To patch custom xLODGen output for any of my animated LOD mods, you will need NifSkope installed. Prior experience with NifSkope is recommended, but not necessary for this tutorial. Below is a visual overview of the layout terms I will be using:
This tutorial also assumes that you use Mod Organizer 2, and your xLODGen output is installed to its own mod folder (not in overwrite). Neither are strictly necessary, but no support will be given for other setups. Refer to the VNV LOD Guide for more information.
1) Download any version of the mod from Nexus. It doesn't matter which one you choose.
2) Install the mod archive in MO2.
3) Right-click the mod in MO2 and select "Open in Explorer." Navigate to Meshes\Landscape\LOD\WastelandNV\Blocks.
4) Take note of each .nif's filename. You will need to refer to them later.
5) Right-click in the left pane of MO2 and select "All Mods > Create Empty Mod Above." Name the new mod something like "Animated LOD - Custom Patch." Make sure it is being loaded below your LOD output and any animated LOD mods you have installed.
6) Right-click the custom patch in MO2 and select "Open in Explorer." Locate your LOD output and do the same.
7) In the custom patch folder, recreate the folder structure for Meshes\Landscape\LOD\WastelandNV\Blocks. You can also just copy the Meshes folder from the original mod and overwrite the .nif files in the next step.
8) In your LOD output folder, navigate to Meshes\Landscape\LOD\WastelandNV\Blocks. Copy all of the .nif files that match the filenames from step 4, and paste those into the Blocks folder you created in the previous step.
9) Open the first .nif from the original mod's Blocks folder in NifSkope and then do the same for the corresponding .nif you just copied to the custom patch's Blocks folder.
10) You will need to copy all of the NiNode branches from the original .nif into the custom patch .nif. To do this, right-click the first NiNode in the original .nif's Block List and select "Block > Copy Branch." Then switch to the custom patch .nif, right-click the BSFadeNode, and select "Block > Paste Branch." Repeat for every top-level NiNode in the original .nif.
11) Save your .nif. If you get a pop-up that says some blocks had their names sanitized, just click "OK" (it doesn't matter, but NifSkope wants to assign the base LOD block a unique name).
12) The .nif has been patched! As should be done after editing any mesh, the final step is to go to "Spells > Sanitize" in the toolbar (at the top of the window) and run Reorder Link Arrays, Collapse Link Arrays, and Reorder Blocks. Save your mesh again.
13) Repeat steps 9-12 for each set of .nif files.
Notes:
- If you want to use Smoke on the Desert alongside Dust Bowl, you need to open the "WastelandNV.Level4.X-12.Y-24" .nif files from both mods and copy over the NiNode branches from each into your patched .nif.
- To verify that your file structure is correct, enable the original mod in MO2. It should be flagged a white lightning bolt in the conflicts column. If your custom patch is flagged with a yellow bolt with a red minus (with or without a green plus), something is overwriting it. Ensure that you do not have LOD files in your MO2 overwrite folder (can be opened at the bottom of the left pane).
8 comments
For example, if you're running Smoke on the Desert you want to paste your NiNode branch under BSMultiBoundNode. The method works flawlessly for me.
Basically its just a matter of copy and pasting the nifs from our LOD output then opening them up in nifskope and copying the branches from your mod nifs into our lod output nifs.
Then following the santize mesh method.