn't a quest target.) In this case, the subheading should be [Region Abbreviation][Location].
Dead: A variant of a creature that is meant to start dead and has a specific reason why checking the "Starts Dead" box won't work. For instance, a dead miner that uses a skeleton model. However if you just want, say, a dead rat, you should place a rat and check the "Starts Dead" box on the placed ref.
TEMPLATE: The base template for creatures. Do not place this in the Creation Kit. Do not edit this without communicating with the level design and coding leads. No subheading. Creatures at this level handle basic things like race/traits, keywords, and attack data.
Also includes TemplateAudio, a special template used for creature sounds.
Summon: The variant used in summoning spells. Never place these in the Creation Kit.
Placeholder: For when it is helpful to have an NPC object in the Creation Kit (such as for managing scripts or disembodied voices) but isn't meant to be placed in game.
TEST: This creature is used for testing, and should never be placed outside of testing halls.
Group: Indicates what type of creature this is. They include:
6th: Sixth House creatures (both Ash creatures and Corprus beasts).
Cre: Standard fauna like rats, guar, kagouti, etc...
Dae: Daedric creatures.
Dom: Domesticated creatures. Guars and Netch, primarily. Note that Nix-hounds tamed by bandits are still in the Cre group as they will be hostile to the player.
Dwe: Dwemer creatures.
Fly: Flying creatures. Only use for Cliff Racers currently.
Kwa: Kwama creatures. Although Scribs and Kwama Foragers will regularly appear in the wilderness, Egg Mines are their own dungeon type, so they get their own group.
Und: Undead creatures.
Wat: Water-only creatures, i.e. Dreugh and Slaughterfish.
Reg ("Regional"): This is an alternative to "Cre" that is used on leveled lists. For instance, 1_Lvl_Reg_BC_ indicates a leveled creature for the Bitter Coast region; 1_Lvl_Reg_MA_ indicates a leveled creature for the Molag Amur region. The reason we use these lists is to control 1) how "difficult" the exterior of a region is, 2) to control the prevalence of blight diseases in different regions, and 3) to ensure that different regions have varied creatures.
Cav ("Cave"): This is another alternative to "Cre" that is used on leveled lists, this time for caves. The change from Cre is used to remind you to only use these in interiors (or very near the cave entrance). For exteriors, the regional (Reg) leveled creatures should be used instead.
Creature/Subset: Names the creature or group of creature, for instance, SkeletonMelee1H (a skeleton that uses 1H melee weapons), SkeletonMelee (a leveled list of 1H and 2H skeletons), or UndeadAll (a leveled list of all undead creatures). For vampires, this includes the vampire clan.
Tier: Indicates a relative difficulty (e.g., a Tier 1 rat does not correspond to a Tier 1 Ascended Sleeper!). See the Skywind Creatures spreadsheet for detailed a breakdown of levels, but in summary:
Tier 2 is the default creature and directly corresponds to the Morrowind equivalent of that creature.
Tier 1 and Tier 3 are small adjustments to Tier 2, so that you can make a default opponent slightly stronger or weaker as needed. Morrowind had many creature variants that now fit the Tier 1 category, e.g. "Warped Centurion Sphere," "Lesser Bonewalker," 'Crippled Skeleton."
Tier 4 and 5 are boss-level NPCs and should be used sparingly.
Level designers should primarily be using Tiers 1 to 3.
Extra Info: Any remaining information is tacked on at the end. Typically this has two uses:
Ambushes: OnDetect and OnTrigger.
OnDetect: After the player triggers the ambush, the NPC will remain at their furniture until they detect the player.
OnTrigger: When the player triggers the ambush, the NPC will get up immediately.
Leveled Creatures: AllLevels and NearestLevel. See https://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=LeveledCharacter for more information.
AllLevels: The default for leveled creatures. The creature that is spawned will be randomly chosen from the leveled list (but not exceeding the player's level).
NearestLevel: The creature that is spawned will be the highest level creature that does not exceed the player's level.