outfit conversion issue

[Aki K]

Hello. I'm trying to convert an outfit (or rather several outfits) from a large pack. For the most part it has gone well. The outfits fit perfectly.

 

However, I've run into an unusual issue that I don't know how to fix. The outfits are supposed to have several variations. So for example, there's one mesh for a shirt, and then in game the there are 5 different versions of the shirt in different colors.

 

When I finished the conversion the shirt fits, it has all the right physics, but all of the variations are the exact same color (except in the inventory menu).

 

How do I convert an outfit from one bodytype to another without losing the variations in textures?

[Dorabella]

6 hours ago, Aki K said:

How do I convert an outfit from one bodytype to another without losing the variations in textures?

The variants are included in the ESP, which should work correctly regardless of the Skyrim version you are using.

 

6 hours ago, Aki K said:

When I finished the conversion the shirt fits, it has all the right physics, but all of the variations are the exact same color (except in the inventory menu).

The cause could be incorrectly converted DDS files, or, during conversion, they were applied to the outfit.

The best way is to generate with OS the various NIFs with color variations. 

You will also need ESP open in XEdit.Extend Armor and Armor Addon to view variable names so you can rename them correctly.

Ninja GA CBBE Convertion +Generate Bodyslide and some part  In the tutorial, I simply used the original NIF, changed the DDS, and renamed it with the variable. .

 

Open OS, add project, select the outfit\right-click\properties\textures and change the DDS . Save project, fill in the sheet , 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Here I changed the path because of the folders where the variables are located. If you only have one folder, you will need to change the color.

 

 

Fill in again

 

 

 

 Display Outfit enter the name you want. This will be used to find it in Bodyslide. 

Output Data Path must be the correct path for the meshes. Navigate to Skyrim data\meshes to find the correct one.

Output File name must be the correct name indicated by the ESP

 

 

 

[ghastley]

Texture variants are usually defined with a texture set form that overrides the ones in the .nif file. Those don't need converting, but if you are building your own plugin with a cut-down selection from a larger one, you'd need the texture set and armor addon records from the original. You can do that with the CK or xEdit, but without those to link the .nif and .dds files, nothing happens.

[Aki K]

22 hours ago, Dorabella said:

The variants are included in the ESP, which should work correctly regardless of the Skyrim version you are using.

 

The cause could be incorrectly converted DDS files, or, during conversion, they were applied to the outfit.

The best way is to generate with OS the various NIFs with color variations. 

You will also need ESP open in XEdit.Extend Armor and Armor Addon to view variable names so you can rename them correctly.

Ninja GA CBBE Convertion +Generate Bodyslide and some part  In the tutorial, I simply used the original NIF, changed the DDS, and renamed it with the variable. .

 

Open OS, add project, select the outfit\right-click\properties\textures and change the DDS . Save project, fill in the sheet , 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Here I changed the path because of the folders where the variables are located. If you only have one folder, you will need to change the color.

 

 

Fill in again

 

 

 

 Display Outfit enter the name you want. This will be used to find it in Bodyslide. 

Output Data Path must be the correct path for the meshes. Navigate to Skyrim data\meshes to find the correct one.

Output File name must be the correct name indicated by the ESP

 

 

 

 

12 hours ago, ghastley said:

Texture variants are usually defined with a texture set form that overrides the ones in the .nif file. Those don't need converting, but if you are building your own plugin with a cut-down selection from a larger one, you'd need the texture set and armor addon records from the original. You can do that with the CK or xEdit, but without those to link the .nif and .dds files, nothing happens.

 

 

Maybe I should clarify my process. I am only converting from one body type to another. And in fact it is between two versions of CBBE. I am not converting from SE to LE or LE to SE.

 

I open the outfit in bodyslide/outfit studio using "Load Project." I select the new reference body (In this case CBBE HDT). I then make sure the specific bone weights match (but not a total copying of bone weights because that breaks SMP physics). I then adjust for clipping. Then I hit save project, build it in bodyslide, and test in game. Taking note of any further clipping or physics issues to readjust. Normally this method works fine for me.

 

I do not touch the textures or the ESPs at all.

 

Usually this works. But for my current attempt it has been removing variants of the clothing that use the same mesh. I'm not sure what's causing this because it doesn't seem to happen everytime.

Edited September 23, 2025 by Aki K

[Dorabella]

15 hours ago, Aki K said:

I am not converting from SE to LE or LE to SE.

The tutorial I linked to is not about conversion. There is also a process for generating clothes of different colors, using a single source nif as a template.Simply change the DDS files, save the project, rename it to get all the colors you want.

 

15 hours ago, Aki K said:

I do not touch the textures or the ESPs at all.

Once the various NIFs have been generated, it will not be necessary to insert the textures into the ESP. Simply add the strings with the new specifications to find them in the inventory.

 

[Aki K]

6 hours ago, Dorabella said:

The tutorial I linked to is not about conversion. There is also a process for generating clothes of different colors, using a single source nif as a template.Simply change the DDS files, save the project, rename it to get all the colors you want.

 

Once the various NIFs have been generated, it will not be necessary to insert the textures into the ESP. Simply add the strings with the new specifications to find them in the inventory.

 

It could be that I don't understand, but it feels like there's some miscommunication. I'm not sure what you mean by change the .dds files. Change them from what to what? And why do I need to rename the project if I don't intend to keep the old version?

 

 

The seperate items exist in the ingame inventory. Prior to my attempt at conversion, it had the various colors using the same nif. I changed the bodyslide file, and suddenly all the variations look the same (they still exist as different equips. They still look different in the inventory. But when equipped they all look the same).

 

For example: A mod exist for a T shirt. The T shirt using a single bodyslide file. In game the outfit is for the CBBE 3bbb body and has 5 variations, black, red, blue, green, yellow.

 

I open bodyslide and do my thing. Save project. Now its the CBBE HDT body. In game there are 5 variations, black, red, blue, green, yellow. But when I equip them, they're always red.

 

 

 

[Guest]

The main issue you’re most likely running into is with the 3D index (or 3D name) in the "alternate texture" field in xEdit, and how it relates to the position of each submesh in the outfit’s NIF file.

When converting outfits to new bodies, the original body is removed. For example, the old body might have three submeshes (like 3BA: body, anal, vagina), while the new body you add could have four. This changes the order of the 3D indexes in the NIF file compared to what the ESP expects for texture sets.

Another common problem is that when you add a new body, it gets placed at the bottom of all submeshes in the NIF. But if the original author placed the body at the top, the mismatch again breaks the 3D index. The fix is to open the mesh in Outfit Studio, drag the submeshes into the correct order, and make sure that their order in the NIF matches the index numbers referenced in the ESP.

This may sound complicated...but it's so darn easy! Just do as follow:


STEP 1:
Open the NIF containing your outfit in Outfit Studio. Start by counting submeshes from the top: the first submesh is 0, the second is 1, the third is 2, and so on. (See my screenshot for a visual reference.) The numbers are the submeshes position number.

 

STEP 2:
Open the ESP that contains the outfit and locate its Armor Addon record.

Expand all the Alternate Textures entries with their assigned texture sets to view 3D index, 3D name and the applied texturepack.

Check that each “Alternate Texture” entry has a 3D Name matching exactly with the submesh names you saw in Outfit Studio. If the names don’t align, the texture sets won’t apply correctly and the mesh will fall back to the default texture defined in the NIF file.

Check that each “Alternate Texture” entry has a 3D Index number matching exactly with the submesh names you saw in Outfit Studio (position number). If the number position don’t align, the texture sets won’t apply correctly and the mesh will fall back to the default texture defined in the NIF file.

You should ideally do the exact same thing on "Female 1st person" in the armor addon when you're at it.

STEP 3: The inventory nif or ground nif (the model that shows the outfit when you drop it to the ground or looking at it in your inventory:
You shouldn't have to do anything with this nif file except for unless you've changed positions or altered names of submeshes. But just know that same techniqs works here as well; you must make sure 3D Name and 3D index corresponds with alternate textures found on the armor record in the esp.

STEP 4:
Make sure that the order of submeshes in your outfit_1.nif is exactly the same as in outfit_0.nif (again you can drag and drop the submeshes in outfitstudio. Just hoover over them with the mouse, drag and drop them on the field named "New Outfit". It's a litte.....tedious... as you soon will find out.

Hopefully this was clear and not confusing.

EDIT: Oopsy..you also mentioned bodyslide files...then you must check these nifs as well, otherwise they will overwrite all your hard work in the output files 🤠

Edited September 24, 2025 by Thor2000

[Yinkle]

9 hours ago, Aki K said:

In game there are 5 variations, black, red, blue, green, yellow. But when I equip them, they're always red.

The ArmorAddon form in the esp will have a position for the shape that it is swapping a texture for (alternate texture>3D Index). If this doesn't match the shape in the mesh, then it won't work. Your conversion process might have changed the order of the shapes in the mesh. You can check this by opening the .nif file in outfit studio.

 

Edit: Thor2000 said the same thing in more detail while I was typing this!

Edited September 24, 2025 by Yinkle

[Dorabella]

17 hours ago, Aki K said:

It could be that I don't understand, but it feels like there's some miscommunication. I'm not sure what you mean by change the .dds files. Change them from what to what? And why do I need to rename the project if I don't intend to keep the old version?

 

The process can also be performed with Nifskope. 

Click on the dress, go to the block list, extend BSTriShape ( or NiTriShape)

to BSShaderTextureSet, select the latter, right-click on textures in the panel that opens, select Textures \Choose, and select the one you prefer.

This way, you will have all the clothes in different colors without having to remake every single outfit.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Before

 

 

 

After

 

 

 

OutfitStudio

 

Load project and import your project

 

Spoiler

 

In the right panel, select the part to be modified with color, right-click\properties\textures

Spoiler

 

Fill in the texture path by entering the color variable.

 

Spoiler

 

Save project As, and rename outfit with the variable

 

Spoiler

Before

 

 

After

 

 

 

This way, you will have everything in a single project without having to recreate them for each color.

[Aki K]

Ok. I'll give it a try this coming weekend when i have time to tinker.

[ghastley]

A change of texture in the .nif will only affect one variant. Reordering the blocks to match the texture overrides is the only way that will get more than one variant working.

[nilead]

I had same issue way back when. If i recall correctly, texture sets application relies on a particular NiStringExtraData or some such in a NIF file. And for some god forsaken reason, a conversion process screws up those. Same thing with .smp .xml pointers. Unfortunately, i found no solution other then manually setting the .xml pointer and texture set pointer manually to the same value it had before conversion.

 Folk here provided a much more detailed explanation on why and how. However if there was an option to automate such fixes, now that would be great.

[Dorabella]

21 hours ago, nilead said:

However if there was an option to automate such fixes, now that would be great.

The problem lies precisely in the textures. When switching from Skyrim LE to SE and vice versa, they need to be modified.

 

Textures for Skyrim SE

Spoiler

 

textures for Skyrim LE

 

Spoiler

 

In addition, Mipmaps that are missing in Skyrim LE must be created. Below, you can find everything you need for a successful conversion.

 

 

21 hours ago, nilead said:

Same thing with .smp .xml pointers

Is it a difference in the number of nodes/bones,or is there a compilation error . To adjust the XML, you can use the SMP log found in Skyrim Data\SKSE\Plugins.

[Aki K]

Since everyone seems to be talking about different things, I want to make the following clear:

 

• This issue occurs even when not converting from SE to LE
• This issue doesn't seem to happen with every conversion, but often enough that I don't know how to fix it.
• All textures are in the right format and have mipmaps.
• I'm not touching the .nifs as far as I am aware. I use "open project" which works with .osp files. That's what I convert. If that changes .nifs, that hasn't been explained to me clear enough.
• ESPs have not been touched at all. The items appear in game, they're all just using the same texture. I still don't fully understand how to make it use different textures.

[Aki K]

Spoiler

On 9/24/2025 at 1:37 PM, Dorabella said:

 

The process can also be performed with Nifskope. 

Click on the dress, go to the block list, extend BSTriShape ( or NiTriShape)

to BSShaderTextureSet, select the latter, right-click on textures in the panel that opens, select Textures \Choose, and select the one you prefer.

This way, you will have all the clothes in different colors without having to remake every single outfit.

 

  Hide contents

 

 

 

Before

 

 

 

After

 

 

 

OutfitStudio

 

Load project and import your project

 

  Hide contents

 

In the right panel, select the part to be modified with color, right-click\properties\textures

  Hide contents

 

Fill in the texture path by entering the color variable.

 

  Hide contents

 

Save project As, and rename outfit with the variable

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Before

 

 

After

 

 

 

This way, you will have everything in a single project without having to recreate them for each color.

 

 

I tried doing this. Everything looks normal though. It has the same texture set up as the original mod before conversion in both nifscope and outfit studio as far as I can tell.

[Andy14]

1 hour ago, Aki K said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

I tried doing this. Everything looks normal though. It has the same texture set up as the original mod before conversion in both nifscope and outfit studio as far as I can tell.

I suspect that one or more texture sets are used in the Armor Addon (in ESP, etc.).
For example, a NIF with the body mesh "Baseshape" and, for example, a "Stocking" mesh.
The "Baseshape" is the first mesh in the NIF, and the "Stockings" are the second mesh in the NIF.
Now, there are texture sets for the "Stockings" in the ESP, which are assigned to the second mesh in the Armor Addon.

If you edit these NIFs with Outfit Studio and, for example, swap the reference, the order of the meshes or the name may no longer be correct in the NIF.
Therefore, the texture set stored in the ESP cannot be applied.

Edited September 27, 2025 by Andy14

[Guest]

Aki, why not give us a screenshot of the troublesome outfit shown in outfitstudio and a screenshot of the armor addon of one color variant that has wrong color in game.

 

Alternative,

 

Upload the nif files and esp here so someone can take a look.

[Aki K]

6 hours ago, Andy14 said:

I suspect that one or more texture sets are used in the Armor Addon (in ESP, etc.).
For example, a NIF with the body mesh "Baseshape" and, for example, a "Stocking" mesh.
The "Baseshape" is the first mesh in the NIF, and the "Stockings" are the second mesh in the NIF.
Now, there are texture sets for the "Stockings" in the ESP, which are assigned to the second mesh in the Armor Addon.

If you edit these NIFs with Outfit Studio and, for example, swap the reference, the order of the meshes or the name may no longer be correct in the NIF.
Therefore, the texture set stored in the ESP cannot be applied.

Ok. I think I understand this. How do I fix it?

[Andy14]

4 hours ago, Aki K said:

Ok. I think I understand this. How do I fix it?

The TextureSet are set in the dialog window for selecting the NIF in the ArmorAddon.

Examples:
Default Skirt without TextureSet. It's Black because black.dds in NIF.

 

 

After right click + New: The List of all TextureSets.

 

 

Result with TextureSet

The TextureSet

[Aki K]

8 hours ago, Andy14 said:

The TextureSet are set in the dialog window for selecting the NIF in the ArmorAddon.

Examples:
Default Skirt without TextureSet. It's Black because black.dds in NIF.

 

 

After right click + New: The List of all TextureSets.

 

 

Result with TextureSet

The TextureSet

Which Program is this? Sill bodyslide or is this creation kit?

 

EDIT: Hopefully not creation kit. Program won't even open. It crashses almost immediately unless I run it without mods, which needless to say makes it useless.

Edited September 28, 2025 by Aki K

[Andy14]

1 hour ago, Aki K said:

EDIT: Hopefully not creation kit. Program won't even open. It crashses almost immediately unless I run it without mods, which needless to say makes it useless.

Of course, it's a Creation Kit.😅
But you should also be able to enter the TextureSets in ArmorAddons with TESV Edit. It will look a bit different, though.

PS: Note regarding Creation Kit - NEVER open an ESP created as an ESM/Master with CK. CK cannot handle modified metadata.

Edited September 28, 2025 by Andy14

[Aki K]

1 hour ago, Andy14 said:

Of course, it's a Creation Kit.😅
But you should also be able to enter the TextureSets in ArmorAddons with TESV Edit. It will look a bit different, though.

PS: Note regarding Creation Kit - NEVER open an ESP created as an ESM/Master with CK. CK cannot handle modified metadata.

Tried opening it in TESEdit. That appears to work. However, everything looks normal. Each of the variations appears to be set to use their own texture, not just the base texture. So I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for.

 

22 hours ago, Thor2000 said:

Alternative,

 

Upload the nif files and esp here so someone can take a look.

It's a rather big file with tons of outfits. Most of them are working, a few are not. But in any case it exceeds the max total I can upload here.