Cosmetology Nonexistent in FO3

[jallard]

Hi,

 

One of my biggest pet peeves with FO3 is the lack of cosmetology in FO3's character creation. I understand the argument that Bethesda/Obsidian had no budget to spend on the character creator and therefore PC's are ugly and disgustingly generic. But, try as I may with the help with all of the modders out there my characters still come out bland with absolutely no individual character whatsoever. Just this morning I did a complete and clean uninstall of FO3 and reinstalled the game. I then went to FO3Nexus and installed several hair, eyes, and eyelash mods stupidly thinking that for once I could create a character of my liking. But, lo and behold after playing though the stupid opening for ten minutes, I finally got to at least see the teenage version of my character; and, again I was sadly disappointed in my creation. Here's why:

 

1.) Lip color: Deep red or none and no in between. No pink, not even black. Just the generic red.

2.) Eyeshadow: Nothing that I can see. No greens, blues, reds, browns or black even: and, no level of intensity. Just generic nothing.

3.) Blush Color: Nonexistent, with no level of intensity.

 

I really would like to understand how it is that when I view screen shoots from other players their characters seem much more vibrant and alive. How are they doing this? What mods are they installing to create such awesome characters? Does anyone really know? Any thoughts, comments or even criticisms on this would be most appreciated. Thank you.

 

Jallard

[BlackRampage]

Ah, yes. Well, you guessed right. most authors do indeed use mods to "enhance" to looks of their characters since the default FO3 faces indeed look eh, not so pretty. (there are exceptions, but most are terrible)

There are of course quite a few mods which, partially, remedy this issue, but I'm guessing you're aware of these.

Are you aware of Project Beauty btw? Have a look: http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6341

Another thing you could try is expanding your search to custom races. Many authors simply make a custom race when they've made a char that looks totally different.

 

As for the screen-shots, could you post a link to one or more of these? Most are using very specific mods, so I can't help you if I don't know which you mean.

[mojodajojo]

Also, to help with shape you can go into the GECK and make a preset for the race you want to use.. The GECK sliders are like Oblivions and not all gimped/nerfed like the ingame ones.

[DFSL]

BlackRampage already summarized most tricks, but I wanted to say the users that make best faces generally sculpt their characters using the GECK facegen, then save the results as a preset that can be used within the game. As far I know, this is the only way, coupled with custom textures and maybe a headmesh, to get rid of the horrible generic traits Bethesda and Obsidian established. The ingame facegen is a total joke and I don't know how anyone can expect to do something useful with it. Of course, this avenue requires a lot of patience and certain knowledge, so I too just look with envy at the results modders can get.

[jallard]

Ah, yes. Well, you guessed right. most authors do indeed use mods to "enhance" to looks of their characters since the default FO3 faces indeed look eh, not so pretty. (there are exceptions, but most are terrible)

There are of course quite a few mods which, partially, remedy this issue, but I'm guessing you're aware of these.

Are you aware of Project Beauty btw? Have a look: http://www.fallout3n...ile.php?id=6341

Another thing you could try is expanding your search to custom races. Many authors simply make a custom race when they've made a char that looks totally different.

 

As for the screen-shots, could you post a link to one or more of these? Most are using very specific mods, so I can't help you if I don't know which you mean.

 

Check out the chic in the screen shoots "For a few poses more." I can't even get close to that.

[jallard]

BlackRampage already summarized most tricks, but I wanted to say the users that make best faces generally sculpt their characters using the GECK facegen, then save the results as a preset that can be used within the game. As far I know, this is the only way, coupled with custom textures and maybe a headmesh, to get rid of the horrible generic traits Bethesda and Obsidian established. The ingame facegen is a total joke and I don't know how anyone can expect to do something useful with it. Of course, this avenue requires a lot of patience and certain knowledge, so I too just look with envy at the results modders can get.

 

I checked out the G.E.C.K. At 64 years old, I don't think I will live long enough to learn how to use it-- let alone create a face gen. Now that I am thinking about it I am apprehensive about having pre-ordered Skyrim, if they refuse to spend money on the character creator I will refuse to spend money on the game. Perhaps that's why i keep going back to Dragon Age Origins.

[DFSL]

You don't need to create a facegen. It's built in the GECK. You only need to know how to make a simple plugin, as far I know. The GECK already has its own facegen with all the sliders the one ingame is missing. If I remember correctly, it's the "face" and "face advanced" tabs. Instead of creating your own plugin, you just can download a face preset from Nexus and modify it to suit your needs. Make sure the preset plugin is set as the active file, then select the preset of the race you want to retouch and go to the "face advanced" tab and start sculpting. Beware, it can be a tedious and slow undertaking. When finished, use the plugin like any other and you should see the presets when creating a new character or modifying one existent.

[jallard]

You don't need to create a facegen. It's built in the GECK. You only need to know how to make a simple plugin, as far I know. The GECK already has its own facegen with all the sliders the one ingame is missing. If I remember correctly, it's the "face" and "face advanced" tabs. Instead of creating your own plugin, you just can download a face preset from Nexus and modify it to suit your needs. Make sure the preset plugin is set as the active file, then select the preset of the race you want to retouch and go to the "face advanced" tab and start sculpting. Beware, it can be a tedious and slow undertaking. When finished, use the plugin like any other and you should see the presets when creating a new character or modifying one existent.

 

Thanks, but I still don't understand what you are talking about. I didn't see any of that stuff when I opened the GECK? In fact, everything was greyed out. I even tried to use the fac gen exchanger and transfer a face from FNV to FO3 and it doesn't work, because of the difference in the sliders, apparently. Besides, the only presets that I have downloaded from Nexus are just .esp files.

[DFSL]

I hope I don't make you screw your game, because I can't remember clearly all the steps. a) Download one of the face presets available on Nexus, a plugin, and the put it in your data folder; b) Load the GECK and select "data" menu, and in the list of mods that appears, make sure to put a tick beside the name of the downloaded plugin and select "set as active file" make sure you are selecting only the file to be modified c) Once the GECK finishes loading, you should see a list of every item in game on the left pane and the details on the right pane. Select the "NPC" category on the left pane and you should see a list of NPCs on the right pane. It's a huge list with every character in the game. The player and the presets appears listed too, I can't remember the exact name but the presets are named after the races "caucasian" "hispanic" etc. with numbers. Double click on the ID of preset you want to modify (Right pane) and a new window should open with the data for that preset. Select the "face advanced" or "face" tabs and tinker with the sliders or use the mouse to drag on the character portrait (Watch out, very sensitive and the window is small). Select "save" from the menu when done. Then use as any other plugin (Activate it in the launcher or the mod manager) and when making a new character, the modified preset should be there, among the others. Edited May 27, 2011 by DFSL

[jallard]

Also, to help with shape you can go into the GECK and make a preset for the race you want to use.. The GECK sliders are like Oblivions and not all gimped/nerfed like the ingame ones.

 

I have a problem with that. I downloaded and installed the GECK, but I can't find any face gen creator anywhere in GEC. What are you talking about. Please enlighten me. Thank you.