bubbashrubba Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 hey guys my nif file for an armor mod I'm making nukes the geck when loaded in. I'm using the car01hulkhood mesh and applying a texture with an alpha channel to make the mesh appear to look like the desired shape which works in nifskope and using a nialphaproperty node . I have no clue why on earth its crashing the geck could someone perhaps suggest anything or if i upload it could someone take a look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prensa Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 (edited) bubbashrubba - Hello!Did you copy & paste in a new NiTriStrip part to your model at all?The most common cause for a mesh that's had pasted in parts crashing the GECK/Game is an incorrectly named Block.When you paste in a new part in Nifskope it frequently gets renamed.This can cause problems if the new name for the part is one of the special names.If your new part's Block gets named the same as the BSFadeNode (the very top node), you'll get a CTD.Left click on the new part to bring up it's details in the bottom window, find Name & click on the Txt to bring up a window.In that window choose another name for the part, alternatively give it your own name so long as it's not the same as the model's BSFadeNode.Avoid BSX, UPB & PRN too.It's often best to go with a name used by one of the vanilla parts that's not animated or the top node. "for an armor mod" I take it you're not using the car01hulkhood as part of rigged armor? As any new part added to armor needs to be rigged in a 3d program like Blender to work properly in game.Hope this helps!Prensa Edited August 17, 2015 by prensa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbashrubba Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 (edited) Sorry I haven't replied for a while I know it seems rude but I have been really busy with real life. It's working in Geck however the addon in game doesn't appear. The armor shows but the shoulder pad I made using the car01hoodhulk mesh doesn't. I take it I need UV maps but I would think that as a default mesh already in game it would ? How I would I go about rigging or weighting the mesh? I haven't used blender before any good tutorials? Is what I'm trying to do too complicated for a beginner? Thanks for the assistance. Don't I need a python plugin or something to work with nifs? Edited August 22, 2015 by bubbashrubba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prensa Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 bubbashrubba - Hello!"Sorry I haven't replied for a while I know it seems rude but I have been really busy with real life."No problem. :)"It's working in Geck however the addon in game doesn't appear."It's probably not appearing because you've not set the shader flag correctly for the new part in Nifskope, armor parts need a special shader set.Though even with the shader set, unless it's been weighted it won't work properly in game.To set the shader, In Nfskope you need to left click the new part & that will highlight it's NiTriStrip block.Expand the NiTriStrip's details by left clicking the arrow next to it.Within that locate it's BSSHaderPPLightingProperty, left click it to bring it's details up in Block Details.Within that find Shader Flags, You'll see other shaders listed like SF_Specular etc., double left clicking that list will allow you to bring up a pull down window with a list of shaders.From that list tick SF_Skinned & save you .nif.The piece will now show up but it won't move properly in game as it's not been told how it attaches to the body.That's what weight painting/rigging does, tells the part how to move with the skeleton of the wearer."I take it I need UV maps but I would think that as a default mesh already in game it would ? "Yes, the original UV map information of the part will be fine."How I would I go about rigging or weighting the mesh? I haven't used blender before any good tutorials?"The best armor creation tutorial, it's how I learned most of what I know about it, is here:http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Creating_an_armour_for_Fallout._Part_1http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Creating_an_armour_for_Fallout._Part_2You can actually skim much of the tutorial as you have the shape you want & are adding it to an existing armor.You need to add weight to the new part, this can be done easiest by copying the weight from the armor or body over to your new part.The part that deals with specifically adding weights to the piece you are trying to add:http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Creating_an_armour_for_Fallout._Part_1#Add_weights_to_the_armourWith luck you might get away with just copying the weight from the armor to the new part.Sometimes you need to adjust the weights by hand though."Don't I need a python plugin or something to work with nifs?"You need Python to run Blender & Nif scripts. Nif scripts allows Blender to import & export .nif's.The version of Blender, Nif Scripts & all the other programs you need plus a step by step installation guide can be found here:http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/30/?Follow the installation guide on the Description page as the programs need to be installed in the proper order.General Blender guide:https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro"Is what I'm trying to do too complicated for a beginner?"What you're needing to do is not too hard, it's just getting used to Blender that will be the biggest hurdle.Blender is a tough program to learn, very hard going at first. It took me several attempts to finally get into it (just last year). Once you get past the initial tough phase it does get a lot easier & once learned allows you to create so much more.What you're trying to do is actually a good starting point project &, as long as you're determined, a good way to learn Blender.Hope this helps!Prensa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbashrubba Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 (edited) Wow thanks for the in-depth and extremely helpful information and sources! I'm going to go try this now! If I can get this working I'm gonna give you some credit in my mod. Thanks again for the help and lemme give you a kudos. EDIT : Alright It still doesn't seem to be appearing any ideas? Edited August 24, 2015 by bubbashrubba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prensa Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 bubbashrubba - Hello!"Wow thanks for the in-depth and extremely helpful information and sources! "No problem, happy to help!"and lemme give you a kudos"Thank-you kindly! :)"Alright It still doesn't seem to be appearing any ideas?"Most common reason for a part in armor not to show up is not setting that shader I mentioned (SF_Skinned).If you loaded the part into Blender to add the weight to it, that shader will have been unticked on export.Blender changes many settings back to a default on export.Just set the shader back as I mentioned above after you've exported & copy/pasted into your armor.Make sure that the added part has not ended up with an incorrect name, pasted in parts can take on names not suited to them when added in Nifskope.The new part should not have any of the bone names, they begin with "Bip".The new part also should not have the same name as the very top node (in armor usually "Scene Root").You can change the name of the part by left clicking on it's NiTriStrip, it's details will show in Block Details, left click Txt by Name & a window will open were you can choose an existing name or type a new one.Remember to save after changes.If you did use Blender to rig the part, check in Nifskope that it's got a BSDismemberSkinInstance listed under it's NiTriStrip. If it's not there then you missed a step in Blender, double check the guide on adding weight.If you've done that & it still does not show up, post the .nif here & I'll take a look & see if I can spot anything.If you're wanting the to keep the .nif under wraps until you release your mod then you can send me it in a PM instead.Hope this helps!Prensa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbashrubba Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 (edited) Once again I'm sorry for the slow reply! College has started again and between that learning to drive and numerous university and doctor visits my time has been short! Anyway I have attempted to weight the mesh several times and the export seems to break the mesh somehow or at least don't help it to be seen in game even though the shader flags I set seem ok. I can upload a backup that isn't edited in blender if you're still willing to take a look? Also I realized the node doesn't have a BSDismemberSkinInstance attached trying to copy paste other nodes BSDismemberSkinInstance makes things weird and distorted. However when I attempt to create one with the skin partition in blender it won't export and throws an error despite me following the recommended settings according to the tutorial. I'l post a screenshot of that if its helpfull. Thanks once again in advance (so sorry for being 2 weeks too slow) Edited September 6, 2015 by bubbashrubba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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