"WTF are VIDs?": Full VID List and Explanation.

[-SeaboundSaint-]

This guide is part of a three-part series:
Customization Items: The Encyclopedia | Customization Items: Asset Filename Structure Explained | "WTF are VIDs": Full VID List and Explanation.​

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What are VIDs?:

All "Character Mesh" files (.cmesh) in Saints Row 2 are divided up into sections called "Visual Identifiers" (VID).
Each VID section has a number assigned to it. This is so the game can easily identify that section of the .cmesh.

This system has multiple uses:

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CUSTOMIZATION ITEMS:

For customization items which the protagonist can wear, VIDs are used to prevent visual clipping between items.

For example;

An open Coat would hide (obscure) the sleeve sections of an Undershirt's .cmesh since they're covered up, but not the front torso sections of the Undershirt because they need to be seen, since the Coat is open.​

The Undershirt itself would be hiding Skin VIDs for the arms and torso, since they are covered up, and don't need to be rendered.​

Via customization_items.xtbl, it is possible to either;

A. Remove VIDs from an item's .cmesh (this is done via "<VID_List>").​

B. Obscure a common VID from multiple other item's .cmeshes when a particular item is worn (this is done via "<Obscured_VID>").​

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NPCs:

VIDs are also used for NPC Character Meshes. However, they are sectioned differently than customization items, being divided up by the items (whole pieces) they wear.
The VID numbers are inconsistent between NPC meshes, and so cannot be listed in the same way as I have done for the customization items below.

For NPCs, the VID system is used to differentiate which clothing items an NPC spawns with.

For example;

An NPC might have both Pants and Shorts in their .cmesh. The game needs to hide one and render the other. So it might say "Hide VID 10 (Pants)" but "render VID 11 (Shorts)".​

This is done via an NPC's .xtbl/.cvtf file. (More information on this can be found in my NPC Editing In-Depth Guide.)​

Spoiler: NPC VIDs - Raw Mesh Example Images

This is npc_s_sporty_male_lt.cmesh (Saints Sporty Male Lieutenant). As you can see, the mesh contains multiple Hats, Shirts, Pants, Shoes, Medallions, etc.. Each one of these has a VID number assigned to it, which the game will use to hide that section (Item) from the .cmesh. This is done at random every time the NPC is spawned into the game world via a percentile chance ("<Weight>") set in npc_s_sporty_male_lt.xtbl/.cvtf. This means just one .cmesh file can be used to achieve many different outfit variations for an NPC.

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CUSTOMIZATION ITEMS FULL VID LIST:

- VID Descriptions marked with an Asterisk (*) are assumed to be what it says, but there's no way of knowing for sure.
- VIDs with no description are either unused or have no .cmeshes which use it in the final game.

VID:	Description:	Example:	Notes:
0	Entire Item / Rest of Item

SKIN: (1-49 can be found listed in "player.xtbl" [the Customization Variation Table File for the Playa's .cmesh].)

VID:	Description:	Example:	Notes:
1	Entire Head
2	Neck
3	Upper Chest & Upper Back
4	Chest-Height Front
5	Chest-Height Sides
6	Chest-Height Back
7	Extra-High Waist Front
8	Extra-High Waist Back
9	High Waist Front
10	High Waist Back
11	Mid-Height Waist Front
12	Mid-Height Waist Back
13
14	Low Waist Sides & Back
15
16	Low Waist Front & Extra-Low Waist (Crotch & Butt)
17	Both Shoulders
18	Both Biceps
19	Left Elbow
20	Left Upper Forearm
21	Left Wrist
22
23	Left Backhand
24	Left Palm & Knuckles
25	Left Fingers & Thumb
26
27
28	Right Elbow
29	Right Upper Forearm
30	Right Wrist
31
32	Right Backhand
33	Right Palm & Knuckles
34	Right Fingers & Thumb
35	Both Upper Thighs
36	Both Lower Thighs
37	Both Knees
38	Left Upper Shin
39	Left Lower Shin
40	Left Ankle
41	Both Feet Top & Upper Heel
42	Both Feet Soles
43	Both Feet Toes
44
45
46
47	Right Upper Shin
48	Right Lower Shin
49	Right Ankle
50
51
52

BRA / UNDERWEAR / GLOVES / SOCKS:

VID:	Description:	Example:	Notes:
53	*Head
54	Neck
55	Upper Chest & Upper Back
56	Chest-Height Front
57	Chest-Height Sides
58	Chest-Height Back
59	Extra-High Waistband Front
60	Extra-High Waistband Back
61	High Waistband Front
62	High Waistband Back
63	Mid Height Waistband Front
64	Mid-Height Waistband Back
65
66	Low Waistband Sides & Back
67
68	Low Waist Front & Extra-Low Waist (Crotch & Butt)
69	Left Shoulder
70	Left Bicep
71	Left Elbow
72	Left Upper Forearm
73	Left Lower Forearm
74	Left Wrist
75	Left Backhand
76	Left Palm
77	Left Fingers
78	Right Shoulder
79	*Right Bicep ?		Not Visible
80	*Right Bicep ?		Not Visible
81	Right Elbow
82	Right Upper Forearm
83	Right Lower Forearm
84	Right Backhand
85	Right Palm
86	Right Fingers
87	Left Upper Thigh
88	Left Lower Thigh		Both Lower Thighs (Stockings Only)
89	Left Knee		Both Knees (Stockings Only)
90	Left Upper Shin		Both Upper Shins (Stockings Only)
91	Left Lower Shin		Both Lower Shins (Stockings Only)
92	Left Ankle		Both Ankles (Stockings Only)
93	Left Foot Top & Upper Heel		Both Feet Top & Upper Heel (Stockings Only)
94	Left Foot Sole		Both Feet Soles (Stockings Only)
95	Left Foot Toes		Both Feet Toes (Stockings Only)
96	Right Upper Thigh
97	Right Lower Thigh
98	Right Knee
99	Right Upper Shin
100	Right Lower Shin
101	Right Ankle
102	Right Foot Top & Upper Heel
103	Right Foot Sole
104	Right Foot Toes
167	Both Feet Knuckles (Stockings Only)		(Not a typo. It is 167.)

PANTS: (Not all Pants use all of these VIDs.)

VID:	Description:	Example:	Notes:
105	Extra-High Waistband Front
106	Extra-High Waistband Back
107	High Waistband Front
108	High Waistband Back
109	Mid-Height Waistband Front
110	Mid-Height Waistband Back
111	Low Waistband Front
112	Low Waistband Back
113	Extra-Low Waistband Front
114	Extra-Low Waistband Back
115	Upper Thighs
116	Lower Thighs
117	Knees
118	Upper Shins
119	Lower Shins
120	Both Ankles		cmbot_wcanvamf01_l only.
121
122
123
124

UNDERSHIRT:

VID:	Description:	Example:	Notes:
125	Neck
126	Upper Chest & Upper Back
127	Chest-Height Front
128	Chest-Height Sides
129	Chest-Height Back
130	Extra-High Waistband Front
131	Extra-High Waistband Back
132	High Waistband Front
133	High Waistband Back
134	Mid-Height Waistband Front
135	Mid-Height Waistband Back
136	Low Waistband Front
137	Low Waistband Back
138
139
140	Left Shoulder
141	Left Bicep
142	Left Elbow
143	Left Upper Forearm
144
145
146
147
148
149	Right Shoulder
150	Right Bicep
151	Right Elbow
152	Right Upper Forearm
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166

OVERSHIRT:

VID:	Description:	Example:	Notes:
168	Neck
169	Upper Chest & Upper Back
170	Chest-Height Front
171	Chest-Height Sides
172	Chest-Height Back
173	Extra-High Waistband Front
174	Extra-High Waistband Back
175	High Waistband Front
176	High Waistband Back
177	Mid-Height Waistband Front
178	Mid-Height Waistband Back
179	Low Waistband Front
180	Low Waistband Back
181
182	Low Waistband Front		Basketball/Football Jerseys only.
183	Left Shoulder		Right Shoulder: "baby doll blouse". Both Shoulders: "long sleeve buttoned shirt and bow tie", "long sleeve buttoned shirt", "short sleeve baseball jersey", "women's tied buttoned shirt".
184	Left Bicep		Right Bicep: "baby doll blouse". Both Biceps: "long sleeve buttoned shirt and bow tie", "long sleeve buttoned shirt", "short sleeve baseball jersey", "women's tied buttoned shirt".
185	Left Elbow		Both Elbows: "long sleeve buttoned shirt and bow tie", "long sleeve buttoned shirt", "short sleeve baseball jersey", "women's tied buttoned shirt".
186	Left Upper Forearm		Both Upper Forearms: "long sleeve buttoned shirt and bow tie", "long sleeve buttoned shirt", "short sleeve baseball jersey", "women's tied buttoned shirt".
187	Left Lower Forearm		Both Lower Forearms: "long sleeve buttoned shirt and bow tie", "long sleeve buttoned shirt", "short sleeve baseball jersey", "women's tied buttoned shirt".
188	Left Wrist		Both Wrists: "long sleeve buttoned shirt and bow tie", "long sleeve buttoned shirt", "short sleeve baseball jersey", "women's tied buttoned shirt".
189
190
191
192	Right Shoulder		Left Shoulder: "baby doll blouse". Both Shoulders: "Caribbean vest", "hippy top 1".
193	Right Bicep		Left Bicep: "baby doll blouse". Both Biceps: "hippy top 1".
194	Right Elbow		Both Elbows: "hippy top 1".
195	Right Upper Forearm		Both Upper Forearms: "hippy top 1".
196	Right Lower Forearm		Both Lower Forearms: "hippy top 1".
197	Right Wrist		Both Wrists: "hippy top 1".
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209

SHOES:

VID:	Description:	Example:	Notes:
210	Stripper Boots: Left Thigh
211	Stripper Boots: Left Knee
212	Stripper Boots: Left Upper Shin
213	Stripper Boots: Left Lower Shin
214	Stripper Boots: Right Thigh
215	Stripper Boots: Right Knee
216	Stripper Boots: Right Upper Shin
217	Stripper Boots: Right Lower Shin
218	Pants Lower Thighs		Cut Meshes Only, such as cmbot_wsnakskin1_l.cmesh_pc.
219	Pants Knees		Cut Meshes Only, such as cmbot_wsnakskin1_l.cmesh_pc.
220	Pants Upper Shins		Cut Meshes Only, such as cmbot_wsnakskin1_l.cmesh_pc.
221	Pants Shins		Obscured by Thick Boots to make Pants legs look like they're tucked into the boots.
222	Upper Shins
223	Lower Shins
224
225

EXTRA:

VID:	Description:	Example:	Notes:
226	DJ Veteran Child's hair: Top		Used in npc_child's model to prevent clipping with "dread cap2".
227
228	Additional Head Hair Parts		EG: "Large Mohawk". Usually Obscured by some hats.
229	Ronin Jackets: Swords		Fun Fact: There is a hard-coded system in SR2 which obscures this VID for a Ronin Gang Member NPC whenever they wield a Samurai Sword.
230	Privacy Bar Top
231	Privacy Bar Bottom Back
232	Privacy Bar Bottom Front
233	Collars
234	Belt Buckle: High
235	Belt Buckle: Mid-Height
236	Belt Buckle: Low
237	Hippie Top: Knot
238	Hoodies: Hood (Down)		Obscured by long Head Hair to prevent clipping with the Hood when it's down. EG: "Long and Straight".
239	Biker Boots 1: Top Strap Only		Item known internally as "biker boots 3".
240	Biker Boots 1: Lower Straps		Item known internally as "biker boots 3".
241	Utility Boots & Worker Boots: Pull Loop
242	Bikini Bottom: Strings
243	Buttoned Shirts: Collar/Bow Tie
244	Additional Head Hair Parts		Obscured by Hood Up to prevent clipping with Head Hair.
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255	Prom Dress & Women's Dress: Chest-Height Front, Sides, Back (+Prom Dress Straps)
END

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Thanks to Janson for the original image used to make the example thumbnails!

 

[reina3]

Props for painstakingly making images for each body part -and- laying them out in an easily accessible format.
I can't tell apart my biceps from my arms, so no doubt it will help a lot other non-native speakers as well.

 

[Janson]

welp heres a new post to bookmark, good work

 

[-SeaboundSaint-]

Guide Updated:
-Updated table with information for VIDs "120", "218", "219" and "220".
These are only used by leftover meshes for Pants, which were restored in M2M v1.3.
-Fixed Notes which somehow crept into the Example column.

 

[-SeaboundSaint-]

Guide Updated:
-Added example screenshots of a raw NPC .cmesh to the NPCs section, with further explanation. (In the Spoiler.)