Changing the Nifs

[Mandiuscreel]

I have been trying to mod the Plain Daughter Nif to get rid of that obnoxious shawl knot on her chest, so that a decent DDS can be made for her.

I have imported the Nif into 3ds Max 9 so many times I can practically do it in my sleep.

And I have exported it just as many times, producing every variant of Nif it seems the program has to offer.

I have copied over the new Nif onto the old file through Nifskope, making certain that the Nif has the same number of vertices as the old. But every time the new Nif causes a crash when I try to use it in a game.

Before people start directing me to threads on this forum, I have scoured it from top to bottom to glean every reference to a Nif I can find, and nothing seems to help.

I know that the Nifs can be modified successfully; I have the barmaid and the beautiful daughter Nifs that have the triangle of cloth removed from the cleavage. But what is the mystical secret required to accomplish it?

[Pirate]

Wished I could help. There would be girls running around everywhere in shorts and mini skirts if I knew how to redo the nif.

[Mandiuscreel]

It occurred to me that there are other games that use the Nif format, and I went to the Civ Fanatics board. There, I found a guide for the leaderhead (Header) of Nif files written by Ekmek. It suggested doing a branch delete and copy instead of a block delete and copy.

That seems to have worked; the file doesn't crash the game. But right now, my little plain daughter just stands in zeroed mode, arms held out at 45 degrees, hands flat, a fixed smile on her face while my captain dances around her. She does teleport from spot to spot, but she never moves. I don't yet know if it's a problem with animation or if I somehow deleted the skeleton assignments.

More later (I hope).

[fleetp]

parksbanyon is our resident expert on modifying NIF files. He hasn't posted since December, Try sending him a PM.

[Pirate]

I remember Parksbanyon was having computer issues the last time he posted. Hopefully he will come back soon. Sounds like though the action files and the nif are not working together. Perhaps the action movements in the nif was deleted so the nif doesn't know what to do even if the .exe is telling it to there is just no command in the nif to make the movements. I'm thinking that the nif, action files, and the .exe all must work together in order for no crashes or improper or lack of movement not to occur.

[Mandiuscreel]

After careful (node-by-node) checking, I can say that the files are identical but for the mesh. Even the mesh settings are identical. The only difference is the shape. And Nifskope displays it perfectly.

I don't know if I solved the animation problem by re-building the file with slightly different export settings, because it is currently invisible in the program. From research on the net, I find that this is not an uncommon problem with Nifs.

[Pirate]

Here is my nif

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b7fvgtgw8zg19f5/Screenshot%202016-02-17%2005.01.44.png?dl=0

[Mandiuscreel]

Auckland?

Cool skin. Is the mesh different?

[Mandiuscreel]

If she ever works, this might be what you'll see...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5fem1wnxe977jsh/Untitled-1.jpg?dl=0

Just one note: I didn't enhance her breasts. I just narrowed her waist. She was packing those all along.

[Mandiuscreel]

I apologize in advance for the following:

I have worked with Maya, 3ds Max, Milkshape, Poser, Daz Studio, Anime Studio, Lightwave, and a handful of other little 3d programs. I've had my troubles with all of them, in one way or another. No system is perfect. You learn to live with the quirks and peccadilloes of their creators. Some of them you even grow to love.

And then there's Blender.

I had trouble writing that last sentence. It kept devolving into obscenity. I have never, in all the years I've used computers, encountered such a user-unfriendly (must control temper), difficult, (no obscenity), unpredictable (that's a safe word, yeah) program.

The only reason I resurrected it was to try to get a clean import of a Nif file, possibly to convert it to something that another program could work with without losing the vertex assignments...

Eight hours I've lost arguing with a system that keeps telling me that Python is not installed, when EVERY version of Python from the last ten years is in the Blender directory as well as its own, and which insisted I reinstall Blender itself at least four times (I literally lost count).

I have never felt so vehemently violent against any piece of software (that wasn't Microsoft) in my entire life. I quite happily abandoned Python and its dark spawn to return to the continuing frustration that is 3ds Max.

Needless to say I have come to the conclusion that no matter what program is used to import an SMP Nif, the vertices are immediately stripped from it, and it cannot run animations.

Which leaves me with the witchcraft that is inherent in the barmaid, the wide-faced beauty, and the thin-faced beauty. Somehow these three Nifs were modified without losing their skeletal affiliations. If it was Blender done the deed, then I surrender. My soul is not dark enough to tread that path again.

[Mandiuscreel]

I found a package from Nexus that enabled me to get Blender installed correctly. My computer is still intact, but my neighbors think they live next to a barbarian.

I will try again. After a couple of hard root beers.

[Mandiuscreel]

I have imported a Nif, and exported the (unchanged) file. The file was exported under a different name, and re-named for the game. It worked successfully, complete with animations.

The bad news is, I had to use <shudder> Blender.

I had to install Blender version 2.49b, and Nif Scripts version 2.5.5. Apparently no other combination works (this according to various forums across the NetImmerse/Gambryo community).

I also installed Python 2.6.5 (although I don't know if another version would work), and PyFFI 2.1.5 (again, I don't know about other versions). Note that these two must be installed, or Blender accuses you of being a Philistine, and implies you don't know how to tie your shoes...

The Import/Export settings I used can be found on the following web page (it's for Skyrim, but it works):

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/15690/?

Note that the Tutorial can be downloaded. Please do and give the page a thumbs up. The Moderators would be grateful.

The only change I made was in the Export Menu. I chose to select 4.0.0.2 (button in the block of numbers to the right) instead of choosing a specific game.

I did this because the modified Nifs I mentioned previously all had that program version listed in their headers. I know from 3ds Max's exporter that one or two of the games listed use that version, but I didn't want to guess at it.

EDIT: I feel I have to note that when you actually export the file from Blender, you won't see the Collision Options, Shader Options, or Weapon Body Location sections on the Export Menu. The SMP Nifs don't use these.

Now to edit the file (in Blender... sigh) and see if changing it makes any difference...

[Mandiuscreel]

I feel oddly triumphant and ghastly ill (flu threatening to become pneumonia). But here she is, dancing with Captain Incognito:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/edsjinxozc6xr3a/Untitled-2.jpg?dl=0

<Fixed>

I had to include a dip, of course, to show off the absence of a knot, but it also shows off the fact that I have to work on her cleavage. And, of course, the texture needs a lot of work.

But the secret is revealed. A very sad day for Max users. Blender wins hands down.

And, for those concerned with the technical details, I can assure you that removing vertices does not affect the performance of the model in the animations. Nor does moving them, except in cases of moving too much (if you overlap another bone's verts, it can cause weird ripples in the way the mesh moves, for instance). I think I saw such a defect in the screenshots.

For now, I think I'm going to spend a little time actually playing the game.

[fleetp]

[Mandiuscreel]

Sorry. I linked it before I shared it. It should be fixed now.