I'm a computer science student and long-time fan of TES games. I logged probably close to one thousand hours in oblivion, thanks in no small part to mods. Now that Skyrim is coming out and I'm a capable programmer, I'm interested in learning to make mods myself! I know that there were tutorials on how to use the modding tools for Oblivion, but I also know that Skyrim presents a new engine and a new set of modding tools that haven't been released yet.

So my question is are there any good resources to use to get prepared for Skyrim modding? Do you think that going through the tutorials for the Oblivion modding tools would be a good introduction, or has the game changed too much for that to be really useful?

Any information / resources / advice is appreciated!

Well, at the moment, you'll need to use a combination of FNVEdit and TES Snip. So, you'll be looking at different tutorials. Personally, I haven't used either program, so I am unsure how different they are from Oblivion's.

Check the wiki! http://cs.elderscrolls.com/, http://geck.gamesas.com/
Much of the information will still be useful for the skyrim editor.

If you have Fallout 3 or New Vegas I would start with the GECK tutorials to learn your way around the general workflow process, how to attach scripts, quests and the like. Since it's basically an updated version of the same engine I think everyone is hoping that everything will work in a fairly similar manner as the GECK. If you don't have the Fallouts but DO have Oblivion I would do those tutorials. Many things are similar, but the Oblivion CS is a little less user friendly that the GECK.

http://geck.gamesas.com/index.php/gamesas_Tutorial_GECK_Setup

Yup GECK wiki is good start. But when CK is published youll find yourself most of the time looking how they made things that are already in the game and find useful ways of using it. Oh and there are video tuts from Bethesda on how to make rooms, optimize them, populate ...
But if your planing to code scripts most of the important things you can find in wiki.

When i think about it Wiki and YT are your best friends to learn how to mod.

Thanks for all of the info everyone! I have both Fallout 3 and New Vegas, so I'll look up the tutorials for the GECK to get started. Here's hoping not *too* much changes.

http://tesalliance.org/forums/ will have extensive info on the new CK, not too long after it's out. The CS classes already there are a great way to get started with that tool, and Dark Rider and the team will bring the same professionalism to the Skyrim courses.

thanks guys, this is useful info