Help me understand how I'm breaking this, please? (BodySlide/.nif shenanigans)

[RONINRAVER]

Preface: I don't know what I'm doing in BodySlide, really. I can adjust sliders and build/batch build someone else's work, but this is my first time trying to get a tweak of my own to stick and I just don't know what I'm doing. I've given it four hours, and I'm out of ideas. So, I'm asking.

 

I've got this mod, huge pack of armors and the shape data for them (TAWOBA Remastered). It installs fine, BodySlides build correctly. No crashes, no glitches, no problems. Armors work in game.

But, one of the armor sets (Orcish) has a wild green hue to it which clashes with similar armor from the base game and other mods with my texture set (aMidianBorn). The bright hue is the result of the meshes in TAWOBA having Environment Maps turned on for some of the Orcish pieces, where they are off everywhere else.

So, I can open the .nifs from my load order (I'm using MO2) in NifSkope. I can turn off the Environment Maps. I can save the file. I can see the updated look reflected in BodySlide's preview window, with the dull green I'm going for. I can load a save. I can crash the game.

 

I've tried building the armors as downloaded first, then editing the .nifs.

I've tried editing the .nifs first, then building the batch.

I've tried building the armors as downloaded, copying the edited .nifs into their own mod and installing below in MO2 as an overwrite.

I've tried building the armors as downloaded, going into my BodySlide Output folder and editing the .nifs there while leaving the originals in their mod alone.

I've tried building the armors as downloaded, editing the .nifs, then building them again.

I've done the same thing, but with the edited .nifs in, again, their own mod.

I've opened the .osd matching the .nif in Outfit Studio, and "Save As..." without changing anything, and the output files saved where they came from.

I've done a bunch of stuff to get this to work.

 

Between each attempt I'm clearing everything out; the mods, the BodySlide Output and the overwrite folder. So, there's no leftovers screwing with things here, and at any time I can give up and just re-install TAWOBA without tweaking the .nifs and everything works again, no problems.

As someone with very limited BodySlide experience, I don't know what to do. I suspect the answer is load the edited .nifs into Outfit Studio and rebuild the shape data based on those, and then re-run the batch, but...

A.) I don't know how to do that!

and

B.) I HAD IT WORKING ONCE!

I had it working! Game loaded fine, everything was the right color, it was glorious. But I had stumbled on it during my "flip all the switches and see what works" phase, and I couldn't remember what order I'd done what in to make it happen. So I undid it that I might learn what the proper order of things was, so I could reproduce it in the future and share the tweak with other people.

And, now I can't. I've tried everything (except that one thing, obviously) and I'm just tired at this point.

 

Can anyone help me out? How do I make that singular shader edit to the .nifs, build my batch and have my game not crash on load? Screw reproducing it in the future, I'll just be happy to have it work again right now.

Edited December 1, 2022 by RONINRAVER

[aurreth]

It's been a while, but I seem to remember you need to open and resave the nif file in Outfit Studio, because NifSkope saves them in the wrong format or something.

[Andy14]

- The Nif used by Bodyslide must be edited with Nifskope. This nif is located in Bodslide\Shapedata\your project name. DO NOT edit the nif_0 and nif_1 that are in data\meshes\...
- If the environment map is removed, the shader type should also be set to Default.
- additionally check in Creation Kit or TESVEdit whether a TextureSet is used for the ArmorAddon. If so, also change the TextureSet as in the nif before.

[RONINRAVER]

5 hours ago, Andy14 said:

- The Nif used by Bodyslide must be edited with Nifskope. This nif is located in Bodslide\Shapedata\your project name. DO NOT edit the nif_0 and nif_1 that are in data\meshes\...
- If the environment map is removed, the shader type should also be set to Default.
- additionally check in Creation Kit or TESVEdit whether a TextureSet is used for the ArmorAddon. If so, also change the TextureSet as in the nif before.

 

I've been doing as you advised, except for that last bit about checking for textures in XEdit.  So, here's where I'm at:

 

Here is the mod file freshly installed in MO2 and opened in explorer.

 

Here is the path down through the file.

 

These are the .nifs I've been editing.  Also, for the sake of completeness I edit the non-3BA ones as well.  I'm not touching the "_0" and "_1" .nifs in the "meshes" folder.

 

 

Here are my attempts to make the edits, both in NifSkope, and also through OutfitStudio.  Saving the files after edting, of course.  Then I build the BodySlide batch based on those edits and experience the CTD on loading a save where the armor is equipped by someone.  I don't CTD on crafting the armor, or it being present in the inventory.  Only when they are equipped.

 

 

Based on your advice, I started deleting that "textures\cubemaps\ore_orich_e.dds" texture path and looking through the .esp, and this is what the armor looks like in xEdit.  I'm pretty new to that tool as well, for everything but forwarding records and making little patches for stuff.  So to my inexperienced eyes, it doesn't look like there are any textures being specified in the ArmorAddon records.  But I don't actually know what I'm looking for so much.  Do you see what I need to remove there?

 

 

And just for the sake of completeness, here is the link to the mod page itself, where I've got the download from.  If you or anyone else would like to take a better look than what I've provided and can see the problem where I'm missing it.

 

I appreciate your help, thank you!

 

 

EDIT:  I got it!

 

 

Turns out, it wasn't the environment maps causing the bright green hue, it was that "textures\cubemaps\ore_orich_e.dds".

 

I did another round of tweaking, deleting just that texture path from all the armors and leaving the environment map alone, and it works!  That must have been what I did the time before, I've just tried so many things I couldn't remember.  I still don't see it referenced anywhere in the .esp, but I don't care why or how at this point.

 

It's working!

 

Before.

 

After.

 

Thanks for the help!

Edited December 2, 2022 by RONINRAVER
Solved the problem!

[Andy14]

9 hours ago, RONINRAVER said:

textures\cubemaps\ore_orich_e.dds

 

This is an environment map.