adding body and armour files for availability in DA Toolset and/or Cha

[concepts2a]

I am a total noob when it comes to DAO and DA2, give me a Bethesda game and I'm on top of it. Trying to see if there is any way to add body and armor files in the game that would only show in the Toolset and/or Character creator. I am unsure if just adding these files into the "override" folder will just make them override what I currently have set-up in the game; but am assuming they will. Whether that is a correct assumption or not; you'll have to let me know. I feel like I'm back in kindergarden again and this is the first day of class. :blink:

[mcgoy]

Why?

 

No, seriously, are you trying to limit the armor to just one PC/NPC? If so there is a way to add a script to a specific piece of equipment that has specific stats and then limit it to one PC/NPC. I wouldn't do this with a pre-existing piece of armor.

 

If you are trying to create a new appearance then that is meshes (which I know virtually nothing about), but you can still create the piece of equipment and then limit it to one PC/NPC after it is created.

 

And these statements are true only for DAO. Don't know/care how to edit DA2

[concepts2a]

Yes, I guess in some way I am. I am trying to see if it is possible to make each individual NPC, follower or companion unique. Each with their own bodies / armor. First though, I would have to get all these differing bodies / armors into the Toolset or Character Creator; and I am unsure how to do this ( thought .erf's might be the answer). That is what I was seeking info. on with this writing. I'm not even sure it's possible the way this game is put together. I can make a standalone companion in Oblivion and Skyrim in a matter of minutes; but this is a different animal almost completely.

Edited May 13, 2013 by concepts2a

[mcgoy]

It is fairly easy to tie an armor to an individual PC/NPC.

 

For changing the bodies.... Personally this falls under the heading to me of it is probably POSSIBLE through altering the equivalent of an armor mesh to cause the bodies to appear to be unique. But far too much work for too little gain.

 

Again speaking only for what I know of DAO.

[concepts2a]

I had been looking at the NVariety Mod on the nexus, but it would only handle the body side of the individual NPC within the game. But, it is not to clear as to what it actually does; if it only works on groups of NPC's or can work on individuals....or if everyone (minus the PC) is fair game and changeable. PM'd the mod author, but no response. Of course, he/she made the mod back in 2010 and the last update was in 2011. So, who knows if I'll ever hear from him/her. Of course they're is no readme what-so-ever. Edited May 13, 2013 by concepts2a

[Thandal]

The NV4 mod replaces the (nude) body of the named individual character(s) with the one the player selects. It requires that the appropriate replacement body models already be installed, and that you're familiar with how these work in Dragon Age.

Presume you know that there's no such thing a "clothing" or "armour" in Dragon Age, those are the body model. So when you change what a character is wearing (even if changing to "nothing") you are actually changing one body model for another.

Each figure has six independent parts:

1. Torso (including upper arms and legs)
2. Hands (including forearms)
3. Feet (including shins)
4. Head (Hair/Helmet/Hat depending on what the character is "wearing")
5. Face (including tattoos/beards/makeup/earrings, etc.)
6. Eyes (including eyelashes)

NV4 allows you to pick very specific models for elements 1-3 for each of the named characters from among the "alternative" ones you've installed which are compatible with it (NBaio being the most common.) But when you re-equip, you get that item's model, not that item being worn over another one.

 

But back to your original project. It's fairly straightforward to apply a "Restriction" to an item so that only the named character can use it. It's like assigning a minimum strength or a required class to an item. See Leliana's True Sacred Ashes Armor (just for Leli, obviously. :yes: )

[concepts2a]

Thanks Thandal, one of the main things I really don't trust about the mod is the fact that "it" supposedly picks out the "all the correct" meshes and everything else needed; all you need supply is the actually "skin". Using only Nbaio's mod; would lead to multiples of the same body in game. It states you can add differing "bodies" to it; but not where these bodies need to reside. Can more than one group of Body texture files reside in the "override" folder at one time, without these outside textures interfering with the main ( in this case Nbaio textures)and becoming live in-game? Edited May 13, 2013 by concepts2a

[Thandal]

Technically, the ".msh" (mesh) and ".dds" (texture) files are integrated as the single entity that gets displayed. And in any case, NV4 doesn't actually have any meshes or textures of its own. It is simply a management tool for selecting, (at the far more granular level of the specific character) which of the available ones will be displayed when you "unequip" someone. As noted in the Description, all the models (meshes and textures) are provided by something else. Either the vanilla ones, or other mods.

In other words, it allows you to decide how to display let's say, "Leliana", without any armour. Normally, this would be the "Human, Female" set of files. NV4 simply allows you to use a different set for that particular character. See this discussion on the BSN for details about the various kinds of files involved: "[sOLVED] Need help cloning a human model".

 

(Notice that because Dragon Age uses this method of varying the appearance of a character, changes DO NOT carry over when equipping them in different gear. The "Pornstar Body" Leli doesn't have one when you put her back in "Reinforced Leather". ;D )

Now, there is an underlying set of sizes and proportions for each race and gender (the "skeleton") that all body models use. Changes to that will impact how things like armour, or robes, or even the unclothed figure would look. See this other discussion on the BSN for details about how things work at that level: "Female proportions fix". But in this case, ALL files built using the original skeleton were being rebuilt by the author using a custom one in order for those changes to be seen in-game.

[concepts2a]

I see what you are talking about, basically the same as what would happen in Oblivion / Skyrim if using the CBBE bodies; then applied an armor for a UNP body. The proportions of the body would change to that of the UNP body while clothed in the given set of armor, and back to CBBE once it was removed.  As I had asked in my earlier writing :

 

"Can more than one group of Body texture files (.mmh,.msh, .mao and .dds)reside in the "override" folder at one time, without these outside textures interfering with the main ( in this case Nbaio textures) and becoming live in-game?" If not, where else can they be stored for easy access.

 

Or, can these files (containing .mmh,.msh , mao and .dds) be added into a .erf file easily opened within the toolset as well; set to the body model they pertain too. ( e.g. Custom Dwarf Female or Custom Qunari Male)

Edited May 13, 2013 by concepts2a

[Thandal]

...

"Can more than one group of Body texture files (.mmh,.msh, .mao and .dds)reside in the "override" folder at one time, without these outside textures interfering with the main ( in this case Nbaio textures) and becoming live in-game?" If not, where else can they be stored for easy access.

 

Or, can these files (containing .mmh,.msh , mao and .dds) be added into a .erf file easily opened within the toolset as well; set to the body model they pertain too. ( e.g. Custom Dwarf Female or Custom Qunari Male)

 

Short answer, "Yes to both".

Longer answer is, "It depends..."

 

An ".erf" (encapsulated resource file) is just the Eclipse game engine's way of grouping a bunch of related files for easy reference when they are all needed as a collection and not as individual elements. So the pieces within one can be revised at will, then repackaged for use.

 

There are a number of places to get detailed information about modding objects for the Dragon Age series.

Best place to start is the Toolset wiki itself! :thumbsup: