How fallout 4 meshes work in game???

[RoNin1971]

Yes. Just keep in mind the engine ultimately works with faces/triangles (& 3 vertices for each tri). These are combined into shapes. How, doesn't really matter for the engine, it just defines the quality of the model.

Each shape can have 1 texture. 1 or Multiple shapes define an object (*.nif)

 

[DiodeLadder]

On 12/29/2023 at 4:16 AM, Issacreaper2 said:

This looks like it was just stacked together, and this is the original model I wonder what's going on there

 

Hello Issacreaper2,

Those split edges are the result of sharp/hard edges being exported in a way a game engine can handle them.  For example :

The edges marked as "sharp" (the light blue edges) here will need to be split in the game engine, so that when smooth shading is applied to the whole thing, these edges will not be affected by it.  Because using sharp edges will double the vertex count in engine, you may need to be careful about using them in older games.  I'm using sharp edges everywhere here, though, since my assets are light weight anyway.

Wherever you have the sharp/hard edges, you'll need to have UV seams on them, so that the baker will handle those edges correctly when baking normal maps.  

I hope this helps.

 

[Issacreaper2]

10 hours ago, DiodeLadder said:

 

Hello Issacreaper2,

Those split edges are the result of sharp/hard edges being exported in a way a game engine can handle them.  For example :

The edges marked as "sharp" (the light blue edges) here will need to be split in the game engine, so that when smooth shading is applied to the whole thing, these edges will not be affected by it.  Because using sharp edges will double the vertex count in engine, you may need to be careful about using them in older games.  I'm using sharp edges everywhere here, though, since my assets are light weight anyway.

Wherever you have the sharp/hard edges, you'll need to have UV seams on them, so that the baker will handle those edges correctly when baking normal maps.  

I hope this helps.

 

Does this mean I would have to do the same with clothing items too for sharp edges? if so I was planning on making a super mutant armor mod that uses the X-01 power armor helmet for the head with a couple of minor tweaks. 

[RoNin1971]

I don't know about the official plugin for 3DS, but the pynifly im/export plugin for Blender will do a lot of work for you, in that regard.

 

just make sure the model looks good & the UV mapping is as you want. including sharp edges etc.

 

On export the plugin will take care of splitting it all up correctly.

[DiodeLadder]

While what Ronin said above is correct, in this particular case, however, you need to be extra careful as an existing model is involved.  The model needs to have the exact same splits (you can merge vertices + mark those edges sharp while working to make it easier to edit), and also the way triangulations is done needs to be exactly the same.  You need the normal map used by the original model to work the same way on your modified model.  Believe or not, if the triangulation goes differently from how the normal map was originally baked on a curved surface, you will get weird looking faces in game.

Here's a very good video made by the former lead character artist at Eidos Montreal :

 

This is just about the best video on YouTube on the subject.  All her videos are pretty much in the league of "I can't believe this stuff is free", and well worth watching if you want to learn from a professional.

[Issacreaper2]

9 hours ago, RoNin1971 said:

I don't know about the official plugin for 3DS, but the pynifly im/export plugin for Blender will do a lot of work for you, in that regard.

 

just make sure the model looks good & the UV mapping is as you want. including sharp edges etc.

 

On export the plugin will take care of splitting it all up correctly.

Wow thanks man that helped out a lot seriously thank you.