[NSFW] STEP Female Body Replacer

[alt3rn1ty]

TA sorry if you already know this and I am stating the obvious .. But do you know that skin tone differences can be attributed to files which you did not have installed when you started your game ? .. ie NPCs and your Player Characters appearences are set in stone when you started a new game, and continue in your save.

 

So differing textures, nif's, tri's, tint masks etc which have been added to your game since after your game initially generated the world and its characters geometry can make a difference to tone matches between neck/body wrist/arm ankle/leg.

 

Basicly if you are changing any files to do with parts of bodies, for perfect matches a new game start would be best.

 

Thats been a known problem since Oblivion with this series of games ( not sure about fallout, I didnt mess much with that game ).

 

 

See an old mod called Optimized Facegen Files for Oblivion which tried to get around some neck seam problems, but even there with such an incredible amount of work going into that mod, a new game start was recommended :

"If you plan to use OFF with an existing game, be warned that your character and everyone else will look a little different."

 

I think there were a few files in Unofficial patches which work better with a new game start .. Problems with those were also further complicated by users not understanding what they were doing to the game setup with MO aswell, but thats another complicated story.

Edited December 23, 2014 by alt3rn1ty

[TechAngel85]

I actually didn't know that! I'll have to test these out with a new game since I've altered them a bit. I normally just load up a save that was created for this project and go from there, but I'll create a new game and save to see what, if anything, that does.

[z929669]

Yes, good call alt3rn1ty.

 

You might consider adding this to testing under Mods forum. You can use the download link for your share and this forum for the 'mod link'.

 

Alternatively, we can upload to the STEP mod on Nexus as a Misc file in Beta until further notice.

[alt3rn1ty]

Found it ! :) I knew I had seen references to the same somewhere for Skyrim :

 

https://www.afkmods.com/index.php?/topic/3676-skyrim-information-baked-into-saves/

 

Last line reference NPC facegen settings baked in to saves

 

 

Also of interest Arthmoor linked another post on Wolflore Jac did, reference Hadorans cleaner, helping force NPC facegen to redo ..

 

https://www.wolflore.net/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=2156

 

 

Exactly what files are involved which play a part in influencing facegen for Skyrim I have never looked into, I just know there is an easy solution in restarting which I regularly do testing unofficial patches anyway ;)

Unless there is an obvious mismatch of adjacent texture edges in colour / pattern / bump mapping / shade / luminosity etc, a restart should help solve many little annoying problems like this.

[TechAngel85]

As you that have been tracking this mod and testing it out know, I've been struggling to improve upon it from what I've already done. This is mainly due to my lack of texturing skills and partly due to the insanity of how Skyrim works. I want to let everyone know I'm tracking a new mod I found that might be an ideal solution for females in STEP (eventually). Right now only males are covered; however, the author wants to eventually cover females as well. The textures are super vanilla-friendly and are mainly HD versions of the textures which have been hand-painted. The work he's done with the males gives me high hopes as it seems to be top-notch for those that simply want a vanilla texture replacer (we use Better Males for Skyrim males).

 

Mod: SkySight Skins

[hellanios]

As you that have been tracking this mod and testing it out know, I've been struggling to improve upon it from what I've already done. This is mainly due to my lack of texturing skills and partly due to the insanity of how Skyrim works. I want to let everyone know I'm tracking a new mod I found that might be an ideal solution for females in STEP (eventually). Right now only males are covered; however, the author wants to eventually cover females as well. The textures are super vanilla-friendly and are mainly HD versions of the textures which have been hand-painted. The work he's done with the males gives me high hopes as it seems to be top-notch for those that simply want a vanilla texture replacer (we use Better Males for Skyrim males).

 

Mod: SkySight Skins

I've been tracking this mod,too. I really hope the he won't abandon it and we'll eventually see its completion. I think that it's a better alternative to Better Males both quality and performance wise.

[NytCrawlr]

Long time reader, first time poster.

 

Just wanted to say that I love the work so far with STEP overall, and I have been testing this mod some as I go through my current setup, and definitely going to use it in my next play-through. Looking forward to its progression, been wanting something like this for a long time.

 

I had originally used 4- Sporty Vanilla - Athletic muscle map for my female characters, along with Gopher's Pumping Iron, but I think this one has the potential to be better than it.

 

 

Keep up the great work.

[oqhansoloqo]

The meshes would also have to be compatible with vanilla-compatible textures too - right?

[crime_syndicate]

I've looked through a few of his meshes and so far there a few that while with a higher poly count there are much more imperfections that with a simple subsurf level (it has its problems but I mostly use it as a higher res control) as seen here: 

 

Left is this mods', Right is my control.

 

 

 

I eventually figured out that he pretty much just subdivided the meshes once or twice (the breasts were clearly subsurfed - the rose pattern at the tip) and then fixed some edges either manually or with a smooth modifier, which accounts for both the higher poly count and the imperfections at some of the statues.

 

Nifskope image is this mods', Blender image is my test after subdividing.

 

 

 

tldr: Bad meshes are bad. While not all have added imperfections (like stretching - no uv unwrapping after meshing is bad) and some even have some smoother surfaces (the clavicus vile statues has slightly smoother horns and scarf) they are simply not better than vanilla imo. Tbh, I guess that's the equivalent to upscaling textures, adding noise and calling it an HD retexture.

That's what I thought as well (that he just subsurfed / subdivided / turbosmoothed / whatever), it was looked pretty obvious. It seems the result is pretty hit and miss depending on the original mesh, on Azura I thought it looked okay for the limited work he apparently put into it. Kinda like textures as you said, some times you can get away with just contrast tweaks/filters of vanilla textures (just don't call it a rework from scratch), sometimes it will look terrible...

 

 

We could just pick the textures we like and call it a day. Skip the meshes until something actually improved comes along.

 

Okay, I'm hijacking this thread for a moment. If anyone good at fixing meshes will fix the vanilla female body meshes and upload them to nexus as a modders resource, I'll be eternally gratefully! FemFeet compatibility is a must and compatibility with at least one hand mesh replacer would be icing on the cake! I need this for the STEP Female Overhaul.

I'm only 90% sure of this (would need to check to make sure) but I think you can use any UNP hand/feet replacer already anyway because UNP kept the vanilla seams.

Edited March 10, 2015 by crime_syndicate

[TechAngel85]

The meshes would also have to be compatible with vanilla-compatible textures too - right?

Right. The mesh fixes have to be compatible with the vanilla armors as well which has been the main issue in finding a vanilla replacement for females. Males are currently covered by Better Males.

 

I'm only 90% sure of this (would need to check to make sure) but I think you can use any UNP hand/feet replacer already anyway because UNP kept the vanilla seams.

Nope, we've already tried this a while back when trying to come up with options for the STEP Female Overhaul. UNP didn't work and had issues though I don't remember what they where....most likely something to do with armors. So what I've done is create a custom texture using different texture mods (with permission) on top of the vanilla mesh, but those meshes need some love. Most noticeable is the obvious gap between the body and underwear. I mean, it looks like Bethesda just didn't even try and completely rushed it. I don't have the time to learn 3DS Max (the program I have) nor Blender or I'd try to fix them myself.

[crime_syndicate]

Right. The mesh fixes have to be compatible with the vanilla armors as well which has been the main issue in finding a vanilla replacement for females. Males are currently covered by Better Males.

 

Nope, we've already tried this a while back when trying to come up with options for the STEP Female Overhaul. UNP didn't work and had issues though I don't remember what they where....most likely something to do with armors. So what I've done is create a custom texture using different texture mods (with permission) on top of the vanilla mesh, but those meshes need some love. Most noticeable is the obvious gap between the body and underwear. I mean, it looks like Bethesda just didn't even try and completely rushed it. I don't have the time to learn 3DS Max (the program I have) nor Blender or I'd try to fix them myself.

Answered you in PMs with more detail as to avoid making a long off-topic discussion on this thread but basically after doing a few tests I essentially didn't see anything wrong with using vanilla body meshes + the hand/feet replacers for UNP I normally use. If anyone knows the post detailing the issues TechAngel mentioned, please do link it.

[Guest]

FYI the statues were outsourced so that is why quality varies in vanilla.

 

As said the smoothing is just crazy bad and pointless. On objects like this you should pick an area and just focus on doing a bit at a time. I smoothed my stalhrim rocks recently, but while I did that I also reduced it by 25% afterward, fixed some extra pointless triangles, and re-made the UVs. Not doing this makes it too dense and produces texture stretching.

 

By the way what are the problem meshes and the things that need fixing? I read something about feet and underwear holes or whatever, but I need to go back and have a look. I could have a look when I take my hard drive to family friends because I don't want a laptop as some of you know for obvious reasons. ;)

Edited March 11, 2015 by Guest

[TechAngel85]

Vanilla female body meshes. Hands and feet will be replaced with currently available mods such as FemFeet so any edit to the vanilla body will have to be compatible with those mods. Here is a shot of current STEP for females with most of the issues present:

 

 

As you can see, there is texture stretching (probably due to bad UV mapping), seams on the thigh and arms, and a very obvious gap around the underwear. Some users have also mention the back of the legs are blocky. This mesh is just a mess and had never been properly fixed. Users tend to just replace it with a body mod rather than deal with the bad meshes. Problem is these body replacers are outside the bonds of STEP. STEP needs these vanilla meshes fixed.

 

(I know the texture is terrible...the one in the STEP Female Overhaul is 10x better but this is current STEP)

[Guest]

Right. Well I think someone who uses Max or Blender needs to look into this as you need to apply the skin weights back onto the model I think (unless you don't edit any polygons it may be okay - not sure). UVs in Maya could just use a re-unwrap and that would probably be enough to fix the stretching. The only think I can think of is if someone sends me the needed files, I download it on my phone and transfer to my drive. Someone else will need to get it in the game though and I will probably take a few weeks or more to find the time to have a look.

[TechAngel85]

That's been the issue...finding someone who knows enough about these programs to apply any fixes. I just simply don't have the time to learn either one right now. I'll probably post a request on the STEP Nexus page this evening along with an announcement on the forums.