Using NifSkope to add mesh pieces 13/07/07

[Alphanaut]

I'm trying to make a hex using a tv mesh, but I want to slim it down by removing the unused mesh pieces. Is this possible, and if so, how do I go about it so that it'll still run through nifconverter so I can use it in  :ffvstr:?

[FLASH_22798]

I haven't tried to run things through any nif converters yet.   But when removing items from a mesh using nifskope, make sure you use the "remove branch" feature instead of the "remove" feature.

[detourne_me]

many times you won't need to convert a 'skoped mesh afterwards too,  but it seems to be on a mesh-by mesh basis.

[JKCarrier]

As far as I've been able to determine, removing any pieces from a versatile mesh will make it un-convertable. So if you want to have both  :ff: and  :ffvstr: versions, you have to convert it before you remove anything, and then strip down both the  :ff: and  :ffvstr: versions individually.

Also, there are some pieces on the tv mesh that you shouldn't remove: the various weapons (guns, swords, etc.), wings, and the piece called "shield_cap". If you take these off, it will cause the versatile keyframes to not work.

What I ended up doing was keeping converted and unconverted copies of the original tv mesh (with all the pieces still on), and also converted and uncoverted copies with everything but the bare minimum stripped away. So now, if I want to make a tv hex, I just start with the stripped-down version and copy over any other pieces I need from the "full" original. That's much faster than having to strip out the unused pieces every time.

[Symon]

Also, there are some pieces on the tv mesh that you shouldn't remove: the various weapons (guns, swords, etc.), wings, and the piece called "shield_cap". If you take these off, it will cause the versatile keyframes to not work.

Yep. That's because the keyframes reference the nodes that you have removed.
The solution if you really want that hex is to turn NifSkope loose on the keyframes as well. Remove the animation segments that used to reference the nodes you removed.

Tedious work.

[Alphanaut]

Thanks for the tips, been working on getting these .nif file sizes down. Another question, though: Could someone point me in the direction of a tutorial explicitly explaining/walk me through how to port geometry from one mesh to another? I've looked at the other tutorials but I haven't figured out how to do it.

[FLASH_22798]

http://www.niftools.org/wiki/index.php/Freedom_Force
http://frworld.wikispaces.com/NifSkope

This is where I started, and then the rest was just alot of trial and error.   But I think the tutorial covering copying pieces that uses the fv_draconus as an example could get you started.   Just use those princeples towards other meshes.

Hope that helps a little, but hopefully someone more knowledgable on the subject can help you out a little more.

[Podmark]

hmm I wasn't aware of the conversion issue, that changes some of my plans.