How many more downloads?

[Candex]

All help is appreciated, although I will not read it until some 17 hrs later when I get back here... My major issue is, or was, getting blender to open up a .nif . I get a warning message saying that the filetype is not recognized or something. It's probably me doing something wrong in blender; I will re-read tfm,and the blender-nexus-install page, and come back being sure that I am stupid just like I thought.

 

Now , 'serious coding' ???? Me? :laugh:

[MarkInMKUK]

Apparently the stuff you are going to need for .nif files should be found on THIS page as Sourceforge.

 

If you scroll down past the geekspeak at the top, look for the heading "3D Package Plug-ins"

 

Below that is the heading "Blender"

 

There are four packages there to download and install - those should give you import and export facilities for .nif files in Blender.

 

 

Further up is a dedicated .nif editor called Nifskope - I don't know for sure but it seems likely that this will do things instead of Qskope - maybe someone else can advise more.

 

I've looked into the QSkope stuff and ... well ... I'm an ex-programmer, and I wouldn't even BEGIN to try and go down the QSkope route without WAY better step-by-step instructions than they give you to compile your own version of SIP and then use that with PQt4. Ignore it totally :) Class it as Star Trek Technobabble to the nth degree - stuff that would confuzzle Mr Spock.

Edited July 6, 2011 by MarkInMKUK

[Candex]

Ok I managed to come back a bit earlier. Thanks for all the help provided. I now know I have all things properly installed and running, but I'm obviously missing some configuration (or else) step. This is probably something covered in the manuals/tutorials. As far a this topic goes, I got my answer and more. I will post another topic later if I still can't find what I'm looking for. Many many thanks!

[DrakeTheDragon]

Hmm, I wonder why is there no mentioning of the No.1 source of information and the real listing of requirements and download links for the Blender NIF Import/Export scripts in any of those links or descriptions therein? Not even the package downloadable from the Nexus has it.

 

http://niftools.sourceforge.net/wiki/Blender

 

NIFTools is the home of all of it, so this should be the first place to check for help... or am I wrong? :unsure:

 

I for one always only go there for the latest version of NifSkope and any update of the NifScripts or any of their requirements. I haven't yet run into any issues with just installing the latest of whatever is linked there in exactly the order described there and following the instructions given there... especially when it comes to configuring the scripts for the first time and all those little secret special cases in import/export business. I don't have any QT stuff installed, nor any windows stuff (I'm on a Mac, hey!), and still everything is working flawlessly without any hassle so far in getting it to work. This QSkope might be coming with the installation of one or more of the requirements, but it was never of any use to me so I just removed it again afterwards. NifSkope however is one of the most important tools for getting your custom meshes working in the game. Without its great spells for post-export fixes you woould have to have your scripts 100% accurately configured for each respective task your attempting and may never make even 1 single mistake in Blender which will render the exported NIF useless for the game right-away without the post-export fixes I mentioned. You might be able to create a working file right out of Blender, but the chances to mess anything up in the process, even while working your mesh alone, are far too high to count on it, ever.

[MarkInMKUK]

Ahh - a modding expert - Drake has forgotten more about meshes and textures than I'll probably ever know

[DrakeTheDragon]

Ahh - a modding expert - Drake has forgotten more about meshes and textures than I'll probably ever know

1 single minute delay... are you like supernaturally watching this thread or something?! :blink:

 

And compared to the other regulars around here I'm just a beginner still.

But I was really wondering why this site was never mentioned or linked to anywhere. It was almost the only source for me to go looking at.

[MarkInMKUK]

Pure coincidence - my omniscience is vastly overstated!

[LHammonds]

http://niftools.sourceforge.net/wiki/Blender

 

NIFTools is the home of all of it, so this should be the first place to check for help... or am I wrong? :unsure:

The active developer, amorilia, will tell you herself that you don't necessarily need to install the latest version of all the software components. It is true that for the last couple of years, the stability of PyFFI and NIF Scripts have been such that you can install the latest versions (for the most part) and not really mess anything up...depending on what game you are modding and what changes were done (however, Blender 2.5x and latest Python are not compatible with NIF import/export process). Changes in most of the recent version have absolutely nothing to do with Oblivion modding so there is no reason to keep updating if you are modding for Oblivion. It all depends.

 

The purpose of the Blender page I have on TESNexus is meant to provide a workable solution to anyone wanting to get their feet wet and not have to worry about finding all the right software, the right versions and how it needs to be installed to work on your system. You download a package, following the provided instructions and it just works...no matter what version of Windows you are running. That is the whole purpose of that page.

 

The older versions of Blender and related software was extremely tricky to get working and some tools only work with files exported from a certain package set (such as NifBlender only working with the Blender 2.43 package for .KF files)

 

For each package released, I have worked with various modders and the developers of the programs to ensure the best versions to bundle together. Since this page is uploaded to TESNexus, it was primarily geared towards Oblivion modders.

 

I maintained a Fallout 3 version of the Blender page for a while but development for that game became stable very quickly (thanks to the knowledge of the NIF format the NifTools developers gained while working on Oblivion) and as such, I did not need to keep maintaining packages...people can get the newest versions straight from the source and they will work just as well as my bundled versions if not better.

 

The NifTools team is currently working on PyFFI and Blender NIF Scripts for the new Blender 2.5x version so 2.5x is not a viable option for Blender modders at this time (regarding the import and export of NIF files)

 

EDIT: If you followed my install instructions, you would have deleted the QSkope icon which is not necessary for the vast majority of modders.

 

It should also be noted that we have a dedicated Blender forum here on the Nexus. You can also find many Blender-specific tutorials on the Nexus Wiki.

 

LHammonds

[DrakeTheDragon]

Oh, there's no need to defend your remarkable work, LHammonds. I never intended to downrate it at any point. In fact I thought it was a great idea when I first read of it and still do so nowadays. I can clearly see the benefits of an all-in-one-place source for these tools for the end-user, bundled with a bunch of valid information and instructions on how to get it all working. I really appreciate your hard work in compiling all these resources and links and keeping it up-to-date and at versions compatible with each other.

 

It was just I came here and read the OP describing what all was installed already and for a lot of this software I "know" it is not part of the installation process, so I was wondering where it came from. Quickly skimming through the sources linked only one thing was obviously sticking out for me, there was no mentioning of the original NifTools homepage at any time. This confused me a little, was it the only source I ever used and was always faring pretty well with it so far, and I was wondering why that is. Don't get me wrong, I only never used your complete package up to now, because when I tried my hand at this stuff back then your Nexus upload simply wasn't in existance, yet. If I was to learn it all from scratch today, I'd likely use your download page as the first source for it as well.

 

I agree, it isn't always advisable to obtain the latest version of everything, considering they aren't always compatible with each other. I didn't yet switch to Blender 2.5 either due to it not being supported by the NifScripts, yet. But I see myself as a pretty confident programmer and very tech savvy and so I always give the latest version of everything a try. If anything goes wrong, I can always revert back to the last working state. I didn't yet manage to mess up my installation beyond repair and never had to reinstall Oblivion once either. So it is pretty safe for me myself to mess around with this stuff to any extent. But of course I can't recommend anybody else to do so as well without knowing they can also handle it when things go wrong either.

 

I was only wondering why the NifTools homepage wasn't mentioned anywhere at all, neither on your page nor on other sources so far, considering what all I learned from it and the linked tutorials over there years ago, and thought mentioning it here could help the OP. No offense intended and I hope I didn't come across as if I was. :confused:

[Candex]

The purpose of the Blender page I have on TESNexus is meant to provide a workable solution to anyone wanting to get their feet wet and not have to worry about finding all the right software, the right versions and how it needs to be installed to work on your system. You download a package, following the provided instructions and it just works...no matter what version of Windows you are running. That is the whole purpose of that page.

 

EDIT: If you followed my install instructions, you would have deleted the QSkope icon which is not necessary for the vast majority of modders.

 

It should also be noted that we have a dedicated Blender forum here on the Nexus. You can also find many Blender-specific tutorials on the Nexus Wiki.

 

 

 

Yes I managed to make it work now. I did not even think that there existed a page in TESNexus about blender, let alone with installation instructions. By the time I found out, I had already downloaded and installed everything in my system (and I am still surprised at the fact that I got ALL the correct versions for everything on my own). So, what was I doing wrong...?Well, after reading carefully the instructions I got it. The NifScripts were installed in the wrong directory. It makes sense now to me, to set up a script inside the scripts folder. But when I installed it the first time I just couldn't make the math. I've got the computer skills of a wooden plank. I kept clicking at the QSkope icon just to be told I had to install a horde of aliens in my system.

 

I've removed the icon now, yes. And will be checking out the Blender forums and the Nexus wiki, I won't post any Blender related questions here from now on.

 

And @Drake, thanks also for pointing out the blender info in the Niftools website. It may come in handy after all.