Museum

[Altbert]

Would someone be able to create large display cases as seen in the pictures I have uploaded? The pictures are AI generated. I would like those in my personal museum, without having to use a torch or other lightsource to see what I have gathered during my adventures. I have tried using Legend of the Dragonborn, but it's way too dark for my eyesight. 

[Sigurð Stormhand]

Structurally something like that isn't difficult to do, unless you want all that fancy carving.

[Altbert]

I am disaster with Blender and the like. I am slowly starting to get acquainted with Gimp + DDS plugin and NifSkope SE. 

[ghastley]

Can you clarify your request a bit? It looks like single scalable transparent box with solid edges and a 2x1x1 ratio would allow you to build all of these on top of existing dresser etc. objects. 

Do you need internal illumination, or would you just place a standard light source in the same place as the box?

Would it need display case functionality, or can you do the trigger, dummy object, activator linkage etc. yourself? 

[Altbert]

It's just the box itself, preferably those from the second image. I have tried using Blender, but my eye-hand coordination is not what it used to be anymore. It doesn't need the standard display case functionality. I'm very capable of doing anything else needed. The box only needs BSTriNodes to apply textures to.

[ghastley]

I made a quick-and-dirty start by lifting the lid of the DisplayCaseLgFlat01 (top image) and copying the top glass around the sides

It still needs an adjusted collision box, and a few extra bits of wood added, but I thought I'd get an initial reaction before I go on.

Edited April 19, 2024 by ghastley

[Altbert]

That looks really good. Would it be possible to have an extra bottom, say about 3/4 above the existing bottom. I have been using the same case in a different way by changing the textures, but I couldn't change the inside of the bottom. So I moved the case a bit, so it was not visible anymore. See this image for my results: https://modding-on-the-spectrum.com/app.php/gallery/image/104

[ghastley]

Is that a request for a change to the original one, or the new one, ... or both? I'll see what's possible.

[ghastley]

This is what the base looks like with a copy of the bottom flipped and set in. I can do that for both meshes easily.

 

[ghastley]

A first cut to try:(see later post for replacement link)
The flat one should retain the animation of the lid, but the larger one is not animated. The "lid" of the larger one also has no collision, but it should be easy enough to wrap a separate collision box around it in the CK. Meanwhile, I'll try and find my notes on adding collision.

Edited May 8, 2024 by ghastley
Removed obsolete link

[Altbert]

The link doesn't work, at least for me it doesn't! I receive a 404 error.

Edited April 20, 2024 by Altbert

[ghastley]

Oops, left a level out. Try it again.

[Altbert]

Yep, got it! Thanks.

[Altbert]

It looks good in NifSkope (purple colored, but all objects are that way), but nothing shows up in the Creation Kit. Also the original display case has far more BSTriNodes than the new one. Still, thanks for all your efforts. I would never have come that far!

[ghastley]

I only provided nifs, as the textures are the original ones. New forms would need to be created before the CK could use them. Depending on whether you want opening lids, they could be defined as statics, or activators. Only the flat case has open/close animations, and I only checked those out in Nifskope. I could probably adjust the animations to use with the larger case, but it looked too unstable in the open position, so dropped them for now. Since that one could be used vertically, an animation might make sense.

I don’t know why the original top had multiple parts for the lid, but it did. I made the large top all one node, for simplicity.  It might get split up again, if I decide to open just the top/front panel.

Edited April 21, 2024 by ghastley

[Altbert]

I only need the meshes as statics. I will see what I can do in NifSkope. I will let you know.

[ghastley]

You might want to download again. The b versions have TriShapes instead of TriStrips, which should work better. I also added animation to the larger one, in case you change your mind about statics versus activators (or more likely, I want to use them myself), I'm continuing to play with the big one, as moving the hinge to the top panel gives an useful option.

The picture shows the case fully open. At that angle it doesn't quite look like it would tip over on its own. If (when) I do the top lid, that can get the full 90 degrees or even more.

[Altbert]

It really does look great, but it crashed the CK with an assertion error!. Before adding it to the CK is still was not visible. Error code was 0xC0000005.

BTW, I'm using CK 2.0 with CK Platform Extended 0.2 build 191, and tried to optimize the nif with SSE NIF Optimizer. No results.

Edited April 21, 2024 by Altbert

[ghastley]

This is going to be one of those little discrepancies in the nif that Nifskope tolerates, but the CK doesn't. Usually it's flags in the texture part, like declaring you have a glow map, but there isn't one. However, those texture blocks are the same ones the vanilla niif's use, so this has to be somewhere else. I'll check over the other blocks and test the result in the CK before I post a replacement. My first guess is that it might be the animation flag in the BSX block, but I'm usually wrong the first time.

[ghastley]

Further investigation shows that the original flat one has the lid split between the solid and transparent parts, with different settings in the texture blocks. I may have to do the same, which will take longer. 

 

[Altbert]

No problem. I'm glad someone is helping me out with this. I have a lot to do for my personal museum. Thanks for all your hard work!

[Sigurð Stormhand]

On 4/21/2024 at 6:43 PM, ghastley said:

You might want to download again. The b versions have TriShapes instead of TriStrips, which should work better. I also added animation to the larger one, in case you change your mind about statics versus activators (or more likely, I want to use them myself), I'm continuing to play with the big one, as moving the hinge to the top panel gives an useful option.

The picture shows the case fully open. At that angle it doesn't quite look like it would tip over on its own. If (when) I do the top lid, that can get the full 90 degrees or even more.

Impressive. Have you considered a front-opening version?

[ghastley]

I've replaced the file again. This version has three nif's - flat with raised bottom, opening - box style opening, - and box, static.There's also am esp that places them in WarehouseCrafting, to test that they work.

I'm still playing with the idea of one glass panel opening, and that could be top or front, by the time I'm done.

 

[Altbert]

Great work! And it works in the CK. Thank you!

[ghastley]

I admit I was expecting more issues. I usually have more problems with delivering stuff than producing it. 

This will probably get made into a simple resource mod, so it will need a readme with foolproof instructions on how to use it. Why do I think that part is going to be even harder?