Location Data / Path Reference Table as source for mass-import and export of asset data

[6ooflames]

Do we want to integrate this as a UI feature for PyNifly, or is it out of scope?

[BadDogSkyrim]

Do I know what this is in reference to?

[6ooflames]

Sorry, https://github.com/6ooflames/F4RefToBlender

[BadDogSkyrim]

That link didn't work.

[6ooflames]

https://github.com/6ooflames/F4RefToBlender
:( My mistake

[BadDogSkyrim]

Okay, that's wild. You do what, load a whole dungeon or a whole region of tamriel into Blender at once? And blender doesn't blow up? OK.

Have you seen my new project: https://github.com/BadDogSkyrim/esplib

Might be a way to extract what's in a level without having to muck with CK. It's not ready for prime time yet, but it's getting there.

[BadDogSkyrim]

I'm going to need some more help on how to use this. How do you export the object data? Are you really doing it for every object in the system? And how do you export reference data?

[6ooflames]

The Creation Kit can export the object data for all loaded archives as a long .txt file, and reference data per cell.

[6ooflames]

Your esplib approach is certainly favorable once feature parity is achieved, mine is pretty manual compared to that, but once you have the files exported, you only need the CK for new cells or archives.

E. g. on https://www.artstation.com/davidrobertkoch4

[6ooflames]

If fully integrated, esplib could act as the backend data-miner, automatically reading the plugin files to find out exactly where every object goes in a specific level. F4RefToBlender's logic would map out those coordinates, and PyNifly would still serve as the Blender frontend interface, actively fetching and rendering the 3D .nif models in their correct physical locations, but not one at a time anymore.

What do you think?

[BadDogSkyrim]

Yeah, will probably still need to write a script for blender to run, but the tool could be self-contained.

[6ooflames]

Maybe just a "bpy" import is enough? I don't know enough to say for sure, but maybe the GUI part of blender is unnecessary, since it hangs during chained imports anyway.

[BadDogSkyrim]

Wait, isn't the whole point to get the entire cell into blender at once?

I still haven't actually seen it work... I don't understand how exactly you're getting the info out of CK.

[6ooflames]

Here are some sample files for clarification. The objdata.txt contains all nifs in the Extracted paths, and the dictionary of elements from the cell reference data (vault111cryoref.txt) gets iterated over by the script.

To answer how exactly this data is generated, both can be exported manually via the Creation Kit:

1. objdata.txt (Path Reference Table): In the CK's Object Window, you can select the base objects, right-click, and export/copy the list. This outputs a long tab-delimited text file acting as a dictionary of every base object mapped to its .nif filepath.
   Example: PlayerHouse_Ruin_Washer01_Empty 001D5D30 CONT Washer SetDressing\PlayerHouse_Ruin\PlayerHouse_Ruin_Washer01.nif -1 0.00 0

2. vault111cryoref.txt (Cell Reference Data): In the Cell View window, you select the references in your target cell, right-click, and export the list. This outputs the exact X, Y, Z position, rotation, and scale for every placed instance in that cell.

You can see the results of this exact workflow on my ArtStation with all Commonwealth LODs and the Vault 111 Cryo Interior Cell, rendered in UE5. The process from importreference.py is generic and adaptable since it already uses your PyNifly plugin under the hood.

I've attached the sample files so you can see exactly what the raw CK output looks like:

• objdata.txt
• vault111cryoref.txt

The extracted file structure, of course, mirrors the NetImmerse Data/ directory 1:1:

I hope this helps clarify the current workflow. Ultimately, the main goal would be fully automating the objdata and cell reference creation (potentially reading the plugin data directly) and using bpy for .blend scene creation to avoid the current GUI bottlenecks and manual CK export slowdown.

[BadDogSkyrim]

I still am not really sure what the purpose of your thing is. Bring an entire cell into blender? Port from FO4 to UE? ???

[6ooflames]

The tool itself can accelerate such porting efforts, but the main point was seeing assets in relation to each other before blindly editing them or their arrangement, or trying to use CK for complex tasks. In a dream world, blender and the right add-ons with features like described / seen could replace use of CK entirely.
Personally, I felt motivated because I prefer blender and have 10 more years of experience compared to CK editor usage and think hangs and asynchronicity just break the workflow too much.