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One of the greatest challenges of this stage was the balancing of the combat. These enemies were presented to the player in several different capacities, including ambushes, roaming between points, and stationary enemies in specified locations. All of the enemy types used were specific to the modular kit I utilized early on, enemies such as Dwarven Centurions, Spheres, and Spiders. The last step for creating this level was adding in enemy encounters and further balancing those encounters. The level of freedom facing the designer was like a breath of fresh air, allowing me to push my creative understanding further as well as optimize the number of triangles that made up my mesh. Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed creating my navmesh in this capacity. Creating a clean mesh through specifically placed triangles (much like creating a retopo in Maya) afforded me an immense amount of customization and optimization, which I haven’t encountered in other engines. The navmesh tools within the Creation Kit were some of the most interesting I have come across as a designer thus far. Now that the level gates were set up, it was time to begin the process of creating a custom nav mesh.
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The most interactive of these lock and door situations was setting up a claw door, which is made of 3 rotating rings which when displaying the correct symbols, will open. The nature of the key required doors forces the player to explore each area of the dungeon in order to move throughout the different areas. I began by adding in several locked doors, some of which required specified keys that I created and others that could be picked with enough skill. Adding in these essential pieces greatly increased the level of depth within the level, offering the player tons of interactables and collectibles to engage with, further increasing the level of player engagement and further aligning itself with other Skyrim experiences.Īfter adding in the loot and interactables, it was time to add in all the required functionality to ensure that the player could only enter specific areas after collecting the proper key or overcoming the obstacles in a particular area. Now that the physical space was defined and finalized, I added weapons, armor, various loot, ingredients, various functioning tables and chairs, and chests. Using various debris assets, I was able to easily and seamlessly break up the floors of each area within the level to increase the natural look of the dungeon. The next step was to conduct several passes of clutter and debris to break up repeating textures and sections of level created through the use of modular assets. After constructing the basic architecture of the level, I performed several in-depth passes, adding pipes, gears, and other large moving parts to further break up the large interconnected rooms. The Dwarven kit allowed me to include those moving pieces, which added several layers of complexity to the space and better resonated with the types of environments I enjoy creating the most. As a level designer, I love creating environments that feel alive and seem to move and function alongside the player. The modular set that I found most interesting was the Dwarven/ Dwemer set, which featured moving gears and pieces, combining a medieval fantasy with machines and magic. The process of building the space took many iterations as I experimented with the different assets available to me. For this, I began by building the basic dimensions of each room and connecting areas and then followed that with a pass adding in more complex architecture such as stairs, pillars, ramps, water, and internal wall divides. The next step was to begin laying the foundation for my entire level.