Mod Organizer & Dual Sheath/New Idles

[drannos]

Like so many other posters I see here, I'm coming back to Skyrim and STEP after a fairly long break. First, I've always been a huge fan of STEP and can't express how grateful I am for the amazing work that's been done. You guys are INCREDIBLE!

 

I'm working my way through installing the mods (so far so good), and I'm having trouble wrapping my head around a few things - hoping someone can help me understand.

 

My confusion is basically over external patchers such as Dual Sheath Redux and Fore's New Idles. Specifically:

• How do these mods interact?
• When do I need to run the external patchers, and in what order? 

The Wiki pages for both of these mods have instructions that seem to assume that Mod Organizer is NOT being used - for example, Dual Sheath Redux's extra instructions state, "After installing all mods and running BOSS, run Dual Sheath Redux Patch.jar in Data\SkyProc Patches\Dual Sheath Redux Patch\." which is really not how to get that mod to run when using Mod Organizer. And the Mod Organizer page does not really include the specific instructions for getting these patchers to work. (NOTE: the FNIS wiki page states that Dual Sheath Redux is installed "downstream" of FNIS, but if following the guide in order, FNIS is installed well after Dual Sheath Redux)

 

I was able to get Dual Sheath Redux to run through Mod Organizer, but I'm now trying to activate New Idles. Questions about FNIS:

• Do I just run the EXE file through Mod Organizer (Data tab)? Or do I actually add it as an executable? (Is there a difference? :-) )
• How often should the FNIS EXE be run? Once? Or like Dual Sheath Redux, which states that DSR should be run after adding any mods that include weapons, armor, etc. Should FNIS be run BEFORE the Dual Sheath patcher? After?

As far as interactions/dependencies between these mods, this is my understanding (please correct me if I am wrong, I *REALLY* want to understand this, as it impacts other mods I'm hoping to use)

• Realistic Ragdolls (required for XP Maximum Skeleton) - adds new model skeletons (and physics?)
• XP32 Maximum Skeleton (required for Dual Sheath Redux) - adds new human skeleton, including better options for equipment placement (shields, weapons) as well as options for non-STEP mods such as Frostfall, etc
• Dual Sheath Redux (requires 1 and 2, above) - uses the XP Max Skeleton, modifies placement of weapons and shields on models, adds draw/sheath animations. Patcher rebuilds the content of the mod to accomodate custom armor and weapons.
• Fore's New Idles (no explicit requirements?) - the included EXE rebuilds animation files to incorporate new idle animations for specific mods. For STEP, however, it is primarily used to fix specific issues (as in, STEP does not include mods with new idle animations)

Is the above accurate?

 

Thanks so much for any help. Sorry for the wall of text.

[Neovalen]

I like to think I do a decent explanation of this on my SR page (see link in SIG).

 

Here is the quick answer:

1. Run both DSR patcher and FNIS as executables in MO.

2. FNIS should be run every time animations or skeleton is changed. Relative order doesn't matter between FNIS and DSR.

 

Next set....

1. RR&Force changes the amount of force applied by various effects while the skeleton simply changes mass of objects and how far joints can rotate, etc. The skeleton portion is built into XP32 Max Skeleton.

 

2. XP32 Max Skeleton basically is a common skeleton that includes skeleton parts from a large number of mods so it can be compatible with all of them. Due to this it requires FNIS to properly work.

 

3. DSR simply uses the weapon placements provided by XP32 for left hand weapons and shield on back. These do not exist in the vanilla skeleton. Animations are included with XPMS or better ones can be found at Immersive Animations. The patcher generates forms for left hand or on back versions of every weapon/staff/shield in the game. It points to a different mesh path than the original because they must be rotated/attached to different bones to look proper on the left side.

 

4. FNIS is used in STEP to make XPMS work. Period. It is a good tool in general though to make animations play nice and also provides framework for adding new anims to the game. Including gender specific anims.

 

Hope this helps.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

I like to think I do a decent explanation of this on my SR page (see link in SIG).

 

Here is the quick answer:

1. Run both DSR patcher and FNIS as executables in MO.

2. FNIS should be run every time animations or skeleton is changed. Relative order doesn't matter between FNIS and DSR.

 

Next set....

1. RR&Force changes the amount of force applied by various effects while the skeleton simply changes mass of objects and how far joints can rotate, etc. The skeleton portion is built into XP32 Max Skeleton.

 

2. XP32 Max Skeleton basically is a common skeleton that includes skeleton parts from a large number of mods so it can be compatible with all of them. Due to this it requires FNIS to properly work.

 

3. DSR simply uses the weapon placements provided by XP32 for left hand weapons and shield on back. These do not exist in the vanilla skeleton. Animations are included with XPMS or better ones can be found at Immersive Animations. The patcher generates forms for left hand or on back versions of every weapon/staff/shield in the game. It points to a different mesh path than the original because they must be rotated/attached to different bones to look proper on the left side.

 

4. FNIS is used in STEP to make XPMS work. Period. It is a good tool in general though to make animations play nice and also provides framework for adding new anims to the game. Including gender specific anims.

 

Hope this helps.

Can you give directions for new idles in Wrye Bash? I read the directions but I don't understand which file to download or what exactly to do. 

[Neovalen]

https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/articles/540/?

[drannos]

Awesome! That is a HUGE help (and as a bonus, I'm now aware of SR! Even better!!! The power of Mod Organizer is becoming more clear!)

 

2. XP32 Max Skeleton basically is a common skeleton that includes skeleton parts from a large number of mods so it can be compatible with all of them. Due to this it requires FNIS to properly work.

If FNIS is required to get XP Maximum Skeleton to work properly, does it matter that it appears so much further down the list of mods in STEP? I realize that loading mods in batches (each letter section  at a time - 2.D, 2.E, etc.) is really only necessary while testing, but would it cause unintentional issues for someone who only loads Maximum Skeleton while testing the first few sections of STEP? Shouldn't FNIS be a part of section 2.D - Fixes? (This is probably the wrong place for this particular conversation).

 

3. DSR simply uses the weapon placements provided by XP32 for left hand weapons and shield on back. These do not exist in the vanilla skeleton. Animations are included with XPMS or better ones can be found at Immersive Animations.

Yeah, Immersive Animations and Frostfall are two mods I'm really hoping to use (built off a stable and playable STEP) - and they both have dependencies/considerations when using Maximum Skeleton, DSR, and FNIS...hence my confusion.

 

Thanks so much!

[drunkenstyle]

Hey guys, I'm having very similar problems and I'd rather join the conversation than create a new thread with similar issues. I'm pretty new to modding and I've been trying to get Dual Sheathe to work properly for the past 2 days.

 

As far as I can tell, I installed the mods in this order:

 

 

I used the SkyProc patch and the FNIS, this is what FNIS said

 

 

and this was the outcome using SKSE

 

 

I only tested the swords, here's the rest of the gallery. I'm sure there's more animation issues I'm having.. I really need to call for help on this.

[GSDFan]

drunkenstyle, I am not sure if this matters, but I see in the picture of FNIS a warning about one handed weapons not being installed and it is checked in the lower portion of the window.

[DoubleYou]

What are the two warnings? Are you ticking patches you don't need?

[steveley]

The ticks are the exact opposite of what we should be doing. Swap them so that only the skeleton arm fix is clicked and re-run the behavior update.

[garrettxx1991]

Hi, I don't know if this is the correct place to ask this but I really need help. I've download Xp32 exactly as step told me but the thing is I cannot find the Generate FNIS for user exe. I go to the binaries and it looks like this MO>Mods>No items match your search. Please help.

[DoubleYou]

FNIS is in Fore's New Idles for Skyrim, not XP32 skeleton mod.