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Hey guys, this isn't STRICTLY an Oblivion modding question, but I figure you lot would be my best bet. I'm currently on a modding kick for Fallout: New Vegas, and I've got a couple Oblivion related projects on my plate.

The first is pretty straightforward, I'm trying to get Dark19Murderer2's facial data into the GECK so I can play as her. If it works, I might even expand it into a full companion mod.

The second is a bit more pressing. I'm placing some finishing touches on a quest mod. The quest begins when the player finds a dead Legion Frumentarii carrying some very sensitive documents relating to the NCR and it's involvement in a PreWar/ Enclave military research project. I need a face for Mr. Frum, and I want, oh how I want, to make him look exactly like Lucien Lachance. I've already put a couple of Oblivion/ Morrowind references into the quest (including a bottle of Tamika's Vintage 399 and a boss monster named Cliffracer) and having a DB cameo would just make my day.

So, basically, is there any way to export facial data from Oblivion and import it into F3/NV? Ideally, I'd like to have a tool like Focon. I got a copy of SI's FaceGen Studios back in the day, so if I can import .fg data into Fallout's GECK then the world is pretty much my oyster and I can take things from there. Any ideas on how this might be done?

You will get NOTHING...

It's starting to look that way! I figured I'd finish my brand spanking new quest mod by this weekend; now I've hit about five walls and will be lucky to get it done by December!

Have you tried the Fallout / Oblivion Nexus forums? (Yes, clueless here)

Nexus forums are fail on this matter. But I have not yet begun to fight! Maybe this will help? I was poking around in faceGen, and discovered that I can export facial models in other formats beside .fg. I can save them as .obj, .3ds, .ma, .lwo, .xsi, and .wrl.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Fablivion utilize Wavefront .objs? Would there be any way to use these to import facial data into the GECK?

The thing is, an OBJ is a static mesh. It has the shape it has. End.

When you are generating a face in Oblivion you are taking one mesh, a standard mesh .nif, and you deform it via scales and bones. But it is still the same mesh. It's just, basically, permanently animated and posed to look like your character.

So when you try to export, it will only work to export to a face which uses the same scales and bones, the same animation rig. It is this pose/animation/deformation data you want to export, not the model itself.

If it is possible otherwise, you need to choose a format of export which retains the rig data. OBJ files do not contain this data. 3ds does. Can you save as a .nif? But again, I don't think the "pose" will be saved.

.nif, .nif, um, no, I don't think I can save as a .nif, not unless there's some kind of third party software that can convert between formats? 3ds works, but FaceGen doesn't seem to approve of exporting .fs as .3ds. There's a bunch of disclaimers, something about "breaking quads into tris" (whatever that means) and seams developing in the model. It says the best way to get a .3ds out of FaceGen is to save it as an .obj and then convert it with an .obj-.3ds converter. Either way, let's say I've got a good .3ds file, now what would I do?

...

Maker's Breath, look at this, it's like it's mocking me.

Yes, also I am telling you you would need to export the deformation data, not the face itself.

Yes to which part?

Right, let's back up. So I need deformation data. You're saying this deformation data IS present in a 3ds file, correct? If so, what do I do with it once I've got the .3ds?

Please bear with me, I've never worked with 3ds files before, so assume I'm an idiot.

No, it probably wouldn't be included in a .3ds. Isn't the .fg file that deformation data?

I don't know anything about those games and how they get along, I'm just saying what might keep you from exporting is their not using the same basic face.

Ah, right, I misunderstood what you were aiming at. .fg contains all the deformation data necessary to build a face in Oblivion; if you don't know of any way to get that data from .3ds files... there probably isn't a way to do that anyway. I'm grasping at straws.

How about this. Do any of you know where copied facial data is stored after it's copied in the Advanced Face tabs? I checked the Windows clipboard, and it doesn't seem to be there. Nor do I think it's stored in a temporary memory location within the CS itself; the CS and both versions of the GECK all seem to recognize that copied facial data is being stored somewhere, and the data seems to be retained between sessions, but trying to paste it directly into a different program causes a CTD. Maybe if we could locate and extract the copied data, we could figure out how to put it in a format recognizable by one of the other construction sets?