[solved] WHY do some clothing meshes crash the game after converting from SE to LE?

[xiwibik30]

UPD: I found a solution and wrote about it in the comments.

 

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So, sometimes I convert clothes from SE to LE and face the problem that these clothes crash the game and CK (it's easiest to check in CK). And sometimes the clothes from the same mod behave differently: some items work fine, and some cause a crash. What exactly is the reason, and what to do about it?

 

For a specific example, I took this mod https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/134088 . I want to clarify that this mod does not contain SMP. So, the men's clothing "0CCE_Tunic" works fine, but "0CCE_Tunic4" causes a crash. Looking at the files in Nifscope I did not see anything "strange", everything is absolutely normal. And if I opened unconverted meshes in CK, I did not get a crash (yes, I got a big red triangle with an exclamation point sign, which happens if you add inappropriate meshes to the game, but NOT a crash). I will attach the meshes, including the 0CCE_Tunic4 mesh before conversion just in case. 

 

What I tried and what didn't work:
- Well, most basic, I used Cathedral Assets Optimizer (I tried all 3 optimization options: "necessary optimization", "medium optimization" and "full optimization". I also tried clicking the "Resave Meshes" checkbox). 
- Tried using OutfitStudio, there I used "Reset transforms", "Delete unreferenced nodes" and "Check for bad bones". 
- Tried resaving the mesh through Blender using pyNifly (there you can select regular Skyrim when exporting). 

 

The only thing that really helps is removing the skinning and adding the bones again. But let's be honest, it's a pretty long and sometimes laborious process, also requires manual editing of the weight most of the time. And now imagine how much work is needed if the mod has _0 and _1 and no bodyslide (although even with bodyslide the situation is not much better). In the aforementioned mod (Common Clothing Expansion) the problem is not only with men's suits(which are relatively easy to edit the weight), but also with women's long outfits, I can not properly edit the weight of such clothes. 

 

I just want to figure out the reason why these crashes are occurring. After all, it is strange when clothes by the same author from the same mod behave differently. 

 

My guess is that it's something related to the skeleton. If this is the case, is there anything that can be done about it? Like replacing the skeleton via Blender or OS, without needing to completely add skinning again? Anyway I'm interested in a simple weight, without anything physics related. 

 

I'll attach the files if anyone wants to check them out. 1. the SE file before conversion; 2. after conversion, causing a crash; 3. after conversion, not causing a crash. 

Meshes.7z

Edited May 1, 2025 by xiwibik30
Problem solved

[OldTimer91]

SSE NIF Optimizer

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4089

 

A tool for mod authors to optimize NIF files for the SE/AE and LE format.
Fixes several issues along the way and can also scan textures for compatibility.

[xiwibik30]

UPD: I think I found what causes this problem. I'll post a solution for those who have also encountered it. 

 

It seems the problem lies not in the skeleton, as I thought, but in empty Partitions (they are also cleared if you remove skinning). I mean, some meshes I used had empty Partitions, say, "Forearms" or "Calves". How do you know if a partition is empty? Open the needed model in OutfitStudio (or load a project if it's a bodyslide file) and check each mesh in the "Partitions" tab. If a partition is filled, it will show up in red on the model. If, however, you select a partition and no part on the model is displayed in red, then that partition is empty. You can delete this partition or fill it (it's hard for me to explain how Partitions work and in what cases filling can be useful, since English is not my native language, google it). By "fill" I mean paint it red(apply a mask), assign it to the desired partition and click "Apply".

 

Apparently, empty Partitions are critical for LE, because it has absolutely no effect on SE (I opened an unconverted mesh in OS for SE and saw the same empty partition there). 

 

This may not be the only thing that causes the game to crash due to converted meshes, but in my case it helped me with all the “problematic” models I had. 

[xiwibik30]

4 hours ago, OldTimer91 said:

SSE NIF Optimizer

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4089

 

A tool for mod authors to optimize NIF files for the SE/AE and LE format.
Fixes several issues along the way and can also scan textures for compatibility.

 

I tried that too, but it didn't help either. But I already found the cause of this problem and wrote a solution for others.