Guide:Hair Mod File Setup: Difference between revisions

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Welcome to the file setup portion of making a hair mod. For an overview of all the steps, see [[Modding:Creating Hair Mods]].

* [https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Modding:BG3_Mini_Tool BG3 Mini Tool] (optional but helpful)

 

 

Non autosnapping is when the game doesn't snap the hair into place at all. So, you have to create your hair mesh for each race/bodyshape/bodytype that you want it to be usable for. Obviously, this takes more work, but it can often give better/less crunchy results than autosnapping, and it is much easier to manually weight a non-autosnapping hair than an autosnapping hair. For instance, for personal use hairs, you might decide you only want it for one character. Then non autosnapping might be the way to go.|collapsed=Autosnapping hairs are basically when you have an asset you want to work for more than one race/bodyshape/bodytype, but don't want to make a mesh for every single variation. So when setup to be autosnapping, you can apply one mesh to be used by multiple races/bodyshapes/bodytypes. And the game "autosnaps" them into place using a series of "sockets" that the hair is weighted to.

Non autosnapping is when the game doesn't snap the hair into place at all. So, you have to create your hair mesh for each race/bodyshape/bodytype that you want it to be usable for. Obviously, this takes more work, but it can often give better/less crunchy results than autosnapping, and it is much easier to manually weight a non-autosnapping hair than an autosnapping hair. For instance, for personal use hairs, you might decide you only want it for one character. Then non autosnapping might be the way to go.}}

Following Padme's [https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/437 template] (or using it as a guide to copy parts from the game files), follow along with this tutorial.

 

 

You may have downloaded the template, and now feel overwhelmed by all the files and folders, but it's really not too complicated. There are only four* files that we need to edit: loca.xml, meta.lsx, _merged.lsf.lsx and CharacterCreationAppearanceVisuals.lsx. You'll also need to place your .GR2 in the Generated folder, but more on that later.

*If using the CharacterCreationSharedVisuals method, technically five files including Races.lsx. More on that later!

Alternatively you can follow [https://youtu.be/dNLP6Lt_zFo?si=fmRVTUYBpF00s-Uc this video] by Bububull for the file setup if you want to use the CharacterCreationAppearanceVisuals method.

Remember to create your meta.lsx for your mod as well, as it is required for almost all pak mods. If using multitool to pack, you can create a Mods folder in your workspace folder and let multitool create the meta.lsx for you. Otherwise, follow this tutorial on how to create your meta.lsx: [[Modding:Creating meta.lsx|Creating your Meta.lsx]]

=== [https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Modding:BG3_Mini_Tool#Using_mini_tool_to_create%2Fedit_the_.loca (Optional) Using mini tool to create/edit the .loca] ===

Why is it called _merged.lsf.lsx? Similar to the .loca file, the multitool will automatically convert our _merged to .lsf file format, which it needs in order to be read by the game. Of course, you can name it _merged.lsx if you want to convert it manually.

You want this line to have a unique UUID. Either use the Multitool to generate a new uuid, or use an extension/plugin for your code editing program.

* Make sure to use / and not \. Windows will automatically insert \ when copying the file path, so be careful.

* Always start the path from your Generated folder.

* Double check that your mesh's extension in the folder is .GR2 and not .gr2. It will not work if the file extension is lowercase.

* Do not remove .Dummy_Root.0 from the line.

* This line does not need .GR2 at the end. You are linking to the Dummy_Root in the .GR2.

This defines the MaterialID, or the texture of your hair (straight, wavy, curly, etc). Usually you want the same material as the hair you used for that part. If the different parts are using the same materials, you can keep this the same for each new section you make. See https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Modding:Hair_Meshes for a list of all vanilla hair MaterialIDs.

When making a new section, make sure to also update "_Mesh.0" by increasing the number by 1.

You can use [https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Modding:BG3_Mini_Tool Padme's mini tool] to help create the CharacterCreationAppearanceVisuals.lsx file, as well as its slots. Or, alternatively, use the file in this template to do it manually.

=== CharacterCreationAppearanceVisuals ===

Okay, let's break this down into sections:

* For Half-Orcs, even though they use Tall Muscular bodyshape, this value needs to be 0

The template is currently set up for the race uuid being Human. You will find the other Race UUID's at the bottom of this file on Padme's template or alternatively you can check them [[https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Modding:Race UUID|here]].

This tells the game you are adding the asset to a hair slot in character creation. This is where you would change the designation if you were making a beard for example.

This must be a unique uuid.

This must match the ID line in the Hairs _merged file that we created.

If you wish to use [[Modding:Compatibility Framework]] see that guide on how to use it as an alternative to Races.lsx. However we suggest you use both in order to not rule out your Mac users from using your mods.

== When to use three or more meshes for autosnapping hairs ==

Do you notice your autosnapping hair looks good on default bodies, but doesn't work quite right for the shorter or taller bodyshapes?

This is where you would make several autosnapping hairs. Each variation needs its own VisualBank entry in your merged.lsf file.

So if your hair has issues on different bodyshapes, you can do what Larian did and make several.

*One made around a dwarven head.

*One made around the default Elf height.

** this would be for Elves, Drow, Humans, Half Elves/Drow, Githyanki and Tieflings

*One for Taller bodyshapes.

If you still get issues on Tiefling heads then you might want to use Tiefling masc heads as a base for your default and tall height. You can make as many autosnapping variants as you need, but usually three will be enough.

Once you have these set up and have made the visualbank entries, you can then make the additional edits to your CharacterCreationAppearanceVisuals or CharacterCreationSharedVisuals.

=== CharacterCreationAppearanceVisuals ===

If using CharacterCreationAppearanceVisuals, change the VisualResourceID to the new ones in the correct slots you made previously for testing the mod, as you should have all the vanilla race and bodyshapes available from your first creation of the file.

=== CharacterCreationSharedVisuals ===

If using CharacterCreationSharedVisuals, you want to make new entries with these options. And in races.lsx instead of using Humanoid/Fey/Fiend/Celestial you want to use the race sections of the races the hairs will work on.

* For the taller height, add to Strong Elves, Drow, Humans, Half Elves/Drow, Tieflings and Half Orcs

Here are some common hair issues and how to troubleshoot them.

'''My hair doesn’t show up at all, there’s not even a slot in Character Creation!'''

Check your CharacterCreationAppearanceVisuals or CharacterCreationSharedVisuals, as that is where the CC slots are defined.

Check your hair _merged file, especially the file paths to your SourceFile and Template. Any inconsistency between this and the actual folders will result in the game not finding your mesh, and thus not loading it. Also note that folders must be separated by /, not \. E.g. Mod/Generated/Mod/Hair.GR2

[[Category:Hair modding]]