Lexy's: Legacy of The Dragonborn Special Edition

[mavanaic]

When nif optimizing is needed, to be sure of our actions after your discussion

 

We need to check if facegen data is present into meshes directory

if yes, first  pass of nif tool with just "head parts only" checked targeting the facegen directory ONLY

then a second pass with all three  options activated and head only desactivated on the  meshes directory (those modifed by the second pass won't be targeted then as already modified)

 

Is it the correct conclusion of the debate at this time ?

 

Thanks

 

Mandalay

Yes..most of the time.. and you don't need to untick everything just tick "head parts" and untick for the rest ..I also posted a video of Arissa SSE port to see a case where face parts are not located in facegen directory..a couple are located in "\meshes\arissa\basepackage\"...for something like this you need to run like in the video - like I said a few posts ago: copy the face parts to the directory where nif optimizer.exe is and run it..then overwrite in your folder..Anyways this is a rare case..

[cptmcsplody]

Lexy, what's your take on enabling achievements for this guide? Ponurymazepa has a procedure for that in the Tucoguide but it implies enabling the Steam Overlay and some tinkering with SKSE and renaming the binaries. Doesn't break anything as far as I checked...

Or you could just use Achievements Mods Enabler SKSE plugin :)

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/245

[cptmcsplody]

@Lexy just on Wico,

 

The character overhaul its self isn't really needed for the changes made by WICO - Immersive People.esp to work,

and since it clashes with body mods would it not be better to only use only the Immersive people & extra follower files?

 

That way you can still use other body mods, if the immersive character files are removed.

 

Also you can merge cutting roof floor changes as well when using the wico cleanup script.

 

https://i.imgur.com/KpYNHN8.png

 

The script should also work for the other NPC mods for forwarding changes.

Edited February 11, 2018 by cptmcsplody

[godescalcus]

When nif optimizing is needed, to be sure of our actions after your discussion

 

We need to check if facegen data is present into meshes directory

if yes, first  pass of nif tool with just "head parts only" checked targeting the facegen directory ONLY

then a second pass with all three  options activated and head only desactivated on the  meshes directory (those modifed by the second pass won't be targeted then as already modified)

 

Is it the correct conclusion of the debate at this time ?

 

Thanks

 

Mandalay

What about hairs? Those are never in the facegen folder, instead they're place wherever the mod author decided to place them. Eyes, it seems, are also head parts and I don't know whether they go in the facegen folder or not. Here's my latest source on this messy subject: https://www.afkmods.com/index.php?/topic/5149-sse-nif-optimizer/

(unrelated) Seems like there's something else to worry about: SKSE64 still leaves leftovers in savegames that can be cleaned with the script provided in this link: https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/6095248-skse64-leaving-save-fragments-in-save-folder/&do=findComment&comment=54626808

Edited February 11, 2018 by godescalcus

[godescalcus]

Or you could just use Achievements Mods Enabler SKSE plugin :)

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/245

I agree ;) Yet I tried to do exactly that and NOT use Ponurymazepa's workaround but it turns out said workaround has another merit for stubborn me (besides allowing Steam Overlay to be used with SKSE64 which I don't use anyway) - it also allows Wrye Bash to launch SKSE instead of the game loader without SKSE, as auto-switching to SKSE is still not implemented in the latest WB release and is said to be pretty low priority in the to-do list...

[DarkladyLexy]

@Lexy just on Wico,

 

The character overhaul its self isn't really needed for the changes made by WICO - Immersive People.esp to work,

and since it clashes with body mods would it not be better to only use only the Immersive people & extra follower files?

 

That way you can still use other body mods, if the immersive character files are removed.

 

Also you can merge cutting roof floor changes as well when using the wico cleanup script.

 

https://i.imgur.com/KpYNHN8.png

 

The script should also work for the other NPC mods for forwarding changes.

You get immersive character as standard so I just left those in there looks OK, plus it will mean yet another update to the Merge and I can't be arsed with that at the moment (Unless I have another change of mind about lets say Men of Winter ). Yes I know I can use the script on CRF as well but Darth said he will deal with anything non USLEEP related in a CR so I will leave that for him to sort out.

[cptmcsplody]

I agree ;) Yet I tried to do exactly that and NOT use Ponurymazepa's workaround but it turns out said workaround has another merit for stubborn me (besides allowing Steam Overlay to be used with SKSE64 which I don't use anyway) - it also allows Wrye Bash to launch SKSE instead of the game loader without SKSE, as auto-switching to SKSE is still not implemented in the latest WB release and is said to be pretty low priority in the to-do list...

I like wrye, tried using it as a mod manager before, it has some great features, but I'm far too dangerous to use it as a mod manager.

FYI on the workaround, it has been known to stop working, I was troubleshooting it once with the author of tucoguide.

I'm not sure why it stopped working for him, will have to see if I can find it.

[cptmcsplody]

You get immersive character as standard so I just left those in there looks OK, plus it will mean yet another update to the Merge and I can't be arsed with that at the moment (Unless I have another change of mind about lets say Men of Winter ). Yes I know I can use the script on CRF as well but Darth said he will deal with anything non USLEEP related in a CR so I will leave that for him to sort out.

No worries, its optional anyway, will try and make one without it.

 

Also I ran nifscan on the meshes last night for all the loose files and a few custom packed archives( immersive armors, heavy & royal armory)

Only meshes that were unsupported were the one's in amidianborn armors & Massive Npc Overhaul.

 

full output after run. You would have to ask someone with a bit of knowledge on meshes, but afaik most issues won't break anything.

https://mega.nz/#!5JRVWTga!zsGHZF8V1yshljAfodEPlnVnKIUPwlxnKIutFNiCe_0

[Decopauge123]

From the FWIW Department comes:  Free Commander XE (FCXE) -  an easy-to-use alternative to Windows Explorer (WE) (the standard Windows file manager)

 

About a month ago I started having problems with my pinned 'Quick Access' (QA) links not staying pinned (sometimes they would stay for days, sometimes hours, but they would always eventually become unpinned and not be displayed in the WE QA pane.  I searched for a solution, tried every suggested fix I found, but nothing corrected the 'disappearing QA links' problem.  I could not find anything in Windows Tech pages that addressed this issue.  Finally fed up, I started looking for an alternative to WE, and found FCXE.

 

The thing that attracted me to it from the start is that it defaults to 2 active file manager panes, making copy/paste and compare operations very easy (no more having multiple WE instances open).  The 32-bit version of FCXE is free; you can donate if you wish and receive a 64-bit version of FCXE.  It takes a little getting used to (you need to unlearn your WE mindset).  There are a LOT of configuration options (it works just fine using the default out-of-the-box settings), but I think once you've learned how to configure and use it 'the way you want' WE will be relegated to occasional use for special purposes. 

 

I found out yesterday that FCXE is mentioned as a tested alternative to WE in the Notable Applications section of the STEP Guide:Mod Organizer.  If you want to see the virtual filing system of MO2 in action, for example to test if it is working correctly, you can add the 32-bit FCXE to MO2 as an executable, start it from inside MO2 and navigate to your <Skyrim>/data directory (see Notice in STEP Guide for more details).

Edited February 11, 2018 by Decopauge123

[godescalcus]

I found out yesterday that FCXE is mentioned as a tested alternative to WE in the Notable Applications section of the STEP Guide:Mod Organizer.  If you want to see the virtual filing system of MO2 in action, for example to test if it is working correctly, you can add the 32-bit FCXE to MO2 as an executable, start it from inside MO2 and navigate to your <Skyrim>/data directory (see Notice in STEP Guide for more details).

I use Free Commander whenever I run MO or MO2 as my main mod manager. Also found a good fix for the windows quick-access folders getting corrupted (which only happens when using MO2, in my case):

 

Create a new text file anywhere in your PC and name it something like QuickAccessFix.bat.

Edit and paste the following in the batch file you've just created:

del /F /Q %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations\*

Run it whenever you lose access to Quick Access. I found that this not only restores Quick Access functionality, it also restores the shortcuts you had previously saved to it.

[Decopauge123]

I use Free Commander whenever I run MO or MO2 as my main mod manager. Also found a good fix for the windows quick-access folders getting corrupted (which only happens when using MO2, in my case):

 

Create a new text file anywhere in your PC and name it something like QuickAccessFix.bat.

Edit and paste the following in the batch file you've just created:

del /F /Q %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations\*

Run it whenever you lose access to Quick Access. I found that this not only restores Quick Access functionality, it also restores the shortcuts you had previously saved to it.

Ah, thanks for that .bat file.  I'll try it later, but I'm not going back to WE as my primary file manager.

 

I hadn't thought about MO2 as the culprit.

[dcads]

I use free commander (paid version) and love it.  Handy being able to add both panes as a single favourite.  I can now click one button and have my MO Mods folder open on the left and my Skyrim Tools directory on the right.

[berndaroy]

Here's a strange one for me. Updated LOOT but stupidly deleted the old version (instead of overwriting) and new loot would not recognize my previously cleaned ESMS vanilla. So completely uninstalled every thing and started from scratch. Followed all instructions up to install MO2, updated as mod organizer dev instructed, updated sseedit, got to cleaning esm's after creating vanilla and lotd profiles, but found that sseedit is not placing clean esm in overwrite, in order to create a clean vanilla esm folder, but cleaned the original esms. Switched back to vanilla profile and ran loot to see, but they show as clean and not dirty as before. This can't be right, should the - check "Backup Plugins" box be ticked when saving and then move the esms in SSE main data folder(now clean) into overwrite, then in SSE main folder->data->sseedit backup folder, rename and move those back into sse main data folder. I haven't encountered this for a very long time and vaguely remember Neovalen had this instruction way back. Its not a train smash, as i have a clean install back up of SSE files and esms etc, and i have cleaned esms regardless, but am concerned SSEEdit may not place things into overwrite as i start installing mods...version of edit 3da 194b

Edited February 11, 2018 by berndaroy

[Xaxilis]

use head parts only ..normally are in \meshes\actors\character\facegendata. So you do first head parts only (copy nif optimizer.exe in that directory and run it)..next you can move the nif optimizer.exe in the meshes folder..it will skip the converted head parts in "meshes\actors\character\facegendata";)...That's why I posted that tutorial ...to see different "head parts" located in other plce than facegendata directory...

Hey mavanaic,

That also, doesn't work that way.  I tested this previously as well although I didn't write about it because my post was already too long.  I know the second entry in the log says it skips it but, then it says it edits it and, in fact the file save date changes and a binary compare shows differences.

 

Here's a sample log entry of what I'm talking about;

 

Loading 'D:\UserName\Desktop\Temp\Meshes\Actors\Character\FaceGenData\FaceGeom\Skyrim.esm\000BBDA0.NIF'...

[iNFO] NIF version doesn't match old Skyrim. Skipping conversion.

[iNFO] Skinned mesh: Cleaning up skin data and calculating bounds.

[sUCCESS] Saved file.

 

Just to sure the file is getting edited on the second pass, I did this;

1. I run the first pass like you said.
2. Then, I copied the file to my desktop to use for comparison.
3. I ran a second pass higher on the meshes directory without the "Head Parts Only" checked.
4. It should have skipped the previously edited files from the first pass that was done ONLY on that facegen directory.  However, it did not.
5. To be sure, I then used Beyond Compare to compare the file from the first pass and the file from the second pass. 

They are different and the file is getting edited on the second pass even though the second line in the log says it's skipping it.  The forth line in the log is the truth.

 

Beyond Compare results; (just the first line, there are thousands more entries that are different)

First Pass

3C AD 26 40 5D A4 C6 41 6A A7 E3 40 B2 00 6B 00 00 40 C9 3D 27 01 00 40

 

Second Pass

3C AD 26 40 5D A4 C6 41 6A A7 E3 40 B2 00 6B 00 0D 4C C9 3D 27 01 55 3D

 

Again, my test results point to this fact;

When you have the "The Head Parts Only" box checked, you should ONLY target NIF Optimizer at directories containing head parts and when it is NOT checked you should NOT target directories that have or contain sub-directories with, head parts.

 

My goal here isn't to be  combative.  I hope this isn't coming off that way.  I just want us all to be on the same page on how to properly use this tool so, we get reliable results.

 

Thanks,

-Xaxilis

Edited February 11, 2018 by Xaxilis

[godescalcus]

Here's a strange one for me. Updated LOOT but stupidly deleted the old version (instead of overwriting) and new loot would not recognize my previously cleaned ESMS vanilla. So completely uninstalled every thing and started from scratch. Followed all instructions up to install MO2, updated as mod organizer dev instructed, updated sseedit, got to cleaning esm's after creating vanilla and lotd profiles, but found that sseedit is not placing clean esm in overwrite, in order to create a clean vanilla esm folder, but cleaned the original esms. Switched back to vanilla profile and ran loot to see, but they show as clean and not dirty as before. This can't be right, should the - check "Backup Plugins" box be ticked when saving and then move the esms in SSE main data folder(now clean) into overwrite, then in SSE main folder->data->sseedit backup folder, rename and move those back into sse main data folder. I haven't encountered this for a very long time and vaguely remember Neovalen had this instruction way back. Its not a train smash, as i have a clean install back up of SSE files and esms etc, and i have cleaned esms regardless, but am concerned SSEEdit may not place things into overwrite as i start installing mods...version of edit 3da 194b

I count similar episodes as part of the reason I tried wrye bash solo... Now WB for me has the reliability advantage comparable to a low level programming language. However, I still use MO precisely to avoid messing with my precious data folder when porting mods, for example. I run the CK through MO and every single time it has saved the plugins in overwrites - but, also, every single time it removed the originals from data. Not to worry if it's only the plugins because I have the installers ready for an easy fix, but I'm actually worried it may fetch and remove also other files when, for example, the CK decides to convert navmeshes and facegen parts. So I guess I should leave conversions to another install altogether, which I fortunately have.

Edited February 11, 2018 by godescalcus