as such here is a quick update: 1. There is a SSE version provided by another author. Just search for visual transfer tool and it will appear.
2. The Npc Sofia has been notoriously fickle with this tool. It has always worked for me, but for some it just doesn't work. I spent months trying to figure it out, and the SSE port author has also tried and the best I can at least come up with is that its at the mercy of the skyrim gods.
Hey everyone, to help solve some issues I wanted to let you all know of a few fixes/ best practices when using this tool:
Extract all bsa files that contain textures/meshes needed by an NPC or alternatively, re-download any mod with its loose file version.
Why you ask?
Quite simple, bsa files which do not have a matching loaded esp file are ignored. Therefore the assets which my mod might need to use will not load into the game if you deselected esp of the NPCs which you used visuals from.
The most common symptom of this problem will be seeing an NPC with pink/purple hair if custom hair is used, and/or mismatched head/body colors. Some other symptoms may include: Body Mesh (body will not render, may show a floating head) Body Skeleton (never had this happen to me but I guess it will default to another skeleton or the npc will be invisible) Custom armors may not appear correctly or may make body parts turn invisible.
After extracting the bsa load up the game, if the NPC hasn't changed visuals in any way. Try Step 2:
2.Open up the console, select the NPC in question and type in "disable" immediately followed by "enable" ---This will force the ultimate refresh on the NPC, sometimes necessary for persistent npcs.
If the visuals still did not change:
3: Chances are the FaceGenData was not properly transferred. (To Check this, take a look inside of your VNPC_Data folder and see if there is anything. If it only contains folders, then windows is not letting me transfer your files. Here are a few workarounds:
1. Create a shortcut to tes5edit's temp folder and manually move the appropriate files:
a. Right click an empty part of your desktop screen and goto New->Shortcut b. Inside of the input box, type in : %Temp% c. Click next until done. d. Retransfer your NPC visuals BUT DO NOT QUIT when it says it is finished. e. Double click your shortcut and find the folder called "Tes5Edit". f1 - MO users, move the entire contents of that tes5edit folder into your VNPC_Data modfolder f2 - everyone else, move the contents of the tes5edit folder into skyrim's Data folder.
More permanent solutions: 1. Make sure Skyrim is installed outside of your Program Files Folder. 2. Make sure Mod Organizer/NMM is ALSO installed outside of your Program Files folder ------Especially Mod Organizer users, as I am writing directly to the mod folders themselves rather than skyrim's data directory.
2. Modify Your Skyrim's/Mod Organizer's Folder's Windows Permissions directly. You should never do this if either skyrim or your mod manager is installed inside of your Program Files folder, it is way to dangerous.
But for those that don't care that option is available, I won't discuss how to do it here.
I got some good news for me, perhaps not so good news for you. Due to real life changes I must put modding on hold. Therefore I cannot guarantee any set date for when the next update comes out. If there is enough interest I can run through the manual process of creating NPC -> player character via tes5edit as a youtube video, for those that are interested, but I cannot guarantee a timeline for a patcher anytime soon. This is not something which I like to state, but in all honesty I can't live off of donations .
Hope you all understand! -ThreeTen
PS: This doesn't mean that I will stop providing updates, if there are bugs I will squash them and if there is a way to bring back multiple transfers per session I will try and implement it. I just cannot commit to anything completely new, like NPC-> PC or PC->NPC as it is too time consuming to complete in any reasonable amount of time. If anyone is interested in tackling these solutions, feel free to reach out and I will provide as much support as I can!
About the NPC-Player transfers, I'd certainly appreciate a youtube video tutorial explaining how to do them using TES5Edit. I could probably manage with a set of written instructions too, whatever is easiest for you man. And of course no need to hurry.
Hi again! Glad to see your job is working out that's good news but sorry to hear that about the modding it's really sad news, it sounded like your were close to completion with your updates too.
I understand. I still look forward to the day your updates do come out for NPC-> PC and PC->NPC you are still going to make them eventually right? I hope at least. Player to NPC is what I wanted the most I've waited forever for something like that. That's too bad you no longer have much time to mod though.
Please will you show us how to make Player to NPC manual in TES5 Edit is it possible, I want to make followers really bad! If so would you be willing to list instructions or make a video, I can follow instructions well enough. Like I said earlier making a follower off of a ECE or RM Player character is such a pain can take hours to days. I would really appreciate it, If not I understand.
NPC-->Player with TES5Edit sounds amaziiing! Yes! Please post a video! Pretty please update this someday too! Player-->NPC is what everyone's been looking for, I think. Endorsed!
wow, help me here if you can It was working fine , but I tried it on an Eydis npc , a dead npc , but I resurrected , but my game now closes on the loading screen , I went to the folder and deleted it , the change , and it continued , I deleted the mod to see it and nothing also , the game closes on the loading screen , it does not even show the loading of saves
Happened to me just now. Worked like a charm so far. Then during a transfer it all got crazy and CTD. Corrupted a lot of other mods too. It's not fail-safe. Be warned.
Make sure to manually make backups of all your .esp and .esm files before using this tool. Sometimes TES5Edit won't make automatic copies in its backup folder when the tool edits files like Update.esm and Skyrim.esm
----------Edit---------- I'm serious. Don't think "read-only" or using "safe" plugins that you have already used to change NPCs' faces successfully can save you. This tool will replace all of them anyway. And its own backup option never works whenever it attempts to contaminate everything
Got the dark potato head like everyone else. There were a few steps I overlooked, even as a experienced modder I was stumped for a bit.
I'm using vortex with the latest version of TES5 edit, this is what I did to make it work:
1. 1st mistake was not activating the data folder "VNPC_Data". Since I'm using vortex, I gotta activate it differently than what instructions say. Go inside your Skyrim data folder after you have made a visual transfer, and find the folder "VNPC_Data". Go inside and find the folder "TransferredFaceGens". Make that folder an archive (I use winrar), and install it like a normal mod with vortex. Make sure to update it with a new archive for every NPC visual transfer you make.
2. 2nd mistake was load order. Make sure the .esp file from NPC visual transfer tool loads after all your npc mods. Vortex will automatically put the .esp file you created with NPC Visual transfer tool where it thinks is the right spot, but it loaded before the .esp of the NPC I did the transfer on. This created the dark face bug that many people are reporting.
3. And as the mod author recommends, if you're transferring visuals from a modded follower and it has a .bsa, extract the .bsa with a tool like Bethesda Archive Extractor (B.A.E). The way I do it with vortex is I extract the .bsa, add it to a archive with winrar, then install it like a normal mod with vortex. You can use this technique to create "loose files" with any mod btw and edit the textures or meshes this way.
After fixing these two mistakes, this mod works like a charm. Was able to transfer the visuals of one custom follower to another custom follower. Thanks ThreeTen!
Can you show me the nexus mod manager way. I have the potato head with serana(Dawngaurd DLC) after transffering the visual from (modded follower)Hikari from Skyrim(GTX) follower. And I am using tes5edit 4_0_3.
This mod is crazy. Be patient. First few attempts CTD and Black faces .. the shits.. Now I have 40 NPC interchanged no problems at all. Extraordinary. Endorsed.
Considering plenty of issues this mod may have incurred, I used to use a mod called Racemenu Preset Loader, works anytime, even when my saves are loaded on SSE, but sadly it's gone.
wrong this happens in 2 cases 1. the one u transfering visual modifeis a base game race for some dumb reason 2. u enabled your whole load order when u did the check.
never use one that messes with base game races. if u open the esp and it messes with base game race eithe rsee if u can use if u remove teh race entry or dont use
well i've used this for years and worked fine. but updated from tesvedit 3.2 to latest 4.03 and now npcv wont work. don't think it screwed w masters but it crashes w/ errors about overflow and integers
@sidfu 1) Individual NPC's race "might" be changed but not the race record itself 2) I never do it that way.
@Mookeylama Anyway the solution is pretty simple. download and keep 2 versions of TES5Edit (older ones like 3.1.3, 3.2 etc and latest ones). 1) Keep the the latest one installed for regular use. 2) Replace it with old one whenever you wish to use NPCV tool (just drag and drop over the newer version). 4) Use the tool for whatever NPC you want. 3) Verify if NPC replacer worked in game or not. 4) Overwrite the old one again with newer one and continue 5) profit
even when you ovwewrite the old tesv with the newer one, all your settings will be saved? ex: mods that you cleaned or will you have to clean your mods again?
omg thank you !! you are such a life saver !, i was changing frea with some npc mods, then makes my game ctd on load even after removing this mod. i even disable all mods and still got ctd on load, turn out this mod ruin my dragonborn dlc lmao.
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Post screenshots of your transfers!
as such here is a quick update:
1. There is a SSE version provided by another author. Just search for visual transfer tool and it will appear.
2. The Npc Sofia has been notoriously fickle with this tool. It has always worked for me, but for some it just doesn't work. I spent months trying to figure it out, and the SSE port author has also tried and the best I can at least come up with is that its at the mercy of the skyrim gods.
Extract all bsa files that contain textures/meshes needed by an NPC or alternatively, re-download any mod with its loose file version.
Why you ask?
Quite simple, bsa files which do not have a matching loaded esp file are ignored. Therefore the assets which my mod might need to use will not load into the game if you deselected esp of the NPCs which you used visuals from.
The most common symptom of this problem will be seeing an NPC with pink/purple hair if custom hair is used, and/or mismatched head/body colors.
Some other symptoms may include:
Body Mesh (body will not render, may show a floating head)
Body Skeleton (never had this happen to me but I guess it will default to another skeleton or the npc will be invisible)
Custom armors may not appear correctly or may make body parts turn invisible.
After extracting the bsa load up the game, if the NPC hasn't changed visuals in any way. Try Step 2:
2.Open up the console, select the NPC in question and type in "disable" immediately followed by "enable"
---This will force the ultimate refresh on the NPC, sometimes necessary for persistent npcs.
If the visuals still did not change:
3: Chances are the FaceGenData was not properly transferred.
(To Check this, take a look inside of your VNPC_Data folder and see if there is anything. If it only contains folders, then windows is not letting me transfer your files.
Here are a few workarounds:
1. Create a shortcut to tes5edit's temp folder and manually move the appropriate files:
a. Right click an empty part of your desktop screen and goto New->Shortcut
b. Inside of the input box, type in : %Temp%
c. Click next until done.
d. Retransfer your NPC visuals BUT DO NOT QUIT when it says it is finished.
e. Double click your shortcut and find the folder called "Tes5Edit".
f1 - MO users, move the entire contents of that tes5edit folder into your VNPC_Data modfolder
f2 - everyone else, move the contents of the tes5edit folder into skyrim's Data folder.
More permanent solutions:
1. Make sure Skyrim is installed outside of your Program Files Folder.
2. Make sure Mod Organizer/NMM is ALSO installed outside of your Program Files folder
------Especially Mod Organizer users, as I am writing directly to the mod folders themselves rather than skyrim's data directory.
2. Modify Your Skyrim's/Mod Organizer's Folder's Windows Permissions directly.
You should never do this if either skyrim or your mod manager is installed inside of your Program Files folder, it is way to dangerous.
But for those that don't care that option is available, I won't discuss how to do it here.
5. Post your issue here
Duplicate NPC problems.
Fixed with 1.0.5
Neck Gap After Transfer/Revert:
Article On How To Fix
I got some good news for me, perhaps not so good news for you.
Due to real life changes I must put modding on hold. Therefore I cannot guarantee any set date for when the next update comes out. If there is enough interest I can run through the manual process of creating NPC -> player character via tes5edit as a youtube video, for those that are interested, but I cannot guarantee a timeline for a patcher anytime soon.
This is not something which I like to state, but in all honesty I can't live off of donations
Hope you all understand!
-ThreeTen
PS: This doesn't mean that I will stop providing updates, if there are bugs I will squash them and if there is a way to bring back multiple transfers per session I will try and implement it. I just cannot commit to anything completely new, like NPC-> PC or PC->NPC as it is too time consuming to complete in any reasonable amount of time. If anyone is interested in tackling these solutions, feel free to reach out and I will provide as much support as I can!
Glad to see things are working for you man.
About the NPC-Player transfers, I'd certainly appreciate a youtube video tutorial explaining how to do them using TES5Edit. I could probably manage with a set of written instructions too, whatever is easiest for you man. And of course no need to hurry.
I understand. I still look forward to the day your updates do come out for NPC-> PC and PC->NPC you are still going to make them eventually right? I hope at least. Player to NPC is what I wanted the most I've waited forever for something like that. That's too bad you no longer have much time to mod though.
Please will you show us how to make Player to NPC manual in TES5 Edit is it possible, I want to make followers really bad! If so would you be willing to list instructions or make a video, I can follow instructions well enough. Like I said earlier making a follower off of a ECE or RM Player character is such a pain can take hours to days. I would really appreciate it, If not I understand.
Corrupted a lot of other mods too.
It's not fail-safe. Be warned.
----------Edit----------
I'm serious. Don't think "read-only" or using "safe" plugins that you have already used to change NPCs' faces successfully can save you. This tool will replace all of them anyway. And its own backup option never works whenever it attempts to contaminate everything
I'm using vortex with the latest version of TES5 edit, this is what I did to make it work:
1. 1st mistake was not activating the data folder "VNPC_Data". Since I'm using vortex, I gotta activate it differently than what instructions say. Go inside your Skyrim data folder after you have made a visual transfer, and find the folder "VNPC_Data". Go inside and find the folder "TransferredFaceGens". Make that folder an archive (I use winrar), and install it like a normal mod with vortex. Make sure to update it with a new archive for every NPC visual transfer you make.
2. 2nd mistake was load order. Make sure the .esp file from NPC visual transfer tool loads after all your npc mods. Vortex will automatically put the .esp file you created with NPC Visual transfer tool where it thinks is the right spot, but it loaded before the .esp of the NPC I did the transfer on. This created the dark face bug that many people are reporting.
3. And as the mod author recommends, if you're transferring visuals from a modded follower and it has a .bsa, extract the .bsa with a tool like Bethesda Archive Extractor (B.A.E). The way I do it with vortex is I extract the .bsa, add it to a archive with winrar, then install it like a normal mod with vortex. You can use this technique to create "loose files" with any mod btw and edit the textures or meshes this way.
After fixing these two mistakes, this mod works like a charm. Was able to transfer the visuals of one custom follower to another custom follower. Thanks ThreeTen!
Happy modding!
First few attempts CTD and Black faces .. the shits..
Now I have 40 NPC interchanged no problems at all. Extraordinary. Endorsed.
If it can't transfer custom Head Parts it doesn't make sense.
It ruined my game lol..rewrote all the master files too.
I can vouch it works with V 3.1.3 of Tes5Edit
backup your master files always!
1. the one u transfering visual modifeis a base game race for some dumb reason
2. u enabled your whole load order when u did the check.
never use one that messes with base game races. if u open the esp and it messes with base game race eithe rsee if u can use if u remove teh race entry or dont use
1) Individual NPC's race "might" be changed but not the race record itself
2) I never do it that way.
@Mookeylama
Anyway the solution is pretty simple. download and keep 2 versions of TES5Edit (older ones like 3.1.3, 3.2 etc and latest ones).
1) Keep the the latest one installed for regular use.
2) Replace it with old one whenever you wish to use NPCV tool (just drag and drop over the newer version).
4) Use the tool for whatever NPC you want.
3) Verify if NPC replacer worked in game or not.
4) Overwrite the old one again with newer one and continue
5) profit