Last Update

For anyone passing through, this is probably my last post here!
Between tumblr and the Nexus sites, I'm just waaay to lazy to be everywhere.

I'm likely done modding mass effect as well, at least for now.

This blog will remain as an information resource.

If you're looking for more of my mods or just to get in contact:

I'm on the Nexus sites as ELE08.

You can find me on tumblr as Ellementalist.

Thank you to everyone who has used my mods or sent me kind words.  I loved seeing all you've done with your games and your awesome Shepards and hope people continue to mod and have fun.

-Ele

How to convert and individually install ME3 mods in PCC format

A lot of older mods for Mass Effect 3 are PCC install instead of .mods, meaning they overwrite anything you already have installed in a particular PCC file.  This is particularly troublesome with clothing and armor mods, where you want to use more than one at a time.

This is a guide to convert any PCC format mods into mesh .mods that replace individual outfits/hair/etc., instead of the entire file.

I'm going to use the N7 Leather Jacket for Femshep made by firemadeflesh on tumblr as an example.

In this example, when you download the mod, you have 2 files:

The PCC which contains all the clothing in the game for Femshep

and the tpf which has the modded textures for the outfit you are installing.

1. Open the PCC in Meshplorer

Find the modded outfit.  All we're doing here is marking down it's ID number.

(here it is 1633)

Close Meshplorer.

2. Open the same PCC in PCC Editor 2.0

In the list find the ID number you marked down in Meshplorer.

Select it on the left and in the Modmaking menu select 'Create Binary Replace Job from Object' - a 'done' window will pop up.

You can close PCC Editor 2.0.

3. Open Mod Maker.

You should see your mesh replacement job already in the window.

Now just File -> Save Jobs -> All

It will prompt you to save your .mod installer for your mesh.

--

Now you can run the job now, or load it later to install your outfit (or armor or hair or whatever you were converting) and it won't overwrite any of the other mods you have installed already (unless it's replacing the same slot.)

TO INSTALL THE TEXTURES

You can either use the tpf with Texmod as intended, or install the textures permanently using TPF Tool. Ottemis has a detailed guide on TPF Tools here.

In the case of the Nilin N7 Leather Jacket, only 1 of the textures of the 4 is in the correct format for the game files, so to permanently install I had to do some extra changes to them in Photoshop, but that is beyond the scope of this tut! Hopefully the mod you are attempting to convert has textures already in the correct format to install.

Success!

ME3 Character Texture Overhaul

DOWNLOAD for texmod

Install textures permanently using ME3Explorer's TPF Tools. Guide by Ottemis.

This mod aims to make the characters in Mass Effect 3 look higher res and more life-like.

I have replaced most of the textures in the character creator, which covers custom Shepard (male and female) and many NPCs.

I have reduced the appearance of the hairline seam as much as possible, but it may still be apparent in some lighting.

If you are using a custom face texture on Shepard, load that Texmod higher than mine so it overwrites. If possible, I recommend replacing default Shepard's face textures and applying them to custom Shepard with Gibbed save editor to avoid conflict.

Bundled with Eyelashes by Eranen

Alternate download on the Nexus

ME3 Mod: "Helena" Outfit

This mod replaces the dress.

DOWNLOAD

Source Files for modders

Update 2.22.2014  .mod download - ME3Explorer mod maker installer for the mesh; this will only replace the dress, not the entire file (you will still need the tpf for the textures, either use Texmod or install it with ME3Explorer.)

1. Follow the install instructions HERE

2. Run the included tpf with Texmod or it will use the original dress textures.

-There are 3 color variants, use one at a time.

Mesh conversion to femshep done by http://andrastessanctifiedgirdle.tumblr.com/

I have uploaded the source files for manual replacement, and a psd to make recolors easier (separate because the files are quite large.)

Created with ME3Explorer mesh importer rev456

3dsMax 2012 and the UDK

Mass Effect 3 Mod: Kyoko Hair

DOWNLOAD 

 INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Follow the installation instructions HERE

2. Use Gibbed to mod the following hair mesh and textures following this guide: link

BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.Hair_PROJessica.HMF_HIR_PROJessica_MDL

BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.Hair_Short02.HMF_HIR_PROShort_Diff

3. Run the included Texmod or the textures will not display correctly.

Credit, sort of!
This hair was originally by Kozaburo; I ported it from a Fallout 3 port
which was floating around the internet and now it's in ME3 with crappy alphas! Hooray.

Created with ME3Explorer mesh importer rev456

3dsMax 2012 and the UDK

About comments and mod support

This is a public service announcement: I do not answer comments here.

There are only so many social media fronts I can keep tabs on without my brain frying so it's every man/woman for themselves around here *shoots pistols into the air*

Anyways.  If you have a burning desire to contact me for whatever reason I am active on my tumblr account: ellementalist.tumblr.com

Sometimes you can find a small stray mod on there too ;)

ME1-3 Texmod: Male Face Texture

This is the custom texture I made for my male Commander Shepard, Aiden.  I made it for him, so it's not going to work great as a universal replacer, but I thought I'd upload it for those that want to give it a try or use it to make a new face.  I have also uploaded the source images for modders who want to work off it.

Texmod Download

Source Files Download

Mass Effect 3 Mod: Male Shirt and Fatigues intro replacer

DOWNLOAD

This replaces the male intro uniform (clean & dirty) with the Alliance fatigues
and a de-beefcaked version of Vega's T-shirt.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Follow the PCC installation instructions HERE

2. Run the included Texmod or the textures will not display correctly.

***I have included the upk and texture files for those that want to replace things manually***

Permissions: Feel free to alter my lazy textures :) If you re-upload any parts of this
mod please credit me.

Created with ME3Explorer mesh importer

3dsMax 2012 and the UDK

Fatigue pants textures from Ottemis

Mass Effect 3 Male Hair Mod: Unruly Mohawk

I'm back with some mods for Broshep!

 DOWNLOAD FILES HERE

1. Follow the install instructions HERE

2. Use Gibbed to mod the following hair mesh and textures following this guide: link

Hair Mesh: BIOG_HMM_HIR_PRO_R.Hair_Mohawk.HMM_HIR_Mhk_MDL

Hair_Diff & Hair_Mask: BIOG_HMM_HIR_PRO_R.Hair_James.HMM_HIR_James_Diff

*if an entry is missing create a new one using the "add" button

Pictured with:

HED_Scalp_Diff: BIOG_HMM_HIR_PRO_R.Hair_CrewCut.HMM_HIR_Cru_Diff

HED_Scalp_Spec: BIOG_HMM_HIR_PRO_R.Hair_CrewCut.HMM_HIR_Cru_Mask

Created with 3dsMax 2012 and ME3explorer Meshplorer

Blog Hiatus

Hi folks!

Due to real life time constraints I am currently on hiatus from updating this blog - this includes answering any questions.

Good luck, have fun, and always back up your shit.

Ele

Mass Effect 3 Mod: Puffy Vest

DOWNLOAD HERE

This is an intro outfit replacer.  TPF includes the dirty texture transition at the end of the opening sequence.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Follow the PCC installation instructions HERE

2. Run the included Texmod or the textures will not display correctly.
There are 2 versions: Plain vest and one with a wing detail on the back.

***I have included the upk and texture files for those that want to replace things manually***

Created with ME3Explorer mesh importer

3dsMax 2012 and the UDK

Fatigue pants textures from Ottemis

PS Thank you voodooseason for showing me how to combine UV maps.

Mass Effect 3 Mod: Wavy Bob

DOWNLOAD HERE

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Follow the installation instructions HERE

2. Use Gibbed to mod the following hair mesh and textures following this guide: link

BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.Hair_PROJessica.HMF_HIR_PROJessica_MDL

BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.Hair_Short02.HMF_HIR_PROShort_Diff

3. Run the included Texmod or the textures will not display correctly.

***I have included both the UPK and the texture files for those who want to replace manually, or try and replace a different hair***

...

Created with ME3Explorer mesh importer

3dsMax 2012 and the UDK

Thank you Apachii! Ported from ApachiiSkyHair

Original mesh by Newsea

ME3Explorer Bug Warning: Texture vs Mesh replacement conflict

Current as of July 31, 2013.

Howdy folks.  Just a heads up if you are using the newest version of the ME3Explorer, there is a bug which breaks the ability to use both mesh mods and texture mods at the same time.  If you try both you will likely get black texture bugs and errors.

Official bug report thread.

If you are using Texmod as your current method of texture replacement, you have nothing to worry about!

I will update again if I learn otherwise.


Update 08.04.2013: SVN 473 should be fixed.

A detailed explanation from Ottemis on the current state of ME3Explorer.  This is relevant to both mesh and texture mods, users and modders alike!

Mass Effect Legacy Hairstyles

Some folks have expressed an interest in the old ME2 hairstyles, so here they be!

These all replace the same unused model and texture so you can use it on Shepard and not have it conflict with any NPC hair.  I thought about replacing existing models (like the new Kelly hair, which looks drastically different) but you start running into all sorts of stability and texture compatibility issues, so it's femshep only for now.
The ME2 cyberbabe has already been ported by voodooseason!

DOWNLOAD
(*new* .mod mesh installer here)

DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD

Instructions for all 3 (only one may be installed at a time):

1. Follow the installation instructions HERE

2. Use Gibbed to mod the following hair mesh and textures following this guide: link

BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.Hair_PROCustomCute.HMF_HIR_PROCustom_Cute_MDL

BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.Hair_Short02.HMF_HIR_PROShort_Diff

3.  Use the included Texmod to fix the textures.

Credits:

Classy and CustomSxy textures from Kani Hime's ME2 Better Hair.

Created with ME3Explorer.

Mass Effect 3 Mod: Default Jane Hair for Custom Femshep

This mod fixes the clipping from using default Femshep's hair on a custom character. I spy, a proper hairline.

I tried replacing the same style, but it wasn't changing in game for me, so I replaced one of the unused old meshes, the custom cute.

DOWNLOAD

1. Follow the installation instructions HERE

2. Use Gibbed to mod the following hair mesh and textures following this guide: link

BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.Hair_PROCustomCute.HMF_HIR_PROCustom_Cute_MDL

BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.Global.HAIR_Long_Diff

***

Uploaded UPK file: DOWNLOAD

Other People's Mods!

I will be updating this post with everything shiny I come across!

ME2 Cyberbabe for ME3 by Voodooseason

DOWNLOAD

Mods by Voodoo

James Does Not Flirt mod!
DOWNLOAD PAGE
Silly James.  You don't flirt with the Butcher of Torfan.
Disclaimer. I love me some Shega.  Just not all of my Shepards agree.

[ME3 Hair#1] by Kani Hime
DOWNLOAD PAGE

More mods by Kani

General Post: How to install PCC file mods

This is the manual way, if you only have loose PCC files.
If there is a .mod (dotmod) file, you can install automatically with ME3Explorer.

You will need:
A mod.
ME3Explorer.  Download it here.

By default files are located in
C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole

Back up the PCC files you are replacing.

Replace your default PCC files with the modded ones.

Open ME3Explorer and run TOCBinUpdater.

Click File and Check PCConsoleTOC.bin

Your PCConsoleTOC.bin should be located in:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame

It should find updates to the changes you've made.  Hit yes and a 'done' window should pop up.  Close ME3Explorer.

To Uninstall:

Replace your modded PCC files with your original backups.

Run TOCBinUpdater again.

Troubleshooting:

Common Issues:

Infinite loading is a sign of a TOCBin update error.

Sometimes the TOCBin goes wacky and won't work despite being updated with ME3Explorer.  Try  throwing away your PCConsoleTOC.bin manually, then running "repair install" through Origin to replace it - this will completely revert your game.  Then try to install the mod again as normal.

If you can load un-modded saves but modded saves crash to desktop it's likely a Gibbed save error.  Make sure there are no extra spaces before or after the codes you have changed.

If you've really broken your game beyond repair, go into Origin and right click Mass Effect 3 for the "repair install" option. This should revert your game to its original state.

Any additional technical problems with ME3Explorer should be directed to the official forums: http://me3explorer.freeforums.org/

Mass Effect 3 Mod: Cool Sims Hair #4

DOWNLOAD HERE

Optional: .mod installer for ME3Explorer Mod Maker
This will only replace the Aller's hair mesh, making it compatible with other mods that also edit the BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.pcc.  You will still need to use the tpf.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Follow the installation instructions HERE

2. Use Gibbed to mod the following hair mesh and textures following this guide: link

BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.Hair_PROJessica.HMF_HIR_PROJessica_MDL

BIOG_HMF_HIR_PRO.Hair_Short02.HMF_HIR_PROShort_Diff

3. Run the included Texmod or the textures will not display correctly.

Changelog:

07.12.2013: Version 1.1 uploaded. Fixed some clipping and weighting issues.  Updated texture to better match default hair textures and be more true to color.

...

Created with ME3Explorer mesh importer

3dsMax 2012 and the UDK

Thank you Anto for permission to port your hair to ME3.

Original hair source: www.coolsims.net

Mass Effect 3 Mod: Kasumi Dress

This mod replaces the dress with the ME2 Kasumi DLC dress.
Retexture for ME3 by Ottemis.

Option 1: ME3Explorer .mod install

.mod DOWNLOAD

1. Install the .mods with Mod Maker in ME3Explorer
You can download ME3Explorer here.

Open ME3Explorer.

In Tools open Mod Maker.
(If it's you're first time using Mod Maker you might need to create a texture tree. Under Developer Tools run Texplorer and it will automatically direct you to create a tree. After this is complete you can install files with Mod Maker.)

File -> Load Jobs -> select .mod files
Run -> Run All

*this only replaces the dress file, not the entire PCC, so it is ideal and compatible with other mods i.e. buff femshep or outfit replacers (so long as the outfit being replaced is not the dress.)

Option 2: PCC install; old method

PCC & tpf DOWNLOAD

1. Follow the install instructions HERE

2. Run the included tpf with Texmod or it will use the original dress textures.

Known Issue: The Citadel DLC uses the same set of textures for the party dress.  Don't run the texmod during the forced dress scenes, or it will use the wrong textures! 
If you know how to edit the coalesced, a workaround is changing the ID of the dress to 100, so when the outfit is forced on, it will reference the base game dress and not the Citadel version.

Mass Effect 3 Mod: Leather Jacket for Femshep

This mod replaces the dress with a female version of male Shepard's leather jacket.
Hand texture cleaned up by Ottemis.

DOWNLOAD

1. Follow the install instructions HERE

2. Run the included tpf with Texmod or the jacket will have the dress textures.

Known Issue: The Citadel DLC uses the same set of textures for the party dress.  Don't run the texmod during the forced dress scenes, or it will use the jacket textures!

From Progman Omega on the BSN