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(Tutorial) Adding HDT XML data to .nif


antediluvian

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For other people having difficulty with this, here's a minitutorial!  Yay helpfulness!

 

TL;DR (Expert mode)

Add a node named NiStringExtraData to the .nif under the Scene Root, with Name set to HDT Havok Path and extra data set to SKSE\Plugins\yourXMLfilename.xml, for each mesh you want to tweak with a different file.

 

What is this for?

While it is possible to run with a single HDT XML file, this can be unrealistic.  For instance, if you have a solid suit of armor versus a cardigan, you would probably expect things to jiggle around a little more with the cardigan than with the solid suit of armor.  While it is entirely possible to delete the Breast and Butt nodes of the .nif file to eliminate all jiggle, sometimes you want to have just enough of a hint of a jiggle or shift to convey that, 'wow, there really is a real human being underneath that thing.'  Using this method, you can maintain several concurrent versions of XML files with different jiggliness settings, and then attach corresponding XML data to your meshes in order to make them work differently on a per-outfit basis.  You can therefore have jiggly nudes, not-as-jiggly underwear, and slightly jiggly hide armor.

 

Saying grace before we begin

This is not an HDT .xml tutorial; this is a NifSkope tutorial on how to attach those .xml files to specific armor and clothes after you have already made them.  In other words, I assume you already have working XML files custom tuned to the various amounts of jiggliness you want.  As a good rule of thumb, I suggest having the following XML set:

1) Nude -- Full jiggliness

2) Underwear and Revealing Clothing (Barmaid outfits) -- Copy your original and increase damping and otherwise reduce settings by 20-40%.  Reduce the gravity on your breast nodes for a bit of lift and cleavage (it also works nicely if you do this directly with BodySlide's sliders when generating your underwear meshes... I personally use a different preset for naked versus clothed, with clothed having the boobs just a little perkier and closer together and the butt just a little bit tighter, to represent the effect of clothing, reusing the same preset for all clothing).

3) Light Clothing (Normal Clothes) and Basic Armor (Bandit, etc.) -- Reduce settings by 40-60%

4) Thick Clothing (Robes, Blacksmith Apron, Fine Clothes, etc.) and Light Armor (Hide, Leather, etc.) -- Reduce settings by 60-90%

5) Heavy Armor (everything made of non-pliable materials) -- Reduce settings by 90%+

 

I personally skip the Heavy Armor category entirely and disable jiggle on all such armor, since it's silly for things made of metal to jiggle, and I don't use steel sportsbras.  In game or reality.

 

See Just For Fun or the various other methods and tutorials on how to make/edit XML files.  I simply can't help you here -- it's too easy to be worth my time. =P

 

This method requires NifSkope to be able to edit your .nif files.  Any version released over the last couple of years will work just fine.

 

You can run this either on the base .nifs in the ShapeData, or on the final .nifs after generation.  It's probably wiser to do it to the ShapeData .nifs

 

Now, let's dig in, nom nom

1) Create your tuned .xml files and rename them something that is descriptive and easy to remember for each of your jiggly levels.  Place the .xml files in the same folder as your other HDT .xml files, or a convenient subfolder.  This should be Skyrim\Data\SKSE\Plugins by default.

2) Open your .nif file.  This can be either in CalienteTools\ShapeData for your base .nifs if using BodySlide, or in the finished HDT-enabled clothes meshes in your Skyrim\Data\Meshes folder -- it doesn't matter where you do it.

2) Expand the Scene Root node by clicking on the little plus next to it.  Then, right-click on the Scene Root node and choose "Node"->"Attach Extra Data"->"NiStringExtraData"

4) Now click on the freshly added NiStringExtraData node, which should now be at the bottom of the Scene Root tree.

5) At the bottom of the screen in the big Block Details pane, you will see the "Name", "Next Extra Data", etc. variables.  Click first on the TXT button to the right of the "Name" variable and set the exact name HDT Havok Path in the text entry bar at the bottom, then click on OK.

6) Click on the TXT button for the "String Data" variable and set the exact file path, relative to your Skyrim\Data folder, for the HDT .xml you want to use for that particular clothing article.  For instance, if you use the file "hdtClothingMinimalJubbliness.xml", your path would probably look like SKSE\Plugins\hdtClothingMinimalJubbliness.xml.  Not a required name -- just me being silly as usual. ;-)

7) Repeat as necessary for all clothes you want to tweak.  It's really quick and easy once you get the hang of it.

 

 

So, I'm trying to create my meshes with tasteful defaults on vanilla outfits -- rather close to Nivea's work on FNV Type V, where jiggle ranges from "high" when naked, "medium" when wearing underwear, and "minimal" when wearing clothes -- and I've now found numerous threads where the solution is to "add XML data to the NIFs"... but haven't yet been able to find what kind of node (or where in the tree) I add it in NifSkope to do so.  Could anyone drop a quick pointer? =)

 

More accurately, I intend to generate models using the CBBE HDT Body with high bounce, the CBBE Vanilla Underwear mesh with medium bounce, and vanilla-match clothing and light armor meshes with low bounce -- and no bounce at all for metal/glass/etc. armor, of course.  The only solution I can see here is to edit each clothing .nif with XML data seperately, but am already well beyond the border into a clue-free zone.

 

[edit] Huh, I found some sample .nifs in HDT Naturalistic.  Lucky for me I decided to say "screw it, I'll just use someone else's", which let me find out that it's an NiStringExtraData node attached to the scene root.  Now I can happily use my own! =)

 

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On 10/12/2017 at 6:57 PM, mvdebs said:

Hello. I Ran Nifskope trough a shortcut in Mog organizer, so what patch should i take to attach the .xmls to the .nif arquives?

???

 

i been trying to get various dongs w/ ball physics working on my futas for a week or two now and no luck. i thought i'd try editing the .nifs in case it was a pathing issue. it hasn't helped though. made me wonder if they needed to be in a specific place since i'm operating on MO.

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