Parts of a model showing up pitch black.

[PAPVAFS11]

Here's an image of my problem:

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/9SQBEfi.png

 

 

As shown, parts of the model are showing up pitch black without any lighting whatsoever. The model looks fine in NifSkope and 3DS Max (2011), but, in-game and in the GECK, the black faces in the image show up. I'm not a very experienced modeller, so all I can do is guess at the cause.

 

Has anyone had this happen before?

[dubiousintent]

From the TESTG "Troubleshooting" section:

 

Issue: The surface of an object appears all black or without detail.

Cause: This is usually caused by a missing 'normal map' (*_n.dds) file (see the glossary for more details). Basically this is the same situation as with a missing mesh, only the file belongs among the Textures.

Note: The equivalent 'normal map' for LOD terrain is a "*_fn.dds" file. Far objects use a "*_far.nif" file.

 

If you copied the texture in question from another mod, most likely the editor you used defaulted to copying the "absolute" path of the texture. It needs to be a "relative" path from the mesh (i.e. "..\textures\<specific texture subfolder>").

 

-Dubious-