Can I replace vanilla textures/meshes without GECK?

[Khyron42]

I have a nice set of Alice armors that adds a bunch of outfits in a box - but I'd rather use a couple of them to replace the female meshes/textures for some of the vanilla armors in game. Can I just (somehow) find the right filepath and add them to the "Data" folder with that path?

 

Or do I need NIFScope or something to set the mesh to look in the right place for the texture?

 

Basically - can I change a vanilla texture simply by creating the correct set of folders in "Data/meshes/armor" and "Data/textures/armor" and dropping in a new mesh and texture?

 

Or am I doomed to download NIFScope?

 

(And yes, I use T3Alice as my default female - I'm not a fan of gigantic/fake-looking breasts :) )

[JimboUK]

If you want to replace something already in game you just overwrite/override that texture/model with your own, make sure it has the same name and filepath as the one you want to overwrite, there's no need to use the GECK. If you want it as a separate item then yes you will need the GECK to get it game, do stats ect and Nifscope to set the filepath for the texture.

[Xaranth]

If you want to replace something already in game you just overwrite/override that texture/model with your own, make sure it has the same name and filepath as the one you want to overwrite, there's no need to use the GECK. If you want it as a separate item then yes you will need the GECK to get it game, do stats ect and Nifscope to set the filepath for the texture.

 

Strictly speaking, you don't NEED NifSkope. You can use the GECK to make and apply a Texture Set.

 

THough NifSkope editing is the BEST option.

[JimboUK]

If you want to replace something already in game you just overwrite/override that texture/model with your own, make sure it has the same name and filepath as the one you want to overwrite, there's no need to use the GECK. If you want it as a separate item then yes you will need the GECK to get it game, do stats ect and Nifscope to set the filepath for the texture.

 

Strictly speaking, you don't NEED NifSkope. You can use the GECK to make and apply a Texture Set.

 

THough NifSkope editing is the BEST option.

 

It's also quicker. :)

[Xaranth]

I guess that depends on how many models your moving about, and how many NiTriStrips branches you have to redirect.

 

I know that by the time I was done with the Clarissa Winters mod I never wanted to see a NifSkope window again. :pinch:

[Khyron42]

I really appreciate the help, folks! Is there a simple resource that would point me to the correct filepaths for each vanilla item?

 

Or am I really better off just downloading that darn GECK and doing it from in there? Is that thing user-friendly at all? I always think of myself as a user, not a modder (lacking any skills in texturing/scripting) so I'm always leery of trying to use tools that might kick my ass =)

[Xaranth]

The best way to get the mesh path for an item is probably to look the record up in FNVEdit. Make note that many many items use texturesets, so you might need to look up that path as well.

[Ironman5000]

Because I do this sort of thing all the time I have used FOMM's BSA Browser option under Tools to extract everything to a seperate location on my d drive, that way I can just check the mesh path in the GECK through the object window. If it's just the texture you want but don't know where it is, open the mesh it uses in Nifskope.

 

FYI I would only recommend extracting all files if you have a lot of spare space, I have 2tb so it ok - all NV files will take up around 5.5gb

Edited January 20, 2013 by Ironman5000

[JimboUK]

I guess that depends on how many models your moving about, and how many NiTriStrips branches you have to redirect.

 

I know that by the time I was done with the Clarissa Winters mod I never wanted to see a NifSkope window again. :pinch:

 

I prefer using NifScope because I can finish a task without it crashing, a rarity with the GECK. :facepalm:

[Xaranth]

I guess that depends on how many models your moving about, and how many NiTriStrips branches you have to redirect.

 

I know that by the time I was done with the Clarissa Winters mod I never wanted to see a NifSkope window again. :pinch:

 

I prefer using NifScope because I can finish a task without it crashing, a rarity with the GECK. :facepalm:

 

There's always that, yes. Though my GECK is usually pretty stable. And since I said that, I'm going to get my ass kicked and it's going to crash every three minutes now.