TechAngel85 Posted August 4, 2014 Posted August 4, 2014 I'm giving up for the time being... I've tried different skin textures, hiding files and even installed a UNP body replacer. Nothing! There are always neck seems on the NPCs. The PC looks great, but the NPCs are being stubborn as they are somehow rendered differently or something. Makes no sense to me whey the PC would look perfect but the NPCs don't...they're all using the same files!
TechAngel85 Posted August 4, 2014 Posted August 4, 2014 I've said it once and I'm going to say it again, WSCO is the only mod that works 100% because it is designed for the vanilla body! I think Z dismissed it mainly due to the makeup on the face; however, seeing he was advocating Mature Skin in his compilation, I find that point moot. Mature Skin is just as much "made up" as WSCO. We can still use the muscle tone options with WSCO as well. I'll admit, it's not perfect, but it's something and it's better than plain vanilla for the moment. I've been in contact with the WSCO author so I can ask him if we can use the assets. If so, the new underwear and take a hike and we can play around with various assets to find something more ideal.
TechAngel85 Posted August 4, 2014 Posted August 4, 2014 Opening up the WSCO BSA for females reveals that it's pretty much just FemFeet meshes and a custom skin designed for the female body. This is exactly what we were trying to accomplish with the compilation that was put together but with Mature Skin which wasn't working for NPCs because of it being designed for UNP. WSCO does work on NPCs because it's designed for vanilla. As far as I know, this is the only skin texture that is designed around a FemFeet/Vanilla combination. Everything thing else seems to be UNP/CBBE/ADEC (or whatever that other one is) which all require armor replacement mods to work properly.
redirishlord Posted August 4, 2014 Posted August 4, 2014 IIRC the WSCO mod came with an esp that altered various npcs, I assume you're looking to use the assets in a vanilla friendly way without drastic alteration, if so since its designed for the vanilla body that would be the way to go. I like the Mature Skin, but when used with the UNP body, trying to force it to work with the vanilla body is going to require some kind of texture blender and tl;dr isn't going to work for what you're (we're) trying to accompish: simple vanilla replacer for STEP.
TechAngel85 Posted August 4, 2014 Posted August 4, 2014 IIRC the WSCO mod came with an esp that altered various npcs, I assume you're looking to use the assets in a vanilla friendly way without drastic alteration, if so since its designed for the vanilla body that would be the way to go. I like the Mature Skin, but when used with the UNP body, trying to force it to work with the vanilla body is going to require some kind of texture blender and tl;dr isn't going to work for what you're (we're) trying to accompish: simple vanilla replacer for STEP.That ESP in WSCO is optional in the FOMOD installer. It doesn't have to be installed. Besides if we obtained permissions, it wouldn't matter anyway since we'd be using loose assets. I really wish use had a texture guru on Staff. We have permissions for some wonderful files/mods if we had someone that could make it all work the way we wanted. WSCO face textures are the same res as Mature Skin's too...2048x. In that picture I posted above the shots were taken in race menu with the menu elements toggled off. So the spotlight was on for all the shots. You'd rarely look that bright in the actual game...but that just goes to show how dark the Mature Skin face textures really are since they had a spotlight on them when compared to vanilla and WSCO. They're quite dark.
Roberbond Posted August 4, 2014 Posted August 4, 2014 (edited) Good point. I'll see about adding in those options later. For now, here is the updated FOMOD with Mature Skin optional install added. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_Nlyy2ueu0bklDbHNPbDNGVE0/edit?usp=sharing (76MB)I have neck seams. Not very noticeable but there it isAnyway, CHNF 2.5 have updated all their armor meshes, i am playing with it without problem. And that body is almost perfect. Edited August 4, 2014 by Roberbond
TechAngel85 Posted August 4, 2014 Posted August 4, 2014 Not adding a replacer that requires also replacing the armor.
TechAngel85 Posted August 4, 2014 Posted August 4, 2014 I've heard back from WingsongHS, he's given up permission to use his assets. He also said, he's already complete 2.0beta of his mod but will not have time to upload it until September (he still has to write the description and it's very hard for him because he's Korean. I've offered to help if he needs it.)So now I can start playing around with those textures that will fit the vanilla body and see what I can come up with.
redirishlord Posted August 4, 2014 Posted August 4, 2014 Outstanding, Windsong sounds like the way to go for STEP/vanilla replacer, good work on locking down those permissions.
TechAngel85 Posted August 5, 2014 Posted August 5, 2014 Can anyone tell be what causes the shine on the skin and point me to the texture involved? Thanks!
Aiyen Posted August 5, 2014 Posted August 5, 2014 Shine would be the realm of the specular map. For skin textures these are in _s.dds. For no shine simply put a black texture in there.
CovertSlinky Posted August 5, 2014 Posted August 5, 2014 Very good looking vanilla replacers you found. And the idea that they are built for vanilla is perfect. And imo from your screens, it looks just as good as mature skins. And if you find a way to get rid of that shininess, it will look even better.
TechAngel85 Posted August 5, 2014 Posted August 5, 2014 There is surprising very little information about textures specifically for Skyrim when it comes to the realm of creating/editing them. Luckily most of the information out there is universal and can mainly be applied to any moddable game. I think I know enough now to start being a bit dangerous. The STEP team really needs someone that can navigate some of this stuff even on a basic level so I'm going to try to learn a bit. I've edited the specular map of the face to about the same level as Mature Skin's. This will reduce the shine from the lighting on the face to a more realistic level. I will probably look into doing the same to the body. EDIT: Oh, vanilla underwear is now back and we'll be able to drop the mod Better Freckles if this all works out. WindsongHS has a freckles file and it's quite nice/subtle. He's also include a new female vampire face that I'll have to compare to vanilla and XCE-Dawnguard. Lots of potential is included here!
Lonewolf Posted August 5, 2014 Posted August 5, 2014 Shine would be the realm of the specular map. For skin textures these are in _s.dds. For no shine simply put a black texture in there. Like in this mod? https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/29791/?
TechAngel85 Posted August 5, 2014 Posted August 5, 2014 Like in this mod? https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/29791/?Yeah, from the author's description, what he did there was super simple (I haven't downloaded the files to look at them). I'm wanting something a bit more complex than just a blank/black texture file. Skin naturally has a bit of shine to it due to natural oils; however, the amount that some skin textures apply is too much. From what I've read and video tutorials I've watched specular maps are more sensitive than some authors realize so a little goes a long way. Adding detail to the specular maps is also a great way to add realistic detail that is mainly visible when the light hits it...such as scratches on armor and weapons, shiny minerals on the surface of rock, etc. From my short time of research, specular maps can be a lot more than just a black and white version of the image.
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