[LE] Custom Armor Weightslide Issue

[TheWormpie]

I've just returned to an old project that I gave up on a long time ago.

I've created both the _0 and _1 version of a custom light ebony armor (in Blender), and both work fine in-game. Yet as soon as the wearer has any other weight value than the minimum 0 or the maximum 100, there's a few small issues that persist.

There's a neck seam and one of the shoulders are bugging out (as can be seen one the same image). The ankle is also weirdly twisted.

 

Perhaps it's a bone weighting issue done wrong from the beginning, but I've already tried re-weighting and re-rigging several times to no avail. But I'm only able to do it via the automatic Bone Weight Copy blender script, so it might not be good enough in this specific instance.

 

Anyone knows what else could have gone wrong, when weight sliding acts weirdly? If anyone would like to have a look at the nif or blender files (or the CK esp for that matter), just say the word and I'll upload it somewhere for you to download :)

 

Thanks in advance for any help or pointers!

[Perraine]

First make sure that the both meshes are IDENTICAL in every way (triangles, vertices, etc) except of course the slight size difference between the _0 and _1 versions.

 

If they are, try opening the mesh in Outfit Studio ( you can just drag and drop them from Windows Explorer) , and copying the bone weights from a reference body in that program, then exporting them both (and again make sure both files are the exact same size in Kb's/Mb's)

[TheWormpie]

They have the exact same number of vertices and triangles. Their size in Kbs are also identical.

 

Damn, if I have to teach myself another program but I've heard a lot of good about Outfit Studio, so I might try it out someday when I get the time. Thanks for the suggestions! Please come forward if you've more ideas, I accept any and all troubleshooting tips :smile:

Edited January 25, 2018 by wormple12

[TheWormpie]

Allright, I've downloaded the program, but I'm not sure how to proceed. All tutorials I can find converts from vanilla to some custom body type like CBBE -- I just want the simple process of copying weights.

 

First, does it matter which state my armor piece is at? Can I use the version that already has bone weights and is rigged to a skeleton, or do I need to remove all of this first and export a clean and useless armor mesh from Blender?

 

Also, I need a reference body from which to copy weights. I assume this is the vanilla female body in this case?

 

At last, the process. Correct me and enlighten me - this is the process in my head:

1. So I drag the vanilla female body nif into the Outfit Studio and I make it the reference body.

2. Then I drag my custom armor nif into the Outfit Studio. My armor consists of both an armor object and a body object. I should copy weights to both objects, right?

3. I go to Shape -> Copy Bone Weights, and it will copy weights from my reference body to all other loaded objects automatically, or..?

4. Then I select my armor objects and go to File -> Export -> To Nif...

 

Could you be kind and guide me? :psyduck:

[Perraine]

That's pretty much it!

 

Where possible, it's a good idea to use one of the "improved" bodies such CBBE, UUNP, 7B etc, as that makes it easier for shaping, weighting, and texturing, rather than the vanilla Bugthesda body, but you can theoretically use any compatible body mesh.

 

It's not a complicated process, and as long as you are using a similar "reference" to your mesh ( i.e don't use a male reference body for a female armor) it should work without issues.

 

If that doesn't solve the problem, the you'll need someone with more experience in the nitty gritty of .nif files.

[TheWormpie]

Okay, thanks. The one thing I'm still in doubt about before I begin though:

 

Does it matter which state my armor piece is at? Can I use the version that already has bone weights and is rigged to a skeleton, or do I need to remove all of this first and export a clean and useless armor mesh from Blender?

[Perraine]

No, Outfit Studio will override the bone weight painting when you use the "copy bone weights" option, so it doesn't matter what state your .nif is in, though I'd recommend leaving the basic weight painting in place until you import it into OS, so you don't end up with a "spaghetti monster"

[TheWormpie]

Weell, the reweighting with Outfit Studio fixed the issues I had, but the bone weights are generally pretty bad now. Some skin parts from the breast are stuck in the shoulder and the skin goes through the armor in several places...

 

Can Outfit Studio do manual weight painting?

 

Anyway, since I'm a hundred percent certain that it had to do with weighting now, I will try going back to Blender once again and do some tweaking there for the third time, and see if I can fix the original issues there. Not that I know what to actually tweak...

[Perraine]

Glad you got it working (at least partially) :)

 

Unfortunately "clipping" of body parts through outfit parts is inevitable I'm afraid. There simply isn't enough "bones" on the skeleton to perfectly align outfits on bodies, so OS paints the vertex weighting using a "radius" (hence the breast also getting some weighting from the shoulder - it'll probably also get weighting from the stomach as well) You can paint the weighting manually in Outfit Studio, but it's not a very precise of easy tool to use.

 

You can alleviate some of the "clipping" by tweaking the shape of the outfit with the expand and contract mesh tools in Outfit Studio. Also you can remove some parts of the body mesh that will always be covered by the outfit (have a look at some of the vanilla body meshes underneath different outfits in Nifskope and you'll see they have holes all over the place to avoid the problem.)

[TheWormpie]

I'll take a look at the expand and contract tools you mention, if my next attempt in Blender turns out the same. Thanks :)