How to properly convert/port outfit to 3BA?

[kubikiri]

So I've made several outfit conversions from various sources: some are directly built in BodySlider program; some are CBBE based outfits ported in Outfit Studio; some are from Oblivion or LE mods as OBJ files imported to Outfit Studio. And I'm having problems.       
The problem is, some coverted outfits work differently in game, even those coverted with exact same steps. They are like this:      
-Some can reflect the in-game 3BA morph slider (found in Racemenu) changes and body part scaling caused by mods (like pregnancy mods)     
-Weirdly, some directly built outfits partially work (belly scaling works but in-game slider changes don't)      
-Some just don't work with either things           
Regardless, my custom body shape and body bouncing are always working.      
I tried following the tutorial from CBBE 3BA mod's description page (and it's basically the same steps as I did myself) and the results are the same.      
So I'm here looking for help, exactly how to make the 3BA outfit conversions fully work, with in-game body morph sliders, body scalings, etc.?      
Thanks in advance.

Edited January 29, 2024 by kubikiri

[Yinkle]

Obvious 1st question, do you have "build morphs" ticked when building in bodyslide? This creates a .tri sidecar file required for in-game morphs.

[kubikiri]

13 minutes ago, Yinkle said:

Obvious 1st question, do you have "build morphs" ticked when building in bodyslide? This creates a .tri sidecar file required for in-game morphs.

Yes, I have the option checked.

[Yinkle]

8 minutes ago, kubikiri said:

Yes, I have the option checked.

Another possibility is that the clothing shapes aren't conformed to the 3BA reference sliders. You can check if this is the case in outfit studio.

[Tlam99]

remove skinning

Move to position

activate skinning

set all transforms to zero

reset transforms

reload reference and proceed (conform, copy bone weights)

 

 

 

 

 

[kubikiri]

On 1/29/2024 at 10:55 PM, Yinkle said:

Another possibility is that the clothing shapes aren't conformed to the 3BA reference sliders. You can check if this is the case in outfit studio.

I always conform the outfit in Outfit Studio.     

21 hours ago, Tlam99 said:

remove skinning

Move to position

activate skinning

set all transforms to zero

reset transforms

reload reference and proceed (conform, copy bone weights)

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately still doesn't work.     

 

Don't know if it's relevant, but here are the versions of my related mods:    

BodySlide and Outfit Studio v5.6.3       
RaceMenu Anniversary Edition v0.4.19.14 GOG     
Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer CBBE v2.0.1     
Faster HDT-SMP 2.0.2-beta1      
CBBE 3BA (3BBB) 2.47         

 

[belegost]

Some two or three years ago I stumbled upon a video tutorial on YT by Sunjeong, where she explained her method of conversion. I have no idea how much would that be relevant to your issue, because I know nothing about converting but I assume, if anyone knows how to do conversions, it would be her. Can't give you a link though, it was long ago but I'm sure you can search for it. It may be worth a shot to see if you could learn something.

[Yinkle]

This does basically the same thing as what @Tlam99 suggested, but as a last resort you could try it:

 

Export all clothing shapes from outfit studio as .OBJ files, then re-import them (re-named) and copy the shaders from the original shapes (right click > properties > "copy from shape"). Then delete the original clothing shapes and reference shape. Load the 3BA reference, copy bone weights and conform sliders for the new shapes. If this doesn't work, then I've no idea what to suggest, as I'd guess it's something wrong in your setup.

[kubikiri]

On 1/30/2024 at 11:53 PM, belegost said:

Some two or three years ago I stumbled upon a video tutorial on YT by Sunjeong, where she explained her method of conversion. I have no idea how much would that be relevant to your issue, because I know nothing about converting but I assume, if anyone knows how to do conversions, it would be her. Can't give you a link though, it was long ago but I'm sure you can search for it. It may be worth a shot to see if you could learn something.

Thanks for your information, that's the tutorial I mentioned in my main post.      

23 hours ago, Yinkle said:

This does basically the same thing as what @Tlam99 suggested, but as a last resort you could try it:

 

Export all clothing shapes from outfit studio as .OBJ files, then re-import them (re-named) and copy the shaders from the original shapes (right click > properties > "copy from shape"). Then delete the original clothing shapes and reference shape. Load the 3BA reference, copy bone weights and conform sliders for the new shapes. If this doesn't work, then I've no idea what to suggest, as I'd guess it's something wrong in your setup.

This is basically covered in my conversion steps.     

I can't think of which part in my setup is wrong though, because all newer "native" 3BA outfits and one outfit I converted (using exactly same method with others!) from LE mod are working fine.

[kubikiri]

Problem solved...?      

Turns out that I cannot change the path of the .nif and .tri files after they'ven been built, i.e, if I built the files in /meshes/folderA, then it will only work in /meshes/folderA. Move it to /meshes/folderB will just break the morph.

[bnub345]

It depends, the .nif can specify a file path to the .tri with an attached text property. If there is no .tri specified, it will automatically use a .tri with the same name as the .nif in the same folder. 

[kubikiri]

On 2/16/2024 at 1:43 PM, bnub345 said:

It depends, the .nif can specify a file path to the .tri with an attached text property. If there is no .tri specified, it will automatically use a .tri with the same name as the .nif in the same folder. 

Thanks for the explanation. Can I set the BodySlide to not include path info in the .nif files?

[bnub345]

Yes, you can delete the path from the .nif file. I forget exactly what it's called, but it should just be a string of text in nifskope. If you are working from a bodyslide project, you will need to edit that so it forwards your change when you build the mesh in bodyslide. 

[kubikiri]

On 2/18/2024 at 2:14 AM, bnub345 said:

Yes, you can delete the path from the .nif file. I forget exactly what it's called, but it should just be a string of text in nifskope. If you are working from a bodyslide project, you will need to edit that so it forwards your change when you build the mesh in bodyslide. 

How to remove the path info in the project? Just trid and output path can't be empty when saving project in Outfit Studio.

[bnub345]

I don't mean the project info. Select the outfit mesh in the meshes tab in the top right, then right click and select properties. This should open a new window, like in the screenshot below. If the .tri is attached here you should see an entry, remove that. If there is no .tri attached it will be empty like in the picture.

[kubikiri]

On 2/19/2024 at 10:59 PM, bnub345 said:

I don't mean the project info. Select the outfit mesh in the meshes tab in the top right, then right click and select properties. This should open a new window, like in the screenshot below. If the .tri is attached here you should see an entry, remove that. If there is no .tri attached it will be empty like in the picture.

Didn't find it with Outfit Studio, but did find it in NifSkope, it's called "NiStringExtraData", seems a generic name for all string data.     

Thanks for the help. Now I have to choose between creating different projects for different body types, or use same project and edit every .nif file with NifSkope after building it...

Edited February 26, 2024 by kubikiri

[bnub345]

4 hours ago, kubikiri said:

Now I have to choose between creating different projects for different body types, or use same project and edit every .nif file with NifSkope after building it...

 

Check the .nif for the bodyslide project, it should be in a folder like CalienteTools\BodySlide\ShapeData\Projectnamehere. You should only need to edit that once.