There appears to be a T-shape on the back of every skyrim head file with unwelded vertices. This means if you try to subdivide (without smooth on--kind of pointless to subdivide though without being able to use brushes anyway) or smooth or any other sort of non-exact (see zbrush/mudbox/etc) pull, the vertices split apart and rip the mesh in half.

Now is this by design? I can't find anything concrete on the issue, but from other sources, it seems that generally the T shape is for animation purposes, and allows the mouth/other facial features to function. Is this the case with Skyrim, or am I simply doing something wrong when importing and this is the result of a bad mapping by my programs or something?

If it is intentional, does anyone have a general workflow process to work around this? So far I've been going --> 3ds Max (manually push/pull/adjust base obj as appropriate -- in this case, referring to tri morphs) --> export the low poly mesh as an obj and recreate the tri file --> weld/collapse the problem vertices so the mesh is properly fixed --> import into Mudbox --> subdivide/sculpt and texture in details for all maps --> export maps.

I hate having to use 3ds max. I just don't have a good deal of experience in the software. But I will if I have to. I've been working under the assumption that welding the vertices prior to working on my base mesh will destroy the functionality of the tri. Is this the case? If so, I guess I won't really get my workflow much more optimized than it is right now. It just feels so... clunky. Ah well.

Advice appreciated.