What's the proper way to install clothing?

[Melody666]

Is there an universal proper way to install clothing? I've always made sure to meet all requirements before installing them. Most clothing I've been installing required BodySlide and Outfit Studio / CBBE, which I installed.

 

Even after all that, it doesn't matter what, they always appear invisible when I use them in-game. I've followed all possible guides and they still appear invisible. I've reinstalled the whole game and only installed clothing with dependencies, without installing other unrelated mods, and I still get the same behavior (invisible). I've done everything they asked for.

 

I'm using Skyrim Mod Organizer v2.2.2.1 and latest version of Skyrim LE of course (Steam). I've searched for that specific problem and I've found less than nothing. Not to even mention that the modding support and/or instruction for this game seems to be very poor, I'm a programmer myself and I find all of this (in general) pretty contradictory and unclear.

 

I've tried 3 different clothing mods. One of them just crashes after Skyrim boots, the other 2s just show invisible. Definitely not mods' fault.

 

My question is: is there an universal way to deal with this? As a person who uses to mod this game a lot, what are the specific steps you would follow to install clothing and/or fix this problem?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Psalam]

4 minutes ago, Melody666 said:

Is there an universal proper way to install clothing? I've always made sure to meet all requirements before installing them. Most clothing I've been installing required BodySlide and Outfit Studio / CBBE, which I installed.

 

Even after all that, it doesn't matter what, they always appear invisible when I use them in-game. I've followed all possible guides and they still appear invisible. I've reinstalled the whole game and only installed clothing with dependencies, without installing other unrelated mods, and I still get the same behavior (invisible). I've done everything they asked for.

 

I'm using Skyrim Mod Organizer v2.2.2.1 and latest version of Skyrim LE of course (Steam). I've searched for that specific problem and I've found less than nothing. Not to even mention that the modding support and/or instruction for this game seems to be very poor, I'm a programmer myself and I find all of this (in general) pretty contradictory and unclear.

 

I've tried 3 different clothing mods. One of them just crashes after Skyrim boots, the other 2s just show invisible. Definitely not mods' fault.

 

My question is: is there an universal way to deal with this? As a person who uses to mod this game a lot, what are the specific steps you would follow to install clothing and/or fix this problem?

 

Thanks in advance.

You  don't just have to have Bodyslide, you have to use it. After loading your armor/clothing go into Bodyslide and "build" the armor/clothing. That will fix the invisibility issue.

[Melody666]

11 minutes ago, Psalam said:

You  don't just have to have Bodyslide, you have to use it. After loading your armor/clothing go into Bodyslide and "build" the armor/clothing. That will fix the invisibility issue.

This wasn't specified in any of the mods' page.

 

Anyway, I have batch built everything and they still appear invisible.

[Psalam]

1 minute ago, Melody666 said:

This wasn't specified in any of the mods' page.

 

Anyway, I have batch built everything and they still appear invisible.

BUT, did you click all the armors/clothing when you Batch Built? If you didn't click it you likely didn't build it.

[Melody666]

1 minute ago, Psalam said:

BUT, did you click all the armors/clothing when you Batch Built? If you didn't click it you likely didn't build it.

First, thank you very much for so fast support, I appreciate it.

 

I have clicked "Batch Build...", ticked everything in the list, then chose the output sets. Should the actual clothing appear inside "Batch Build" too? Because, if so, none of the clothing appears there.

[Psalam]

3 minutes ago, Melody666 said:

First, thank you very much for so fast support, I appreciate it.

 

I have clicked "Batch Build...", ticked everything in the list, then chose the output sets. Should the actual clothing appear inside "Batch Build" too? Because, if so, none of the clothing appears there.

I'm sorry that I am not at home where I could pull up my Bodyslide. Here is a link:

 

This is a thread where I tried to help someone else with what is essentially the same issue. See if this doesn't help (they say a picture is worth a thousand words).

[Melody666]

6 minutes ago, Psalam said:

I'm sorry that I am not at home where I could pull up my Bodyslide. Here is a link:

 

This is a thread where I tried to help someone else with what is essentially the same issue. See if this doesn't help (they say a picture is worth a thousand words).

I'm not really using DD and I saw the group thing, so I realized that the clothing should also appear there in the list, or am I wrong? I've done the group thingy and batch built everything again, still invisible. I've tried every possible preset but none of the clothing appears in BodySlide's lists.

[Psalam]

4 minutes ago, Melody666 said:

I'm not really using DD and I saw the group thing, so I realized that the clothing should also appear there in the list, or am I wrong? I've done the group thingy and batch built everything again, still invisible. I've tried every possible preset but none of the clothing appears in BodySlide's lists.

Can you take a picture of your Bodyslide with the groups pulled down (kin of like what I did)?

[Varithina]

18 minutes ago, Melody666 said:

First, thank you very much for so fast support, I appreciate it.

 

I have clicked "Batch Build...", ticked everything in the list, then chose the output sets. Should the actual clothing appear inside "Batch Build" too? Because, if so, none of the clothing appears there.

As you are using mod organizer the output from bodyslide should be in your overwrite folder, note the word should, it can also end up in the actual bodyslide folder as well in one of the sub directories.  Your best be with batch build is to hold down the CTRL key and while holding it down then select the batch build option, bodyslide will then ask you where you want to build those items, it can be anywhere as long as there is not already a meshes directory present, well you can build with an existing meshes directory present but bodyslide will complain and ask for confirmation, after choosing where to build it will then pop up a conflict page if there are any asking you which of each conflict you want to build, pick  you options then keep choosing ok, eventually it will build where you told it to, you can then zip all the meshes up into a new mod and install that through mo, which can make sorting out if there are problems much easier.

[Melody666]

13 minutes ago, Psalam said:

Can you take a picture of your Bodyslide with the groups pulled down (kin of like what I did)?

I've finally fixed it! I will tell you exactly how.

 

First of all, there was a non-explained step in the mods which consisted in copying the CalienteTools directory on top of BodySlide's CalienteTools directory (I guessed that on logic) and the clothing finally appeared in BodySlide after selecting all groups. Basically, you need to find a CalienteTools directory in clothing mods, just copy that inside root of installed BodySlide's mod directory and merge directories. If the mod doesn't have that folder, you can:

• Copy BodySlide directory, if any, from the mod, to CalienteTools directory which is located inside BodySlide's installed mod root and merge directories

OR:

• Copy ShapeData, SliderGroups and SliderSets directories from the mod to BodySlider's installed mod root -> CalienteTools\BodySlide and merge directories

 

Batch-built everything, opened the game and the clothes were still invisible.

 

I then changed the Data directory in BodySlide's settings to be Mod Organizer's overwrite directory (%localappdata%\ModOrganizer\Skyrim\overwrite in my case) and restarted the program. Proceeded again in selecting all groups and batch building everything, opened the game and boom, all clothes work now.

 

Thank you very much for your help.

 

6 minutes ago, Varithina said:

As you are using mod organizer the output from bodyslide should be in your overwrite folder, note the word should, it can also end up in the actual bodyslide folder as well in one of the sub directories.  Your best be with batch build is to hold down the CTRL key and while holding it down then select the batch build option, bodyslide will then ask you where you want to build those items, it can be anywhere as long as there is not already a meshes directory present, well you can build with an existing meshes directory present but bodyslide will complain and ask for confirmation, after choosing where to build it will then pop up a conflict page if there are any asking you which of each conflict you want to build, pick  you options then keep choosing ok, eventually it will build where you told it to, you can then zip all the meshes up into a new mod and install that through mo, which can make sorting out if there are problems much easier.

Thank you very much, I figured that overwrite folder thingy right before your answer lol. I hope the posts here will also help more people as well.

[Grey Cloud]

43 minutes ago, Melody666 said:

First of all, there was a non-explained step in the mods which consisted in copying the CalienteTools directory on top of BodySlide's CalienteTools directory (I guessed that on logic) and the clothing finally appeared in BodySlide after selecting all groups.

Er, no. If installed correctly then Bodyslide should be inside the CalienteTools folder. This is the path from the BS shortcut on my desktop:

\Data\CalienteTools\BodySlide\BodySlide x64.exe

 

43 minutes ago, Melody666 said:

Basically, you need to find a CalienteTools directory in clothing mods, just copy that inside root of installed BodySlide's mod directory and merge directories.

That is the Bodyslide files for the clothing. It is different from the actual meshes and textures of the clothing mod per se. You can have a clothing (or armour) mod which does not have or does not come with BS files. The clothing should still appear in game but it will not necessarily properly fit your NPCs. You will not be able to change the size/shape of it either.

Typically the BS files come with three folders:

ShapeData

SliderGroups

SliderSets

 

Note that sometimes the author of the clothing mod and the author of the BS files are two different people and you need two different mods. For example:

DX Witch Hunter Armor - UNP LE

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/101395

 

DX Witch Hunter Armor BodySlide Conversion UUNP an CBBE HDT

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/101416

 

If I had downloaded only the actual armour mod then any NPC I put it on would be the same shape as the lady doing the modelling (basic UUNP shape). With the BS files the armour fits to the shape of whoever is wearing it.

 

 

 

 

 

This is what happens when you build a new machine and load your save from the previous machine before you have got all the mods installed.

 

 

 

 

 

This is what happens when you then install the BS files for the mod thinking they are the actual armour mod itself.

 

 

Notice the boots are okay because they are just regular scale boots and nothing to do with the armour mod


 

 

 

This is what happens when you finally get your act together

 

 

Skyrim has the last laugh. Notice the various shapes and sizes of the NPCs and how the armour fits them all thanks to the magic of BS


 

 

 

 

 

[Melody666]

26 minutes ago, Grey Cloud said:

Er, no. If installed correctly then Bodyslide should be inside the CalienteTools folder. This is the path from the BS shortcut on my desktop:

\Data\CalienteTools\BodySlide\BodySlide x64.exe

 

That is the Bodyslide files for the clothing. It is different from the actual meshes and textures of the clothing mod per se. You can have a clothing (or armour) mod which does not have or does not come with BS files. The clothing should still appear in game but it will not necessarily properly fit your NPCs. You will not be able to change the size/shape of it either.

Typically the BS files come with three folders:

ShapeData

SliderGroups

SliderSets

 

Note that sometimes the author of the clothing mod and the author of the BS files are two different people and you need two different mods. For example:

DX Witch Hunter Armor - UNP LE

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/101395

 

DX Witch Hunter Armor BodySlide Conversion UUNP an CBBE HDT

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/101416

 

If I had downloaded only the actual armour mod then any NPC I put it on would be the same shape as the lady doing the modelling (basic UUNP shape). With the BS files the armour fits to the shape of whoever is wearing it.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

This is what happens when you build a new machine and load your save from the previous machine before you have got all the mods installed.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

This is what happens when you then install the BS files for the mod thinking they are the actual armour mod itself.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Notice the boots are okay because they are just regular scale boots and nothing to do with the armour mod


 

 

 

This is what happens when you finally get your act together

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Skyrim has the last laugh. Notice the various shapes and sizes of the NPCs and how the armour fits them all thanks to the magic of BS


 

 

 

 

 

I see, thanks for additional info.

[GenioMaestro]

2 hours ago, Melody666 said:

• Copy BodySlide directory, if any, from the mod, to CalienteTools directory which is located inside BodySlide's installed mod root and merge directories

OR:

• Copy ShapeData, SliderGroups and SliderSets directories from the mod to BodySlider's installed mod root -> CalienteTools\BodySlide and merge directories

 

NOT... STOP making innecesary copies and STOP making innecesary manual operations.

Learn how works Mod Organizer, read the guides, see the videos and, please, not publish yours bad solutions.

 

Every program related to MODDING that need use files from the game MUST be executed from INSIDE MO.

You MUST create a link to that program ussing the tools that MO have. Exactly in that screen:

Spoiler

 

Every TOOL that need access to the files of the game MUST be in that list.

Every time you want execute a TOOL you MUST selecct in the drop down in MO and execute it from INSIDE MO.

 

EVERY TOOL... That include Loot, CK, FNIS, Tes5Edit... and of course, BodySlide and Outfit Studio:

Spoiler

 

As you can see, my batch build include every group from ALL my mods.

And of course, i not make any manual copy NEVER.

 

DELETE your manual copies and make an effort to learn how to use MO.

[Melody666]

1 hour ago, GenioMaestro said:

 

NOT... STOP making innecesary copies and STOP making innecesary manual operations.

Learn how works Mod Organizer, read the guides, see the videos and, please, not publish yours bad solutions.

 

Every program related to MODDING that need use files from the game MUST be executed from INSIDE MO.

You MUST create a link to that program ussing the tools that MO have. Exactly in that screen:

  Hide contents

 

Every TOOL that need access to the files of the game MUST be in that list.

Every time you want execute a TOOL you MUST selecct in the drop down in MO and execute it from INSIDE MO.

 

EVERY TOOL... That include Loot, CK, FNIS, Tes5Edit... and of course, BodySlide and Outfit Studio:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

As you can see, my batch build include every group from ALL my mods.

And of course, i not make any manual copy NEVER.

 

DELETE your manual copies and make an effort to learn how to use MO.

"Learn how to use MO", these steps are not explained in any mod guides, do I really need to read the FULL program guide to add a few mods?

 

You're so mean either cases, but thanks for the explanation anyway. Will do that.

 

Edit: Done, removed additional directories, created the executable profile in MO, ran the profile and the groups appeared. Thanks.

[GenioMaestro]

4 minutes ago, Melody666 said:

"Learn how to use MO", these steps are not explained in any mod guides, do I really need to read the FULL program guide to add a few mods?

 

You're so mean either cases, but thanks for the explanation anyway. Will do that.

 

Edit: Done, removed additional directories, created the executable profile in MO, ran the profile and the groups appeared. Thanks.

If you not want waste some minutes in "Learn how to use MO" maybe is better you stop use MO and stop modding Skyrim because "how to use Third Party Programsfrom MO" is only ONE of the multiple things that you MUST LEARN.

 

We have very good guides, that explaing everything whit a lot of detail, and of course, videos for the people that not want read. Use the metod that you want but, please, LEARN.

 

https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Mod_Organizer#Third_Party_Programs

Third Party Programs

When you use Mod Organizer (MO), all other programs that work with mods (i.e., BOSS, Wrye Bash, Skyrim Launcher, SkyEdit, Creation Kit, etc.) should be started from inside MO. The same is true for all launchers you may use (e.g., SKSE, SBW). Some of the well-known tools for the games supported by MO are automatically detected and added to your list of executables. Other tools must be added manually. A list of automatically detected tools are shown at the end of this page. To launch a game after it has been added to MO's list of executables, select the application from the drop-down list on the top right and click Run.

[Melody666]

3 hours ago, GenioMaestro said:

If you not want waste some minutes in "Learn how to use MO" maybe is better you stop use MO and stop modding Skyrim because "how to use Third Party Programsfrom MO" is only ONE of the multiple things that you MUST LEARN.

 

We have very good guides, that explaing everything whit a lot of detail, and of course, videos for the people that not want read. Use the metod that you want but, please, LEARN.

 

https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Mod_Organizer#Third_Party_Programs

Third Party Programs

When you use Mod Organizer (MO), all other programs that work with mods (i.e., BOSS, Wrye Bash, Skyrim Launcher, SkyEdit, Creation Kit, etc.) should be started from inside MO. The same is true for all launchers you may use (e.g., SKSE, SBW). Some of the well-known tools for the games supported by MO are automatically detected and added to your list of executables. Other tools must be added manually. A list of automatically detected tools are shown at the end of this page. To launch a game after it has been added to MO's list of executables, select the application from the drop-down list on the top right and click Run.

After doing that, now my game crashes right after loading my savegame.

 

Edit: It was a random crash. Apparently I was using way too much memory (endless amount of tabs in my browser).

 

You shouldn't act so mean to people requesting support here by the way. There are ways and ways to explain something, without being mean and offensive. I have thanked you for your explanations but the way you explained things to me is very rough. I hope you just had a bad day. If that's your usual attitude towards people, then that's a problem.