Blender Questions | Morroblivion

Hello all!

I recently decided I wanted to understand NifSkope and Blender better. As I understand it, these are the programs people use to make new models / port and adjust morrowind models.

This is by far my weakest modding point and I wanted to learn more about it. I asked Hashmi and he pointed me to a tutorial that linked to what seems to be a blender textbook. I'll be coming up with questions as I work my way through the textbook.

I didn't want to tangle my blender questions up in the Nifskope Thread, so I figured I'd start this thread.

Good Idea Iceburg. This will

Good Idea Iceburg. This will probably be needed soon.

Question 1 :D

So I'm almost through Unit 1 and I encountered a problem.

The textbook says my blender UI should look like the pictures here, but my UI looks like the linked picture. The textbook is currently referencing the 2.57 version, while I downloaded the latest stable version: 2.59. I assume I don't have a problem so much as the book is just referencing it differently....

Anyhow, I'm working my way through the book and it references the Properties window, and I don't know how to find / make a window that looks like a property window. Is it called something else in the latest version?

I figure that this is probably and extremely basic / noob question, but I'm a noob at this point.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys,

Ice

Attachments

My bad setup.jpg

Thanks Theramalse, The

Thanks Theramalse, The nifskope thread was a good idea too ;)

The tutorials are apparently

The tutorials are apparently being updated ... gradually.

The first two screenshots with the UI are of Blender 2.57 ... whereas your version (and the version in all the remaining screenshots in the tutorial) are of Blender 2.49b

In general the part on the right-hand side of Blender 2.5x is the part on the bottom of Blender 2.4x (the buttons window).

But since most of the tutorials seem to have been updated ... you might as well start learning the new blender. Currently it lacks support for Nif import\export ... but you can always save a .blend file and open it in a different version.

Here it says I'm downloading

Here it says I'm downloading 2.59, but you're right, the installer says I have version 2.49.

What's up with that!?

Later:

Well, I downloaded the 64bit OS version of 2.59 and now Blender looks different / right.

I guess they updated 2 days ago, and that must have been when I downloaded the old copy.

So I've switched to the right version and everything looks good again.

Thank you!

As Hashmi says, you need

As Hashmi says, you need version 2.49 for now... I've been having a dig around on the NifTools sourceforge page... their changelog suggests we will not see support for 2.5.x until version 3 of the Nif scripts:

Version 3.0.0 (planned)
=======================

* Now using sphinx to generate documentation.
* Initial port to Blender 2.58.

If you want to see the latest commits to the scripts to keep up-to-date, check the log in the git repository here. A lot of windows users won't have come across git as there's less requirement to build things from source - just so's you know git is a version control system. It allows multiple developers to 'check in' code written on their local machine into the repository. You can see what changes have been made to the code by browsing the repository - these changes will usually be in the form of diffs (or patches).

Sorry I went a bit off topic there... anyway I believe that the reason the Nif scripts need to be redone is that Blender 2.5.x has a new Python API, which is incompatible with the 2.49.x scripts.

Back on track a little, I also found a few oher interesting looking pages in my interwebz research:

Collection of Oblivion/Blender tutorials
Oblivion forum at the NIF Tools site, probably good for Nif import / Nifskope specific queries
Some screenshots/advice of the import process in Blender from an earlier post by Hashmi

Anyway, I've gone on long enough. One day I'll actually make time to try this Blender stuff out...

Thanks HeWhoWatches!That's a

Thanks HeWhoWatches!

That's a ton of good info, I'll look into this stuff!

So are you saying I should downdate (opposite of update, right?) back to 2.49? I doubt I'll be ready to do work of nif's for a while, so should I just get used to the new one or should I downdate and work with 2.49?

Thanks guys!

I think everyone is using

I think everyone is using 2.49b right now. I just downloaded 2.59, but I don't want to install it until I finish some of the new armor and clothing I started. Maybe in a week or two I'll get courage enough to do it.

Okay, maybe I'll 'downdate'

Okay, maybe I'll 'downdate' then.

Why does that word carry such a negative conotation? lol

Thanks :)

Well, as Hashmi says, it

Well, as Hashmi says, it seems like it's possible to do the import/export using 2.49 and the actual editing in the swanky new interface of 2.5.x... this is backed up by this post by Growlf which says much the same:

For modding purposes it's recommended to use 2.5x versions (including some new or faster features), to export the result you can save your work as .blend and reopen in 2.49b (procedure don't works with .kf animation files).

Maybe it's best to keep both ;)

Sweet! I like that

Sweet! I like that idea.

Thanks HeWhoWatches!

Whelp, I've finally gotten to

Whelp, I've finally gotten to actually get into the working's of blender. I'm at the Quickie texture module, and I've done all of the steps / made all of the examples so far. I really want to get good at this!

I'd like to open up some nif models in blender. I looked through Hashmi's creature conversion guide, but I don't have 3ds max. I know that the newest version doesn't support nifs, and so I have to open it in an older version and save it as a blender document before I can open it in the new one.

When I open the nif in the old version (2.49 I think) it says bad file type. I was wondering how I'm suppossed to open nif files. Do I import them or download a plugin?

Thanks!

Working with nifs in Blender

I'm assuming you've downloaded and installed the nif scripts for blender? If you have then on the file menu on the top left of the blender window you should find a line for import and export in the drop down. In the list under the import section you should see import netemers/gambryo (nif & kf & egm). You use that then browse to the nif file you want. Once you're finished with it you follow the same steps only under the export tab of the file drop down.

Wow, I didn't even know a nif

Wow, I didn't even know a nif script for blender existed. x0 I'll google it, but would you mind telling me where to get it?

Thanks old wolf!

Update:

It works now! (Though I still have some learning to do).

I had two more questions:

Rotate the camera: How can you change the orientation of the camera / the point around which the camera pivots?

(I'm rotating and dollying using the middle mouse button and shift, but it always seems to be around an unmovable pivot point).

Is it possible to view your model's textures without rendering them, like in the editer in real time? I downloaded the Sintel model, and she has textures, I think...

Thanks!

Camera

First off if I were you I'd open a new blender file. Once it opens select everything in the render window.... the little box it starts with the camera and light, once selected hit delete! Now hit ctl U and answer yes. That will give you a clean workspace every time you open a package. The camera is for doing large rendered scenes and is useless unless you're doing scenes. The box is a default mesh for the renderer and useless. The light is a basic scene light and again is useless. If you've set the texture path default then you should be able to view any loaded oblivion meshes with textures in place. The very top bar of the window will "pull down" and you'll see several tabs one of which is where you set you default file paths. The only path you need to worry about is the texture path. Set it to C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\Data or where ever you install oblivon at. Then push the window up again and hit the ctl U again to save the setting. Now open a nif and along the bottom bar next to where it says "object mode" is a button you can open and select textured. Your nif should now display with textures in place. Now select any piece of the nif and go into edit mode. now on the left of the bottom bar click on the cross hatched selector box at the very left of the bar and select UV image editor. This will switch the window to veiw the UV of the object as it is placed over the texture dds. Be carefull here as there is NO undo on the editing of this. If you move the uv as a whole or just a single vertex that can't be undone unless you can move it back where it was yourself. I don't do textures other than to realign them in this widow after I've made changes to the mesh but you can edit them here and make the changes perminant. Blender will create a new DDS file with your changes included. To get back to the mesh view just open the window selction tab again and select 3d view. In the 3d view you can also do painting in this window simply select a piece of the mesh and where you would select edit mode select vertex painting instead. This should open the mesh in a vertex paint view but it has limited color selection to it although it can be used to create a basic markup dds file for your mesh that you can later polish with the texture program of your choice like gimp or in my case I prefer graphicsgale free edition. As for moving the view around the mesh use the number pad keys for that. Unless you want to move it at odd angles then press and hold the mouse wheel/center mouse button and rotate using the mouse. I prefer the number pad method myself. The view is automatically centered to the root of the active object however you can "LEFT" click on a point to shift the cursor to that point then hit C to center to the cursor. Your view will then rotate around the newly positioned cursor. BTW I'm using version 2.49b and have been for a long time.

Hope that helps some.

Old Wolf, I havn't gotten a

Old Wolf, I havn't gotten a chance to thouroughly apply your tips, but they make sense so far. I was able to see a texture while in render mode. I havn't had success with the texture path thing, but I havn't spent much time trying it yet. The curser thing makes a ton of sense (and I think I got it to work).

I'll get back to you with specific problems or a success story when I can.

In the meantime I wanted to thank you for answering me and giveing me such an in depth answer. I felt bad not having time to test and leaving this blank. School's gotton busy, but I didn't want you to think your helpful answer was being ignored!

No problem

No problem :)

Hello I also need to get into

Hello I also need to get into blender, but still can not manage to open a nif file. I've learned that the maximum version I can use is 2,49b so that Nifscript thingy might work. However it does not. It gives a python error. So this time I decided I sould also lower my Python and should download an older version. This is where I get stuck. It doesnt have an exe installer and I can't understand how to install through source code.

Okay, I went through this

Okay, I went through this mess and failed the first time, but got it the second time.

This link is what I read to install it properly.

Python 2.6.4

Begin with Python 2.6.4. Run it with default settings; just keep clicking next until you're done.

PyFFI

This isn't too complicated, just run the program and keep clicking next until its done.

Important Note: There seems to be some issues with installing PyFFI on Windows Vista. In order to overcome these right-click on the PyFFI installer and click on 'Properties'. Then go to the 'Compatibility' tab, and click the "Run in a different version of Windows" check-box. Select 'Windows XP Service Pack 2', or something similar. Click OK, then try and run the program again. It should install correctly, after which you can continue on to the next step.

Blender 2.49b

When that's done you can begin installing Blender 2.49b. Double click the installation file and press next, I agree, next, next, install, *wait a second* click OK, uncheck the box that says Run Blender 2.49 and click Exit. Basically; put yourself on autopilot but don't forget to uncheck that box.

NifTools scripts

I was missing pYFF and Niftools scripts.

Let me know if that helps you! ;)

It still gives python error.

It still gives python error. I installed 2.6.6, I couldn't find 2.6.4. When I try to import a nif it gives that and says check console. You can look at the console here :

[External image]

Hmmm. I'm definitly no expert

Hmmm. I'm definitly no expert here. Man, I just don't know. Maybe run through that install instructions again. Beyond that I really have no idea.
Anyone else know?

You’re not the only one that

You’re not the only one that does not get NIF files to load into Blender.
I myself tried numerous times but I still can’t get any NIF files to load.
That’s why I became a 3DsMax user, and I like it so far.

Hey guys, its been a while to

Hey guys, its been a while to be on this topic (and I apologize for it not being very Morroblivion related).
Though I havn't contributed to Morroblivion in ages (I'm still planning on working on Bloodmoon creatures), I havn't been totally absent from modding. I'm currently working on a zelda mod. I've hit a wall, and I'm getting desperate.

I'm working on animating a triforce (from legend of zelda) and while it spins in Nifskope, it refuses to move in the cs or ingame. I've gotten a custom character animation (and custom skeleton) into game working right, but I just can't seem to get this static to animate.

So I've been tearing my hair out trying to reverse engineer animations, and I'm getting nowhere. I've exported the mesh and animation seperatly and recombined them, but I'm getting no movement in game. I've changed from clamp to cycle_loop, and I've edited the extradata keys to 'start' and 'end'.

Basically this is all to ask if anyone can help me figure this out. I really want to learn how to do this, but I can't seem to find a tutorial to help me (most address character animations, not static animations). I can post a link to the object or give whatever info you need. I'm working in blender and nifskope.
Thanks guys

Iceburg

I've experienced this issue

I've experienced this issue myself a few times, however I don't remember how to fix it.

Here is an attempt from my side: http://www.mediafire.com/?aat341l92v38730 I haven't been able to test it ingame so it may or may not work. If it does work I can tell you what to do.

NB: Also try to use the console to set off the animation. Open the console (~) click on the object to select it, and then type in playgroup idle 1

Hashmi, you're such a boss.

Hashmi, you're such a boss. How did you get it to work!?
Duuude, I've been trying to figure this out for 2 weeks and you did it in a couple of hours!
I didn't have to do the console thing, smart move though.
I loaded up the game and it was spinning like a charm, next to mine that was not moving at all.

It looks like it has to do with nonaccum, but I don't get that. Whatever you could tell me would be awesome.

Thank you so much Hashmi!!

I made a couple of changes

I made a couple of changes but I doubt that any of them would have made a difference (apart from one particular change).Indeed Morroblivion uses animated statics which defy the other changes and still work.

Basically when you export an animated nif from blender ... blender attaches blank NiTransformControllers and NiTransformInterpolators to the nodes ... these conflict with the controllers in the animation and need to be removed for the animation to work in-game.

So after exporting the mesh from blender, use nifscope's "Remove by ID" command and type in "NiTransform" to remove these. After doing that attach the animation using the Attach kf spell in nifscope and you should be good to go.

Regarding NonAccum nodes, I don't think that they matter much in animated objects ... but basically you need to name them as name-of-root-bone NonAccum so a creature has Bip01 NonAccum and animated objects have Scene Root NonAccum.

NonAccum nodes are used in creatures to control vertical movement where the entire creature needs to move up or down. I don't know why they get used in Animated Statics and I think that they aren't really needed for these.

I exported the mesh and

I exported the mesh and animation seperatly. I opened the mesh and removed "NiTransform" by id. I combined the animation and mesh. The NiTextKeyExtraData are set to 'start' and 'end'. Cycle_clamp is set to Cycle_loop. The animation is set to 'Idle'. In order to get it to work in game, I also edited the BSX Node flag to "11" (which is what you had). It works in-game! Unfortunatly, I have to use the console to get it to playgroup idle 1. Is there a way I can change the mesh so it starts automatically, like yours does?

I also realized I had been making a noob mistake, instead of adding>empty, I was adding>mesh>empty, so that was a problem too.

You're triforce material looked more golden to me than mine did- it had more depth. In-game I'm using a texture, but I was wondering how you did it, because without a texture, your's looks much better than mine. (Actually, it might even look better than my texture, lol). Did you just change specularity, or something else as well?

Thanks Hashmi, you've really saved me from giving up in total frustration. I really, really appreciate you helping me with this.

ps. thanks for the note on nonaccum, that makes sense to me.

I am not sure ... maybe Scene

I am not sure ... maybe Scene Root needs to be a controlled block?

In blender add a new empty, name it "Scene Root", and make it a parent to the old "NonAccum" Node (rename this old NonAccum node as Scene Root NonAccum).

Select scene root and add a blank animation key (goto frame 1, press i and select Rot ... then goto frame 100, press i and select Rot). Repeat this with the Scene Root Non Accum Node.

Export the mesh as Nif without animation and a seperate Animation (.kf) file .

Open the .kf in nifscope and change its mode to Cycle_Loop (by default it is Cycle_Clamp) and save the file.

Open the .nif, remove the nodes as said in the previous post, then attach the animation using the attach kf spell. Save and try ingame.

Alright, I've followed your

Alright, I've followed your instructions to the letter. However, when I test in game, your triangles spin while mine don't. When I console 'playgroup idle 1' then my triforce does a super fast play of my animation (Completes in 1 second instead of 4), and then starts in on the normal loop. I attatched a copy of my latest nif. I can't seem to discern any differences between the two of our files. Also, after the export, I notice that my nif has a BSX flag of 2, while yours has a BSX of 11, so I changed that in nifskope too.

I'm frustrated, but I super badly want to learn how to do this so I can replicate it with other stuff, so I really don't want to bug you, but I really do appreciate any help you can give me. (I'm certainly not going to learn this any other way than asking you).
Thanks again Hashmi

You should upload your new

You should upload your new nif file (your post has no attachment that you mentioned :S )

Anyways the BSX flags can also be set within blender by using the options on the right hand side of the export screen.

[External image]

Click on "Anim Static" and select "Do not use Blender Collision Properties".

I don't know if this could make a difference ... but its worth a try.

I had no idea I needed (or

I had no idea I needed (or that there even was) a way to export as 'static animation.' So I was betting that this would fix it. It worked for the BSX, but the animation still doesn't start right away. (I did set it to Anim Static - metal, but I wouldn't think that would change it).

Sorry, I can't seem to get Morroblivion file uploading to work either, lol. Here's a link to a media-fire of the new nif. I also included the static and the animation seperatly, in case you wanted to look at them. I could also include a blend file if you want that. http://www.mediafire.com/?t6f10nj6yaeoifc

One thing's for sure: even while I'm not succeeding at exporting animations, I'm definitly still learning. :)

Thanks man. :D

Sorry, can't find any

Sorry, can't find any problems myself. I'll sit on Oblivion this weekend and try to figure it out.

A Blendfile would be nice as well ... I made the working file by bisecting your your original file into a mesh(.nif) and animation(.kf) ... importing that into blender (blender can import kf's seperately with the mesh), making changes for the Scene Root and NonAccum and then re-exporting the mesh and animation before combinng them in nifscope.

The only problem I can think of is differing versions of the export scripts or nifscope ... but then it may also be some very small thing thing that we are missing out (Oblivion is a very messy and picky engine ... it malfunctions on the tiniest of things and yet sometimes ignores the clearest of mistakes).

Thanks Hashmi. Here's my

Thanks Hashmi. Here's my latest blend file: http://www.mediafire.com/?4lsezca0jdcvwu0
I don't think its bad export scripts, because I think I have the latest, but who knows?

Let me know if you find anything!

I tried your file

I tried your file (http://www.mediafire.com/?t6f10nj6yaeoifc both the Triforce Static.nif and the recombined mesh and kf) in Oblivion and it works flawlessly for me. The animation auto-starts and continues without a hitch.

You might still be using an old copy of your mesh, try renaming your mesh and creating a new esp with a new object in a new cell in the CS and try again.

help with creating collision in blender.

I know i have done this before but it just isnt working for me. So I am trying to convert some morrowind items to oblivion. I open the mesh in blender then i apply the hull script to add a box collision. I change the properties as I am supposed to do and export. Still in oblivion it just floats in the air. It DOES collide, but it doesnt move.

So weird.You were right

So weird.

You were right Hashmi. The mesh was working, but the esp wasn't updating it when I changed the nif for the object in the CS. Basically, I created an new ID object in the cs and pointed it to the same Triforce Static.nif file. The new ID Object played the animation correctly while the old ID object, even though it was linked to the same nif file, would not play the animation correctly.

Well, it took nearly a month and I learned a lot, but I have a moving static now! Yay! And I'm positive that I wouldn't have found that help anywhere else on the web, so I sincerly appreciate your help on this, Hashmi. I've credited you in my mod credits. I'll post a link when I release it. :D

I had one (I guess 2) other questions, and its no rush to get answered/ not a big deal if you don't know or don't feel like taking the time to tell me.

I've made a new special idle (play ocarina), and it plays fine and whatnot. However, it's a 3rd person idle and it seems to jack up the animation system if a player activates the idle (by using the ocarina) if they're in first person or have their weapon out. I've used scripting to force them into third person, but 'setalert' or 'isweaponout' don't seem to work right, and a player can go back into first person while the animation is playing, and that causes problems. (IE: the special idle becomes stuck). -Is there a way to make the idle work properly in first person, or to make the character sheath their weapon before entering the idle, and/ or forceing them to stay in third person, weapon sheathed?

I've scripted it so that when you stop playing the ocarina, the idle ends. It seems that if you play the ocarina again within 10 seconds the idle doesn't trigger again, so I've just used scripting to prevent people, but I thought maybe that could be changed too.

Anyway, you've helped me with the thing that I was totally stumped on and worried about, so these two questions are just curiosity. It amazes me that there are people like you (and like most the people on this site) that are experts in what they do, and yet openly help noobs for no payment. So when I spam 'thank you,' I really mean it. :D

Brutal7:Are you exporting a

Brutal7:
Are you exporting a static or animated static? Hashmi has an excelent guide of how to port creatures over; I rememebr reading it before I had any blender experiance. I think I'll read it again soon now that I have some grasp on what I'm doing...

Sounds to me like you exported it as 'static' in blender. Make sure that the collision box is paranted to the mesh. Make sure that in your 'logic' panel in collision that you've got it set to rigid body and 'Bounds' is highlighted / pressed down.

If you want the object to fall / be affected by gravity and what not, export it as 'Clutter' instead of 'Static' under collision options in the export screen.

So, Hashmi obviously knows a ton more about this than I do, but having gone through it a million times trying to get it right, hopefully I'm semi-close to the target here. Let me know how it goes. :D

@brutal: You must have set

@brutal: You must have set the collision type to "Static", static collisions only collide and do not move; collision type must be set to "Clutter" or "Weapon" for gravity and grab to work on it.

When you export the mesh in blender, in the export screen, towards the Right hand side there is a block of buttons labelled "Collision Options". Make sure that you click on "Clutter".

[External image]

SideNote: In Nifscope and the Collision Preview in the game and CS: Static collision is Red in color, Weapon collision is orange and Clutter Collision is light blue.

Hashmi, in that screenshot

Hashmi, in that screenshot you have 'Do Not Use Blender Collision Properties' checked. Do you always want to have that checked?

Thanks

Thanks! It worked.

Here's a question that might

Here's a question that might be fun, or a nightmare.

I'd like to make an object that has an animated texture. I'm currently looking at Data/meshes/fire/firearcanemedium01.nif as an example.

I'm trying to make an object that is a music staff, where notes appear on it as if they were being played. (Like when a song is completed correctly in Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time).

It seems that the object uses a series of images, but I've tried changing texture type from still to sequence and can't get it to work. I've broken my image down into steps and labeled them 01 -07, but it's not working...

Even when I get sequence to work so that the render animation plays the notes appearing, when I export the staff, all of the notes are there but there is no movement. It seems to be either applying all of the textures simultaneously or just looking at the last texture.

I wanted to seperate the fire.nif into two parts so I could look import and at the animation in blender, but I couldn't figure out how to split it in nifskope.

If someone could split the fire and upload it, or point me in the right direction I'd be obliged. :)

EDIT: I solved it! Yaya. :D This link fixed it for me: http://frworld.wikispaces.com/Nifskope+-+Animated+Textures