Texture Files missing

[doctorzero0]

I have no idea if anyone has this problem, but I've found no answers and at my wit's end.

 

I work frequently with the GECK, but certain texture files--for example, the pipboy icon for the bottlecap--have simply vanished from their respective folders. Despite this, they still show up in game. This even happens with some world models--I tried to mod the brotherhood holotag, but the texture for it wasn't listed. Not only that, but as soon as I closed the texture window, the selection for it straight up went blank despite showing the texture a second ago.

 

I have NO idea what's going on, or if this is a common problem. Heck, this might not even be the right place to ask, but if there is ANYONE who can help me, PLEASE do so. I'm about to rip my hair out.

[vforvic]

A lot to talk about here. This probably should be in the modding section where it would get more exposure to people who do more modding, but here is fine. I'll assume nothing so I will go over everything as if you did not know it.

 

First let's talk about Texture Paths for Models (Meshes) and BSA's. By default all asset's in vanilla Fallout 3 look in their respective compressed BSA files on the hard drive SECOND...remember that. Meshes are in "Fallout - Meshes.bsa", Textures are in "Fallout - Textures.bsa" and so on. If you looked inside these compressed BSA files you would see the files are all packed inside their Data folder structure. So if you look into the BSA you would see the Holotag texture as "textures\clutter\questitems\holodogtags01.dds". Remember all Texture paths are automatically referenced from the Data folder so the path can start below that point. In other words you do not have to put c:\MyGames\Bethesda\...etc. This is why you see the path above start at textures\... The FIRST place Mesh files look is in the actual folders on the hard drive. So for the Holotag if you make a custom texture with the same name and put it in "textures\clutter\questitems\holodogtags01.dds" then the Holotag mesh will use the custom texture first. This is not the best way to do it though. It is best to use your own custom directory structure rather than the default path, but that is a whole other discussion. So in a nutshell when you look into the file structure of a default game of Fallout 3 you will see no Texture or Mesh paths with anything in them because Vanilla FO3 uses the BSA's.

 

Next let's talk about what you are seeing in the GECK and why. So by default the Texture paths for Meshes are actually stored in the Mesh file itself and not in the GECK. If you used Nifskope to look into the Mesh, which is what I suggest, you will see the path "textures\clutter\questitems\holodogtags01.dds" for the Texture path...and a few other paths for other types of Textures I won't talk about. This is how the Mesh knows what Textures to use. So when you open up the Holotag you do not see the Textures listed because the Mesh is what is actually pointing to the Textures. The boxes you are seeing are for overriding the default path in the Mesh.

 

So let's say in the GECK you go to "FFDCBrotherhoodDogtag" right click and say edit. You see where it says "model" and you hit "edit". "Model File Name" is where you can override the default Mesh used and "Alternate Textures" is where you can override the default Textures as defined in the Mesh itself. The Mesh override is straight forward because you just point to the new Mesh on your hard drive. The Texture though has to point to what is called a "Texture Set" which is defined in the GECK and a whole other subject. This is where the GECK is a little messy. If you hit "Edit" on the "Model File Name" it will clear the selection when you come back out unless you pick something. The thing is it will only show you the directory structure on your Hard Drive and not inside the BSA. You have to remember to hit "Cancel" when you come back out to the "Misc Item" box or the model will be blank now. This is a quirk of the GECK that can be annoying to say the least.

 

I definitely recommend at least looking at the Nifskope page to look at Mesh files to learn a little more how things work.

[doctorzero0]

...okay, wow, I was even more unfamiliar with this whole thing than I thought. I'm gonna have to write this down. Thanks so much for this information, though, hopefully I can figure out how to use it right.