SSE Motionless DwePipe1wayPiston01 ?

[DynV]

DwePipe1wayPiston01, in WorldObjects > Static > Dungeons > Dwemer, would be ideal for my mod if it was motionless; however I can't find a way to stop it moving. I find it weird since I assumed the modelers would assume this could be part of a dungeon that lost power (ie malfunctionning steam room). The reason it's ideal is that

1. it's on its side and I'm using an end to hang things on, which the piston hold it in the air as in
   
2. there's nearby Dwemer dungeons (so the object creators wouldn't had to get something all the way to Skyrim, as my mod timeline is it was created at the same time as Raven Rock)

Please assist me in making DwePipe1wayPiston01 motionless, or finding an object that could perform the same task.

 

Thank you kindly

[thumbincubation]

Taking a guess at this. Try extracting the piston and a plain static 1 way pipe. Open both in Nifskope, preferably side-by-side/split screen. At the top, you'll see the piston has an arrow to play the animation and the static pipe doesn't.

 

In the block list, click on the 0BSFadeNode to highlight and populate the block details. Below, right-click on name, for each one. Change both to something identical, like StaticPiston or whatever you want.

 

When both are identically-named, right-click on the 0BSFadeNode of the piston > block > copy branch. Switch to the static pipe. Right-click on the 0BSFadeNode there > block > paste branch. It should overlay the piston onto the static pipe. The animation arrow will be there, but the piston should not move anymore and there should be a new BSFadeNode at the bottom of the list, which should already be highlighted. Click on the other one to select the original static pipe (just to be sure you've got the right one. Right-click on the static pipe > block > remove branch. This should leave you with a piston that doesn't move.

 

Here's the part I'm guessing at. In my previous efforts to combine meshes, sometimes they work fine as-is, sometimes they crash the game or the kit. Sometimes they work fine if they're optimized and cleaned, and sometimes they crash the game or the kit. I have not yet been able to figure out which to expect, when, and why, so I strongly recommend saving several versions. 1 as-is, like as soon as you delete the static pipe. 1 after optimizing. 1 after sanitizing. 1 after both optimizing and sanitizing. (Make sure auto-sanitize is turned off, so you can get these). Then place the sanitized/optimized one in the kit and test in game. If it crashes, work backward until you reach the one that works.

 

Hopefully someone with more nifskope knowledge will come along and tell us both which is the best option for mashups, but in the mean time, you should be able to find a workable, safe one to use with a little experimentation.

 

Hope this helps.

[DynV]

I'm sorry but I've never used Nifskope and I'm not good at modding. Using Nifskope I tried opening multiple folders in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition but I saw no file listed. I then searched "Nifskope open skyrim file" in DuckDuckGo and Google in vain. Would you kindly let me know how to do so or point me to a resource that would?

 

Update 1

 

Also how do I make the items immobile and not be able to be taken, ie the silver platters? Right now they can be knocked and taken, and the idea is that they're solidly fastened.

 

Update 2

 

I did a bit of thinking and I realized the mod Clockwork (SSE) have a dungeon partly lost power then I've looked if there was a motionless piston before fixing the steam pipes and I found one as can be seen here (although it remains motionless after the power is fully reestablished since it's disconnected). Do I need to link my mod to Clockwork, making it a requirement, or can I just bring that single item over (copy-pasting I assume) ?

 

Update 3

 

I tried opening Clockwork with CK and I get the error entitled "Invalid File Selection" and with content "Multiple master files selected for load. Load operation aborted.". I was going to try to copy the motionless piston then somehow unloaded Clockwork and its requirements I don't need, then load my mod, then pasted the in there.

Edited January 10, 2021 by DynV

[thumbincubation]

I had a large post for you, but I got caught up in anti-spam filter I think, and it wouldn't process the post, now it's gone. I'll try again later today, after I get done work.

[DynV]

My mod can be seen in TreasCorpseAlchemistIslandLighthouse but it still have the same problems.

[thumbincubation]

Ok, I'm sorry for the delay. I had this all typed out before, but the new spam filter thought it was spam and blocked me, and it was all gone when I got back. :/

So, I didn't realize you weren't in Nifskope. My apologies for that. The short version of the work flow for something like this is as follows...

Extract mesh(es) from game archives (Skyrim - Meshes0.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes1.bsa) using a tool like BSA Browser, which is free here on Nexus. There are others, though I don't know much about them. If you choose to use BSA Browser, you would install the mod according to its instructions, then go to your data folder...
c > program files (x86) > steam > steam apps > common > skyrim special edition > data
... right-click on Skyrim-Meshes0.bsa > "open with" and then select BSA Browser from there. If it's not already in the list, you may have to use the browse to navigate to it. Make sure "always use" is checked, and then it should become your default .bsa tool.

Open one or both meshes folders. (In this case, the items you need are in Meshes0, but I always open both by highlighting, right-click > open.) In the bottom left search box, start typing dewpipe and see if anything shows up for the archive highlighted. If it doesn't, highlight the other one and it should. From there, pick the meshes you want to extract, highlight, right-click > extract folders, and choose a safe storage folder somewhere outside the game files. * If you don't use the "extract folders" option, they will still extract, but in no particular order. This is fine if you plan to add them in your own custom file path, such as for stand-alone items, which could be ...data > meshes > mystaticdwemerpiston or something, but if you are doing a replacer and need to follow the vanilla file path, then "extract folders" will extract the meshes you need, and will also create the necessary folders to keep the file path correct. Always the safe option, in my opinion, as you can easily just rename the folders if you choose.
Try to extract the dwepipe1waypiston01 and a known static, like the simple dwepipe1way01.

Now you have meshes extracted to a folder, where you can work on them without affecting the game. Here's where Nifskope comes in. I think you already have Nifskope installed? If not, install Nifskope according to the description page. Go to the folder where you have the meshes and repeat the right-click > open with process, keeping "always use" checked, to make Nifskope the default app for meshes. From there, double clicking them should open them up right in Nifskope for you.

Follow the suggestion in my initial reply to this, when I thought you were already working with the meshes. (Again, my apologies for that.) In addition, Elianora was kind enough to give us some video tutorials on mesh mashups. Here's one, but I recommend watching the others, even the Fallout ones, as the mesh work is the same in many cases.

Once you have your variations of saved static piston, put them into the data folder in whatever format. IMO, unless you're making a dedicated replacer, it's always better to make a custom file path, and as a mod user it's always better when the author names the meshes and textures folders (if any) fully and identically, especially for us manual install dinosaurs who have data folders full of stuff.
(ie: ...data > meshes > DynV_Lighthouse > Staticpiston.nif) In your case, at first, it would be something like StaticpistonRaw.nif, StaticpistonSanitized.nif, StaticpistonOptimized.nif, and StaticpistonSanitOpt.nif, at least until you are able to confirm which version will work the best for you, at which point you can move the rest out and rename the one you keep as just Staticpiston.nif. This is mostly just housekeeping, to make things easier later, if you want to update or use assets for another mod.

Now you're back to Creation Kit. Open your mod and find a known static item in the Object Window. (dwepipe1way01 will work.) Right-click > duplicate, and you should see a dup show up beneath it, with DUPLICATE afterward. Sometimes the 01s and 02s mess that up a bit, and you have to then search DUPLICATE and see where it went, but usually shows up right beneath the original. Double click the dup to open, change the name to something unique with an easy-to-find-later prefix, like DynVStaticPiston or something. Hit the edit button, where it allows you to change the mesh and follow that path until it opens up your meshes folder for you. The dwepipe1way01 should be highlighted in blue, but that doesn't matter yet. Keep it in mind for later. Once CK has you in your meshes folder, navigate to where you put your new static piston and select the optimized and sanitized one. If the optimization and sanitation process is going to cause you problems, this will probably be where it first shows up. If it does, try the next one down, etc. Once you get the model you want selected, Ok your way back to where you can close the new item in CK. It will ask if you want to create a new item, say NO. (If you say yes, it will create another new item, and you'll also have a dup hanging around. Saying no will change the dup to what you want it to be. The yes feature is for opening a vanilla item, changing the name, and creating a new item while leaving the original alone. This is faster but riskier. The outcome being the same, safest bet is to dup first then work in the dup.)

This should leave you with a new, unique, static piston that you can drag into the world and install wherever you wanted.

As far as the plates go, the easiest thing to do is assign their model to some other static item. You don't need to change those in nifskope or anything. Find the plate in the object window, double click to open. In the spot where you find the model file path, highlight and CTRL + C to copy. Close the plate. Then find a small static, like the static lantern (make sure it's the static one, as there are several.) Duplicate the lantern, open the dup, name it something like DynVStaticPlate and look again to where the model file path is. This time, hit edit, follow to where it opens your own meshes folder like before, but instead of navigating further, you want to make sure the static lantern's file path is highlighted in blue (should be already) and paste in the file path to the plate model, OK your way out of it and close as above. This makes a uniquely-named, static plate. (This method also works on armor, helmets, shields, and most other things that move in the game, and does not require external assets or extraction of meshes.)

As far as Clockwork assets, unless your mod ties in with Clockwork, making it a master would reduce your potential mod users to only those who want Clockwork also, and either that or just using the asset itself would require the permission of the mod author. For something like this, it's best to extract and make your own.

I hope that covers it. Sorry for the delay in retyping it.

[DynV]

Ok, I'm sorry for the delay. I had this all typed out before, but the new spam filter thought it was spam and blocked me, and it was all gone when I got back. :/

You only added an extra day delay and were kind enough to retype all this, there's 0 issue.

 

Extract mesh(es) from game archives (Skyrim - Meshes0.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes1.bsa) using a tool like BSA Browser, which is free here on Nexus. There are others, though I don't know much about them. If you choose to use BSA Browser, you would install the mod according to its instructions, then go to your data folder...

c > program files (x86) > steam > steam apps > common > skyrim special edition > data

... right-click on Skyrim-Meshes0.bsa > "open with" and then select BSA Browser from there. If it's not already in the list, you may have to use the browse to navigate to it. Make sure "always use" is checked, and then it should become your default .bsa tool.

 

Open one or both meshes folders. (In this case, the items you need are in Meshes0, but I always open both by highlighting, right-click > open.)

Unfortunately I get the error

 

 

Unable to open archive

Index was outside the bounds of the array.

for both .bsa and using windows explorer contextual menu "Open with..." will only load BSA Browser, it won't open the .bsa, so I have to use the program Open bottom then point the files.

 

 

As far as the plates go, the easiest thing to do is assign their model to some other static item. You don't need to change those in nifskope or anything. Find the plate in the object window, double click to open. In the spot where you find the model file path, highlight and CTRL + C to copy. Close the plate. Then find a small static, like the static lantern (make sure it's the static one, as there are several.) Duplicate the lantern, open the dup, name it something like DynVStaticPlate and look again to where the model file path is. This time, hit edit, follow to where it opens your own meshes folder like before, but instead of navigating further, you want to make sure the static lantern's file path is highlighted in blue (should be already) and paste in the file path to the plate model, OK your way out of it and close as above. This makes a uniquely-named, static plate. (This method also works on armor, helmets, shields, and most other things that move in the game, and does not require external assets or extraction of meshes.)

IIUC I'll only have to make the static version once per item that I want to make static, which I'm having a bit of trouble understanding but I'm assuming once I have the meshes and am doing it it will be much less of a problem, I will only have to open the items click the button Edit Base at top-right then in the field Model at bottom-left change it to my static version of it? So right-click object > Edit > Edit Base > paste in Model, then OK my way out of that particular object and repeat for all objects of the same type, then do so again for all the other item types with the exception that they will have something different to paste in Model?

 

Update 1

 

I thought I'd give it a go again, then thought I'd update BSA Browser, and oddly the icons were different. Opening the program, I realized it was not the one I had; after more than a few seconds, I realized what I had was for vanilla, which I used to export mods to SSE. I extracted the corresponding .nif .

 

Right now I'm too tired to go further into solving my issue, but should get back to it within a couple days (if not don't be afraid to remind me).

Edited January 15, 2021 by DynV