Editing User:Gerp

Hi, I'm Gerp. I'm a beginner 3D student in the [[Arcane University]] programme.

Here's a guide to converting a Blender mesh to a Skyrim Special Edition NIF:


== Blender to Skyrim SE NIF ==

Do not try to export directly to a NIF from Blender. Instead, we will export to an FBX file, convert it to a NIF, and then adjust it.

If you get stuck, find me in the Arcane University's Discord server and ask for help. :)

=== Requirements ===

This is for Windows only.

Download any of these that you do not already have, and unzip the .zip and .7z files (use [https://www.7-zip.org/a/7z1900-x64.exe 7-Zip] for .7z):

* [https://www.blender.org/download/Blender2.83/blender-2.83.13-windows64.msi Blender 2.83]
** Also install it
* If you have textures: [https://www.dotpdn.com/files/paint.net.4.2.15.install.zip Paint.Net 4.2+]
** Install it, too
* [https://wiki.beyondskyrim.org/wiki/File:CK-CMD-Mar2020.zip CK-CMD March 2020 build]
* [https://github.com/niftools/nifskope/releases/download/v2.0.dev7/NifSkope_2_0_2018-02-22-x64.7z NifSkope 2.0 Dev 7]
* [https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9F4jSOO-JcpYTNsbUg3MkNILW8/view NifUtilsSuite 1.2.2]
** No need to install it yet
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/312169456153526272/458674423843520512/nif.xml nif.xml]
* For unmovable Skyrim objects: [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/312169456153526272/458679816682602542/Skyrim_Static.nif Skyrim_Static.nif]
* For movable Skyrim objects: [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/312169456153526272/458680202659102730/Skyrim_Clutter.nif Skyrim_Clutter.nif]
* [https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4089 SSE NIF Optimizer 3.0]

If you want to verify that your conversion worked (recommended), you also need to install these:
* Skyrim Special Edition
* Skyrim CreationKit

=== Steps ===
These are based on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f_9evNUiGU this video]. If you want, you can use that instead, check here when you run into issues, and then skip to Verification below at the end.
# Make or open your object in Blender, optionally with a colour texture and/or normal map
# If you have a colour texture:
## Open it in Paint.Net
## Resize it so the height and weight are multiples of 2 (example: 4096x4096 is OK, but 6144x6144 is not)
## Export it to a DDS file with BC1 compression in a folder called "textures" next to the .blend file
# If you have a normal map:
## Open it in Paint.Net
## Resize it so the height and weight are multiples of 2 (example: 4096x4096 is OK, but 6144x6144 is not)
## Export it to a DDS file with '''BC7/DX11+''' compression in a folder called "textures" next to the .blend file
# Ensure that the Blender unit scale is 1.0 and the object is the desired size in your preferred unit system<br/>[[Image:Blender_scene_units.png]]
# Duplicate the object in Blender with Shift+D and then right click to prevent moving it
# Scale the new object in Blender 100x
# Apply all transforms on the large object in Blender by pressing Ctrl+A with the object selected and clicking All Transforms
# With the large object selected in Blender, click File > Export > FBX (.fbx)
# In the pane that appears, on the right side, set these options:<br/>[[Image:Blender_export_fbx_skyrim_settings.png|300px]]
# At the bottom of the pane, click the Export FBX button
# Open the Windows command line by pressing Windows+R and entering: cmd
# In the command line window, go to the folder with ck-cmd.exe by entering: cd <folder path>
#* Example: cd C:\Users\gerp\Downloads\CK-CMD
# On the command line, enter: ck-cmd importfbx <FBX file path> -e <FBX folder path>
#* Example: ck-cmd importfbx "C:\Users\gerp\3D Models\myobject.fbx" -e "C:\Users\gerp\3D Models"
#* This converts the FBX to NIF
# If you have a colour texture and/or normal map:
## Open the NIF in NifSkope
## In the top-left panel, open all hierarchy trees, and click the BSShaderTextureSet entry<br/>[[Image:Nifskope_textures.png|300px]]
## In the bottom panel, open the hierarchy tree
##* If you have a colour texture:
##*# Double click the value column in the first row of the tree, and ensure that it is textures\<colour texture name>.dds
##*# Save the file, and click Yes or OK if any dialog box appears
##* If you have a normal map:
##*# Double click the value column in the second row of the tree, and ensure that it is textures\<normal map name>.dds
##*# Save the file, and click Yes or OK if any dialog box appears
#* Note: you should now be able to see your textures on the mesh
# Open NIFUtilsSuite
# If you have not used the .exe file before, it will ask you for settings. In the first screen, add the files below. For the later screens, just use the defaults
#* NIF.XML: nif.xml from Requirements above
#* Textures: your Skyrim Data\textures folder (example: mine is G:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\Data\textures)
#* Templates: the folder with either of the Skyrim_X.nif files from Requirements above
#* Default Input: wherever you generally want to put your NIFs
#* Default Output: same as Default Input
#* NifSkope: NifSkope.exe
# Click the Chunk Merge tab
# In the Files > Target-File and Collision-File fields, open your NIF
# In the Files > Template field, select Skyrim_Static.nif for an immovable object or Skyrim_Clutter.nif for a movable one
# In Collision Source, select Mesh data
# In Collision Material, select from the dropdown a type of visual and sound effects for your object colliding with things in game
# Click the Add Collision button
#* '''Note''': if it crashes, try making and using a simple bounding box for the Collision Source by adding a cube mesh in Blender, transforming it in Object Mode to barely contain your 100x-scale mesh, applying the transforms with Ctrl+A > All Transforms, and exporting it to FBX and converting it to NIF as above
# Copy the NIF to the same folder as SSE NIF Optimizer.exe
# Open SSE NIF Optimizer, and click the Optimize button
# In NifSkope, open the NIF in the Optimizer folder
#* Note: the textures do not appear here. This is OK :)
#* Note: if you click the red Show Collision icon button, you should see your collision wireframe in red
# Right click the mesh, and click Mesh > Update Bounds. If a dialog box appears, click Yes
# Save the file. If a dialog box appears, click Yes or OK
# Copy the NIF from the Optimizer folder to your Skyrim Data\Meshes folder (example: mine is G:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\Data\Meshes)
# If your mesh has textures, copy those DDS files to your Skyrim Data\textures folder

=== Verification ===
If you want to see if it worked:
# Open CreationKit
# Click File > Data
# Double-click Skyrim
# If you already have a mod you want to add to, double-right-click it
# Click the OK button
# In the left-side list of the Object Window, select a category or subcategory that you think best describes your object
# In the right side list of the Object Window, find something roughly similar to your object. Right-click it and click Duplicate
# Double-click the duplicated object
# At the top of the new window, rename the object to a single word describing your new object
# Beside the Model field, click Edit
# Beside the Model File Name field, click Edit
# Select the NIF in your Skyrim Data\Meshes folder
#* You should see a properly sized and textured version of your mesh
# Click the OK button of both windows, and when a dialog box appears, click No then Yes in the next dialog box
# In the Cell View, double click UnownedCell
#* A 3D view of the cell should appear. You can zoom with the scroll wheel, rotate around the selected object with Shift, pan with Spacebar, and focus on an object by double-clicking its name in the Cell View or pressing Shift+F for the selected object
# Drag your new object from the Object Window to the 3D UnownedCell view
#* You should see your new object. You can move it horizontally by clicking and dragging it, and vertically by holding Z while clicking and dragging
# Save your mod by clicking the Save icon button in the top left part of CreationKit
# If prompted, enter a name for your mod's file name
# Open Skyrim, and click PLAY
# In the Skyrim main menu, click MODS, and wait for them to load
# Press T and ensure that your mod is selected, then press Esc twice, and click OK if it asks you to restart the game
#* You might also need to disable any mods that prevent you from spawning a new character where you want (example: Random Alternate Start)
# In the main menu, press the ~ key, which opens the console
# In the console, enter: coc unownedcell
#* This starts the game inside the cell you edited in CreationKit
#* You should now see your model from Blender :)