My presets aren't showing up in Racemenu

[Oh_no_people.]

I know I'm probably messing up something simple.
But my presets made in Bodyslide just wont show up in Racemenu. I'm using Racemenu anniversary edition for Skyrim Special edition.

Sorry I know I'm a complete nooby can someone please help.

[anjenthedog]

Bodyslide presets aren't for Racemenu. Racemenu presets are for Racemenu, and Bodyslide presets are for Bodyslide.

[traison]

Its technically possible to convert between the different preset formats, but the key word there is "convert" i.e. without effort that's not how it works, like anjenthedog said.

[anjenthedog]

Any/all actual Racemenu presets (xxxx.jslot files) are located in /Data/SKSE//Plugins/CharGen/Presets/ .

 

(And /CharGen/ will house any Racemenu-preset-associated .nifs/.dds files)

 

ex: you install the Sarah by Xtudo Racemenu preset

 

Sarah by Xtudo.dds & Sarah by Xtudo.nif  located in /Data/SKSE//Plugins/CharGen/, and Sarah by Xtudo.jslot located in /Data/SKSE//Plugins/CharGen/Presets/

 

edit: PS> yeah you can convert. I figured it was just the initial "Oh, Bodyslide and Racemenu are different!" confusion that some newbs experience (ex: I did early on)

 

Edited February 24, 2025 by anjenthedog
more blather

[anjenthedog]

More dull blather you didn't ask for, just in case you ARE new to this

 

Bodyslide is used to generate (or edit) a baseline body  mesh (And for fitting clothing armor). Racemenu acts on an existing body mesh and modifies it further using its own mesh adjustments.

 

Bodyslide creates a set of meshes (and tri files for Racemenu to understand, if you checked the Build Morphs checkbox when generating Bodyslide output)

 

Racemenu generates a configuration file (jslot) that acts to modify that mesh

 

So generally speaking, we create a Bodyslide body (and feet and hands) , making sure to check the Build Morph checkbox, then later, in game, modify it by loading a Racemenu preset (or just by using Racemenu sliders, then save it as a Racemenu preset)

 

Edited February 24, 2025 by anjenthedog

[Oh_no_people.]

So how do I use a CBBE body in game? 

I thought I needed Racemenu to use them during character creation.

[traison]

55 minutes ago, Oh_no_people. said:

So how do I use a CBBE body in game?

 

This one wonders, did you even test what it looks like in-game before posting that?

[anjenthedog]

1 hour ago, Oh_no_people. said:

So how do I use a CBBE body in game? 

I thought I needed Racemenu to use them during character creation.

There are two schools of thought on that, far as I can tell. 

 

1) Use whatever vanilla body was assigned to your player during the initial character gen, and apply downloaded Racemenu presets created by others with no intent to adjust them later (or fit clothing armor that *requires* fitting (some does some doesn't)

 

The benefit is it's something of a no-brainer. So as long as you pick and choose only assets that are easy to deal with. All's well.

 

The drawback is that...well...it's a no brainer. In practice, over time you'll likely run into "fit" issues with certain appealing, downloaded armor, clothing, amulets, etc, that don't automatically conform to the generic no name body generated just prior to the headsman scene, because Bodyslide is the utility we use to conform clothing, etc, to the player body shape, size height...etc.

 

It may also limit customization in Racemenu, via slider limits

 

In Bodyslide, the conformational instructions for producing the player wire mesh (in skyrim it's just "mesh") are stored in a Bodyslide Preset, and the thing it will be providing the instruction to is the "Outfit/Body"

 

2) Create a Bodyslide baseline model for  your player (body, feet, hands) , and later on in game, apply Racemenu presets and/or adjust your character's mesh in Racemenu

 

Pro: It provides more control over the fit and form, both for your body, and for armor/etc. and you don't discover that such and such piece of cool armor you just installed is half invisible, won't show up at all, is all purple, or if includes SMP/HDT elements, it doesn't perplexingly drip down into the ground... since you fit each piece of wearables in Bodyslide, ensuring everything is "up to snuff".

 

Con: it's can be more complicated than #1. A slightly steeper learning curve

 

Edited February 24, 2025 by anjenthedog
clarity

[anjenthedog]

Think of it this way

 

First craftsman takes the screen sheet and forms it into a human shaped wire frame. (Bodyslide)

 

Second craftsman tweaks here and there on the screen to reshape bits or clean it up or provide more detail. (Racemenu after Bodyslide)

 

To use Bodyslide  <<  go get it, read the helpful docs the Bodyslide team have put together, install it, and learn to use it by doing. It's not terribly complicated really. And unless you're just passing by, it will probably be very useful later

Edited February 24, 2025 by anjenthedog

[Oh_no_people.]

2 hours ago, anjenthedog said:

1) Use whatever vanilla body was assigned to your player during the initial character gen, and apply downloaded Racemenu presets created by others with no intent to adjust them later (or fit clothing armor that *requires* fitting (some does some doesn't)

 

The benefit is it's something of a no-brainer. So as long as you pick and choose only assets that are easy to deal with. All's well.

 

The drawback is that...well...it's a no brainer. In practice, over time you'll likely run into "fit" issues with certain appealing, downloaded armor, clothing, amulets, etc, that don't automatically conform to the generic no name body generated just prior to the headsman scene, because Bodyslide is the utility we use to conform clothing, etc, to the player body shape, size height...etc.

 

It may also limit customization in Racemenu, via slider limits

 

In Bodyslide, the conformational instructions for producing the player wire mesh (in skyrim it's just "mesh") are stored in a Bodyslide Preset, and the thing it will be providing the instruction to is the "Outfit/Body"

How exactly do I apply a downloaded CBBE preset afterwards?

[Grey Cloud]

2 hours ago, Oh_no_people. said:

How exactly do I apply a downloaded CBBE preset afterwards?

After what?

If you bother to watch some videos on using BS you will see that you build the preset to the body, hands, feet and outfits and all females in the game get that body.

You can change it mid-game but it will still affect all females.

[anjenthedog]

2 hours ago, Oh_no_people. said:

How exactly do I apply a downloaded CBBE preset afterwards?

a downloaded Bodyslide or a downloaded Racemenu *preset*?

 

For the first, open Bodyslide - Bodyslide is an external application, linked to your Skyrim folders by path - and select it as the mesh-shaping ruleset, then choose a "Body/Outfit" item to fit using the preset's settings. Then follow the helpful directions provided by the Bodyslide team to answer more in-depth questions about how to use the tool to its best.

 

For the second, load the game, open Racemenu, select the presets tab, hit f9, and choose a preset. edit: note, for Racemenu presets, you may also need to use the "Sculpt" tab to load head models.

 

Edited February 24, 2025 by anjenthedog