First attempt to alter the main game.

[Deseoso]

There is something want to do to alter my game but I don't know A) how to do it and B) as someone new to modding, if I should attempt it.

 

Firstly, I am a mid-thirties gamer with a low to moderate understanding of computers, I'm not totally computer illiterate. I should be able to follow most instructions unless I need to delve into advanced scripting or the likes at which point I will just scratch my head and probably write the whole thing off as a bad idea.

 

Okay so, what I want to attempt is to replace the armour worn by the Fiends gang and replace it with the Steampunk style outfits created by jonas opines. In order to do this I need to gain an understanding of a few things.

 

- The outfits I want the Fiends wearing are for type 3 bodies. I have successfully installed Breezes and Dimonized body mods. Does that mean that all humans in my game, including the Fiends, now all have type 3 bodies? I know my companions and my character do.

 

- Where do I find the data that controls what the Fiends are wearing? I have looked in all the folders within the data folder of the Fallout New Vegas directory but have not found it. I'm guessing that means that I will need to use the GECK to edit one of the main Fallout NV files. If so then I am going into dangerous waters and I don't want to mess my game up.

 

Can any experienced modders out there either advise me on how to do this safely or advise me not to attempt it if I am trying to fly the space shuttle before I can even walk?

[Xaranth]

Missed your PM, but I'll answer here.

 

WRT Breeze/Type3 - yeah, if you installed them and it worked, every NPC should have that body now.

 

You will need the GECK, or at least FNVEdit. Personally, I would do something like this in FNVEdit.

 

First, you need to look at the steampunk outfits mod and make sure it's installed correctly. If it is, take note of the biped Model List record for each outfit, if there is one.

 

Next, you want to find the raider armour entries in FalloutNV.esm. I BELIEVE these are ArmorRaider01-04. Select each one in FNVEdit, and select 'Copy As Override Into...' Make a new mod. Add the steampunk outfits esp as a master to your new mod.

 

Now go to the raider armour records in your your new mod, and change the Male Biped Model, Female Biped Model, and Icons to the the Steampunk outfit paths. If the steampunk outfits have a biped model list, make your mod's armour records reflect that. Save and quit and test.

[Deseoso]

Okay, so I understand how to do almost all of what you have written. The only part that throws me is the part about checking the biped Model List record for each outfit. The mod has installed successfully. Where would I look to find the biped Model List record?

[Xaranth]

In the GECK, it appears in the lower-left corner of the Armour Form Editor window. In FNVEdit, it's the armour subrecord "BIPL - Biped Model List", appearing between subrecords REPL and ETYP.

[Deseoso]

Found it. Time to see if this works. I better save a backup copy of the files edit first though. Fingers crossed.

[Deseoso]

Okay so I did not end up altering the outfits for the Fiends because I discovered that the only item unique to the Fiends themselves are their helmets. The armour they wear is general Raider armour. That has given me a different idea which I can only try if I figure out my next question. Where do I find the data for the actual Fiends themselves rather than the armour that they wear? The generic raider armour s worn by numerous different raiders around the wasteland but the Fiends' helmets are only worn by them. For my game want only the Fiends to wear the Steampunk outfits.

 

Surely that means that somewhere I should be able to find the data for the Fiends. If can find that then there must be one part of their data which assigns the Fiend NPC with their helmet and another part for assigning their armour. I find that and I should be able to assign the Steampunk armour to the Fiends alone without changing any of the other raiders in the wasteland.

 

Trying to swap the armour that the fiends wear with the Steampunk armour brought up another question. The raider armour that the Fiends wear is one file for the whole suit of armour. The Steampunk armour consists of multiple items that can be worn together. How can I get an NPC to wear a bunch of different items, i.e. leather trousers, a trenchcoat and ammo belt? There seems to only be a place to allocate one file as the armour for the body of an NPC and one for the head. Would I have to use another program to take the various combinations of armour items I want them to wear and combine them into a single armour file before I could make an NPC wear them? If so, what program would need to do that?