Importing New Oblivion Models Into Oblivion

Information for beginners :
  1. NIF file : a MESH file
  2. MESH file : something that you see in the game or can wear in the game
  3. TEXTURE : colored picture(s) needed by the mesh. Oblivion uses dds formats 1 and 3
  4. BUMP MAP : a special picture. All TEXTURES need a coresponding BUMP MAP TEXTURE. Oblivion will crash without it . Oblivion usually uses dds format 5 - but formats 1 and 3 can be used
  5. BONE (s): needed inside a MESH file to support all body parts except hair, weapons, and shields. Oblivion will crash without them - or display models with spikes.
  6. COLLISION MESH : contained inside MESH files to detect collisions in the game. May be either a true mesh or 1 or more scaleable boxes. Objects will be insubstantial without them ( small plants contain non-collidable collision meshes )
You will need :
  1. Copy of the TES construction set - free from Bethesda web site
  2. Copy of NIFSKOPE NIF viewer - free from NIFTOOLS web site (hosted by Sourceforge.org)
  3. A BSA file unpacker - Ghostwheel made the one I use
You may also need a texture file viewer - XP does not understand the dds texture files used in Oblivion. DDScv is valuable for fast conversion of the Windows bmp and tga files used in Morrowind to Oblivion dds format1. I also use a dds thumbnail viewer called WTV - it gives Windows XP full dds viewing capability.

Open the zip file containing the model meshes. Use NIFSKOPE to view the item of interest. It may appear White or partly White - no textures OR can't find the textures :

  1. If there is a texture Zip file, open the zip file containing the model textures. Copy the contents of the Textures folder in the zip file to the Textures folder in Oblivion.
  2. Next, use NIFSKOPE to review the item of interest. It should now appear fully coloured. If it does not then go into the NIFSKOPE config setup and make sure that it can find the textures folder. Once it can find the textures ROOT folder the model will appear correctly coloured.
Copy the NIF file of interest to a suitable place in the Oblivion/Meshes folder system - or just tip the whole of the zip file into the Oblivion/Meshes folder
Run up the TES construction set program
  1. Load the Oblivion.ESM file
  2. Save the file - you will be prompted for a new name - MyMod.ESP
Put item into TES
  1. Open the item tabs up. Locate the entries dealing with an item of this type - for a neckiron this could be armour or clothing - and it could be entered into both.
  2. Chose clothing entries
  3. Open a new clothing item entry
  4. 3 files are required, indicated by folder boxes :
    1. The top box is for the neckiron you will wear. Open the box, locate the NIF file neckironSteel.nif Note that male and female items are different and normally go in m and f folders. I only make Male items
    2. The middle box is for the neckiron you drop on the ground. Clothing needs a special ground mesh. Open the box, locate the NIF file - it will have a name neckironSteel_GRD.nif (or something simpler). If you are not sure, use nifskope to examine likely meshes. Clothing items contain Bones, Ground and Static meshes contain COLLISION meshes
    3. The bottom box is for inventory picture. It may be in the textures zip under Textures/Menus/Icons, or be available as a standard Bethesda icon - but only if you have access to the BSA unpacker . If not, get one from the file MENU_ICONS.ZIP
  5. Indicate which body slot the neckiron will use - choose amulet slot ( if you choose hair, the character will go bald and ear less )
  6. Fill in the rest of the data fields. NO NOT activate the hide amulet field.
Introduce item to the Player :
  1. The simplest way is to open the NPC / Actors tabs up. Under Race Imperial Male is an actor called .... Player. Open the entry up. Open the Inventory tab. Go to the clothing entries and drag the neckiron entry into the clothing tab. Open the actor image up. The Player will now be wearing a nice new neckiron - or TES will scream if it finds an error in the NIF. Save ESP and run game
  2. Alternatively, under containers, create a new empty container from an existing container. Drop container into the gameworld at a convenient place, or into a shop and mark it as owned by the shopkeeper ( shopkeepers will only sell certain types of item - check their AI info )
  3. Or just drop the item into the game world ( TES will scream if it finds an error in the ground mesh)
Tips :
  1. Head gear is difficult. Helmets use the hair slot. A hat results in loss of any hair AND loss of the ears. I use either the hand or shield slots. If you use the hand slot then the NIF file must also contain hands. Using the shield slot is not without (minor) problems, and bone support may be needed. The tail slot only works with the Player - actors must be forced to use the tail slot through script commands.
  2. The shield and hair slots are different from other body slots - they do not require mandatory bone support (though it may be needed for hats). They use special PRN directives in the IF files ( some of my stuff needs both PRN and bone support). Ring slots are even more different in their use.
  3. Go to the NIFTOOLS (hosted by Sourceforge.org) forum thread for info on slot use, and the Psychodogstudios.com Oblivion Mods form for help