Easier export for armor/clothes

[SickleYield]

EDITED BASED ON NEW INFORMATION.

 

This is the basic set of instructions without pics. It assumes you are not a beginner with Blender. If that's the case you need a lot more tutorials than this one. This is a double post from the official forums.

 

You MUST have NIF scripts 2.4.2 or later, which you can get HERE, and PyFFI 1.2.2 or later, which is HERE. I think I'm using the developer version of 2.4.3 but this may not be required, I'm not sure.

 

This assumes you have already created an item and put bone weights on it and UV mapped it in Blender. Make sure there is NO SKELETON in your scene ANYWHERE.

 

Select all pieces of your mesh and import the default FO3 skeleton by choosing file--import--netimmerse/gamebryo. It should be in meshes/characters/_male/skeleton.nif. Choose "import skeleton only + parent to selected." I also use "realign bone tail + roll."

 

Now it should parent automatically. Select the skeleton and choose file--export--netimmerse/gamebryo.

 

Click the "cloth" shader option if this is clothing. Use the "skin" shader if it is skin. I recommend you export skin pieces and cloth pieces separately for this reason.

 

Turn OFF "smoothen inter-object seams" unless you want to see undesirable gapping and turn OFF the stripify option. Turn ON "export skin partition" and "flatten skin." Click OK to export.

 

Open up this nif and a Fallout 3 nif that has meatcaps you want to use. (If it's a complete body mesh you can get meat caps AND use it to copy skin partitions from with Nifty, which is very good.)

 

Check your materials settings before copying and make sure they are what you want. Copy each of your nitrishapes and paste into the Fallout 3 nif you chose. Now you can close your exported nif. We're done with it.

 

You can also delete the bits of the mesh you copied into, if you like. Leave the meatcaps.

 

NOW SAVE.

 

Now would be a good time to set up partitions with Nifty so your mesh will work right with VATS and dismemberment.

 

Now you can playtest and it should work fine in game!

 

If it's invisible or weirdly spiky, you probably ignored my instruction regarding using a clean skeleton. Redo from start. If you get an error about verts not being assigned to a body part, re-import the body mesh you did Bone Weight Copy from and redo it with NIF scripts 2.4.2 or later to get the proper grouping.