6.1 The Nif viewer
A nif file (For Bethesda games) is the 3D mesh that makes up an in game object. The nif viewer can be used to see these objects and an approximation on how they will look in game.
There are a few ways to view meshes with the nif viewer
It can be opened with the Wizard > other > nif viewer
This will open the following interface
This will scan all mesh files in the vanilla game files as well as modded files
There is a search bar for finding specfic meshes
A nif file can have a dropdown, This is because the same nif can be in multiple sources/mods. The one highlighted in green is the one that is loaded in game. But you swap between them to view the difference in the meshes
The viewer shows a full 3d render that you can move around
If the mesh has multiple textures that can be applied to it, you can change these to see how it would look
Clicking a nif file in the mod files tab will open the nif viewer too
You can preview nif files that are in BSA/BA2 files too. You need to open the BSA/BA2 in the mod files tab first
Right clicking a mod that contains nif meshes will open that mod in the nif viewer
The view button in the nif viewer has a dropdown with several options
- Textures - Remove the texture from the mesh to view its raw shape only
- Normal maps + shine - Removes the post processing effects added to the mesh
- Cull Backfaces - Remove the parts of the mesh you normally wouldn't be able to see
- Wireframe - Renders the mesh as a wireframe, either as an overlay or on its own
- Texture map - View the Diffuse or normal textures on the mesh
- Background - Changes the viewer background, Might make some things easier to see
This could be used to catch issues before you see them in game. Or if something doesn't look right in game the nif viewer may show why.
As an example here is the mesh being used for my common table round. This is not the one I want. I want it to use the mesh from my Vanilla table replacers mod
Whats loaded in game
What it should look like
You can tell why it doesn't work from the left hand pane. Faultiers PBR Skyrim is loaded after Vanilla table replacers so it's mesh takes priority. I would need to swap these mods around (as well as regenerate my pgpatcher output)