So while making the animated capes mod I've run into a problem. The capes meshes clip quite alot, so since I have no moddeling skills I used transparency to edit the problematic areas. So naturally there are other problems:http://www.shrani.si/f/1C/102/4TBOMizl/neimenovano2.jpg happens if I make the edges of the cape transparent (you see the empty space between the black and red texture), and if I remove the red part, http://www.shrani.si/f/n/13L/35Jk6kwz/neimenovano3.jpg looks very ugly.

So I'm wondering if the issues can be fixed in either gimp or nifskope, since getting help from a moddeler seems pretty small.

You don't want to use transparency to fix your issues. I beleive the two pieces of the cape clip, because each piece is either skinned differently using different vertex weights in various areas, or because each piece is different in size and shape, even if only in certain areas.

So here's what I'd do, and this only involves NIfksope:

Delete either the black NiTriStrip/Shape, or delete the red one - doesn't really matter. (Right-click on the NiTriStrip -> Block -> Remove Branch)

Copy and and paste another version of the NiTriStrip that you did not delete, back into the same area. (Rightclick on it -> Block -> Copy Branch...then Rightclick on the NiNode that the NITriStrip is under -> Block -> Paste Branch)

On the new NiTriStrip that you just pasted in, change the texture path to point to the opposite texture - you'll notice that the mesh's texture faces the opposite direction than what it is supposed to. You'll also see that is it overlapping the original NiTriStrip, and you'll probably see mesh clipping and visual gtitchy effects. To make the texture face the opposite direction:

Rightclick on the newly pasted NiTriStrip, go to "Mesh" -> Triangulate. (If your meshes are already NiTriShapes, don't worry about this step; this step makes Nifskope offer a needed command option that it does not provide with NiTriStrips.)

Rightclick on the newly pasted mesh again, and go to "Mesh" -> Flip Faces. Rightclick again and go to "Meshes" -> Flip Normals. Your texture should now face the opposite direction, and now you don't need to use a NiStencilProperty.

But the newly pasted mesh is still overlapping the original mesh too much. So click on your newly pasted mesh, and go into Block Details for it. Tweak one of the "Translation" coordinates, until the mesh moves in the right direction to be situated where it is supposed to be, in relation to the original mesh.

Poof! You now have two equally weight painted cape pieces, that are also equal in how they were modeled, and thus they should not clip at all. You might need to tweak the texture's UVMapping after this, for the newly pasted mesh, if it defers from the original one.

Koniption

Thanks for the reply! I've tried following the instructions, but the problem is that the mesh has only one NiTriStrip, so you can't remove the red and black part separately.

Ahh, ok. Yeah, I was assuming it was made of two NiTriStrips.

I'm currently trying to learn Blender. So if you send me the cape mesh and any custom skeleton you might be using, I can try to separate the red and black pieces into two separate NiTriStrips. It'd be a nice experiment and learning situation for myself, as I try to sort out Blender. It also might take me a little longer, if I need to ask someone for some Blender tips. So if you can stand waiting a little longer, PM me a download linky, or even post the linky here.

Koniption