GECK Texture Issues

[djmystro]

I am relatively new to modding and have been working on a project for the last few months to tie together many existing mods in such a way as to re-invent the gameplay of the Fallout into a much more relentless, action packed and loot-filled experience heavily influenced by Foxtrotzulu's Zombie Apocalypse. I'll would list all the people's work I used but at this stage it's gonna take a while so i'll save that for when/if I decide to release it. Unfortunately with 95% of the work done I have run into a few problems, many of which I believe to be connected.

After completing the bulk of the mod I re-installed Fallout and dragged my new file with relevant textures and meshes folders into the data folder along with a few other mods to test my new game with a clean slate.

 

Firstly, almost all of the armors I have copied (from other mods) and many weapons do not appear correctly. Rather than the worst case of appearing as a red exclamation mark, said items appear in the right shape (meshes appearing correct) but in a variety of changing shades and colours. I have checked for corresponding texture sets and found nothing missing in the original files so I can't think what may be causing this. Food items seem to appear fine, though they mostly use new custom textures and only one at a time. I believe this may be the root of the problem with the armous and such but I can't think of an obvious solution.

 

Second all of the hairpack hairstyles I added seem to have lost thier texture set. I tried creating a new one but can't find a way to access new textures sets creatind in the object window from the Hairpack browse window (or any vanilla content - but that's a seperate issue). Trying to link the hairstyles to the texture I was previously using (the first texture option given in the Hairpack.esm) results in the correct shape hair (from the meshes folder) but in a solid block of color rather than inividual hairs.

 

Finally I have imported two pairs of sunglasses which as well as suffering from texture glitches like in problem 1 also appear on the side of the head rather than the front. I can't seem to find a way of altering this. When I first created the glasses I used standard models of sunglasses ond Dr Li's Glasses (with added object effects) which also suffered from the same problem. Normal glasses looted in game appaer fine, including those I copied. I imported the new glasses to try and solve this and same problem. Now I can't revert back to old glasses without creating a new pair because I can't access the vanilla items from the GECK browse windows (I don't even know If this is possible or just another problem I am having).

If anyone can help it would be very much appreciated. After all the work I have done on this mod it would be nice for it too see the light of day but in it's current state it just looks a mess.

[GrindedStone]

Did you toggle Archive Invalidation Invalidated in FOMM?

[djmystro]

Yes, I definately did beacuse I need to in order to see several other meshes correctly (in particular the zombies from Zombie Apocalypse). Thanks for your response, would have got back sooner but I've been expecting email verification which has not arrived.

[GrindedStone]

The glasses could be missing support files, many head items require a .Egm, then also if not it could be a incorrectly placed mesh, move it left or right an such as a way to line it up, you could also create a hacked mesh to preview see bottom.

 

Textures are set either thru the GECK alternate texture method or in the mesh itself. The Geck way is good if you have one mesh but 30 textures for it, then the mesh way is good to apply textures quickly. But most modders don't really understand the concept of thinking things out, much less understand what they need to know yet. So often you see a mix an match this one that way the other another way, and such...

 

The GECK way you drop the textures in the data folder in your custom folder in a mod subfolder. Example.. Data/Textures/MyMod/Zombies/All the zombie textures Data/Meshes/MyMod/Zombie/All the zombie meshes with support files like .egm The only exception is that sounds need to be in Sound/fx/ weapons in particular Sound/fx/wpn/MyMod/subfolders. Then just open the geck an open a texture set, change the form ID so it creates a new one then point it to look at the textures you placed. Go to the item open the model selection, then those columns you right click I reckon an scroll down the list to apply the texture, which you'll notice is much more easy if you name the texture set 000SuchAnSuch or ZZZSuchAnSuch so it's at the bottom or top of the list. Which is also handy if you do all your content this way.

 

(Nifscope way from another post about character heads/races)

 

--------------------------------DO MESH WORK SON--------------------------------

 

 

1. Create a project folder on the hard-drive named Data (Fake data folder)

 

2. Drop that mods meshes an textures in this folder

 

3. Download Nifscope, I reckon you need python too

 

4. Once you get Nifscope working you have to point it to a file to look for textures, this is done in the Render tab, Settings, Add folder, then click the folder button below the list, then point it to use your project folder.

(in your case you can also auto detect or point nifscope to look at your actual data folder rather than the fake one, in the furture though use a fake data folder, which after the preview stage is done it gets moved to the actual data folder, because things don't always turn out)

 

5. Go to the meshes open the head. Click the view tab, you only need block list an block details checked. Switch to show blocks in list. Now adjust the line between Name & Value, it's a slider to change the column width. What you are looking to do is make it so the BSShaderTextureSet sticks out. Where all other lines end in ... The Set in BSShaderTextureSet sticks out. This is helpful because in many meshes there are 6 or more texture sets, and it's the fastest way to edit all of them. In the head there is only one thankfully.

 

NiNode

BSBound

NiTriShape

BSShaderPPlighti...

BSShaderTextureSet

 

See.. When the mesh is a list of 10,000 things it makes it so you can scan your eyes down the whole list an pick out all the texture sets quickly.

 

6. Click on the BSSTextureSet, this will place it as active in the block details at the bottom of the screen, click the + sign to open it, Then you can either type it in, or click the purple flower, which will allow you to point to the textures you placed in your project folder. Bam now you have a preview of the head that's actually using the awesome face texture which makes up the Hero race.

 

7. Extract the HeadHuman.nif from the FNV Meshes.BSA, FOMM/tools/bsa upacker, place the FNV head on the desktop, it's quicker to leave meshes on the desktop because at this point they don't need to be in a file.

 

8. Open the FNV head with nifscope, do the same thing you did before, as a way to check an see if this texture will even work with the new FNV head because FNV might use a new head or even a new .Nif structure, so open both of them up at the same time an compare the block list, how they look, an such.

 

9. Note you can also reach the texture paths by just clicking on the shape in the render window, which will highlight that part of the block list, open that part of the tree an you'll see a BSSTextureSet in there, click that line an look in block details, I just always found the other method more easy as a habit for when it's a mesh with multiple textures.

 

--------------------------------DO A HACKED MESH--------------------------------

 

1. Open the Head mesh, click the view tab, switch to show blocks in tree. Click the head in the render window, this will highlight that part of the tree, open that branch with the + sign, You should see a BSDismemberSkinInstance, right click it an pick Block, then remove branch.

 

2. Click the head in the render window, it highlights that branch, right click the highlight (or the head in the render window) pick Block, then Copy branch.

 

3. Don't close the head mesh, you have to have Nifscope open or it will dump what you just copied, so just go open the FNV body mesh.

 

4. Right click whatever is in the top of the block list, pick Block, then paste branch

 

5. Repeat the process for the hands, but don't forget to remove the dismemberment skin or it will crash when you paste

 

6. Save the mesh, it's just a preview mesh an can't be used. But while you are changing the textures so that the tones match it works well as a quick full body preview of the custom content vs the vanilla, or just matching a set. Or in your case placeing glasses on heads or hats an such, which is experimental...

[djmystro]

Thanks a lot for the help - it's brilliant and solves everything, though I can see it's gonna take a while to apply the changes. Also I figured i'd hafta get into nifscope eventually - I was just tryin to get as much done as possible without. No worries on that front though, but i'll probably be busy tucking into New Vegas over the coming weeks so the MOD probably won't be finished for at least a few months now. BTW it's primaraly a loot mod, though I've tried to add as many new areas for fighting as possible (filled with new enemies - mostly using vanilla templates) and lot previously unoccupied areas now have enemies hiding within. Ideally it is to make the combat relelntless but looting for survival stilll a necessity relying heavily on weapon based master files and redistributing thier contents in a blanced way. For example the test contaniers from Einherjrar's 20th Century Weapons are now inaccesible but vendors stock much more ammo and I have spread about 3-400 ammo boxes and loot stashes around the wasteland. It relies on other MODS to populate the wasteland with enemies since theres loads that do that already. It's been a lot of fun and hopefully now it will see the light of day. Thanks again

[GrindedStone]

I like it... Sounds great. I wouldn't worry about it though. Most times when you make a mod by the time you finish you are now so much better at modding that you could remake the mod an have be that much better. If you are going to focus on something focus on balance. Spend time working on the mod, and then quickly retreat into gameplay for a bit. You know so you don't work too much. This is also true when you build a new load order. However it's more important when you are actually making stuff because you can lose touch with the vanilla game which is a big part of what gives us ideas. Heh plus it can't hurt those online FPS combat skillz. Run left, jump in the back of a truck, boof boof. Who got my kill son? LOL

 

You need to get New Vegas an get a version installed an running ASAP. It's unlike anything I've ever considered. Which is nice because it totally flips things upside down, which is exactly what we need right now. Obsidian is good like that. Their perspective on games an how they should be is quite twisted. So don't be surprized if when playing their games you're not so much the same person you were when you began.