Category talk:Items

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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>..

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

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.

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

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 :(

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.

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

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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