I am having trouble getting anything to show up in game though. I've tried using GIMP and Paint.net (I don't have PS) to make the overlays. I figured out how to use the material editor and can make the BGEM and BGSM files and archive them in CK. I've been trying different things, but mostly I just get CTD when I hover over my tattoo in the looksmenu overlays menu, sometimes it CTD when just loading the game with my .esp active. Sometimes I can select my tattoo to add but nothing shows up on the character, or the whole torso turns bright pink. Not sure what I am doing wrong, but I have been trying to get this right for longer than I care to admit.
Hoping someone might have some answers for me.
Do I need to make both the BGEM and BGSM files, or just one? When I put my texture file into the BGEM file do I just put it in the "base texture" or also the "greyscale" if its just a black tattoo?
When I archive and pack the materials files do I put both the BGEM and BGSM files?
When I make the .json do I use BGEM or BGSM?
I've noticed that in my looksmenu menu my overlay is listed as $tattooname instead of the name from the translation file. I have it setup as "$tattooname TAB (Back) Tattooname" like the examples in other mods but its showing up wrong.
I suppose the error could also be with my dds file itself. I've tried using the BC3/DXT5 compression in GIMP and the BC7 (sRGB, DX 11+) and BC7 (linear, DX 11+) compression in Paint.net. I was unable to open similar tattoo overlay mods with GIMP, but I was able to with Paint.net, so I was hoping switching programs would help but no luck so far.
Overlay not showing up in game I am attempting to use Scribd’s instructions for inserting my own body overlay in FO4 and so far I haven’t had any success. When I go into Looks Menu B\Body, R\ Overlays, R\ Add my work does not show up, only the work of other authors from mods loaded through Vortex. I’m sure I'm doing something wrong or leaving something out so I am requesting the help of the community. Q1. When creating the .json file do you replace the word(s) “tattooOne”with the name of the bgsm file?And likewise “overlayten” with the name of the bgsm file? My current .json file looks like this: [ { "id" : "tattoo_one", "name": "$Tattoo One", "slots" : [ { "slot" : 3, "material" : "overlays\\<69sexykenny69\\TattooOne.BGSM" } ], "playable" : true, "transformable" : false, "sort": 0, "gender": 1 }, { "id" : "overlay_ten", "name": "$overlay ten", "slots" : [ { "slot" : 4, "material" : "overlays\\<69sexykenny69>\\OverlayTen.BGSM" } ], "playable" : true, "transformable" : false, "sort": 1, "gender": 0 } ] Q2. My translation file “Mystique.txt” consists of only one line “$mystique<Tab>mystique“ Not sure if this is at all correct and there was only vague format instructions for creating the translation file. I attempted to find a tutorial for translation files on the internet with no success. If anyone can offer a link on this I would appreciate it. Following is my file structure as laid out in the Preparing section of the instructions by krisser143: D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout4\Data\F4SE\Plugins\F4EE\Overlays\Mystique.esp\overlays.json D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout4\Data\Interface\Translations\mystique.txt D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout4\Data\Materials\overlays\69sexykenny69\mystique.bgem D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout4\Data\Materials\overlays\69sexykenny69\mystique.bgsm D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout4\Data\textures\overlays\69sexykenny69\ Mystique_d.dds
Just a drive-by troubleshooting but the brackets (<>) should be removed from the json file material path. It's a path and brackets are not allowed in PC file systems, at any rate, it's not find it.
(I know this is an old post/issue so commented for those that may benefit, if not you).
Loading the image in photoshop only gives me one layer anyway so removing all hue from all the layers means nothing , also using an adjustment layer already tarts the hue at 0 at least it does for me following the grayscale path
edit: okay had to go read up on how to copy and paste into a layer mask but i think i got it
Hi, I was trying to use photoshop to create a overlay but everytime I tries to output my edited positioning file with only the overlay layer enabled, the output result is only a white space with black square where my tattoo should be at, is there anything I did wrong? Please help me, thanks for your instructions and everything.
I don't know whats going on, but every time I open my femalebody diffuse textures in photoshop they're just black! All 100% black, I decided to download the fallout 4 dds image viewer to see if I could view them, but the previews don't even show up! Female body, or Male body nothing! I have absolutely not idea what I'm doing unfortunately :s
The dirty female body doesn't show up either, but the dirty hands do? I don't understand.. if this is possibly because I have mods injecting those files, shouldn't they already be in the game's files? Or do I need to use them from the texture file I download from the creator? (This is why we all need someone to make videos for this kinda stuff, if I knew what I was doing d@mit I would make one)
I don't really know why you are experiencing this. I did however only make this tutorial for people who already have some knowledge of the tools and file formats, not really a grounds-up tutorial for new modders, sorry. It would have been too extensive, as I don't like to make straight up tutorials, but want you to actually know what you are doing instead of copying my steps. Make sure you have the correct tools installed, and downloaded the correct textures. And NEVER work out of your data folder or anything else, set up a workspace just like i showed in the tutorial.
Photoshop actually handles this way better, so it's the right choice if you have it available. His problem might either be with saving the textures, or incorrectly linking the texture paths. The DDS-viewer might not work because the DDS-format is not really supported anywhere, not even in Irfanview. I unfortunately really have no idea why this is happening, I would have to closely watch the steps Panic use to save and link the texture files.
paint.net handles DDS natively (ok, it is a plugin, but comes preinstalled). It's a nice alternative when you can't afford Photoshop and find GIMP awkward to use. Worth checking out, and totally free.
Hey @krisser143 Big thanks for the tutorial! i wanted to try making my own overlay tatts ages ago but was put off, but after reading and useing this tutorial i managed to get them in game, there is a slight issue though, maybe you might know the answear, i got the tattoos in game okay but i have got this issue where the body while looking normal does not show the tattoos, but if you move to a diff angle, the body will change to a plain white texture and then the tattoo will show up in game on the body as it should (the tattoo was assigned to the body in the.json file, also i used the TBOS-Body texture as the base, have you experienced this issue while modding? or could it be a issue while exporting the file to .dds or its layers, i used BC7 8bpp Fine (sRGB, DX11+) during save as/exporting, there was two BC7/Fines to choose from on the Intel DDS plugin, once again big thanks as it helped a lot!
EDIT: Seems i fixed the issue, was a Material trans issue, great job on the tutorial i can now add tats :)
Can you explain a bit how you fixed your issue? I'm getting close to the same issue. For me the whole body is just black. I tried using both BC7 compressions.
Il try my best, though im not the best at photoshop lol, i used the magic eraser tool to remove what i did not want showing in game, then i saved it as i included the settings 'colour + alpha', the next step i had which might be what is causing your problem was the material edit part, i have no experience when it comes to making things transparent so what i did is i opened up a other modders tattoo material file in the editor, any will do, and look at the numbers and what had been changed from my own, copied all the numbers that had changed and any check boxes, that seemed to do the trick for me, hopfully it is just a material issue for you and can easily be fixed by just copying the stats from others tattoo material files, hope that helps.
Sorry about the late response. I'm trying that now
Edit: Tried copying the settings from the Rutah tattoo pack. Didn't seem to work. This time it made the whole body purple. Not sure what I'm messing up on. I'll keep trying different things and wait for the mod author in the mean time. Thanks for your help
Holy shit. Not sure what I did differently but it works! Thank you very much
Hi, I just wanted to say thanks for the tutorial, but I guess I'm having trouble following it, as I didn't get the expected result. I'm supposed to have a right arm tattoo, but when I apply it I instead get a full black body (not including hands/feet/head). I followed the steps to what I thought was correctly, but obviously not. I'm probably missing something simple. Can you point me in the right direction? Thank you!
This guide is awesome. I learned a lot doing this, and I've made several overlays now for my player character and NPCs. My problem is that I keep having to apply it through the Looks Menu when I boot up my game. I doesn't seem to save it...or at least, not for long. Anyone else have this issue, or did I miss a step in the tutorial?
Thanks for the kind words, happy you learned from it! This is a problem with LooksMenu. For my game they save properly, but it seems to be somewhat random from the responses I've got on my own overlay mod, at least I haven't found any obvious reason why this is happening. Try saving and reloading before closing the game, maybe that will help them stick.
Either a DDS file is corrupted in some odd way, or something is installed incorrectly. This just utilizes a LooksMenu feature, so it shouldn't be able to cause a CTD, and most likely is a mod conflict.
So I tried it again following the tutorial from scratch and now it doesn't show up in game at all and the only other overlay mods I have is Looksmenu Body Tattoos and the DNX Tattoos mod. Json File:
Also remember the translation file is separated by tabs. So first you write the internal nname (for example "$SDAnkh" and then you press tab and write the translated name.
Also make sure your dds files are correct and not corrupted, check paths in your material files and your json file. Triple check it, I have had the same problems sometimes, and it was always some incorrect path or typing error.
Ignore my other post nexus won't let me edit it. I have checked and double checked everything several times and the Tattoo is still not showing up in game JSON File:
You need to extract the overlays from the original mod, make them greyscale, add an alpha channel (if none is present), save it again as a new DDS file following the guide's description, and just do the rest of the tutorial after creating the textures. If you don't know the tools or modding techniques, try messing around with it until you get it, you are going to learn some valuable lessons none the less.
74 comments
I am having trouble getting anything to show up in game though. I've tried using GIMP and Paint.net (I don't have PS) to make the overlays. I figured out how to use the material editor and can make the BGEM and BGSM files and archive them in CK. I've been trying different things, but mostly I just get CTD when I hover over my tattoo in the looksmenu overlays menu, sometimes it CTD when just loading the game with my .esp active. Sometimes I can select my tattoo to add but nothing shows up on the character, or the whole torso turns bright pink. Not sure what I am doing wrong, but I have been trying to get this right for longer than I care to admit.
Hoping someone might have some answers for me.
Do I need to make both the BGEM and BGSM files, or just one? When I put my texture file into the BGEM file do I just put it in the "base texture" or also the "greyscale" if its just a black tattoo?
When I archive and pack the materials files do I put both the BGEM and BGSM files?
When I make the .json do I use BGEM or BGSM?
I've noticed that in my looksmenu menu my overlay is listed as $tattooname instead of the name from the translation file. I have it setup as "$tattooname TAB (Back) Tattooname" like the examples in other mods but its showing up wrong.
I suppose the error could also be with my dds file itself. I've tried using the BC3/DXT5 compression in GIMP and the BC7 (sRGB, DX 11+) and BC7 (linear, DX 11+) compression in Paint.net. I was unable to open similar tattoo overlay mods with GIMP, but I was able to with Paint.net, so I was hoping switching programs would help but no luck so far.
I am attempting to use Scribd’s instructions for inserting my own body overlay in FO4 and so far I
haven’t had any success. When I go into Looks Menu B\Body, R\ Overlays, R\ Add my work does not show up, only the work of other authors from mods loaded through Vortex. I’m sure I'm doing something wrong or leaving something
out so I am requesting the help of the community. Q1. When creating the .json file do you replace the word(s) “tattooOne”with the name of the bgsm file?And likewise “overlayten” with the name of the bgsm file?
My current .json file looks like this:
[
{
"id" : "tattoo_one",
"name": "$Tattoo One",
"slots" : [
{
"slot" : 3,
"material" : "overlays\\<69sexykenny69\\TattooOne.BGSM"
}
],
"playable" : true,
"transformable" : false,
"sort": 0,
"gender": 1
},
{
"id" : "overlay_ten",
"name": "$overlay ten",
"slots" : [
{
"slot" : 4,
"material" : "overlays\\<69sexykenny69>\\OverlayTen.BGSM"
}
],
"playable" : true,
"transformable" : false,
"sort": 1,
"gender": 0
}
] Q2. My translation file “Mystique.txt” consists of only one line “$mystique<Tab>mystique“
Not sure if this is at all correct and there was only vague format instructions for creating the translation file. I attempted to find a tutorial for translation files on the internet with no success.
If anyone can offer a link on this I would appreciate it.
Following is my file structure as laid out in the Preparing section of the instructions by krisser143:
D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout4\Data\F4SE\Plugins\F4EE\Overlays\Mystique.esp\overlays.json
D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout4\Data\Interface\Translations\mystique.txt
D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout4\Data\Materials\overlays\69sexykenny69\mystique.bgem
D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout4\Data\Materials\overlays\69sexykenny69\mystique.bgsm
D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout4\Data\textures\overlays\69sexykenny69\ Mystique_d.dds
It's a path and brackets are not allowed in PC file systems, at any rate, it's not find it.
(I know this is an old post/issue so commented for those that may benefit, if not you).
Loading the image in photoshop only gives me one layer anyway so removing all hue from all the layers means nothing , also using an adjustment layer already tarts the hue at 0 at least it does for me following the grayscale path
edit: okay had to go read up on how to copy and paste into a layer mask but i think i got it
The dirty female body doesn't show up either, but the dirty hands do? I don't understand.. if this is possibly because I have mods injecting those files, shouldn't they already be in the game's files? Or do I need to use them from the texture file I download from the creator?
(This is why we all need someone to make videos for this kinda stuff, if I knew what I was doing d@mit I would make one)
Make sure you have the correct tools installed, and downloaded the correct textures. And NEVER work out of your data folder or anything else, set up a workspace just like i showed in the tutorial.
The DDS-viewer might not work because the DDS-format is not really supported anywhere, not even in Irfanview.
I unfortunately really have no idea why this is happening, I would have to closely watch the steps Panic use to save and link the texture files.
Big thanks for the tutorial! i wanted to try making my own overlay tatts ages ago but was put off, but after reading and useing this tutorial i managed to get them in game, there is a slight issue though, maybe you might know the answear, i got the tattoos in game okay but i have got this issue where the body while looking normal does not show the tattoos, but if you move to a diff angle, the body will change to a plain white texture and then the tattoo will show up in game on the body as it should (the tattoo was assigned to the body in the.json file, also i used the TBOS-Body texture as the base, have you experienced this issue while modding? or could it be a issue while exporting the file to .dds or its layers, i used BC7 8bpp Fine (sRGB, DX11+) during save as/exporting, there was two BC7/Fines to choose from on the Intel DDS plugin, once again big thanks as it helped a lot!
EDIT: Seems i fixed the issue, was a Material trans issue, great job on the tutorial i can now add tats :)
Edit: Tried copying the settings from the Rutah tattoo pack. Didn't seem to work. This time it made the whole body purple. Not sure what I'm messing up on. I'll keep trying different things and wait for the mod author in the mean time. Thanks for your help
Holy shit. Not sure what I did differently but it works! Thank you very much
This is a problem with LooksMenu. For my game they save properly, but it seems to be somewhat random from the responses I've got on my own overlay mod, at least I haven't found any obvious reason why this is happening. Try saving and reloading before closing the game, maybe that will help them stick.
Json File:
Translation File:
JSON File:
Translation File:
I have checked and double checked everything several times and the Tattoo is still not showing up in game
JSON File:
Translation File: