Difference between revisions of "Nif Optimization"

1,986 bytes added ,  04:27, 19 September 2008
added a FAQ, based on AlizarinCrimson's post here: http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=879434
imported>Sproaty
(fixed copy/paste mistake)
imported>Amorilia
(added a FAQ, based on AlizarinCrimson's post here: http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=879434)
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Good luck, and happy optimizing!
Good luck, and happy optimizing!
==FAQ==
*''Where do I report bugs?'' http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=199269
*''Is there a visual difference/loss?'' No. If you notice a visual difference between  a nif and its optimized version, please report this as a bug and include the original nif in your report.
*''If the optimizer bails out with an error message like '''*** TEST FAILED ON ... ***''' what does that mean? Is my nif corrupted?'' Most likely not. If the optimizer gives an error, then it will try to restore the original file. As far as is known, this restoration always succeeds. If you need to be absolutely sure, check your nif afterwards and compare it with the original. What you should do is report this as a bug and post the nif with your bug report.
*''Does the optimizer act on kf files?'' The current version (as of 19 September 2008) should simply leave them alone as kf files usually do not contain geometry. Future versions might include optimizations also for nif blocks related to animation, and hence, kf files.
*''This is great! Can I run the optimizer on my complete meshes folder?'' The optimizer was not written for this purpose, however some users have reported significant frame rate improvements by doing so. The risk is that it is impossible to manually check each optimized nif, leaving you with possibly corrupted files. So you're on your own. From the official meshes which are stored in the bsa, in these folders no corrupted nifs have yet been found in them after optimizing (starred means making a big difference, so you might want to try these first). ''ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP.''
**architecture *
**dungeons *
**clutter
**furniture
**landscape
**plants
**rocks
*''So, are there any meshes that I should not run with the optimizer?'' In principle, the optimizer is intended to work with any nif, but of course not every nif has been tested and there might be corner cases where the optimizer will not work, or even corrupt your nif. These are known not to work:
**head nifs
Anonymous user