LE Gray Face Bug

[vram1974]

Honestly speaking, I would pay money to have a mod that fixed this problem from happening all the time.

 

I know it can be solved mod by mod but I would prefer ONE MOD TO RULE THEM ALL when it comes to skin texture, especially for the face. That mod would be worth its weight in gold.

 

Every time I see an NPC with a mismatched face I spend anywhere from several minutes to hours trying to solve it.

[Surilindur]

You can do this to solve it on a per-NPC basis, should not take too long:

• Open the console and select the NPC
• Somehow get the base record for that NPC (if there is a console command, that should do it) and note its form ID, write it down, perhaps
• Check your load order for the plugin that matches the first two letters/numbers of the form ID of the NPC (like if it is "3A001234", you will find the plugin that is "3A" in your load order)
• Open that plugin in TES5Edit and find the NPC base record by the end of its form ID (the first two numbers/letters are not the same as in game)
• Note the editor ID of the NPC base record, write it down, perhaps
• Open the CK and load the plugin the NPC comes from (also all its masters)
• Find the NPC base record (in Actors category) by the editor ID
• Select the record (so that it is blue, by left-clicking) and no other records
• Press Ctrl+F4 to export face (nif+dds only needed)
• Exit the CK, do not save anything
• If you use Mod Organizer, the meshes and textures will be in the "Overwrite" folder

The thing is that the face nif and dds need to be in the correct folder path with the correct name. The path depends on the plugin's name and the file names on the NPC's form ID. So having a mod create the nif and dds on the fly would need to be able to detect which NPCs are missing the files and then export the nif and dds so that they end up in the correct folders. Maybe it could be done, but it would probably need to be an SKSE plugin and use something like RaceMenu uses to export face presets plus have the ability to check on loading an NPC if there is a corresponding nif and dds for the base actor present.

 

Usually mod makers should have included the face data. But also just user renaming the mod will lead to the face data being in the wrong directory/path and therefore 'not present' for the game. Or user changing an NPC's form ID can cause that, but I am not sure who would do that - if it is possible. Maybe by TES5Edit, if at all.

 

Just my thoughts on the matter. Hopefully it helps a little. :)

 

Edit: Corrected that a bit. Sorry.

Edited August 17, 2015 by PhilippePetain

[CyranGE]

in my experience gray face only happened if you dont have the right .nif and/or .dds file for that specific actor/npc, and if it has already right .nif/dds file but the head parts are altered via tes5dit and/or ck.

[Surilindur]

Maybe the files indeed need to be up-to-date, as well, in addition to being in the right paths with right names. I have never thought about that. :P

 

Come to think of it, if someone would manage to make such a mod utilising whatever method/plugin RaceMenu uses for exporting the face presets, it would be pretty handy. Just check every NPC upon loading them, get the base record, get the form ID and mod name, see if the nif+dds exist and if not, export the base record's face so that there will be files in the appropriate directories with appropriate names. Then possibly update the NPC's 3D to reflect the addition of the files.

 

But how much would making a mod like that require? I have no skills at any scripting needed to make anything that complicated, so I am not sure if it is possible. But just thinking about it, it does not sound too difficult. The plan, that is. In reality, it could be complicated, but I do not know. :)

Edited August 17, 2015 by PhilippePetain