About changing monsters meshes

[zdzichorowerzysta]

If you are here, it mean you want to know how to change mesh of an monster. I will explain how to do it step by step(i'm using 3ds max, but also know blender a bit):

 

First of all, i guess you should download BSA Browser, if you don't have it. Unpack it and do stuff, you know. Then, open BSA_Browser.exe, a small window will pop up:

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/1-5.png

 

Click file->open->X:\The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim\Data\Skyrim - Meshes.bsa and wait a minute or two. Aaaaaand, and... For example, we gonna change horse mesh, so, you should find this file:

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/2-4.png

 

Then, click action->extract or extract to... Okay, you have now original horse mesh. Run 3ds max(i guess you already have skyrim plugins). Or no, go back to BSA browser, open Skyrim - Textures.bsa and extract these files or so:

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/3-4.png

 

These are textures of horse, without it your horse won't have textures, you know. Now go back to 3ds max. File->import...

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/4-3.png

 

I guess you should use those settings this time:

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/5-2.png

 

You probably will see something like this:

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/6-2.jpg

 

Now we gonna add a, um, a box to his/her head

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/7-2.jpg

 

Click on Horse:0 mesh, right click->convert to->editable mesh, attach box to him:

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/8-1.jpg

 

Now select "skin" modifier, then click add, then all and click select(do all of this when horse:0 is selected):

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/9-1.jpg

 

Now add BSDismemberSkin Modifier, then click file->export->xxxxxxxx.nif

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/10-1.png

 

In this step you need to download tool named nifskope. If you have nifskope, unpack it and you know, do stuff. Then run NifSkope.exe x2, you know, click on icon then push enter two times or so. Two windows would pop up. In first window, open horse.nif(i mean original horse mesh), and in last window open your.nif

 

 

As you can see, horse:0 mesh in original horse is like this:

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/13-1.gif

 

But horse:0 with box is like that, so we gonna change it:

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/12-1.jpg

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/14-1.gif

 

Now, file->save as horse.nif, put this file in X:\The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim\Data\meshes\actors\horse\character assets\ and enjoy damn box

 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h333/izomuli/TESV2012-02-0918-36-35-87.jpg

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

Edited February 9, 2012 by zdzichorowerzysta

[Gary3]

Hello,

 

at first: thank you for the great tutorial! :smile:

 

Unfortunately, I get still a game crash when loading a cell with a horse (new Skyrim installation, no other mods, only horse.nif changed).

 

I'm using 3D Studio Max 2012 64Bit and NifSkope 1.1.0-RC5 Revision d546a2e

The 3D Studio Max Plugin is version 3.7.1.fdef17d

 

This is how the modifiers look in Studio Max (tried to do everything ecaxtly the same) (klick the images in Imageshack again to enlarge more):

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/843/13dsmax.jpg/

 

The first export settings I tried:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/696/1export1.jpg/

 

The second export settings I tried:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/641/1export2.jpg/

 

This is how I changed it in the NIF / how it looks:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/3/1nif.jpg/

 

I uploaded the NIF File to fileuploadx.de:

http://www.fileuploadx.de/136090

 

Can you give me a clue what is going wrong? Is it because a wrong version of one of the tools or a workflow/setting error?

 

Best regards,

Gary

[zdzichorowerzysta]

Try attach eyes, tail and belly or whatever is this to main mesh, i mean select in 3ds max horse:0, convert to editable mesh, and attach horse:1, horse:2, horse:3, add skin modifier, all bones, BSDismemberSkin modifier, export, do what you need to in nifskope, then see what will be in game, just for the test, i think this should work, but animations will be a bit messed cause of bad rig

[Gary3]

Hello,

 

this is what I've got so far:

 

When I convert the horse 0 mesh to editable and attach the other 3 parts (eyes, hair, mane/tail), I get this window, where I can only choose point 3 (the first and the second result in a crash of 3D Max when exporting via the NIF plugin):

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/3920/23dsmatselect.jpg

 

I then get a mesh looking like this in 3D SMax:

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/536/23dstexture.jpg

 

Then I add the modifiers (the 3 parts in the bones section of the skin modifier are no longer there, so I guess it is good), and select all parts for the torso of the BSDismember Modifier:

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/3454/23dsselect.jpg

 

Exporting: I guess here could be a problem. I'm trying with theese:

Option 1: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/696/1export1.jpg/

Option 2: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/641/1export2.jpg/

 

In Nifskope everything seems ok, I'm changing the value to 30:

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/4124/2nif.jpg

 

In Skyrim, export option 1 gives me this:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5485/2screen1.jpg

 

Export option 2 gives me this:

http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/5900/2screen2.jpg

(the mesh is the default position, no movement, the sky makes it invisible)

 

So, no working mesh yet. Sorry if I'm a bit clueless, this is a hard learning curve for me... :confused:

 

Thanks again!

Gary

[ProjectVRD]

Just one question... how exactly do we acquire 3DS Max? My experience of Studio Max is that it is extremely expensive, is there a a freeware version or something?

[Gary3]

Hi,

 

there is a trial version (30 days or so), which even can be upgraded to service pack 1 on installation.

 

I don't know if it's legal to install it in VMware player several times though...

[SilverfeetStudio]

Can you screenshot your export settings?

 

Everytime I try to open in Nifscope it fails? :(

 

Thanks!

[zdzichorowerzysta]

Just one question... how exactly do we acquire 3DS Max? My experience of Studio Max is that it is extremely expensive, is there a a freeware version or something?

 

 

You should try blender(but will it blend? that's the question)

 

 

And about this invisible horse, i think this issue is because of 3ds max 2012, you should try change smooth group in editable mesh modifier

Edited February 10, 2012 by zdzichorowerzysta

[Gary3]

Hello zdzichorowerzysta,

 

I've tried to set the smoothing groups on the editable mesh (horse 0) to none, to one single or leave it to default. I also tried to set a separate skin and BSDismember modifier for every one of the 4 meshes and tried to delete everything but the horse 0 mesh and give only that no smoothing group.

 

The result is always this (is there something wrong with facing?):

 

 

Can you please post a screenshot of your export settings of the nif plugin in 3D Max?

Perhaps there is something I need to select different?

 

Which version of Nifskope are you using?

 

 

I just noticed, that under Skin -> Envelopes (are theese the bones) everything is oriented in a 90 degree angle away from the body:

 

 

I think I read about this problem in this forum before, but I'm not sure if this has to do something with the horse invisible problem, I'll have to search for the post.

 

 

Best regards,

Gary

Edited February 10, 2012 by Gary3

[zdzichorowerzysta]

Damn, what is that... I never had this problem, i thought