Custom Weapon Mod Help

[teaganfal]

Hello Modding Community,

 

I am currently working on a somewhat unique weapon mod for Fallout 4. It is a redesign of the Tesla Cannon from previous Fallout games. I've followed some of the basic tutorials listed in the Creation Kit wiki and they're just too basic for what I'm doing. The work flow that I notice other modders doing is to just use an existing weapon as a template and replace the mesh and textures with their own. That's fine but my weapon is similar but not the same as any other weapon currently in the game or any of the DLC's. So replacing an existing weapon with my mesh is yielding very awkward results. Because my weapon is shoulder mounted there are only 2 weapons in-game that fit that description: the missile launcher and the Fatman. And neither has the right animations that make sense with my weapon mod.

 

My current workflow is as follows:

Model + UV's in Maya

Export from Maya as .obj, import to CBBE outfitter

Export from CBBE as .nif, open in Nifskope, copy mesh from itself over to weapon template

Delete rig and bones from CBBE and delete weapon template (I am using Fatman as template for now)

Save and load into Creation Kit

Make adjustments to weapon stats and run in-game.

 

Right now it technically works, however it's using the Fatman reload and fire animations. I fully intent to make custom reload and fire animations for my mod but I have no idea how to get those into the Creation Kit. And even if I can get them in how do I replace the Fatman animations with mine? Also when I reload the weapon in-game it is placing a mini-nuke into it (makes sense I am using the Fatman as a template.) However if I delete the node in Nifskope that tells the game to add the mini-nuke reload and then bring it over to the Creation Kit, it crashes the program. So I guess my other question is, can I avoid using Nifskope to build the mod? If not how would I go about adjusting hand positions and aiming points and reload magazines?

 

Ultimately I'd like this weapon to be modifiable in-game with different receiver upgrades, scopes, etc. and also to be bought from vendors and found on enemies after maybe level 45 or something. I know the game has been out for awhile and not a lot of mods are probably being produced anymore but any help is greatly appreciated. Just let me know if you need any more information. Thank you!

[TrickyVein]

...can I avoid using Nifskope to build the mod?

 

I know the game has been out for awhile and not a lot of mods are probably being produced anymore... Thank you!

 

Good luck, buddy.