ChuckYufarley

How are you adding the signs to your new world space?

Find a relatively simple vanilla nif that has some basic on/off functions in game, and dissect it in Nifskope. It won't take long to get a feel for what makes them tick. I started with the NeonSign-AnimatedOpen.nif from the Wasteland Workshop DLC. It uses NiVisControllers and NiBoolInterpolators to toggle visibility, which I've come to find is one of the simplest functions you can build into a nif. The WorkshopIndCatLight.nif, found under Meshes/SetDressing/LightFixtures is another relatively simple, base game nif I would recommend exploring.

What kind of object are you attaching the sparks to?

N or normal maps can be generated in Photoshop if you're using a recent CC version using Filter > 3D > Generate Normal Map. There are various techniques to prepare an image for generating good normal maps, it really depends on the variety of colors and the difference between light and dark colors in the image. The image you posted is a good example of what would generate a good normal map because there are basically two colors in the lefthand image (diffuse image), one light, one dark...for the most part, and not a wide range of colors, which could end up generating a normal map with height information not consistent with what the diffuse image captures. For example, if your diffuse texture is an image of brightly colored marbles of different shades, instead of your normal map ending up as several smooth, rounded bumps, it will take the differing color information and assign differing height information where the smooth rounded bumps should be. How to prepare your diffuse image is something you'll have to research on your own. There are hundreds of Photoshop tutorials out there that will help you with that. Also, there's a handful of sliders you can play with in the Photoshop normal map generator that will allow you to tweak the height information and dial in the effect you're looking for. There are also other tools you can use that have a greater array of adjustments you can apply. Awesome Bump is a good, open source tool I used for quite a while for creating normal maps, and it also has a function for generating S or specular maps, which I cover below. S or specular maps are textures game engines use to determine how light is reflected on your textured object. Generally speaking, the brighter the color, the more reflective the texture will appear in game. Off the top of my head I can't say if there's a good way to create specular maps in Photoshop with just the click of a button. Again, there are several tutorials on YouTube that cover this topic. It mostly depends on what the texture is supposed to represent. It's not as simple as plugging in your diffuse image to use as specular information. A black glass texture would end up flat and dull in game if used as a specular map, whereas glass should be something that reflects a lot of light. A light wood texture would end up bright and shiny in game if used as a specular map, whereas wood should look dull and flat. You see where I'm going with this? Here's a good, general knowledge tutorial on creating textures for video games that I found helpful when I was learning this stuff:

I used Awesome Bump for quite a while. Lots of great features. https://github.com/kmkolasinski/AwesomeBump

You might want to take a look at the WorkshopLightbox01,nif. The there's NiPoint3Interpolator data in each NiControllerSequence for cycling color. The lightbox uses BSEffectShaderProperties, and I've been able to replicate the effect in my own work using this example. Off the top of my head I can't think of any examples that use this technique with BSLightingShaderProperties, but I imagine it would be the same or very similar to how it's done in the lightbox nif.

It's unfortunate that the MatSwap function doesn't allow for persistent material changes. What's the purpose then? If OMODs allow for persistent changes to armor and weapons, why then can we not do the same for workshop objects? Anyway, thanks for your input. I'm glad I found out about the persistence problem before I wasted any more time with this. The destruction stages would probably work, but I'd have to make dozens of additional nif files to accomplish my goal and I don't want to bloat the mod with so much extra data. I think I have a new solution that would allow me to keep the mod size where it's at. Thanks again.

I've made an animated sign that will display scrolling text. Currently, the nif is configured to display 8 individual lines of text, each in 5 second intervals. It's simple enough to edit each line in the CK with a material swap, but I'd like to have players be able to do the material swap in game. I've been working on this for a few days, but my scripting skills are limited. Any help would be appreciated.

I just built a new rig with a 1TB nvme and my game loads like a web browser used to on my old pc. I also installed a 2 TB sata ssd and I hit something like 350 MB a second transferring files to the nvme. Unbelievable.

I just built a new rig. First time ordering several items at once from Amazon. No real complaint about the delivery time. Pretty much got everything within a few days. However, I did have an issue with their jacking up the price on a hard to find motherboard. Their price was more than $100.00 higher than most other sites that were out of stock. Luckily, there was a Micro Center within a reasonable distance that had several on hand, and at the same lower price the out of stock sites were offering. In fact, Micro Center had everything I needed, and all their prices were as low as anything I could find online. I even picked up a monitor I hadn't planned on buying, because it was $70.00 cheaper than anywhere else. If you have a Micro Center within a fair distance, I'd recommend taking a drive and to hell with Amazon.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

Something like this ? https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/10967

Mesh distortions like this occur during Nif export when the pivot point of the mesh is not located properly. For most objects, you simply center the pivot point to the mesh and that generally solves any distortion problems. Clothing and armor are a bit different, because the pivot point has to be in a specific location, generally zeroed on all three axes. When you created the mesh, did you place it in the same location as a similar vanilla object worn by the player, or is it sitting at the zero point(s) of the grid? If the object is a glove, the mesh should be aligned to a vanilla glove you imported into your scene. Once you've situated your mesh to where you think it should be, then align it's pivot point to the pivot point of the vanilla gloves you imported. Like I said before, the pivot point most likely will be zeroed on all 3 axes. Delete the vanilla gloves and export your mesh as an OBJ. When you open Outfit studio, use the same vanilla gloves you imported during mesh creation as the reference object. Import your created OBJ and do whatever scaling/moving needed to align it to the reference object then copy the bone weights, etc., etc. When you export your Nif now, the distortions should be a lot less severe or gone altogether. I am by no means an expert at clothing/armor creation. I've modeled a handful of helmets, hats and gas mask type objects, and this is the method that worked for me in reducing mesh distortion. I assume it will work for a glove like it did for the objects I created.

I made one for my Yuvend mod. Indeed I had to swap it out with an existing map marker, so I just swapped it for the Swan's Pond marker, since it's only used for one location. Then I simply substituted a generic pond marker for the Swan's Pond location. As to how I was able to create the marker, I'm afraid at this point all I can tell you is I used JPEXS Free Flash Decompiler and Photoshop to accomplish this. It's been several months and it was the only time I attempted such a task.

It's probably easier to do using an effects shader property than by using a lighting shader property. There's a good example in the Meshes/Effects/WorkingExamples directory, AnimatedLightStages.nif.

This is a pretty good tutorial.

What sort of object are you trying to animate? The workshop bell nif uses a pretty common BGED reference which I've used on a number of different objects. I am by no means an expert at scripting or animating, but I've been able to get my objects to animate the way I want using the StagesNoLoops.hkx along with the RegisterForAnimationEvent function. If your mesh animation has no more than 4 stages and you only need to register for one event per animation cycle, you should be able to just use the same BGED as the workshop bell. As far as I know, the RegisterForAnimationEvent function only recognizes the reset event in the StagesNoLoops.hkx, so that's why I say you can only reference one event per cycle. I'm sure there are more complex vanilla hkx files that might allow for more than one event, but since I was able to achieve the results I was looking for using StagesNoLoops, I never looked any further into the matter. It's been a while since I set up a nif for animating in this manner, but if memory serves I was only able to use the reset event in the final NiControllerSequence. It seems to me that I tried using it in earlier stages without any luck, but I could be mistaken. Also, I have been able to create a few custom hkx files that extend the number of stages beyond the 4 set forth in the StagesNoLoops.hkx, but for the most part, that's the only experience I have with custom hkx creation. You're correct that there isn't a lot of information out there regarding this type of animating and since I tend to write in massive paragraphs as well, I have no issues with reading a wall of text. Let me know if there's anything I can help you with.

Your best bet is to use Razorwire's tools for creating content for the Videos of the Wasteland mod. He has a very good series of tutorial videos which can be accessed here: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/24435?tab=videos. The one issue you may run into is that his templates are set up for just a few screen sizes, vanilla television screens, the projector screens used with the mod, and I believe there's one for the FO4 drive-in movie screens. The projector screen might work for what you want to do. Otherwise, creating your own custom screen size isn't too difficult if you have some basic modeling and Nifskope experience. I've done a number of different video screen projects and can probably help with any issues you run into.

Instructions for adding custom music are in the Readme under the Docs tab. https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/36727

Great looking model! As far as your question, yes, you'll likely have to break up your model when texturing, but It really depends on how much detail you want your object to have. Generally, What I'll do is try to fit as many similarly textured parts on the same UV map, keeping in mind which parts I want to use the same environment maps. Glass is also going to have it's own texture for sure. For something like a car, I'd try to fit all the body panels, trim and maybe even seats on the same UV map. If I'm making a clean version, it's pretty easy to cram everything onto one UV map because most of the texture will end up being solid colors, and solid colors generally look pretty good no matter the resolution. If I'm making a grungy, rusty version, then I'll break it up into multiple UV maps, because all that grunge needs a lot of detail to look good. You can compensate for that by making larger texture images of course. Because tires, and sometimes upholstery aren't going to have the same reflective quality as the car body I'll put those on a separate UV map as well. Stuff like cloth and rubber, or parts that don't get much sunlight, I'll group those together and might not even use any specular or environment mapping at all. You can cheat a bit here and just use your specular map to vary the finish on different parts, but it's not the same as using environment mapping. The difference would be like comparing a $5K professional paint job to a heavy coating of Rustoleum. I use Substance Painter for about 90% of my texturing because it makes it so easy to create different textures within the same UV map. I've used 7-8 different textures on the same UV map many times, but always keeping in mind what kind of finish I want them to have in the end. I'm far from a professional, but I've learned quite a bit over the last couple years and I'm always on the lookout for new tips and tricks. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions. Maybe I'll be able to answer them.

This short tutorial for Cities Skylines, but there's a link and brief instruction on where to get real world height maps. Hope this helps.

My Dance-Ola mod has 4 different NPC and player dance markers that spawn when the jukebox is activated.

There's this https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/36727

In my brief experience I've had basically three types of "constructive" feedback. 1) User brings to my attention an issue with the mod not functioning the way I'd intended. If the user provides enough of a description to give me a good idea where the problem lies, I'll begin the process of narrowing down the cause of the issue. Perhaps the user is an experienced modder who knows exactly what the problem is, thus letting me know precisely where I made a mistake and allowing me to jump right to the cause of the problem and fix it straight away. This type of feedback is invaluable and provides me a learning experience that broadens my knowledge of modding. Sometimes the user only gives a vague description at which point I'll seek clarification and/or look for similar feedback that may shed more light on the issue. In some cases, thankfully, additional users will respond with follow-up responses confirming the issue and perhaps giving more feedback as to where the issue might lie. In these cases I'll begin the process of rectifying the problem and will typically maintain a dialogue with the user(s) until a solution can be found. Again, this type of feedback is invaluable as it allows for a working relationship between the users and myself, thus expanding my knowledge base and letting the users know that I do value their input. Keep in mind though that my goal is to have the mod function the way I had originally intended. I don't mind suggestions and sometimes they serve to confirm that a feature I may have previously considered would be well received. Bottom line though is I want the mod to meet my expectations. This is the kind of 'constructive' feedback that will result in my continued work on a mod. 2) "I don't like this, would you consider changing it?" This is the kind of 'constructive' feedback I typically ignore. 3) "I don't like this, I demand you change it." This is where I draw the line and consider blocking the user. Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes 'constructive' or 'reasonable' feedback. I myself have never given feedback other than endorsing the mods I've enjoyed using. I ventured into the entire modding experience with the understanding that it was an imperfect science(art?...whatever) and as the recipient of a multitude of free offerings, I've never felt compelled to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Anyone using the Creation Kit can upload mods to Bethesda.net, it's a built in feature. I'm guessing nobody replied because a) it seemed like an odd question since it's assumed most people using this forum would have known uploading to Bethesda.net is a core feature of the Creation Kit, and b) accepting compensation may or may not violate the Nexus TOS and I'm guessing most modders would not want to risk being banned. That's just my two cents. Plus, "I have a project that I wanted to get off the ground" sounds a lot like the precursor one might find on any of the posts in the Mod Request forum, which are typically filled with all sorts of niche ideas and/or labor intensive requests made by end users who have no idea the amount of work that goes into creating quality mods. Not knowing that uploading to Bethesda.net via the CK is a thing, not to mention your limited number of posts, has probably categorized your request along with the hundreds of pie in the sky, never gonna happen, not worth the time ideas in the request forum. Again, that's just my two cents. That being said, I'm always interested in new ideas. Perhaps you'd generate more interest if you were to offer a few descriptions of your mod idea.