Category talk:Items

The Reference Fields section of this page seems to disagree with the Reference page -- specifically about the Time Left field, which this page claims is unused but the Reference page claims is used by torches. Which is correct? Doesn't seem like they can both be correct, eh? --Dev akm 18:23, 5 October 2007 (EDT)

How do I set the .nif and .dds values? Where are these files stored on my computer?

Additionally, how do I create my own item icons and models FViral 17:49, 26 March 2006 (EST)

The .nifs and .ddses are stored within the .bsa files in your /Oblivion/Data directory. You can use the tes4bsa found on that page. We could also use an update on our link to it (BSA_Exploder) to explain how to use it for those completely unfamiliar with command line utilities.

Not actually sure about icons, but models will require 3DS Max 5.5 (I think that's the right version) and the 3DS to NIF convertor that Bethesda has/will provide. The program is difficult to find, very expensive, difficult to learn, etc, etc. Hopefully an artist can answer your questions better. --Stickman 17:29, 26 March 2006 (EST)

Eww command line... I am already farmilliar with 3DSmax so that's one down. In the mean time I'll play with the unpacker utility. There is no chance of me damaging my .bsa files is there? FViral 17:52, 26 March 2006 (EST)

Responded at BSA_Exploder Talk. --Stickman 19:19, 26 March 2006 (EST)

I'm getting a wierd 'Invalid directory' error when I try to point the CS at a .nif file. Anyone else having this sort of problem? I've put the file a couple different places, and I'm having no luck. --DragonRB 19:21, 27 March 2006 (EST)

To fix the 'invalid directory' error when loading an extracted resource, they must be in the right place otherwise the editor will not be able to load it.

Example: If you wish to load: "\meshes\clutter\books\folio01.nif" It must be located here: "\Oblivion\Data\Meshes\meshes\clutter\books\folio.nif"

The same setup goes for textures and sounds, they must be in directories within your Oblivion\Data\ directory. I'm not sure exactly how the compleate directory structure must look, but thats how I got importing meshes to work for me. --WabyFella 01:51, 28 March 2006 (EST)

Ohh I see. 3DSMax is the devil though. Looks like I got some trial and error ahead of me. FViral 10:34, 28 March 2006 (EST)

Hey, I'm trying to create a new armor set. I altered the properties of the Glass set and created the New Form every time so I could get the Glass graphics on my personalized set. After finishing that up, I saved my plug-in and tried to test it on Oblivion.

I had planned on just player.additem'ing the items onto myself, but when I tried this with the ObjectID's that the CS spawned for my items, it gave me some "non-existing" error and said that there was no item tagged with that hexidec code. Anyone know what could be the problem here? I've been trying to diagnose it all night with no success. Spudmonkey 11:52, 31 March 2006 (EST)

You have additional mods running and that is why you get that error. If you want to use the ID's you got, only apply the corresponding mod in the data files section at startup(and of course the master file also). Lvl 45 Beast

The tes4bsa wont run for me, a prompt pops up for a split second then exits ... any ideas? --Jahute 20:33, 2 April 2006 (EDT)

Yep =). Same thing happened to me. Took me a while to work this out since I'm not so familiar with Cmd Prompt. Create your Temp folder in say for example, C drive say call it 'temp' so the route path is C:\temp\. Go into start>Run - type CMD then hit enter. You come up with CMD prompt and looks something like this. <C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\> If that happens, change it to look like this <C:\temp> by doing the following. type the bold lettering in as shown bellow and press enter. Say it is already set at <C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>..

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<C:\Document and Settings\Administrator\>CHDIR C:\temp\

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Now it should look like.. <C:\temp\> .. OK? Now, we execute the program and tell it what to do. Make sure you have the program you downloaded called TES4BSA and the file you are extracting in the temp folder. now type following text in bold.. Then press enter. Say the file you wanna extract is called Oblivion - Textures - Compressed.bsa . YOU MUST include spaces between the - and include the "" as shown bellow.

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<C:\temp\>tes4bsa unpack "Oblivion - Textures - Compressed.bsa"

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now it should start extracting hundreds of files, very fast. Let it do its job. You will know when it stops. Hope it helps. Tell me if you are stuck or where I may have made an error! --Xervish 10:46, 10 April 2006 (EDT)

Hey fellow modders, i still get the invalid directory error, after i followed the instructions mentioned earlier, im trying to use the "magiceffect\null.nif" file and ive been unsuccessful using it in an activator in CS as of late... -- Pls help me :(

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I think i found the problem. ive been having trouble assigning icons to new objects. i was having no problem with assigning meshes to objects, but i was getting that damn "invalid directory" message for the dds's. anyways, go into the default_oblivion.ini file and search for "bInvalidateOlderFiles" and set it to zero. save the changes, and the invlaid directory should be no more. hope that helps.

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Ok here is the solution everyone wants to know so no one ever gets an "invalid directory" error again. Editing the *.ini files (the "bInvalidateOlderFiles") only makes a File valid or not depending on how new they are when compared to the orginal. So solving the "invalid directory" problem has nothing to do with the *.ini files. The problem is, I believe we are all assuming that the .dds file loaded here is for the actual texture - it is not. This second file is for the "icon" of the item appearing in the ingame menu, that is a completely different .dds file from the ones used in actual texturing. So, all .dds files acquainted with this second spot are for the "icons" and not textures. The textures themselves are linked to the .nif files, and you can edit the directory in which they are linked using nifskope. Also be aware that nifskope will give you a "file not found" error when the directory path is actually correct to the game, nifscope just can't itself read files before the .nif file that is open's current directory. Anyway you can figure the rest out from here, if you have any questions or anything be glad to help. 7/9/06 mikey ~ the ewok ~ mikey the ewok mikey@ewokattack.com

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No Matter what I do I cant get my own NIF, so please give simple instructions for a simple mind. MMGiru

Well, what do you have in mind?

• Using an existing Nif for an item of the same kind? just rename an existing item that uses the NIF and say yes when the CS asks you if you want to make a new one.
• Making a new kind of object out of an existing NIF? (e.g. misc-item broom to weapon) use BSA Commander to exist the BSAs and then pick the NIF you want.
• A model with a new texture? (e.g. make a golden dagger out of the silver dagger) see here: Retexturing Made Easy
• Create an all new model? (e.g. making a double-broadaxe) Learn to use Blender or 3DMax and get one of the NIF Importers and Exporters

--JOG 00:39, 28 July 2006 (EDT)

Actually I just want to unpack the game's bsa and edit the nif.

I downloaded tes4bsa and used the instructions for command prompt above, but it still wont unpack. MMGiru

Use BSA Commander instead. (and put "~~~~" behind your posts to sign them). --JOG 11:34, 2 August 2006 (EDT)

Okay, now that I have my nif all I need to know is what BSA the dds. files are in. MMGiru

"Oblivion - Textures - Compressed.bsa" --JOG 10:06, 3 August 2006 (EDT)

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I'm still having the same "Invalid directory" error, and I got my directory file by BROWSING not by entering the file, so I KNOW I didn't just mistype it. I'm getting this both for meshes I unpacked and for the duplicate I used to retexture. Any ideas why this is? Merle Whitefire

They need to be in the meshes directory... Did you put them in an appropriate subfolder (you can create new subfolders under meshes, but meshes ideally have to be under meshes)?

EDIT: If they are textures, they have to go in textures/, etc... The Imperial Dragon 07:58, 8 January 2007 (EST)

I'm having this problem with unpacked files that I haven't even moved yet. I can't, for instance, create a new item and then apply the texture of the Green Brocade Doublet. (I was attempting to create a retextured version without altering the original.)- Merle Whitefire

Here is my setup, yes, I do plenty of retextures.

Meshes/clothes/upperclass/01/m/shirt.nif Meshes/clothes/upperclass/01/m/shirt_gnd.nif Meshes/clothes/upperclass/01/f/shirt.nif Meshes/clothes/upperclass/01/f/shirt_gnd.nif

With those two files, I simply copy them, and recreate the directory for a new item. For example, what I would use as the directory for those retextured meshes, they should work.

Oblivion/Data/Meshes/TheImperialDragon/upperclass/01/m/ Oblivion/Data/Meshes/TheImperialDragon/upperclass/01/f/

Other than that, is the texture directory set for NIFSkope?

The Imperial Dragon 17:43, 8 January 2007 (EST)

EDIT: D'OH! I just realized I unpacked my BSA into a subfolder in the \data directory. Named BSA. Yeah, I'm gonna go fix that and see if that works. *Shame* Merle Whitefire

saving edits

i edited the the abilities of the emperors armor set and set it to be playable but how do i save my settings so they can take effect in the game?

Click the save button or go to File>Save, give the file a name and then activate it in the game like with any other mod.--Speedo 16:54, 6 April 2008 (EDT)

im sorry but not exactly thatfamiliar with modding so could you u be so kind as to give a link to where i could learn about it?

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Can anybody help me on how to access objects from other mods?? Or it is impossible due to some built-in restriction? In my mod, I would like to show the player a list of everything a vendor has to sell (including items added by other mods). But if I ref containers/items created by other mods, the script compiles OK, but crashes when used in the game If I put those items in a new container (drag&drop in the CS), the container is empty when I open it in the game. The workaround I found is to duplicate all items, but this would make my mod static: it would show the item even if the original Mod is not installed (and wouldn’t work, as the meshes/textures are not there) and would not show items from mods that I didn’t duplicate items from. I would appreciate any ideas you can give me.