How to load a mod that doesn't have an .esp or .esm associated with it into GECK?

[stabbymcstabberson]

I'm super new to modding and I'm trying to load the True classic Fallout 2 Advanced power armor mod to make another set of Remnants Power Armor that uses the same model and slightly edited texture. I can't find the mod in the initial menu when I open the GECK, and I know it's because there's no .esm or .esp file associated with the mod. MO2 doesn't show anything related to it in the plugins window. Is there any way I can load this mod in GECK?

[madmongo]

Fallout New Vegas has esm and esp files, which are edited using the GECK (or FNVEdit for more limited changes). Assets in the game have textures (dds files) and meshes (nif files). Textures need an image editor capable of handing dds files, which limits you to Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.Net. Photoshop costs money, and it is not cheap. GIMP is more powerful than Paint.Net, but Paint.Net is more intuitive and easier for beginners to use. GIMP is the most popular among modders. Meshes require a 3d modeling program of some sort to edit, typically either 3ds Max (which costs money) or Blender (which is free). Most modders use Blender due to the cost issue. Outfit Studio can edit outfit meshes, but Outfit Studio was created long after Fallout New Vegas came out, and while Outfit Studio is the standard editor for outfits for Skyrim, it doesn't get much use among Fallout New Vegas modders. There is a program called NifSkope which can edit certain things in nif meshes, but it's not a mesh editor. You can use NifSkope to assign different textures to meshes, but you can't edit the actual mesh 3d data with NifSkope.

Mods also have sound, which is usually edited using Audacity. When an NPC speaks, there is a sound file but there is also a lip file, which controls their lip movements. The lip file is created in the GECK, but since the GECK is really an evil Vault-Tec experiment designed to test modder's frustration levels, they didn't bother including the lip generator in the GECK. You can copy the lip generator over from Skyrim or Oblivion, or if all else fails, someone has a lip generator mod that you can just download and install from the Nexus.

If you are generating terrain, you'll need to generate LOD, which is the low-res graphics for things at a distance. While the GECK can generate LOD, most folks use FNVLODGEN to create it.

The point of all of this is that you need more than just the GECK to make mods. There are a lot of tools that you need to learn how to use.

If you are creating a new set of power armor, you are going to need to use a texture editor (probably GIMP) and a 3d modeling program (most likely Blender, but you might be able to use Outfit Studio depending on what you are doing). This will create your dds and your nif files. You will create the actual power armor in the GECK, where you will edit all of the stats and will assign the nif file to the armor. If you are modifying an existing type of armor, you can skip the GECK part, since your dds and nif files will just act as replacers for the ones that the armor already uses.

If all you want is a retexture, you'll need to extract the existing nif and dds files from the bsa archives. Rename your nif file and create a new dds file using GIMP (or Paint.Net). Then edit your new nif in NifSkope so that it uses your new dds texture. Then go into the GECK and create a copy of the power armor, modify the stats of it if you want, and change that new copy of the power armor so that it uses your new nif/dds files (which dds files it uses are defined in the nif, not in the GECK).

Retexturing is very simple to do, but it does require you to learn how to do a lot of things first. You can't just do it all in the GECK.

Any tutorial that you find for either Fallout 3 or Fallout New Vegas can give you more details.

 

 

[laclongquan]

To shorten madmongo's post:

Mod that doesnt have esp or esm either be a replacer asset mod (which replace existing material ingame) or script mod.

Replacer asset mod can show its effect in GECK if you look at exactly the place it replace. If it's armor, check the armor nif. Click on the item it will show the window box, click the browse item where it show a location to a nif, and it will render the armor.

If it's a script mod I have no idea~