#Mass Effect Anonymous

[mass-effect-anonymous]

CONFESSION

I know the OT will always be the GOAT for the fandom compared to Andromeda in almost every regard, but the development of the side characters and romances in Andromeda were such a huge step up for what I hoped to see for a starting game.

For me, it felt more natural to bond with Drack, Vetra and Peebee in and outside of the Tempest, over the constantly serious atmosphere on the Normandy in the OT, and the interactions with them were a good follow-up from what was laid out on ME3.

Especially Vetra. What I felt with her character is something I just couldn't feel with another character in ME1 and ME2. And her romance arc, considering what happens for only one game, is my favorite of the entire series.

[dragonageconfessions]

Confessions will resume Mon or Tues

Its been hot and have not been feeling well. My brother in law and I run a small party/catering side business and this past week we did two pool parties in the heat where even the party tents did not provide much relief. I was feeling sick when the parties were over with. And now we're about to get rain. :( We're not doing any any more parties until mid September. And confessions will return next week.

Thank you for understanding -SMC

[anjian]

Hi! Big fan! Do you still draw turians from time to time? Saren and Nihlus in particular ;)

[incorrect-mass-effect-quotes]

Shepard: James, it's the middle of the night! Did someone glue you to the fridge?

James: No...

Shepard: James... Did you glue YOURSELF to the fridge?

James: ...Yes.

[swaps55]

speaking of ur playlist: every time I hear a banners song I think of sam and kaidan 😭 I started listening to them bc of you and even their newer stuff that isn't in your playlist makes these dorks appear in my mind's eye

(also have you shared the yang gang's drink recipes yet? im Intrigued)

Oh gosh, BANNERS. I don't know if I've ever heard a Banners song I couldn't make an OTP song. I have half a first kiss AU written to In Your Universe. Do I have a story for it? Nope. But the vibes.

The drink recipes! All courtesy of @pip-n-flinx.

Clay Beaudoin's Paloma

Muriel Aslany's 151 Swizzle

Alma Ingram's Egg Nog & Kara Pendergrass' Firestorm

Kaidan Alenko's Sack Sipper (scroll down to the bottom of the post)

Sam Shepard's Govorkam's Roar

[anunquenchableflame]

What mods are you using for MELE? Your Shepard looks fantastic!

Thanks, I'm really happy with how she's looking! She looks so much like my drawings of her now.

I am currently using:

Alliance Uniform Consistency

Casual Hubs for LE1

New Armours for Femshep - N7 armours

LE1 Community Patch

ME¹LLO

Photomode QoL (LE1)

Vignette Remover

Sunkissed v3 complexion

Primitives - Eyes Lashes and Masks from the individual installs (but I overwrite some of this with the next two)

Nix Eyes

Heleuss Ported Complexions - Femshep Eyebrows and Femshep Makeup

The hair is my own mesh which still needs some work, so it's not available anywhere

And a whole lot of other stuff for NPCs.

[heroofshield]

#9 for anna & james

Write about your ship getting dressed up in fancy outfits together. 

@anderfels

--

"You sure they won't be there when we arrive?" Anna called out from the bathroom as James pulled on the dress shirt and started buttoning it up.

"I'm sure. Alenko said he's going to keep the Admiral busy until at least seven. That's plenty of time."

Finishing applying her eyeliner, Anna gave her make-up a once over before gently brushing away a smudge. Satisfied, she cleaned up the counter before adjusting her outfit to make sure everything wasn't twisted up.

James turned as the door to the bathroom opened and broke into a smile, seeing Anna in the black jumpsuit with a slit up the leg and silver straps to highlight the top. "You clean up pretty good." he said, circling an arm around her waist as she passed by to draw her closer to him. His hand brushed against the silver fabric and felt how rough it was, flecks of glitter sticking to his palm.

"I just did my make-up." Anna playfully leaned away from him and turned her head so James couldn't kiss her. She took a few steps towards the door before pausing and giving him a once over. "You look pretty fancy yourself."

"I do know how to clean up." James said as he followed her out of the room and toward the closet where their coats were.

Soon they were stepping out of the cab and walking up the stone path that led to the Admiral's house. James let Anna go in first, pressing a light hand against the small of her back as they walked over the threshold. Taking off his jacket, he took Anna's and went to put them away in the hall closet that Kaidan said they could store them in. Walking back into the living room, he saw that Anna was already going through the bottles that had arrived along with the makeshift bar-tending station. "Anything you need me to do before I help start setting up?" he asked as the door opened again and the voices of more Normandy crew members filtered down the hall.

"Ice." Anna replied, placing two ice buckets on the countertop.

"Yes ma'am." James smiled before grabbing the buckets. When he returned Anna was pouring something into a glass. "What's that?" he asked, eyes on the blue and purple liquid.

"Galaxy lemonade and vodka." Anna replied, putting some ice in the drink before setting the glass in front of James. "It's just butterfly pea powder with some purple syrup, lemonade, and vodka. Tell me what you think."

James looked at the glass and looked at the blue and purple swirls for a moment before taking a sip. "That's pretty damn good."

"Good enough for Admiral Shepard's wedding though?" Anna rested her arms on the bartop, still not sure that it was the right drink for the evening.

"She'll love it, trust me." James took another sip while giving Anna wink before setting it down and going to help Garrus and Treynor move furniture and set up chairs.

Anna watched James walk away and tried to push away the gnawing anxiety that she'd had ever since he'd told her about the Admiral's wedding. Taking a deep breath, she shoved the feeling down and focused on finishing up organizing the bar for the party afterwards.

[hisuianhellion]

🪐

Mass Effect - Death mention

It had been a few years since arriving here, ten in fact. No documentation. No familial or legal history to reference. A good few psych examinations to make sure she had even a shred of sanity in her skull when screaming about how aliens weren't supposed to be real, where the fuck was she, how the fuck did she even get here. All in front of a Lieutenant of a human space navy that somehow took sympathy on her.

She had told him rather plainly that she wasn't really the military type. But he didn't want her to just end up jobless and worthless on the Citadel. She'd either end up deported or shoved into one of the wards, landing a dead-end job within cultures she knew nothing about. But she seemed to have an aptitude for learning about other races more keenly than those who simply grew up with them, and that had Lieutenant Anderson's attention.

It wasn't forced, but she did still feel strong-armed into service. This or destitution. And it let her get plenty of training in, both on a physical side and a cultural side. Learning how Earth was in the late 22nd century. Learning about the myriad Council and Embassy races. And learning that the colonial mindset of human expansion and brute-forced progress hadn't faltered, but... hey. At least now they had competition in the Council races that held the galaxy in their political grip. What they said went, you just had to abide that.

Quietly sitting in her cabin, she found herself reminiscing. That first gunfight she had gotten herself into, clearing that Red Sand grift without a single casualty on her side. She ended up visiting the family of who died to make sure it wasn't missed. Not on her own side... but hey. Stupid kids making stupid decisions. And it taught her to make sure she talked before shooting, despite what training said.

A year later, a stint in a joint military exercise with the Systems Alliance and the local colonist militia on Elysium turned into what was thus known as the "Skyllian Blitz". It was the bloodiest battle she had ever seen at that point. She was just a Warrant Officer at the time, but Anderson had kept tabs on her. A couple of calls here, a recommendation for enrollment in the ICT program there, and she was an N4 by then. But that fight. That goddamn fight.

Commander, dead. Killed in the first barrage. Captain above him, currently not even there yet, but the SSV Agincourt was apparently en route. The ships above fell almost immediately after the Alliance Navy had appeared, yeah, but the ground troops found little rapport when the slavers and pirates opted to shift from collection to slaughter when they realized there wasn't going to be a way out that wasn't prison.

Anderson had chosen well those few years back, because without Rose stepping up immediately to make sure that the colonists had firearms, cover, and knew where to puncture the attacking Batarians and their hired goons? Well. Those Vorcha would've had a very easy time committing whatever atrocities they were ordered to deal.

Casualties were brought from hundreds, even thousands projected... to nineteen where she was. Nineteen dead, sixty injured but stable. Hundreds... down to just below twenty. And an entire invading army's ground invasion cleared out.

The very following week, she had been awarded the Star of Terra. A month later, she was fast-tracked through the ITC, graduating that in 2182 with the distinction of being a Commander with the N7 code. Six months later, she oversaw the Normandy's shakedown run with Captain Anderson himself, a man with so many medals he could melt them down into a life-sized statue of himself, so said Navigator Pressly. Anderson was her friend. Her confidant. The man who had made sure to put the training to the talent he saw.

And she had just replaced him. Backroom politics, stealing not just his old mission to make people see what Saren was truly like... but the very ship he was slated to command. She wasn't even a Captain at this point. She was the rank just below that, and yet... being a Spectre got her special privileges, it seemed.

She had recruited humans and aliens alike to help her track down a rogue Spectre, murderer of his own friend, slaughterer of so many on Eden Prime. Garrus, Tali, Ashley, Kaiden, Wrex... even Liara. The daughter of Saren's own second in command. Therum was a melting pot she barely got that woman out of alive, and Feros was a lesson in horror she was still reeling from. It was costing her sleep, even...

Now she was here. In the captain's cabin herself of the SSV Normandy. She stared at the Star of Terra, haphazardly tossed onto the desk beside the bed. She rubbed at her eyes gently, standing up and beginning to walk outwards. A wave to Kaiden, who had opted to pass some time during their stop at the Citadel docks by chatting with Doctor Chakwas. Good guy. Very down to earth fellow. She ended up stepping forward towards the stairwell that led to the bridge, but nearly ended up slamming her nose right into a set of armor.

Red. Bulky. Holding a scowl behind it as a hulk of a man stared down at her with reptilian eyes. She looked up for a moment with a faint "eh, sorry", and went to shift past the Krogan.

Wrex reached out, grabbing her arm. And she stopped, her eyes clouding gently before she flicked them in his direction wordlessly. "... Wrex."

"Waite." His grip held her for a moment before letting go. "Don't you humans need that thing called 'sleep'?"

"Hasn't been coming easy. And don't act like Krogans don't need it, either." She turned a bit more fully to look down at him, crossing her arms. "Or does a guy like you run purely off spite?"

The larger of the two actually gave a faint huff, something of a laugh. The last month had gotten him to loosen up, and considering the armor he had just gotten back after a good long while... well. He wasn't all smiles. But he trusted Rose. He knew Rose had not just skills, but a brain between her ears. "Piss and vinegar, I heard a human say back on Omega once. But that isn't your kind of fuel." Her own smirk, forming at his words, faded soon after, and she shook her head.

"... Nah. Been hard to find the time. We've gotta head to Noveria soon, it's the last loose end I can think of."

"And you can handle that when you actually rest. I'm not following a half dead human to an early grave, I'm following a Spectre that knows how to take care of herself." Rose's frown began to deepen for a few seconds, only for her to sigh through her nose. Fuck. Even the resident loner, barely capable of saying anything more than her last name unless she tugs it out of him, is laying into her?

"On one condition." Wrex crossed his arms as well in response, meeting her gaze at the same height despite being a few steps below her, and he knit his brow. "You come out there with me. We go to Zalera Ward. And you have a goddamn drink with me. Mm?"

The look on his face crossed from annoyance at being denied at first, straight to shock at the offer, then immediately confused amusement. And the only thing that changed on his face was the slits of his eyes widening and narrowing in turn with a crease of his jaws loosening slightly.

"I put a gun to your head, so you pull a knife to my gut, eh? Damn idiot." And for the first time, a smirk tugged at his lips, and with a hand on her chest, he shoved her a few steps upwards. "Fine. I still owe you for the armor. But you're paying."

"Cheapskate."

"Put up or shut up, Waite."

[flame2ashes]

Hey, can I ask how you do the mesh swapping? Super impressed and clueless over here. I'd love to do something like that, just have no idea where to begin. TIA

Sure! It might seem a little intimidating at first when you look at the files at a glance, but with a little patience and understanding of the logic behind how the files work, it becomes easier every time

So, mesh swapping. The only reason why I started doing it was because I wanted content of my Shepards interacting but I didn't feel like drawing, so I just modded my game instead. I've done this for over a year now but tbh I'm not a very advanced modder; a lot of trial and error occurred and I ended up sticking to methods that were familiar to me and worked for me.

The Legendary Explorer GitHub actually has a Wiki that contains tutorials on how to do certain things, and this includes how to replace meshes for characters! The tutorial in question shows how to mesh swap Garrus with Saren in LE2, and how mesh swapping works in LE3.

I'm writing this with the assumption that you are totally new to making mods for Mass Effect. I'm gonna be real: a lot of the stuff I'm saying here might be re-hashed information if you've read the tutorial already, tho unintentionally. Hopefully you'll still find it helpful 🙃

Stuff under the cut:

To get started, you will need:

Legendary Explorer (to actually mod the game)

ME3Tweaks Mod Manager (to help you set up DLC mods) (tho if you're already modding the game you already have this lmao)

A legitimate copy of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition for PC (it sounds obvious, but I'm emphasizing that it has to be legit as a warning. If problems arise and you have a pirated game, I won't be able to help you. Neither will the ME Modding Discord.)

For more advanced mesh modding stuff, you'll also need:

Blender (I use version 2.8 for safety) (3DS Max is also an option, but Blender is the software I use. Also, Blender is free.)

A PSK/FBX importer/exporter script for Blender (this is the one linked in the LEX github tutorials, and works with 2.8. That being said, this script supports 2.9 or later and basically does the same thing, but only works with PSK/PSA. Use whatever works for you. tbh I actually use the latter script, albeit not the latest version)

Unreal Development Kit 2015 version (this will help you convert your files to UPK, which is the format your mesh needs to be in for import)

An image editing program for textures (GIMP or Paint.net are the ones people recommend. Personally I use Paint.net most of the time because it's a more lightweight software)

ALSO NOTE: If you've installed texture mods to your game already, RESTORE YOUR GAME TO ITS VANILLA STATE. The general rule is to never make mods on a texture modded game, even personal mods.

If you're using the LE3 Community Patch and Framework, make sure you follow the mod page's instructions on how to make mods with it. (If you don't have the LE3 Community Patch and Framework, I highly recommend it. A lot of mods use the framework, and generally it's a pretty good and non-invasive mod to begin with)

What you want is to get familiar with the types of files you'll be using. For mesh swapping, you'll be using meshes, materials, and textures.

In Legendary Explorer, you'll be using these programs:

Package Editor - you'll be doing most of your editing in this program. You'll get to access basically everything contained in a PCC file. You'll also be able to import/export textures through this program.

Mesh Explorer (AKA Meshplorer) - this will display all the meshes contained in a PCC file. This is where you can export and import meshes as well.

Asset Database - once you get the databases set up, you'll be able to search and access the game's files and assets more easily, including files from DLC mods.

TFC Compactor - If you've imported new textures, this will help compact and repack your TFC files. You only need to do this if you've added new textures and created a new TFC for them.

--

So for the Citadel DLC tango scene specifically, it was actually a mix of mesh swapping and Interp editing, but for our purposes here we're going to focus on the mesh swapping (though I will show the Interp edited scene to see the edit more quickly).

I'm going to focus on how I mesh swapped James with Kaidan for this part. Since we're working with in-game files, you don't actually need Blender or the UDK Editor for this example. But it should be a good starting point for understanding some aspects of mesh swapping.

Anyway, which files do we need for the actual mesh swapping??? If you're unfamiliar with how the game calls its files, then it may be impossible to find out. Luckily, ME3Tweaks Mod Manager has an ASI mod that will help you determine which files are being accessed at your current point in the game. (The character mesh tutorial linked above will tell you more about it, but for quick reference you will find it under Mod Management > ASI Mod Manager. The mod itself is called Streaming Levels HUD.)

The HUD will look like this in-game:

The list you'll see in-game is every file called within the cutscene, but the one you actually need will be BioH_Marine_00_NC, which is the file for James' casual appearance. This will be the one you'll be modding. For Kaidan's casual appearance, you will need BioH_Kaidan_00_NC.

(For future reference: if you use the LE3 Community Patch and Framework, and a character you want to swap with has a file within the framework, use the framework file instead. For example: if you wanted to modify Miranda in any way, use the Framework's file for Miranda.)

Now that you know the files you need, you can use the Asset Database to look up the files. Once you find them (you can copy/paste the file name in the search box to quickly get to them faster), you can right click the file and choose the option to see them in File Explorer.

Now that you have the locations of the files, you can get started :)

Step 0: Make a DLC mod

Generate a new ME3 DLC mod that you can actually place the files in. To do this, go to the ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, then go to Tools > Generate new DLC Mod (Starter Kit) > Mass Effect 3 (Legendary Edition). This tutorial will pretty much tell you what you need to fill in the required fields.

tbh this can be done even after you finish modding your files, but it'll be easier for you to generate the mod first, as it will also create a folder for your mod.

Step 0.5: Copy the files you need into your mod folder

Once the mod has been generated, take the files you're going to modify (in this case, BioH_Marine_00_NC) and copy/paste them to the CookedPCConsole folder. Re-naming the file is not required; if you install a mod with incorrect PCC file names then the actual files won't get modded.

To access the mod folder, right-click your mod in the Mod Manager and select "Open mod folder".

Step 1: Open James' and Kaidan's files in Package Editor

You'll need to open two instances of Package Editor. Open James' NC file in one instance (the one in your mod folder) and Kaidan's NC file in the other. Keep them side by side and make note of which side is which.

Side tangent: you can actually associate .PCC files with Legendary Explorer, which will allow you to open them to Package Editor directly from the File Explorer. To do this, click on the gear icon in the main menu of the toolset, then in the window that opens, click on the Files tab, then click on the "Associate .PCC and .SFM Files" button. You can also do the same with the other options. (To ensure your settings are saved, click "Save to File".)

The Package Editor windows will look similar to this once you've opened the files (this is Kaidan's file):

On the left is the file tree for the entire PCC. The right side displays several tabs of information for the selected file, such as Properties, Metadata, Binary Interpreter, and Script Editor. (These are the common tabs; other tabs will display depending on the kind of file you're viewing.)

You'll see that I've already highlighted Kaidan's head model (ignore the fact that they spelt it as Kaiden. We know the truth. But also don't ignore it because all his files are labelled with this spelling, so keep it in mind when searching for his textures or meshes). Generally when you open a package file, all the folders will be closed. So for future reference, here's some useful terms to know:

If you see a folder or file with HMF or HMM, that's a human asset. HMF usually means Human Female, while HMM means Human Male. ASA is for Asari, TUR is for Turian, etc. etc.

Folders/files with the term HED will indicate heads.

Folders/files with the term HIR will indicate hair.

Folders/files with the term ARM will indicate bodies. CTH will indicate casual outfits. NKD will indicate naked bodies. In some cases there will also be different terms for armor parts, but generally for NPCs they will all be a whole body mesh anyway.

Kaidan's' head mesh is labeled as BIOG_HMM_HED_PROKaiden_MDL(SkeletalMesh). You'll know it's a mesh because of the M symbol next to it. (SkeletalMesh means that the mesh has an armature). Likewise, you can also see Kaidan's textures. You'll know it's a texture because of the multi-coloured square next to it (also it will end as Texture2D). Kaidan's body mesh is labeled HMM_ARM_CTHb_MDL. When you right-click on the mesh file, there will be an option to open it in Mesh Explorer. Here's what it'll look like there:

On the list on the left, you'll see two items: his body mesh, and his head mesh. If you compare it to other characters, you might notice that they usually have a separate mesh for the hair. Kaidan's, on the other hand, is part of his head mesh, for reasons only known to the developers.

On the right is the actual viewer for the mesh. This shows the mesh and any materials associated with it. It's a surefire way to find out whether you've placed the materials on the mesh incorrectly.

Lastly in the middle-bottom is the Binary Interpreter. This shows you information such as which materials the mesh is using, its rotation origin, the number of LODs it has, and how many bones the armature has (RefSkeleton). For our purposes here, the section you need to note is the Materials.

(For future reference: The Binary Interpreter and the Mesh are also available to view within the Package Editor.)

Anyway, now that we know where Kaidan's meshes are, it's now finally time!!! To import them!!! Into James' file!!!

Step 2: Import Kaidan's stuff into James' file

Back in your two Package Editors opened side by side, go to Kaidan's file, click on HMM_HED_PROKaiden_MDL, and then drag it towards James' file to drop it in. To keep things organized, I would usually drop it in the same folder as the other head mesh, so for this case, open the folders in James' file to show the James folder under BIOG_HMM_HED_PROMorph, then drag Kaidan's head mesh into it.

Once you do this, this window will pop up:

Click on "Clone All References", as this will also import all associated objects along with the mesh.

This is what you'll see:

If there are no issues, this alert will pop up as well:

Along with Kaidan's head mesh, it also imported his textures and his materials. Great! Note that when files are highlighted in yellow, it means that a change has been made (the change in this case is that they were added to the file). Repeat for Kaidan's body mesh.

We now have Kaidan's head mesh, body mesh, and associated materials and textures within James' files. Are we done? Hahahaha *Cries*

We're not done. We now have Kaidan's stuff where we want them, but the PCC is still referencing James' stuff. If we save and install this mod now, nothing will really change in game.

So here it is. The actual mesh swapping for this example. Are you ready?

(If you've gotten this far, save your file. While you're here, you can also take a moment to look at the files you've imported to get a better understanding of what they look like in the editor. If you've never seen face textures before, brace yourself.)

Step 3: Change the references so that Kaidan's stuff is being referenced instead of James' stuff

First off, we need to actually know where James' stuff is being referenced. Right-click on BIOG_HMM_HED_James and then click on "Find References". It will open a window that looks like this:

Here, you'll see where James' head is being referenced. If you double-click on the entry, it will take you directly to it. In this case, it's here:

It's a little hard to read, but the first property in the export is SkeletalMesh, and in italics, you'll see that it's the file path for James' head mesh. You will need to replace this with the file path for Kaidan's head mesh.

When you click on the property, a textbox will pop up:

Here, you will need to input the index number for Kaidan's head mesh. Currently, it has the index number for James' head mesh.

Here's Kaidan's head mesh file name again:

(I swear to god BioWare why would you name him Kaiden in the files. We're suffering already.)

The index number here is 2406. This is what you'll input the textbox. Click Set once it's inputted.

And there we go. The SkeletalMesh entry is now referencing Kaidan's head mesh's file path. If you right click on James' head mesh and click Find References, the list will now be empty.

Repeat this for the materials. These are a little trickier. Most likely, the references will be found in multiple places, but will always be under an export called MaterialInstanceConstant_XXXX (the X represents numbers). To make sure it works properly, you will have to reference the materials in the same order as they're listed on the mesh's Binary Interpreter.

For these cases, click on the MaterialInstanceConstant, then under the export properties on the right, click on Parent. In the textbox, input the index number of the material you want, then click on Set. It'll be a lot of back and forth, so I recommend noting down the index numbers (I usually just screenshot the Materials list under the mesh's Binary Interpreter).

Once you're done, you'll realize....oh yeah. James' head mesh has more materials than Kaidan's, which means there's an extra MaterialInstanceConstant on the list. In this case? Just set the extra ones to 0. Literally, just set it to 0.

Continue until all the references point to Kaidan's head and body meshes and materials.

Cool, so now that the files are pointing towards Kaidan's stuff, are we done??? Maybe??

Almost. Remember when I said that Kaidan's head mesh includes his hair, and other characters have a separate hair mesh?

Yeah.....James' head includes a separate hair mesh. If you were to save and install this file to the game now, the hair will show up over Kaidan's head.

So what's a person to do?? Well, you basically know the steps now: locate James' hair mesh file, then right-click it and click Find References. Go to said references, then under the Properties where James' hair is being referenced, change the index to 0. Repeat for the hair material as well.

And now!!!! You are done with editing. Hopefully. Save your file.

Step 4: Install your mod to your game and launch the game see the changes

(If you haven't done Step 0 and 0.5 yet, do those steps first.)

Alright! Your file is edited and placed within the appropriate mod folder. You can now select your mod in the Mod Manager, click Apply Mod, and launch your game :)))

Step 5: ????

Hold on let me check if this actually worked and I didn't just bullshit you for an entire tutorial-

Yup, it works!!! Ignore the fact that the Interp edit is still there lol. If you followed this tutorial, Kaidan will show up when James usually shows up in the scene (I.E. in the middle of the actual dance), or any time James shows up in his casual outfit.

Now, if you got to this point and there's still an issue, you'll have to go back into the file and check what's wrong, make the fix, save the file, and then Apply Mod once again. Apparently it is possible to apply your mod while the game is still running, meaning that you just need to reload your save to see the changes, but I don't usually do that. However, if you're able to do this, it's a huge time saver.

To summarize this tutorial:

Step -1: Find the files you will need for the mod.

Step 0: Generate a mod kit in ME3Tweaks Mod Manager for your mod, then place the files you will be changing into the mod's folder.

Step 1: Open the file you will be changing, and the file you will take the assets for your mod, on two different instances of Package Editor.

Step 2: Import the assets you need into the file you will be changing.

Step 3: Change all references to point to the assets you imported.

Step 4: Save file, click Apply Mod in Mod Manager, launch game to check

Step 5: ????

Step 6: Profit, unless there's an issue, then go back into the file to fix it. Repeat steps 4-6.

--

Extra things to note:

If you make similar mods like this and only want them to work in specific scenes, you will need to disable the mod when you're done using it. Otherwise the mesh swap will happen in places you didn't want them to, like this:

(Pictured: John Shepard cooking the shittiest eggs in the world while holding the frying pan by his fingertips because I forgot to turn off my mesh swap mod. Sir I love you but pls)

Try to remember the mount numbers your personal mods have. One time I realized one of my mods wasn't working because it was the same mount number as a mod I downloaded. If it turns out your mod's mount number conflicts with another, don't worry! Use the Mount Editor tool in LEX to change your mod's mount number. (I advise changing your personal mod's mount number instead of a downloaded mod.)

Keep all your files organized for your own sanity.

Make backups of your mods!!! Honestly, making backups is always good practice.

tbh I had so much more to say, but then I hit the image limit, which snapped me out of it. Since you asked how to get started, I will save you from being overwhelmed from all the information I was about to give you. Instead, I'm going to list some other things you can do that can help you understand mesh modding a little more:

Follow this tutorial on adding a casual outfit/armor for Shepard to wear. The first mod I ever did was porting an outfit mod I liked from the original trilogy to Legendary Edition. It helped me understand the files you use for mesh swapping, and will give you a chance to actually use Blender and the UDK Editor.

Download the Thane Mesh Swap mod, not to play, but to analyze! The mod is literally mesh swapping Kaidan with Thane. Compare the modded files to the vanilla ones; you'll also see the extent of the files needed to make a full character mesh swap.

If you're still wondering how I got Ashley as Shepard for the tango mod, then I'll tell you: I used the Custom Head Mesh Framework. Instead of a custom Shepard, I just mesh swapped Shepard with Ashley. Tutorials by the mod author are here :)

Finally, here's the invite to the ME Modding Discord. There's useful information, useful links, and most of all, people who can answer any questions you might have. (I'm on there too; I just don't speak a lot. It's okay to ping me!)

If you have any more questions, or want more information, feel free to send me more asks. Again, I hope this was helpful to you :)

[ezrisdax-archive]

Did u hear that the new mass effect is gonna be animal crossing but for shepard clones. It's true I promise, my uncle works at video games

lmao if that happened I'd be out, I'm one of the few people it seems who doesn't like animal crossing

[faejilly]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favourite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💕

With the obvious caveat that I would assuredly pick five different fics tomorrow, here you go nonny, in no particular order, and attempting to NOT list just half a dozen Malec things just because they are my Hotel California fandom apparently... But I do have to have at least one for them! #BecauseMalec

out of some dreaming tree: Malec Fairy Tale Quest! A Forest That Eats "People" (and other Things)! Weird eldritch and magical lore!

This AU requires absolutely NO CANON KNOWLEDGE and I keep hoping some of the people who occasionally just read my fic for shits & giggles will try it even though they're not Shadowhunters people. But also more Shadowhunters people should also read it, I had such a great time writing it. 🤣

Vindication: M!Shepard/Jack. Did I mention I have a thing for fairy tales? AND ALSO JACK FROM MASS EFFECT? (I'm love her, your honors)

So it's almost more a series of post-game scenes than my usual prose story style (because Jack POV and that's how she wanted to tell it) and Jack's trying to learn the context of kids' stories, and take care of Shepard who is being kind of a dumb ass but mostly just, yk, trying to recover, and Miranda is Brilliant (even Jack is willing to admit it) and I am very fond of it.

souver'inan isala hamin (weary eyes need resting): DAI, Varric & a Dalish Inquisitor, friends vs family vs love... or something like that.

Having Varric be in your party again, having Hawke's shadow from the previous game spilling over your Inquisitor, was fascinating to me. (Especially as Varric & my Adelaide were family but not ever really friends, and family is a fraught sort of thing for a Tethras and a Hawke/Amell.) Romancing Blackwall and trying to be friends with Dorian, being Dalish and Inquisitor, it was just... prickly all the way through. (In a good way, imo.) My Inquisitor was also noticeably older than my Wardens or Hawkes had been, much more self-aware and dangerous in a way that the narrative of DAI seldom let me illustrate or articulate, and while I'm not sure how much of that is clear in the fic, I can still feel what it was like for Erana to despise the world she's going to save because she loves too many of the people in it to do anything else, and I enjoy wallowing in that sometimes.

Solace: DA2, Adelaide Hawke/Sebastian Vael, my darlings, my beloveds

While not the first thing I wrote for them, it was the story of their first meeting, and it meant a lot a lot a lot to me when I finally did manage to let it happen outside of my head. Also Sebastian recognizing the Adelaide/Bethany/Carver/Daryn joke made my day when I wrote it and still makes me smile.

Fine Feathers: Yuletide fic! Book!fic, which I don't do terribly often! M/F Regency Romance

An epilogue for The Quiet Gentleman which is, if you are unaware, a novel by The Lady Who Made Regency a Viable Modern Genre almost 100 years ago, which means it has a Very Specific Style and I was very pleased I managed to capture it. (Also it's both one of my favorites of Georgette Heyer's books but also one of the most frustrating, because the lead couple has like ONE HALF OF A SCENE TOGETHER so I wrote them together more and honestly now I like the original book better, which is some hellishly ridiculous hubris but I don't care.)

[mass-effect-anonymous]

CONFESSION:

After years of being naive and listening to the fandom, I finally did a complete romance with Kaidan when playing the legendary edition and ended up enjoying it. I really appreciated how Kaidan was the only companion that felt like Shepard's equal instead of a mentor relationship. Kaidan never took any moral guidance from Shepard. He never used Shepard as a therapist. And Kaidan was not a yes man and was not afraid to question Shepard. I also enjoyed Kaidan's dry sense of humor and how he offered his own advice and even provided a shoulder for Shepard.

I just appreciate having a character that is subtly layered and quiet. Not every character has to be loud, extroverted, and always in your face. I just related to him more and I think Kaidan balanced Shepard in a good way. If its one thing this play through has taught me is to never listen to everything this fandom says and to think for myself.

[dragonageconfessions]

Mark Darrah's youtube of fandom toxicity. This is a very interesting video that goes into the history of the fandom.

[issylra]

I was putting Hob in Shepard's place when I was thinking about ME but Ryder is actually PERFECT?? please write this I'm begging you

Watch me alienate half my followers with Mass Effect talk as I answer this. But here goes.

Try as I might, I can't picture Hob in the Commander Shepard role (and the original trilogy owns my entire heart). He's too selfish to be so self-sacrificing and there's no AU version of him that I could imagine willingly taking on so much responsibility. Ryder, though. Ryder is perfect because Hob would absolutely be the guy who trips his way into being in charge of something super important that he's completely unprepared for. Hob can keep all of his bravado, his lust for life, his tendency towards a bit of violence, and it's not the fate of the universe hanging in the balance. He'd just be some guy in space making questionable decisions while his crew buckles their seatbelts and goes along for the ride.

Like this is absolutely him in this au:

While Dream stands in the background pinching the bridge of his nose and being absolutely incensed that this is the man he's supposed to be following. (Insert 100k words of enemies to lovers where Dream slowly realizes Hob is brilliant in his own way, has a heart the size of a small planet, and can talk his way out of as many fights as he purposely gets into.)

Anyway, yeah. This would be a lot of fun to write, but I'd have to strip as much of the Mass Effect out of it as I could so the majority of the fandom wouldn't be scared away.

[incorrect-mass-effect-quotes]

Shepard: I don't know how to say this... Uhm, Thane's gone to a better place.

Joker: Good, because this hospital SUCKS

[swaps55]

If you were to create a Mass Effect x Star Wars AU, which has most elements and lore from ME and the SW stuff is implemented in that format, how would you do it? I’m asking because I’ve been on a SW phase recently (again), and the idea of mass effect fields being something to do with the force and biotics having magic like abilities seem so much fun, so I wanted to ask one of my favorite fanfic writers how would they merge these universes! Oh, let me also share the mental image of Kaidan in a black tacticool Alliance armor, armed with a pistol, an Omni-tool and a lightsaber absolutely destroying his enemies!

Aww, thank you!!! And that is indeed a hell of an image. :D

I think Mass Effect lends itself to Star Wars pretty effortlessly. It doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to get from "force magic" to "biotics" from the developer that made KOTOR, and a lot of the ME2/3 powers like reave and dominate skew much closer to force powers than they do manipulation of mass. Even the paragon/renegade system read like light side/dark side, so you make a biotic Shepard and boom, there's your Jedi Knight.

I love trying to use a hard science lens wherever possible when I write about Mass Effect because that's what I enjoy the most, but the soft sci fi/fantasy approach more in line with Star Wards is an easy leap. And while I struggle to write powers like reave and dominate through a hard science lens, they are so fun to use in the game, that it's absolutely worth creating a world in which you can take powers like that and go hog wild.

Make some kind of eezo crystal your kyber crystal. Make the Spectres some kind of parallel to the Jedi. Maybe Benezia is your Sith lord, and Samara is your Yoda. XD

There's a world of possibilities to work with!