How to create shadowy hoods?

[zymurgy65]

I've been using MadMole's "Shadowy Hoods" mods for what like seems forever, and I wonder if someone could help me out.

 

I use a mod with a couple of custom robes/hoods, and have no idea to add shadows to them (or the SI zealot hoods). I can cope with the CS and TES4Edit, but I'm scared to death of NifSkope!

 

Can anyone give me a few pointers? I'm in the UK and can only go online in the library, so don't be surprised if I take a while to respond to any replies.

[PkSanTi]

Hello, friend. I started using NifSkope last week, and there's nothing to be afraid of. You'll barely use it in this case, actually.

 

I'll tell you step by step what you are supposed to do.

 

(EDIT: Just remebered of some tutorials. You can use them if they are more clear (why couldn't I remeber them before I wrote all this!!!?, hahaha. Anyhow, the steps I marked for you are more brief and precise, I believe, while the tutorial is more explicative and has images and so. Here it goes:

 

http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/tutorials/article/54-retexturing-oblivion-part-01/

http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/tutorials/article/55-retexturing-oblivion-part-02/ )

 

1: Download DSS Convertor 2. This program can convert .dds files (wich are the texture files you'll use in Oblivion) into Photoshop files, so you can edit them.

 

2: Find your textures and your meshes! This would be the .dds and .nif files you'll use. Once you find them (there should be on Oblivion/Data/TheModYourChanging and then depends on the modder, perhaps "hoods" or some folder like that), COPY them and put them in another folder you create anyplace you see fit. Always copy them, do not move them. This way if you do something wrong, the originals stay intact.

 

Important: every texture as two files: thetexture.dds and thetexture_n.dds ("thetexture" is an example, a variable; could be anything). The file with _n is the normalmap file; not sure what it does, but is important. I think it "glues" the texture in the 3D world. Copy BOTH to the folder you created, along with the .nif file of the object you want to change.

 

Smarty says: If you don't know what .nif file your object uses, go to the Object Window on the Construction Set, find the object and double-click it. A window will pop up, where the directory of the .nif file it uses will be stated, along with other info and data of the object.

 

3: With DDS Convertor, turn the files into .psd files. Once you've done that, you'll be able to edit them on photoshop. Edit them as you see fit. For adding shadows, I recommend you create a new Photoshop project, and in your layer paint everything in black. Then lower the opacity of the layer till it seems a shadow, and create a pattern with it. With that pattern you can add shadow on anything you want. Just a tip.

 

4: This is an important step. Once you are done editing, save your .psd file and open your project with GIMP. Merge the layers together on GIMP till you have only one, and then go to Filters, Map and press NormalMap. IMPORTANT: You must have the normalmap plugin of .nif for this). A window will pup up, press OK without changing anything. Your image should have turned purple or some color like that. That's fine, this is your NormalMap file. Press Save As, and save as thenameofyourtexture_n (keep the .psd format).

 

5: You're near the end, don't worry. Open your DDS convertor again, and convert both of your files to .dds. Once you've done that, create a folder on the Oblivion/Data/texture folder; name it the way you want, but keep it simple, refering to your change. In it, save both of your .dds files, the once that you made out of your edited images.

 

Now do the same thing with the mesh; go to Oblivion/Data/Meshes, create a new folder and in it, save the mesh (the .nif file) you were supposed to copy to the folder you created to work with.

 

6 (ALMOST THE END): open NifSkope. In NifSkope, open the .nif file of your folder in Oblivion/Data/Meshes. The object will appear white on the render window. Select the part or section of the object you changed. Once you selected it, you'll notice that the panel on the left highlighted a bar. That bar contains the information of the part of the object you've selectd.

 

Open the bar clicking on the arrow on the left of it. Another bars will come down, one of them with another arrow. Also open this bar clicking on its own arrow. You'll see that from the new bars that just scrolled down, there's one of them with a flower on the left. Click the flower; that will allow you to change the direction from where your .nif file is getting the textures. Make it so it gets the textures from your .dds files, on the folder you've created on Oblivion/Data/Textures. It should get the textures out of the regular dds., not the NormalMap (the one with _n). Save your changes on NifSkope.

 

7 (THE END): Open your Construction Set, and set your hoods mod as active. Go to the hood you changed on the Object Window, and change the .nif directory he is getting. You do so double-clicking the object on the Window object, and clicking on the bar where it states the .nif directory. Then click Change Assets on Disk, or something like that. Go to the folder you created on Data/Meshes, and select the .nif you placed there and just edited with NifSkope. And that's it, you're done. Save what you've done on the CS and see how it looks!

 

It looks overwhelming; it's not. The first time may be tricky; once you get it, it'll be smooth as a stream. Good luck!

Edited November 4, 2017 by PkSanTi

[DrakeTheDragon]

I'm afraid what the OP is asking for, making hoods cast shadows over the face, like in the mods mentioned, is done by a little trick involving a change to the actual hood's mesh.

 

I know it from AlienSlof's resources doing the same, they added a transparent shadow layer over the open front of the hood, being pitch black at the top and gradually fading out on the way down.

 

This is rather easily done in fact in Blender or 3DSMax, but sadly not possible without a modeling app. I did it myself in the past a couple times for hoods which didn't yet have had this treatment before in my collection.

Just connect the vertices of the front edge with polygons until the opening is closed up, then make the layer a separate mesh to prevent the common transparency issues of the game later on, and put said shadow gradient texture onto it like I explained.

 

After export one only needs to add a NiAlphaProperty to the NiTriShape/Strips block in NifSkope, and eviola, the shadow layer is done.

As also mentioned in the description of the mod from the OP, it does have its quirks with beast heads or otherwise too long faces protruding through the layer plane.

But then again, beast heads always had problems with full-face helmets and the like either in this game.

 

(I did have pictures of a hood with a closed front in wireframe for reference to better understand what I mean, but I can't for the life of me locate it anymore.)

[Estevan14]

I feel this a bit, er... fake. It isn't a real shadow, just a black faded mesh. I'm searching for a realistic and real face shadows and lighting, I mean, a way to make the hood mesh stop the ray of the light, just like in real life.

[Estevan14]

Hello, friend. I started using NifSkope last week, and there's nothing to be afraid of. You'll barely use it in this case, actually.

 

I'll tell you step by step what you are supposed to do.

 

(EDIT: Just remebered of some tutorials. You can use them if they are more clear (why couldn't I remeber them before I wrote all this!!!?, hahaha. Anyhow, the steps I marked for you are more brief and precise, I believe, while the tutorial is more explicative and has images and so. Here it goes:

 

http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/tutorials/article/54-retexturing-oblivion-part-01/

http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/tutorials/article/55-retexturing-oblivion-part-02/ )

 

1: Download DSS Convertor 2. This program can convert .dds files (wich are the texture files you'll use in Oblivion) into Photoshop files, so you can edit them.

 

2: Find your textures and your meshes! This would be the .dds and .nif files you'll use. Once you find them (there should be on Oblivion/Data/TheModYourChanging and then depends on the modder, perhaps "hoods" or some folder like that), COPY them and put them in another folder you create anyplace you see fit. Always copy them, do not move them. This way if you do something wrong, the originals stay intact.

 

Important: every texture as two files: thetexture.dds and thetexture_n.dds ("thetexture" is an example, a variable; could be anything). The file with _n is the normalmap file; not sure what it does, but is important. I think it "glues" the texture in the 3D world. Copy BOTH to the folder you created, along with the .nif file of the object you want to change.

 

Smarty says: If you don't know what .nif file your object uses, go to the Object Window on the Construction Set, find the object and double-click it. A window will pop up, where the directory of the .nif file it uses will be stated, along with other info and data of the object.

 

3: With DDS Convertor, turn the files into .psd files. Once you've done that, you'll be able to edit them on photoshop. Edit them as you see fit. For adding shadows, I recommend you create a new Photoshop project, and in your layer paint everything in black. Then lower the opacity of the layer till it seems a shadow, and create a pattern with it. With that pattern you can add shadow on anything you want. Just a tip.

 

4: This is an important step. Once you are done editing, save your .psd file and open your project with GIMP. Merge the layers together on GIMP till you have only one, and then go to Filters, Map and press NormalMap. IMPORTANT: You must have the normalmap plugin of .nif for this). A window will pup up, press OK without changing anything. Your image should have turned purple or some color like that. That's fine, this is your NormalMap file. Press Save As, and save as thenameofyourtexture_n (keep the .psd format).

 

5: You're near the end, don't worry. Open your DDS convertor again, and convert both of your files to .dds. Once you've done that, create a folder on the Oblivion/Data/texture folder; name it the way you want, but keep it simple, refering to your change. In it, save both of your .dds files, the once that you made out of your edited images.

 

Now do the same thing with the mesh; go to Oblivion/Data/Meshes, create a new folder and in it, save the mesh (the .nif file) you were supposed to copy to the folder you created to work with.

 

6 (ALMOST THE END): open NifSkope. In NifSkope, open the .nif file of your folder in Oblivion/Data/Meshes. The object will appear white on the render window. Select the part or section of the object you changed. Once you selected it, you'll notice that the panel on the left highlighted a bar. That bar contains the information of the part of the object you've selectd.

 

Open the bar clicking on the arrow on the left of it. Another bars will come down, one of them with another arrow. Also open this bar clicking on its own arrow. You'll see that from the new bars that just scrolled down, there's one of them with a flower on the left. Click the flower; that will allow you to change the direction from where your .nif file is getting the textures. Make it so it gets the textures from your .dds files, on the folder you've created on Oblivion/Data/Textures. It should get the textures out of the regular dds., not the NormalMap (the one with _n). Save your changes on NifSkope.

 

7 (THE END): Open your Construction Set, and set your hoods mod as active. Go to the hood you changed on the Object Window, and change the .nif directory he is getting. You do so double-clicking the object on the Window object, and clicking on the bar where it states the .nif directory. Then click Change Assets on Disk, or something like that. Go to the folder you created on Data/Meshes, and select the .nif you placed there and just edited with NifSkope. And that's it, you're done. Save what you've done on the CS and see how it looks!

 

It looks overwhelming; it's not. The first time may be tricky; once you get it, it'll be smooth as a stream. Good luck!

actually, I would like to see a realistic lighting overhaul mod for oblivion, a mod that make the textures reflect light from a light source to the real world, without placing fake lights near there (in the real world, if you are in a dark room and points a flashlight to a white wall, the entire room will be iluminated, not because of the flashlight, because the reflection the wall does) I'm searching a way to do that in oblivion, so we won't need fake light sources anymore, but the room will not be all dark and unrealistic in the places that don't have a fire but are near enough to be iluminated from the reflection, this would be of good use with let there be darkness in the dungeons. Also, I would like to add fade effects to every light in the game, without having to do so mannually trough construction set. I mean, when I was playing with all natural, with the real lights plugin and with 0% bright night weathers, I saw that the light halo had limits, (how can I explain this, I'm not very good in english...). I'm trying to say that the light halo was not fading with the distance, the halo just stop, without fade effects. Later I will post a screenshot so you can see it

[Estevan14]

I feel this a bit, er... fake. It isn't a real shadow, just a black faded mesh. I'm searching for a realistic and real face shadows and lighting, I mean, a way to make the hood mesh stop the ray of the light, just like in real life.

is there a way to do this?