Question about Textures

[tekn0mega]

Hi all,

 

I want to modify some of the items in game, and give them unique textures. I noticed that the files for items in the fallout3.esm point to specific meshes (Armor for example), but not to textures.

 

Do I need to edit the mesh file itself in nifscope? Or can I edit the value in TESnip (FOMM)?

 

For example. I want to give Lindens unique power armor a new texture. Currently, the armor file points to the existing outcast set. I want it to point to a new file and custome texture. What is the simplest way to do this?

 

Thanks in advance, :thanks: and sorry if I missed a similar subject elsewhere.

[SpeedyB64]

Are you trying to add a new armor or replace an old one? Replacers are fairly simple, but inserting a new item (even if it's just a retex) is complicated (hex editing). With replacers you just change the texture and keep the name and path of the original and add it to the old file overwriting txt file and set the fallout ini to accept the new texture. Adding a new armor requires you to use FOMM and a hex editor to add the item to the game and to place it in a chest/leveled list. There are lots of tutorials on this site for that sort of thing (I have only done this with guns but I think armor is similar but with different settings and paths).

 

If you retexture the armor you could change the path of the armor in FOMM to your new one (make shure you don't edit the fallout3.esm use a blank plugin file and copy the values you want to change into there)

[tekn0mega]

Thanks for the reply,

 

I'm not trying to add a new item to the game, but rather tell an existing item to look to a different texture than it normally would. I am familiar with the use of archiveinvalidation, and overwriting existing textures with a modified one placed in the same path as the original. I'm trying to tell the game to look in an entirely new place for a texture, for an existing item.

 

Example:

Lindel's outcast power armor. He gives you this for a quest. It is a unique item, but it uses the meshes and the textures of the standard outcast armor. I want it to use it's exisiting mesh, but not the original texture. If I overwrite the texture and archiveinvalidation etc... then ALL outcasts will have this texture aswell, thus negating the "unique" look I want to put on Lindel's armor.

 

So, where do you tell the game to link a certain mesh, to a certain texture? I'll keep looking.

 

Thanks again for the reply.

[SpeedyB64]

OK! now I think I understand! To do this requires you to copy the armor mesh and place it in a new directory or rename it. Then open the armor up in niffscope (make sure to back up the niff before and after you edit them in niffscope I had an issue after testing a gun in the game and I could not open the gun in niffscope after i playtested it.) and change the texture then open up FOMM and direct the armor entry for this set to that niff (the niff determines the texture). Hope this helps!

 

P.S. I have only worked with guns so far and I am assuming they work in a similar way to armor.

[tekn0mega]

Hey thanks for the quick reply!

 

Funny I was just messing with nifskope and had an "oooh I see!" moment. Thanks for helping me realize I was going the right direction. Second guessing costs time :)

 

Thanks again, I will mess with that for a bit, and see how it goes.