Custom mesh not showing up in CK

[nobrot]

Hi all, I am testing my workflow for creating custom static meshes in Maya.

 

I have followed the excellent tutorial by Markus Liberty (http://www.darkcreations.org/forums/topic/3883-exporting-static-meshes-from-3d-studio-max-to-skyrim/) and everything seemed to work well until creating the object in the CK, it appears the static mesh is created, but it is either not there or invisible,

 

The model was created in maya, a simple cylinder, a high poly mesh was used for AO and Normal maps using X-Normal, exported as FBX into 3DS Max and then exported using the latest Nif exporter and then converted using Nif Convert,

 

 

The DDS textures and normal maps was exported from Photoshop CS3 using the Nvidia plugin, with the parameters DXT1 RGB 4bpp | no alpha | no MIP maps.

 

The mesh nif is in the <skyrim>\Data\Mesh folder, and the dds textures in the <skyrim>\Data\Textures folder.

 

 

The model shows up textured in NifSkope once I plug the textures in so normals etc are all good, although there is some bad UV at the base of the column that may be slightly overlapping, i wouldnt imagine thats the problem, pretty sure its stuff missing from the nif. I did delete the blinn shader block that came into the nif originally as it was causing the static mesh creation in the CK to give me an error, so now I am wondering if maybe i deleted something I shouldnt have?

 

Here is the Nif (I know about the bad UV's on the model).

http://postimg.org/image/kto6lky1v/

 

Here is the texture paths

http://postimg.org/image/yz9hbjjbl/

 

And finally the model data showing just the ground plane, and no visible static mesh.

http://postimg.org/image/yqbwlm6j5/

 

 

Whats missing guys??

 

 

 

 

 

[IsharaMeradin]

I don't know why it isn't showing up. But I did notice that you've got your textures with full paths rather than local paths. You need local paths rather than full paths otherwise those who did not install Steam to the same location as you will not see the texture on your mesh. Instead of clicking on the flower and navigating to the texture, click on the text and edit it. Who knows maybe the CK can't handle full paths in the nif file and is trying to look for a C:\Program Files(x86)\... inside the data directory :P

[nobrot]

Thanks for the reply Ish, so instead of the full path just \Textures\filename.dds ?

[nobrot]

Gahh, I am still having problems here,

 

After exporting from 3DSMAX, when I run the NifConvert tool, and I select the TESV.EXE file, the tool does not pupulate the "Texture path:" box, even tho the output window reports scanning directories/scan done... the tool creates the nif, but in the output it reports Textures: -none- (see output below)

 

 

scanning directories...

scan done.

Source: C:\Users\And\Documents\3dsMax\export\FRKColumnMaxOutRemoved.nif

Template: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\Data\Meshes\barrel01.nif

Destination: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\Data\Meshes\FRK_ColumnTest.nif

Texture: - none -

source root is NiNode.

Nif converted successfully

 

And then i open the nif in nifskope and If I change the texture path to just Textures\filename.dds the texture dissapears from the model in NifSkope,

 

The texture will only show if I have the full hard coded path pointing to the data\textures in the steam directory, obvioulsy not good.

 

 

Anyone know why this may be happening???

[IsharaMeradin]

Have you set up NifSkope to look into your data folder for textures?

http://niftools.sourceforge.net/wiki/NifSkope/Setting_the_Texture_Search_Path

[nobrot]

  On 5/11/2013 at 12:30 AM, IsharaMeradin said:

Have you set up NifSkope to look into your data folder for textures?

http://niftools.sourceforge.net/wiki/NifSkope/Setting_the_Texture_Search_Path

 

Thanks again for your help Ishara. I have addedd the \Data folder, and now I can put the texture path as \Texture\texturfilename.dds

So now in Nifskope the model looks good, but I have the same problem in the CK, when I create the new object, it loads the nif ok, but the object is invisible.

 

Maybe something to do with the dds files?

 

 

Attached is a zip with the nif and both dds files in case someone can help..

 

Thanks.

[IsharaMeradin]

I tried to load it up in the CK after placing it in my meshes directory with the textures in the textures directory. Yes, it does look good in NifSkope as far as the textures are concerned. But the CK had this to say about it.

  Quote

MODELS: BASE meshes\FRK_ColumnTest.nif : Lo has a specular power of <= 0.0 which will cause HDR errors on ps3.

I have no idea what that means. I know a little about manipulating meshes in NifSkope but nothing about creating and converting them.

[nobrot]

Thanls for your time Ishara, I get the same error message.

 

I have extracted some vanilla nifs for a comparison, using the blacksmiths anvil and I can see some differences in the BSLightingShader, I matched them up and now I can see the model in the C, but it appears to have no textures at all, even if I apply the vanilla anvil textures to the test mesh the textures still dont show up. Conversley if I apply my textures ti the abvil nif then they show up but are very washed out... somethings not right here, I will plug away at it tomorrow...

[Elleh]

I haven't messed around with your model yet, but I'm wondering....

 

How did you go about setting up your BSLightingShader property? Have you tried copy-pasting it from a vanilla object with similar propeties to what you want? Skyrim and the CK can be suuuuper finniky.

 

Oh, okay. :P So you are looking at a vanilla nif. Try copying the BSLightingShader directly from that anvil and see what happens. Also, try adding the suffixes "_d" to your diffuse and "_n" to your normal. Sometimes that can help.

 

EDIT: Oh, and. Your textures are a bit messed up. First, add an alpha channel to your normal map (this is your specular map, btw. For testing purposes, you can just make it a medium gray with some noise or something.). When you save out your dds files in photoshop, use the setting "DXT5 ARGB 8 bpp interpolated alpha" and generate MIP maps. And I will once again suggest saving the normal map with an "_n" at the end. Like "ColumnTest_n.dds".

 

EDIT2: Got it working. Here is what I did:

• Added an alpha channel to the normal map with a quick gray scale of your diffuse.
• Saved both texture files as DXT5 with MIP maps, with _d and _n suffixes
• Copy/pasted the BSLightingShader property from the anvil nif, and hooked up the proper textures
• Made a new static object in the CK

I put it outside of Whitrun and was able to view it in-game.

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h383/EllehBella/2013-05-11_00001_zps8651efa3.jpg

 

 

So really, it was just a matter of setting up the shader properly and fixing up the textures. Bad news is, you still have some work to do with your normal map. It looks like it is an Object Space map rather than Tangent Space. This is why the shadows are all crazy. This really really needs to be tangent space to look right.

 

Also, it needs collision if it will be somewhere accessable. I watched a guard walk through it. :P

 

Here's the files for you to look through. http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?bohtvucobmiwoy7 To find the column in the CK, search "ehColumnTest". To find it quickly in-game, type "coc whiterun" into the console. It'll be near the meadery.

Edited May 11, 2013 by Elleh

[nobrot]

You know there is something exciting and inspiring about waking up in the morning and getting a forum post like the one above!

 

Elleh, thank you so much... I know this would have taken up valuable time to test and resolve. I have to dash out to work but as soon as I get back I will make the changes and see if I can get this test piece looking better.

 

You rock!!

 

 

UPDATE:

You were correct Elleh, the normal map was world space, so thats fixed, but I am not certain how to add my spec map into the normal maps alpha channel. In PS (CS3) I can create the alpha channel in the channels tab next to Layers tab using the defaults "Masked Areas" and 50% opacity, but how do I put my greyscale spec map into that channel? is that done on PS before exporting to DDS?

 

Thanks :)

Edited May 11, 2013 by nobrot