genolune Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Good afternoon FO4 Nexus, With the launch of the Creation Kit and Fallout 4 being out for a while and having all DLC out, what is the best & most updated modding tools? I'm trying to assemble and streamline my tools for modding. What I have (latest versions of everything):Creation Kit for making the big modsFO4Edit for quick fixes, merging, and cleaning Meshing & Texturing:BodySlide and Outfit Studio (what I've been currently learning)NifSkopeBlenderGimp Can these be eliminated or done better by other programs preferably one of the tools above?1. DDS Converter (for rapid viewing of all my texture files to see what I want to mix and match) http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/6712/?2. Caprica Papyrus Compiler http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/7380/? (Maybe obsolete by the Creation Kit?) 3. Champollion PEX to Papyrus Decompiler http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/3742/? (Maybe obsolete by the Creation Kit?) 4. B.A.E. - Bethesda Archive Extractor http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/78/? (Maybe obsolete by the Creation Kit?) Let me know what you all think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damanding Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 I use BAE still and I'm pretty sure others do as well. In fact I'm not even aware of how to extract files from a ba2 without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill8872 Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 I have read that many do not recommend using BAE. I am not at home, but there is a file under tools (I think), that is used for ba2 files. I do not recall the exact name. It might have come with the creation kit, but not sure on that.I have used it several times, and it has more options than BAE does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damanding Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Interesting, if you find it when you get home I'd like to learn as well then. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genolune Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 I downloaded NifSkope, Blender and Gimp based on the tool sticky, but what's the difference between Blender and Gimp? I know NifSkope would deal with the .nif meshes but are both Blender and Gimp needed? I'm trying to get to the best essentials and come up with kind of a training plan for myself. I may release that to the public since it would help get new modders competent faster and contributing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damanding Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Blender works with meshes, Gimp works with textures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genolune Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 So do you need both NifSkope and Blender? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill8872 Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Interesting, if you find it when you get home I'd like to learn as well then. :smile:I just looked it up. It is part of the creation kit. You will find Archive2.exe in <gamefolder>\Tools\Archive2 http://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Archive2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damanding Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Yes if you want to work on both meshes and their textures. 3DS Max is another mesh program that is more advanced than Blender (and costly) and is the only one capable of natively handling the mesh files used by Bethesda. Blender has plugins but they are in some way inadequate. I don't use the tools myself so I'm not 100% clear on the whys and wherefores of that, but it's easy enough to find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damanding Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Interesting, if you find it when you get home I'd like to learn as well then. :smile:I just looked it up. It is part of the creation kit. You will find Archive2.exe in <gamefolder>\Tools\Archive2 http://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Archive2 Thanks! I'll have to check this out when I return to my gaming/modding computer in a couple of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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