prensa

defected monkeh - Hello! I've noticed that, back when I was working on a fix for the silent Point Lookout doors, I cover it here: http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/19101/? "Q: I have really good hearing & I've noticed a doubling of the open/close sound effect on doors once they've been activated a few times, what's up with that? A: Well spotted, sharper eared users may pick up on it, I did. It's a vanilla bug that seems to affect all doors & is not limited to these fixed ones. I've been able to come up with a partial solution that stops the doubling of the sound but has the draw back that the door would be quiet on the first open & close animation, then work normally after. Since it's an imperfect solution & most people don't notice the vanilla bug, I opted to do as the vanilla models do." As I say in that quote, seems to be a vanilla bug, as far as I'm aware it affects everyone though I've not had much feedback about it. There's also more discussion of it in the comments section there, 3rd post. I think it generally goes unnoticed by most people as I've never seen mention of it elsewhere. Hope this helps! Prensa

brideofmigal - Hello! "Interesting. It is completely invisible to me on this account. " That is strange. The only thing I can think of is Tag Blocking & since you've checked those I'm stumped. Congratulations on so many downloads anyway, if only you got a penny for each one. :) Prensa

brideofmigal - Hello! "Should appear as #1 if you sort by number of downloads." The search link you posted is for most Endorsed. Selecting most Downloaded & Bathing Beauties or Beefcake - Luxury Suite by Migal comes up first: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/searchresults/?src_order=3&src_sort=0&src_view=1&src_tab=1&src_language=0&src_cat=67&src_showadult=1&page=1&pUp=1 http://i63.tinypic.com/e9u553.jpg Prensa

brideofmigal - Hello! I followed the link you provided & can view the mod page, it's no longer hidden. You must have switched it back. :smile: "Yet it does not show up in search. " Have you got any Tags blocked that apply to that mod? Would prevent it showing in search results if you did. Prensa

brideofmigal - Hello! What happens if you click on the mod title so that you are taken to the page, then click on the Hide/Show mod under "Admin" on the right at the bottom of the other mod author tools? Hope this helps! Prensa EDIT: I followed the link you posted & the file was view-able, not hidden any more so it seems fixed. :)

Seibetsu - Hello! Well I'm familiar with Fallout 3 meshes & not up on changes to them in Fallout 4 so this may not be of help. But the disappearing at different view angles sounds a bit like a problem caused by an incorrect Radius setting within the .nif. The Radius setting in the NiTriStrips' NiTriStripsData tells the game how big the model is. If this Data is incorrect than the game can end up thinking the model is a different size than it really is. If it's told the model is smaller than it really is it will cull it when it thinks it's out of view, at the edge of the screen. Normally happens when a NiTriStrip is enlarged in Nifskope without going to Radius & right clicking it - Mesh - Update Center/Radius. Can also happen if the mesh has been resized in a 3d program like Blender. Another place to check other than the Radius setting is the Scale in the affected part's NiTriStrip & seeing if it's more than 1.0000 with the Raius not apropriately updated. Normally you can fix it in Nifskope by right clicking the affected NiTriStrip & - Transform - Apply. Then updating the Radius as mentioned above. Or fix in Blender by importing the hat part, right click the affected part to select & press Ctrl A, from the menu select - Scale & Rotation to ObData. But as I say, I'm not up on the new techniques of Fallout 4 so this may not apply so back up your mesh before trying. Just thought I'd mention it since no solution has cropped up from someone with more Fallout 4 experience. Hope this helps! Prensa

whatman22 - Hello! "What happened to Modern Firearms (Gunsmith Edition)? " This post in the "Forum rules and warnings" has the reason: https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/4473430-idlesheep-formal-warning-issued/ Hope this helps! Prensa

usaf9211 - Hello! "What is the point of these blackplanes!?" Well I don't have Fallout 4 but BlackPlanes are used in Fallout 3 & it looks like for the same reason. They are used to hide parts of a cell from showing up on the Player's Local Map. It works by the plane being placed above the area you want hidden. Either because it's hiding an extra bit of model that's not meant to be seen on the map or disguising the fact there are no rooms beyond a dummy window also to prevent secret chambers showing up. A good example of the last in Fallout 3 is the Mechanist's Forge in the Robot Repair Center where the hidden room is disguised by a BlackPlane placed above it. Otherwise you'd know there was a secret chamber there just by looking at your map, spoiling the surprise. Hope this helps! Prensa EDIT: TehDave beat me to it. :)

Thank-you kindly for the update to the file uploader! I just got a chance to use the new version & it's much improved. Files uploaded quicker & the progress meter is a real plus. No more wondering if the upload has hung or almost completed. :) I can see pause & resume coming in handy too. Prensa

Jokerine - Hello! "so I think the sounds are probably linked somewhere in the vanilla idle animations/locomotion of the sentrybot. Does anybody know? Would I have to go through every animation file to remove something in Nifskope to disable the sounds and then stick everything into a custom folder under creatures?" I'm not an expert on Creatures but I've some experience with sound calls in .kf's from my work with weapons & the Point Lookout doors I fixed. As you figured & like RoyBatterian said, some sounds are indeed called directly from .kf's. Just not from all. For example: meshes\creatures\sentrybot\idleanims specialidle_armdiag1.kf In the bottom NiTextKeysExtraData, in number 2 (middle) Text key there is a call to the sound: NPCRobotSentrybotDiagnostic02 Several of the .kf's in the Sentrybot/idleanims folder have sound calls. Also a few of the .kf's in the Sentrybot folder like: 2hhequip The sound calls will always be in the NiTextKeysExtraData, there will be at least three keys if there is going to be a sound call as the first & last keys are always Start & End. If you can work out what animation your robot is performing when the sound occurs you might be able to narrow down which file is the culprit. The sounds can be changed in the .kf's easily, just need to point them to a sound you've placed in your .esp & your mod's Sound folder. Or point to an already existing vanilla sound of course. You'd need to add the modified .kf as an addition since changing the vanilla .kf would affect all Sentrybots. A handy quick way for checking .kf's for sound calls is going to GECK & selecting the Sentrybot, go to the Animation tab & left click on the listed KF Files. There is a box called "Group Sound Properties" where the sound will show up if in the .kf. For example clicking the 2hhequip in the list will show it has a sound as I mentioned above. It even lists what the sound is, NPCRobotSentrybotEquipGatling. If you click the Preview box it will display the creature performing the selected animation which might help you identify which has the offending sound. Hope this information is of some use to you, best of luck! Prensa

Jokerine - Hello! "Awesome, thank you very much for the detailed description. I'll keep this in mind next time I get another floaty mesh " You're most welcome! :) Take care, Prensa ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pixelhate - Hello! "Wonderful! All the info I needed just when I needed them." Always glad to be of use, especially to your wonderful animated creations. :) Take care, Prensa

Jokerine - Hello! "A weird issue I've had with meshes in Blender is that in-game they don't havok correctly - instead, they just sort of float away and don't stop moving until I put them in my inventory. Grabbing them doesn't stop them." This is caused by incorrect, or no settings in the object's Inertia Matrix. The Inertia Matrix tells Havok how the mass is distributed around the object so it can be taken into account when it's interacted with. It works along with the dimensions of the object's collision & it's Mass setting. Problems can occur if you take a vanilla object & radically change it's size & shape, the Inertia Matrix can be off as it's set for the old shape. Or if you create collision from scratch, the Inertia Matrix will be at a default of 0 thus the object has no inertia & will float as you describe. You can find the Inertia Matrix by opening the object in Nifskope, expand bhkCollision, left click on bhkRigidBody & in Block Details look for "Inertia". Expanding Inertia & you will see many slots marked m11 to m34, this is the Inertia Matrix. Only three slots are needed to be set: m11, m22 & m33. You can set them by double left clicking the number to the right (or 0.000 if it's new). Before I could use Blender I would set these by finding a moveable clutter item of similar shape & size & copying the settings it used. You can then test in game to see if the object is falling correctly to how you want it to behave. Adjusting mass will also have an affect on the "weight" of it's fall. Now that I can use Blender however there's an easier way to set the Inertia Matrix, just Import the object into Blender & then Export. Blender will have auto calculated the Inertia for you. In the case of your floaty box it gives: m11 0.1254 m22 0.5577 m33 0.6562 You can either use the exported model or, in cases where Blender export would change too many other settings, copy the bhkRigidBody from the Blender export & Paste Over the old bhkRigidBody. Testing in game shows that with those settings the object is no longer floaty. By the way, your floaty.nif's BSXFlags is set to 2 which is for statics. Since it's clutter you should set it to 66. "Is it because it's too small, maybe? Is there a limit for that? I really have no idea. Again, just wondering." You can have really small collision objects, think of the pool table balls or the harmonica etc.. Hope this helps! Prensa

BLACKHAWK1231 - Hello! "Urg...its too bad no one has figured out how to fix it " I hate to speak too soon but I think I've fixed it, try this: http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/22026/? Hope this helps! Prensa

Jokerine - Hello! "YAY! THANK YOU, PRENSA! It's working now! " Great! Glad to have helped. :) "I have no idea where you guys pick up these things! " Way back when I only used Nifskope to make models I made a washing machine using the shotgun ammo box as it's body. Didn't know you had to update the Radius so I ended up with the same odd disappearing at the edge of view your hat had. Took me ages to work out the problem back then & I've always remembered it since. :) "I'm glad this robot will get to keep his hat after all! Thanks again!" He does look cool in it! Best of luck with your Diner! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pixelhate - Hello! "Prensa is a Master! I'm compiling all the tips, tricks and good advices she's been given on the forum and privately. I'd be a great tutorial." Thanks for the vote of confidence! Just pleased my ramblings are of some use. :) Take care, Prensa

Jokerine - Hello! "So, my problem is that, although the two-part hat displays OK in.game and all, it occasionally flickers out of sight depending on the player's camera angle, such as the hat being in the corner of the screen. Same in the GECK." Classic symptoms of a problem with the model's Radius setting. The Radius setting in the NiTriStrips' NiTriStripsData tells the game how big the model is. If this Data is incorrect than the game can end up thinking the model is a different size than it really is. If it's told the model is smaller than it really is it will cull it when it thinks it's out of view, at the edge of the screen. Normally happens when a NiTriStrip is enlarged in Nifskope without going to Radius & right clicking it - Mesh - Update Center/Radius. In your case the Radius is being messed up because the NiTriStrip's of the hat top & bottom are Scaled 17x larger but their Radius is still set tiny. You probably enlarged them to size in Blender & did not update the objects before export. Normally you could fix it in Nifskope with right clicking the affected NiTriStrip & - Transform - Apply. Then updating the Radius as mentioned above but because these have BSDismemberSkinInstance that would be messed up so you must use Blender. Easy fix still. Import the hat parts into Blender, right click the hat part to select & press Ctrl A, from the menu select - Scale & Rotation to ObData. Export the piece out & repeat for the other hat part. You'll notice in Nifskope they are no longer scale 17x & that their Radius is much larger (correct to their size). Don't forget to select Skinned in the shaders again as this is lost on export from Blender. I tested the result in mini GECK & it stopped disappearing at the edges. By the way, the chef's hat on the Mister Gutsy is very cute. :smile: Hope this helps! Prensa

mkoch99 - Hello! Have you taken care of archive invalidation? Any mod that adds new textures needs archive invalidation to work or else the textures will be messed up, taking on the look of surrounding textures. Easy to take care of, either use ArchiveInvalidation Invalidated: http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/944/? Or, since you use NMM, it has a built in Archive Invalidation tool. Just DON'T USE BOTH METHODS TOGETHER. Note that NMM's version often needs to be toggled off & then back on again AFTER you add in a new mod. Hope this helps! Prensa

BourgeoisBanana - Hello! Looks like it could be an issue with a NiAlphaProperty. Those rails look like they're using a transparent texture to give the illusion of gaps, which would mean they have a NiAlphaProperty within their NiTriStrip. If you've exported the model from Blender after doing some work on it then the NiAlphaProperty's Flag will be set to 4845 by default. Not always suitable to the needs of the model in game. Check the NiTriStrip of the part with the edges on your model, look for a NiAlphaProperty, expand that & in Block Details locate the "Flags" setting. There's also a setting under it called "Threshold" that will have a number like 128 or 160 etc. that controls the blending of the edges too. Compare it to the vanilla model where the edges look right & copy them over to your version. If you've not edited the model (mesh) but only the texture then make sure you've saved it with the correct compression format. DXT1 won't have a suitable Alpha layer for transparent textures, you need to save as DXT3 or DXT5. Hope this helps! Prensa EDIT: Hallgarth beat me to it, must be getting slow(er) in my old age. :)

GeneralSu - Hello! "and my game has froze 3 times " Most common cause of freezing is the Fallout 3 multi core bug. Fallout 3 has trouble with multi core computers, mainly with ones that have more than two cores & use hyperthreading. There is a fix, you need to edit your Fallout 3 .ini file. The one you want to change is: For XP: My Documents\My Games\Fallout3\ For Vista & Win7: Documents\My Games\Fallout3 The file you want will be called: FALLOUT.ini Open the .ini with Notepad & change this line: bUseThreadedAI=0 to: bUseThreadedAI=1 & insert this line under it: iNumHWThreads=2 Save & close your ini. Hope this helps! Prensa

NikitaDarkstar - Hello! "but I still have a "ghost" of the hole when I load it up in game (but now it looks like a dent rather than a hole). What's causing this, how do I fix it, and what software do I need to do it?" Well I don't have Fallout 4 so I can't look at the item you are editing but going by your picture & previous experience from past games I'd guess the Normal map could be causing the problem. The Normal map sets the appearance of depth to the texture & "fake" alpha formed holes probably have sunken areas to them to help sell the look of the hole's edges. If you modify the main textrure to remove the holes but not the Normal map you'd still see the depth the Normal map adds, especially when it catches the light. Have you adjusted the Normal map to match your new main texture? Normal maps in previous games have the same name as the main texture but end in _n. In previous games _n textures also had black & white Alpha textures saved with them to control specularity of the texture (the amount of shine it has), this will also have an effect on the final appearance. The Normal map can be viewed & edited to remove the holes the same way you edited the main texture, just remember to save it with the alpha layer if it had one. As I say I don't own Fallout 4 & don't know what changes there may be to how things work so it may not apply. Hope this helps! Prensa EDIT: Looks like TeamBacon beat me to posting. :D

StinVec - Hello! Also worth considering is if your tester is using a download manager to obtain the file, they can use multiple download threads to speed up the process & will show as several downloads even though only one copy has actually been downloaded. That would happen when the file is first downloaded & then never again so multiple downloads that never rise again afterwards would fit with a download manager. I frequently use "DownloadThemAll!" in Firefox & that registers as multiple downloads on some sites. Of course if it's clocking up downloads days later that would not be due to a download manager. Prensa

MrDeadman50 - Hello! Looks like the new texture isn't being applied, is it changing colours a bit like a chameleon? If so, have you taken care of archive invalidation? New textures are ignored by the game unless archive invalidation is sorted, simple solution to that is either the stand alone program: ArchiveInvalidation Invalidated http://www.fallout3n...file.php?id=944 Or, if you use Fallout Mod Manager (FOMM) click on Toggle Invalidation on the right. For "New" FOMM you have to go to the buttons at the top & select: Tools - Archive Invalidation Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) has a built in Archive Invalidation too. DON'T USE BOTH METHODS TOGETHER. Note FOMM/NMM's version often needs to be toggled off & then back on again when you add in a new mod. Hope this helps! Prensa

SeraphimDreams - Hello! "Tried going through and setting SF_Skinned for each part but when I go in game it's still invisible on my character." Have you weighted/rigged the armor in Blender? There's an excellent tutorial on making armor, this part deals specifically with adding weights: http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Creating_an_armour_for_Fallout._Part_1#Add_weights_to_the_armour "Would you mind if I sent you the Nif file of the completed armor" Sure, I've only made armor for Fallout 3 & am certainly not an expert but I might spot something. MediaFire is a good site for uploading files, you can use a throwaway email to sign-up: https://www.mediafire.com/ Prensa

SeraphimDreams - Hello! If you've rigged it in Blender properly then the likely cause of it not showing up when worn in game is not having set the correct shader in Nifskope. To set the shader In Nfskope you need to left click the armor to highlight it's NiTriStrip block. Expand the NiTriStrip's details by left clicking the arrow next to it. Within that locate it's BSSHaderPPLightingProperty, left click it to bring it's details up in Block Details. Within that find Shader Flags, You'll see other shaders listed like SF_Specular etc., double left clicking that list will allow you to bring up a pull down window with a list of shaders. From that list tick SF_Skinned & save you .nif. If your armor is made of several parts then each part must have that shader set. If your armor has flesh parts, like bare arms, they need the SF_Skinned shader ticked as well as SF_FaceGen. Skin parts also need the "Shader Type" (above Shader Flags) changed to SHADER_SKIN. Note that whenever you import the armor into Blender, on export the shaders will be reset to default & you'll need to change them back again. Hope this helps! Prensa

bubbashrubba - Hello! "Wow thanks for the in-depth and extremely helpful information and sources! " No problem, happy to help! "and lemme give you a kudos" Thank-you kindly! :) "Alright It still doesn't seem to be appearing any ideas?" Most common reason for a part in armor not to show up is not setting that shader I mentioned (SF_Skinned). If you loaded the part into Blender to add the weight to it, that shader will have been unticked on export. Blender changes many settings back to a default on export. Just set the shader back as I mentioned above after you've exported & copy/pasted into your armor. Make sure that the added part has not ended up with an incorrect name, pasted in parts can take on names not suited to them when added in Nifskope. The new part should not have any of the bone names, they begin with "Bip". The new part also should not have the same name as the very top node (in armor usually "Scene Root"). You can change the name of the part by left clicking on it's NiTriStrip, it's details will show in Block Details, left click Txt by Name & a window will open were you can choose an existing name or type a new one. Remember to save after changes. If you did use Blender to rig the part, check in Nifskope that it's got a BSDismemberSkinInstance listed under it's NiTriStrip. If it's not there then you missed a step in Blender, double check the guide on adding weight. If you've done that & it still does not show up, post the .nif here & I'll take a look & see if I can spot anything. If you're wanting the to keep the .nif under wraps until you release your mod then you can send me it in a PM instead. Hope this helps! Prensa

bubbashrubba - Hello! "Sorry I haven't replied for a while I know it seems rude but I have been really busy with real life." No problem. :) "It's working in Geck however the addon in game doesn't appear." It's probably not appearing because you've not set the shader flag correctly for the new part in Nifskope, armor parts need a special shader set. Though even with the shader set, unless it's been weighted it won't work properly in game. To set the shader, In Nfskope you need to left click the new part & that will highlight it's NiTriStrip block. Expand the NiTriStrip's details by left clicking the arrow next to it. Within that locate it's BSSHaderPPLightingProperty, left click it to bring it's details up in Block Details. Within that find Shader Flags, You'll see other shaders listed like SF_Specular etc., double left clicking that list will allow you to bring up a pull down window with a list of shaders. From that list tick SF_Skinned & save you .nif. The piece will now show up but it won't move properly in game as it's not been told how it attaches to the body. That's what weight painting/rigging does, tells the part how to move with the skeleton of the wearer. "I take it I need UV maps but I would think that as a default mesh already in game it would ? " Yes, the original UV map information of the part will be fine. "How I would I go about rigging or weighting the mesh? I haven't used blender before any good tutorials?" The best armor creation tutorial, it's how I learned most of what I know about it, is here: http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Creating_an_armour_for_Fallout._Part_1 http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Creating_an_armour_for_Fallout._Part_2 You can actually skim much of the tutorial as you have the shape you want & are adding it to an existing armor. You need to add weight to the new part, this can be done easiest by copying the weight from the armor or body over to your new part. The part that deals with specifically adding weights to the piece you are trying to add: http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Creating_an_armour_for_Fallout._Part_1#Add_weights_to_the_armour With luck you might get away with just copying the weight from the armor to the new part. Sometimes you need to adjust the weights by hand though. "Don't I need a python plugin or something to work with nifs?" You need Python to run Blender & Nif scripts. Nif scripts allows Blender to import & export .nif's. The version of Blender, Nif Scripts & all the other programs you need plus a step by step installation guide can be found here: http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/30/? Follow the installation guide on the Description page as the programs need to be installed in the proper order. General Blender guide: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro "Is what I'm trying to do too complicated for a beginner?" What you're needing to do is not too hard, it's just getting used to Blender that will be the biggest hurdle. Blender is a tough program to learn, very hard going at first. It took me several attempts to finally get into it (just last year). Once you get past the initial tough phase it does get a lot easier & once learned allows you to create so much more. What you're trying to do is actually a good starting point project &, as long as you're determined, a good way to learn Blender. Hope this helps! Prensa