How can I make weapons non-replacers?

[NoobiusMaximo]

Looking through this mod, I found some very nice guns that I would love to have. However, I don't want some of them to be replacers(I don't want the SVD to replace the sniper rifle for example). Is there anyway that I can make these guns non-replacers? I'm new to actually modding the game myself, so if more info is needed, I'll be happy to oblige.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Moraelin]

Looking through this mod, I found some very nice guns that I would love to have. However, I don't want some of them to be replacers(I don't want the SVD to replace the sniper rifle for example). Is there anyway that I can make these guns non-replacers? I'm new to actually modding the game myself, so if more info is needed, I'll be happy to oblige.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Actually, it's pretty easy, but the devil is in the details. There are a thousand and one ways in which one can replace a weapon, or rather combinations of records (definitions) they may have changed or not. Essentially you'll have to:

 

1. Rename the .nif mesh file to something else, if the mod comes with its own .nif.

 

2. Clone the weapon it was replacing, in the GECK. That means double-clicking on its record, changing the editor id (that internal name), clicking OK, and choosing that you do want to create a new record. Congrats, now you have a copy of that gun.

 

3. Now load the new one, go to the Art And Sounds tab, set it to load the new file you just moved at point 1.

 

4. Does it also change the 1stPerson model of that weapon? For weapons that tends to be a YES. Now you'll need to clone that one too (it's under Static) and go back to the weapon definition and set the 1stPerson record you just created.

 

5. Now the question is, does it use textures with the same name as the ones for vanilla weapons. For mods which only retexture existing weapons, e.g., ONLY have textures, the answer tends to be "yes".

 

If yes, you'll have to move the .dds texture files out of the way too, and use NifSkope to set the new filenames in the .nif mesh. If those are also referenced from texture records (typically you would have seen those in the list when you selected the mesh for the weapon or the 1stPerson model), you'll have to clone the texture records and have them point at the new textures. Then set those in that list for the model in the weapon and 1stPerson definitions.

 

6. At this point, you'll want to add them to some merchant's crate, so you can actually buy them. Or clone some container, put the weapons in it, drop in Doc Mitchell's home somewhere.

 

7. At this point, you have some cloned weapons, but you may or may not be left with some other changes to the original weapons. There's no telling what a mod did there. If it bothers you, you can use FOMM to delete any records for existing weapons or 1stPerson models and everything.

 

ALTERNATELY, once you're familiar enough with the procedure above, you can skip this by starting a brand new mod from scratch. Basically add it all without loading the original mod's ESP before point 2. You'd just create new weapons and 1stPerson records and set the meshes and textures. Since you're the one doing it, you can know what you changed and have peace of mind that nothing else was changed.

[Moraelin]

Or, it just occurs to me, you could first do the sane thing and ask the author nicely if they can do a non-replacer version too. You might not have to do it yourself :P