Arcane University: Mesh Export to NIF

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Revision as of 15:33, 21 April 2020 by Candoran2 (talk | contribs) (Removed Blender export tutorial, moved to its own page. Added section on the pros/cons compared to other methods.)
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< Arcane University:3D Art

Basics

  • To review the specifics of the NIF data format used for meshes, check Nif Data Format.
  • To review the specifics of the DDS data format used for textures, check DDS Data Format.

Export

Meshes can be exported by the following applications:

  • Blender export plugin (Blender version 2.7x)
  • 3DS MAX export plugin (Max versions xxx)
  • CK-CMD (any 3D program that can export to fbx)
  • Outfit Studio (any 3D program that can export to obj)

General Workflow

Blender 2.7x Export

The process for direct export from Blender 2.7x is documented on Blender 2.7+ Export. It allows for directly exporting from Blender to a full NIF, but you will need to merge the created NIF with separately created collision using Chunkmerge. The advantage of this method is that you do not need any intermediate files and can export directly from Blender. The disadvantage is that it does not work for all versions of Blender - but every older version of Blender is also available for download.

3DS MAX export

CK-CMD

Outfit Studio

Outfit Studio is a program included with BodySlide. It is available on the Skyrim Nexus, on the SSE Nexus and on Github. It can be used to convert Obj files to Nifs and the other way around. Since Obj files cannot contain rigging information, rigging will need to be done within Outfit Studio itself when working with rigged meshes such as clothes. It also contains simple mesh deformation tools, useful for creating simple edits. In spite of its name, it can also work with non-rigged meshes.

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