Basic Modding Help.

[olnorton]

So I finally got the creation kit working with the GOG version.

I tried to make a very simple mod, to change the textures of the Sanctuary End Road to pre-war ones. (because neither of the road mods I use include the End Road.)

I edited the nif to use the pre-war ones, and they show in the render.

Saved it and loaded the esp, but the change didn't show up in the game.

My current modded save or a new game with only this esp and fast start.

It's many years since I modded Skyrim, and I'm sure it's something basic I've forgotten, but what?

[DieFeM]

Probably because of precombined meshes, try disabling them in the settings, if it shows your changes after it then you'll need to generate precombined meshes.

[General]
bUseCombinedObjects=0

 

[Zorkaz]

A good way ingame to find out if a static is part of a precombined mesh is to click on it in the console and try to disable it.
If it doesn't work, then it's a part of a precombined mesh.

[RoNin1971]

Not totally sure, but I thought texture changes are not a problem with precombines. Depending a bit on how it was done. Simply overruling the original with a custom version should always work. (= putting a replacement texture inside fallout 4's .\Data\Textures\Path\and\filename_d.dds)

 

... but it will require 'loose files' enabled, or it will not load.

 

Fallout4Custom.ini

[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1 
sResourceDataDirsFinal=

 

[Zorkaz]

The precombined meshes have issues with material swap. If you apply an external material swap on an object it might revert to its original color.

E.g.: You apply a red color to a prefab house, but it will appear in its default grey color once baked in.

[RoNin1971]

1 hour ago, Zorkaz said:

The precombined meshes have issues with material swap. If you apply an external material swap on an object it might revert to its original color.

E.g.: You apply a red color to a prefab house, but it will appear in its default grey color once baked in.

A swap I can somewhat understand, as you are altering the object data. "Swapping" the texture on file level does not. (the image content /data is not a part of the precombines)

Changing the nif to point to a different material directly, would require an update of the precombines too, as that is a change to a part of the data as well.

[olnorton]

Thanks DieFeM,  but adding that to the ini didn't make the changes show.

Thanks Zorkaz, I can disable the road end with the console.

Thanks RoNin1971, Once I learn how to extract the loose files I'll try that, but I've been playing the game since Christmas and haven't made it to Diamond City yet.

I need to stop getting sidetracked with mods and modding, and play the game.

EDIT:

I tried adding a new version of the road with player.placeatme 0008412c 1 , but it still had post war textures.

I should have said, I have the GOG version of the game, and had to modify the CK to make it work with it. (perhaps it only "seems" to work?)

Edited February 19, 2024 by olnorton

[RoNin1971]

1 hour ago, olnorton said:

Thanks RoNin1971, Once I learn how to extract the loose files I'll try that, but I've been playing the game since Christmas and haven't made it to Diamond City yet.

I need to stop getting sidetracked with mods and modding, and play the game.

I missed the point where you said you edited the nif.

May I ask how?

I'm guessing you changed the material to point to the pre-war version? Such a change would require an update for all precombines using it.

But also: What did you do with the altered nif file?

Did you repack it into the *.ba2? or add it to the filepath .\Data\Meshes\Path\to\nif ? <- that would require the 'loose files' too.

...and all that is actually the hard(er) way. Requiring additional steps.

 

Easiest, especially if you are only getting started (tip: finish the game unmodded first) is to extract the texture (not the material, but the *_d.dds file it points to) from the texture .ba2 give the file the same name as the one you wish to replace and put it inside the same path as the (to replace) texture has.

 

With the 'loose files' settings, this will always load that "new" texture, overriding the original. (so, extract & rename a file, is all it takes)

 

Note: This appears to be file date based. So, when replacing one texture from the game with another one from the game, make sure to open & (re)save the 'new' one if it has an older file date as the original.

Edited February 19, 2024 by RoNin1971
path to nif

[olnorton]

50 minutes ago, RoNin1971 said:

I missed the point where you said you edited the nif.

May I ask how?

 

I just clicked on edit, and changed them in here. I thought that would be enough.  

I clearly have a lot of reading to do on the CK, but I'll get back to playing the game first.

Thank-you for your effort though.

[RoNin1971]

I see. That's what's called a "material swap".

That probably requires an update for precombines, and it still might fail from time to time, as mentioned by others.

Editing the nif would entail a different approach, using nifskope, to edit the nif and change the linked material there. (prevents the glitch)

 

Anyway, enjoy the game