Need some .nif help (details in post)

[WhiskeyRiver2]

I'm trying to replace some existing models (specifically weapon magazines) with new versions, but for some weird reason the new model jumps from the mag well to the business end of the barrel whenever I apply a muzzle mod, and also moves around as I scroll through the different barrel options. In the workbench, it gets highlighted along with the barrel, so obviously the game is seeing them as part of the same group, but I have literally no idea where to look in NifSkope to check/change that.

 

So, what do I need to do, and how exactly does it need to be done?

 

ETA: Pictures of the issue(s): http://imgur.com/a/78XZl

Edited March 29, 2017 by WhiskeyRiver2

[WhiskeyRiver2]

Get up there. Added in pictures of the problem(s) as well as a side-by-side comparison of the new, broken .nif and the old, functional .nif.

[VIitS]

Look at the CPT data. It looks to me like you either have the attach point in the wrong place, or have the wrong attach point for the mod.

[WhiskeyRiver2]

The CPT data is identical for both the new and old .nifs, at least s'far as I can tell. I know I didn't alter it at all when I copied in the new .nif.

[VIitS]

You mind uploading a copy of the meshes and your plugin? I can't tell what else it might be just from the pictures.

[WhiskeyRiver2]

Not a problem. Give me a few minutes to build the file path and get it uploaded.

 

Edit: Here's the two CMag nifs. https://www.dropbox.com/s/d5gvjgkmnil8j4o/MF%20CMag%20NIFs.zip?dl=0 The one with "test" in the file name is the broken one, the other is the current one that works just fine.

 

Plugin is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzrr35qmrn1elud/Modern%20Firearms%20Plugin%20Tweak%203-23-2017.zip?dl=0 I didn't change the file path for this .nif at all in the plugin, so all of that works as it should.

 

On the off chance you need the entire Modern Firearms package for testing or something, I can PM you that link (rather not get it spammed out of service again, so won't post it public here). Just let me know if you need that as well.

Edited March 29, 2017 by WhiskeyRiver2

[VIitS]

I don't actually have the main mod, so loading it in game would likely just cause a CtD (short of swapping it onto a vanilla gun, which would probably work since it is a specific behavior I am looking for, not that it looks right), but I did see some things wrong with the test nif.

 

First (and likely the source of the issue), is the CPT data is NOT identical (the little arrow next to the lower "Name" field opens the list of connect points). The original has a C-Mag name for the connect point, the test has C-Mag_New. That name is what the game uses to figure out what to attach to where, so it not being right is almost certainly the source of your problem (you just have to Edit it, F2 or double Clicking will let you change the field).

 

Second (and I'm honestly a little surprised the game didn't crash when it loaded the mesh) you have some loose BSLightingShadeProperty blocks. I guess they aren't as important as loose NiNodes or loose BSTrishapes, but you should still probably get rid of those (I'm guessing they were originally used for the individual bullet meshes, and you did remove instead of remove branch when deleting them?).

 

If fixing the point name in the CPT block doesn't fix it, I'll see if I can bash it onto another gun to test in-game.

 

As a side note, I'm guessing you are trying to optimize the meshes without losing any of the definition of the shape? If so, you're doing well. The mesh looks a lot cleaner, and your single, combined mesh (bullets+main) uses significantly less polys than the main mesh in the original.

[WhiskeyRiver2]

Wasn't actually trying to optimize anything. Was going through GameBanana looking for stuff we could use, saw the new C-mag model/texture set and thought "hey, that looks a lot nicer/more accurate than the one we have now, and it's free to use - let's grab it, see if I can learn how to get it rigged up right". Glad to know it's better overall though.

 

I'll try renaming the CPT node, see if that works. I'll also zap the loose ShaderProperty blocks (I'm assuming you're talking about the ones pointing to the "AR_mag_308.bgsm" or whatever it is? If so, you're exactly right on why they're still there), see if that does anything. Figure it can't make things worse, at any rate >.>

 

Edit: Well, that didn't work.

 

Thanks for taking a look, this has been driving me nuts for the past day or so. And there ain't exactly any good tutorials on how to do this sort of thing either, which is annoying as hell.

 

Edit 2: Figured it out, finally, thanks to a Redditor over on /r/FalloutMods. The extra BSLightingShaderProperty branches were an issue, but the bigger issue is that I didn't have the new mesh set up as a child of the initial NiNode/scene root properly.

Edited March 30, 2017 by WhiskeyRiver2