Baelkin

There's an article in the article database giving a rough guide on how to use Photoshop to make a retex here. It does not tell you how to unpack the textures however, nor how to make a new item using the retex files while keeping the old one but you should be able to find something on these forums on the subject using the search function. Pretty much what you have to do is extract the texture file you need to edit from the Fallout 3 - Textures.bsa using FOMM, place it in the correct folder structure and simply edit it and you'll have made your first retex.

Uploaded the archive, edited the first page of this thread to reflect that WIP is currently on standby, and added a direct link to the download page. Have fun with it and remember to give credit if you make use of any of the files contained in it. ;)

I can only guesstimate on how to create the model functionality you want, so don't take any of the following as "given". I have no experience modifying body meshes, so the two methods below might be complete bunk, and are entirely speculative based on how other modders have implemented similar "body altering" modifications. The method that first springs to mind is making a new body replacerment model onto which the bionic arm is hard modelled (ie. replacing the arm, plus modelling bionics on the body) and maybe creating an entirely new race in the GECK, such that it only affects your own character. I figure that you want the arm to show up when wearing raider gear and what have you, so I think this would be the most elegant, but also most work intensive, way of doing it. How exactly you implement a body replacement I have no idea, but it has been done before so there's no reason to think that a cyborg body replacement is out of the question. The other (and probably easier, but also uglier, way) is making the bionic arm a wearable item occupying an obscure Biped slot, implemented in such a way that it is invisible in the Pipboy and permaequipped/non-unequippable through scripting somehow - this method will probably cause some issues if the model requires "white space" between tubes, wires and the like as the original arm model might clip through and show in these areas, and probably also screw up during the Tranquility Lane sequence which, almost needless to say, is not a good thing. Well at least not if you care about good ratings and reputation, but then again it might just work as intended as Tranquility Lane, and any other scripted event removing all inventory items, are fickle areas to work with. You might even have to make a hybrid of the two to get it to work on all outfits, as some outfits seem to have their fleshy bits modelled onto the outfit itself rather than using a body template. Hope you can use my musings to get an idea of how you could go about doing this.

As the above posters said, if you split a model into different parts (effectively different NiTriStrips/Shapes in NifSkope when you export as a .nif) each of these can be assigned to use a different texture file and different surface properties. Basically what you want to do in 3ds Max is separate the various part of the model that you want to use different textures into their own objects and export the model as normal. This should make it export with those objects as separate NiTriStrips/Shapes. Alternately I think you can apply materials in 3dsmax as exporting a model with different materials as .nif files effectively splits the model into subobjects according to material type. This might make it a little difficult making the UVWs as you want them, however you should be able to re-import the .nif model into 3ds max and fix the UVWs after the model has been split.

Yeah, sure. I'll just need to write up a small readme with relevant information, compile the relevant models into an archive and have it uploaded here at the Nexus. I'll probably just wrap up the game models from this project, plues those of the headgear mod, so that everything is available in one neat package. I'll probably be able to put it up for grabs sometime later this week depending on various factors (work, activities, lazyness, etc.).

I'd recommend merging your mods into a separate mod file and leaving the Fallout 3.esm as it is. If you merge Fallout 3.esm with other mods I don't think you can unmerge them again, meaning you'll likely have to reinstall the game and your mods if you decide that you want to remove some of them. I could be wrong, but I don't think that merging the "base" files of the games with mod files is a good idea as the whole concept of modularity goes out the window when you do this.

If the above does not work, you can also manually fix the normals in 3ds max although that can be quite time consuming. I don't really know anything about Milkshape, but it's likely to have comparative tools for flipping the normals to their proper position, although I have no idea what it'd be called.

Nope... Well I've finally landed a job (Call center tech support, full time, horrible pay and retarded working conditions), but I don't really feel like I have any surplus energy to work on this project at the moment. Currently I spend most of my spare time trying to forget that I have to go to work in the morning, but at least I get paid. :P

It depends a lot on the character I'm playing and the playstyle I use for said character. For instance, a guy specializing in big guns I'd normally kit out in the biggest, meanest looking armour I can find to enhance the feeling of baddassery, while I'd typically select something more low-key for a stealth/accuracy based character. Other cases could include "theme" characters like Raider, Mafioso-inspired, "The dude", Enclave, Mercenary etc. where each type only uses appropriate gear for the theme itself. Of course it's sometimes also fun to just play around with the skimpy outfits from time to time, though it's not something I've done a whole lot in my games. :P

Typically you'd apply an Object Effect or write a Script and apply that to the item through the item customization interface (ie. where you make a new armour or weapon). I'm not sure how the Chinese Stealth Armour is setup, but you should be able to track down either the effect or script using that as reference and add that to your own item.

If the model you have made contains a NiNode as the main parent node, try right clicking the block and select "Block" -> "Convert". In the next menu select "Bethesda" -> "BSFadeNode" - this should convert the NiNode into a BSFadeNode, I can't say if that will give you the functionality you want though. :)

Yep, can be tricky getting a model to work. I'm kind of at a loss as to what could be causing this when it seems you have followed "proper" protocol for making a new model, but you could always try from scratch again and see if you have missed something during the process. Something as simple as forgetting to tick off a checkbox at export can seriously mess the in-game model up and cause some weird mesh behaviour. If that fails, treat the model as if you were making it from scratch and make sure that things like the skin and UVW are working as intended. I regret I can't be of more help on this issue, but I can't really remember experiencing it myself which makes it a little more difficult coming up with a solution. :confused:

Don't listen to the people that say you shouldn't install mods because that is just their opinion and not fact. Most mods work fine and can add tons of content to your gamplay experience and, in my opinion, not modding your PC Fallout 3 is a bit of a waste. :) As for installing in the programs folder, those comments do hold some merit as you can experience problems running mods using that install directory on Vista systems. Typically installing the game outside this folder will solve most file access problems caused by Vista, however my game is installed inside the program files folder and I have had no issues running mods yet. I haven't really changed a whole lot on my Vista system since install, however I do login as Admin and have turned off UAC which typically are the roots of the issue.

This thread is what you need. The second post should describe where to find your DLC .esm's (and other files) downloaded through GFWL.

I think the first thing you want to do as a budding modder is make something really, really easy. I mean extremely easy, something like replacing a texture, swapping the model of a coffee cup or scripting an NPC to walk up to you and call you names. While it sounds rather silly, it's a really good way of getting to know the basic processes behind modding and whether it's something you actually want to get into or not. Once you have your first mini-mod working and have decided whether you want to do it seriously or not, I'd recommend you delve into the field(s) that interests you the most - most modders specialize in one or two fields, and, at least as a start, it's a good idea to limit yourself a bit rather than working unfocused on texturing, modelling, scripting and world building all at the same time. Once you have found your "niche" you can always expand your repetoire and become more rounded in the arts of modding. ;)