Strange Face Bug/Glitch

[Tenebunny]

Hey Guys,

 

I think i messed up modding at some place, the game runs smooth and fine all in all but i noticed in Camp Golf some people got a messed up face, Mags and female NCR Rangers.

 

Example Mags 1

Example Mags 2

 

Example NCR Ranger

 

 

I tried using LOOT, but maybe there is an overarching problem or something I'm missing.

My mod list is >here<

 

Would be nice if anyone could help, but I guess I can live with it if its only there.

 

I hope I'm posting at the rigth place.

[dubiousintent]

Have you tried toggling "ArchiveInvalidation"? That bug is usually a "texture" issue (UV Mapping I believe, but I am not a graphics modder). Here is some boilerplate on general texture issues which also covers that. (The more you know, the better you can address a problem.)

 

"Texture packs" don't usually show up in the "load order". Because "Texture/Mesh" replacement mods replace vanilla versions of those files, you absolutely have to toggle "ArchiveInvalidation (AI)" off-and-then-on again after installing or removing one of them so it recognizes that there are loose files (added by the mod) which have to be used in place of the vanilla files in the BSA files or are no longer there and the BSA files should be used instead. That failure to toggle is the most common reason behind most "texture problems". This is usually evidenced by red "!" icon for missing meshes, and solid colors for missing textures, or "messed up" textures. This "ArchiveInvalidation" mechanism is incorporated in all the currently used mod managers, so there is no need to (and problems arise if you do) install older mods to provide that capability. ONLY USE ONE METHOD of AI, especially if you have multiple mod managers installed. Otherwise they will conflict, as they use their own "arbitrarily chosen" names for the AI BSA files. (There is not a standardized name used among them all.) Please see the 'ArchiveInvalidation (by Manager)' section and also see the 'Checklist Item #15 & 16' entries in the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide.

The usual reasons why a texture is not found and ends up displaying as a solid color such as black (other than failing to toggle AI) are:

1. It was packaged in such a way in the archive that when it was unpacked into the "Data" folder it got placed where the engine isn't looking for it. You can manually drag the folders to the correct locations, or repackage the archive to avoid that problem against the next time you need to install it.

In the case of (for example) "Weapon Retexture Project" (WRP) v1.95, the package has a "non-standard" folder structure. (Not an uncommon mistake by mod authors, so learn from this.) The game (to include most mod managers like NMM, MO, and FOMM) is expecting the top level folder of an archive package to be standardized; with folder names such as "Textures" or "Meshes" (etc.), or ESM/ESP/BSA files. It assumes they are being placed under the game "Data" folder. This example package starts with a "RLS" folder, which the game does not recognize, and so it places that as the "top level" under "Data". (Sometimes this is the author's name or initials, other times it's the mod name and version, but anything unexpected is treated the same way: as a new folder or file. Sometimes it's "Data" so you end up with "Data\Data" which is also unexpected.) Most likely when the files are "installed" but aren't found correctly, something similar to this is your problem. Unpack the mod archive (WRP in this instance) to some other location and then either rebuild the archive so the top level folders are "Textures" and "Meshes" (in other words, without the "RLS" folder from WRP at all), and then install with your mod manager, or manually drag those folders into the game "Data" folder.

The text file under the WRP "RLS" folder is a documentation file. If you want to keep similar in the package, just place it in the top level along with the "Meshes" and "Textures" folders. Recommend renaming such to "<mod_name>_ReadMe.txt" so you know which package they came from, and place them all in a "Docs" folder for easy access, but it's not a requirement. (Many authors act as if their mod's text file is the only one that might possibly exist in the same location or use the same common name (i.e. "Readme.txt"), so consequently only the last installed exists.)

2. The texture path embedded in the NIF mesh file is not valid as your game is not installed in the same path as the mod creator. This is the fault of the mod creator, but something you can fix yourself. Please see the wiki article "How to fix hard-coded texture paths in NIF files" for the procedure to locate the texture file entry within NifSkope. (The path needs to be "relative" instead of "absolute"/"hard-coded" in order to be found on various installation locations, which is what that article covers.)

3. The "garments" (clothing and armor, etc,) are not using the same "UV Map" (AKA "texture coordinates") as the body replacement. If the texture coordinates are not compatible with the underlying "body type", the UV Map can throw off the engine. Your problem might be due to an update to the body replacer rendering it incompatible with the "garment" from the mod used.

 

For further, please see the 'Solutions to Graphics problems' and 'Solutions to Mesh (Red "!" icon) or Texture (solid color) problems' sections of the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" article.

Other potential issues I noticed:

 

* Move any "inactive/disabled" plugins out of the game "Data" folder. They count against the "plugin cap"(see [[#Smaller_Plugin_Cap|Smaller Plugin Cap]]) because they get loaded by the game engine if found, and can cause "Missing Master" problems. Please see the wiki "Missing Masters" article if you get that error message.

* "Compatibility patches" to make one mod work with another need to be placed after (as in "physically lower, higher numbered") in the "load order" than ALL of the plugins they are designed to make compatible. (This also applies to "fix" files.) ESMs should always be placed at the top (lowest numbered) positions in the "load order", followed by the related ESPs though they can be separated from their ESMs by other plugins. LOOT does a good job of determining those basic orders. Getting the "load order" incorrect will cause "Missing Masters" errors as well. You can make minor adjustments to the order and tell LOOT how to remember them. It's in the on-line documentation under "Metadata".

FYI: The "pre-order packs" (aka "POPs": Caravan, Classic, Mercenary, and Tribal; available now in the "Courier's Stash" addon), are not considered "true DLC expansions" by most mods and are treated as "compatibility patches" because they just add certain unique items. So their absence should not deter you from using "All DLC Merged" plugins. Where they are included, they should come after "GunrunnersArsenal.ESM" which is a true DLC expansion. When in doubt, follow the process in the wiki "Missing Masters" article to confirm they are not "master files" for that plugin.

(Specifically I noticed OWBperk-Sanity related plugins.)

 

* If you have more than one mod that makes any change to the same record or set of records in the vanilla game, then you really need to use a "Merge Patch File" with that collection of mods. Please see the 'Third Rule: The Rule of One' and 'Merge Patch File' sections of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article. When in doubt, create a "Merge Patch" file for your overall "load order" anyway.

-Dubious-

[ramilow]

I used to have a similar problem on weaker equipment. What resolution are you playing in, and have you had other texture problems?
I see you are using NV3 Redesigned, this mod can be capricious ;) I would check if it's bitten with another modification, or if it's a problem with graphics settings and texture loading.

Edited April 25, 2020 by ramilow

[Tenebunny]

I do have a pretty good setup, for new vegas anyway, so I think i play with everything to the max on 1920x1080.

 

To my surprise restarts seem to help with it. First I tried ArchiveInvalidation, and it seemingly worked, only for it to appear on Boones Face all of a sudden, but after a restart it was gone. I'm not really sure what causes it but at this point I guess I know how to get rid of it for a while.

 

Thanks for all the adivce, I tried all of which I hadn't tried before and it seems to happen very rarely now, only when i play for a few hours at a time.

[dubiousintent]

* The game has "memory leaks", primarily linked to the audio system due to the version of the Ogg Vorbis Libraries used by Bethesda. Getting 2-3 hours before a CTD is pretty good. The audio problem is fixed by using the updated Ogg Vorbis Libraries posted by Kane Wright. You might also want to try using the tool "CleanMem", which periodically (you can set the interval; default is every 15 minutes) tells the OS to perform it's built-in "clean up" of memory. It has a "mini-monitor" that displays memory usage. Doesn't seem to hurt and might help.

* You can also get "out of memory" errors from the graphics system (which is separate from exhausting system memory), even with the game 4GB enabled. The video pipeline is known to have "memory leaks", and these occur faster with "beautification mods". Here the cause is a combination of larger image sizes ("higher resolutions", aka "hi-rez"), hi-rez texture packs for skin, hair, clothes, weapons, and landscape; along with mods that increase the number of NPCS in a given cell. (All those hi-rez texture "personal accessories" get multiplied by the number of Actors.) Please see the wiki "Display resolution versus Image Size" article. While "ENBoost" can help, you may need to switch to lower resolution/ smaller sized images or even lower quality in your game graphics configuration.

The mod FNV Mod Limit Fix (just released 20 Apr 2020) fixes the smaller "plugin cap" problem by increasing (4x) the maximum number of file handles to the common "2048" normally used by Windows to enable the full 255 plugin limit of 32-bit games. This appears to have the side benefit of smoother (possibly a few FPS faster) play and reduced or eliminated audio stutter reported by some users. I would not be surprised to learn that it also helps with sporadic texture file issues like yours.

-Dubious-