Animated Sprite TV Proof of Concept for Fallout

[esmm40]

This is a proof of concept to create animated sprites for Fallout similar to how they were added for Skyrim. I always felt like VOTW was too heavy of a mod if I just wanted an animated screen in the background of my settlement for effect (like the news in the opening sceen).

 

Using GIF 2 NIF to create the sprite and mesh for skyrim https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/34438

 

I used Nifskope to edit an existing nif from Fallout so it would point to the dds file that was generated for the skyrim nif and copied over the NiFloatInterpolator data for the timing. The NiFloatInterpolator entries (one for U Offset and one for V Offset) copied over from the Skryim nif (generated by GIF 2 NIF) to the Fallout nif without issue (there can be over 1000 keys depending on the size of your sprite so this is important). I also needed to adjust the Stop time under BSLightingShaderPropertyFloatController for both U and V to match the one in the Skyrim nif so it lines up with the key data. (all outlined in the attached screenshot for visual aid).

 

The last step was opening the fallout mesh in OutfitStudio and using the UV edit feature on the screen to make sure the mesh texture map lined up with the first frame of the sprite (see capture2)

 

In order to test in game I created a replacement for the NukaWorld Safety Cartoon used in Crimsomrider's Unique Furniture https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/20703

This will not replace the Nukaworld Safety Cartoon anywhere else, only the Workshop TV created for the Unique Furniture mod.

 

You will need to read the instructions carefully for how to use GIF 2 NIF to find an appropriate Gif and generate the skyrim nif and dds files. You will also need to make sure to manage your file structure. Included here is just an example to build from. All of the collision and back lighting have been adjusted for the mesh already. Only the things mentioned should need to be adjusted.

 

One known issue is that in game the tv will have an "activate" prompt that does nothing. Also, it says it needs power but it does not. These features may be removable or editable but so far doing so has been at the expense of the animation of the sprite.

 

*Update 25Jan22 - Turns out some 8k texture sprites will cause a CTD shortly after being placed in a settlement (Size of Settlement could be a contributing factor as well). I shrunk the current example to 4k for now. This just means degraded image quality or shorter sprites in the future, but good to know the limitations none the less.

 

 

 

NWTVReplacer2.rar

Edited January 25, 2022 by esmm40

[Bingle]

Interesting idea. How about adding the custom behavior attached to workshop lights/tvs and gamebryo sequences? I think in that way you'll be able to turn it on/off.

[esmm40]

7 minutes ago, Bingle said:

Interesting idea. How about adding the custom behavior attached to workshop lights/tvs and gamebryo sequences? I think in that way you'll be able to turn it on/off.

I may go back and look at workshop features more to see how to better utilize them. For now the few things I’ve tried cause the animation to freeze. I appreciate the suggestion though, I’ll take a look at those examples to see if they can help.

Edited January 25, 2022 by esmm40

[Bingle]

17 minutes ago, esmm40 said:

I may go back and look at workshop features more to see how to better utilize them. For now the few things I’ve tried cause the animation to freeze. I appreciate the suggestion though, I’ll take a look at those examples to see if they can help.

Yeah I suggest taking a look in those nifs in Meshes\SetDressing\Workshop. They have a custom HAVOK behavior attached to them with gamebryo sequences named Off, TurningOn, On, TuringOff and etc. They are probably controlled through scripts using PlayAnimation function.

So you might be able to control the visibility of the panel itself with NiVisController and start the animation when the player interacts with it.

Edited January 25, 2022 by Bingle

[fallootUser]

Thank you for providing the source material and a brief tutorial. I'm getting into modding and finding tutorials for more advanced things, other than collision meshes, is getting very hard.