How do I make a main menu replacer?

[RedHeadAngel]

I've been looking for a good guide on how to do this, but again, my lack of understanding of modding know-how shows, and the only guides I can find talk about things I don't understand.

How do I do this?

[scorrp10]

I never tried making or even using one.  And presently, I am away from home where I got Skyrim and my mod setup.  But I would strongly suggest downloading and installing one and examining it.  By my understanding, main menu is basically a completely black interior cell, with some 3D object placed in it (potentially animated), and main menu replacer is just an edit of that cell's contents.

[RedHeadAngel]

Right... I'll give that a whirl.

[Karna5]

I think scorrp10 is definitely correct about the description of a main menu replacer for Fallout 4. From what little I know about Skyrim SE/AE, I think it's just a picture saved in DDS format and given the file location and name of:

Data\textures\interface\objects\MAINMENUWALLPAPER.dds

Thus one could use either GIMP2 or Paint.net to convert any picture to the appropriate file.

But I'm not a Skyrim expert, so I recommend verification.

 

[scorrp10]

Easy example:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/128431

Data\textures\interface\objects\MAINMENUWALLPAPER.dds provides the background 

But one also can place a 3D object  (logo) and a different music xwm file

[RedHeadAngel]

Where are you finding this: Data\textures\interface\objects\MAINMENUWALLPAPER.dds? I looked in the Data folder of my game, but it doesn't have this. After textures, it just has cubemaps.

[Karna5]

3 minutes ago, RedHeadAngel said:

Where are you finding this: Data\textures\interface\objects\MAINMENUWALLPAPER.dds?

The vanilla load screen is in a ba2 archive, so you will not see it without an archive viewer or extractor. I presume you have not installed a load screen mod, so that is why you do not see the file and directory.

[scorrp10]

I suppose you are using MO2.  Vortex keeps add-on mod files in staging folders, but it creates hard links in Skyrim's data folder so the files actually appear to be there.  I think MO2 uses a virtual file system that makes files available only when game actually runs.  But yeah, game's own files are primarily packaged in .bsa archives.  

[RedHeadAngel]

1 hour ago, Karna5 said:

The vanilla load screen is in a ba2 archive, so you will not see it without an archive viewer or extractor. I presume you have not installed a load screen mod, so that is why you do not see the file and directory.

38 minutes ago, scorrp10 said:

I suppose you are using MO2.  Vortex keeps add-on mod files in staging folders, but it creates hard links in Skyrim's data folder so the files actually appear to be there.  I think MO2 uses a virtual file system that makes files available only when game actually runs.  But yeah, game's own files are primarily packaged in .bsa archives.  

No wonder I couldn’t figure it out. I’ll try installing a main menu replacer and see if I can get it to work.

[AaronOfMpls]

43 minutes ago, scorrp10 said:

I think MO2 uses a virtual file system that makes files available only when game actually runs.

It does.  And one of the right-pane tabs can show exactly what files and folders the game (or utility program) you're launching will see in that virtual file system.

48 minutes ago, scorrp10 said:

But yeah, game's own files are primarily packaged in .bsa archives.  

And some mods have their own files in .bsa's -- usually [mod name].bsa, or sometimes split by file types like [mod name] - textures.bsa.