Need to change texture path(s) in .nif files

[Deleted910962User]

The title says it all.. Please help! I made a copy of hellfire power armor that should use a unique texture.

 

This guy here has the same problem what I have:

 

I have a similar question, and the tutorial doesn't help me I'm afraid. Rather then start a new thread, I was hoping to ask my question in this on topic thread.

 

Basically, I'm creating a new outfit based on Wasteland Outfit 03, but retextured to look like a Gi (think Ryu).

 

I have the mod done where the it is in the game world, loads the right NIF, and all the scripting is pretty much taken care of.

 

However, the big problem I'm having is that the NIF is still referencing the old textures inside the BSA file, and I don't want to change those because then it would change how everyone looks wearing that outfit.

 

The outfit I changed doesn't reference a textureset in GESK, and every time I try and edit the NIF, with NIFSkope, to point to the texture files i extracted, I get errors (Device position incorrect). Supposedly it is easy to get rid of the errors in NIFSkope, but I've done what they said (right click the texture header and tell it to update the Array, then right click the top thing and tell it to update the header) and I still always get major errors.

 

In other words, I either need some way to properly get past the errors. Either the correct thing to do in NIFSkope (because what they say isn't working) or another program that will let me change the texture pointers in a NIF file.

 

The problem I'm having is also referenced in the Glowing Part tutorial, but not explained how to fix it.

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/articles/article.php?id=35

My problem is referenced in step 3:

"3) Add a "ITEMNAME_g.dds" texture call to the texture properties for each piece that will have a glowing part

(warning: this will "corrupt" the NIF so be sure you have a backup copy before saving!)"

 

While I'm not adding a glow map (yet), changing the directory of the other maps also corrupts the NIF, but the tutorial doesn't say not how to fix it.

 

edit------------

 

Just in case the "corruption" was only the NIFSkope thinking it was corrupt, I tried loading it up in the game... complete computer lockup. I must be missing something. Other people have used this program to do what I'm trying to do, it doesn't make sense that the program would not work just for me. Either the new version fubared something, I'm missing a step, or something. There must be a way to change the pointer in a NIF file to point to a new texture.

 

So are there any other ways to change the texture path in a .nif file?

[mechine]

F*** NO!

 

 

I'll never tell...

 

 

NEVAH! i say..

 

 

 

 

Okay maybe.

 

 

 

Let me think about it for a second.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay I thought about it, I still won't tell you.

 

 

 

NEVAH NEVAH NEVAH

 

 

 

 

Just kidding...

 

 

 

 

 

Okay so you're all ubernoob now using cool stuff like nifscope.

 

Congrads it's a super awesome program.

 

 

 

I'll tell you what I do.

 

 

 

 

 

There's two ways

 

1.nifscope texture paths

2. alternate textures inside GECk

 

 

 

They both come in handy

 

 

Say you want to texture the same mesh 30 different times with 30 different textures

no point in doing all that work to make texture paths, which is where the alternate texture path comes in

 

 

Pretty easy, go to textures in GECK, I think it's under Misc

Find a simalar texture, double click it to open, rename it to create a new form

it also helps to put whatever you have to in order to make it apear at the top of the list

 

which might make the name look silly like 10mmpowerarmmor731silver

but later on it makes it more easy to find it, also you can try to put stuff in caps

so it will stick out

 

 

Anyhow, after you rename the texture you opened but before you click okay, then yes

create the new form, you make that form point to your new texture an glow maps

 

Don't bother with first person views, set first person views to none when you create items

an it will just use the one model cutting your work in half

 

Okay so you have that alternate texture new form created which puts it in the list

just like if you created a new sound in the sound part in GECK, when you go to the gun

and pick the sound the new form shows up in the list.

 

 

Now that you have that alternate texture, go to the items armor, whatever you are creating,

change the name to create a new form on a existing item is the easy way for pretty much everything

after it's set up, go to the model, and you probably want to copy that mesh, an rename it

thus avoiding applying you new texture to all mods that have that mesh, anyway

so you click edit model then click edit again, find the renamed mesh, click it, that puts in in the

edit window, then it shows the model parts an textures applyed in a sort of spreadsheet like thing

you double click the tiny windows on the right of the spreadsheet thing, which brings up the alternate

textures list, then you select the ones you created, you also have to create a alternate texture for

each of the different parts, which makes it kind of the hard way to do textures.

 

 

 

 

NIFSCOPE

 

 

 

Very easy, not a whole lot of work like the geck, unless like I said you are going to reskin one mesh 30 times.

 

 

What you do is go to view, have the block list an blockdetails checked

 

 

And there's two ways you can do it, either open the block tree up in the block list

then find BShader texture set, which is kind of like work so we don't like that

 

Or you can go back to view an switch between show block tree in block list

or show block details in block list

 

 

By selecting show block details in block list or whatever they call it

Each part of the block tree is displayed, so what you do it go to the block list

at the top you mouse over the dividers, which if you click you can move them around space wise

if you space it right all of the BShader textures sets will stick out

 

because the set part will be out farther than the other entrys which turn to ... at the end

 

from there you start at the top, then click them which puts them in the block details at the

bottom of the screen, open that tree at the bottom an the texture path is displayed

double click it to change.

 

 

 

Meshes have different parts so you have to create a list of texture paths first.

 

 

What I do is usually I have a fake data folder on the desktop

I delete it after it gets too big though, you don't wana lot of data on the desktop

Anyhow Nifscope only renders textures if you mess with the render settings in

view options I think, so you make your fake data folder, make nifscope look for textures in it.

 

You've got it to where you can open the mesh an nifscop will draw the textures on it.

Now change the textures an draw what you want, edit preview, edit preview, edit preview.

After you get it looking okay.

 

You go to the textures an rename them something nobody would ever come up with for a name

I use my area code at the end, like 10mmpistol731.dds

 

Now you move it to your folder in the real data folder

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731

 

 

now open notepad

 

come up with the basic texture path

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731

 

copy an paste that however many times you need to have

the basic part done for the many different parts

then type in the different parts and you can either

put the glow maps in too, or keep the glow map the same

name except it has a _n so you just add that in later

You also have to put the .dds or it won't work

 

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731\10mmpistol731.dds

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731\10mmpistol731_n.dds

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731\10mmpistol731SLIDE.dds

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731\10mmpistol731SLIDE_n.dds

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731\10mmpistol731Clip.dds

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731\10mmpistol731Clip_n.dds

 

 

 

 

Something like that, it's doesn't have to be Caps or not Caps

Nifscope doesn't care about Caps

 

 

Okay so now you move the mesh out of your fake data file

put it where ever you want, but it's better to use your own folder

in meshes data\meshes\weapons\MYMODNAME731

 

Now you open the nif with nif scope, do the little trick with

messing with how you view the block list

 

then bounce back an forth from copy the path in the notepad

then paste it in nifscope under the BShader texture set

 

Also again if you know you're glow maps are the same name

 

All you do is paste in the main textures first from top to bottom

 

which opens up that tree where you set the path

 

then go back an copy paste the main texture name in, only add _n to the end

 

 

this saves you some time in creating your notepad data path so it looks like

 

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731\10mmpistol731.dds

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731\10mmpistol731SLIDE.dds

 

data\textures\armor\MYMOD731\10mmpistol731Clip.dds

 

 

Then all you do is save the mesh, an delete the notepad file or close it an don't save it.

[Deleted910962User]

Sorry for the delay. Anyways, I allready figured it out thanks to some prototype medic armor mod by using geck. Thanks anyways.. that post of yours should help newbies like me at adding a custom/unique texture to something (item, armor. etc). :thumbsup:

[mechine]

lolz

 

 

I'm not sure that there is a easy way to do it.

 

 

Once you get your method down it goes by pretty fast.

 

 

I mean you might spend days on a texture or mesh.

 

 

The last bit being moving it into the data file, which should only take a minute or two

 

using either of the two ways to do it.

 

 

 

 

Paintnet helps, while it's not as fancy as say Gimp or photoshop

 

paintnet will work with direct draw right off the shelf I think an loads up super fast

 

There's no converting to an from direct draw.

 

 

I just found about 350 plug in's for it too, one of them was a normal map plug in I can't wait to try.