HiPoly Faces REDUX (Seamless Kit - CBBE - TWB - FG - AB) (2024)

This is the long-overdue revamp of the HiPoly Faces. Years in development and testing, months in limbo, and now finally released.
HiPoly Faces REDUX (HFR) is a complete, ground-up rebuild of the original mod. It gets rid of all the small (and large) issues that the original had and is better in every way. Plus, now it has many more useful newly added features.

As with the original mod, the polygon count has been kept to a reasonable level, so no performance issues, even on weaker systems.

Recommended texture mods (use one):
Cridowskin (with HFR seamless patches)
Serene Skin(works with seamless but has its own Skin Overrides so make sure to read its instructions)
Real HD Face Textures 2k / (BA2)
Natural 2K Face Textures

Note: I have not tested these mods thoroughly. They may cause color mismatches when using a seamless config, please keep that in mind.

Improvements vs the old HiPoly Faces mod:
-No silly preset edits, console commands, or records edits are needed to load this onto player characters and companions anymore. Everything can be done using MCM.
-Better smoothing algorithm used. This allows for smoother faces while preserving facial volume and detail.
-The better smoothing also gets rid of facial tattoos being warped.
-Customized face normals get rid of any unwanted shadowing and roughness.
-Added segmentation data to the meshes.
-Now includes an optional head and neck seam removal kit. By default, this is a standalone feature for the player character only.

Updates, patches, add-ons;

- M-face
- Natural Expression Fix
- Seamless Kit for female companion (the missing plugin error on the 'Seamless Female Companion' page of the MCM is intentional, and will be corrected eventually)
- Fusion Girl Seamless Kit
- Female Face slides (RFP compatible)
- Asian Face Enhanced
- Oni Cute Asian face parts
- Immersive Facial Animations REMADE - IFAR

How to use:
Simply install using your preferred mod manager and then use the in-game MCM and enable it for your character. Optional vanilla and DLC companion HFR settings are also included. Can be placed anywhere in the load order.
I would recommend installing and enabling HFR after starting a new game and going through the initial character creation. However, it will enable automatically on the player character regardless.
The settings and instruction within the MCM are self-explanatory. Use them as you see fit.

How to use on companions:
The included MCM has built-in options for all human companions to use HFR. The included 'companion' plugin (best placed at the top of the load order) has to be enabled for the functionality to work correctly.

How to use (for NPCs) [copy-pasted from the old mod]:

Just repeat the steps described above for the player characters on NPCs. May not always work as intended. Not recommended.

To do this, you need to know how to use FO4Edit. Here is a basic list of instructions, use at your own risk.

1- Open up the plugin which has the character you want to edit in FO4Edit.
2- Expand the list and find the NPC record under 'Non-Player Character (Actor)', copy it as an override into another plugin if you don't want to modify the original plugin.
3- Scroll down to the 'Head Parts' section, find FemaleHeadHuman/MaleHeadHuman in the list.
4- Replace these with the corresponding FemaleHeadHuman-HiPoly/MaleHeadHuman-HiPoly from this mod's plugin. (Example; the head part: "FemaleHeadHuman "FemaleHeadHuman" [HDPT:000CFB3F]" should be changed to "FemaleHeadHuman_HiPoly "FemaleHeadHuman-HiPoly" [HDPT:XX000800]")
5- Once done, save and exit FO4Edit and activate the plugin (if you created a new plugin). That should do it.

Notes on the seamless kit (READ everything below before anything else!)

This feature is for FEMALE characters only!
Currently, only CBBE/TWB, FG and AB body mods are supported. Additional body mod support may be added later if there is enough demand.

Save your current preset! The skin override function in LooksMenu can sometimes reset face morphs! And though not necessary, you should keep a backup of your current save file too.

To use the seamless neck feature, navigate to the MCM menu and select the appropriate option, and then follow the instructions on the following dialog box (see image below for a step-by-step).

using the seamless feature will change your neck and body normal maps. I have included TIF files to help easily modify your own normal maps to be seamless.

Rusty face fix is NOT compatible with the seamless feature. This mod actually features a smaller, more efficient character-refresh-on-load feature using F4SE functions (for player characters only).

Out-of-the-box, the seamless feature is only compatible with textures that use the vanilla skin tone. Texture sets (like Cridowskin) that are brighter or have different skin tones will need a modified face texture mask.

You may notice a slight seam or discoloration between the head and body. This is likely a Creation engine thing and how the game renders the face and body textures slightly differently. It is most likely not completely fixable but it can be well hidden with better textures.

My texture modification skills are sorta mediocre, and as such, there may be some loss of details and minor errors around the neck and other seam areas. You can recover some of the details using the provided higher resolution 2K textures. Hopefully, texture modders take notice of this mod and release compatible better textures.

The MCM menu also has settings for Unique Player mods. These settings will use any already installed unique player textures with HFR's own modified body normal map.

Compatibility and Limitations:
-Presets that rely on the old HiPoly Faces (.ESP version) mod should still work fine with redux (as the plugin name and formIDs have not changed). In case they don't, just use the MCM to re-enable HiPoly Face on your character and save the preset again.
-The seamless kit relies on Looks Menu's Skin Override feature. If you use the skin overrides for your player character (such as applying tattooed skin textures), you will need to manually copy and replace your existing body normal map with the seamless one provided with HFR or update your existing body normal map.

Final Notes and warnings:
DO NOT replace the vanilla head meshes and morphs with my files (with the intention of replacing NPCs with high-poly faces). Vanilla NPCs have pre-generated face meshes that rely on compatible vanilla morphs for all facial expressions. Replacing these vanilla files will break their face morphs (i.e. no facial expressions, etc.).

Known Issues:
-Looks Menu's Skin Override feature is fairly buggy, and you may run into minor issues. If you have seams even after enabling the seamless tint layer from Looks Menu, use the seamless setting from the HFR MCM again.
-Player may sometimes revert back to having seams upon game load. This is another bug from Looks Menu's Skin Override feature. Re-enabling the seamless setting from the HFR MCM will correct the issue promptly.

Some notes on the screenshots:
-RFP Balanced is used in the screenshots.
-The female character screenshots are also using the Neck-head adjustment in Skeletal Adjustments for CBBE.

Tools:
-Blender
-Outfit Studio
-Nifskope
-FO4Edit
and a few others...

Have fun! If you find any issues, let me know.

My Other Works: