radiumskull Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 Currently I'm using 3DS Max 2013 and the NIF plugin that accompanies Fallout 4 (BGS_Fallout4Exporter_1.2.52.0.exe). Are these still valid tools? My empty NIF exports suggest they're not.
Ethreon Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 Ehm. They are official tools. Ofc they are still valid.
TummaSuklaa Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 It's stated in the readme that it has to be Max 2013.
radiumskull Posted August 25, 2016 Author Posted August 25, 2016 They're official tools, sure, but a lot of people use different ones. Since the information is so scattershot, I was asking to confirm if Max 2013 and its NIF plugin will still work well for FO4. Because they're not really working for me, and I don't know why.
radiumskull Posted August 26, 2016 Author Posted August 26, 2016 As an answer to my own question, it looks like the NIF plugin that shows up with FO4 Creation Kit is different from the current NifTools plugin. I went ahead and installed this version. I'm not sure if it affects importing, but there's a definite difference on export. Distinguishing features of the 'old' plugin are that its Export Options window title is in Mandarin (?!?), and it includes a menu for selecting output scripts. I know that this is probably the one BGS was using for production, but AFAIK it's been deprecated by the NifTools version v3.8.0, linked above. (Because hey, I like it when my NIF files have geometry in them. Just my thing.) When exporting, I have two choices in the file type menu: 'Gamebryo', which shows up just under the default FBX, and 'Netimmerse/Gamebryo', which appears further down the list. The former has a long list of file extensions, and the latter has just one, '.NIF'. That's the more modern one, and the one that solved my 'empty NIF' problem. All of this makes me love Blender even more, because its plugin management system is so much more... existent. You can easily tell which plugins are active or inactive, with visible data about where they came from. And, the import/export menus both show entries for each, that let you choose how you're bringing in data, and how you're sending it out. Hopefully, this will help anyone who comes looking for info, and not leave a thread where a question 'just like yours' goes unanswered.
Ethreon Posted August 26, 2016 Posted August 26, 2016 Niftools is in no way official, or able to handle the collision data for F4. What beth gave you works, and it is official. I know it works cause I use it right now. The unofficial one is useful if you want to import, or make items in 2016 then save for 2013 to only add collision.
radiumskull Posted August 26, 2016 Author Posted August 26, 2016 What beth gave you works, and it is official. I know it's official, but for some reason it simply isn't working for me. I haven't been able to figure out why it did before, and now doesn't work.
Ethreon Posted August 26, 2016 Posted August 26, 2016 Doesn't work in what way? Empty nifs? If so, have you assigned materials to the meshes in 2013 ? Specifically, BSLightningFX material. Open material editor, pick material, double click on BSLightningFX
radiumskull Posted August 27, 2016 Author Posted August 27, 2016 (edited) Doesn't work in what way? Empty nifs? If so, have you assigned materials to the meshes in 2013 ? Specifically, BSLightningFX material. Open material editor, pick material, double click on BSLightningFXYes, as I mentioned in that other thread, even creating and applying fresh BSLightingFX materials yields zero geometry in an exported NIF. For me, anyway. Meanwhile, the newer NifTools plugin works exactly as you describe. Edited August 27, 2016 by radiumskull
StuykGaming Posted August 27, 2016 Posted August 27, 2016 Doesn't work in what way? Empty nifs? If so, have you assigned materials to the meshes in 2013 ? Specifically, BSLightningFX material. Open material editor, pick material, double click on BSLightningFXYes, as I mentioned in that other thread, even creating and applying fresh BSLightingFX materials yields zero geometry in an exported NIF. For me, anyway. Meanwhile, the newer NifTools plugin works exactly as you describe. Follow this article step by step through 2013 and export a model.http://stuyk.com/article.php?p=17 I have exported at least 200 models at this point with zero issues. Yes it used 3ds Max 2013, and yes this is the only method to get collision working with any type of modeling for Fallout 4.
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