shuryanc wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 12:23 pm
With nif support, model replacement would be simple since the models can simply be replaced by files.
And humanoid npc, armor and weapon models can be standardized.
I'm still not seeing the benefit. Why do replacement files and a standard
have to be built around NIF files and
can't be built around FBXs, for example?
The other problem I see is that standards only work when everyone agrees with it. To standardise weapon, armour and clothing models, you would need both a skeleton and body model that everyone agrees to build their stuff against. As soon as someone decides that some changes need to be made that not everyone agrees with, you've broken the standard.
IMO, the modding communities for the later games show exactly how well standardisation has worked. All of them have modders who had different ideas for what the ideal body model was and other modders had to build their equipment to these different models. To take Oblivion for example, male equipment has to be built against both the vanilla body and the various Robert's Male body shapes. Females have vanilla, HGEC, EVE, Robert's Females and likely more on top of that. There's also a "Seamless" version of some of those too. In short, I think trying to standardise body models is going to be a losing battle.
shuryanc wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 12:23 pm
But no matter you see the point or not, do you think its technically possible?
It's definitely possible. In fact, I myself need to create a way for Unity to read NIF models
for my own project. Essentially, one would need to write C# code that can read data from an NIF model and then populate a MeshRenderer and Materials with that data. The best source for this info is probably the XML specification written up by the NIF Tools team, though I'm currently
trying to determine the license for that info.
carademono wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 3:26 pm
You can convert them, but you can't distribute them without breaking copyright laws.
If you get permission from the modder who created those models, there wouldn't be any copyright infringement. Of course, if you're talking about the base models that ship with the game, then yes, that would be infringement. But then the question I would ask is why you would want the vanilla models and not one of the upgraded models that modders created?
carademono wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 3:26 pm
If you add NIF support, you can point DF Unity at your Morrowind Data Files folder and a mod can simply replace all the NPCs and monsters in the game with fully animated 3d models.
You could possibly add support for reading BSA, NIF and KF files into the game through a mod. Whether such a change would be accepted into the core engine is something Interkarma would have the final say over. There is also a lot of work that would need to be done beyond adding support for Morrowind's file formats. That said, if you already have a realistic idea of what it would take, I don't want to discourage anyone.
Another thing though is that Interkarma has recently announced that he is going to
put a hard lock on new features from the start of July until the release of v1.0. If you want to add NIF support to the engine, you will either need to get it ready before the end of next month or wait until after 1.0 is released.