Hey guys,

In most of my line of modding, I have dealt with taking out skyrim content, editing the meshes or textures, then adding them into the Skyrim directory so I could add them in with the Creation Kit. The problem with this is, by making a mod: I can't really upload them because the model .nif file and the .dds files are included in the file. If I am right, it is technically against the rules to upload content from dawnguard, even if I bought it.. Because then some other dude could browse on steam and find the crossbow mod and instantly get access to dawnguard files even if he didn't buy the dlc.

So what I want to know:

Is there a solution to allow me to add a new crossbow into skyrim USING the dawnguard mesh, and animation with a different texture that does not work unless you have dawnguard installed? If so, please point me on how to do this. I never really uploaded a skyrim mod yet because I was afraid of these legal issues and that I would make a mistake.

Are there any tutorials on how to do this?

Thanks!

You don't have to include any .nif meshes. Just include 'Requires Dawnguard' in the description.

if you modified the crossbow mesh, load dawnguard.esm into the CK with your esp as the active file and save. this will force users to have dawnguard installed in order for it to even launch

if you only changed the texture, you dont need to pack the nif file

Thanks for the replies,

I did change the texture, but I don't know how to make a seperate crossbow. I want a non-replacer, and don't understand how to add a texture to a mesh in CK.. Is there a link or tutorial on this, or is it easy to do?

its very easy, first create a new texture set, and link up your textures to each map type. if you only re-colored the diffuse map, you will still need to link the vanilla normal and environment maps (if any). if you are unsure, you can look for the shader/textures in the actual nif file to find the exact paths and map types the model uses

then when creating a new crossbow weapon, select the existing crossbow nif for the model, but in the preview window after you select the crossbow (it will show up as a 3d model), to the right of the mesh name double click the empty space and select your texture set. you will be able to see the updated texture on the model preview if done correctly.

note that in order to be able to manually select the crossbow as a nif, you must already have it unpacked in a loose folder

Thanks again!

So I did this, and the texture (Diffuse) and new normal applied properly onto the mesh, but when I play the game and loot the crossbow, it appears as the texture i changed it to, but when I pick it up it turns back to the normal crossbow texture. What could be causing this?

Also, I notice when loading the crossbow mesh in the creation kit, it says there was a warning given during a texture swap. Could this be it? Because when I remove the applied texture, the steel crossbow texture shows up on it (The vanilla one) instead of the modded one.

sorry, i forgot to mention you need to update the 1stpersoncrossbow as well, you can find this record under statics. if you dont want to override the vanilla one, just duplicate it and point your crossbow to the new 1st person model in the weapon edit window (should be under the "art" tab)

if the texture set works in game, you can disregard the ck messages. usually it will give you a message if the shader is expecting a certain type of map and is not given. for example, if the original shader uses a metallic type shader, and needs an environment mask map, but your texture set does not specify one, it will complain about it in the CK. this wont cause any problems, other than the fact that the reflective shine wont work properly in this case.

if you want to double check, open the crossbow nif in nifskope and check the texture properties on the mesh to see exactly how many maps it expects for the shader. then duplicate those map file paths in your texture set, even if you havent edited them.