"Failed to map parent link ninode"

[DovahbearIsNuts]

Does anyone know how I can possibly cope/paste this (the harness):

 

 

Onto to this (inventory/world model):

 

 

As I for the life of me, can't figure out what I'm doing wrong! :confused:

[Grospolina]

NifSkope is a little picky when it comes to copying and pasting. Basically, the parent node of what you're copying from has to exist on the mesh that you're copying to. It has to be the same type of node AND it has to have the same name (if it has a name). Since you're making a ground object, it looks like you're trying to copy from a NiNode parent to a BSFadeNode parent. That's your problem. There are two ways around this, and it depends on what you're copying:

 

Method one:

1. Disconnect the node from its parent so that it doesn't have a parent node anymore, and then copy it.

Method two:

1. Make a copy of the mesh that you're copying from. You're going to modify it and you don't want to accidentally save the changes.
2. Open the copy in NifSkope.
3. Convert the parent node so that it's the same type as the one you're copying to.
4. Change the name of the parent node (by clicking on the small "Txt" icon) to match the node that you're copying to.
5. Copy the node over.

Also, be careful when creating ground objects. I was just doing this last weekend, and it failed when I copied the entire NiNode over. I had to start from a GND/GO template and copy the NiNodeData over to an existing NiNode, and then copy the BSShaderTextureSet and NiAlphaOverride over. I couldn't see any difference in the NiNode and BSLightingShaderProperty objects (unless I missed something), but it had to be done.

 

Edit: By "fail" I mean that the NiNode copied over fine, but it was invisible in the game.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Grospolina

[DovahbearIsNuts]

NifSkope is a little picky when it comes to copying and pasting. Basically, the parent node of what you're copying from has to exist on the mesh that you're copying to. It has to be the same type of node AND it has to have the same name (if it has a name). Since you're making a ground object, it looks like you're trying to copy from a NiNode parent to a BSFadeNode parent. That's your problem. There are two ways around this, and it depends on what you're copying:

 

Method one:

1. Disconnect the node from its parent so that it doesn't have a parent node anymore, and then copy it.

Method two:

1. Make a copy of the mesh that you're copying from. You're going to modify it and you don't want to accidentally save the changes.
2. Open the copy in NifSkope.
3. Convert the parent node so that it's the same type as the one you're copying to.
4. Change the name of the parent node (by clicking on the small "Txt" icon) to match the node that you're copying to.
5. Copy the node over.

Also, be careful when creating ground objects. I was just doing this last weekend, and it failed when I copied the entire NiNode over. I had to start from a GND/GO template and copy the NiNodeData over to an existing NiNode, and then copy the BSShaderTextureSet and NiAlphaOverride over. I couldn't see any difference in the NiNode and BSLightingShaderProperty objects (unless I missed something), but it had to be done.

 

Edit: By "fail" I mean that the NiNode copied over fine, but it was invisible in the game.

Many thanks for the quick reply, but... I'm a novice when it comes to nifskope.

 

So how would I go about "Disconnecting the node from its parent" exactly? :confused:

[Grospolina]

Since you're making a GND/GO, you probably have to do Method 2 anyway. You may want to view the Block Details in Tree View so that you can see how the nodes are connected (check the menus).

1. Make a copy of GeneralCariusCuirass_1.nif. as GeneralCariusCuirass_1 - Copy.nif
2. Open GeneralCariusCuirass_1 - Copy.nif in NikSkope.
3. Make a copy of an existing GND/GO .nif and open it in NifSkope.
4. Right-click on the NiNode and Block > Convert > Bethesda > BSFadeNode
5. In the Block Details for the BSFadeNode, click on the small "Txt" icon beside "GeneralCariusCuirass_1.nif".
6. Type "GeneralTulliusGO".
7. In your GO mesh, delete all of the NiTriShapeData, BSShaderTextureSet and NiAlphaProperty nodes.
8. Still on your GO mesh, make two more copies of your NiTriShapeData node, since your armor mesh appears to have three parts.
9. Click on the first NiTriShape and name it "TuliusBody" (similar to step 4).
10. Copy the NiTriShapeData node for TuliusBody from your armor mesh and paste it into the GO mesh.
11. Copy the corresponding BSShaderTextureSet node from your armor mesh and paste it into the GO mesh.
12. On the GO mesh, select the TuliusBody NiTriShape, double-click on the space beside Data and select the NiTriShapeData that you pasted.
13. In the BSLightingShaderProperty node for the TuliusBody NiTriShape, double-click on the space beside Texture Set and select the BSShaderTextureSet that you pasted.
14. If there's a NiAlphaProperty node, copy it over. Select the NiTriShape node and add it as a secondary texture set.
15. Repeat steps 9-14 for "GeneralTulius" and "Harness", using the other two NiTriShape nodes that your created in step 7.
16. Rename the nodes if you want to.
17. (Optional) If you want to clean up, go to the menus and select Spells > Optimize > Remove unused strings, and also Spells > Sanitize > Reorder blocks.
18. Save your GO .nif and try it out!

If you're happy with it, you can delete GeneralCariusCuirass_1 - Copy.nif.