Armor modding - How does one mix or replace armor models?

[Greywander]

I've managed to figure out how to edit clothing and armor textures, but it seems that will only get me so far. I've been trying to mix armor models so I can add or switch out cosmetic features as I please.

In my particular case, I'm trying to lower the waistline on the Iron Lorica, but the texture for the belt only lets it be lowered so far. So I thought I'd bring in, say, the belts from Mummer's Wear and use those instead. However, I haven't been able to figure out how to get the pieces from Mummer's Wear to show up in-game on the Iron Lorica.

I've tried simply merging the extracted folders and then repacking them, but that didn't seem to do anything. I've tried deleting the original models and textures and renaming the ones from Mummer's Wear to match, but that makes the game crash. I feel like there might be another file I need to edit somewhere that just tells it which models to use. Alternatively, I may need to learn how to merge them in, say, Blender, though I have extremely limited experience using Blender.

Anyone with more modding experience know how to do this without actually going in and editing the models themselves?

[Greywander]

I actually found the answer to my question here: https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/3743350-request-model-swapping-for-dummies/

Turns out it's a bit more complicated than just swapping out the models, but I was on the right track. Now I've got a new problem, namely that I can't seem to import the physics (which I assume is stored in the .dwm file) when doing a model swap.

Still, this will allow me to do some interesting things. I'll have to experiment and see if it's possible to add a part to armor that didn't previously exist, e.g. adding a skirt or belt to armor that didn't already have it.

[ExoKallum]

Did you ever get anywhere with this? I started a game a little while ago... and now I'm in modding limbo of course, lol