Shayu Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 (edited) I have never done modding, or modeling, but I've decided I'd like to give them a shot. My goal once Fallout 4 hits, is to create a from-scratch character model to replace my in-game player character model before Fallout 5 comes out (should be a good window of time right? XD). Easier said then done though. That's why I'm trying to figure out the best way to approach this whole thing. I've been looking at Blender as my starting point; I can 3D model my own character there... I think, I can then add textures with GIMP; both of these things I am fully aware will take a long time in themselves to learn, but my question is: will I be able to take my modeled character and bring it into the GECK and then rig it up to the vanilla animations? I know it's all up in the air right now in terms of Fallout 4s GECK, but was it possible in previous titles? Since I've never done this before, I'm not aware of how commonly outside programs are used to to create from scratch models. Are there guides to follow for NV? I've done some looking around for some myself. I haven't found much, but I feel my untrained eyes may not know what to look for. Thanks for taking the time to reply to such a complete newbie, i feel like I'm going to be grasping at straws here, lol.-Shayu Edited October 18, 2015 by Shayu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M48A5 Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Go to Nexus Mods Fallout: New Vegas, hover the cursor over "Files". In the drop down menu, left click on "Categories". Look for "Modders resources and tutorials. There are currently 312 files in that category. Go to Nexus Mods Fallout 3, hover the cursor over "Files". In the drop down menu, left click on "Categories". Look for "Modders resources and tutorials". There are currently 366 files in that category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayu Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 Go to Nexus Mods Fallout: New Vegas, hover the cursor over "Files". In the drop down menu, left click on "Categories". Look for "Modders resources and tutorials. There are currently 312 files in that category. Go to Nexus Mods Fallout 3, hover the cursor over "Files". In the drop down menu, left click on "Categories". Look for "Modders resources and tutorials". There are currently 366 files in that category. Thanks! Was using google previously, that didn't bare much fruit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayu Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 Another question I have is this: is it wise to start with a from scratch model in blender? Can such a model be rigged up to follow the games vanilla animations, or is it better to start with a pre-rigged model FROM the game and then edit it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmongo Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 What I usually do to create custom bodies, hands, etc. is load up a vanilla part in Blender and make my own mesh using the vanilla mesh as a reference as to size, placement, etc. Once I have my new model mesh created and textured, then I delete the vanilla mesh (but not the skeleton) and then parent my new mesh to the skeleton. Then I go through all of the bone weights and fix everything that Blender royally screwed up as Blender doesn't seem to auto weight meshes to bones very well. Save in Blender, export to nif, then go into nifscope and fix all of the flags because those never seem to get exported properly for body part meshes either. Blender from Noob to Pro is a good online reference if you need to learn about Blender. Body meshes and clothing and armor are all made using the same basic techniques, so any tutorial that covers armor and clothing will work for bodies as well. The shader type and shader flags are different for armor/clothing pieces and skin. GIMP and Paint.Net (which is not the MS Paint that comes with windows) are both free and both can handle dds files once you download and install the dds plugins for them. They can also both create normal maps (again, plugin required). Personally I find GIMP to be more powerful but Paint.Net easier to use, but it's mostly a matter of personal preference. Either program will work. Somewhere on the nexus (might be under FO3, I don't remember) there's a complete package of Blender 2.49 with all of the nif tools you'll need. This has all of the versions that play nice together. It's an older version of Blender, but you just install everything and it works. I've heard of people trying to get the nif tools to work with newer versions of Blender but the last time I checked there were still a lot of issues with it. Then again, it's been a long time since I've checked so maybe someone has a newer version working by now. I've gotten used to Blender 2.49. It works. When you create your mesh, make sure you use the correct options when you export it to nif (Use BSFaderNodeRoot on for statics and items but off for armor, clothing, and body meshes, for example). Otherwise your nif may crash the GECK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony the Wookie Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 If you have money there are much better programs out there than Blender. If you are interested I would be happy to give you more info, if not, good luck with Blender. Once you start making high poly models and trying to bake down that information as textures to a low poly you will see what I mean. Things that take days in Blender can be done in minutes. There is a reason no videogame title I can think of was made using Blender... I am sure there are some indie games out there that used it, but none that I know of, and I used to design indie games... On a totally different note, what is you background as an artist? As games get more photo realistic, it becomes less about ability to use a few tools and more about your ability to see like an artist. If you want to do custom body types and such, you better know your anatomy, because unlike Fallout 3, these models are high res and everything you get wrong will be noticed. The people playing your mod won't know what is wrong, but if you don't have that scapula placed right and that shirt fits weird, their subconscious mind will be screaming out that something looks off about your character. I can't understate how much there is to learn if you want to be a character artist on the level of next generation gaming. I've been 3d modeling since 2009 and can draw out and name every relevant muscle in the entire human body, and it is still a challenge for me to take my skills to that next level. I don't want to be a buzzkill, just trying to be honest with what you are up against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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