How do body Mods work?

[Querulous]

I'm not that old but it seems of late that I need simpler directions to understand things.

 

I want to add body mods to my game. I see mods called CBBE and UNP, a mod by Tigersan, mods everything. Many or these are incompatible. Clothing is an issue apparently. Do "nude mods" just make you go commando or make you into an exhibitionist? So what goes on. Also I see some mods pre-date the "creation kit" whatever that is, does that make a difference? I apologize for these simple questions and the simpler ones that will come later but I'm having a problem wrapping my head around all this. Thanx.

[Stemin]

The creation kit is the official mod tool kit released by Bethesda. Allegedly it is the same software they used to create the game, but if you believe they didn't remove features or change it before public release then I got some property for sale I can give you a great deal on.

 

Regarding body mods, I'm not an expert, but maybe that makes me better equipped to explain..

 

Bodies use a separate graphics model for the face and the body. This is because you're able to modify your face at the beginning of the game so it requires a more complex system.

 

As a result, some body mods require neck seam mods to make the body mod blend into the stock head.

 

Basically UNP, CBBE, etc. are all just different character models, and they mostly ARE the same thing as a nude mod. The thing is, the body model is altered, so if you were to strip the clothes off a dead body like you do in the stock game, you would find a nude model instead of the stock skyrim bodies with the undergarments. There is literally nothing under the undergarments in the stock game. If you remove them from the models you get air.

 

One reason besides wanting to look at nude people is because the stock body has a large loincloth covering the male and some stock underwear on the female. When you're creating armor it's necessary to cover these areas with your armor. When starting with a nude body you can make clothes with less restrictions. Not necessarily skimpy stuff. On males for example when you make a belt and pants on the stock model, you have to shape your belt a certain way to cover the loincloth.

 

The reason these different bodies aren't compatible armor wise is because each body is a different size, so the armor must be pushed and pulled and tweaked to fit the new body or there will be gaps, clipping, etc.

 

Sometimes when armors are created, part of the body is added to the armor's model. So you might be able to use a CBBE armor if you're using the UNP body, but that particular armor might show up with the CBBE body showing.

 

Hope those help. Feel free to ask for more. Tried to simplify it.