Projects
From NifTools
This is a brief overview of the various sub-projects that form the NifTools effort.
Contents |
Niflib
Project Status: Inactive
Active Developers: None
Former Developers: Shon, amorilia, tazpn, xoalin
This is our C++ library for loading, modifying, and exporting NIF files. It stores a full representation of the NIF file in memory, allowing for arbitrary re-arrangement of blocks. It also automates several types of data dependencies that exist between various blocks within the file format. It is intended to allow new developers to come on board and create plug-ins for new 3D packages quickly. (read more...)
NifSkope
Project Status: Active
Active Developers: tazpn
Former Developers: m4444x, wz, Shon, amorilia
Contributors: throttlekitty, skenizen, Meseira, Alphax, ...
A graphical program that allows you to open NIF files, view their contents, edit them, and write them back out again. You can use it to quickly make changes to specific properties of a NIF file such as changing the texture, adding translucency, and more. A 3D view of the contents of the NIF file allows you to preview your changes instantly. You can even create texture templates, and import & export OBJ files. (read more...)
PyFFI
Project Status: Active
Active Developers: amorilia
Contributors: wz, taarna23, seith, tazpn, alizarincrimson, rlibiez, axiliandd, therealkivan, scanti
The PyFFI library provides a Python interface to read, write, and manipulate binary files that follow a block oriented format, such as the NIF format. The library processes the xml description of the nif format and generates classes that expose all data in nif files. It also comes with extra utilities for manipulating that data, such as a stripifier and a system for applying spells on large amounts of files. It is being used by
- the Blender scripts
- niftoaster - a utility to parse, check, and manipulate NIF files in large batches, including
- optimizing nif files (removing duplicate vertices, restripification, merging duplicate properties and geometries, and much more)
- generating skin partitions for Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich
- dumping information about nif files
- regression testing
- QSkope - an application similar to nifskope but supporting any file format for which a format description is written
The PyFFI library is hosted on http://pyffi.sourceforge.net/.
3D Package Plug-ins
These enable various 3D packages to import and/or export NIF files. The following table summarizes the packages we have developed tools for and some of the features supported by each.
| 3D Package | Import | Export | Textures | Skin Deform | Animation | Lights | Cameras | Particles | Oblivion Collision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3ds Max | Yes | Yes | Base & Glow & EnvMap & Bump & Gloss & Dark & Detail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Blender | Yes | Yes | Base & Glow & EnvMap & Bump & Gloss & Dark & Detail | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Maya | Yes | Yes | Base & Glow | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
3ds Max
Project Status: Active
Active Developers: tazpn,sacarrow
Former Developers: gundalf, veryxrv
Blender
Project Status: Active
Active Developers: amorilia
Former Developers: Brandano, m4444x
Contributors: entim, shon, kikaimegami, malo, lhammonds, fritz_fretz, zinx, ...
Blender is a free and open source program for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering, and is available for all major operating systems including Windows, Linux, and Mac. The Blender NIF scripts enable Blender to import and export NIF files. The scripts also require Python and PyFFI. (read more...)
- Python website where you can download Python.
- Download PyFFI
- Blender website where you can download Blender.
- Download Blender NIF Scripts
Maya
Project Status: Inactive
Active Developers: None
Former Developers: Shon, Raziel23x
The current Maya plug-in is compiled for Maya versions 6.5, 7.0, 8.0, and 8.5 for Windows. The plug-in enables importing and exporting NIF files, including skins and bones. The plug-in does not deal with animation, cameras, lights, LOD levels, particles, and other advanced features of the NIF format. (read more...)
