Polymorphic Armor - A PC Exclusive Armor Path (SE Edition) V1.2 1.2

Version 1.2 Update:

 

PapyrusUtils is now a requirement, but the mod now handles checking to see if a nif exists before assigning that nif (In batch build mode only).

 

Version 1.1 Update:

 

Read the update notes, there were some important changes. 

 

Version 1.0 of Polymorphic Armors has arrived.  

 

Readme temporarily removed.  Will be reuploaded as a file soon.

 

If you ask questions that are answered either in this post or the readme, I will either direct you to them or simply not respond.  I took the time to write it up for a reason.

 

Overview

Polymorphic Armors is a mod that adds the ability to dynamically change the player's armor, clothing, and accessory models to models that are stored in a separate directory from regular.  These directories, called PA directories, are otherwise intended to be identical to their normal counterparts and when the player equips an item, it will go in and find the equivalent model in the PA directory for the one from the regular directory.  From an example, this would mean if the player equipped an armor using the model located at:

 

Data/Meshes/armor/bandit/body1f_1.nif

 

It would search for and use the model located at the pa directory which would be:

 

Data/Meshes/armorpa/bandit/body1f_1.nif

 

Notice the highlighted difference.

 

Why do it this way?

The ability to bulk build directories and rename them to pa directories so that the I can have a player wearing unique armors, with unique body type, etc.

 

Requirements:

1) SKSE

2) MCM

3) Papyrus Utils (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/13048) - Batch Build Mode Only

3) MESKSEUtils (Maria Eden SKSE Utility Scripts.  You can find them in the ME mod for LE/SE.  You do NOT need to have the mod itself, but you need to have the SKSE plugin and associated script.  Make sure to get the correct version for the version of Skyrim you are running, LE or SE). - Normal Mode Only

 

Modes:

There are four modes that the mod can be run in:

 

Batch Build mode (new): A short duration after armor is equipped, checks what all armor is equipped and then batch replaces the meshes for all non-replaced, non-prohibited items.  This is the new recommended mode.

 

Normal Mode (unsupported): generates a piece of Polymorphic Armor that gets added and equipped in place of the armor that the player was wearing.  The armor nominally will take the armor value, armor type, enchantments, armor slots, altered appearance, and name (With a (PA) appended on the end to denote that it is different from the base armor).  

 

Replacement Mode does not generate a new piece of equip and instead replaces the meshes that the armor is using.  This has benefits for heavily scripted pieces of equipment but means that ALL NPCS WILL USE THE CHANGED MODEL.  Note that model changes currently only get reset on Save/Load, with only the gear that the player is currently wearing being reset to it's alternate model.

 

Manual Mode pops up a message box when the player equips a piece of gear that allows the player to chose how to handle that piece of gear (Normal, replacement, or do nothing).

 

Options:

 

Restore Mode:  After converting the players armor, if Restore Mode is active, it will rebuild the player's 3D model and then change the nifs for the Armor addon back.  This makes it so that if an NPC is using the armor/equips the armor after the player does, they will use the original mesh.  However, it means the armor will need to be regenerated if the player reequips it.

 

Phoneme Mode:  After doing conversion, quickly unequips and reequips one of the items in order to reset the player phenome expression which gets reset by the 3D model regeneration.  (This is the facial model)

 

Build Male/Build Female:  When toggled off, PA won't build for male/female characters.

 

Using the mod:
Once the mod is activated, whenever you equip a piece of gear it will convert via the mode you have selected. 

 

NOTE FOR NON-BATCH BUILD: The mod is only able to convert gear so quickly, so YOU CAN NOT RAPIDLY EQUIP PIECES OF GEAR AND EXPECT THEM ALL TO CHANGE. This shouldn't (but may in certain situations) break the mod, and you should be able to unequip and reequip and unchanged gear.

 

FAQ:

Can I use this with <armor mod>?

Yes, as long as you have a PA directory for the alternate models/.nifs, and the .nifs generated inside, it shouldn't matter if it is base, vanilla, DLC, comes from a mod, etc.

 

Will this cause issues with <heavily scripted armor mod>?
It can.  My recommendation is to either 1) Use the prohibited slots section of the mod to have the mod not process anything in those slots the mod uses or 2) use the replacement mode to keep the original armor.

 

Why is my gear invisible?
Did you remember to make the replacement .nifs and put them in the proper directory?  Enable the debugging line to see the directory it is searching for and verify that the replacement .nif is there.  If it is, there may be a .niftype issue.  See the readme for more info on this.

 

If I include a body in the pa folders will it automatically use that for the player?

Good question! Sadly, the answer is no.  If you want the PC to use a custom body, you will need to use a custom race that can set a custom body for the PC.  There are plenty of these available and I didn't feel like make a new one for this mod since it was largely unneeded. 

 

Does this work for both male and female PCs?
It should, but I haven't tested it.

 

Troubleshooting:

1) See the readme for some common bugs/troubleshooting

2) If the readme doesn't help, when leaving a comment make sure to include:

• What version (SE/LE)
• What is not working (Equipping X, etc.)
• How is not working
• When it is not working (Always, randomly, on load, etc.)
• What modes have you tried
• If nothing is working, have you enabled it to start in the MCM?