HowToMakeNPCAppearanceMod
[left]I looked everywhere but couldn't for the life of me find a tutorial on how to make an actual mod to change a companions appearance. So after finally figuring it out, I decided to make a tutorial for it.
Some things to note: the quality isn't great, because my set up is not meant for recording and I didn't think to optimize fo4 for recording the short bit i did.
Also, there might be a much easier way to do things, but this is how i learned it and like i said, I couldnt find a tutorial for the whole process anywhere.
Anyway the Too Long; Didn't Watch:
1. Create the look you want in Fallout 4's character creation then save the game.
(if you didn't use any mods in creation, or know exactly which ones you used, skip to step 7.[/left]2. Open FO4 Edit and load ONLY Fallout 4.esm
3. Locate the character file for the npc you want to edit in the Non-playable actors section(Companions are labeled like "CompanionCait")
4. Right click on the file and select copy as override into, then click yes and select new file esp. Name it and save.
5. Open up Face Ripper and on the first line (it says Source) click browse and locate the save file you just created with the appearance you want to copy. Then on the second line, find the ESP you just created. Hit Transfer Face.
6. Some popups will appear (if you used mods) saying "new masters added" make note of these files.
7. Open Fo4 Edit and load Fallout4.esm as well as the mods you noted above, if applicable. If you use Unique Followers and want it to be compatible with your mod, add this as well.
8. Repeat step 3 OR also load the esp you created in step 3. (If you did not use mods, skip to step 10.)
8a. If you use Unique Followers, click on the esp you created and click on the character file. It will be red. Scroll down to WMAN SKIN. Click on the part under Unique Followers and Drag it to the spot under your esp.
9. Right click the esp that contains the character you want to edit and select "Add masters" then select the mods you made note of earlier.
10. Save and close.
11. Open Face Ripper again. On the first line, select your save file with the appearance you want to copy. On the second line, select the ESP you added the masters to. Hit Transfer Face.
12. In you data folder (or wherever you saved the ESP) you will find two files: the original you created, and one with a string of numbers that is the one you face ripped. You can delete or remove the original.
13. In your mod manager of choice (or manually) enable the ESP file with the string of numbers.
14. Open your game and check out your companions new look!
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This is my second (and probably last (for real this time)) tutorial and its by no means perfect. I'm simply trying to teach others that might be interested in a tutorial as I once was.